Treasure chest

To go with my fond (and embarassing) memories of my birthday party I’m the very happy recipient of a amazing array of crafting gifts.


First up, all the way from Norway, my BP Kris sent me the most delightful packages for Christmas and my birthday. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect collection of goodies- Kris tells me this Du Store Alpakka “Baby Silk” is her favourite yarn, and without even knitting it I can see why- so soft and smooth (maybe even softer than Eki Riva, if that’s at all possible?), and such a lovely colour- a delicious cherry red (I wish I could find lipstick in this shade). I think it’s going to become a scarf...

Also on the knitting front, I’m now able to drool all over my own copy of Loop-d-Loop (I’m fascinated by Teva’s designs and the shaping and textures she incorporates into some of these patterns), and have been fondling some lovely yarns- a scarf kit from the Ardent Alpaca (another soft warm alpaca in a rich rusty red), and Scott made the most perfect colour and yarn selection in giving me some beautiful mossy green Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed for a jumper (or sweater if you prefer!). (Ok, so I did suggest a few possible yarns, and how many balls would be good, but the colour selection was totally his call, and I love the choice he made).

I can’t imagine I’m going to start knitting this yarn before summer is over (it’s just way too hot for knitting anything more substantial than socks right now), which gives me plenty of time to think about what to knit. So far I’ve come up with three options-
Tubey, Hourglass or maybe Teva’s Slinky bark rib tunic…



Next, a collection of shoe making tools and supplies- insole and outer sole, soft fine grained black upper leather, dinky glue pots plus adhesives and finishing paint, cutting implements and threads, and a basic shoe making book to add to the library. Of course, Scott knows I’ll be sharing these goodies with him. Now we just need some space to set up a shoe making studio…

I also received a long-lusted-for pasta machine (I regard pasta making as a craft- albeit an edible craft! What better way to enjoy the your handwork, and create an excuse to do some more, than to eat it?), and a classic old book for my craft library: a 1967 edition of McCall’s Needlework (originally published in 1950).

It’s a book that marks points in time- full of old school techniques (how to achieve that authentic 60’s finish to your knitted and crocheted garments), vintage patterns (Norwegian mittens, for when I gain the courage to attempt fair isle again) and basics (although I don’t know where the obsession with sequined crochet comes from) and obscure crafts (Candlewicking, anyone?). More pictures (including the history of gift inscriptions inside the front cover) at Flickr

With so many craft additions to my life, the year ahead looks like it will be just as busy and fulfilling as this one has been -what with Backtack 1 and 2, and shoemaking, and Spearfishing and Sockapal2za, and Better Pal and other swaps, and completing so many projects and "meeting" so many virtual friends... quite a list without having to think too hard.

I guess it's the time of year for some navel gazing- If you're looking for me I'll be lying out on the lawn, staring into the leaves and the clouds, reflecting on the year that has been, and contemplating all that the year ahead may hold...

The name is Bond...

Bertha guessed it in a flash.


These are essential ingredients when one is meeting with Mr Bond. Alcohol, some nibbles, some lubricant spray and something cosy. (doesn't the yarn look at home with Catherine's kid's artwork?)

Catherine (non-blogging knitting guru and member of the local s'n'b chapter) invited Nichola and I over for an evening bonding with her sweater machines and gossiping in general. It spang from and idea to whip up some chunks of stocking stitch in bright colours, to felt and cut and sew into baby blocks.
After giggling our way through the "how to" video, in which Sue, the perfectly tonged Sweater Machine Queen demonstrated the benefits of knitting elarstic and how to correctly employ the yellow card, we set to work. (Note: the video claims to be manufactured in 1993, but based on the fashion sense of Sue, I'm convinced that the footage dates from 1983) Following Sue's instructions we assembled, slotted and lubricated the appropriate bits, and were soon cranking out some stocking stitch.

Note the two boxes sitting there in the background- and there were other machines in the spare room- it would seem that machine knitting involves stashing too...

Thankfully the guru was on hand to deal with those inevitable dropped stitches and other misfires.

We were ably assisted by the happy yarn bitch, Nichola...

...who got in on the bonding action too... Doesn't she move the carriage with such poise and grace? (really, she deserves her own video I think)

On the "needles"

and one and a half hours later we had a bit of a scarf- ready for felting and chopping into squares to make into felted baby blocks.

Adventures on Vanilla Island, Episode 3: Afternoon Tea

In order to help lift myself from my end of year funk, I decided to take another trip to Vanilla Island and bake afternoon tea for the afternoon tea swap bloggy gals. Like Fiona, I think it just doesn't feel like Christmas without a huge quanity of baking, and I find the process of cooking and baking quite absorbing and meditational; a great way to distract my mind from other things and allow myself to unwind.

One batch wasn't quite enough for all the gals (I suspect this may have had something to do with the stringent quality control process... yum!)- so I'll be repeating the exercise in the next few days as part of a last minute baking extravaganza, which is definitely set to cause some further vanilla stash depletion.


