I found this organic textile inspirational life-form in the back of the fridge, can you guess what it is? A prize for the most imaginative.
Please feel free to send in any of your examples of fridgecraft.
MORE NICE SHEDS
This one is in Cornwall,
Same shed, from a different angle, I can’t account for the unearthly green glow, except to say it’s near Tintagel.
A contribution from our guest contributor, Shan.
The bento box makes a very elegant little salad garden I think. It is growing Jekka McVicar’s red salad mix….(Jekka is to salads and herbs what Farrow and Ball are to paints so I knew I could rely on pretty leaves).
You must admire the annual miracle of the strange and mysterious Panda Bottom plant, which has the most fascinating black and white flowers blooming under big glossy leaves. You have to lift the leaves up to see the flowers.
Tulips are all late this year but worth for. These are Jean Reus, deepest deep red without being burgundy.
We were delighted to be able to help the plucky Rachel Johnson in her bid to revive ‘The Lady’ magazine. We designed a special knit your own dog reindeer balaclava pattern for them before Christmas. She gave it another outing in the Channel 4 programme The Lady and the revamp.
Apropos of their flagging circulation figures she said something along the lines of: ”When we launch our knit your own reindeer balaclava everything will change” 
We are only too delighted to help the new look Lady in any way we can.
My whippet Lily gets very cold at night so Jo has made her this beautiful Barbara Cartland style fake fur and velvet sleeping bag, and she loves it.
Stylish and practical, what more can a dog ask for.
Who can resist the triangular dog
These are from Bath Cats and Dog’s Home, hence the bars
Aren’t they lovely?
And here’s one in a toupee
Here are some more strange knitted things from the wilder shores of the knitting imagination.
The decapitated horse head
The knitted heart, very valentine’s day.
And of course the knitted flex with plug, or perhaps it’s a USB cable.
Feel free to send us any of your strange knitted things.
Is it only me or are all gardens this sad looking at this time of year.
I’m afraid it’s as I thought, I won’t be called upon to fill that vacancy on Gardener’s Question Time in the near future.
To get you in the mood for our new book – out later this year, we would like to show you some strange knitted things.
a dissected lab rat
A turkey hat
These are described as “Crochet help for ugly children”
More about our book later
Just in case you didn’t recieve your copy of The Lady last week, we would like to give you a chance to see our Reindeer Balaclava modelled here by the lovely Lily. It not only cuts a dash, but protects your dogs delicate ears from the deafening sounds of Christmas – crackers, shouting and of course gunfire during the annual re-run of The Great Escape. It’s a variation on the Anti-Firework Dog Balaclava, featured in Pet Heaven.
OUR WINTER SALE STARTS ON MONDAY 14TH DECEMBER 9.30
BARGAINS GALORE UP TO 50% OFF.
IT IS END OF LINE, SAMPLES AND SECONDS AND WE DO NOT BY ANY MEANS HAVE EVERYTHING SO IT’S BEST TO PHONE (01273-736106).
But there are some wonderful bargains.
This is a bumper month for puppy porn – a whole litter. these are Sugar’s puppies aren’t they beautiful?
They’re Parsons Jack Russells.
This is the first of our series of nice sheds. This one is near Combe Hay in Somerset.
Although technically not a shed, the use of twine and tarpaulin make this a contender for our nice sheds category.
Now you too can dress like Princess Diana. We are offering a free handknit pattern for our red sheep jumper. Accept no substitutes – yes we mean you Chloe – this is the real red sheep jumper. Although quite challenging to knit, persevere to be on trend and join the Eighties fashion revival. Just send your name and address through our website and state whether you’d like the American or British version and we will send you a FREE pattern.
Our puppy of the month for October is the lovely Worcester the whippet. He is an exquisite fawn colour with a sooty muzzle.
Here he is (centre) with his siblings, as you can see he is an extremely handsome boy.
And here he is with his sister.
Lurchers are the most perfect dogs. At home, they lounge in a languid fashion, sleep for about 23 hours a day, are supremely affectionate and loyal, bright eyed with impressive natural eyeliner, and one of the few perfectly proportioned dogs. Outside, they run and run, chasing anything that moves, jumping anything that’s in the way and always returning when called.
Lurcher puppies can be bought from breeders, David Hancock being the most well known. The usual route is to search local newspaper advertisements; I found Nell in the local free ads paper called Loot or the Countrymans Weekly. Alternatively you could try the local dog rescue home, like the Dogs Trust or the highly active Bath Cats and Dogs home, a previous resident, Purdey is pictured below.
A purer and smarter version of the Lurcher is the whippet and here is the lovely Lily.
Or if looking after a dog alarms you, here is the easycare knitted version of Lily.
A final, slightly negative point, Lurchers love to chase cats.
This is Sandy modelling the prototype for the anti-firework dog balaclava. It’s nearly time to start thinking about making one in preparation for the doggy hell that is bonfire night.
And here’s another view of Sandy looking like a 50’s model, Barbara Goalen or Sally Croker-Poole possibly.
If you would like a free copy of the pattern do get in contact and we will email it to you.
And here is Wystan, our puppy of the month modelling the junior version, the hamster house from Pet Heaven.
and here is Big Suze wearing her balaclava knitted for her by Gemma.
DON’T take your cashmere to the dry cleaners, the chemicals used strip the yarn of its substance – no slight to Johnsons.
DO machine wash your cashmere on the wool wash cycle. Although we recommend hand washing on the label (a precaution), our preferred method is machine washing. Cashmere is delicate but has a steely core and can tolerate quite tough treatment. Turn your cashmere inside out and use a gentle washing liquid such as Persil Silk and Wool or Ecover Delicate
plus, if you wish, some fabric conditioner, but most importantly make sure the machine is set on the wool wash otherwise your cardigan will come out very matted – can be nice but not generally. Watch this blog for intriguing ways of using shrunken knitwear.
Reshape whilst damp and dry flat. Once dry, press lightly, with a warm iron on the inside of the cardigan.
REASSURINGLY SAFE, handwash the cashmere in warm water using a gentle liquid, squeeze out excess water either by hand (do not wring) or on the spin cycle of the machine.
Is there anything lovelier than a puppy?
Kittens are OK, but grow into cats, and babies are nice of course, but there is nothing in the world more perfect than a puppy. Here are some photos of our first Puppy of the Month, Wystan.
kittens are Ok , but grow into cats, and babies are nice of course, but there is nothing in the world more perfect than a puppy. Here are some photos of our first Puppy of the Month Wystan
We all know that dogs reign supreme in every possible way and have proved to be a timeless image but Reindeer have become ‘the animal’ of the past few years. Antlers and deer heads cropped up last year on, or as, every imaginable object from candles, wrapping paper, coat hooks to lamps. Our feeling is, that in fashion terms, the sheep could be in the ascendant.
Perhaps we are influenced by the aforementioned sheep jumper revival or perhaps its just sour grapes but sheep are being used in new and unusual ways.
The sheep at Latitude were the talking point of the festival, dyed many different shades of pink, blue and yellow and looking mighty fetching.
This sheep has been dyed for identification prior to being sent to market not such pleasant fate as nibbling grass whilst listening to Bombay Bicycle Club or The Shout at Latitude. The farmer was hoping for rain in order to dampen the virulent yellow before market, I think he probably got it.
Do take a look at this amazingly surreal, funny and special LED sheep video from You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw
It’s not worth wondering if its real or fake, but which is it?