Knit and Stitch Show 2011

It’s taken me a while to getting around to writing this post, mainly because I’ve been full of ideas and crafting every spare minute! The Knit and Stitch Show at Ally Pally was great as ever this year, with exhibits by a range of textile artists and new graduates, as well as lots of purchasing opportunities. I even met a couple of new twitter friends. I was lucky enough to go with my Mum, who was feeling generous in the run up to my birthday and christmas, so I did rather well!

On the artist front, I was amazed by a beautiful piece of sculptural work by Jean Bennett which reminded me of Rodin’s Gates of Hell. Mum treated me to a glass tile by Anna Krystyna Casey which had knitted wire embedded in it. It was nice to see a new take on metalwork in glass and her page is worth a look. I was also rather taken by some Faerie Mound Stumpwork pieces by Fleur Oakes. I have been thinking about faux taxidermy and bell jars for some time and have an idea brewing around making a crochet/embroidery terrarium. The problem as always is where to put the finished article as we are running out of art space at home! There was also a show of tradition African beadwork that has given me an idea for a choker.

Purchasing wise, I came away with arms full of yarn, books and fabric. I am currently working on a Fyberspates Scrumptious Cardigan in a beautiful DK yarn 45% silk 55% merino. It looks and feels as luxurious as it sounds! I also purchased lace weight Madelinetosh prairie in two colourways, destined to become a Jared Flood Rock Island shawl. The Black Sheep were selling bulk quantities of yarn at unbelievable discounts, so I bagged myself some Noro Silk Garden and Rowan Chunky Alpaca. Now to convince M that I will look good in a chunky gold sweater. One of my favourite acquisitions of the day was Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague. Unlike other pattern books, it has up to 15 sizes for each pattern (!) and the bulk of the book is a general guide on knitting garments that will fit well. I’m hoping to gain some confidence in this area as it is not my strong point, and buying enough yarn for a whole jumper is quite an investment to take risks with.

Fabric-wise I was very excited when I saw the fabric for this bustle skirt at Clothkits. Do you remember the Viewmaster toys with the discs that loaded into them? The discs printed on the skirt cover everything from a new life on Mars to making a tomato aspic salad. Here it is made up. I made the waist too big really, but with a long top it looks good and gives a longer bustle. Overall I am very happy with it.

As you can see, lots of ideas floating around and not a lot of time to work on them all now that I’m back at work. I know it’s only October, but a handmade Christmas takes time too, and I’m in the thick of presents, cards and planning decorations. The cooking starts soon with Stir up sunday! Here are a few other bits I’ve created over the past couple of months. The tea set and cake are for our goddaughter, and are being presented in a picnic hamper with bags of sweeties.

Last up, we are really fortunate in Dorchester to have a Pharaoh exhibition visiting from the British Museum at our very own Dorset County Museum. We were proud to be invited along to the official opening and have both been blown away by some of the exhibits. I was particularly taken by a gold ornament from an ointment bottle due to its beauty, historical significance, age and the intricate craftsmanship. I would encourage any of you who are down this way to pay a visit. I have also booked up with a friend for a faience ceramic workshop to make some beads in January. Here we are enjoying some vino with our friend Liz.

End of the Road 2011

Once again we have been to the fine EOTR festival and I think it was the best ever! The capacity was increased this year, but we also had a new Woods Stage in a big enough area to accommodate everybody. The idea was to relieve the squeeze in the Garden stage area and I think it worked well. We were extremely lucky with the weather which helps keep the atmosphere cheerful. There was a beer festival running throughout the weekend with some lovely local ales on offer. Our favourite was the Entire Stout from Salisburys Hopback Brewery, and I also enjoyed the Gold Spice ale from Sixpenny Handley brewery, right on the festivals doorstep. The food stalls didn’t disappoint - may I recommend the Curry Shed for a range of veggie curries and the Tibetan Kitchen for a lovely rich beef stew with stuffed dumplings.

The most important ingredient to the weekend was obviously the music. Highlights for us were Lykki Li, tUnEyArDs, ‘Allo Darlin’ and Laura Marling. Brakes once again asserted their ground as my favourite live act ever. We have now seen them 6 times and it is always brilliant. The new comedy area was also great – a small stage nestled in a sloped area of the woods. The midnight Storytellers Club and Robin Ince’s Book Club were really busy this year. Less intimate experience but still hugely enjoyable. Anything that persuades M to stay up until 2am on two nights running must be special!

On the craft front their were many more makers stalls this year and I bought a fine set of jewellery from zincwhite.com made from recycled reject colour pencils from the Derwent factory. Truly original and very pretty. Keep and Share were also there offering lessons and an opportunity to make a ribbon scarf for a community project. The book stalls were great too, and like last year I managed to bag a couple of graphic novels at knock down prices. I haven’t even got onto talking about the art and library in the woods…..

Rather than posting a load of photos on the blog itself, click here to see my facebook photo album of the weekend.

I have been absent from the blogosphere for the summer as I have been recovering from a big op in May. Happy to say that all is well and I am due to start a phased return to work next week. I feel more well than I have done in years. You will be glad to hear that I have not wasted my summer sick leave and have been busy on the craft. A lot of what I have been doing are presents for Christmas and birthdays, so I won’t be posting them until after they reach their recipients. Knitting-wise, I made a rather fetching pair of ‘Circle Socks’ for my mum from Noro Sock Yarn, and a Sun Ray tablecloth for Christmas. I used Regia sock yarn as it is machine washable and would come up bigger than lace weight crochet yarn.

I have also found a new fondness for making cards. I am always envious of designers and artists who manage to have an instantly recognisable style, and for the first time, I feel that I have created a range that has a definite individual style. Obviously I am not the first to draw with a scalpel (Rob Ryan has brought this technique to the fore), but I do think they look a bit different to anything I have seen before. See what you think.

Continuing on the art and craft theme, I had a lovely day with my mother-in-law at Walford Mill in Wimborne. As I have said in previous posts we are aiming to furnish the house with original art pieces, and have a new addition to our collection by a very talented artist called Anya Keeley. She uses antique and found objects as the base, and creates scenes with recycled vintage papers outlined with silver soldering. I love the dreamy quality of our sculpture as "Softly the Night is Sleeping”. This isn’t the best quality picture, but you get the idea.

On the vintage/furnishing front, we continue to visit the Bridport Vintage Market each month, and found ourselves a lovely 1960s coffee table with black angled legs and a walnut veneer top.