A Lovely Cromer Cafe, a Bit of Knitting, and a Great Use for a Jam Jar

 

Ah - the end of the summer over the North Norfolk coast. As the sun went down, my fab Lady Friend pulled two lovely, icy G & Ts from her bag - making use of the jam jars from our delicious Staverton ewe jam. This is made in Suffolk - hurrah! - and we buy it in the lovely Coffee House near us. I was quite impressed with her upcycling ;)  Needless to say, like all food outside, they tasted just delicious.

This was our view:

The weather then turned a little bit chilly, so we went to Norwich and Cromer, rather than trying to sit on the beach. I managed, as always, to buy some lovely Sirdar Click DK wool for a Bronwyn Lowenthal jumper I will start soon in Jarrolds - where this sweet sign demonstrates their knitting skills:

 

More to come on the new DK jumper soon - my mum is making one first! Spotted this great piece of graffiti near St Peter Mancroft church, near the market:

 

 

We also discovered a *fantastic* cafe in Cromer, called Huckleberries. Here is my mughugger paying a visit:

 

 

This is one of my better BlackBerry photos: we're outside, here, having just eaten a scrumptious piece of caramel shortcake (in fact, only my mum's is better). The coffee was really good (by which I mean a two shot cappucino and nice and strong) and the tea cosies, for tea-drinkers, were knitted! Love it.

 

So, er, not so much knitting in this post.I have finished my Sarah Hatton jacket... but just as I'd officially finished it, I realised it is so bulky that I have to sew the cuffs in their turned-back position and buy a button or pin to keep it closed. I tried to show it off at Stitch n Bitch, but it was rather unwieldy and, I fear, it looked as though I'd wrapped myself in the dog's blanket ... but cuffs, and a pin, will sort this out, I'm sure! Wish me luck ;)

 

 

 

One Normal Knitted Pencil Case and An Exhibition

My 7 year-old nephew has grown up being showered with knitting by many of his relatives... so when he was asked what kind of pencil case he wanted for the new term, he said, "Just a normal, knitted one."!! So it fell to me to produce the pencil case. As always, this was more difficult than it sounded, as it needed a zip (tricky, fiddly) and a lining (tricky, fiddly) but I am really pleased with the results:

 

It's made of very cheap, squeaky DK so the wool panel wasn't terribly enjoyable to knit. But it didn't take long to make - though fitting the zip and lining seemed to take a whole day! Perhaps I've misremembered that, but they certainly took a *very* long time - endless tacking, and retacking... I don't think I'm a natural seamstress. But now I don't really want to give it away .... Pattern to follow!

 

I went to see the Transformations exhibition at Smiths Row last week. Many of the exhibits make use of textiles, sewing and stitching; my eyes lit up as I saw some knitting across the room. This piece is by Freddie Robins:

 

I must say, I felt a bit more ambivalent when I saw the noose-style hanging of the piece and the stab-style knitting needles. You can see from this close-up that the bodysuit reads Craft Kills:

 

Why Craft Kills? A problematic slogan, in my opinion (though it's available on badges in the gift shop!). If Robins believes in the power of craft (as the blurb suggested), then it's a shame if she automatically conflates power with killing. However, I'm sure craft has its darker side, as anything one 'makes' or crafts could be dangerous or harmful - people don't just craft doilies and baby clothes - but I am nevertheless uncomfortable about this piece. Hm.

 

Still, I uncomplicatedly like this piece by Susan Collis:

 

 

This isn't a terribly good photo because it doesn't show the detail of the marks on the boiler suit - which are machine-embroidered onto the cloth. I really like this because it reminds the audience that 'mistakes', blotches, splashes, are part of making things. Also, in a way, perhaps that art leaves its mark on the artist? Perhaps I'd better take off my Art Critic Hat there! It's a thought-provoking and beautifully laid out exhibition in the lovely setting of Smiths Row - well worth a look.

 

Now, to write up the pencil case knitting pattern....

 

 

 

 

I have another #FO! Enter: One crochet collar ...

Hurrah! I have finished this collar. The pattern is from a beautiful crafty blog by Emma in Wiltshire; I have a link to it below on an earlier crochet-themed post. This has worked out exactly as the pattern said, and it's really quick and easy. I found a lovely glass button in a charity shop; here it's at the back, but it would actually be nicer as the front, I think - you can see it, and the colour, better below (why does my BlackBerry not give good colour reproduction?!). A quick post, as I'm off out tonight, just to wear it! Woo hoo!

In Which I Venture to Les Tricoteuses & find yarnbombing in Sheringham...

A lovely sunny day in Holt last week - and a browse in a lovely wool shop:

I was really keen to check out this shop properly - I love the name (with its connotations of gallows knitting) and Chapel Yard, its location, has great little shops and galleries. The huge window shows the lovely yarns inside.

