tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12279788082644147202024-03-19T22:25:11.428+00:00Grace ParetreeKnitting, crochet, books, coffee . . .Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.comBlogger108125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-30534424312200482882016-09-16T10:10:00.001+01:002016-09-16T10:10:16.206+01:00Someone else has knitted an allotment!<p> I just love my LYS. The ladies who work there are often knitting the most amazing things while they staff the till, and this window is just fab. It's an allotment, with the caption "Knit Your Own", above a display of a carrots, beetroot, sweetpeas (my favourites), and more! I love walking past this shop with my toddler as there's always something more to see in the display. Well done, ladies!</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N_nUQ2Kkhas/V9u23df1aGI/AAAAAAAABFg/d6lP6dEb-fw/s2048/Photo%25252020160916100927484.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N_nUQ2Kkhas/V9u23df1aGI/AAAAAAAABFg/d6lP6dEb-fw/s500/Photo%25252020160916100927484.jpg" id="blogsy-1474017017634.0337" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="374"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wO0YbaDcrVI/V9u29SV9bUI/AAAAAAAABFk/iH6c4M7Bchc/s2048/Photo%25252020160916100927652.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wO0YbaDcrVI/V9u29SV9bUI/AAAAAAAABFk/iH6c4M7Bchc/s500/Photo%25252020160916100927652.jpg" id="blogsy-1474017017561.9648" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-46990435233700406252016-09-09T09:43:00.001+01:002016-09-09T09:43:22.909+01:00One Finished Object! The cotton toddler dress<p> Oooh, I'm so pleased with myself! Finally, a finished object to share. I've been taking this to my local Crafternoon for what seems like ages. In fact, last time, although I was at the sewing up stage, the ladies looked rather surprised to see that it was still going!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7XVSe1O3vEE/V9J1_1b_YdI/AAAAAAAABFM/XQxxrfRuHZs/s2048/Photo%25252020160909094202401.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7XVSe1O3vEE/V9J1_1b_YdI/AAAAAAAABFM/XQxxrfRuHZs/s500/Photo%25252020160909094202401.jpg" id="blogsy-1473410604420.394" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="374"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Ho2CkbE4LQ/V9J2KMN-zHI/AAAAAAAABFQ/ETWA74XhNys/s2048/Photo%25252020160909094202636.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Ho2CkbE4LQ/V9J2KMN-zHI/AAAAAAAABFQ/ETWA74XhNys/s500/Photo%25252020160909094202636.jpg" id="blogsy-1473410604499.5474" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="669" alt=""></a></div><p> I can't seem to remove the first picture, so you get two of it in all its glory! Greens and blues don't photograph terribly well, so the colours are greener in real life. I'm so pleased with how it's turned out. More on my Ravelry page about (veery minor) changes I made to the original pattern. I think this will be great for my daughter, over leggings or on its own while the weather is nice. Now, what to knit next??</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-31900759810718170082016-08-21T11:47:00.001+01:002016-08-21T11:47:58.996+01:00One nearly-knitted toddler tunic - oh, and a knitted garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m2W9ENi2D9I/V7mG1TFHIcI/AAAAAAAABE0/HKZtxENeD8A/s2048/Photo%25252020160821114737971.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m2W9ENi2D9I/V7mG1TFHIcI/AAAAAAAABE0/HKZtxENeD8A/s500/Photo%25252020160821114737971.jpg" id="blogsy-1471776478508.0708" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="669"></a></div><p> So, the Sirdar knitted tunic is SO nearly done! This is despite me sewing the sleeves on to the wrong sides ... Still, despite me changing needles to a smaller size, it's still huge for my daughter, so there's no hurry. I'm really looking forward to seeing her in it. Though it certainly isn't cheap to knit, I am loving the Sirdar DK cotton so it's been very enjoyable to work on. In fact, variegated yarns must be en vogue at the moment, as several of my knitting group are working with similar yarns. In contrast to some, the colours in this cotton have worked out spread quite evenly through the knitting, giving it an even appearance too. Lovely.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vPUUq31NFB0/V7mG3Iq_gKI/AAAAAAAABE4/DEOFEqO25UM/s2048/Photo%25252020160821114738192.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vPUUq31NFB0/V7mG3Iq_gKI/AAAAAAAABE4/DEOFEqO25UM/s500/Photo%25252020160821114738192.jpg" id="blogsy-1471776478565.243" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> Love, love, loving our local wool shop, too. Here is their knitted allotment!! Vegetables, fruit, sunflowers, bees - it's ace. </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-83502500877060216652016-08-06T14:21:00.001+01:002016-08-06T14:21:38.804+01:00Some cheery yarnbombing appears!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oEbq_Xx03HM/V6XkYPY6bNI/AAAAAAAABEk/76GfJB_08KE/s640/Photo%25252020160806142131509.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oEbq_Xx03HM/V6XkYPY6bNI/AAAAAAAABEk/76GfJB_08KE/s500/Photo%25252020160806142131509.jpg" id="blogsy-1470489700554.623" class="aligncenter" width="480" height="640" alt=""></a><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just when I am feeling I never get enough time to knit, someone nearby clearly has time to spare! This appeared on a lamppost and it is just lovely. A lovely sight, and a lovely thing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-65849273643944081712016-06-10T10:21:00.001+01:002016-06-10T10:21:58.163+01:00Vintage pattern haul<p> Excitement! A friend dropped off a huge bag of knitting patterns the other day, which she'd seen at a church sale and scooped up at speed for me. Of course, many are the vague 1980s patterns that no one really wants - but some are ACE! I need, need, need to see my toddler in one of these!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b9RHixzcsWk/V1qGlpD12AI/AAAAAAAABD4/SWv9r37OnUk/s640/Photo%25252020160610102121010.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b9RHixzcsWk/V1qGlpD12AI/AAAAAAAABD4/SWv9r37OnUk/s500/Photo%25252020160610102121010.jpg" id="blogsy-1465550518321.4932" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="480" height="640"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-odEGgK1Lke8/V1qGtKGZAJI/AAAAAAAABEA/LqdV-Y-od50/s2048/Photo%25252020160610102121200.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-odEGgK1Lke8/V1qGtKGZAJI/AAAAAAAABEA/LqdV-Y-od50/s500/Photo%25252020160610102121200.jpg" id="blogsy-1465550518325.611" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div><p> I particularly love the one with birds on in the top photo, so I think I'll buy the yarn for that, then drop some heavy hints to mum about knitting it... But the 60s style cardigans with those lovely colours are also lovely. What a good haul!