A Basket Case

I got sick of my yarn and works-in-progress lying around in plastic bags, and of having to rummage for the right size needles.

Just at the right moment, a beautiful basket came my way; this one -


I got two large checked tea towels from the discount store.
I lay one on top of the other, at right-angles. The checks are not perfectly square, so the yellow lines don't line up. However, by lining them up anyway and sewing the two towels together along the lines, the top one belled out a bit, making pockets. This is exactly what I wanted.

And because one towel hung over the side by quite a lot, I folded that edge back up on itself, sewed along the yellow lines again, and made little pockets on the outside of the basket. These are perfect for all those small bits and bobs - stitch markers, needle gauge, yarn needles, etc. All ready to hand.

The inside pockets hold my needles sorted according to size. The same size circs go in with the long ones too. So now, when I need to find a needle size, it's really easy - no longer like trying to find needles in a haystack!


I really like my new work basket. (thanks, MIL)

Spring Colours

Well, I was feeling that I may want to try to knit something other than hats.

That's when I found two balls of Opal yarn, shown off with a swatch knitted up in the shop. Oh, I really loved the way it made patterns all by itself!

But I got the impression that the self-patterning only worked on small-scale garments - socks, a kiddie's jumper. 'Why didn't they make a "big" version of it?' I asked myself, followed by 'How could I make use of it anyway?'

So, I thought I could make use of it by incorporating it into a jumper as a feature panel or stripe.

I got some solid colour wool that matched colours that were in the Opal - purple, dark green, light green, and a pale beigey-cream. The purple will be the main ground colour.

The colours remind me of spring or autumn crocuses, so I will call it Crocus.


It may be ready by Spring - the end of Spring, perhaps?

I don't have a pattern, specifically. It's going to be A Big Adventure.

A Different Kind Of Spiral

Here are some better photos of the cloche hat mentioned here. Polly was out at the time of that post, but I've persuaded her to do a bit more modelling. This shows off the shape of the hat much better.


The photo below shows the spiral pattern made with the M1 technique described for this pattern; you know, the make one which also makes a decorative hole. If I had had a photo like this, I would have known straight away what the pattern was asking me to do.

My strange stitch style (not-quite-continental) coupled with perhaps a needle size a little bit too big, has given this an almost crochet effect. I like it.

The Direction Of A Spiral

The day afer the Mid-Winter festival, I entered the convent.

No, not as a nun! The St Helier's Convent in Collinwood is open to the public. It's no longer an operating convent, but there are two cafes there, and a glass-blowers' studio, choir practice halls, and some wonderful photo subjects.

This is one of my favorites from that day's shoot. It's a rather pagan looking cupola which stands at the entrance of a quadrangle or cloister.


There are other great shots, which I may post later

These are shots of two spiral staircases. Much of the convent site is rusting in peace, as were these. I'm intruigued by the process of decay in the urban environment.

These staircases spiralled in the same direction.
















I liked the patterns formed by the uprights crossing over the steps - accidental rectangles.

Now I'm curious - do the spiral staircases in the northern hemisphere turn in the same direction as the ones in the southern hemisphere, or, like water going down a plughole, do they go in the opposite direction?

Persistence of Nature

It never ceases to amaze me how Nature persists in the face of adversity, in the most unusual ways.


This red-hot-poker is not only growing in the wrong season, it's growing in the gutter of the garage!


Do you think it might be time to clean out the gutters???

Exterminate! Exterminate!

No, this is not an anorexic Dalek, it's a tassel-maker!

I had already made the tassels for the Byzantium hat.
I then came across a piece of turned wood. It was the remnants of a director's chair, broken up for disposal once it was too broken to repair. (believe me, it has to be very broken round here to not be useable!). We are heavily into recycling.

I thought of a way to use it. I described my idea to Mr M, my DH, who was totally bewildered, tassels-making never being one of his life-skills.

A few diagrams later, and some mysterious time in the garage (aka, bloke's shed - it's never had a car in it!) we had my tassel-maker. It has several holes down the length, so different size tassels can be made. The "arms" are bamboo chopsticks cut down. They are tapered, which means they can be set firmly into the holes, but later pulled out for a different size.

The base is version #2 - the first version was too small, and I didn't want the tassel-maker tipping over when I used it. It stands 27cm (11 inches) from tip to bottom of the base.

I guess it could also be used to make pom-poms. My first effort at one of those was a pretty weird oval shape. I figure I must have put the centre draw-string in the wrong spot. I'll have another go at it some other day.

Going To Byzantium

It's another hat!


I called it Byzantium because that's the name that came to mind when it was finished, partly because of the colour - like the light through stained glass, and partly because of the quirky shape.

It's another Katia wool - Sherpa, I think.

I wanted to experiment with making a hat out of a tube knitted on circular needles. I'm sure it's nothing new; I'm sure there are hundreds of patterns out there for such hats.
But I made up this one myself.

I swatched to get my gauge. Then worked out the circumference I wanted, and the height. My poor old calculator is getting a thorough workout from all this knitting. Who would have thought it? Maybe there's a nifty little computer program out there that does the same thing, but I haven't found it yet.


The reverse stocking stitch idea came from my 30 year old Mon Tricot 1300 Stitch Dictionary. I like the way it gives stretch in the vertical direction.

And of course, you experienced knitters out there already knew that a hat knitted as a tube will give "ears" on each side. I know it now!

They were so cute, I just had to add tassels to them. Wrappimg wool round a credit card to make a tassel worked just fine! (Probably the most benign use of a credit card ever known!)
I used a store-bought covered bead for the top of each tassel. I was really pleased to find just the right colour - it blends perfectly.


I closed the top seam using a three-needle bind-off. It's the first time I'd ever done one of those - I was pleased with how well it worked, especially given how chunky this wool is.








This is a fun hat - I have resolved to grow old disgracefully, and become truly eccentric. I will wear this one out to fun events, like the Mid-Winter Festival as per this mention, and barbeques, and anywhere I please!