… having a look back at the last twelve months. For me work, family and friends have kept me busy but there is always time for crafting.
I moved onto more complicated quilted appliqué jackets for two of my granddaughters (the eldest is now of an age when she has more sophisticated tastes).
Both of which were finished in time for Christmas…just.
There were some good reads.
And now there are crafty things and reads to look forward to:
All best wishes for a happy and healthy 2023,
Moke x
Happy world frog day! No frog-y visitors today in the back porch, I expect they are busy putting up the water lily bunting and getting ready for an evening of partying … ribbit…
For me it has been a weekend of slowing down after a busy working week. Since the end of Covid lockdowns (fingers crossed) I enjoy sociable Saturdays, a chance to catch up with much missed friends and touch base with family. This week I was delighted my good friend KS could come over – with the beautiful elderly cocker spaniel that is Bagel – for plenty of chatting, food and crafting. Bliss.
KS and her husband are spending this year – in addition to their day jobs – fundraising for Cumbria’s children’s hospice, Jigsaw. I am full of awe, they both have incredibly stressful jobs yet they are dedicated in their efforts to support this special charity.
On Friday 15 April KS is organising a coffee and cake morning at Melmerby village hall. Along with refreshments there are stalls including one with woolly makes. I am behind the curve here, I need to get cracking on my crochet baby boots, but KS is of course on this (as well as organising the whole event). She finished a gorgeous baby matinee jacket while she was here along with starting a second knitted baby bootee. So if you live in or are visiting the stunning Eden Valley and the village of Melmerby on Good Friday do drop in on KS at the village hall and bring plenty of cash!
Now a quick crafty round-up from me. I paired chatting, listening and cooking with Lucy at Attic 24’s crochet-along (CAL) Harbour Blanket. I am only just finishing Week 2 of the original CAL but no matter the easy rhythm of the ripple pattern make it the perfect accompaniment to being sociable. I might just get it finished for next Winter. Here’s how it looks today:
In other crafty news: my polar bear panel has now been joined by panda.
Think the bears are enjoying the company.
Counter Intuitively – because the weather is fabulous – I decided to carry Slow Down Saturday into Slow Down Some More Sunday and enjoy tea, leftovers and books. I don’t know about you but I always have a few books on the go. This suits my restless … I mean butterfly mind. Off the shelves this weekend are:
Ed Winters is often known as Earthling Ed and what I love about him is his gentle discursive way of talking to people about veganism. As this book shows he knows his stuff and references all the research he has used. Of course while Ed appears a gentle soul what he talks and writes about is often violent and brutal. I squeamishly read through the section on how meat, milk, eggs and fish get to our plates and confess I am actually relieved to be on the section devoted to the environment! Even though I don’t think that will be an easy ride either.
Pleased to have a little bit of light relief I smiled at the book mark I am using. A much treasured reminder of my friends’ wonderful bookshop, Fireside Bookshop, that has recently relocated to Stroud in Gloucestershire. This is my favourite of favourite bookshops please have look see either online or in person. The selection is superb and contains specialist rarities, many of my books on archaeology and ancient history are from Fireside.
Ooh I hear the gentle whisper of a fritillary’s wings. Book number two:
I have loved Kate Atkinson since reading ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ years ago. She has the rare gift of conveying how life changing events occur in a heartbeat. She has certainly given me a few ‘I didn’t see that coming’ moments. Book three:
Inspired by our recent visit to the Quaker Tapestry here in Kendal and sadly by the way of the world – in Ukraine and the many other war-torn parts of the globe – I thought I would again re-visit the ‘religion’ of my English grandmother, Quakerism. This famously pacifist community seemed to me the antidote to the violence of how we humans often speak and act.
It is very difficult to pin down what a Quaker is. I recently heard that if you ask four Quakers what a Quaker is, you will get five different answers. Love a group with a sense of humour! I am agnostic, I just don’t know what (if anything) is ‘out there’. But I do love the idea of a kind way of life where there is good (God if that is your belief) in everyone. I will keep on reading but while I read I must eat, so to my last books;
These two well thumbed cookbooks will help me use up everything in my veg box. It’s looking like that remaining Savoy Cabbage will be roasted with peppercorns … yum.
Please keep safe and be kind,
Mx
Hello All
It is still winter here and Spring is some way off so a cosy craft is needed for the cold evenings spent sitting as close to a radiator as possible without suffering third degree burns . Remember the cowl I recently knitted using Stylecraft Batik yarn? Aaah all those subdued yet luscious colours…
I may not be a swan-neck, more of a narwhal-neck, but I still had quite a lot of yarn left. Something better than a stash buster was needed for this wonderful colourful yarn. Then along came Lucy at Attic 24 with the perfect project, her Harbour Blanket CAL (crochet along for the uninitiated).
