Stacking Stars

I saw this super cute star tree over the holidays as I was trolling for cute little things I could make for our new little one and ran across this pattern: Stacking Stars.  It was so cute and inventive that I simply had to try it out.  And it seemed like the perfect little toy for a little one to learn how to grab, stack, learn about colours, and how to count.

I started off with my Caron Orchid yarn and my Denise US 8 (5mm) needles and followed the pattern starting with its smallest star (4 sts).  I found the pattern easy to read and overall it was a quick knit.  Even seaming two (2) stars together so that it was nice and puffy wasn't too bad either.  Here's what it looks like:

Then I wondered what the bigger stars would look like.  So, with my Caron Orchid, I proceeded to make the 5 sts, 6 sts & 7 sts stars.  Then it struck me ... wait a minute 🤔 ... what was the tree supposed to look like?  It was a V8 moment.  I realized that I couldn't merrily make all the sizes using the the same yarn if I wanted a multi-coloured tree! 🤦  Thankfully, I had ran out of the Caron Orchid by the time I was halfway done with the 7 sts star.

So, to salvage what I did make and to actually make the coloured star tree, here's what I did:
Since I already made a 4 sts star and a 6 sts star, I was going to incorporate those stars into Emmett's tree.  Emmett's tree consisted of fifteen (15) stars using the following yarn: Caron Orchid 4 sts, Mystery Yarn Cream 5 sts, Mystery Yarn Off White 6 sts, Caron Orchid 6 sts, Mystery Yarn White 6 sts, Red Heart Multi Zebra 7 sts, Red Heart Grey 7 sts, Mainstays Green 8 sts, Red Heart Turquoise 8 sts, Red Heart Mint 9 sts, Red Heart Sunshine Yellow 9 sts, Mystery Yarn Purple 10 sts, Red Heart Pink 10 sts, & Mystery Yarn Brown 11 sts.  I used US8 (5mm) needles for all the stars in the tree itself.  For the topper, I used Mystery Yarn Red & White 5 sts using US9 (5.5mm) needles.  I had some leftover plastic that I used for a "base" and had found some clear plastic straws that would be perfect as the tree's spine.

As Emmett's birthday was the first to come up, I had promptly sent his tree out to him for his first birthday gift.  I'm happy to report that he is happily chewing away at it and is having a good time stacking and throwing his stars around.  Hopefully, it will also do its job and teach him about colours, sizes and counting! 😉🤔🎉

And, since I couldn't incorporate the 5 sts star I already made into Yi Ying's tree, I thought it would be fun to make Maya and Ashtyn a small ornament for their Christmas trees that my cousin always lets them put up in their rooms.  All I had to do was to just make another 5 sts star with the remanent of my Caron Orchid yarn.  Also, since I had some extra straws, I thought the girls would love it if they also had wands to play with so, I made two (2) 6 sts stars in Mystery Yarn Purple, Red Heart Pink and Red Heart Mint using US9 (5.5mm) needles.

I hope the kids all enjoy their stars! ⭐🌟

I worked on Yi Ying's tree last since her birthday came later.  I wanted it to also consist of fifteen (15) stars using the following yarn: Yuzawaya Super Acryliic Yellow 5 sts (this was the topper) using US9 (5.55mm) needles; Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Pink 4 & 8 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Lt Blue 4 & 8 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Purple 5 & 8 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Dk Blue 5 & 8 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Red 6 & 9 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Blue 6 & 9 sts, Red Heart Mint 5 & 9 sts, Red Heart Pink 5 & 9 sts, Red Heart Turquoise 6 & 10 sts, Red Heart Orange 6 & 10 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Yellow 7 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Lt Green 7 sts, Mainstays Green 7 sts, Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Dk Green 11 sts, & Yuzawaya Super Acrylic Brown 7 & 11 sts using US8 (5mm) needles for the body of the tree.  Unlike Emmett's tree, I decided to use random bits of yarn from each of the stars to whip stitch the stars together and I made her star topper 3D instead of making it flat.  I did use a clear plastic straw as the tree's spine (just like Emmett's tree) but opted not to give her a base since her stars were so puffy that it was sturdy enough to stand on its own.

I must say, out of all the stars/projects I made, Yi Ying's tree was the hardest.  The actual making of the stars for her tree was the easy part; it was finishing her stars took me nearly three (3!) whole days, where I spent one day actually finishing them, another day "puffing" up the stars and completing her topper, & ten (yes, 10!) hours (straight!) whip stitching the stars together & embroidering a little flower for each of their centers. 😥

I hope Yi Ying enjoys her star tree as much as her cousin has! 🌟🌲🎉