Not to mince words...

It's been a big week in the Bungalow. I taught my first paid knitting class at Capture the Magic. I really enjoyed it, and I hope my students did too! They were all ladies, of a range of ages and backgrounds, and I hope it was the start of a yarny love affair for them.  The all managed to learn the slip knot, basic cast-on, knit, purl, and cast-off, in just two hours! Clever ladies.

I also attempted a childrens' yarn-dyeing session, to see whether that might be a business opportunity for me. The results were very mixed, so I'm going to withdraw and think about that one for a while. The kiddlies did produce some lovely yarn though:

Ball-winders are magic. They just make all yarn look delicious! And the little boys who came to play really loved turning the handle and creating balls of wool. Our third achievement this week was to get Grandmother-in-Law's enameled, cast-iron mincer working. I think we have a lot to learn, but we did manage to produce some pretty cracking turkey and apple burgers with the result.

I felt the weight of history when using the mincer. The mincer was a wedding present to Father-in-Law's parents, so I feel a great responsibility and privilege in having it to play with in our family home. Also, my own Gran grew up in her father's butcher's shop in Runcorn, and Mammar has always told us about how she used to make sausages with her homework propped up against the mincer. Unfortunately I do not seem to have inherited any of her skills in this department, but I'm having a go anyway. The next thing I'd like to do with it is mince the leftovers of a roast, since I usually shred them for shepherd's pie or whatever. I'm baking with Sausages this afternoon, and that always makes me think of Bapar's mother, who was an awesome cook, and who would have absolutely loved my clever, cheeky son. Especially his pudding, which is not cooked (I've checked!).

What have you been proud of this week? What makes you feel connected to the previous generations of your family?

E

Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny...this week I have mostly been knitting stitch samples in very chunky acrypic yarn for my first knitting class on Thursday!

I chose the yarn because I wanted the students to be able to see the stitches really clearly, but bleugh! And I still have a few more to do today...intarsia and a couple of lace. Ultimately I'd like to have them mounted on a cork board, but that'll have to wait until I have actually been paid for the lessons! While I was out at knitting club last night the boys made me some little business cards to take with me. It's all falling into place.  I've been so busy that there hasn't been much reading this week, just ploughing on with The Friday Night Knitting Club when I get a few minutes. But this little beauty has arrived from Grandmother-In-Law:

So I'm hoping to get underway very soon! I certainly haven't used a sewing machine since I was about 14, so there's a need for a little refamiliarisation here. 

Sausages and I went to another family wedding this weekend (and Husband went to another 100 miles away. Three in two weeks!) and he was charming and delicious as ever, but still refused to wear his lovely tie. Here's a couple of gratuitous pics of his week for you (and Mother-In-Law, who I know checks in!):

I hope you've all had a good week. Would you like to tell me what you feel is the most important thing you have learned about knitting, and help my poor students?

E

Yarn along

Joining in with Ginny...

my first ever Milo! In the newborn size. I LOVE it. The yarn was some smooth acrylic that was in a big bag given to me when a craft group I used to go to closed down. It's lovely to touch, and the drape of the garment is lovely. Even the cable looks delish; that single owl! Sometimes relief patterns just don't look right for me, because I put my yarn round the needle backwards (and cannot do otherwise, for some reason!), but I am so pleased with this. It could easily be worn with nothing underneath. Thank you so much to my lovely Kangaroo friend who gave me the pattern. Soon it will be winging its way to New Zealand, where a little baby-on-the way can enjoy it. I don't have any reading for you this week, but for an exciting reason.

