Recycling

Recycling is so very 'now'.  But recycling has been going on for ever.  Then again, recycling can mean something quite different depending on the era.

This book was published in 1915. 

WW1 was raging and recycling was a necessity for most people, so, it was often a topic of interest, especially for women trying to make ends meet.  I find the difference in how we 'express' ourselves in different eras interesting.  Back in 1915 we 'explained' what we meant with a lot more words.

A good example was the 'Preface'.

War is a hard, stern teacher, and its lessons are bitter in the learning; yet some of its teaching we badly needed - and not the least important of its main lessons is the one it inculcated on the criminality of waste.

To so many of us "waste" was a word with a comparative meaning. What was waste in one woman was not necessarily waste in another, we argued.  It was wrong for the factory girl to let her skirts drop off her for lack of mending: but not wrong for the better-off women to discard their clothes directly they showed the least sign of wear, because they could afford to buy more, we said; and besides, it made it good for trade - that was a favourite argument used by the extravagent to excuse their wanton waste.

Harsh words indeed.

On reading this book I had no idea that you could use old crockery for beads.  It seems like a lot of work.  We can purchase beads at a very cheap price today, maybe this is something that will change over the next 100 years?

What I was looking for was drawings, rather like those of Margaret Clarke, to use in my 1920's quilt.  The only thing I found was these illustrations in advertisements.

I might use the faces of the girls looking over the wall and the flowers on the cover could translate into an applique.  Or maybe these?

 

What I can't see myself doing is turning the collars of my husbands shirts.  If he wants that he can do it himself!

New Hat

I have just finished the easiest hat I have every knitter.  I got the pattern out of a library book called "Knitted Beanies slouchy hats" by Diane Serviss which is published by Stackpole books.

I changed the yarn to one I had on hand and did a gauge swatch to make sure it would turn out the same size.  The name of the pattern was "Sidewinder" and it was knitted flat and then the ends grafted to form the hat.  I still have to block it.

This is the photo from the book.

It is quite soft and stretchy, and will be just right for my daughters long hair to go under, or out, which ever she prefers.  So now I have both a scarf and matching hat for the cold weather for her.

Very pleased with this one.  I might even knit one for myself.

WIPW

I doubted that I would get to this point, but, I have finished my sweater, just in time for winter.

I have made the body and arms  a bit longer, to keep my backside  and wrists warm.   I also didn't make my garment as tight as Kate's original.  I just can't stand tight clothing, even if it is in fashion.  The other modification was to change the needle size to a smaller gauge for the yoke and then smaller again for the neck band.  This gave me the fitting I wanted in these sections in relation to my larger hip size. 

There is now the whole world of twisted stitches to explore.  My children have given me that  Nora Gaughin book I wanted and I think that I will explore the patterns using swatches that I will then join into a rug.  A hat for my daughter is next on the  knitting list.

A few more stitches on the table runner, in fact I have made good progress but I do have to replicate this one on the other end.

And I have made a little progress on the backing for the quilt.  I have found this really difficult.  I ended up allotting a certain number of letters each day and I finally found how to keep my stitching consistent.  But I wanted there to be a bit of messiness, just as there is with spray painted graffitti on a wall.

Now for the cat.

 

Look what Julie is designing

Here am I looking at the end of my knitting and a rest for my wrist and Julie is about to publish a new knitting pattern, horses!!

She says she will also have a unicorn.  My grand daughter loves unicorns.  I am really impressed with the number of horse she has knitted to perfect the pattern and she is still not quite ready to release it.

I hope she holds off till I finish my sweater.

H & H Trade show in Cologne

This trade show was held this year, 2023, and there was some wonderful work on display.  (There are actually 3 days of image highlights you can look at.)

It centred around knitting and crochet but most of the thread manufacturers were there as well.

I found the link to it through a report from  Arne and Carlos on their You Tube channel,

and they have a walk though of the displays.  How I wish I could have seen some to these.

They also have a number of interviews with designers (all the links are on their channel) and I was very interested in the one with Molla Mills.  She is Finnish and has that design aesthetic.  I have added her new book to my wish list.

Why the interest in Crochet?  My grand daughter, Jasmine, is turning into a crochet  fanatic.

 

WIPW

That [email protected]#%

I have had to un-pull it back to where I joined it together to make the yoke.  I have no idea what I did but I found a section of stitches that looked really loopy.  I tried to fix it and that made it worse, so I had to un-pull it back to the front, back and sleeves.   I did something wrong and I had yarn all over the place.  In the end I cut the yarn and am now ready to start the decrease again.  I just hope it works this time.  (That took 3 days to get to this point.)

Nearly finished, rather I have finished the silly stitching. 

That means that I now have to experiment with the wool embroidery.  I saw this in antique quilts in Nates in France back in 2007 and am finally getting around to trying to do it myself.

This is from Facile Cecile back in 2012 and I am sure that the technique originated in Europe but the Americans call it Amish Plushwork.  I bought a whole lot of old tapestry wool to experiment with.

Only two seams on the quilt this week.

and that is all I have done.

 

 

 

A New Week

I always equate a new week with a new start.  After a bout of food poisoning it really feels like a new start.  (Problem - I ate healthy food, only it didn't agree with me.  I will have to stick with the unhealthy stuff.)  I took my daughter out to lunch for her birthday.  We had been to this cafe before but this time the food, along with the terrible humidity, really made me ill.

