Here's some of the examples that Margaret had brought along to show us. The first reminds me of the craze for Curly Whirly scarves from a few years ago
- wonder where I put my pink creation from 2005
Not everything was crochet - I loved this beaded item
and I'm fascinated by this yarn - it's a day glo jelly yarn and I want some!
There is some possibility of getting hold of some of the plastic dumped in the Thames and I think this would make a very apt statement about the state of our river for the London reef. Anyone planning to join me in making something for this exhibition?
I think I've developed a new passion!
Yesterday I attended a workshop run by Margaret Wertheim from the Institute of Figuring at the Royal Festival Hall. The idea was for participants to be inspired to create a London version of the Reef
I admit it I'm hooked!
My first creation was made by finger crochet during the maths talk - I was surprised by how much of that I understood - I must have been paying attention in some of those lessons years ago!
Just over 3 years ago I toyed with the idea of a blog. I made feeble attempts to use Blogger but struggled with what to write, how to set it out, how to get photos on etc. I kept this a secret as I wasn't happy with what I had but didn't know how to improve it and didn't have the time and energy to invest in a steep learning curve.
In one of those seemingly random conversations you have with other knitters a friend suggested I ought to have a blog, I let slip that I'd thought about it and told her the name. A few days later I was sent instructions and on 14 March 2005 I made my first hesitant steps into the world of published blogs!
356 entries later I still don't know what I'm doing, photos and hyperlinks are hit and miss but I enjoy blogging. I love the sense of community it generates and the friends I've made through this space.
Today's post is dedicated to the inspirational ATU with many thanks for your continued support.
I enjoyed a wonderful few days in Glasgow for the show. The trip started off well when I got to my accommodation and discovered that my apartment actually had two bedrooms and two bathrooms just for me! There was more space there than I have at home! It was in a very handy location and I've kept the details as I'll want to stay there again and not in a faceless hotel
It is always the volunteers who make the show for me and the trip to Glasgow gives me the real chance to spend time with friends. There are far too many to mention but they came from far (Grenoble) and near (Govan); they were all ages - the youngest was 9 weeks (Hi Duncan) and the eldest 80+. I laughed so much my sides hurt, I knitted two projects and gave them away without taking pictures! I took no pictures of the PicKnit or the Gingerbread house either - in fact I only took two photos in the entire time I was away. I had 5-7 Ravellers on the stand; got to meet up with Rowanettes; played with members of the KCG and got lured into the dark side by a couple of spinners!
One of the things I love about the shows is teaching beginners to knit and crochet but what gives me the most rush is when I see some exciting knit / crochet or get asked technical questions that are a challenge - so I'd like you to meet my biggest challenge yet!
This lovely lady came to ask for advice, before she could voice her question I wanted to know more about her collar - yes she did crochet it herself and she has quite a collection of them.
She then said her question was about knitting so I breathed a sigh of relief and then she produced this
knitted on 1.5mm needles with linen sewing thread - she wanted a knitted collar and had started at the neck edge. The first challenge was that she wanted to use a traditional shetland pattern but realised she was knitting it from the top down so had to reverse all the increases and decreases to get the pattern she wanted (no sweat there then) - the dilema was how to finish off the edge and after much discussion we all agreed that it needed a lace edging so she was off home to pore over the patterns again.
This lady was fascinating to talk to, her work was impecable and I told her I want to be like her when I grow up - she gave me some sound advice - don't get sidetracked into starting Sudoku puzzles they interrupt your knitting time!
time for myself! I took an afternoon off of work this week and headed over to ExCel for a show - not the world's best but I did manage to snag a few bargains.
Matt and I had a night away at Marwell and spent today at the zoo hoping to see the new leopard cub.
She made a short appearance and had great fun pouncing on her mother, making vertical leaps on the rocks and generally moving too quickly for me to get a good photo. We enjoyed seeing how much the baby giraffe had grown since last year and spent ages watching the otters and meerkats until it started to hail / sleet so we ran for the car and headed home
After this I head off to Glasgow on Wednesday for 5 days of fun and hard work at the SECC. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends again and this time round have rented a flat in the city centre so I may see more of Glasgow than the car park!
The Fern Shell is progressing nicely, my gauge is still out of whack but I've tried the top on and it is looking hopeful. I doubt I'll finish it before I go away and it will be too bulky to pack so I need to find some travel knitting - I'm considering the Flutter scarf using a skein of variegated purples that was a gift from a dear friend