Dark Chocolate and Pistachio biscotti
(based on a recipe from "Coffee and Bites" by Susie Theodorou)

250g caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
250g Italian tippo 00 flour
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
a pinch of salt
115g shelled raw pistachios
100g broken dark chocolate (eg Lindt 70%)
2 tablespoons milk (to glaze)
extra caster sugar (to sprinkle)

Preheat the oven to 150deg C (130deg C fan forced, 300deg F, Gas mark 2) and
line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.
Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla until a thick and creamy moose is formed
(about 4-5 minutes).
Sift in the flour, bicarb and salt into the mixture, and fold in. Mix in the
chocolate and pistachios as the dough comes together.
Turn the sticky dough out onto a floured surface and separate into four
sausages approximately 4cm thick and 20cm long.
Place them onto the baking sheets spaced well apart (the widen out to 10cm
or so when they're cooking) and brush the surface with milk and sprinkle
with sugar.
Bake the biscotti for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven
and cool for about 15 minutes until still warm but cool enough to handle (if
it's too cold it's hard to do the next bit). Turn the oven down to 130deg C
(120deg C fan assisted, 250deg F, gas mark 1).
Gently slide the biscotti onto a cutting board and cut with a bread knife
and sawing action into thin slices (about 5mm). Place back onto the baking
sheets lying each biscotti on it's side. Bake for a further 20-25 minutes,
turning half way over through cooking (if you remember!), and cool.

Makes about 70. They keep fresh for as long as 2-3 months in an airtight container.

Serving suggestion: ideal with an after dinner coffee or liquer, although they're really crunchy so they're also lovely dunked in an afternoon latte
or tea to soften them up a bit.

PS: pleased to see there is one very clever monkey out there! details of the fun to be had with yarn and lubricant coming soon...

gift knitted

At last, I've finished mum's scarf. And what's more, it's all wrapped and on it's way to a spot reserved under her Christmas tree as I write.

I managed to get this far before I ran out of yarn, frogged (very slowly) one pattern repeat and started the top edging again. In the end I only just made it- I managed two less points than the first end- but I don't think you'd notice if I hadn't just mentioned it.

The Vital Statistics:
Started: October 2004
Finished: December 2005
Yarn: 2ply hand dyed wool from Marta's Yarns
Needles: 2.75mm bamboo straights
Pattern: Field of Flowers scarf from Heirloom knitting

Modifications and other comments: Aside from doing less points on one end, I made it a bit narrower than the original pattern. If I'd had more yarn, I would have liked to make it longer (although I wonder if this would have added another year onto the process?).

Blocking it was fun- I'm not really much of a blocker, and I haven't knitted lace before, so it was amazing to see the pattern emerge as I stretched the wet knitting out into shape.

Having knitted one lace scarf now, I'd like to try another one, although I'll be picky to select something that (like this one) has a pattern I can memorise or recognise -so that I can knit whilst watching TV rather than a chart.

In the meantime, I thought I'd try something a bit different. I think I'll rustle up a small prize for the first person who can guess what three creative gals were up to with a bottle of Sauv Blanc, can of silicone spray and some Cosy Wool...

If the shoe fits, wear it.

If on the other hand, it DOESN'T fit, blog about it (so that people find out how complex and difficult shoe making is) and start plotting and scheming about the next pair you're going to make.

So, here are my first pair of handmade shoes!



As you can see, I am wearing them, but they don't fit. They were, however, great fun to make- fantastic teacher and fun group of people doing the class- and armed with my scrappy notes, knowledge gained (I'm sure someone wise pointed out how much we learn through our mistakes?), my teacher's email address and a book or two, and I feel ready to rush out and brave the daunting warehouse at Leathlers to procure materials and try again.

The course crammed a great deal into a short space of time. Brendan has so much knowledge to impart and everyone in class was totally engaged, constantly asking questions and discussing things (which meant we got way off topic at times, but were constantly entertained!). I usually take copious notes when I'm learning something new, but there was so much to look at and play with that I barely wrote anything down.

The first class (each class was one day) covered shoe making history and methods, a tour of Brendan's (amazing) studio and meauring our feet for some basic pattern making. There's a great rundown of shoe construction history and basics here. We also picked out a style that we wanted to make from the choices Brendan was offering- all styles could be produced with a Veldtshoen technique (which meant we weren't working leather over a shoe last, rather just stitching an upper down onto an insole, and applying a sole to the bottom).


Class two was a whirlwind. We selected leather (I picked out a deliciously soft but thick oxblood matt finished leather -and I seriously want to pick up a few more correct technical terms at some stage too...) and cut leather, and handstitched, and machine stitched, and glued, and attempted to "skive", and stapled. We also had a lesson in preparing linen thread and saddle stitching. By the time the security guard kicked us out of the building I had this collection of bits, ready for the uppers to be stitched to the thick leather insoles.


The style I made has a very simple seam at the toes which creates space for the toes (just like a dart, for you dressmakers out there). I stitched my seam with some "feature" hand stitching (sadly not much thread colour choice available), but there's a few other ways this seam can be done, to make it more or less of a feature. I must admit I've been looking alot closer at funky casual shoes for ideas that I can play with in my next pair!

The last class involved more glueing, cutting, some sanding, a bit of painting, and in my case some blocking, more chats and mid class coffees whilst leafing through some selections from Brendan's shoe book library, and finished off with a class photo of a bunch of happy amateur shoe makers:


As I said, my shoes don't fit- too short at the toes (mutter mutter on this one- Brendan told me to make my insole shorter! Why does it not amaze me that even though he was drawing an outline around them he couldn't believe they're that long!), and I now know how critical the stapling part was to get the fit right. You can see when you look at the shoes without feet in them how distorted the upper is in trying to match up with the sole.


But I have to say, it was fun and rewarding, and I'm itching to try another pair, already scheming about what changes I'm going to make to the pattern I have to get the fit right, and what thread colours I need and the detailing I'd like to add to the upper. Maybe I'll even try a fabric pair? It's a fascinating craft, although it is sadly dying, which makes obtaining materials difficult (Brendan's just found out that his favorite insole material isn't made any more...)

And next year I'll deinintely be signing up for the Advanced Shoemaking course so I can make myself some stiletto's...