Category Archives: Knitting

Taking out Stitches…

…or ‘frogging’, as it is sometimes called. If you’re wondering why, as you unpick your precious stitches, you will, ‘Rippit, Rippit’!

Today was the day Henry went to be frogged! He was not impressed…

I took as a good sign just how MAD he was about the whole thing. Only 4 stitches but the fury, the spitting and snarling …phew! We’re both glad that’s over…

Higgins checked out the crate…

…and the patient…

…a risky business with that cold nose!

so Henry went to bed, and I had a soothing cuppa, and did some therapeutic baking.

When my children were very young we lived for a few years in Pembrokeshire, in fact my daughter as born there. We were very rural and I didn’t drive, so we were very self sufficient, and any treats were homemade or foraged. Jam was always blackberry, although as the children complained about ‘lumps’ it was bramble jelly, there was a freelance apple tree, and one amazing year the biggest field mushrooms I’ve ever seen.

I was always baking to feed these hungry mouths and a favourite was Welsh Cakes. I haven’t made any for years, and was amazed to find I could dredge the recipe up from memory (this is the memory that never knows where the car keys are!)

If you’d like to try them out, I’ve added them to the Recipe page which you’ll find at the top.

I have a knitting project on the go too, some birthday socks for a dear friend. Hard wearing and colourful was the key, and I must extol the wonders of Twitter again. I tweeted for recommendations and got an answer back from the lovely Pip of the Sock Yarn Shop. I wizzed over and had a really hard job to choose from all the lovely yarns and colours but finally settled on a Kaffe Fassett design for Regia. I ordered in the afternoon and was unwrapping the parcel at 8 o’clock the following morning!

…and I got a free bag to keep it in!

I think I’ve been creative enough today to join in with Handmade Monday, despite the feline frogging! Have you heard about it? You’ll find a guest post explaining it on Craft Blog UK which is well worth a look in itself if you’re a fellow blogger.

So I think it’s time to get back to the knitting needles if I’m to finish the socks by the end of the month, and offer a warm lap to Henry to make up for the indignities of the day.

See you soon…..x

A Nature Walk…and a Ta-Daaaa…!

Did you go on Nature walks when you were at Primary School? I can remember being marched along the pavement in a crocodile, hand in hand with my best friend, collect leaves and nuts for the Nature table. All my memories seem to be Autumnal, I’m sure we went at other times too.

Higgins and I went for a walk yesterday which turned into a nature walk, although I did all my collecting with the camera. I’ve just been turning them into a mosaic and I liked it so much I though I’d share it with you…

It’s amazing just how much there is to see in quite a small area of countryside.

And the Ta-Daaa? Well, I’ve finished the Boneyard Shawl, which I wrote about here (and that’s despite making all those pompoms!)

I really love the colours…

and it’s lovely and soft and snuggly…

I used 4 balls in the end so it’s quite a good size…

Although I don’t what it was with the shaping, it must be me…it looks a little like a sting ray!

One of the compensations of the end of the summer is going to be having an excuse to get all wrapped up in knitting!

Well, the prickling of the hairs on the back of my neck tell me…just let me have a peek… yes, as I thought, I am getting a HARD STARE…it’s walkies time again.

I’d better get the lead …
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Sweet Peas, Strawberries and Stitches…

It’s Friday again, how quickly it comes around! At the moment the sun is shining so I must try and nip out to make the most of it before the next band of rain arrives. It seem only five minutes ago we were begging for rain in East Anglia, never satisfied!

I’ve had a varied week, lots to tell you about. It was my actual birthday (I know, I’ve been milking this event for weeks) so some lovely flowers were delivered…

…and the house has been filled with the scent of lilies ever since.

I had a special needlefelting order to complete which I was pleased with, but the light was so bad I’m not so happy with the photos I took. He is sitting on a little crochet mat with a ball of wool to play with…

I’m obsessively knitting too, since I saw this on Penelope by the Sea’s lovely blog. It’s the Boneyard Shawl. I don’t know about knitting for winter in the summer, I can’t wait to finish it to snuggle up in it now, it’s been so cold!

