Knitsmith

Socks Again, Yarn Overdyeing

2011-07-05T08:20:00.004+01:00

At a meeting of the Godmersham Spinners we had a demonstration of yarn dyeing to create fairisle effects which was interesting and made me want to get home and start dyeing. I wanted to create stripes, it needed 27" to knit one round of a sock, using 56st and 2.5 mm needles, I wound a skein of commercial blue sock yarn to three times this length and marked it into thirds, wetted it and laid it onto clingfilm, I left one section as blue and painted the others green and purple, then covered with another layer of clingfilm and microwaved for 15 mins. It does knit as stripes, but I did the rib and heel in plain blue for contrast.

Guild Meeting

2011-01-30T10:11:00.003Z

Yesterday was the first meeting of the Kent Guild for 2011, several members were sporting wonderful new wheels, so Father Christmas had been very busy. There were lots of goodies on the trade table and I came home with more than I took! I found an Inkle Loom with some tablet weaving cards, coolwool dyes, I've not used these before, a deep wicker basket and a four shaft extension for a 16" loom which I hope can be converted to a little loom.

The North Downs Guild have a new website, which gives full details of their activities and meetings.

Lots of snow here

2010-12-02T12:06:00.001Z

We have a lot of snow, try to keep the bird table and feeder topped up.

Lots of snow!! Warm Sweater

2010-12-02T11:59:00.004Z

Just finished my winter sweater, I knitted this from the top down, all from oddments of handspun yarn and vintage buttons from my late mother in laws button tin.

Yarn Dyeing

2010-10-14T15:03:00.004+01:00

Have had great fun overdyeing some spare hanks of grey yarn spun from a Jacob fleece, I plan to make a sweater or perhaps a bodywarmer style top, dyeing over grey gives a subtle difference to the finished yarn, there was still dye in the vat so I added more colours and used up quite a few odds and ends of yarn. I think the colour variations will make a good mix for a very subtle stranded yarn pattern.

Chutney and Jam

2010-10-14T14:45:00.003+01:00

Made Crab Apple Jelly, Norwich Apple Chutney and Apple Tomato and Chilli Chutney, which is hot!, plenty of Chutney stored up for the winter, but only made two jars of the crab apple jelly, which set very well and has a very pleasant taste.

Crab Apple Jelly

2010-10-04T12:58:00.003+01:00

Brought back some crab apples from Ross Park in Devon and now making some crab apple jelly. The fruit was cut up and cooked with a small amount of water, then I improvised a jelly bag, when all the juice is strained through it will be boiled with sugar (1 pint juice to 1 lb sugar) to make the jelly.

Cottage Style Hearts

2010-10-04T12:48:00.004+01:00

Some more hearts, for daughter this time, cottage style as she has a rustic cottage kitchen, she has hung them over the door, the buttons and some of the fabric were from Homespun Loft.

Lap Quilt for Me

2010-08-07T15:54:00.006+01:00

This Teresa Kogut fabric caught my eye on ebay, from Homespun Loft who has some lovely fabrics. I felt a fairly simple surround would be most effective, and had some pieces in my stash that matched. I machine quilted this by following the outline squares of the pattern, this made it easy to do as I was able to create random patterns for stitching. The wadding and the red backing fabric were slightly larger than the quilt panel, rather than trim them down I found that by wrapping and folding the backing fabric over the wadding I ended up with a soft slightly padded edge and it's warm and cosy.

Black and Red Hearts

2010-03-26T19:15:00.004Z

Made some black and red themed heart decorations for my Grandaughter, made by copying heart outlines, put right sides together, sew about threequarters of the way round starting on the side of the heart, leave a small gap, trim seams, turn right way out, add a hanging cord and stuff with pillow stuffing, then close the seam - she likes them very much, I covered a small cardboard box with some of the spare gingham to put them in.

Scottie Dog Cushion

2010-01-07T14:26:00.002Z

I found this great pattern for a Scottie Quillow and could not resist trying it out on a cushion. A Quillow is a quilt which folds into a pillow. The cushion is red fleece, the scottie is black felt, the coat is an oddment of red marl fleece and the collar is a little piece of check fabric, really fun to make.

Hearts

2010-01-07T14:23:00.002Z

A group of hearts, just for fun decoration, I saw something similar a shop and thought I would try and copy the idea.

