This week I have been mostly...

...making coil bowls and taking pictures of random things while out and about in London. And knitting of course. Random first.

Crayon Shoes

Pooch thinks it is wrong to take pictures of people on the tube without asking them. And I agree that taking pics of people's faces or up their skirts or something is very dodgy. But I think bags is justifiable. And shirt pockets when suitably positioned.

What would YOU keep in that pocket?

Is it possible the bag says something in braille?

An adult woman was using this. Perfect. 

Thinking back to the bracelets - when I channelled by inner-17-year-old - I took another challenge on this week and finally made some coil bowls. I'd bought the stuff about 5 years ago but had convinced myself it would damage my sewing machine. But then I saw them being demonstrated again at Knit Nation. 

It really was that easy just to run one up. A few 1" strips (much less than I would have thought too) and there I was. And it is already in use at work!

Then to top it all Pooch asked me to make him one - he never asks me to make him things!? He wanted turquoise. 

I used up some other bits and bobs too to make stripes. 

Hoorah!

It is Pete's birthday today and so I finally finished the zip of the Steggie I made for him. There is a party tomorrow so I just hope it fits. 

I've also been doing some more 'normal' knitting too. Using the unique sheep yarn I bought online about 6 months ago, but then was reminded about when I saw it for sale at Knit Nation. 

I may not have bought much there but it certainly has caused me to get crafty! The socks use 4 mini skeins which I move between to get the colour variation. It's not seamless but I quite like the effect. These are the first xmas presents I have made - which reminds me! I'll post the winner of the podcast competition very soon....

Knitting Bag from a Scarf

I bought some beautiful vintage scarves when my sister was here a few weeks ago. I thought at the time they would make good knitting bags. Here is the story of what happened to the first one.

Materials:

• Scarf - big enough to be folded in two and make a bag. 
• Lining - same size as the part of the scarf you want to use.

These can be any materials at all but two slippery materials will be harder to sew than one slippery and one cotton type or two cottons.

• Ribbon for drawstring - you need 4.5 x the width of the bag
• pins, thread, scissors (rotary cutter etc makes straight cuts easier but not essential)

STEP 1:

I gathered my materials together. I used a cotton FQ as the lining but you could be cunning and use another scarf.

I liked the red band at the top of the scarf so I used the two ends and cut out the middle.

I wasn't paying any attention to measurements - I just cut a length that looked good in relation to the width of the scarf. I cut the lining the same size.

STEP 2:

I put the lining right sides together and sew straight round 3 sides, leaving the top open. Then I put the right sides of the scarf together and sewed across the bottom and then up the sides - but leaving about 1cm unsewn where the red band started to add the fastening later on. See cunning digram.

Red arrows show where the line of stitches skips a centimetre.

STEP 3:

For me, this is the most difficult step because it totally defies logic and I don't have a picture because I did it wrong (again) the first time and had to rip back and start again. So...deep breath. Turn your lining right side out and press the seams. Leaving the scarf with right sides together. put the lining pouch inside the scarf pouch and match up the top edges. Pin around the edge so you end up with the right sides of your lining and scarf together but hidden from view.

STEP 4:

Sew around the top of the bag leaving an gap big enough to pull the whole thing inside out through. I'd say about 2.5 inches but it's up to you. If this is your first one leave a bigger gap.

STEP 5:
Pull your bag inside out using the gap you left. This is mine, with a yellow circle showing the gap.

This can be quite fiddly but is worth taking time over. You could iron it at this point but I'm not big into ironing so I skipped that.

STEP 6:

Push your lining inside the bag and smooth everything into place.

You'll still have that hole, but we're about to close that. You are going to sew a line of stitching around the outside edge of the bag to keep the lining secure and smooth inside so pin it to start you off and then sew just a few mm from the edge.  Action shot.

STEP 7:

You are now going to sew two more rows of straight stitches around your bag to create a cranny for the ribbon to run through. Take a good look at this technical diagram:

The green circle is where in step 2 we left a little gap when sewing the sides of the scarf. The yellow oblong shows the stitching around the edge of the bag (no laughing at my messy stitching) from step 6. So that leaves the two blue oblongs to show where the cranny stitching goes.  How far apart the two rows are depend on how thick your ribbon is. I used skinny ribbon and so mine was about 1cm. Try and keep it even all the way round.

STEP 8:

Almost there. Using a bodkin or some other needle, thread it with half your ribbon then poke it through the gap from step 2 on one side.