See how the wool is going down.
Every week Lucy gives the colours for the next 15 stripes (30 rows) for this gently rippled blanket. I didn’t have the right yarn and colours – the pack for Lucy’s yarn selection is available from Wool Warehouse in their Attic 24 shop – so a little re-jigging was involved although I tried to keep to a similar colour palette.
I have only just completed Week 1 of the CAL – pesky work just gets in the way – but Lucy is incredibly generous with her patterns which are free and all remain on her blog … f-o-r-e-v-e-r. So I can chug along at my own pace. By the by having said my yarns called for something better than a stash buster please have a look at Lucy’s Attic 24 blog as there are some FABULOUS ‘Harbour’ blankets being made to reduce those sneaky little piles of yarn we definitely NEED to keep. It’s good for the environment don’t you know? Shhhh yes we could buy less ….
I may be running/crawling behind the CAL pack – thankfully a very safe place with no need to look over my shoulder like an impala watching for large cats with big teeth! – but I am pleased with results so far.
Happy hooking all.
Mx
Been a busy old week with preparations for my new job rippling as I look into how I will get to my new workplace through the depths of Winter. Shout out here to local MP Tim Farron who has supported my call for a request bus stop nearer to my new employers.
On my way to my interview I discovered that the nearest bus stop was almost a mile from where I needed to be. That would have been great if that meant a stroll along an easy pavement or footpath BUT the walk was along a narrow sliver of vaguely trampled tall grass between a verge and a busy road. It was a very wobbly walk where I needed to step into said busy road in order to walk around the trees. Infact when a police car drove past I thought someone had called me in as inebriated and looking likely to fall in front of traffic!
Walking boots will be needed. It is certainly an unsuitable walk for any less sure footed travellers. Don’t get me wrong I am definitely not calling for the verge to be trampled down or even worse put under tarmac! Eeeek. THE VERGE MUST STAY. It is a wonderful habitat and home to all manner of plants and wildlife. However it should not be ‘home’ to commuters, visitors nor revellers. All that is needed is an extra request bus stop.
If the new stop is possible and is agreed it will benefit not just me but anyone working at or visiting the nearby cafe, small shopping hub and rather splendid hostelry. Never fear I still plan to cycle but when the weather turns nasty – and it inevitably will – it would be lovely to know that there is a snug, safe bus to rely on.
Phew. That was one long, drawn out ripple effect. Here is a much more homely and crafty ripple ready to be picked up.
This is the second baby blanket I have made using this Debbie Bliss pattern designed by Emma Varnam. The first was for my first granddaughter Peanut. It is satisfying to see the ticks appear in my project book as I roll along the rows.
This blanket had to include the colour orange and meant me working with a colour palette I am not used to. I was not sure about it at first but it has really grown on me. It is almost ready for the border and I think that will set it off very nicely.
This is one ripple effect I am pleased to see grow.
Until next we meet,
Moke x
Hello All
Today I share with you a guilty secret. Brace yourselves for some hideousness.
In the room I like to call my study (well I do read in there) is this ….
Ermm disintegrating heap of an old sofa. But wait you have not seen the full horror. Close your eyes if you are of a nervous disposition and cue music from ‘Psycho’:
Before you disown me for the lush that I obviously am let me explain. First the sob story: this was my mother’s sofa (aaaaaahhh) however she died almost 20 years ago … and she gave it to me before she died (tut, tut). Next the pragmatics: the sofa was until ‘fairly’ recently covered and the covers had (after a fashion) withstood the rigours of children and two elderly spaniels. But enough was enough and in a moment of madness/cleanliness I donned a nuclear fallout suit and whipped the covers off and disposed of them. Don’t worry you are safe.
I couldn’t however get rid of the sofa: it has sentimental value, a good solid frame and it provides a cosy nook to curl up with a yarn-y project or a good book. So recently – ok, several years ago – I decided I would re-cover it. In my head this was a perfectly formed LITTLE endeavour. The project even had a boost when super friend JG donated me some old curtains.
Plenty to cover a small settee. Surely an easy weekend make would follow in which I could sing the praises of re-cycling and making do and mending. Yet even in my pea brain something told me that this was going to be trickier than my original vision of up-cycled loveliness allowed. I stalled.
But now only three years later – I am not the Procrastination Queen for nothing – I have started creating loose covers for Omi’s sofa and here I am describing the makeover, part one of it anyhoo (let’s not go wild!). As with all good 21st century projects I started by trawling the internet. Now I don’t want to say that other’s have had it easier but every similar sofa recovering I watched seemed either to involve box type cushions and/or staple guns.
