Stash buster

Finished!

Includes turquoisefromgreatauntymaureen'sstashdarkpinkfromjojosrainbowscarfcreamfromkaysiessheepjumperpurplefromjojospurplescarfcreamandgreenfromgabestanktopbluefromslimsbalaclavalightgreenfrommybalaclavaworldwar2patterngreenfrommycardiganmadebymumgreyandbeigefromgabescardiganwithhensgreenandsilverfrommytanktop 

edged with hand dyed Cheviot wool by Ruth Strong of the Wool Clip.

Border: Hand dyed Cheviot wool

   

Wonder of Wool

2012 being the year of wool (as well as the year of the cape etc etc), it was fitting that I attended the 'Wonder of Wool' exhibition at Rheged on the opening day, which was not intentional but an inspirational boost to start the year.

Although most of the exhibits were marvelous, a few deserve special mention:

Extravagansey by Annie Shaw

Extravagansey by Annie Shaw: dozens of tiny ganseys hanging from the ceiling, each one unique and beautiful. Hard to say which was my favourite because they were all lovely, but the one with the jumper knitted on the back tickled me. She used this project to soak up all the little bits and bobs of flotsam and jetsam that she had collected from the beach over the years - like a Bowerbird, one person's waste is another woman's art.

Celia Pym: Darning

Darning by Celia Pym:
On the same theme, this artist takes moth-eaten ancient but once beautiful garments and patches them up to make them wearable once again. The darned sweaters are in a curious way even more attractive than the originals. The child's fair-isle sweater (right) is displayed next to a photo of the original owner, wearing it when it must have been freshly knitted. I hate to think what happened to the Norwegian fisherman who wore this garment (below) - looks like he lost a fight with Moby Dick.

Celia Pym

Celia Pym

On this theme, I have a favourite pair of slipper socks received as a christmas present about 5 years ago. They were getting a bit holy (holey?) so I had a go at darning them with an odd ball of purple tweed. At this rate I may get another 5 years out of them!

Thimble: spot the darning

Finally and back to WOW, Knitted Homes of Crime, a piece by Freddie Robbins which combines 2 of my favourite things: wool (of course) and Victorian murder mysteries...except that there isn't really any mystery to these murders, and the stories really are macabre...

'Christiana' by Freddie Robbins

'Ethel' by Freddie Robbins

Mouse Attack

Mandala Quilt: (almost) as good as new

Mandala Quilt: Mouse attack

I am told this was a lesson on impermanence. I am not sure I was ready for that lesson quite so soon.

Luckily after darning and patching it is almost as good as new

The whole affair merited a special memorial patch.

Mandala Quilt: memorial patch

Shilasdair Skye Yarns

Finally finished! Shilisdair Skye jumper 3 years in the making...

2012 is going to be the year of completing unfinished projects. I think it is also going to be the year of the home made garment, the year of wool and the year of the cape...

Just before Christmas I finally finished my Shilasdair Skye Yarns sweater which has been sweatering away in my knitting bag for a shamefaced 3 years. This is 20% cashmere, 40% angora and 40% lambswool and it is so beautifully soft and warm I am delighted. Also it survived the first wash without much shrinkage at all and looked even better (a small miracle).

For anyone planning a trip to Skye, I recommend dropping in on this place. Most of the yarn is Scottish wool, hand-dyed using natural dyes on Skye. Except blue I think, which needs to come from indigo or something along those lines...which I think means green too has to have a little helping hand.

There is a choice of buying the kit (wool, wooden needles, pattern, buttons, all in a nice cotton bag) or the buying the knitted garment. I chose this design because it looked easy, though I struggled a bit to get the collar to lie flat, and I may yet make it a bit bigger - the only criticism I have is there is no picture of the actual design in the kit, so after 3 years I really couldn't remember what the collar was supposed to look like. Having just looked at the Shilasdair shop website I think I have just realised that it is supposed to have more of a mandarin/grandad collar:

No matter. The jumper I REALLY liked (and maybe one day will have a go at something similar) was not available in a kit because it had lots of rows of different yarn:

Shilasdair Yarn gorgeous knit

Shilasdair art sweater

Yuletide Wilderness Janker

Contrary to the lack of blog postings, my little hands have been busy, busy, busy this month...winter is definitely a time for wool crafts, and I have been polishing my crochet hook and getting back to the granny squares. I also finished a jumper which took an embarrassing 3 years to complete, more about that when I get round to taking some photos.

Then 2 weeks before Christmas, I received a special request for a homemade 'smoking jacket' using some fabric rescued from the bargain basement at Abakhan in Liverpool (aka El Kilo). Well, I struggled to find a smoking jacket pattern, and instead I found this pattern for a 'Janker' German style jacket. I decided to quilt it with a sateen burgundy lining. If it hadn't been for the quilting bit, this would be the easiest pattern ever.

The end result is unique and I think has that perfect combination of 'couture' and tastelessness to make it look very expensive. The wooden 'boho tribal flower' buttons from Otterly Beads were a perfect finishing touch.

This is my first bit of dressmaking for years (other than Clothkits) and I am hooked! I learned a couple of things, most especially that fabric (especially quilted fabric) shrinks on washing. The overall effect is a little more 'tailored' than we had anticipated. Secretly I am relieved that I discovered the shrinkage issue on this project than when I start making a cape for myself in the new year.

Finally, the inspiration behind the label came from the Selvage blog - check out the incredible dress made by Jodie Carleton using selvages.

Hedley sports the Wilderness Janker

Wooden Boho Tribal Flower Buttons

Selvage label

Machine Embroidery for Dummies

Machine embroidery: lotus blossoms

Mandala quilt: lotus blossom

I needed some gap fillers to distract from the blueness of the quilt but after the debacle of the knotty endless knots I knew I didn't have the patience to hand embroider any more. So I used the tracing paper technique to machine embroider these lotus blossoms which like everything else have a symbolic meaning, representing 'purity and enlightenment'.

Mandala Quilt at last!

As you can imagine, by now I was eager to get finished as I feel I have been looking at primary colours for too long, and dare I say am itching to play with pastels...so here it is in full technicolour splendour: de dah de dah: The Medicine Mandala Quilt (and who knows but it may have healing properties....)

Mandala Quilt under the apple tree

Endless Knots or the Great Circle of Life

Endless Knot

Back to the Mandala quilt and a word or two on embroidery - in my head I was destined to do great things with a needle and thread; 8 endless knots later and I accept my limitations. Above is the best example and I am quite pleased with it (stand back and squint). The other ones are very knotty endless knots, which I suppose is quite poetic. These represent the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth or the endless cycle of suffering (!) which reminds me of this scene in 'Harold & Maude':

Maude: What a delight it is, Harold, to
  bump into you again. I knew we
  were going to be good friends the
  moment I saw you. You go to
  funerals often, don't you?

  Harold: Yes.

  Maude: Oh, so do I. They're such fun,
  aren't they? It's all change.
  All revolving. Burials and births.
  The end to the beginning and the
  beginning to the end - the great circle of life.