Audreys Tea Shop

Jitterbug Boogie and a Giveaway!

2012-02-10T10:43:00.007Z

Picture above copyright Knit Now Magazine

We like to boogie...here it is then, design number two for February: Jitterbug Boogie. The pattern appears in this month's issue of
Knit Now, having been chosen for the 'Designer Challenge' feature using Araucania Botany Lace.

Inspiration comes from all sorts of places and this one's heritage was a proper mish-mash. It started with some Colinette Jitterbug that I had in my stash. Now I love the idea of sock yarn- with all those gorgeous colours, that section of a yarn shop is always like the sweetie counter- but I just can't get on with knitting larger things in that weight and have chronic 'second sock syndrome' which means I've never really got on with them. In part because of this situation, I was quite attracted to the viral knitting phenomenon of
The Beekeepers Quilt, presenting as it does a chance to use up pretty lighter weight yarn. Beekeeping introduced me to knitting tubes that are joined at either end (by using Judy's Magic Cast On or similar) and then a slightly random Twitter conversation about dyeing hair pink got me thinking about cartoony, rockabilly hair and the possibilities of knitting around a hairband...and Jitterbug Boogie was born.

A small amount of sock yarn, along with a store-bought hairband and some stuffing means you can knock out a hairband in an evening, and once I'd made one, I wanted to try a larger-bow version. This time I tried a different yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze held double, which, with its fuzzy halo gave even more of a retro effect. I think you could have a lot of fun messing with the basic concept like this- use different yarns, add buttons or bits of netting to go for more of a cocktail hat effect or do full on matching by choosing a colour that's the same as your shoes, bag or gloves.

I'd love to see what people come up with by riffing on the original pattern, and to get you started I'm running my FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!
The prize includes a brand new, in bag copy of the latest issue of Knit Now magazine, including a free sock supplement and DPNs, a hairband suitable to complete the project and a ball of Vigora British Mohair yarn in a gorgeous peachy pink. Used double, this yarn will make a fabulous 50s style version of Jitterbug Boogie.
To enter leave a comment below, telling me where you like to boogie, by 10am on Friday 17th February, and the first name picked out at random will be sent the goodies post haste!

Update: I don't think I had this set up right- sorry it's my first time trying to do this! Hopefully you'll be able to leave comments now, but please check back after next Friday's closing date just in case I can't find a way to contact you about who's won :-)

Marvellous Mittens

2012-02-09T20:01:00.006Z

Introducing my new mitten pattern- Treacle Toffee. Of the two designs I have out this month this one is a bit special. By this I'm not being self-congratulatory about the idea- they're relatively simple mittens in toddler, child and medium adult size with a thumb gusset and a stitch pattern found on a vintage pattern leaflet. It's not even because the Maya DK from Eden Cottage Yarns I used for these samples was heavenly. No, the reason they're special is down to what they're part of.

We're incredibly fortunate in that we have two lovely young children who've so far rarely given us cause to worry, healthwise. However, we are ever aware of how lucky we are in this, knowing as we do parents whose children have been suddenly and seriously ill, or whose problems have meant their little lives so far have seen far too much of hospital wards.

Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity raises money to help individuals and organisations that care for very sick children, aiming to provide quality of life no matter how ill they are. Definitely a pretty marvellous idea, which is why it's great that Knit Now has begun a campaign to raise money for the charity by asking designers to donate mitten patterns which are then published and sold for a minimum donation.

Treacle Toffee is the second design to be released as part of the Knit Now Marvellous Mittens campaign. The first was Patricia Clift Martin's beautiful Flapjack Mitts, which is still available, along with my pattern, by donating at JustGiving.com. It's worth knowing that if you buy the pattern you have the right not only to make them for yourself or as a gift, but you can also make them to sell for charity- either this one or another of your choice. Warm fingers and a warm glow of doing good, what more could you ask in the cold of February?

Starting Sheep Heid

2012-02-08T13:42:00.004Z

Not for a moment would I complain about the huge good fortune that has meant me spending most of the last few months designing, knitting and writing up patterns for my own designs. As I've said here before, it's a very exciting new aspect to my knitterly life. However, now that things are just a bit quieter on that front, it's been wonderful to have a go at knitting someone else's patterns for a change.
The someone else is the humblingly fantastic Kate Davies, who inspires not only with her designs and her writing, but her whole approach to life and the particular challenges it throws at her.
One of her recent designs is Sheep Heid, a fairisle Tam which uses 9 natural sheep shades of Shetland wool to depict...sheep! It's not my first time doing fairisle as you can see, but it is my first time using proper Shetland yarn and I'm also using the opportunity to teach myself to hold one colour in each hand and 'pick' as well as 'throw' the yarn doing colour work. Considering how much colourwork I've done on other projects, it's about blooming time I did this.I've already found that I can get a decent speed up doing it, not to mention the time saved with not having to stop and unravel every row or two.
It's certainly a different feeling, having to follow a pattern rather than worry about whether I'm writing up instructions properly. This, in addition to not having a fixed time when I need it finished, has made the project quite a relaxed one so far. However, it's not been plain sailing. My initial crazy enthusiasm to get going, coupled with a fair few sessions when I should have realised I was too tired to attempt chart following, has meant rather a lot of ripping back. A couple of times the mistakes were so small that I could maybe have left them...but I knew I couldn't live with them so back I went. I guess having knit almost twice as many rounds as I've kept has all been good practise for my colourwork tensioning and that yarn-in-each-hand method. I'm actually a little further on than this picture shows, but haven't had either the time or the light to get any more recent ones. For those who know this pattern, I'm halfway up the ewes!

Summer Swatches

2012-02-03T14:05:00.005Z

After the flurry of activity to meet my end of January deadlines, it's been pleasing to have a bit of a change of knitting pace. I've been able to make a start on knitting something from someone else's pattern for a change- more on that another day- and get swatches done for summer edition submissions.
I find the concept of summer knits tricky- for me it's a bit like when you try to cook vegetarian food by finding meat 'substitutes' instead of concentrating on what is intrinsically valuable in the ingredients you are using. To me, knitting is about wool and warmth and winter, even if I knit all year round. But whatever I might think, magazines keep coming out and other people who keep knitting in the summer months don't all want to stick to stocking up on woolies for the upcoming winter. I've therefore been embracing the possibilities of cotton and bamboo.
Okay, so I've been mostly embracing cotton and bamboo. The acorn motif swatch shown is, admittedly, wool. There's a legitimate reason for this, which will become apparent if one way or another the pattern comes to fruition. The seashore colour mix yarn, however, is Patons Mirage DK, a cotton/bamboo blend, while the bright colours at the top are Patons 100% Cotton DK. Now I'm not much of a fan of knitting with cotton, as I often find it stiff and/or splitty, but I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by knitting these swatches, as I've enjoyed working with the yarns much more than I expected.
I've also, thankfully, found myself falling in love with the designs I'm working on for my proposals. It must be something to do with their being all about being outdoors enjoying the warm weather, while at the moment outdoors is a bit less hospitable. This falling in love is fortunate, as in my limited experience of successful submissions, it seems to be a vital element for success. It's as if a lack of commitment and joy in a design somehow shows through in the sketches and swatches, in the same way someone desperate to be in a relationship is somehow very unattractive.
Sketching, scanning and putting together of proposals is on the list for this weekend, then it's out of my hands- which by then will be on to other things...

Lost and Found

2012-01-30T13:56:00.003Z

Today I lost a mitten. Not just any mitten, though. These were the
Ysolda Snapdragon mittens that very nearly defeated me. Several years ago, when I began them, I found the combination of knitting in the round and cabling so fiendish that after several attempts with the chart, then the written instructions, then both at the same time, I was ready to give up. In the end I struggled on and then, a year later (!) had the mental strength to struggle through the second one.
This morning I must have dropped one after I scraped the ice off the windscreen. I had that funny 'something's wrong' niggling, but was in too much of a hurry to stop and look if I'd dropped anything, so I didn't realise until I was at work. Turned out that the niggle was right. Boo!
Thankfully I didn't have enough time to grieve the loss of my handiwork before I was back at home and found the missing Snapdragon draped over the fence. You'll have seen these sad but hopeful little tributes to good citizenship before I'm sure, but in this case lost item and owner were reunited.
All's well that ends well and all that. But this, along with a conversation about C's need for new socks the other day has got me thinking about how our relationship with handmade items must have altered over the years.
When C was talking about needing new socks, I reflected that there must have been a time when, if you weren't in the income bracket that allowed you to buy socks knitted by someone else, the mother in a family (and quite possibly anyone else who could handle needles) would have had to have been knitting socks more or less constantly to keep a family's feet warm. Either that or making other garments, or mending them. With fewer clothes per person, and with time and labour needed to replace or repair them, people must have known their clothes better and forced to value and care for them more than we do.
That said, while our age is one of 'throwaway fashion', where dubious ethics in manufacturing and cheap synthetic fabrics allow us to spin through the buy/wear/bin cycle with alarming speed, handmade has retained or perhaps regained its value. With ideas of hippies crocheting waistcoats out of hemp or grannies knitting hideous acrylic Christmas jumpers now recognised by many as outdated and inaccurate ways to view handcraft, the quality, integrity and individuality of items made by hand is now valued by a growing number of people.
Time is an increasingly precious and rare resource in this world, so the time that's taken to make something by hand is part of what gives it this value. In addition, where once skills such as knitting, sewing, darning and so on would have been as normal for someone looking after a family as being able to switch on a washing machine is now, these days they are a rarer trick and that rarity gives more value.
While we may have lost a more widespread knowledge of these handcrafts, it appears to me that increasingly we are finding (or re-finding) our appreciation of them. Hurrah!

Progress

2012-01-20T17:19:00.003Z

There comes a point, maybe when you see your name in a magazine you've been able to buy in your local supermarket. Maybe when you get your first cheque through for a published pattern. Maybe when you find yourself being told to 'drop an email' to someone for yarn support, someone whose enough of a knitting 'name' that you bought a stitch dictionary edited by them the previous week. Anyway, at some point you realise that the game has changed.
Anyone who does anything creative daydreams about making it their living- digging the escape tunnel from the daily grind so that one day they can drop through the trapdoor and exist in a world with fewer alarm clocks and pairs of work trousers and more cups of tea and beautiful views from that studio you'll need, of course. Depending on who you are and what you do, these might range from out and out fantasy to hard and fast plans. It's funny though, despite my love of knitting, I'd never thought I'd ever make anything from designing- owning a yarn shop was my favourite daydream, as even in the realm of make-believe I was too aware of not having the design background I felt sure was needed for writing patterns.
I imagine I'm among quite a number of newbie designers who have Ravelry to thank for getting them to venture, or in my case, pretty much stumble, into the world of pattern writing. The chance to post your pattern for free or for sale is a lot less daunting than the prospect of sending off a proposal to a magazine, all the while imagining them howling with laughter at your rank amateurism. Of course, toe dipped, and even with the sort of mediocre response my ideas got, confidence grows, a new magazine's call for submissions caught my eye, what I assumed would be a one off turned into a series of commission and suddenly I was looking at my hobby in a whole new way.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not preparing to give up my day job, especially since it took a year of tears and struggle to get one. At this moment, I'm quite happy if I've found a way to pay for my yarn habit, not to mention the fact that it's added a whole new dimension to my relationship with knitting.
It's a relationship that keeps me on my toes of course. There's the sinking feeling and subsequent sorting out if you discover an error, or worse still have it pointed out by a knitter keen to get on with making your design. There's the self-doubt about whether you've got any ideas, or whether any of your ideas are good enough, when you look at the latest moodboards of a call for submissions. There's the waiting for a response when the deadline passes. There's the pressure to get a sample and pattern complete when you're up against a deadline (or in my case this month, four samples and patterns, which is why this space has been neglected lately).
But for all that, you'll hear absolutely no complaints from me about this new phase in my knitting life. The buzz of getting a 'yes' via email? Fantastic. Justifiably saying 'I have to knit?'That's hardly a chore. Getting gorgeous yarn sent to me for free? Wonderful- I've been up to my ears in projects for the last four months and hardly bought any yarn at all. The deep satisfaction of the journey from idea to submission to making and writing? Love it. The thrill of seeing my name in print and getting nice comments about my design on Ravelry? Yes please! Getting money I can justifiably spend on knitterly things? Well, it's no bad thing really, is it?
Progress is definitely being made in my knitting life at the moment. Thankfully, that includes progress on those projects with a deadline, but also in other ventures, all of which I hope to share news of very soon. Knit on, my friends!

If it's good enough for sheep...

2012-01-07T08:57:00.004Z

Wool. If it's good enough to keep sheep warm in the fells, then it should be good enough to keep me and mine warm up there too, right? On a recent quest to find enough daylight to take reasonable photographs of projects and blow the holiday cobwebs away, we found ourselves in a favourite spot- Blea Tarn, on the Wrynose Pass near the Langdales. The wind was blowing a hoolie, as it has been on and off for what seems like weeks now, and up there it was strong enough to knock a certain small boy off his feet- luckily he found it hilarious.
We had a blustery, slightly shortened walk and managed to get a few nice shots and I also took the opportunity to test out Kate Davies' exhortations to wear wool as an alternative to the usual synthetic fleeces to keep the chill out here. Her daily walks take place in Scotland, for goodness sake, so if she maintains that woollen layers are an effective way to keep warm then I believe her.
You don't just have to listen to one of my admittedly favourite designers though. A project a few years ago proved that the clothing worn by early Everest explorers, which had a strong wool element, was in many ways as effective as the 'smart' fabrics of today. You can read more here. The rising popularity among outdoor clothing companies of merino for base layers also demonstrates the recognition that nature is pretty good at creating her own 'smart' materials.
So, on a normal walking day you might have found me wearing a handknit hat, scarf and gloves at most. This time I added a pair handknit wool socks over my normal socks, a merino base layer with a cotton long sleeve t-shirt and a handknit sleeveless vest over that (my 1st-prize-at-Great-Eccleston-Show-winning Fyne Vest to be precise!), knitted wool mittens and a wool beret. Everything else was synthetic fabrics, which probably put me at about 50/50 wool to synthetics.
Without any fleece involved, it felt a lot less bulky than normal. As I didn't exert myself very much I can't comment on the breathability, but I didn't feel the need to strip off so many layers when we retired to a cafe in Ambleside for cake afterwards. As for being warm, well, the wind blew fierce and the wind blew wild, but I was just fine, and I'm a cold bones sort.
It's made me realise that despite all the knitting I do, I don't actually have that many woolly things I can wear for this sort of thing. Whether through knitting or shopping, it's something I intend to rectify this year.