Bears and Honey Throw

2010-01-07T12:07:00.003Z

A cuddle throw from Debbie Mumm fabric, backed with honey coloured fleece, made for my daughter, who still enjoys teddies, (so do I!). The pattern on this fabric runs along the selvedge so I did very little quilting, but added a double border around the edge. She was very pleased with it.

Bag for Grandaughter

2009-12-24T12:33:00.002Z

A bag I made for granddaughter, from some oddments of fabric, it has a zip on one side and a pocket on the other, plus a zipped inside pocket.

Kent Guild 60th Anniversary

2009-11-30T09:15:00.003Z

On Saturday the Guild met to celebrate 60 years of the Kent Guild of Spinners Dyers & Weavers, we enjoyed a bring and share lunch, a cake made especially for us and a fashion show of members work in the after noon.

Guild Workshop with Alison Daykin

2009-11-20T08:42:00.003Z

The Kent Guild had its annual "Vic Edwards Day" on the last Saturday in October, with a workshop where we all try and join in on learning something new, in memory of our founder. This year we had a wonderful day, entitled "Creative Spinning" with Alison Daykin. We were told to bring with us a picture that inspired us, and a selection of spun yarns, and oddments of commercial yarns, beads, fabric etc.

Alison is a very good teacher and took us though a number of the pictures to explain how we could identify elements of the picture/colour to get the effects we wanted in our spun yarn. She also demonstrated a different method of carding from rovings for colour blending, and various different spinning methods for fancy yarns, a core wrapped yarn, tufted yarn, two methods for attaching beads, two colour roving, two colour slub yarns and more. A great day and I got a lot out of it, I came away with my head buzzing with new ideas for my stash of fibres and rovings.

Patchwork Quilt

2009-08-27T13:05:00.002+01:00

I made this for my Granddaughter, who wanted something girly and pink, the backing is fleece to make it cuddly, she was very pleased with it.

Seaside Tote Bag

2009-05-17T12:59:00.003+01:00

The fabric is from the Coast range by Makower, I had great fun making it. I love the seaside and making this tote bag was pure pleasure, beads and shells were used for embellishment.

Helix Spiral Socks, from oddments of Yarn

2009-03-08T16:18:00.003Z

Helix spiral socks, knitted from oddments of yarn, fun to play with stripes.

Dyed Yarn

2009-03-08T16:14:00.002Z

This was an attempt to create colours that reminded me of pansy flowers, I think the pinks are okay but the yellowish green is not right yet.

Yarn Dyeing

2009-03-08T16:11:00.003Z

Yarn for a lightweight summer cardigan, all sorts of seaside shades of blue and green, carded ready for spinning.

Dyeing the Blues

2009-02-23T13:09:00.003Z

At Summer School 2007 my chosen course was "Dyeing the Blues" learning indigo dyeing with Viviene Prideaux, using a zinc lime vat. We made lots of samples and some larger pieces. I made a soft jacket from one fabric and pieced together a lap quilt from the small samples, it's lightly padded and quilted with piped edges.

Knitted and lined sock slippers

2009-02-23T12:39:00.004Z

These were knitted for my granddaughter, based on some she had seen in a shop, they are lined with some stretchy cotton jersey to make them extra warm, the foot part is based on Aunt Dana's sock pattern.

Jacobs Sheep Cushions

2008-11-05T13:45:00.002Z

Our Guild were kindly given some very soft Jacob Sheep fleeces to share and I was inspired to make some cushions from the fibre. It was soft clean fleece and easy to spin. I sorted the fleece to make the patterns. Knitted as two garter stitch squares and then crocheted together round the sides with a zip let into one side.

Aylesford Priory

2008-06-07T08:38:00.003+01:00

A wonderful three day spinning retreat at Aylesford Priory, organised by the Kent Guild of Spinners Dyers and Weavers. The Piory is a Carmelite Community and in a beautiful pleaceful setting by the River Medway, with glowing modern glass and ceramics in the Chapel, which was rebuilt after a major fire in 1949. There were 10 members of the Guild and we enjoyed spining, weaving, knitting, sharing hints, tips and laughter.

Regia Silk Mix Socks Finished

2008-05-03T08:39:00.002+01:00

I have finished my regia socks, very pleased as they are so soft and comfortable to wear. I would like to knit some more in this yarn, I used one ball of blue and one striped to get this effect. I also undid the original cast on after they were finished and used a picot cast off instead. I might try spinning a silk and wool mix sock yarn some day.