 This week my lovely and generous Grandmother-in-Law has sent me her sewing machine! Husband had to scrape me off the ceiling when he turned up with it. I have wanted a sewing machine for a long time, but I am also a bit frightened of them. I haven't used one since school! So I set about trying to find myself a manual. Out of date manuals are often available free online (an awful lot of experience renting houses with ancient boilers/cookers/washing machines has taught me), but I cannot find one for this lovely. She's so beautiful. Grandmother-in-Law told me that she didn't work, and Mother-in-Law had a go and said the same, so I was going to get it serviced, but Husband found himself at a loose end, and took the whole thing apart, put it back together, and hey presto: it works! There are, admittedly, a couple of leftover parts, and a mysterious bolt rattling around inside the casing, but all power to that man's elbow all the same. She definitely needs a name. Any suggestions?

Today is Sausages' last morning with the childminder, and after that he is all mine again. I cannot wait. I am so happy to try to be a better mummy to that shining boy than I was when I was trying to juggle his needs and my thesis, and making myself miserable in the process. To celebrate, I think we will head to the zoo! Because I'm that sort of mum now! Then tomorrow, I'm accompanying his preschool trip to the soft play. Because I'm that sort of mum now! The one who has time to spend with her child, to take an interest in his interests, to stimulate his learning journey. I'm so so happy about it.

I hope you're all having a good week. Let me know if you have any thoughts on the sewing machine!

E

From baby steps to big, big steps

It's been a very busy day at the Bungalow, and it's not over yet! This morning I was feeling under the weather so I stayed at home while the boys went to Mass. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I popped onto facebook and launched my first adult knitting class and first two preschoolers' craft sessions! How efficient! The I had a little sleep of course! I also achieved not one...not two...but THREE finished knits today, all cast-off, made-up, and woven-in. Two of them were (drum-roll please) the two pink tops for Beth and Mo.

Nice, huh? I'm a sentimental old lady, and the idea of these two tiny ladies having something made with yarn that belonged to their great grandmother. They're cuties, and I might have to bribe their mamma into sending me a picture of them in the dresses. I also finished the tie for Sausages that I both began and abandoned last Saturday. It's a cutie! Now, what are my chances of persuading him to wear it to the wedding we're going to this Saturday? Hmmm...

It was a glorious day here, so we had lunch in the garden, and the boys did some serious gardening, including the all-important "driving around in tiny red car with seed packets in the boot!"

When I decided recently to make hot cross buns with my sourdough, I came across a lot of research about the benefits of using wild yeast over commercially produced dry yeasts. The buns were excellent, and I decided that we would try to use the starter for all yeast baking. Today I tried sourdough pizza. I didn't find an interesting recipe online, so I simply made it up like my regular bread but with one fewer rests. I topped mine with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, olives (Sausages' favourite!) and organic rocket from the veg box. While making them Sausages must have eaten twenty olives on the sly. He threw a mighty tantrum when I put them back in the cupboard. He cheered up when he got to eat the finished product though!

Well, now I feel exhausted just reading about my own day. I haven't discussed it much, but I am quite open about the fact that I have suffered rather unpleasant postnatal depression since Sausages was born, and I would not have believed last year that now I would be launching my own business and innovating with needles and starter, and all on a day when my tonsils are like tennis balls! Our world has turned around in the last couple of months, and I'm so pleased. How was your weekend? Do you do anything interesting with your starter?

E

Extra-Yarny Yarn Along

Joining in with Ginny...

Having enjoyed the knitting (if not the writing) in last week's book I thought I'd try another. This is a different author, and I noticed that in my stash of charity shop books I have two of this series. I'm just in the mood for them at the moment: trashy, quick to read, and full of craft. Do you read fiction surrounding your favourite crafts? Or does it just send you running for another project, leaving the book on the side?

The knitting is a quick, simple tie for Sausages. I would like him to wear it to a wedding in ten days, but the chances of compliance are very, very slim!

E

Wonderful Wonderwool

This weekend a fabulous family wedding in South Wales gave me the excuse to pop up the road to Builth Wells, where Wonderwool Wales 2013 was taking place. Thanks Gordon and Ali! The wedding was fabulous, and for those of you who commented on my post last week, here I am fully dressed, and wearing more than the lonely tree!

