Our cartoons for publication started with the sheep for Woolly Thoughts (book). We
have always thought it was the sheep that made Souvenir Press accept the book for
publication as soon as they saw it. However, the editor of Woolly Thoughts had an
aversion to sheep wearing clothes. Some sheep were removed and others added. They
have often been referred to as ‘the sheep with the matchstick legs’.
The rejected sheep eventually took on a life of their own, along with many more,
and found a home in A Sheep Off The Old Flock - An autobaaography and study of lambguage.
This book brings together lots of drawings and our love of word play. It is no longer
available in hard copy but you can buy the PDF version.
The sheep led to us being asked to compile books of similar drawings, with captions
rather than a full story, of cats and dogs. These were published by Summersdale Publishers
and were called It’s a Dog’s Life and Another Purrfect Day.
Wherever possible we sneak a few cartoons into our books. Making Knitwear Fit featured
Kangarule, a kangaroo who had her pouch stuffed with knitting equipment; Creating
Knitwear Designs featured Sir Pent, an arm-less snake, because it is much easier
to make a sweater for a creature with no arms!
We have produced many cartoons for other purposes. You will find just a few cartoons
on the following pages.
The drawing below was to publicise Knitting at Noon, in 2002.
Quote from Mary Hawkins, on behalf of the Knitting and Crochet Guild:
Oh yes, and well I remember commissioning you for it! Lovely to see it again. The
idea of Knitting at Noon was taken up by other knitting organisations and became
Knitting in Public and other various events (I think some of the young lambs were
still in bed at Noon). On the first day I mis-timed it all and was with my Mum up
a muddy track on a remote farm in Derbyshire buying three fleeces when noon struck.
Having set the ball rolling I lost the end of it!
