beginner's lace

Hemp scarf kit from House of Hemp

This unfinished project has been hanging around in the bottom of my knitting bag for about 3 years and I have a good feeling for the year now it is complete - the yarn, from the House of Hemp is organic, hypoallergenic, non irritant, extremely strong, and might I say quite attractive.  Anyone interested in learning more about the properties and diversity of the cannabis plant should read this link.

hemp: irridescent sheen

The pattern was extraordinarily simple but I wouldn't look too closely at the stitchery. I am so very easily distracted so it wouldn't win any awards for technical perfection. However the pattern is very forgiving for a beginner's mistakes. 

delicate lacework

Comments made about scrim nets during the making of this were not justified. Or comparison with fishing nets. Think instead, English garden party in early summer with a light breeze and parasols. 

scrim net

Woolfest again

Organic rabbit on a mole hill planted with grass seeds

This little chap was a lucky find at Woolfest 2013. As you can probably tell, he is organic. I am not 100% sure but think he was from Garthenor Organic Wool and was supposed to be a present for a small child but on reflection he is a keeper.

This time last week I was riding on a Woolfest wave of pure happiness - in my opinion it was the best one yet and learning from previous years I had saved up my pocket money to avoid disappointment. There were the old favourites like Susan Crawford (the Frances pattern is on my list of projects to do, only the Nile green Excelana yarn has sold out at the moment) ...and even though I know that it will take about 5 years before I get around to it (because of the affliction of having TOO MANY HOBBIES), I was far too excited to find the Kate Davies Paper Dolls pattern on sale to let it slip by. Although I was very much tempted by the gorgeous Titus Yarn at the Baa Ram Ewe stall, every time I went to look I found it full of people squashed in like sheep in a pen, so maybe next year...

Kate Davies: Paper Dolls

Susan Crawford: Frances

Speaking of squashes, the Textile Garden trestle tables were as popular as ever - can't think of a simile for the throng of beady-eyed women rooting through the tubs of beautiful buttons - like bees on clover? like seagulls on chips? Though nearly scared off by their intensity, I braved the crowd and it was worth it for these tiny wooden buttons:

The Textile Garden: wooden engraved buttons

A nice Estonian man accompanied by his daughter (both dressed in the traditional costume of the island of Saaremaa), told me all about how they are working hard to keep the traditional craft alive and are travelling far and wide to tell people all over the world all about it. The Nordic style knitwear was so beautiful- each district has a different distinctive pattern. Because they had travelled so far and got dressed up so nicely and had such lovely mittens and socks, I bought these too: 

Saarema Wool Association mittens and socks

Although I have been sewing more than knitting this last year, in the run up to Woolfest I dusted off my spinning wheel and have had a few (tricky) alpaca projects on the go (more of that later). I have also been buzzing with Fair Isle ideas so I was delighted to discover Polly Purl who designs and makes these Fair Isle sweaters with playful original Fair Isle patterns. I especially like the burnt orange and grey and the raincloud design. This is very suitable for Cumbria and is top of my birthday wish list.

Polly Purl

This is just a little selection of the many marvellous things to be discovered at Woolfest. Just writing about them has made me happy all over again. On that note, I think I'll go and do some tricky knitting in the sunshine. 

The Great Escape

Handspun Herwick Slippers

Ah, Woolfest over for another year. This year I leaped out of bed with excitement at the prospect: in fact the last time I remember feeling that same little buzz of anticipation in the morning was my first holy communion which was a very long time ago and the buzz had more to do with getting to wear brand new white mary jane shoes than receiving the Holy Ghost. I am sure I must have other happy morning memories but maybe not so many because all I can remember is those white shoes.

I digress.

Woolfest, ah. It was marvellous. The best bits were the talented knitwear designers Susan Crawford and Kate Davies whose designs look even better in the flesh. In typical Thimble style I couldn't think of a single thing to say to them, overwhelmed as I was, so I bought a couple of patterns instead: Susan Crawford: Frances and Kate Davies: Blaithin. After the cape fiasco I really need to start concentrating if I want to do these patterns justice, so it might be a good long while before I tackle them.

