Musings on colour choices

As you know, I love bright fabrics patchworked together.

Never miss a chance to put purple and orange together

But I’m also trying to experiment with more muted colours. This is a cushion cover made of recycled ties.

It’s mostly grey and navy silk fabric with a tiny print, with that stripe of red in there to liven it up a bit. Does anyone remember there was a year in the nineties when some designer or other decided we would focus on Texture not Colour, and the shops were full of grey? Because we were all supposed to be wearing grey cashmere and possibly a bit of grey jersey if we were racy? If you’ve seen Ab Fab, you might remember the minimalist couple who design Edina’s kitchen: we were all supposed to look like that. Only in grey. No, the nineties were not a good decade for fashion as there is a limit to what anyone can do with a redefined classic white tshirt and a black nylon bumbag. Anyway, it didn’t work and I think Marks and Spencers made a loss of some shocking amount because nobody bought anything, and so they became quite cross, and that was the end of grey, and the death knell for Urban Minimalism, it was rung. It was rung comprehensively.

Well I lived through that and I still love grey. It’s hard to put me off things, you know. It needs dedication. Sometimes it practically needs a sledgehammer.

The future of wool shops + a fat grey feline

I suspect you, Holder Of Camera, of wanting to stroke my furry grey underbelly. I suspect you strongly

My mother once got stuck with a woman at a party who spent half an hour showing her photographs of her cat. Sometimes the cat was on the sofa, sometimes it was on the sideboard, sometimes my mother was casting about desperately to see where her next sweet sherry was coming from. I think this was the same party where I got stuck in the toilet with 4 long-haired collies, anyway I digress. My point is that I am even sadder than that woman because at least it was her cat, whereas I take photographs of random cats. I am like the Catorialist but without the glamorous locations.

Dad, displaying the origin of my Cat Attracting Gene (TM)

This was in Bury St Edmunds. There are a lot of wool shops in Bury St Edmunds, indeed I would say it has reached saturation point. You turn a corner and bam, there you are, another display of Sirdar arranged in a pyramid and a lot of patterns with pictures of thoughtful women wearing jumpers with their arms extended. And there is also Wibbling Wools.

The Wibbling Wools van. They're a design icon now, you know

It struck me in Bury that there are now, on our High Streets all over the country, two rival kinds of wool shop. One is like Wibbling Wools, (which was very nice, by the way, in case you are ever in the area), which is of the New School. I could tell it was of the New School even before I went in, because it had an edgy knitted lamppost covering outside.

But what if it rains, I thought, because I am too practical to be winsome. Although I think it might be detachable

The New School of Wool Shops are not like the Old School. The Old School are essentially masonic lodges with wool: you would not expect to go in and find beginner knitting materials or inspiration, because if you are shopping there, knitting will have been passed down the female line of your family for 12 generations, like big feet or a propensity for sarcasm. The Old School are big on Sirdar. They are big on acrylic mixes. If you go in and see either of the following, you know the wool shop you are in is Old School, and you can act accordingly: a/ pattern for a non-ironic tea cosy b/ one of those enormous 500g balls of acrylic aran. On the other hand, if you see either of the following you know you are in one of the New School, and someone is imminently going to try to lure you into joining their knitting circle or impress you by believing that circular needles exist: a/ Noro of any description b/ hand-dyed sock yarn.

Close up of woolly pole. If I could manage intarsia convincingly I would not put it on a pole. I would put it in the Cambridge Evening News

Well, for me, I am glad to see wool in a shop wherever I find it, but I do sometimes wonder: how long will the two breeds live side by side peacefully? Will they come to blows one day with one of the New School owners crying, ‘sod you and your novelty acrylic, thinking a bit of pom pom yarn makes you up to date. It doesn’t!’ and whopping one of the Old School over the head with a skein of Malabrigo? And if that happens, will there be swift retaliation with a pair of Inox needles? This I'm sure of, unfortunately: as I write, even the New School are inevitably beginning the long journey out of fashion, as someone somewhere is making knitting with newspaper or spaghetti fashionable. We will all be spending our old age sitting on uncomfortable stools in high-tech aluminium wool shops, sipping our absinthe and Sunny D cocktails, looking at shelves full of Fun Fur which has been reclaimed ironically and muttering to each other, I used to like Noro, I don’t know what happened to it.

