It's the middle of June. We've now been in lockdown for almost 3 months due to Covid-19. The UK has the worst record worldwide for number of deaths to this virus, and yet our government seem to think that they've done a good job in handling it, and have begun relaxing restrictions and urging people back to economic productivity against the recommendations of scientific and medical experts.
For me lockdown has been frustrating, because there are things that I can't do on my own, but can't ask for help with while everyone must maintain social distance. However, it's mostly not been that bad. I don't get out much anyway, and I have access to the internet, and my hobbies. Not everyone has fared so well.
On top of The Virus, last week a policeman in America murdered a man in broad daylight by kneeling on his neck for almost 9 minutes, which suffocated him. In the highly unlikely event that you haven't heard about this already, I'm certain you will not be at all surprised to learn that the murdered man was black. His name was George Floyd, and he is just the latest in a list too long to record here of black people who have been killed by police officers.
Everyone in the world with a conscience is now campaigning as best they can given the current circumstances for dramatic change. Black Lives Matter. Yes, all lives matter, but right now all lives are not equally at risk. Black lives are at risk every day. They don't even need to leave their homes. Breonna Taylor would have been 27 last week, had she not been shot to death in her bed by plain clothes police officers who broke into her apartment in the middle of the night and opened fire, even though the person they claimed to be looking for was already in custody.
There have been protests, there have been riots. Police in the US have responded to the protests with more violence, even to the extent of targeting medics and journalists. If this were a war, these things would be considered war crimes.
I am not a police officer, and I am not American, but I am white. Even here in the UK there is a pervasive and systematic culture of white privilege that every white person benefits from, no matter how well meaning we are. Until this culture is entirely dismantled, the belief that Black and minority ethnicities are somehow lesser humans, or even less than human, will persist, and as long as that persists, BAME people will be at greater risk of harm than white people.
For this reason, I have chosen to make changes in my own life. I am working on constant education, not just now, while it's fashionable, but ongoing. I will make mistakes because I am only human, but every time I do I will apologise and try to do better. I am talking about white privilege, and calling out people who I see being racist, overtly, or simply through thoughtlessness. I have always used my vote to choose MPs and Councillors who I believe are most likely to actively improve the lot of minorities and the under privileged, and I will continue to do so. I have made donations to charities that work with the Black Lives Matter movement, and made an effort to buy from black owned businesses. The hardest part is the self-education, because it forces you to recognise that many things you take for granted are not easily accessible to BAME. It's uncomfortable, but it's necessary, and a bit of white discomfort is nothing to hundreds of black deaths.
I'm not going to tell you how to do this work yourselves, there are plenty of easily accessible resources available (although it's true that some of the best books have sold out at present, but keep checking, they'll be available again soon) so there really is no excuse not to make the effort to be part of the solution.
The Regulars
FO's
I'm not going to apologise for using my platform in the way that I have, but in the end, this is a knitting journal, so here's the fibre crafts I've been working on:
I showed you these in progress last time, and here they are finished. They're actually more comfortable than I thought they might be, although they aren't quite as well fitted as most of my socks, and they will shuffle down when worn with the wrong shoes.
The pattern for these is Fire Rainbow Socks by Carolyn Lisle. The pattern was originally released as part of Operation:SJW, therefore 40% of all proceeds from sales of this pattern go to Kind Space, a Canadian LGBTQ+ support charity.
The yarn is superwash sock by Mothy and the Squid, in the colourway "Autumn Rainbow".
This if Finn's former pack mate, Bounty. She was adopted by friends of ours not long after we adopted Finn. In this photo she is wearing the sweater that I made for her, and she is just super adorable!
The pattern is Cabled Dog Sweater by Cricket Toomey, and the yarn is Stylecraft Bellissima in the colourway "Raspberry Riot".
I've been meaning to make this for quite a while now, but I've just never had the time, energy, and space required to warp up the loom until very recently. As you can probably tell, this hasn't been knitted, it's been woven. I had no particular pattern to work to, but I used the same techniques that I used to make my first ever project on my rigid heddle loom, although with some slightly greater degree of competency. There is still a little bit of tension discrepancy between the coloured wool yarn, and the dark grey alpaca yarn, plus one glaringly obvious error in pick counting that this photo has been carefully laid out to disguise as much as is possible! Still, Martin likes it, and that's all that matters, as I made it for him.
