Around to it.

I finally completed my road trip journal.  Not bad – only a month and a bit late!  I might share a few pages here in due course, but for now, I’ll leave you with one of my favourite pages because I’m sure you will feel better for a little Schiller.  Auf Deutsch, of course. (It’s from Wilhelm Tell and was scribed on the wall of the steamer we took on the lake that afternoon)

So, with an afternoon to myself, I cracked open the box of goodies bought in La Droguerie, Lille: the makings of a scarf.  Everything included, this should be a breeze, I thought.

Aha!  En Français!   Pas de problème!

I knew how to “surfiler”, bien sûr. 

But what about the colours?  “Bleu Canard”?  “Bleu Klein”?  My hero was brought in as a second opinion and we studied picture and materials and worked it out together.

Actually, I’d already sewn the pieces together by then and fortunately, had got it right!

The ends of the scarf are finished with a double piped edge, really clever, especially when someone has already done the first step of the piping!  I stitched one edge in place before realising that this is tricky – the fabric was stretchy and needed more care.  I got out my Clover clips and found them very useful indeed as I had another go, taking it slowly and carefully.

Actually, I needed several goes before I could get the stitching close enough to the piping cord for it to look acceptable.

Having completed all four piped ends, I sewed one long edge and pressed the seam open, as per instructions.

Time to apply the spots.  Each one was cut from fabric with a thin vilene backing.  Having sorted them out and distributed the colours, I pinned them in place ready to sew.

So far so good.  I considered getting out the 505 spray adhesive instead of pins but thought I’d continue as the instructions told me to.  With hindsight though, I ought to have done that – it would have made the next step much easier.

Zigzagging around circles isn’t easy.  The small, one inch circles especially so and having completed two or three, I wished I’d handsewn them, or even done some more free-style embroidery scribbles instead.  Never mind.  In true blogging tradition, I have included the photograph of the best one.  Just imagine they are all like that!

Twenty four circles later, and I was glad to be finished with that.  Time to sew the other long edge up and finish the ends.

The piping is a really neat feature of this scarf and it’s something I’ll keep in mind for future.  Not only does it add a little personality to the otherwise simple rectangle, it adds weight to the ends and also conceals the hand stitched closing seam.

Weird colours in this photograph – it really is the same scarf!  But it shows the end result with the double piped seam.  Neat!

And there it was, done!

I’m really pleased with the finished scarf, not only the colour combination but the individuality too.  La Droguerie do come up with these good ideas with a little French “pizazz” and elegance.

Best of all is the fabric.  It’s cotton sateen, has a rich sheen and depth of colour and was very enjoyable to sew.  Worst thing was stitching those pesky circles to a single layer of fabric without any stabiliser.  Next time, I’ll add another layer of something underneath, just to hold it all together a little more.

Not bad for an afternoon’s work though?

Seasonal colours

It’s the first “cobwebby” day today.  A heavy dew and a misty morning, typical of the season but in this unseasonally warm and humid weather we’re having right now, it came as a surprise.

I love to see the hammock-like structures there in the garden even if I’m not quite so fond of the creatures who were clever enough to build them!

Anyway, we thought it time to bring in some of the fruit which has been weighing down the branches of the trees for the last few weeks.  It’s a bumper crop out there and we have an abundance of apples and plums. 

Not only are they there in quantity, I can’t remember there being such a glorious wealth of colour in previous years.

The sight of these beautiful rosy red apples hanging from the branches was like an illustration from a child’s story book.  They taste a little too perfumed for my liking, but they bake well and they’ll find their way into one or two pies and crumbles in the next few weeks, I know.

The plums are so pretty too, with that bluish haze on them.

The leaves haven’t quite begun to turn yet, but the colours of autumn are here in a different form, for sure.

On a day like this

When I’ve just finished my book and part of it lingers there in my mind to be considered, dwelt on and pondered. 

When I’m sitting at my desk and idly browse through a few favourite websites and read this “4 minute read”.

I am thankful that I am here and not there.

I am sure he would much rather be at the Pleasure Ground this afternoon, too.

A creative evening

Spending the evening in the company of my small friends, I took the opportunity to try an idea I’ve had pinned to my Pinterest board for several months.  I felt the moment had come to gather a couple of hula hoops and get weaving.

The instructions are clearly set out here with plenty of advice gleaned from experience.

We chose to use plastic bag “yarn” rather than finger knitting, because I wanted to give the method a try without too much time investment.  When you’re seven, it’s important to have success not only guaranteed but also pretty quickly achieved.  In no time at all, a sizeable and very satisfying circle of tightly worked weaving was being admired.

Older hands worked more quickly, with fewer mistakes prompting a need to undo a bit now and again.  The biggest challenge was finding a range of coloured bags – we’d have loved some pink, blue or purple ones!

An hour or so was enough for one evening, but the results were impressive and enough to be going on with.  Perhaps we’ll tackle finger knitting next time we’re together and use what we’ve learned from this prototype mat to create something a little more colourful.

It’s a great rainy day project, though!

New tricks

Last Saturday, whilst judging at a local village show, I slipped up.  I was breezing merrily through the knitting and crochet entries and failed to recognise a particular technique.  Thankfully, the exhibitor caught me as I was leaving and we were able to spend a few minutes discussing the characteristics of tunisian crochet. 

There are several variations of yarn crafts, all related to the two most widely known: knitting and crochet.  But I’ve seldom seen anything unusual on a village show bench and in my bag of samples I take with me when teaching, there’s just one sample of hairpin crochet which usually foxes everyone enough to prompt a little research.

Well, would you recognise that as crochet?  I have clever friends! (thank you, Sally)

Anyway, back to the Tunisian Crochet.  Failing to spot it was especially annoying since, earlier in the year, I’d come across a tutorial and simple pattern which I’d shared with my crafty friends online.  I’d intended to give it a go but didn’t get round to it.

Guess what I did yesterday, though?

I found a plastic hook in my Mum’s knitting needle box.  I’m sure it was the kind of thing given away free with Woman’s Own or whatever.  Still, it was enough for me to have a go with.  In no time at all, I’d completed the foundation row and gone on a little further.

When I looked closely at the back, I could see how I’d mistaken it for knitting. 

Though the front looks very different.  Just like crochet, though, my work is so tight – I might be able to achieve an even tension but oh my goodness, it’s really dense!

Anyway, whilst shopping this morning, I bought a metal hook which has speeded the process up rather and my dishcloth (yes…) is nearly complete.

The edges are firm and neat and the technique is easy to pick up.  This afternoon, I browsed Pinterest for a few more pattern ideas and came across this.

Gorgeous!  And yes, I have some of that Malabrigo yarn in my stash…

Would you pardon the pun if I said, for now, I’m hooked?