A maker's nature

At last I've got round to uploading my photos of heather verity. For once the weather wasn't to blame! The decision to change workrooms was only meant to take a small time and resulted in redecorating, waiting for paint to dry - all the while my computer was disconnected........

But the re-occuring problem I always have is how to fit it all in? Too much stuff and not enough space. Ahh, the perfect workroom, with pigeonholes of co-ordinated yarn and fleece, space for all the threads, fabric, buttons, ribbon, lace..... but in all honestly, I'd probably need a huge warehouse and the more room I have the more I will fill it! I don't think the notion of thinning out is compatible with my hoarder's nature!

But back to the verity. Although it has felted a little, it does have a lovely feel to it. I think the YO's have lost a bit of their crispness which is a shame but overall it's good - and it fits! The colour of this is really difficult to match as you can see - each picture has a slightly different tone. I feel the last picture is the closest but hey, it changes colour in the different light so all of the above!
It is proving difficult to match a button for this - grey is too dull, purple too strong, a pinky one could work or a wooden one.... Somehow none look just right. Oh dear, I may have to add to my button collection!

And this is why I have no room for anything and have spent DAYS organising and reorganising all my 'stuff' - buttons, threads, yarn, more yarn, fabric, books, more books.... Sometimes I wish I just concentrated on one discipline - my partner devoutly wishes I HAVE ONE DISCIPLINE!! - but I can't help finding all textiles interesting - melting plastic (stored plastic bags and tyvek), collage (boxes and drawers of papers, lace, letraset, image transfer paper....), drawing with stitch, printing, machine and hand knit, felting, weaving, spinning, dyeing, - the list goes on.

So have I finished? The loft is a little fuller and everything has a home of sorts for now - except for those annoying little 'bits' that are sitting cluttering up the floor looking accusingly at me when I think of doing some knitting rather than tidying up:-) And I want to get back to my new hat in the rose red pattern by Ysolda! I'm calling it 'snow white' - as it's white coloured this time. (Anyone else remember the ladybird book 'Snow White and Rose Red''?)

Dyeing to knit

Have now finished winding all the dyed skeins into balls on the wool winder. Aren't they pretty all together? The trick has been trying to get photos that match the exact colouring of the yarn. You think it has taken perfectly, then download the pics to find a totally different shade and spend the rest of the day on photoshop trying to 'match' the colours in dismal light because it hasn't stopped raining in, oh, a month? Sorry about the moan, I'm just getting sun withdrawal symptoms (SAD). I heard a new one the other day - CRAP - consistant rain affected person! Don't know if it's real or not but it should be if it isn't!

Anyway, more close-ups of the yarn..... If you look closely to the bottom right of the picture above, you can see the purply one has lost its centre. That's because it is sneakily attached to some knitting at the time of photo. Now it is finished, blocking and drying - slowly. I wanted to try the variegated yarns to see how they looked knitted.

Ach, well, now there's a story....

Dyed the yarn - okay overdyed the purple one to death, I admit - and the water ran clear on finishing. Hooray I thought.

Dried skein.

Wound skein into ball.
Started knitting up yarn, la, la, la, la, la.

Began noticing a steadily more obvious purple stain spreading over my palms and fingers as I knitted away.

Washed hands, carried on knitting.

Washed hands, carried on knitting.

Finished knitting.

Heather verity - isn't she nice?

SUPER WASHED knitting to get rid of any excess dye. This is 100% merino wool so I tried hard not to felt the lovely knitting with too much agitation - marginally unsuccessful.

Tried vinegar, tried soap, dye decided to leave knitting rapidly and required 'gentle' rinsing, rinsing, rinsing.... hence a little felting.

As this has been knitted into a hat, it better not have any dye left in it! No-one wants a purple forehead or the colour to run in the rain!! Only joking - it won't run in the rain, can't promise no purple forehead!!

Anyways, lesson learned! It's fine to improvise and overdye for creative projects but not if you want to have prolonged contact with the skin! I'm not even thinking of this in a top!

I'll leave you with some close-ups of the dyed yarns where you can see the variegations in the ball. Tomorrow, hopefully the beret will be dry enough after it's vigorous washing to be modelled and photographed - if the light is okay and the rain stays away, just for a bit, please?

Interlude - Japanese dolls

As promised, some quick pics of the Japanese dolls I found last week. They were sitting on the shelf in the British Heart Charity shop - new stock but with reduced labels all over them. The woman said they were just in and going fast so if you hurry there might be some left.....

Three little maids from school are we....

There are little ones as well - I do like the detail on the kimono's and how each one's different. I did have fun placing them for the photos as if they were having conversations.... The girls look as if they're on their best behaviour under mother's watchful eye!

If you look carefully they have faintly rosy cheeks. I think the original traditional dolls were made as children's toys and were made of wood, hand painted and lacquered - and are now very expensive collectors items. So I'm quite happy to have my ceramic copies - they are very cute in their own right!


Have you noticed their eyes are different? Now I've got to think where I can display them - maybe a little narrow shelf where they can cheer up my workspace? I've also seen a picture of nesting japanese dolls - that would be quirky too! I do love the russian ones for the clear, graphic detailing and folk patterns and I imagine Japanese ones would be able to fit into this catagory very easily. If anyone sees any do let me know!


