This Week in London

Crazy clouds over Surrey Quays. 

Or possibly the exhaust trail from a UFO who'd just been to Tesco. Although Monday before 8am (when this was taken) is one of the only times it is ever closed. And so the aliens would have had to queue up with everyone else who inevitably gets there thinking it is one of the 'open all night' days and then stands around outside trying to look like they aren't queuing for Tesco. In which case the UFO people probably just left in a huff and went to Costcutter.

Bats in the rosebush.

(I swear I did not put this there. I checked and two days later it is still there.)

Eighties knitwear I wasn't expecting to see again, but am quite pleased about. Cat jumper here I come.

(Currently available from your local River Island.)

Why leave it at just one unlikely knitwear item. 

(Also in River Island - never rains but it pours.)

Man carrying a tree wrapped in dustbin bags on the tube. 

Trees leaning, leaning, leaning....

Do they grow like that or has the soil shifted?

Festival of Quilts Part 1

I have got soooooo many photos - about 80. They are all on Flickr here - no need to sign up for anything. So these are just the highlights.

First off, if you're not familiar with 'Festival of Quilts' it is run by the same people who do the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace and elsewhere as well as a load of other things. The company is called Twisted Threads and their website has details of the next and other events. In size it is like Ally Pally (i.e. same number of sellers) except the exhibition is mahoosive. Seriously. I got there at 11.30 and had a class booked for 3.30 and I was immediately panicked that I wasn't going to be able to see all the Quilts. There are a few different categories - classic, art, contemporary, non-quilts (i.e. clothes) and then a group and a children's section. There are also regional or national quilt organisation displays plus special guest areas (there was an inevitable Kaffe Fassett section, but meh, once you've seen 100 KF quilts, you kind of get the idea). If you are interested in sewing and fabric then this is a great show for you to go to for supplies and inspiration.

Quilts can be classic - for warmth and comfort. Or they can be art for art's sake. Or they can be a combination of the two. My personal taste is for lots of colour and tonal blending with an interesting pattern. So that explains why this one...

...is probably my favourite. 

The selection at the show was just breathtaking. The very traditional:

The traditional-twist:

This one shows the clever block that repeats to create this whole quilt:

The Art Quilt:

I loved this one. Such a simple idea but so skillfully executed.

Then the non-quilts. I saw this one from the back first:

That was amazing enough.....then I saw the front.

Wow. Almost worth giving up chocolate and....just about everything I have ever enjoyed eating so be able to fit into that kind of dress.

Then there were the oddballs, which always have a special place in my heart. Isn't this adorable?!


One of the things I really loved was being able to get up close and personal. You could really look at the surface decoration and there were even white-gloved stewards wondering about to display the backs if you asked nicely. This one looks impressive enough when seen as a whole.

But then look what the quilting adds.

So clever. There were lots of others like that. Some where maybe the piecing was fairly straightforward but then the stitching was key. The full version of this is on flickr, but this small piece (about handsized) is another example.

I'd love the be able to go through all of them one by one but I've already done that on Flickr so go over there for more. Just a few more here....

OK, I'm done!

One thing that really struck me was that the stallholders were all lovely. One even happily agreed to pause and pose for a photo.

The little bobbins bouncing about on her headband were so funny!

I think that's enough for one post, so I'll post more on Wednesday, since tomorrow is already busy with Tutorial Tuesday - which coincidentally enough is a fabric tutorial!

Why Wearing Own-Made is Good

(I hesitated over the title of this post because I could have put ‘handmade’ or even ‘homemade’. But I wanted to specifically focus on wearing things you made yourself – be it jumpers, hats, jewellery, bags or anything else.)

1. Uniqueness – Even if you have faithfully followed a pattern, you will have used a material, colour, size combination or made some tiny alteration that makes it different to everyone else’s. You are not going to get on the bus and see someone else wearing one of those.

2. Talking Point – When I wear things I have made myself, I invariably get comments and compliments. People can often spot when something is not mass produced and will ask you about it. In my case this is often because I’m wearing something odd. But sometimes it is because I am wearing something awesome....which brings me on to the next point.

