Hi Honey!

I found an online shop that sells loads of great teddy bear fabrics….

https://www.mohairbearmakingsupplies.co.uk. 

I chose this honey coloured faux fur and adapted one of my patterns to make this little fellow. I machine knitted a scarf, but it just wasn't looking the part so I hand knitted the one that you see above. I like working with this fabric, it was easier on my fingers, hands, neck, shoulders and back,. Next!…….

Knitter Knatter

Here is my latest knitting project) I'm also working on a cardigan and a knee rug for my mother!. 

I was given a beautiful knitted cushion for my birthday a while back from lovely Ellie and on seeing it knew that one day I would learn how to knit that pattern. That day arrived when I came across an abandoned knitting project of mine from years ago (a grey cardigan with just the back completed), I decided that I would use up that wool together with some sparkly brights to make a little blanket. Ellie provided me with the pattern, which as she told me is very addictive!. And as you can see I have made a start, I had made up a few squares to practice, then on reflection I thought I'd prefer making strips of knitting rather than loads of squares that would need a lot of stitching up (the only part of knitting that I find tiresome!) I will keep you posted on my progress, it may take a while.......

Strung Along

My studio pal came in the other day with a gift for our kitchen. - a hand knitted dishcloth made with the softest vintage cotton I've ever felt. I'm sure I would've learnt how to knit sooner had we been given such delightful yarn instead of the practical and sturdy string that we fumbled with(or maybe not! Ha ha!). 

Zip It Up!

I bumped into Rachael - Queen of all things knitting of PYF fame a while back. I showed her some of the miniature patchwork that I had just started experimenting with, she really liked what she saw and asked if I could run up some knitting needle bags for her. After a few trials I came up with what you see in the above photos. Rachael liked the design and I have given her a few of them for her lovely shop in Bethnal Green. I have also put a couple for sale in my Etsy shop too.

Mr Ted is Back On The Scene

Poor Mr Ted had been lost for a while. I searched high and low finally finding him at the bottom of a box full of old things. He was looking a bit worse for wear...

so I darned his holes and added a patch here and there. I could'nt find an exact match for his missing button so found one that I thought might suit him.

Maria's birthday was very close, so I thought she'd like to be reunited with her missing bear. I machine knitted him this snug sleeping bag as a welcome back present and as a gift to Birthday Girl.

Hood Winked

Once again I've been working on another machine knitting pattern, this time a hooded jumper for my long legged bears. I'm always surprised at how long it takes to get it right and then once I get the pattern right, how long it takes to knit and sew up! I may as well be making up an adult sized garment for all the time and effort that goes into one piece! But I can't stop once I've started, I have to keep going until the mission is accomplished!

Knitting Woes!

Having spent days making plain jumpers and dresses for the bears, I thought making a multi coloured bear dress would be a nice change. 

Ha! How wrong I was!

From the start I was faced with tangles and pulls that would've challenged a saint! There was a moment when I was ready to pack away my knitting machine for good! And then as if the knitting wasn't enough, the making up nearly had me going loopy too! So much so that I abandoned sewing back the knot of yarns that you can see in the top picture. The back looks pretty bonkers 'n all! Ah well, you can't win them all!

More Knitting....

Sitting

I have been sitting down a lot lately, sitting travelling to see my parents in Birmingham, sitting in hospitals, sitting next to hospital beds. And all the while I take along my knitting, it keeps my hands occupied and soothes me. My father died this week, so now I am sitting in my mother's house knitting in between phone calls and visits from relatives, friends and neighbours. Thank you whoever it was who came up with the idea of knitting and thank you to those who developed it over the centuries and thank you to my mum and my first infant school teacher Mrs walker for teaching me how to knit!





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Rewind Wool

I knitted up this jumper using 'vintage' wool. Judging by the colour and the Woolworth's Winfield logo of yore, I guess this yarn dates back to the 1970's........?

All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go

Mr and Miss Ted

This week I've been tinkering on my knitting machine, unfortunately I managed to ruin it by getting a part stuck in the needle bed - ahg! So today I dragged out my old machine which has thankfully turned out to do the trick. I've also taught myself how to work a picot hem as you can see in Miss Ted's dress. Have a great weekend!X

Green Scene

Here's one of my latest bears named Mr Ted after the original(knitted) Mr Ted owned by my daughter. His jumper colour reminds me of the scout jumpers my mum used to knit for my brother...

Cushy Number

The lovely Ellie came to visit at the studio the other day bearing a wondrous gift that she knitted herself, it's so colourful and has a great texture that makes it very difficult to put down once you've picked it up! Thank you! X X X

Bear Blast From The Past

I knitted these two teds many years ago when the girls were little, I think they were known as the Misses Teds, there was also a Mr Ted, all from a very old pattern from the 1940's I guess, if I find it (and Mr Ted) I'll post them up for you to see.

Jump To It!

Hi, I made knitted up these little bear jumpers on my brother knitting machine last week.

Jump To It!

I'm happy with this bear jumper design now. I found out how to make a ribbed edge without using a ribbing attachment so the hems don't look so crazy. I should give those bears faces though, they're looking a little bit blank at the moment!

Bear With Me - Again!

I dragged out the old knitting machine to work on a jumper for this bear. I used a handy little tool that helps me to create the raglan sleeve. I'm nearly there with the finished version. Will keep you posted. I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Voodoo Bear

No, I haven't gone mad - although once or twice this week I've gone a bit loopy trying to work out how to knit a hoodie on my knitting machine! In this photo you can see where I've pinned a piece to a bear to check the fit. This if the fourth attempt at getting the pattern right, I might have to go back to my old method of making hoodies because this version takes sooooooooo long, although the back piece is quicker to knit, the front takes about 2 hours - a bit too long eh? Back to the drawing board!

Knitting Knick - Knacks

Pottering around Rye's charity shops I found this fabulously thick woolly blanket. I also picked up some more knitting accoutrements - there is always room for one more row counter!