Heading to 2015

It's been a little while since I last blogged, and whilst I don't want to write a round-up of the last few weeks, I thought it would be nice to give you a little pictorial snap shot of some things I have done:

There was this; the culmination of my skirt workshop where seven talented ladies made a gorgeous selection of wintry, warm (and beautifully fitting) skirts:

...and this; Christmas wreath-making extravaganza:

...plus this; from newbies to knitters extraordinaires in this exciting group I was asked to take over, to make a thrift project from everyone's scraps. A lovely community developed, and I can't wait for our felting project next term:

That's not all, of course. There are a few things under wraps for the sake of Christmas secrecy, and plenty more works in progress. There was also lots of tidying up of my ravelry patterns, listings in my internet shops, and even the odd interview <gasp> (with a happy outcome I am pleased to say). 

And, of course, much planning for 2015. Not everything is mapped out and scheduled, but I do know that next year will include this; yup, that's arm knitting:

...and this; crochet cables:

...plus this; astounding yarn from Baa Ram Ewe (and I know just what I'm going to do with it!)

...and if I have my way, also plenty of this: my favourite vista in one of my very favourite places. 

I'll be back next year, and I wish you all a really Happy Christmas, and a peaceful New Year.

See you in 2015! :-)

Mini Masterpiece

What really floats your boat, architecturally? For me there are a few things: wrought iron, old brick walls, lots of glass, towers and turrets, everything Arts & Crafts... I could go on, but I think the picture of me as a bit of a romantic is emerging. One thing I really love is tiles. So when I spotted this Victorian Gothic Revival gem at St Paul's Church, Canterbury, at the Knit & Crochet Social last week I was enthralled (the stained glass was just stunning too, but my little phone ran out of space so I didn't get any snaps of that).

I did a bit of googling and discovered that this pretty ancient church was given an overhaul by Sir George Gilbert Scott. I often wish I had a lot better working knowledge of the personalities that shaped our architectural heritage, so I did a little research into him too, and discovered that, embarrassingly, he was a master whose name I did not know.

I know some of his work, as I'm sure many people do: the Albert Memorial, the St Pancras Hotel... he even did some restoration work on Canterbury Cathedral. The man was prolific, and despite a depressing catalogue of workhouses and prisons (showing just what a man of his time he was), his catalogue of beautiful creations is immense, and according to Wikipedia he worked as far afield as Bombay and New Zealand.

Interestingly, he seems to have been a keen exponent of the (very pagan) tradition of incorporating a Green Man, or Jack in the Green, into his religious buildings. I am a bit of a fan of the folk tradition of the Green Man, so much so that I have often daydreamed about getting a tattoo of one... Sometimes I just wish is was a Green Woman.

Llywelyn2000

In the interests of educating myself, and enjoying the sight of some more Victorian beauty, I'm planning to try to visit some more of his creations.

Unfortunately, St Paul's Church is not generally open to the public, but if you are ever nearby and have the opportunity to glance in, I urge you do so.

Quilt Love

I'm feeling very proud. 

As you can see, my quilt is pretty much completed. There is about an hour's worth of hand stitching left to do on the binding (which I just could not stay up any longer to do last night), and then it will be done. I did not let such a trifling matter stop me from sleeping under it though. 

I opted for very simple bias lines of stitching for the actual quilting, for which my recently-acquired walking foot was a godsend. However, at one point when I just could not seem to get my stitches very straight I did realise that the screw had worked loose and it was wobbling around all over the place.

I don't think I have mentioned that I have a new baby: this Singer 160 anniversary edition. When I first saw it in a shop window I fell completely in love with it, but it was expensive and I did not need it... but recently I saw one being sold second hand, and after some haggling it is now mine, and I adore it even more!

I am thinking about writing a proper review of the machine, but it is definitely worth mentioning here that it coped beautifully with my quilt, and even the long diagonal lines of stitching, where a huge triangle of quilt sits either side of the needle fitted really comfortably through the throat of the machine.

I had a list of things that I wished to avoid when making this quilt: 

I wanted to avoid buying anything. I did pretty well on this front, although I did buy batting, as I just did not have anything else in a big enough quantity. I used thread I already had (I would have opted for brown instead of cream if I was shopping for it, but it looks fine), the top, backing and binding were all made from my stash, I even found some machine needles which coped well with the quilting. Oh, and I did buy spray adhesive too. This was worth the investment, as it held everything together nicely and did not jam up the machine at all. Neither did it smell bad (it did smell, but not the chemically toxic smell I was expecting), although it did make the oilcloths I had put down sticky- next time I will get a supply of newspaper.  

my workstation 

I wanted to avoid working on the floor. But it was in fact unavoidable- when I was happily machining strippy squares I was not too caught up in how I would manage such a large piece of work in the later stages. The quilt is 2m square, and this process has brought home to me how much space you need for quilting. The spray basting was really really tricky in my available space, and I am amazed that there are no unsightly tucks in the fabric. The necessary rearranging of the furniture meant that I really had to finish the job in one sitting, and this was also something I was keen to avoid. I actually ache today from so many hours spent working on the floor haha!