Isn’t it gorgeous yarn? It one I can actually get locally, (we don’t have dedicated yarn store, it means a trip into Norwich) it’s Sirdar Escape wool rich DK and the colour mix is very pretty and random. I’m struggling to work out when to stop knitting, unlike crochet you can’t lay it out flat when you have so many stitches on the needles, so it’s a bit hard to judge what’s going on. I’m nearly at the end of the third ball with one more to go and I’m thinking better too big than too small.

Which leads me to the next purchase. I started knitting on standard needles, but the pattern requires circular needles which I didn”t have in the size, so when I saw a Tweet about a promotional discount from a new online wool shop I wizzed over to see what was there. I found these lovely bamboo circular needles. I do like using bamboo, but have never found circular ones. In order to qualify for the discount, I had to spend a bit more (life can be tough) and fell madly in love with some fabulous Bluefaced Leicester yarn from the Natural Dye Company…

Such a nice way to shop! I had a Twitter conversation with Joanne from Wool and Buttons whilst putting in the order, a tweet to tell me it was in the post and it arrived the following morning before 9 o’clock. So pay her a visit, and say I sent you!

So the next project, socks or mitts? I can’t decide!

I’m loving having fllowers to cut for the house growing this year. It’s a bit accidental, the garden’s been rather neglected one way and another so I ended up with a bamboo wigwam in the veg bed where I popped in some sweet pea seeds. It’s taken forever, but at last they are flowering and the colours are rich and the scent is heavenly. Added to a self sown cornflower I have been able to have a little posy of colour and scent on the dresser all week…

And the strawberry? Well I had to show you this lovely pressie from my dear friend Jen. It starts off small…

…unravels…

…and turns into the very thing for carrying home the spoils from a visit to the yarn shop!

Well, lovelies, I’d better get out in the garden and do a spot of deadheading. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Higgins and I are taking a trip to visit the lovely Emma of Silver Pebble who is opening her studio this weekend. Emma has made me something rather special which I will share with you soon.

Can you guess what it might be?

See you very soon x

Primroses and a Pink Pooch!

I’ve had a complete change of gear over the last week, making a prop for our village Pantomime. We’re very fortunate not only to have a shiny new Eco-built hall but a lot of home grown talent so we have an original script, scenery painted by a professional artist and wonderfiul costumes designed by my friend Kit. I’ve been involved over the years, and have made all sorts of weird and wonderful things… A Humpty Dumpty costume which reduced gradually all the way through the panto as he went on a diet, Daddy, Mummy and Baby bear suits, an egg laying goose are just some of the bigger things.

This time it’s Sleeping Beauty, with a Queen who wants everything to be pink including her dog, so the request was for a custom made glove puppet style dog for the page to carry. Kit came round with the fur fabric which in the shop had looked to be a candyfloss pink; in the cold light of day it is scarily fluorescent! The logistics of making chuntered round in my head for quite few days. It’s a strange process, like hunting through a tangle of wool trying to find an end and then, Ping! a lightbulb moment, there’s the thread and everything starts to wind into a neat ball of resolution.

Needle felting was the answer, and what I used to form the face of the puppet. I then stitched the fur fabric on to make the rest of the head and the body and blended the wool and fur fabric together. And here he is…

He’s not quite completed yet, needing front paws and a wavy tail, but I’m pretty happy with the way he’s shaping up so far…

(Edited to add: I’m being asked what Higgins thinks about Pink Pooch; he is desperate to tear it to shreds. Vigilance is necessary!)

Remember I mentioned a knitting project which I was playing around with, the one which didn’t need a lapful of pets? I finally finished it, a little fairisle heart…

It’s sweet, but soooooooo time consuming. I knitted up two squares (the back one is striped) put them in with a load of washing, felted them and then stitched the pieces into a heart shape and stuffed it with wadding and lavender. It’s just waiting for a ribbon hanging loop which will happen once the Pink Pooch is all sewn up.

It’s still really quite cold here, but I managed to fit in an afternoon of cheering up the courtyard area by my studio door. A tray of primroses is always a treat…

and inside I’ve had hyacinths to fill the air with scent. White…

…and blue.

I can’t believe it’s the last day of January…See you next month!

All Wound Up with Sunset Colours!

Hooray! I’ve wound all those lovely colours into nice neat balls with my trusty wool winder. I do like using it, it makes such nice soft balls which mean that there is no tension on the yarn to stretch it. I’m working on an idea at the moment, which I hope to show very soon, although I have had very little help from the four legged members of the family.