The Terrible Two

2008-05-03T08:32:00.003+01:00

We have two new additions to the family, they are great characters, and a delight to have. This was taken on the beach at Weymouth, in April. We were staying with the campervan at a site in Moreton, where there is a train station nearby so very easy to get the train into Weymouth.

Toby's Christmas Jumper

2008-01-05T14:17:00.000Z

I couldn't resist knitting this for Toby, our son's West Highland Terrier, it's a pattern from garnstudio.

He's a great character and best friends with our labrador, Jax. I have just started some socks for myself with Regia silk, very soft yarn which is delightful to work with.

Cheltenham Racecourse - Morning Mist

2007-10-23T14:46:00.000+01:00

Had a few days at the campsite at Cheltenham Racecourse, bright sunny days and frosty mornings. The site is very well placed at the top of the town, near the park and ride and a pleasant walk into town. Lots of good places to eat and shop in Cheltenham.

Aunt Dana's Russian Boots by Janet Armstrong

2007-10-04T17:50:00.000+01:00

These super slipper boots are from Knitters Calendar for March 7, from Janet Armstrong being the boots that her husband's aunt used to knit. I used some odds and ends of handspun that had been lurking in the handspun basket, they were quick and simple to knit and very comfortable to wear, toes should be warm and toasty this winter

Indigo Shoulder Shawl aka Pigs in Blankets

2007-10-04T17:40:00.000+01:00

The mohair yarn I spun, which wanted to be dyed indigo, have now turned into the "Just Right Shawl aka Cozy Capelet" by Lynn Meacham from Knitters Calendar for April 18. It does indeed sit nicely on the shoulders, giving warmth across the back and I found a vintage button in my stash to fasten it with. This is a simple to knit but really useful pattern, excellent for using up those odds and ends of yarn in the stash. I'm sure I will knit it again, I used the three skeins I had dyed, and the final result measures 40" across and 18" deep to the point, knitted on 8mm addi's.

Mood Indigo

2007-09-24T11:04:00.000+01:00

After the Indigo Dyeing Course at summer school, I now have my own indigo vat and have dyed some skeins of yarn, this is a wool and mohair mix I spun some years ago it - it could never decide what it wanted to be, until it saw the indigo dye pot and jumped in! I aimed to get the colour a little stronger in each skein which is very faint, to make a simple shoulder shawl
Dyed clean fleece, the left dyed in the indigo vat and the right dyed with a mix of purple and grey logwood, in a ratio of 4 : 1 using earthhues dyes from DT Craft and Design. The bottom is the logwood dyed fleece combed ready for a semi-worsted spin. I am pleased with the colour from the logwood, I was aiming to achieve a darkish lavender grey and this is quite close. Now just need to dye enough for a sweater!

Knitted Blanket

2007-08-28T16:46:00.000+01:00

I had a bag of nine balls of a cotton and linen mix yarn to use up - searching for inspiration I found it in the EZ book The Knitters Almanac - this is the Mystery Blanket Square - just one square knitted on 4.5mm addi's and finished with a picot edging. I just added the odd row of purl stitch to give a little texture - I'm quite pleased with the finished result, and one bag of yarn less in the stash, or at least it leaves room for some more!!

Cornwall Summer School

2007-08-13T12:50:00.000+01:00

A wonderful week in Cornwall at Tremough Campus, Near Falmouth. where several hundred members of the Association of Weavers Dyers and Spiners were engaged in a week of Summer School courses, there was a huge variety of choice but I settled for "Dyeing the Blues" with Vivien Prideaux (above) and learned about the art of indigo dyeing.
The Kent Guild Displaying some of the results of their efforts!

A magical evening at the Minack Theatre to watch Pier Gynt, the weather was calm and mild and the sea and sky had amazing colours. The theatre was built in 1932, the first play shown was The Tempest, which is being shown again this year as it's the 75th anniversary of the theatre.

Adult Surprise Jacket - Many Thanks

2007-07-17T20:10:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to Yarn Harlot and everyone for all the kind comments on the Adult Surprise Jacket, I really enjoyed the work I put into this, it took longer to prepare dye and spin the Wensleydale fleece than to knit the jacket. I hope to do another one in a blue/coffee/aqua combination but this time I would make the stripes narrow and closer in colour.

