Currently knitting - Sirdar Lady's Jumper

I have decided to try and do some regular posts which will look at what is currently on my knitting needles. At the moment I can not knit as much as I normally do and I need a way of seeing that some knitting is still happening and that progress is indeed being made. Otherwise, I focus on how much I haven't knitted, that I could have knitted by now if only my neck and shoulder were up to it. Obviously, that is not a very positive way of looking at things so I need to fix that!

 I am seeing a brilliant and understanding Physio who is getting my neck and shoulder working again, there are great improvements already and I will spare you the details of the excruciating armpit massages that have helped to make that happen!

I started this pretty 1950's feather and fan pattern jumper on the first of January. I keep a little notebook in my knitting bag to keep track of these things, including row counts, changes or clarifications, number of balls of yarn used, sizing etc. When I finish a project I transfer that info plus a picture of the pattern into my knitting journal/scrapbook which I really should do a post on at some point.

I very much liked the original colour scheme but knew that it wasn't really me and that I wanted something with more of an autumnal palette. The original pattern was knitted in 3-ply but I figured a thin 4-ply should do just as well. This is where I admit that whilst I do tension squares and check sizing if I am knitting for others I don't do it as much if I am knitting for myself as I just want to get started. So if this turns out massive or too small I have only myself to blame!

I am in the unfortunate position of being a knitter who loves using real wool but who can not tolerate it against my skin. I go like a crazed itchy thing and need to rip off whatever I am wearing. I have found that a wool/silk blend can be ok as long as I wear long sleeves and a scarf round my neck (handily looking like I have styled in an accessory but actually just anti itch protection)!

When I went to Yarndale last September I was looking specifically for yarn to knit this jumper and another as yet unstarted jacket. I fell for the beautiful colours of this lovely yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns. It is Askham 4-ply in Walnut, Crocosmia, Air and Yarrow. It is a blend of baby alpaca (70%) and silk (30%) and it feels very soft indeed.

This is how it looked when I had got all the colours knitted in so it was the first chance to check that I did like them all knitted up together. Which I do. Phew!

This is less of a close up and I've spread the stitches out a bit so that it is possible to see the pattern a little better.

Here you can see that I have done the armhole shaping and the back of the jumper is on it's way to being complete. I tend to share my knitting progress, amongst other things, on Instagram so do come along and say hello on there.

Crafty Tuesday - egg cosies

Crafty Tuesdays came about some months ago when some friends and I decided that we would like to make some Christmas cards. We had so much fun, and so enjoyed adding some extra crafting into our week that we decided to make it a monthly thing. We tend to choose a theme, often seasonal, scout about for inspiration and patterns, use Pinterest to share ideas and then turn up at one of our houses with a bag full of fabric, yarn, needles, pins, thread, card, glue dots, scissors and ribbon and get crafty. We generally have a pizza and a chat, get done to some crafting, have tea and cake and do some more. This is how Crafty Tuesday's were born.

I realised after last week's Crafty Tuesday that although I have shared the results of these sessions in my Seven Snaps series and in the Simple Christmas cards post I have never shown one in it's entirety. So welcome to our Easter themed Crafty Tuesday where we made egg cosies. We are aware that they are, in essence, totally unnecessary, but they are pretty, cute, make nice gifts, quick and fun. So we don't care about necessity!

The original plan was to make felt egg cosies and to decorate them. This is M with her hot pink felt going straight into cutting it out with no template! Mantra - you can always cut it smaller but can't make it bigger.

J was inspired by some egg shaped felt decorations and decided to make her own version but turn it into a brooch. She cut out her shapes and appliqued them onto her egg shape. It was going to be stuffed and a brooch back attached.

I was all up for making felt cosies until I found this pattern in a knitting magazine. Then I decided that I needed these. This caused consternation to K, who fell in love with the woolly stripes whilst having lots of felt cosy plans.

I raided my stash beforehand and then chose my yarn from the pile I had bought along with me.

K decided to go with the knitted cosy and raided M's yarn stash without seeing my colour choices. Bit of a 'whoa' moment as they are freakishly similar.

M pinned her cosy into shape and tried it over the egg cup containing a creme egg that she had thoughtfully prepared earlier.

Stripes! My cosy in progress.

The past few Crafty Tuesdays have been interrupted ( in a good way) for The Great British Sewing Bee as we are all avid watchers. This week it also involved a bit of a house swap. Crafty Tuesday was at M's house. Her television is normal sized to small. M lives a few doors down from K. Her television is normal to large. So at 8pm we gathered up our craft projects (not necessarily what we had been making) and nipped out to K's house. We did laugh as we scuttled down the street without our shoes properly on, trailing yarn.

We love the Great British Sewing Bee. The final is on Tuesday. Very excited!

K had made a yummy pineapple upside down cake. Old school pudding's are just the best. We continued with our alternate craft projects. We had to do this so that GBSB could get our full attention!

J hand stitching her Regency style apron, made without a pattern! Clever! She was getting it ready for a re-enactment event. M was knitting a lovely sock. K was knitting cute heart bunting. I was knitting my cosy.

A lovely cuppa! Crafting is so very often fuelled by tea. (and cake, but we won't go into that)!

GBSB finished we packed up and went back to M's. This is my finished cosy before being stitched together and before the darning in of those pesky yarn ends.

M's finished felt cosy. It is decorated with a strip of polka dot fabric, cut out with pinking shears and tied in a bow. So jolly!

My finished cosy! I was very pleased with its woolly stripeyness.

