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. 

Patch jacket

 

Sometimes a project starts out planning to be one thing, but ends up as quite another thing altogether.

Remember the Wilderness Janker? after washing, it fit Crazy Jake like an Alexei Sayle jacket (buttons popping and sleeves too short) so I got to keep it instead. There can only be one Wilderness jacket so we thought of patches for the next one, and I went 2 sizes up.

It took some time to source appropriately themed fabrics - coffee, cameras, bicycles, skiing, handwriting, backpacking, camping, typewriters, pens, stamps, postmarks, maps, cassette tapes and biscuits. This might be my favourite phase of the project (the collecting/hoarding phase) and I possibly got carried away. Somewhere along the line I also realised I was straying from the original concept of a patch smoking/ lounge jacket but felt I had rather passed the point of no return...

...later when watching the Hobbit, Jake confided wistfully that this was what he meant by patches:

Bilbo patch smoking jacket in The Hobbit

 Fortunately we both agreed that the Hobbit movie would popularise the concept of patch smoking jackets so much that all major fashion outlets would soon be selling crappy versions on the theme and then it would no longer be a desirable thing to own a patch smoking jacket.

So with renewed confidence that no-one anywhere was going to have anything like what I was making, I pressed on...

Stitching in the sunshine

It wouldn't be a Thimble project if everything went swimmingly, so despite by best intentions to cut the lining with room to spare, by the time I had hand-quilted (yes that is right - HAND QUILTED) the shell repeat pattern, there was a deficit at the edges.

Luckily I am master of the work-around because I always make mistakes, so I fashioned a yoke in the lining and sewed plain bias binding to 2 different types of trimming so it was wide enough to cover the lining - even at the sleeve attachments. It looks that good, could almost be worn inside out ...

Finally these beautiful buttons from Tinker Tailor buttons via the Woolclip are just perfect to finish it off.

Duct Tape Wallets

Another 'guest craft' post, featuring fantastic duct tape wallets made by our niece and nephew.

A digression: although hobby crafts are undoubtedly good for the mind and soul, they can be a little taxing on the joints, posture and waist line. Free time is precious and there is often a conflict between wanting to stay in and make things or go out and enjoy the outdoors (walking, cycling, backpacking, camping, sometimes skipping along on a windy day). I am ashamed to say, crafting often has the upper hand. I am currently feeling invigorated and not a little virtuous, having spent a week back-packing and camping in Skye, putting in 7-8 hour walks each day (even with a torn cartilage, which I am sorry to say, might have been prevented if a little more time had been spent walking and a little less time knitting earlier in the year). I had been warned.

Well enough of that self-recrimination and back to crafting. Anyone familiar with backpacking will be aware of the importance of lightweight gear. I understand some people are as obsessive about this as quilters are about fat quarters. This duct tape wallet won my accolade of 'best bit of kit' this trip (other categories being best camp site, best dinner, best walk..).

The original duct tape wallet was this Spiderman design made by Karate Kid (aged about 7 I think) note it isn't a really tiny wallet on a sheet of stamps, but a normal size wallet on stamp design cloth :

Spiderman wallet on postage stamp tablecloth

It wasn't made for me but I immediately saw its potential for a coupon wallet. I did try it out for a couple of weeks but soon realised that I was looking for something a little bit more feminine, and besides that someone wanted it back. By special request, Koala Kid (Karate Kid's sister, aged about 11 I think) made this beautiful polka dot creation:

Polka dot wallet being tested 'in the field'

Not only is it a perfect coupon wallet, it is a pretty fantastic hiking wallet, being lightweight, non-bulky, waterproof, closes easily with a velcro fastener, looks good, has perfectly sized compartments for driving license and Scottish notes...and it is an emergency duct tape resource if disaster strikes (like an airbed puncture or ripped tent...or knee strapping for a torn cartilage...). I don't think in the UK we as yet have such funky duct tape designs like spiderman and polka dots, but here is a link to instructions for making a duct tape wallet. 

Skye: The Quiraing (Trotternish)

Made with Love

A small selection of Sheila's homemade dish cloths

The best thing about hand made things is that they endure.

For years we have been receiving these wonderful hand-crocheted and hand-knitted cotton cloths for Easters and Christmases and birthdays and sometimes for no particular occasion other than it being a good day for a new dish cloth. They are neatly folded and bundled, often tied up in ribbon or wrapped in tissue paper and come courtesy of Sheila, the snowman knitter. 

They are by far and away the best dish cloths I have ever used. I try not to do much dish washing so my cumulative dish washing experience over the years is perhaps not as vast as it could have been, but nevertheless I can spot a good dish cloth. They are also by far and away the best flannels/body scrubbers that I have ever used. I have been more consistent in body scrubbing than dish washing (because it isn't a task that can be easily shirked and left to someone else) so I speak with more authority in that department.

The qualities that I admire are:
1. The cotton is super absorbant (especially good for mopping up spillages)
2. The ridges in the patterns are especially good for scrubbing at persistent stains and dirty crevices (pots not bodies...)
3. The same ridges give an invigorated tingle when used as a face cloth, which is enough to set one up for the day
4. They wash well and when they are supplanted by a new batch they can eventually be relegated to floor cloths (I always feel a bit sad in that phase of their lifespan), however they can still last a very long time as they NEVER fall apart in the wash, being so well made.
5. They look pretty
6. They are made with love and I have it on good authority that it is the 10th form of energy (not mentioned in most physics text books). 

Something old, something new

Due to a recent bout of frenetic stitching, my marvelous Maureen machine (technologically advanced) has gone on strike, getting stuck in bobbin mode. It was probably making a stand, having been long overdue a service, and to add insult to injury it had been recently subjected to a Thimble repair job. Not sure how I ended up with extra screws and washers after putting it back together...

