Daft Punk cross stitch sampler

This is the first cross stitch sampler I ever designed. I made one of these for an Etsy customer yesterday and even though it was the first one I ever designed, it's still one of my favourites.

I think it's because these Daft Punk lyrics really do sound like the sort of  Empire-building, self-improving words of wisdom that the Victorians were so very fond of. They just fit perfectly in a Victorian-style sampler and make me laugh every time.

If you'd like a Daft Punk cross stitch sampler, I'm always happy to stitch one. Step inside ye olde Etsy emporium and say hello.

Cute seagull

 

My lovely local yarn shop, The Wool Bar, have asked me to knit them a life-sized Herring Gull. The street that they are on, Warwick Street, in Worthing, has a particularly large and determined gang of gulls who make rich pickings from Warwick Street's many cafes.

I'm a bit concerned that the life-sized knitted version will attract a bit too much attention from the feathered gull mafia outside, but we shall have to wait and see.

This little fellow isn't life-sized. He's a small prototype gull who I am going to scale up to large scale over the next few weeks. He's a lot cuter than the Warwick Street gulls but hopefully when he's bigger, he'll look a bit meaner. I'd particularly like to capture that look in their eye just before they steal your chips.

If you'd like to see little gull, he's currently residing with Caroline at The Wool Bar. I hope to get him, and his larger model, made up into knitting patterns soon.

Severus Snape knitting pattern

If you fancy knitting your very own Severus Snape, you can now buy my knitting pattern for my Snape doll as a digital download from Etsy.

Once you've checked out, you'll be able to download the pattern straight away and get knitting! Magic!

Harry Dresden

Here's wizard hard-boiled detective Harry Dresden, created as a special custom order. I've never seen the Dresden Files TV show but really enjoyed the first two Jim Butcher Dresden files novels, Storm Front and Fool Moon, so this Harry was how I imagined him from the books.

This poor guy is always getting beaten up and putting up with a lot of really unglamorous crap in his line of work, but he can rest happy, knowing that he is wearing the best hat I have made to date. He originally had knitted headgear but it looked more like a sunhat, so I went back to the drawing board and sewed him a custom-fitted felt number. That's why he's smiling.

L Lawliet Death Note doll

I started knitting L from Death Note about 6 months ago, when I began experimenting with using wire supports inside my dolls to give a greater range of postures. With his unique sitting style, he seemed like the obvious choice.

I tried to knit him sitting in his trademark crouch, using stiff florist's wire as support. It didn't really work but I ended up with a bad case of Knitter's Block and couldn't work out what the problem was. He sat on my desk for the next few months, eyeing me balefully.

Over Christmas I watched the entire Death Note dvd boxset and finally worked out what was wrong with him. His legs were way too short. His trousers were way too tight. His eyes were a tiny bit too small. A little bit of remodelling, and here he is, sitting, rather than crouching.

One of the things I like about L (apart from his genius intellect and his ability to eat nothing but sweets and cake without putting on weight) is how his facial expressions veer between manga pretty-boy handsomeness and just plain weird. I think I've caught him somewhere in the middle.

Custom cross stitch

I'm still taking custom cross stitch sampler orders via my Etsy shop - these make the perfect personalised Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life.

This framed sampler style is $25 plus shipping and is large enough for 1 - 5 words, possibly 6 if they are not too long. If you would like a larger sampler, or one with more decorative stitching, then drop me a line for a quote.

All my samplers are worked on 100% high-quality aida fabric and use 100% cotton DMC and Anchor threads. No message will be considered too silly, or too rude. I'm unshockable. Here's your chance to get those private jokes and family sayings immortalised in needlepoint!

Ziggy Stardust

 

Time to knit another David Bowie! Actually, when *isn't* it time to knit another David Bowie? Here is knitted Ziggy Stardust wearing his one arm / one leg bodysuit and a little felt cosmic disc thing on his forehead.

Ziggy was a one-off custom order but I may well be making another one so watch the Etsy shop!