I didn’t think I achieved that much last year, but when I look back it wasn’t too bad.
I finished 5 pairs of socks – my nighthawk ones are my favourite, three project bags (I think this is a sign I have too many projects), my Hap for Harriet and my Live Simply cross stitch (which I did as part of a Craftsy course).
The Pi embroidery is a design I bought from Urban Threads a while ago (maybe a year) with plans to make a project bag. Originally I planned black on white, but then I saw this embroidery and thought white on black was very effective (I have this design too – already stitched out).
I just made a simple lined draw string bag – Martha Stewart has a great video tutorial.
The pattern on the leg and the top of the foot are from the Hermione Everyday Sock pattern, but I used my own ‘recipe’ for the sock. The yarn is Rhichard Devrieze – Peppino. One skein is 65g, which might be enough for a pair of socks, but I didn’t want to risk it, so bought two skeins. I’m using 2.25mm knit pro zings (magic loop method).
I have bought a few of Kate’s knitting books – Colours of Shetland, Yokes, Inspired by Islay and The West Highland Way – and I am currently knitting Braid Hills Cardigan. I also follow her blog. I was very keen to read this book as I find her knitting essays to be thoughtful and eloquent.
I wasn’t disappointed. This is a very personal memoir of a person who had a stroke and their subsequent rehabilitation and recovery. It is a positive and thought provoking look at illness, feminism, disability, ability, knitting an design. It has made me think about the world and how I move through it with my able body. It has made me think about the design of the objects in my life and how U put up with poor design (because being able-bodied I can). For example, my sewing table is the wrong height and the gap for the chair is in the wrong place, inconvenient but still usable. However, I notice I don’t sew as much as I would like.
Every chapter was interesting. I kept thinking this is my favourite only to move onto the next one and think ‘no this is my favourite’. It made me think about brain injury and how because it is invisible we might not be as sympathetic or as accommodating as we should be – for example, when we are in a crowded space behind a slow moving person, etc.
It also made me think about community – our local community, our knitting community, etc and the connections we make.
I started working on this house late last year to use as a model for my girls, but soon realised it was going to take a long time and that they wouldn’t have the patience to finish it. I wondered if even I had the patience (dedication) to finish it, but when I added the back stitch the design popped and now I feel quite motivated (I doubt it will be finished this year).
The design is from the 2016 Family Circle Christmas Special – you might still be able to find the pattern here.
I bought the plastic canvas from Spotlight and I am using 6 strands of DMC floss, 2 for the backstitching.
I finished my Christmas socks. The yarn is the Christmas yarn from WYS. I just did a plain sock – twisted rib cuff, eye of partridge heel flap and I used Kate Atherley’s wedge toe instructions (I like how the toe is rounded rather than pointy).
I have always been fascinated by the Bayeux Tapestry and one day I will get to see it in person. I find it fascinating, but also I want to know about the people who made it. What were there lives like?
Here is the blurb …
The vivid scenes on the Bayeux Tapestry depict the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is one of Europe’s greatest treasures and its own story is full of drama and surprise.
Who commissioned the tapestry? Was it Bishop Odo, William’s ruthless half-brother? Or Harold’s dynamic sister Edith, juggling for a place in the new court? Hicks shows us this world and the miracle of the tapestry’s making: the stitches, dyes and strange details in the margins. For centuries it lay ignored in Bayeux cathedral until its ‘discovery’ in the eighteenth century. It became a symbol of power as well as art: townsfolk saved it during the French Revolution; Napoleon displayed it to promote his own conquest; the Nazis strove to make it their own; and its influence endures today.
This marvelous book, packed with thrilling stories, shows how we remake history in every age and how a great work of art has a life of its own.
It took me a while to read this book – not because it is difficult (It has a chatty accessible style), but there is a lot of information. It is split into 6 sections:
Embroidering History
Lost and Found
Revolutions and Romantics
The Gentle Touch
The Great Escape
Global Image
There is information on the possible patrons, lucky escapes (Napoleon and Himmler), various people who drew it and studied and some even made replicas!
If you are at all interested in textiles and social history, you will find this fascinating.
I am still working on my Christmas socks – although I might have to move onto some secret squirrel things before I get finished.
I went to Knit Purl – it is a beautiful store. Definitely worth a visit.
And then on the way back to the come I passed Laneway Quilts – so I had to pop in and bought more sock yarn (of course). I am so amazed that two stores can co-exist so close to each other in a relatively small community.
