Sunday, February 11, 2007

11 January: Birthdays, cat, hat. Well February, actually.

Happy birthday today to DDIL and happy birthday tomorrow to DD!

Now that the snow has cleared away, we felt like getting out for some fresh air. So we had an hour's hilly trip out on the bikes. Well, it'll help to counteract the effects of the enormous box of chocolates DH brought in yesterday.

Here's Jazz, DH's cat, examining a grubby T shirt. The guilty expression is because he knows he's not supposed to be on the bed.


Knitting alert!

And here is a recently completed cap I knitted from some odds and ends of Blue Faced Leicester wool. Just the sort of thing I really enjoy making - simple shape, simple stitch pattern, and the chance to put some colours together. (There are 7 different colours altogether.)


Things I enjoy - the process of spinning, plying and winding wool: the process of knitting: the serendipity of dyeing: putting colours together, and finding unexpected combinations.

Stripes tend to occur a lot (the Mick Aston effect), as they are a natural pattern for knitting, and I find that my more satisfactory items have mostly been made from my own designs. Anyway, hand spun wool doesn't always suit commercial patterns, which are intended for commercially spun yarns.

My excuse for buying lots of knitting books is to have access to lots of ideas rather than specific designs, and though I sometimes buy knitting magazines to see what is currently being featured and advertised, they are generally disappointing.

4 comments:

Rog said...

Mick Aston is my hero. Every time I see him on Time Team, I think "Stitchwort".

Nice Cat btw.

KAZ said...

I really miss my cat who looked a bit like Jazz. He too liked dirty T shirts - it's obviously a 'cat' thing.
Putting together the colours is something I can really relate to - but does it have to be followed by the knitting? I remember that Kaffe Fasset bloke who did fabulous colours.
Mind you, I only wear black white and grey.

Christina S said...

I love the cap you've made. The colours are beautiful.

stitchwort said...

Thank you, murph and ruby.
kaz - Kaffe used to knit, now he quilts.