An Easter Secret Revealed

I've been dying to post about my latest project but couldn't because it was to be a gift for my daughter, Julie, who, bless her heart, reads my blog. (Hey, Toots!) So, here finally, he is. His name is Sheldon and the pattern is available from Knitty. When the pattern was first published, I remember seeing it but thought nothing more of it. (Have we heard this story before?) This is surprising, because I have an affinity for turtles--after all, the terrapin is the official State Reptile for my home state and the mascot for the University of Maryland, which is my alma mater...and my husband's...and my Mother-in-Law's...and, most recently, the aforesaid daughter's. How did I miss this? Anyway, I saw the completed Sheldon in my local yarn store and it was love at first sight. One of the owners had knit it and taken the pattern one step further by implanting a music box in his head. Of course, I had to make one. I chose a recordable music unit and downloaded a few bars of Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" since that's what I used to sing to Julie when she was a babe in arms. I never imagined I would ever be knitting a turtle! It was such fun and not very difficult at all. The hardest part was not telling Julie what I was working on.