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-45330342848817045962016-04-22T10:10:00.001+01:002016-04-22T10:10:45.054+01:00What have I been doing with my time?!<p> I *have* been knitting, in amongst the working, driving and toddler-wrangling! I'm writing this in a precious, free moment while Small is at nursery. This is my latest project:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7WlepWZ3YBQ/VxnqeUFTJMI/AAAAAAAABDc/jVA8lANoG0A/s2048/Photo%25252020160422100956310.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-7WlepWZ3YBQ/VxnqeUFTJMI/AAAAAAAABDc/jVA8lANoG0A/s500/Photo%25252020160422100956310.jpg" id="blogsy-1461316245509.2712" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> I usually avoid any yarn that is variegated or flecked, but this is just gorgeous-it's a tight cotton and the colours go so well together. I had worried that this kind of mercerised cotton would be too shiny for knitting a garment, but the shop where I bought it had a top knitted up in the 4-ply version and it was beautiful and not too shiny at all. This is going to be a tunic dress for Small, the "Rosina" tunic dress from Ravelry by Libby Summers. I've already put some notes on Ravelry in case anyone is thinking of knitting this. </p><p>I also managed a quick Easter basket which I finished on, er, Easter Saturday!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vhyt829upVo/VxnqkQmcO6I/AAAAAAAABDg/AXliqlRms8I/s2048/Photo%25252020160422100956522.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vhyt829upVo/VxnqkQmcO6I/AAAAAAAABDg/AXliqlRms8I/s500/Photo%25252020160422100956522.jpg" id="blogsy-1461316245439.9712" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="669" alt=""></a></div><p> This is from a free pattern from the Let's Knit website and it was a quick crochet project in double crochet and DK yarn. </p><p> It's been so hard to find time for blogging, though I've kept up with reading other people's blogs! Still, I'm hoping that now I've got a bit more time to myself, I'll feel like it's a 'current' blog. So, thank you for reading, and more very soon!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-46044570959727577102015-12-12T16:59:00.001+00:002015-12-12T17:00:00.026+00:00Knitting, coffee, knitting ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ljiep2yFFiM/VmxSimBleeI/AAAAAAAABDE/QqPCztMK3Eo/s2048/Photo%25252020151212165932698.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ljiep2yFFiM/VmxSimBleeI/AAAAAAAABDE/QqPCztMK3Eo/s500/Photo%25252020151212165932698.jpg" id="blogsy-1449939598759.123" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div><p> Yes, I do get some peace and quiet sometimes! I was lucky enough to be given a subscription to the delicious Pom Pom Quarterly this year and I loved it. The patterns are trendy without being alienating and they're so well styled - on people of all sizes, with tattoos, hair dye - real people who look like you'd like to be friends with them. Although I must admit I haven't made any of the patterns yet (but when does that stop us buying pattern books?!), I really, really would make lots of them. I see on Ravelry people have already made several which look great, so that makes me more likely to try! I do find women's patterns so frumpy, so this magazine gives me hope!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-68642182191650978072015-09-05T10:52:00.001+01:002015-09-05T10:52:20.794+01:00Moany Post about yarn<p> Hmph. Although my last post featured a lovely shawl very near completion, I *still* don't have a triumphant FO picture. I just didn't have enough wool left to complete the shawl. The pattern definitely states that it needs only two balls, and I checked I'd used the right needle and done the pattern correctly. A quick check on Ravelry showed that the pattern was fine BUT that someone else had found a ball of this yarn (Debbie Bliss Fine Donegal) to be too light and too short!!! This had never occurred to me as a possibility. So I followed this knitter's example and emailed Designer Yarns, who distribute Debbie Bliss in the UK. No reply to my email, so I then rang them. Things got a bit better at this point and they immediately sent me a replacement - same dye lot etc. In vain I waited... and waited .... and Royal Mail admitted they've lost my parcel! They've been pretty hopeless - although my local post lady has been helpful, the office have been dire. I have had to chase them twice, only to be told that 10 days might elapse before they even ring me back! How hard can it be to keep track of a parcel?! Not impressed with this at all. They've advised me to ring the company back and the company are to make a claim against them for a replacement.</p><p>So I rang DY again and they're sending me another one - only now, they don't have the same dye lot. I am SO hoping that this turns up.... </p><p>I must say that this saga has put me off Debbie Bliss a bit. The balls of wool are about £12 each and I think there's a huge difference between making a shawl for £24 and for £36; I'm glad I didn't just go and buy another ball. </p><p>So, all my Bank Holiday knitting plans were thwarted. I've had to start a quick baby cardigan instead, but hopefully the shawl will eventually be done. It's autumn, now, after all, and I want to wear it!</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-84306001773347720052015-08-08T11:09:00.001+01:002015-08-08T11:09:54.103+01:00Shaaaawwl!<p> Well, nearly. I have got this far:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q-0ZyXKrp6E/VcXVbhGNsCI/AAAAAAAABCw/xCQVA-ZcAKM/s2048/Photo%25252020150808110918313.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q-0ZyXKrp6E/VcXVbhGNsCI/AAAAAAAABCw/xCQVA-ZcAKM/s500/Photo%25252020150808110918313.jpg" id="blogsy-1439028592813.5957" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div><p> Phew! I am really enjoying knitting it, although I have to concentrate quite hard on the lace rows (each RS row; WSs are all purl) and I can't take it to my knitting group. Oh, or even really watch TV... I am also rather worried that I'll need a third ball of wool - which, at £11something, is a bit of an expense. It's Debbie Bliss Fine Donegal Tweed and a pattern from the accompanying book - gorgeous, but not cheap. The pattern does specify two balls, but I have a way to go to 21 stitches remaining... Anyway, we shall see. I am so looking forward to wearing this in the Autumn - and, dare I say, that looks like a realistic goal?!