The Bath Crafting Cranny

Happy knit-natter...

Last night was lots of fun... Elizabeth has been beetling over her Griffin embroidery and it's well on target for a Christmas finish! And, Helen's fingerless gloves are amazing! (How does she make it look so easy?!) Look at that yarn...mmmmmm.

It's just a wee shame I have to leave a little early on the first Tuesdays of the month - I nip over to The Raven for a natter with fellow publishers. If there are any other logophiles out there we meet at 20.30 on the first Tuesday of the month upstairs to talk about all things wordy and drink beer. There's a lovely mixture of writers, graphic designers, editorial/production folk, artists and even a Bard!

Three of my favourite things in one night: wool, words and wine. Yippee!

Oh, what clever knitty inventors!

This is going straight on my Christmas list! The knitzi enables you to keep all your sock needles safe and tidy. I've already ruined one pretty fabric bag when they stabbed through it, removed countless eyes when I've peered in my handbag and spent hours untangling the yarn horror from the other things in my bag...this should solve all that. Knitzi = absolute genius!

Mittens for mantids

I've already been terrified by the mini-knits some people make. Here's a lady who knits mini-things...that are small enough to clothe bugs. You can read the full article here.

N.B., Another microscopic artist's work can be seen here: absolutely breathtaking!

At least these help those winter sniffles...

Look what I've found! I got them in Vintage to Vogue: if you haven't found this wonderous shop already, I urge you to snoop it out. Probably my happiest non-knitting retail pottering has been in here.

Each one was about a pound (price is dependent on age and lacework) but they save me a fortune in Kleenex and (my daily FOE email tip tells me) help save the planet.

Brighton & crafting fun

John and I went to Brighton last weekend and I tried to get some good Brighton sea air to help my bronchitic teabag-sized lungs (it didn't work).

It was fabulous! We went to Brighton Pavilion to feel suitable tourists, played in the arcade (the games are impossible as an adult - how are you supposed to win if you're six years old and your fingers are all gummed up with candy floss?) and then a long lunch in the Mock Turtle cafe with its doilies, sticky buns, homemade jams and pretty plates (John was given a knife and fork to eat his jam doughnut, it was so big).

We got lost in Kensington Gardens and we bought a beautiful John Dilnot print from Appendage.

And then we found the wonderful Snooper's Paradise. I nearly didn't get out - there are so many corridors of delights that the Exit is easy to lose. I got a squillion old knitting needle pairs for a couple of quid, lots of bags of buttons and some vintage knitting patterns (left). I love the patterns! But mostly for their comical value... (I'll bring them to the next knitting group so we can have a good giggle!)

In the loop

Wendy drew my attention to this. It's too late to submit abstracts for posters/presentations but the meeting should be really interesting and I'm sure there'll be tea and biscuits.

----------------------------------------------------

CALL FOR PAPERS

In The Loop: Knitting Past, Present and Future
A Three-day Interdisciplinary International Conference
Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, 15th-17th July, 2008

Keynote Speakers:
Barbara Burman
Sabrina Gschwandtner
Sandy Black
Liz Collins

In response to the resurgence of public interest knitting has enjoyed in recent years, this interdisciplinary conference proposes an exploration of knitting from a broad range of theoretical and practical perspectives. Proposed abstracts that cross geographical or chronological boundaries in the following areas are of particular interest:

      - knitting narratives including film, literature and the internet
      - knitting, fashion & the industry
      - knitting culture including subversion, gender, tradition and stereotype
      - knitting, technology and the future

We welcome abstracts from practitioners, knitters, historians, conservators, theorists, educators, curators, technologists and the industry. Abstracts will be considered for formal 20 minute papers or poster presentations.

Selected papers or visual essays will be considered for publication in the 2008 edition of the Textile Society’s Annual Journal Text.

Deadline for abstracts: Monday October 1, 2007.
Notification of decision: Monday November 5, 2007.

300 word limit to abstracts for presentations of 20 minutes or poster presentations.

Enquiries and abstracts to the Conference Administrator: [email protected]

Organising Committee: Linda Newington, Maria Hayward & Jessica Hemmings.

Who says you can never get something for nothing?

This is my fourth week of The Lurgy of 2007 and the novelty of being poorly is, frankly, wearing thin. Sigh. But when I got home tonight there was a big box of cheery, FREE wool waiting! :0)

This is our reward for being Simply Knitting's Club of the Month back in late summer. There's 5 x 50g balls of 5 different types of Bergere de France yarn. Lucky us!

Clockwise from top:

Toison (pink-red): 77% acrylic, 20% worsted wool, 3% polyamide; 50g/70m; 5-6mm needles

Caline (baby blue): 60% acrylic, 20% worsted wool, 20% polyamide nylon; 50g/180m; 2.5-3mm needles

Tweedine (grey-green): 30% worsted wool, 70% acrylic; 50g/150m; 3-3.5mm needles

Sport (sky blue): 51% worsted wool, 49% acrylic; 50g/90m; 3.5-4mm needles

Cotton nature (ecru): 100% mercerized organic cotton; 50g/115m; 2.5-3mm needles

I'm not sure exactly how it should be divided up: any suggestions? Everyone needs more than 100g to knit anything socky, hat-like or little person-ish and we can't have 2.5 balls each...so I think we should have five 3x50g bundles and five 2x50g bundles of each wool type (so, enough for 10 people). I'm going to suggest a good ole Democratic division: if you've been to the Bath SnB meetings and would like some free yarn please email me by the end of November...and then I will draw 10 names from a hat. How does that sound?

Sad, sad news...

Dina Rabinovitch - the Guardian columnist and candid voice of breast cancer died on Tuesday 30th October. After the Guardian changed their format, her weekly column shifted to a blog (linked on the bottom, left-hand side of this one and it's wonderful). I started reading her column back in 2004 and was hooked. She still published the occasional piece in the Guardian and her last and most moving article was published there last Monday. She gave a wonderfully human voice to the horrors of cancer, often with a black-humoured approach.

Ironically, October - the month of her death - was also Breast Cancer Awareness month. Her death will undoubtedly raise awareness of breast cancer and raise sponsorship too: a fitting tribute.

