Reporting from Knit Camp - part #1

I've just got back from the most fabulous week up in Stirling. Like Woolfest last year it's left me with almost too many thoughts to gather up and far too many to convey in coherent prose but I'll have a shot with the aid of my photographs.

Sunday 08/08/2010



(Attempted) blogging and flickr posting via smart phone whilst driving on our epic 9 hour road trip from Reading via Oxford and Woodstock up to Stirling.



Felix started and finished a Clapotis in Swaledale rope yarn (officially the hairiest yarn in the world) between Stoke on Trent and Carlisle services. Admittedly it was only 13 stitches across but still an achievement. I spent most of the time in the back feverishly knitting on a full size Clapotis which I had rashly cast on the preceding Sunday.

Arrived at the palatial Knit Pad (we had eschewed the official Knit Camp accommodation in favour of luxury self-catering organised by the fabulous Mel) around 4:30. Mel and Nicky* headed out to buy supplies whilst Ellen, Felix and I explored the flat and marvelled at the number and variety of bathrooms and the amazing view.



Stirling Castle - pretty much as seen from our living room window.



The Royal Gardens (laid out in 1628). This is the view from the castle walls - you can see our apartment circled in green. Not bad, eh?

Monday 09/08/2010

Felix, Ellen, and I headed out to New Lanark Mill for a bit of yarn and culture. We did the full tour including the Annie McLeod experience which involved sitting in egg shaped pods travelling through a series of displays whilst a small girl told us how child labour wasn't all that bad really. My favourite bit was the textile machinery room. I am just a sucker for anything connected with the industrial revolution and it was fabulous to see a Spinning Mule in action (it took me right back to primary school trips to visit Hall'ith Wood, Samuel Crompton's home, in Bolton).



Felix with massive, great water wheel.



Ellen with massive, great water wheel.



Scenic mill stuff.



Spinning Mule.



Felix enthusing over Spinning Mule.

Once we felt that we'd paid our dues to social history we hit the gift shop - by which I mean the yarn shop. Ellen bought a pack of New Lanark dk in a lovely shade of indigo for a sweater, Felix bought some yarn to finish the sweater that she suddenly had realised she was knitting (originally we all, Felix included, thought that it was going to be a hat), and I picked up some New Lanark dk in brown and cream to knit the Cloisonne Jacket from the new Interweave.

Once we got back to Stirling we picked up our Clapotis and headed off to the university to campus to register for our classes and attend the Clapotea party. The unversity campus is very pretty.



I think if I studied there I'd spend all my time looking at the view rather than reading!

The Clap-o-tea party was not a great success for us. No tea(!) for one thing (which seems like the cruellest form of bait and switch) and a rather odd strained atmosphere. It was good that we attended as we picked up some rather crucial information about how to find out about how our classes has been rescheduled due to the work permit snafu but it was a relief to get back to the much more mellow Knit Pad (with actual tea).



I finished the knitting on my Clapotis (if not the dropped stitches) in time for the Clapotea party. It's a beautiful scarf and deserves its own post in due course.

Two days down - six to go.

* if you read this please do let me know if I'm spelling your name correctly. I started to write this post and realised I had no idea if it's "c-k-y" or "k-k-i" or "c-c-i" or what. Sorry!

Almost ready for Knit Camp

Just some yarn to wind, salad to chop, and half a Clapotis to knit. Luckily it's a really long journey from Oxfordshire to Stirling.

There's been a fair bit of (negative) brouhaha about UK Knit Camp but I'm not going to add to it here. I'm just really excited about heading up to Scotland (mountains Gandalf!) to hang out with my friends, do a bit of walking, eat some good food, and hopefully attend a really fun knitting event.

Clapotea and biscuits

I made an impromptu swing by Knit Nation in South Kensington today. I'd been on duty baby sitting my niece in North London, got off duty a bit earlier than expected, and thought that as I was in the area I could drop by, hopefully meet up with a few people* and scope out the yarn.

