De-construct and reconstruct

Looking through my camera I found the photos I had taken off a project I had last year.  It was an old granny square blanket, a family heirloom which I think my Gran may have made.  I remember it in my childhood but don't know how long it pre dates me.  I guess it is over 40 years old , as you can see by the colours its a bit faded.

The wool was so old it didn't have the strength to come undone completely

My first job was to undo the border which once it got going was quite easy but where threads had been split or knotted it put up a bit of a fight.

One of many of my Granny's knots

This blanket I remember having it on my bed, I also used it for my dolls.  When my children arrived it was a pram blanket, then a bed throw so it had a lot of wear and tear.  It had been caught in the cot sides, trapped in the pram wheels so the task was more demanding than I thought.  Not only had the stitching come undone between squares

But individual squares were also damaged

I unravelled and tugged and snipped and pulled over many evenings, I produced hanks of yarn using many household objects as winders

Oodles of noodles !

My mobile phone came in handy for small amounts

While my vintage sweet tin dealt with the larger amounts

Crinkled yarn to be washed and recycled

Why did I start this ?

I unravelled the squares back to a undamaged round then reused yarns to rebuild them to a standard size again until eventually I had 88 perfect Granny squares to be reformed into a blanket.

I spread them out on the table and moved them about until I was satisfied with balance of colours.  The original blanket had large areas of green so this was spread more evenly.  Then came the arduous task of stitching them up again. Uh oh !
There is a saint out there , Saint Lucy of Attic 24 with her joining Granny Squares tutorial.  Thank you, this was a much quicker and nicer way to join the squares and gave a lovely finish.  There was no stopping me now !

Squares have been crocheted together  - easy peasy !

The blanket took up many evenings but what a fantastic journey, these yarns were vintage and I had my family history in my hands so the memories of this blankets pathway through our lives were brought back.  My 14 year old son kept requesting progress reports on the blanket project as he was the last to have it in his stroller and now wanted it on his bed.

It is now finished and has pride off place over the end of his bed, he has witnessed all the hard work I put in and knows to take care of this precious blanket.  He better had do !!

6 rows of  treble stitch edging - now that took some doing.

Classic Granny square

Then these unusual squares, these are being closely analysed so I can recreate them

I loved the whole challenge of this and wouldn't mind doing it again.  I'm constantly keeping my eye out now for another granny square blanket needing some TLC when I visit local charity shops and vintage fairs.  I would recommend that you try it for yourself - what a great feeling of satisfaction I have seeing the finished item, knowing I had rescued it from a life of tatters xx

The finished blanket

Where did I go to ?

Uh oh failed miserably in the blogging again, but I have had a lot of things on my mind in particular the threat of redundancy from my job.  So I've been attending meetings in work and trying to ignore speculation and rumour so unfortunately overlooked the blog.  My job is still at risk but the restructure of my particular job is suspended until further notice, so a bit of a reprieve for me, unfortunately others were not so lucky.
Any way what have I been up to since my last post well let me think and consult my camera.

Last Saturday I took over my kitchen and never stopped baking and cooking.  Sometimes I have these urges to be a domestic goddess and I can't stop.  The reason for this surge in energy was after a week of watching my favourite programme on TV "The Great British Bake off" I was so inspired and I've rekindled my friendship with another old friend my bread-maker again .  I had acquired the bread-maker after my Dad was clearing out his kitchen for a refurbishment but I never had the actual measuring cup and all previous attempts to make the bread had been a bit hit and miss, so I contacted Morphy Richards and purchased the measuring cup and now there is no holding me back.

So last weekends cookathon consisted of two loaves of bread, another batch of chocolate cup cakes, chocolate chip cookies, ginger biscuits, and blueberry muffins plus the normal family meals in between and what fun it was.  The problem with all this lovely home baking is the calorific scoffing afterwards but with two  growing teenage boys and a husband, the calories are distributed reasonably well between us all and over the week with packed lunches for school, college and work.

So how do we counteract these calories?  We head for the Wirral coastline and march it off, last Sunday we parked the car at Leasowe lighthouse then walked from Moreton to Meols and back again (just over 3 miles in total).









Sounds fun doesn't it?  It was fun but we were walking against a cold gusty wind going then thankfully with the wind behind us we walked back again.   You know that force of wind that pushes the breath back into your throat, 
the cold blast that makes your eyes water


that rushing noise that blasts past your ears - exhilarating isn't it !!


Well when we got to the coast the tide was in and it is not the prettiest walk when you can't see the beach.

Concrete and murky seas - the sunny Med this is not !

We could see and hear the surf.  We saw the little boats bobbing about rather erratically I felt seasick watching them.