New Year Blues (and Purples)

2011-12-31T15:32:00.003Z

Fear not! This isn't going to be a melancholy reflection on the passing of time or the adversities we've faced this year. Matter of fact, I'm feeling incredibly positive about all that 2012 could bring, not least with all the creative opportunities already on the horizon. This makes me especially grateful to the lovely friend who gave me this Nicky McClure Journal- and sent me a text to say yes I blooming well should write in it, however beautiful the illustrations in it are. So I took a deep breath and made my first jotting in the Make section- there are also sections entitled Plan, Wish, Dream, Build, Explore, Learn, Grow, Give and Find. I feel determined to live up to them all.

True to form, my hands haven't been idle over the Christmas break. I've been revelling in the beautiful deep blue, pink and purple tones of some Bowland DK by Eden Cottage Yarns. I can't say much more about the project as it's another design destined for publication (yay!) but I can say that it was the colour that originally inspired me, and that it continues to do so.

Finally, onto the big blue. My folks just went on a big trip to South America and because they are fabulous to their yarn-obsessed daughter, they found room in their suitcase to bring back this bundle of bright blue yarn from Uraguay. There's 250g of thick and thin, bulky weight pure wool here, which has to make it one of the best holiday presents around. I haven't worked out what I'll make with it yet- all suggestions gratefully recieved. For one reason and another I'm not really into the idea of a scarf or hat, so I'm wondering about maybe some sort of shrug or vest. Ah, shucks, an excuse to wander along the by-ways of Ravlery, what a hardship!
Wishing you all a Happy New Year- here's to a creative and prosperous times ahead.

Sparkle and Shine

2011-12-21T10:36:00.005Z

Hmm. Now I recently promised that this blog would be more knit-focussed. But then, I also said (to myself) that this year I wouldn't be doing Christmas knitting as I didn't have enough time and didn't want to spend the run-up frantically trying to finish projects. Read on and you'll see that a lady (ahem!) is allowed to change her mind. Be assured though, that this non-woolly diversion is a blip and that I'll be back to all things yarny soon. Fact is, I am inordinately proud of my Christmas cake and I wanted to share it here, although also slightly worried that I may have overdone 'feeding' it with sherry for the past month- it could well have quite a kick!

While I promised myself no Christmas knitting, I did persuade myself that making tutus as suggested in Oliver + S's Little Things To Sew would be a good way to take care of the half dozen little girls we need to give Christmas presents to. It was...sort of. Suffice to say, wrestling one bundle of tulle into a tutu is bearable, wrestling six is a bit more trying. Once finished and viewed with fresh eyes after a much needed night's sleep, they do have a certain seasonal magic, and I'm hoping the recipients will have lots of whirly, dancing fun in them.

And the Christmas knitting? Well, one is still a WIP- sigh!- for a little girl whom I think is a bit too small appreciate a tutu just yet. The other, shown above, is as much an indulgence for me as for my little M. I persuaded myself to buy the velvet dress by identifying at least three occasions in the coming weeks when she can wear it, and once bought it was just crying out for the sort of little fluffy white cardigan I remember from my own childhood party outfits. It's another Tiny Tealeaves, made slightly shorter and with just one button to suit the A-line of the dress. The yarn is King Cole Galaxy DK in Saturn which was on at a reduced price at Deramores. This is an acrylic wool mix with sequins that are very pretty, if slightly irritating to knit with (I like my yarn smooth). It's very soft and has a enough of a halo to give it that luxurious look. Surprisingly, when knitted up the sequins don't feel scratchy, which is a bonus despite the fact that M won't be wearing this against her skin.
With an alarming list of Christmas baking, shopping and wrapping to do, not to mention that last-minute bit of knitting, this will probably be the last of me until the other side of the festive weekend. So until then, may your holiday be full of sparkle and shine, and all your yuletide knitting be completed on time. Happy Christmas!

Make Do and Mend for Woolsack

2011-12-18T10:55:00.009Z

Photograph from Knit Now magazine

UPDATED: Jan 17th Yikes! In my hurry to get this ready for Woolsack I managed to include a number of howlers in the pdf. The link below now should take you to a (hopefully) more correct version. Sorry to anyone who's been struggling with the previous version.

You may not think that there's much about the London 2012 Games that's going to have anything to do with knitters. This may be because you haven't heard of Woolsack,which has been granted the Inspire mark and is part of the Cultural Olympiad.

The aim of the project is to encourage people- from schools and colleges, community and craft groups, smallholders and farmers, British Wool yarn producers, spinners, dyers and individuals to help to make cushions using British wool, which will then be given as welcome gifts from the people of Britain to the visiting Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

It is hoped that making the cushions will help people gain craft skills and also to learn about the production of British Wool, on which the British economy and early industry were originally founded. In this way a wide range of people can be inspired by the 2012 Games, even if not everyone is able to participate directly in sports and athletics.

The cushions are all to be 40cm square, made from British wool yarn and be suitable for stuffing with more pure British sheep's wool before being sewn up- the latter part of this process will happen at 'stuffing events' which participants can either attend or send their cushions to be completed at. Special labels will be attached, along with any personal messages from the makers. The completed cushions will then be offered to the athletes, with any that are left over being donated to charities.

It's a fascinating project that can only raise the profile of the British wool industry, so I was really happy to be asked to help out by modifying my Make Do and Mend pattern so that it will work as a Woolsack cushion. It's available as a PDF here
for those wishing to contribute to the project, while further details and links to other patterns can be found at www.woolsack.org. Go on, be inspired!

PS Just to say that the original version of the pattern was published in Knit Now and the rights remain with them at the moment. They've given permission for me to reproduce it in this form to support the Woolsack project, so please only download the pattern if that's what you want to use it for. If you're keen to make one for another purpose, back issues of the magazine are available through Practical Publishing and after the Spring deadline for Woolsack, I'll be making the original version of the pattern available through Ravelry. Thanks!

Colour Pop Snood

2011-12-13T21:28:00.001Z

So here it is, my second pattern to make it into print! Appearing in Issue 3 of Knit Now magazine- out later this week, and with previews on Ravelry here, this is the Colour Pop Snood.
While the design turns out to be totally on the button for the grim weather we're having just now, the inspiration for it came way back in those far off days of summer. I spent a few days down in London and found splashes of vivid colour amongst the city greys, which I wrote about here. I knew that I'd appreciate the energy and warming effect of a 'pop' of colour when the grey skies descended. This was the result.

The idea of the oversized snood came from one I made for my younger sister a few years ago, when she coveted, but couldn't afford, those on the Burberry catwalk. Being able to have great neck coverage without the weight or trailing ends of a thick scarf was a bit of a revelation for me, so I went for similar chunky cabling in this design.
It would actually make a good project to begin with if you wanted to try cabling, as there's no shaping to contend with- it's basically a long rectangle knitted flat, then grafted together to form the snood.
The yarn is Artesano Aran in Meadie, which is a gorgeous purple/blue shade hard to do justice to with either photos or words. Sometimes it looks like a real 'royal' blue, other times it's like the purple of my favourite chocolate brand wrapping. Whatever you want to call it, it's a fabulous shade and the yarn is super-warm without feeling too heavy, even in chunky cables. So far it's yet to show signs of pilling, although this sort of garment doesn't get the pill-causing friction other might I suppose, and as the pattern is knit quite a tight gauge, it doesn't seem to get saggy, maintaining its height and keeping those winter chills out.
Here's hoping that lots of people like it enough to buy the magazine, so we can enjoy colour pops all over the place this winter.

Of mittens and gussets...

2011-12-10T18:11:00.013Z

Behold! You see before you my first forays into the art of mittenry (is that even a word? If not, it should be). I'd made mittens and gloves before, with varying levels of success. Ysolda Teague's Snapdragon flip top mittens nearly broke me, I found the combination of cabling, working in the round and adding the thumb in so hard. In the event I finished one on about my fifth attempt, then had to wait a whole, cold fingered year before I could face tackling the second one. I had a few other pairs of simpler gloves and mittens under my belt but had never thought about designing them.
When I did come to making up my own mitten patterns the main psychological block was the 'thumb gusset'. Just the sound of it, with its undertones of old-fashioned, no-nonsense technical efficiency filled my self-taught heart with fear. I am in no way a technician, either when it comes to knitting or design, and was sure I'd make a mess of it.
A bit of research into other patterns though and I got a handle on it- apologies if you know all this already, but here's what I learned: Essentially a thumb gusset is a few stitches you reserve between the front and the back of the mitten, from which you 'grow' your thumb. The front of the mitten needs to be slightly narrower than the back in order that your thumb gusset sits slightly forward on the mitten for a better fit. At the appropriate point you increase stitches at the start and end of your thumb gusset so that the mitten gets wider to accomodate where the lower knuckle of the thumb sticks out. When you reach the base of the thumb you separate off your gusset, knit it up to thumb length, sew it up, rejoin the front and back and carry on up the mitten, sighing with relief that you have tackled the gusset.
Anyway, once I'd done it the first time- including managing to make the ribbing on the cuff flow smoothly into the main part of the hand- I could see how much potential there was for the fun-sized spaces of the front and back of mittens, and another pair found its way onto the sketchpad.
Great Oaks From Little Acorns Grow,shown above, and Treacle Toffee, below, are sneak previews of patterns I'm hoping to tell you more about soon. The green yarn is from Blacker Yarns. It's their Pure Dyed British Wool, which was out of stock on the site last time I checked, but they have other, very similar options. I think I've mentioned the orange yarn before: Maya DK from Eden Cottage Yarns. This one was in stock last time I looked, but beware, once you visit you'll find it very hard to resist the sweetshop of heavenly colours that Vikki creates!

Pattern Development

2011-12-06T11:24:00.002Z

The thing about knitting is that there are so many avenues to explore. I have only had the briefest of brushes with spinning, for example, dabbled a little with machine and wet felting but never tried dyeing. I've experimented with a number of different techniques and things to knit, but still have an extensive list of 'must try' possibilities.
The danger, with only so many hours in the day and the reality of having life and family beyond the sticks and string, is that new avenues of investigation distract you from actually knitting. This has certainly been the case for me since I caught the designing bug. I'm knitting or doing knitterly things for at least a few hours every day, but since most of the time this involves sketching, swatching, writing up submission proposals and patterns or making samples I end up with little that I can show here. In addition, I have cold feet and am perfectly capable of making the felted slippers I've been wanting for ages, but never seem to find the time for making them.
I'm not really complaining though, as having yarn support (free yarn! Even if you do have to knit it up then send it away again) dropping through the door will surely always be a joy and I love puzzling away at new ideas to fit mood boards put out by potential publishers. It's even paying off in slightly less conventional ways, as the colourwork idea here is one I'm developing for a friend in exchange for help with what will hopefully be improvements to my online presence- watch this space.
All this said, I hope to have more projects to show here soon and in the meantime I'm going to put on an extra pair of socks and enjoy the buzz of creativity.

Tiny Tea Leaves for a Growing Girl

2011-11-26T23:27:00.005Z

Is it normal to envy the wardrobe of your toddler daughter? I have to admit to having wished in the past that I could do ditsy prints and stripy tights the way she does and now this Tiny Tea Leaves is bringing on the green eyed monster even more.

It wasn't as if I didn't have enough projects in progress, all of them design development or commission samples. Hell, one of them is even a sweater that's destined for little M whenever I finally get around to it- being a large 'frog and re-do' job it keeps getting bumped for smaller projects with newer and therefore more exciting yarn. But she's outgrown her summer cardigans, and a friend had given me this pattern and I had more than enough Rowan British Sheep Breeds DK in Brown BFL from an idea for a pirate design boys sweater that I have struggled with, frogged and in the end given up on (possibly for good, not least because the boy in our household is resolutely opposed to hand-knitted garments of any kind).

It's a pattern that well deserves its popularity. Easy to follow, even when picked up and put down in favour of other projects or the occasional tokenistic domestic chore, the result is lovely in its simplicity. I can see myself making further versions for her as she gets older, and different yarns could make it anything from a fluffy party dress cover-up to a sensible school cardigan.
As for the yarn, well first of all it's held up remarkably well considering the several times it's been knitted, frogged and re-knitted on its journey from pirate to tea-leaf. The small amount of frog-based kinking that could be seen on some of the stocking stitch parts of the body disappeared without trace with blocking and the finished result is soft and springy. As is so often the case with colours created by Mother Nature herself, it would be hard for a dyer to come up with something better than the warm greyish-brown. The sheep also still makes itself known in the scent, faint but comfortingly present even when the cardigan is dry.

When it came to choosing buttons I could quite easily have gone for the natural options of wood, shell or bone, which would have suited the yarn. I felt that this might make it feel just a little bit too serious for a one-and-a-half year old and that colour was needed instead. These very pale pink ones seemed to have just the right amount of delicate prettiness for a little girl.

I say little, but the smallest size on the pattern is listed as 2T, which in theory should be on the large size for M. I think the yarn used was a bit lighter than the recommended and I have to admit that rather than matching the gauge, I just knit on the right sized needles for the yarn, made the smallest size and hoped for the best. It seemed huge when on the needles and I thought it would end up with a lot of growing room, but it appears my baby has been growing up without me noticing it, and actually the size is perfect for her right this minute. Now I just have to find room on my knitting 'To-do' list to make the grown-up version for me.

