Bears & Blankets...

This week I have made a Holly bear - she sold within 2 minutes of being in my Etsy shop...

...an Otis bear - he's still available, but not sure for how long...

...and completed the lacy crochet blanket that I have been working on over the past few weeks.

 The blanket is also in my Etsy shop.

Currently on the easel is another bear painting, although at the moment it is just the background whcih has taken me a week to finish - tomorrow I start painting the bear, yay!

Finished!

After weeks, nay months, of work in the evenings, this crochet blanket/throw is finally complete.  It has turned out beautifully!  I knew when I bought the yarn cakes that I wanted a stitch to show off the fabulous colour mix and luckily a simple zig-zag did just that.

I wasn't sure about putting tassels on the points, but decided to give it a go, using the brighter colours in the same order as the stripes, and it was the right decision.  This is such a lovely blanket, even though I say so myself.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop soon - I am having difficulty getting decent photos of it due to bad weather and the sheer size of the thing!  If you'd like to nip in and get it before I list it, just give me a shout!
 

In other news, I have been sewing yet more Otises - these three are already spoken for and I have further orders to complete.  What started off as a silly experiment really snowballed and I have lost count of how many stuffed bears I have made over the past 3 years.  Thankfully I still enjoy doing them!

On the drawing board - I am now booked up until about Christmas.  I am currently painting a couple more Otis trinket boxes that have been commissioned and I have three bear paintings to do.  The first 2 are for the winner of the American Travel Guide magazine's summer competition - the lady couldn't decide which bear she wanted me to paint so has commissioned me to paint a second one so that she can have both!

It is great to be busy once again - the summer was dismal, both weather-wise and mentally and my creativity almost disappeared.  Being 'forced' to paint and make things to a deadline has kicked my backside back into action, haha!

It Seemed A Good Idea At The Time...

I've been working on this blanket for weeks now - I bought some gorgeous cheap yarn cakes and thought I'd try something different from the usual granny square throws that I've been making.  This is a very simple stitch to do, but as it is in dc (sc for the US) it takes forever!  It also eats yarn, so I have had to buy some more yarn cakes in order for this to be a blanket of a decent size.  It might be finished round about 2022...
 

Bears & Blankets...

Last year while the pandemic was in full swing and we were in strict lockdown, I found it comforting and stress-relieving to crochet giant granny squares for throws.  I think I made four or five and ended up giving them away to friends and family.  Stress levels are fairly high again at the moment for various reasons, so I am crocheting like crazy in the evenings once more.  This is the latest blankie - the camera has not done justice to the colours unfortunately.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop once I take some decent snaps.

I'm also back to making Otis stuffies - they seem to sell before I have even finished them!

I must sit down one afternoon and cut out some more fabric for them - that is the worst part of making these, the mess and the coughing up of furballs afterwards!

Once the cutting out is over and done with, the rest of the making process is quite fun - I wish I had kept count of how many of these I have made!

One the easel...well, it's the lid to a trinket box, but I am painting Otis as well.  Nearly finished.
 

Bits & Pieces...

I've not been very creative for quite some time now - still having trouble getting motivated.  However, I have crocheted this small lap blanket out of a couple of nice varigated yarn cakes.  I quite like the haphazardness of the colours.

Also knitted a tiny elephant, lion and tiger - there were several cute animal patterns in the latest Lets Knit magazine and I thought to knit them all and make a mobile.  Half way there!

At least I am painting - I have a very complicated watercolour on the go, a scene from Alderney that someone asked me to paint.  It is of a sunset over the beach and I thought it would be a doddle - turns out it is in fact one of the hardest paintings I have ever undertaken, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.  Nice to get the juices flowing again!
 

Crochet Baby...

I did not realise when I ordered several balls of baby wool in order to knit a few things for my granddaughter just how far one ball of it would go.  Having given the baby two jumpers, a hat, a pair of socks, and a blanket, I thought that was probably enough for now, especially as my sister appears to have gone on a knitting marathon and made twice that amount of small clothes. But I was left with quite a lot of yarn - so decided to crochet another blanket anyway as we have another baby in the family due in the summer. I've also knitted another small jumper...and there is STILL yarn left over!  I've run out of enthusiasm now - the leftover yarn can be put away for another day!
 

Now We Just Need A Baby...

 It's been a race against time, but I have managed to complete this lot before the appearance of my first grandchild - which we know to be a girl by the way!  The baby was due yesterday, but when was a first baby ever on time?

Baby, Baby...

 More knitting for my future granddaughter.  The blanket has taken me weeks, nay months, to complete as I have had so much other knitted work to complete lately.