</p><p> In other news, I have been listening to <strong>The Archers</strong>. Now, I appreciate this isn't news for the majority of the Radio 4-listening population, but I've never got into it. However, now, it falls at just the right moment when I come downstairs after the hustle and bustle of a busy/lovely/tiring/long day parenting. So I am catching up on all the characters and drama of it all. And the omnibus seems to be just nicely soporific if I'm woken up in the night. Yes, I'm turning into my mother. </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-14016137343083910662015-07-25T20:19:00.001+01:002015-07-25T20:19:23.302+01:00Nothing like blogging about someone else's knitting<p> One of the many struggles of motherhood is avoiding all the pink, ruffly, cutesy girls' clothes. I have nothing against a bit of pink, but there are some really ghastly clothes for girls out there. I have been trying to find some little knickers to go under dresses but they are all pink and covered over the back with ruffles ... Then I looked in an old knitting book (<strong><em>Knitting for Children</em></strong> by Louise Daniels) I was given by my aunt, and - hey presto! Lovely knitted baby knickers. My mum is knitting them up, and here they are, so far! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lss6p4DyypM/VbPhNxQvJKI/AAAAAAAABCg/qUrV8CA5DVk/s1280/Photo%25252020150725201911403.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lss6p4DyypM/VbPhNxQvJKI/AAAAAAAABCg/qUrV8CA5DVk/s500/Photo%25252020150725201911403.jpg" id="blogsy-1437851963360.5767" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-63575129467380078622015-05-02T11:07:00.001+01:002015-05-03T19:25:20.981+01:00Knitting a Shawl, continued ...Well, I have done about fifteen rows of the shawl! I dread to think how long this has already taken me; the first two rows of the pattern took me an hour and a half. Still, it is looking as though the pattern is working and I love the colour, so I am cautiously optimistic about it. <br />
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I have a feeling it'll be the first item I actually block, as it will probably need it. The wool is a glorious colour and a nice texture to work with, but it does scrunch up a bit. <br />
I have also be rootling through this superb stash of old patterns, bought for me as a job lot from a church sale by a friend. <br />
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Anyone else recognise the 'bazaar' toys on the left? I have been reminiscing about my lovely Grandma's excellent knitting; she made us lots of these things and we loved them. I've also turned up this knitting classic:<br />
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So, back to the shawl. It seems a good summery knit - what do other people knit in the summer?<br />
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Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-30888672670353805442015-04-19T14:09:00.001+01:002015-04-19T14:09:44.373+01:00In which I finally complete some knitting ...<p> Hurrah! The seldom-felt joy of completing a knitting project. This is a cardigan for my daughter. This is the 1-2 year size which will hopefully be a good fit. The yarn is much nicer than it looks here - it's Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a lovely pale green. The cable effect pattern is a trick achieved with slipped stitches, so it was much easier than it looks - perfect. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q_shKQGLNac/VTOpEpW0FYI/AAAAAAAABBo/LIiMWCoyiwg/s2048/Photo%25252020150419140907830.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q_shKQGLNac/VTOpEpW0FYI/AAAAAAAABBo/LIiMWCoyiwg/s500/Photo%25252020150419140907830.jpg" id="blogsy-1429448983098.153" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> Green is a colour she wears a lot, as I try to avoid too much pink, or ghastly clothes with lots of slogans on them. </p><p> Next project: a shawl for me! I haven't ever made a shawl, so this will be interesting ... </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-3128020695474700992015-02-07T20:41:00.001+00:002015-02-07T20:41:30.027+00:00Finally, I get time to knit!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-r7CGNg54Gcs/VNZ4diHULmI/AAAAAAAABBE/TjcOX-M9530/s640/Photo%25252020150207204121984.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-r7CGNg54Gcs/VNZ4diHULmI/AAAAAAAABBE/TjcOX-M9530/s500/Photo%25252020150207204121984.jpg" id="blogsy-1423341689474.6946" class="aligncenter" width="480" height="640" alt=""></a></div><p>Well, it's been a while I've had time to knit. A friend had a new baby recently (by recently, I mean in November!) and I wanted to make her something. I'd recently made these little bootees for my own daughter and they're so useful - she has them as slippers and wears them in the car, in her sleep suit and at home. They're not at all fiddly to put on, and not too girly. Lovely. The yarn is Rico Baby which I hadn't used before but it's really nice. Soft, but not floppy, and the fleck is beautiful because there's plenty of the greenish shade. Can you tell I'm really pleased with them?! I wish I'd bought some more yarn though as I'd like to make something else in it. </p><p>Other than that, life is rather hectic with a Little One! We are having fun, though - swinging on swings, swimming and playing. It just doesn't leave a lot of knitting time :) </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-77304311177415519822014-10-25T15:29:00.001+01:002014-10-25T15:29:18.798+01:00Although I've been quiet, I've been knitting!<p> Well, I haven't written this for a very long time. This has been because of a huge, lovely change in our circumstances: the arrival of our daughter! As you can imagine, we have had a total change of lifestyle and I am finding I have much less free time! Still, I did do some lovely baby knitting before she arrived:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_rD3vWgrnYg/VEuznD9vj-I/AAAAAAAABAs/V2wRb15qLd0/s2048/Photo%25252020141025152812.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_rD3vWgrnYg/VEuznD9vj-I/AAAAAAAABAs/V2wRb15qLd0/s500/Photo%25252020141025152812.jpg" id="blogsy-1414247357007.4307" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> I've just updated my Ravelry page on this tank top (Sirdar 4420). It's a good pattern, not too tricky and it looks good. It's nice and stretchy, too. The only drawbacks are the the shoulders are quite wide for a small baby and I found the decreasing for the V-neck quite tricky as the numbers of stitches weren't written out row by row - you're left to "continue", which I found rather hard! Nevertheless, the Jarol yarn is lovely and she has been wearing it over sleepsuits in the mornings so it's been getting plenty of wear - and washing!!</p><p>I also made this blanket, from the fantastic book by Nikki Van De Car, <strong><em>What To Knit When You're Expecting</em></strong>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vdjkWecnCBw/VEuzu9hTPhI/AAAAAAAABA0/Nu9ZMqRJ_ZE/s2048/Photo%25252020141025152812.