A Blank Sheet of Paper

The feathers which I mentioned before are coming down to land. Gently, beautifully, settling down in just the right places.

More to follow of course, as for now everything is awash with cardboard boxes.

A blank sheet of paper, a fresh start... a little bit of magic.














 

New Season

You could be forgiven for thinking that I had given up blogging for lent. Or even that I had given up blogging for ever! But, not so! I will not bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that things have felt a little like everything has been shaken up like a bunch of feathers, which are landing- in slow motion as feathers do- in slightly different places. This is positive, and not as dramatic as it might sound,  but could pave the way for significant changes...

Anyway, I thought I would take you on a quick pictorial tour of some of the things I have been up to over the last few weeks:

There was the Knitting & Stitching Show at Olympia where I taught some workshops. They were mostly simple little bitesize projects which could be made in an hour.

Felt roses, which my students sculpted beautifully

Really easy knitted daisies

Sashiko pincushions

On the design front there has been:

Theme & Variegations Cowl in Fyberspates yarn.

My designs for Yarnbox in an amazing merino/silk blend

Darling Bud which I finally completed

Vita which was in Knit Now

Under the Frost which appeared in Interweave Crochet

There was this bumper crop of felted bags, made to my Tote Chic pattern- with a few impressive customisations along the way:

...and I haven't even mentioned arm knitting yet! 

Beautiful arm knitted scarf- well done Wendy! 

Over the last couple of weeks I have been delighted to be able to spend a little time working on Operation Hand Made Me- my desire to switch to mostly hand made items in my wardrobe. This has also pushed me to clear out a load of things I don't need anymore, which always feels very cleansing. 

I made this Kandinsky Cardigan from the most beautiful Rowan Fine Art Aran wool. I don't know if you can make out that the buttons are tiny ceramic birds, in a range of colours. 

I've sewn quite a few basic bits and pieces too: some simple shift dresses like this one, which are so easy to wear. Raglan shoulders make them super comfortable, and of course there are pockets in the side seams!

And some shift tops like this one. I only had a small amount of this fantastic Liberty print and I have been wondering what to do with it for a while. Now I know what to do with all of those small-ish pieces of fabric, as this is a really wearable top which can be made in an evening. 

And would you believe it, we are having a tiny glimpse of sunshine here, and I was actually ably to take my cardigan off for a few minutes yesterday?! Definitely a moment worth capturing in a photo. 

Happy spring to you :-) x

Because we're British

Just a quick post because I can't let another week pass without blogging; 2 photos which are both related:

Firstly, a bag knitted to my 'Tote Chic' pattern, by lovely Lesley in my Tuesday group, whose last session it was this week. She has made a really fantastic job of the knitting and felting, and this week we attached the strap. You can't really tell but it is a beautifully coordinating blue- blues being Lesley's colours. 

...& secondly a snap of how Tuesday ended:

Bijou Victory

I am joyful today, happy that I have finished this cushion! What a lot of stitches there are in an Aran-weight envelope cushion! Making this has even had added benefits: I have discovered that I really like mattress stitch. This is a revelation purely because I have, up until now, hated sewing up my knitted creations. I love sewing, but I have not enjoyed sewing knits... until today. This must be cause for celebration. 

I have the even easier cousin of this design on my knitting needles at the moment, so I will share that with you when I can. But, I will say again: there are a lot of stitches in a cushion! 

I am also happy that I have some more little teaching sessions scheduled for the Olympia Knit & Stitch show in March (see below). They should appear on the booking pages very soon. 

Cupcake Pincushion

Easy Felt Roses

Knitted Daisies

Sashiko Pincushion

Skein to Shawl

If you are a regular reader, perhaps you will remember this picture:

click here to buy from baa ram ewe

This is 5 skeins of Titus, from baa ram ewe, which I am completely in love with. A blend of home grown wool and UK alpaca, this yarn is soft, light, warm, and although it has a great texture to it, it is still really easy to crochet with. 

I thought it would be fun to share with you a little of the journey this yarn took: 

This was one of my initial sketches: I knew I wanted to construct a shawl in rows and with a spine. I saw buds and petals (intending this for a spring-themed accessory), and a neutral colour palette. I also planned the rows of circles from the outset. 

