Tortoise II

For some time I have had buyers of my Tortoise Knitting Pattern contact me, as the wool that I originally knitted the sample tortoises with is no longer available. This was upsetting, particularly as the wool used for the shell was particularly tortoisey. 

I hunted around for some more tortoisey wool, and recommended Rico Creative Melange, 50g Beige/Brown 007, and for tan sections one ball of Rico Essentials Merino, 50g, Ivory 22. But it was concerning me that I should not really recommend a wool unless I had used it to make the pattern.

So here is Tortoise II, made with the wools above. It does work, although I am altering my pattern to increase the needle size by a half. I use small needles, as it needs to be a fairly tight knit, but I thought I could go up a little. It is odd knitting my own pattern so long after I wrote it. Particularly liked how I shaped the head!

I am happy with Tortoise II, although feel the colours of the first Tortoise were slightly more realistic. So I am still on the look out for other tortoisey wool. But perhaps other knitters are not as obsessed with realism as I am, and a tortoise could look great in all sorts of colours. But if you purchase the pattern from now onwards, these will be the recommended wool, needles, and photos used.

... And someone got a little bit too involved in my photoshoot! 

 

Puffin Christmas Cards

Wishing You a Happy Christmas!

Every year I plan to do a bit more linoprinting, but some how I find a year has passed, and the last time I got out my kit was the Christmas before. 

This is the card I made this year, and although it is a bit early for resolutions, I am definitely going to try to do a bit more throughout the year. Perhaps I may need to get a new tube of printing ink.

Tavistock Dickensian Lantern Parade

I have been hinting at this post for a while, and am so happy that this year the Dickensian Evening Lantern Parade took place. Last year it was cancelled because of gales, and although this year was rainy, we did manage to parade our lanterns. Above is me, with my chameleon. I have been thinking about chameleons a lot this autumn. You can't see from the photograph, but some of his lights were colour-changing, and there was a hoop of willow so that he rested on my head, which made carrying a bit easier.

Below is my son, with his spider lantern. It was very impressive, and is now going to the Tavistock Youth Cafe to be displayed. My chameleon is going to a local plant store, Leaf and Stone, to be part of their display.  

 

Final photo shows us gathered at St. Eustachius Church, waiting to set off. My husband got roped into carrying the anomalocaris from last year. 

I feel that The Chameleon, Spider and Anomalocaris sounds a bit like a children's book title. What adventures they could have!

Running Horse Bucket Hat

Not my daughter, but a fashion student friend.

 

My daughter asked me to knit her a bucket hat with horses running around the brim. A fun project, and as I was planning it, my husband suggested that I have the horses in different poses, as if on a film reel. 

We used to live in Kingston-upon-Thames, and in the local museum there was a section on Eadweard Muybridge, a local photographer who was a pioneers of film. Kingston Museum was a small but really excellent place, with exhibits from Kingston from prehistory to the current day, and other exhibitions and events. 

So I knitted my hat, and then jokingly said to my husband, this probably isn't original, someone somewhere will have done a Muybridge Hat. And a quick click on Ravelry, and there it was, the Zoetrope by Leah Batt. My hat was a one-off, and is not going to be a pattern. I think I can admit that I prefer her hat, and wish I had found it first. I ended up embroidering the legs and ears on my horses, while hers are proper fair isle. It is also nicely set out to look like a film reel, and she has done a clever series of linked photos to look like a moving picture, which I guess is the point. It just shows how difficult it is to come up with a truly unique idea in knitting, or anything.

                           Not as pretty, but me in the hat when just finished.

Malstrøm Fisherman's Sweater

 

I was delighted to see this finished Malstrøm Fisherman's Sweater, made by Joanna. Joanna lives in Edinburgh, and has only been knitting for about two years. She says she learned to knit so that she was doing something more productive with her hands than scrolling on her phone—and I’d say that plan worked out beautifully!

This was her first time doing colourwork, and I think she has done a fantastic job. Her husband had been pointing out Nordic jumpers that he would like for a birthday present and she decided it would be far nicer—and far more unique—to make one herself.

 

If you have used one of my patterns I would love to see your finished project, and always welcome feedback. Jumpers take a while, and although the Malstrøm Fisherman's Sweater has been selling well, this is the first project that I has been linked. It made my day to see it! 

Baby Tulip Cardigan Review

I recently had a lovely customer on Etsy, Joanna, who purchased one of my Baby Tulip Cardigans along with one of my Tulip Hats. She shared the sweetest review—and even included a photo of the cardigan on an actual baby! She’s kindly given me permission to share it here.

It absolutely made my day to hear from such a happy customer, and seeing one of my cardigans being worn by a real little one means so much to me—especially since I don’t have any babies in my life right now to model them!

 

Chameleon Knitting Pattern

I have been busy test knitting my new pattern. Trying to get these little fellows made while there are still some beautiful leaves left on the trees. 

 

This pattern uses a lot of my usual techniques. There is some icord knitting - this time with purl, to make the chameleon look more like he has scales. Some short rows to get the curves, and also a lot of sewing up. I have also done something that I haven't tried before, and inserted a pipecleaner in the tail, to get the curl, and some short lengths of pipecleaners in the legs to get them to bend realistically. So not an easy make, but I am really happy with the end result.

 

 

 

Bit of a dilemma with the photographs - should I get the chameleons to stand out or blend in?

The other interesting thing has been looking for wool which would work well. The very bright wool of the second chameleon was just some I had in my stash, but I think I love the top and bottom chameleon best, which was made from Hayfield Spirit Shade 0415. Actually bought this wool, but it came in lots of shades, and I think even if I made another one from the same ball, it would look completely different. I also went with the green wool, as I thought it would be interesting to see how hidden a green chameleon would look in green leaves. All the wools used are DK. I am keeping my eyes out for a suitable bluey wool, and feel I may have one more chameleon to make.

The pattern for this chameleon is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting. 

I have been slightly obsessed with these creatures, for another reason, which I will tell you about later in the month.