I wanted to avoid the use of nasty blue water-soluble marker pen, but after unsuccessfully wrestling with every piece of chalk I own I did have to call up the blue marker. I then spent a considerable time with damp cotton buds removing it all which was extremely tedious. Even now there is a faint halo of blue in some places which I will try again to remove. Next time I will invest in iron-off markers. 

There are undoubtedly flaws with my quilt. I will not be holding it up for close inspection by anyone who knows anything about quilting. However, I am happy that it lays flat, it looks pretty, and there were no major disasters along the way. I am also delighted that it is (ever-so-nearly) finished, in time to snuggle under and look at the pretty autumn colours. In total it took days rather than weeks or months, and I would be tempted to quilt again. 

At the beginning of the week I drew up my tie pattern for the Ally Pally ladies who had asked to buy a copy. This got me excited, thinking about whether I could produce a range of sewing patterns. I was just daydreaming, as I don't underestimate how much work there would be in doing this, but I have had several requests for my linen dress pattern. 

We had a lovely trip to Dover Castle this week, and I leave you with a couple of snaps from our visit there. 

Shedding Autumn Leaves

I am pleased to say, after last week's post, that I did indeed finish some of my tasks: here are my 'Earn Your Stripes' Mitts, with the ends sewn in and on sale at Sunday's craft fair. It was a lovely warm sunny day, so I did not end up selling any... but at least they are done. 

I also finished making my neck warmers. A fun ceramic button really completes this bright pink one:

Not only did I finish my large shawls, but we also squeezed in an impromptu photo shoot, ready to list the patterns on ravelry. Ok, so I haven't finished and uploaded the instructions yet... but I will, soon enough. I'm really pleased with these shawls- they provide such instant gratification to make!

I know I also mentioned last week something about stash-busting, and I had begun to play around with this: it's a little difficult to see in the photos what's going on, but it is the makings of a quilt. Now, if you have known me for a little while you will also know that I have started to make quilts before... and failed miserably when it comes to getting them finished. I have a stack of Liberty print quilt squares which I baled out on, as they looked so hideous when I laid them out together... and that's just one of my aborted quilt projects! I had spent hours of an evening hand stitching little 5cm squares. Naively, I had thought that as they were all such individually beautiful prints they would look stunning juxtaposed randomly, but I was wrong! 

I love looking at quilts, I love the idea of quilts, I have books on quilts, I even live in a drafty house, where sometimes a quilt would be most welcome. But none of this adds up to me being able to get through a quilt. Or so it seemed, until now. 

When thinking about what I could do with some of my fabric stash, the yearning for a quilt again flashed through my mind, and I started leafing through 'Quilt Me', by Jane Brocket. What really draws me to this book is the demystification, and the fuss-free approach that the author puts across, along with her modern creations that seem like they would comfortably fit into any interior. My eye alighted on this: 

What could be simpler? Long strips, joined together to make large squares. The recent acquisition of some very cheap neutrally-coloured fat quarters at Ally Pally reminded me that I had sorted through my fabric before, and bunched together a lot of warm browns and oranges and the like, and after a bit of playing around with what to put in and what to leave out I have come up with all of the striped squares I need to make the quilt top. 

Unfortunately I think there is an error in the dimensions given in the 'Quilt Me' book, but it is very simple to come up with your own template. 

I have even joined some large pieces of the softest babycord from my collection to make the quilt back (I know I will live to regret that, as every tiny fibre and thread sticks to babycord, but I just can't resist the print and the softness), and decided to use the fabulous tea cup print lawn seen on the far left below as my binding.

For a very short while I was toying with the idea of getting somebody else to do the actual quilting, simply in the name of getting this project finished, but when a recommendation for a couple of quilters came back from a friend with the words 'not cheap' attached, I wondered what on earth I had been thinking, and decided that I will definitely do it myself.

Hopefully, whilst it is still autumn and I can enjoy these really seasonal colours displayed together.

Imagine that, the whole of the top of a quilt, and its backing without having to buy any fabric. It feels so good though to be putting these beautiful textiles to good purpose. It has got me thinking, what else can I make entirely from my stash? 

Something which I know won't ever make it into my stash is this stunning grey slubby cotton yarn, which I also bought at Ally Pally. It is a little difficult to see in the photograph, but it has gorgeous shades of yellow and pink running through it. I have a specific idea for what I'd like to make... but I do have some shirts to make and some tie patterns to cut at the top of my jobs list this week. 

