Thanks for all the encouraging words about my bold decision! You have helped to calm me down. I am now feeling less panicked and more determined to do myself proud (I shall revert to panicking in a few months no doubt!) And I’ve written a long list of things to do- a frighteningly long list actually. As […]

So, I’ve been fabric shopping and eventually found this lovely deep red silky fabric for my 1940s dress. The print seemed right for the period without being old fashioned and I loved the colour.   The fabric can’t be silk though because it was only £7.50 a metre, so my long sleeved dress will cost just under £30 to make. Bargain. […]

On Saturday evening I fancied doing some knitting and as no shops were open I had to use the yarn I had. This left me with the choice of making a very stripey jumper or a small brown thing in an aran weight wool. So, here is the small brown thing. I was very lazy and just assumed my tension […]

Henry was a very willing (but unfortunately not a still) model for his new scarf. Hence the photo… it’s atmospheric, not out of focus, okay? What can I say about a stripey scarf? I like to knit scarves on slightly bigger needles than the yarn would normally need, as I feel they drape better. I also knitted the odd […]

                                  I have turned my attention to the washing up. I now have eco-friendly washing up liquid, a wooden brush and a hand knitted dishcloth! Cream cotton moss stitch with a couple of red stripes. That is however, a ‘stunt’ sink. […]

Mundane– practical and ordinary, especially to the point of dull familiarity. Washing, wiping, cooking, cleaning= dull familiarity. So, as the chores just will not go away I’ve decided that I should at least try to take a pride in them.  Try to see and feel the joy in the mundane… or failing that make them aesthetically pleasing at least! And my first […]

I’ve been working away while the boys are at nursery and school and in a few weeks will (hopefully) have lots of finished ideas to show you. But for now, all I can show is this: it’s the beginnings of a redwork stitchery pattern design. A Christmas angel. I hope to individually monoprint my designs onto my favourite calico (muslin) for […]

I remembered to put some make-up on the other morning and realised how old and hideous my make-up bag was. So it had to go!                                     I thought I would do some knitting for a change. The bag is just a […]

Yes, this was it – my 15 minutes of fame! Back in 1993 whilst trying to establish myself as a knitwear designer I had one of my designs published in a knitting magazine. I knitted both of the jumpers myself and remember working round the clock to meet the deadline. The magazine gave me the yarn and […]

I have been clearing out Henrys’ bedroom this weekend and found this teddy amongst his soft toys. I vaguely remember knitting him from a pattern (which I obviously took with a pinch of salt!) when I was about 12. He is knitted in that awful squeaky acrylic and is a rather startling shade of green, […]