Glazed

My good friends at The Life Craft are moving premises, and so they invited me along to a special Friday night of painting pottery in order to say a proper goodbye to their Great Western Road home. I had never painted any pottery before, but I actually had a really good time. I learned the hard way that it is difficult to paint straight lines on a curved surface but this little tea cup ended up just .. fine.

I'm trying not to be too hard on myself, actually - the lines are wonky and the design feels very token but I'm trying not to be too critical, m'kay? It is amazing how self-critical crafters can be.

The colours are exactly how I hoped they would turn out, at any rate. And funnily enough they are almost the exact colours of the dress I'm hoping to make this weekend.

A few links for you to peruse:

• Peter Oborne of the Daily Telegraph insists that the recent English riots should be seen in light of British society as a whole - and asserts that the moral decay of British society is as bad at the top as the bottom. Quite a brave column.
• Russell Brand(!) weighs in on the rioting with a punchy (and beautifully written) column. Well worth reading and not just for lines like "Then dopey ol' Boris came cycling back into the London clutter with his spun gold hair and his spun shit logic as it became apparent that the holiday was over." I do admire a well-turn sentence.
• Is the Glasgow accent being cockney-fied? I enjoyed watching the little film clip and remembered how I arrived here not understanding a word of the local dialect - and now I do.
• Sad Etsy Dogs. Exactly what it says on the tin. My favourite is this one which isn't all that sad. My second favourite is definitely sad, though.
• It's not all about humiliated small dogs. Knitting and crochet do good things too.. like making toys for the Battersea Dog & Cat Rescue centres. Aww.. though I do feel cheated by the photos that do not feature a single dog.

What You Can Do With Kaldred

One of the best things about designing and writing patterns? I get to see what people do with my idea. It is immensely gratifying and so, so, so cool. My crochet bracelet pattern, Kaldred, has been the subject of a crochet-along on Ravelry and people have come up with really fantastic projects.

And it was all kick-started by Merri who arranged the crochet-along after seeing Debi's this stunning version:

Crochet cotton with beads. Debi chose very earthy, bronze-like colours for her Kaldred and I think her Kaldred looks flirty and fun.

Colour choice play a huge part in determining your look. Denise of FabEWElous chose to make her Kaldred out of black crochet cotton and added jet-black beads for effect. I think this version does indeed look fabulous: very chic and very gothic.

Shelley of CrochetedSass has made several Kaldreds, each with their own style. She even made one as an ankle bracelet! I really like this particular bracelet, though. Shelley explains that she thinks this one is more a cuff than a bracelet and I agree: this chunky Kaldred looks casual and contemporary.

Thank you for allowing me to use your photos, ladies!

I'm sure there are many other ways you can use the Kaldred pattern. Why not use it to make a necklace or a headband? Use a very chunky/bulky yarn and make a scarf? Add sequins or buttons? I think it is one of those patterns you can vary endlessly.

ETA: Oh, my word. I just love this version crocheted by Anne (aka FrozenP) in gimp. So textural:

Swatching for the Future

Do you swatch? To tell you the truth, I rarely swatch except when I suspect that either my tension will be off-kilter or when I'm unsure about colour combinations. It is a terrible thing to admit to (not) doing and it is definitely a case of do-as-I-tell-you, not do-as-I-do. I'd be a nightmare parent. But I am swatching now, except I am swatching with Rowan Fine Tweed (4ply) rather than Rowan Tweed (DK). I wanted to make sure that my chosen colour combination for Finna will work - and since my local Rowan stockist did not have the full range of the DK weight colours (any day now, though, any day), I took the opportunity to sample the fine gauge instead. The combination is a thing of beauty and I am marvellously excited about getting started.

I'm tentatively starting to think about my autumn wardrobe. Apart from Finna (and another jumper or cardigan I'm yet to decide upon), I want to make a couple of go-to skirts. I have some beautiful green corduroy stashed away which is crying out to be a 1970s-style A-line skirt with pockets (must.have.pockets) but I cannot find the right pattern. Then there is the green-cream-orange apple-print cotton which is just on the right side of 1970s retro kitsch, but which could be ruined by pairing up with the wrong pattern. I've looked at Burda and Simplicity, but pattern suggestions are very welcome.

Even more excitement: the Crocheted Jewellery group on Ravelry is hosting a CAL (a crochet-along) of my Kaldred bracelet all August long! I love seeing what people do with my patterns and I'm having so much fun looking through people's projects.

So jumpers and skirts and a few patterns to write-up .. phew, it is going to be a very busy autumn in Casa Bookish craft-wise. How is your craft basket looking?

The Not So Gentle Art of Reviewing

I was asked by a publishing company if I wanted to review a knitting book. My only problem was that the publishing company has a back catalogue of, well, novelty knitting books and so I was sent Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Knitting when I showed a decided lack of interest in a Harry Hill knitting book. I think the Harry Hill book might have been better because the Brocket book confuses me. The Gentle Art of Knitting is pretty in a comfortable, yet aspiring way. The photography is lovely, the layout is stylish (but not dauntingly stylish) and the writing has a spring in its step. I was not surprised to find that Brocket is a blogger because her writing has a certain immediate, chatty style to it. I know I'm supposed to be charmed by her book and herself, but I have problems with the book.

