Stitches of a different kind

Don't you think this hydragea is a lovely bright colour? We have acid soil and it wreaks havoc with pink hydrangeas, turning them a murky, dirty lilac colour. Last year we transplanted them into pots, adding some lime to the compost - and it seems to have done the trick nicely -

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything for such a long time! I have had a bit more time to myself over the last few weeks and have used it to get several jobs completed that have been outstanding for a long time. Although this hasn't involved any knitting, it has involved tiny needles and acres (?) of fabric:
Firstly, I decided to make two pairs of curtains for our home - one pair for the dining room (with a matching runner from the offcuts of length):

Secondly, curtains for our living room and cushions to co-ordinate:

Needless to say this has curtailed my knitting time, but I do now have two full strips of my 'Fish' throw completed, now I just have to get started on the third one. And I am going to promise to try to post more regularly in future (!)

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My Mathilde blouse

For a while now I have been thinking about taking up sewing again. I say again as I loved GCSE Textiles which I chose over Home Economics. I think over the years our home economy has benefited more from what I knew about fabric than what I might have known about food, but that's for another day. I had a fantastic teacher. Mrs Plummer was a designer and an artist and motivated us all to do our best and to develop an understanding and love for fabric, for cutting it up and sewing it all back together. As a result, there were several years when at least one item of clothing I wore every day was handmade. Believe it or not we still exchange Christmas cards and she sends me photos of her latest artwork. I love hearing about what she has been doing - it's 24 years since I was in her class! In the years since, I have sewn less and less clothing and more and more curtains and then, when there are only so many curtains you can hang, my trusty machine was retired for a while. Recentl

Is there such a thing as 'Investment Knitting'?

Following my knitting revival came a succession of plans and lists of items that were to be produced - some sooner than others. One of the first Rowan patterns I completed was 'Lisette' by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan 36. Boy, was I a proud girl when this was finished! It was my first experience of knitting with a Rowan yarn, and nothing has yet shifted 4-ply Soft from the top of my list of the best yarns for drape and finish. It has virtually no 'bloom', washes brilliantly and wears as new. The colour is aptly called 'Beetroot' and is a bit darker than the picture below. The pattern was straightforward to knit, and as a result I think I will forever be partial to a Kim Hargreaves pattern. The edging was knitted separately and sewn on, which was a challenge for me as I am not too confident of my hand sewing skills when it comes to knitted fabric! I have learnt many things since I knitted this a couple of years ago. One of them is never to carry 'live' stitc

All's well that casts off (with enough yarn)

This wasn't a good time of year to start blogging, I think. I have a growing pile of assignments to mark and lots of preparation for summer teaching to get underway (no long break for us nursing lecturers, unfortunately!). Yet I still want to knit and talk about knitting in preference to working. I need some discipline. I have just finished knitting Birch from Rowan 34. It started when I needed to buy an extra ball of Kidsilk Night to cast off about 100 stitches of the Froth scarf that was the free gift pattern from Rowan a few months ago. I was knitting it a second time for a gift. I was left with almost a full ball and thought it would be a good idea to buy 2 more and cast on for Birch (which I had always fancied knitting). After getting one third of the way through the shawl I had only one ball left: So off I went to buy another ball of yarn to complete the last few pattern repeats. Now I have about 3/4 of a ball left. Am I the only one who would find that frustrating? After all

Stitches Galore

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