A Knitterly Update

Quite a while ago I posted about my wish to make a jumper for one of my girls inspired by this wee fellow:



About this time last year I had purchased a glorious shetland fleece. It was silver grey, with darker grey patches. I washed it ready to spin, once I had decided what I wanted to create with it:



I went backwards & forwards between a jumper & a tank top & in the end, decided to go with a tank top.
I wanted the fair isle design to be isnspired by the colours of the two wee robins that we see on our nature walks (& that try as I might, I can never get a photo of them both together!)
Soft greys, deeper grey, brown, off white & that glorious deep red - orange.

The fleece has patches of charcoal grey - I combed all the fibre & then drum carded to blend the different colours within the one fleece. Some of the fibre was set aside to dye in the browns & reddish orange.



The colours I got from the natural fleece where as follows:

Off-white - from combing the lightest parts of the fleece - the combing removed the grey hairs leaving me with off white.

Silver - Blending the off white with the charcoal

Charcoal - from the darkest parts of the fleece

Brown - I hand dyed some of the off - white

Robin Redbreast Orange - again hand dyed off - white.

I was so nervous about dyeing this! I wanted it to be just right & did not have enough fleece to try over if I made a mistake! I mixed Orange Scarlet & Bright Turquoise Procion Dyes
I was delighted with the results - a perfect Robin - Red! I then drum carded the dyed fleece with some sparkly angelina fibre in 'rusty nail' to give the sweater a very subtle sparkle.

So, onto the yarn! I spun this up on my spinning wheel into a 2 ply yarn. Just a little heavier than a fingering weight. I spun in a 'woolen' method, which produces a lovely, lofty, cuddly yarn, perfect for Fair Isle designs.



I charted out a few fair isle patterns, decided on a winner & cast on a swatch. Essential! This gave me the info I needed for sizing, needle size, the look of the design knit up etc etc.



Once I cast on 'for real' I knit & knit, round & round using steeks for the neck & arm holes. Truthfully though, I am lazy & I do not sew up the areas to be steeked first, I just have at it with the scissors, assuming the fuzziness of the yarn will do its job & hold everything together : )

And here it is! Rosie's Robin Redbreast Tank Top







These photos are not the greatest - it hasnt been blocked here& I really need to get a photo of Rosie wearing said jumper.
I enjoyed creating this so much. I has brought me a lot of joy!

Lots Of Things...

Firstly, I have finished the shawl I began last January.
It has been a pleasure to knit, but lots of other knitting came along & usurped it! Once the Christmas knitting was done, I made a concerted effort to work on it & get it finished.



Our snow has all gone now, but not in our play -







Our January school has us learning about time.
Here is our blackboard (I copied this drawing from the wonderful Our Little Nature Nest



Time is a beautiful topic that we are particularly enjoying. Such a rhythmic topic, it appeals to our sense of order.
Elianna has begun a calendar & she is illustrating each month & writing a verse from The Months by Sara Coleridge


January brings the snow,
makes our feet and fingers glow.

February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.

March brings breezes loud and shrill,
stirs the dancing daffodil.

April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daises at our feet.

May brings flocks of pretty lambs,
Skipping by their fleecy damns.

June brings tulips, lilies, roses,
Fills the children's hand with posies.

Hot july brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.

August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.

Warm september brings the fruit,
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.

Fresh October brings the pheasents,
Then to gather nuts is pleasent.

Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves are whirling fast.

Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.

Another big project Elianna has begun working on is her first knitted jumper!
This has involved a lot of addition, place value work & measurement.
So far she has costed out the garment & ordered the yarn & needles that she needs. Everything arrived this morning, which is very exciting!
The next job is to dye the yarn & ball it up, all ready to knit : )
This morning we sent a while discussing colour theory & making our own colour wheels.

Elianna's Wheel



We discussed Sir Isaac Newton's classic experiment of passing daylight through a prism to break it down into it's components of Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo & Violet. We spent a lot of time talking & thinking about how different colours are different wavelengths & why we see colours as we do.
Fascinating stuff!

