In the garden

Firstly, who would have thought that Ocado could deliver gardening tools with your store cupboard essentials? We put an order in as we received a coupon (treat them mean to keep them keen - if you don't do a shop for a month or so, you get money off vouchers to tempt you back. I spin Ocado and Sainsburys against each other and do a bulk shop with one of them every few months, always with a voucher). We have restocked the pantry and saved ourselves a trip to the garden centre - which is good because we would have come back with a trowel and fork - and a rose arch, some blackberry canes and an olive tree...perhaps some pretty solar lights too?

I haven't actually done any gardening today. Instead I sat in the garden soaking up the sunshine. I am off of work and feeling a little under the weather. It was mild and sunny today and I think it has done me some good.  I have begun work on a doily with some yellow gold Lyscordet I found for twenty pence a ball in a fabulous new secondhand shop last week. I haven't crocheted lace for a longtime, it is a fairly frivolous activity and I am all about the productivity in light of The Make List (Ambitious much)? On the other hand doilies are pretty and I am unwell...

No seeds were sown today, but I did fix up the mini greenhouse a couple of days ago in readiness for February. The rhubarb is making excellent progress which is cheering:

The rest of the day I loafed. I hope you enjoyed your day.

* * * * * *

Welcome to my newest follower Dewberry. Thank you for visiting!

Jute love

I have a couple of items from The Make List of 2013 on the go. I even have my first finished object:

I see now that a few things are going to get added to the list over the year. Who knew I needed a crocheted jute fruit bowl until the crocheted jute toy basket I was working on was at the 'too big to be functional as a toy basket, too morale shattering to unravel and start again' stage? Not I.

This stuff is wonderful to crochet with. It is a little rough, it took a lot of stops and starts and hook changes to get the tension right, but is produces just want I wanted - a flexible yet self supporting form, sturdy enough to sit upright on the floor as a throw tub, flexible enough to be picked up by the handles and safely carted up and down the stairs, into the garden or wherever else wooden bricks and a train set might need to go.

On top of all that, it was FREE! I like free. Despite all the needle changes, the circular mat that forms the base warped and rippled and I made it far too big for a toy basket, something I realized long after I started working  the sides.

We did actually need a new fruit bowl. Every time we wanted to make a large batch of bread, we first had to empty out the large mixing bowl that we have been using the past few years as a fruit bowl. It I hadn't done just this a few days before (after many months of no bread making) I would have spent a few hours ripping out and re-crocheting. Hooray for New Year baking enthusiasm!

A new toy basket is now in progress, I have just started working the sides. This one has rippled slightly, apparently I just don't own a hook large enough, but will work just fine for toys. The jute works up fast, no doubt there will be another finished object soon enough, but the fact that just one short week into the new year, I even have a FO is quite something for me.

Make List 2013

I am not normally one for making plans at this time of year. Autumn is the time for new plans and I should be well into action by the time January 1st rolls on around. That didn't really happen last year and so there I was, making my plans in the first week of 2013.

There are lots of lists... a places to go list, a personal development list, a stuff to grow list, among others; and this, a make list. This is the list of all of the things we need to furnish our lives that I believe I have a good shot at making myself.

Item 3 on the list was, naturally, 'draw mum being a camel (whilst she is away from her notebook for a mere 30 seconds making a cup of tea)'. Tick!

Onward to item 4 - scrap that list and instead put it here online, safely out of reach of small hands wielding biros:

Placemats x 6
Coasters x 10
Cushion covers x 3
Pot holders
Dining seat pads/covers x 6
Wall Art
Yarn! (no reason, I just NEED it)
Jumpers x 2 for Gus
Cardigans x 2 for Elsa
Coat pegs for Gus & Elsa
Baskets/bins for toys
Hat, scarf and gloves for me
THAT jumper for the man of the house (yes, it's still not finished)

My list seems...long...ambitious...exciting. Because I am at that stage in my life when working out how to make coasters and hats and potholders; and choosing patterns and yarn for jumpers - and then actually making them - is exciting. That's where I am at and it feels just fine.