We got caught in the rain and had to take shelter in "That Yarn Place" shop.

Not a bad place to have to stop.  There was some nice seating undercover on the verandah.

And you look out on a pond,

Flower beds,

and back into the shop, which is full of beautiful yarns and knitting requirements.

It was really temping looking at this but I only bought some new needles and markers.

But sitting on the verandah, with the rain falling, I took notice of the hangers that were displayed there.  A really cute ceramic wind chime,

and some crocheted pot hangers.

Looking closer I can see that they have IKEA bowls displayed here.

This was made from a really soft cotton.  I might have to go back and get some of this. I know cotton would eventually rot out in the elements  but they would make a lovely hanging display.  (Some more prototyping coming up.)

To the side of the shop were some lovely garden displays.  I would love a water feature in my garden but I know it would attract mosquitoes.  Still....

 

 

A New Week

I hope that this week is better than the last few!  The heat has been playing havoc with my health and well-being (along with my husband) and this week I want to move on in a calmer state of mind.  Although, family matters are still testing.  My grand daughter is not adjusting to regular school at all well.  Academically she is at a year 12 standard and she is in year 8.  I think there may be another move on the horizon but it will not be back for lessons with me.  She needs to be with younger people.

I am eagerly waiting for the delivery of a new book, "China Adorned." 

This is only becoming available this month but the reviews have been good.

This was one review: Aesthetic influences drawn from China have long resonated throughout Western art, design, and philosophy. China Adorned challenges the monolithic idea of Chinese culture and fashion, turning the lens on the rich clothing traditions of the country’s ethnic-minority peoples.


Drawing on more than three decades of research by cultural anthropologist Deng Qiyao, this volume documents and demystifies the customs and rituals of more than thirty minority peoples through their clothing and accessories. Deng’s never-before-published archival photos sit alongside contemporary imagery by photographer Cat Vinton, showcasing the fabrics and jewelry in conjunction with the surrounding landscapes. In the process, the book helps readers to better understand the deep connections between people, place, ritual, and adornment. Contributor essays delve further into the mechanics of these textiles and techniques, the role of the artisan, and the extraordinary resilience of minority material cultures, offering a timely reminder of the importance of preserving these traditions for generations to come.


Part anthropological study, part photography series, this stunningly illustrated collection challenges and enriches our Western perception of the diversity of Chinese culture.

I am going to return to my knitting tonight, my wrist isn't nearly as sore as it has been.  I only have the yoke to finish on this piece and the colder weather has got to be coming around soon.

New Knitting Book

I can see a million new swatches on the horizon, well maybe not a million but lots.

My sister sent me a new book as a present.  "Book of Fair Isle knitting" by Alice Starmore.

I had mentioned that I wanted to learn how to do this method of knitting correctly and that it would be one of my goals for 2023.  I had knitted sweaters for my children with these patterns when they were children but I had just come up with my own methods, which I am sure wasn't right.  The jumpers looked quite good, but I know I didn't do it the right way and back then I didn't know of any books to look at, I knew nobody who could knit these patterns  and there wasn't any internet to Goggle it.

So I intend to start at page 1 and read every page and I will try to knit a swatch of every pattern.  There are a number of new techniques that I will have to master as well so I think that knitting swatches will be the way to go.  I'm looking forward to this new adventure and when I feel I am proficient enough I would like to knit this jacket.

Nothing like setting a high bar!

New Knitting

All the omens are looking good for starting this new piece.  Starting with the guage swatch.  The recommended needles worked perfectly.

This is Sarkle by Kate Davies.

It has such a pretty design around the neck.

I am not using the recommended wool, rather, some I bought from Bendigo Woollen Mills, hence my delight at the guage square working so well., sometimes that doesn't happen when you change the recommended wool.

There is no rush to get this finished and I intend to knit at night, when it is cooler, and listen to audio books from my Internet Archive site.  I'm staring with Fairy Tales.  Now, I know that sounds silly but I have found an audio book that has a whole lot of stories I have never heard before.

I listened to the first story whilst swatching, "Tom Tit Tot".  It is a Rapunsil type story but instead of a dwarf it has a small dark creature with a long tail.  I think that could be a medieval imp.  These originate from Germanic faith and stories ( Saxons?) and the imp was a small lesser demon.  These were not necessarily always evil.  Imps were often mischievous rather than evil or harmful.

I remember seeing this one in the Lincoln Cathedral you can read about him here.

MITTENS

I have finished my first pair of mittens made from a pattern I made myself.  They look terrible off the hand but fit like a glove on.  I feel so pleased with myself. 

 

So please in fact that I then went on line and had a look for patterns so I could work out how to improve them.  There are patterns everywhere out there in the ether.  This is a great basic pattern and comes in various sizes, (and it is free).

And I now realise that they are a great way to use up left over wool.  I wonder where I picked up the idea that gloves were better than mittens?  Somewhere in my childhood I suppose and I would love to learn how to knit gloves.  Especially those vintage ones that my great aunt knitted and won the glove knitting section of the Royal Easter Show in Sydney back in the 1950's.  But for know I will just feel pleased with myself and my current achievement.