Two things I will do today: buy Dina's book, which has been on my Wish List for months, and plan my next Keyring Knit for Wendy Else. If you could find time to do likewise, I'm sure it would be very much appreciated...

Cherry Wood Project

If you are looking for a piece of furniture why not make your own, near Bath? Tim Gatfield was a hardwood cabinet-maker for many years before switching to the art of green woodworking. Green woodworking uses freshly-cut wood and thereby allows the worker to stay very much connected to the tree's environment. Tim's course are the ideal way to learn about this wonderful technique.

I was introduced to Tim last year by a colleague and booked John on his Basic Green Woodwork course for his birthday. John had dabbled with hardwood before [he made me a little table a couple of years ago that had recesses for fossils and buttons and a glass top :0) ] but greenwood was very new to him and the Basic course assumes no experience.

In the two-day course John made a wee seat (left, with my knitting for scale): the legs were made in ash by a pole-lathe, the supports in-between were made with a shave-horse and it had a weaved elm-bark seat. Tim trained John in all the techniques, was on hand for help and helped with the tricky bits...

You could stay in a B&B but John pitched his tent in the woodland for a couple of quid (I joined in the evening and we fell asleep to the owls!). There's a compost loo (look out for the cheeky door-handle), beautiful showers (with an ingeniuous water-heating system), an earth-oven (which will cook your dinner), Tim's amazingly crafted yurts, a small group of like-minded people and lots of fossils to find. In the morning, a few deer wandered by grazing merrily. It was a wonderful experience and worth every penny. Tim and Cherry Wood are a great inspiration and we are extremely lucky to have them so nearby.

There are lots of other courses, from spoon-making to making an earth-oven to family woodland courses but, if you'd rather not commit to a course yet, there's always Volunteer Thursday: help Tim maintain the woodland or help make roof tiles in time for Winter...is there a better way to spend a Thursday?

Wool and tea!

Surely, one of the best combinations? These beauties are designed and made by Jennie the Potter. You can read her blog here too. I've got a blue big yarnball bowl, some little pink sauce bowls and some red mugs winging their way over to this side of the pond shortly :0)

Jennie took the trouble to explore shipping options and has found one that will ship my order for ~$40. Adds a bit to the price but well worth the cost...and I got to choose my colours! (This decision did take me most of yesterday though - they're all lovely.)

And they're all microwave- and dishwasher-safe. What's not to like?? (And John can't complain as these are officially 'functional'...hehe.)

Alan Bennett: a national treasure

What a magnificent evening last night. Poor Alan had a cold but he soldiered on. It would take more that a cold to damage the beauty of his voice though (once the Forum had sorted out their microphone problems).

I found it all extremely moving. What wonderful, insightful and understated work. I'm off to Brighton this weekend and am going to finish my copy of 'The Uncommon Reader' before I arrive: this invariably means that I will be giggling and weeping with equal measure in the corner of the Quiet Carriage tonight.

Does anyone know where I can find his marvellous story about his Grandma's palour?

Appetite whetted?

Mari and I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Birmingham and we had the joy of seeing Lucy Reed at work there. Breathtakingly beautiful work.

She's been really busy with Ally Pally but next on her To Do List is getting a website: I'll keep you posted. She was recently awarded a certificate from the Royal School of Needlework for her outstanding work in gold and silver wire. Unless you caught her at the Shows, you'll have to wait for her website to see why...but, in the meantime, she's kindly given me this picture of my favourite piece of hers. Her work is available for purchase and you can contact her here.

Acute Amazonitis

Generally I do try to use local bookshops - but Amazon the book-title gobbler does suck us all in occasionally. Bath's great for independent bookshops though; what a shame horrible Waterstones is slap-bang on the main shopping road for the tourists, when there are so many lovelier ones tucked away to serve us better. Sadly, we lost Secession Books last year. You can read about it here in the Guardian.

But some are, happily, surviving the world of chains and corporate takeovers. To name just a few (which ones have I missed?):

• Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights - his blog and a Guardian article about it
• Good Buy books
• The Speaking Tree bookshop
• and, my favourite, Topping & Company

The lovely, lovely man at Topping & Company offered my a cup of tea while I was browsing - that's enough to make me go back there every time I want a book. And it sells the 'Vogue Knitting' books (for it's usual tenner not the wonderous £100 that Amazon sellers wanted).

N.B., there's some wonderful events coming up with Topping and Company and there's still tickets! I'm going to see the fabulous Yorkshireman Alan Bennett tomorrow and Ranulph Fiennes next Monday...If you call Topping & Co., I hope you also get the cheery Robert. He made my day. Alan's event is virtually free as you get his new book, a glass of wine and the event for only £15. I am so excited! I'll ask him to sign the book 'to me mam' for Christmas - in celebration of another equally extraordinary Northerner!

A book made from crisp bank notes?

All I want is the 'Vogue Knitting: Socks' book. I've got 'Socks Two' but I'm not really ready to knit penguin slipper socks yet: I just want to simplest of simple socks (until I can knit them to equal length I really shouldn't try anything fancy!).

You would not believe how tricky it is to get this title. Librarys West got me a bit excited as they seemed to have a few of the 'Vogue Knitting' titles but went through all the hoops for the 'Baby Knits' title and was told there was 'no copies in all branches'. You think they might remove it from the catalogue list then?

And then good ole trusty Amazon gave me this page (right). £99.44 for a copy that has 'wear and markings'?? Grrrr. And, I can't get over that they say that it looks like an 'interesting title'. Well, yes, I'm sure it is. Now if they could just make it less like the price of a mini-break somewhere hot, that'd be just lovely...

Reduce, recycle, reuse

A lovely colleague took me to a ‘Clothes Carousel’ last Friday in the New Oriel Hall, Bath. It was, essentially, a jumble-sale of clothes/shoes/bags. What can not be good about this! (But even better: the £1 entry fee included a glass of wine!)

Without getting too socio-economical or too political, I suspect some cities are better to do this kind of thing in that others. And, if the charity shops here are anything to go by, Bath has got to fall into the better category! I’ve never seen so much lovely stuff in charity shops than in Bath...people throw away such gems!

