All Taped Up?

Not so long ago, when you went to the wool shop you would just find various weights of wool to knit with... 3 ply, 4ply, DK, Aran, Chunky but in the last few years there has been an explosion in fancy yarns particularly the tape yarns.


I first came across tape yarns at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally in the 1990s when I bought this knitting kit from KnitWits in Cumbria (if anyone knows what happened to them, let me know, I loved them).  This was knitting on the edge, it was a cotton tape which knitted up quickly to create crunchy summer styles but still knitted in the conventional way.

No, they are not dropped stitches... and yes, I will sew buttons on soon, I promise!

Then Rico, pushed the boundaries even further with CanCan from which you could make fabulous flouncy scarves with block or jewel like graduated colours hit the shops.  However you did not use the yarn as you did before, you cast on by opening out the yarn and literally sticking your needle about a quarter of inch below the top of the tape, then moving along about two inches you did the same again -  no thumb method, continental, cable, long tail end, this was new order - stab and grab!  Then to knit with it, you used placed you right needle through the left stitch to knit but instead knitting the whole of the yarn you stabbed a hole two inches further with your right needle and pulled it through as a knit stitch so that the rest of your yarn created the flounce and not only could you knit with it, you could crochet too.  As an experienced knitter, it drove me up the wall as I could not thread the yarn through my fingers but new knitters love it with the exaggerated movements to wind the yarn around the needles.

More yarns followed from Rico - Loopy and from Katia - Triana, living up to its name where the tape is a series of loops sewn together.  

Like CanCan, you cast on by putting your needle through the holes of each loop along the top of the yarn and then knit in garter stitch through every second stitch over just seven stitches to make a brilliant narrow flouncy scarf with a great lacy effect, these scarves tended to be much narrower and wound several times round the neck.

And the latest I have found is Woolcraft - Tango, which forms a very closely looped jabot style scarf but yet again an entirely new form of tape.

I worked up this scarf in front of the telly in just a couple of hours, I can just imagine if peeking out from a black coat this Winter.  And this is my contribution to HandMade Monday, so don't forget to take a look and see what everyone else has been up to.

If you wondered if I finished my socks from last week, they can be found in the blog below this.  However I happened to be passing the LYS, having walked up to the bus stop and spent 10 mins waiting for the bus and 20 mins sitting on it... so like I say, just passing when I found some super Alpaca sock yarn which will make such lovely bed socks.  It is deliciously soft and I am trying something called butterfly stitch which took and inordinate amount of swearing and ripping back for me to work out how it was done and then I realised I was over-complicating things - KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

I will let you know how they go, and I promise the applique tutorial will be here shortly when I am happy with the pics.

Finished for Friday

As promised, the socks are now completed and I am as pleased as Punch with them... 

This is the very first time I have made socks for me rather than anyone else, so I am wriggling my toes in them as I type!

After an hour or so, I started to get withdrawal symptoms, so I knocked up a scrunchy for a friend's daughter and she was thrilled with it.  We then had to look through her mum's fabric scraps to make one in her school colours - brown and yellow!  

Have you noticed how many weddings now take place on a Friday?  I was walking home from my LYS and there was a lovely wedding party celebrating in a local restaurant... isn't it amazing how infectious other people's happiness can be?  And talking of happy occasions, I am currently watching the family across the road, they have organised a surprise 50th birthday party for their son-in-law and various family members are squeezing into the house.  His two young sons have not been told about it, lest they give the game away.  So I am currently sitting in a little bubble of reflected happiness and may well throw caution to the wind and celebrate with fish & chips from the shop.  Sometimes you just have to live life to the max.  Have a lovely and happy weekend, one and all!

Forty years on...

Well this is just half a HandMade Monday, the other sock will be finished during the week.  I don't know if you have ever made socks before but there is a great feeling of satisfaction when you turn a heel or finish off toes with a spot of kitchener stitching.  These were made with Austerman wool with extra Aloe Vera which means my hands are feeling rather good right now and if you need a copy of the pattern you can find it on Ravelry

And now for some really exciting news, I heard from Sasha Kagan following my last blog and the great news is that she is bringing out a new book.  