Helix Socks Again and More

2007-07-17T19:51:00.000+01:00

More Helix socks knitted, from the Pattern in Knitters Calendar for 2007, I just love playing with the colours and it's amazing how little yarn is used for the stripes when the ribbing heel and toe are in solid colours. The mauve/lilac/pink pair are for me and the enormous striped pair are for someone with very swollen feet.

I have also tried a simple helix stripe summer top in oddments of green yarn, one plain green, one green and white slightly slubby, and one plain green very slubby. I knitted this in the round until the underarms and then divided the stitches in half, cast on 6 stitches at each end back and front to make a cap sleeve effect and knitted from side to side, as I was using circular needles I knitted from each end as appropriate to try and duplicate the stripes. I made some mistakes but carried on because I wanted to see the finished effect and also how the cap sleeve effect would work. I picked up stitches around the sleeve and hem after the top was finished to stop the edges rolling in.

Vintage Knitting

2007-06-15T13:31:00.000+01:00

A jumper for me, knitted in some fairly vintage jaeger matchmaker 4ply using a vintage P&B pattern, pleased with the result which fits well, this uses inset increases from the waist up to create two decorative darts on both front and back, and then some short rows to create extra fullness on the front only. I think I prefer knitting with finer yarns, although the matchmaker was very springy and any dropped stitch immediately dropped down.

Large Size Socks

2007-04-12T16:27:00.000+01:00

Knitted some super size socks which needed a very stretchy cast on as the recipient has very painful feet due to health problems. I had lots of very useful advice from the USA group Knitu and after experimenting with some of the suggestions, used the double knitting cast on which is virtually invisible when completed. I used the version from Sivia Harding which uses waste yarn and also used a larger needle size for the cast on which makes for a very soft stretchy edge. I judged that they were a great success as I was asked if I could knit another half dozen pairs, as the recipient is my son I guess I will have to keep knitting. The picture makes the edge look slightly flared but this disappears when they are on the foot.

Helix Socks

2007-01-23T13:29:00.000Z

Helix Socks, pattern taken from the Knitters Calendar for 26th April, and great for using up odds and ends of yarn. I used three yarns, two plain and one variated.

Inkle Loom Wine Carrier

2007-01-07T12:13:00.000Z

I could not decide what to do with the heavy cotton braid I made on the inkle loom, then I thought - something useful a wine carrier! The fabric is denim and there is a little velcro fastening between the bottles to keep them separate, which also means it can be used as a bag if there is no wine to carry, so not very often then.

Kent Guild of Spinners Dyers and Weavers

2006-12-30T14:58:00.000Z

Our Guild now has it's own website www.kgsdw.bt.ik.com at the Kent County Show in July we won the Silver Cup, which has given us all a great sense of achievement.

Little Oliver

2006-12-30T14:41:00.000Z

Another teddy - Oliver - from Sandra Polleys book, very good patterns with clear instructions. I made Oliver in some Rowan cotton with waistcoat in Jaeger Aqua.
I think he is rather cute.

Adult Surprise Jacket

2006-11-24T16:32:00.000Z

Now a finished object and I am entranced by all the colour combinations and angles that I prefer to look at it rather than wear it!

EZ Surprise Jacket

2006-11-10T16:12:00.000Z

Some progress on the Adult Surprise Jacket, I am really enjoying seeing how the colours in my handspun come out, if anyone else is intending to knit this there are some missing details in the pattern in "The Opinionated Knitter" but corrections are available on the Schoolhouse Press website, www.schoolhousepress.com

Items for Hazel's Charity Craft Fair

2006-10-27T12:03:00.000+01:00

Bracelets, Curley Wurleys and Papers Chains, fun knitting up some small items for Hazel's charity craft fair, the bracelets are very quick to make with oddments of lurex yarn, and I couldn't resist playing with the crochet paper chains.

EZ Adult Surprise Jacket

2006-10-27T11:57:00.000+01:00

I have now dyed and spun enough (I hope!) Wensleydale fleece to start knitting the adult surprise jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermans book, The Opinionated Knitter, and I am really enjoying the knitting, although I know there is a long way to go yet.

Handspun Wensleydale

2006-09-25T15:16:00.000+01:00

Some more hand spun and dyed Wensleydale fleece, this takes time and effort to prepare but the fleece is soft with a good sheen and takes dye very well. I want the skeins to be various merges of lilac, blue, mauve, pink etc. When I have enough I intend to knit the adult surprise jacket from EZ's book, but I may have other ideas for it by then.