It did have quite a few knots, though.

Loopy Cowl Is Loopy. The pattern

I made a cowl.

I know you can see where the bedroom needs painting. I'm decorating. I'm doing it

And now I want to share the pattern with you. And before you think, gosh I don’t need a pattern for that it looks easy, well yes it is quite easy but I am going to save you the trouble of working out how many stitches to cast on, because I had to start this three times before it came out cowl-sized. My first attempt would have looked a bit generous on Shrek (although I think it would have suited him, because he’s normally way too conservative with colour).

I feel any caption to a photo such as this is necessarily redundant

Before we start, though, this is how you do loop stitch:

For loop stitch:

Knit next stitch but don’t slip it off the needle. Take the yarn around to the front of the work and loop it round the thumb of your left hand, then take it to the back again, knit the same stitch again and slip it off the needle. Transfer the last two stitches knitted (i.e. the two that came from the one loop stitch) back onto the left hand needle, then knit them both together through the back. Voilà! Loop stitch!

And now for the pattern:

I used almost 2 balls of Sirdar Click Chunky, so about 140m, but you could use any chunky-ish yarn (because, drum roll, gauge isn’t critical for this project!). I knitted it on a 6.5mm circular needle which was about 17” tip to tip and didn’t need to magic loop, which was useful as I wouldn’t have had a clue how to do it. If you do, though, feel free ;-).

CO 54 stitches (pattern works with any even number). CO with a flexible cast on (I always just do the knit cast on. Yeah yeah, I know, throw me out of the Sorority Of Knitters. I don't swatch, either).
Join for working in round, and place marker for start of round. 54 stitches gives you a cowl which is about 19”-20” circumference.

K 2 rows.

Begin pattern repeat:

Row 1: Loop 1, K 1, repeat to end.
Row 2: K.
Row 3: K 1, Loop 1, repeat to end.
Row 4: K.

Keep going until your patience or your yarn runs out, ending either with Row 2 or Row 4 (it doesn’t make any difference which). I managed 7.5 repeats which made my cowl about 8” high, which seems a perfectly reasonable size.

Cast off VERY LOOSELY – there aren’t that many stitches so if you cast off tightly you might not be able to get it over your head, and that would be a bit tragic.

Weave in ends. Prepare for ‘what on earth are you wearing?’ comments. Wear your Loopy Cowl Is Loopy with pride.

Why, yes. It really is that colour

Hope you enjoy. Let me know if I’ve missed anything! Feel free to use Loopy Cowl is Loopy for whatever purposes you want - a link back to me would be good karma, but, apart from that, go forth, knit loopy things, my knitting friends. x

Edited to add photo of me wearing cowl like a sensible person, even though we have previously established my un-photo-genic-ness:

You would not wear it with a tshirt. You would wear it with a nice coat and you would relax your shoulders

The Friday Interview: Loretta Hurley

And iiiiiiiit’s… the Friday interview! :-;. My mother likes these very much and rings me up afterwards to tell me whether she thinks my questions are good or not. So I hope my questions are sufficiently probing and you enjoy this one, mother (and everyone else as well, obviously don’t feel excluded).

OK, so today’s interview is with Loretta Hurley, who makes lovely beaded jewellery. (All photos/ designs are copyright Loretta - shoot her an email if you want to use any of her photos. The slightly crappy use of the smudge tool is, I'm afraid, all mine ;-) ).

Clockwise from top left: Tahitian Moonlight, Elizabeth, Lady of the Lake, Indian Ocean. Admire my use of the Gimp Smudge Tool

Loretta and I met at my last job where she was a beacon of sanity and calm, and I’m pleased to have her as a witness that I didn’t dream the whole thing up, like the last episode of Crossroads where it was revealed that it had all been the dream of a till operator called Angela. I was delighted to discover subsequently that she has lots of crafty interests, in particular beading. This is something I’ve always wanted to be good at, but am definitely not, so it’s something I admire in other people. Loretta has wide-ranging inspirations for her pieces, from Arthurian legend to the Floating World and works with beads in a variety of media.