Wovember- in praise of Wool

2011-11-23T13:31:00.004Z

When it comes to the work of Kate Davies I have to admit to being a bit of a stalker. I love her knits- I've never had a sweater that gets me more compliments than Owls , I more or less live in Manu and a Sheep Heid is on the cards for the near future. More than that though, I love her passion for design and real wool. Is there another type of wool? The more fibre aware among you may well wonder, but as Kate's 'Wovember' campaign highlights, there is an increasing tendency on the High Street and beyond to use and abuse terms like 'wool', 'woollen', 'tweed' and so on whenever it suits the marketing aims and regardless whether the actual fabric content has ever known a sheep.
Kate's blog, which I wanted to mention before November was finished (although Wovember is an ongoing cruade), includes some fascinating, thought provoking and at times anger-inducing information about the role wool has had in the textile industry of the past as well as how it needs to be respected and cherished in the future. Whether you're a knitter or not, I would urge you to visit and read- if nothing else the beautiful photographs of gorgeous designs and Scottish landscapes will soothe and inspire.

Pattern Development

2011-11-21T14:28:00.004Z

You could say that my knitting life has undertaken something of a transformation recently. This time last year I was dipping the tiniest toe in the water of coming up with and sharing my own designs. Since enjoying a small amount of success, I'm a woman possessed and I seem to have projects under development everywhere, from sketches and proposals, to swatches and samples and things that still only exist in my head. Some of them promise much then just don't work out, others change and evolve and end up completely different from the original idea, while others just seem to fly straight away. It's a fascinating and exciting new process for me.

Inspiration has to come first, of course, and it would be hard not to be influenced by the wonders of the late autumn Lake District- the leaves pictured are caught in a beck running down the side of Yewdale, near Coniston. Further inspiration arrived in the post last week, in the form of this glorious 'Autumn' coloured yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns. Eden Cottage is the new name for Wild Fire Fibres, reflecting dyer Vikki's recent move to Cumbria's Eden Valley. The baby alpaca yarn is so very soft and colours speak for themselves really.

A recent charity shop find was the great vintage Paton's design seen above, which I picked up mainly for the interesting stitch pattern. I'm not using it in a sweater as the leaflet shows (although you never know, one day we too may be a family clad in matching jumpers like the ones in the picture!) but have found that it adapts really well to the project I'm working on. I'll reveal more at a later date, I hope.

Make do and Mend cushion- in print!

2011-11-17T11:04:00.004Z

Way back in the summer I started using up some odds and ends of Rowan Felted Tweed DK to make a cushion cover. I wanted the chance to try out some stitch patterns from a lovely old World War II book I had and I posted some of the pics on this blog.

Who would have thought that an idle wander through the Ravelry forums would lead me to stumble across a call for submissions for a new knitting magazine. My cushion idea seemed like the sort of thing they were after- picking up on trends (vintage/mid century interiors) and portable (the front is a patchwork of squares that make good 'take along' projects).

With nothing to lose, I drew my sketch, wrote my proposal, scanned some samples (which don't exactly look promising do they? Imagination was needed evidently!) and waited. Next thing I knew the email came to say 'yes please' and there I was with my first commission. So today I went into one of my local supermarkets (here, in the back of beyond!) and bought a copy of 'Knit Now' magazine with my very own pattern in it. More (very lovely) pics are on Ravelry here.

More Knit, less Natter

2011-11-15T11:11:00.004Z

So here I am, back again. In the moments during my break when I would normally have been blogging I was thinking about what I wanted Audrey's Tea Shop to be from hereon in. When I began it I was a mother of a one-and-a-half year old, recently uprooted and relocated to Cumbria and still in a whirl of disorientation and shock at being a long way from family and friends, and suddenly without the job I loved. The blog proved a great way for me to focus on all the positives of full-time parenting and living in this lovely part of the country and probably even encouraged me to do more as I was writing about it.
Today that toddler is big enough to be at Nursery school and his little sister is now one-and-a-half. While I still don't have much in the way of work our daily routine has picked up in pace and I don't have the same time to spend doing or writing about the stuff I have before. In addition, I have to admit to finding myself at times missing the chance to be part of the moment for the sake of getting a photo to share on the blog. Meanwhile, over the last few months, I've found certain aspects of my creative work taking greater precedence- in particular knitting and knitting pattern design.
For these reasons I've decided to keep writing for Audrey's Tea Shop, but to shift the emphasis onto knitting. I hope to share what I'm designing and making, who and what is inspiring me and other knitty bits and pieces. I might not write as frequently as I have in the past but hopefully the quality will be higher. I'm also planning to post the occasional free pattern and host some giveaways.
In the meantime, I'm off to cast on...

Sabbatical

2011-10-26T15:38:00.003+01:00

Whether it's the traditions of Samhain or Harvest Festival, this a traditional time of year for taking stock, working out what to store away for later and what to be rid of. Something of this spirit has taken hold with me as well, and I've decided that rather than keep on with what has recently rather sporadic blogging, I'm going to take a little break and decide a new and improved form in which to continue. I doubt it will be long before I'm back, but hopefully when I am it will be with renewed purpose. Bye for now!

For him and her

2011-09-23T17:29:00.002+01:00

It's been a big week this week, as our not-so-little-anymore boy began at nursery school. He's been so ready for it for such a long time that I haven't really felt any sadness at the fact that my little companion through all the ups and downs of the last few years won't be at my side anymore, since his mornings will now be a world apart from me. I did want a little bit of mummy-love to go with him to school though, so I made him a couple of pairs of these Oliver + S 'Sketchbook' shorts as part of his uniform. As he's the kind of child who would happily wear shorts whatever the weather they should get a fair bit of wear, and it really shows how adaptable this pattern is- in the bengaline these are made of they have a totally different look to the cotton print ones I made at the start of the summer.
Meanwhile, over in the ever-busy knitting corner, I found myself with two lovely skeins of Manos Wool Clasica left over once I finished my Queen Bess sweater (see previous post) and it just seemed criminal not to use them. A friend then recommended this Milo pattern and wouldn't you know it? I had just enough yarn to make this little winter warmer for M. The pattern is a great example of well-written, well-designed simplicity and it's got enough growing room that she should get plenty of wear out of it- some colder autumnal days recently have meant it's already had an outing or two. Getting a photo of someone who has recently very much found her feet and likes to run everywhere is another issue altogether.

Endless Knitting

2011-09-19T13:01:00.003+01:00

I've been really lax at blogging recently, mainly because I've not yet learned to knit and type. Every spare minute seems to have been spent with the sticks and string, I'm a woman possessed! It began with a drive to begin making new stock for a slightly new direction for my Folksy shop, of which more soon. I interspersed this with work on my grown-up version of Queen Bess and was then interrupted by news of the birth of a son for one of my best friends. Of course that called for a knitted gift and my old favourite, Debbie Bliss' Teddy Bear from Simply Baby came out beautifully in dark brown, even if the photo doesn't do it justice.
Once I've woven in ends on Queen Bess and blocked it, work will begin on sizing and writing up the pattern, ready for test knitting. I find that brain-hurting work, but do love the idea of sharing my designs so needs must. On that subject, while all this knitting has been going on I've been fielding emails from the test knitters on my Coniston Sweater and I think I'm nearly there. My first 'for sale' pattern- exciting stuff!

Handmade with Love

2011-09-08T10:54:00.003+01:00

If you've ever made something by hand as a gift, and cursed over the tricky bits, wondering if it will even be appreciated or worn, then take heart from this:

As this beautiful little smock dress was originally made by my aunt for my older sister, over 30 years ago, and worn by her, then me, then my younger sister, by my reckoning M is the fourth one to wear it.

Not only has all that careful hand-smocking survived years of wearing, washing and subsequent storage, but it's now once again destined to be a often worn, much loved addition to a little girl's wardrobe

Both my children are very fortunate in having family members and friends who make them lovely things, just as I was. P starts at a school-based nursery later this month and I wanted him to have a school bag to mark the occasion. As my time was pressed but my mum said she was 'between projects' I asked her if she could make the Messenger Bag from Oliver + S 'Little Things to Sew' (sorry, tried to add a link here but it didn't work out).

She could and she did. The combination of Liesl Gibson's attention to detail with curves and binding and inner pockets, with mum's attention to detail in choosing a plain, hardwearing denim outer and combining it with a brightly patterned lining, and leaving off fastenings so it's easier for P to get into means that this is going to be another much loved, much used item.

Back from a break...and yet more colour

2011-09-07T16:01:00.004+01:00

After all the late night knitting to get 'Make Do and Mend' finished and posted to deadline, a huge amount of washing so that for once we didn't go on holiday with bags full of damp clothes to be dried once we arrive and usual craziness of getting our little family on the road, we had a more-or-less blissful week in Lyme Regis with beloved parents/grandparents and my sister.

The sun shone (mostly), the views were like a children's story book, much sand was dug, much ice-cream eaten and a good time was had by all.

I did manage to find a fossil on Charmouth beach, a tiny ammonite which I packed somewhere safe that I now can't recall (no, I haven't got around to unpacking everything yet!) and as always found that profound sense of peace and happiness that comes from being on the shore. It never ceases to amaze me how nature puts together colours in a way that we can never really reproduce, like these beautifully smooth stones.

However, all those natural colours haven't completely won me over and my quest for colour continues. I know I should have brought back something local, but a shop called 'Siciliana' in Lyme Regis caught my eye- I wonder why?! The owner sources and imports ceramics from a number of family producers in Sicily and his shop is a mouthwatering feast of colour. This little jug and bowl are destined to be a toothbrush holder and soapdish in the colour-saturated bathroom I'm planning. We can't afford a complete re-do, so I'm thinking that the absence of cool, sophisticated newness is a good excuse for crazy, mismatched loveliness. Just add that project to the endless list...

Long journeys (including the trip back, all seven hours of it, in the cab of the transporter with our car on the back, said car having conked out on day 2, eek!) and leisurely evenings as our salt-crusted children slept off their days of running about on the sand meant that I really got cracking on some knitting. After all the itty-bitty work with DK the other week, it was lovely to get back to Artesano Aran and Manos Del Uraguay Wool Clasica, chunkier needles and quicker growth. I finished the vibrant blue/purple Artesano project and, despite patchy reception for recieving emails on my phone, recieved yet more exciting news about the design. Once again, watch this space. Big Queen Bess, the Manos project, is going really well too. Not only am I onto sleeves, but I've tried it on once or twice (and had to be helped out of it by willing, and laughing, volunteers so that I didn't drop all the stitches from the circular needle that was still in it) and I'm pleased with how it looks. Best of all, given my previous record, I actually think I've ordered enough wool to finish the project! I almost don't dare say it, but I think I'll be able to finish it without desperate shout outs on Ravelry for the last few metres to finish a sleeve. Wonders will never cease. Hopefully pics will follow soon.

Make Do and Mend Cushion

2011-08-21T14:55:00.003+01:00

What was originally an in-betweeny project using up odds and ends has become something altogether more exciting and with a deadline attached. I won't say much more now as, apart from anything else, every spare moment is being spent knitting and I have the stiff fingers and blurry eyes to prove it. Best get back to it...

Colour #3

2011-08-15T11:16:00.002+01:00

Despite being in the midst of decorating our bedroom, which will take a hideous combination of eye-hurting yellow, mushroom brown and sickly pink back to a much more muted and soft pallette, bright colour is still very much my inspiration in other areas.
I'm currently working on a design for a snood, rather like the one I made for my sister a couple of years ago. That one got a lot of love on Ravelry, but I couldn't release the design as I lifted the cabling patterns more or less straight from a Rowan magazine design. This one is more my own work, resulting in rather a lot of redesigns (I think we're on attempt number four now, which is lookin good thankfully). The yarn is Artesano Aran, which I got on sale price at the gorgeous Meadow Yarn. The colour is described as petrol blue, but in real life it's more of a deep, vivid purple, rather like the colour of a certain much-loved chocolate brand wrapper... As you can see, photographs show it differently depending on the light and the shot, but however you see it, it's bright and beautiful.

Thrift

2011-08-13T22:52:00.004+01:00

Charity shopping is great, but there's something about the US term 'Thrifting' that I prefer. Maybe it's because it reflects more of the reasoning behind it on behalf of the shopper- I'm happy to be supporting the charity, but equally happy to be finding useful stuff for us at a low cost. Today's finds- the results of a sneaky child-free half hour in town following an eye test- also included the additional joy of second-hand shopping, something that probably wouldn't be found new. We used to have one of these crank-handle graters, acquired when my Grandma cleared out her kitchen, and it went some way to alleviate my hatred of grating (don't ask, it's not rational!). Plus, once assembled, the blades are out of the reach of little fingers so it allowed P to join in with cooking. Sadly, that one got broken through some over-zealous drawer closing on C's part, which is why I was delighted to see this apparently unused and boxed replacement, with not one but three grating options! With what I'm fairly sure is an Ikea tablecloth and six matching napkins my total spend was less than £5- happy days!

This Moment

2011-08-12T21:18:00.002+01:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

Introducing the Coniston Sweater...

2011-08-10T14:13:00.002+01:00

...and the world's grumpiest knitwear model!

This sweater has had several incarnations before I finally got to this version, however the inspiration has remained the same- Coniston Water, for which it is named. It's a place we like to go in all weathers, within easy reach of our house, but with less of the tourist crowds and Beatrix Potter/fleece jacket and walking boots/William Wordsworth overload of Windermere (where these pictures were actually shot- it's not as appropriate I know, but sometimes you have to grab an opportunity).
Sometimes when we drive up the lake road the water is so still that the fells are perfectly reflected in it like a mirror. It's so strikingly beautiful there have been times I've had to remind myself to drive the car instead of being mesmerised by the view. Those reflections, of steely grey clouds, of rocks that shoulder their way through the turf at the side of the road, of slate drystone walls, of moss and dark green forests are all there in the converging, alternately smooth and textured stripes of Rowan Renew- the shade colours are, appropriately enough for my boy, 'Digger' and 'Truck'.
The still flatness of Coniston is also the reason it was where Donald Campbell set the world water speed records that eventually ended in tragedy. Speed on the water is a lot more restricted now, but I thought that it was fitting that the stripes on the sweater also reminded me of those found on diagrams of the Doppler Effect, where the lines showing sound waves get closer together as an object moves past at speed. By the way, I'm not that much of geek (at least not when it comes to Physics!) but fellow Big Bang Theory fans might recognise this episode.

