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Giveaway: Animal Lovies

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Animal Lovies reivew and giveaway

Congratulations to Lee!

This is a book that I really want to need so I can keep it and knit all these adorable projects for myself. But I know I would never actually make them, not having a baby anymore, so I want this book to go to someone who will really use it

Animal Lovies by Yolanda Soto-Lopez includes 10 knitting projects for really cute snuggly blankies with little heads and arms that make it a blanket/doll combination. The patterns are for a bear, bunny, lamb, penguin, duck, bird, dog, panda, cat and giraffe and they are all so cute I can’t even tell you. You can see all the projects at Leisure Arts.

The blankets are 12 inches square and all the projects are rated easy +, so if you have some projects that involve increase and decreasing under your belt you’re ready for this book.

If you’d like a chance to win this one, leave a comment on this post before the end of the day Sunday, March 20. I’d love to know which animal or animals you would knit and who in your life you can knit lovies for.

Thank you for visiting, commenting and sharing, and good luck!

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Comments

  4. My daughter loves giraffes, her room is decorated with them and the one in the picture is Aaadorable! I would knit for her. Thanks for having this fun give-away.

  5. I’d love to win this and give it to my mom or grandma (and then inherit it later!). They always knit or sew something for any baby they know of – and my brother and his wife are due any moment!

  7. The giraffe is my favorite! I would make one for my sons new baby, the grandbaby of course!

  12. I started making the bunny blanket pattern years back to give to new babies. I have gotten tired of the pattern but the babies love it. This book would give me other ideas. I wish I could post a picture of what is left of my grandson’s bunny blanket. We can’t wash it anymore. I have knitted others and he won’t take to it maybe he would pick out one of the other patterns and then give up the one that is falling apart.

  15. I feel like the Cookie Monster- me want, me want! I love knitting loveys, softies, cuddles and more for the wee ones.

  16. It would be difficult to decide, but that giraffe is super cute and it seems that someone I know is always expecting 🙂

  18. I would love to create all of the animals shown. They are all so cute. First to case on would have to be the brown bear followed by the puppy. Thank you for the sweet giveaway.

  21. I would definitely knit them all for mmy first grandchild due in May. It’s absolutely fabulous.

  24. I would love to own this book, and would knit many of them for friend”s grandchildren, and charity. First would be the dog. Thank you for the giveaway.

  25. As a former teacher, I have a great love of children. I show this love by sharing my knitting talents. I know I would make good use of this book and make many children feel loved and happy!

  26. Starting with the giraffe, I would love to knit one each for my 6 grandchildren under 4 years of age and 3 great-nieces/nephew who were all born in the last 6 months. What gorgeous gifts to give. Thanks for the opportunity.

  29. I have a new grandbaby due in Aug. I have never cared for the knitted animals my mom made, but love the idea of the blanket attached so will have to try one, and my babies always loved their giraffes, so guess that would be the starting point. ;>) MS

  30. I have over 70 grand children and great grand children with both a little girl and a little boy coming in the next couple of months. I think this would be a great gift for these tiny gifts from Heaven.

  32. I knit for preemies and babies in hospital. This book is full of brilliant ideas, thank for sharing with us and offering to donate . I will make much use of it if it comes to me
    X

  34. Hummm, even if no potential grandchildren, your friends may have grandchildren in the works. My knitting friends & I always seem to be knitting blankets, hats, & booties for their new grandchildren. Plus several belong to other groups that knit & donate to local organizations. None to our local hospitals since the accreditation person for this region was going to revoke accreditation if they continued to accept “flammable” hand made purple hats or anything else that didn’t come from a qualified vendor.

  35. Ohh just to own the book would be delightful and then to reproduce favourites for my still growing grand-family.

  36. My grandson would love one of those. Maybe the panda or the giraffe. I would have to ask is mother what his favorite animal is.

  40. These are adorable animals. I would make the giraffe first. Then the panda. Then one by one all of them. Grand kids & great grand kids love animals & blankies.

  43. I would LOVE to make my 8 month old grandson the bunny and the panda – and a bear! My favorite is the panda!

  45. I love the lamb and the giraffe! I would start on one now so that when I needed a gift,it would be ready since I’m not the fastest knitter.

  46. It seems that any time anyone is expecting, I’m the one that gets the invite to their baby shower, or receives the phone call, to let me know, because I always make a layette set for the person’s little one. In fact, last year I did nothing but made baby afghans, sweaters, and bibs!! Some people got a little more. Anyway, this would make a cute addition to my collection that I send out to the Moms’ to be!! Thank you for the great giveaway!!!

  47. I almost forgot!! Of course I would have to make the Duck, Puppy, and Giraffe!! I thought that they were so cute!! I might attempt one of the others, with a little bit of tweaking, here and there.

  48. This would be great to win, I will have 11th grandchild come September and 8 of them will be under 5 yrs. of age. I would be able to make every one of the lovies . They are all soo adorable .

  49. These are adorable! I would love to knit a kitten, a puppy, and a giraffe for all the little ones I know!

Have you read?

Book Review: No Fear Sock Knitting

I feel like when it comes to things that people are afraid to knit, socks probably top the list. I’ve heard people say they would never knit socks because they look too hard, but really you just need to know a few basic things (and trust the pattern even though it sounds wrong the first time you do it) to master socks. 

Denise DeSantis aims to take the worry out of knitting socks with No Fear Sock Knitting. Based on a class on her YouTube channel, it includes all the basic information you need to make sock knitting feel easier, along with eight patterns for both top down and toe up socks. 

The book generally covers types of needles and yarn you might use to knit socks, as well as other supplies you will need. It looks at the parts of the sock, different knitting needle configurations used to knit socks, how to read a pattern (including abbreviations and terms you might find in sock patterns), discussion of ease, how to measure your foot and choosing the correct size to knit.

It includes two options each for casting on cuff down and toe up socks, as well as four options for cuff treatment. It explores the heel flap and turn method for top down and toe up socks, as well as short row heels using a shadow wrap (worked with a leg from the stitch below) and a square heel. There’s a discussion of avoiding holes and fixing other problems in heels.

Likewise with toes there are several options, including a wedge toe, round toe and anatomical toe (different on each foot) for both cuff down and toe up socks. There are also tutorials for grafting and Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off, depending on which direction you’re going. There’s also a tips section that covers things like avoiding ladders, changing colors. matching stripes and more. 

After all that preparation, there are eight patterns to choose from: short socks worked from the top down that are a perfect first-sock sock, a basic ankle-length toe-up sock, a DK weight sock worked from the top down with different length options, a “vanilla” sock with a short row heel worked top down, an ankle sock with a garter stitch cuff, one with a leg worked in alternating colors with a contrasting heel and toe, a sock worked in a helical stripe pattern and a striped sock with a garter stitch heel. 

Three of the patterns are rated at skill level two on a scale of three, while the rest are level one. They’re all pretty straightforward, they just use different techniques you might not have tried before. Since only one is made to be toe up, there are also tips for converting the other patterns to toe up if you’d rather work that way. Each pattern includes three size options. 

This book is a nice introduction to sock knitting, with lots of techniques to reference and simple patterns to take the fear out of the process. I’m not sure these are patterns you’ll come back to time and again but they are a good place to start if you’ve never knit socks before. 

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 8 patterns. Published 2025 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.