Tiny Tea Leaves for a Growing Girl

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.

More Knit, less Natter

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...

For him and her

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

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!

Back from a break...and yet more colour

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

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...

Introducing the Coniston Sweater...

...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.

Old, New and Unfamiliar

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.

Baby Shower Knit

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.

Big Purple Frog

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!

Keep Calm and Carry On

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.

Post bag of goodies

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.

Slackblogger

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.

Every Last Scrap

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.

Queen Bess the First

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

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!

Yarn endings

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!