In at the deep end

 Go on, I said, let me fix it for you ... I really would love to. You'll be doing me a favour - I need my hands to be busy and I love doing that sort of thing....

It took a couple of weeks of gentle (ok persistent but gentle) persuasion to be able to prise this jersey (well you lot would call it a cardi but a jersey is a jumper is a cardi to me!) and bring it home. It is a well loved lamb's wool super soft favourite of a dear friend of mine and I'd seen that she'd already made a couple of repairs and that another hole had begun to appear.

I brought it home and started to un-pick the stitches so that I could see what I was working with and soon found that there were many mini repairs all over the body of the jersey. It was like doing textile forensics with the differing coloured thread revealing many layers of repairs to this beloved item of clothing.

Every time I turned the garment over, I found another mend or another hole. So, I decided to start with the smallest wounds and work my way up the the major one on the left under arm.

I kept going, building up my courage and practising different techniques - good old fashioned darning, Swiss darning, boro-esque stitching, patchwork, applique, freeform, pseudo-Dorset buttons and 'wing-it'.

Each evening, after we'd eaten, I'd switch on my anglepoise lamp and stitch another hole closed, avoiding looking at the large one on the arm until apart from a worn thin area that I was going to weave over, I had no choice but to tackle the arm. In the end I took the scissors to it and just cut away all the threads and wool then picked up each tiny stitch and sewed them to prevent any more unravelling.

It was then a matter of finding a soft but strong fabric to patch from the inside and applique stars and tiny stitches to strengthen the knitting. Strangely enough, once I'd got over my reluctance to repair this particular gaping hole - it turned out to be my favourite mend.

This afternoon, after three weeks, I completed the final mend - the woven section on the left front, took the photographs and folded up the jersey. Both relieved and bereft it was now completed. It can return home tomorrow. I shall miss it's company!

This was an act of rebellion against the tide of the throw-away-society as well as an act of kindness to a friend who does so much - thank you x

Weaving stories

 I've been playing .....

A little while ago, I'd accidently (oops - suspect my finger slipped on my keyboard ) purchased myself a small loom weaving kit and finally today was the first time I was able to get my hands on it and actually play!

The instructions it came with were a rather lost in translation, so I did a bit of online research and after realising where I'd gone wrong with setting up, I stuck the kettle on and got stuck in!

And I like!!

I like A LOT!

I loved the movement of each row as it builds up and the gentle growth of fabric from woollen thread. It is definitely a slow craft - a mindful, methodical and rhythmic craft and while the weather outside was foul tempered and miserable, I was engrossed and wanting to learn more.

I have since knotted the fringe and trimmed it a little shorter, soaked and blocked the mats and I am on with making the next two...... ! 

My chosen colours, all in pre-shrunk 100% wool, are a lovely tweedy grey, chocolate brown and a soft sandy shade. However each mug mat has a different pattern. The edges might be bumpy and my tension still needing practice however seeing the completed mug mats made my heart sing. I may have mentioned that I am enjoying this ... A LOT!

Right - this is the final  #moreblogvember post for November 2021. There is this myth that it take 21 days to form a habit (where in reality it is nearer 66 days - so two months of blogging just might be enough) we shall see.

#moreblogvember

In the naughty basket

I want to finish this by December - hopefully sooner, but hey - it has only taken four years (yeah I know.....). However if I take into account the three complete froggings, lost pattern,  replacement pattern and a stint in the naughty WIP basket then may be four years is about right.

So.... any bets? 

Will I finish it this time?

Will I finish it full stop?

 (gah - I really hope so)

And coz I know you will ask -

Wool - Isle of Auskerry in Slate  (still smells of sheep - yum!)

Pattern - well, the original pattern was lost in the ether, however, the current is 'Dan' From Berroco via Ravelry

Recipient - Himself

#knitting #isleofauskerrywool

Thursday's thoughts

Thursday is a thundering it down rain day.... or that is what it seems to be today.

I have temporarily made peace with the weather and am making good used of the enforced hibernation time. Which is strange, for not so long ago, I would have relished the excuse to curl up on the settee and pretend that the world outside did not exist. However now, as it begins to get lighter in the mornings and tiny hints of spring quietly appear I can feel the urgency of new beginnings, the unfurling of minute leaf tips, the building of nests, the greening of the fields and want to respond.

I want colour and warmth and creativity - so what better way than to crochet another blanket - to tide me over until spring truly starts and summer sends a post card saying she is on her way.

Until then.....

I have been lucky enough to get my hands on a pile of rehomed stash - in so many shades of blue 

Yarn cakes beginning to form,

to take over and

give me colour option ideas. 

 Nearly all wound, still more to do, but I best get on - can hear the kettle calling.

It is still raining..................

Wool-gathering

That fuzzy glow. 