This is a pretty good generic picture, actually, of all the Places To Buy Yarn that I like - the gorgeous coloured patty-shaped balls of pure wool. This shop has an excellent range of luxurious wools - everywhere I looked there was more! It was great to meet Mary Pembleton, the owner; she turned down her German rock music to talk about the shop, our dislike of acrylic, "squeaky" wool,  and showed me her newest arrival - *British*, no less - Debbie Bliss Blue Faced Leicester Aran yarn, in gorgeous autumnal shades -

I want to go back and buy the mustardy colour to make some gloves I've found a pattern for in Bronwyn Lowenthal's Love to Knit  - Mary has knitted the swatch here in red and it feels dense and lovely and woolly! She has the Debbie Bliss accompanying pattern book, too. Bravo, Les Tricoteuses! www.lestricoteuses.co.uk

The knitting theme dominated our trip to Sheringham, too; luckily, my Lady Friend is a patient partner. First I had to snap this part of the sea front mural:

But then - huge excitement - we saw more Sheringham *yarnbombing*: fantastic knitted fish and starfish on the seafront -

Aren't these great? I wonder if it's those @NorfolkNinjaKnitters again ;)

On a rainy day, we went to Norwich. While the Lady Friend had  a tour of the Cathedral, I paid a visit to Jarrolds, a great independent with lots of lovely Sirdar wool and good haberdashery bits too. Had a crochet conversation with the sales assistant who was wearing a black crochet collar that she'd made herself. Then, a trip to the Cathedral refectory:

And a scrumptious cheese scone:

I love Emma Bridgewater's crockery - though the use of this Biblical quotation is rather surprising, as the second part of the verse from the Song of Songs reads, "For I am sick of love." I suppose that's why only the first part is on the plate!  I know there's no mention of a Wednesday #WIP - but that[s because my Sarah Hatton jacket is still .... still .... still on the go! 

How can this be my first #FO Friday post?

Ta da! One completed crochet necklace (pattern link given in previous post). Oh, and here it is just one more time, swinging jauntily on my wardrobe door handle:

I would love to say how easy this was ... and actually, the crochet part *was* pretty easy, but sewing on the button was a _pain_. In fact, if you follow me on Twitter, you will know that it took me a whole documentary on the Amish (which was brilliant) to sew on the button ... and unpick it....and sew it on again - and so forth. I wanted to get it so that I could wear it with the button at the front or back, so it had to be neat, and to sit properly . . . anyway, it now *finally* does. Phew. The jade collar is waiting 'til tomorrow to be finished - even though I want to wear it tomorrow night. Now to have another little sip of Three Choirs English white wine and watch the women's football semi-final.

Wednesday's #WIP : all about crochet!

As I reported on Monday, it's all about the crochet at the moment: this rather shady picture shows the necklace from a free pattern by Carol Meldrum on The Making Spot. The fun part - the actual crochet - is done, but I haven't sewn the button on yet. The pattern says it needs blocking - I normally never do this as I just can't really be bothered (shame on me!), but I did wonder if I should here, as the arches do poke up a bit... then I had a genius idea:

Here is the necklace, underneath Nigella Lawson! Pressing it like a pressed flower has done the trick nicely, so today I'll sew the button on.

And _here_ is the completed @Lululoves1000 collar (website given in Monday's post). I bought some *gorgeous* 4 ply cotton to make this in, as the DK wool (I use the term loosely) one in taupe here is actually too bulky for me. This cotton is new at Mill House Fabric - it's DMC Natura Just Cotton, and the colour here is Jade. It doesn't quite fit my made in Britain policy - but it is from France, so somewhere, er, nearby. The colours in this range are just *lovely*: I really want to make loads more. Mill House Fabric has a good range of haberdashery stuff, though they only sell crochet cottons and not wool now (they used to stock wool upstairs). They don't have a website but you can find them in shop directories for Suffolk.

So, today's challenges: sewing on buttons and crocheting more of the Jade collar. I don't care if it rains!

She cooks, she crochets....

So often, patterns for crochet accessories are frumpy and/or downright unnecessary - but two patterns I've come across thie weekend have been so beautiful and timely that I've just had to make them.  I've set my chunky Sarah Dallas jacket to one side in favour of crochet collars and necklaces. Above is my crochet collar in progress. This pattern is from www.lululoves.co.uk - a beautiful blog, with gorgeous pictures of Emma's crochet makes, as well as other aspects of her life in Wiltshire. This collar is just lovely to make: it curves really nicely, and seems pretty easy, too - and quick! My only disappointment is my own wool: because I was so keen to start it, I rather ignored Emma's yarn advice on the blog...so although the colour of this is lovely (I wanted a tea-stained, vintage-y colour), the cheapy DK is making the whole thing rather bulky. Still, now I know it works up so nicely, I can buy some proper 4-ply cotton.

My second crochet effort at the moment is a necklace, designed by Carol Meldrum at www.beatknit.com. You can find this pattern at www.themakingspot.com. This is made with a teency hook - 2mm - so I am practising it with a rather girly pink to see if it works. The cotton is Sirdar Luxury Soft Cotton 4 ply. It's got quite a nice texture but splits *really* easily so I'm having to undo stitches every so often as I haven't managed to hook every strand through each time. I've added, here, 12 more chains to the original number . . .  will report more on my amendments when it's done!

What else have I done recently? Oh: read Alison Bechdel's fabulous graphic memoir about her mother and her own childhood, Are You My Mother? I've written a review of this, so more to come.

 And, finally:

I bought Peyton & Byrne's British Baking a few weeks ago, and made the blueberry and hazelnut crumble recipe from it yesterday, as British blueberries are on sale at the moment. This was just delicious - like eating warm blueberry jam . . .

Anyway: it's Stitch n Bitch tonight, so better sort out my knitting bag.