… 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
Brrr. There is a nip in the air. Thicker jumpers, scarves and gloves have been taken out of mothballs and I need a woolly project to keep me warm with the click click of busy needles in the evening. It must be the start of Winter.
A couple of weeks ago after running out (yes running out!) of knitting and craft projects I cracked, visited one of my favourite bloggers, Phil at ‘The Twisted Yarn’ and downloaded one of her free patterns. Soon I was happily working my way through a colourful stranded cowl called ‘All that Jazz’. Pattern link here.
With my wool and pattern in my hot sweaty mitts I couldn’t resist getting started. I had meant to snap the yarns before I cast on. But who could combat the lure of the mouth watering range of Stylecraft Batik yarns? They called to me like Sirens. Listen carefully, can you hear them?
The pattern was beautifully explained. I am newish to stranded knitting and this was the perfect project to get my teeth into. At only 88 rows a few days of after work knitting meant I had a snug, cosy, colourful and finished cowl. Soooo warm and comforting …
One job that I find a chore is sewing in – and this gorgeous cowl creates many end threads with the frequent changes of colour – so I made notes on the pattern as to when would be a good row to sew in the cut threads and joining tails. By my last casting off row all I had was one strand to sew in, bliss.
I admit my cowl is not perfect. I couldn’t get hold of a few of the colours I needed and don’t think I placed the substitutes to best show the Fair Isle patterns. Never mind Winter has shown a really ugly face up here in Cumbria: trees are down, paths are slippery and it is cold. Time to have more fun and start playing with colours. All That Jazz Mark 2 here I come.
Keep warm and safe – if you are in the Southern Hemisphere keep safe and sun screened.
Moke x
PS Phil at ‘The Twisted Yarn’ will be bringing a pattern book out soon-ish. I am sure it will be full of do-able and wonderful knits. I cannot wait! Mx
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
It’s the end of June (almost), the Solstice (almost) so it must be…
From the outset the day did not disappoint. The weather was perfect.
I set off at just after 7am in brilliant sunshine (field’s still there no houses…yet!) and the views from the 555 Stagecoach bus were a delight of green hills, glimpses of water and charming farmhouses.
Even the wait at Keswick for the X5 Gold (it was rather special!) Stagecoach bus to Cockermouth was a pleasure.
All this sun must have gone to my head.
A short free link bus from Cockermouth to the auction mart and I had reached the site of my annual crafty pilgrimage. Woolfest.
With its avenue of bunting
Gaily adorning the Wool Clip stalls only a little bit of searching was needed for me to find ….
My needle felted sheep’s head! I love trying to spot this little fella I made him over 5 years ago when the Woolfest cry went up for bunting. Once I find him I know I am home.
This year I came with a new mission in mind. My 2018 project was to find plant-based fibres that could be used for felting. I was successful too.
Uppingham Yarns also had cones of plant based yarns like ramie (nettle) on sale.
DT Craft and Design offered several plant fibres together with a good quantity of dye kits. The stall holder was very informative and had plenty of samples to show the colour ranges and which dyes to combine to achieve best results.
All the stall holders were exceptionally helpful and I was pleased to find Adelaide Walker had a good selection of fibres as she is based close to No 1 Daughter so won’t be hard to visit.
Yes I know there is a distinct lack of colour. But lucky for me DT Craft and Design offered a solution to this…
I foresee a steep learning curve coming up. Yikes. I will keep you posted.
To be honest. My finds were tinged with a little sadness. All those beautiful sheep and their dedicated shepherds. I swear my Cumbrian heart broke a little as I walked past the rare breed sheep so lovingly cared for and I had to will myself not to buy any of their gorgeous yarns and fleeces. As to our local Herdwicks a tear came to my eye.
Lucky for me that this year’s Carolyn Rawlinson Memorial Stall showcased Izzy Middleton (aka Wildflower Weaver) who follows the ‘Slow Cloth Philosophy’ and as part of the Green Cloth Collective works with vegan fibres, recycled yarn from other garments and up cycled textiles that would otherwise go to landfill. Izzy does use both plant and animal fibres but her wools come from slaughter free herds such as those made up of rescued animals. A very inspiring and interesting woman.
Happily for me Izzy is based at one of my favourite places, Farfield Mill in Sedbergh. They too had a stand,
And a woven hanging that made me smile.
All too soon Woolfest was over for another year. But there is always 2019 to look forward to!
