So Now I'm Back ...

Housewives Tarot

.... from outer space ...

Well, no, not really. But it might as well have been, this last year. 

Hello again, my friends - I've had a quick tidy-up round the edges, removed dead links on the blog roll etc. now let's see if I can maintain a weekly post.

Visconti-Sforza

Forest Folklore

Durer

Much has happened since last we spoke - the most upsetting being the death of our quirky landlady last summer, which forced us to move house (on Hallowe'en). Our new house is a Victorian end-terrace, much smaller, much further away from school - so most unpopular with the kids, as it's a long walk to school and nowhere near any of their friends; in fact, we are only 5 minutes walk from a different high school, but Mini Diva wanted to stick with the courses she'd chosen, and Destructo Boy wants to stay in the same school as his friends. We miss our old neighbors and neighborhood, we miss the large airy rooms, the conservatory, the 2nd toilet, and Inky the cat, who roamed and hardly returns since spring. Most of our books and much of our furniture is in the garage - it simply won't fit in this house.

On the plus side, it has an actual back garden with grass, not just a patio; it could be seen as cosy and snug; the kitchen is massive; it is 5 mins from the dog park - Sebastian is pretty creaky and gray suddenly, and doesn't want or need the long walks to, round and from the big main park anymore (we have turned into those people who drive to walk their dog). It is next door to the local corner shop; it is close to 2 good bus routes into town. 

squeeze them as hard as you can

And in an attempt to master my car-related anxiety and panic attacks, I took driving lessons and passed both my theory and practical tests on the first go. We then bought a little old car that ticked all my boxes (high, lots of glass for visibility, solid, not huge) and within 3 months I did this:

Shidare-zakura

 Not bad when I was going a mere 10 mph. There were many, many tears. And my insurance is even more extortionate now. (I was fine, just shaken up and upset). We bought another new-to-me Honda CR-V, this one christened Hinagiku; the garage broke her wheel cover, which gave me the opportunity to really customize some decor:

I get lots of great comments about this, from all kinds of people

 I work full-time outside the home now, so my crochet and knitting time has really suffered - this year so far I have completed only 10 items, and 9 of those were baby items ... for my sister's middle daughter's twins, born in June. My sister would have absolutely loved them, and being a grandmother.

Speaking of knitting for twins - how to make things the same, but different ?

I decided to invert the colors:

 







Vintage pattern Emu Treasure 8561, using WI Soft & Silky in pink, yellow and lilac mix.

 
To use plain and self-striping colorways of the same yarn:

UKHKA6 in WYS Signature 4ply in 'Pennyroyal' and the self-striping version ' Woodpigeon'


To use a pattern that offers two versions (here, differing stitch patterns) :


 










Vintage pattern Peter Pan P551 in Hayfield Baby Blossom DK in 353 'Buttercup'.

And lastly, the same colors but different patterns:

Textured Baby Blanket and Lilac Lily Baby Blanket, both in Scheepjes Colorcrafter Weert, Urk (yes, I know, I laugh every time), Amstelveen, Amersfoort, Heerlen and Alphen - or, white, aqua, purple, pink, lilac, and teal.

 My goodness, I'm exhausted. I forgot how much time and effort creating a blog post can take ! Especially when your computer crashes halfway through ...

As ever, I welcome any comments. 

 

New Year, New ...

Tarot of Vampyres

 Nope, it is the old me, but lazier- can you imagine that ? Yes, a challenge, I know.

Today's accompaniment is the following mellifluous version of a country classic:




I have been absent owing to my own ennui,Weltschmerz and angst, as neither did I want to bore you, my Dear Reader, with it nor send you running for the bunker loaded with ammunition and canned goods ...

challenge: name this classic movie

Instead because we are foolhardy brave, we will commit to writing a couple of goals for the coming year:

*   to blog at least weekly, without empathy or compassion for my readers as regards the topics - I will share the ennui/Weltschmerz/angst, with occasional dollops of other stuff

*  to overhaul my website

*  to go 'Cold Sheep' - no buying of yarn this year, knit/crochet only from stash. This has 2 provisos: (1) if any baby knitting becomes necessary, I can buy yarn for those specific projects (2) I have a threshold/big birthday, and if anyone gives me yarn vouchers I can spend them. Except please not vouchers for McADirect - long story for another post.

