Holey, Holey, Holey

Block #74 – Alternate Eyelets -AA

After K sent me an eyelets square last month, I was greatly challenged to try a lace pattern myself. The next one seemed to be this alternate eyelets pattern. Seven or eight eyelets in each row, but adjusted so that they made a diamond pattern. I memorised the 8 row sequence very quickly, and was able to knit a square in the car on the journey to London [to see the Tapestry] and another on the way back. I was so taken with these two [random yarns] that I quickly knitted two more in plain yarns. I used that blue random in July, and the autumnal golds in August. The top plain one reminds me of raspberries! The last one is snowy white. Summer-autumn-winter, how the seasons flow into one another…

I like very simple memorable stitch patterns. If we are going to make enough for a jumper, doing twice as many each month will help. I am sending K one plain and one fancy.

There is an old hymn which begins Holy, Holy, Holy - when I was very young, the choir always sang it in church just as we began the Sunday Morning Service. I was baffled by a verse which referred to "Cherubim and Seraphim, falling down before Thee, which wert and art and evermore shalt be"
"Wert and Art" was such an odd phrase, incomprehensible to a 6 year old.
And I was bothered by the heavenly beings falling down. I knew that Isaiah the prophet saw the seraphim, and declared "with twain he covered his feet" [Is 6:2] I wasn't sure about the word twain, and confused it with tallow. Thus I thought the seraph had waxy feet!

UPDATE - Katie's Hospice Coffee Morning raised just shy of £1000. Amazing!

Seeking God's Peace

This is the title of a prayer by Nick Fawcett, which Bob found on the Baptists Together website, and used last Thursday when he was leading a time of worship [for our group of Retired Baptist Ministers and Spouses] I thought it was a good one to share here on the blog

Breathe your peace within me, Lord
    peace such as only you can give.
When I fret about tomorrow,
when I worry about my loved ones
when I question whether I can cope
when my stomach feels knotted 
    and panic rises within me
help me to hear your still small voice
rebuking the wind and waves
stilling the storm
calming the roiling waves
and in place of turmoil bring tranquillity
    in place of chaos, quietness
    in place of a troubled, anxious spirit
    rest for my soul.
            Amen.

Not A Ship In A Bottle...

 ...A Nativity In A JamJar

Last week's Teaser post. What have I been making for Katie's Fundraiser at the Chapel today? I had such fun last year making a pegdoll Nativity Set for a friend, and I was wondering how I could use these little people to make a smaller nativity scene. I wondered if I could put the family [Jesus, Mary and Joseph - but not a wee donkey] into a jam jar and illuminate it.

Practice model - I put two pegdolls, and a small biscuit in a jar. Then I inverted a battery powered tealight through a hole in the lid, and sat a conical cardboard roof on top. Bob said it looked a bit like a pixie house [agreed] But on the other hand, I needed a bit of height to cover the light. I also tucked some paper behind to make the figures stand out. I put a bible verse on the reverse side. I cut tiny felt pieces for garments - and hunted for a small wooden bead [for the baby's head]  I did not find wooden beads, just coloured plastic ones- so painted them to match parents.

You will see that each little roof now has a lower flattish top.I could not disguise the hole in the bead for the baby's head, so I used it as a way of attaching a little halo!
A cute little Nativity Scene to brighten a Christmas display. I am charging £5 [it is for charity after all] I used 8 jamjars and 16 pegs from my stash, and some felt sent anonymously by blogfriends [thank you] I hope I sell them all! Update. Sold just 3 jars. Made £37, I'm happy with that. Will find out total raised at the event tomorrow.

Location, Location, Location

Location One; Central London - Liz lives in Southwark, and for a long time worked in Bloomsbury. These two areas often appear in TV shows, 

and I was forever checking the background in thrillers like "Spooks" and "Trigger Point" in case I spotted her cycling past. 