Theories and inspirations aside, the sweater is mainly meant to be a warm, comfortable layer for days out exploring the beauty of the outside world. My model is a very discerning customer and it says quite a lot that the sweater even stayed on him long enough for these shots to be taken- if he really hated it, it would have been dragged off over his head without a thought for all those hours of loving mama-making. No, the grumpiness was down to the fact that it was far too hot for a sweater, as far as my little fashionista was concerned, and that the only bribe I had on me for this brief episode of cooperation was a rice-cake. A favourite snack, granted, but not really what counts as a 'treat'...

I only grabbed these pictures so that I could get on with getting this pattern tested, as all being well this is going to be an early venture into selling my designs. On that front, I've had some very exciting news recently regarding another project, but I'll have to wait to share it. In the meantime, I'm going to wait until the inevitable turning of the year and the cooler weather that might just make this reluctant wearer a little bit more appreciative.

Sweet memories

2011-08-07T20:49:00.004+01:00

If you grew up anywhere other than my home county of Kent you might think that a 'Gypsy Tart' was a rather politically incorrect insult. Obviously I'm far to much of a left-leaning, Guardian-reader type for that- in fact it's a ridiculously sugar loaded bit of nostalgia in the form of a pudding which apparently originated in 'the garden of England'.
I can't remember the exact circumstances that led up to me dredging up the memory - I think it was something to do with custard tarts- but I was determined to introduce my sweet-toothed Northerner of a husband to this pud. There are several recipes on the internet (just be careful to put recipe after 'Gypsy Tart' in the search engine, or I wouldn't like to predict the results!)
The one I used was based on this one, although as I was making a roast dinner at the same time I cheated and used a ready-made pastry case. Apart from that it's really just muscavado sugar and a tin of evaporated milk. The recipe says to hand whisk for 15 minutes so I used my new/old Kenwood Chef until the motor started to smell hot, proabably about 10 minutes. I ended up with far more filling than could fit into the case, which probably saved us a trip to the dentist, because this is a seriously sweet treat.

Colour #2

2011-08-03T21:12:00.002+01:00

This scarf was a charity shop find that attracted me because of its bright colours. I thought I might chop it up to make something, but it somehow didn't seem suitable for that, so I thought I might wear it, but it just didn't quite work somehow.

Then on a trip to Anthropologie I saw a beautiful scarf that was edged in bobble trim. It was out of my price range but gave me an idea. A quick trip to MacCulloch & Wallis (intimidating shop staff, great range of products- less scary to shop online!!) and I picked up this vivid blue trim.
After an evening of hand-sewing I now have another colourful wardrobe addition- it almost makes me want the weather to get cooler!

Colour #1

2011-08-02T14:31:00.004+01:00

Last weekend I went away, without children or husband, to visit my sister in London. It was an unfamiliar rush of freedom, tempered of course with missing them all and thankfully I seemed to have retained enough of my old 'London head' to cope with the crowds, even if the swiss cheese effect of motherhood has left large gaps in my memory of Tube lines and street names.

There was inspiration to be had in a completely contrasting landscape and 'peoplescape' to the one I'm now used to and overwhelmingly the heat and sun drenched weekend seemed to be saturated with colour, whether flashes amongst the city greys...

...Or pops of brightness among the iconically familiar.

Making a long awaited pilgrimage to the Victoria and Albert Museum I was so disappointed that all of the fashion, textiles and tapestry rooms are closed for refurbishment, but you can never complain of not finding treasure there. Once again, colour caught my eye, on this amazing French bed-hanging, which had far more detail of delicately sewn on pieces of fabric and threads than this picture can show...

...to the intense blue background of this tile- although I have to admit that it was the impressive beard that first caught my eye!

The energy of all this colour has become inseparable in my head from the energy and rejuvenation of having this break in the city so I've decided that I need major, bright and clashing colour around me to carry me into the greyer months that I know are inevitably round the corner, even if our summer holidays are by no means over yet.
Maybe that explains my choice of present for M from the Tate Modern gift shop: Peep Through Shapes by James Brown:

It definitely has something to do with my choice of cobalt blue for some new jeans I bought (part of the reason for the weekend was to update my wardrobe with some clothes that fit my slimmer, post-baby figure and are not falling apart from old age) and my renewed enthusiasm for working on my grown up 'Queen Bess' sweater in heavenly pillar-box red...

More colour scheming coming up soon...

Just Now

2011-07-19T13:04:00.003+01:00

Just now I am...

Enjoying the sight of the sun- even if it's just a painted one on our Seasons Display...

Working on three (or maybe four) projects at once, having rediscovered my knitting mojo...

Not letting wet and windy weather keep us indoors all the time...

Having fun with the Vignette app I've downloaded onto my new smartphone!

Old, New and Unfamiliar

2011-07-11T13:25:00.008+01:00

The unfamiliar first...This is the view from the saddle of my lovely old bike. Yep, that's right, me, sworn off cycling for life due to the unspeakable horrors of any kind of incline has actually started to ride voluntarily and even (gasp!) enjoy it. Even with hills. Wonders will never cease.

Not only can old dogs learn new tricks, but they can acquire new old treasure. This is another find from the farm (a seemingly endless trove of undiscovered goodies). Like the jam pan and chest of drawers before it, my Father in Law was quite happy for me to have this, which he would term 'kelter' (junk to the non-Lancastrian famers among us) on permanent loan. The only proviso was a share of the cakes I'm going to create with it. There's a reason Kenwood has the good reputation it does, as this old Chef may have been grubby with years of neglect and maybe shows its age in the styling department but switch it on and it still goes- whether whisking, mixing, dough hooking or liquidising. I'm delighted.

New new treasure arrived in the post this week, in the form of this heavenly bundle of Manos Wool Clasica in 'Ganges'. Mindful of my habit of running out of yarn before the end of a project I bought all nine skeins that were in the sale at Meadow Yarn . At the moment it looks like I'll be using it to make a grown up version of Queen Bess but we'll see.

Finally, new and unfamiliar yet somehow old too...M had some chunky coloured pencils among her birthday present and today she had her first try with them. Seeing her being so grown up is new and unfamiliar, yet babies picking up the tools of other family members and copying what they've seen is surely as old as the human race.

In the garden

2011-07-05T15:33:00.003+01:00

We're gradually claiming the garden back from weed and junk and now have a good sized lawn to run about on, most areas free from rubbish and, ignoring a big pile of topsoil due to be shifted, a place we can sit out and enjoy good weather. I'd actually written off the idea of getting any food from the garden this year as the last patch of weed and rock covered wilderness at the back is earmarked for the veg patch. However, thanks to the greenhouse, some peasticks from our friend's woodland and some plants which seem to have forgiven me for my rather irregular watering habits, we should have at least some of the following: basil, borlotti beans, squash, tomatoes and strawberries. It's a start, anyway.

Weekend Sewing

2011-07-03T15:37:00.009+01:00

In contrast to last weekend's power tools and paint, my work this weekend has been a lot more genteel. By day I've been in the garden rather a lot, but for the last two evenings I had my sewing machine out. While my two patchwork projects are calling out for attention, there were more pressing needs in the baby and toddler departments.
First up, a long promised pirate sun hat for P. I made him some shorts out of this fabric from the market a while back, and they've been worn so much the skull and crossbones have almost faded off them. This hat, like the shorts, was made using an Oliver + S pattern from the lovely 'Little Things To Sew'. I've made a few of them now and have plans for more items for the book as presents for the upcoming autumn of birthdays. I think I might have made the crown on this one a little shallow, but as the brim is quite deep it works okay, as the brim shades his eyes without stopping him from being able to see out. He seems happy with it anyway, we're getting lots of 'Aargh, Captain' from him when he wears it.
Next it was another visit to 'Handmade Beginnings' for some booties. My cousin is booked in for a C-section a week tomorrow, and I've already broken my superstitious rule about not making things for babies before they're born by knitting an Aviatrix hat for her baby shower. Even so, I prefer to say that I've made these cute little Liberty print booties for a baby, and if it just so happens that it's the baby that arrives in a week then wonderful. They were a little fiddly, especially getting the inner soles to stick (I need better interfacing) but they've turned out pretty well I think, although looking at their size compared to one-year-old M's feet, I'm not sure 0-3 months is going to be an accurate size, and she may be waiting until winter to wear them.
There was more Liberty print last night when I made M some more 'Quick Change Trousers' from 'Handmade Beginnings'. Mum had given me the Liberty fabric as she knew she wouldn't have time to make a dress with it this year. As it goes, M has had so many lovely dresses given to her this summer that it would be a waste to make another. In addition, her crawling and climbing calls more for trousers so although I indulge myself putting her in the frocks (with the bonus that it slows her up a bit), I indulge her by putting her in leggings and trousers. These ones were partly a contrivance to use the lovely seaside print fabric that our friends had wrapped M's birthday present in instead of wrapping paper. There wasn't that much of it, so I cut the pattern with shorter legs, thinking I might squeeze a cropped pair out of it. That wasn't going to happen, so instead I used the contrast back yoke option, which also gave me a chance to use a fat quarter of lovely red spotty fabric I'd been given. In the end, when they're unrolled the trousers are just the right length- she is only just into the age category for them- while when turned up they are a chic and climber friendly capri length.
Tonight, providing C can stand yet more sewing machine noise, I might just get around to that patchwork.

This Moment

2011-07-01T16:43:00.001+01:00

Look What Mama Made!

2011-06-29T20:30:00.007+01:00

More Mama love in this post I'm afraid! This delightful chicken (from Anna Maria Horner's gorgeous book 'Handmade Beginnings') was meant to be among the presents my parents gave to M for her first birthday. When I conveniently got a nasty bout of tonsilitis in the week leading up to P's birthday, my lovely mummy flew to the rescue, driving 5 hours up the motorway to look after the littles and in the process ran out of time to sew the chicks in time for M's birthday the following week. As a result, the finished birdy, complete with six chicks with Velcro wings to nestle safely under their mummy's wings, arrived today in the post, no less special for its tardiness. It must be a good week for chickens, as our dear old hen Penelope has decided that she will honour us with a precious few of her rarely laid eggs- three in a row!

Making an Entrance

2011-06-28T20:23:00.007+01:00

If you buy a house that needs updating and redecorating, you don't expect it to happen overnight. This is even more true when you have two little ones running (or crawling) around, their curious little fingers dangerously drawn to power tools, paint and so on. No surprises, then, that we still have a lot of big projects to do. However, this weekend I just wanted one of those instant updates that make a difference to how the house works.

This was how our porch looked on Friday. We'd thrown out some of the crap that was in it when we moved in, but then it had become an unlovely dumping ground for our own crap. Meanwhile, beyond the porch in the hall, tides of shoes, coats and hats kept heaping up on an old table and wrongly-sized-for-the-space shoe rack. As entrances and exits tend to be a flurry of wellies on the wrong feet, nappy bags and emergency bananas shoved into pockets, we needed to get a bit of calm and organisation.
I headed to our local DIY store clutching a load of measurements and with an idea in mind. I had some MDF cut to size and bought paint and hooks for the walls. I went home, found the MDF was not quite the right size and the paint colour was frankly wrong. So I went back and got the MDF cut a bit smaller and bought some new paint. Plus a new door handle for the inner door, some baskets for hats, gloves, waterproofs and so on and the little flower picture.
Many, many coats of antique white paint later, plus a couple of the soft green, some messing around with power tools and wood glue and we can now clear space in the hall and, you never know, get in and out of the house with just a touch more calm.

Patchwork and Pie Dishes

2011-06-20T22:18:00.004+01:00

The thing about my mum is that she is just the best at listening to what I want and what I need. The week before P's birthday, when I was laid low with a throat infection, no sooner had I sent a message moaning about how I wished she lived closer than she changed her timetable around and came riding to the rescue, 5 hours up the motorway to mind grandchildren while I slept and grumbled and waited for antibiotics to do their job. That was a big lovely thing she did, as was the job she and my Dad did this weekend hosting M's birthday party. It's the little things as well though, like remembering how I said I wanted to get a proper metal pie dish. Then, the next time she was shopping for kitchen stuff, she bought me one. Just because.
I have to say she's also got me into a rather addictive habit- patchwork. Like I need another craft hobby/drain on scant finances. She's made lovely baby quilts for both the children, and I followed up with a 'Big Boy Bed' quilt for P last year. A dress given to M when she was born got me thinking that I should make all her outgrown frocks into her 'Big Girl Bed' quilt so that's in the pipeline, along with too many other projects. However, we're also working on decorating our bedroom at the moment and I've been thinking that the perfect finish to our shabby chic/country house hotel look would be...a patchwork quilt. As a result, Mum, M and I paid a rather lovely visit to The Patchwork Basket this weekend and I indulged in some retail therapy. Couldn't resist trying them out as soon as I got home either!

Baby Shower Knit

2011-06-16T21:10:00.002+01:00

There's a baby shower happening this weekend that I can't be at, so it was time to get the needles out so that I could at least send some handmade love by post. I fell back on what's becoming an old favourite, 'Aviatrix', a free pattern on Ravelry. An evening or so's knitting in Rowan Handknit Cotton and a vintage button adds up to a bit of old-fashioned loveliness for eagerly awaited baby girl.

Birthday at the Farm

2011-06-13T13:46:00.002+01:00

Our wee boy is three! As usual with parenting moments like this, it feels like ages and yet no time at all since he was in an incubator in Royal Glamorgan Hospital having surprised us all by arriving 2 months before his due date. It's fair to say he hasn't stopped since, with the fading remains of a black eye appearing in all his birthday pictures as evidence of how he throws himself full tilt at the world (the injury occurred during nap time for goodness' sake!). This year he had a party at his Granny and Grandpa's farm, with a tractor and lambs in the field next door, a straw bale fort to play in and just the right amount of sunshine for a lovely day. Despite a nasty bout of tonsillitis during the previous week I somehow managed to pull off the 'Combine Harvester' cake I'd been planning so I felt I did my bit, but it was a host of wonderful family and friends who really made his day.