My girls have gone to visit Grandma this afternoon & I intend having a huge sort out of our books. I want to spend the time re-arranging them & generally tidying them up : )

Happy New Year!

We began the day slowly, getting dressed in the still darkness.
After a quick breakfast of smoothie & panettone, the girls & I headed out to the woods.

The misty, muddy morning was such a different scene from the all-white world that we walked in a few days ago.

















After our walk, we settled down to some nature sketching. Our focus today seems to have become 'fungi' : )

We had a big, hearty brunch of sausages, eggs & bacon & the girls went out to the cinema with Daddy. This left me with peaceful knitting time.
I have just purchased The Sweater Workshop What a brilliant book! This book sets out to set us knitters free from the confines of patterns - to teach us jumper construction, so we can craft our own out of any yarn we choose.
It contans a strange looking sampler to knit, that covers all the techniques that would be used in knitting a jumper. I have eagerly cast on today!

Happy knitting!

A Goal for Knitting & Spinning

I keep an inspiration book. A very simple book, into which I glue any photographs, clippings from magazines, ribbons, anything that inspires me!
I have a lot of nature photographs in there & the one that keeps catching my eye is the photograph at the top of this blog post.
Isnt he a sweetheart!

Earlier this year I purchased a wonderful silver shetland fleece from Jamiesons. It is the softest, cuddliest fibre & I have high hopes for that fleece!

My plan is to make a Seamless Yoke jumper using Elizabeth Zimmermann's Percentage System. To the yoke of the jumper, I would like to add some simple fair isle detail, inspired by - wait for it! - the colours of the wee robin!
So the body of the jumper will be a soft grey & the fair isle a combination of deeper grey, browns, off white & that glorious deep red - orange.

The fleece has patches of charcoal grey - I am combing the fleece right now - a laborious but worthwhile task. Once combed, I plan to drum card the lighter fibre with the darker fibre to get an even blend of light grey. Some of the fibre will be set aside to dye in the browns & red - orange.

Resources I will be using to help me are as follows:

Knitting in the Old Way

Knitting without Tears

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop

Knitting around: or Knitting without a License

Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting

'till next time : )

Snowy Days & Knitting....

We are having a super time in the snow : )

We went to the park with the sons of my friend.

















We stayed for a couple of hours, then headed home to a roaring fire, hot chocolate & warm blankets : )
The afternoon was spent in a very leisurely fashion - we all played a game of Wii, I knitted, we watched Cat in the Hat & The Puissance at The Olympia Horse Show
The girls made up a game all about the horses at Olympia & they spent a l-o-n-g time working on drawing their own maps. (These books always get them going!)

I have finally finished Elianna's Christmas jumper!





I am so pleased to have it finished in time : ) Rosie's was done a while ago (did I post pics of Rosie's owl jumper???)

This morning so far has brought - a new friend:





- A delicious scoured Shetland fleece, brought down from the attic, that I shall be spending the next few days combing, ready to spin for a jumper for one of the girls.

& the delicious smell of roasting chicken wafting through the house : )

I fully intend to take advantage of this enforced hibernation to relax & spend quiet, happy moments with my husband & girls before the busyness of 'the week before Christmas' kicks in : )

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like..... A Birthday!

Tomorrow my eldest daughter will be 8 years old.
Where does the time go????? I am going to take this opportunity to post a gratuitous baby shot : )



Here she is, my brand new babe, almost eight short years ago.

Today our world is white. And very busy!



We headed off to the park, nice & early.





The mittens I have been spinning & knitting for Rosie are done



They are made with 'Thrumms'



And are super-warm, I am told : )



Back home to the fireside & hot chocolate : )

Yesterday I baked Elianna's birthday cake & today I iced it.
Filled with buttercream,



his name is Walter. He is rather appropriate for this weather





This afternoon promises to be as busy in a lovely, happy, productive way. We have party food to prepare & presents to wrap. The girls have Christmas cards to be working on. (I shall be giving these lovely cards a post of their own, in the next week, hopefully) & I have lots of Christmas knitting to be getting on with.

