Fresh Colours

Recently completed wearables - a waistcoat and a turban. The waistcoat was inspired by a £5 sparkly, sequinned one I bought last winter. 

The shiny sides and back were cut from an awesome shiny, metallic peach curtain, with a sort of woodgrain pattern running through it. I'd love to have seen the house that curtain was originally hung in. The fabric for the herringbone patterned lapel sections come from a duvet that was clearly a casualty of the 80s - black and white with bright red borders around. I had to grab it as soon as I saw it in the op-shop, because it reminded me of the twins Heather and Erica from Degrassi, and their penchant for black and white ensembles. 

So there you have it, a Degrassi inspired waistcoat - going into the Etsy shop soon. 

That turban I was working on a couple weeks ago is finally finished too. It's based on a 1940s pattern from the V&A archives, and actually knits up fairly quickly. Remember those colour-blocked Cross Colours jackets and jeans from back in the day? This is the turban tribute to that, because I could never get my parents to get me a proper Cross Colours jacket when I was 11. 

If that cowl looks familiar, it's because it's the Moebius Cowl from about 2 years ago. I'm actually thinking of knitting up another one this winter, but then again, I always get a tad over-ambitious with knitting projects at this time of year, only to run out of steam about 2 weeks later...

Feet

Finally completed my first pair of toe-up socks about 3 weeks ago. I will be sporting cosy toesies this winter!

Pattern from here.

Test Pattern

Knitting weather has returned, so here are some sneak peaks at current projects I'm plugging away on. 

These little nubbins are a new sock pattern, being test knitted for the lovely Emma of Loumms. It's got gorgeous winding cables and a rather amazing heel. I'm still a notice at sock construction, so the first sock had a few mistakes, but the second one seems to be coming along rather nicely. And yes, I'm knitting them in two different yarns, because that's how I roll.

And I've also started working on a turban! The pattern comes from the V & A's knitting patterns archive, and seems a little scary at first because what you're knitting looks NOTHING like what's shown in the photo. But now that it's nearly half done, I think I have a vague idea how it's going to work out. I'm also very tempted to knit up some of the jumper patterns in that archive, but I have a sad, not-even-half-done vest stashed away in a cupboard, crying out for me to finish it. I'll post pictures if it ever gets finished. 

Of Cabbages And Kings

More markets are coming up this weekend - I'll be spending Saturday and Sunday at the Of Cabbages and Kings monthly markets. They'll be held at Abney Hall, smack in the middle of Stoke Newington. It'll be my first time with them, and I've heard good things about it, so, fingers crossed it'll all go well. 

Miwa and I will be sharing a stall again this weekend. It's turning out to be a pretty good partnership so far - we shared both our stalls last weekend and made a bundle! Plus, sharing means we don't have to pay as much for a single stall, so more profit all round! The Little London Fields Festival last Saturday had a huge turnout, and I'm so glad the sun came out for a few hours too. I was really dreading having to set up in a muddy field.

Anyway, if you're thinking of getting a stall of your own at a market or fair, but are hesitant about the costs involved, I highly recommend looking for a likeminded someone and doing the sharing thing. Plus, you get someone else to talk to during quiet periods, and you can bitch about unpleasant customers to each other!

These headbands (as well as some others) will also be up for sale tomorrow. I'm keen to take orders for custom sizes, especially for the turban-style headbands (first photo), so get in touch by email or in person if you'd like one. I reckon they're great for winter...keep your ears warm and all.

Alright, I'm off to sew up more bloomers. They were a bit of a surprise hit last weekend, and I sold out of nearly all of them!

Crowns

I've just added these little crown-y headbands to the Etsy shop. They can been worn as hairbands too, and I've added a lining behind the wool so it feels more comfy. You should be able to go straight to the listing just by clicking on the photos. I've been having quite a bit of fun cabling and beading recently, so expect to see a few more of these pop up in the shop soon. These two were obviously made to fit my head, but I do except custom orders for them, so if you've got a HUGE head, or a tiny noggin, let me know your measurements and I'll make one to fit.

In other Etsy news, I've discounted lots of older items in the shop, as I have a whole new bunch of stock waiting to be added. I'd like to clear the shop a little first though, so it doesn't look too messy. If you're interested in some aprons, now's the time to grab one as they've all been discounted. 

Shovelling Snow

The Mancreature and I are going for a short holiday next week, so things'll be quiet round this here blog for a week or so. I'll leave you with some photographs...

Happy Festivus, everyone!