This Moment

2011-06-10T11:24:00.003+01:00

Okay, just this week I'm breaking the 'No Words' rule below, because I just want to say Happy Birthday to my darling, beautiful son.
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

Big Purple Frog

2011-06-07T19:25:00.003+01:00

I'm currently in the throws of having a pattern tested on Ravelry's 'Free Pattern Testers' Forum for the first time. It's for this sweater:

It's called 'Baby Queen Bess' and I'm hoping to make it my first 'for sale' pattern. Obviously wanted to get any glitches out before I start asking people to part with cash and the testing process is certainly doing its job. The only problem was, a few testers pointed out an issue I'd been rather avoiding looking at, mainly because I didn't know how to solve it- namely one of achieving symmetry through the raglan section, technical knitting fans!
The good news is, with input from the forum and a fresh look at the issue, I've worked out how to solve it. The bad news is, with the knowledge that symmetry could be achieved, I wasn't sure I could cope with M wearing the less symmetrical version I made for her, using lovely and expensive wool, in a size she'll fit into for the whole of next winter. So....

Big. Fat. Frog. This was a properly finished article, even had to find the ends I'd neatly woven in. Oh well, at least my mind will be at peace when she grows into it. Plus I suppose in a way I'm saving money, as I'm getting to knit two sweaters for the price of one- sort of!

Mock Cable Stitch

2011-06-04T21:26:00.002+01:00

This is rather a nice variation of the ordinary cable stitch, being less bold and somewhat lighter in texture, and therefore quite suitable for small garments, rather than heavy sports wear. the stitches are not properly crossed over, but convey that impression...

Keep Calm continued...

2011-05-29T21:15:00.002+01:00

Basket Stitch- This gives the appearance of woven strands, and is particularly suitable for large surfaces, such as pram covers, blankets and men's sweaters...

Keep Calm and Carry On

2011-05-28T21:14:00.006+01:00

This is one of my treasured posessions. Published in 1944 "in complete conformity with the authorized economy standards" it is an amazing window into a difficult world where women used their skill and imagination to keep things together for their families.
Its full of wonderful quotes, including this from the introduction:
This little book is, quite frankly, one for hard times and scarcity of materials, when thrift and make-do are the greatest of all household virtues. We are all passing through such a time now and so I hope that'Economy Knitting and Patchwork' will help the knitter, the crochet worker adn the needlewoman all equally.
And when the national hard times are over, I believe that this book may still aid any women who are unluckily passing through individual hard times, when sixpences are scarce and each must somehow do the job of a shilling. I have tried, therefore, to choose economical ideas which will not readily date when the wheel of Fashion turns more rapidly again than it is in these days of coupons...
Well, that wheel has spun a fair few times since 1944 and while I wouldn't pretend that our hard times are even a shadow of wartime hardship, I certainly don't have much to splash out on materials. 'Thrift and make-do' are definitely virtues needed around here, so, inspired by the lovely Butterfly Balcony blog amongst other things I'm doing a bit of making do, using some oddballs, mostly of Rowan Felted Tweed:

I'm planning on making a patchwork cushion cover, trying out some of the knitting stitches in 'Economy Knitting' as sample squares.

This first, green, square is in what's simply called 'Triangle Pattern': "An effective design for skirts, shawls and blankets, and looks best in thick wool on a comparatively heavy article." Personally, I'm really taken by the idea of a cardigan using this stitch and despite the fact that I'm fully embroiled with pattern testing for my 'Baby Queen Bess' sweater I'm already turning ideas over for how that would work.

The second, red, square I'm working on is 'Barred Stripe Stitch': "A decorative pattern, which looks well on jumpers, jerseys and boys' or men's sports stockings." Can't see myself knitting any men's sports stockings anytime soon, but I'm sure it'll look great on the cushion.
More making-do and mending is planned for the rest of the weekend, so will hopefully have more to share here soon.

This Moment

2011-05-27T16:34:00.002+01:00

Birthdays!

2011-05-26T19:56:00.003+01:00

Our baby girl is nearly one! With her brother turning three the week before it's going to be a busy time. Somehow I've managed to swerve organising duties on both counts, as each of the grandmothers are taking a turn at hosting. All I have to do is send out the invitations, make a few cakes (including one like a Combine Harvester, gulp!) and turn up with the little ones. As we're not exactly sending out a huge number of invites to M's party, I had a go at making my own cards today, doodling with some felt pens. The theme, like her Christening is 'All Things Bright And Beautiful', partly because she's a summer baby who arrived with the flowers and partly because she is just that...bright and beautiful.

Blea Tarn

2011-05-22T20:01:00.006+01:00

Sometimes you just need to get out and breathe. This was very much the case today, after a tough week that had left us emotionally wrung out and rather uncertain about what happens next. The thing about going out walking is that once you're there, with sandwiches and fruit for lunch in your rucksack, it doesn't actually matter how much money you have (or don't have). The heavens will open on anyone's head, prince or pauper. In actual fact, while the rain was almost horizontal as we toiled up to Blea Tarn (hoorah for our new-old veg-oil powered Jeep! Potholes? Who cares?) and lashed at the windscreen as we ate lunch in the car, it actually more or less held off as we walked, played hide and seek and in some cases paddled round the tarn and back. Wind swirled around the Langdale Valley, threatening to bring the slate-grey cloud down onto us, but for some reason the sun decided it would keep smiling for just the right amount of time. With tired babies and soothed souls, we headed for home.

2011-05-20T19:59:00.000+01:00

This Moment

2011-05-13T19:52:00.002+01:00

Good Eating

2011-05-10T15:41:00.002+01:00

Like a lot of families, heck, like a lot of people, we're finding things tough financially at the moment. It was never really the plan for me not to be working at all while the children were babies (much as I know that's what some people choose to do) just as it was never really the plan for C to be made redundant, or for us to have to move house, three times within two years, with all the attendant expenses. On top of this there's the rising cost of living and just as food gets more expensive, we've two little people who want to eat more and more of it!
Still, we know we're still better off than most of the people on the planet so we breathe in and tighten the old belt a few more notches. That said, I refuse to eat dull uninspiring food just because every penny has to be watched at the supermarket. So it's even more cooking from scratch, more poring over recipe books and more building of skills in making everything go further.
For example, on Sunday we bought a Freedom Farms chicken (we just can't stretch to organic sadly) and had a family roast. That evening, C stripped and chopped up the carcass so I could make stock, which I then froze in measured portions (the measuring was, I thought, remarkably forward thinking of me!). The next day, keeping some cold chicken aside for lunches in the week, I used the meat and leftover gravy to make pasties, using the River Cottage 'Everyday' cookbook for guidance and a rough puff pastry recipe and had enough filling left over to make a few baby meals for M. I have to admit to being a bit of a fan of the River Cottage books, although I do find that 'Everyday' is pushing it a bit as a description for a lot of recipes, at least on our budget.
While I was in the baking mood, I also made some olive focaccia bread, from the same recipe book, and some hummus using a recipe my sister-in-law gave me. Today this was added to Tabula Kisir (recipe from guess what? That book again!) which is a lovely tabouleh type thing with bulghar wheat, fresh herbs, tomatoes, peppers etc, and made a really rather superior lunch for an otherwise ordinary Tuesday. The bread is all gone, but the hummus and Tabula will do us for the rest of the week I think.
Given that we stayed more or less within our miniscule budget this week, it's gratifying to have such good eating going on.

This Moment

2011-05-06T21:22:00.002+01:00

Sewing and Sowing

2011-05-01T16:30:00.007+01:00

I feel for prisoners of old who had to sew sacks. I've been trying it out recently- sewing hessian sacks using old fashioned garden twine and it's shredded my fingers. The reason for doing it was not because I was doing time, but rather to make up the Scarecrow Kit from Hen and Hammock we were given as a Christmas present. As we're currently seeding a new area of lawn, we put 'Jeff' (for some reason P decided to name him after his Godfather) to use straight away, keeping the birds away, we hope, and holding the hosepipe as we gave the seeds a good soak.

While Jeff was doing his job outside, I was clearing out the greenhouse. This is a job I've been meaning to do since we moved here last year, as I was so excited about having a greenhouse. Things (usually child-related!) got in the way and I've only just found the time to get in there. I filled two rubbish sacks with old trays and pots made brittle by UV exposure, discarded packets and weedkiller botttles, saving what was worth using again. I love the 'make do and mend'-ness of gardening.
As outdoor growing space is still only 'on the list' rather than a reality this years sowing has been mainly stuff that will stay in the greenhouse: a selection of tomatoes which have gone in late but hopefully will do okay; strawberries, which I cheated and bought as plantlings; herbs including basil, oregano, sage, parsley, coriander and sage; butternut squash which will end up outside (somewhere!); borlotti beans that P sewed with my mum when we visited her and which will also need a home outside and sunflowers to squeeze in somewhere, grown from seeds sent to P and M by my sister.

This Moment

2011-04-29T18:10:00.002+01:00

At the Farm

2011-04-26T20:14:00.006+01:00

What could be better than a day at your Grandparents' farm? A day at your Grandparents' farm with your best little pal alongside you, checking out the tractor, feeding the lambs and playing in the trees.

Simply Ten Good Things

2011-04-25T13:22:00.010+01:00

Responding to Amanda Soule's challenge, here are ten good things...
*Tokens of appreciation from friends
*New shoes all set to take him through summer
*Skyping with family
*New shoots
*Creative desctruction in the garden
*Enjoying one extra long weekend, and knowing there's another one at the end of the week.
*Four generations of girls
*A bicycle now made for two
*Successful sewing attempts
*Growing relationships with Grandparents

Easter Saturday

2011-04-24T22:40:00.011+01:00

This Easter Saturday we...
Made a clutch of these 'baby sock bunnies' from this blog entry
Headed to the woods, transformed by bluebells and decorations...
...and a toddler-friendly, ground level treehouse.
Some of us took the opportunity to go exploring...
...while for others it was just a lovely chance to socialise.
Then, watched by some curious onlookers...
We hunted for eggs (and prevented a certain little person from overfilling his tummy straight away, so that we saved a few for later- and maybe for Mummy and Daddy!)
Happy Easter!

This Moment

2011-04-22T13:14:00.002+01:00

Real Sunshine and Mock Smocking

2011-04-21T09:08:00.006+01:00

With the unexpectedly warm weather continuing- it's like Nature is trying to apologise for the hard, cold winter- we took to the garden yesterday. Having near enough burst my lungs inflating the paddling pool and given thanks for a hosepipe in the garden to save me lugging buckets about, I settled down to finish off some handsewing.
Proper smocking is something I'd like to learn, but for now I'm contenting myself with mock smocking using shearing elastic. A slightly late birthday present of a sun top for a little friend of ours in Cardiff was made in a similar way to the first of two sundresses I'm making for Maeve from some Liberty print and other fabric acquired on a recent trip to see my folks. I'll expand- and reveal- more when the full ensemble is complete.

On the beach

2011-04-19T14:03:00.005+01:00

The town we live in has been an easy target for jokes for many years. It's true, it does have its unattractive, industrial side. But with a blessing of sunshine on the dunes and sea, so that little ones can splash and dig and run about and yes, probably ingest a fair bit of sand you can be as rude as you like. We'll keep it, thanks!

Spring part three

2011-04-17T11:47:00.009+01:00

May I present the work of a couple of evenings in front of the sewing machine, and the first stage of my efforts to improve my sewing skills. This trio of shorts was made using the Oliver + S 'Sketchbook' pattern (a 'two scissors' rated pattern, skill building fans!)

I decided to make all three pairs simultaneously. This was partly because for some reason I find doing it this way is quicker than making one pair after another, and partly because I thought it would give me the chance to really nail each technique by doing it three (or in the case of stages that needed doing for each leg, six) times over.
I can't praise the instructions on the pattern enough. They seemed really lengthy at first glance, but working through one step at a time, it was really easy to get it right. I grew to love the way the shorts looked a bit ropey and hopeless until you put the waistband on and stopstitched it then suddenly- wow!- they look really good!

As well as being easy to follow, I really like the details that Leisl Gibson includes, like the pockets and mock fly. I also followed the suggestion to topstitch, using contrast thread. It was a bit of a fiddle, especially on the in and out seams, but the effect is really professional looking, a bit like when you sew up and block properly on knits. It's interesting that the original pattern these are quite smart shorts, and I actually bought it so I can make some school shorts, but in these fabrics they look sort of surfer-casual.

All in all, I'm really pleased with the results. The best bit is- P, my greatest critic, actually likes to wear them!!

Writing again

2011-04-16T15:19:00.003+01:00

Ten or so years ago, had you asked me what I wanted to do, I'd have answered 'Writing'. I did the temping that paid for the journalism course, did the course, got the first (terrible) job in journalism, moved onto the second, got promoted...and kind of fell out of love with it all. It wasn't the writing, it was the media world surrounding it, where I was a fish out of water, far too shy and rubbish at networking to succeed.
So, instead of a sideways move into PR or something similar, I jacked it all in and retrained as a primary school teacher. Suddenly I was a fish in water (I know, I don't think that's a real saying either). I loved it. Never looked back to journalism, unless it was when I was writing press releases to promote the school, or teaching newspaper writing in Literacy lessons.
All was great, then, until the world's finances went belly up, DH lost his job, we moved up here for his new job so I had to give up my old teaching job, DD arrived and...now that I'm looking to go back to my beloved teaching I find myself with no connections in a part of the country where teaching jobs are few and competition is fierce.
Amid the gloom of job-searching, though, there's been an unexpected development. A friend was printing a job application out for me and noticed my writing background. He asked if I'd be interested in a paid (!) writing project for the group he works for. I went along for a meeting and got the gig. While working out what I should charge, I contacted another old friend who's a successful freelance writer and editor to ask for advice, and she asked if I wanted her to put some other bits of writing work my way. I said yes and the other week I submitted my first invoice as a freelancer. Someone want to go back and tell myself ten years ago that I'm here, sort of networking and actually getting a (albeit very small) pay cheque from writing?!
All this leaves me with a whole bag of mixed feelings. I hate the idea of not going back to teaching, so I've not written that off. I love writing and can't deny that it has the potential to fit well around the commitments of young children. But then again, I was looking forward to having a job that expanded my social horizons a little...but we need the money and there isn't much doing on the teaching job front just now. I've decided to just go with the flow and not look to the future too much at the moment (gosh, that's hard for me to do, I'm a natural worrier).
Flow is an appropriate word at the moment. The paid writing projects seem to have turned on a tap and I've now found myself volunteering to write for free for a new local magazine, plus I'm fired up with a new idea for a children's novel. Maybe if I just gave up sleeping I'd have the time I need for all these words...

