6 sts per 1” on US 5s? That seems crazy tight to me. I am on 3s to get this gauge. Very weird, as I am usually a tight knitter and have to go UP a size or two to get gauge.

I am changing the increases to LLinc and LRinc because kfb makes such a lumpy fabric. Still using m1 most of the places it’s called for, though.

7/1 - Okay, so I really suck at making pom-poms. (A fair amount of the rust colored yarn that I “used” actually ended up in the trash, or turned into little pom-pom cat toys because my pom-pom experiments were just abysmal.) I’m also a little worried about determined little hands pulling 1” pom-poms apart, so I’m using them sparingly (just for the tail and horns) and subbing a loopy crocheted mane. (I used the double loop stitch explained here - scroll down for double loop tutorial.) I worked a 4-sc wide panel on a G6 hook for about 32 rows/16 sets of loops.

7/2 - Almost finished! All her parts are sewn on now. The deeper into this pattern I’ve gotten, the more liberties I’ve been taking. It seemed ridiculous to me to have to sew on the horns, so I picked up and knit the stitches for those. I also decided to skip the pom-poms on the horns because I think that with the loopy mane, they’d be overkill. I like the drinking straw segments to make sure the horns stay upright, though. That’s very clever.

Whipstitch has looked downright crappy everywhere I’ve tried it, so I’ve mostly been fake grafting the pieces on; that worked very well for the tail and the legs, and I think looks much better than it otherwise would have. The ears gave me fits, as whipstitching looked particularly sloppy there, so I essentially joined the inner and outer ear pieces with an invisible running stitch. If I make this again, I think I will change the ear construction even more so that the pieces have a more finished looking edge. The existing st st edge looks messy to me, but I didn’t want to make four more pieces when knitting under a deadline.

Also, big changes on the spots: I think the knitted ones look sloppy, especially when the direction of the knitting is all topsy-turvy, so I am crocheting little circles (hook size: G6) and attaching them firmly with a (nearly) invisible running stitch. So far, so good.

Oh, and an unanticipated benefit to having the crocheted placket underlying the loopy mane: I have lots and lots of places to sew in my rust-colored tails securely and inconspicuously. That’s a happy.

7/4 - Now named “Dijon,” she has a happy new home with SteelyKid, who seems quite partial to her - she even got to help SteelyKid wreak havoc in the tupperware drawer (a favorite activity - scroll down for the one photo of kitchen chaos that came out in focus). Yay!

Given that SteelyKid’s chosen way to carry Dijon involves an elbow around the neck, I reinforced the connection of her head to her body super thoroughly - I hope it holds!