Omi’s Sofa has ‘nobbly’ shaped seat cushions and recessed arms meaning more shaping would be involved. I also did not want to staple the covering to the sofa. I want to be able to remove it for washing. I have a granddaughter! and she is second only to me as a ‘dropper’. Finally I have ‘previous’ for being lethal with a staple gun…don’t worry that child’s limp is barely noticeable now….
Suffice to say Jolly Janome and I were going to work this together with a little bit of tacking and hand sewing thrown in for good measure. I even moved my scene of operations downstairs. Ironing board too.
My first objective was to cover the seat cushions. Not being one for maths I worked by covering the foam with the fabric inside out and cutting and tacking then sewing around the ‘L’ shaped corners.
I am still using the original seat cushions and wanted to keep the covers loose enough to remove easily when, at some point in the next century, I get new foam. For this reason I put vents into the side seams.
This called for some tricky pinning and tacking but I am pleased that the vents afford easier removal.
The almost finished cushions are a wee bit lumpy bumpy thanks to the old foam but I am happy that they turned out a matched pair and I hope you agree that already Omi’s old sofa is vastly improved.
For now (another three years?) I have thrown the remaining curtaining over the settee and as I had already crochet covered the back cushions by adding a row of patchwork cushions (thank you KS for the beautiful blue one) the sofa has a new lease of life.
But I must dash. I have a cosy nook to sit in and that Ann Cleeves thriller will not read itself.
Until next we meet,
Moke x
PS the rug was knitted with jumbo needles using selvedge yarn. In case you wondered. Mx
Hello All
Crafty winter projects are at the forefront of my mind after a week of very cold temperatures. When the thermometer shows that Shropshire is colder than Moscow you know there is a nip in the air. To sate my need for warmth and busy work I took a trip to the wonderful Loopy wool shop in Ulverston yesterday and stocked up with yarn for knitting projects to cheer the chilly nights.
Sadly – as I am sure I will have bewailed before – despite Kendal’s motto being ‘Wool is my Bread’ there are no longer any dedicated wool shops here. Sob! Good job Ulverston is a bustling cheery town delightful to visit and Loopy’s proprietor Andrea is everything you could wish for: helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, creative and with a marvellous stock. So what goodies did I get?
I am hoping to use the Lister pattern – which I picked up a while ago – to make my granddaughter little Peanut a Fair Isle jumper. Wish me luck this is my first attempt at Fair Isle…..gulp……
As to the fabulous ‘Fusions’ wool …. we shall have to wait and see….
The eagle eyed knitters amongst you will already have spotted my big blunder. Can you see what I did wrong? Taking only a list of what I needed (or thought I needed) into the shop rather than the patterns meant that Andrea couldn’t spot my mistake. I thought the pattern asked for 9 balls. What it actually meant was 9 ounces. By the by the pattern is pre-metrication no one report me to Trading Standards. I am such a dope. I didn’t even twig when I required less of the ‘Fusion’ wool for what is a bigger project. Peanut’s mum may end up with a matching waistcoat!
To assuage my guilt at such an oversight. I turned my mind to a request from No 1 Daughter for some Boho cushions. It gave me the opportunity to return to the selvedge yarn I used for the rug. One selvedge ball later and voila a big Boho cushion for beloved offspring.
Using my giant needles I knitted up two ‘squares’ in next to no time then using thick contrast wool crocheted the two halves together around a cushion pad. The selvedge fabric make for an even cosier cushion than usual, very snuggly. Even better the cushion was so quickly made that I have had time to get cracking on Peanut’s Fair Isle jumper
Oh goodness just remembered all that wool… I had better be off.
Until next we meet,
Moke xxx
Hello All
A quick secondary post in case anyone is worried about my apparent current lack of craftiness.
I have been working on a special blanket for a new arrival and until it was given to the parents and brand new little person I could not say too much about it. The blanket was a simple pattern but slow because it used such a small hook. Hence the seemingly long gap in craft posts.
I am pleased to report that mum loved it and as it has turned very chilly I am glad to have sent an extra layer for Baby A.
That was ‘Little’ now to ‘Large’. I have been longing for a rug to put in the nest I laughingly call a study and yesterday grabbed the opportunity to put to good use the giant needles AJ gave me and the selvedge yarn I bought at Yarndale.
I popped the balls into a rough colour order
But found after one ball that the rug was knitting up really fast and big
So only two balls and a few hours knitting later I had the perfect cosy rug for my very shabby (and not so chic) study.
With three balls left I am scouting spots in the house suitable for another satisfying rug make.
