Reasons to be cheerful…

Funny how just a little thing can change how you view the day…Getting out in the garden in dressing gown and slippers with the puppy BEFORE the rain starts is always a good start. Higgins hasn’t got the hang of the fact that the more times you make a run for the door without doing what you came out for just prolongs the agony.  He is struggling with country life really, too much weather, he should have gone to live with Paris Hilton. 

Todays mail was very exciting… firstly, red polka dot cake tins…

So good, I had to do styling…

…and my Spoonflower fabric…

When I first discovered Spoonflower I was too intrigued to go away and come up with a new design, I went for the nearest jpg file, my faithful pink sheep, and like it so much I ordered a fat quarter as a test run. My pink sheep started life on an invitation designed by my son Thomas Taylor for my Graduation party four years ago and was originally wearing  a mortar board. I loved her too much to send her off to oblivion, so with the help of Photoshop she hung up her mortar board and joined me here on Planet Penny. I’ve offered to make Thomas a pink sheep bow tie, but strangely, he’s declined…

I was so excited by all this I initially overlooked the fact that my latest copy of ‘Selvedge’ had arrived…Oh. Joy!..

…with this beautiful image on a card inside.

After a wet morning, a band of blue started to spread from the west, and the wind became a breeze, just right for a spot of exercise.  I’ve tried to get round the short dog = cold wet tummy problem with a rather smart fleece jumper for Higgins.  Apart from the fact that I could have bought myself two fleeces for the cost of a tailor-made miniature dachshund one,  getting it on is a bit like putting  skin on a sausage. Then you have the problem of persuading him to get out of bed…

We got out there eventually though…

Even the sugar beet looks good in the sunshine, and you can just see home across the field…

All that was left was to make a cake to justify the fact I had bought not just one, but three tins to put cake in.  I had some windfall apples, so a quick flip around Google and…Easy Apple Cake? …yes, we like easy.   Well, it was easy enough to put together, but who has a 20cm x 30cm tin to hand?  And how would the capacity of a tin you haven’t got compare with the one you have got?  So, a round cake instead.  Fine.  But…how does that affect the cooking time?  Answer – a lot.  After the allotted 40 minutes a gorgeous crispy crust trembled above a completely liquid interior,  another twenty minutes, then ten and then another twenty five minutes before the ’sod it’ moment when I got it out and decided that was IT.   

And it was.

 Delicious…

…eventually…

Old Faithful R.I.P.

It’s sort of been one of those weeks.  There’s been a bit of this and a bit of that and all that tangly wool and the WEATHER …!  I had just got excited about some rather pretty shopping and thinking I had time to photograph it and write about it and my camera died.  I felt like I’d lost the use of an arm.  There are wordsmiths out there who write beautiful blog posts and paint their own word pictures, but I NEED to illustrate my ramblings.  First thing this morning I set off through the rain and wind to Norwich and the London Camera Exchange clutching my Fuji FinePix F650 with the lens well and truly jammed.  It’s been making a weird graunching grinding noise for weeks (months?) and I’ve been trying to ignore it.  Apparently the thingy has worked its way off the helix and the whatsits had worn (you can tell I know exactly what I’m talking about) and the price of repair was far more than a new camera… so that’s what I’ve got, a natty little Olympus FE-4000. 

So now I can write about my shopping expeditions last week with full colour illustrations.  I know I should be working hard to finish the hand dyed project, but when it got a little derailed last week it sent me off to socks.  Socks have been popular in the blogs I read lately, both Vanessa, of ‘Do you mind if I Knit’ and Jane Brocket have succumbed to the spotty lovelies to be found at Boden, but I have been indulging in the meditative appeal of sock knitting.  There is something about the smallness of the work, the little needles feel like extensions of your fingers rather than separate tools, everything tucks into your encircling hands, and the whole thing can be popped into a pocket and taken on the bus, the doctors’ waiting room or even, if you are not actually turning the heel, to the cinema!  My only problem with socks is that you have to knit two the same, and I’m really bad about repeating myself.  I have got round that by having more than one pair on the go and alternating them, deliberately creating even more odd socks than my washing machine does!  The final reason for extolling the joys of sock knitting are the glorious colours in which the sock wool is dyed.  Sitting in the warm with a handful of Technicolour sunset is the perfect antidote to the wet darkness outside.

