Middle size BIG BEAR

She’s knitted from a pattern bought in the TEMPORARY MEASURES shop in Keswick, so I guess she’s fairly unique.

I used Aran wool, probably acrylic.

Big Bear is approx. 35cm tall, seated, and approx. 51cm head to toe. Her eyes are buttons which have been sewn on, and then glue-gunned, so they seem very secure. The nose is black felt, and the paw pads and bow are cotton material.

Bear is stuffed with Habico non-allergenic, washable, polyester filling, which has BS numbers for fire safety and cleanliness, plus European Standard EN71

I’ve bought Chunky and DK wool in bear shades, so watch out for the rest of the family … and then of course, Goldilocks would be my next project!

ERMINTRUDE Tea Cosy

Ermintrude is hand knit in quality DK wool, from the King Cole pattern 9003, and it would make a fun, unique present. It could cover a couple of toilet rolls if you didn’t want it as a tea cosy … or a tissue box … or sweets

Approx sizes: 17cm middle height, 20cm head height, 30cm length

It is stuffed with Habico non-allergenic, washable, polyester filling, which has BS numbers for fire safety and cleanliness, plus European Standard EN71.

It was great fun knitting this, so long as you could cope with the numerous coloured strands running along the back of the rows!

Advent Tree

Finished with time to spare this year! This is from King Cole pattern 8001. The knitting is 67cm long, plus there is a metal ring for hanging the tree;  the base of the triangle has a 52cm piece of dowel sewn in. I used two colours of green chunky wool, plus red DK for the numbers. Just missing the goodies for each pocket!

Shawl/Scarf

The wool came in a DIY pack, with huge wooden needles, from CUSHENDALE WOOLLEN MILLS, Southern Ireland www.cushendale.ie
I can’t remember now if they told me how many stitches, or if I just guessed! I did 35 stitches, plain knit, till I ran out of wool. If I did another, I would make it narrower and longer.
BUT … I wasn’t keen on knitting on such huge needles - I never felt I was in control, so it’s doubtful if I’ll be using them again!

Big Bear

Big Bear comes from a pattern I bought at TEMPORARY MEASURE - a most fascinating shop in Keswick. I bought the wool next door! SIRDAR PERSIA CHUNKY.
Big Bear is 40cm tall, seated, and 60cm head to toe. I had trouble deciding on the eyes - with the wool being dark, all the eyes I tried either "disappeared" or were too light. The pair I finally chose have a slightly reflective surface, which means they glint in the light.
He's stuffed with Habico non-allergenic, washable, polyester filling, which has  BS numbers for fire safety and cleanliness, plus European Standard EN71
To knit a smaller bear, the pattern is the same but you substitute the chunky wool for Aran, and use smaller needles.
BEWARE Goldilocks - I feel the three bears are on their way! 

Knitted Robin

I had great fun knitting this from an Alan Dart pattern - and there are several other garden birds in the same article (Simply Knitting magazine: March 2013) so I'm on the look out for blue tit and goldfinch scraps of wool for my next project!

Three Seasides in One Frame

These are three prints of my original oil paintings - Yorkshire Coast Reflections theme - Whitby, Filey and Scarborough

Felted Flower Bowl, with a hint of poppies!

This was made by wet felting, using a circle of plastic as a resist, and at the same time I made a piece of flat felt. Once they were both dry, I cut flower shapes to needle-felt to the bowl. I also needle-felted wool directly onto the pot – e.g. the poppy bud and the flower centres. The inside of the bowl is leaf green. It could just be a decorative item, or you could insert dry oasis for a display of dried flowers/seed heads. I’ve added it to my FOR SALE page, together with the cream/coral bowl I made a couple of weeks ago.

Sunflowers

This picture was an experiment mixing collage flowers, made from torn pieces of coloured paper from glossy magazines, and painted ones.
The leaves are a mixture of oil paint or paper or printing! FUN!

Filey Bay, North Yorkshire

I painted this from a photograph taken from the water's edge, looking towards Filey promenade. The tide was going out and the water hadn't dried from the sand, which is why there were super reflections of the beach huts and the sky.

What is much harder than painting those reflections, is taking a photo of the painting without getting my reflection in the glass!

Felted Bowl with Flowers

This is the felt bowl I made under Jenny's guidance (try googling jennypepper feltmaker to see her stunning work) at the weekend. I had 3 main colours - I used 2 shades of orange for covering a plastic "resist" circle (4 layers) and cream for the final layer. The orange shows through the cream, giving the bowl a peachy glow. Then I added decoration to the underneath - streaks of blue, teal and coloured flowers. I felted the 2d shape until it began to shrink, at which point I removed the plastic by cutting a hole in the top - and rubbed with soap and warm water until the pot firmed up. Once dry, I added the flowers - some cut from half felts, and needle felted on,  and the 2d flowers were needle-felted directly into the bowl. I'm really pleased with the end result - and my brain is now in overtime, planning the next vessel shape and colours! Flowers again though for the final design!

Two more felt cards - POPPIES and IRISES

With the weather as it is, it's given me the chance to experiment with felting. The poppy card is needle felted onto the new pre-felt I found in my Christmas stocking, but for the iris card, I mixed traditional wet felting, using a pre-felt base, then I needle felted buds and stems. My next challenge will be to create a vessel, like a vase, with flowers all around!

Ruffle Scarf in "Blizzard" colours

It's definitely the season for scarves and here's another one knitted from one ball of wool, using big needles and 8 stitches per row. It's 1.3m long, and is white, grey and black, with edge-bobbles of white, pale blue and teal. I used "Cotton Tail" yarn, which is hand wash, 85% acrylic and 15% nylon.

Flower Petal Scarf

I used 3 balls of 100% baby alpaca wool for this (with some to spare) but its only double knit, whereas the pattern suggests chunky wool and big needles. The end result is lovely and soft - the wool doesn’t really felt - it just fluffs up! But the scarf feels warm to wear, so I’m happy. I added 2 extra flowers to the pattern, making it 1.2m long. As an alternative to a scarf, I think I could machine the strip onto a classy backing material, for a table runner. Thoughts in progress there!

Ruffle Scarf

This scarf was knit with one ball of “Cotton Tail” wool, bought from a local wool shop which has sadly closed down. I used very large needles and 8 stitches. The end result is just over 4 feet long.

"Shades of Tan" Jacket

This is knit in SIRDAR Escape - 51% wool, 49% acrylic. It was great fun to knit - and a nightmare to sew together!

Advent Tree and Angel

Here's the angel from the same pattern as the tree. I decided not to do the small angel that sits on the top of the tree, but this "delicate" young lady - she actually looks like a heavy weight boxer with huge biceps! Next time I knit one, I shall be very sparing with the stuffing!