Knitting inside out and Serging ahead

When I start a new hobby I think I can do really difficult things straight away. For my first proper knitting project in 2004 I chose to knit a Rowan cotton 'denim' jersey for my friend Slim: Fleet design. I had never actually learned how to knit properly or read a pattern so I had figured how to knit and purl through playing with needles and wool…but I thought a knit was a purl and a purl was a knit so when I started knitting this jersey it looked nothing like the picture in the book because I was actually knitting it inside out. It also took an incredibly long time, and over the course of many months I gradually relaxed, which made the front about 10cm longer than the back (tense concentration in the beginning) and the sleeves really really long because they came last. However, when sewing up, the neck hole was very small, so he could not get it over his head. So it became my jumper.

Rowan denim 'Fleet' jersey with very long sleeves

Rowan Fleet after the chop

This year I acquired a still boxed, never used serger/overlocker from Oxfam. It took me a while to pluck up the courage to attempt threading the beast, but once I got going I spent a happy Saturday chopping away at seams. My oddly proportioned Rowan was first on the list for the chop. There wasn't great method it, but I was very happy with the result (except one sleeve is still slightly longer than the other - I think this is because Madonna's Swept Away was on at the same time and it was like watching a car crash so I think I might have veered off my chalk lines in distraction).

Rowan 'Fleet' with normal sized sleeves

Inspired by this modest success, I attacked 2 of mum's homemade gems (she is a good knitter but I gave her a bad pattern). I love the tailored result, but the lovely soft wool sure does bobble. I did have a sweater debobbler but I think it is possessed by a demon because it doesn't work when I want it to and turns on by itself when no-one is looking at it. Anyway Slim fixed it so now it is broken completely. I used a Bic razor instead which is much better and I would highly recommend this method for debobbling sweaters.

Serging for Simpletons

Mum's home-made cardie pre- and post-serging attack

Mum's second attempt cardie post serging

Spot the Difference

Precious Parasols on Mandala quilt

Pesky embroidery. To think that I was excited about adding the embellishments to the Mandala quilt! Well, the precious parasols were not too bad despite the fact they were completed when watching uninterrupted Marchlands and Upstairs Downstairs.

Things, however, started to go horribly wrong when I finally got around to starting on Deadwood, a box set that has been sitting in the back of the cupboard for at least 4 years. I did try it once before but couldn't get into the whole Western thing after watching Battlestar Galactica. So it took a minor DVD drought for me to finally try it again - akin to eating the leftover golden Quality Street toffees.

Well, not many people I know have watched Deadwood, but be warned there is quite a bit of cussing. I reckon that this was the reason for the wandering needle when sewing the Victory Banners:

Victory Banners on Mandala quilt

A note on Victory Banners - this, along with the Parasol, is one of the 'Eight Symbols of Good Fortune'. It symbolises 'victory over all disagreements, disharmonies and hindrances', 'victory of knowledge over ignorance...the attainment of happiness'*.

So instead of meditating on this noble sentiment, I was mesmerised by Calamity Jane. Boy oh boy. No wonder my lines got wiggly.

Anyway, I am fed up with embroidery now, because I messed up a lotus blossom and in unpicking it shredded part of the quilt and now have to come up with a fix. I tried darning it, but unlike this 140 year old darning sample done by my great great grandma in 1871, I doubt my darning will stand the test of time: 

Darning: sampler book, Helena Hallisey 1871

* Buddhist symbols in Tibetan Culture, Dagyab Rinpoche ISBN 0-86171-047-9

Rainbow quilts

Colour-wheel Rainbow Quilt

My common-law mother-in-law (what a mouthful!) sent me a few bundles of unusual vintage American FQs after a recent holiday. I keep meaning to photograph them but have been sidetracked.

This blog is getting a bit dusty and neglected so I thought a picture of the quilt I made for my nephew would brighten things up a bit. I was going through a colour-wheel phase at the time and spent many a happy hour sorting fabric squares into colours. I usually allow my carefully sorted fabrics to get jumbled up again over time so that I can have the pleasure of sorting them again.

I read an article in Sew Hip about a woman who collected swatches of fabric from her daughter's clothes from childhood through to adulthood and over 25 years or so stitched an English style patchwork quilt, which she presented to her daughter on her wedding day. I thought this was a lovely idea - now I just have to convince my sister to let me cut up her daughter's best frocks...

"This again!"

Is there such a thing as too many hobbies?

Remember spinning? Well, I got so excited about it that my NeverEndingMandalaQuilt was put on hold for a bit....which made me feel guilty about that and also about the fact that I have temporarily put on hold my SECRET project which i can't talk about because it is a secret...and also on hold is the crocheted Afghan and all the other crochet projects plus the jumper that I have been knitting for the last 2 years. That is not to mention my quilted Castlehead panorama project which I have to say never really left the ground but made me feel very happy and a little bit excited for several weeks last year. Oh and lets not mention the novel (embarrassed cough), the embryonic idea of which helped me while away a few happy hours when sunbathing covered from head to toe in factor 30 on one of the 4 sunny days of summer this year. 

So this is how far I have got with the spinning:

To the uninitiated this is 2-ply Herdwick. A very lucky person may find the occasional beetle spun up and twisted in amongst the fibres.

The final twine:

  above - on the Niddy Noddy; below - the Dingly Dangly

I still have quite a bit to spin and am looking forward to knitting it up into itchy garments...

...but for the last week I have gone back to embroidery, except that I keep getting distracted and why, oh why, did I ever open the Pandora's box of ancestry.co.uk?

washing wool on a rainy day

so a nice lady at work gave me a steaming bag of Herdwick which I was very excited about. I checked out a few websites for advice on washing fleece. The more I read the more mixed up I got (wash HOT, wash COLD) but the gist seemed to be don't agitate the wool (it gets upset), don't rinse in water colder than the wash water and don't keep any bits that you wouldn't want to spin.

Above - raw Herdwick fleece; Below: washing in shampoo in the bath

A happy afternoon was spent picking out poo and spiders (or giant ticks?) then washing in tea tree shampoo (which I thought might make it smell a little less sheepy). In order to get enough hot water for each wash and 2 rinses I had a big pan on the stove for about 5 hours (taking woman hours of labour and energy expenditure into account I calculate this wool will be worth more than Saffron).

So the other big No No is the washing machine worst luck, so spinning involved  swinging a mesh bag of wet wool around my head like a cowgirl. In the rain. With Marigolds. The neighbours probably think I am a fetishist of some kind.

Spin cycle Calamity Jane style

Try not to let go

Then I spread it out on an old sheet and waited for it to dry....and waited....and waited...and smelled of wet sheep for days. Our friend Elvis popped round for a sniff and seemed to approve. I wonder if a blanket made from ripe Herdwick would make a dog happy.

Clean wool (well, cleaner wool)

Climbing fairly safely up the rickety ladder of Fame and Fortune

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