(I guess it’s all a question of affordability and financial capabilities. When John started his PhD in Liverpool he was living in an area abutting the rather infamous Toxteth and the charity shops there were interestingly different: they either sell total tatt (with no hidden gems) or fabulous donated second-hand furniture and reclaimed ovens, fridges and washing-machines. We found a wonderful dining pedestal table and chairs in Oxfam for the bargain of £100, which we since came across online for five times that, and some absolutely amazing second-hand books. Charity shops seem to more popular places up north for everyday things and they utilize this market*.)

Anyway, I’m getting side-tracked. I wanted to show you these from the Carousel! A silk-cashmere Boden cardigan for £3 (right) and a fab 1950s style cotton dress for a tenner (with a lovely watering-can print; detail left).

There was a massive range of clothes and lots to cater for all sizes and shapes. Most of it was great quality and in good nick - if I'd been cunning I would have brought lots of jumpers to felt and garments to cut up for their fabrics and buttons...

This Carousel took me a bit by surprise but there’s another one in April - I’ll let you know when I‘ve got more details! In the meantime, check out its permanent unofficial sister ‘Roundabout’ in Widcombe (2 Prior Park Road, Widcombe, Bath; Tel: (01225) 316696) - beautiful, good quality clothes for a snip of their new prices.

*By the by, I’ve never noticed how much shops cater for their demographic more clearly than when I was bobbing between Bath and Liverpool. There are more open street markets up North (how I miss them, sob) but the supermarkets are markedly different. Tesco set up home in John’s area, predictably put all the local shops out of business and then tailored their shelves for demand. Contrast: Bath (couscous, quinoea, buckwheat) and Liverpool (the oddity that is the tinned potato [much loved by North Mancunian Grandpa Pollitt], little fresh fruit & vegetables and lots of pre-prepared foods). When I visited Liverpool just before John moved down here, some 6mths ago, it did seem a lot better and I hope Tesco is making more of an effort to help people to eat more healthily...

Sock postscript...gargh.

My first socks are officially finished..!

*little dance*

Is it completely ridiculous to be more proud of the fact that I turned a heel, and knitted with more needles than I have limbs, than of my PhD?? ;0)

Oh, and there is unanimous agreement that it is always better to knit a pair of socks to the same length. (Honestly, can you believe it?! So eager was I to get to the heel and practise my new technique that I must have miscounted the rows in the tube...and the second one's a clear inch shorter. John always-the-solution-provider suggests cutting off some toes from that foot to make my socks look equal.)

Yum yarns

I love going back to my hometown of Manchester for so many reasons (not least this, this and this) but one of them is to browse in the Sew-In shop in Didsbury. It's wonderful, friendly and cheap! There's a great yarn sale bucket and the non-sale yarns don't seem to be at all as pricey as those down here (sigh). And I found these!

Aren't they gorgeous? Twilleys of Stamford Freedom Spirit yarn (#513, left, and 508, right): all shades are available from GetKnitted. Apart from being absolutely beautiful colours and 100% wool, a 50g ball is under £3. But if you go to Manchester it's only £2.50/50g - if you get a SuperSaver train ticket from Bristol and you buy enough yarn, you might save money! :0)

The Knitter's Song

Clickety clack, clackerty clack,
The knitters at work - knit and purl back.
In two-ply or three-, mohair or double,
the knitting keeps growing, without any trouble.

Sometimes machine, often on pins,
the knitter is busy and has no sins!
The garments are splendid admired by all,
"Knit one for me" is everyone's call.

The colours are gorgeous, in all sorts of hues,
they cheer all those who suffer the blues.
"So keep on knitting", is everyone's cry,
"For we love knitting!" is our reply.

Marjorie Carrier, 1990, for The Button Lady

Healthy, happy knitting

The research of Bath's Betsan Corkhill, of Stitchlinks, is helping people manage chronic pain at the RUH and the group meets fortnightly.

KNITTING HELPS TO RELIEVE CHRONIC PAIN
18 October 2007

Needles have been helping to reduce pain at Bath's main hospital in more ways than one. Patients being treated at the Royal United Hospital's pain management unit are being encouraged to take up knitting to aid their recovery. It is believed the hobby, along with crochet, can help take people's minds off their pain.

The therapeutic effects of knitting are being embraced by a new group at the hospital, called Stitch, Links and Chatter. The group, which meets twice a month, was set up in the summer by nurse practitioner Carol Davidson. It currently has eight members but there are a further 30 people interested in getting involved.

Mrs Davidson said: "There is substantial anecdotal evidence that the repetitive nature of knitting and the distraction it provides, allows people to be less aware of their pain. It's also a valuable social interaction for our patients, many of whom are isolated because of the chronic nature of their conditions." Some group members are knitting for their friends and family while others are making clothes for babies in the neo-natal intensive care unit.

Sue Pike, who suffers from chronic back pain, attends the sessions and knits for the NICU. She said: "It gives me great pleasure to know that what I knit will help a family with a premature baby. The knitting itself I find very relaxing and, living with severe pain, anything that helps you relax is a bonus."

Betsan Corkhill, a physiotherapist who helped get the group off the ground, has also been gathering evidence on the positive effects of knitting and cross-stitching on her website stitchlink.com. Researchers at Cardiff University are also looking at whether the rhythm involved in knitting can help eliminate negative thought cycles and rumination.

RUH pain unit psychologist Mike Osborn said: "The knitting group is a superb example of an activity that works for loads of different reasons. It's physical, productive, social, almost meditative and helps people to engage in meaningful activity. Chronic pain can take the meaning out of your life and if you can retrieve some of it through knitting or anything like it, that's a great idea." (The Bath Chronicle)

There's an interesting article in the latest issue of Yarn Forward, by Jennifer Hilton, discussing the optimal knitting position! I had a nasty pedal bike fall last winter (I was pushed off the road by a car speeding down Upper Hedgemead Rd, but that's another story - I think people just don't expect to find cyclists in hilly Bath). Afterwards I had loss of sensation in my left hand and a tightening of the tendons in my palm, which made my hand turn inwards and holding things was painful and tricky...when you're a left-handed editor and an avid knitter this is bad news indeed. Anyhoo, it took this knock for me to learn to listen to my body and take care of it in the fine way it deserves. Some Pilates, with the wonderful Mary, daily exercises from a nice physiotherapist and the passing of time seems to have helped and thankfully I'm nearly back to 'normal'. But overzealous knitting and scribbling brings on again and I get 'claw-hand'...so I'm always careful to listen to my noodle arms.