The  second shopping trip took us to Anglia Fashion Fabrics.  This is the place to go in Norwich for everything you could possibly need for sewing and making, and now it has opened a second venue called Make Place offering tuition for complete novices to learn how to sew, which is a brilliant idea.  On this particular day there was also a MakePlace Market with stalls selling beautiful  bags and clothing made from recycled items, felt hats and scarves, jewelry, al sorts of yummy things, but alas, no camera!  Having been inspired by this, it was essential to go next door and check out the actual shop where I succumbed to this..

because I’m having a bit of thing for polka dots, especially red and white ones…this..

Because no-one who sews can possibly turn down the chance to have a fabric called ‘Stash’ …and this..

Well…you can see why.  There are dachshunds, how could I resist?  I think this will probably end up being a bag to keep all his stuff in.  For a small dog he does have a lot of stuff!

So I think the time has come to step away from the laptop and start being creative, so I’ve got something to tell you about later in the week!

The Sheep Dog

I suppose when you’re only pocket size…

A whole herd of sheep…

…is a bit of an undertaking.  So much better to wait until they have been reduced to a managable size…

and then round them all up.

Normal service will be resumed…eventually …

Not amber, but blue…

These days I get a very early start, with an alarm clock which goes ‘WUFF’ rather than the traditional buzz or ring.  At this time of the year every glimmer of sunshine is precious so I bounded up stairs with a cuppa for Tim, not quite with a ‘Hi-de-hi, campers’ but to suggest a trip to the beach to enjoy the early morning brightness.  The baleful eye that glowered from under the duvet made me realise that not everyone does the ‘lark’ thing. However it was even more off-putting to get back from the shower to find a second pair of eyes peering out from under the covers, just as determined to stay snug and warm.  Given a choice of whom to wrestle out of bed and get into the car  I went for the eight inch tall option rather than the six footer.

It was worth the effort.  Coming up over the dunes, out of the shadow and into the bright blueness of the sea,  sky and crisp air and on to the deserted sand was an exhilarating feeling. 

The North Sea has a reputation for being wild and cold, but catch it in a benign mood and it’s as lovely as any far flung ‘Paradise’ shore.
As I’m sure is the coast of the Baltic, where my sons have been staying.  From their description all the wildness usually associated with this time of the year has been  there in full force.  Thomas talked about amber, and the petrified forests under the sea, and on investigation I found the amber found along the Norfolk coast comes from those very same forests, brought here from Scandinavia by the glaciers. 
 

So as we walked we looked for amber too, my little sea dog and I, and we didn’t find any either!

Christmas Garlands

Our Knit and Stitch group got together over cake and wine this week to work on the finishing touches of our joint contribution to the Crib and Wreath Festival at our local church.  We have been allocated the font which is great as it gives us a focal point, but it has to be quite a statement as the font is directly in front of the main door.

It was a bit of a challenge to come up with a design for something eye-catching but simply made, which could be shared amongst the members, worked on at home and assembled at the meeting, but I was pleased by the final design.  Although the final wreath will encircle the font, it will dismantle into four individual parts which can then be hung over a fireplace or door as a swag.  I think the rich deep colours will look lovely against the old stone in the church, but I want to adapt the design using red and white, stripes and gingham to give it a more Scandinavian feel. Just thinking about it makes me feel Christmassy!

It’s a really simple construction which I will endeavour to pass on. I used an assortment of fat quarters of christmas fabrics which I partly unfolded and then cut into strips using a cutting wheel.  My strips were about  2″ wide.

I then opened all the strips out…

and cut them in half…

Take each piece and fold it sides to middle, overlapping the edges in the middle by about a centimetre.  Make two rows of stitching each side of the centre, making a channel for threading.