House proud

Now that my house is fairly uncluttered, keeping it tidy and clean has become easier - and more of a priority. I notice things now that didn't really bother me before - or if they did, they were dwarfed by the much larger piles of clutter and chaos looming in the background. One particular bugbear of mine? Kitty footprints. We seem to have the grubbiest footed cats in the neighborhood - rain or shine they bring dust, soil and other muck into the kitchen and across the lino. This is where we put their food bowls, so it gets particularly grubby particularly quickly. Or it did, until this morning.

I finished this rag rug last night - it is cheap, cheerful and recycled - all of my favourite things. I simply cut inch wide strips of old sheets and fabric offcuts and crocheted rows of double crochet (that's single crochet to those of you in the US) with a 7mm hook. With hindsight, 1 inch is probably excessive - it was quite hard work pulling the loops through which made my hands sore. If I were to make a bigger one I would use thinner strips and a larger hook - though it has made a substantial rug that doesn't slide around and will stand up to frequent washing. Did I mention it was cheerful?

OK, I have a long way to go before anyone could describe me as house proud. But caring about kitty prints is a start, yes? And doing something about it - even better?

Lazy crochet day

Today I woke up with absolutely no get up and go. I completed a handful of chores, but mostly I lazed around, a lot. I had a days leave booked, which I normally spend doing the same old household stuff that I do most days, so I didn't feel particularly guilty this afternoon about lazing in bed with my newest crochet project, a bag. I fell asleep after an hour, but progress is progress. That is indeed a pile of laundry you can see waiting patiently at the end of the bed for my attention. It's still waiting now.

The pattern is loosely based upon a pattern in Susie John's Crochet for Beginners, but I have changed the yarn, dimensions, added a buttoned flap so that it can be closed; and will also probably add a lining. I am no embroiderer, so the embellishment will be different too. So far I love it. It's worked in Tunisian simple stitch on a Tunisian hook (a 35cm long crochet hook with a stopper at the end); working back and forth without turning the work. On every other row, you end up with a whole hook full of stitches, which you then work off the needle, before picking them up again on the next row.

The only complaint I have about regular crochet is that the fabrics produced tends to veer towards lacy and open, or dense and heavy, seemingly with no happy medium. This technique seems to change all of that. It has often been described as 'like knitting, but with a hook', which I naturally resent as someone with knit related trauma issues - this is very much a crochet technique. I will however get down from my precariously high amigurumi horse to recommend this technique to knitters that struggle with the 'loopiness' of crochet - and obviously to crocheters who want to learn a new skill. The fabric is drapier than double crochet, but not in the least lacy or 'holey' - although their are hundreds of stitches to learn including some open work and mesh.

Last year I promised myself I would not buy any more craft materials until I had worked through my stash. My excuse is that the recipient of this bag wanted a purple bag; and I didn't have any purple. Still, it does mean I have found a new natural fibre yarn - King Cole Bamboo Cotton - for when I do need to restock. This comes in very economical 230m balls, excellent value for a bamboo based yarn. It is soft with a lovely sheen, though it is loosely plied and liable to split if you aren't paying attention. I also had to buy the needles - I bought a set from Purple Linda Crafts (no affiliation, this just happens to be one of the only shops on the web to concentrate primarily on crochet - hence it is one of the only places you can buy Tunisian hooks for a reasonable price - and in shiny brightly coloured metallics no less).

If you want to have a go, I used the instructions in Jan Eaton's Encyclopedia of Crochet Techniques, a well explained and illustrated reference book to have in your library. There is a good clear video on Youtube, but unfortunately a Google search seems to throw up a minefield of confusing or poorly illustrated written instructions. If you do want to have a go, a normal round crochet hook (a size larger than you would normally use for your yarn) with a ball of Blu-Tack stuck on the end will allow you to practice a short width (about 8-10 stitches) before you decide to splash any cash on hooks.

Two posts in two days, internet connection and brain holding up well. I should take siestas more often.