I have recently initiated Loretta into the seductive time-suck that is Ravelry so I hold myself morally responsible for any forthcoming woolly adventures.

1/ How would you describe what you make, and what inspired you to start making it?

I would describe my pieces as wearable imagination. 

I started by mending a shop-bought bracelet. The heavy ceramic beads had been strung precariously on thread which subsequently broke.  Now they’re on copper wire with bead caps in a much more decorative and robust “banglet”.  In addition to choosing the threading material and findings I replaced some of the beads. I went on to design pieces to complement existing clothes or jewellery. I had no idea I could design before this so I would encourage others to try it.

Morgan Le Fay necklace

2/ Do you make the kind of jewellery you enjoy wearing, or do you make the kind which has techniques that interest you? (i.e. are you product or process orientated?).

I experiment with different techniques, but I’m motivated to create the design in my head.

3/ Which piece are you most proud of, and which did you learn most from?

I think I’m most proud of “Morgan le Fay” because it was my first chunky mixed media necklace [note from me, it includes paper beads, I think these are very cool] and I think an interesting use of colour and texture. You can see I’ve had a bit of an Arthurian thing going on!

I learnt most from the bracelet I mentioned at the beginning because it took a couple of attempts to make it work and I had to think about what materials would work best both practically and in terms of look, as well as learning about jewellery-making tools and how to use them.

4/ In Happy-Internet-Land, women who do crafts are celebrated, and practical skills are highly valued – in the real world, however, I still find there are some rather unflattering stereotypes of women who craft, and it can be seen as quite an odd thing to do. How has your experience been?

I think I may be one of the unflattering stereotypes!  [Nonsense, woman ;-)]

There’s something magical about creating an object and that transcends the mundane stuff of stereotypes.

5/ Has your experience of creating individual pieces affected your view of mass production, or altered the way you shop?

I now generally don’t buy other people’s finished work (unless it really speaks to me or it’s in a medium I don’t work in) but I shop for materials a great deal! Some of the materials may be mass produced but most are from small to medium producers and suppliers who provide information about content and sourcing. I choose quality components that are produced in the UK to reduce the “bling miles”, or that are at least ethically traded, and/or recycled, wherever possible. I also shop for specific often one-off items that will finish off a piece and help to make it special.
[Note from me, this underlines one of my problems with crafting – I do it (partly) to reduce my consumption, but it makes me buy (at least some) materials! I don’t know how you get round that. Also I believe 'bling miles' to be a new coinage so remember you heard it here first. Useless Beauty Designs: facilitating language change].

Merlin necklace

6/ Are there any beadmakers you particularly admire who you’d like to tell us about?

I bought some Celtic style silver jewellery years ago made by Ola Gorie. She’s retired from jewellery making now (though her daughter is continuing) and so this set is precious. I love jewellery and other crafts that celebrate and connect us with history and tradition, with those who have crafted before us. Read about Ola here.

More recently, I did think Lynn Davy’s “Fading Beauty” was beautiful; it won the British Bead Awards Crystals Category in 2009.

Generally I find other people’s work is interesting in terms of how they’ve constructed it technically. I’m more likely to be inspired by ideas sparked by music, art, history, mythology or literature.

If people are interested in beading, there are UK based magazines including Bead magazine and Beads and Beyond.

Blue Days at Sea necklace. I will not say anything about Aldeburgh, which could only ever produce happiness

7/ How would you like to develop your craft from here?

I can see more medieval-inspired pieces appearing. I also have Japanese ukiyo-e inspired pieces on the drawing board, using glass and decorative knotwork.

Loretta can be contacted at lorettahurley.vaire [at] gmail.com for anyone interested in commissions. Thanks Loretta for the interview, and thanks for sharing your beading. I'm looking thoughtfully at the box which contains my round-nosed pliers, but I'm going to resist, because I know from experience it never ends well!