So, I would heed Jennifer Hilton's advice: do you have a preference for one style of knitting? How tightly to you hold your needles? How do you normally sit? (Avoid crossing legs!) Is there enough light to avoid eye-strain? How's your breathing, are you all scrunched? If you're suffering from any discomfort then try doing something related to knitting rather than the click-clackety itself (pattern-planning, ball up your wool or sort out your yarn stash). Listen to your body.

Pulling my socks up!

My biggest knitting achievement of 2007 must be: my first socks. Helen coaxed me into overcoming my sockophobia. No chance of a relapse - I've now got the opposite problem...

I. Just. Can't. Stop. 

It's been a steep learning curve and there are things I need to tweak - good job there's a second sock to practise on!

First of all, I had a circular-knitting-crisis - like Mari did with her hat - and ended up pushing the work through to the wrong side of the needles and then knitting in the wrong direction. (It's not so hard to do when you're on a packed Friday train up North and there's two kids sitting next to you playing a game of 'Name the thing out of the window'. It went thus: 'tree'...'cow'...'fence'...for THREE hours! Sigh.)

Another head-scratching moment was the grafting of the toe at the end...or the so-called Kitchener Stitch. Actually, I didn't realise when I grafted the first sock that the stitch I was doing was the same as the Kitchener one - otherwise I would have followed the wisdom of Knitty. As it was, I tackled it through the rather wordy pattern explanation and messed it right up. In situations like this, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

There's some fabulous ladders in my sock down the sides (left)...and an odd little hole that has snuck in at the heel seam (below). Fiona suggested dividing the stitches between four needles rather than three, thus creating less strain at the corners and lessening the ladder effect. This definitely seemed to help and also made the first few rows easier to work...tiny yarn on only three 2.5mm-needles is fiddly work indeed. 

Helen's tip of knitting a couple of stitches around from one needle to the next (without using the fifth needle) seemed to help too - but then I started getting a spiral effect! I think I was pulling the yarn too tightly at the corners and making a crease. But this has blocked out easily...unlike any ladders that appeared before I ditched the extra needle at the corners so I've been remembering to knit those stitches every few rounds for the second sock...  

The peculiar little hole is, I think, some stretch from where the stitches were divided on the needles and where I started shaping the gusset...I've avoided this in the second sock by picking up one more stitch than suggested down the side of heel flap and K2tog the first two stitches to give the right number for the pattern. Bit of a fudge but, hey, who cares? It has a heel, a gusset, a toe, stripes and it'll keep my foot warm...it'll do! Let's just hope they still look like a pair by the time I've corrected the quibbles when knitting the second sock!

Time for a hat..?

I think today was the first perfect autumn day in Bath this year (unless I missed some when I was convalescing?): all earlier days have either been too warm or wet...but today was blue skies and crispy leaves aplenty. Skiing days - as my oldest and best schoolfriend, Sarah, and I call them...

My mittens have made it onto the needles - which means they'll be done in time for the summer (sigh, I've been meaning to start these for months too...pah).

Mari's been resolutely knitting this wonderful hat for quite a while, with various set-backs: circular knitting slip-ups...more of them later...and a summer of weddings...

The yarn is Noro Kureyon #92; the pattern is designed by Saartje de Bruijn and is available here.

Let's hope the hat doesn't get lost once finished - isn't this hat #3, Mari? Taxis, precious accessories and lots of wine...we all know how this story ends..! Given how many hungover mornings I have spent on the phone to Lost Property, I am considering putting loops into all my knits so that they can be attached to my person on a night out...

Geeky knitting: the best kind

Quietly frightened - remember I was going to try and knit a trilobite? Well, turns out, I'm not the first. No, siree.

In fact, there seems to be a whole swarm of the beggars out there. And not just knitted ones. (Let's not limit ourselves to just one type of fossil manufacture?!)

And...the best bit: trilobite socks. This is where my head implodes with delight!

New mag...

A new knitting magazine, Let's Knit, was available from 12th October...here's their blurb:

LET'S KNIT

Get the needles at the ready because we're launching our exciting new knitting magazine, Let's Knit, on 12th October. If you're a modern knitter wanting patterns and creations that are not just fun to make but fashionable too, this is the magazine for you. Bursting with fabulous creations from some of the best contemporary designers, it's packed full of projects for both stitching novices and experienced knitters.

Giving a fresh perspective on this addictive craft, Lets Knit offers an accessible format with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. The practical guide is a must-have for all those tricky bits, and there are plenty of patterns that have been exclusively designed for the magazine to look forward to. One of the great things about this new title is the colour variations and freestyling tips that are suggested throughout, so you can really put a personal stamp on each piece.

Added to that, there will be an exciting free gift every month, starting with a fantastic knitting DVD with issue one. The handy resource includes:

> Let's Knit editor, Sarah Neal, showing her 19 must-have kit bits for the month in the product review
> Detailed tutorials on both basic and intermediate stitches
> Our very own knitting community where we share our top tips, knitting gossip, latest projects and invite you to get involved

With 60 minutes of footage in total, it's an ideal way to see the hottest products, learn a new stitch or meet some of the faces behind the magazine. Watch this space for more information and the chance to win a 12 month subscription to Let's Knit, worth £59.88!

I've subscribed for their introductory offer (the first 3 issues for just 100p!) - so I'll let you know how I find it when it arrives..!

If you're eating your lunch...best look away now...

Elizabeth and David introduced me to these wonderful knitted organs. Another fab sciency-woolly blend!

Shame we can't knit them aplenty and help save more people needing new organs...but, until the day with wool and endocrinology are perfectly in tune, the least we can do is sign up here.

To be able to give the gift of life to someone else when in death: is there anything more gracious?

People are welcome to any bits of me they want when the time comes - not all of it does what it says on the tin but, with a re-fit, who knows..? ;0) 

Continuing the October felting theme...

Mari and I have been talking about doing some Nuno felt for months now...Mari made a lovely one (left) during her years in Dundee.

