Too busy to post?

I have these great intentions about blogging, mentally writing posts when out walking or gardening.
I know, I've said it before, and had good intentions of posting more often.

So, all urgent things dealt with, here I am at the computer, putting off going out to do some tidying up in the garden.

The only thing that should be done this weekend is going in to Derby to continue viewing the Format festival of photography.

Last week, when we had visitors we took in the displays at the museum and some outlying venues.
This time we intend to concentrate on the chocolate factory.

And now back to some recent activities:

The Online Guild January 2013 workshop was on UFO's. 

Rather than finishing off items already started I decided to tidy up the house and re-assign yarn that had been knitted or crocheted as samples and then been abandoned. 

I do masses of sampling before making anything, and when I have sufficient yarn often rip it off the needles once I have tried out the stitch or colour variation. 

Consequently I was able to find many bits and pieces to use in a couple of projects.

I undertook to gather up loads of samples I no longer needed to preserve, and use them.

Going around the house I found small amounts of handspun which I then knitted up into a small scarf.

I did not sort the snippets, unravelling and using them as I came across them.

The central line is loosely cast on, and stitches are picked up on both sides.

The curious shaping is made by increasing at each corner on each row.

The scarf itself is knit in a k2 , p2 moving rib which gently blends the colours.

The samples I have found so far in commercial yarn were unravelled and crocheted into a giant granny square.

It has currently reached 1.2 m (nearly 4 foot) square, and weighs 650 gm (1 lb. 7 oz.), and I am still finding suitable yarn.

The colour scheme in both was taken as it comes, the exception being the cast-off yarn on the handspun scarf.

This was not a neglected sample, but part of the sampling process for a spinning project.

I had to be sure I had enough to effectively finish it off.

All in all a fun on-going project showing how much yarn gets left effectively useless when I am designing items!

An away day, then a day in the garden

A Saturday away from the Art Room. Finally, a day to enjoy on my own.

I woke early, but was too lazy to rush for the first train to London.

So I took the next one, arriving at St. Pancras round about 09.30.

Took the tube to East Putney, then strolled along to Stash only to find that I was 1/2 hour early. On the previous occasion that I tried to visit, a couple of years ago during a break in a conference, I arrived just after it closed on the Saturday and could only peer in through the window.

I went into the cemetery park behind the store to relax and wait for it to open.
There I came across Jackie and her dog "Lady".
We had a good chat, and I failed to get any more crocheting done.


I am using some handspun wool/silk mix using a complicated pattern, and am only on the third repeat having started it a month ago, so haven't memorised it yet.

At 11.00, I went to the store and found Nic was in, but teaching a sock class. I looked around, and it was so good to handle yarns I had only heard about. Although I see some at the shows, it isn't a relaxing environment to take stock of them then.

I ended up teaching Nathalie a slip stitch that I use a lot.

This is the only image I could find just now. (I must make a good sample and photograph it.)
I first found this stitch in a Swiss pattern book in 1971/2, and have only seen it a couple of times since, always in German publications.
It is great for colour mixing, and makes a warm fabric.

My lunch was a muesli bar from Mei's place a few doors down from Stash.

Leaving Putney I took the train to Waterloo and hunted down "I knit London".

Instinct should have taken me straight there, but I got a bit confused by the apparent number of sides that the station has. I arrived to find a small crowd that included Sue.
It soon got busy as people returned from the WWKIP treasure hunt they had run earlier in the day.

I did my best to browse the shelves, but gave up as it was hard to see them for the people. It was good to see that they have some Habu yarns.

Moving on, I loitered briefly in the Leake Street tunnel under the station. Crowds of people were there looking at what is left of the "Cans Festival" (stencilled art) held at the end of May.

This was just a brief interlude on my way to the Hayward Gallery to see the hyperbolic reef . This left a short while to visit the Royal Festival Hall for the British part of the reef, before heading back to St. Pancras and home.

There are too many inspiring parts to these reefs. What a pity that I had no camera with me.

Today I stayed at home, did laundry, re-found part of the path around the lawn and made bread. In the course of the day I cut back many hardy geraniums, and took samples of the flowers into the house in a shallow bowl. I could do with many more days like these!
This close-up shows one that grows under the back door step. The petals never open out, and the colour is such a deep pink.

Beaded wire jewellery workshop at Long Eaton Art Room this Sunday

Here is a final reminder that we are running a beaded wire jewellery workshop this Sunday, February 3rd.

Josie Jenkins and I will be showing ways that wire can be combined with beads, either crocheted or knitted to make jewellery.

It will be held in the new (and much more spacious) premises of Long Eaton Art Room.
For those of you who have visited us before, it is at the bottom end of Leopold Street, about 200 yards further down the road to the left of the (closed) gate into the park.

The workshop will run from 10.00 - 16.00, and will cost £25.00.

Tea and coffee will be available all day, but please bring your own lunch.

Please ring 0115 946 1661 or check out our website for more details:
www.leartroom.co.uk