This Moment

2011-04-15T19:37:00.003+01:00

Spring part two

2011-04-14T14:02:00.002+01:00

Our Season Shelf. A work in progress.

Spring part one

2011-04-13T11:00:00.005+01:00

After a long weekend away of glorious sunshine, family, friends, barefoot running in the garden and a trip on a steam train through the forest, the weather today is reminding us that Spring is a fickle creature. It's grey, damp and chilly, but we're not having our enthusiasm for the season squashed that easily. For the next post or so I'm going to write about how we're celebrating and anticipating the return of the sun.
Today- planting. We have word that sowing is well under way at the farm, despite an expected influx of new gimmer sheep coming with unexpected baggage- unborn lambs! We thought that a bit of sowing was in order here too. I had hoped that this Spring we'd be getting a full on vegetable garden underway, but I'd reckoned without a new house that generates a lot of jobs, two babies that also generate a lot of jobs, plus a garden that needs a lot of stripping back and tidying up. So this year the priority is to get rid of lots of the concrete and paving, get rid of all the junk that's stuffed behind various structures, establish a compost heap, extend the amount of grass there is, construct a hen run (and get more hens!) and get the veg patch cleared and prepared so we can either put a green manure in over winter, or maybe get some winter crop veggies.
Just a few jobs then- and it's not as if the house is by any means finished! Anyway, in the meantime, in the sunshine of last week we planted the sunflower seeds Aunty Katy had sent for P, because we can pop them in a corner somewhere once they're big enough. P loved the kinaesthetic experiences of handling the seeds, dibbing holes in the soil, poking in one seed at a time, sprinkling on water...I think we could have seeded a whole field of sunflowers! If we get some success we can save the seed heads for birds next winter- maybe even for the hens.
Hopefully the humans round here won't be completely deprived of veg from the garden, either. While at my parent's at the weekend, P continued his gardening education by planting some borlotti beans to bring home with us. If I get around to having a sort out in the greenhouse and installing some tomato plants, there'll be some soup on the go!

This Moment

2011-04-08T14:30:00.002+01:00

Welcome back, sunshine!

2011-04-07T14:45:00.006+01:00

Coming in from the garden today, I went to shut the door and discovered a red admiral butterfly had found its way into the kitchen and needed ushering out. Yes, we may have a few cold and wet days to come in fickle April, but today it was definitely promising the Spring and Summer warmth that had tempted this creature to spread its wings.
Trying to console myself for the fact that I'm going to be limited to the domestic sphere as far as work goes for the time being (although I have got some paid writing work to do from home), I gave in to the housewife within and set to with running errands, tidying up and, since it was the perfect blustery, sunshiney weather for drying, two loads of washing. There had to be some consolation to be had in being outdoors with the sun on my back, hanging washing, with one baby kicking her toes in the fresh air and yes, removing her hat as quickly as I put it back on again, the other (big now!) baby scampering around on his bike, while our venerable hen hurried from one to the other of us, on the offchance of a snack. Yes, it beats being in an office.

Back indoors, I've decided today is the day to tackle the sun room. All winter it's been a chilly, unlit at night place to scurry in and out of to fetch toys and books. As a result it's become more than a little- ahem- disorganised. With the sun out, however, it turns into a gloriously light, comfortingly warm little nook where I want to spend time with the children. So, supervised by Penelope the hen, it's getting a Spring clean.

Post bag of goodies

2011-04-04T14:19:00.004+01:00

Just for a change, the post brought nothing but goodness today. No bills or junk, just bits and bobs we'd ordered from the internet, good news and letters. My bits and bobs were the yarns above, ordered from Deramores and Texere Yarns. There's the requisite materials to finish a couple of sweaters I've been working on. In theory they're for P, but given his distrust of all new clothes, in particular when they're knitted (could be down to his sensitive, eczema prone skin, could be just two year old attitude), they may not get a lot of real wear. No matter, as their other purpose is to try out patterns I've written myself and hope to publish, one way or another.
The pink, blue and cream yarn is the stash I need to use first, however, as I'm hoping to knock out a couple of my Union Jack teacosies for my Folksy shop in time for the Royal Wedding street party frenzy at the end of this month. We'll see whether that works out, but meanwhile I need to gird my knitting loins for all that intarsia.
Also in our post bag...news that P has got a place at the nursery school we hoped for. This means from September he'll go there each morning- I think he'll really love the social interaction, while it'll also mean M gets one on one 'mummy time' that hasn't featured much in her life to date. I think we'll all enjoy it.
We also recieved a lovely 'goodbye' card from our friends at the Steiner playgroup we used to attend in Lancaster. We had to stop going because it was just getting untenable to drive all the way there each week, with rising fuel costs. We do miss going, but I'll treasure all that we learned there.
Lastly P had a postcard from my parents. A while ago I asked his grandparents and great grandparents if they could send him the occasional card or letter, as he was so interested in the post being delivered every day as well as the written word in every form. It's worked really well- he loves getting the letters, as well as going through the tin he keeps all his correspondence in. I'm often asked to read the same letter to him over and over again. When we can get ourselves organised, I help him to 'write' back to people who've written to him and I'm hoping that in this way I can nurture the old fashioned but beautiful and valuable habit of handwritten correspondence in him, and in time M as well.

Mothering Sunday

2011-04-03T21:47:00.001+01:00

A lovely day was had by all the mothers we know. Cake went down a storm. Happy Mothers Day all...

Family life

2011-04-02T20:54:00.004+01:00

It's been a week of ups and downs. The ups have included some fairly unexpected opportunities to go back to my previous incarnation as a writer. This will bring in some welcome money and is so far proving to be very enjoyable, as I'm remembering what I enjoyed about producing copy to order. The downs, well it was one big down really as I failed to get a job doing what I love- teaching. I am trying to be philosophical, however, and see that these two opposing kinds of fortune are both pointing to me spending a bit more time immersed in family life, rather than being pulled back to the outside world just at the moment.
With that in mind I wanted to share this family moment from today- P's first ride on Daddy's bike. Despite my mummy-wobbles about it, I've given in to the idea of a 'jumpseat'- a little saddle with a safety strap, attached to the top tube of C's bike, so that P can hold the handlebars and ride with him. I agreed to it for several reasons: I trust C's experience and safety riding bikes; I know that P will love it and that it will open a new world of possibilities for going out and about with P in the saddle and M in the buggy; it will help P's development as a cyclist himself; we bought a new and better fitting helmet for P's rapidly growing bonce.
Guess what? He loved it. We went for a ride/walk at Rampside, marred only by the filthy habits of some irresponsible dog owners who don't pick up after themselves.
After that it was home for a spot of cake decorating- tomorrow is not only Mother's Day but also my mother-in-law's birthday so some whipped cream cheese icing and edible gold stars (I know! How fabulous!) were in order to finish off the lemon sponge P and I made yesterday. Just got to work out how to transport it to her now...

This Moment

2011-04-01T20:49:00.002+01:00

Slackblogger

2011-03-31T14:51:00.007+01:00

I made up that word- 'slackblogger', sounds almost Shakespearean, doesn't it?- to describe how I've been recently with this blog. Maybe I just haven't been doing enough of the stuff I like to write about, making stuff and going out and about, or maybe I've just been lacking motivation to write in general. Anyway, a big distraction has been the chance of going back to full time work, but following an unsuccessful interview yesterday, it looks like home is where it's at for a while longer.
With that in mind, it's probably appropriate that some of my recent making projects have been of the homely variety:

This dishcloth is my first attempt at one. I ended up using a probably over-fancy yarn, Rowan Revive . I'd got it on special from but found it a bit rough and stiff when I knitted it up. Fortunately rough and stiff is quite good for a dishcloth. I used what my Grandma described as 'a sort of fancy rib' for the pattern. You knit a row, purl a row, then k1 p1 rib two rows, basically. In this yarn, this makes for some useful, grot-shifting bobbles.

You may also notice the drip-catcher below the draining rack. I think this was inspired by something Soule Mama put on her blog a while back. It goes some way to solving the problem of a draining board that is too small, doesn't slope enough and has areas around the outside edge where pools of yukky water form. Some reclaimed polyester cotton, from a charity shop duvet cover in glorious Seventies purple flower print, and some fleece fabric I had knocking around- bit of freestyle embroidery foot sewing and there was something that looked a bit better, soaks up the water and is easy to wash.
The only problem with both these items is they're meant to be chucked in the wash and replaced every couple of days...and I've only made one of each so far. With interview preparation over with, that's where my priorities should be now.
Except...sometimes the sun is shining at the moment, and there's a very convincing argument for why going back to work full time wouldn't really have been all it's cracked up to be. Or rather two convincing arguments, with big sparkly blue eyes ready to take in the world and its wonders. So when the weather is bad I'll get mundanities such as dishcloths knitted, but when it's kind I'll be grabbing the opportunity and the camera and working at kicking the slackblogger habit.

This Moment

2011-03-18T14:01:00.001Z

Days like these

2011-03-14T16:31:00.011Z

It's not always easy living at the end of a peninsula in the far North West of England. It can get cold, it can get grey, it's a long way for visitors to schlep to see us. But on days like these...

And with friends like these...

And signs of Spring like this...

It's so wonderful to be able to enjoy the beauty of the Lake District just a short drive away and at this time of year only lightly dotted with sailors,horse-riders, walkers and noisy adventurers like us...

So off we went, to run free...

Splash in streams...

Peel off layers and feel the first warm sun of the year on bare shoulders...

And do the sort of things that toddlers have to do with sticks and mud...

The walk we did, by the way, was along Yewdale Bridleway, details can be found here. I say this as if we did the whole walk- we've never managed this, for various reasons- but even going a short way along provides plenty to explore and amazing views, even if the initial climb to the pathway is a challenge with little ones in tow.

Tiger, Tiger

2011-03-12T15:37:00.005Z

Last weekend I finally got to unpack the many boxes marked 'craft stuff', as the little room which was P's temporary bedroom is on its way to being a workroom/office space. In other words I spent a relatively peaceful afternoon untangling random balls of yarn (not as many as I thought as it happens) and trying to find ways to sort and store a lot of scrap and resuable fabric (lots more than I thought). With this yarn/fabric lack of balance revealed, along with all my sewing notions and box of threads, I've been inspired to get some sewing done this week.
A lot of what I've done has actually be useful, round the house type stuff (I seem to remember that this was meant to be the plan for the first three months of the year...oops! Better late than never!) I'll post about that soon. In the meantime, I wanted to share this little bit of fun.
Actually, sewing with 'fun' fur isn't really fun at all, even when using a floating embroidery foot. But the good thing is that there's no need for hemming, so the tasks of adjustments in shape of hat and length of trouser leg are just a simple snip, rather than unpicking and resewing.
To make my little tiger's legs, I simply folded an existing pair of jogging bottoms in half and used them as a template, rather like the way Amanda Soule describes in 'The Creative Family' when she makes old t-shirts into trousers- my Christmas present cutting wheel was invaluable for this. I ended up doing a bit of unpicking as amid the family chaos around me I forgot which seam to sew up first, and chose the wrong one. Spend a moment thinking about it and it's really not that hard. Also, having made a nice long tail out of a long tube of fabric, I forgot to sew it into the back seam, so a bit more unpicking. I had to handsew the tail into this seam as four layers of fun fur just don't go through my sewing machine. I made a simple elasticated waist so he can pull them on and off easily (useful fo
To make the tiger hat I dipped into the delights of a belated birthday present from my sister, Oliver + S's 'Little Things to Sew' (buy it, it's gorgeous!). I used the pattern for the 'Cozy Winter Hood'. Knowing my little boy's rather large noggin, I chose the largest size, forgetting that, since I wasn't lining it, it would turn out even bigger. In the end I made a tiger hat that would even fit C, the originator of the big noggin genes. Still, nothing a bit of trimming and off-piste dart making couldn't fix.
I realise, looking at this post, that it reads like a farcical list of errors made by mother trying to sew amidst an ever-curious toddler, a squeaking baby and getting the tea ready. Actually, that's about the size of it. But the thing that is fun about sewing with fun fur is that it's very forgiving, covers a lot of mistakes and pretty quickly gives the results that any toddler would be happy with. Catching a tiger for a photograph on the other hand, is not so easy...

This Moment

2011-03-04T19:44:00.003Z

Every Last Scrap

2011-03-03T21:27:00.005Z

Waste not want not in these frugal times! I wanted to use up some bits and pieces of sock yarn in a sweater for M (P's sweater is still not finished, but since he doesn't like any knitwear at the moment I'm not in any great hurry to be honest, plus I haven't ordered the extra yarn I need). When I say bits and pieces, I mean that in the sense that there really wasn't much of it. I made it a simple top-down number in my current favourite for baby knits, k3 p2 rib, and having made it just about long enough in the body, I was down to the scraps for sleeves. Hence these teeny weeny balls- two of each colour, so that I wouldn't knit one sleeve longer than I could match with the other. In the event the sleeves ended up elbow, at a push bracelet length and the body...well let's just say it's more suited to a warm but not too bulky layer underneath dungarees. Still, I like the effect, it's cosy and comfortable for it's wearer and it didn't cost a thing but time.