The blanket is crocheted using a daisy pattern for the main part and a peacock edging.  As it has all been donein fine baby yarn, that might also have contributed to the time it took!

The little socks were a quick project, knitted over two evenings inbetween other things.

Now, do I have time to make anything else between now and the birth - I have about 10 days...

Hawthorn & Other Random Items...

 Yesterday I packed more into 5 hours than I thought possible - took the train to London, visited IKnit yarn shop (and spent far too much!), picked up my painting from the Mall Galleries, met my son, went to an art materials shop, visited Chinatown, ate dim sum, then walked back to Waterloo & took the train home.  So not surprisingly, I was rather tired but still had a lesson to teach in the afternoon.  I just grabbed some hawthorn berries while walking the dog, and that is what we painted.  It turned out that they were rather lovely and great fun to paint.  I ran out of time when our hour was over and was too tired to continue once my student had left but would very much like to paint these berries again without a time limit.

By the way, never a good idea to sleep on a train near me...

Amongst other projects, I'm using up three huge balls of aran wool I was given a few years ago and crocheting a chunky blanket with granny squares.  The contrasting colour is navy - I wanted to keep it very simple.

It's been a good year in our house for the tropical plants - this week the mimosa pudica, or sensitive plant, has put out a flower.  This plant is such fun, it shrinks & closes right up when touched - it's actually a weed when in the wild.

Fresh Start...

 I finally completed this baby blanket last night and now it is drying outside inthe sunshine after having a bit of a wash.  That was a very hot job with the summer temperatures we had last week!  That was the last of the commissions from June - new things to make this week, some characters to design for prospective animations and a Clanger to knit.  I think I also managed to get a pet portrait commission yesterday while strolling around the local dog show!

This bloomed in our living room over the weekend - the hibiscus is cerainly enjoying the hot temperatures we have had!

Nearly There....

Despite the pretty bad reference photographs I was given (people never take pictures of their pets from their level, it's always from above!) this double portrait has gone surprisingly well.  I think I have done so many pet portraits using Derwent Drawing Pencils that they come very naturally now.  I'm having to use a fair bit of white acrylic on the cat in the foreground though - white pencil is always too insipid for this kind of work.  I think one more session will see this one finished.

Despite the heat, I have been manfully ploughing on with this commission - let's face it, you don't do the work, you don't get paid!  It is a chunky baby blanket knitted in a reversible cable pattern using washable pure new wool.  A beautiful yarn, very soft and great stitch definition.  I only have another few inches to go - thank goodness today is cooler, I had to give up last night before expiring of heatstroke!

I'm also crocheting a set of geckos but have come to a grinding halt due to being let down by a large yarn supplier.  Under normal circumstances, a couple of days delay would not be a problem but I need to have these done by the weekend - fingers crossed the other supplier I went to will come through as their parcel has already been despatched.

And when I get a minute or two spare, I'm working on this summer top for myself in a luscious deep teal cotton yarn.  It has an asymmetrical hemline with a lace border, but for the time being I am knitting the main part of the body in the round.  Thankfully it seems to be a fairly quick knit, unlike the other summer top I have on the go which has been put on the back burner due to commissioned work and the fact I felt the will to live slowly slipping away!  I will get back to it, honest.

Meanwhile, everything in the garden is on the verge of producing.  We've had a few bits and pieces - strawberries, new potatoes, chard, but there is plenty more to come.  Getting impatient now!

Finally, a few months ago I bought some coloured tin planters similar to the above for what now appears to be a vastly inflated price.  I found these little beauties in a shop called Tiger yesterday for £2 a piece.  I'm sure I can find something to fill them....

...Nothing To See Here....

There has been no knitting this week - the ungainly finger bandage has prevented that.  However, I did manage to crochet a new blanket for Clovis in some blue and red mohair yarn that has been hanging around here for years as it is too bulky & itchy for jumpers.  As you can see, he likes it but is still using his old blanket as a pillow!  I don't know why they say 'it's a dog's life' to mean hardship - seems a cushy number to me!

I have been painting alot this week but unfortunately cannot show any of it at the moment.  It's all for Derwent packaging and I have been enjoying it immensely as all the pictures have a jungly theme and involve lots of bright colours.

Who doesn't love a bargain?  When it's a double-bargain, it's even better.  Yesterday I received a money off voucher in the post from our local garden centre as I belong to their loyalty scheme.  Today we went and perused the 'death row' aisle - plants that are on offer as they are either pot bound or just finishing their first flowering and in need of some tlc.  I got £17 worth of plants reduced to £12.99 (the big millet was full price) and with the voucher, all I had to pay was 35p.  Now that's the kind of shopping I like!