Location Two: Manchester - Since Steph moved there, I've watched Cold Feet and various Harlan Coben thrillers, filmed around the area, and a number in central Manchester near her 

And Gary Oldman as Churchill in "Darkest Hour" has some scenes shot in the John Rylands Library just up the street from Steph's company offices in Deansgate.  And that brings me to

Location Three: Romford. Where I was born, and where Julian lives- and he works in Primark. This week's Slow Horses featured the Primark Loading Bay 

behind the Liberty Shopping Centre. Signs were put up to make it look like the back of a bowling alley. Filming was all done months ago, and I have been waiting to see this for ages. I really enjoy SH, and I think Gary Oldman's portrayal of Jackson Lamb is amazing.

I really enjoy seeing places I know and have visited on TV - even if they are car parks, housing estates, and loading bays. Especially when they have connections with the important people in my life. 

On the subject of Slow Horses - does anyone else think that Jack Louden [who plays River Cartwright] would make an excellent James Bond??

Hanging Around

When we were on holiday in Cyprus, I was quite taken by the bath mat in our ensuite. It had a grommet on one corner, and there was a useful hook beside the shower for hanging it up. For years I've had a bath mat, a pedestal mat by the loo, and an L shaped mat round the corner of the shower. 

Talking to Liz, we both agreed that the heavy duty towelling shower mats are good because they are easy to sling in the wash. I picked up a pair of white ones in IKEA and then added a pair of blue ones. They were £5 each.

Bob bought a double hook from Screwfix and fitted on the wall beside the shower. Thanks, Bob 

I fitted grommets to one corner of each mat

I'm very happy with the new arrangement. 

Dyeing For A Change

On Monday, our craft group had a Dyeing Session. Sue, the organiser had acquired onion skins, rhubarb root, turmeric, walnut shells, madder,  indigo  and more. There were many squares of fabrics, which had been scoured[prewashed] and mordanted with alum or tannin. We set to, experimenting with the pans of dye... The results were pretty spectacular - especially the madder and the indigo.

However, I managed to miss the indigo part [one lady needed to get home urgently] and when I came back, all was pegged out on the line and the airer in the sunshine outside. It was the indigo I most wanted to work with - it is the one which comes out of the dye bath green, then develops its blue colour in the oxygen of the atmosphere as it comes out of the liquid.
But one friend kindly diluted what little liquid remained in the pan, and poured it into a plastic milk bottle. "But you must use it up this afternoon or it will lose its potency" she said.
I came home, found some white fabric which I believed to be cotton., While we ate lunch, I left it in a bowl of mordant [cold tea!] Then I dipped and dyed my fabric and put it outside on the airer [I'd wrapped the bars in clingfilm so they didn't pick up the dye]
I double dipped a couple of pieces of the cloth, and then randomly grabbed a new hankie from the bedroom, and a clean facecloth from the bathroom.

On the top picture you can see how the most recent piece out of the dyebath is still green - the change to blue is fast and almost magical.

On the lower picture is the lilac printed hanky with a pale blue tinge, and next to it, the sad greying facecloth a much more pleasant pastel blue. The double dipped square, bottom left is the darkest. 
But as you can see, my 'leftovers' are much paler than the ones made in the Village Hall Kitchen!

Once dried the fabric is rinsed in a vinegar solution to fix the colour. It was good fun - and maybe I will try it again at home sometime. 

Alum is not too expensive to buy, but indigo and madder cost a little more. Not sure I want to fork out £50 [at the group, the ingredients were paid for out of our kitty] I may try to forage some stuff . Bishop Odo's women used yarns dyed with woad, weld, and madder. Here are the threads which Mia Hansson uses, accurate to the original as far as we can tell. 

Have you ever done any dyeing?

A New Word - For A Familiar Old Habit

Kirsten rang me yesterday morning to discuss our double-knitting project. "Is this a good time?" I apologised that it would have to be a very brief call as I was in the middle of a workshop at my craft group. [I must admit, it made  a pleasant diversion from the intensive activity inside the village hall, to nip out into the sunshine and chat to a friend] We exchanged info about our current squares.

"Please don't feel you have to get these done it you are snowed under" she said. I assured her that the current pattern has been so delightful and easy to memorise, so I have actually done four squares not two this month.
Currently I have to admit, I have more than usual on my plate . Partly my own fault for not saying No, and partly because I enjoyed my 4 days away in London. 

But knitting, and sewing, are activities which soothe and calm me. Other tasks can wait a day or two...