I don't really remember how we all decided that it would be a brilliant idea to celebrate Dad's 70th birthday in Spain, nevertheless, we did . . . . 

I had decided it would be great to have a small purse for carrying small amounts of money & bank cards while travelling.

I wanted a purse which was not too bulky, soft to touch, sturdy, strong, hand sized & I also wanted it to be colourful.  
(I've just now realised, 8 yrs later, it never occurred to me to sew one out of fabric, which I think proves I am first & foremost a fibre geek!)

Years before I had become enamoured of traditional Australian Aboriginal dilly bags (still am in fact), which inspired me to make a few tiny cylindrical bags with draw string closures. I made these bags out of cotton using a slip stitch crochet technique.

These wee bags became containers for treasures.
I knew from making these bags that slip stitch crochet has a somewhat similar appearance to the stitches in some of the dilly bags I had seen.

I wanted my new purse to be flat (not a cylinder) so that it would fit into my jeans or jacket pocket, or could easily be hand carried. 
But not so small that it would get 'lost' in a hand bag. 
I also needed the contents to be secure so I wanted to be able to insert a zip. 

I found Paton's Jet Pixel, a brightly, randomly, multi-coloured wool alpaca blend yarn & set to work. 
I made a purse each for my daughter, one of my sisters & myself.
My astoundingly pink purse lasted 7 yrs & it was the zip that failed in the end. I used it as my card & change purse for 7 yrs, no lies.  
That possibly sounds ridiculous & highly unlikely but yep I am one of those people who uses things til they can no longer be used. 

My original purses were unlined & it's only been in the last year or so that I have lined them.
A friend had asked if it was possible to line them, which I’d never thought about so I made one to find out. 

The purses don’t need to be lined for structural reasons, which is why it had never occurred to me to line them but I have realized that lining the purse makes it useful for items over & above cards & money. 

In fact nowadays, in addition to the several unlined purses I use for all manner of stuff, I also have a lined one to carry my little bits & bobs (notions) associated with knitting & crochet, including small pointy things like needles & scissors which stay happily nestled within. 
Another friend uses hers to keep her lipsticks together in one place in her handbag.
We have used them as camera cases as well.

As with everything I make I have tried different yarns over the years, but I prefer this one. 
The resulting purse is everything I ever wanted & needed it to be. 
The colours available have changed with seasons & trends but while the yarn is still available I'll keep making these robust, brightly coloured, fun & functional, unique little purses.

And the name . . . ? 

Well, yes, it does come from the label …

but, the real reason is that I love pixelated images & the way this yarn is coloured & spun I have never managed to make it colour pool, nor stripe consistently nor in any way create a pattern …the fabric is a collection of evenly spaced brightly coloured stitches . . . just like little pixels  ;)

oh ! & was Spain a brilliant idea ? yep, it most certainly was ! 


You'll find the pixel purses currently available for purchase here.

When my daughter was little I didn't need to make her knitted toys as her Nanna was a knitting whizz, fast & clever. 
Nan used to make all sorts of animals, people, & the most amazingly cute bobble-eyed frogs !  She often used Jean Greenhowe patterns and both my daughter & I loved them.

When my niece was born 5 &1/2 years ago I was ecstatic for 2 reasons.
For the first time I became a real Aunty & she was a girl !

I don't remember when or how I came to know of Fiona McDonald's book
Babes in the Wool but I knew that I would knit one of her dolls as a Christmas gift for my niece & so I did.

We called her Dolly.

I knit another doll from the book, just for interest sake & thoroughly enjoyed the process, particularly making the doll size garments. 

Her name is Montana & she lives in my studio.

I put the big dolls aside after Montana and was thrilled when I found Fiona McDonald's next book Knitted Fairies which enabled the next Christmas prezzie. 

I wanted to make another fairy & decided that I had learnt enough from Susan B Anderson's Craftsy class 'Wee Ones' to have a go at knitting a little fairy in the round. 
So I did. 

 . . .  Sad to say I could never decide on a name for this wee girl & she was made out of scraps so her proportions are not quite right & she is a little wonky. After completing her I realized that what really appeals to me about these fairies is their faces. 
It's those little painted eyes, sculpted noses & painted lips which bring these fairies to life.

I was delighted to be able to create Queenie using top quality New Zealand wools. 
I also enjoyed designing a knitted skirt & jacket for her. 
Her jacket is based on another patten from Fiona's book.

I further refined my doll pattern whilst making Rita & Lizzie, who came to live & hang out with Queenie.

A friend commissioned twin fairies as Christmas gifts for her twin granddaughters so Rātā & Raupō came to be. 
I had been struggling making child safe wings with enough integrity to hold themselves up & then, out of the blue, my daughter told me she didn't like the fairies ears as they were too big & made them look like trolls!

I was shocked & saddened … to me, apart from the wings, the ears are what make a fairy.

I thought, well, I'll just make them smaller, then I realized that if I don't make ears there's no point making wings. . . . & amazingly that was an enormous relief . . . 

. . . my fairies became dolls again.

Storm was the first.

I sent a photo to my now 5yr old niece for approval & she suggested to her daddy that Aunty Sal could make an 'Elsa'. I took that as a compliment.

With my pattern worked out, materials for eyes & lips that I was happy with & an assortment of New Zealand wools that I liked, I made the first 5 sisters.

I have found that their personality & story usually come to me as I'm knitting them, often their name as well. 
This combination of details & the colour I've chosen for their body suit somehow determines their eye & lip colour.
Their hair is always fun & I usually choose the hair colour & 'style' based on whim. 
These 5 girls all wear bespoke knitted skirts & I have designed & knit custom coats & cardis.*  
Their clothes are removable. 

RoseAnna is the latest, using a different wool & she has a sewn fabric skirt & a crochet cowl instead of a coat. 

I'm happy with their base pattern & I'm continually planning & making new dolls. 

Although time consuming they are a pleasure to make, because all of a sudden, there they are, complete. 

Beautiful, small, silent companions . . . . waiting to catch your eye & make you smile.

All the dolls who are currently available for purchase can be found here.


* I have used techniques I learnt in Wendy Barnard's Creativebug class Top Down Sweater knitting, including taking the dolls measurements, to calculate stitch counts & shaping! This was an enormously satisfying achievement. 
I was amazed that it worked & that they fit so well.
I look at these tiny little garments & giggle as I still can't believe I managed to do them. 
I have never designed & knit garments for humans !