" My new book “The Classic Collection” has just been published by GMC, this is my 7^th pattern book and it takes an overview of my design career from 1969 to 2009 with 5 patterns from each decade. This book has been written to coincide with my retrospective exhibition “My Life in Textiles- 4 Decades of Hand knit Design” details of venues are on my websitewww.sashakagan.co.uk "


Not only is there a travelling exhibition this year but also a number of workshops and masterclasses, so do take a look at her website and more news of Sasha at the end of this blog.


So I wondered if I had a piece of knitting from each decade of  the last 40 years... and here they are... be warned they are not all pretty!

The first from the 1970s is an Aran Cardigan which I made when I was 11, I don't think it bears close inspection but I did make it all myself, which means every time my mum corrected it, I ripped it back to the point where I had gone wrong - I was a horrid child!

Next from the 1980s, we have a mohair and cable combo, I loved this jumper because of its construction, the bottom cream part is not cast off but sewn onto the cable panel.

Now we hit the 1990s, jumpers were cropped, even when you cabled them and this had such a snuggly neck line... but I somehow don't think my kidneys ever felt the benefit!

And finally into the 2000s, I loved this cardigan but I have never found the right buttons, butIi do still have a ball of wool left over to sew them on when they do appear!  Sometimes I think that this cardie should have been in blue rather than pink for the number of times I go the lace pattern wrong and swore at it.

Now, I have no ideas what the 2010s hold in store, but I do think that Sasha's Scotties may finally make it onto my needles (they are in the new book) but perhaps I will ask her for a suggestion.  That's right, Sasha Kagan has agreed to do an interview on my blog, so I thought I would ask if any of you have a question for her that I could include in the interview?  Pop the question into the comments and I will try to use as many as possible.


PS.  Look out for the cushion tutorial coming later this week :)

Charity Shop Bargain Brings Back Happy Memories

Yesterday, I found a couple of books in a local Charity shop that set my pulse racing and bought back happy memories of 1980s knitting, my sister dug deep in her pocket and bought them both for me at the princely sum of £1.35 (about $2.20).

The first book was the Sasha Kagan Sweater Book, I can remember borrowing this from the library in Stepney (back in 1984 it would have cost me a 1/12th of my weekly wage) and dribbling over the amazing pictures of garments knitted in a Fair Isle style. This was the first time I had seen this technique used to create fabulous pictures and back then the cardigan that I wanted to make was the Winter Scotties cardie... even if it was in 2 ply... yes, you read that right 2 ply! I never got to make it but there is a Scottie dog beret which even now is tempting me, although I think I might give the leg-warmers a miss!

The other book was The Sweater Book and excluding some of the shoulder pad heavy patterns, a number of them would translate really well into designs for 2011... although I am not sure I would submit a child to this!

So I thought you might like to see a couple of items I made back then from Patricia Roberts patterns... the first is a Sampler Sweater which I made in 1985, I bought the pattern and wool from her old shop in Covent Garden as a Christmas present to myself as I was going to be spending Christmas on my own, I remember having to wind up the skeins of wool into balls using my dining chairs to hold the wool!  It was the first time I had ever knitted from a chart and I worked into the night so that I could see the yacht, house, the night sky and the tree developing.  Although I have to admit the extra long cable between main sweater and the bodice still bugs me...

And the next is the Bow Tie cardigan, an absolute classic of the 1980s down to the shoulder pads which I used wear with black leggings and a black felt hat, and I thought I looked the bees knees, fortunately for me, no pictures survive!

 
I have realised that both these pieces are over 25 years old, but on searching for them, I discovered my first ever completed piece of clothing... An Aran cardigan made when I was 11 and my mother thought I should be kept busy as I was off school for a month with Glandular Fever.


Oooh when looking for my old pattern book I found a UFO (UnFinished Object) a Patricie Roberts cardigan using blackberry stitch to simulate bunches of grapes... and some of the skeins are not even wound up... it must be over 25 years since I started it... I think it might need finishing, what do you reckon?

Baskets and Booties

I cannot believe that we are already at the beginning of the week again and it is time for Wendy's Handmade Monday - do take a look and see what everyone has been up to over the past week, as usual there are some amazing makes on there.


As I have not been able to find a new job yet, I have been putting my time to good use (around agency visits) and have sorted out the hanging baskets, window boxes and pots in my front garden.  We are going for pink and cheery this year...

Filled with double headed Petunias, a blousy pink 

Geranium intersperced with blue Lobelia

More Geranniums, Busy Lizzies, couple of Penstemons

 and a rather strking Coleus

More Petunias and Lobelia with great

instant colour making my front window

a joy to look out of!

