Ally Pally and I get to meet Ms Epstein

On Saturday my sister and I went for our annual pilgrimage to Ally Pally to check out the trends at the Knitting and Stitching show, despite the roadworks delaying us for an hour we were soon parked, onto a courtesy bus and standing outside the entrance. 

Now my sister... that is my older sister, the one with the bus pass and who tried to pass me off as an OAP concesssion when we went to the pictures, had managed to buy two sets of tickets... so I am really proud of her generosity, she found two people in the ticket queue and gave the the tickets for free, and even better for it was one of the ladies' birthday!  Pay it forward people.

We are methodical in our approach, no aisle is left undiscovered and every stand gets the once over from our eagle eyes.  First on the list was a pinking wheel for her rotary cutter, I think she might be after the Leigh-on-sea rag wreath market from me!

And then it was looking at the fabrics:

Now this is how I dream it will be...

But in reality, it is a bit of a rugby scrum, albeit a polite one, and while I am at it, is it really necessary to bring your buggy to this event... buggy-sized kiddies do not enjoy it, nor does this adult who objects to having her ankles gouged by careless yummy mummies.

I spoke to a lovely lady who was trying out an amazing sub £4k free style machine and we swapped tips, apparently when I can sign my name and it can be read I have mastered freestyle and I told her that if she discovered her wheels were blunt, fold up some baking foil and putting it on your cutting mat, slice through it about 20 times, it also works on scissors!

Then we went round the corner and I saw Nicky Epstein the GMC stand, I took out my camera and said to my sister that I was going to to say hello... the chauffeur legged it and hid on the next stand.  Then I was really brave and asked if I could take her picture:

And she was utterly charming, it was akin to Enid Blyton turning up on your birthday when you were 10 years old.  She gave me a free pattern from my fave book, a book mark and badge which I will give away to anyone who leaves a comment on here before I next post at the weekend - names to be drawn from the sock I am knitting.  She also gave me a hug and a kiss but I am keeping those!  I thanked her for her posts on Ravelry and her e-mails and even though she pretended to know me, I know that I am just one of thousands of her fans but she still made me feel very special.

One of the exhibits that was truly fascinating was the travelling exhibition from MODA, the Museum of Domestic Arts who were showing pieces of artwork from the Silver Studios which became dress fabrics.  Little is known of the designers who were truly gifted but the vibrancy of the watercolours and the adverts for silk tea dresses from the 30s were inspirational.  They explained that elements of these paintings are used by fabric designers today but I think it would be wonderful to see these fabrics back in production.

Sadly, I did check before I left the house that morning if I had won the £101m in the lottery so contented myself with a beautiful skein of silk yarn instead of buying everything.  However as we left, the pensioner sister presented me with a Clover applique iron which I had been eyeing up, she managed to buy it while I was chatting to the free hand embroidery lady and I did not notice.  Have I mentioned how young my sister is looking?

Frosty the Snowman - Christmas Tutorial no 8

I thought we might start making some decorations for the tree this week, which could also double up as brooches, bracelets and even earrings.  Now we haven't done any felting for ages, so I thought we could do a little bit more, but with option of a little bit of cheating if you are time-poor.

You will need the following kit:

White wool tops - or preformed small and medium sized felt balls
Black wool tops
Cocktail sticks
Left over sock wool
Black cotton
White cotton
Selection of embroidery threads
A marble
Needle - sewing and mattress
Scissors
Bubble wrap
Towel 
Soap and warm water
Bamboo mat
Glue gun

Firstly, you have to make two felt balls and to remind you how to make them take a look at the felt beads tutorial or you can buy ready prepared felt balls at most good craft stores.  You will need to create one ball which is smaller than the other to create the head and a larger one to become the body

Next we are going to create the felt hat for your snowman.  Lay out strands of your tops as follows - horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical -on top of the bubble wrap, which lies on top of your bamboo mat which has an old towel beneath it.  

Using your soap and warm water spray on top of the tops, now fold over the bubble wrap and spray again on top of the bubble wrap and start to agitate on top of the tops.  

After a minute, open it up and rotate it by 90' and agitate again (by this I mean rub it in small circles with your fingertips...) this is how you felt your tops together to make your felt hat.  

Now roll up your felt piece in the bubble wrap, but continue to do this in your bamboo mat... roll the mat for about 40 rolls, then open it up flip it 90' and roll it again.  The area of your felt will shrink by up to a third.

You now need to shock your felt - crude jokes will not work - do this with cold water to rinse out the soap.

Grab your marble,  and fold the felt over it, using a length of yarn, capture the felt around the marble with a length of wool and let it rest until it dries to make the shape of your hat.

Using your cocktail sticks, cast on four stitches and knit in a garter stitch pattern on these four stitches until the scarf measures at least six inches in garter stitch and then cast off.  I used a crochet hook to make fringing on the scarf.

Now, as the felt balls have dried, using your white cotton, start on the smaller ball and stab through to the larger ball with your mattress needle and back up to the smaller head ball and fasten your cotton off. 


Free your black hat from the marble, using a  contrasting shade of embroidery thread, stab through the top of the head and leave a loop of a few inches and come back down through the hat and knot it firmly.  Glue onto the head.

Now for the face, you can embroider the eyes in black french knots to represent the coal, then orange for the carrot nose and a red line for the mouth.  If you are not happy with your embroidery skills, steal your children's felt tips and pencil them on.

