Time Again

It's been over a year since my last blog post - it's easy to fall out of the habit of updating, and the more time that passes, the harder it is to pick it up again.  I hope this is a fresh start to blogging again, because it's nice to be able to look back and see what I got up to!

It's also been just over a year since I knitted this:

My first knitted clock!  It was a huge amount of fun to make, and it hangs in my living room and continues to make me smile every time I glance at the time.  I've wanted to knit another one for a while, although with other projects vying for my attention, I just haven't got around to it until now.  

But with a commission request for a housewarming Strawberry Clock, I could ignore the urge no longer!  I present clock the second:

Again, it's a knitted cover for a vintage style clock.  I'm not quite so keen on the deco-style numbers on the face, but this was the only clock I was able to find in this style and it's growing on me.  This time, I've used a grey woollen moss stitch base, double knitting weight, with eyelets again for ribbon.  

The flowers and leaves are slightly different on this one.  The leaves are cotton 4ply, knitted rather than crocheted and double thickness.  They have more structure, and I love their petite neatness.  The flowers are also in cotton 4 ply, and are the same pattern as the original, but these have little knitted button middles and I've added some pale green embroidery threads to the petals.

There are 7 strawberries dangling from one side.  As these are knitted in 4ply rather than DK, they're more compact than my original.  Plus I actually thought about where to put the french knot seeds on them so they're less haphazard than the first!  It feels as though it's evolved - a little more conservative than its big sister, but still a lot of fun.  I hope the recipient loves it too.

The other recently finished commission is a bunny.  A lucky chimney sweep bunny!  A colleague had a knitted chimney sweep given to her when she got married, and wants to gift her daughter with one for her wedding day this August.  Patterns for knitted chimney sweeps are a little thin on the ground, but I really fell in love with this Alan Dart pattern, despite having a few gripes with it!

Isn't he cute?  Her colour theme is purple, hence the waistcoat :)  I made a gift box for him to go in, from sheets of posterboard and brown Kraft paper.  It's something I enjoy doing, but I need more practise in to iron out some of my own design flaws!

I have a blissful couple of weeks off work, and plan on catching up with plenty of crafting.  Sewing, crochet and knitting awaits - and perhaps a bit of box practise too!  And who knows - maybe I'll even blog about it ;)

P.S.  I've bought another clock to knit - should I stick to strawberries or try something different?