Here's some wonderful instructions by Southampton felt artist Rachel Reynold (take some time to slobber over her Gallery!) and a good and extremely Texan demonstration by Gika Rector on YouTube.

Does anyone want to join us? We'll decide on a venue when we know numbers - but it will be in central Bath...We're going to put an order in for some felt, silk and other Nuno bits'n'bobs soon, so please email me if you want to join us...

Yarn (is moving swiftly) Forward

Yarn Forward magazine is quickly moving onwards and upwards: it's now in its third issue and seems to have overcome its initial teething production problems...hurray! If the cover information's anything to go by, the lastest issue is going to be fab!

I should get my subscription through the letter box (as soon as Royal Mail staff pick up their rattles) so I'll bring my copies to the next knitting meeting if people would like to browse before they buy...

Pretty knitty Afghans

How exciting to have another knitter at work! Charlotte's lent me this wonderful book and it's beautiful patterns are making me feel a little better (the heavy antibiotics are helping too, I expect).

But my eyes started watering when I started doing the sums: a hefty 55 balls is needed...and Rowan HandKnit DK cotton is suggested! Blimey.

So, my initial plan is to knit a mini version of this in some cheaper wool without the beads. A little sad to leave the little jewels off but I want to give it to my extremely pregnant friend, for her impending little one, and I don't want any of beads to be chewed off by a little mouth. There's no point knitting it out of anything too precious either as it will, no doubt, need washing aplenty once in use...

It's officially Socktober

LollyKnit was the inspiration behind Socktoberfest and this year's progress can be followed here.

What a cheery world of appendage warmers! A pair of pins creating something for a pair of pins (as we call 'legs' up North).

I have had the worst cold for a long time (and that's saying something - I have the immune system stength of a soggy mitten): I have cleanly lost 4 days of my life to 'Day Nurse' and decade-old repeats of Dawson's Creek. Absolutely hideous (both the cold and Dawson...). Today is the first day that I've been able to peel off the PJs and think about eating more than a piece of toast. Sigh. (I should have guessed something was up at last Tuesday's pub knit - I started coughing but thought I'd just furballed on some of my fluffy Alpaca wool...)

The good news is that I have finished my first sock. Hurray. If I had the energy to do a little dance - I would. As it is, I'm off to wring out a handkerchief (which is a great pity, as they're beautifully embroidered ones from the wonderful Vintage to Vogue: 28 Milsom Street, Bath. But they do give some cheer to my pestilence).

Wow!

Sara, my fellow knitty publisher, has brought this wonderful website to my attention. I am literally bouncing up and down on my seat with glee.

Under each pattern they’ve indicated the knitting tension (in number of stitches/10 cm) so that suggested yarn may be replaced by yarn with a similar knitting tension.

New designs are constantly uploaded (and you can search the website for new ones) and...wait for it...they're free to download! Also, as if this wasn't wonderful enough, you can see comments from people who've knitted the pattern and chat in their Forum: how helpful!

I think that Scandinavian Knitting Design run this service and, for the first time, they'll be at the Alexander's Palace Knitting & Stitching show in a couple of weeks...You can visit them too by prior appointment - and it's in Reading - only an hour away from Bath...

Lace: love it (again)

The lace abstinence? I take it back. Look at Emma's beautiful scarf! The pattern is called 'Cloud' from GetKnitted (£2; and can be knitted as a scarf, stole or wrap) and it's knitted in Rowan Kid Silk Haze (592: Heavenly).

And Helen's got this wonderful book (example of it's knits on the right) by Jane Sowerby - I'm sold.

Hurrah!

January 19th - March 30th, 2008 

Mixed Media Exhibition featuring work by Kaffe Fassett, Candace Bahouth and Carole Waller.

For Further information please contact:

Victoria Art Gallery

Bridge Street

Bath, Avon            

BA2 4AT

Tel: 01225 477232

Happy stitching!

My John's nice parents brought me a lovely book last year by their friend, Isabel Dibden Wright. She's a lecturer on the Embroidery BA course at Manchester Met and uses textiles beautifully (photo, right). (Interestingly, so does John's PhD supervisor - so he's surrounded by quilting!)

It is inspiring - but I'm still learning how to use all the buttons and bobbles on my sewing machine and I'M SCARED!!! But scared-machinists: take heart! Here is a shop with people who can show us how!

A new colleague at work (hello Charlotte!) is a hardened knitter who has recently started doing patchworking, and she's introduced me to this fab place...which, despite living here for 5 years, and searching avidly for a good fabric shop for about 3 of them, I'd still managed to miss. I must have been too busy looking for fossils in the pavements. Sigh.

It seems pretty wee when you first enter but then...Aladdin would be proud of the room at the back...and there is a classroom downstairs.

Country Threads (2 Pierrepont Place, BA1 1JX; Tel: 01225 480056). There are loads of classes. There is restricted parking but you can unload before you park. Tea and coffee is available but best to bring your own lunch. You can hire a sewing-machine for £1.50/class if you don't want to bring your own. There is a maximum of 12 students/class so everyone benefits from the teacher.

Here is Country Threads' busy schedule:

Christmas Tree Skirt; Val Murray (£20)
Thursday 4th Oct 10.00-16.00
The skirt covers the base and underneath the Christmas tree: based on the diamond log cabin pattern.

Interwoven curved log cabin; Jan Hassard (£25)
Saturday 6th Oct 10.00-15.30
Use of a mix of colours and tones in each log cabin block. (Use of rotary cutting and machine piercing.)

Beginners - come and make a quilt; Jan Prior (£15/day or £25/weekend)
Weekend of 12-13th Oct 10.00-15.30
A simple class for beginners who wish to perfect rotary cutting and machining for a simple quilt top. You can buy their pattern and fabrics there! A day to get you started or the weekend to do the whole project!

Fabric Collage; Janet Bolton (£35)
Thursday 18th Oct 10.00-15.30
Janet is on the Craft Council Selected Index of Makers and her work (right) is in the British Council Collection and the Embroiders Guild Museum. The main emphasis of this day is to encourage students to develop their own ideas working directly with material and very simple techniques. (Hand sewing only.)