*  to streamline/downsize/declutter and simplify. Except for yarn and tarot decks, naturellement.

Have you committed publicly to any goals this year ?

Baby Love

Victorian Romantic Tarot

The kids have gone to my MIL for a couple of weeks, but I have not leaped into my usual annual frenzy of deep-cleaning, as Mini Diva's parting gift was a particularly foul cough & cold which has seen me curled up on the sofa alternately burning up and shivering. I have avoided the I.D channel in case it gave me ideas, and instead have been wedged on NatGeoWild so I've been watching wildlife die instead. Most of the victims get eaten, which is fairly rare on the I.D channel.

No, I don't understand why you would call me gloomy and morose.

After dwelling too much on endings, I can tell you my neighbor has a new beginning - Baby was born fine and healthy in July.

Well, of course I had made some things, I love an excuse to make baby clothes.

No, I wasn't even a tiny bit broody.

Yes, I am lying. 

This is a pattern I've made a few times - Bonnie by Patons. I like it for the unusual side fastening design, and the choice of 2 motifs for the centre; I didn't bother with a motif this time as I was using Peter Pan Cupcake, which looks kind of lacklustre in the photo, but is amazingly soft and squooshy. I made the 6 month size so Baby can wear it in Winter.

 I loves me some cables, and have made this before as a school cardigan for Destructo Boy - which was stolen from school never to be seen again. Which I guess is a kind of compliment. There aren't so many cables as to be too fussy on such a small item in Sirdar 1561 so I chanced my arm on using Sirdar Snuggly Baby Cotton yarn (very unforgiving of errors) to make this again. The cute owl buttons finish it off perfectly.

This was a simple pattern (Sirdar 1354 which must have been my sister's as it's not the kind of style I would buy) - anything else would have been wasted with this Sirdar Tiny Tots yarn; the texture was a bit stiff until it was washed. 

All the yarns I used were bought at rock-bottom prices - as in, 79p/$1.03 per ball (yes, look at that horrendous exchange rate; thank you, Brexit) a ball type prices from the marvellous Kemps clearance section.

Things will be a bit quiet on the baby-clothes knitting for some while, as I don't know anyone who is expecting ... time to focus on larger projects ...

Fanfare for the Winner

So what with everything, builders and rain (both are still here, after a brief weekend respite) I totally forgot that there was a competition to be judged and won !

It was the poetry competition of Day 5 of this year's Knit & Crochet Blog Week: there weren't as many entries as last year, so I have put them here for your delectation:

Paradise
Cluttered Disheveled
Hunting Digging Finding 

$2.49 bag of Noro
Thrift Shop

Kitten with a Whiplash

 

The knitting needles sound,
Click clack click.
I had to frog this round
Because I dropped another stitch.

Mixed Martial Arts & Crafts

 Creative brain? I'm insane....and I have the stash to show it!

Sudden Expression 

  

The Zauberball (or 'Why They Are Pretty, But Not So Easily Manageable As A Centre-Pull Ball, But We Forgive Them, Because They are Pretty'). By Mimi Poe Hill. Aged 33⅓.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over a many quaint and curious pattern in the Ravelry Store,
While my needles, gently clicking, around the yarn, softly tickling,
Pointy needles softly pricking, fingers held aloft for stitches more,
While the ball, slowly unravels, unravels all over the front room floor - 
Over carpet, out the door.

Eskimimi Makes

http://www.catclipart.net

 

Feeling myself totally unqualified to choose a winner, I asked Alison of Hestia's Larder to choose, as she used to be an Editor and is an Author too.

She chose 'The Zauberball' by Mimi of Eskimimi Makes.

Congratulations, Mimi !  Something yarny will be wending its way to you as soon as you email me your snail mail address ...

Thank you to those who took part ... come back next year for another try.

