Garden Matters.....

It looks like I shouldn't have thrown in the towel quite so early regarding participating in another tomato race with Soggibottom blog!  From conversations with Midge, it would appear that I have won this year!  It may only be 'a' tomato, but it's one more than she has got at the moment - her husband says it doesn't count until it's red, but I'm just happy it got this far.

We also have some of these which are stunning when open but need the sun to do so, so we haven't seen much of them lately.  Oh look, a bug - didn't notice that!

It looks like we will have another bumper crop of grapes this autumn too - great, more grape jelly!

On the easel at the moment, a swan which has reached that stage in the proceedings where I want to throw it away.  I know it will be fine when finished, the middle is always tricky and open to a crisis of confidence.

On the needles  - various items of small clothing for puppets and a bloodhound head to be designed - gulp!

Pair of Queens!

I love it when my daughter brings home her art work from the studio she goes to every Monday.  It's like a glimpse into her mind, some self-expression in art form that she is unable to do verbally.  I'm gathering that they were given the task of illustrating the Jubilee - I think she's done a remarkably good job of painting the Queen. This is painted on silk, which seems to be Stacie's favourite medium and possibly what she's best at.

Here is a self-portait - I'm not too sure of the significance of the massive crown - perhaps in the spirit of the Jubilee, perhaps she has delusions of grandeur!  I love the fact that for all the abstract quality of the style, she's actually caught a very good likeness of herself.

For those of you new to my blog, I would just point out that my daughter has Down's Syndrome, which makes her paintings very special in my eyes.

Shark Attack!

I'm always on the lookout for an unusual cookie cutter - so far the best one is a lobster shape, bought in Salem a couple of years ago.  This week I found a strong contender for the title in this shark cutter - aren't these just brilliant?  We also bought a giraffe, but cute as it is, it doesn't measure up to the shark.

This recipe says it makes 20 cookies.....I beg to differ!  I think we have over 60 here, so I think we will be giving some away tomorrow.  Now, where's the milk......

Pretty Petals...

I took a small break from commissioned work last night in order to crochet this adorable lariat.  It's from a pattern in this month's The Knitter magazine and as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted one.  It is extremely easy to make, just endless repetitions of the simple petal motif with chain in between - I think the finished length was about 3 metres.  Then just tie the ends together and loop it around your neck a few times.  I just know I will wear this a great deal and I think I would like one in a different colour too....

Goldfish in a Lightbulb - At Last!

Finally, thanks to the half term break, a goldfish in a lightbulb is ready for sale!

He has been knitted in an orange and lime-green varigated crochet yarn, with tiny orange sequins sewn on to his body.

His eyes are safety back glass.

The two different kinds of weeds have been crocheted and knitted from green crochet cotton.

It took me over an hour and a half to get him satisfactorily arranged and secured inside the bulb - stuffing him into it was the easy part, getting the wires of the three components sorted and stable was another matter.  However, just before I was ready to chuck it across the room, it all came together and by this morning the clay was dry and hard and the whole thing ready to be mounted into the wooden base.

This will be in my Etsy shop later today - first come, first served!

I knitted this little Angel Fish last night, the varigations in the crochet cotton making exactly the right stripes - more by luck than judgement!  He's a bit big to go inside a lightbulb, but a few of them might look good on a mobile....

Embroidery.....

Quite a number of years ago I bought a cheap denim jacket with a view to turning it into something a bit more special.  My plan was to slowly cover it in little specimen pieces of embroidery, eventually ending up with  a very fancy jacket indeed.

It started off very well, and I was full of enthusiasm  It was a lot of fun just sewing flowers and insects without really planning on a design as such.

I think I must have a book of insect embroidery somewhere as this bee is a bit professional looking...or did I sit and copy reference pictures from an insect book?  I can't remember now.

One sleeve....

....two sleeves.

I stopped wearing this jacket because...well, let's be completely honest, I put on weight and it was too small!  However, I discovered this summer when getting out the shorts that a diet of chocolate, biscuits and extreme overwork plus stress during the winter has worked a minor miracle and I seem to have slimmed down a bit. 

So although I don't think I will be adding to the embroidery any time soon, at least I can wear this once again without fear of bursting out at the shoulders!

This is my favourite piece, a green grasshopper poised to leap from my left pocket....

It is half term week this week, and it must be the first school holiday for about a year that I don't have any rush jobs taking up all my time.  So the house is looking cleaner, the garden is getting done, and I am able to sit and knit some of my outstanding commissions.  On the needles at the moment, a mini letter box and beer....

Jubilicious......

....don't you wish I was coming round to your house?