You are going to go all the way around the bag without coming out of the gap on the other side, so you'll end with the bodkin appearing again from the same place where it went in. Now flip the bag over and do the same thing with the other half of your ribbon. If you've used thick ribbon take a minute to make sure it's laying flat inside the cranny, then tie the protruding ends together to make sure they don't get lost.

Ta da!

STEP 9:

Fill with wool or whatever else tickles your fancy and feel proud of your achievement!

This would also serve well as a toiletries bag, or for clothes pegs, or toys, or sweets, or as a lavender sachet for drawers or....practically anything really!

When the little voice tells you that you can’t

I have been a long time admirer of the recycled knitting needle bracelets made by Sassafras Creations on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sassafrascreations). I have a blue one and a red one and she was doing some biros about 3 years ago that I always wanted but never got, but that’s not really the point. I got my bracelets at different times over the last couple of years and I wear them often.

(Figurines available here - no affiliation.)

Then I got to thinking, “It’s a bent knitting needle. I have knitting needles. I could bend one.” And I did have the needles but then the little voice started telling me how hard it would be. I would need to heat the metal needles to get them to bend smoothly.

“OK,” I thought, “I’ll use the oven”.

But if I heated metal needles in the oven the coating might burn or smoke or melt or something.

“OK,” I thought, “I’ll do one and see what happens.”

But they are not all made by the same company. What works with one needle might not work with another and the next one might melt and ruin the oven.

“Well” I thought, “I’ll just give it a go.”

When you bend the needle it will be hot and you’ll burn yourself. And if you use a cloth or gloves you won’t be able to get a good enough grip on the needle and it will go wrong.

“That is quite offputting.” I thought to myself. “But a teatowel should be fine.”

When you bend it, it might snap and bits will fly off into your eyes and blind you.

“Yes that is very offputting.” I thought. “I’d better wait til I have some eye protection.”

And so on. So of course then about 6 months passes and I still haven’t so much as moved a knitting needle near the oven.

Yesterday is when everything changed. I had had a fairly bloody day and was grumpy. I’d had enough of listening to ‘the man’ and wanted to stick two fingers up to the world and do what I wanted – much like a 17 year old. I was, in fact, in a perfect mood to quell the little voices. I was also, and this is important, wearing one of my Sassafras bracelets.

So I got home. I got a plastic beaker. I retrieved one of my pretty metal needles form my stash. I bent it round the beaker. It didn’t bend perfectly so I bent it a bit more by hand. And it was good.

(Sassafras needle is blue, obviously)

Then I did some more.

And yes, they're not as good as the professional one, but then they didn't cost me anything and took about 5 minutes. And if I heated them up and used a proper vice and all that jazz they probably would look better. But I think they look pretty good as they are.

So to summarise, sometimes it is good to channel your inner 17 year old. And if you're reading this and you are 17, it all gets worse from here. Chin up.

Knit Camp News

I feel so sorry for the Unhappy KnitCampers. I decided long ago that Stirling was too far to go for a knit holiday and that it was going to cost too much. I did feel the lure of all those top name teachers and the Ravelry linkage but it was just too much hassle. I have never been so happy not to be attending a knitfest.

The first I heard was at Knit Nation a few weeks ago in London where there were mutterings about mass pullouts by tutors who had only just been sent their contracts (3 weeks before the event) and had balked at the gagging clauses forbidding them to make any negative comments about the event before, during or after. Then there was the news that the organiser had offered to pay Casey and Jess (the Ravelry owners) half their airfare and then refused once the flights were booked. So they are now in Edinburgh (with Ysolda and having Ravelry meet ups with groups in Edinburgh on the 14th and Glasgow on the 15th) but not attending the event. Meanwhile the organiser was still using the Ravelry name and not saying which tutors had pulled out.

Fast forward to last night and I get a text asking me if I've seen the latest - one tutor deported at Glasgow Airport and another diverted to Ireland because there are no work permits. So I go onto Ravelry this morning and wowsers - is there one big mess brewing. I wouldn't want to quote out of context so have a look here at the discussions forum for the latest. Things were certainly not helped when the organiser complained about people hassling her for information. Her post was neatly hemmed in by others from people literally crying because they had been looking forward to the event so much and it was now in tatters.

If you are on your way up there I would strongly recommend you go onto Ravelry as there seems to be little to no communication going out to all the paying attendees about cancelled classes. The latest I read was that the classes with European tutors were on, but everything else was somewhat up in the air. There is some handy advice about refunds and what your legal position is in other threads on the forum.