This was woven as a balanced weave using a 7.5epi reed. The yarns are King Cole Baby Alpaca DK in the colourway "Charcoal", and Yorkshire Dale Yarns Variegated DK in the colourway "Waterways".
Remember my friend Gemma and her "House-Elf"? I remember her saying that their feet are almost the same size, and sometimes Demi-lee steals Gemma's hand knit socks. So I thought I'd make her a pair of her very own!
I still haven't managed to send Gemma the last pair of socks that I made for her, however, as of next week it will be permitted for single person households to merge with one other household, which means that I can visit Davie for the first time in months. While I'm up north to visit him, it will be very easy to pop across the street and post both pairs of socks through Gemma's letterbox. Gemma is back in hospital with the same recurring illness that she's had for the last 6 months, so I think she will really need a little something, and if Demi-lee is still looking after her, then she definitely deserves a little something too!
These are my usual sock pattern, and the yarn is King Cole Zig Zag in the colourway "Wicked".
Another weaving project. This one serves 2 purposes. Firstly, I wanted to learn how to do the clasped weft technique. Secondly, Stephen wanted another cushion cover for the cushion that he sewed himself as a child. I hadn't knit a cover for it because I thought he wanted to show off his sewing skills, but apparently after I'd made overs for the others, he thought his would be better in a new cover too.
This was also woven using a 7.5epi reed, and the yarn is Stylecraft Special DK in the colourways "Peony" and "Charcoal".
WIP's
This project has actually been temporarily put away in the yarn cave because up until a few days ago it was pretty hot, and knitting a blanket that is this large was getting quite uncomfortable. It's cooled down a bit now, so I might get this back out again.
As you can see, this is my Mitred Squares blanket, and I've added about half a row of squares since my last update. You can also see quite clearly in the photo that I've still got quite a way to go!
The pattern is Mitred Squares Blanket by LuAnn Krug, and the yarn is a multitude of indie dyed mini-skeins, and sock scraps.
The LARPy Leg Wraps are nearly finished! I need to knit 20cm past the gay pride sheep, then it's time to reduce the number of stitches and make a 50cm icord using the last few stitches. I WILL be finished these before the next update!
I've been very slowly working on these since the start of lockdown, just a few rows each day, but it's all adding up.
No pattern, just 3m of stockinette and 50cm of icord. The yarn is King Cole Giza cotton DK in the colourway "Grey". The hand-beaded rainbow sheep stitch marker is by Corner of Craft.
My most active current project is this. A pair of socks for Stephen. He really should have got himself some new boots before winter, but because he was still looking for work then, he felt that he couldn't afford to until he was working. Then he was working, but too busy to go shopping, then lockdown closed all the shops. His feet are a terrible state at the best of times, now they're causing him all kinds of pain, and his regular dog walking trainers are practically falling apart. He is going to *have* to buy new boots soon, and the urgency of this, combined with the trying on limitations presented by The Virus, means that they are unlikely to fit as comfortably as he'd like. Therefore, hand knit socks are required to help protect his feet from these hypothetical new boots. He already has some hand knit socks, but he's going to need several pairs.
The pattern is my own, and the yarn is Stylecraft Head over Heels in the colourway "Snowdon".
Stash Acquisition
Subscriptions first. I only have one regular subscription now, and that is my monthly Made By Penguins Emperor Penguin box. This is a terrible photo of the April colourways inspired by the female Eclectus Red and Blue Parrot. Plus one random extra mini-skein. These colours are very "me"!
Out in the sunshine, my May Emperor Penguin box, with colourways inspired by the Violet Starling. Another set that very much fits my palette.
Every now and then Made By Penguins does Grab Bags, which are very limited edition. They cost a set amount, and always have yarn worth more than that inside them, but the catch is you have no idea what that yarn is going to be like! When I bought this bag I only knew that I was buying Laceweight yarn.
The pink colourway actually reminds me of fruit salad sweets in the right light, and although it's not my preferred colour, it is perfect for some of the people I like to knit for.
