Archive Entries for November 2006
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Wednesday November 29, 2006
One step closer to a niddy noddy of my very own.
Another great day.
Meeting and lunch in Oxford, followed by an excursion to Winslow (famous for its Boy?). I spotted 12 thatched roofs just driving up the high street. Why was I there? To collect my very own spinning wheel, at last, purchased through eBay.
Having got it home, it seems to be in very nice condition and. (I finally got round to doing some treadling after remote encouragement from Alison), it has a very smooth action. I think there may be a little spring missing from the scotch tensioner, but these fall off very easily and I think are equally easily replaced; however, until I get more experience I am not really sure what I'm talking about....!
Darren, the extremely pleasant seller, is a very genuine chap who seems to have had a middle aged woman's craft possessions explode all over his house. [A friend emigrated, apparently, and I only surmise the age as I cannot believe anyone younger could have collected such stuff]. Thus weakened by the sight of quite such a large bag of knitting needles outside of my own house, and unable to resist, I also purchased a lace pillow and some bobbins; there were only 13 bobbins which is strange as they are used in even numbers, but I think it was a good bargain for me, nonetheless.
Darren also pressed upon me a motley collection of fleeces (small quantites I hasten to say) which I have yet to explore, plus a jumbo flyer and a pair of carders.
It would be nice to spend the weekend playing with my wheel, but we are off to France again so I will have to contain my enthusiasm. Even without that, I still have a lot of other stuff to do for Christmas, if nothing else. I was pleased that not only did I get a good head start on Sunday by making two Christmas Puddings, a Dundee cake, (three french hens, two calling birds) and the mincemeat, but I discovered through that educational "every day story of country folk" on the radio that it was actually "stir up Sunday" so I was being thoroughly traditional to boot.
Posted on November 29, 2006 at 10:41 PM. Category: Spinning, Dying, Weaving.
Sunday November 26, 2006
Guernsey.
OK I admit it. It is very small. It may not fit George. It may not fit anyone over 12 inches in height.
Posted on November 26, 2006 at 10:15 PM. Category: Knitting.
I felt good.
Actually I'm not sure if I felt good or not (yet).
I rashly bought my eldest sister a rather basic digital camera as a Christmas present, (Fuji refurbished thing from Amazon), as she had admitted to not having one. It seemed a shame, as she has recently returned from a trip to Israel where she used disposable cameras, so I went for it. After that, it belatedly occurred to me that a knitted camera bag would be a perfect addition.
I hunted for some kind of pattern for a felted bag on the web, but found everyone else is just doing their own thing, so I decided I would just have to work it out. I used left-over wool from the Fliss scarf (Kid classic) - not sure if it would felt successfully or not, as it's not pure wool. I noted that all the early Rowan stuff seems to be done with Yorkshire Tweed - which they are retiring just now - so....
I knitted a 4x4 swatch and popped it in with the washing (the red washing - ha! can't catch me out like that!). What came out was a tiny ball of fur - from which I deduce it will work. I carefully prized the ball apart and measured it; it seems to have lost the standard 25% in length and about 15% in width.
And here it is; to my relief it seems a good fit, (yes I did risk quickly trying it while the bag is still damp - I am so wild sometimes).
I am not sure she will appreciate the bag - I may have to attach a label saying "these are very fashionable you know". Now I have the taste for it, I may try using left over Rowan Tapestry to knit a bag for my own camera. [That will be in tasteful shades of blue, rather than a Dennis-the-Menace inspired look].
Posted on November 26, 2006 at 1:52 PM. Category: Knitting.
Saturday November 18, 2006
Bangles and baubles.
It's the third Saturday in the month, so I went over to Headley for the monthly guild meeting, not expecting to join the beading workshop, but unexpectedly (and happily for me) they had a spare place. The workshop focussed on knitted beading, and all kinds of methods were taught, including knitting jewellery by using beads and invisible thread. Our project was a small knitted purse. Here is what I did: threading the beads to start.