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vdjkWecnCBw/VEuzu9hTPhI/AAAAAAAABA0/Nu9ZMqRJ_ZE/s500/Photo%25252020141025152812.jpg" id="blogsy-1414247357041.6426" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> This was obviously a very easy knit. I did it in cheap Aran and it's knitted up really well and is getting lots of use. The patterned border makes it more interesting to knit but the stocking stitch part is also nice and quick. There's lots in the book I shall also make, and I see there's a toddler book, too. </p><p>Nikki blogs here: http://www.whattoknitwhen.com. </p><p>Phew! I hope everyone's having a good weekend. It's lovely to be back!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-55410138623479986472014-06-12T17:33:00.001+01:002014-06-12T17:33:40.941+01:00Reading in the garden. Time well spent...<p> I was excited to see a new novel by American novelist Anita Shreve. She's written more than fifteen novels and I think I've read them all. So, last week, I read <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Lives of Stella Bain - mostly in the garden<span style="font-weight: bold;">!</span></em></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ay7Gp8gdYwQ/U5nWX2GwMUI/AAAAAAAABAc/I4sSvUVfkZ0/s2048/Photo%25252020140612173258.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ay7Gp8gdYwQ/U5nWX2GwMUI/AAAAAAAABAc/I4sSvUVfkZ0/s500/Photo%25252020140612173258.jpg" id="blogsy-1402590822331.638" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></em></div><p><i style="font-weight: bold;"> The novel is set in the aftermath of World War I, and Stella is a military nurse and driver who finds herself in London one evening, with no idea about how she got there, or what she is to do next. She throws herself at the mercy of an English couple, and they help her to investigate who she is and where she is from. </em></p><p><i style="font-weight: bold;">Once you get past the slightly unlikely extent of the help the English couple offer Stella, this novel is unusual and gripping. The Edwardian fascination with psychology clearly interests Shreve, as does the way the war affected the women involved. Like many of her books, <strong><em>The Lives of Stella Bain</em></strong> charts the journey of a lone woman in an unknown place. Shreve covers a lot of ground here in terms of Stella's past as well as her plans for the future. Like so many novels now, Shreve uses the present tense pretty much throughout, and somehow this suits Stella's character, as she can only really live in the present, knowing next to nothing of her past. This is a good read - interesting and unusual. It is a shame that this novel will probably be read by a predominantly female readership as it has male characters as well, and leaves readers with plenty to think about. However, if you've never read anything by Shreve, start with the superb novel, <em><strong>The Pilot's Wife</strong></em>!</em></p><p><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </em></p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-28885838668365553002014-06-03T11:15:00.001+01:002014-06-03T11:15:56.441+01:00In which I basically wait until I can read Sadie Jones' 'Fallout' again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r1Sn-Jz_J3I/U42gV2WV8RI/AAAAAAAABAI/de56sTGuKks/s2048/Photo%25252020140603111527.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r1Sn-Jz_J3I/U42gV2WV8RI/AAAAAAAABAI/de56sTGuKks/s500/Photo%25252020140603111527.jpg" id="blogsy-1401790556622.5706" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> I stayed up late last night to finish Sadie Jones' fourth novel, <strong><em>Fallout</em></strong>. It's a fantastic read and I know I'm going to be evangelical about it for some time! It's set in the 1970s, chiefly in London, in the world of theatre start-ups. The novel is convincing about this world, where theatres are not the gilded globes seen to the audience in the plush seats, but the day-to-day grind of rehearsals, builders, management and ticket sales. Jones' characters are (nearly all) principled arts-lovers, whose work matters - and this virtuous stance leads to some of the best drama in the novel. I don't want to give too much away so I won't describe too much about the main characters. Suffice it to say, Jones writes so skilfully about her characters' actions, feelings and motivations that the prose is breathtaking at times. She captures particularly well that way in which a mood can sour or a glance can intrigue - tiny moments which have a huge reach in a person's life. It's also a very dense, substantial novel with well-drawn, believable characters around the main four: their parents, other theatre folk, a husband - so that Jones' world is fully and convincingly peopled. If you read Jones' first novel, Outcast, you might remember how very bleak it was (though excellent); this is not as bleak - there are moments of exhilaration and love - but Jones equally doesn't shy away from writing about disappointment, failure, or regret. Sadie Jones was on Women's Hour recently taking about this book and it has also been serialised on Radio 4, and it deserves to do extremely well. </p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-32111910439079457132014-05-29T18:54:00.001+01:002014-05-29T19:03:12.068+01:00Smug summer crochetNow, I'm rather pleased with this. I wanted to make something in cotton, but I'm not a huge fan of garments in cotton yarn. Then I had a browse through Susan Cropper's book, <strong><em>Vintage Crochet</em></strong>, and saw patterns for those crochet pot covers with little bead things on them which keep insects from falling into your cup of tea... or wine glass! The pattern is by Emma Seddon and she edges them with vintage buttons, rather than beads, which I really like the look of. Mine has buttons from a charity shop so they're not at all expensive to make.<br />
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I used DK Sublime Egyptian Cotton, which comes in a 50g ball (115 yards). I should think I've used about half of it - there's quite a lot of crochet in there! Two possible problems: one is that the buttons don't move as easily as beads would long the yarn. This matters because you thread all of your buttons onto the yarn before you start the crochet, so you have to shunt them along rather a lot before you get to the final row when you actually incorporate them into the stitches. This is just a bit of a pain - the end result is worth it, but I did spend rather a long time moving buttons along. The other problem is that, although I religiously counted the buttons onto the yarn, and followed the pattern as closely as I could, I still ended up with two too few buttons for the number of scallops I had when it got to the last row. So, somewhere along the way, it's grown.... I counted the spokes in the first couple of rounds ... then felt a bit lazy and just left two scallops without buttons hanging from them, one on each side. And, for this, I'm fine with that!<br />