There were numerous swatches, of course, playing around with the design, and the colour sequence, and the construction.

Once I felt I had made as many of the preliminary decisions as I could, I settled in for the long haul of constructing the shawl. There were still adjustments and re-appraisals along the way, plus some ripping back at times when I changed my mind. The shape evolved too from the original triangle to one with more of an enveloping, winged shape.

I have quite a high threshold for sitting and making things- I find hours pass easily when I am working. But, even I was surprised at quite how long this project took to complete. 

When it was finally finished, the shawl definitely needed blocking, to open up the lacy patterns, and to give it a smooth flat finish. I soaked it for about 30 minutes, and pinned it out for 48 hours. The shape was slightly difficult to handle in the space I have available, and with the equipment I have. I took this picutre just before I unpinned it, and you can see how the curves I tried to pin out so smoothly have slipped into angular points on the wings over the two days. Fortunately this does not show now, but I was concerned when I saw these peaks emerge. On the whole, the blocking was a great success.

This invariably happens when I am blocking something. I take it as quite a compliment. 

Now, I did say this was a warm shawl, and here is how I know this: I desperately needed some photos to go along with the pattern on ravelry, and when I just could not wait any longer I dragged somebody very obliging out into the bitter cold for a bit of a photoshoot. There was actually white stuff falling from the sky when we did this... but I was warm!

This is my favourite picture of it 

If I had thought that completing the crochet was taking a long time, I had no clue how large a task writing the pattern would run out to be! 

The shawl is large, light, and really quite snuggly. Once I have come to terms with it, I'm sure that I will enjoy wearing it. I always have to 'come to terms' with my finished designs: I wonder if when you are so close to the process of creating something new, and when you have been through all of the original inspiration, the hope and enthusiasm, and the many hours spent working (and sometimes the despair)... perhaps you need to distance yourself from the 'process' before you can start to really see the finished item? 

Click here to buy the pattern for 'Abellona'

Tote Exciting

My favourite make this week has undoubtedly been my 'Tote Chic' felted bag:

Acres and acres of floppy stocking stitch were so worth it, when this beauty popped out of the washing machine. I adore the strap too, which just happened by a pure stroke of luck. 

I am now working on the taller version, all in one colour. It is an uncharacteristically bright blue (ordered by mistake), which I dislike on the skein, but hope I will like once it is felted. 

You can buy the pattern here if you wish. 

On another note, tickets are now on sale for Workshops at the Olympia Knit & Stitch Show in March. Click here: workshops to go straight there. For quick reference, my class numbers are: 

C047

C060

C071

C114

C125

Remember these images...? You can take my classes in either of these at Olympia, plus machine embroidery, learning to set-in a sleeve, and sewing a simple infinity scarf too.

arm knitting

crochet cable arm warmers

Locally, I am also teaching a series of exciting sessions: Re-Create Your Favourite Dress/Skirt/Blouse, in Petham Village Hall. Bookings are already being taken, and if you need any info then please just ask.

Happy New Blog Day

It's Thursday: my new blogging day for 2015.

Things are back in full swing for me, with plans being hatched, and both teaching and designing well under way.

Last night I taught a granny square crochet session at Rough Common WI, where a dozen beginners/improvers got hooking. It was a really bubbly and fun session, and I'm amazed what a good job the organisers, Tansy & Kaie, have done in getting the still-new group off to a really healthy start- even on a dark January night! Watch out for some more granny square slipper sessions, like the one here: 





As my Christmas makes are no longer under wraps, I thought I would share some of them with you here, along with some other bits which I made in my down-time over the holidays:

Titanium shawl, made as a gift.

Titanium shawl, made for me.

Anna Dalvi pattern, from 'Mystic Shawls' book.

Cable Scarf #1- I made two as somebody had scarf envy when they saw this!

Christmas quilt: the lighting is a bit dud as it's just so dark today, but in grey/purple/acid colours this is not the classic Christmas palette!

I have now had my hair cropped extremely short, and so making new hats has been a necessity- somehow the old ones don't suit me in the same way...

...some things I make just go awol of their own accord though!

And because I am head-over-heels for these gorgeous inky blues, and I think I always need a shawl on the go, this is a project for the new year.