I had 1/3 of a skein of this great hand-dyed Grande Merino worsted, from Karen Bradley of Kaloula Yarn, left over from my Portuguese Fisherwoman’s Shawl. It would likely have been enough for a hat. Probably. But the long runs of color could have made selection of a pattern tricky. I thought of Wurm, but slouchy Quaker Rib Wurm is a yarn hog.

I decided to return to a pattern I’ve knit something like 200 times since first being introduced to it in 1990 when my son attended a Waldorf preschool: Acorn Hill Pony.

First stage, some flat garter stitch skins slightly resembling ponies.

Next step, sewing and stuffing. The ponies begin to take shape.

I sewed them up on the drive to the lake this past weekend. For awhile, they perched on the dashboard.

Once stuffed, they need to get their braided tails and manes. That’s a modification I made to the pattern. Noro Kureyon is a big favorite for that.

The braiding takes about as long as the knitting.

One,

two,

three,

makes a herd.

You can check out more Acorn Ponies here, and here. Such a fun nostalgic knit. Thanks, Waldorf!

In May of 2017 I confirmed that the Acorn Hill kindergarten and nursery, now in SIiver Spring, Maryland is the original source of this pattern. They generously allowed me to repair a few errors in their one-page mimeographed pattern, add my not-so-Waldorfian manes, and update the directions to suit a modern knitter’s sensibilities. They even provided written permission allowing me to post the updated pattern as a Ravelry freebie, here. So, the knit goes on!