Knitting with Russian Blues

A little experimentation in knitting is very good. I was curious what would happen if I fused my beloved Russian Blue hand cut glass beads and stitches. Here is what happened:

A neck piece, August 2006.

Knit a River

This little knitting shrine of mine was abandoned for embaracingly long period of time. Mea culpa. I was busy as a bee managing engeneers, decorating and using any spare moment available to get some rest. Got no knitting done in about 8 weeks now! But I dare say that it was worth it. Our kitchen got transformed from an ugly duckling to a swan, even if this swan has more cosy qualities than grace. I am a kitchen dwelling creature, so having to put up with one that is not very well designed and a bit out of date and not to compatible with my style and taste was a bit painful. But it is all history now!

Just stopped my part-time job so that I can concentrate on designing and making things, and I spend an awfull lot of time in the kitchen these days. And really enjoying it! After such a long break I am feeling somewhat apprehensive about picking up the needles. I am a bit out of touch with my projects... The cardi for Clara is still on the needles - I think about a day's work away from the finish. And quite few new ideas have sprouted during the summer.

Anyway, today I wanted to let you know about a project, which is meant to prompt people to think about the importance of clean water. You can find out more about it at the I Knit website. I think this might be a perfect way to start knitting again. And for a good cause too.

Iron Age Sheep

Back from a lovely Somerset where we spent a busy week roaming around the place and having a flipping marvelous time with children. Very exhausted after two weeks of heavy duty works on the kitchen I was abducted by my significant other and three sweet peas otherwise known as Louis, Clara and Oliver and taken to a gorgeous palatial cottage in a tiny hamlet. I span loads of balls of summer tweed (Louis was very keen to help) and saw Iron Age sheep grazing on the rocks of Cheddar Gorge and in few other places. There you go - I snapped a quick picture for you, my knitting comrades. This one was actually taken in the field neighbouring onto Long Barrow (Iron Age mound). Cute, arent they: fluffy, round and brown.

Off to bed to gather some strenght for the continuation of Epic Works on the Kitchen.

The Art of Knitting in Exile

And this is precisely why I haven't been around lately. Knitting has been put on a back burner and it is very far back indeed. I have been managing a building site, which once upon a time was my kitchen, whilst (quite literally) single-handedly looking after my three full of energy children - whilst decorating, researching materials and buying cookers, designing cupboards, having chats with neighbours whilst waiting for the kettle to boil (our cooker is out of bounds at the mo) and sleeping like a log.

I am looking longingly at Clara's cursed cardi and I so wish I could just sit down for a bit and knit (this is saying something that I am looking at that damned cardi longingly).

The proverbial carrot that keeps me going is this picture I have in my head of spending long afternoons in the afore mentioned kitchen designing knits and knitting and making chocolate truffles, and sometimes roasting a beast in the oven for a family dinner (this bit seams particularly appealing after surviving a week on take-aways). In short - my idea of heaven on earth.

Actually, when I think about it there are lovely yarns arriving in the post and I ordered a/yet another stack of knitting books for my reference library - a little bits of sustenance for a starved knitter.

I wanted to post a picture of the cardi, but I have no faintest idea where the camera has gone, so an archival picture will have to do. Don't you just love this pattern?

Linen. 2003.

Loopy

Silk dyed in cochineal, indigo & safflower and logwood. 2001-2003.

Harlot

Today is time for ... Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
(imagine applause here)

For 2 reasons:

her blog is listed in my favourite links

she is a famous lover of Knitterly Arts and I bet most of you have already heard of her, which is just brilliant as I only have about 3 minutes to finish this (read: before my children get home from their outdoorsy adventures)

Stephanie is a writer, and she writes about knitting. If you haven't read anything by her yet - quick, get onto Amazon and get one of her books! And if you can't wait for it to be delivered visit her blog.

She's funny, smart and a Mum too. And I have a secret suspicion (it's not going to be much of a secret once this post is published): I think she might be a dula or a midwife also. Did you see the amount of pictures of little tiddlers on her blog? Frankly, how does she get to know all those babies? Stephanie, if you get to read this (I know from the harlot you're busy sleeping at the mo) can you please clarify? Sorry, I don't mean to be nosy, but I'm really into this style of midwifery - and something in one of her/your books made me think that.

