It's A Knitted Slug!

I had a go at knitted Amigurumi for the first time. There's a lot of it out there on the crafting websites and I didn't really get it until now. Wiki says it is the "art" of crocheted or knitted stuffed toys, typically animals and "inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features". Now that's what's been missing from my knitting projects. And naturally it originates in Japan.

I've seen lots of funny little crocheted animals, some more recognisable than others, and then there's the craze for knitted cup cakes. All very clever but I couldn't really see the point. It was all a bit too pretty and cute for me.

And then I found a pattern for a knitted slug! Now that's more like it. Find this and other bugs and pesky creatures at cheezombie on Etsy.

I had to concentrate. It's not a project for doing on autopilot whilst watching an episode of Wallander in Swedish. It was so much fun. I learned new shaping techniques. This one was one of cheezombie's flat-knit patterns, most are on circular needles.


What next? I like the idea of a family of slugs, and their gnat pattern is ugly-cute. Or what about Eddie Lizzard? Or the Lobstah?

Shopping For The Crafty Nomad

As we move around I am getting used to finding my craft supplies in a variety of places, from gorgeous little independent shops and old fashioned and fusty little places, to haberdashery departments in well-known stores and monster-sized craft warehouses.

Ideally I love to go to the little, characterful shops first. Everyone knows that our high streets are at risk of becoming identically dull, lined with the same old chains. I can confirm this, having scoured many of the nation's high streets in two and a half years of the nomadic lifestyle. Many of them are functional at best, a boring waste of time and shoe leather at worst. So we need to frequent and support the independent and the individual when we find it.

On the other hand, I can get excited by the seemingly endless choice in a large store. I'm the same with bookshops. Sometimes I know exactly what I want and I know a small bookstore will do everything in their power to get it for me. On other occasions I have stumbled across something delightful and unexpected whilst moseying around a large temple to all things bookish.

But variety is key. We used to live in a town in the Lake District. There were about twenty shops selling walking gear and waterproofs but there was no haberdashers, and we had to drive forty miles to buy new underwear. And when we got there, we were in Carlisle, or The Pit Of Despair, as I tend to call it. One of our first stops on our Airstreaming odyssey was Bath. What a contrast. I thought I'd transcended this mortal plane and been reborn in a more heavenly realm.

Luscious Temptation

We found a lovely fabric shop in Cambridge, Cally Co. It reminded me of a cake shop, filled with luscious temptation.

Occasionally, but not often enough on our travels, we come across a french-style patisserie which will have confections of the lightest, aerated meringue and macaroon. Have you seen those pink and pistachio macaroons? I always have to have one, not only because they are divinely light but chewy and a bit gooey in the middle. I have to have one because that type of frivolously colourful and pointless confectionery is such a rarity that it might just be my last chance to indulge in that way for a very long time. Scones and fruit cake have their place, but so do mille feuille and macaroons.

So, back to the scrummy Cally Co, I found it just as delicious as a posh cake shop. You know when you want to touch everything? We bought some polka dot, dove grey PVC to use as an outdoor table cloth. We have been looking out for just the right one. Some are too dull, some are too madly patterned. Dove grey seems just right with our silver table and grey chairs.

We also had a jolly chat with the two lovely women in the shop. When we described our nomadic living arrangements I knew I wouldn't need to explain what an Airstream is, and I was right. I'm going to try to go back to that yummy shop before we leave the area. There must be something else I need.

Mad As A Box Of Critters

The sock critter commission has arrived at its destination and everyone is happy, especially me. The walk to the local village post office with a box of critters under my arm was most enjoyable. And here's a sneak peek at the crazy little monsters.



They will be for small kiddies so the eyes are firmly sewn-on felt instead of buttons. And you might have noticed a glimpse of the Airstream in the background. I've been enjoying a bit more of the al fresco life and sewing outside, under the awning. Sucks to be me!

Things Take On A Life Of Their Own

I'm still in sock creature mode. Some lovely friends have asked me to make some for them. If I wanted to big myself up a bit I could call it a commission. Either way, I am completely chuffed to have been asked.

Since they are going to be given away as presents I had better not reveal too much here. You never know who's looking, and I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises.



When I visited my best friend in London last weekend she was displaying flowers in a tall vase I had made for her. I used to go to a pottery class when we lived in Cumbria. Actually it wasn't so much a class as a space in which to experiment with clay, with a very experienced potter on hand for guidance. I loved it with a passion and I hope I can take it up again sometime. It was such a messy, tactile experience. The clay felt heavy, pliable and yet resistant. Although the potter, with his thirty-odd years of sculpting and throwing could make the clay obey him. It literally surrendered to the movements of his hands.

The processes seemed like a kind of alchemy to me. From this grey, earthy lump to a pinkish and lighter, biscuit-fired form. Then coated in liquefied, dull minerals which magically transformed into glossy, glassy, translucent colours after firing in unimaginable heat. The whole craft was an incredible marriage of primitive and intuitive with technical and scientific. Mind blowing.

Seeing this vase again, to my eyes it had a charm to it but it was also clumsy and lacking the grace I had envisioned when I was designing it. How often is that the way? So gratifying though, to see something I had made having been integrated into my friend's day to day life. Like the tea cosy I knitted for her a couple of Christmases ago, sitting askew on her teapot.

Making stuff is engrossing and satisfying. Giving stuff away and seeing it take on a life of its own is beyond gratifying.

Purple Sock Bunny

We had a visit from one of Pete's oldest friends, Andrew and his two young sons, James and David. David, the youngest, is four and he seemed to like our sock creatures so we decided we would start to make one there and then. We chose a sock in David's current favourite colour, purple, and I set to work with the scissors.


It was fun to work quickly, freed from the tyranny of neatness, the emphasis more on showing how it's done and getting David involved in the decisions. He suggested it could be a purple rabbit, and he chose one pink and one purple button for the eyes. I got him to put in some of the polyester stuffing, and when I suggested that he might want to add more because it was going to be a bit squishy, he thought it would be nice like that. So we went with soft and squishy.


I finished it after he went home, taking a bit of license with the facial features and adding a fluffy tail, which wasn't in the original brief but a cute and tactile detail and well worth the fiddlyness involved.

Al Fresco Knitting

We have been without internet for almost a week. We had used up our monthly bandwidth in the run-up to the Airstream gathering and ended up counting the days til the 2nd of June when we could start communicating with the world at large again. I may have already made a big dent in this month's quota by catching up on blogs.


The gathering was lovely. More about it on our joint blog. I even fitted in a few rows of knitting under the shade of our awning. It's going to be a tea cosy. The craft world has embraced the internet and there is an overwhelming universe of knitting and crochet websites and blogs out there. I've noticed that some knitters get hooked on making socks. Just check out Yarn Harlot. She makes all kinds of stuff but always seems to come back to socks. For me it's tea cosies. It's like a default setting or a return to normality after trying something new.

We are on the road again. We actually ended up in one spot for six months. We hadn't planned it that way, it just happened, and we were in a lovely place on the Somerset Levels. Moving on to the gathering was a brilliant way to start our summer travels and now that we are on our way, I'm really looking forward to some new scenery and fresh outlooks. We will be moving every two or three weeks from now on. I will also be looking out for any signs of the upcoming World Wide Knit In Public Day, which is apparently on or around the 12th June.