The top of the cosy is stitched together to create this pretty effect.

I can't wait for the the next instalment of Crafty Tuesday!

Inside my Mother's wardrobe

Now, I should probably start by saying that whilst my mum wears lovely clothes and is perfectly stylish it is not her current wardrobe that I wish to talk about. I want to focus on part of her wardrobe from the early 1970s, when she was in her early 20s and had moved from a small rural town down to London.

I would have liked to know my mum as a teenager. From old photographs I can see that she was fashionable - hair in the latest style, on trend clothes, fancy shoes. Like many people who didn't have lots of money to spend on their appearance my mum made many of her clothes. I have heard stories of many of the dresses and seen photos (which I can't post here until I've asked her if she would mind)! If she agrees I will follow up this post with more pictures. I love the fact that she sat and looked through fashion magazines and browsed in shops for inspiration and then just went home and made it herself. She has a collection of Golden Hand magazines which we have looked through together discussing what she made. I bought one from a charity shop a few weeks ago which featured a Vogue wedding dress pattern. This turned out to be the pattern she used to make her own wedding dress!

Mum has recently decided to part with some of her clothes from the 70s. Both my sister and I would love to wear them but there is one small (literally) snag. Mum was clearly absolutely tiny, one of her skirts will not quite do up around my thigh and where her rib cage used to go I really don't know! I have tried to take pictures of a high quality but am hampered by the fact that no one I know can fit the clothes to model them and I don't have a dressmaker's dummy to display them on either. I still think they are worth a look.

Stirling Cooper two-piece, floral print on black.
Shirt shoulders gather and tie.
Skirt has shirred front panel and ties at the sides.
Fabulous red buttons.
Bought in 1976/7.
Mum wore this whilst pregnant with me!

 Halter neck bandeau top and floral and pink denim panelled skirt.

Handmade by mum in 1974/5.

Worn to many parties and dances on river boats on the Thames. 



Close up of the floral fabric.

Long sleeve tie front dress .
Bought from Wallis in Oxford Street in 1976.

 Close up of the fabric, a mixture of ditsy florals, paisley and folk print.

 Orange wheat ear brocade dress by Eastex.
This is actually a 1960s dress which Mum bought in the 1990s.
I had to include it as it is beautiful.

A close up of the amazing buttons and embroidery.

I love this fabric, I wish this dress fitted!

 Red squiggle chiffon floor length dress.
Bought in a boutique off Victoria Street, London, in late 1976.

Close up of the fabric.
It is sheer so Mum made a long red slip to go under it.
She wore this whilst 3 months pregnant with me!



Mum wore this dress to The Royal Marsden charity fund raising ball at Quaglinos in London's West End. The cabaret artist was singer/comedienne Joan Turner who was a little worse for wear and not on top form. Several men began a protest by getting under their tables, lifting them above their heads and advancing on the artist. During this bread rolls started flying towards the stage. An appeal for order was made by Danny La Rue and Ava Gardiner who managed to rescue Joan Turner!

One of the things I love about vintage clothes is the idea of the life they may have led before they became part of mine. I always imagine the type of woman who owned my dress before and the events and occasions they would have been to together. I love that tangible link with history. Its a shame the garments can not speak and tell all their tales. This is one of the reasons I am so interested in my mum's clothes as she can tell me all about them.

How to make a 1940s floral accessory

Recently I had a craft day with a friend. Sometimes it is great to craft on your own as your mind is free to roam and be creative. But, I also enjoy crafting with others - its sociable, you can exchange ideas, swap techniques, add moral support or cups of tea through disasters and you get to be nosey and see what others are making. My friend made lots of beautiful items for her home - storage bags and boxes, a table runner and cushions.

I was inspired by a 1940s pattern that I have for leather accessories. It features a bag, cap, purse and a gorgeous carnation. I was thinking about how 1940's women always accessorised their outfits well, often out of necessity as buying new was not always an option. So I decided to make some carnations to brighten up dresses, cardigans, hats, bags, as buttonholes or perhaps just to put in a jug on my desk. I have used felt, as women at that time often did.

On plain paper I drew 2 grids, one 2" by 3" and one 3" by 4". I have used inches as I wanted to make my flower to its original dimensions. I used these grids as a guide to draw my petal and calyx templates. You could draw these by hand and could also change the shape and size.

Once cut out I pinned each pattern piece to the felt. Each carnation needs one calyx and 12 petals. I cut round the template rather than draw round it so that no marks would be on show on the finished carnation. I used pinking shears round the petal top as carnations look a bit feathery, you could also cut a fringe or leave it plain.

Next, take one petal and roll it into a tube. I secured it at the bottom with a few stitches. Then cut 2 petals in half leaving a join at the bottom. Position these around the tube and stitch in place when you are happy with the result.

The next stage is trial and error as this gives the final shape of your flower. The petals need to be added one by one, keep checking to see that you like the shape that you are producing. You can hold them together or add a couple of stitches every few petals.

Leaving 5cm free at each end I then tightly wound a 36cm length of florist's wire around the base of the flower. You can rearrange your petals as you do so.

Twist the ends of the wire together to form a short stem. Position the calyx so that it covers the bottom third of the petals and all of the wire stem. The calyx piece needs to be tightly wrapped around the stem. I used a dot of glue to attach the calyx to the petals, then stitched it down the stem. You could also cut a leaf shape from the felt and stitch it to the stem.

That's it! One carnation made. Now all you need to do is decide what to do with it!