A Horse of a Different Color

I spotted Stacey Graham's A Horse, of Course in last fall's Interweave Knits and immediately thought of Addy. She is not only wild about horses, but also "rides" her stuffed horse and makes "horses" out of broom sticks, galloping though the house saying"neigh neigh." What better present for her second birthday than a hobby horse?


I didn't follow the pattern precisely, cutting back on some of the colorwork, and adding in a few simple colorwork motifs of my own. It's a great pattern to play around with - essentially, it is just a big sock. I used leftovers of my worsted single-ply yarn for the project (this pattern has the potential to be a great stash buster!).


The colorwork is what made the pattern more complex, but the horse could easily be made in a solid color, with variegated yarn, or even stripes. I did do the duplicate stitch eyes, but you could use buttons or safety eyes instead.


I do want to fill in the mane a bit more, and also make reins and a halter, but Addy seems quite pleased with her "neigh neigh" just as it is.