Snow, Socks and Squares

It snowed here late last night/ early this morning, and I woke up to find the view outside covered in a lovely thin veil of white! As you can see, it wasn't a lot, but some snow is still prettier than no snow! Even the cars looked cute, like little snow-covered turtles crawling about.

So I guess it's a good thing that I finally finished the other sock on Monday morning, seeing as it'll be getting rather nippy these days. It took me only two days to finish the first one, and yet, I spent a week trying to finish up the other side! Is this an attack of the dreaded second sock syndrome?

In other news, remember me mentioning the giveaway I'll do doing when I reach my 100th post? Well, here's a sneak preview - a whole bunch of little granny squares. But it's not gonna be a blanket...

Upcycle Auction

Just wanted to let everyone know that all the items that are in Folksy's Upcycle Competition have now been listed on eBay, ready and waiting to be bid on! Get your fingers over to the Folksy blog for more information about the competition winners, or hop on over to the eBay shop that the Folksy team have set up.

And that reminds me - I haven't got around to showing you guys a picture of the last item I made for the competition. After knitting countless metres of icord, I then looped the resulting rope around several times, and attached it at one point with a small piece of fabric knitted in the same material. The yarn came from this baggy batwing jumper that I'd picked up from Sue Ryder Camden. Voila! A long, loopy scarf...made with 100% cotton.

S Is For...

a) Spiral bedsock - Started and finished my first sock (yes, just the one, for now) on the weekend. This spiral pattern is great for novice, nervous sock knitters like me, because there are no heel turns to fiddle around with. It's basically a cuff-down tube that's grafted together at the toes. The wonderous part is that the 3x3 spiral ribbing helps it fit your feet perfectly.

*Sorry for forcing my horridly misshapen feet in your face. I don't think I ever realized how freakishly long my second toe is. Sorry :(

The pattern comes from this trusty, obviously well-thumbed booklet (perhaps the best 50p I ever spent!). I did only one and three-quarter repeats, making them anklet-sized. While the instructions actually call for double-knit yarn, I decided to go with the much thinner sock yarn my sister recently sent to me. I also switched to 3.25mm needles instead of the recommended 4mm ones, and knit them in the largest size so they would fit.

b) Second - sock. Which I started this morning and hope to finish VERY VERY soon. So I can start on another pair of socks.

c) Sunny's blog - My awesomely talented friend Sunny has just started her blog, chockful of sexy ladies and crazy creative doings. Go check it out.

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Beetroot and Onions

My parents, like many of yours, told me not to play with my food. It's a good thing I never listened to them.

How else would I have discovered that beetroot, onion skins, salt and vinegar are not just edible, but give you beautiful autumnal colours too? The skein of yarn above was dyed with two cooked beetroots, resulting in this yummy orangey-pink colour. I'm not quite sure what this yarn is made of, as I found it in a box in the op-shop.

The mercerised cotton crochet thread below was dunked into a solution of red onion skins, which gave me this warm goldy-browny tone. I love how the colour seems to impart a slight sheen to the yarn.

Unfortunately, I haven't got any photos of the process, as I wasn't sure it would work. I'll put up a tutorial if there's interest from you guys, or you could just search the interwubs for instructions.

So, girls and boys, why don't you go play with your food and let me know what happens?

Samovars and Stone Cold Foxes

Last Saturday's trawl of the op-shops around Camberwell yielded some peculiarly fantastic finds. Perhaps the most awesome thing I found (in my opinion) was this little brass samovar.

I've had a yearning for one, ever since I spent about 4 months training it across Central Asia a couple of years ago. Each train carriage would be equiped with a gigantic, steaming samovar at each end of every carriage, to provide passengers with hot water for, well, any activity you'd require hot water for, really.

Mine's only a little one, for the home dining table, although the plug's so old that I doubt I'd be tempted to try and re-wire it, just in the whole thing blows up. As you can see, age has imbued the brass with a lovely warm patina, and it looks just beautiful glowing in the afternoon sunlight.

The other item that I got quite excited about was a copy of the book 'Beastly Knits' by Lalla Ward. That's her down there, lady on the cover with the crazy eyes, grinning rather inanely. She's married to Richard Dawkins though, so I forgive her her trepasses.

The excitement wasn't because I wanted to knit baggy jumpers with unrealistic animals on them. I'm not really that kinda girl, although I think Claudia Kishi would certainly approve. And it wasn't because Lalla Ward used to be a companion to the best time-travelling doctor in all the universes. I parted with 50 whole pence for this hardback tome because of the fantastic pictures in it.