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I'm now beginning another one in blue. My first one was the "Tumbler Cover" and the blue one will be slightly larger, I think, and is called the "Milk Pitcher Cover". But really, both fit rather nicely over a wineglass:<br />
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So, should it ever be nice enough to sit outside, sipping wine - I'll be ready!<br />
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Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-80206195766616216702014-05-12T11:10:00.001+01:002014-05-12T11:10:10.988+01:00A Shoal Of Ganseys<p> Well, this weekend was brilliant. We went off up to the huge skies and heavy downpours of North Norfolk and I went to the Shoal of Ganseys exhibition at the Sheringham Mo museum. I wasn't sure what to expect as I'd never been to the museum before but I had a brilliant time. For a start, there was no one else in the museum at all! I'm not usually so antisocial that I only enjoy things when there's no one else there, but it did mean I could have a really leisurely browse and take all the (people-free) photos I wanted, without feeling rushed! </p><p>The main part of the museum, the ground floor gallery, is home to huge lifeboats - oh, and knitted bunting to honour the gansey exhibits:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A9aGfR8FN4c/U3CdjwGr0tI/AAAAAAAAA-w/7Co9-1plFt0/s2048/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A9aGfR8FN4c/U3CdjwGr0tI/AAAAAAAAA-w/7Co9-1plFt0/s500/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" id="blogsy-1399889409225.5693" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> The operations manager, Philip, told me about the history of the building and talked me through how they came by the exhibition: partly lent by the Moray Firth Gansey Project, then supplemented with their own local exhibits and patterns. The Moray Firth project looks excellent and you can find out about it here: <span style="line-height: 1.3em;">http://www.gansey-mf.co.uk .</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-izYErC3orXI/U3Cdr8DtIQI/AAAAAAAAA-4/DN8pyi61vfo/s2048/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-izYErC3orXI/U3Cdr8DtIQI/AAAAAAAAA-4/DN8pyi61vfo/s500/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" id="blogsy-1399889409166.4114" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="669"></a></div><p>In each huge lifeboat, jumpers are displayed from Scotland, Norfolk and the North of England. The majority of them are jumpers which are worn and holey, which adds to their charm. Then, upstairs, there's a tech point with links to the Moray Firth project and - gasp of excitement - a sample box with patterns from all around Britain knitted up for reference. I thought of Louise of @CaithnessCraftCollective as there was a Caithness sample, as well as this local one:</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6WPxW-CFPKo/U3CdyXNVhkI/AAAAAAAAA_A/6mJkdttV_GY/s2048/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6WPxW-CFPKo/U3CdyXNVhkI/AAAAAAAAA_A/6mJkdttV_GY/s500/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" id="blogsy-1399889409151.4236" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p><span style="line-height: 1.3em;"><br></span></p><p> There's plenty about the history of the gansey, and the information boards go well beyond the basics. There was a really heathy and welcome focus on women's contributions to not only the knitting itself, but the sea-faring life of coastal towns, as well as photos of the 'herring girls' who knitted some of the jumpers, without patterns. I particularly liked the idea of the 'knitting sheath' - a kind of implement to make your knitting portable! It hooked to your belt and had a hole for the needles to sit in. I'm sure there'd be a market for these today! The bulk of the jumper could be pinned to your own belt so that it didn't hang, heavy, on the needles as you sat on the sea wall, or walked around the town:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hyC1BLjFZVU/U3Cd4dhHHwI/AAAAAAAAA_I/8IqI6tbARRk/s2048/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hyC1BLjFZVU/U3Cd4dhHHwI/AAAAAAAAA_I/8IqI6tbARRk/s500/Photo%25252020140512110751.jpg" id="blogsy-1399889409191.1057" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> There's a case of local patterns, too, as well as plenty of description of the different designs and what they symbolised: rib bars to suggest marriage and children; lightening and hail stones; diamonds. </p><p>I would heartily encourage anyone to go and see this: it's a fascinating, thought provoking exhibit with lots to see. It's on til the 10th September and you can find out more about it here: www.sheringhammuseum.co.uk. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4IGvveFiBhE/U3Cd_dT_SsI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/hjp6E2WPrZk/s2048/Photo%25252020140512110752.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-4IGvveFiBhE/U3Cd_dT_SsI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/hjp6E2WPrZk/s500/Photo%25252020140512110752.jpg" id="blogsy-1399889409234.9026" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-31867505290856133982014-04-24T15:16:00.001+01:002014-04-24T15:16:02.988+01:00Another novel and some crochet plans...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aettOwqn7_8/U1kcnrXlwXI/AAAAAAAAA-g/CyDvrNHH1Mg/s2048/Photo%25252020140424151534.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-aettOwqn7_8/U1kcnrXlwXI/AAAAAAAAA-g/CyDvrNHH1Mg/s500/Photo%25252020140424151534.jpg" id="blogsy-1398348963092.648" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div><p> I've just finished the fantastic novel in this picture, Ann Patchett's <em><strong>State of Wonder</strong>.</em> I was given this by a friend for my birthday and I've been really looking forward to reading it. I've read <strong><em>Run</em></strong> and <strong><em>Bel Canto</em></strong> (her best known novel) already on the advice of the same friend, so I knew this would be a vivid read. Patchett has a gift for observation but also, here, for invention. The central character, Marina Singh, goes to the wilds of the Amazon to find out how a colleague, working for the same drug company, died. Patchett is always excellent at describing gestures and how they communicate feeling and mental state, as well as characters' own interior worlds. She does all that here, with the most incredible portrait of the Amazon and the tribe among which Singh finds herself. Patchett describes their appearance, customs and etiquette down to the most obscure and intimate details. Alongside this, the work of the researchers, doctors and scientists in the drug company in America and in the Amazon is convincingly described and thought-provoking too as Patchett considers women's fertility. This is a remarkable book. I did wonder if, being a non-scientist and, shamefully, pretty much a non-traveller, I'd enjoy this but I certainly did!