Technofear.....

I don't cope well with change, but sometimes it's time to try new things....like these silicone cup-cake moulds. I've been eyeing up silicone cake moulds in the shops for months now, but have held off buying any as they were expensive and I might not like them. However, last week at work The Book Man (a company, not an actual book man!) had these at £3 per pack - how could I balk at that price? So this afternoon I am going to see what happens when they are put to use....let's hope they don't end up a gelatinous blob in the bottom of the baking tray....


Likewise it was time to admit that my faithful old digital camera has seen better days, especially when it kept shutting down just when I wanted to take decent pictures in Boston.
So thanks to Boots & their better-than-half-price offer, I now have a spanking new Fuji Finepix....which may stay in it's box for a few days until I can figure out how to use it from the instruction manual. Instruction manuals make me want to cry a little bit. They make things look so complicated - all I really need is a nice person to actually show me how things work and I'd pick it up straight away.

Allsorts...

All too quickly Christmas is almost upon us, and with it the usual round of school fairs. Having signed up for a few, I realised that with all the potato painting and various other commissions this year, I haven't got very much new stock. Time to start sewing.....five little purses done so far, fully lined with matching felt and just awaiting some zipper charms to complete them.


Here are the two little pets finished and ready to be sent off, together with their food bowls, carrots and lettuce. Excuse the bad picture - light just reflects off the white wool and it's far too windy to go outside for a photo session. I am planning more guinea pigs....but with squeakers this time.


Finally about an afternoon's work from completion is the dog portrait I have had on the go for weeks now when I had spare time from potatoes. It is for the mother of a child I help at work, and he firmly put me in my place last week when I dropped into the conversation that the picture of his dog was nearly finished.

"Well, you've had enough time to do it!"

Quite.
I would point out that when I was given this commission there was no time limit attached and the lady was well aware that the potato illustrations came first, and I have done 91 potatoes.....but to argue this point with a 6 year old? Best not!

Don't You Love It When That Happens?

I've often said that it is an excellent creative nudge when you get asked to make something you wouldn't normally do. This is a mini-me of a late guinea-pig (it has ceased to be...) which I gaily agreed to take on without the slightest idea of how I was going to do it. However, with a bit of pattern cannibalism once again, with some initiative thrown in, here he his and I love him! I think there should be more, a whole herd of guinea pigs....do you think they would be good sellers?

Jumpers!

How to construct a knitted rabbit hutch....that has been the conundrum on my mind the past few days. In the end I used a cardboard box, whittled down to sized with some cunning scissorwork and masking tape, which was then lined with Ingres pastel paper in a nice woody brown. I spent an inordinate amount of time knitting a box cover for it - first a rectangle, then picking up stitches on each edge separately and knitting the sides, which were then sewn together. This had to be then slipped over the box and stitched all round with about half an inch of the knitwork folded over into the box - ouch, my fingers!


The hutch door caused me more problems - I had cut the right shape out of card and then cut out the central hole. How then to cover the remaining shape...... in the end I resorted to winding yarn around it as tight as I could, using tacky glue to keep it in place, with a bit of jiggerypokery around the corners. The mesh was sewn and woven with grey wool, with a bit of fabric stiffener applied overnight. I still have to work out a nice child-friendly catch to keep that rabbit in! Oh, and he has a knitted boucle straw-coloured mat inside to represent...well, straw!

Next on the agenda, how to knit a lettuce leaf.......


I finally finished the complicated chunky lace pullover for myself - there is no way I could have completed it before going on holiday, the sewing together alone took me a whole evening. It is knitted in pure alpaca yarn, called Peru I think, in the shade 'blanket'. I didn't notice until blocking it that the yarn formed quite distinctive stripes even though it was all from the same batch. Whether or not this fades with washing, I don't mind as it is a quite nice effect.

I love the way the extra long sleeves with their 'U' shaped finish go almost right over my hands - a definite plus in the cold weather, expecially for someone like me who suffers from cold fingers at the best of times. No photo of me modelling it - far too cold today to be taking clothes off and on!

Blue Jellyfish Two

Another watercolour painting, this time on some Cotman paper but I still managed to end up with a streaky wash, probably due to trying to add another layer of paint to an already perfect wash - grr! However, I quite like this one, it has a watery feel to it.

I think that's enough jellyfish for the time being, before it gets boring. I have some paying work to get on with anyway - yup, a couple more potatoes and that poor neglected pet portrait started too many weeks ago.

If anyone would like to take these jellyfish paintings off my hands, please get in touch as they are for sale.

Cuddle-Bunny

Here he is, a mini-me based on an actual rabbit. I have been wondering for a couple of weeks how I was going to achieve this, and in the end it has been with the use of three different patterns for three different animals, selecting the bits that looked rabbit-like and adapting them accordingly. I embroidered on the distinctive markings and gave him button jointed legs so he is fully poseable.

Now the conundrum is how to knit a hutch that is going to keep it's shape - will need a little cardboard inside I feel.....

I also have to knit a mini-me guinea-pig which should be fairly easy...famous last words. If any of you out there would like your pet miniaturised in yarn, feel free to contact me but if it is for a special occasion, give me plenty of notice as I am one busy lady!

Yawn.....more holiday snaps....

I'm afraid due to one of my dogs vomiting copiously several times yesterday on just about every rug in the house and having to be rushed to the vet, any idea of painting had to be shelved. (The dog is fine today by the way, just old and rickety....)

Also, as my holiday snaps were ready yesterday, I spent the evening putting them into an album so only spent an hour or so fashioning a rabbit's head with knitting - I have been commissioned to make a miniature of someone's pet. Who'd have thought I'd ever make money immortalising pets in wool.......

So I am sorry, but here are a few more picturess of Boston. Our choice of subject matter is sometimes a little obscure, but I hope you can appreciate what appealed to us in these photographs.

This is the West India Goods Store in Salem - the original building, and just like something out of Little House on the Prairie!


I spent a great deal of time hand-feeding sparrows! I love all birds and the novelty of these little guys being so tame never got old.


Instead of walking round the Freedom Trail, you could go on a Segway tour - how mad is that?


This was just beautiful.


Macy's - we eventually had a look inside and were a little disappointed to see it was just another department store, albeit very plush and lovely. I think I had visions of it being like a movie set inside or something!


One of those pictures that just seem to work, the clock tower in Boston at night.


We got a little lost while hiking the Freedom Trail and stumbled upon a busy fruit and vegetable market. When I looked at the road, I discovered this amazing brass rubbish set into the tarmac - brilliant!

As no dog has been ill today and there are no outstanding potatoes to be painted, I'm off to try another jellyfish picture....