That spark from the sun giving bright highlights. 

The kink in the ear from the short horn.

The margin of chin hair shining brightly through a few random long whiskers.

That supercilious look down a rather handsome nose.

Wonder what goes on in that woolly brain?

Thoughts like .... 

...'oh, it's ewe. With that camera thing again, sigh, 

will you stop clicking your tongue to get my attention,

oh bugger - I fell for it again ....'

or,

'Ah, baaaa-ling, sOo good of ewe to stop by, I was just thinking 

how good I was looking today...'

or even....

'I wish the sun would come out, I can't feel my ruddy feet'

how about...

'Today's improv, I shall be doing my best tea-cosy impression ... Ta-Baa!'

probably something more akin to this.....

Wool-like tumbleweed drifting slowly across the sheep plains inside that small brain,

rolling gently along

whilst being accompanied by banal lift music.

Morning. Welcome to my world......

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

On Friday I will be doing a link up for a 'Five on Friday - Gratitude' and if you are wondering what to do, just have five things that have happened this week that you are grateful for, no need to waffle huge amounts unless you feel you need to, you can just simply list them. If you have a photo to add, that is fine but if not - that is fine too. If you want a hint how I did my last 'Five on Friday - Gratitude' have a look HERE  

Until tomorrow xxxx

Textures and secrets and confessions

After a few weeks of what felt like a foggy filled head and no idea what to do or buy or make for Himself I was suddenly inspired. I had been quietly knitting for the boys and when on the hunt for another ball of wool in my stash, I came across this.....

A number of Isle of Auskerry balls of squashy roughness that Himself so loves. I did the unthinkable - I actually sat down and knitted a couple of swatches. I.have.never.done.that.before..... Then came the search for the perfect pattern.

Not too complicated for me to make (due to shortage of time and lack of knitting prowess) and one patterned enough to satisfy Himself's love of the gansey and aran styles. I eventually found one called Beaver Ridge and feverishly cast on.

Initially I was able to knit in plain site - pretending I was knitting myself a hat which, bless him, he did not question. But as it grew it became obvious that this was no hat - so I had knit when he was not around. This proved a little difficult as I needed to paint during the day (fulfilling chrimbly commissions etc) and then trying to disguise what I was knitting in the evenings.

Eventually I gave in.... and admitted what I was doing, because I needed to measure, the now nearly finished back piece, against him.  He has a slender frame and I was worried that despite taking that into consideration, this gansey would be too wide.

Having confessed that the knitting was for him and not a hat for me, he replied that he'd hoped the knitting was for him and not a hat for me - so YaY the secret was out - happy all round!

Now, I suspect I may not finish, despite knitting like a daemon, I still have the front to do, pick up all four pieces (doing the second sleeve at the moment) and knit into the neck and sew up the sides. So, on Monday 25th, whatever stage his gansey is, it will be wrapped and under the tree for him to open. I will then retrieve it and carry on so it will be finished as soon as possible!

Wish me luck!

Belated Ta-Da! and Hap update

Finished my blanket

Although laid out on the bed

it is destined for the settee.

143 rows of lazy ripple

in 21 shades of Stylecraft.

Three edging rows, two of single crochet,

the final edging in 'bunting' stitch.** 

Crocheted by me,

test driven by cats,

loved by us.

Yay!

The feather and fan pattern 

has started to really develop,

loving the process of the undulating rows.

Slow going compared to crochet

but

it is good to 'slow'

Feeling 'Hap'py :)

**I modified the bunting stitch from HERE

How are your wips doing?

Anything on the needles or hook?

What slow crafting are you doing?

Keep us in the loop (hehehe) I love to hear what you get up to :)

Monday morning ramblings with coffee

Sitting squinting with the sun blazing into my left eye and warming my left cheek - I am gently procrastinating. You see, I have three more paintings to complete for an order and one more waiting to be started. So what do I do? I sip coffee as I quietly sit and revel in the most delicious sunlight surrounded by two cats and sleeping dog.

I feel to have been starved of sunlight the last few months, winter has been a rather drab and dreary affair slipping for the most part from one grey day to another. Occasionally there has been a brief but delightful flash of a watery sun however as soon as it appeared, it faded and hid.

My crochet blanket has it's border, a different style for me and it (after a few false starts and a bit of crochet themed cussing) looks rather good - so I am happy :) I have no photos yet hence the distinctly low key ta da moment - that will have to wait. Eldest has both my camera lenses for the week for a uni-jolly-out that required a bit more than a cellphone camera.

