Run Byrne Run

Something really weird happened this morning. This is an illustration of what happened.

See? Weird. Weeks ago I bought some trainers. A week or so after that I downloaded the free NHS "Couch to 5k" podcast. Then many weeks went past. Then this morning I woke up shortly after 6 and thought "Right, time to go running." I'm worried it might be dementia. Or the menopause or something. Anyway, I made it through day 1 week 1 and no I didn't feel better afterwards. I felt sweaty. And no that's not the same thing.

Having got the insanity out of my system I went off to Kew to visit Tikki Patchwork.

Now there's a lovely shop and easy walking distance from the tube station. Not big but with every space used well to display lovely fabrics and accoutrements. You see I am planning another quilt. NOT a handsewn one or paper-pieced. Something with rectangles which are machine sewn and rotary cut. The Make Lounge has some fabrics but this place was a little Aladdin's cave with a couple of hundred 100% cottons to choose from. On this occasion I was only there to look but when have I ever only window shopped? My haul was modest.

The tape measure ribbon/cotton tape is for the handle of the metal frame bag I made a few weeks ago. It's going to be ideal so I shall put that together this weekend.

I made my cat-to-be a toy this week. I've been meaning to try one of these for ages and thought it might work as a christmas tree decoration with the right fabric. So I got a load of small scraps for a try-out and here you are.

I am sure the cat will tear it apart in about 30 seconds but then they'll probably enjoy it so I don't mind. And it would work on a tree except the pentagons need to be smaller. So now we know.

Lastly the Cranford-a-long has been going well. I have just divided for the thumb on my first one - although this is a shot from earlier.

The colours are very hard to photograph but it is neither so garish or gothic as it looks. Plus it is certainly knitting up quickly. I've made a couple of mods which I'll write up on Rav.

Cranford-A-Long Day 1

 

A while ago I donated a blogpost to p/hop asking "What Mittens Would the A-Team Wear?". At the time I suggested Cranfords for Face. Now all these months later I am finally knitting a pair! But not for him - oh no. These babies are for me.

It's not too late to join the knit-a-long. There is a thread on Ravelry for all those taking part. And you can get the pattern from the p/hop site in return for a heart-hugging donation.

Making a Mess Monday

I have been making this quilt since 22nd March 2010. It's been a labour of not exactly love - more grim determination. I have now assembled all the bits and am ready to move to the quilting stage. EXCEPT...all the paper pieces need to be untacked and taken out.

There are literally thousands. This is not a quick job.

I remember talking to someone about the Kaffe Fassett knitting exhibition that had been on in the V&A years ago. They had talked about wanting to be able to see the inside of the intarsia and fairisle garments to see how the 'wrong side' had been handled. Then there is Kate who has a unique turn of phrase and talks about the "naughty" or "private" side (technical term) of her knitting. Quilts of course have exactly the same thing.

At the Festival of Quilts I had to physically restrain my mater from lifting up the quilt edges to look at the backs, despite the "DO NOT TOUCH" signs in every language and all handmade hanging from every available post.

It's natural to want to see what people have done where they weren't expecting it to show. Possibly this is why people (in general, not me) like reality shows.

So having to remove each of these paper hexagons individually, every one having been hand sewn by myself in the first place, has given me quite a lot of time to contemplate the naughty side.

Still another couple of hundred to go....things may get naughtier.