3KCBWDAY4: A Knitter for All Seasons

Whimsical Tarot

A Knitter for All Seasons

As spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere and those in the southern hemisphere start setting their sights for the arrival of winter, a lot of crocheters and knitters find that their crafting changes along with their wardrobe. Have a look through your finished projects and explain the seasonality of your craft to your readers. Do you make warm woollens the whole year through in preparation for the colder months, or do you live somewhere that never feels the chill and so invest your time in beautiful homewares and delicate lace items. How does your local seasonal weather affect your craft?


Well, the Queen of Swords in today's card is me in more than just characteristics: see that gorgeous fur-lined hooded cape ? That's me (OK, I'll use faux fur seeing as how we're in  the 21st century and I'm not a Viking) and I'd wear it on most days in the UK. Except I'd do it up so as not to let the cold wind in. I layer up every day, and the last cardigan doesn't come off until around 28C/82F or higher depending on the wind: in the UK it can be August before you might get a day or so with that kind of temperature. My DH thinks I should just put buttons on a duvet and be done with it.

There are three places in my adult life that I have felt totally comfortable: Turkey, Miami, and Honduras. All with seasonal temperatures in the region of 32C/93F and upwards - and even then I have to put a sweater on inside buildings, as they are all air-conditioned. This is the reason my family think I am one of these:

courtesy of wildherps.com

 Personally, I think one of these is a tad more appropriate, but hey, whatever:

 

courtesy of allposters.com

 Can we spell 'digression' and 'tangential' ?

Anyway. I am always cold, and I always imagine despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, that everyone else is the same as me - which means that my knitting is not affected much by so-called 'seasonality'. What with global warming, the zombie apocalypse (an actual official government website - go on, you know you want to look) and the Mayan end of the world just around the corner, it's best to be prepared for the worst.

courtesy of endoftheworld2012

 Which means I need to keep knitting like a crazy person so we will all be toasty warm when we die.

I forgot to say that I bailed on Day 2, the photography challenge, so don't go looking for that post on this blog; but put 3KCBWDAY4 into Google and see what turns up for other blogs today. Bet my post is the only one referencing reptiles, zombies and knitting.

The Best-Laid Schemes ....

 .... o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley, ''

Even I didn't know I spoke Scottish. And I won't do so again in a hurry, I promise.

It's a good thing that I don't make New Year's Resolutions, or the one about posting regularly would have already been broken. But we can spin it and instead say that it was an unplanned holiday ...

This Queen of Pentacles from the Comparative Tarot deck illustrates what I have been mainly doing: watching other people. Not, not being a voyeur, just that I haven't had anything much to contribute - especially since I have got too apathetic mellowed out to get worked up or involved in anything controversial.

While my Good Twin has been on the missing list because of the stunning lack of foresight, preparation and ability to react of her local authorities, my Evil Twin has been on a tekky buying spree ( a MacBook of surpassing style and price) and I have been organizing the second Blog Hub Swap - sign ups close at the end of Sunday 15th January, so you have loads of time left to join in on something that was great fun last time.

I have some research to do on the next line of soaps I want to make, and my knitting goals for this year are threefold:

1) nothing with a deadline (there are only 2 items with a deadline, and I will not allow this number to increase)

2) knitted gifts for the mature ladies who are important to me: the lilac Karise Shawl is on it's way to my Auntie Vera in Aberlady as we speak. Two of the remaining three may possibly occasionally read this blog so no names for them yet so as I can avoid the heads up, but I'm almost 100% sure that my Auntie Hazel (my mother's youngest sister) does not, not being a fan of technology

3) this year is also therefore my year for shawls. I love 'em. All I need to do is find a way to display them.

4) not a knitting goal ....I want to seriously pick up my crochet this year. A simple Granny square afghan will do.

And finally, I want (and need) to revamp my website. 

None of this is happening today, though, as Destructo Boy is home from school with a temperature.

KCBW2011 Trailer

So today I am going to try to entice you into the world of fibre frenzy - yarn stashes, skeins of yarn that Rumpelstiltskin would trade his first-born for, finished, unfinished and historical objects of admiration, respect, beauty and general OMG-ness, arcane skills, 10 thumb-ness, knitted items that live in the dark shame of the bottom of the wardrobe like a mad relative chained in the attic (not a Jane Eyre reference), and other weirdness. And granny-ness - but more of that later.



