Sweet Fabric [Search results for knitting] 

The door at Auntie Pat's is big & heavy.

I knock - a little melodious knock. "Come in", I hear. I think how cool it is that my eighty something Great Aunt is happy to have her door unlocked.

I let myself in.

Auntie Pat is all organised and ready for our knitting date. The radio is tuned to Magic 1278 and her current knitting project is laid out on the dining table.

I'm offered a cuppa and say yes to a cup of tea. Once the tea is made we settle ourselves at the table. Auntie Pat examines my homework. She's very happy with the way I'm knitting. She runs her fingers over my work and says softly "Mmm, yes, you're going to be a beautiful knitter Koo". I feel well pleased with this. I like to be good at stuff.

I've brought along the pattern as well as my 365 knitting stitches desk calendar. I hand the pattern over to Auntie Pat & ask ernestly if I should begin at January 1st or maybe today's date? "No", Auntie Pat says firmly. "Close that book." I do. "Right, now just open it up and work on whatever pattern it throws up." I do exactly that and open the book at the diagonal rib. Auntie Pat is pleased and tells me to get started.

I cast on using my thumb and Auntie Pat begins reading. We sit together in an easy silence, knitting and reading. "Islands in the stream" comes on the radio and I smile to myself. I don't think I've heard that song since 1987. I hum along happily.

Every now and then Auntie Pat offers a "interesting" or "hmmm, clever".

Very quickly the two hours is up. I pack my things and say my thank yous and goodbyes at the door. Once I start the car I'm tempted to tune the radio to 1278 but decide to save the Magic for Tuesdays with Auntie Pat.

There were lots of questions about the knitting calendar when I posted an image recently.

I purchased mine from Sunspun in Canterbury but I've found them online:

at amazon
at book depository

I'm going to purchase the crochet one as well because the knitting one has been such an excellent resource.

at amazon
at book depository

Happy shopping.

PS: Thanks for appreciating flock clock. You'll be pleased to know that the little guy has had no trouble getting to sleep.

Yes ... it's true! I'm knitting a cloud.

The anny blatt angora lambswool blend is quite incredible. I'm not a knitter at all but when I do pick up the sticks by knitting is ridiculously tight. Not with though, she won't tolerate it. Stubborn as I am the yarn refuses to be forced which is quite relaxing actually. It's marshmallow soft & just as light.

Hoping that I don't botch the lot with phase 2.

Look who got up to a bit of boy meets girl craft last week.

Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.

I am so enjoying my Tuesday morning with Auntie Pat. Although I am enjoying the knitting it's really not about that at all.

Last week we talked about Politics, lucky babies, lucky mothers, great coats, perceived inappropriate behaviour and Woolcraft Nominees* and Fantasy 8 yarn. Do you remember Fantasy 8? Are you old enough?

When the conversation turned to Fantasy 8, Auntie Pat went to retrieve her "blog". An unassuming little book. Long and thin with dog eared pages. A green marbled cover and partially perished canvas tape binding.

I knew before the first page was turned that I was going to love this body of work. It's a catalog you see, of patterns. Patterns written by Auntie Pat. Each and everyone numbered. From 1 to 1072!

And don't you worry about the original patterns. They are all filed in ring binders. In plastic pockets. In sequential order from 1 to 1072!

I have no idea what a cocktail tunic is but I know I want to make one.

*Woolcraft was Auntie Pat's shop (chain actually). They had yarn stores around Melbourne from the 60s-80s.

I'm just making a few little last minute gifts.

I did try to knit with the pins but found it absolutely impossible. So I cheated a bit & just slipped the pins in after I'd knitted the teeny rows.

I had reason to be at The Mall in West Heidelberg yesterday. A place I haven't been since about 1985.

I stepped out of my car and as I took my first steps towards Cambridge Arcade I felt my scalp tingle and every hair on my body stand on end.

I could hear Non's Italian heeled shoes clip clopping beside me and I could smell her sickly sweet perfume. Max Bygraves was singing somewhere in the distance. Non's knitting was spilling out of the hessian bag I was carrying for her. I smiled knowing that she'd not be wanting to waste her 15 minute tea break just sitting in the tea room and chatting to the storeman.

I notice that the heavy steel grate that we'd struggled with had long been replaced but the terrazzo stairs are still there and I gasp...remembering how strangely scared I felt when I had to take those stairs alone.