A photograph on Friday

Sunflowers behind Cambridge bus station, fading as summer turns into autumn (sorry to be depressing! Autumn's nice too, honestly).

Shoes or spinning? Please help me decide!

You may remember, I have taken the Wardrobe Refashion pledge. It expires at the end of October. I am allowed one get out of jail free card in case, ooh I don’t know, I get distracted while mooching along and somehow end up in TK Maxx just keeping a weather eye on things and some Carvela stilettos fall into my basket and my credit card falls into the credit card reader and my hand slips and punches in my number by pure coincidence.

Shoes! So I must invoke the Get Out Of Jail Free Card:

But. But. Must I, though? Because: I get my shoes home, I get them out, I try them on, I look very cool. I congratulate myself on how immensely practical these shoes will be, given that a/ I can actually walk in them (honestly), and b/ they will do for winter as well as will go with tights. And then doubts begin to creep in.

Readers: the shoes were not absolutely ruinously expensive. They were £50. (I hope you are admiring my honesty. I hope you aren’t thinking, £50 on shoes, £12.50 on cheese, a fool and her money, hmm). I have things I can sell on ebay to recoup the cost. I have not bought shoes for many, many months. But, as I stood looking at the shoes which I can assure you made my ankles look very slender, I did begin to think: that is £50 I could spend on something else. I could spend it on other shoes, for example these green ones:

Or – I could spend it on a beginner spinning kit. Or on a patchwork-cutting-out kit. Or on both, if I don’t do anything bourgeois like take postage into account. I never thought I would see the day when I would prefer a spinning kit over very stylish stilettos, but, possibly that day is here. Am I now middle aged? Is this the beginning of the end? Is it all downhill from here and will I spend my days from now on nodding in agreement to Woman’s Hour while adjusting my Slanket and wondering when the man next door is going to trim his side of the hedge? What should I do? Should I take the shoes back and buy the spinning kit, or should I keep the shoes, because they are lovely? (Please don’t say, take the shoes back and don’t spend the money on anything because you have got to have a new bathroom. I have mentally moved that money into my spent compartment, although if you have read Bleak House you will know that that kind of thinking only leads to misery and quite often death).

So here is my question: shoes or spinning? Which road do I take? I think I’ve reached a critical life point. Please let me know what you think!

WIP Wednesday: Loopy Cowl Is Loopy

It's WIP Wednesday again, and thanks to Tami at Tami's Amis for hosting! This is what I’m working on at the moment in between being knocked sideways by allergies. It’s a Loopy Cowl of Loopiness (I made this pattern up. I haven’t seen one anywhere. Does that surprise you?). I posed it on something tasteful to make it look even subtler. While you’re looking at this considering if there’s anything polite you can say, just bear this in mind: I’m sometimes very good at picking up trends while they’re still wafting about somewhere in the ether, so, I wear something for a year and everybody laughs at me and then, a year later, bam kapow there it is all over Asos and certain people are eating their words. So it’s very possible that everyone and their dog will be wearing Loopy Knitting this winter, and it’s equally possible that I am quite, quite wrong and I will be stared at as I go about my day-to-day business. Again.

It'll look great when it's finished, honestly. You'll all want one

I’m knitting it in Sirdar Click Chunky which is a wool/ acrylic blend and actually I like it very much. I’m not entirely sure about the colour: I had to grab it quickly because a woman in the shop wanted to stand exactly where I was standing so she could look at embroidery thread and grunt. And then when I’d paid and was trying to leave the shop, there she was again! Standing blocking the exit, holding up her embroidery thread and grunting! I think, though, if you’re going to knit a great big loopy cowl you probably might as well knit it in something bright because it’s not as if you’re going to blend into the background anyway, is it? As well be hanged for a bright red loopy cowl as for a subtle beige scarf, that’s what I say. It’ll look great when it’s finished. I’m actually going tomorrow to have a fringe cut into my hair so I can model it winsomely when it's finished: if that isn’t dedication to my craft, then I don’t know what is.