Beanies for teanies

Whipped up some quick beanies for Great Niece and Nephew back home in Australia. I used Drops Big Merino, which I purchased specifically for this on my last Stockholm trip. This yarn is sooooo lovely and soft, hard to believe it's 100% merino. The pattern is from Drops, available here, with a few modifications to reduce the size. It's a great pattern, knits up really quickly, I managed to make my way through with a 40cm circular, changing to two circulars when the reduced number of stitches were too tight. Each hat didn't take much more than an hour once all the swatching and pattern searching hours were over!

I used The Royal Sisters pattern for, Chunky Granny Flower, with a few modifications to make a flower brooch to attach to the brown hat to girlie it up. If the hat survives until Gemma grows out of it, my thinking was the brooch can be removed and the hat can be handed down to her younger brother. Of course makes it easier to remove it for washing, or can be attached to the pink beanie too.

Removable flower to girlie it up

Then the last of the chocolate was just enough to squeeze out a beanie for the youngest, with a pom pom that I'm hoping he won't pull apart!

smallest, for a 2year old

med - for a nearly 4 year old

largest - the only one made to the pattern size, for 5-7

Had a minor panic when I washed these for blocking, the yarn stretched enormously as soon as it was soaked, suddenly I had adult sized beanies! Kicking myself for not having washed my tension sample (my impatience always wins), I coaxed them back to size while drying flat on a towel. When very near dry I finished blocking them using a cereal bowl upturned over an upside down tall tumbler. The bowl worked quite well as the ribbing was lower than the bowl and sort of tucked under it enhancing the shape. 

If the washed size was anything to go by, it would appear these hats will probably fit for years! 

London adventures, day 3

On the last day of my London visit I started out for a store called Temptation Alley at the top of Portobello road. I don't recall where I came across the details of this to have it on my list, but after two buses and a walk, there wasn't much temptation, it has unfortunately closed for business. 

nothing to buy here today

A few buses later and I had made my way to Islington High Street and Camden Head. The destination was Loop, the yarn store that always advertises at the beginning of Molly Makes magazine. Oh what a glorious stash of yarn there is in this store, and quite a number of knowledgeable, helpful staff. I only wish I could have stayed around for a knit and natter style session they had that evening.

Upstairs there is more yarn, an area for groups or teaching, and an extensive book collection. One staff member was showing extreme patience sitting with a customer on the couch and effectively teaching her to knit from scratch. The girl had come in saying she wanted to knit a scarf for her boyfriend before he returns home to Japan, but had very little knitting experience. Within fifteen minutes she was on the couch knitting, and had been assured she would have help for the following hour, and then if she wanted to stay on for the open knit group there would be lots of others available to help for for a further two hours. All of this help was free, can't ask for more service than that.

I held strong on not buying any yarn (I must, I must, I must reduce my stash!), but I did buy this fantastic book 'Knitting Masterclass' which is full of fantastic thorough information on adjusting patterns for fit, technical skills (until last year I only knew one cast one method, there's seven in this book!) Multiple ways to cast off too, which I've never come across. Even multiple ways of knitting, which I'm keen to try changing my 'throwing' style (where my right hand moves forward to 'throw' the yarn around the working needle) for a style which requires much less hand movement and therefore strain.

Although the book contains many technical details, diagrams and instructions, it's made not too dry by the addition of projects to put the skills in action, I'm keen to work my way through them.

It's been such a great little trip finding all these stores, and new back streets to investigate.

London Zoo sketches

It's been ages since I've been to London Zoo to sketch, and after recently seeing a television segment about a new Silverback Gorilla, I decided to head there for a day. I picked a bad day weather wise, I only had spring clothing, at it was a very wintery spring day! Standing sketching at the Gorilla enclosure is quite a wind tunnel, and it wasn't long before my hands were frozen in sketching position.

this new guy seems pretty laid back about his new environment

never can get Ape faces right, but sort of happy with the main one here

There's a fantastic new Tiger enclosure, so pleased to see after they had such a tiny space previously. Of course it also meant I couldn't see any of them! On a second pass by I found one who was soaking up a spot of sun.

I sat for a while on a bench opposite the Lion enclosure, most of them were snuggled up on their deck catching what little afternoon sun there was, but too hidden from my view. I warmed up with a coffee and eventually was rewarded with them briefly peeking their faces over the edge of their deck. 

 When I finished the drawing I was struck with how much it looked like drawings of these same cubs I made a couple of years back. So I dug these out when I got home for comparison. I'm pretty sure I can identify the cub bottom right in the sketch above as Ruby from my previous drawings. The one in the centre (who's name I haven't collected on my visits) certainly looks like the other old sketch. The top right corner is Mum of the cubs, and I have an old sketch of her too. I'm really thrilled to be able to see a resemblance, sketching a live animal two years apart.

Ruby, from my old sketchbook 

I don't have a name for this girl, but what a sad face she has

'mum' from 2011

London Haby Adventures Day 2

Set out on another Haberdashery adventure today. I just have a few days in London this trip, and before coming down I googled around for some yarn and haberdashery stores as destinations to check out. It's been really good, besides seeing all sorts of goodies in the stores, each has taken me down London streets I haven't been too before and led to other stores, restaurant and coffee shop discoveries along the way.