I leave Non in the arcade and take the front entrance into the store. I feel tears welling in my eyes and a lump rising in my throat. Surely the store was bigger than this. It's a discount store now. Gone are the bays for holding yarn and the wall that divided the shop front from the "warehouse". There's been no refit though. The same peg board lines the wall where we used to keep the laybys and the floor and wall paint remain as they were.

As I walk toward the back of the store I spy the door to the tea room and a faint waft of International Roast coffee fills the air.

The shop which now occupies the space at the end of Cambridge Arcade is fittingly called The Family Store.

And this morning I went back to snap myself some memory anchors.

See more images here

A couple of months ago I picked up an Avant card for Do it with Denim, a competition run in conjunction with Jeans for Genes & in support of Children's Medical Research Institute. The Institute is celebrating it's 50th birthday this year.

I got all inspired & made this to enter into the competition. It's what the broomstick needles were fashioned for & what this tease was all about.

My dear sweet friend modelled for me & I got all my stuff together ready for the entry...

Hausfrau
I have taken my inspiration from housewives of the 1950s for this project.

This garment has been constructed entirely by hand using handcrafts employed by a 1950’s housewife. The garment itself is knitted from hand cut strips of denim jeans (6 pairs) & the gold detail is crochet.

Many supporters of charitable organisations have been & continue to be housewives. They give their time to assist with labour & fundraising. I am proud to represent this group.

Hausfrau is a vest that can be worn at least 4 different ways.

....Then I re read the terms & conditions.

So, I haven't entered. BUT...Hausfrau will be worn to death by me & maybe Trace too. It wasn't a complete waste of time.

is a puzzle.

I'm already struggling to get the pieces in order & haven't made the small chops yet! I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this one.

The cloud knitting turned into the Huppari during the week & I'm still hooking & sticking up a storm. I do need to pay the sewing machine & the embroidery floss a bit of attention this week though...birthdays & deadlines loom.

Lovely space from last week right here.

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Friday is the long run day which means I think a lot - probably too much.

Today I was thinking about craft & dating. This seems like a bit of a weird connection (stay with me).

One of my really good friends used to say that she was addicted to the beginnings of relationships. At the time it was true ... she had lots of love em & leave em boyfriends. Many of them had a fair bit of bastard about them too (which of course only made them more appealing). Brief affairs really, flirtations, experiments but satisfying nonetheless.

She's now happily married to a fine upstanding guy. Marriage, of course requires a deep commitment, compromise & the making of promises you really mean. You need to be patient & dedicated & determined. The rewards are plentiful both along the way & at the end. Something to be really, really proud of.

Then I started to think about me & the craft thing. I too love a new beginning. I like to think long & hard about the how. I flirt with ideas, experiment with techniques & then have a one night stand with the actual crafting. It's quick & it's usually dirty (with varied results) but satisfying nonetheless.

Crochet (I'm trying - really I am), knitting & quilting require a deep commitment, compromise & the making of promises you really mean. You need to be patient & dedicated & determined. The rewards are plentiful both along the way & at the end. Something to be really, really proud of.

I'm married to my bags & the music boxes but I'm one night standing with plenty of other stuff to get my new beginnings fix.

I'd be interested to know if you're married to your craft, married & cheating (like me) or all about the thrill of a one night stand.

I started out intending for the knots to be fairly sparsely placed.

I've progressed a bit further since I took this shot & find that my knots are getting closer & closer together. Just like my crochet & my knitting, my embroidery is pretty tight.

It's just the way things are.

I'm multi tasking like a maniac at the moment.

Stuff I'm getting paid for, stuff I'm doing for pleasure, cooking, knitting, sewing, stitching & hooking too. It's out of control.

Just because I have the attention span of a hyper 2 year old I borrowed this Crop-O-Dile from Cathy. I've said it before & I'll say it again. Scrap bookers have the best tools ever! This thing is amazing. Don't get too close to me or you may find yourself with a few holes punched in you!

Good stuff comes in small black boxes lined with velvet doesn't it? Well, let me tell you the thing inside this box is just about the best thing in the whole wide world. It's made by one of the cleverest people I know. It's beautiful but you'll have to come back tomorrow to see it. I promise it will be worth the click.

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There is absolutely nothing original about this idea but I think it's a goodie.

I nicked it from the gym coach who filled them with the fabric used to make the girls' leotards. When I told her I was going to pinch it she said ... "Go right ahead, I stole it from Cirque du Soleil"

I love the idea of souveniring elements of a year gone & I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out.