My perfect dishcloth

I think I have found it. I spent a few months back last year experimenting with a crochet  hook and knitting needles and some spare DK cotton that I had lying around. I never chanced upon a pattern that I particularly preferred, but the texture and ease of crochet definitely won over the slower growing, smoother, knitted ones. I also learnt that I favour a square cloth, not rectangular, and no more than about 8 inches wide. Finicky I know, but conditions have to be just perfect if I am even going to contemplate washing up, sigh. Perhaps that was the beginning of the end of my love affair with two pointy sticks?

Most of last year's experiments are looking a little worse for wear, but considering the abuse they have been subjected to, they are doing remarkably well. Still, many are too large or small; and I want to introduce a little colour to the kitchen sink. Last week I opened my stash, took out a ball of 4-ply cotton and began to experiment again. The stitch pattern I settled on this time is called 'spider stitch' according to part 13 of the Art of Crochet, though I remain sceptical, because to me spider stitch has always meant a filet lace background with a large spider like window motif in the centre. Whatever its actual name, worked in 4-ply on a 4mm hook it gives a nice open fabric (quick to dry) that still has some texture too it. The edges are tidy and firm, straight at the top and bottom and slightly scalloped at the edges, which means it doesn't require edging.

So, now for my own (current) favourite 7 inch(ish) dishcloth:

*Nb - these instructions are written using UK crochet terms*

Using 4-ply cotton and a 4mm hook, chain 36 stitches (or any multiple of 2 to achieve preferred size - if you must mess with perfection : ) )

Foundation row: 1 dc, 1 ch, 1 dc into 3rd chain from hook. *Miss one Ch sp, (1 dc, 1ch, 1dc) into next chain, repeat from * to last ch, 1 dc, turn. 

Next and all subsequent rows:  Ch 2, *(1 dc, 1ch, 1dc) into next ch sp, repeat from * across row to turning chain, 1 dc into back loop only of turning chain.

Continue until cloth can be folded exactly in half, corner to corner - this should give you a square dishcloth.


I am going to try the same stitch pattern out in DK to see if the results are the same, but at the moment 4 ply seems to be a winner. The texture is very soft, worked in a bamboo or soya cotton mix yarn it would make luxurious face cloths. Nice, quick gifts to work up and keep around just in case. Bring on pay day, I want some nice bright colours to experiment with.

Crochet 1 - Knitting 0

I have been away visiting family for the past week; and actually wrote this before I left, but never had the chance to post it.

There will come a time in any journey towards self reliance and simpler living that you may be tempted to make for yourself items that you need in your everyday life. I chose to focus on yarn crafts, as the start-up equipment is minimal and they do not require a dedicated space (apart from a little storage). You can produce blankets, hats, socks, dishcloths, jumpers, slippers, rugs and a host of other useful, comforting objects from nothing more than some variation of a stick and a ball of yarn. 

I finally mastered crochet, after a decade of failure, at the age of 17, as an alternative to all that German verb revision I should have been doing. I was hooked, if you will pardon the pun. Crochet grows so much quicker than knitting; and as I was more of a blankets and scarfs than garments kind of crafter, it suited me to the ground. I began knitting in earnest when I was pregnant and wanting to make garments for my son; and  stylish good crochet garment patterns were few and far between. That is now changing gradually and there are many good crochet designers making their mark.

This year I have failed to complete any of the knitted objects I have begun. That jumper that should have been finished in  November? The arms might now get finished (or should I say started?) for next November. I am slow; and I am terrible at following pattern rows, especially ones that are charted as seems to be the case more often that not these days. In short I am no longer a happy knitter. So this week I returned to a chunky mesh crochet afghan I have been hooking on and off for over a year. It had been cast aside as I struggled with casting on and frogging various knitting projects. Its not overly fancy, made with self patterning acrylic. But the colours are glorious and to actually finish something with an hours work was soothing to my crafting soul. I was so enthused that I finally whipped up a winter hat (the snow wasn't much fun last week without one) using a spare ball that same evening, making it up as I went along. 

