Patching Things Up

While visiting my parents I was given a 1970’s Pan Craft book on Creative Patchwork that had belonged to my late grandmother.

While reading it I find myself captivated by the hexagonal patchwork pattern and after several awfully drawn hexagons I resorted to the compass and ruler method of drawing them; the maths teachers in my family are very pleased by this.

All patchwork I have done previously has been either of the square or of the crazy variety.

In the book is the most beautiful Victorian hexagon patchwork dressing gown.

Hexagons,as well as being a precise mathimatical shape, are one of those shapes that are also present in nature.

The hexagon is one of the microscopically tiny units that helps give structure to DNA; it is found in the structure of crystalline minerals like quartz; it is the shape taken by water when it freezes into snowflakes. The Basalt Columns of the Giant’s Causeway are hexagonal.

It displays true symmetry; all six sides of the hexagon are of equal length, and when the hexagon is divided down the middle the two sides mirror each other.

I’ve cut a stack of fabric samples into small squares and started making a few hexagon patches.

Will share photos soon

Bobbin’ Along

Well, I’ve been back in York for a week and on Sunday I collected the new bobbins for my spinning wheel between running errands and winning 3 games of badminton; a feat I’ve never managed before.

Unfortunatly due to coming down with non specific lurgy on monday morning, I’ve not been able to do any spinning yet but these bobbins are beautiful.

G, my partners dad, made them for me. They are custom fitted for my unique wheel and although there are only three pictured I have 4; two the same as the one it came with, and two with larger drive ratios, one of which isn’t pictured as it went straight onto my wheel. They run soooo smoothly, its amazing.

He says he takes commissions!

The fibre in the background is fibretrends merino 64 tops in old rose, berry, lilac and fushia which i’m drafting for spinning between coughing and sneezing fits! I really look forward to spinning it. Its part of my merino stash I got for feltmaking back in the day.

I am filling myself with cold and flu remedies and hoping I feel up to spinning soon

Nostalgic Days

Last Sunday I went to the 31st May Day Music Festival in a lovely little park in my home town, called Alexandra Park.

I spent many of my summer afternoons in this park in my college days, as it more or less back’s onto the art buildings.

This festival has been part of my life for many years and has developed in its own way during that time.

It has always been a socialist workers organised free music festival, with speakers from the TUC, the ANL and other active groups but these days the people who go seem to have lost sight of what the festival is all about and were rude enough to boo the TUC speaker off the stage.

A newer addition to the festival is the Eco/Global village area where there was a vegan cafe, and some interesting info about allotments and community gardens and there was a found objects art tent, and so, I had a go.

You started off with a piece of coathanger coiled at the bottom to make a base and then you threaded bits of found objects onto it to make your sculpture. As you can see, mine has; stones, buttons, bits of plastic, ribbon, net, wool and artistic use of a pemanent marker.

I didn’t take it away with me. I left it as part of the little display they were creating….but i did keep a piece of the wool as a wristband.

Smooshy Socks

I’m still off gallavanting in the wilds of Suffolk but I thought I would share with you this photo of the sock I’m working on.

I’m using the fancy ribbing from the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook which involves lifting the central stitch of the knit section of the 3×2 rib on alternate rows to give a enlongated stitch in the middle of each knit panel. It makes the ribbing very plush and smooshy.

I also used the tulip edging from the workbook which makes the top edge of the cuff curl outwards, and am officially in love with the hourglass heel. On this example I’ve tried it in garter stitch; and, although it makes it shallower than a stockinette one, it looks a lot better with the ribbing.

I’m most of the way through the foot and then will attempt a garter stitch round toe. Wish me luck!

I am finding this designing as I go rather exhilerating!

Karmic Harmony

Well, my karma seems to be appriciating all the good things I’ve done lately; helping people out with things, getting back to work and generally trying to do unto others as I’d wish to be done unto.

My shawl design is coming along nicely and my lovely family were kind enough to get me some Knitpro Harmony needles in order to help with the process.

I LOVE these needles, they are slick but have enough friction to be just sticky enough to stop yarns sliding off and the colours on the needles are just beautiful; really uplifting to work with. Of course the fact that the cables are purple also help.

