More Small Things...

I've been working on a dog portrait over the past fortnight - here is Charlie, a little Yorkshire terrier done in Derwent Coloursoft & Drawing pencils on pastel paper.  This is for a surprise birthday present, so shhh!  I'm now free for commission.

My granddaughter turns 3 at the weekend - difficult to think what to get her for her birthday as she was spoilt rotten over Christmas whcih wasn't that long ago.  One thing that her mum asked if I could do was to make an Elsa dress to go with a doll she will be getting on her birthday.  I had to search the internet for measurements of this particular doll- thankfully I found them hidden away on a blog somewhere.  I bought some blue lining satin and some sparkly snowflake organza and went about drawing out a pattern.  I think it turned out well - it remains to be seen if it fits the doll!  If not, I am sure she will have some teddy or other that we can jam into it!
 

Well, Hello Dolly!

My fingers are stiff and the tendons in my arms ache, but I managed to finish this scarf in record time.  It  might not be to everyone's taste, but I like the little dollies scattered randomly as they come on the yarn.

This was knitted in acrylic yarn from Yarn Paradise, a veritable treasure trove for yarnoholics.  It will be for sale in my Etsy shop after it has made an appearance on my stall at Tavistock Summer Fair tomorrow - unless it sells of course!  But don't fret, of it does sell, I have enough yarn to make another one.

By the way, can you spot the small photo-bomber in this picture??

It's Going To Be A Long Road...

Here is one wheel of the knitted vintage car - it took a whole evening to make.  Hopefully now that I have worked out the logistics, the other four should not take so long.  This car could take a very long time to make...

The pink doll scarf is coming along nicely - I have turned the corner, literally, which means the rows start decreasing now.  Will I finish it before Saturday? Perhaps if I give up sleeping!

Far more enticing than the above projects is the current painting.  I have a chance to get on with this acrylic of Old Basing, using a photo I took when we visited last month.  I want it to be really chocolate-boxy, with the English countryside and sheep, a real olde-worlde picture.  Wish I could sit and paint all day but I have to go to the day job.....

Birds For Babies...

I had a commission this week to knit a pair of bluetits.  The back story is quite touching - they are for this lady's friend whose mother recently died.  Before she died, the mother told the daughter that whenever she saw a bluetit darting about in the trees, that would be her spirit watching over the family.  Round about the same time, the daughter gave birth to twins who are currently in incubators and the bluetits are to be placed above each one to watch over the babies.  I love the fact that my work will take part in such a personal situation and hopefully give some comfort.

The birds are knitted from a pattern in the book 75 Birds, Butteflies & Beautiful Beasties to Knit and Crochet by Lesley Stanfield, an excellent source of patterns and inspiration if you want to make tiny garden creatures.

I've been playing hookey for the past couple of days - the animator has gone on holiday (Hi Sarah *wave*) so although I have a gargantuan task to get on with while she is sunning herself in exotic climes (knitted car...) I have taken the opportunity to get on with a few personal projects in readiness for a summer fair next week. This is what I decided to knit with the doll yarn - a simple triangular scarf with a delicate picot edge.  I figured the dolls and beads are enough ornamentation without anything else in the way of fancy stitchwork.  This could be for big or little girls - I think it would look great with jeans. 

I do find the look of the dolls wrapped into the ball of yarn a little disturbing, they look like they are drowning in a sea of bubblegum....