If time is an issue for you, or you are just highly impatient like me, I recommend crochet. It is often seen as a poor relation to knitting, but beautiful functional objects can be made, albeit with a different look to knitting. Ravelry, Interweave, and Attic24 offer inspiration, patterns and some good tutorials. If you want to learn, a quick search of YouTube gives a wealth of video demonstrations. The best way is usually to find a patient teacher, but books and videos can be very useful.

I plan to focus more on crochet projects next year; which should make room for other crafts. I really want to develop my spinning which I reluctantly put on the back burner to concentrate on the jumper. I would like to learn some brand new skills too, perhaps a little sewing; and also give rug making another bash. This week I tried my hand at dough craft decorations for the tree, to accompany some of the tree doilies I have been crocheting during my 3 day crochet fest. Christmas is now shaping up to be merry and bright, without a missed pattern row or slipped stitch in sight.

Knitting nemesis

 I have a head swimming with ideas for things I want to design and knit (or crochet) with my yarn stash. Winter is a coming, and autumn and winter are knitting seasons. They are also the seasons of wind chilled ears and numb fingers and toes; hence I needed to start stitching, ooh say, in March 2010.


Unfortunately I have a knitting nemesis apparently determined to thwart every swatch I cast on. Especially the ones with the complicated lace patterns, variable stitch counts and fiddly yarns. High surfaces, closed-tight cupboards and  knitting bags are apparently light (but absorbing) work for a toddler, as is pulling my starter rows off of the needles and trailing a knotty mess around the house. It takes him about the thirty seconds it takes me to put milk in my tea and walk into the living room.

I read a lot of those gorgeous crafting blogs,  the ones where lavishly heaped skeins in decorative ceramic bowls happily coexist with small children that, whilst the bowl is at eye (and therefore pingling) level, ignore it, instead seeking joy creatively but tidily elsewhere, leaving mummy to knit in peace.

Which makes me wonder...where do I get one of those magical decorative ceramic bowls that adorable  toddlers find so repugnant?

(Secretly I am of course delighted that one of the men in the house admires a hand dyed silk-merino 6 ply when he sees it. That child is going to be one screwed up yarn crafting genius when I am through with him).

Time to reflect on how far we have come

A few of my activities today have put me in reflective mood. Our little baby boy is no longer a baby, but a talkative and independent twenty-two month old! Time has flown and much has changed since he was born, in the last year especially.

Some of the important things that we have done in the past twelve months:

Finances - We have paid off £2000 debt. This is perhaps the most exciting thing to reflect on. I know that we could have done even better than this, but we afforded ourselves a few luxuries along the way. Even so, two credit cards are now gone, and we no longer have overdraft facilities. Every month we have a little money put aside spare, which is a position I never imagined we would be in for the next decade! We have also transferred the majority of the remainder of the debt to 0% interest rates, which means that we will be able to pay it off faster every month.

Home - We have been on a massive decluttering mission this year. We have charity bagged, chucked out and car booted possessions that I had deep emotional (read 'hoarding instinct') attachments to just a few years ago. the house is clearer (though by no means complete) and our lives are lighter. Hopefully other people benefited from our stuff too. We also invested in some solid furniture as ours wore out; I think we finally grasped the importance of quality and beauty and functionality over quantity.

Practical skills - Over the last few years we have been knuckling down and learning the skills for true self reliance. So new found money management skills aside:

• This year I have put much more effort into the garden and developing my food growing skills; and from just a few containers our harvest over the next few months is looking promising. I am branching out into winter crops this year too. Unfortunately I haven't learnt the art of war against caterpillars. There's always next year...

•  Our home brewing (OH's) and wine making (mine) enterprise is going well and is very satisfying work . OH is about to start his first non-kit, from mash brew. I have plans for lots of foraged fruit wines and perhaps some cider in the months ahead. As well as the finished product (which has an uncanny ability to win you friends and influence people!), I find the whole process fascinating. 

