Saturday 22 October 2011

The Knitterati

We at The Curious Eye have always considered ourselves above discussing celebrities to boost our exposure. However in this case we feel we must make an exception. 


After all, how are we supposed to resist this?


BabyJane


Yes, your eyes do not deceive you - it's a knitted Bette Davis as "Baby Jane" doll. You have to admit, the resemblance is uncanny.

baby-jane2


Baby Jane is not alone, she is part of a cache of fabulous celebrity knitted dolls from the 60s and 70s found by our dear friend Sean Barnett (and currently for sale at his stall at Ezra St Market, just off Columbia Rd).


Here we see Frank and Peggy Spencer, the ballroom superstars of their era.

FrankandPeggySpencer

frankandpeggyspencer2

Max Miller, The Cheeky Chappie (poised to offend with his 'blue book' of jokes).


maxmiller

maxmiller2

And the other Max - Max Wall, looking very dapper.

Maxwall

maxwall2

This lady has caused some debate, is it Hermione Gingold? Danny La Rue?


Phyllis

No. After a lot of research, I've come to the conclusion that it's Phyllis Diller.


Phyllis2

(If it isn't the resemblance is uncanny)


Last but not least - everyone's favorite musical genius (and comedy straight man) Mr André Previn.


Andreprevin

Which gives me the perfect excuse for us all the enjoy this...


The best part of this whole thing is that Sean not only has the dolls - he has the pattern books for them too - the creator of these little gems (the aptly named Dolly Robertson) actually wrote down how she came up with her designs, presumably so that future generations could knit obscure characters from the 70's too. So if you ever feel the urge to knit yourself a miniature Molly Sugden, or a tiny Windsor Davies, or even a Pam Ayres of your very own - now's your chance.


knittingbooks

For the patriotic amongst you - here's a sneak peak of how to create a scale model of everyone's favorite heir to the throne.


knittingbooks2


Time to get the knitting needles out!


The dolls (and other delightful goodies) are available at Seans stall, every Sunday on Ezra St, E2.













3 comments:

  1. That was so incredibly fun! They do look like their celebrities. I am learning to knit, but that makes my head hurt just thinking about what it would take to create those!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought the first one was the lovechild of Bonnie Langford and Miss Piggy! I wonder when they will invent a "turn yourself into a knitted wierd" iphone app. (bit like fatbooth and that zombie one.)

    ReplyDelete