3. Pride/Recognition – Even if what I am wearing is odd, I still made it which most people either physically can’t or can’t be bothered to do (or occasionally, such as with my stingray hat, they wisely chose not to). I know pride is a bad thing in some cultures but goddamn it I made something and I’m using it in real life and I am proud of that!

4. Satisfaction – this links closely with the previous point, but is more internalised. Even if no one says anything about what you have made you still have the inner knowledge that you made it and that it is good.

5. Confidence – this is wonderful for those of us who have that little inner voice that casts doubt on our abilities. But then you can look at and use things you have made and can see your skills in action. Plus if you took the time to make something you’ll have chosen a colour and materials that suit you, and nothing boosts your confidence like knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you look your best.

Mosaic Magic

Love Flickr Mosaics.

Embroidery

1. TAST 07- 6 Algerian Eye Stitch, 2. Book4 detail, 3. "Archer" embroidery for Beefranck, 4. Daisy experiment, 5. Whore Island Tote close up, 6. Imagen 101, 7. MadDog., 8. Crafty Buttons, 9. Murder Presents!, 10. Tree, hoop shot, 11. Little Tiger's Orangey Celebration embroidery, 12. stitching girl pattern from doe-c-doe

Patchwork

1. Orange Scrap Pouch Detail, 2. Oz hexagons, 3. Challenging...and finished...At LAST, 4. pot-holder , 5. detail, 6. squares, 7. Spider web quilt closeup, 8. I Spy finshed, 9. sixteen string blocks, 10. Scrappy string quilt, 11. Fruit Pastilles, 12. Hexagon Swap

Embroidery Transfers

1. NI 016 g, 2. gatinhos, 3. hearthside baby sample, 4. Sailing Kitty, 5. Design 7443-Bluebird DOW Wednesday 01, 6. Monday kitty, 7. wb kitten 1, 8. hearthside embroidery pattern co. logo, 9. puppy sewing

And then just gorgeous stuff!

1. Ah mas eu estou rindo à toa!!!!!!, 2. Bloo (sold), 3. bunny, 4. memo monsieur brooches, 5. YELLOW HEDGEHOG FABRIC UNISEX BABY BOOTIES, 6. Emma Brooch - Handmade Embroidered Felt Brooch - Accessories, 7. Meggie the Gnome, 8. Crafting 365/121 Fimo stacker bead bracelet, 9. City living - stitched and printed canvas , 10. play, 11. I agree with Nick badge, 12. green and iron bowl

Bored at Work

So, more Flickr time.

1. Cat Bag - Saco do Gato, 2. 52, 3. KITTY SPIES A BUTTERFLY - Hand embroidered redwork, 4. AB 7140, 5. 39 squares:Eleven and Twelve, 6. square30, 7. Growth Challenge Pouch, 8. newspaper bangle. 2, 9. embellished alice bands, 10. Three Upturned Fabric Bowls, 11. 'Frozen Bloom' Magenta floral leather cuff, 12. 39 Squares:Seventeen and Eighteen, 13. snowdrop full, 14. Big Kanzashi Flower, 15. NI 018 c

WWPD?

When I was serving time on the inside, one of the things they stressed was that it was perfectly normal to be unhappy. Most people were unhappy for more or less of their lives. The aim therefore was to be healthily unhappy rather than unhealthily depressed. Which makes sense in a very depressing way. Having recently had a bit of a blow to the old mental confidence, I find myself back in familiar territory – trying to work out whether I am healthily or unhealthily unhappy. In these situations I, like many others, turn to religion. I have talked about my beliefs before and this is where Pastafarianism comes in very handy.

A Christian, when asking themselves this kind of question, might say “What would Jesus do?”. Jesus could be fairly moody (see money sellers in the temple) plus in many ways exhibited symptoms of schizophrenia (hearing voices), so in many ways it's hard to use him as a reality yardstick. This is where Pastafarianism wins hands down. Because, as every FSM devotee will be able to tell you, at moments like this you ask yourself one simple question:

So simple. Which is how I ended up looting these.

And now everything is fine. Sorted.

