Happy Halloween!

I don't know why I'm saying Happy Halloween - we don't tend to celebrate it other than to carve a pumpkin. My kids are too old to get hyped up on chocolate and personally I just don't open the door to the local urchins as they are grim enough without feeding them any more E-numbers than they get at home! (Yep, I'm an anti-social curmudgeon!)

But I thought you'd like to see the pumpkin my son whipped up at lunchtime - designed and carved by him.
I've also done some.........crochet this time! It's a fantabulous scarf that I just cannot photograph well enough to get the full glory of this yarn - Zanzibar, the name alone is a ticket to the exotic! It is the softest eyelash yarn, it feels like feathers and has a golden thread twisted around it and patches of delicate gold tinsel. The actual yarn in a deep crimson and pink with hints of a rich green, so luxurious looking. I have crocheted a simple curly-wurly scarf but this yarn turns it into a starlet's boa, you can't help but feel glamourous when wearing it. It is also really long, so can be swept over the shoulder as you flounce off to your Rolls Royce.....

I'm off to London tomorrow.....there's this new yarn shop at Waterloo.....they stock Habu yarns....oh dear, there go the savings!

Finished in plenty of time

I'm very aware that most of the posts here lately have been knitting related and perhaps a little boring. I have been working very hard over the past few weeks but haven't felt I could really show the finished artworks as they are for publication elsewhere. However, as the above needs a little tinkering before it goes off to be made official, I thought it could have an airing. This is one of eight calendar designs I have completed over the past month or so....only 16 more to go!

I was terrified at the prospect of taking on so much work - never been so busy painting before - but (touch wood) it seems to be working out OK. The house is reasonably clean, dogs are walked, the day job is attended, and although I'm wandering round in a bit of a fog everything that needs to get done seems to get done. So what if there are a few cobwebs in the corners or dust on the picture frames!

One more potato picture to paint and then I can actually take it easy for a day or so before starting all over again.

...Matching Wristwarmers

Here are the matching wristwarmers to the cabled collar. They took longer than anticipated, mainly due to my lack of concentration. I thought it would be a good idea to knit them both at once on the same pair of needles using two balls of wool. So far so good....then I got half way through and realised I was making two right-hand wristwarmers. Hmmmm...
So then I had to make two left-hand wristwarmers, but on the plus side, this means I get a pair of these to keep and one for Etsy. They got their first outing today, a very cold and frosty morning. I discovered that not only are they very warm indeed, the design leaves your hands completely free - terrific for dog-walking. The large frills over the hands seem to keep the heat trapped, and as the only restraint is a thumbhole, you have full movement of your fingers.
So I would thoroughly recommend them - and they look fab, like woolly evening gloves!

On the downside, it may have been a very pretty frosty morning, but it has meant the demise of half my garden. There was a profusion of nasturtiums, busy-lizzies, even sweet-peas (yes, I know it is October!). I had three large Echiums that I have cultivated from seed which were looking like they might eventually reach their full 12 ft maturity. Now it all looks like a giant has had a big snotty sneeze over everything, all slimy green and half dead. At least I had the foresight to move the two banana trees to relative safety against the house wall and they seem to have made it through the night. Sometimes I wonder whether it's worth being a gardener...

Cabled Collar....done properly!

Here is the frilly collar knitted in the correct yarn, which gives it a totally different look. This is more outdoorsy, definitely to be worn under (or over) a coat for added warmth. I'm very impressed with my daughter's photography and think I may give her all my work to photograph as she obviously does a better job than I do!



There will be a set of frilly wristwarmers to go with this...I did give up on them last night as I was falling asleep. I don't knit and paint at the same time (wish I could!) but never just sit down without something in my hands to do. It has got to the stage now where I can't just sit down and do nothing - just as well at the moment with so much to be done!

The collar will be in my Etsy shop very shortly.

Frilly Interlude...

I've had this yarn for a while now - it is baby camel which really appealed to me, the idea of baby camels being brushed/shorn for their fleece. You would have thought it might be a bit whiffy (we've all smelled the camel enclosure at the zoo....) but it's not and is incredibly soft and warm.

Originally I was going to make some wristwarmers, but while going through my vast collection of old knitting magazines, I found this delicious pattern for a neckwarmer instead. It's a bit of a nightmare to start off, having 288 stitches on a circular needle, and I made a couple of mistakes to begin with which hopefully don't show. The end result however is simply adorable, looks very feminine when worn, a bit like an Elizabethan ruff. Because of the errors and the fact I knitted it on smaller needles than specified which means I have to really pull it over my head, this one is staying with me - but I have bought some more suitable yarn and am in the process of making a cream coloured one for sale in my shop.

You can see in the background all the detritus from my painting.....I'm a messy so-and-so but that appears to be how I work best. Still labouring every spare minute with the various commissions and counting the hours until the half-term break (5, yes, only 5...) when I have a week off the day job and can really catch up with everything.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Laura....oh no!

The 'tagging' rules are as follows:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

I'll do the 7 facts but will have trouble finding 7 people to tag in return..I'll do my best!

1. I can speak fluent Greek after living in Athens for 13 years.

2. I HATE eggs - can't get a mouthful of boiled/scrambled/poached/fried egg past my lips...but I can eat food that has egg mixed in, like cake, quiche etc - go figure!

3. I cannot ride a bicycle - not for want of trying, just got no sense of balance. Can't wear high heeled shoes for the same reason!

4. I once had a pet chicken that I raised from a chick bought off a stall in Athens - it used to sit on my lap to watch tv of an evening. Tried to do the same with a pair of ducklings and was astounded at how fast they grew and what a mess they made, although having them swim in the bath was a laugh...they had to go to a farm rather quickly.

5. I was on the Channel 4 tv programme Watercolour Challenge in 2000 and got as far as the Hampshire Regional Finals. Lack of sleep and a herd of bucking zebras at Marwell Zoo scuppered my chances however, and I produced a rubbish painting and went home clutching my consolation prize of a box of paints and a mug that I filched.

6. My partner used to be a Legionairre - he did indeed run away to join the Foreign Legion.

7. I once went into a cage of wolves - one of the most memorable experiences of my life, stroking a wolf while being excited and terrified at the same time. Unfortunately, we didn't have a camera with us on that day so I have no record of it, which is a terrible shame.

About 600 Miles of Crochet.....

I have not been resting on my laurels lately, but I have been struggling with an enormous project. This pattern was in a magazine a while back and I fell in love with it, thinking that as it was fairly simple crochet patterns, it would be quick and easy to make. Easy yes - quick.....that is another matter. It is an Empire line tunic crocheted in navy blue mohair (from my freebies of a few months ago) with a split up the front, bell shaped sleeves and a ribbon tie.
The skirt is made up of a repetitive pattern of shells, but as I am fairly tall, I had to do about 6 extra rows in order to make the length.
The bodice and sleeves were a simple V pattern, with the shell motif as edging. The velvet ribbon tie under the bust was my addition. It was worth the effort as it is very flattering when worn (hides a multitude of sins!) but I shan't be making another one just yet, even though I would love one in a cotton yarn.

I've also been painting every spare minute of the day. If you want to see the pictures, you'll just have to buy the calendar next year!