After that bracing walk we then called in to Birkenhead Priory, one of my favourite places to visit.  It is the oldest standing building on Merseyside, founded in 1150 it was a Benedictine monastery.  The monks here looked after travellers and ferried them across the River Mersey , way before Gerry and the Pacemakers starting singing about Ferry cross the Mersey (sorry couldn't resist dropping that in)

Priory ruins

St Mary's tower currently undergoing restoration.  This was the first  parish church of Birkenhead which was built on the same site as the Priory, only the tower remains today.  There are fantastic views from the top, I'll show you when it opens again.

Lectern

A ceramic art installation

This place is special to me as I had the boys christened here 

It is a lovely place to visit so quiet and peaceful.

Now back to my to do list well I finished this order for a friend

And this for my niece

The balustrade makes a good hat model don't you think?

I'm three quarters through my first Noro sock and I opted for the magic loop method again.  I'm loving this new method and will be looking for other projects to knit in the round as it is sooo addictive.

Vintage things and charity baking

I'm still sorting out my vintage dressmaking and knitting patterns and will share some of the best ones with you all eventually.
I love vintage clothing and it can be something of a distraction.  When I watch TV and films I'm too busy studying the clothes, accessories and even the interior design of the settings.

I recently watched Atonement again, a really sad story but what a fantastic film and I just love the wardrobe .

 

My favourite dress is this one, and I just love this colour green.  I may even have a crack at making this dress, do you think its too flash to attend ladies day at Chester Races.  A nice hat and shawl would cover my modesty until the apres race party.  I've got till May to get working on it.  

Another programme I've been revisiting lately is The House of Elliott  

This is a BBC drama production for television (1990 - 1994)  about a fashion house run by two sisters in the 1920's.  Like I say I'm watching it with one eye whilst sketching some of the fantastic clothes with the other.  I'm sure I miss most of the plot by watching TV this way.

Just a quick post tonight as I'm off to watch another of my favourite programmes, now this one I pay very close attention to and absorb all the information provided.  No it is not a period costume drama it's the The Great Comic Relief Bake Off .

I am an avid fan of the TV baking contest "The Great British Bake Off" where amateur bakers compete each week (usually 12 contestants) until only one is crowned "The Great British Amateur Baker".  This weeks series is a special featuring British celebrities whilst raising awareness for this year's Comic Relief* so it is extra special.  The usual judges are there to decide the winner, Mary Berry a cookery writer and broadcaster and Paul Hollywood a master baker/bread maker.  I love their double act good cop/bad cop method of judging and this is supported with the arbitration of TV presenters Sue and Mel.
 
*Comic Relief is a UK based charity who since it started in 1985 have been raising money to help people all over the world not just in the UK.  You can read about it here 
To help raise funds this year they have organised a pack so anybody can raise funds through having their own bake off or a bake sale.  As I already take my baking into work (that's if I can get it past my teenage boys guarding the door) I think I may try and encourage my co workers to all muck in and we can have a bake sale.  I'll test how they react tomorrow !

Hello Old friend

Today a planned day off work was scheduled to go shopping with my friend to Liverpool.  Unfortunately snow stopped play so I was confined to barracks instead, but hey I don't mind pottering at home and I was not going to waste my day off so ..............

I had been coveting the Joseph Joseph Stacking system for some time and recently acquired a set - maybe it's the colours that attracted me to it.  Today I decided to christen it with flour and cocoa powder.

After rummaging in my baking cupboard I decided to bake Chocolate Muffins from Green & Blacks Ultimate Chocolate Cook book and followed that with an Apple cake

They turned out fine, I didn't bother frosting the chocolate muffins as my family don't like the fussiness. It would be different if they were girls I suppose. Teenage boys don't eat with their eyes they just swallow it whole!!

The apple cake was a strange method of baking to me and yes the sponge was extremely light as the recipe stated it should be.  In fact it was so light I struggled to get it out of the tin in one piece, hence the Ta dah moment is for one small slice, the rest will be hiding under custard later yum.  It is very nice and I would recommend you try it.

After baking , I cleaned, laundered and other domestic tasks before I settled down with an old friend. 

 Meet Irene my sewing machine...............

Irene xx

Why Irene?  That's because it was my mother's machine and sadly she has been gone now just over 9 years and I still miss her so.  My mother was always sewing, knitting, baking, home making - hey what good genes I have.  

So Irene and I had a bit of fun today, she can be a bit contrary and her tension goes awry whenever I rethread her or change the bobbin.  I looked this problem up on Singer's website and it appears to be a common problem with this machine. I love her but sometimes she drives me mad until the tension rights itself then I'm happy again.  We pottered along listening to some of my old CD's, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran  I felt like I was back in my old bedroom as a teenager again. 

At Christmas I asked my husband for a new pair of dressmaking scissors as my old ones couldn't cut through butter!  It is my intention to get back into my dressmaking, I used to design and make all my own clothes, but now working full time and with a family I find it hard to fit it in any more, but I am going to.

