Standing Postman Pat Jumper

Back in February, I remembered how my mother used to knit character sweaters for my sons when they were toddlers. Browsing through old photos, I found pictures of several featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, Postman Pat and Fireman Sam. I felt inspired to try one for my grandson, who - at the time - was just over two-and-a-half, and a fan of the same characters.  

I could not find any suitable current knitting patterns, but discovered 'The Postman Pat knitting book' by Joy Gammon second-hand online. I was particularly keen on the 'Standing Postman Pat' version of the jumper (there are four different designs in the book) as that's one that my mother knitted. It also looked simpler than the others! I asked my son for my grandson's measurements, and decided, as my mother did, to knit the main part of the sweater in grey rather than red.

By the time I began it was the end of March, and at first I made slow progress. I had never followed a chart before.  I began by colouring in the image given in the book, knowing I would otherwise get very confused with B, Br, and Bl (Blue, Brown and Black). I remembered that my mother was keen to have as few strands of yarn at the back as possible, so used different balls of the grey for the left and right sides of the front, while knitting the main part of the pattern.

Eventually the knitted part was finished, and sewing it together wasn't difficult, although I realised that the head opening was far too small for my grandson; so I left one of the shoulder seams unstitched.

Here's how it looked after knitting, before I started on the embroidery:

I was quite encouraged by how recognisable it is, even at this stage. I really don't like sewing, so I put off the features; instead I started by taking all the loose ends from the back and weaving them into the jumper so there weren't threads hanging. I did a few at a time when I had a spare moment.

At last, I began on the sewing of features on the face, lines on the suit, and so on. I didn't do everything suggested by the pattern, and in the meantime started and finished several other knitting projects... but finally it's complete, just in time for my grandson's third birthday.

Here's what I did at the open shoulder seam:

And here's Postman Pat in close-up, with more detail:

Of course it's now too warm for him to be wearing sweaters and I'm a bit worried he may grow out of it before there's a suitable time to wear it.  But I'm pleased that I've completed my first knitting based on a chart, even if it was a fairly simple one.

Transforming an elderly jumper (or sweater) into a cat bed

Once upon a time, many years ago, a new and very warm woolly jumper (or sweater, if you're from the US) arrived in our household. I don't remember exactly when, or even how it was acquired, but I think it was a gift from one of my siblings to Daniel. He always seemed to feel cold in the winter, and was very appreciative of this gift which he wore on many occasions.

I was, at first, a bit worried about it going in the washing machine, but hand-washing proved to be such a chore that the jumper sat at the bottom of the laundry basket for far too long. Eventually I tried a delicate setting, and it was just fine.

Daniel was still wearing this jumper regularly back in January 2006, just before he left Cyprus to join the MV Doulos:

He didn't take it with him, however, as he knew that he would be mostly in warm temperatures. We kept it in his closet for a while, but somehow it was appropriated by Richard, who also feels decidedly cold at times.

Then one year, he took it to the UK.  And - as so often - our luggage was overweight, so we left some things behind, including this jumper which he decided would be more useful there than in Cyprus, as our new house is rather warmer than our old one.  And there it stayed. It no longer fitted Daniel: over the years it had been washed at less delicate settings, so that it had shrunk a little. Daniel doesn't tend to wear that kind of sweater any more, anyway. On subsequent trips to the UK, Richard was pleased to find it, and wore it.

It was still going strong in 2011 when he wore it on a walk the park in Birmingham:

It was decidedly past its best. There were a few holes that had developed in the sleeves, and it was beginning to feel 'felted'. We didn't want to throw it out - it really was a very nice jumper - but it was beginning to feel a bit tight even on Richard. He suggested I could have it, but I found the material just a little too scratchy, and also rather too warm.

Then, idly browing online (as you do) I came across this wonderful page about making a cat bed from an old sweater.  It looked simple enough, even for me. And I knew exactly which sweater would be perfect for the job...

We brought it back from our recent trip, and when I found it, I ignored all the piles of things to be put away, and everything else that needed to be done, and set to work to make it.  Sophia was very interested and kept trying to climb onto it while I was sewing... which turned out to be a good thing. When it was finally finished and I put it on the floor, she jumped in and sat there defiantly, quite certain I didn't want her there:

Then, not long afterwards, Cleo found it and also decided that she liked it:

I did wonder if I would need to make a second cat bed, but so far there have not been any squabbles - each of them sleeps in it occasionally.  I suspect they may do so more often when it gets colder. 

Regular readers of this blog might be wondering why there are only two cats mentioned in conjunction with the cat bed.  That's because, sadly, our third cat Tessie vanished while we were in the UK. She went out one afternoon, and did not return. Tim searched the house from top to bottom including all cupboards, closets and balconies, and went around the neighbourhood too, wondering if she had accidentally got shut away somewhere. She often stayed out overnight... but was always waiting to come in when we appeared in the morning. She wasn't very good with the cat flap.

Here's quite a flattering picture of her a couple of years ago, sitting on our guest flat doormat: 

Tessie was a very friendly cat; perhaps she would have gone off with someone trying to steal cats, but she wasn't young. We kept hoping she would return but it's been nearly four weeks now. We're all sad, but it seems unlikely that she will come back after all this time.

It reminds me rather too strongly of when Jemima vanished almost exactly six years ago :-(