Firstly let's talk about the 2nd Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week, which, as the observant - not to say awake - amongst you can see from the post banner and sidebar button, will be running from the 28th March to 3rd April.



It's organized by my friend Mimi, and details of how it all works can be found here on her blog; I prefer to look at the topics beforehand so I have a pencil-plan of what I'm going to write about, but I know that there are others who live life on the edge by only revealing the topic on the relevant day ....

And now about the granny-ness. I am not a granny (I was a step-granny at the age of 27, but that's a post for another time) and it amuses me that there is still some kind of perception abroad in the world that knitting is only for old ladies.





Sure, I have met plenty of old ladies that do indeed partake of this one of my obsessions pastimes, but many of my interwebz fibre pals are a good 5 10 OK dammit 15 to 20 years younger than me. I would hate to think that one's interests - or circle of interesting friends - would be restricted by assumptions and judgments based on age. You may not think you are interested by young - or old- people, fibre, knitting or crochet: but I am sure that if you click on maybe even just one or two of the links in my special KnitCroBlo blogroll (when it's up), you will find at least a couple of things that will amaze, amuse and interest you.

ETA: many apologies for the mixed-font oddness, I don't know why that happened ....

Crafty Beginnings

The theme for the first post of Knit & Crochet Blog Week is 'how did you start'. This is what drove me to delve into the gazillion photo albums at my Dad's house - to find a picture of my maternal great-grandmother, Annie Gorman nee Hewitt.

Born the eldest of thirteen in 1888, I shudder to think of how tough her life must have been, and how hard she must have worked.

My mother had a very close relationship with her - far closer than with her own mother, whom she cordially hated - and I assume it must have been G'ma (pronounced Jeema), as we all called her from her signature on her letters, that taught my mother to knit.

I remember going to visit with her in the 1970s (it turns out from the photos that my mother actually labelled, in a departure from her usual habit, that it was 1973) and it was then that she taught me the basics of knitting and crochet; it must have been the very basics, as I was around 6 or 7 and not awfully good at sitting still for any length of time.

She had very bad arthritis in her hands, but oddly enough, they had twisted in a way that was good for holding the yarn and maintaining tension. She was very patient, and I did carry around on a pair of small needles for some time the obligatory beginner's scarf that we all know and despise, that lasts forever, never grows in length, is never completed, and is full of dropped stitches and snaggledy bits poking out. I have no idea what happened to it.

My mother also knitted - I remember with affection lovely warm school sweaters, and a pale blue mehusive bulky sweater I wore to death in my teens - I'm positive she never knitted a test swatch ever. After she died, when we were sorting out some of her things, my father offered all her knitting needles, yarns and patterns to my sister and I; unfortunately, neither of us were interested at the time, so my sister's MIL was the lucky recipient of a couple of boxes of random knitting stuff.

G'ma died aged 96 in 1984, a few years after the only one of her siblings that I knew, my Great-Aunt Ivy. As an aside, they were both tiny women - I remember walking down the road with one on either arm when I was 8 or 9 years old, and I was the same height as them, although I was not a tall child.

Anyway, the basics that she taught me came in very handy when I picked up knitting again a couple of years ago; and I like the idea that a bit of G'ma remains with me through this skill that she shared with me.

Knit & Crochet Blog Week

My friend Mimi has organized a Knit & Crochet Blog week, running from 26th April to 2nd May. The idea is to post daily, and to aid this, she has chosen some topics which broadly outline the subject matter for the day. You can read the topics ahead of time, if you're the sort of person who likes to plan, or at least have a rough idea of what you're going to write about, or you can wing it and see the topic on the day itself .....

I don't think it's a spoiler to say, that having looked at the topics, I spent some time at my father's house unearthing some old photo albums ....

You'll see also that I have a new, limited edition, blog roll in the sidebar, of blogs of the other people who are taking part. Ravelry members who are taking part can also be found here. If you would like to take part, pop along to Mimi's blog, download the cute banner she created, and let her know in the comments section ....