I will leave you with some ideas of how we celebrate birthdays in our home - & our favourite birthday recipes too!

Birthday’s

The essence of our celebration; you are an important member of our family, we love you & our lives would not be the same without you!

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 139:14

Birthday to-do’s & good things to eat.

Find balloons tied to your bed when you wake
Be greeted by kisses, the same number as your age
No chores today!
Birthday gifts & always a book
Find a balloon on your chair at breakfast time
A prayer of thanks for you
A special birthday muffin for breakfast, with a number candle
Your height measured & marked
Birthday party tea
Homemade birthday cake with candles...we sing happy birthday, you make a wish!
Number (of your age) sugar cookies
You get to wear your very own birthday crown
A letter for you written in your journal

Read: Happy Birthday to You! by Dr Seuss

Classic Birthday Cake
(makes one tier)
4oz self raising flour 4 oz caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder 2 large eggs
4oz soft butter 2-3 drops pure vanilla essence

Pre-heat oven to GM 3
grease & line cake tin
sift flour & baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients & whisk till thoroughly combined. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of tap-warm water. Whisk again.
Add the mixture to the tin, level off & bake on the centre shelf for about 30 minutes.
When cooked remove to a cooling rack.
The cake can be sliced in half, layered with jam & buttercream or stacked.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
(Fills & frosts a 8/9” cake.)
3 cups icing sugar 2 tsp vanilla
3 oz softened butter 3 oz chocolate, melted & cooled
3-4 tblsp milk

Mix sugar & butter in a medium bowl on a low speed. Stir in vanilla & chocolate.
Gradually beat in enough milk to make frosting spreadable.

Sugar Cookies
2 cups plain flour 6 oz softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to GM 3

Cream the butter & sugar. Add the egg & vanilla, beating well until mixed. Add flour on very low speed: do not over mix.
Gather dough into a ball & wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour. Allow dough to sit for 10 mins before rolling. Roll on a floured counter to 1/4” thick. Cut with cookie cutters & place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 12-15 mins.
Can be frozen.

Etsy Shop!

I have just opened my very own Etsy Shop!

Please pop along & have a look - I will be adding more fibre & yarn over the coming days

If you decide to treat yourself to something from my shop, please mention my blog in the comments section for a 10% discount!

Dyeing with Gorse

Hello all!
in between fighting various illnesses, Rosie & I dyed up some sock yarn with Gorse

Here it is in the pan:



& here it is all dyed up:



I am so pleased with the pretty shade! I am planning to knit up Child's Lovely Lace Socks for my girls for Easter.

For more on natural dyeing, look here & here.

This morning we woke up to find...

...a wonderful white world!



We dressed fast, grabbed juice boxes & banana's & headed off to buy coal, as we were very short on supplies.
Once home again, we set off on foot to our local park, calling for our neighbour freinds.
We spent a few hours in the park, building a snowman, snowballing, sledging & generally having fun. And I forgot my camera.

Here is a shot of the park on a day last year. Today we have lots more snow!



We had a late breakfast of hot chocolate, porridge, fruit & toast then settled to our own activities.

Rosie went into the garden to play









Elianna made a fine zoo for all the little wooden animals in our home



















Hubby read & I napped, did a little spinning & knitted.







Somewhere in the midst of all this we ate a simple lunch

The bright sun of earlier in the day is fading now, I am blogging, the girls are playing 'zoo' & hubby is still reading : )
Soon the girls will have their evening bath & tonight is 'pizza night' We will be watching The Sound Of Music

Thank you friends for the many emails & messages I have received to ask' why so quiet'? - we have had a lot of illness & my uncle had passed away - his funeral is tomorrow.
I hope to post our February circle time plans either tonight or tomorrow.
I hope you all have had a super day, whatever the weather : )