If you love something, polish it

2011-03-02T14:40:00.010Z

When I was planning the room we were going to decorate for our children, I knew I wanted a big, heavy chest of drawers. Something to hold all their clothes, something too high to climb on and too heavy to pull over (I have lively children, can you tell?!). I knew it wasn't going to come from a chain store, much as a well-known Swedish chain has come up trumps on a number of occasions for us. We were trying to work out how we could arrange to get to an auction house for a viewing, buy something and transport it back here with two little ones in the car with us when my mother in law pointed something out. The farm she has moved to, a huge, beautiful, half Tudor, half Victorian place which has been home to her new husband's family for four generations, was at one point in its deeply ingrained history been home to ten people. All those lives lived have left a certain amount of debris in their wake and as a result there are whole rooms full of furniture that is never used- dressing tables, wash stands and chests of drawers. With retirement on the horizon and no-one to take on the tenancy, the house will have to be cleared. As my mother-in-law pointed out, it made sense for us to give a home to one of these great lumps of what could otherwise end up firewood, landfill or charity shop donation. She didn't have to ask twice.
I will draw a veil over the efforts needed to get this beauty to our house. Suffice to say, while the room was being decorated it sat, slightly sadly, in our garage, still wearing the layer of dust and paint speckles it had gathered through its wilderness years in storage. One drawer knob resided inside the drawer, its fixing long gone. Two of the runners on its nevertheless solid, if simply constructed drawers were off or nearly off. My mother in law asked my reassurance that I'd measured the space it was going into and that I'd be painting it in a nice light shade. I could promise her the former at least!
It wasn't exactly a pretty sight, even I had to admit, but a combination of sentimentality about the unique spirit and history of the home it had come from and something inexplicable meant that I was already in love. It was time for a makeover.
I began by lining the drawers, using some shirt stripe wallpaper I'd been given a roll of some years back. This was reasonably simple, although not helped by the, ahem, 'unique' features of each drawer, where the measurements at the back didn't match the measurements at the back. I found that glue stick was the best way to fix the paper into the drawer bases.
Fixing the runners back on was just a simple matter of strong wood glue. Then I added a rubbing of candlewax to help them run a bit smoother. The knob presented more of a problem, as although the inside of the knob had a thread, there wasn't much chance of finding a wooden screw to match. Instead, I cut a short piece of dowel that fitted the hole snugly and added a little wood glue to help it out. The hold in the drawer was slightly larger, so I used matchsticks to help wedge the end of the dowel tightly, along with more wood glue. It doesn't exactly look pretty, but it does the job of keeping the knob fixed tight.
Finally it was time to polish. I'm one of those slightly obtuse individuals who really enjoys polishing. I find a lot of housework frustrating as it feels like as soon as you finish it's time to begin again. However, polishing gives an almost instant, gratifying result with a bit of staying power. Not to mention how soothing it is, in a knitting/kneading bread/handsewing kind of way.
The finished result (which does fit the space, by the way!) is still slightly battered, slightly paint speckled. But it holds all the children's clothes, is safe from their climbing instincts, has heart and soul and I love it!

Hang out the flags

2011-02-26T13:54:00.005Z

Three years ago I made these bunting flags as we prepared a bedroom for our first, gender then unknown, baby. Grandmothers-to-be chipped in with other handmade goodies, including these beautiful beach hut curtains (my mother's creation). P duly arrived and it became his very own seaside-themed bedroom.
However, when he was less than a year old the world in general, then our world in particular, was rocked by the financial meltdown. C's place of work closed down and everything, flags included, was packed into boxes as we moved out of our first little family home to go to where he could find work.
We count our blessings that we were much more fortunate than many, even in those challenging times. C found a new job just in time for the redundancy money to stretch. We had to move a few times, but this included a summer at the farm with my wonderful in-laws, which was a joy and an education as well as a financial necessity. It also included a period of renting a house which turned out to be at the other end of the street from the family we now count as firm new friends. In terms of the area, it's only a little further North and West of where we wanted to end up eventually and of course we have the splendour of the Lake District on our (affordable) doorstep. Last but by no means whatever least, M has arrived into our lives!
All that said and done, however, it hasn't been an easy or settled couple of years and the fact that, not through our choice, this is the fourth bedroom P has had in his 2 and a half years of life illustrates the point. The fact that it appears that we have navigated the choppy waters for now gives a particular joy to the sight you see above.
When we came to visit this house last year, the back bedroom needed a particular amount of imagination to see its potential. Heavy dark fitted wardrobes were on three walls, taking up a good third of the floor space. Thick paint was slapped onto grotty textured wallpaper and the carpet was thin and grubby. About a month back, after C had destroyed and removed the wardrobes, revealing more hideous wallpaper and large holes in the carpet, my mum came to stay and taught me how to hang lining paper. From then to now, all available evening and weekend hours have seen me (mostly me, with C on babysitting detail) attack the room from top to bottom. Skirting boards and windowsills sanded and painted, wallpaper stripped, lining paper hung and painted, torn and stained ceiling paper removed and ceiling painted (this last yukky job to the accounts on the radio of earthquake in New Zealand and revolution in the Middle East, I'll never look up without thinking about the madness of Colonel Gadafi!). Finally, yesterday was carpet day and last night P's first in his new room (M will join him when she's a bit older).
While there was a certain satisfaction in tearing off nasty old paper and seeing smooth new paint going on, the best bit was undoubtedly dressing the room. The chest of drawers was a spare one from a roomful at the farm, polished up, drawers lined and repaired where necessary (a story for another day) and lugged up the stairs by C and I. The photograph is one my older sister took and gave to me years ago and the print is of my favourite Ben Nicholson painting at Tate St Ives. The lampshade was from our local B&Q and the curtains, as I mentioned before, were my mum's creation. Then last, but not least, there are the flags. Dug out of the box, ironed (an amazing fact for anyone who knows me well!) and hung up in celebration- of a lovely new room for our lovely children, of a house that's becoming more and more of a home for us and of a life that's hopefully going to mean staying put for a while.

This Moment

2011-02-25T13:55:00.002Z

Queen Bess the First

2011-02-24T13:50:00.006Z

This is the first version of a sweater pattern I've devised for M. I've named it 'Queen Bess' due to the influence of Elizabethan fashions on the design- hence the ruff-style collar, puff sleeves and smocking. It was actually quite pleasingly simple to knit, despite its quite intricate looking finish, with a top-down construction where the only fiddle is expanding the smock stitch into the increases round the yoke. It also has the advantage of being cosy without being bulky, thanks to the k3 p2 rib it's based on.
As I have the possibly over-ambitious plan of publishing the pattern on Ravelry I'm now having to do the maths to work out how to make it in at least two more sizes. To this end, I'm going to try out the next size up so that M can have it for next winter and rather than the usable but dull acrylic I found in my stash for the prototype, I've invested in some rather beautiful Dazzle DK from the Natural Dye Studio (colourway is 'Wisteria', a kind of pinky-purple and I got it here). British Blue Faced Leicester, dyed without heavy metals or other nasties. Yum! Yes it's handwash and yes, it's for a baby but following reassurances given by other online knitting mums, I'm going to go with the theory that its easy enough to swoosh a few handknits in the sink with wool wash every now and then, and that if its worth my care and attention to knit, its worth knitting it in nice yarn.

Work in Progress

2011-02-21T19:32:00.003Z

We've got a lot of work in progress around our house at the moment. Really, I suppose the whole house is a work in progress, given that when we moved here there really wasn't much we didn't want to update or redecorate. Since this updating goes on as money becomes available, its going to be a slow process, but recently we've had the means to get two of the three bedrooms carpeted. Since carpet day is next Friday, this has put a bit of a rocket under us to get decorating done before we have new carpets to protect from paint. Cue rather a lot of late night work on everything from ceiling to skirting boards...
When I'm not covered in a layer of dust and paint I've also been working on some other bits and bobs. I bought a peg loom at Woolfest a few years back and have never really got around to using it. With what will be the children's room needing a rug, I thought it was about time I pressed it into service, so I dug out some worn out jeans and some uncombed fleece I acquired and washed a few summers ago and I'm having a go.
Meanwhile, yet more leftovers in the form of several oddballs of sock yarn are being turned into a simple top-down rib sweater for M. It's totally improvised and very much dictated by which colours I have most of, but I rather like it so far. Of course, chances are as ever with me that I'll run out of yarn before it's finished!

Indoors and Outdoors

2011-02-16T14:08:00.004Z

This somewhat solemn little chap is a small piece of a new beginning. Maybe a small piece of what will become something bigger. For quite some time my friend and I have talked about creating the sort of toddler group we'd like to take our littles to- less of the heaps of plastic toys and mothers sat around on chairs ignoring any newcomers, more natural materials, being in touch with the seasons and connecting families together. A lot like the Steiner playgroup we've been to, really. However, the Steiner group is a good hour and a half to drive to, a fact which has been increasingly hard to live with, both in terms of environmental conscience and, with rising fuel costs, budget. Our answer? To start up the group we want in our own living rooms- and once a month at the woodland recently bought by my friend's mother. If all goes well, we'll invite more families to join us and perhaps eventually find an official venue.
This, then, is 'Pete', our Steiner inspired story telling puppet. I hand-sewed him and filled him with wool, as this seemed to fit with the spirit of our enterprise. I haven't hand-sewed anything much for years, and had forgotten how soothing it can be, providing the project is small enough.
If this idea is our indoors green shoots, then there are plenty of real green shoots in the outdoors. We've had a blessing of February sunshine today, inspiring us to go out to the woods. Trembling snowdrops somehow managed to avoid the stomp of muddy wellies and the leaf litter was peppered with tiny green spikes of promise- Spring is on the way!

This Moment

2011-02-11T14:13:00.002Z

Yarn endings

2011-02-07T21:02:00.005Z

How can someone with so many packing boxes marked 'craft stuff' (no, they still aren't unpacked yet, but the day is getting closer), of which at least 50% is yarn stash, keep running out? Having more or less conquered the body of the long running saga that is the Pirate Sweater, I've now run out of Rowan British Breeds BFL before I've finished the sleeves or the pocket edgings or the hood (this last may be an optional extra, haven't decided yet).
While I was deciding where to get more I thought I'd start on another idea for a child's sweater design I'd had. Hmmm, seem to remember posting a couple of weeks back that this year I was going to concentrate on making things for the home rather than clothes- oops! Anyway, this sweater is going to be for M and is already christened 'Little Queen Bess' for it's Elizabeth I influences- a frilled, ruff-like collar, smocked upper body and puffed sleeves. As I was just trying out the idea before finding some nice, preferably British produced, DK yarn to make the proper version, I picked up a ball of what I'm fairly sure is acrylic yarn from my stash. I thought there would be enough, but surprise, suprise, I got to the arms and found myself knitting slower and slower as the ball dwindled to nothing. I burrowed through the packing boxes and found all sorts of cream coloured yarn, which was all either too yellowy or too white. Eventually I realised that the yarn was leftover from some teacosies I'd made, including one that hadn't sold in the Folksy shop and so had found it's way into our kitchen....Yes, that's right, I'm unravelling the teacosy to complete the sweater, having to avoid the tea-stained sections where necessary. Such is the lot of the cash-strapped knitter!

Ready to Sew

2011-02-01T13:22:00.005Z

I've been totally preoccupied with possible nursery schools and wallpapering this week, with a background soundtrack of money worries. However, in the longer term plan, this year I really want to improve my sewing skills. I must have advertised this fact at least a couple of times, as my Nana-in-law very kindly bought me this cute sewing basket for my birthday (no more stuffing spare machine needles etc. in an old cardboard box), while my brother and his partner got me what they describe as 'The Ferrari of sewing scissors' (her mum teaches sewing, so no doubt they are). So I'm tooled up, but what about the projects?
Patterns from Oliver & S have been on my covet list for a long, long time but I'd never quite committed to buying. Then just after Christmas we sold some stuff we no longer needed on eBay and therefore had some money in the PayPal account...and Oliver and S did a lovely '20% off during January' offer...so welcome to my stash Music Box Jumper (that's a pinafore dress for us Brits), Music Lesson Skirt and Blouse and Sketchbook Shorts and Shirt.
The reason for this selection is two-fold. Firstly, they range from what Oliver and S deem easy to medium in terms of how much sewing experience is needed. So in theory, if I work from the easier to the harder patterns I'll increase my skills-base. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier in the post, the subject of nursery schools is on the horizon, which will mean school uniforms. The idea of P wearing cheap store-bought stuff doesn't really appeal as
a. He has sensitive, eczema-prone skin
b. We try to avoid cheap, sweatshop produced clothing if possible, but don't have a lot of money to back up our ethics.
c. He's going to be at school five mornings a week. Then more the following year. So if I make clothes for him to wear the rest of the time then why not for school time too? A bit of mummy-love to take with him on this big step towards independence.
I'm hoping, then, that I can make the Sketchbook shorts in a long-trousered version for school uniform and with any luck will manage shirts by the end of summer when he's due to start. Looking to the future, the girl's patterns will be lovely for when M starts, just need to get a summer dress pattern to do in gingham- I like this one and fortunately I have a few years to acquire the necessary sewing ability before she'll need it.

Grateful

2011-01-24T14:41:00.003Z

I've read US bloggers who've written about 'Gratitudes'. I know some people might feel like throwing up when they hear that expression but actually I think there's merit in the idea of taking time to think about what you're grateful for. It's something I feel the need to do at the moment to counterbalance the (admittedly minor) stresses, worries and niggles I have at the moment. So here goes...

I'm grateful for:
*Our lovely house, which admittedly has its foibles and crumbly bits (and let's face it, how many 75 year olds do you know who don't?), but is nonetheless becoming more and more our very own home.
*A knitting bag full of Blue Faced Leicester yarn to knit with, which really, really is going to be a Pirate Sweater for P soon.
*The chubby little legs that try to kick at said knitting from my lap, because M is still little enough to occasionally stop wriggling for long enough to sit with me in peace...
*...and of course P and C, who are sharing more and more father-son moments, some of which I don't quite 'get'- flinging ice from a frozen tub of water round the garden, anyone? Being out there in the cold washing bikes in the first place?
*Wonderful news in our wider family and an imminent visit from my folks to boot.
*The thought of the holiday in Dorset we've booked for the summer. In a barn, close to the sea. Sunshine please?
*The times when both babies sleep at the same time.
Aaaaaaah! That's better!

