
A number of years ago a friend (Hi Margaret!) told me about the amazing knitting and crocheting that Prudence Mapstone makes. Last year I saw her at a craft fair and was inspired but also quite overwhelmed by what she makes. This year I saw her again and, after my forays into knitting and crocheting over the last year, I was less intimidated by the thought of giving it a go. So I bought her book and some (more) yarn and I’m doing it! I don’t like the way this looks just yet but I think it’s one of those processes that needs to be pushed through the “ugly stage”. I can see that I need more fuzzy stuff to soften the overall look of it and I also think I need to make quite a lot more of it before I’ll really have any idea of what it will look like.
The idea at this stage is to make a jacket that is dark at the bottom (black, gray and very dark blue, green and purple), quickly transition it to greens and then to pink, lilac and finally off-whites. I want it to look like a garden.
It will probably look more like a frog-pond and never get finished. I don’t even know if I like the imagined thing in my head let alone the real thing!








24 comments
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April 25, 2008 at 6:03 pm
milestosew
Hi there, I found your blog through Threadspider.
I think this project has huge potential, I love the colours you’re using and I think that you should persevere. Can’t wait to see more of it.
April 25, 2008 at 6:05 pm
peppermintpatcher
well, frog ponds are nice too… even in a jacket
it looks lovely so far
April 25, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Erilyn
I love it - can you make something small-ish in browns, about A4 size, to fit in my Collaborative Art Journal? Please, please, please :-}
April 25, 2008 at 9:18 pm
suse
Wow, I think it’s stunning!
April 25, 2008 at 9:54 pm
amy
Will you show this as you progress? I would love to see how it grows. I’ve had her book for a couple of years…purely as inspiration at this point. I applaud you for jumping in!
April 26, 2008 at 12:43 am
nicolette
Stunning indeed Kirsty! A frog-pond, no way. It looks like Monet’s garden!
April 26, 2008 at 2:14 am
pricklypearbloom
I think it will be splendid!
April 26, 2008 at 2:45 am
jude
great! i always love “patchwork”.
April 26, 2008 at 3:20 am
myartfullife
I love it! The flowers pull your garden together - please don’t stop!!! I am unfamiliar with Prudence Mapstone and can’t wait to take a look at her book!
April 26, 2008 at 3:29 am
YUMMERS!
You brave soul. I wouldn’t know where to begin. It looks interesting and lovely so far. Can’t wait to see the completed jacket.
Joni
April 26, 2008 at 6:23 am
Alice C
I am amazed…that tiny segment looks so complicated - I can’t begin to imagine a whole jacket.
April 26, 2008 at 6:27 am
denise
I know, I can’t wait to see the whole thing.
It looks really cool right now.
April 26, 2008 at 6:56 am
dianeschuller
I agree with everyone else. This looks amazing.
April 26, 2008 at 7:21 am
Mary
Do you know what I thought when I saw this on Flickr? How amazing this would be as a wrap! I would pay good money to snuggle in something like this!
April 26, 2008 at 8:53 am
shelly
You have inspired me - i have just been surfing the net looking at lots of freeform knitting projects!! I love texture and colour!! I have tonnes of wool - I am thinking oranges, purples, reds - must go and buy a crochet hook as i can’t find mine!
April 26, 2008 at 9:31 am
Tanya Brown
This is really cool. I think you’ve done a good thing, plunging in and trying it. Concerns about liking or disliking a finished piece can be so stifling when one is trying out a new technique.
April 26, 2008 at 9:59 am
h.
I think this kind of work is wonderful for the artist’s soul, even if you are never “happy” with it. There is something cathartic and cleansing to just follow the yarn and color about, not analyzing too heavily, just playing. This type of work grows and develops character! I hope you continue to work on it, and show us your progress as it continues to take on a life of its own.
April 26, 2008 at 10:25 am
Lilian
I think you’ve got something there. I get the idea of what you’re creating, and I think it’ll work out wonderful in the end. Love the color scheme already, and ribbon flower embroidery does give it a real nice look. Looking forward to the result as you present it to us in stages.
April 26, 2008 at 4:26 pm
2paw
Oh I admire your work so much. I went to a course a few years ago and we all made lots of component pieces and then they didn’t have any more classes, so my pieces languish in a tub.
I love the embroidery and the colours!! It does look like a garden, a cottage garden I think!!
April 26, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Kellie
Are you kidding me this looks fantastic!!!!!!! You are so clever!
April 27, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Fairlie
That sounds like a great idea. Hope to see progress updates!
April 27, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Jade
It’s looking fabulous! The colours are just lovely and very organic….not very frog-pondy at all.
April 28, 2008 at 7:14 am
Maddy
I looks amazing, could you make it into a piece to hang on a wall, it looks like art to me.
April 28, 2008 at 7:15 am
bec
It looks just like the pictures on Prudence’s site, O talented one. And I’m sure your quilter’s eye will keep the balance going along beautifully.
Whereas if I tried, it would look less like a frog pond and more like the rag bag under my kitchen sink…