I would love to hear form those of you who are there...search for the tag #knitcamp on twitter (no account needed) for the latest news. The official blog is here, but somewhat out of date. The official website is, um, down.

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.

Welcome to the New Site!

I have been blogging here now for 5 years (five! Count 'em) and recently I have been thinking hard about what I might want to do during the next 5. When I started I was pretty much 100% knitting. Since then I've kept my love of knitting but have also got back into sewing again. So I took the scary step of changing my blog from "Lixie Knits It" to "Lixie Makes It".

I know it might seem like quite a small step but I've built up some loyal readers over the years and don't want to lose any of them with the change. So I hope everyone finds their way here and if you click on 'Follow' on the left sidebar you'll never lose me again!

I am happy because...

1. I wore my favourite outfit today.

I used to wear it with a shiny red and white polka dot belt, but the elastic heart one is much better. The dress was vintage 80s and was mid-calf with sweat band type elastic around the ends of the 3/4 length sleeves. A few chops and some hemming and it was perfect. And of course a dress demands some suitable shoes. 

A very random acquisition from Budapest last year. 

2. My hexagon patchwork quilt is going very well. I've sewn together the whites, yellows and oranges. Here are the remaining 'flowers' to be assembled. 

3. It was our three year wedding anniversary yesterday and Pooch got me some polka dot undies. 

Yay!

Knit Nation and Byrne Bonanza

So, Knit Nation then. I'd said on my podcast that having looked at the floorplan I was a bit doubtful about having paid to go to the marketplace because it looked a bit small - I take that back. It was manageable and perfectly formed. There were an excellent array of stands and old and new suppliers and of course there was Wollmeise.

 

Not that it was very easy to get close. The talk was rife with tales of people spending £200 and even £600 just at that one stall. There were no signs of them running out anytime soon though. Having only seen an occasional skein before, it was the saturation of the colours that amazed me.

These photos are in natural light with no editing or changing of tone and so on. It was pretty overwhelming all together.

I just stood on the sidelines and watched others as they got into it. I talked to a few people who felt it was over-rated and just happens to be the yarn of the moment, and at £15 a pop it is on the upper end of things. But then it is very nice and feels and looks lovely. The colours are undeniably lovely...and yet... Personally the only thing that spoke to me was the artists palette smootherino which is truly lovely. 

I did come back with just one skein of that - and that was it yarn-wise! Other than that it was just my freebie door bag and some Denise tips. 

Actually getting the denise tips was pretty cool because two women from the company itself were there and were very interesting to chat to. 

It has been a pretty action-packed weekend really with my ickle sister coming to stay for the weekend. We went out shopping on saturday to Shoreditch and Brick lane - so handy with the East London line operational again. I scored. 

Isn't that an amazing tin? It's quite big too - about 7" tall. I also got these three gorgoeus scarfs which will shortly be morphing into knitting bags.

As a child-ahead-of-my-time I was one of few of my friends whose parents were divorced so every other sunday often saw me and my other sister bowling with my dad. I am therefore a demon bowler. So when my dad and even ickler brother came up to make it a family party last night, I was odds on favourite. Except...I'm now a crippled bowler because I can't do the action anymore because of my back. So I was using one of those kiddies slide bowling aids, which only added to my coolness. Sadly, no pictures survive. But I did manage to find a few of my other family members. Pater, having just got a strike...

Freddie and Piers, just being cool....

And of course, the Poochmastergeneral. Who was knackered and did his best...

Poor Pooch. 

It was lovely to see everyone and great fun, but it is quite nice to be getting back to my peaceful patchwork. 

Did I mention....

THE PODCAST IS BACK!!!

Click here to listen to episode 18 of Lixie Knits It and to enter the competition. 

You can also subscribe on iTunes and at most other podcast catalogues.

Let me know what you think and what you'd like to hear in a future episode.

If you would like to offer a prize for the competition or sponsor an episode leave your email in the comments areas and I'll be in touch.

Macaroons, but not as we know them

Before I get into it, how good was the latest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes on Sunday? If you have not watched it yet, get yourself to BBC iPlayer toot sweet.