I love the autumnal colourway, it's called "Whisky Sour", and it will be perfect for some of the leaf-like shawl patterns I love.
Although it may not look that way when you've seen everything that I've bought over the last 2 months, this is actually the only "I was miserable and couldn't sleep, so I bought pretty yarn" purchase I've made. The notebook is really useful too. Both the notebook, and the yarn are by It's a Stitch Up, and the colourway is called "Outer Planets".
This is entirely Dominey's fault. She is very particular about her gradients, so when she bought some gradient yarns by Natali Stewart she shared photo's on Ravelry, and I was greatly envious! Not only are the colours beautiful, but the yarn is silky, soft, and has a gorgeous sheen. I might have managed to resist, except this particular colourway - "Sea Thistle" - was on sale. Greens and purples, exactly the sort of colours I love.
I ordered this yarn months ago, with the intention of collecting it at The Wool Monty, which should have been this weekend. Sadly, because of The Virus, The Wool Monty can no longer go ahead as intended this year, although it is going ahead as an online show. As soon as the live show was cancelled, Felt Fusion contacted me to arrange to post the yarn to me.
The yarn is a Merino/Nylon sock yarn, and the colourway is called "Bellatrix".
<tangent>
I need to take a moment here to say that I'm dealing with a crisis of conscience over anything related to the Harry Potter books, and more especially J.K.Rowling right now. It cannot be denied that the books have been a huge force for good for many people, however, the woman who wrote them has views on what makes a woman a woman that I find abhorrent. She find's excuses to share these views when it is not necessary, and when called out she plays the victim so that people will feel sorry for her, and forgive the fact that she is a giant hypocrite.
So I want to be very clear here, If a woman says she's a woman, she's a woman. Trans women are women. Menstruation is not the defining factor in being a woman (as Ms Rowling will no doubt find out for herself soon enough, she can't be that far off the menopause). If you don't like that, tough. It's not your problem, because it's literally none of your business what organs of procreation a person does or does not have.
So I want to be very clear here, If a woman says she's a woman, she's a woman. Trans women are women. Menstruation is not the defining factor in being a woman (as Ms Rowling will no doubt find out for herself soon enough, she can't be that far off the menopause). If you don't like that, tough. It's not your problem, because it's literally none of your business what organs of procreation a person does or does not have.
</tangent>
I hate knitting with cotton. It's hard on my fingers because it has no stretch or give. So why have I bought cotton? For weaving, obviously!.
I've recently started watching lots of videos by Kelly Cassanova, and I'm planning on making tea towels using her recent towel pattern. She recommends using 8/2 unmercerised cotton for making towels. 8/2 is a special designation that is used for weaving and machine knitting yarns, and if I'm being honest, I don't really understand what it means. I have vague memories of looking into this years ago, and I think the first number indicates the thickness, with bigger numbers meaning thinner yarns, and the second number is the number of plies. This memory could be entirely wrong though!
Mercerisation is a process of treating cotton that makes it stiffer and gives it a pretty sheen, I also think that it makes it less soft, and less absorbent. Whatever the case, this is 8/2 unmercerised cotton, bought from the Handweaver's Studio, in the colourways "Charcoal", "New Turquoise", and "Purple".
I've been getting adverts for this for ages, but haven't bought it because it's cotton. Now that I can use it for weaving though, why wouldn't I buy big cakes of rainbow gradient yarn? When it arrived, the parcel also contained a little sweetie, and this electronic row counter, which I think is really sweet. The yarn is called Cotton Kings Twirls, and the colourway is called "Galaxy Opal".
I'm in the spinning mood right now, which means I'm buying fibre, despite the fact that I haven't actually managed to do any spinning! I had to have this though, partly because Witch Crafty Lady shared her washing line full of beautiful fibre drying in the sun on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, then teased us by only releasing a few of the braids we'd seen on that line at a time! It turned out that the purple ones I'd been admiring in particular though were inspired by pansies, just like the ones I have in a dog-shaped planter on the front doorstep because they were a Mother's day gift "From Finn", and they were dyed especially for the June Flower Power fund, which gathers together independent yarn and fibre businesses to dye colourways inspired by flowers, then donates the profits to Marie Curie.