Much travelled EZ Fairisle Pattern

2006-09-25T15:08:00.000+01:00

Gosh, this has taken me ages to knit, its been picked up and put down more times than my glass of wine and is much travelled, having been all over the country in the camper van, however it's nearly there now, provided I don't undo the sleeves again which is a strong possibility. The main garment was knitted in Elizabeth Zimmerman's 3 plus 1 fairisle pattern and knitted in the round from the bottom up, then divided at the underarm for the sleeves. Knitted in various brands of DK cotton. The sleeves were picked up and knitted from the top down.

Travels to Charmouth

2006-09-25T13:29:00.000+01:00

Have just returned from spending a few days at Charmouth, great site to stay on a few hundred yards from the Jurassic coast, we went fossil hunting, with daughter and grandaughter, the Saturday was warm and sunny and the fossil hunters were out in force. Daughter and grandaughter found some small ones, I found none but as we were strolling along the beach I saw a stone I think may be a fossil and I like the shape for a paperweight. As it was such a relaxing site I caught up with some knitting and have made progress on the zip front jacket I am knitting in Debbie Bliss DK cotton, a pleasant blueish green, or possibly greenish blue!

Spinning the Jacob Fleece

2006-08-11T13:22:00.000+01:00

The first two skeins of jacob fleece roving, it's so easy to spin from a roving and its amazing how quickly it goes along, I'm not sure what I will want to knit with this yet, but I think it could look good as a fairisle - perhaps with some dark red, white and black in fairly traditional pattern, it would make a warm jumper for the my husband, who has never complained about the sewing, knitting, spinning etc taking over the home, and who apart from mending the equipment also made me an inkle loom!

Dyeing with Dylon Cold Water Dye

2006-08-11T10:51:00.000+01:00

Have had time to play with some more yarn dyeing and this time I used Dylon cold water dyes, dyeing ramie, bamboo and tussah silk. The colour was called sea green and gave different effect on each fibre. Very easy to use just mix the powder, add the sachet of fix and salt and then leave to soak. I just carried on using until the colour was exhausted. This could be a good method of overdyeing any yarn that you did not like. The cold water dye only works on natural fibres. In the picture the top is the tussah silk, on the left is the ramie and the bamboo on the right. Approximately 200 grams of each was dyed.

Travels Interrupted

2006-06-29T17:01:00.000+01:00

We were having a great time, touring around in the motorhome, the weather in Scotland had been wonderful and the sunsets at the site at North Ledaig were spectacular. Going gently along the A82, someone left a hotel exit and forgot which country he was driving in, so drove straight into the side of us. Lots of damage to be repaired but he did admit full liability to us and the police and at least no one was hurt. So lots more time for knitting and spinning then!

We certainly saw some wonderful places, and at Scoon we had a tame pheasant who called early in the morning for his breakfast!

This is the view at North Ledaig, great walks along the sea shore in both directions.

Yarn Dyeing

2006-03-18T15:21:00.000Z

Had fun dyeing two skeins of yarn spun from a kent fleece, semi worsted spun. One was painted in patches and the other in a blended effect. The skeins were wrapped in clingfilm and steamed on a rack in an old electric frypan for 30 mins. I think I prefer the heather blend to the patches one, but this may change after swatching. The skeins weigh just over 60 grms each.

Marshall and Snelgrove Pattern

2006-03-16T11:00:00.000Z

Spinning and Dyeing

2006-03-16T10:49:00.000Z

Now that the bathroom is finished, huge sigh of relief, I have been able to work on the border leicester fleece that I bought several months ago, It was very greasy but after several soaks is looking, feeling and smelling a whole lot better. I found our old electric cooking pan in the loft and as we no longer need it for the caravan I am using it for yarn dyeing, very portable as its on legs and can plug in anywhere. These are my first test batches, the skein is from some of the same yarn dyed by another member of the Kent Guild. This is a beautiful soft and lustrous yarn and lovely to spin and knit with.

Vinopolis

2006-02-05T11:10:00.000Z

A great trip to Vinopolis on Friday, I went with some very good friends as part of my ongoing 60th Birthday celebrations! Vinopolis is just behind Borough Market, which is now very colourful and full of delicious food goodies, lots of cheese, meat, fish, veg etc lots of organics and cooked food which smelt so appetising in the cold. Vinopolis is built under the huge brick arches of the station and is very attractive, as you would guess from the name it's all about wine, there are wines from all over the world, a short talk on how to taste wine and then lots of wines to taste! It's a very attractive setting you can stroll around at leisure to the different tasting tables, very relaxed, lots of places to sit and sip, and water coolers to refresh the taste buds. Afterwards we had a meal at an Italian Restaurant in Villiers Street, adjacent to Charing Cross Station, and of course managed a little more wine with dinner!