Guilt-free shopping

2011-01-22T16:05:00.004Z

I'm not exactly what you'd call a shopaholic these days. That's not to say I didn't spend a good proportion of my younger days trolling around the shops, but our location and lifstyle don't really fit with that anymore. Apart from anything else, there aren't usually the funds for it. This has made it even more pleasurable over the last few days to do a bit of guilt-free shopping. Why no guilt? Because I was spending Christmas present book tokens and birthday present money. Hooray!
First, the books. Since we love and get so much use from the River Cottage Family Cookbook we thought we'd add the Everyday Cookbook to our collection, having enjoyed the recent TV series. We've already tried making versions of its digestive biscuits, honey roasted root veg and 'Tupperware Chorizo' all with great success. We've also invested in the River Cottage 'Veg Patch' Handbook, which is lovely for it's textured cover and neat little format alone, but is also inspiring us with all sorts of ideas for what we hope will be our first real venture in 'grow your own' this year. Finally, we've bought a DIY book because with this house there's lots to 'Do' and noone else to 'Do' it for us! As we were using Book Tokens we decided to get all of these from a local independent bookstore. This meant we didn't get any of the money saving offers we might have done from a chain store, but fits with our ethos of trying to support local businesses. Also when there was an issue with a stitching fault in our first copy of 'Veg Patch' it was an easy and pleasant experience getting it replaced.
Next up, I took advantage of only having one tiddler with me this morning to go on a bit of a charity shop trawl. As always I ignored the clothing in favour of homewares and textiles- my favourite charity shop buy is home-embroidered linen tablecloths but alas no joy on that front today. Instead I found this lovely little teapot- cheap, charity shop and using birthday money...perfect, basically! I originally thought it would be destined for the Folksy Shop, but I think I've rather fallen in love with it, so it's probably going to become our regular small teapot. The plainer Brown Betty we've been using can go to the shop when I get around to some more knitting- I think some Union Jack teacosies in time for the upcoming Royal Wedding would make sense, and would be really cute as a smaller version.
Last but by no means least, behold our new dining room 'gubbinet'. Never heard of a gubbinet? Well, it's a cabinet for all the gubbins that end up lying around downstairs- envelopes, sticky tape and other posting stuff, phone chargers, table linens etcetera. As I write, C is (carefully I hope!) drilling some holes in the back of the top bit so that the stereo can be hidden away, rather than overhanging a shelf as it currently does. I think it's probably from the first half of the 20th century, as it has curved edges that look a bit 30's and is pretty solidly made from wood. I don't really mind to be honest, as it suits our dining room really well and fits the space on one side of the chimney breast just perfectly. Found hidden under some boxes and behind a chair at the back of a vintage shop in Ulverston it was pretty cheap to buy with more birthday money. The only hairy bit was getting it home. I'd taken M shopping with me and couldn't put her seat in the front due to the airbag, so we couldn't put the seats down. Of course, when we tried to heft my purchase into the hatchback, it was about 6 inches too long. The only plan we could come up with, apart from coming back another day, was to tie the boot shut with string and for me to drive home 'not too fast'. Eek! There's nothing like a large piece of furniture held into your boot with string to make you notice just how many hills there are to go up to get home! Actually, put me on a bicycle and I'll tell you about every hill, but that's another story. Anyhow, we made it, I love it and our new (old) house has its first custom bought new (old) piece of furniture. Happy days.

Distracted

2011-01-19T14:10:00.003Z

Usually when I can't think of anything to write about it means I need to get my backside into gear and do more of the good stuff. But actually we haven't been idle exactly this week. True, we didn't get out for the planned walk in the Lakes this weekend, mainly because of the weather. Also true is that the Pirate sweater has been half frogged yet again because I wasn't happy with the pocket, so there's not much to show there. But there has been making going on, including the marmalade shown here. There have been trips out- to an antiques warehouse and a local bookshop for example. There have been new acquisitions in the form of birthday presents including an interchangable knitting needle set and a sewing box, which I may yet show off on this page.
The truth is we've been a bit distracted- by the dull and seemingly endless attempts to potty train P- and also by our new grocery shopping regime. As mentioned last week, I've decided to blog about it, if only to help motivate me to keep going with it. To begin with, I'll just be recording what we buy and what we eat, but when and if we continue I may well begin to add recipes and highlights/disasters from our kitchen and dining table. If you fancy a look, it can be found here. Now I need to go and do some knitting, and take some pictures to prove it!

This Moment

2011-01-14T11:36:00.002Z

Homemade

2011-01-10T13:54:00.003Z

I know everyone says this, but I don't really 'do' New Year's Resolutions. However, this year, we have decided to try and reduce our reliance on supermarket shopping. It's for a lot of reasons, including environmental and political ones, which I may or may not expand on at another time.
There'll be more on how we're trying to do this later in the week, but basically it's a quiet revolution because most of the measures are things we've done before over the last few years, on and off. So it's a question of trying to do them all at the same time.
Home-baking is obviously already a regular fixture in our house, but nonetheless we'd slipped into buying quite a lot of ready-made stuff recently, including bread, breadsticks (P's snack of choice) and M's weaning baby-mush (known as 'goo' in our house).
This week is the 'start as we mean to go on' week, so therefore I duly made bread and used some leftover pizza dough and a little pesto (not homemade, I admit!) to make some breadsticks. I then cooked up two carrots, an apple and four tinned prunes to make some goo. Carrots take forever to cook, so I went off and built Duplo houses with P....and burned the goo. Believe me, burned carrot, apple and prune does not smell nice. Nor is it easy to remove from pans.
However, if I gave up that easily I might as well just go to Tesco right now, so I had another attempt and made sure I stayed by the stove this time. An initial whizz with the handheld mixer followed by blending in the liquidiser and we finally had a good approximation of one of M's favourite bought 'goo in a pouch' numbers. What's more she ate it. So far so goo(d).

This Moment

2011-01-07T11:08:00.001Z

Simple and in the moment

2011-01-06T15:29:00.004Z

I don't mind admitting that things got pretty fraught around here towards the end of last year. It was a bit about the build up of months of baby-interrupted sleep, a bit about a toddler pushing at boundaries, a bit about weather that kept us stuck indoors, a bit about sickness bugs, a bit about those irritating household things that aren't about progress, just staying afloat. Anyway, I got so I really wasn't having a lot of fun in my stay-at-home mum job- and as that job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week it meant not a lot of fun in general!
The New Year so far has brought better weather, better health, slightly more sleep and a calmer toddler, to say nothing of a better attitude on my part. The title of this post is a bit of a mantra for me at the moment, since I have one of those brains that tends to constantly race ahead and fret over and overcomplicate things.
The picture, meanwhile, is an activity I tried to help me practise what I (inwardly) chant. Some uncooked rice, sprinkled on a baking tray. Simple. The idea was that my boy and I could spend some time practising drawing lines, maybe even letters, together. A shake of the tray and we'd have a new 'page' to draw on. As it turned out, when we were 'in the moment' he didn't feel like drawing, preferring to sprinkle and heap the rice instead. Which was fine really- maybe he'll draw in it another day, maybe not. It turned out it was very peaceful and calming pushing the rice around and sprinkling it onto his palms as 'rain'. And yes, a little bit ended up on the floor, but that's nothing a vacuum cleaner can't fix.
Believe it or not we played with a tray of rice for a serene and happy half an hour and while it's not like he's going to reject all the wonderful, thoughtful toys he was given for Christmas, I'm going to make sure I keep up the effort to keep things simple sometimes.

New Year Soup

2011-01-03T13:31:00.003Z

Happy New Year! I'm not a fan of the New Year celebrations, but unlike some I really like this time of year. I enjoy the urge to purge and tidy, to return things to normal, fling out unwanted stuff (or rather Ebay, Freecycle or donate in most cases) and generally start as I'd like to go on.
I've decreed that as far as crafts go, the first quarter of this year is going to be all about homemaking, rather than clothes. As a result I have a huge list of projects including curtains, bags, rugs and wall hangings that is likely to last me until about October but will allow me to make use of some exciting Christmas presents which I may show and tell about later in the week.
Inevitably, since no knitter can really cope with empty needles, I have one more clothing project on the go before I kick into an idea for knit/felt cushions. The Pirate Sweater has been fully frogged and restarted, with a new idea for the neckline partly inspired by reading Elizabeth Zimmerman's 'Knitting Without Tears'; a smaller needle size resulting in firmer stitches and a neater looking design on the pocket; larger armholes and a general resolve for it to be even better second time around. There is good chance that my junior fashion critic will still declare his dislike for it and refuse to wear it, but as I'm recording the pattern as I go with a view to publishing it I will not accept it being a wasted effort.
Anyhoo, none of this has anything to do with the soup mentioned in the title. I know I'm not alone in feeling that after the scrumptious excesses of Christmas I really need some simple, nutritious food. This soup has twin inspirations- the Cream of Petit Pois in Nadine Abensur's 'Crank's Fast Food' and a ready made fresh soup we had recently. The latter included spinach and mint as well as peas and was good, but pricey. I was sure I could recreate something like it and did so like this:
GOOD GREEN SOUP
1. Finely chop half an onion and a couple of garlic cloves. Soften in a pan with some veg oil for five minutes or so.
2. Add a pint/500ml of veg stock, with a couple of mugfuls (about 300g?) of frozen peas and about three of those little bricks of frozen spinach.
3. Bring to the boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add a glug of cream or a dollop of cream cheese or creme fraiche. Tear up a handful of mint leaves and throw them in too.
5. Take pan off heat and blitz with a handheld blender or liquidise.
6. Season to taste and serve with bread.

It doesn't have too many naughty ingredients- you could even leave out the cream- and actually has lots of good ones. Something about the sweetness and velvety texture the peas give the soup make it really satisfying so you don't feel like you're being too frugal and wholesome, even if you're being healthy.

22nd of Advent

2010-12-22T21:59:00.008Z

It's not even a year since I completed this sweater from some yarn left over from a different project. It got a good lot of wear until the warmer weather, not to mention a bit of abuse when P, teenager style, pushed his thumb through one of the sleeves just below the cuff. Going through yet another as-yet-unpacked box the other day, searching in vain for lost Christmas stockings, I found it, along with the remains of the leftover yarn. I wasn't quite ready to give up seeing him wearing it, since it had turned out to be one of those charmed unplanned projects that turn out really well, so I decided it was time for a bit of 'make do and mend'- something quite refreshing in this season of spending and excess.
When I originally made this sweater, the difficulties of measuring a wriggly toddler meant I made the body and arms too short. I discovered this fact after I'd finished it and tried it on him, but then also discovered that the advantage of 'top down' sweaters is that you can undo the bottom edges, pick up the stitches and add some more. This came to mind when I found that P has grown a good few inches in arms and body over the summer, so I needed the sweater to 'grow' with him this season.

Here you can see the hole where P had stuck his thumb through the sleeve.

I inserted a circular needle into an unbroken row of stitches below the hole, then frogged the sleeve down to that point.

Then it was just a case of joining in the new yarn and adding a few more stripes and a new ribbed border.

Hole mended and inches added, it should last another season at least. Wonder how many years I can get away with it?!?

21st of Advent

2010-12-21T13:17:00.005Z

Given that we're at Winter Solstice, it's probably appropriate that we've had some loooong nights around here. A nasty cold bug continues to make the littles miserable, and today C is in bed with it. So far I've escaped, which may well mean I'm due for a dose on Christmas Day! Still, despite this, I managed to get the last of my 'elving' done last night, with these doll nappies and change mat. They are heading for P's little friend, who is about to become a big sister for the first time. P had some play nappies for his doll when M was born and I thought it was a lovely idea. I used the pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings for the nappies, using terry towelling for the inside and some left over babycord from M's dresses for the outside. The change mat is simply a rectangle of cotton print with a rectangle of wool/cotton quilt batting and a rectangle of brushed cotton. I had a bit of fun with the embroidery foot on my sewing machine to doodle on it, having earlier threatened my machine with the sack when it wouldn't work properly for some reason. I believe my threats included "I'll get rid of you and get an antique hand sewing machine, then you'll be sorry." Maybe this is a sign that I could really do with more sleep, but it seemed to work!!

20th of Advent

2010-12-20T14:02:00.005Z

After a weekend of equal parts yuck- two children and a husband with nasty colds, disastrous attempt at fudge making, snow stopping friends and vital parcel deliveries arriving- and yum- a sister who made it over for Sunday lunch, fence panels mended and some rather good brownies made from salvaged fudge mixture- we are on the final march to the big day. Despite feeling the effects of rather a lot of missed sleep, I have got some 'elving' done and all the presents are sewn, blocked, finished off and wrapped with the exception of those still in the post (aargh!) and one more thing that I really, really will finish tonight. Other than that and a whole load of dull domestic chores, all we can really do now is wait and hope that the weather doesn't scupper our plans.
I have also (somehow! I don't know how!) managed to finish M's winter woolly outfit. It's a sort of dungarees that will hopefully solve the cold toes/ankles problem as it has integral socks. I made it using a free pattern called 'Pepita' on Ravelry by Martina Behm. I knitted it on slightly larger needles than the pattern specified, using Araucania Ranco Multy sock yarn (two different shades for a number of reasons, but it doesn't really show or matter much) as M is at the upper end of the age range. As it turns out, the whole thing was in danger of being so huge she wouldn't have fitted it until next winter, but a few reductions here and there means it's roomy but not ridiculous. There's a little more detail about that on my Ravelry notes. This weather is enough to make me wish they did one in my size!

This Moment

2010-12-17T13:48:00.001Z

16th of Advent

2010-12-16T14:36:00.003Z

Over on Soule Mama she calls it 'elving'- getting all those jobs done to prepare presents for Christmas. It's what I should be doing, but for some reason I just don't seem to be motivated at the moment, despite running out of time fast! One distraction is getting hold of some more Auracania Multy so I can keep going with making this winter wooly for M. It's going to be some dungarees with feet, made using a pattern from Ravelry. Even though I'm having to use magic loop, it's quite easy knitting and I'm just enjoying the steady rhythm. I'll elve later, I promise!