My favourite sweater

This is a commission that I completed towards the end of last year, and it remains my favourite. My brief was to create a sweater like this one:

See the black and red sweater? Or did you blink? Watch it again ... that's it!

So, armed with King Cole Haze in Poppy and Ebony, and a suitable sweater pattern for adapting, I set off:

We decided to make the stripes all the same width for ease, a long length body and slightly overlong sleeves. Here it is in progress:

And here's the final result in action (on a booga board, I think!). Twas just what she wanted, hooray!

Now where did I put my mojo?

I have done nothing for about two weeks! Still feeling under the weather, and just shattered in the evening, which is when I do most of my work. However here is something I have been working on at a recycling workshop:

 

This was an ordinary wooden table, picked up at a junk shop, which I sanded and painted ivory. I then used cement to adhere the pieces of pottery to the top. I had collected the pottery on beachcombing outings over the previous few months - I have a lot more, but just picked out the blue and black stuff, then interspersed them with white pieces. They have all had their edges softened by the sea and feel fabulous.

Before grouting, I painted on a layer of protective coating (not sure what it is called, but it stops the porosity of the seawashed pottery from soaking up any spills). Finally I used an ivory grout so that it looks like the pottery has just washed up on the beach.

I am quite pleased with the final result, but being a perfectionist I can see all the bits I am not happy with!

Projects on a theme of ... stripes!

I seem to have made a lot of stripey things lately!Stripey sock monkeys (this is Max and Jake). I love making sock monkeys, I think I have made over fifty now! I love the way they all have different faces and looks, and I love giving them names (though I usually let my daughter Caitlin choose them!).



A foray into sock cats for a change. Not sure how successful that was. It's rather cute, but I'm too in love with my monkeys I think ;)

... and I was commissioned to knit a Dennis the Menace sweater as a Christmas present! Shame I only managed an awful blurry photo of it, taken on a rather dark afternoon. It went down extremely well with the little boy who received it, and was rather fun to knit as well!