failed miserably

A few weeks ago I was asked by a fellow knitter on Ravelry whether I would like to be a test knitter for a pattern she was shortly to publish. The top looked cute, and being for a small baby I didn't think it would take me long, so I accepted. Several weeks and many impatient emails later I finally finished it, long after it was actually published. The poor girl couldn't wait for me any longer. (Luckily I was not the only tester).

Anyway, it's a lovely top and will be quite versatile weather wise. Made for a friend who is due to have her first baby next month. If you are interested in knitting it yourself it's called Kira's Hooded Vest by Yumiko Sakurai.

Off The Page

I was rather excited and suprised to discover recently that my small and humble home town of Whitstable would be hosting the UK's first ever literary festival devoted to music criticism. Off The Page.

The show was opened last night by the wonderful Robert Wyatt, who played and discussed (in a typically meandering, going-off-on-tangents kind of way) five of his favourite music tracks. Particularly interesting as he talked about his childhood in Canterbury and the weekends he spent feeding coins into jukeboxes in Whitstable cafes in order to watch girls dance.

Another highlight of the weekend was an enthusiastic talk by Dave Tompkins on the history of the vocoder, which began life as a Second World War device to scramble the transatlantic conversations between Churchill and Roosevelt, (with the UK vocoder operated from the basement of Selfridges department store.) It was subsequently employed as a more creative instrument in film, tv and music, particularly hip hop. Here Dave is on Youtube talking about his favourite vocoder records.

It's been a bit tricky trying to see everything we wanted to, what with juggling Betty between us and her Aunty Joanne, and the organisers constantly changing the running order with very little notice. I think tomorrow we'll see what Betty makes of the 'performance lecture on the art of listening'. I'm hoping it will be loud enough to drown out her babbling.

at last! the lace ribbon scarf

In hindsight, it probably wasn't such a good idea to start this project shortly after having a baby. There are many mistakes and it has taken over a year to complete, with an intensive and focused effort to get the last two feet done. I'm so pleased with it though!

The yarn is Lacey Lamb by Jade Sapphire, in mustard. It goes on and on. The ball is never ending! And It comes in a wonderful range of colours. I would like a ball of each please! The pattern I found on knitty.com via Ravelry.

Every girl needs mustard accessories!

little tig

Here's Little Tig, another creature from the Donna Wilson book The Knitted Odd-bod Bunch.

He's alpaca and mohair and has a rather shorter tail than planned as the wool ran out! You can see more I've knitted from the book here.

special relationship dishcloth

In honour of the Cross-Atlantic union of friends Janet and Philip, I've made this 'Special Relationship Dishcloth'. May it bring many hours of enjoyment to the drudgery of washing up, once the honeymoon has worn off!

Christmas trousers

I finished knitting these on Christmas Eve, just in time to wrap them up for Betty to unwrap. I found the pattern on Ravelry, but added ribbed cuffs round the ankles. I accidently bought Sublime Cashmerino Silk yarn, instead of the machine washable equivalent. Oops.

resolutions for 2011

The essence of our Christmas and New Year is captured perfectly in A Charlie Brown Christmas. We bought Betty the sound track by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. She's developed a funny new dance to go with it, and she squeals with delight when watching the video on You Tube.

I'm even considering knitting a yellow zig zag jumper for her.

With Peanuts in the background I've been thinking about my resolutions for 2011. Here's what I've come up with....

* Address the storage problems in the house.

* Spend more time in my studio.

* Get my work into at least three new shops or galleries.

* Make more of my own clothes, and Betty's too.

* Visit friends and family.

* Keep on top of my allotment and increase productivity.

* Transform the garden, including preparations for building a new studio.

* Work on designs for printing on fabric.

* Buy a new camera.