Anyway, time for the girls to say goodbye for now, they may make an appearance another time.... but for me it's back to the knitting:-)

computerless - no longer :-)))

Alas, my computer has bitten the dust - again. I know. I think the poor thing has about had enough. So, I won't be blogging for a week or two until I can afford to get it fixed.
I will still be able to check e-mails on another computer so I can keep in touch:-) Hopefully it won't be for too long.......

WOOOHOOO!!!!

Computer is fixed! All I can say is that John's dad is a miracle worker and I'm glad he understands all this stuff. Apparently the front USB ports had shorted out and we thought they had fried the chip on the motherboard rendering said brand new motherboard useless. BUT, I took out the USB cables attached to the board hopefully to bypass said knackered bit and hey, it's started!

First thing I am going to do is BACKUP all my files!!! I know we all mean to and I actually did about a month ago when John's system crashed and we had to format the whole computer, reload windows and install every single driver and programme, but there are new photos, websites, etc I would rather not lose or have to reload.

So off I go.... Hopefully I can now upload my pics of the japanese dolls I found yesterday - sooo cute, you just have to see them!

Getting into the habit of blocking....

At last, at last, the cable shrug is finished! Well, it was finished last saturday night but I found it difficult to photograph this colour. I kept getting purples and bluer tones than the actual true pink colour - thank goodness for photoshop! It is also quite difficult to take a flattering picture of yourself when trying to pose (using a mirror), click the camera and not go 'urgg' at the results. It took many attempts and I still feel reluctant to include a pic of me wearing this! Anyway, enough of that - look at the lovely meandering cable....


I did eventually master the kitchener stitch - although I did pull the thread a bit too tight and had to loosen it all afterwards. A lesson learned. It worked well on the stocking stitch but not the rib. Maybe that is the nature of the stitch? To pull alternates into the gap so they aren't truely aligned in parallel but more in a zigzag. Of course this wouldn't matter much in a smooth stitch but it makes all my rib uneven - knit meets purl. A very unsatisfactory look - messy and an obvious join on the back. I did like how the stocking stitch did disappear as a join (when I realised I had tightened it waaay too much - of course!)

Can you see the lower rib and how it doesn't seem to meet? I think I will try it out on a sample to see if it does work or if it was just me first time around. But at least there is no obvious ridge or seam right down the back so I suppose I can live with it.


Anyway, after all that, I feel this is a little small on me - hence the unsatisfactory pics of me wearing it. I look so BIG in all of them, like the top is a few sizes too small. I have considered altering the pattern so I could get more wear out of this but I don't know if I like it enough to want to knit it again. There are so many other patterns out there I still have to try!

It did also occur to me that I maybe should have blocked it before sewing together. I know it is good practice but I haven't got into the habit as yet. I did read up about it yesterday and you can add length and volume to your garment when it is wet. So maybe I should take more time, block, and possibly the garment might fit as it was meant to?!!

Pea pods

At last we are getting some produce from the garden - lettuce, radishes, more lettuce, red leaf lettuce, cos lettuce, mixed lettuce... The tomatoes are growing, the courgette and beans are flowering but now we have - PEAS!


Six green peapods sitting in a row... artistically, of course.


I had forgotten just how yummy raw peas are - not too many and give yourself belly-ache though! To be honest once you've shelled six pea pods, there aren't that many to go around!

But there are more on the way. I'll just have to get more room to grow lots more if I want to actually get enough for a meal!

Coloured Abstract

Felt is a lovely medium to draw with. It gives you instant blocks of colour, but can blend, act as a see-through filter to diffuse colour intensity and trap threads, lace, and fabrics. I also love the fact that you have to be a bit more spontaneous when drawing with fleece. Although there is definite care taken with balance of composition, detail and colour palette, I find it more expansive a medium to draw with.


This piece starts looking at abstraction, colour and drawing landscapes with felt and the intention is to take these initial studies further with stitch and collage embellishment. But I think I like this one as it is. The majority of the fleece is hand dyed shetland and wensleydale (curly bits) with some pre-dyed merino. I also have some silk tops I'd like to dye and use as a cobweb filter in places too.


The amazing thing about felt is the detail that the fibres give you close up - they could even be mini compositions in their own right. I also like the fact that felt isn't precious. If it doesn't flow as well as you intended then you can always take a viewfinder and find a new composition within, then chop it up!! I haven't done that here - this one is a birthday present - but the one before this has become a smaller composition, a birthday card and three small cards. Hey, it's flexible!


Another quandry I have with felt though is how to present it. Felt by nature tends to produce uneven edges and I like this element but I also love wall to wall colour with no white to distract the intensity/depth of colour. So, edges or no edges? (compare pic 1 and pic 5)
Also should it be behind glass or suspended as a wall hanging? Textiles as wall decorations will trap dust and are then difficult to clean so maybe glass should be used but then it acts as a barrier to the textile itself and it has such a tactile quality - touchy feely. Thoughts anyone?


So more of these to follow. I would like to gather some more source on natural forms and abstract elements in nature or landscapes - microscopic aspects would work here too. More development in the sketchbook and more playing with felt, I think!

Happy Birthday John! I hope you like your felted abstract landscape:-)

Lavender's blue dilly dilly

Lavender’s blue dilly, dilly, Lavender’s green;

When I am king, dilly, dilly, You shall be Queen.

Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so?

'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so

Call up your men dilly, dilly, Set them to work,

Some with a rake, dilly, dilly, some with a fork.

Some to make hay, dilly, dilly, Some to thresh corn,

Whilst you and I, dilly, dilly, Keep ourselves warm.

The garden is in full bloom!