Rounding Up The Week...

I've been after navy & white self-striping sock yarn for a while - it doesn't appear to exist other than on Etsy, and there it is too expensive to buy just to play with.  I did find some yarn in a wider stripe but found when it arrived that it was quite chunky & definitely not suitable for socks.  So I knitted a triangular scarf with it, working out that if I turned the bottom corner when one ball finished, the next ball should take it nicely to the end....no such luck!  I was left with about five inches left to knit when the yarn ran out.  Luckily I found some alpaca in navy that just about matches - you can see the join if you look closely but it should pass muster.  Consequently, this one stays with me and just needs some pretty dolphin beads sewn to the three corners once the scarf is completely dry.

I found some lovely fuzzy yarn called Eskimo Kisses that is ideal for shaggy dogs - so I started knitting a little lurcher with it.  Looks good so far!

I quite often get asked for free knitting patterns.  Now, while I am always more than happy to pass on a reference to a pattern book I have used or to give advice, I am not quite so happy to just give away something I have worked hard on.  Let's put it in perspective here - if you spent several days making a fancy cake, mixing, baking, decorating, and then someone you don't know came along and said 'That's nice, I like that - can I have it?'  What would your reply be?  I think that's all I need to say on that!  Also, a lot of the time there is no pattern - with the dogs I make, there is a start-up pattern I use as a basis, but then I go into free-styling, extending legs, changing ears, sculpting with sewing after the body has been stuffed, embroidering faces, brushing yarn to get a hairy effect, the list of alterations goes on, so each little pooch is individual.  I hate to say no, but sometimes I just have to.  Plus, I'm trying to make a living here!

I had another brilliant lesson with one of my students yesterday - the boy has really got the hang of watercolours and is so happy to paint little still lifes each week.  This week it was a simple tomato & courgette from the garden - not that simple when you come down to painting them though!  This is my quick painting - I had to keep one step ahead of him in order to be able to advise which colours & techniques to use.  I really enjoy these lessons, they keep me on my toes!

I had a bit of a whinge at Waitrose about their 'My Picks' scheme the other day - long story but I missed out on a discount due to them not having the item I was after.  They kindly sent me a voucher by recompense so I spent it on this little greenhouse, which was half price as well, so I got it for a measly £2.50.  Who doesn't love a bargain!