The story of a bug.

A while ago, even before I knew there would be a grandchild, I bought this book . In my desire to do all things, I dusted off my knitting needles and knitted one very cute bug. I learned to knit the in the "continental" method from a German born friend, when the mother of my new grandson was 5 years old. Since then I knit just often enough to sort of remember how. (If you are planning to learn to knit, I highly recommend the Continental method since it simplifies the step of passing the yarn over the needle.) The bug went to a shelf in my teenage daughter's room until the four month old grandson and parents came for a visit. Since they were here for 2 weeks and I got to spend a lot of time with him, I got the bug down off the shelf and we had great fun, learning to grab the bug, chewing on the bug, watching the bug with crossed eyes.

That's when tragedy struck. A day or two before they were going to go home, we found the bug on the floor with a gaping hole in it's head, not far from a guilty looking dog. I did my best to repair the little insect, but he was never quite the same.



But still sort of cute. After a second dog attack though, the bug is no longer with us.

Meet bug number 2. A ladybug.



When I noticed that the black yarn in bug #2 was made in China, I was concerned about lead content, and decided not to give it to my grandson.

After a little searching, I found instructions at knitty.com for dyeing yarn with Kool-aid.



The process is very easy. You can also use food coloring and with a little mixing get a wider variety of colors, and more subtle-than-Koolaid colors.





So, I am happy to say that I have a new bug to present to the little guy when we see him on the week long vacation that we will be spending with my daughter and family starting tomorrow.

Which means I won't be checking in till we get back.