Lots of Balls (of Yarn) in the Air

Since I last wrote, I feel like I have done a lot of work... but I am struggling to know how to sum it all up! I think it is difficult because I have spent a bit of time on lots of separate projects, but I have not necessarily drawn them to any conclusion (same ol' story!). 

Below is a little snapshot, to which I can add that I have a big stash of stripey mittens to sell at craft fairs... but I have yet to sew all the ends in. I have more zippy pouches cut out... but I have yet to put them together, and I have made quite a few more crochet shawls and neck warmers... but I have yet to sew the buttons and ends, and it is too dark really to get pictures now anyway. I have made table mats for outside in my happy place, and I have hemmed my set of mis-matched napkins... but I have not yet finished the crochet trims. Is a picture emerging here...? 

I have been thinking a lot about how to use-up some of my stash(es), because I have some lovely yarns and fabrics which I feel I really need to do something with, or part with. This calls for easily-achievable, simple projects. That is the thinking behind some of the makes below, but I will show you some more a little later, when there is more to show! 

Zippy pouches for my craft fair stock. Simple but lovely I think, and I am loving letting smaller pieces from my stash really shine. 

One project that did get finished: my favourite infinity scarf made from beautiful fabric from the Knitting & Stitching show. Perfect for our mild autumn weather!

Almost finished: a large stripey crochet shawl. I'm going to have to note the pattern down as I am really pleased with it- it's so simple!- but if I sell it I know I will forget what I did!

The Palace Bulletin

Last week I was delighted to travel to Alexandra Palace to teach at the Knitting & Stitching Show. I always enjoy visiting the show, but this was the first time that I have taught classes there. The sense of anticipation and excitement before the customers arrive always remains the same, though, and preparing to finally deliver my classes after so many hours of preparation (yes, more orange paper bags!) gave me happy butterflies. 

There are some pictures from my classes below, but I will spare you the intimate details. I will just say though that the organisation ran like clock work, and the entire team of staff that I encountered, from electricians and cleaners to security staff were absolutely brilliant. Also, the vast majority of my students were an absolute joy to teach, and were so patient with sharing equipment and sharing space. I have had several thankful emails since I have been home- what a joy to encounter such polite people! 

Apart from spending my time teaching, I chatted away to stallholders, and of course did a little tiny bit of buying. It was great to see my old friends at Art Van Go, and I had a lovely chat to Sara from Black Sheep. To my surprise, several kind strangers admired my dresses, and one of them turned out to be Jo from Baa Ram Ewe, so I chatted about their gorgeous 'Titus' yarn with her and Rachel Coopey for a while- I felt quite start-struck! Having visited the show four days running I had too many delightful encounters to mention them all!

I am now taking a few days to myself: to catch up on admin, to prepare for the next craft fair, and to play around with bits of yarn & fabric. Hopefully by Friday I will have some creations to show you.

students' binding & piping samples

the very beginnings of some broomstick crochet

we actually did use broomsticks: my bag was a lot lighter on the way home that day!

I was very impressed with the coincidental coordinating nail polish!

...also impressed with the coordinating jumper choice

Ties were great sessions, although cutting 300 pieces of fabric & interlining in preparation really was the 'marathon and a half' that I had predicted

Pouches & Prints

After a much-needed day out on Saturday, Sunday saw Part 2 of my 'Sewing Rescue' course in Petham Village Hall.

All 6 of my ladies achieved wonderful little zippy pouches, with their newly acquired zip sewing skills. I had fun just ogling all of their fat quarters before we had even got down to any serious sewing.

The zippy pouch gets a thumbs-up as a useful finished object, and something which is simple and yet nice enough to give as a gift, especially when stuffed with carefully selected smellies and the like. I know I have beautiful fat quarters waiting to star in their very own pretty project, so I know I will be making more to give, to keep, and also to sell at upcoming craft fairs. I might even make up some kits with written instructions.

Well done, ladies! 

Wednesday's skirt lesson was an exciting one, as we fitted toiles. I was so so happy to see my ladies all achieve this stage with panache- it takes some guts to walk around pinned into a calico skirt, being inspected for fit. Most of them fitted pretty fantastically well, and it was great to hear the ladies' input about their visions for finished garments. It makes me really excited for that stage!

After a mid week dabble with some sashiko (pictured in embryonic stages of a project), I'm now getting down to preparation for Ally Pally in earnest. Cutting out 51 Liberty print ties is going to be a marathon and a half in itself! But working with this gorgeous fabric is always a joy. Somehow I feel that some of these will also end up on my stall at a craft fair or two!