I can throughly recommend making a rug like this as the result is very pleasing. Only one word of warning: it is hard work for wrists and hands so take plenty of breaks.
Until next we meet,
Moke xxx
Hello All
A quick update on progress of the shawl-scarf-thingy. I thought I might hit a problem in Prenzlau and the Thingy end at Berlin Senf. But I need not have worried K-D came to the rescue with an armful of gifted wools. Which to pick?
Just to be awkward I decided to pull back the part knitted jumper and go with the black and white combo. However it remains to be crocheted in as I was too busy galavanting and then chatting to people on the trains. Never fear Thingy WILL be finished and I have continued to buy a ball of wool in each place I stop.
After the Prenzlau black and white came Lubeck orange.
Today in Bremen I found this crafty emporium Idee.
All sorts of craft goodies filled this basement store. Paper crafts, fabrics and of course wool. I loved the knitting wall paper and the sample squares. Dotted around were tables to sit and knit or crochet which was very handy for me to gather all my goodies together.
So what is the Bremen wool? Bremen the purple-mix is yours.
As to the Thingy…let’s just say it has a way to go.
But that ferry journey is V-E-R-Y long. That’s the woolly roundup.
Until next we meet,
Moke xxx
Hello All
Feeling a little touristed out I promised myself a woolly time today. Afterall I needed my Berlin ball of wool for the scarf-shawl-thingy didn’t I? The thingy is growing and the Leipzig mixed twist is rather splendid:
(Good grief hope Mr T isn’t ordering room service….) but I think it is ready for a calming influence. Where to go? A shufty on the Internet produced several candidates but from the pictures and website Wollen Berlin called to me. I was right to follow my instincts as near Ostkreuz S-Bahn at Gartnerstrasse 32, 10245 Berlin I found a haven of wooliness set in a lovely part of the city.
The assistant (who on checking the shop website was Caro) could not have been more helpful. She guided me to some German wool by ‘Hey Mama Wolf’. Looking at the Leipzig mixed twist we were both drawn to the same colour, not the most striking hue but spot on to stop the thingy being overwhelmed by a craziness of mixed yarns … the less is more.
Now while Hey Mama Wolf may call this Meadowsweet I have it in my mind as Berlin Senf (ignore my misspelling on the label, I couldn’t spell check while drinking tea at Hackescher Markt) as it reminds me of the colour of delicious German mustard.
Berlin Senf is created from German Merino sheep – not as soft as the Australian Merino but wonderful in it’s own Germanic way – and hand dyed. Like the Amsterdam yellow it is a bit finer than double knit so I asked if the 100g skein could be wound into two 50g balls so I could double up the strands. This was no problem and Caro was soon putting the yarn on the winder ready to make two neat balls of wool. While she set up I got busy snapping photos of the drool-worthy shelves of yarns. Note all the knitted and crocheted examples for customers to see how the worked wools look.
Skeins can be like life sometimes they get in a bit of a tangle and are then trickier to unravel. While I had been taking photos my skein had begun to misbehave.
Strange though this may be I like sorting out knots and tangles so I happily offered to hand wind my wool. What a pleasure to sit untangling the yarn and talk wool and sheep. Don’t you love woolly folk? It doesn’t take much to keep us happy. I managed to become happier still, not only did I finish my winding for the Thingy but I also got ….
Icelandic wool…I can barely contain myself ….. warm mittens…..ooooh yes…..you know you want some ….
With a halo that was now beyond wonky it was time for a church. Negotiating the S-Bahn (overground) I made may way to the biggest church available, Berlin Dom (Cathedral).
It’s interior was stunning
However I was distracted from my usual interest in the organ by the contents of the crypt. Berliner Dom crypt contains a macabre collection of sarcophagi containing the earthly remains of the Prussian royal family some dating back to the 1660s. I found it all a bit peculiar. Even though morbid curiosity overtook me – turns out my halo completely slipped – I couldn’t help but wonder if these aristocrats realised they were to become exhibits. It didn’t strike me as resting in peace. Bizarre.
Outside with a little sigh of relief I was on the island of museums. You can rest assured Berlin’s sizo-meter did not fail.
In my turn I made a sizeable decision. I would not visit them as I knew I would find it frustrating to rush around for a few hours and not completely enjoy the pleasure of taking time to view the artefacts. Oh well … I will just have to come back and spend a week in the Altes Museum alone!
Time to hop on a bus (love that German bus stops have digital updates of the arrival times of the buses and they are FREQUENT!!!!) and wend my way along my favourite route back to the hotel. Blimey they are breeding like ….
He was certainly not there last night.