I am well-educated middle-class woman who likes making things. I also like things with a story. And I appreciate aesthetically pleasing things. I am the target audience for this book but I feel condescended towards:  Reading The Gentle Art of Knitting I feel like I am not good enough because I have not chosen the right wine to go with my knitting (but Jane can help!); I am not good enough because I did not pick up 20 skeins of Cascade 220 on my last breezy weekend trip to New York (but Jane did!); And I am not fun and retro enough to have a knitted tea-cosy for my teapot (but Jane sure is!). There is a sense that my own life is slightly lacking but that Jane Brocket hovering behind me will gently correct all my tiny flaws.

I am not sure where this lingering sense of inferiority is coming from. Ms Brocket's designs are not exactly earth-shattering: a knitted apron, a bog-standard ripple crochet blanket, a chevron scarf.. There is exactly one pattern I like in this book - a pair of pillows - while the rest of the patterns feel nondescript. Designs do not need to be complicated, of course, but I somehow expected more from a book with such a heavy emphasis on aesthetics. I somehow expected a cohesive design strategy..

(There is even an strange bit devoted to "cult knitting patterns" which has her describing the Clapotis scarf and The February Lady Sweater. This section feels very odd, very tacked-on, and oddly dated.)

It is a UK book, yet most yarns used can only be bought in a handful of shops throughout the country. We are not even talking unicorn yarn here, just straightforward US workhorse yarns: Cascade 220 and Blue Sky Alpaca. If Jane Brocket wants to use yarns that is more exclusive than what you can find in your average UK yarn shop, why use quite plain US workhorse yarn? Why not track down The Natural Dye Studio? Fyberspates? The Knitting Goddess? If exclusivity is not her aim, why not promote UK companies? Rowan? Debbie Bliss? Sublime? Her readers will thank her for being able to buy the suggested yarns.

But then again it's a book for knitters that do not knit. It is lifestyle porn in the same way as Nigella's cooking shows, Kirstie Allsopp's TV crafting and the Sunday newspaper colour supplements are inviting you to buy into a lifestyle. As a knitter who does like to knit, I am not sure what to do with this book.

I have tried hard to think of The Gentle Art of Knitting's unique selling proposition but I cannot really find one. At the end of the day it is an aspirational lifestyle blog locked into a book. There are many knitting and lifestyle blogs out there - many of which are far better than this book - and I can read them for free. I can also buy far better pattern books at a fraction of the price.

I'm sure I wouldn't have spent nearly 700 words on the Harry Hill knitting book. I'm also sure I wouldn't have felt so disheartened either.

Making Things

Crochet. I have been absolutely obsessed by crochet lately. Today I made this little bracelet out of scrap Rowan Denim. Pattern tomorrow. If you're a beginner crocheter, you will love how simple it is. Two things:

1) I love crocheting with cotton. In fact, I know nothing better than crocheting with a tightly-twisted mercerised cotton. Knitting with cotton tends to ruin my hands but crocheting is a different story all together.

2) I am an awfully tight crocheter. I have to go up at least one hook size (if not two) because my crocheting is uncomfortably tight and dense. In fact, you could probably use my crocheted fabric to cut bread unless I change hook size.

My very first garment ever was a self-designed crochet jumper made from my Mum's cotton scraps. It was yellow, orange, pink, lime green, and red. I made five granny squares and crocheted them together to form a strip right across my generous bust. (Hey, I was seventeen!) Then I crocheted stripes alongside the bottom edge making up the pattern as I went along. And a matching stripy square for the back. And another two stripy squares for the two sleeves. I whip-stitched everything together, of course, and wore the wonky cropped granny-squares-across-bust stripy jumper with pride.

Funnily enough the jumper got "lost" in the laundry one day.  Thanks Mum.

She never did manage to lose the trousers I made from my late uncle's kitchen curtain. These trousers would be have been on-trend this season had I not wore them until they fell apart (the fabric with its fish motifs might also have pegged me as being slightly weird). I am a bit tempted to sew a pair of wide-legged trousers, but I'll definitely give the crocheted granny-square/stripy jumper a miss.

Brief Encounter

• I have a nice pile of unfinished projects I had really hoped to have finished by now. Thank you, Upstairs Neighbour for flooding our bathroom and completely derailing an already busy week.
• I have been running so many knitting and crochet tutorials this month. It has been completely overwhelming but in a good way. My brain is slightly fried and I feel like I've used up all my good craft-related jokes.
• I'm nearing the end of one design process and will begin another one next week. I have been asked about my design process. Right now my process is all about meeting needs I discover in my many, many tutorials. I'll get back to this in a later post.
• First, though, I'm packing my bags and heading off to Yorkshire for work. I'm off to spend quality time with some good people.
• My first quilt is currently displayed in the window of The Life Craft. How blooming exciting and slightly humbling. They are now offering ceramics classes - I'm tempted but I really do not need another craft. I have no time for another craft.
• I have been reading a lot of crap this week. Balogh's One Night For Love may very well be the worst book I've read in several years. This plot outline should give you an idea why. However, my brain is too fried for anything vaguely decent. I even had trouble following The Brontës Went to "Woolworths", for heaven's sake.
• I really need a long holiday. Looks like that's not exactly in the cards just yet..
• Maybe getting a proper night's sleep would be a good place to start. And then it's time for Yorkshire.