Antique Angels; Lois Brooks (£20)
Saturday 20th Oct 10.00-16.00
Make 10 inch angels out of old lace, doilies and linens. Bring the bits and bobs in your fabric stash and get creative!

Machine Quilting; Val Murray (£20)
Saturday 27th Oct 10.00-15.00
Get to grips with machine quilting; straight lines, curves and stippling!  Help with techniques such as wadding threads...and help given with any project! (You need to bring your own machine.)

The Versatile Goose; Katharine Guerrier (£25)
Saturday 3rd Nov 10.00-15.30
The goose unit is used often in patchwork blocks (left) and this workshop will help you to piece it precisely and incorporate it into a variety of blocks.

How to make colour work for you; Chris Porter (£27.50)
Wednesday 7th Nov 10.00-15.30/16.00
Learn how to group your fabrics into colour families and add zing to your work!

Yellow Brick Road; Jan Prior (£15, includes pattern)
Saturday 10th Nov 10.00-15.30
Learn to put together a quilt top in a day! (Rotary cutting.)

African Rhythms; Jan Hassard (£27.50)
Saturday 17th Nov 10.00-15.30
Jan's first class in the popular African series. Lots of stunning blocks and techniques to learn!

Patchwork geometric blocks - tradition and beyond; Susan Denton (£90)
Three day class 19-21st Nov 10.00-16.00
The repetition of simple geometric blocks is a form of patchwork familiar to most quiltmakers and one that forms the basis of numerous traditional and contemporary patchwork quilts. Blocks are an easy way of finding effective ways to play with line and colour and inventing new ones. After paper exercises, student will work on an individual piece of work. Techniques will be covered as the arise: but this class is not suitable for absolute beginners!

Eight petals and a pot; Jennie Rayment (£27.50)
Saturday 24th November 10.00-16.00
Sew simple shapes and add machine appliquéd flowers to create this textured 23 x 23'' floral wall-hanging. Class is suitable for all abilities.

Use it up, waste it not; Jan Prior (£15)
Thursday 29th Nov 10.00-16.30
Use up fabric stash. A gentle sewing day!

Bags galore; Val Murray (£20)
Saturday 1st Dec 10.00-15.30
Bag making class

Surprising 4 patch! Judy Mendlessohn (£25)
Tuesday 4th Dec 10.00-15.30
Cut one large piece of patterned fabric and every four patch block comes out differently. Makes a wall-hanging or a small quilt - but will work well on any fabric...

I'm signing up for Jan Prior's 12-13th Oct Beginner's course - hope to see you there!

October is Felting Month

Wendy Freebourne will be hosting a felting workshop at her house on Sunday 7th October from 13.00-17.00. If you would like to go, please let her know. The cost is £15, plus £3 for materials.

Helen's in the midst of felting madness with this yummily bright yarn (left) from Willow Trading at Glastonbury festival (Willow Trading, 34 Whalley Lane, Uplyme, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3UR; Tel: 01297 443964) and some silvery Rowan Kidsilk Haze.

I've felted my Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky for a clutch-purse and it's merrily blocking around my copy of 'The Line of Beauty' by Alan Hollinghurst (which I loved, by the way; if it's not too crinkled after being used as a knitting accessory it will be happily lent out if anyone wants a good read).

Flowers!

Helen been busy crocheting this scarf (Garden Scarf by Michelle Ameron: from Debbie Stoller’s Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker).

Isn't it fab?

We're hooked! Geddit? ;0)

She said it only took her an evening (I'm not optimistic about me being able to match that though...)

:0)

Hurrah, hurray, hurrooo!!

It's back up with a vengance: fireproofed and with its eyes set on touring in hotter climes.

I want one!

They supply beautiful yarns AND they're efficient sentinels! What more could we need?

A farm in West Cornwall has recruited two unusual security guards to protect its hens from harm.

Tremayne Farm, near Camborne, has taken on two Peruvian alpacas - named William and Harry - to keep predators away. Farm manager Giles Greenhough said: "Because of the alpacas' nature, they'll take up the role of becoming guardians of the flock."

Farm director Lisa Rowe added: "Alpacas are used extensively in Australia and New Zealand to safeguard sheep." She added: "We know that happy hens lay the tastiest eggs and for that reason, we recruited the alpacas."

(BBC News, 24/09/07)

:0(

Alison Murray has been masterminding this Giant Knitted Gingerbread house to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and North Devon Hospice. Some 500 knitters from across the UK, USA, Canada and Spain sent knitted contributions to the house...but this morning I spotted this threat in the news:

Wool house ‘fire risk’

Fire officers have ordered a knitted house to be taken down after declaring it a fire hazard. The 10ft-by-14ft house was knitted by 500 women from all over the world and was on show at Atlantic Village at Bideford, North Devon, where it has raised £10,000 for charity. Ann Tattersall, who helped to create the house, said: “This is absolutely outrageous and is health and safety gone mad.” (Times, 21/09/07).

Sigh.

POSTSCRIPT 22/09/07: it's been taken down now....and, somehow, you just know that, at Christmas, they'll have a dry, brittle conifer in that shopping complex with flameball-glued, glittery baubles and rubbish blue-crackling fairy-lights surrounded by a sea of madly-flammable crepe paper...dammit.

Knitting and Stitching Show

Mari and I met on Saturday morn at Birmingham New St. station - she had an early start from Bath, especially for a weekend, and I was shaking off a hangover from staying with my lovely ex-flatmate... but there was plenty to wake us up and keep us entertained at the show! We did giggle at the other shows being hosted at the NEC though (like those on the right)... but then, they probably giggled at ours! ;0)

We thought it might have been a little bit more appropriate for ours to have called the 'Stitching and Knitting Show': there seemed to be lots and lots of embroidery stands and not quite as much for the knitters...and there were lots of general crafty stands (lots of paper and glitter for sale (left); looked like Indian spices!)

But what they did have knit-wise was great! Mari and I went a bit mad in this stand and spent most of our pocket money in the first 10 minutes on the most gorgeous Alpaca wool and lots of bits'n'bobs to satiate our new felting obsessions.