Fibre Craft Adjacent
These are things that are related to knitting, weaving, spinning, crochet, and felting, but they aren't projects, or stash. For some reason there seem to be more than usual of them just now.
Since Lockdown started, all of the yarn festivals have been cancelled, but quite a few of them have still gone ahead in one form or another online. So far I've resisted buying yarn at any of these, because I wouldn't normally go to any of the live festivals before Wool Monty. I have browsed a little bit at a couple of them though, and from one I bought myself these.
The teeny, tiny skein on the necklace is made of a silk/alpaca blend, and it's incredibly soft! When I'm wearing it I find myself stroking it all the time! I think I chose a different colour than I thought I was choosing for the pin, as I thought I'd picked a deep red colour, but I could very easily have thought the name related to the wrong photo. Orange isn't really my colour, but I still like the pin.
Both are by Max Alexander.
Every now and then Yarnistry run an event that they call the "Yarn Beaver". Basically, they have an old gum ball type machine that dispenses plastic capsules, and they fill the capsules with sets of stitch markers similar to these ones that I have. There is a different theme each time, these markers were clearly from a Covid-19 themed Beaver, the next one is based on female scientists who should have won a Nobel Prize. There are lots of different markers that you can "win" each time, and each capsule always contains one beaver marker, and 3 random themed markers. Some of the markers are gold coloured, and if you get one of these in your capsule, you win an extra prize on top of the set of stitch markers. All I wanted was the virus marker though!
Another pandemic themed stitch marker, this time hand-beaded by The Little Bushbaby Makes in the shape of the official "Stay Home, Stay Safe, Protect the NHS" logo.
I finally got around to framing my fibre art "painting" of St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, by Bright Seed Textiles. It's now hanging in my yarn cave, just above my cosy rocking chair.
This is a selection of new bits and pieces that I've bought for my loom. An extra shuttle in case I want to use more than 2 colours for a single project (the loom comes with 2 shuttles), a pick-up stick, which is used instead of an extra heddle to lift specific threads for more intricate patterns and textures, a reed threading hook, and 3 spare reeds/heddles suitable for 7.5epi, 10epi, and 12.5epi. Plus a bar of hand made soap that came included in the package, and smells lovely!
I've wanted these things since I finished my first couple of projects and realised that I'd need different reeds to create a balanced weave with different weights of yarn, and for using more colours in any one project. It's quite expensive though, so I'd decided to wait and maybe buy one or 2 of these things at a time. Then we received the news that dad's house has sold. There were a lot of factors involved that mean neither my sister, nor I, became suddenly very rich at this point, in fact there wasn't much left over for us (Neither of us mind this at all! We both actively encouraged dad to enjoy what money he had while he could!) but we did get a little bit. Enough that I could spend a little more freely over the last month, enough that I could cover a few irregular bills that Stephen had forgotten were due last month, and enough that I still had a little left over to keep for a rainy day.
All of these things were bought from Wingham Wool Works, and they're all official Ashford accessories.
This was a rookie error. Wanting to learn more about weaving, I searched online for a beginners weaving book, and thought that this would be suitable. It turns out that this is a book specifically about 4-shaft weaving, and most of it is not applicable to rigid heddle weaving. When I ordered this, I didn't really understand the difference.
I've since learned that it is possible to use a rigid heddle loom as a 4-shaft loom, but it requires a certain amount of ingenuity and improvisation, and is well beyond my current skill level!
There are still some useful tips in this book, and it has taught me how to read a weaving draft, as well as the fact that a weaving draft doesn't apply to rigid heddle looms! I doubt that I'll ever expand my weaving beyond my little rigid heddle, so I'm unlikely to get much more out of this particular book, which is a shame.
I now have a couple of much more appropriate books about rigid heddle weaving on my wish list, but I've definitely done enough splurging for now.
Finn!
Look at my baby, isn't he beautiful?!?! I will never get tired of sharing photos of my dog, so please bear with my parental obsession, as the mummy of a furbaby.
Finn is now 9 years old. I bought him special doggy birthday cakes, and he was a very good boy, posing for photos, then waiting to eat the cake that I unwrapped for him while I sang happy birthday to him.