I did however take some 'tablet-snaps' last night and again this morning in this most glorious of sunny mornings of my latest wip. After the methodical rhythmic and simple delight of crochet I have opted for a slightly more 'thinking' project. A feather and fan hap - in (according to the details on the label) 100% British Falkland Merino. I am not sure how 'local' Falkland wool is, certainly it has a great number of air miles attached to it, history confirms the 'Britishness' of the Falklanders and the purchase of it helps support a small island community.  Here lies in the rub - it is less expensive than purchasing a similar hank from a genuinely local supplier ....  After a little bit of research it seems that due to the climate, Falkland sheep don't have the same problems of fly strike, the fleeces are therefore in better condition and the animals are consequently not subjected to external pesticides.

Any hoo, this weekend has been a milestone in many ways, Eldest officially turned 19 last week and due to logistics of family, friends and university - this particular birthday lasted over 9 days! Two weekends of family celebrations and during the week at uni there seemed an awful lot of jollity and visiting eateries of one sort or another. My brother and fave sis-in-law moved further north, chasing jobs and although not that far away - they could be on the other side of the world, bit too far just to pop over for a brew and a quick chat, thank goodness for the internet. And I have gently returned to painting watercolours- something I am finding is not as 'flexible' as painting on slate. They are very tentative steps and I should have something to show by next week - hopefully by then I will have got back into the swing of things.

So, now,  as my wonderful wonderful (but distracting) sunshine has moved across my window and I can now finally stop squinting - I must get on and paint. Post weekend housework can wait!

Oh, before I go, I discovered a brilliant new phrase and it's meaning - 'Wool-gathering'  - the indulgence in aimless thought or dreamy imagining; absent mindedness. A vacant daze that leads to formless wool-gathering' Yup perfect.

(Thanks to J from SIMPLENATURALHANDMADE for sharing a word/phrase that I think fits me like a woolen knitted glove!)

Have a lovely and Happy Monday!

The music and magic of knit and natter

There is something satisfying about the sound of the gentle clack of knitting needles as they provide the background rhythm to our conversation. The rasp of the tapestry thread as it pulls through the canvas.

Even quieter is the fluid swish of the crochet hook, which requires you to listen very carefully, providing a graceful base note.

Tuesday is our knit and natter day, where we meet and chat and although I suspect we craft less and chat more. It is not so much the creating of wips but more the creating and strengthening of bonds.
We swap stories, we sympathise and we interject our 'two pence worth'. It is our way of keeping connected not only with each other and our lives but keeping us connected with the greater world.

We hear of village news..... did you hear so-in-so's funeral was last week?, we share family anecdotes ..... The fish tank has settled down and the new blue light at night looks good,  we keep each other up to date with local politics ..... that ridiculous ruling the council was trying to slip in has been dropped! ... and so on.

In between the weaving of conversations and the looping of yarn, we drink tea or coffee, hot lemon water and hot chocolate accompanied by frequently passed around treats. Each week we celebrate a goodly selection of calorific naughties, essential and forbidden in the same breath! Fruit and nutty crunchy oat biscuits, chocolate coated digestives, heart shaped lemon shortbread,  freshly made still slightly warm biscuits, fruit cake, lemon drizzle, Viennese whirls, wicked millionaire shortbread ... the list goes on, the selection only limited by our own imagination.

 Some weeks we resort to hastily purchased treats in the haze of a busy day and others we are swamped by frenzied baking which produces tasty delights, demoting the knitting and crochet to forgotten wips on our laps as we chat and chew and connect.

We are an eclectic mix, students, housewives, retired, grannies, mothers, self employed. We are who we are and we should be proud of the magic we can weave, our knitting pins and our crochet hooks are our wands and the yarn is the spell. I look forward to our circle of friendship and the magic we bind.

Now, much later, in the evening quiet of my home, I pick up my hook to continue the undulating pattern of my blanket. I am on my last row. Time to think of a border, time to think of a new project. My blanket on my lap has been privy to many conversations and is already a guardian of memories and secrets. Soon it will be ready to keep us warm and cozy.

And I find that so very very satisfying.

Gentle reminder that the Scavenger Photo Hunt is on for March,

The list of words is at the top right of my page.

Don't forget to grab your cameras,

write your words

and post your pictures

Friday 24th March!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Happy TUESDAY to you all❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

At the heart of the matter♥

♥

Tuesday was our weekly knit and natter,

we met, as we usually do,

laden with cakes or biscuits,

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

knitting or crochet

sometimes tapestries or cross stitch

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

We chat.

We put the world to rights

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

and sometimes we even do a little knitting!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

This week there was an important matter

taken to heart♥ ....

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Lessons how to crochet hearts♥  :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Now that is very appropriate!

My blanket grows, 

slowly,

but then 

all good things 

are worth the wait.

PS Thank you 'B&YM' for your hearty♥ knit and your modelling skills (top photo) you had us chuckling for quite a while!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

♥ Don't forget to visit the other Hearty Marathoners!♥ 

Just follow the link at the top right :)

See you tomorrow x♥