Wonderwool was my first wool festival, and I had the best day ever! Of course! We met some angora rabbits, and learned that one rabbit produces about 400g of fibre each year. That's a lot of carrots per gram! The rabbits and their person were very charming anyway. These two are actually the same size, but one has recently had a haircut. Can you guess which?!

Mammar and I got excited about learning to use drop spindles

 and Crochet Queen and I bought waaaay too much fibre!

There were exhibitors from all over wales, covering all possible variations on wool-based craft, and the quality of materials and presentation was very very high. Here's a little peek at my haul:

I mostly bought yarn and fibre for my upcoming adventures in Making Craft Pay, so watch this space for updates on that. The Norwegian wool batt and paper bag of loose alpaca I am hoping to spin, with some support from Crochet Queen! She can do anything, that girl. The big cone in the middle is 500g of double knit, knitted on the artifacts at the National Museum Wales, and was a present from Mammar. Because of this I am torn, between turning it into a jumper for Sausages, and just keeping it to look at because it's so precious! In fact, I wish I had seen their stall first because it was lovely and I would have bought much more of their yarn, but by the time I found it I had very little money left, and I was determined not to spend beyond the cash I had saved up for the purpose. In fact, I did come home with more than £3 in my pocket, which is a small miracle, really. I'm already saving up for my next wool festival. Fibre East, anyone? On the way home Mammar and I took an impulsive detour to Raglan Castle, which she loved as a young woman.

Sadly it was all locked up, and the cafe had just closed, but it looked pretty impressive all the same. My mother loves castles. Throughout my childhood we would spend whole days running around castles and hill forts pretending to be Bouddica or Llewelyn or Robin Hood or Granuaile, depending on where we were. Actually, I'm noting a bit of a bias there towards the native/celtic underdog. Not surprising at all, really. I hope someday soon I'll be running around castles with Sausages, firing imaginary arrows and looking out for foe. A trip to Claire Island is called for, I think. Do any of you have similar memories? Are any of you living them with your children now? I hope so. We're so lucky to have so much accessible history.

I hope you had a lovely weekend too

E

Yarn Along

Better late than never? When my camera battery died this week I hunted high and low for the charger, but to no avail. It is not in the house. I cleaned out the car, but it wasn't there either. As a result this week's yarn along comes with a photo taken with the back-up camera, which is a bit sad!

This week's knitting is the finished and blocking lonely tree, which is surely the most beautiful thing I have ever knitted. I learnt several new techniques along the way, but it's for "my very own self," as Sausages would say, and I am very happy! I do know that this is the worst blocking ever, but I lost my pins and had to borrow some from my lovely friend and neighbour, and even using all the safety pins I could muster I only just had enough for all those picot points. The shawl is so far all I have worked out to wear for the wedding of my charming cousin and his charming fiancee on Saturday, so I'm pleased it's finished. Even so, it's going to make for a skimpy outfit, so I'd better choose a frock or something too! I'm going to go along with my traditional practice and take a couple so that my stylish sister Wooodle can make the final choice.

The reading is the as yet unopened Knitting Circle by Ann Hood. Appropriately, this book has been passed around our village knitting group, and now it's my turn. I can tell you absolutely nothing about it! How exciting! The juxtaposition of finished knitting and new book appeals to me today. The reading fell into my lap so I have obediently taken the admonishments of Anke and Karen on board and relegated The Last Office back to the bookcase. I will finish it though; I've changed a lot about my life in the last four months, but that's part of my personality that I can't lay aside!

It just so happens that this weekend's wedding is quite close to the Royal Welsh Showground, where thousands of knitters, spinners, felters and other crafters will be descending for the Wonderwool festival, so Mammar and I are going, armed with my squirreled-away birthday money and the world's yarniest toddler. I'm so excited! What a beautiful weekend I've got coming my way. How about you?

E