Speaking of capes, would you believe I had my crochet hook out today and was back polishing my...cape? There is simply so much wool in the darned thing that it stretched and started slipping off my shoulders and weighing me down like a wet sack and it was either fix it or mop the floor with it. So I hitched everything up a bit and crocheted an extra row around the neck edge and it is now behaving itself and not revealing my bra to the world which I used to think was quite cool when I was 17 but now find vexing. I am thinking about scattering little crochet daisies on it to cover up any little mistakes but I haven't decided if that is a really good idea or a really bad idea.

Speaking of crocheted flowers, our little family of handspun herwick slippers has just expanded. These little fellas are fleece lined and SO WARM, perfect for an English summer: 

his and hairs

acting sheepish

crochet flowers: a touch of femininity

making the fleece lining from a cheap blanket

Rumplestilskin is my name

What a lucky fish I am - I got a surprise birthday present - a spinning wheel!! Now I wish I had paid more attention at Woolfest as I was mystified about how to use it (I still thought the wool went round the big wheel, duh!).

I went over to The Wool Clip in Caldbeck to buy some wool tops and when I got there I realised I had no clue just how much I needed and how indeed to make sheep into wool.  Serendipitously the lady I asked was a Spinning teacher not a spinning Teacher and she suggested a lesson may not be bad thing.

She was a very nice teacher (and there is something reassuring about a Spinning teacher with the name Woolcott, like Mr Bun the Baker) and with her expert help after a couple of hours I managed this:

My first 2 ply yarn

 which she (kindly) said was VERY ACCEPTABLE for a beginner.

So I made this yarn using 2 separately spun strands and then PLYING them together - ie 2 ply. Now don't be put off by the fact it veers alarmingly between finger thick and nanometre thin- this is a much prized effect that beginners produce with ease and expert spinners struggle to produce - I think she called the thick bits slub and she seemed quite happy about it. Or maybe she was just being nice.

So off home I trotted with my bag of Rolags (!) and spun some pretty fine yarn.

First spinning on my own wheel

Only when I tried plying it (whilst watching the Watchmen) I got all twisted up and made some dreadlocks. I have since watched a video of PLYING and realise I forgot some important things.

 

At this rate I will be making spider silk by Christmas. 

Some lucky finds at Woolfest

Had a pretty good time at the Woolfest this year. What a feast of colour and texture.

I have visions of a future spent spinning by the fire in winter, harvesting plants for hand-dyeing yarns in spring and summer, then knitting/weaving/crocheting wonderful things in autumn...just have to get that tension right and I know I could be a really good knitter....

Anyway, am finding it a little difficult to focus on the Mandala quilt today as I am too excited about my lucky finds at Woolfest:
Buttons:

Slate buttons!!! Totally impractical for regular button holes but really quite fabulous.


I think they are Welsh slate, but could just as easily be Cumbrian.

Also, I think I have stumbled on THE BEST BUTTON SHOP IN THE WORLD: The Textile Garden - this stall was so popular that I had to sharpen my elbows to get to the trestles. Then I wanted just about every button.

I have no project in mind for buttons but that doesn't really matter. I am contemplating becoming a button collector.

Buttons from Textile Garden

Border from Textile Garden

They also have the most beautiful embroidered borders. Just look at these others on sale :

and then there was The Natural Dye Studio: 
Beautiful crochet and Bluefaced Leicester wool: I spotted a lovely granny square crochet scarf on the series Jericho so was delighted to find a pattern to make my own crocheted scarf, plus the wool which is beautiful and so soft. They also had an amazing crocheted blanket on display- I have bought the pattern but just have to improve my crochet technique before I try that one.

Jericho crochet scarf

Queenies SABINE crochet scarf

Bluefaced Leicester wool for scarf

Bessies CIRCLES blanket

 and finally, vintage knitting:
A Stitch In Time (Vol. 1) Vintage Knitting & Crochet Patterns 1920-1949 : Volume 1
by Jane Waller and Susan Crawford
Published by Arbour House Publishing Ltd
ISBN No: 978-0-9556206-2-1

Knitted bathing suits!! and so many more wonderful patterns. Having inherited some splendid vintage patterns from my great aunt, this book appealed. Watch this space, project 6052...