</p><p>The other book is Jan Eaton's <em><strong>Ripple Stitch Patterns</strong></em>, one I'm browsing through because I want to crochet an outdoor, summer blanket. Having browsed some fab ones online, I'm thinking of using this book to make my own pattern. Has anyone got any tips for sites which show lovely crochet blankets? Always glad of inspiration!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-47454336543743622152014-04-07T10:31:00.001+01:002014-04-07T10:31:01.689+01:00Knitting + books - what more do you want?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YSx-gSI9bfA/U0JwKSHKh_I/AAAAAAAAA-I/m6Xr0KU_zFk/s2048/Photo%25252020140407102950.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YSx-gSI9bfA/U0JwKSHKh_I/AAAAAAAAA-I/m6Xr0KU_zFk/s500/Photo%25252020140407102950.jpg" id="blogsy-1396863061444.4634" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="669"></a></div><p> Time to write about an excellent novel: Anna Hope's debut, <strong><em>Wake</em></strong>.</p><p> This is a beautifully written, moving novel about the lives and legacy of soldiers in World War One. London is preparing for the public, ceremonial funeral of The Unknown Soldier and Hope creates a convincing portrait of the city and its dance halls, government offices and homes after the destruction of the war. There is little sense of celebration: people are mourning the lost, or the un-returned, and the men who have come home from the war are scarred by their experiences. The novel has three protagonists: Ada, a mother whose son is missing; Hettie, a nightclub dancer; Evelyn, who distributes benefits to returning soldiers in a government office. Hope tells each of these stories and weaves between them episodes from soldiers' lives in France. I found the three stories interesting and lifelike - Hope's technique of writing the whole novel in the present tense means that each character's thought processes are minutely recorded so that their inner lives are superbly created. It is a slow-moving novel but I appreciated this: Hope writes in careful, thoughtful detail and there are moments of drama which are also well-managed. All in all, this is a very satisfying read: it's unsentimental (though moving), well-observed and unusual - even though so much writing has been inspired by World War One, this novel has, undoubtedly, something new to say. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CktE_8qLkK8/U0JwUZ-sgDI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/Z4jA0qTE-6c/s2048/Photo%25252020140407102950.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CktE_8qLkK8/U0JwUZ-sgDI/AAAAAAAAA-Q/Z4jA0qTE-6c/s500/Photo%25252020140407102950.jpg" id="blogsy-1396863061419.7383" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> And a completed piece of knitting in time for Handmade Monday!! I'm really pleased with this. I've written before about this pattern (from <strong><em>Knits To Give</em></strong> by Debbie Bliss - though it should more properly be called <strong><em>Knits To Keep</em></strong>) and the wool, which is just lovely. The cover is a good, snug fit and it was an easy pattern - it looks misleadingly like garter stitch, but it's a little more complicated than that. I need a reason to make another one - I guess there's always 'giving' ... !</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-25904937631253195772014-03-04T11:36:00.001+00:002014-03-04T11:36:19.894+00:00A Good Read, An Exhibition and a New Knit<p> It seems a while since I've blogged, so this is a February round up! The month began with a nice gift from Mum:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_Y2hSV_K8UA/UxW6P-EUosI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/hc9Zsusj1vY/s2048/Photo%25252017%252520Feb%2525202014%25252009%25253A51.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_Y2hSV_K8UA/UxW6P-EUosI/AAAAAAAAA9Q/hc9Zsusj1vY/s500/Photo%25252017%252520Feb%2525202014%25252009%25253A51.jpg" id="blogsy-1393932981672.4263" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> Then I went to the fantastic <strong><em>Masterpieces: Art and East Anglia </em></strong>exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich. I just squeezed the visit in before it closed and I was so glad I'd made the effort. Because the link between the pieces was only that they were produced in, or inspired by, or found in East Anglia, there was a huge range of exhibits in a variety of media. There were fabrics, Anglo-Saxon objects, paintings, silks and sculpture. This made for a fascinating time wandering round and looking at everything. One slightly surprising detail: East Anglia was defined as just Norfolk and Suffolk! No Cambridgeshire?!</p><p>Norwich looked beautiful in the sun last week:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fROR4fCdSpo/UxW6XQufgFI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/4bAfB6uTfg0/s2048/Photo%25252024%252520Feb%2525202014%25252012%25253A27.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-fROR4fCdSpo/UxW6XQufgFI/AAAAAAAAA9Y/4bAfB6uTfg0/s500/Photo%25252024%252520Feb%2525202014%25252012%25253A27.jpg" id="blogsy-1393932981691.859" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> As a great fan of Elizabeth Jane Howard, I was pleased to spot this celebratory table in Norwich Waterstones:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JVU20FKy870/UxW6eGY6jYI/AAAAAAAAA9g/54-VCrLZiH8/s2048/Photo%25252024%252520Feb%2525202014%25252017%25253A52.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-JVU20FKy870/UxW6eGY6jYI/AAAAAAAAA9g/54-VCrLZiH8/s500/Photo%25252024%252520Feb%2525202014%25252017%25253A52.jpg" id="blogsy-1393932981683.0146" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> At the moment, though, my reading time is being completely devoted to the wonderful <strong><em>Life After Life </em></strong>by Kate Atkinson. This is a completely marvellous book and, as it has had masses of press coverage, I won't describe it fully. Nevertheless, the recommendation from (another great novelist) Hilary Mantel on the cover is well-deserved. Atkinson's writing is precise; the settings and situations seem very true to life (in World War II, for example) and the characterisation is superb. At the start, I tried to keep flicking back to the list of dates at the front to see which of Ursula's 'lives' I was reading. I wouldn't recommend trying to keep track of things in this way; I soon gave up and enjoyed the book much more because of it. Atkinson's use of motifs such as the fox and snow struck me as particularly ingenious: they are as much fun to spot, linking the episodes in the novel, for the reader as they are for the characters. This is a unique novel which would bear reading again and again - rather like Ursula's episodic, near-magical life. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Tr5cU3tiPBQ/UxW6kjFLBYI/AAAAAAAAA9o/jAOFlrRNjFk/s2048/Photo%25252018%252520Feb%2525202014%25252010%25253A50.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Tr5cU3tiPBQ/UxW6kjFLBYI/AAAAAAAAA9o/jAOFlrRNjFk/s500/Photo%25252018%252520Feb%2525202014%25252010%25253A50.jpg" id="blogsy-1393932981701.9565" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div><p> Oh, and finally - before the the weather turns too hot, I've just got time to knit a new hot water bottle cover from <strong><em>Knits To Give </em></strong>by Debbie Bliss. More on this once it's done, but I'm enjoying doing it in luxurious merino Aran:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vh6_7PGfY_Y/UxW6r0uDr1I/AAAAAAAAA9w/-zwaMwUkKyU/s2048/Photo%2525204%252520Mar%2525202014%25252011%25253A15.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vh6_7PGfY_Y/UxW6r0uDr1I/AAAAAAAAA9w/-zwaMwUkKyU/s500/Photo%2525204%252520Mar%2525202014%25252011%25253A15.jpg" id="blogsy-1393932981650.4912" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div><p> Hope everyone is enjoying the sun!</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-85359070761097385212014-02-04T17:52:00.001+00:002014-02-04T17:52:24.869+00:00A Pot of Bulbs can only be improved with Crochet<p> Spring is here! Well, it is if you're in my kitchen next to the radiator:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NG00KB3oTy8/UvEov4FhuFI/AAAAAAAAA84/Bd-ahDptIpM/s2048/Photo%25252023%252520Jan%2525202014%25252015%25253A30.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NG00KB3oTy8/UvEov4FhuFI/AAAAAAAAA84/Bd-ahDptIpM/s500/Photo%25252023%252520Jan%2525202014%25252015%25253A30.jpg" id="blogsy-1391536343145.0596" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div>
<p> These snowdrops are in a shallow, 7" diameter bowl, with compost and some bits of moss on the top. I crocheted the edging for the pot as follows:</p>
<p><strong>Materials</strong>: a size 3mm hook and about a third of a ball of Sublime Egyptian Cotton DK in Shade 322.</p>
<p><strong>To make</strong>: measure the circumference of your pot. Mine is 55cm. For this size pot, make 96 chain. Check your sizing by putting the chain, quite tightly, round the pot until it only just meets. Err on the tight side, because with crochet, it's relatively easy to add a bit on at the end if need be!</p>
<p> Then, do two rows of double crochet (dc) missing the first stitch each time. Then, for row 3, do one DC in second stitch from hook, then 3 chain (ch). After the 3ch, miss one stitch and do one dc into next stitch along. Continue this to the end of the row, ending units a couple of dcs next to each other if need be. Your 3chs will make the little loops and your dcs will be joining the loops to your rows of dc. </p>
<p>Turn so that you are working across the short end of the strip to make the button loop: make 3 chain then make a dc into the other corner to make a button loop like a bracket across the end of the strip. (If your strip is too short st this stage, you could do a quick row of dc across the short end first).</p>
<p>Sew button onto the other end to match button hole (If your strip is a little long, just sew the button a bit further up the end). </p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Sxfc7yOv7gY/UvEo1eeWfKI/AAAAAAAAA9A/qGTa5mbjKzE/s2048/Photo%25252024%252520Jan%2525202014%25252013%25253A27.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Sxfc7yOv7gY/UvEo1eeWfKI/AAAAAAAAA9A/qGTa5mbjKzE/s500/Photo%25252024%252520Jan%2525202014%25252013%25253A27.jpg" id="blogsy-1391536343117.2087" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-50252012590574938042014-01-21T18:05:00.001+00:002014-01-21T18:05:31.689+00:00First FO of 2014, a Norfolk flat white and a brilliant novel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cfYV6xjn4Xg/Ut62zhiTZRI/AAAAAAAAA8g/DP5GJtF503Q/s2048/Photo%25252014%252520Jan%2525202014%25252009%25253A55.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cfYV6xjn4Xg/Ut62zhiTZRI/AAAAAAAAA8g/DP5GJtF503Q/s500/Photo%25252014%252520Jan%2525202014%25252009%25253A55.jpg" id="blogsy-1390327530668.819" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="374"></a></div>
<p> First Finished Object of 2014! This is a lovely little baby top from my Patons <strong><em>Learn To Knit</em></strong> book. It's suitable for a near-beginner, I'd say, as the cable-effect twists involve one stitch-twisting technique rather than a cable needle. Being baby-sized, too, it knitted up quite quickly. The only problem, really, was finding 4-ply wool which wasn't a sickly pastel colour. This is Jarol Heritage yarn and it's lovely - possibly a little too 'woolly' for the pattern, which specifies cotton, but it does look really nice. I've sent it off to friends with a new baby - I hope they like it!</p>
<p>Over Christmas, I read Grace McCleen's unique and fabulous novel, <strong><em>The Professor of Poetry.</em></strong> This is her second novel, apparently, but I hadn't even heard of her before (very remiss of me!). This novel has an unusual protagonist, as I noted in an earlier blog entry when I'd started the book - a single, female, middle-aged academic. Recovering from a serious illness, she returns to the university city of her youth and her old tutor, and waits for her Big Idea to arrive. She is well drawn, as is the tutor, but the real star of the novel, I felt, was the university city. I thought this was unmistakeably Oxford, though it isn't named. Very occasionally, I thought little details suggested perhaps Cambridge - but then the description of the Upper Reading Room at the Bodleian was so clear and realistic that I felt Oxford was the setting. I wish she had simply named the city; it didn't need to be mysterious and it would not have been to the detriment of the story in any way to have named it. Anyway, McCleen's description of the atmosphere of the city in all lights and weathers is just superb. Well worth reading - and I'm going to hunt down her first novel very soon. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E1JyNyBg5NI/Ut626OlWCnI/AAAAAAAAA8o/VLI8G3sT8DM/s2048/Photo%25252030%252520Dec%2525202013%25252012%25253A07.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E1JyNyBg5NI/Ut626OlWCnI/AAAAAAAAA8o/VLI8G3sT8DM/s500/Photo%25252030%252520Dec%2525202013%25252012%25253A07.jpg" id="blogsy-1390327530619.0754" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="374" alt=""></a></div>