Just for good measure, here are some inspirations for the week, all from Flickr.

1. Kit 50 Botões, 2. knitting, 3. The Cheshire Cat - an ornament in beads and wire, 4. "Knit" & "Purl" Ambigram Chart, 5. I heart mustache bag detail, 6. Raiffe , 7. Lova Revolutionary Brooches Clouds Sunshines Rainbows Eco Felt & Hand Embroidery, 8. Um mimo!!!, 9. MonsterSocks
All so beautiful. Hopefully my own patchwork will feature on someone else's inspirations one day. Not at the moment though!

Quilts

My love affair with Flickr continues. Ah flickr, how do I love thee? Today, I have been looking at Quilts.

1. Detail of "Spot On" Circle Quilt, 2. WIP Zig Zag Quilt, 3. hex progress, 4. The Gobstopper Quilt

The reason for this is because I have done more on my own dotty quilt.

Mmmmm. I love my quilt. It's not perfect, and I can not sew curved seams to save my life, but then that's what zig zag stitch and an applique like turn of mind was invented for. Sadly bending forward over the sewing machine makes my back hurt so I can only do a little at a time.

I finallt gave in and bought series 1 of Lie to Me on dvd. Which brings us to Lixie's Crush of the Week (which should have a theme tune like Harry Hill's segments always do). It is, of course, Tim Roth. 

This is my first time having a crush on someone noticably older with me (17 years) but even so he's still got that bad boy thing going on and.... it's all good. I know what those of you who know me are thinking - bad boy...yeah, just like pooch. But you know, a girl can dream. 

I went to see the physio on thursday and put on the hated shorts. Instant muffin. Lying down I speculated whether the clothes or the woman maketh the muffin. At which point David poked me in the relevant area and said "What? You mean this?" I think that is a sign that it's time to lose a little weight. 16 pounds is perhaps a tad ambitious as that will see me down to 10 stone, so maybe I'll change that to 9. Then I'll be back where I was before I went totally mental, which will be nice.

 

Just finally, it was of course Les's funeral yesterday. It was short and to the point, but wonderfully personal and very moving. His sons spoke very nicely about their dad and the whole family was there for Tess. Nic, Yvonne and I acquitted ourselves very respectfully as representatives of all of you who knew him or met him at fairs. Gone, but definitely not forgotten.

Flickr as a Resource

I think a lot of people just use Flickr to host photos and don't realise what an amazing resource it is. If I ever had to stop knitting, embroidery would be my next thing. These are just a few of my 'favourites'. Anyone can type in 'vintage embroidery' or 'banana' or anything and find images others have done. There are also groups for sharing. I love "Hoop Love Vintage Transfers" and "Vintage Embroidery Patterns". And of course if I get the urge to do some embroidery all I need is a printer and an iron-on transfer pencil and I'm away.

Here are a few of my current faves.



1. WB 003 d, 2. Daphne, 3. Monarch 206 - cat pattern, 4. Super sewing girl! in progress, 5. girl and duck, 6. Untitled, 7. RobotSpring, 8. Birthday Owl Fabric postcard, 9. Y-Yarn, 10. The Acorn Fairy, 11. WB 2-945 e, 12. pink on yellow splat bird

Wanna hat

I think I may be entering a hat phase. Or maybe I've just been watching too much Stingray. I recently discovered that as part of my lovefilm subscription I can watch loads of stuff free online. So 22 episodes of Stingray later I want Titan's hat.

I'm thinking - knit flat in garter stitch and do mitre type decreases over the top of the head and then shape the edges and decrease the sides before casting off and then folding the cast off to form the back spine of the hat. Would mean cast on went round face. See what I mean? Maybe not. Not sure how would get it to stay on though. Maybe sellotape.

Finding it quite hard to stay positive at the moment. Sleeping is not going well and the pain in the mornings is just indescribable. Back to doc tomorrow to ask for stronger painkillers. Phoned NHS Direct for advice this morning but was told it would be 5 hours befor they could call me back. And this is before budget cuts. I know it's been said a lot before but why spend billions on private businesses who have got themselves into trouble and then cut public services to pay for it? I don't even think it is Labour particularly - this would have happened under the Tories too. End of this public service broadcast.