To quickly sum up - brilliant KC*. Must know about her (or even better - her) if you consider yourself a knitter in the know.

I wonder if she's going to visit the Wool Empire (read: GB)?

PS: I think London would blow your mind, S. As far as the travelling sock is concerned, I don't know, but I think "having its socks blown off" would be difficult, technically speaking.

*Knitterly Celebrity

Sunlit stitches

The photo shows one of my favourite shawls.

Linen dyed in safflower. 2003.

I've been neglecting this spot terribly. I've got about 5 minutes to touch base with the knitting kind. Summer hols are here and kids keep me busy! However, my wonderful sister has taken them out for a walk this afternoon and I spent that time knitting. (I've got to snap a picture of progress on the cardi.) It was just great! I got completely immersed in it (not so good for the old chores, which did not get done ;)

PS: Thanks for all your lovely comments. Glad you like the colours. But let me tell you, this pattern is going to be only for those who are not afraid of epics.

A warm welcome

It is so lovely to receive welcoming messages from the members of the knitting path ring. Thanks a bunch! I am very glad to have discovered you.

Special thanks to Kendra, as I spotted it on her blog. Thanks to Sharon and Dianne also. Hooking up virtually with all of you is so much fun, Knitterly Partners in Crime.

And to celebrate new beginnings here is a picture of the cursed cardigan. I think I might be beginning to have my way with it.

Keep & Share

Well, I thought it might be a good idea to jot a few words down about some of my favourite links.

Today is time for Keep & Share. It is an unusual recommendation, considering that I am a knitter (alas capable of knitting things up myself), but I still think it is well worth knowing.

Here is why (besides that it is a lovely idea):

• all things are knitted up by skillful clever people in UK (not everything is made in China after all)


• is far more sounder in terms of sustainable thinking than acquiring a load of fashion fads, which will be so out of date three months later that it is simply not true (just think what we could do with all energy we put into being slaves of fashion and invest in long haul pieces instead)


• provides service that is tailored to suit individual needs


• is unique and taking care of a dreadful gap in the marketplace


• it is a real tribute to a more original and personal attitude towards dressing

For all those reasons and possibly quite few others, which I won't go into right now as I am running desperately short of time this morning, you would be smart to remember it. You never know! To give you an example, last year I had a baby and was so busy getting used to a new little person in the family that I had absolutely no time to knit or even think about knitting. So I got one of those lovely cardis as a treat for myself for getting along so well, and also because it was getting colder and colder as I was being faced with the eternal "I've got nothing to wear" (which actually, as I think about it, was perfectly normal given that pregnancy had left me completely unable to squeeze into any of my favourite clothes). I love that cardi to bits, and it felt good knowing that my indulgence was helping another knitter to thrive!

Well done Amy. And all the very best!

The cardi is cursed!

I am positive this cardigan I am making for Clara is cursed. How else would you explain that although I am making heroic efforts to have it come out right, it resists like hell.

I took the work off the needles today and was horrified by how irregular the stitches are, especially in the sections between birds. If you didn't know me you would of thought I had more than an occasional glass of red whilst making it. Oh, how I hate those birds for being so stubbornly difficult.

Admittingly - all the pleating has gone, but it is so far from perfection I can hardly stop myself from doing something horrific to it. Like shredding it to bits.

The only reason I have resisted the urge to succumb to this wild instinct is that I am not so easily beaten. I am not giving up yet.

I have soaked it in tepid water for a while and the stitches do look a bit more even.

It isn't much help to be such a damned perfectionist. Maybe I am cursed also?

...Maybe I need to stop right here before it escalates to "we're all cursed" or " the world is cursed" or something else completely out of proportion ("cotton is cursed"?)...

I think I need to remind myself that ideas, whilst being born into the physical world, do lose their idealistic purity and have to conform to the laws of physical world which, unfortunately, sometimes manifest as uneven tension.

Quintessential Snazzy Hat

Lavender oneness

This top was an attempt at creating a garment that is put together in a way that is effortless, smooth and graceful. All parts of this top are "fused" together by means of directing the flow of stitches wisely, so that they all join up imperceptibly.