And when I say 'fantastic', please read that as 'uncomfortable and extremely awkward.' I give you Exhibit A - Batgeek.


And Exhibit B - awkward fake father/daughter combo.

Although I must admit that I find that dude in the fox jumper to be quite the stone-cold fox himself. Check out that luscious hair (on his head and on his face). And let's not even get started on his ramrod posture - makes a girl weak at the knees, everytime! That little girl looks quite embarrassed by everything that's going on around her. I hope she grew up to be a vampire slayer.

There's lots of other beauties in the book, but I shouldn't torture you anymore. Sleep tight, don't let the Batgeek bite!

Young Bill

Aren't these photos just excellent? I love how forced the boys' smiles are - almost like the photographer threathened to take away their ice creams if they didn't smile for the camera.

This photo makes me a little uncomfortable though. The 'snow' looks so obviously fake, and the way it falls reminds me of dandruff. Great big balls of dandruff. No wonder he looks so uncomfortable.

But I'm a brave little girl, so I gritted my teeth and made myself a balaclava using that very pattern as a base. It's actually not so much a balaclava, more of a hood. The thing wouldn't come in very useful should I decide to rob some banks or a jewellery store.

Since I can never leave well enough alone, I ended up modding the pattern. Instead of seaming up the neckband, I decided to add a button tab by adding 10 extra stitches which were bound off before I started on the hood section. Because I LURVE buttons.

The button tab also makes it a lot easier to get the thing on and off your head without messing up your make-up.

The other modification I made to the pattern was to do the hood section in a lacy wave stitch instead of the recommended stockinette stitch. I found knitting straight stockinette terribly yawn-inducing, and since I'm going through a major lace phase right now, I'm taking this opportunity to lace up as much as I can get my filthy mitts on.

It's not quite winter now, but I'm thinking this be great to wear while cycling during the colder months. And it's such an easy pattern that I'm already itching to knit up several more - in different colourways and lace designs - in preparation for when the cold hits.. I'd also like to make the button tab a little longer. More buttons, more fun!

Deptford Project Market

Last Saturday was my first time at the Deptford Project Markets, and it was great! Mainly because I got a free waffle, with heaps of chocolate and ice cream. But I had loads of fun there too, and even managed to make a bit of money, despite it being a fairly quiet day there.

As well as having a cafe and various stalls in the venue, the Deptford Project also featured a sandpit with summery, stripey deckchairs, buckets and spades. For all your sandcastle construction needs!

Waffle Stop - who very generously fed me with their delicious waffles.

My bored, unpaid intern.

Mama G!

The stall next to mine belonged to the awesome Mama G, who kept me entertained during the quiet parts of the day with her jokes and singing. She also makes the tastiest jams, chillies and breads, which I got to sample. The wasps were fans of her stuff too, as they kept hovering over the plates of jams and chillies she had put out for tasting. Do check her out if you can, she makes everything herself!

My display

I finally got to use the awesome old leather suitcase I found downstairs as part of my display. It's almost like Mary Poppins' magical bag because it holds so much and I keep filling it with stuff and the Mancreature's arms end up almost falling off because it's so heavy.

For those of you who are in London, I will be at the RoundLondon Gives You Spots event in the Queen of Hoxton this Saturday, with a load of pretty new aprons and headpieces. There will also be a raffle on so you'll be able to win some fantastic items. Hope to see some of you there!

Monogamy

Confession time.

I've been unfaithful.

I've tried so hard to stay true to this relationship, to commit to my one and only. But maybe what they say is true, and that familiarity really does breed contempt. But you're so lovely, though, and it's not like I don't ever want to see you ever again. I just need a break, something new and exciting. Just for now. It's my fault for straying, and now there's not just one, but two others. Who knows what'll happen in the future? I may return to you, if you'll have me back...

Anyone else have this problem? You're working on something, and you promise yourself that you'll finish it this time - no interruptions, no getting bored and shoving it in a corner, no two or three other projects all competing for attention.

Then, halfway through (more or less), you pick up a different skein of yarn, or a yard of exciting new fabric, and you just have to start working with it. RIGHT. NOW.

So you drop the other project, and start fooling around with your new fling...

Then along comes another fancy-pants project that catches your eye, and suddenly, you've got two other little bits on the side that demand your time and attention.

So yes, I do have three items on the needles right now. With a fourth one that I just finished blocking. All these in the last three days. And my fingers are already itching to start making a new apron. What a slut! I should be ashamed.