Until next we meet,
Moke xxx
P.S. Next day I travelled to Penrith for a catch-up and making session with the Crafty Ladies. It seems at the moment that British railways are in meltdown (not one of the trains I saw yesterday were running on time) and the Lakes line has been abandoned by Northern Rail. But apparently there is an upside: the trains chartered to cover the route are so old that they attract hordes of spotters. Glad there is a silver lining for someone!
Well I couldn’t miss out now could I?! Mx
Hello All
Inspiration has struck! Thank you Women of Cumbria.
Having seen several local suffrage stories I felt (no pun intended…) the time had come for me to make a small homage to the suffragettes. What better way for me to do this than …. needle felting! Ok it’s not chaining myself to Parliament nor enduring any kind of hardship for the cause (although those needles really..really smart when they stab a finger or three) but a little Suffragette Roundel was just the reminder I wanted.
Here’s what I did:
1. Gathered together my needle felting goodies: merino wool tops, foam mat, needles (36 worked best), pastry cutters for shaping and preserving my fingers (although not always!) and a cup of tea…of course.
2. Pressed merino tops into the pastry cutter and got felting to make flowers in the Suffragette colours of white, purple and green. I turned the woolly flowers over regularly so they didn’t stick to the mat as I stabbed away with the barbed needle (oooch ! ouch!) and then I finished them off free-hand in order to tidy the edges, give them definition and add a central dot of black (a friend says my flowers always remind her of liquorice all sorts…I know what she means).
3. Using the same method as the flowers (but with a different template) I made enough leaves to insert between each flower.
4. Played about with the layout of my six flowers and leaves.
5. Fired up the old glue gun (Kendal Cousin don’t get excited!).
6. Completed my Suffragette Roundel by attaching the felting to an embroidery hoop.
The Roundel is now a cheery but a 2018-relevant welcome to our home.
All in all it has been a satisfying crafty week. Invigorated by last Saturday’s visit to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival with the Crafty Ladies and the lovely goodies bought there for future projects
I realised I had better get a move on with some old projects. Those last seen tucked away in cloth bags that whisper to your conscience every time you try and scootle past.
With the companionship of a couple of crafty friends and a day set aside to get cracking with those dreaded works in progress I managed yesterday to get moving with a jumper for Peanut (lucky it is massive as I was seriously worried she would have outgrown it by several years before it got finished…).
BRD and KS it was great to be crafting together and also see your wonderful projects blossoming. Thanks for spurring me on. Keep crafting.
Until next we meet,
Moke xxx
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 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
Things that have made me smile since I ‘retired’:
1. No need to put on the alarm for ridiculous o’clock!
2. When I can’t break the habit of waking up an hour before the old alarm time – at even-worse-than-ridiculous o’clock – rolling over and going back to sleep (not quite mastered this one as early days, but working on it Zzzzzzzzzz);
3. Crochet at odd moments throughout the day;
There has been a lot written and said about mindfulness and yarn craft lately and this 8 row repeat pattern from my old favourite “Crochet Unravelled” by Claire Bojczuk definitely helps me zone out. The long rows and small hook size (2.75cm) enhance the comfort of working to and fro to create the cobweb design.
4. Have a haircut ‘cos I can have it mid-week;
5. Travel to Skipton on a Thursday and have lunch out with No 1 Daughter;
Thoroughly enjoyed a veggie bean burger at the Two Sisters in Skipton. This super cosy and quirky restaurant also opens in the evening with board games and all varieties of gin. Although I am not a drinker – apart from tea! – I would love to go back at night as the atmosphere will be amazing I am sure.
6. See No 1 Son and have a joyful catch up with his world and plans for the future;
7. Visit Yarndale in Skipton with good woolly friend AFl, No 1 Daughter and (yelps of excitement) Peanut who was going to her first Yarndale;
We all had a super (and slightly … erm … expensive) time. It’s only once a year we’ve got to make the most of it haven’t we?! No 1 loved this yarn-bombed van and all the finger puppets. Perfect for little Peanut.
8. Help No1 Daughter at Sheffield 10k
It was lovely to volunteer to help No 1 Daughter and BTRS with an event on Sunday and not be worried about getting home ready for work on Monday. The weather was beautiful and we met some fantastic people who were truly inspiring. Well done to them all.
Thanks to No 1 Daughter for all the photos in this post. Bet you were thinking I had suddenly improved!
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 