Just be close at hand

Finished and sent away very recently - a pair of little washers for a small baby and her bigger sister. You may remember seeing the likes of these before. I'm still working through the same bag of purple cotton. From memory, the smaller one is about 15cm square (ish) and the larger one about 22cm. I don't think I've managed to make a washer yet that stays square with use, they always stretch sideways. I'm sure everyone has their own ideas about the right size for a washer - that is, a face washer or washcloth, to use in the bath or shower. I know I like a handknit one to be a bit smaller than a commercial towelling one, because they tend to be a bit thicker. If it was too big, it would be hard to squeeze out effectively.

And, I've added a couple of rounds to this. The photos aren't great, I think the bulb is going on my big daylight lamp and it keeps flicking on and off. I will try with actual daylight next time.

I tend to knit these pods with two strands of at least 8 ply, and the chunky fulled fabric is not the most stable base for embroidery. Every now and then a stitch will shift - it settles into a gap in the fabric, I suppose - and I end up with weird loops and loose stitches. The base also puckers a lot as I stitch and I had to iron it flat, which has made the pod an odd shape, with a crease around the middle. It's all an experiment so I'll just see how it goes. Maybe I can dampen it and re-block when it's done.

A little bit of Saturday night embroidery

Just a small dabbling at this stage. I've started from the base of a small pod (you can see what it looks like turned up the right way, below). I'm not sure yet if I will continue covering the entire surface, or leave sections of felt showing through. I can see a badly placed stitch or 3 - might go back and rework/cover up those bits.

Throw your love around

Yes, I really do love putting sequins on things. Especially felted things.


Way back in December, a special friend was having a birthday and I was pretty sure she'd like a pair of these. I had a few small pears that were made a while ago; I've moved away from selling that size in the shop. They are bigger than the original sequinned pear ornaments, but smaller than the sort of realistic-sized pears I usually make. As they already had stalks, I didn't do the beaded loops for hanging.

I used exactly the same clear sequins on both. Both started out in very similar colours to the non-sequinned pears in this photo - one in strong purples and one in pale yellows. Isn't it interesting just how much the sequins lighten the overall colour? I actually have some coloured transparent sequins - pale green, pale blue, etc, but haven't tried those yet.

Oh, I almost forgot this part!

When I finally finished the cushion and took the final photos, enough time had elapsed that I forgot I had taken these earlier shots of the flower by itself. When you hold it up by the centre, it looks sort of like a Christmas tree! Is it only because I knit it in green?



And in more up-to-date news, some photos of the latest lot of pears. Two of these will shortly be heading somewhere quite exotic (to me anyway). Three others ended up going home with a colleague. I certainly wasn't seeking to sell them at work, but the whole batch spent a couple of days adorning my cupboard before going in to the shop. Sometimes it's nice to show people one of the things I do in the rest of my life - or what I sometimes think of as my "real life", though, yeah, I know it's not as simple as that.

One of the oddest questions yet - are they good with ice-cream? I shudder at the thought of all that wool against my teeth.



I still occasionally get "ah, what are they FOR?" I just say they are sculptures. That answer seems to work.