I have also been asked recently for some gender-neutral baby booties, it is really lovely the number of mums-to-be who don't want to know what they are going to have.  So I have whipped up some cream booties, a pair of navy blue Mary Janes with Zebra buttons and cos I like flowers and the basket weave pattern a couple of pairs of cocoa  coloured booties with  flowers, definitely not gender-neutral just plain lovely.

What I really enjoy about making booties, is how quickly they knit up... might make some beanie hats to match them... what do you reckon?

And finally, the good news is that the rushing for the Arts and Craft chair arrived in the post this morning, which means that I will have another item on my to do list!

Guest Blog by A Playful Day - Sitting on Top of the World

I am thrilled to introduce my very first guest writer who blogs at A Playful Day about knitting, daydreaming, cooking and finding pleasure in all things practical. Aplayfulday was created as a reminder to keep things playful and to search for that joy everyday.  From this blog, a podcast has developed that is rapidly growing in popularity and can be found on itunes and the blog.

Sitting on top of the World

I’m known for being daydreamy, tucking myself into a space, carving it out and making it mine. From where I sit I daydream, survey and indulge. I found a new place to do so today. I decided I will share the experience with you but don’t tell anyone else ok? It’s a special place.

Firstly, I was excited because it was a sun spot, a much needed piece of warmth after the cold and snow we all longed to be liberated from this winter.  From where I sat I could watch the leaves stretch in the wind, glad to be free at last.  I could see new colours. I listened to the rustle of the trees and I smiled, relieved to be basking once more.

Secondly, I was excited because I was sat on a rooftop.  From where I sat I could survey the world, look down into neighbour's gardens and spy on the cats that watched me quizzically.  I delighted in looking up every now and then as one of the many cats tried once more to catch a squirrel.  I found myself rooting for both teams, it all just looked like a fun game of chase in the sunshine.  I peered into other people’s gardens and grew curious about artefacts that I could spy.

Then there was my chosen activity, a new project, ready to go and ready to entertain me with its’ freshness.  I worked away, pausing to reflect that those would need sorting before summer footwear and to take another sip of nice cool wine.  I wriggled my toes, glad to be bare foot, my favourite footwear of choice!  I did decide those might need a little tidying to get ready for Summer though....

I sat for so long and saw so many things that by the time I had company I was full enough with indulgent solitude that I could cope with sharing.

This is going to be the first in a series of guest blogs and I want to thank A Playful Day for for starting off the series in such great style... and now as it is a Bank Holiday in the UK, I think I will take a chance to stand, stare and enjoy the peace.


And remember to let us both know what you think of the guest blogs.

Arts and Craft Chair Project and My (Very) Old Singer

I love old things, especially those which follow the William Morris quote, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful" and both my old Singer sewing machine and my newly acquired Arts and Crafts chair live up to this.

This is my very first sewing machine, bought for the princely sum of £20, back when I turned 20 in 1978, and like the original machines bought on credit from my sister who I had to pay back at £5 a month.  I wonder how many of you know that Isaac Singer actually pioneered credit so that everyone could afford to buy a sewing machine?  I have made evening dresses, wedding dresses, cushions, baby clothes and quilts on this machine, and even now it is the machine that I prefer to use when I just have to sew up seams and put in zips as I sit at my kitchen table.  On another forum, there was a discussion about the age of our old Singers, so I googled the registration number and was delighted to discover this old war-horse was made in 1920... meaning my fave machine is 91 years old and still sewing beautifully... I love it.

Now, as you may be aware my firm Teachers TV closed on 29 April, so I thought to mark my redundancy I wanted something tangible and for a number of weeks I have lusted after an Arts and Crafts chair in a local antique shop which needed a little bit of TLC.  Although I did get a bit of a shock when I checked my credit card going through and the owner had mistakenly tapped in £50,000... I nearly had a heart attack before I started on it!

So I am going to learn how to replace the seat and re-weave the rushing in the seat... which is rather loose and certainly would not weight bear at the moment.

And I really like the stylised inlaid lilies, which may not be the most elegantly inlaid but to my eye make this an honest chair which will become more beautiful when I re-rush the seat.

So this is going to be my project for Handmade Monday which is run by Wendy - please go and take a look at the other projects being undertaken by the folk from the UK Crafts Forum.

I will update you when my rushes arrive and I start weaving.