Then somehow he managed to sneak around me, open the box that I'd closed and hidden behind me, steal another cake, then close the box again before devouring the second cake! Of course I forgave him, because he's so cute, and it was his birthday, and I had just taken him to the groomers, which he doesn't like (but did need, because after nearly 3 months of lockdown he was too fluffy for the heat :( ) I put the remaining cakes well out of reach to be provided as treats over the next few days.
I feel quite guilty about this, because I don't think Finn liked having his big floppy ears covered, but Kelly recently enlisted the help of Martin and Jo, friends with a van, and a car, to bring quite a lot of my remaining possessions to my new home. Among those possessions was this dog humiliator/unicorn costume that I made for Rosie, Stephen's cousin's greyhound, a couple of years ago, but never had the opportunity to deliver before sadly Rosie died. As greyhounds have very slim heads, I thought it might fit Finn, so I tried it on him. He needed his comfort socks (stolen from my dad's house shortly after he died, by Finn) and cuddles from his daddy to reassure him while I took a photo, so I decided to settle for this terrible photo rather than cause him stress in an attempt to get a better one.
This is one of Finn's favourite places to be. Snuggled up on the sofa with me, and a tennis ball.
This is another of his favourite places to be. Out in the countryside, covered in mud, having run about chasing pheasants and pigeons until I'm unable to stand up anymore and have to sit on the little bench by the bridleway until I can either recover, or Stephen can come and pick us up.
In fact, I'm currently covered in bruises, with swollen and painful knees from having a fall while trying to push my body so that Finn gets the best walk he possibly can. It's still worth it. Every bruise, every scratch, every nettle sting, every sun burn, every near-miss fainting episode brought on by the heat, every reluctant bath when we get home and I need to wash the mud off him while sweat drips into my eyeballs and stings like crazy, not from the walk, but because bending over the bath sets off my POTS without fail. I wouldn't change it for anything, because watching him running about, wagging his tail, loving his life is worth every bit of it.
Penguins!
This is the most important penguin related thing that I have to share: My colony is back together again!
Kelly, Martin, and Jo brought the vast majority of my penguins with them when they brought a bunch of my stuff here. I still need to sort through everything else, but the penguins and the yarn are all unpacked and settled in their new homes.
This is all kinds of ridiculous.
There exists online, an MMORPG called Club Penguin.
Of course I had to try it!
It's meant for kids, and it has especially draconian rules on the use of profanity, and multiple levels of filter to ensure that children are kept safe from online predators. Which means it's a game world full of kids trying to work out how to say rude words without getting banned.
In my opinion it's not a proper MMORPG because it doesn't have quests and rewards as you'd expect. It's effectively a graphically interesting online chat room with arcade games that reward you with currency that can be used to buy fancy outfits for your penguin avatar, or furniture for their igloo.
In our brave new post-Covid world, facemasks are the new essential fashion item. Of course, the medically effective face masks are all needed for our medical professionals, which means that the rest of us have to find an alternative.
This is mine. It was made for me by a very lovely and generous friend called Louise, who had some spare fabric with this penguin print on it. It's better than most, because it has a pocket inside that can be used to add a 3rd layer, meaning that it does actually pass the current WHO recommendations for personal use masks. Of course, this only protects other people from anything I might be carrying, it doesn't protect me from other people. I don't need to use it very often, fortunately, as I only leave the house to walk Finn, which doesn't require a mask, as on the odd occasions that I do meet other people, it's easy to maintain the recommended 2 metre distance, and to visit the doctor, or collect medications.
It's summertime, and the weather was, for a few weeks, quite hot. I'm hardly ever driving anywhere, so the occasional gin and tonic is making an appearance. I do own a couple of very large silicone penguin ice moulds, but they take a long time to freeze. If I need more ice before they're ready, now I have these!
I also have some paw shaped ones that I've been filling with a mix of soft fruit, kibbles, and chicken stock to make doggie ice treats to help keep Finn cool. I think he must like them, because he kept bringing us the little bowl we were using to serve them in! Had to be careful not to give him too many!
Right my dears, that is all for now. I do have more yarn on order, plus a couple of other related items, so I know I'll have plenty to show you next time.
Take care, don't get silly as lockdown eases, and put the effort into being anti-racist. Talk to you all again soon.