Daughters Pullover in Emu Shetland Boucle

2006-02-02T12:56:00.000Z

My daughter found some of this yarn in a charity shop and asked me to knit her a warm loose jumper, we looked at the patterns on www.garnstudio.com and found a jumper she liked, this is it with added stripes as we had two shades of yarn, coffee and cream. I find the garnstudio site really useful, patterns can be searched by type but also by stitch tension, and they cover a generous range of sizes. I don't know how old the Emu yarn is but it's certainly very warm, it was keeping me cosy whilst I knitted with it.

Noro Silk Garden Reknitted

2006-01-20T11:08:00.000Z

I have finished reknitting the Noro silk garden that I made as a cardigan earlier this year, I was never happy with the effect of the colour spread so before Christmas I gave it the kermit treatment and have now reknitted it as a jumper, I much prefer it as a jumper and I personally like the effect of using four balls of yarn to create panels of colour. The sleeves were knitted with three balls of yarn. Photos are of the cardigan before and front and back of the new jumper.

Tiny Teddy and Grandaughter's Bag

2005-12-17T14:34:00.000Z

Another teddy from Sandra Polley's book, complete with coat in patons chenille and a teeny weeny curly wurly, from one strand of machine knitting yarn. Have also made a bag to mount grandaughter's woven square on, I have found several bag making books on the Kent Libraries catalogue, and it's now possible to reserve them on line, which makes things very easy, in fact it's too easy to spend ages on line browsing the library catalogue.

Yummy Yarn, Bags and Beads

2005-12-17T14:06:00.000Z

Where does the time go to? What have I been doing, well knitting, cooking and decorating amongst other things. The beaded knitting class with Julie Makin was excellent, held at C & H Fabrics at Canterbury, a full day we did various samples in the morning with Julie showing us how to thread beads, cast on with beads, knit with beads, etc, with lots of tips to avoid the worst problems. After lunch we had a choice of jaeger yarn and bead packs to start on our own design. I have not got very far with mine yet, I did not want to follow a pattern but to experiment with the different pattern and stitch placements, so this is it so far.

I have used all my sock yarn so it was essential to buy more and I found some gorgeous yarn on ebay. Opal hand painted in teal, pink and claret, very soft and some of my favourite colours, just asking to be made into a great pair of socks.

C'est Moi

2005-11-15T15:41:00.000Z

I've been tagged by Mary-Lou, so.....................

What is your all time favourite yarn to knit with?

Well that's a bit like saying which bottle of wine do you prefer? it's much easier to think of the wines I would not drink, and similarly the yarns I do not want to knit with, yarns with horrible texture, vile colour, poor quality, yarns that break and yarns with knots, yarns that smell and yarns that scratch.

I enjoy knitting with a good quality, well spun pure wool in about a four ply or double knitting, usually Jaeger, or hand spun, and in a colour I adore, and even better if I am knitting an interesting new pattern, and knitting it for someone I am very fond of!

Your favourite needles?

Usually Addi Circs, smooth, fast, weight held on lap, easy to tuck in for travelling knitting. Sometimes old metal beehive or aero and four needles for socks, (sorry Alex) and occasionally bamboo, BUT NOT PLASTIC, they make my hands sticky, stitches stick and I really get grumpy.

The Worst Thing You've Ever Knitted?

A zipped jacket that I made for my daughter, looked great, fitted well, and shed fibres over everything. I have sometimes thrown or given away yarn I absolutley detested knitting with, once I even burnt it with great glee!

Your most favourite knit pattern?

Bottle Cover for the Wine, and matching coasters for the glasses :-)

Most Valuable Knitting Technique

Knitting two colour fairisle with both colours held in the right hand and "picking" the colour needed with the index finger. Don't knit complex patterns after two glasses of wine.

Best Knit Book or Magazine

Books for me every time, they can go into much more depth than magazine articles, so my favs are Elizabeth Zimmerman, Mary Thomas, Maggie Rigetti, Montse Stanley, Gladys Thompson, Jean Frost, Sally Melville

Favourite Knit-Along

None, not my thing unless you consider the cw blog a K-A.

