Water, Water, Everywhere.....

This is the rockpool play set just about complete.  I've knitted a few more inhabitants - look carefully and you'll see a crab, a cuttlefish, a starfish and a very small hermit crab.  The base has had a sheet of felt glued on to cover the stitching and the whole lot has been wrapped in copious amount of bubblewrap and posted off ready for a little girl's birthday.  There will be a subsequent parcel with a few more fish later on.

I really enjoyed making this - it was quite an unusual commission, but so much fun.  Left to my own devices, I could have made this very complicated and spectacular, but you have to consider just how much you will end up charging the customer!

Yesterday we had a day out, playing tourists up in London.  In a couple of week's time we will be attending the Paralympics equestrian event, so we thought we'd have a bit of a trial run up to Greenwich and visit the newly restored tea clipper, the Cutty Sark.
Unfortunately, I clean forgot to take a picture of the outside of the ship - whoops! This is a view of a British warship from one of the portholes though...

Stacie always enjoys playing Captain Jack Sparrow whenever she can...

We wondered what ship had this little chap as it's figurehead?

After a very enjoyable morning on the ship followed by a lunch of jerk chicken and goat curry from a stall in Greenwich market, we took a river cruise back to Waterloo.

It is fascinating to see that little Dickensian corners like this still exist - can't you just imagine Bill Sykes scarpering among those houses?

We were very excited to see the Olympic rings hanging from Tower Bridge, even though by this time the rain was coming down hard.

We saw the Tower of London...

..and the replica of The Golden Hind, Sir Francis Drake's ship.

I think we need to pay a visit to this ship too, now there Stacie could really imagine she was in Pirates of the Caribbean!

A really fun day and a welcome break from the stack of work I've been wading through!

Fishing For Compliments.....

The rockpool is finally finished - this is such a fun project!  I think I could probably elaborate more with it, but as it is for someone's birthday which is fast approaching, it's time to stop knitting rocks and get on with making the residents of this little pool.  I think the only problem there will be knowing when to stop - I love knitting little sea-creatures so much, I'll have to restrain myself from over-populating the place!

Also on the needles, a small desk (yes, we're back to furniture again) and a wolverine mascot scarf.
There is another dog portrait on the go as well - busy, busy!

Holiday? What Holiday!

Technically, I am on holiday from work with the schools being closed for summer.  However, I still have lots of work to be getting on with.

I have a couple of these to be doing - lovely to be drawing dogs again, I think they really have to be one of my favourite subjects.

This is slowly taking shape - it's nice to take some time out now and again and knit a rock - just free-forming and no idea what it looks like until it is stuffed.  These rocks have been sewn into place now and I have plans as to how the bottom section will look.  Then I have to populate it....

As well as the above, I have been spending a great deal of my time knitting something very complicated for the animation involving beads and buttons and a lot of sewing.  I've also been designing another scarf for Dunlop McCandless, which is still in the prototype stages - I shan't know if it has been successful until it is all sewn together.

Some of us are finding the summer harder going than others......

Do You See Where This Is Going?

Despite having more work and less time to do it in than ever before, I have managed to make a start on this little knitted rockpool set.  It's been quite liberating knitting rocks - just free forming as I go and learning a little more about short row shaping at the same time.  The prawn and the anemone were already made - do you think a five year old will notice that only cooked prawns are pink?

I can't be the only one counting down until the end of term - only four more days but it feels like an eternity.  At least Sports Day has been cancelled due to a saturated field - very sad for the children, but I must admit to giving a small cheer at the thought of having the afternoon free to get those knitting needles flying!