•  I have developed my knitting and crochet beyond basic stitches and simple shaping. Now I wonder every time I need a soft furnishing or item of clothing, 'can I knit that?'. Being able to make basic items like socks, hats and gloves to keep us warm comforts me deeply.

• I can finally bake a loaf of good bread, along with lots of other baked/skillet staples.

Parenting - we have had to learn patience, tolerance and a  good dose of selflessness. But thankfully our little boy teaches us as painlessly as possible, with the most fun and smiles he can muster (which is a LOT). Oh, and when handed a pooey baby, I can close off my smell receptors and have that baby cleaned and pinned in a terry cloth before others have stopped retching - which is good progress for an only child that was never entirely sold on being a parent.

I realise now that we are closer to living our dreams than I usually give credit for. It is so easy to focus on what we don't have, what we want to be doing and what we don't feel we are doing well enough. I know now that goals and dreams are built one and every moment at a time, until you arrive at the place where you want to be. If the goals are the right ones for you, then the journey will be as enjoyable as the destination.

Taking stock

There are a few stragglers around the house. I know I am missing a few dishcloths and definitely a crochet blanket I am working on. Now I have taken stock, I realise that not buying any more craft materials until I have used up what I have won't actually be so hard. 

I can't believe just how many WIPS and UFOs I have. I would have estimated seven, it turns out there are closer to fifteen. Some will be finished in the next few months, some will be frogged and the yarn salvaged for reuse. Whilst I feel a tad guilty about the money this yarn represents, I am dead excited by all the wonderful textures and colours I have to pick and choose from. I might even get around to designing a few patterns of my own which I have wanted to do for a long time. 

My pretties are now sorted into bags and boxes and stowed away safely. I now know why Ravelry includes that 'Stash' tab. I might be making use of it, now I realise I have such a stash to keep track of. I have chucked all of the scraps and poor quality yarns that I will never get around to to using. I still have a big bag of tangled yarn given to me by my friends mum; eventually I will sort through it with a knitting friend and see what we can do with it. 

Of course, if yarn companies would stop producing such yummy yarns and wafting them under my nose, this wouldn't even be a problem...(whistle and wander away nonchalantly, neglecting to mention that there is also the sewing stash, the paper stash, the bead stash...).

Now the nights are drawing in...

It must be a week now since the solstice? I can feel a nip in the air, I swear...

This is the jumper I have been planning to make for my darling OH for the last 12 months and today I managed to find the perfect yarn. I am not unfortunately of unlimited funds when it comes to yarn and aran can be pricey, but this was 40% off and so I jumped at it. It has brightly coloured 'nebs' spun into the charcoal grey yarn and is a beautifully soft wool/alpaca/synthetic mix.

Today I visited my local yarn shop. This weekend it closes its doors for the last time and my local community becomes a little less complete. I am sad, not least because an independent shop has closed, but also because in those early lonely months with a new baby, the odd visit to that shop kept me sane. I think it can only be a good sign that it is closing for personal reasons and not due to the recession that is killing off so many other retailers. It must mean that people are relearning old skills and spending their money accordingly, which can only be a good thing. In an age of passive consumption, the sense of satisfaction and security that being able to make something for yourself gives is priceless.

This month I have visited the shop a couple of times to stock up and take advantage of some of the clearance offers. In  addition to the aran, I purchased ten balls of Sublime extra fine merino DK in various colours (so soft and richly coloured, it is wonderful to knit with) and some 4-ply cotton to crochet and knit some more dishcloths, which are unfortunately far too addictive.

I now regret buying some purely synthetic yarn to make a jumper for my son. Whilst its quite good quality as synthetics go, I know that when knitted into a garment it will pill and stretch too readily. I read an interesting article (whilst chopping up my magazines) about 'Precycling', which basically means to avoid waste altogether by thinking long and hard about what you consume before you even consume it; and making wise choices (along the lines of reduce, reuse, recycle) after you take possession of it. In future I will make sure that I buy as hard wearing and classic a yarn as I can afford so that when the original garment is worn out after many years of use I can frog it or felt it and turn it into something else. The gift of yarn that just keeps on giving!