Lovely stuff

So much good stuff. The most amazing has to be this pillow which was a surprise present earlier this week. It is astonishing.

It's called 'Thoughts and Dreams' and is by the artist Louise Riley, and it was her that gave it to me. I met Louise through working with her mum and she is such an amazing person as well as artist. I was gobsmacked when I saw it.

The first side is dreams...

Isn't it beautiful?

Then naturally the second side is for writing down thoughts. And look at what you write it on...

Isn't that amazing? Look at the detailed sewing she's done to get it to look like a real page.

I just adore it. I keep picking it up and stroking it.

Another present although of a rather different genre also arrived last night. Pooch got me some shoes for my birthday but they didn't fit (not his fault - right size but just too small for some weird reason) and so I finally took them back. I didn't get the same ones but I did get these, which he keeps suggesting might fit him with a bit of 'stretching'. Hands off dude...

What will they go with? Who cares, it was love at first sight!

And as they say on the news, on a happier note, I knocked out one of these little buggers a few nights ago.

It's a free pattern for doing two on 2-needles and then seaming. There is also a pattern on ravelry for doing them in the round but it wasn't working on magic loop and there's no way I was breaking out the dpns after all this time free of them. Plus the seaming went pretty well. The recipient got it yesterday and loves it. She's having a bit of a stress at the moment so I wanted something to cheer her up and remind her she's my best friend x

Yikes, sorry for getting soppy there for a minute. Stiff upper lip, Byrne!

Score!

I may be wrong but I think Royal Mail is getting worse. They are making a habit of keeping my parcels from me. I ask for them to be redelivered and they don't come. I go to pick them up and they're not there (apparently it can take 4 days for a parcel to go from being a metre away from my postbox but undeliverable to getting 20 mins walk away to the sorting office, not the 24 hours they always write on the card). That asie, I finally got my amazon order today and here they are, tra la!

Nickerjac got a copy of the lace one at last year's SkipNorth (2 weeks to go!) and I finally gave in. Some of the circular ones are just divine.

Then opposite the sorting office is a charity shop and they had a load of old knitting books. When I say old I mean 80s. I got these two.

Someone was talking about the Patricia Roberts one on Ravelry the other day. I got them because although the shapes are a bit boxy or baggy there are some quite inspiring designs and patterns. For instance from the Roberts book comes this lot.

1. Polka dot bows sewn on afterwards. OK, I'm not actually going to ever do this but you've got to love it.

2. Again the design is odd but I do like the collar.

3. Lovely jacket. With a bit of shaping it would be lovely.

4. Lovely fairlisle patterns

Then from the Sweater Book.
1. I just love it. I'm not going to apologise.

2. Lovely harlequin effect. Not with long sleeves though.

3. The effect of the pattern and the fibres is lovely.

4. Like the side to side fairisle. They mention DK in the pattern but then it is on 6mm needles and looks a lot chunkier.

5. Love the little flashes and the stripes.

My other major score is curtosy of ebay and is quite an amazing deal. No sign of a catch so far but will keep you informed. 2 pairs of addi needles in any size and any length for £9 odd including postage and mine arrived next day. This seller.

And look - I got an addi sweet too!

In amongst all this capitalist consumerism there has been a bit of knitting. Have picked up my Mermaid again and done a chunk more.

I've decided the 3rd colour, the lilac, isn't that bad afterall and so am slogging through the rows again. Got a chunk done when was watching WWE Raw on thurs night. Honestly - did you see when Jeff Hardy did that back flip off the top rope and totally missed Snitsky but he fell over anyway? Don't see HHH making those kind of errors. Mind you, don't see HHH on the top rope much nowadays. None of us are as young as we used to be.

Finally we have a picture of Darth Mould getting ready to tackle the mould in the kitchen. The landlord has suddenly jumped into action after I mentioned our moving out and a plumber is coming tomorrow to assess the problem. There's obviously a leak further up as the flat below us have a problem too but at least someone is actually doing something about it now.