All the fun of the fair.

The beautiful weather continues so Mike and I went to the Malvern Autumn Show on Sunday to see all the produce, floral displays and country crafts. There were exhibitions of giant vegetables, Shire horses, dog training events, food tastings and cookery demonstrations. The show ground was so huge that frequent stops were required for refuelling with pasties and craft beers. Children enjoyed the funfair while parents looked at vintage cars.

I had the great pleasure of catching up with a fellow blogger who had a stall in the Vintage tent. Tracey has a super crafting/family blog, A Patchwork Life, which I have been following for some time. When I saw that she was going to be exhibiting and selling some of her super stuffed toys and Christmas ornaments I knew I would love to meet her in person. She is just as nice as she is in her blog. I bought the cutest knitted mouse in 60's inspired dress. I gave this later in the day to my 4 year old granddaughter Lexie and it was a great hit.

I have knitted frantically this last two weeks and I have not one, but two finishes to show. I had knitted the Playful Stripes cardigan before which helped but the Wee Wildflower cardigan was a new pattern for me. It won't be the last time I knit it though.

I love the bobble flower pattern on the pockets and the loopy edge. Next time though I will knit it in a softer wool yarn. I used Jenny Watson Babysoft, an acrylic/polyamide blend. The feel is not quite as nice as the yarn I used for Playful Stripes but it should be hardwearing and it is machine washable. It was also very reasonably priced at less than half the price of the Debbie Bliss Rialto DK I used for Playful Stripes.
Pattern: Wee Wildflower by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.
Size: 23.5" chest

This is my absolute favourite cardi to knit. It is a joy to knit with the Debbie Bliss yarn; it is so soft and luxurious and machine washable too! If only it was cheaper. I bought the spotty buttons online from Kirsty at Love Paper Fish.com
Pattern: Playful Stripes Cardigan
Size: age 2 years

I've really got the knitting bug back and have cast on another cardigan which I will show you at the end of the week. Not much progress on my Coastal Ripple crochet blanket though. Tomorrow I'm off to my
patchwork class. So much to do and so little time.

I've decided that since I am linking to Yarn along that I will start posting about the latest book I am reading. I have always loved books and still buy lots but increasingly I use my Kindle. It is so easy to travel with and download new stuff too. BUT you cannot beat the real thing, especially in hardback.
My latest read is The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton. I'm only about 25% in and it is almost unputdownable. Set in 17th c. Amsterdam it tells of the strange marriage between a shy young woman and a merchant. The detail of the society they live in and their household makes for an extremely good read. I've linked to the review on goodreads.com as the précis is so good.

Have a wonderful week (and let me know what you are doing too)

Catherine

I'm linking up to Wool on Sundays, Anything goes Mondays and later in the week (Wednesday) to Yarn along.


I've also got more details of the knits on my Ravelry pages.

Indian Summer

Autumn does not get much better than this year, does it? I love that feeling of crisper mornings. I was in the garden yesterday morning (sorting out the recycling, if you must know) and passed the woodshed which Mike has now filled with logs for the wood stove. I found I was looking forward to colder weather and lighting the stove. Every season has something to offer. The shorter days will mean I don't feel so bad about doing my projects during the day.

I am working on a number of projects at the moment but have no finishes to show you.

W.I.Ps.

1. Summer Breeze quilt for our bedroom (on hold)
2. English Country Garden BOM appliqué quilt. (I need to do the September block next)
3. Patchwork cutting mat bag (fortnightly class at Busy Bees)
4. Coast Ripple blanket. (on hold while I finish the cardigans)
5. Isobel's Playful stripes Cardigan (just needs buttons so a grand reveal next week))
6. Isobel's Wee Wildflower cardigan.

This week I have been working on the 11 stars which will the flowers on the cutting mat bag. I had a mammoth sew-in yesterday and finished them.

These are 6.5"blocks using a Philip Jacobs print for Rowan.The background is a Renee Nanneman fabric. The fabrics above the top blocks are Benartex Essential Gradations which are for there Maple Leaf blocks.

The rest of my crafting time has been taken up with knitting. I have made good progress on Wee Wildflower, which I am knitting in size 2 years. It is knitted on circular needles from the bottom up. The pattern for the pockets demanded concentration but it has been a pleasure to knit so far. I have finished the body and one sleeve and I am well on with the second sleeve. The instructions on the pattern was to block the pieces separately before joining so I did that yesterday before starting the last sleeve. The loopy edge will look fab when it is blocked.

The yarn I am using is Jenny Watson Babysoft DK that I had in my stash. It is much cheaper than the Debbie Bliss 100% merino yarn I used for Playful Stripes but it feels soft and is machine washable too. I hope to finish this before next week.

Mike and I went to Oxford to a attend a garden party at Magdalen College. Mike was there in 1960 and we met up with some of his old friends for afternoon tea on the lawn. The day was slightly overcast and the photos were hopeless. On the way home we called in at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. The trees were just beginning to turn and this autumn's display will be fantastic in a couple of weeks.

Lastly, some of you may know I am interested in family history. I subscribe to a few internet sites and came across this excerpt from an 1846 newspaper. 

