A little self-knowledge is a valuable thing and I have come to the conclusion that I am not one of life’s natural knitters. Would that I were. Oh to effortlessly slip from my needles exquisite lace shawls, historically accurate river ganseys and drawers and drawers of colourful, fine-gauged socks. I have tried to improve my… Continue reading Not a natural knitter
A finished thing! Reason to rejoice forsure. I’m far from expert in these matters and a perfunctory glance at the Wikipedia entry would suggest that this patterning is not for the purists. In my defence, it is rendered in a limited palette and I worked in the round. It’s the alliteration that I was after, can we… Continue reading Fair Isle Finished: Memento and Metaphor
Rule One: log fire flickering and guttering in the grate Rule Two: cats recumbent on the hearth rug, paws stretched in sleepy supplication to the flame Rule Three: the distant rattle, crack, whistle and pop of Bonfire Night pyrotechnics Rule Four: A car alarm oscillating incessantly Probably set off by all the suddenly-not-quite-so-distant-fireworks. And they’ve… Continue reading Autumn rules!
Despite the perceived wisdom, research has shown that women are pretty good at navigating. They just have a different approach to men, often relying on landmarks. If I’m embarking on a journey that I undertake infrequently I certainly rely heavily on key physical features: The park, the petrol station, the shark in the rooftop. Not… Continue reading Stop Knitting at the Shark
Good Evening dear reader, may I ask you a question? Does making make you happy? Making makes me happy. So much so that I have quite a few things on the go here at Start-A-Project-Central. There’s a bit of knitting : It’s a scarf and it’s a bit longer than this now but I have… Continue reading Pockets for Pleasure
May I have a moment of your time? I’d like to alert you to the fact that I have knitted a garment! A piece of clothing that I might wear out of the house! This is a landmark moment for me, please be upstanding. Or, if you read blogs when I read blogs, try… Continue reading Wensleydale Waistcoat
Looking a little like French Lavender? French Lavender and Forget-Me-Nots? Admittedly a very stylised row of stalk-less Forget-Me-Nots. What I love about knitting and crochet is that when you realise that what you are working on isn’t working you can undo your workings. Before: After: On what are you working?
I would like to lodge a formal complaint. When exactly can we expect normal service to be resumed? We are creatures of habit the large one and I and, quite frankly, lately, things have just not been up to scratch. Absolutely no pun intended, scratching is a fundamental feline right and I will not… Continue reading Cat Chronicles – The Official Complaint
Oh, me oh my, it’s been a testing week and I mean that in the literal sense of the word that it has been a week that has contained very many tests. Thank you (absolutely and resoundingly NOT) to whomsoever devised the mandatory testing of ten year olds. There have been tears, there have been troubled nights, there were tonsils the size of… Continue reading I’m a little bit testy and a little bit floral.
Inspired by World War II Submariners’ Sweaters I have created my Cruel Sea Cowl. This is a 2 by 2 rib knitted in the round on 60 cm, 5 mm circular needles. I used 100g of Aran weight Toft Alpaca in Oatmeal. It is designed to be close fitting so you will need to use an… Continue reading The Cruel Sea Cowl – free pattern
pennylibrarian 