I consider myself to be quite the sherlock aficionado. At the tender age of 10 I was enthralled by the Jeremy Brett series and had the "Return" book of stories with the tv tie-in cover. At the age of 11 for my school prize I asked for and got a copy of the complete sherlock holmes. All in one volume which made my little arms hurt when reading it repeatedly from cover to cover in bed. Later I listened to audio readings of the stories (free vintage ones here), read parodies (Donald Thomas is very good) and even visited the 221B tourist attraction at Baker Street. I loved the Silk Stocking one-off that Rupert Everett made and still love the WW2 films with Basil Rathbone and the perfect Nigel Bruce as Watson.

In fact they are my main go-to film when I'm ill and in need of succour. And I watched not only the recent bromance with Robert Downey Jr but also the mockbuster where SH fought dinosaurs and people, that was loyalty as that is one bad mofo of a film. And so with all this behind me I was quite excited and mildly apprehensive about Sunday. The apprehension was mostly to do with the casting of Martin Freeman who I had always judged to have only one acting face which he used repeatedly in both Hitch Hikers Guide and The Office. But...within minutes of it starting I could sit back and could have relaxed had it not been for the tense pace of the first episode. It was a clever variation of A Study in Scarlet and bodes very well for the other two in the series. Fingers crossed they make more.

Anyway, Macaroons. My colleague is an excellent cook and had brought some in. Under my expert questioning technique she gave up the recipe and I got some. Sadly I am not an excellent cook. I added too much water. Then I overcooked the first batch.

Meh.

I am not deterred though, and anyway...Pooch still ate them. Macaroons are Pooch's achilles heel. But in case anyone else is going to give it a go (it's a packet for gods sake - you don't need to be delia) just remember the dough should be thick enough to pipe rather than splashing about in the bowl, so add the water gradually.

Om nom nom nom.

Kitchener Tattoo

When Ravelry first started there were far fewer groups and so while surfing the forums you tended to get a wider spread of stuff as totally unrelated things were all crammed in together. That was how I ended up reading a thread about knitting tattoos and a woman who had got her first tattoo. It was a line, a straight thin black line, across the bottom of her big toe on her right foot. The line showed the point at which she should start decreasing when knitting top-down socks. At the time my thinking was along the lines of "What a pointless tattoo. Why would you go through the pain of having someone poke you repeatedly with a needle just for that?" But then later I realised I was being stupid and the important thing was it was something useful to her.

Tattoos have always intrigued me. Because you have to be really really certain that you're going to still like that design in 1, 10, 25+ years time because you're going be stuck with it. Facial tattoos intrigue me the most. How can anyone think so short-term? Unless it has a cultural significance beyond "hey cool tat" how can you make such a huge commitment to a lifestyle implied by your tattoo? There was another Ravelry thread more recently started by a girl who had got a job she really wanted but the company had a no-tattoo policy and she had them up one arm, up her neck and onto her jawline. She was asking which brand of stage makeup would hide them most effectively. But from the photo she was only about 25. How long can you wear thick greasepaint to work for before you get caught in the rain, or get hot and sweaty, or just forget?

All this flashed through my tiny mind earlier on today when I realised that for the first time in decades of knitting, I was doing Kitchener. And I was doing it quite quickly and you couldn't see where the join was. I finally succeeded by using Knitting without Tears which is possibly the finest of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books. Actually no, they are all indispensable. But it's pretty damned good. I opened it to the relevant page, drew a diagram in pencil in the margin of needles 1 and 2 and got to it. And if I were to get a knitting tattoo, that diagram is what I would get. Although I wouldn't actually, because I am not that committed to it.

Here it what I was Kitchenering:

It is the Talking Fish Sock which is here on Ravelry. People constantly ask me why I knit, and why don't I just buy stuff and this is why. Isn't the ripple pattern exquisite?

You just don't get that kind of thing in Primark. Of course the downside is I now have to make another one, and that's a lot of Kitchenering. But finding the silver lining, all the practice means I'm less likely to need the tattoo as a reminder of how to do it.

Chez Craft

There's been a lot of sewing going on. Unfortunately I can't blog about 2 of them, other than to offer this taster....

It is one of the cutest things I've ever made and a present for for ickle sister who's birthday it is in a week or so.

Last weekend at Deptford Market I got some really lovely fabric. It's some sort of 80s upholstery thing. I just adore the design though.

I knew as soon as I saw it it needed to be one of the bags from the Making Vintage Bags book that Pooch got me for my birthday. Brilliant book. The lining is perhaps not quite the right shade but who cares.

I like it anyway.

So given that I can't blog about anything else I've been making, that's about it!