What I had finished by the end of the day.
As we are all ladies of that certain age, it was mostly a real challenge for our eyesight. Here are some samples of finished articles brought by the workshop tutor Fiona Morris.
She brought along many of her other knitting products as well (see the website); it is always good to see the items knitted up - often much more inspiring than pictures.
Posted on November 18, 2006 at 6:00 PM. Category: Knitting.
Tuesday November 14, 2006
The goose is getting fat.
Here are some projects which I am making as presents. You have fair warning. If you think you may be a recipient of such a gift, look away now. [Actually we are all fine - my readership does not have any potential gifts here...]
First up is a pair of bedsocks, (yes that's right), knitted using woollen leftovers, (Patons Clansman, and Forsell double knitting). The vintage pattern was supplied by George's Mother (she knows my weaknesses) and was designed for leftovers in 3 colours. Last Christmas I knitted some in shades of brown for George's Father, (as a bit of a joke), since I know he wears socks in bed, especially when visiting our house. This year G's Mother requested another pair; it seems they are so popular he wears them all the time.
Next we have the ruffle scarf I have knitted from the latest Rowan book 40. This is for Fliss. In the book it is in an unappealing (no doubt fashionable) grey, and I did not really notice it; however, I saw it knitted up in John Lewis and bought the wool in more adventurous, and what I fondly hope, more Fliss-like colours. I had some trouble in deciphering the pattern and had to go back and check the item in JL to see that I was crocheting as instructed - it seems OK.
And finally: here is the beginnings of the scarf I decided to knit for George. It is a vintage pattern from Jane Waller's (out of print) Man's Book, referred to in the previous entry. I used some very old Rowan wool/cotton in a lovely sage colour.
Posted on November 14, 2006 at 6:33 PM. Category: Knitting.
Thursday November 9, 2006
"Men don't care for new ideas in dress..."
".... fashion means nothing to them".
After seeing a copy of the (out of print) Man's Book by Jane Waller at Alexandra Palace, I ordered a copy through Amazon. It was quite expensive and took some time to arrive as it seems to have been shipped from the US - and I think it is a US edition as the title is a little different. Anyway, it finally arrived today and I love it.
Here it is, showing the great cover shot of Edward Fox, sporting the Fair-Isle sweater "of his choice" - as well as a knitted muffler, I notice. The book covers knitted fashions from the 20s to the 50s; the 20s knitwear fashions were much influenced by the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII), and Mr Fox is an obvious choice for this picture after his excellent and memorable portrayal of the Prince in the 1978 drama series "Edward and Mrs Simpson".
Inside is a very early example of Roger Moore as a model; how handsome he is, and how accurately Jane Waller points out how he and Michael Bentley "epitomized the rugged, clean-limbed look that became the aspiration of every man in the fifties".
Posted on November 9, 2006 at 4:02 PM. Category: Knitting.
Sunday November 5, 2006
F is for Frost, and Feeding Frenzy.
But not Fawkes, as F was also for France, where they do not have a Festival to commemorate the burning of catholics (Funnily enough). We came across here on Thursday overnight arriving at St Malo on Friday morning, and the sea was blissfully calm, (Belle Mer). The weather is actually great: not too cold, no wind, and, following the early morning mists, beautiful clear frosty days.
Sunrise while we travelled from St Malo to Brécey yesterday:
The cats seem to be surviving; the kittens still have no manners, and scream for food - in fact, I should have taken a short video so you could hear how bad it is. I have now confirmed that the small pretty tabby one is a female, and the larger (ruggedly handsome) one is a male. They still refuse to be approached, but are much bolder. They were so hungry on the first day that once their heads were in the bowl you could do what you liked to them and they really did not notice; since then they have not been that hungry.
Here are front and back views. The kittens are frantically drinking a bowl of warm diluted milk, leaving their astute parent to hoover up all the food she can manage without competition.
Posted on November 5, 2006 at 2:47 PM. Category: France.