Super duper fabric cutting scissors and my mum's old sewing  tin

I love vintage clothes and do have some 50's dresses I have bought at vintage fairs, I have also bought reproduction clothes from places such as Heyday and Vivien of Holloway.  Fashion history fascinates me and I have a large collection of vintage dress and knitting patterns (all will be revealed as I maintain my blog).

All I ever seem to be doing on the sewing machine of late was clothing alterations and repairs and I had decided that I want to get back into my dressmaking again. (My patterns were calling me !)

The problem is I seem to have lost my confidence and fear I may mess it up, but I will persevere, you have to walk ... 

I have some nice cotton so I'll start with an apron

Before you can run  - right?

When I've rediscovered my mojo - who knows what will be next !

Whilst tidying and sorting my crafty corner ready for my relaunch into dressmaking I found an unfinished item.  A lovely black wool mix pencil skirt - already darted and stay stitched so this will be my reintroduction to my long lost hobby.

Waist darts

I am a sucker for high waisted clothing, I just think it gives a lovely shape.

So come on Irene, behave yourself and let's get stuck in, I fancy a new wardrobe of clothes for summer !

Snow time

In my last post I had my fingers, toes and everything else crossed hoping that the snow would miss us!!  That is while I'm at work as I worry how I'm going to get to work and more importantly how I'm going to get home again.  Yes it did arrive on Friday morning with gusto, I was already in work when it started to snow but luckily it eased off enough to allow me to get home again.  It's so unsettling as I could not focus on my work for the fear that I'd have to struggle getting home.
Saturday morning, different story, out of bed, grab the sledge and off to Wales to find a hill to slide down. We go to a field just outside of Mold near Loggerheads Country Park and so does everybody else, it was so busy with low flying people whizzing past us on a number of different modes of transport.

There were traditional old wooden sledges, modern plastic single seater and family size sledges; I even witnessed a metal roasting dish and a large sheet of plastic, any old thing will do.

Well we slipped and sled until we were wet through and could no longer feel our toes then headed back home - totally exhilarated !!  

It's makes me laugh all the time I have to work I try to avoid the snow and ice so I don't slip over, come the weekend I purposely go seeking it so I can throw myself down a hill at speed.

Back home in my nest (my crafty corner of the living room)  I've finished my mittens and am considering a matching cowl using the same horseshoe cable design.  I think I'll make my own design but will put that aside for now.  Looking through my UFO's (unfinished objects) I've decided to tackle some of these.

Can you tell what it is yet?

I also have a list of requests from family and friends that I need to tackle

1. Finish off an EWOK

2. Create bunting for my niece's nursery NAME BUNTING .  I've made a couple of these for baby gifts, they make a change from the usual bootees.

3. A Sock Monkey Hat to honour an outstanding order

However look what I found in my stash today

NORO SOCK YARN

OOOOOOH !  I love Noro yarn especially the way the colours change as it knits up.  I've got to have a go with this starting tonight.  I think I'll have to do a different project each evening to keep up.

Monday - Ewok

Tuesday - Bunting

Wednesday - sock monkey hat

Thursday - Noro socks for me

Friday - Noro socks for me

and so on and so on !  

I've got a planned day off work tomorrow, do I go shopping or do I stay crafting hmm!!

Watching a weepie :(

Here's the thing - I'm not a big cinema visitor.  As much as I love a good film I hate the hassle of the cinema, the constant scrabbling in the popcorn bucket, the slurping of the icy drinks, the chatting of other inconsiderate cinema goers.  I will however endure these things if it is a must see big epic special effects wow movie that I really must see, or if I have read the book and just can't wait to see the screen adaptation of the book and how it compares with what is in my head.  The soppy love story, the romantic comedy, the musical or the latest animated film I will usually wait until the DVD comes out (that's because I watch TV whilst busy knitting, crocheting or whatever craft I'm indulging in at that time).  I finished off my pair of mittens tonight whilst watching a movie at home.
Tonight I watched this The Notebook and I have only just stopped crying, how sad a story of a romance that had fought through all that life had thrown at it.  I only watched this after it was recommended to me after I had heard of a true account of a long lost love with a very similar story line to this movie.  Bearing in mind these true facts and the events of this movie it is no surprise that I am an emotional wreck.



I've spent most of today checking severe weather warnings as Great Britain is expecting a big snowfall tomorrow.  As we live on a peninsula we're usually quite lucky and the show usually misses us but I have my wellington boots and my big faux fur hat ready for my snow trek expedition to work tomorrow




Oh I hope it doesn't snow and if it does oh I hope I don't slip over.  It's only just over a mile but it's all downhill, maybe I should get a tray from the kitchen and sled to work !
Hey if I get snowed in I may not even be able to go and will be forced to stay at home and knit - yeah !