It's been a while since I went to one of these things and I think I was thrown by the range and quantity of yarn on offer. And I was literally dazzled by the wall of Wollemeise. Seriously that stuff is bright. Anyway I spent a long time looking at and squishing yarn but not really matching any of it in my head to a potential project.

Until I made my second pass by the Fyberspates stand and remembered that since I'd bought a ticket for the Knit Camp Clapotea party I'd better turn up having knit a Clapotis. I've made a few starts on one before but not for a few years and never with purpose bought yarn.



[Scrumptious by Fyberspates in Biscuit]

I'd seen this yummy stuff (seriously it's like very soft shiny butter) at Bluestockings when Helen was knitting up a Tamesis sample for Lien and it should be perfect for the Clapotis. After some fairly complicated lace on little needles I'm really looking forward to knitting something soft and drapy on big needles.

* this was very successful - I ran into Sara from Bluestockings with her friend Amy, Ruth and Judith from Sticks'n'String, Kate and her sister, and Sarah (ex-Bluestockings).

Sneak preview

It's really difficult taking photos of yourself modelling a skirt (even harder than taking sock photos!) so I don't yet have a good shot of my new Vogue skirt.



Luckily I'll be hanging out with lots of friends at the weekend so if I wear it then maybe one of them can take a snap for me (hint hint).

Short cuts

I love taking short cuts. I love thinking you're miles away from the finish and then one quick short cut and presto you're there.

Pattern: Arisaig by Ysolda Teague
Needles: 2.75mm
Yarn: My handspun Shetland in fingering weight
Ravelled: here
Mods: it's sleeveless!



Looking back at my notes in Ravelry I started this almost a year ago (24/07/2009). I made good progress and then got stuck on "sleeve mountain" in November. I did have another go at scaling that particular summit when I picked this up again last week but then decided that life was too short and that I quite wanted a sleeveless top anyway.



I'm especially pleased with the ties which look very neat in 1x1 rib and were nowhere near as soul-destroying to knit as you might think. They really whipped up.



I think that this is the first non-sock or shawl garment that I've knitted from my own handspun and I'm really happy with how it's all turned out. In fact I'm ridiculously proud. I have to restrain myself from going up to people and telling them "I made this, I made this out of fluff!". Hurrah for the miracle of spinning.

Copy-cat

My favourite thing about Ravelry is the Friend Activity page where I can see what everyone's knitting and what everyone's loving - for instance I'm definitely keen on knitting one of these pumpkin hats like Aliki's soon.

But my two most recent projects have been things that I've seen people knitting at Bluestockings on Wednesdays.



Pattern: Pyroclastic from Knitty Winter '09
Yarn: Louet Gems Opal
Needles: 2.5mm

I'm pretty pleased with these. The gusset/arch shaping is very neat and I like the pattern. If I knit these again I'd use a slimmer yarn for a stretchier sock and I'd start knitting the heel a few rows earlier or later so that the decreases across the top of the instep didn't coincide with the start of the lace repeat. I really love the eye of partridge heel - it's time I've knit this heel and the effect is very pleasing. I'm also really pleased to have finally knit something up out of this yarn which I bought at the I Knit show a year ago (I think it was a year ago anyway - blogger is being slow so I can't delve into the archives to check). Now I just need to knit something from the other two skeins of Louet that I bought at the same time.



Pattern: Shimmer by Meg Croft
Yarn: Merlot in Slim Sock from The Knittery
Needles: 2.5mm

Now these I wanted to cast on for as soon as I saw Felix knitting them in her lovely green Skein Queen yarn. This is such a cool pattern. Quick to knit, easy to memorize, and very effective (i.e. a lot of show for not much effort). I'm already on to the gusset shaping which I'm doing under the foot and I think I'll do another E-o-P heel - I assume it will look just as good toe-up as cuff-down, right?

