My Blog

Crazy Cowls

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 13:42:04 +0000

So what have I been up to with my pins? We are having perfect weather for wrapping up in something warm and snuggly and I’ve been making cowls. Not a cowl in the sense of a hood, but a scarf crossed with a collar and a hood. We used to call them mufflers. I gave one to BriB to try on thinking he might like one for Christmas. He did, but he wanted it in Manchester United colours. I must admit, it felt like knitting a hat for Santa, very festive!

They can also double up as hats!

I also had an experiment with creating a couple with a moebius loop. Wonderful to knit, it feels like you are knitting in a spiral, but the fabric grows from the top and bottom.

I have a few more planned. I would like to make one where the tube is long enough to pull right up like a hood. I have also seen some very pretty, delicate lacy ones, which I’d like to try too.

It’s Deep!

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 11:03:20 +0000

We have more snow than I have ever seen here. We usually have an inch or two at some point each winter, but it rarely lasts more than a few days. There has been snow in our garden since just before the Winter Solstice. The snow fall we had at the start of this week amounted to at least 10 inches. On top of what was left this was enough to have us snowed in. We have had a wonderful week. It has been bright and clear each day, yet the temperatures have barely risen above zero. No real thaw anywhere.

We started out making a snowman but he somehow became an Easter Island head instead. There are loads of wonderful snowmen around. They really make me smile.

There is one member of our family who is thoroughly disgruntled by the snow, Charlie. She can’t stand having cold wet feet and refuses to go out. Once we manage to get her into the garden she howls to come back in immediately.
She follows the sunny patches on windowsills around the cottage and will curl up on any seat ready warmed by a recent human presence!

Solstice

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:49:22 +0000

The sun set at 15:53 on the solstice and we lit our fire. There was snow on the ground, it was cold and beautiful. Once it was completely dark, I lit the spiral of tea-lights I had laid in the back garden and we toasted the sun with pink cava, chilled in the snow itself.

Then during the night, it began to snow in earnest. Our brazier went out but one of our tall pillar candles flickered as the snow fell until after 4am the next morning.

The snow continued for most of the next day. We wrapped up and went around the park. It was fantastic. We even found a large sheet of corrugated plastic to use as a sledge.
A wonderful way to start the new year.

Winter Solstice

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:49:46 +0000

We have decided to celebrate the passing of the year, in what feels like a more natural way. We have no religion, but understand the passing of time. As the sun sets tonight we will be lighting a fire to celebrate the shortest day passing. Tomorrow the days will begin to lengthen and bring the new seasons.

We took a stroll in the crisp snow this morning and we were over joyed to find deer tracks. We were only a few hundred metres from home.

I will post photos tomorrow of our fire and our candle lit spiral in the snow.

Wishing everyone love, light and laughter for the
coming year.
Happy Solstice

Getting Chilly

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:33:47 +0000

We’ve had snow!
Not too much here, but enough for some fun. There is more forecast over the weekend and we have our fingers crossed for a white Winter Solstice.
We got wrapped up and went for a walk yesterday. It was beautiful. There were a few children with sledges zooming down the slopes. The low sun cast a golden light over the snow and the bare trees glowed. Did I take my camera? No, sadly.
I’ll try to do better today!

Crochet

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:58:45 +0000

I have been looking at hat patterns for Perran over the last few weeks. I have found a couple that are just right. One is a lacy, but not too much, beret. Perran wanted it in bright red and black with a pompom to be like Minnie the Minx. Not what I had envisaged at all.
I also felt the need for a quick fix. I have several things on my pins at the moment, most of which are time consuming. With this in mind I turned to the speedier method of crochet. I am a little wary of too much ‘hooking’ as it seems to aggravate my wrist. I had a skein of beautiful muted rainbow colours that I knew was a favourite of Perran’s, just the ticket.
In just a few hours I made a hat and skinny scarf from the left overs. My wrist is showing no signs of problems and I am tempted to do more. I have a bedspread that I started to crochet for Perran, many moons ago. Hillybub donated some squares and I think I shall do a few more. It would be lovely to finish in time for the end of the year.

Horse Riding

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:21:59 +0000

Back in September, one of our lovely Home-Ed friends decided to organise a riding group. Her daughter had been riding for a while and she approached the stable to see if they could cater for some afternoon groups of Home-ed children. Between Sam and the stables they have set up an excellent afternoon of riding, education and fun. What’s more almost 40 children take part each week and even some of us grown ups get lessons too.
Perran has her favourite ponies and gets so much from the sessions. Here she is on Figgy.

I have been having lessons too. My first formal riding tuition, even though I rode for years as a teenager.

Twilight Blossom Wrap

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:33:59 +0000

At the beginning of the week I completed my second piece of free range knitting. It was frustrating to wait for some sunshine to take some photos.
It is another wrap, but of a very different shape to the Venture Wrap. It’s constructed of a large triangle and two long, scarf-like rectangles. It was a close finish as I almost ran out of yarn.

I have already started my next piece. It is called ‘The Pasha’s Investment’ and is a new design from Jane Thornley. I am being bold with my colours as they are rich, deep jewel colours to conjure the feeling of the middle east.

Slippers

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:58:30 +0000

Ah, the traumas and excitement of fulling or felting in a modern washing machine.
I wanted to make M some more substantial slippers as she tends to live in her hand knitted socks. They don’t keep the chill from a tiled floor out on a cold morning. I made some denis the Menace style slippers for Perran last year and thought I’d do something similar.

You knit a giant pair of socks on large needles and then felt them to create a dense fabric which is moulded to the foot. The feet were over a ‘foot’ long before they went in the washer.

We have a fantastic, eco washer, but it isn’t really meant for felting. After two attempts the fabric was beginning to thicken but they were still huge. One more try with a higher temperature and that did the trick... well almost. I was horrified at how small they were. After a lot of stretching, tugging and pulling they were a better size. I even wore them over a thick pair of socks to stop them shrinking any further as they dried.

They fit and M has hardly worn anything else since she got them. I’d love to make some more as gifts but I’m not sure what to do about the washer!

Toadstools

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 17:46:54 +0000

I love toadstools and fungi. I have always loved to eat mushrooms, but also enjoy spotting the many and varied forms that grow around us. I could do with a good field guide with photos.
I was very pleased to find a Fly Agaric, the classic ‘fairy’ toadstool growing outside the scout hut where the dye workshop was held. I haven’t seen one for years. As I walked across the grass to take some photos, I realised that the grass was full of tiny toadstools. It was a fantastic sight.