Over Christmas/New Year both my husband and I came down with this nasty respiratory virus which is doing the rounds and we are still struggling to shift it. It seems everyone I talk to has had this bug and some have taken as long as seven weeks to get rid of it! After three weeks of having it I actually woke up this morning with no voice and a head full of cotton wool. Every day is like a new adventure!
I have not really felt much like crafting but now I am starting to feel a bit better I have been doing a little bit of knitting. I had immense fun making this cardigan for my little niece, I have never really embroidered a knitted item in this way before and I was worried that my chain stitch was not up to the task. My previous experience of embroidering a knitted cardigan had been when I attempted to embroider roses on a cardigan. I think I did better this time, although my waves could have been a little better, but overall I am very pleased with the end result.
This a a vintage Coates knitting pattern which I made in double knit yarn. Both the pattern and the cute little duck buttons came from eBay.
Here you can see a close up of the front panel of ducks, the ducks were knitted in a Fair Isle style and the detail was added at the end. Although you could add the ducks in Duplicate Stitch (also sometimes called Swiss Darning) if you so wished.
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The ducks go right around the back ... paddling in and out of the bull rushes.
The pattern allows you to design your unique layout of ducks and pond - I think the bull rushes were my favourite part to do.
Dionne
PS If you are wondering about the title of this post, it is a Kenneth Grahame quote from "Wind in the Willows" -
“All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!
Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!
Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roach swim--
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.
Everyone for what he likes!
WE like to be
Heads down, tails up,
Dabbling free!
High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call--
WE are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!”
Thought I recognised the blog title lol.Sorry to see you are still unwell-fingers crossed mine has gone completely but John is still unwell-got him to the Dr two weeks ago and she said if still unwell and coughing in 2 weeks come back-went today as getting hardly any sleep through the coughing-a different Dr and she said exactly the same thing!!!Love the cardigan and beautiful ducks and embroidery -the waves look fine to me
ReplyDeleteCarol x
Hi Carol. I am really sorry to hear that John is still in a bad way. I am finding the most frustrating part of this virus is that some days you think you are finally getting rid of it and then the next morning you feel dreadful all over again, but you know that, having had it yourself. I think the problem our doctors are facing is that it is so hard to treat a virus. My sister has not been well for 8 or 9 weeks now, she is not sure if it is the same virus though.
DeleteI am hoping that the 'waves' on the cardigan will even out once it has had a wash. I find it odd how the vertical lines look so much better than the (more or less) horizontal ones.
Wind in the Willows has always been a favourite of mine - and this little rhyme in particular. I thought it matched this cardigan so well and toyed with several of the lines before deciding on this one for the blog title.
Dionne xx
This is just adorable and, as always, beautifully done and the embroidery just makes it. I love that poem, one of those I used to know by heart and had completely forgotten about.xx
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, I was very nervous about the embroidery. The Wind in the Willows is such an enchanting story.
DeleteHave a great weekend.
Dionne xx