Carlisle Journal, 09 May 1846 - Knitter / Accident / Body Found
Saturday 09 May 1846   (p. 3, col. 1)
A VENERABLE KNITTER.-There is now residing in Cockermouth a venerable female, named Jane OWENS, who is in the 94th year of her age, and who, last week, in the course of a few hours, footed a pair of men's yarn stockings in an excellent style of workmanship. This antiquated dame is a stout good-looking woman for her age, and has little of the appearance of having looked upon the world for
nearly a century. Her health is even robust, and she is in full possession of both her mental and bodily faculties, the latter of which are often tolerably well tested by her journeys to the village of Greysouthen and back again to Cockermouth, a distance of twelve miles, which she is able to perform with but very little fatigue! 

I always knew knitting was good for you!

Catherine

Linking up to 

A (very) quick finish!

It has been a frantic, busy week but very enjoyable all the same.

First, a finish, ta dah! Don't laugh, I know they are small but they are incredibly useful.

3 finger pincushions

I found this idea yesterday morning on Carolyn Forster's Quilt-On-The-Go blog. I made the three in less than an hour, super fast and super useful. 

I gave one each to my friends Jan and Gilly when we met up yesterday for a Crafternoon Tea in Ystradowen Village Hall. Lots of crafting, giggling and beautiful food- a really good afternoon. Monica has blogged about it here with lots of photos including one of me looking like a duck. Oh dear! I was trying to lean in to the group for the photo. The afternoon raised £1,045 for charity.

This week I have concentrated mainly on my knitting. I had an emergency text from my daughter Jenny to say that Isobel had outgrown last year's cardigans and could I get my knitting needles out again. I was happy to oblige and set off to buy some yarn from La Mercerie in the nearby market town of Cowbridge. It is a fab shop that stocks a wide variety of quality yarns. Jenny had sent a photo of a couple of Isobel's dresses and I chose Debbie Bliss Rialto as it was washable and also 100% merino wool so will be cosy in the winter.

I am using the cardigan pattern I blogged about here way back in March. 

The pattern is Alana Dakos' Playful stripes cardigan which I found on Ravelry. The back and sides are knitted on a circular needle in one piece as far as the underarm seam. The sleeves are knitted separately then all are knitted together from the yoke. I have made rapid progress over the last 3 evenings and I hope to get it finished this week.

Last Friday I went with Gina and Celia to Weston-super-Mare to visit the Weston Quilters Biennial Exhibition in the Winter Gardens. So many quilts on show of all types but these are a few I snapped.

It was good to see a beginners section too. Not everyone is expert and I know I am proud of my own work even if I am a novice. With that in mind I have decided to enter one of my quilts in a show! It may not win prizes but it will be a first step. The West Country Quilt Show is on the 13-15th November 2014 at the University of the West of England just outside Bristol. The entry form is on the website and it is £5 to enter a quilt. I'll be entering my Triangle quilt that I made for Vivi. I'm hoping one or two of my Honey Bee group will enter as well.

So, that was my week, how was yours?

I am linking up to Wool on Sundays for some yarn based eye candy.

and also to Sew Cute Tuesday.


Also, check out the 1001 post at A Quilting Readers Garden. She usually writes an Applique post of Tuesdays and she has a super celebration giveaway.
I'm off to get ready for a new course starting tomorrow. So, a new blade for my cutter and a new needle for my machine.

Have a great week,

Catherine

Like swallows...

Like swallows, the last of my summer visitors have flown away and we are left with happy memories of meals shared, conversation and trips, not to mention a fridge full of left-overs and bits. We will not be going food shopping for a few days. The house is nearly back to normal and we have spent a few hours tidying the garden.
Not much accomplished this week on the crafting front. I've managed a few more rows of my Coast ripple blanket (now up to thirteen colours) but no quilting whatsoever. I've promised myself a full day of quilting tomorrow.

Firstly a ripple blanket progress photo. It will be a single bed size blanket when I finish.

Last week I went with my two friends, Gilly and Jan, to Lampeter which was looking glorious in the sunshine. We will all be doing a quilting class which starts next week to make a quilted bag to carry our cutting mats. I had a 2m. piece of Kaffe Fassett for the inside of the bag but needed more fabric for background and appliqué. I'm sure I might have had enough fabric if I had looked hard enough but I needed some inspiration and there is no better place than Calico Kates.

The very bright fabric in the background is my original choice for the lining of the bag from my stash. The lighter gold will be the background for the blocks. The design has 4 flower pots which will be made from the basket weave plus a.n.other and the flowery Kaffe print will be some of the flowers. There are also maple leaf blocks for which I will use the dark green and possibly some red and burnt orange fabric.

I also acquired these autumnal beauties. The fabric on the left is some vintage Liberty. The label on the back says it is Liberty Gloriosa, Cottage Garden in colour way A. I'm not sure how old this is, could it be 1950s?

While we were in Lampeter we visited the exhibition in the Jen Jones Quilt Centre. The current exhibition, Early to Bed,  has been running for some time. The displays are of 19th century quilts which celebrate the folk art and  make do and mend of that era.

A quilt made with tweed from a tailor's sample book

The original labels on the reverse of the tweed

And lastly some Victorian hall tiling inspiration.

I'm hoping to make 2 or 3 of my Summer Breeze blocks tomorrow before summer breezes become autumn gales!

I'm linking to Wool on Sundays.