Cheltenham Racecourse - Morning Mist

Had a few days at the campsite at Cheltenham Racecourse, bright sunny days and frosty mornings. The site is very well placed at the top of the town, near the park and ride and a pleasant walk into town. Lots of good places to eat and shop in Cheltenham.

Aunt Dana's Russian Boots by Janet Armstrong

These super slipper boots are from Knitters Calendar for March 7, from Janet Armstrong being the boots that her husband's aunt used to knit. I used some odds and ends of handspun that had been lurking in the handspun basket, they were quick and simple to knit and very comfortable to wear, toes should be warm and toasty this winter

Indigo Shoulder Shawl aka Pigs in Blankets

The mohair yarn I spun, which wanted to be dyed indigo, have now turned into the "Just Right Shawl aka Cozy Capelet" by Lynn Meacham from Knitters Calendar for April 18. It does indeed sit nicely on the shoulders, giving warmth across the back and I found a vintage button in my stash to fasten it with. This is a simple to knit but really useful pattern, excellent for using up those odds and ends of yarn in the stash. I'm sure I will knit it again, I used the three skeins I had dyed, and the final result measures 40" across and 18" deep to the point, knitted on 8mm addi's.

Knitted Blanket

I had a bag of nine balls of a cotton and linen mix yarn to use up - searching for inspiration I found it in the EZ book The Knitters Almanac - this is the Mystery Blanket Square - just one square knitted on 4.5mm addi's and finished with a picot edging. I just added the odd row of purl stitch to give a little texture - I'm quite pleased with the finished result, and one bag of yarn less in the stash, or at least it leaves room for some more!!

Cornwall Summer School

A wonderful week in Cornwall at Tremough Campus, Near Falmouth. where several hundred members of the Association of Weavers Dyers and Spiners were engaged in a week of Summer School courses, there was a huge variety of choice but I settled for "Dyeing the Blues" with Vivien Prideaux (above) and learned about the art of indigo dyeing.
The Kent Guild Displaying some of the results of their efforts!


A magical evening at the Minack Theatre to watch Pier Gynt, the weather was calm and mild and the sea and sky had amazing colours. The theatre was built in 1932, the first play shown was The Tempest, which is being shown again this year as it's the 75th anniversary of the theatre.

Adult Surprise Jacket - Many Thanks

Many thanks to Yarn Harlot and everyone for all the kind comments on the Adult Surprise Jacket, I really enjoyed the work I put into this, it took longer to prepare dye and spin the Wensleydale fleece than to knit the jacket. I hope to do another one in a blue/coffee/aqua combination but this time I would make the stripes narrow and closer in colour.

Helix Socks Again and More

More Helix socks knitted, from the Pattern in Knitters Calendar for 2007, I just love playing with the colours and it's amazing how little yarn is used for the stripes when the ribbing heel and toe are in solid colours. The mauve/lilac/pink pair are for me and the enormous striped pair are for someone with very swollen feet.


I have also tried a simple helix stripe summer top in oddments of green yarn, one plain green, one green and white slightly slubby, and one plain green very slubby. I knitted this in the round until the underarms and then divided the stitches in half, cast on 6 stitches at each end back and front to make a cap sleeve effect and knitted from side to side, as I was using circular needles I knitted from each end as appropriate to try and duplicate the stripes. I made some mistakes but carried on because I wanted to see the finished effect and also how the cap sleeve effect would work. I picked up stitches around the sleeve and hem after the top was finished to stop the edges rolling in.

Vintage Knitting

A jumper for me, knitted in some fairly vintage jaeger matchmaker 4ply using a vintage P&B pattern, pleased with the result which fits well, this uses inset increases from the waist up to create two decorative darts on both front and back, and then some short rows to create extra fullness on the front only. I think I prefer knitting with finer yarns, although the matchmaker was very springy and any dropped stitch immediately dropped down.

Large Size Socks

Knitted some super size socks which needed a very stretchy cast on as the recipient has very painful feet due to health problems. I had lots of very useful advice from the USA group Knitu and after experimenting with some of the suggestions, used the double knitting cast on which is virtually invisible when completed. I used the version from Sivia Harding which uses waste yarn and also used a larger needle size for the cast on which makes for a very soft stretchy edge. I judged that they were a great success as I was asked if I could knit another half dozen pairs, as the recipient is my son I guess I will have to keep knitting. The picture makes the edge look slightly flared but this disappears when they are on the foot.

Helix Socks

Helix Socks, pattern taken from the Knitters Calendar for 26th April, and great for using up odds and ends of yarn. I used three yarns, two plain and one variated.

Inkle Loom Wine Carrier

I could not decide what to do with the heavy cotton braid I made on the inkle loom, then I thought - something useful a wine carrier! The fabric is denim and there is a little velcro fastening between the bottles to keep them separate, which also means it can be used as a bag if there is no wine to carry, so not very often then.