Last week I added the Owl chart to the store, without the usual fanfare because I expected to have the Guitar charts up as well. The Guitar charts became bigger and more involved every time I looked at them, so they’re finally finished almost a week late, and were added to the store yesterday.

I added a guitar to my son’s Versa vest, a new pattern by Shannon, and I’m really pleased with the result.

I am equally thrilled with how the other part of the Guitars set has turned out:

This is Julie’s test embellishment on her new Explorer Vest pattern.

The Guitars are available as two separate sets – Accoustic or Electric – or together at a special combined price. Each set includes four guitars of varying sizes and you can see more details on the Classic charts page.

The Owl design is also available on the Classic page. My last entry showed off Julie’s Owl embellishment, and here is Shannon’s version of the owl.

I love the way the variegated yarn looks like an eerie cloudy night sky, and the way Shannon has added a moon to increase the night sky effect.

I would like to add a very special thanks to Kath, Shannon and Julie for their work in testing these designs, for letting me use their photos, and for all their valuable feedback in the testing process.

Next up in the designing process is a set of butterflies and another fairytale set. Perhaps even some special little people. I’ll also be spending some time working on a big embellishment for my son. I was inspired by Julie’s hoodie in the last entry, so I made one for my eldest son. Of course it won’t be finished until it is embellished, so I’d best keep working on it to have it finished before his birthday at the end of the month.

It’s been too long between posts, but things have been busy behind the scenes.

Much of the last few weeks has been taken up with serious house-hunting. I would love to say that all that effort, and time away from here, resulted in us owning our dream house – one acre, western red cedar, in a beautiful area. Alas, the dream house slipped away as we were outbid by the only other person trying to buy it at the auction.

So, sorry for the delay in posting, and I have nothing to show for it. Ha!

My testers have been busy, however.

Julie has been testing my Owl design, which she has embellished onto a Little Hoodlum jersey. Isn’t it cute? I have a few little bits of tweeking to do on the chart and then it will be ready for sale.

This pattern is a set of three tops for children with multiple adaptations and changes available to personalise and customise the garment. I hope to have some free knitting time soon to have a go myself.

Before I take up the knitting needles I will be finalising some more designs and putting a few up for sale.

The last Guitar chart is going out to testing today. Here is a preview of that set:

I am very grateful to the knitters who allow me to use them and their garments as my lab rats. One of the (many) recurring themes requested by my testers is guitars. They couldn’t decide whether they wanted electric or accoustic guitars, so both will feature in this design set. I love to have my designs tested by others or myself so that I can be sure of their quality and ease of use, and I love to pander to the wishes of these lovely women.

One last set of testing to show off: A tea set. Julie and Kathryn have made up these tests of a set which is almost ready for sale.

It’s a little different from the usual children-inspired themes. I designed this set with the idea of having embellishments on tea cosies, on purses, or bags.

I finally wove in all the ends. Hooray!

It’s a very big and baggy soaker, intended for fitting over bulky night nappies. But now it’s just too pretty to use overnight, so we went out to play.

Don’t look too closely, but I also added in the cow’s tail which my husband noticed I had omitted. Shhh!

This Gingerbread Man set is now available for sale in a limited edition of 10 copies only.

Head over to the Limited Edition page to grab a copy of this new design!

The response to the Gnome House set has been well beyond my expectations. More than half were sold within two days, and there are currently only three copies left. Limited edition designs will not be re-offered, so if you’re thinking about grabbing a copy of the Gnome House set you will need to move fast!

I’m delighted to see so many people trying their hand at embellishing.

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There have been a few more little mice scurrying around my knitting.

I made an Adam’s Eden for a dear friend who is expecting her third child any day/week now. She picked out the yarn and these little mice to adorn the garment. It was a fun quick knit and since it is designed to work with a whole array of personalisation, it was the perfect canvas for embellishing on.

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And the latest news is that this little owl is currently in testing. I can’t wait to introduce him to you.

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PLEASE NOTE: I am solo-parenting this weekend (aka Scout widow) so please be aware that any purchases made between now and Monday may take as little as a few minutes or up to 48 hours to be sent out. I’m sorry for the inconvenience if your order takes longer than usual to be sent to you.

I have put together a tutorial about my favourite quick method of dyeing up small amounts of wool when that one required colour is absent – a circumstance I find myself in quite often.

Have a look and a try, and let me know how it works for you. Dyeing small quantities of wool.

The boys are sleeping (yay!) so, with the help of a random number generator and a copy of the list of subscribers in “date subscribed” order, Tash has been declared the winner of a $10 voucher to use on any Watermellish designs she likes.

Look in your inbox to find out how to claim your prize. Happy embellishing, Tash!

Our trip to the big smoke for the sale of our old house was not as productive as I would have hoped. There were too many fun people to play with and too many fun places to play.

I did, however, manage to produce a photo tutorial about dyeing small amounts of wool with food colouring and a microwave, which I will put up as soon as I am able.

I was also able to finish embellishing some squeeky little characters:

Tomorrow, June 1, will see us announcing the winner of the Watermellish gift voucher and sending out another newsletter. Perhaps even a newly released design and some sneek peaks of some about-to-be-tested designs. Perhaps.

The Koala, Sky, and Gnome House sets featured in the last post are now stocked on the Charts pages.

I am particularly excited about being able to offer the Gnome House set because it was inspired by a pair of longies I made for my second son when he was just weeks old.

It has been exciting to watch the response to the free Hearts and Stars set I released at the beginning of May. To date it has been viewed or downloaded almost 200 times and I am watching little hearts pop up all over Ravelry.

I have a second free chart up now, the Sky set. As well as a duplicate stitch chart, it also has a photo tutorial for creating a rainbow.

I’m looking forward to hearing what you think of this set.

There is also a new tutorial up, called Wrapped Stitches to help build your repertoire of fun and interesting embellishment techniques.

This week I will have limited access to my trusty graphics tablet, so I’ll be drafting up some guitars and owls for my lovely testers to test with old fashioned pencil and paper. My testers have been patiently waiting for these two themes for a while and I can’t wait to show you a snippet of them.

Come on over to the Watermellish Ravelry group to tell us about the themes you would like to see here, and to show off your embellishing projects.

Please leave a comment to let me know what I should make a tutorial about next. Two ideas I plan to do soon are french knots and dyeing small quantities of wool with food colouring. Is there anything else you would like to see a tutorial on?

Keep and eye out for these designs which are being stocked between now and Sunday.

A Classic Koala, ready to climb up the leg of some longies or the front of a jacket.

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A Free Sky Themed Set, with four repeating clouds, instructions for a colourful rainbow, and a sun, star and moon.

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And the Limited Edition Gnome House Set, with a huge range of interchangeable elements to suit any project. This set will be a limited edition of only 10 copies sold.

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If you would like to know when the Gnome House set is being stocked, make sure you are a newsletter subscriber. I will give the stocking time in the first Watermellish newsletter. Don’t forget that subscribing to the newsletter also puts you in the draw to win a $10 gift voucher to the Watermellish store, to be drawn on June 1.

If you’ve been looking around the site lately, you’d notice that there are a few new charts up.

There are Scurrying Mice

and a Weedy Seadragon

all in the Classic selection of charts.