I hadn't anticipated that many exhibitors wouldn't welcome photography - in case we steal their ideas I suppose - but I had imagined that I would be able to find them online.  So, I'm pretty surprised to see that a large number of the artists don't have an online presence - most peculiar! But I have done my best at tracking people down - if you have better luck please let me know and I'll update these links!

We loved the work by Hélène Soubeyran! She doesn't seem to have a website up and running properly yet - but I'll keep an eye on Google...luckily there was a big arrangement of her work in the foyer and no-one seemed to mine me taking snaps (upper right and left)! She arranges the wools in resin and then takes the block to a marble mason, who saws them into slices. They are wonderful! Some look really like geological strata and fossils (upper right) but in other column the colours are really bright and unorganic (left). I was smitten - wools, a fossily-look and art combined - but, sadly, her prices quickly made me creep quietly away...a small 10x7cm block was £100 and the columns were £3K. Eeeek. But, I suppose the cost of the sectioning of the blocks would cause their price to soar immediately. 

Other wonders were Julie Arkell's amazing papier-mache figurines (right): just like being in a fairy-tale book! It reminded me of Ullabenulla's beautiful blog. Many of the little people have knitted accessories... I love this kind of thing - my favourite cafe of all time has to be Hansel und Gretel in Bath, which also has lots of angel, fairy pretty things of this ilk, and it makes me long for Christmas to come..!

Hillu Liebelt makes some lovely tapestries and weaved pieces (left).

I was pleased to see the Lace Guild there too - I've struggled to get the information I've needed from the web...so they were there to answer my random questions.

The Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers were there too - and a nice lady showed us how to make a drop spindle out of a stick, modelling clay and some CDs. Blue Peter would be proud!

Marie Claire Idées magazine

Sandra has this lovely magazine from her travels and there's a lovely pattern in there for a 'Cache-théière potiron' (left): which seems to be a fab pumpkin tea-cosy...

There's only one problem: the pattern's in French! eeek.

Babel Fish can work wonders but this text has lots of abbreviations and it just can't cope - and neither can my rusty A-level French...is there anyone out there able to help, please?? (a hot cup of tea and a sticky bun in return!)

POSTSCRIPT 18/09/07: Elizabeth Bagwell of Simply Knitting has pointed us in the direction of this wonderful website with a knitty-translation dictionary. Thanks!

One bottle of wine, one tube of Pringles and a night on this website - we could have ourselves a Pumpkin teacosy!

Knitting and Stitching Shows

Wendy tells me that Bakers Dolphin are doing a day trip to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, London, on Thurs 11th or Sat 13th Oct. It leaves from the Hippodrome, Bristol at 09.00 and leaves at 18.30, arriving back at 21.30 in Bristol. It costs £30 (£29 seniors) and this includes entry.

I'm actually going to the one in Birmingham, at the NEC, on Saturday with Mariana if anyone else fancies joining us?

Perfect day: sunny Saturday, knitting and pretty accessories

I spent a lovely knitty-afternoon with Sandra today (lovely to have you home, Sandra!) And she's been busy knitting! Look at her lovely Autumnal bag - it's so beautiful! I love the mixture of textures, details and beads...

And look at the lining! Could it be more perfect for the autumnal theme?! Wonderful..!

It's inspired me to start the felted bag that I've been planning for ages (with Debbie Bliss' Donegal Chunky Tweed)...

I need something to immerse myself in anyway this evening: JohnBoy is flicking between the football and rugby so quickly he's likely to induce epilepsy and he's got the cricket through an ear-piece...sigh!

Patience pays off.. (apparently)

I'm not known for my patience aplenty. And how I would love to sit down and create this wonder: a beautifully-crocheted double bedspread.

On first sight I thought that it might, one day, be in the realms of possibility for an impatient foot-tapping critter like me...until mum told me an old Belgian lady sold it to my granny and she'd started making it when she was only 15. Wow! And the Belgian's lace work is truly amazing. (We used to live in Belgium and got wonderfully embraced out there by everyone and my brother and I got adopted as grandchildren by a farming couple, Josee and Robert. They have been hugely more instrumental in my life...)

My mum says I can have it in her Will - so I guess I should be hoping I've got a long wait..! ;0)

Scherenschnitte (...bless you!)

An hour merrily searching the web can yield more than knitted dinosaurs (hard to believe, but true!): look what beauties I’ve found! Cindy Ferguson creates the most wonderful art from a sharpened blade and a sheet of paper (her lacewing ant lion bug is on the left). And I LOVE her mosquito life-cycle cut out. Another wonderful blend of art and science!

There's the fabulous Kako Ueda too (right). And the wonderful work of Emma van Leest to drool over.

One of my childhood 'keep-yourself-out-of-trouble-for-days' play-activities was to make cards and pictures by cutting out shapes. I remember doing an enormous Tigger out of cutting card (his stripes were tricky!)...but I didn't realise that there's actually a name out there for us like-minded card-snippers (pronounced 'shair-en-shnit-teh' apparently)!

There doesn't seem to be that much information out there (epecially not in the U.K. - but the U.S. is throwing up more sites, but not many there either - incidently, there seems to be a big religious connection...). You can purchase patterns here. In an ideal world, perhaps I should learn to draw first so I don't need to buy a pattern, but - blimey - let's be serious?! I supposed, though, all you really need is a unbroken image/photocopy from a book/the web and away you go..! 

So now I'm hooked (as well as trapped in the blind-ending sock-tube of No Return). There's a plethora of paper-cutting information here for any other people who really should be finishing off the projects they've already started...but have eyes too big for their crafting-time-slots.

A-hem.

Xtreme-knitting AND woolley fossils

Isn't Google fab? Throws up all sorts of wonderous things. I've found a lovely knitty West Country blog by Jennifer Thurston. She's knitting some lovely stuff AND has a free pattern to some knitted dinosaurs!! :0)

My partner studies fossil sea urchins (don't ask) and have been trying to secretly knit one: I could have a complete Jurassic diorama if I knit some of these guys too! You can download her dino-pattern here.

Micro-knitting

My mum's second home is a twelfth the size of a normal one and yet often more expensive to furnish.

When mum mentions that she's cleaning the house, she is usually referring to her doll's house (right). Our lovely and slightly wacky neighbours have a doll's house too: but theirs is a complete replica of their own home! Even down to the number of tiles on the roof and panes in the window... (I kid you not).

