Natty 90's quilting project

I've just started a new project... and I think it's going to be a good'un.

Last weekend me and boyfriend Leo were sorting through all his old stuff, from his Mum's house in Southampton. We found this little ice cream tub full of old fabric samples that he'd collected from a school trip to a textiles mill in the 90's. They're amazingly garish and tacky plastic fabrics - which is why they're so great!

Anyway, I'm now making a little experimental quilt with all these little hexagon samples. I've never made a quilt before, and I wasn't sure what the best way to sew hexagons together - so I'm using this youtube video as a mini tutorial. I'll keep you posted with my progress as I go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVkV8JBNaIQ 

The first of my knitted Lolcats! - sofa cat

Sofa cat image via http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2007/09/philolsophers.html

For Science!

Science off the Sphere: Knitting Needle Experiment

Knitting Mochimochi - Anna Hrachovec

Image from http://mochimochiland.com/shop/knitting-mochimochi/

I got this book for my kindle just before Christmas. It's a really cute little book, with a load of witty little amigurumi patterns that are very quick and fun to knit. 

What's especially nice about this book though, is that it explains very simply how you can easily design your own amigurumi patterns - so you can design your own toys. I've always been a bit confused by the mathematics of shaping knitting on four needles - how much to increase/decrease etc. However this book is so clear, I totally get it know :D I highly recommend a read of this!

There's a load of really lovely free patterns on her website too - definitely worth checking out.

http://mochimochiland.com/shop/knitting-mochimochi/

I especially love the knitted bog roll.

P.S. I've found the Kindle to be incredible for reading knitting patterns on, although the Amazon store could have a slightly more exciting selection for knitting books - its really best for fiction, which is a shame, because I feel there's potential here for the knitting community. No doubt it will get better in time as the amazon library grows :)

Brownie the Cat from Acornbud

I made this insanely cute cat yesterday as a friend's birthday present - it's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I found the pattern on Acornbud's Yarns blog here: http://acornbudsyarns.blogspot.com/2010/01/brownie-cat-knitted-cat-pattern.html

Very quick to knit, only took me a couple of hours altogether - the funnest thing I've knitted in ages!

Thank you Acornbud :)

Not really relevant to knitting but good food for thought none the less...

'In Some Games, It's the Pattern, Not the Plot, That Makes Them Beautiful'


From popmatters.com


http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/148265-in-some-games-its-the-pattern-not-the-plot-that-makes-them-beautiful/

I came across this article and it got me thinking about some of the issues I've been having in my painting work. My aim is to find a relationship between my painting practice and the medium of video games, and this mini essay relates to both directly in terms of narrative and abstraction.

Mark Newport

http://www.marknewportartist.com/