Clarence the Pheasant

 

I just realised that although we will be in February I have not posted very much this year. So here is a photo taken from my kitchen window this morning. I call him Clarence, as that is what the lady we bought the house from called him when we saw him while viewing the house, almost a year ago. I'm assuming he is the same pheasant, but I suppose he may not be. If only he had been there at the weekend, when I was counting the birds for the RSBP bird count. I picked a bad time, as even all the usual little garden birds were not appearing, I think because it was so windy. Time to hunker down. Would a knitted pheasant be a good idea for a new project? Most likely someone has already done it.

I am crafting at the moment, but with not much to show for it. Making curtains for the living room, which is taking me such a long time. The header tape has arrived at last, so I may be nearing the end. Perhaps curtains are not that exciting, but I may post a photo here. And in the evening I am working on a pullover for myself, which may end up as a pattern. But that is also a long job, as I am only nearly at the end of the back piece.

 

 

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!