Luckily waiting in the wings we have this little lovely...

Janome Novum De Luxe Mark III with vintage thread from the Maureen stash

This Janome Novum de luxe mark III was an Oxfam Christmas present and I believe it might be from the 1950s or 60s. Not only is it a beautiful design but 60 years on and it runs like a dream, without a hint of senility. There are little hidey holes for the bobbin case and the inner mechanisms. I can't get over the fact it takes today's needles - no built in obsolescence there. The bulb works so I hope it is still possible to get replacements. It weighs an absolute tonne.

Janome Novum de luxe marke III instruction book

Fabric from Frumble http://www.frumble.co.uk/

Lining: cleaning cloth

I thought it a fitting juxtaposition that the first project on my new old Janome (as opposed to my old new Janome, which is having much needed rest and recuperation) has been to make a cover for my ever so 21st century tablet. The lining is a lint-free polishing cloth, so greasy fingerprints are lifted in the taking out and putting away. Clever eh?

Detachable cleaning cloth

Even cleverer or possibly getting a bit carried away is a back up polishing cloth with press stud on ribbon (the ribbon from Temporary Measure having been squirreled away waiting for just such an opportunity).

It wanted a pocket for its lead but I wanted to avoid squishing or scratching any delicate bits, so a bottom zip pocket was the order of the day.

Button by Charlotte Morrison

Last but not least, a decorative pointing hand button (Charlotte Morrison).

....too much?


*Link to Novum 3 Instruction Booklet*

Gussets

Man's Aran cardigan after a good few wears

Rowan Pure Wool Family Collection

One day I will hopefully get to finish a sweater without there being something ever so slightly or ever so majorly flawed about the finished piece. Ever the optimist, each time it happens, I just think how much more experienced I am getting with every mistake.

Pictured in grey is the man cardigan I recently finished, from the Rowan Pure Wool Family Collection. The request was for 'one of these in merino'...

After too much time going google-eyed looking for a fine merino Aran weight wool with similar knitting tension gauge and suitable colour and price (the other twisted thing about flaws being the more expensive the raw ingredients, the more painful the flaw and the more temptation to shamefacedly throw it in the bin because looking at it is a constant reminder of profligacy and overestimation of one's crafting ability), I settled on Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in grey, which I found on sale.

I wish I had known about Ravelry back then, I might have checked out the properties of this wool before committing. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful wool, soft and warm and a pleasure to knit with. It does pill on wearing but nothing a bit of de-bobbling won't sort every so often. The tricky thing is the stretchiness of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran on washing.

Determined at the outset to avoid disasters, I think I even did a tension gauge swatch before knitting (learning from the cape fiasco), and measured the subject and measured again after christmas mince pie season...So when a year later (I am easily distracted) it came to the sewing up, I was dismayed to find the jacket to be just a little too snug in the chest department, the subject not having expanded in any appreciable form.

Not to worry, Techknitter to the rescue. What we had was an emergency gusset situation.

Gussets using Techknitter technique

Gusset in situ

How gusset might appear when lifting arms aloft

A gusset  is a 'triangular or rhomboid piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing'.

It was a bit fiddly sewing them in and I would have liked a neater finish but they certainly did the job and BEFORE WASHING (bw) this was a perfectly fitted man's cardigan.

After washing (aw) we seemed to have an entirely different beast. Thinking that wool is wool is wool and wool generally shrinks on drying, I washed and blocked and hand-dried flat.

Imagine my dismay when I discovered aw that the arms had increased in length by about a third (!!!) and the gussets were NO LONGER NECESSARY, the chest having 'relaxed' on washing. I wasn't relaxed. Absobloodylutely no way am I taking those gussets out.

At that point I discovered Ravelry and read a most interesting Debbie bliss Rialto Aran discussion
which had the following comments, 'This stuff blooms like crazy during blocking! It really spreads and becomes much more drapey', and my personal favourite, 'Nice to knit, but grows faster than a puppy after you wash it.' Someone recommended tumble drying which did work, though that encouraged pilling.

Buttons from TextileGarden

On the plus side, it must be comfy and warm because it has been worn lots this February but I admit I do get sad when I see the sleeves rolled up like a jam roly-poly. I did find the perfect buttons though, from TextileGarden.

I wonder if next time I should wash the pieces before making up, thus avoiding any unnecessary though not uninteresting forays into the world of gusseting....

Recipe for Knitting Socks

New Year, new and a slightly less spooky look for The Haunted Quilter. Yet again I delve into the Maureen stash (knitting and sewing bits & bobs inherited from a much loved aunt), this time for a really old handwritten sock recipe:

Directions for Knitting Socks

Caston about 49 stitches (for Phyllis I have 69). The odd one for the seam stitch.

For the Well - knit 2 purl 2 the required length. Then do a few rounds plain.

The pattern consists of two rounds commencing on the third stitch after the seam stitch.

1st Round. Make one by bringing cotton to front of needle, knit 2 together. Continue this until you get to the two stitches before the seam stitch.

2nd Round. Purl all the way round commencing on the third stitch after seam stitch. This finishes the pattern. You then knit a few rounds plain (3 is nice) and then repeat pattern.

Continue pattern in the foot on front needle as far as you think will show. The toe is plain.

NB Keep the two stitches on either side the seam stitch plain throughout. If you put in any narrowings you will of course have only 1 plain either side until you narrow again.

You will require about 3 balls of Brightage (?) for one pair.

Hope I have made it quite clear.

________________

I think this recipe presumes a certain amount of skill and experience in knitting socks - I got lost on the third stitch after the seam stitch. Also, it is a bit of pot luck on sizing...presumably Phyllis had larger than average sized legs.