The quickest way to do this is to feed the folded pieces through the sewing machine one after another in a continuous line, without cutting off between each piece.  When you get to the end, feed them all through again to do the second row, then cut them apart.  There is not going to be any strain on the stitching so you don’t need to tie off the threads.

Then thread the pieces on to  a thick piece of yarn. 

You need it to be thick and fluffy so it grips the fabric and allows you to gather up each little ‘bow’ section and fluff it out

To finish it off, make ‘berries’ by cutting out circles about 2″ across from a plain fabric, running a gathering stitch round the outside, stuff with toy wadding or cotton wool, pull the thread tight and stitch to close. 

I stitched the berries in groups of three on to a ribbon which I then tied at intervals on the garland.

This is not the best tutorial as I rather worked backwards and it assumes a degree of sewing knowledge, but if you are sewing novice who needs to know more, please tell me and I will be more explicit.  I will definitely be making more, so I can improve on the instructions.

I am really looking forward to photographing the finished wreath in situ, all around the font, with the christmas crib knitted by one of the Knit and Stitch members in pride of place on the top.

It’s been raining…

…quite a bit.  This time last year I would have been happy to turn my back on the weather and find things to distract me indoors, but that was before I was a dog owner. So while I was happy to park myself on the sofa with a DVD  (‘Batman Begins’ – I’ve never seen it – very good) and my latest woolly project (cue tantalizing glimpse…can you tell what it is yet?)…

…I was very aware that I had a small energetic bundle of fun to tire out before bedtime. In the middle of the afternoon the room was filled with that lovely golden light that comes when half the sky is a clear washed blue and the other half is inky with passing rain..

…so it was time to press the pause button and put on the wellies.  Poor Higgins, it’s  bit rough only being three inches off the ground when the puddles are four inches deep!  As it is the house training takes three steps forward and two back every rainy day.  I wonder if you can get umbrellas for dachshunds?

We compromised by splashing down the road and walking back through the grass at the edge of the field to wash the mud off Higgins’ tum.

Although it didn’t go entirely to plan…

Once we got home all that was required was a warm dry towel…

…and a nice cup of liquorice tea…

All Booked Up

I’ve just spent the weekend sheltering from the wild wet November weather with a lovely group of ladies making books. Outside the wind raged and the rain lashed down, but inside the atmosphere vibrated with concentration as everyone wielded rulers and scalpels and flexed their mathematical brain cells with varying degrees of success. It’s painful for textile practioners to get to grips with the unforgiving nature of paper and card. There’s no scope for cunning little stretches, or a few discreet gathers, and while there is no point trying to make a handmade book look as if it’s been machine made, a degree of accuracy is essential if the finished piece is going to work.

I go through agonies of self doubt in the run up to teaching a course. Even my years as a mature student haven’t erased the self doubt left by my schooldays.  Miss Marshall has a lot to answer for!  Although I’ve been doing it for a while, I’m suddenly struck by the fact I may have a degree to say I can do things, I don’t have a piece of paper to say I can teach those things to other people! As I draw up the lesson plan I have visions of everyone saying ‘Well, I knew that already’, of having exhausted all my ideas by midday of the first day or of everybody falling asleep with boredom! I’m pleased to say, that hasn’t happened yet!

Once we’d worked our way through the accuracy thing, which happened remarkably quickly, the atmosphere soon lightened into enthusiasm, and that feeling we had all escaped from the daily round to do something just for ourselves. Having mastered the basics of accordion folds and simple pamphlet stitching we moved on to a ‘wrap’ book,which needs very little glueing, and  even makes a good cover for a little purchased notebook. 

What is lovely at this point is to see all the different directions in which the same  basic instructions will take people.  Once all the’ bits and pieces’ bags had been upended everyone had a amazing variation of materials to realise their individual little books, and as they chatted and compared notes all sorts of new ideas came into being.