FOs - Monkey socks and Vogue skirt

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Needles: 2.5mm
Yarn: Blissful in Ring a Ring o Roses by Skein Queen



Pattern: V8560
Fabric: Sun spots by Amy Butler
Size: 14

What do these two have in common? It turns out that just one isn't enough. According to Ravelry I've now completed my 11th pair of Monkeys and I've just started my second skirt in this pattern - this time a slightly shorter version in a gorgeous grey cotton I bought at Darnit and Stitch.



It's almost a shame that the zipper is such a perfect colour match as the method for inserting the zip is so neat that you can hardly see it.



I love the pleats - they're very satisying to do and give the skirt a lovely full shape.



These photos btw were taken with the aid of our new mirror. We got it at the same time as the rest of the furniture but it's been standing in a box in the hall until this week. Now it's standing on the floor in the living room until we work up the nerve to hang it. I want to hang it over the dining table or the sofa but it's very heavy and I'm rather paranoid about it falling off the wall and killing us whilst we eat dinner.

New haberdashery shop in Oxford

I was so thrilled a week or so ago to receive an email from the lovely Jo of Darn it and Stitch letting me know that she would shortly be opening a haberdashery shop in Oxford which, despite its size and the fact that it appears to be packed to the gills with crafty people, has been woefully lacking in that department for a good many years. You may remember the lovely vintage buttons that I bought from Jo's stall at the Gloucester Green craft market back in November. Well, the shop has even more vintage buttons and trimmings, notions, zips, yarn, thread, knitting needles, you name it. In fact Jo even has a wish-list at the counter so you can suggest new items you'd like to see in the shop!



[vintage buttons]



[trimmings, buttons, and elastics]



[gorgeous hand-made brooches]



[sweet spotty buttons]



[yummy ribbons]

It was perfect timing for me. I scored a bright pink zip for my Vogue/Amy Butler skirt and these two fabulous brooches by Bee Ferrari as birthday gifts.



Do pop along and see Jo - her shop is a crafter's dream and there's more (fabrics and classes) to come!

Fleece Day 2010

Saturday was Fleece Day for the Oxford Guild of Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers at Stanton St. John. This was kind of a guild open day with demonstrations, fleece and yarn to buy, and lots of cake (which I totally failed to take any pictures of).



[Oxford Downs fleece]

I arrived early with Megan just as Kate and the other dyers were setting up the dyeing tent for demonstrations.



It was fascinating to see Megan's dyeing process. I've seen and worked with lots of the finished product so I was so interested to see how she gets those lovely results.







There were lots of lovely items on the sales tables. This hand felted alpaca cushion found its way home with me (after some dithering) as a house warming gift to myself. I can't tell you how soft it it. Not only is the cover made from felted alpaca but it's stuffed with alpaca fibre too.



Between eating cake and watching Megan and Kate's dyeing demos I got on with some spinning, answered questions, and taught three people to spin (or at least gave them a go on my wheel).



It turns out that Clare (from Bluestockings) is a natural. Megan and I will be continuing her fibre education/corruption by pushing a spindle and fibre on her in the very near future - I think we have another convert to the dark side.

Housekeeping

Woah! there is loads to blog about this weekend but I'll start off with a few housekeeping items.

Firstly, due to popular demand (alright, my parents and Felix) we have some shots of the new furniture.

I love our new dining table. It's solid, it's a lovely colour (natural oak), and most importantly it's rectangular. We've been eating, working, and crafting (well I have) at a ridiculously wobbly oval table for the past three years and I for one am loving the corners. I know you're not meant to put your elbows on the table at mealtimes but it's nice to have the room should you want to.



And we have all of four chairs which means that I can have up to three people (assuming the boyfriend is out) round to dinner.

Then we have the TV unit (also in oak) which has a very hi-tech hole at the back for all the cables to snake out of and a little cupboard at the front for remotes and current DVDs and that.



