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. 

Autumn Conkers

I love seeing the end results when my patterns have been used. On Ravelry sometimes people link their projects, so they come up in my feed, but on Etsy I sometimes forget to look at the feedback at the bottom of the page, where occasionally there are photos in the reviews.

Thank you to Anne for linking her photo of conker in shell, made from my Conker knitting pattern. She made it to be part of an Autumn themed postbox topper. I feel postbox toppers are a very British thing, but I may be wrong. Happy to be a part of it.

More Scooters From Susie

Susie has been making some more scooters from my Vespa knitting pattern. She has made some little side stands so they will stand up nicely. Love them! Thank you for sharing.

Willow and Tissue Lanterns - A Rerun

 

You may remember that this time last year my son and I were making lanterns from willow and tissue, at West Devon Arts, and then later larger willow and tissue animal models to show at Tavistock Dickensian Evening. In the end the parade was cancelled because of stormy weather.  It was disappointing, so we are redoing the course. I will write about our large models later, as we are still at the building stage.

But here are our practice lanterns, to remind ourselves of the techniques. Mine is the willow pattern plate inspired one above. I decided to go fairly simple on the decorations. It is amazing what you can do with a blue sharpie. Not sure if it is finished, or I may add a bit more decoration.

 

My son has made a more interesting shape, and his lantern is above. I think the two colour tissue decoration is really effective.