Apparently the only reason I ever sit down is so that my legs form a lap, and the only thing in the world that a lap can be used for is not to support a book or some knitting, or, heaven forbid, a pattern and knitting, it needs a cat, no, a dog or both, or a jealous punch up between cat and dog.

So keep your fingers crossed that tonight the fire is hot enough to keep them squabbling over the warm spot on the hearth rug instead of the warm spot on my lap so I can get to grips with my woolly project.

I have made some really cute little baby shoes though. there’s something about tiny baby shoes, isn’t there? My three babies were born with enormous feet and were really slow at learning to walk so by the time I came to buy them shoes they were practically into adult sizes! (I’m going to get into trouble for this!)

However, I was really keen to find out how well the wool I have just dyed would felt so I knitted this…

…and then I just popped them in the washing machine with a normal wash and they came out looking like this…

Aren’t they sweet? I’m so excited about them! (and yes, they are nearly small enough for Higgins to wear before you suggest it, and no, because he would eat them!)

And today the sun shone and Higgins and I went for a walk and there was NO MUD! (well, it was sort of fudgy, but it didn’t stick) and I’ve just realised where I got my colour scheme from..

See that shadow? It’s me!

After so many grey days it’s just magical watching the pink splashes spreading across the purply violet clouds and that golden glow before it vanishes as if someone has flipped a switch. Then it’s a quick trot home to get back in the warm.

And finally, I have been working on the Hearts and Pompoms tutorial and if you want to make your own version it’s on the Tutorials page at the top. Please let me know if you do, I’d love to see.

Right, ok, I’m going to tiptoe off to the sofa now and try and do a bit of knitting befor someone spots….THE LAP!

See you soon x

P.S. Siobhan, I tried to email you but it didn’t work, but I just wanted to say Yes! my cat is Henry and the ‘My Fair Lady’ connection IS why we named Higgins as we did. By George, you got it!

Telling ‘Tails’! – The Dachshund Creed

The Miniature Dachshund Creed

1. If it’s in my mouth, it’s mine!
2. If I like it, it’s mine!
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine!
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine!
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way!
6. If I’m chewing something up, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks like mine, it’s mine!
8. If I saw it first, it’s mine!
9. If you are playing with something and put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it’s in the same house I’m in, it’s mine!
11. If it’s broken, it’s yours!

Now, here’s a little reminder of the Higgins appeal…

…the laid back attitude…

…and inquiring mind…

The enquiring mind which led a little nose to poke into the pocket of the jacket I had hung over the back of a chair – well there could have been dog biscuits – and find…my gloves…these fingerless gloves..

Pretty, aren’t they? Well, they were…

Not now, however…

Hmmm…

Then there were the cushions. Cushions which were admired in this picture…

Where the damage to the covers doesn’t show. I had a set of these, very cheap, I couldn’t have made them for the price, but pretty. And right from when he was very young Higgins would first suck, then late chew the corners when no-one was looking. When I thought he’d grown out of this baby habit, I remade the covers. Huh…who was I kidding.

There’s just one left now, it’s Higgins very own cushion.

I expect it will become very boring now, very quickly!

Still I though he could redeem himself by helping with the draw for the 150th Blog Post prize. I thought he could use this hat…remember this hat?

The way he did last year when he drew the winning ticket for That Elusive Line.

But no. When I walked in the door holding the hat in my hand he released the springs in his bottom and BOING! BOING! BOING! all he wanted to do was to chew it to bits. I had all the tickets printed and ready…

and I did try make the tickets more interesting than the pink fluffy felt but it took two of us to corner him to get the hat back.

In the end, once the hat had been forgotten, I invented an extremely exciting (for a dachshund) game with little bits of paper until he suddenly picked one up and ran with it. Result!

So one lucky person is about to absolve Higgins from absolutely all the above charges. (Although I do get the feeling that all you out there are mostly on his side anyway!)

And who is that lucky person? Well, Alice, and your artistic director Raymond,it’s you! Congratulations! It’s lovely to think that a little piece of Norfolk will be winging it’s way to New Zealand.

I do hope you like it x

Planet Penny

Crafts, Needle Felting, Crochet, Patterns & Tutorials