Favourite Knitwear Designer

Elizabeth Zimmerman

The Knit Item You Wear the Most

At present it's my clapotis, pic on my blog, because its soft, light and warm.

Which Lucky Knitter Gets this Next?

Spinning Sue
Nickerjac
The Wool Palace

First Curly Wurly Completed

2005-11-03T16:43:00.000Z

This is knitted from one 25 grm ball of kidsilk haze, very soft, light and fluffy, I knitted this with addis but perhaps not the best choice as both the needles and the yarn are very slippery. I think I have caught the CW bug! as I am deciding which yarn to use for the next one! More pics are on the Curly Wurly blog.

Inkle Loom, Guild Meeting and Squares

2005-10-26T17:04:00.000+01:00

It is going to be a fun day at the guild this Saturday, we are making bags and need to produce some knitted squares from handspun yarn to create them, need about 15 - 20 and I have done 9 so far, so lots more yarn to spin and knit before then! I will post a picture of my bag when it is finished.

At the last workshop I was shown how to weave on an inkle loom, (apparently inkle means small) great fun because it's not too difficult and fairly quick to do, the picture is my first attempt in crochet cotton, next I want to make a soft wide braid in wool.

Touring the Cotswolds

2005-10-26T16:55:00.000+01:00

Another trip with the motorhome, this time to Cheltenham, Broadway and then home via Oxford, mostly good weather, lots of walking and pub lunches, first time to Cheltenham, the Caravan Club site is on the racecourse, and an easy walk into Cheltenham, where there are lots of places to shop, eat, drink and generally spend money!! Broadway was delightful, honey colour stone building, a small town with very colourful gardens everywhere, lots of grockles of course but still very relaxing, and an excellent butchers and deli and an independant wine shop, what more could one need? well no wool shop sadly, given that the cotswolds were famous for wool.

Back from the birthday party

2005-09-20T18:31:00.000+01:00

Back from celebrating their joint birthdays with some very good friends and their family, lots of barbecue and booze, a great time and excellent weather, travelled with the Motorhome so stopped at the Chichester site on the way home for a few days. There is a peaceful traffic free walk through Chichester Park into the town. I had a lucky find, the Marianne Kinzel book Modern Lace Knitting for sale in the Oxfam bookshop.

Sadly there was very little yarn in the charity shops but I did find a great bit of stash storage at a boot fair a few weeks ago, a wicker stool with a lid, it will hold quite a lot of yarn so the national yarn collection can grow. I could knit a round cushion for the top? Short rowing perhaps?

I have knitted a collar as a neckwarmer when out walking. It took two 50grm balls of a wool/alpaca/acrylic mix. Knitted in garter stitch, I cast on 100 stitches to start, knitted the first ball on 4.5mm then joined the second ball, changed to 5.5mm and increased 10 stitches evenly across the row, knitted 1" increased again and then once more, cast off with double knit c/o (pick up the loop between each stitch and knit into it to cast off), it's very soft warm and cuddly and now DH and DD would like one.

Daughters Shawl

2005-09-01T20:03:00.000+01:00

I have kept the shawl I knitted for my daughter, many years ago and when I looked at it recently I saw that it was rather yellow. Washing has improved it but its still a little discoloured, does anyone have suggestions to improve this? It is over 37 years old so I want to treat it gently. It is knitted on two needles in Patons 2ply pure wool, the pattern was from a Patons leaflet. The shawl is joined when knitting is completed.

Learning to Spin

2005-09-01T19:53:00.000+01:00

While she was with us I had time to teach youngest granddaughter, age 10, to start to spin, she did very well and wanted to use the yarn, so cut out a simple card loom which she could weave on. I think she did very well for one days work. The pink slubbed yarn to the left is the yarn she spun. I knitted her the mohair throw from various odds and ends of mohair and then did a crochet border, she choose the colours and made a colour key for the order she wanted them in.

1st September 2005

2005-09-01T19:35:00.000+01:00

Great fun with the granddaughters we all enjoyed ourselves and the time flew by. The first part was spent at home and going out and about then we went off with youngest grandaughter and the motorhome, met up with daughter at the Caravan and Camping Club site in Salisbury. A very good site, just below the hill on which Old Sarum sits, and an easy 1 Mile walk into town, mostly along the side of the river, lots of space for children and dogs in the public field opposite the site. We were told that Salisbury has an excellent market on Saturday and it was just that, lots of the usual stalls but also lots of local produce, organic goods, local watercress, wonderful bread meat and cheese stalls, super pies, we chose one with blue vinney and potato. We really enjoyed wandering around the town and strolled back to the Caravan site for a late and leisurely lunch, having collected a bottle of wine or two from Waitrose, which is halfway between the town and the caravan site. A wonderful sunset on our last night there. We will visit Salisbury again, the time just flew and I did not have time to look for yarn shops!!