And finally we have the dresser which will contain our new crockery when we get it but at the moment is just standing there and looking pretty.



One of the nice things about the new furniture is that it provides a lovely backdrop for photos for this blog. You're going to see a lot of knitting and sewing on a background of oak, starting with this baby quilt which has been nearly two years in the making. A lot of friends', colleagues', and relations' babies have arrived since I started piecing this one together.



The fabric for the top was bought as a bundle of fat quarters from The Quilt Room at the 2009 Festival of Quilts, it's backed with a piece of the same light blue as one of those fat quarters, and the binding is the Amy Butler Daisy Chain fabric I used for my Barcelona/Cabo hybrid dress.

The main reason it took so long was that I decided to do all the quilting by hand and in the shape of the large flowers that featured in one of the fabrics (and that I started off by quilting with really tiny stitches).



Won't make that mistake again.



Does look nice though.

Our new(ish) home

The boyfriend and I are finally homeowners! After nearly nine years of renting we own our own place. And the lovely thing is we don't even have to move as we've bought the flat that we've been renting for the past three years.

I would have really liked to illustrate this post with a picture of house-shaped custard creams but couldn't find a house-shaped cookie cutter in town this evening so it'll have to wait until the house-warming (yes, I'll be having another house-warming). Instead of baking I'm sitting at our new table, by the balcony, watching France vs. Mexico, listening to the sound of birdsong mingled with the vuvuzelas, and drinking a glass of M&S's finest to celebrate.

Dress rehearsal

That's what a muslin is really.



It's not quite finished. It needs a zip and the hem needs slip stitching but it's done enough for me to check the fit (like all proper model shots it's pinned in the back).

It's been a good evening for sewing. After putting the muslin together I put in some more work on the baby quilt that's been hanging around for about 2 years - there are just the two short edges to finish slip stitching and then it's done.

A present from Liberty

I love how when you buy something from Liberty it comes wrapped like a gift!



I went in there to buy some fabric for the skirt pattern I picked up at John Lewis. I was actually trying to find the same pattern which Felix made a couple of weeks ago (yes, I'm a skirt stalker) and I really thought I had until I checked the pattern number a couple of minutes ago (hers is V8424 not V8560). Still I really like this one and think it will look fabulous in this fabric which (although you can't tell it from this photo) is pink on pink rather than pink on red.



I'm making skirt B (shorter and with no contrast hem). I've got as far as cutting out all the pieces for the muslin and sewing together the pieces for the front and back yokes. I'm making the muslin out of leftover blackout curtain lining from Laurie's room at my parent's house which sounds frightfully like a tip from a late 'forties guide to making more of your clothing ration - "you can make a smart skirt from old blackout curtains".

A ship in a bottle

I love the latest exhibit on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Nelson's Ship in a Bottle looked fabulous in the sunshine yesterday and you couldn't have a more appropriate location for it. It's the closest Lord Nelson's been to his ship in 200 years.

A pocketful of posies

So of course I gave in and bought a skein of the delicious* handpainted yarn being sold by Debbie of Skein Queen in Reading last week.

The Mongolian cashmere and alpaca/silk blends were off limit due to "the Rules"** but fortunately Debbie's "Blissful" sock yarn uses a bfl base from UK sheep so I was in the clear.

And it's so pretty!



The colourway is Ring a Ring o' Roses (love the name) and it's the colour of tea roses and fresh green leaves.

Now I just need to search out a suitably dainty lace sock pattern to match the yarn.

* and talking of delicious it turns out that Debbie was also responsible for the amazing coconut and lime cake that I had a slice of.

** For the last year I've only bought yarn and fibre that has been produced in the UK from British sheep breeds.

Production line

Devil's Food cupcakes baked by the boyfriend (with some help from me) to take into work tomorrow.



Lily's scones (from Domestic Goddess) baked by me (with no help from the boyfriend) for this event in Reading tomorrow. I hope everyone's hungry!