Anyhoo, mum brought miniature-knitting to my attention. (I thought knitting for a premature baby was using small needles..! But - blimey - look at these knits!)

Sue Osborne and Lesley Manieri are the two sites I've gawping over! This outfit (above, left) is Sue's for a 1.5 inch doll! Eeeeek.

And the one on the right is hers for a 2 inch doll.

Lesley's bonnet, shawl and bootees in Gutterman silk thread (left) did make me feel a bit giddy.

Lesley's will be exhibiting at the Miniatura Autumn Trade Show and running a Miniature Knitting Workshop in Bruern (Nr Stowe-On-the-Wold), Oxfordshire on the 26th September. You can download the PDF booking form here. And don't forget your 0.75mm needles.

FibreFest2007!

This looks fabulous: sorry for the short notice! I'd love to go...but am doing the devoted sister thing and going to a Regiment thingymebob with my bro. I am promised lots of hat-spotting and sparkling wine...

Scottish yarns and other tales (and a needle of a sort)

Hello all, just back from the Edinburgh Festival and the highland wildness (where we saw The Needle on the East coast of Skye (left); other photos of Skye are here) - hopefully the hiking and fresh air of the latter counter-balanced the 5am pub closures and the deep-fried pizza of the former...

I've not been to the Festival since I was an undergraduate there six years ago - preferring to visit when it's a little less crazy - but was so glad to be there this year, for a friend's wedding and a good ole chin-wag...

Edinburgh's wool shops are surprisingly far and few between - but there's an excellent, good-value one near Haymarket station (Drummond Wools) so I often pop to that one. John Lewis and the lovely Jenners are in the centre but, whilst both have a good range, are often over-priced and pretty standard fare. There's a lovely one in the trendy Bruntsfield that has some interesting yarns: but, be warned, they're so expensive that I looked at the price list and woke up to some smelling-salts. Most other related shops sell wool-products to tourists rather than yarns for the knitter.

BUT - I did go to a great comedy gig called 'Girl & Dean'  - who knitted all their own props and were sponsored by the Laughing Hens! Fabulous! Quite hard to figure out how they knitted a lot of them though - it's hard to count rows and stitches when you're chuckling..!

Skye has a couple of wool shops. There is supposed to be a lovely one in the north of the island: but, sadly I couldn't visit as there's no public transport and it would have required a 16-mile trek in the rain (...and don't suppose it's that good!!).

But, I did find Carol's Wool in the Portree Gathering Hall. Most of her stock is synthetic fibres though - which I don't like so much - BUT she did have some lovely locally-sourced, -dyed and -spun yarn by a lady who...lives on a boat (see the blurry pics)! How I would love to have seen how she works! What a task - conducting it from a floating home! And, at only £2.70/50g, I was delighted!

Carol told me that most other yarns on the island aren't locally sourced and are only dyed on the island or are local and are dyed off-shore. (If that is the case, I'm glad I didn't make that 16-mile trek!) Interestingly, she explained why she stocks mainly synthetics: most islanders want these yarns to work with as they can just be bunged in the washing-machine. As I gently hand-wash my silk-yarn scarf, this certainly highlights the different roles knitting plays...sometimes it's easy to forget that many people knit to clothe themselves rather than just for fun...a humbling lesson indeed.

Sockophobia (exacerbated by turningheelsophobia)

Socks are scary. Something to do with the 5 needles (doesn't it look like a Chinese martial-art weapon?) and the whole heel business. Eeek.

But Helen's lovely, lovely socks have inspired me to give them a go (so if I get hooked, she will be held responsible!).

I found my first sock project from a wonderful book (the rather web-elusive 'Knitting Step-by-Step' by Quantum Books). I found it in Bath's fab Good Buy Books for a piddly £3 (AND I also got Mary Webb's 'Knitting Stitches' (right) here for a few pennies - beautiful stitches for many hours of happy playing!).

'Knitting Step-by-Step' has got a Know-How section with a section on turning a heel (on lined paper so you can scribble in any of your own notes - genius idea!): it's a pattern for simple Dutch heel (a square sort of heel) and so I proudly completed my first sock! Hurray!

I'm tackling Yarn Forward's Lace socks now (just can't stay away from lace!) to practice more complicated heels...fingers crossed. I've started it as a dummy sock in horrid 100% acrylic yarn to get the pattern right before moving to prettier yarn - but I'm not convinced this is the best tactic anymore...it's not hugely inspiring...perhaps I'll take Fiona's advice and just take the plunge with my new lovely sock yarn (left) from Laura Bobbins! I've got StitchLinks free sock tutorial on my lap if I get stuck too...toes crossed I'll have a pair of socks done by the next meeting..!

Yarn forward

The new wool tent at the Trowbridge Village Pump Festival was (wo)manned by a lovely girl called Laura Bobbins (how great if this is her real name!). She's based in Portsmouth I think. She gave me the Yarn Forward magazine with my woolley purchases...and I love it!
It's edited and published by Kerrie Allman: who also also owns MagKnits (an online free knitting magazine), HipKnits (a hand-dyed yarn company) and SewHip (a funky fabric store and free magazine).

There's lots of nice, simple and well-illustrated patterns and ideas in there. It's still somewhat in its infancy (their first issue was only published last Autumn), so it's nice to be able to support them with a subscription (and at £18 for 4 issues/yr it's a good price too!).

Knittitastic

What a happy Sunday afternoon! (Except that I'm still battling with my smoke-ring scarf...I think I might have had one glass of wine too many on Tuesday's meeting: I've got myself into a right knittiknot. Sigh.)

Fiona came to today's meeting: she's just moved to the Bath area and is knitting this wonderful Kauni cardigan (see photo): in the round with a checked garter stitch edging and a steek. You can follow her progress and see her other lovely knits here.

I'm keen to try a garment in the round - think I'm a happier in-the-round knitter on the whole and I love the idea of no seams and sewing-up... I've still got the glorious Debbie Bliss wool coaxing me to try a colourful autumnal cardi once I've got this pesky smoke-ring scarf done... (can you tell the sparkle's gone from this scarf project now? hehe..)