Renaming the Stash

2005-08-10T18:09:00.000+01:00

Lily and Violet in the Garden

Dyed in microwave with Easy Peasy Dye

Tea Rose Pink, woollen roving and lovely lustrous Wensleydale Fleece old rose colour mixed 7ml scarlet with 5ml blue

EZ Fairisle Pattern 3 + 1
Busy week, family coming to stay so lots of sorting out and tidying the craftroom, I mean spare bedroom, and gosh how big is the stash!, so huge in fact that have decided to call it "Part of the National Yarn Collection" feels much better now, am in fact doing important job in acquiring yarn for the nation and not just buying more for me! Will have glass of wine to celebrate.

Mmmmm very nice red wine from M&S. Have done about 8" of the Elizabeth Zimmerman 3 + 1 fairisle pattern, using black cotton as background and white, teal and lettuce green as contrasts, v.easy to knit and fun watching the pattern develop. She uses some purl stitches to change the texture of the knitting. Easy fairisle to knit because there are always 3 stitches of one colour and one of another, can follow this even if have had second glass of wine, sounds like a good idea in fact and DH would like another glass too!

Narvik Cotton Summer Top

2005-08-04T15:45:00.000+01:00

Narvik young touch soft cotton, in a soft teal, one of my favourite colours, from a pattern I designed.

2005-08-04T15:39:00.000+01:00

Rowan Pattern, made larger to fit me and knitted in two ends of machine knitting yarn, a two ply pure wool in a fox red and silk and wool tweed in rust.
Noro Silk Garden

Knit Bits

2005-08-04T15:32:00.000+01:00

Clapotis in the breeze

The sock and Beanie trellis

Spinning Wheels

2005-07-29T08:42:00.000+01:00

My two wheels, an Ashford and a Louet.

I am a member of the Kent Guild of Spinners Dyers and Weavers, we meet once a month in Ashford, and guests are welcome to join us. A very friendly group with a varied programme of events through the year, covering workshops, dyeing, weaving, braiding, etc.

Scandanavian Holiday

2005-07-23T12:35:00.000+01:00

We had a wonderful holiday in June this year travelling through Denmark, Sweden and Norway, crossing the Artic Circle, mostly by train. It was a group holiday and one of the group described it as "Outward bound for the over 60's" which is pretty accurate, it was a truly memorable holiday and a very special treat. The pictures are Gerainger, Bergen and Narvik, which is north of the artic circle. I'm the one on the right.

Two Tiny Teddies

2005-07-23T12:08:00.000+01:00

From the book by Sandra Polley, very quick to knit but lot's of tiny sewing up and stuffing to do. They are about 5" high.

Clapotis Completed

2005-07-23T07:59:00.000+01:00

Clapotis now completed, I pressed this fairly heavily to give it a "drapey" look.

Clapotis underway, this is a yarn by Garn Studio, 50% wool and 50% silk in a slightly tweedy muted old rose colour, very easy to work with, as others have done I did not use stitch markers but knitted the stitch to be dropped pearlwise.

The baby suprise jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman

2005-07-23T07:48:00.000+01:00

Iwanted to try out this pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman, it's knitted all in one piece with only the two short seams to sew up. There is an adult version of this in her book "The Opinionated Knitter" which I plan to knit for the winter. It's possible to get some excellent striping effects because of the way the garment is shaped.

Sock in progress

2005-07-22T19:45:00.000+01:00

Sock in progress, guaranteed toasty toes, I hope to make the next pair from yarn I have spun, I have some alpaca which would be lovely and soft, perhaps blended with some wool.

Sock Impaled on DPNS

2005-07-22T19:42:00.000+01:00

Wensleydale Fleece

2005-07-22T19:34:00.000+01:00

Wensleydale Fleece

2005-07-22T18:30:00.000+01:00

Bought from ebay, it's a lovely long lustrous fibre and I hope it will end up as a shawl eventually! but before that will need cleaning, spinning and knitting and possibly dyeing.