<p> And, finally - I like my café shots, as you know, so here is the rather nice newish Chapters café in the Books department of Norwich's finest department store, Jarrolds. Here, we had a delicious flat white while surrounded by books. Lovely. <span style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </span></p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-35675006871759764302013-12-20T17:37:00.001+00:002013-12-20T17:37:08.374+00:00Heading Towards Christmas with Mistletoe, Books and Charity Knitting...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kKc7xibZZrk/UrSAJ8RDSUI/AAAAAAAAA7w/3DxRPTzWK9Y/s2048/Photo%25252020%252520Dec%2525202013%25252010%25253A41.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kKc7xibZZrk/UrSAJ8RDSUI/AAAAAAAAA7w/3DxRPTzWK9Y/s500/Photo%25252020%252520Dec%2525202013%25252010%25253A41.jpg" id="blogsy-1387561029933.506" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div>
<p> I love mistletoe. This year I'm going to leave this sprig on our apple tree and hope it grows! Meanwhile, I've positioned it prominently in our kitchen...</p>
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<p> Isn't this cup the best present? My girlfriend brought it back from Germany for me. I've drunk out of it pretty obsessively since! Nothing like an early Christmas present!</p>
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<p> These are the charity mug-huggers in situ, at The Coffee House on Moreton Hall. They're selling for £3, with £1 of that going straight to our local hospice - an indisputable good cause!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i1xQj3OXaiY/UrSAOjTu2tI/AAAAAAAAA8I/IaxdUz8GCeo/s2048/Photo%2525204%252520Dec%2525202013%25252013%25253A20.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i1xQj3OXaiY/UrSAOjTu2tI/AAAAAAAAA8I/IaxdUz8GCeo/s500/Photo%2525204%252520Dec%2525202013%25252013%25253A20.jpg" id="blogsy-1387561029985.6716" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div>
<p> Last charity knit of the year: these mugs with their own crochet warmers are on sale at Workwise on Hatter Street with a portion of the money going to Workwise itself. Having finished these, I had no project on the go - but friends gave had a baby girl surprisingly early, so I've got an excuse to get knitting again!</p>
<p>Final picture of this week: I'm reading a superb novel called <strong><em>The Professor of Poetry</em></strong> by Geraldine McCleen. It is lyrically written with an unusual - 50s, single, academic female - protagonist. I've read about a third of it and am loving every sentence. More when it's finished!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-prndFZrRabU/UrSAQNVwdrI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/aN-8eKDojzA/s2048/Photo%25252012%252520Dec%2525202013%25252017%25253A12.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-prndFZrRabU/UrSAQNVwdrI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/aN-8eKDojzA/s500/Photo%25252012%252520Dec%2525202013%25252017%25253A12.jpg" id="blogsy-1387561029983.223" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="373" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Hope everyone's had a good week and is getting ready for a lovely Christmas!</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227978808264414720.post-65588812705332912742013-12-12T16:05:00.001+00:002013-12-12T16:05:45.809+00:00Reading, Knitting and Someone Else's Crochet: what could be better?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-g7GPxpAyVcM/UqnetNgWd4I/AAAAAAAAA7Q/NQvjmpXw4zw/s2048/Photo%25252012%252520Dec%2525202013%25252010%25253A12.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-g7GPxpAyVcM/UqnetNgWd4I/AAAAAAAAA7Q/NQvjmpXw4zw/s500/Photo%25252012%252520Dec%2525202013%25252010%25253A12.jpg" id="blogsy-1386864344908.9539" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div>
<p> Ta-dah! I finished these last night, to the entertaining accompaniment of several episodes of <strong><em>Big Love</em></strong>. The pattern is from <strong><em>Mollie Makes</em></strong>, Issue 33, and they've worked up pretty well. They're made in 4-ply, on DPNs, and as I don't often use wool that fine, I found they took quite a while to knit up. The instructions are clear, though, with really good photos so that you can check how your pattern is going! The snowflakes are crochet and I cheated a bit on them by using DK and a size 14 hook, so they don't look as fine as the ones in the magazine. I realised, once I'd sewn the snowflakes on, that the gloves can be worn with the snowflakes on the palm or back of the hand - lovely. There will be more on my Ravelry page soon about little changes I made to the pattern. I was going to give these away as a Christmas present - but I might keep them for myself instead!</p>
<p>This week, I also finished a brilliant novel: Charlotte Mendelson's <strong><em>Almost English</em></strong>:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n-wo9cdAD1k/UqnezgpGsCI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/-rFKcmIteMM/s2048/Photo%2525205%252520Dec%2525202013%25252012%25253A05.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-n-wo9cdAD1k/UqnezgpGsCI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/-rFKcmIteMM/s500/Photo%2525205%252520Dec%2525202013%25252012%25253A05.jpg" id="blogsy-1386864344873.2488" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="373"></a></div>
<p> I expected to enjoy this as I've read all of her novels; she has a gift for articulating precisely what a character thinks or feels. Her choice, for this novel, to alternate between writing about a teenage girl and her mother (as well as their brilliantly-drawn troupe of Hungarian female relatives and friends) means that the novel also demonstrates how a mother's and a daughter's experience of an event can be. Marina's experiences at her new boarding school are particularly entertaining and Mendelson effortlessly recreates the mix of mortification and exploration that characterises teenagers. Laura's anxieties about her absent daughter as well as her own romantic life show a loving but cautious and reserved kind of motherhood which, I think, is rarely the subject of films or books. Mendelson's novel is beautifully written, right down to the level of the wit and clarity of individual sentences. Possibly, if you want a thrilling plot, this might not be the novel for you. But if you enjoy superb observation, convincing characters and pitch-perfect writing, then it most certainly is. </p>
<p> Finally, I saw this fabulous crochet bike basket. Is this yours?! Get in touch, if so! I love it!</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Nc9gD7haU0w/Uqne1kekanI/AAAAAAAAA7g/dhHd3qM6y5s/s800/Photo%25252011%252520Dec%2525202013%25252018%25253A00.jpg" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Nc9gD7haU0w/Uqne1kekanI/AAAAAAAAA7g/dhHd3qM6y5s/s500/Photo%25252011%252520Dec%2525202013%25252018%25253A00.jpg" id="blogsy-1386864344852.8972" class="aligncenter" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Grace Paretreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11550288407068973264noreply@blogger.com1