Kudos to P2tog who dispatched them straight away and are sending me a replacement set of 3mm tips as one of mine was faulty.

Futher Karmic payback include my fella’s dad using his fabulous wood turning skills to make me 4 bobbins for my spinning wheel; 2 standard and 2 with larger drive band wheel on the end of them.

In an effort to further boost my karma, I’m currently halfway through a trip visiting my family and a few old friends in my home town for a fortnight. On the train journey down I finished a hat, met an interesting man who is writing a very interesting sounding book on grafitti art, and defended the honour of my generation to the nicely opinionated man at the next table.

I do have to admit that while knitting I was asked what I was making and I couldn’t resist the urge to say “a postmodernist ironic statement hat”….*facepalm*

Unfortunatly all this socialising and “touching base” is seriously cramping my knitting time!

I shall post again soon!

A FO!

I know I’ve been a bit lax in showing you finished objects of late so here are some socks I made recently.

They are made of Yarn D’Amour Freya BFL in Intrigue – a colourway they dyed specially for me . This yarn is so soft and buttery. Its so lovely to knit with

They are a pattern called Super Simple Short Socks by www.radianttwist.com and feature a smooshy eye of partridge heel. I did mod them slightly by doing faux eye of partridge by slipping knitwise instead of purlwise which makes it more textural.

They are a gift for a dear friend and are winging there way to her now (She never has time to read purplestocking so its safe to mention it on here!).

Building Blocks

I won an amazon voucher a week or so ago – a raffle ticket I had forgotten I had bought proved lucky!

I bought the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook by Lynne Vogel with it and it arrived yesterday morning.

Its a fabulous book with lots of pictures and illustrations , showing sock yarn from the dying of roving through spinning it and then designing your own sock to suit you own feet.

The last of these really appealed to me as I have narrow ankles but large calves, and small feet with long toes, hence most patterns have to be altered to fit comfortably. At the moment i end up making ankle socks to avoid fitting them to my calves but as the year progresses I know I’ll need longer socks,

As one of my families favourite sayings goes “Invest in your bed and shoes, if you aren’t in one, you’re probably in the other”. I think this holds true for socks too. Investing time in your socks is kindness to your feet. (Another is “Use Both Hands” from my habit of doing 2 things at once – usually eating and reading at the same time….At least when i knit, I am using both hands!)

Although its not what they call them I love the ‘building blocks’ approach to knitting socks, picking and choosing cast ons, ribbings/cuffs, heels and toes and cementing them together with the leg and foot.

I look forward to trying out some of the methods involved, including a fancy rib cuff and an hourglass heel. I’m going to try toe up after that i think. There is even instructions for toe socks that I’ve always loved but struggled to find comfortable as the toes were rarely the correct length.

This book is designed to be inspiring and it is…..now, I wonder if I have room in the kitchen for a dye pot…..

Spring Tendrils

Something is growing on my needles! See that yellow stalk?

This is just a glimpse of the ’secret project’ I’m working on.

Spinning you a line

Excuse me as I spin you a line as to why I haven’t posted of late.*

A few weeks ago my spinning wheel, a gift from my great aunt, arrived via my parents and I attended a wonderful spinning workshop with my wheel, with the lovely Carol L.

Its a castle style single drive, single treadle wheel handmade by a friend of my great aunts.

I’ve been practicing and although its still a little uneven I am starting to spin something approaching useable – I’m having to predraft a lot and am struggling to spin slow and steady, and I might even start using some of the coloured merino fleece in my stash, instead of just white!

I’ve already got my heart set on another wheel – a Kronski Symphonie, which is a double treadle wheel, with varying drives. H has one and its lovely.

My knitting has been slow, and involved some ankle socks – pics soon, and I’ve been working on a secret knitting pattern I’ve designed but I can’t share that for the time being, but I will start blogging regularly again soon.

* I’m sorry, I can’t resist bad jokes and puns!

Inspiring Quote

Got this quote in my Never Not Knitting calender and really wanted to share it:

“All knitterly creation stems from one simple element: yarn. It’s the baker’s flour, the jeweler’s gold, the gardener’s soil. Yarn is creation, consolation, and chaos all spun together in one perfect ball”

Clara Parkes