By the end of the day, even a visit from Higgins hadn’t distracted the students too much, although Joy inexplicably thought he was gorgeous and adorable and wanted to take him home…if only she knew!  As I left for home Alison, who was staying over at the centre, was still at her desk, and was there the following morning when I arrived.  I was assured she had gone to bed at some point!

After the second day, when we had covered stitching signatures into a codex, different types of hard and soft spine covers and  Origami books and folded pages, the room was a frenzy of activity.  Despite a brief hiatus when the torrential rain, coupled with a howling wind came in through the Victorian windows of the old school and had to be stemmed with an entire drawer of teatowels, by the end of the second day I counted well over 30 completed books, and a pile of stitched pages ready for working on at home.

Usually when a course is over I, and my trusty sidekick Kit, have so overdosed on the course subject we want to go home and do something completely different – bunjee jumping anyone?   This time we are both full of even more ideas, and as we saw everyone off it felt more like the end of a party with friends than a working weekend.

Next year we are taking the whole thing further, with coptic binding , Japanese stitching, slip covers and book boxes.  I will take a copy of the positive things written in the visitors book home to look at when I get my wobbly moments and the spectre of Miss Marshall hovers threateningly…

If winter comes…

Soggy.  Dark.  Windy.  It’s the first day of November.  But I found these in the garden!  A line of poetry has been running through my head,

‘…if Winter comes can Spring be far behind?’

 Thanks to the wonders of the internet I found it’s from ‘Ode to the West Wind’  by Shelley.  Thank you Percy, those words are going to keep me going for the next few months!

A Colour Infusion

I try so hard this time of the year to convince myself I like autumn.  I look at all the beautiful photographs in Country Living of autumn leaves, and snuggly coats and interesting things to do with sweet chestnuts.  I read articles about the joys of crisp mornings and hot chocolate by a roaring fire and, while I like all these things, nothing can make up for the shortening of the days, and the prospect of the colour gradually leeching out of the surroundings as winter approaches.

Today has been glorious and I took the camera out to capture the last few flashes of colour in the garden

So while it’s sunny outside I make the most of the colour left in the year, and when the weather turns, I, and my studio assistants, Henry…

…and Higgins…

…(Oh dear, you can’t get the staff!)… get stuck into the dye bath and making our own colourful landscape.  Using the microwave has been a revelation as far as dyeing is concerned.  I’ve never really used it it much in the kitchen apart from defrosting things, heating up my wheat bag and exploding custard (don’t ask).

Using the Easifix dyes I’ve been able to work out a foolproof method of mixing the dyes, getting reliable results and not ending up with multicoloured hands and splashes all over the walls. I had the most wonderful time experimenting with mixing the powders and the amounts and have been really excited by the variety of hues possible just using the four shades, Turquoise, Golden Yellow, Ultramarine and Magenta. I have been so organised!

…and now I have a whole gardenful of beautiful yarn to play with…

If I never made anything with all these gorgeous colours I would happily sit and look at them, but I do have a project in mind…

A little visitor…

I love the idea of having a hedgehog in the garden helping out with the slug problem, but not now as the clocks are about to go back.  I was very surprised to look up from the computer screen and see a small brown shape making it’s way across the front lawn.  I rushed out with my camera and it seemed happy to pose amongst the fallen cherry leaves while I snapped away, realising as I did so it was far to small to survive the winter.

Happily I remembered a hedgehog-themed conversation with a neighbour along the lane who rescues them, so having upended a plastic bucket over it I rushed in to telephone her.  Ten minutes later, it was calmly sitting in her hands prior to going off for a meal of cat food.  Having established, with delight, it was a female – apparently 80% of rescued hedgehogs are male – she was duly named Cherry, what else?

To my delight, I find that it is not considered ridiculous to knit things for hedgehogs ( I have had a few rather sarcastic questions about what sort of sweater I will be knitting for Higgins) as poorly or undernourished hedgehogs need little blankets to snuggle up in. So, another  project to put on the list, a woolly blanket for Cherry.  I wonder if she likes pink?