Tomorrow I am off to Prenzlau. So for a while I must bid you adieu as I am having a little time out to meet family …. and I am likely to be without Wifi.
Auf Wiedersehen Berlin city of a big heart and mind blowing architecture.
Until next we meet
Moke xxx
Hello All
On the face of it Leipzig is one more big city with lots of shops but there is much more to it. Take last night for instance. I went out to find the nearest veggie cafe and walked straight into a demonstration. I hasten to add it was VERY PEACEFUL I mean one of the placards even said ‘I am just here to say Hello’. Nonetheless it reminded me that Leipzig has a strong history of challenging wrongs and played a significant role in the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
I was curious about this demo and discovered it formed part of the history of the Monday Demonstrations. The initial demonstrations began in Autumn 1989 in Leipzig after the weekly prayer for peace in St. Nicholas Church and demanded the right to travel and to elect a democratic government. Yesterday’s demo was to mark the anniversary of the most famous Monday Demonstration held on 9 October 1989 when the protesters swelled in numbers to more than 70,000 all united in peaceful opposition to the regime.
I am glad a little piece of serendipity let me see this peaceful gathering and remember that “Wir Sind das Volk!’ (We are the people) who together can accomplish amazing things. To see where all this started I went today to see St Nicholas Church.
To understand how brave this movement was I also went to visit the Stasi Museum (Museum in der Runden Ecke),
Housed in the old Leipzig Stasi headquarters the museum is an uncomfortable and unsettling example of the few short steps it takes for a state to move from having a legitimate police force to having a Stasi. Not only was there the terrifying prospect of ‘vanishing’ but the Stasi also employed much more insidious psychological methods to destroy lives and careers. Only now by accessing the records held by the secret police can people understand how their lives were undermined by subtle Stasi tactics. State bullying of people for the merest form of dissent was commonplace.
You were allowed to take photographs in the museum however (unusually) nobody was and it felt wrong to do so. I took this shot of the entrance lobby.
And stopped when I passed through the door that you could enter but not exit. Free entry to the museum was I suspect to ensure that no one profits from suffering.
I needed an antidote to the evil manipulation of people and sought solace in music at the Bach Museum.
Located in the house of the Bose family who were friends and neighbours of the Bachs this fresh and modern museum celebrates the 200 years that this musical powerhouse of a family (oh for those genes) dominated the German music scene.
Special to me – cos I seem to have developed a love for organ music – was this beautiful instrument:
And the journey it has been on.
Other highlights were the tubular bells
Gently swing them around and hey presto! You are playing Bach. Get me the musical genius.
Mustn’t forget Bach’s orchestra, the original artworks and manuscripts and OH YES all the opportunities listen to beautiful music composed by various members of the Bach dynasty…particularly Johann Sebastian. I could have sat there all day just to hear the music.
But my musical sojourn had not ended. I trotted across the road from the museum and to St Thomas’ Church famous for its choir and choir school.
I walked in and was taking this snap when ….
…. the organ started playing. WOW! It was mind-blowing it’s phenomality (don’t think that is even a word) no doubt augmented by the surprise. It was a lesson for a young organist (don’t play in Constantine’s Basilica, save yourself!) and wonderful to hear.
Now to matters domestic. Himself has made a nest in my crochet.
He believes I may have been defeated in my wool challenge. I confess it was looking bleak in Leipzig. No dedicated wool shop (well not in walking distance) where to turn…?
The local shopping centre! And this beauty had something for every crafter under the sun, including stones for those interested in rock carving. My bag is heavy enough I stuck to buying a ball of wool.
Coming in it’s own colourful bag welcome Leipzig mixed twist wool. Move over Mr T there’s a new wool on the block…I mean in the bag.
That was my flying visit to Leipzig. A city where old and ultra new come together:
So ultra modern is Leipzig that I still haven’t figured out how to switch on the loo light and as to the lift I spent about 20 minutes trying to get it to stop at my floor. Mind you I made a lot of friends as I travelled up and down.
Auf Wiedersehen Leipzig exciting city of contrasts and old ladies trapped in lifts. Tomorrow I am off to Berlin.
Until next we meet,
Moke xxx
Needlecrafts embellished by cat fur
Fun Craft Ideas for All Ages
Vibe alone for a while
Books, Knit, & Crochet
Exploring the Lake District and beyond
Stories and photos from Scotland
Raku pottery, vases, and gifts
Crafting and wellbeing
.....and nurturing my soul
Trying to find beauty in the dying
Writing for the Soul
Archaeology; death and dying; the past in the present; gender and identity
Adventures and everyday life in Finland
to be worth sharing
all the stuff that's fit to never see the light of day.
It'll Be Reet 