First visit to Stitch London

I joined a Stitch London session at the Royal Festival Hall on Wednesday 1 September.  I looked round to try to find the group...went to every level in the RFH...got to the stage where I thought everyone must have gone, so I thought I would freshen up before leaving and voilà! I found the meeting *behind* the shop in the RFH, so I joined in and enjoyed a pleasant evening.

I thought I would wear something I had made, so this is what I chose:

a green top with twisted stitch and lace pattern.

As I was taking the photo I saw another top I had made close by, so here is that one as well:

This is a Jacquard design, rather than an entrelac pattern; it uses a green tweed/marl yarn for the welts and sleeve edges, and Wendy Donna (green bouclé with mohair) and Dolce (cream and green brushed yarn).  OK, I confess, this was a stash-buster design, but I am pleased with it.

The diamonds are all the same size, but there is a pillow under the top, so I might need to take another photo.

Nearly finished crochet waistcoat/gilet

This lacy crochet waistcoat is made from individual motifs, so there were a lot of ends to sew in!  I am going to work double crochet along the edges all the way round, then it will be finished.  This will add strength to the edges and stop them from curling up on themselves.

I popped a pillow case between the back and the front so that the lacy pattern could be seen, maybe when I've done the edges I will take of photo of it being worn with something pale underneath...too dark, and the pattern would disappear.   :-)

Mona Lisa jacket

Yesterday it was starting to get a bit chilly, so I wore the jacket I made in Paton's Mona Lisa yarn (bouclé yarn with mohair) with double knitting welt, collar and cuffs.  The colour variations are gold to brown; Mona Lisa is a variegated yarn.  I don't think Paton's make it any more, which is a pity as it is warm and snug!

"Gothic windows" 4-ply top

This design is from an old Stitchcraft magazine (from the 1940s).

Here is a close-up of the stitch pattern:

Lacy knitted top

This sleeveless top is knitted in a mohair yarn.

Here is the stitch in detail:

The lacy effect is achieved by winding the yarn around the needle several times, dropping the extra loops and knitting them together in groups, and then increasing into the group to return to the original number of stitches.

Crochet fish

The fish has a drawstring mouth because he holds a bar of soap!

I cheated with the tail, which is knitted rather than crocheted, but the dorsal fin is crocheted.  The eye is embroidered...does he look a little dozy, perhaps?

Knitted seal

This little chap looks as if he is just coming out of the ocean!

Christmas teddy

A teddy bear wearing a jumper with a Christmas tree, for my vet's little boy's first Christmas.

Sunflower design in Hardanger embroidery

Here is a design that I created and worked some years ago.  It is a sunflower in Hardanger.

What makes this unusual is that Hardanger is usually worked in white thread on white fabric, giving a lacy effect when the threads in the fabric are cut and withdrawn.  The fabric is stabilised by areas of satin stitch known as Kloster blocks; these prevent fraying and unravelling.  The bars of thread remaining (some only vertical, others only horizontal) are woven with a finer embroidery thread in the same colour as the satin stitch.  The embroidery is worked in coton perle (pearl cotton), which has a lustre.  Here I have used a range of different colours to create the sunflower and the leaves.  It is pictured against a terracotta background to highlight the areas of withdrawn threads.

Knitted guinea pig

Adapted a knitting pattern for a mouse to make a guinea pig as a present for my vet's young son.  I used an "eyelash" yarn, knitted the ears in double knitting and embroidered the features.

A close-up of ginger piggy:

He looks happy!

The finished toy is life size.

Toy piggies don't eat hay or grass, so this little chap is nestling in some green ribbon.

Looks like he made short work of that!