I am so pleased with the result that I have got a plan to make yet another one for Clara, and then treat myself to one as well!

This summer top reminds me of warm and jasmin scented air in my parents garden, where I made it during my last visit. It brings up some lovely memories - I love that about the way knitting can conjure up images. It's like those moments ended up tangled in the stitches, a bit like non-verbal memoirs.

Ancient powder blue

Now, this is one of my very favourite pieces. Its simplicity and lightness are exceptional. I used a very old receipe for this silk shawl, and the dyeing session went on for days. Indigo is rather labour intensive at its purest, most ancient and authentic.

It looks rather stunning on beautiful Tanga.

2000.

Made on the 38 Route Master

I was clicking randomly through my extensive picture folder and I found this:

PS: For all those of you not familiar with London buses I found a really nice picture of a Route Master.

Photographed just around the corner, a proverbial throw of stone from my home.

Cute. Eh?

They are officially a part of London's history now...

Well, my best memories of no.38 are to do with making wooly blankets for my children whilst commuting to and fro West End.

Apple tree leaves

Did you ever wonder what would happen if you immersed fibres in the concoction made of apple tree leaves?

During one of our trips to Poland I picked a load of them from a tree in my Dad's orchard. And the colour that they produced is most gorgeous bronze. As pictured. 2001.

Looping up

Gaps in writing like the one I just had is exactly what I mean when I say that my children are a source of endless distractions. I hardly had time to even think of knitting - leave alone actually doing any knitting!

This morning I took some time linking up with my favourite knitting sites and subscribed to a ring of UK knitters. I need to evolve to a Connected Up Knitter, as opposed to a solitary one. Be a part of a bigger knitting conversation, not a spot of an obsessive monologue. The intention here is to have some fun, maybe even make friends?

This is meant to be a gallery as well. Above are some pictures of my wildest projects to date ( pre-children, hence the truly magnificent scope!)

Three dresses: 1) Yellow safflower hand-dyed silk. 2) Bleached linen. 3) Lilac cochineal hand-dyed silk. All dresses are seamless - not sure if I mentioned that yet - seamlessness is my signature.

"So what was the solution to your pleat problem?" Dah!

I sent my husband a link to this blog to get his feedback. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday afternoon and this is what he said: "Did you find the solution then? What was it?" And I stood there thunderstruck. I had a realization. Not everyone has got a knitter's head firmly screwed onto their neck. What's obvious to me might not be obvious to somebody who can't tell a knit stitch from a purl stitch. For benefit of all of you who belong in this bag - the solution was one zillion tiny knots created with help of a crochet hook on the dissected lengths of yarn on the back (shown in the middle picture of the previous post). It's not as dramatic as performing brain surgery, but none the less I needed a few sedative glasses of wine (not to mention generous helpings of Rescue Remedy every now and then). Good news is that now the birds are DONE, and from now on it will be a lot of st st. And inventing the shape - I can sense raglan sleeves wanting to appear in this cardi. This plain knitting means that I have enough thinking space freed up in my head to start germinating another idea. Here is a clue. Baby Oliver pictured above is the source of inspiration for the next project. I promise to keep you posted as the events unfold :)

Yoruba Birds get me in deep trouble.

I must love my daughter very much indeed! I have spent countless hours last month dealing with a tension problem on her cotton cardi. The Yoruba birds caused the trouble, and to be specific - their colourful plumage. I worked the colourwork counting & re-counting the stitches tirelessly and weaving the long lenghts through the loops at the back to avoid a real spaghetti on the inside of the work only to discover that I have ended up with... voluminous pleats all around. The size of the poor thing has shrunk to a tiny dimension. So I thought: I'll either have to frog it and knit the blinking birds all over again (mercy!) or I'll have to think outside of the box and find a less heart breaking solution. Now, have a look for yourself, as I am at a loss for words to carry on with this story. Perhaps it didn't break my heart, but - let me tell you - was a serious assault on my fingers!

Welcome to Stitchville.

Stitchville is my knitting diary. I will write here about my projects as well as ideas. Why knitting? Because it is something I love doing, and as it happens, I do it really well!