Drop by and see what I'm working on at the moment!
Lucas jumper
Knitting this cute little jumper for Lucas at the moment on circular needles - it’s taking its own sweet time as I’m using 3mm needles and a rather fine cotton, but it has a jaunty sailor air and I’m rather looking forward to seeing the finished article. Mind you he’s growing at a rate of knots so I’d better look sharp about it in case he gets too big for it.
The yarn is Drops Safran by Scandinavian company Garnstudio. It’s soft, good quality and very reasonable too. They also do a nice range of needles and free knitting patterns, so definitely worth checking out.
Got rather intrigued with making pop-ups recently, so started off with some gentle experimentation on Lucas’ 2nd birthday invites. The lion’s there because he’s a Leo. Get it? Here’s a hint - use a very sharp, small pair of scissors (and even then it’ll take you forever).
Another birthday, another embroidered present. This time a framed rocket ship to the moon for a friend’s little boy. Stitches are old outlining favourites, split stitch, bit of back stitch and some fillers.
So a carer at Warner Jnr’s nursery left to have a baby and since the class he’s in is called Penguins I took it rather literally and … you guessed it … I sewed up this little jangly penguin for her new monkey, complete with bell inside ‘n’ all. Still loving this felt embroidery stuff, so tactile and shakeable … and now janglable too.
Announcing the arrival of a new toy into Lucas’ world … this is what I’ve been doing with my quiet time in the shop! Inspired by Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character Stephanie in Michel Gondry’s ‘The Science of Sleep’ (along with a million other crafters judging by the blogs out there) I got to work making up a pattern for this soft toy horse … in my dreams it gallops free through Lucas’ bedroom.
The mane and tail are made out of dishcloth cotton (a revelation, I love this stuff!), the body’s made from some ticking I had lying around, buttons for eyes and a saddle made out of red felt which I machine embroidered round the edge … et voila. Lucas loves carrying it round the house by the mane and so far it hasn’t fallen apart - I built it tough. The face and tummy have inbuilt gussets which gives it a bit more dimension and means it can stand up in a wobbly way.
Here’s a little scarf I’m working on for Warner Jnr … the pattern was inspired by a pattern from a sock book I picked up. Should be working on a circular needle really, it’d make life easier, but it was one of those things I wanted to get going on the MINUTE i thought of it (using scraps of wool I already have) and I didn’t have the right size circulars. Don’t think it’s going to make it round the little guy’s neck until next winter, I’m getting a bit bored with the stripes already and I’m only halfway through, so I’ll just pick it up again when I get bored with something else!
Patchwork quilting is a craft I’ve never really attempted but I keep coming back to have another look at it to see if there’s something there for me … I’m not so keen on the traditional American patchwork patterns and if I’m honest the patience/time factor has always put me off (I want everything finished NOW!). Then I stumbled across Betsey Telford’s Rocky Mountain quilts (bear with me) on Google the other day. She’s a quilter based in Maine, US - don’t be put off by the trad title and picture of lady (presumably Betsey herself) with suitably soppy dog. Her ‘Christmas’ designs are pretty inspiring with some lovely details and bold designs and have set me off thinking about a long-term project that I could keep buzzing along in the background when I get bored with my quick fixes.
I love this kiddy’s quilt - deceptively simple but bold and effective.
Check out the prices too - worth every penny I’m sure with the amount of time and care that goes into them, but it’s another element that makes me think it’s worth taking on the challenge …
So the little fella (Mr W Jnr) has finally settled into nursery 2 days a week and the lovely staff look a lot more relaxed when I turn up now, rather than the tense wary looks they seemed to wear when I arrived or left with a wailing ball of upset.
They’re having an Xmas dress-up day on Tuesday so I thought I’d be a good parent, a good craftswoman and a good recycler all in one and bodge something together in the minimum of time … et voila!
Trousers and hat started life as a hooded zip-up thingy … I cut off the arms and sewed them into trousers and the hat was made out of the back of the thingy with the bottom rib as the hat cuff (I know I know, it would’ve been easier to cut up the hood, but I tried that and cut it too small - he’s got such a big bonce!).
I knitted the cardi before he was born … it’s a bit small for him now but I managed to squeeze his podgy little form into it. He hasn’t worn it much really, but I knew it’d come in useful sooner or later!
P.S. I guess it was inevitable really but we pitched up at nursery all proud and excited … and no-one else had bothered, bar a small boy in what appeared to be a Ninja Turtle outfit. Oh well, Lucaberry loved his hat and wouldn’t take it off all day apparently so it was all worth it.
Rediscovered the joys of cutting out bits of felt and hand-sewing them onto stuff (er … maybe ‘joys’ is too strong a word but it’s quite satisfying, let’s just leave it there shall we?) - here’s little fella’s pillow cases. Bit disappointed with them actually - they were meant to look a bit more hand-sewn and naive, but they look more Laura Ashley than anything else (bleurgh).
You’d think I’d have better things to do with my time … wait, I have!