On each side of the body, using the black cotton doubled up, sew the arms and hands.  Then the three buttons down the chest... or with your felt tips.

Finally, wrap your scarf around the snowman's neck to keep him warm whilst he is hanging on your tree.


Grateful thanks are due to Lyn for her technical advice, do take a look at her superb felting blog http://www.rosiepink.typepad.co.uk/


Right... you know what is coming, it is time to pop over to Wendy's Handmade Monday Blog

And later this week, how I met Nicky Epstein at Ally Pally :)

More Squares and a Funky Flower

I was off to the Post Office early this morning to post off a few more squares for the Mumsnet blankets today, all knitted in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino.  

Lambs' Tails, Sisal, Hearts and Squares  (clockwise from top left)

I particularly like the pink Lambs' Tails square which was designed by Nicky Epstein.

I then spent the morning at the Wool Shop and discovered another book by Nicky on Crocheted Flowers... and I just happened to have a hook with me... and so I made this little flower for my friend Deborah who is hosting a dinner party for the girls tonight... and it always a great evening there :)

Can you guess what is in the middle... well I have to find some way of using up my jar of marbles, dont' I?

Squaring Up

Sometimes I really need instant gratification and I get that when I do blanket squares.  It's funny how when you decide that you will do something, a bit like a bus, another one turns up.  Originally I was going to work on a blanket for The Knitter's project for the Refuge charity - if you don't know anything about this, it is a charity that works with families that have to leave their homes due to domestic abuse, often they will arrive with their whole world in a carrier bag - the plan is to give everyone who has to stay in a refuge this year is given a blanket of their own.


However fast on the heels of this came an appeal for a Mumsnet blanket, made in memory of a mum who had died unexpectedly... non-knitters send a couple of balls of wool through to knitters and we knit up squares which are sent off to be made into the final blanket.

So as I blocked out the squares there was only one piece of music I could listen to... and here it is Dave Brubeck's - Unsquare Dance

So here are the five squares I have made up for the Mumsnet blanket, which are taken from a special e-zine  which can be bought for a charity donation to Refuge and a revised version of patterns from Nicky Epstein's book Knitting Block by Block

So I will be off to the Post Office tomorrow to send them on their way.

Use it or lose it - Bodkins of Thundersley

I wrote earlier in the year about using local shops... but I left a recent discovery off the list.  Tucked away in Thundersley village is a proper wool shop called Bodkins.  Over 50 years old and with everything that you did not know you needed in there and I think it has the potential to be my bank manager's nightmare.


Whilst looking around, we got to chatting about how independent wool shops were disappearing and I was really shocked to learn that if you excluded the shops in Leigh-on-sea and Southend the next nearest shop as the crow flies is in  Erith in Kent but I bet it is not a patch on Bodkins!


Here is the web link: http://www.bodkins71.co.uk/ and below are some pics I took on my trip there

Now you know that this is going to be good because...

You start to dribble when you see what they have in the window, Rico,
 Debbie Bliss, Eco wools, Sirdar, Sublime... let me into the shop... NOW!

The owner, Jo had escaped from behind the till and was sorting out piece of Mini Pompom work for a customer...  it looked as though she was knitting up Rainbow Puffed Rice

Just look and lust!

My official driver for the trip - aka as my lovely sister Annette, and yes, she bought the pattern and wool so far she has only completed the front but it is only 12 hours later

And the great thing about the shop is there is something for everyone's price range and we are not talking the dreaded Chemist's shop wool

I bet you are all wondering whether I bought anything, well here it is but missing two balls cos I have already knitted up a bag from Nicky Epstein's, Knitting Block by Block which I will blog about soon

From designer wools, via mid range to affordable wools, this shop just rocks and the service is brilliant.  I haven't even mentioned the buttons, ribbons, threads, pattern books, there is just so much in one little shop.  Where can you stand and chat, swap sloe gin recipes, debate the erratum slips in books, to say nothing of knitting porn, you know when you just look at books and dribble?  Do you know when I grow up or when I win the lottery, I am going to have a shop like this, I wonder if I should check my ticket now?


PS - There is even free parking, it really doesn't get much better than this, does it?

Copyright vs Copywrong

I have spent an interesting afternoon, reading and thinking about copyright and how it pertains to what I make.

Often I will see a pattern or an idea that will start me off to make a pattern of my own, the pistachio cable scarf is a case in point.  I wanted to make a scarf for a friend, had four balls of wool and then wanted a cable to do, frankly what I came up with was not exactly rocket science and I know that similar cable patterns could be found elsewhere but it was my idea with that wool and those needles.  The other scarf came from a marvellous store of ideas the amazing website www.ravelry.com but the technique that I learned from it has spurred me on to try a variation.

I also found this fantastic book by the amazing Nicky Epstein, a great challenge to my knitting but it too has spurred me onto another project... more of which, very soon.













However, when it comes to copyrighting, what is really sad is when you read about really large firms ripping off the little people, the small designer, so I was really shocked when I read this blog about how Claire's Accessories ripped off the Designer, She Draws:
http://drawglueglittermake.blogspot.com/2011/01/claires-accessories-have-copied-me.html

Her blog is definitely worth a read and I am sure she would appreciate your support,