First stop today was MacCulloch & Wallis, in Dering Street (across Oxford Street from House of Fraser). Love the traditional frontage, the tiles, the scissors, the hanging baskets - all so neat and well packaged. The inside, not so much. Three floors of madness,the top two of which you can hardly move through due to so much stock everywhere! It's not really a shop for a general browse, but having been there, I'm sure if there was any trim, fixture or equipment you needed, they'd have it. The staff seem very knowledgable too. Great idea with their fabric rolls on the ground floor, they have a strip of every material on a clip hanger on racks (as in hanging like clothes), each has all the details attached, and you are welcome to cut yourself a sample (of a specified size and number). Having looked on their website though, I think for trimmings it's much easier to see online!

loving those scissors, right handed though, always the way

Gorgeous packaging of VV Rouleaux through John Lewis

Next stop was VV Rouleaux in Marylebone Lane. I had passed this store once before but this was my first visit. I don't have a picture of their lovely store front as it was pouring rain at this stage. Before arriving I had an image in mind of the perfect ribbons I was going to find to use for some crochet garlands I am working on - alas, nothing from my imagination was there, but I still managed to buy a pile of ribbons! 

This image is from the back of a drawing text book, I think she looks great with the ribbons

The rolls of tape in the image above were from Paperchase, I made a visit to their flagship store, three floors of Stationery, oh mumma. It was probably a good thing that I only had 20 minutes to spend in there before I had to leave to meet a friend. I did manage to grab what I went for though, Washi tapes, especially the tape measure design, and the roll of fabric tape. Also grabbed various notebooks - all ingredients towards my home made Midori, which I'll post about another time

Three floors of stationery, drool

At this point it was pouring rain (where has spring gone) and I had to race off to meet a friend. We headed to the Coronet Cinema in Notting Hill Gate, a sweet tiny old cinema with fold down velvet seats. A whole £3.50 to see StarTrek Into Darkness!

Liberty London

I'm not sure how it can be that I've never visited Liberty, London before now? I'm stationery mad, craft and haberdashery mad, love English home wares, especially traditional styles - so of course it's the perfect place to visit. Maybe it was a subconscious self (credit card) protection that kept me away until now? Well what ever the reason, now I've been I'll definitely be going back again!

View of the grand frontage

the sun even shone for a moment to greet me

My first stop was the stationery department, wow, I could do some damage here. Picked up a writing pad, which I liked for the landscape ruled format, and the paper quality, I'm trying to get into regular snail mail and having the right feeling paper helps. Two sets of 'gift wrap' which are actually a collection of three different sized paper bags with gorgeous prints (world maps, and Paris theme below), pages of themed stickers to match and swing tags. I don't plan on using these as gift wraps, but as page pockets to add into note books, diaries etc, although some probably will end up with little gifties in them. Final stationery was a pack of Liberty post it notes. I could have bought so much more but had to restrain myself.

Then I headed upstairs to haberdashery; found all sorts of glorious notions and ribbons. I loved the old fashioned style of the box of bulb style pins, and think these will have many uses with knitting (thinking they will make usable stitch markers for one thing). Again, all the traditional style packaging had me drooling over bits and bobs, some of which I wasn't even sure what they were for, but I still wanted them. My restraint held out though.

Really love this 'Made in Great Britain' ribbon

I bought a few metres of ribbons, mostly for tying around knitted gifts, which I usually wrap in tissue when posting. Was great to find a yarn department, but not really anything different here than I can get in House of Fraser in Birmingham. I touched far too many fabrics upstairs, even considered buying a piece of a gorgeous Winnie the Pooh fabric on which the illustrations were all embroidered, at £120m! I would have bought half a metre of the Paddington fabric, but I didn't particularly like the design (old school Paddington fan)

As I was eyeing off the expensive Needlework section I glanced Helen Mirren out the corner of my eye, even she was giving the price tags a double check with her specs. 

Will definitely have to go back for another scout around one day.

Craft and football, not usually seen together

As Aussies living in the UK, we jumped at the opportunity to attend the FA Cup when an English friend kindly extended an invite. It was made all the more exciting by the fact that we were attending with long committed Wigan fans, to see their 80 year old club at their first FA Cup Final, and then against the odds, they won. I can honestly say I have never seen such an enormous group of people so excited, and I've never received so many crushing bear hugs from strangers, giant strapping strangers with tears in their eyes even.

At the end of the game, as they assembled for the presentation on field, I was taking a few shots of the stands. Still pumping with blue and white, and absolutely devoid of every single Manchester city supporter, and then I spotted these ladies.

Crochet madness at it's best, don't you think? I'm honestly not sure if they are mad or extremely brave, I'm not sure I would have ridden the tube in that!

True devotion though, to both their craft and their team, kudos Ladies.

Yeah I can make that for less

 I was waiting in line in the Post Office in Helsinki last week (as you do) to post a piece of knitting home, and I noticed a stand of wooden beaded necklaces and bracelets. In natural colour, and some unvarnished looking tints. I had a gorgeous red wooden necklace like this before, and every time I wore it the dye leaked onto my skin, so I was attracted to the natural ones. Then I saw the price tag, of 25€ for the necklace. For a simple wooden bead necklace. Yes it was locally, ethically made, but still more than I could justify on a simple bead necklace! So I put it back and continued my queue.

Around the corner from the Post Office is a store that is like a combination Pound shop, craft shop, school art supply store and party supplies. I always have a browse through there whenever in Helsinki, as it's completely random as to what I find, and what ever it is, it's cheap. There in the craft aisle, were beads exactly the size of those on the necklace I was just looking at, and a bag of smaller ones too match, plus a card with enough elastic to thread them, grand total, around 4€.

The bag contained just the right amount for a necklace and bracelet, with just a few left over, and only a couple in the bag were imperfect. Too easy. The elastic however was too thick to thread the smaller beads, so I had to hunt down an alternative. 

 I found a card of clear jewellery elastic at John Lewis when I got home, perfect, now I just need a patient night of threading.