The baubles were purchased from Spotlight a couple of years ago & the little reminders of 2009 were knitted, typed & shaved by me.

A super last minute gift methinks.

Edit...
The teeny knitting is suspended using invisible thread which I taped to the rim of the bauble.

So, the whole promise post from yesterday has totally retarded me. Instead of breaking out the white I've been to pick up an old (but new to me) desk, cleaned up a bit in the craft room, chatted on the phone, done a bit of knitting, drunk coffee, spoken of all manner of pinkery, been computer shopping & just generally avoided the (white) elephant in the room.

The brain's working overtime on a whole swag of other things I want to be making.

Overworking brain got me thinking about Tania's post & magnolias.

We call them "Promise Trees". Those buds appear while the weather is bleak, they promise to bloom - to bring the spring. They deliver!

So today I'm channelling my inner magnolia.

It's all about the slow burn projects at my place at the moment. I've got the white quilt, a bit of stitchery, the car crochet & a bit of knitting. There are also quite a few projects that have been put on the back burner waiting for more time.

I think perhaps a few too many things on the go - meaning I'm getting no where fast with any of them...sigh.

The very important project that was on my desk last week is in progress. It's pieced & I'm working on the finishing touches.

This week:

I picked up a copy of Paton's Woolcraft as per Aunty Pat's recommendation at our Brown Owls knitting night. It is fabulous & I paid 30 cents!

a ball of Alpine Woolcraft yarn which was Aunty Pat's very own label & shop! Such a thrill to find it in an Op Shop.

a storybook wallet from my favourite shop. Just the right size for crochet hooks.

and just a peek of the terms & conditions for a competition I worked hard at & now haven't entered... more on that tomorrow.

I’m lying on my tummy across the sofa. It’s one of those modular settings from the sixties. The legs are steel and the fabric is brown tweed with orange flecks. It smells a bit funky.

I’m wearing PJs bought from Myer in the previous school holidays. My socked feet are bouncing rhythmically against the wall furnace. They rest on the bars until the heat is too much to bear.

The curtains are drawn and Different Strokes is on the TV. It’s such a treat to be watching commercial tele. There’s a milky and very sweet coffee on the floor, tucked just beside the sofa leg.

Sitting beside me is my Non. She’s wearing an apron and too much perfume. The needles are out & she’s casting on a jumper (maybe for me). Two balls of Fantasy Eight knit together on big needles. It’ll be finished the next day.

Non’s needles flick at great speed, my feet bounce against the heater in time. The TV flicks too, but I don’t notice what Arnold is up to. I’m enjoying watching the knitting and chanting in my head “in, around, through and off”.

I feel the warmth of the heater and a room filled with love.

Cosy.

It's been a while since I posted anything actually made by me. So today I'm proving that I am a finisher & all those little teasy posts & half baked ideas do actually become something (still working on the knitting but I'm getting there Cathy).

This bag is made by me from entirely Op Shopped materials - no component was purchased new. It is the sort of craft that gives me a huge amount of satisfaction.

The bag was made for someone special as a birthday gift. The rainbow is one of the vintage Kick in the Pants iron on transfers.

I've made a few of these bags now and I have a huge tub full of fabric that has been Opped for exactly this type of project.

Betty the Geek chose a great theme for This is... this week.

Surprisingly, I found this quite hard. I show my crafty creations on the blog already & the creations I'm most proud of are emotional & hard to photograph. I think it was the tenderness of the image of the hands cupping the earth that threw me off.

So...my offering this week is a pair of knitting needles I've fashioned myself today. They are made out of broom handles & I've got some rather exciting plans for them. They need a bit of a sand to get them in tip top shape but I'm confident that they are up to the task.

As for my most treasured creations I'm just going to list them:

three wonderful children, a happy marriage, a house filled with love, enduring friendships & unfailing support of & from my family. Luck may have had something to do with all this - but I work hard too.

I've been domestic more than creative this week.

Cooking & folding mainly.

I do have a couple of little things on the go:

...tiny inspiration boards
...having a crack at some scrappy piecing
...can't remember how to use knitting nancy but mighty glad to have found her
...Yokens - gifted by Op Shop lady (only a couple of them work) but so good to look at
...vintage embroidery transfers

Pop in and add your link if you're playing along this week.