Fun
MDK March Mayhem: And the Champion Is . . .
The adorable Sheep! by the adorable Susan B. Anderson.
Congratulations, Susan, on a winning, winsome flock of adorable animals!
If you’re not familiar with Susan and her colorful world of handknitted marvels, what rock have you been hiding under? Take a spin through her dozens of projects, and you’ll discover that Susan has a magical way with knitted creatures, but also creates fantastically cheerful hats and socks and mittens.
New in the past year for Susan is a venture into the world of yarnmaking, Barrett Wool Co. It’s small batch, 100% American wool, currently available in two weights. (Durable! Warm! Lofty! Just like we like our men.) We are eager to give it a try—the 16 shades are cheerful and completely appropriate for all knitting adventures including trios of sheep. It’s so heartening to read the story of how Susan came to start her new business.
Thank you, Susan, for these small marvels!
In the MDK Shop
And So the Mayhem Comes to a Close
We have had the best time overseeing MDK March Mayhem. Thanks to everyone for being a part of this—designers, we tip our handknit beanies to you all!
We created MDK March Mayhem because a) we thought it would be fun, b) it’s a way to look back at the previous year’s great patterns, and c) to generate excitement for independent designers.
We began with 64 patterns, and the good news is that we have collected all 64 patterns from Round 1 over here in Ravelry. Browse, admire, and purchase as many as you possibly can. We can’t emphasize enough how much it means to a designer for you to buy a pattern—it’s a vote of confidence, a validation, and also dollars in the pocket.
Yarns at MDK on the Way
In the weeks to come, we’ll be bringing in yarns for you to make some of these patterns. We hope you’ll join us in making these beautiful designs.
Until next March, we wish you mayhem of a knitterly sort, every day.
Oh sweet..my first pic out of all of them..WOOT! LOL, that doesn’t happen very often. 😉
Congrats to Susan and all the other contenders. Fantastic items all in their own right.
This was very clever and a TON of fun!
I’m new to MDK and so happy I found your site! So much fun – thanks for your efforts!
Just yesterday we stood and watched some sheep in a paddock down the road from where we live running around in circles – maybe the word of a possible win in the inaugural MDK March Madness was spreading around the sheep world and they couldn’t contain their excitement! BaaaaaBaaaaa.
But seriously, many thanks for putting this together and making me really consider what it is that initially attracts me to one pattern over another.
You make a really good point. Why did I make the choices I made? Usually because I could imagine making or wanted to make the items I selected, and my willingness or unwillingness to try new techniques. Sometimes it was admiration for the quality of the design, even if I didn’t want to tackle it myself.
March Mayhem was such great fun. Thanks for coming up with the idea. Looking forward to a repeat next year.
Glad Sheep won, I took a class with Susan at KnitCircus and now my Sheep are famous (by association)! If anyone has a chance to take the class with Susan or to make these sheep, go for it, they are as cute in person as they are in the picture and Susan teaches beautifully.
Susan seems like the best friend everyone wants to have. I made her bear in the bunny suit and it is adorable.
Love the Sheep! from the very start. Just purchased the pattern on Ravelry, and will get the patterns for some of my other favorites who fell along the way. Can I get those sheep done by Easter? I know some grands that will love them.
The mayhem was awesome!
If you intend to do this again next year, my advice if starting collecting patterns now and spend some time sorting and weeding as you go. Then next year things will be a little less intense for you! I did this with my second grade class with pictures books we had read over the year. The children kept notebooks and had to write about the book they picked reach round. We had a big bracket on the wall with pictures of each book that I moved as the books moved up the bracket. It reminded us of all the great books we had enjoyed together and generated a lot of book conversation and intense interest.
Except, except..in a year’s time there will be so many shiny new patterns!
This is a brilliant idea. I am sharing with my teacher friends.
This was so much fun!!!
Congratulations, Susan!! Such a lovely pattern and well-deserved win!
And a huge thank you to Ann and Kay for hosting this event – it was so much fun!
This WAS fun – and I loved that it drew my attention to patterns that might not have initially caught my eye. MDK is my favourite place on the internet these days!
Im planning to knit a few of my sweater picks- I love the sheep but I was pulling for the branches and berries pullover. That’s first on my list, then Polwarth, and the sedge mitts. Lovely competition. thank you so much for putting all of this together!
It was a tough call for me between Passerine and Sheep! Congratulations to Susan, she is such a bright spot in the knitting world. And thanks MDK for bring this excitement together.
Me too! In fact, I think I tossed a coin in the end, and Sheep! won. But I’ll be making both, you can count on it.
Susan has long been a favorite of mine. From years ago when I needed a quick baby gift, and my LYS owner pulled out Itty Bitty Hats, to her tutorial for kitchener stitching which made it work for me and is still my method (and the mantra!), and now to these sheep.
Congratulations Susan!
Kudos MDK for an excellent diversion in my favorite pastime!
PS: Have you seen her Wrap-Me-Up toys? A toddler’s delight!
Came back here after my walk and just noticed Susan is wearing Branches & Buds in her podcast!
I loved those sheep from the beginning, and am so glad that they won! I also love Susan’s work. So cute, and so clever! I was just perusing her book, Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys, as a matter of fact. So many great patterns in there!
I’m wondering why a toy (yes, it is charming) was the winner rather than a garment or wearable accessory….
I wonder if March Mayhem is as enjoyable in the basketball world as it has been in ours. (Can’t be !) Those sheep are so sweet and friendly looking, too. Thanks also for the Ravelry bundle with all of the patterns. I have already saved it. Looking forward, as well, toward seeing the yarns that you choose for some if the patterns.
Susan is a great teacher too. Take a class when you get the chance- loads of fun and you’ll learn something too.
Aw! Yay for Sheep! I purchased several patterns I voted for. Thanks for highlighting such great creativity from 2016!
Lots of fun! The sheep are adorable. Thanks MDK