Colour Therapy

 First, knitting.  In Sudbury, a little Suffolk market town about ten miles north of here, are several working silk mills.  Stephen Walters, a firm with historic origins in Spitalfields, has a mill shop, and I find myself drawn to it as a moth to a candle.  They weave silk to commission: their Christmas display, which was being assembled, featured fabulous brocade with rich metallic threads.  "Altar-cloth, woven for a customer who sells vestments," I was told.

 I try to resist the bags of patchwork pieces, since I have a few at home already.  But I am powerless when it comes to linen thread on cone - four cones for a pound, admittedly only small quantities of each.  The swatch on a size twelve needle suggests that lace, possibly of the table-centre variety, will suit the blond cones.  but what of the lovely subtle green, or the denim blue?

On Sunday, to Marks Hall, an arboretum just a mile or so north of our village.  This has a curious history:  Early in the twentieth century, Thomas Price, owner of the estate wrote to Kew gardens asking for advice on how best to preserve the timber on the estste.

 He was an older man married to a younger wife, and clearly could not have foreseen that the mansion itself, in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style, would not long survive its use an airbase during the Second World War.  His wife did not die until the sixties but it was decades before the Trust developed the estate into this fascinating and beautiful arboretum, with collections from different parts of the world.

In the distance, you can see clusters of mistletoe hanging in the tallest trees.

Finally: another example of my husband's handiwork.  This was a birthday present from the mid-80s.  The frame is mahogany, but the drawer fronts feature burr elm veneer, and a very rich colour it is too.

Celebrations

A brillant, cheery bouquet, sent to me by an old friend.

 Blogger thinks that this is my hundredth post, but I know better.  In the early days, I inadvertently posted an empty title and then the post in a second try.  However, It was my birthday this week - the sort of birthday which makes you think: "Where has all that time gone?"  Then you have to ward off your Larkinesque tendencies; "Life is first boredom and then fear"etc...

A new topic:  My husband's woodwork.  This miniature chest of drawers was made for me some twenty-five years ago.  It is of the genre sometimes called "prentice pieces", but his skills were already pretty well honed when he made this.

It is of mahogany and veneered in mahogany to make a feature of the flaming on the front.  a

Note the full-sized chair legs behind.

 The top opens to access the upper drawers: who would not be charmed irresistibly to find their initial inside?

 The lower drawers work as drawers.  Here, the dovetails are in evidence - he always checks the dovetails on old furniture; they are a mark of quality.

In fact, the only things which have not worn well are the handles, and he didn't make those.

This is last week's skirt, in that heavy, felted fabric.  The selvedges had this unusual feature: it is on a knitted base which has a two-way stretch, so turning it sideways should not cause an issue.  I am very pleased with this, although it is so thick it will be for cold days.

This year's present from my husband: Fiskars' dress-making scissors.  I chose these because they do actually fit my hand, an ergonomic design.  He is at work on a long-term woodwork project, on a larger scale.

Finally, an autumnal bouquet from my niece; all the lovely rich colours of the autumn.

Home Ground

Half-term and I feel as though I am "nivver off t'road", as my mother used to say.  First, we visit the in-laws in the Cotswolds on a bitterly cold weekend.  Somehow, freezing fog seems to gather over Stratford-upon-Avon.

Next, by train to this northern city, Carlisle, its streets studded with Georgian treasures like this one.

Georgian street in Carlisle.

To Wigton, birthplace of Melvyn Bragg, the very essence of a run-down and depressed small town, although this memorial looks bright enough.  Sample"crack" in the charity shop I visited:

"How come he had a 36 inch flat-screen telly when he was burgled and he's nivver had a job in his life?"

"Mebbe somebody was just pinching it back."

Highly edifying, but if one was planning a slice-of-life drama set in the north...

Wigton, Cumbria

To Caldbeck, where John Peel has his grave, and where the Wool Clip, and the cafe above it at the Priest's Mill, is a place of pilgrimage:

Caldbeck Church

Click the picture to read the date over the door on this cottage.

It was wet and windy while I was in Cumbria, but weather like that creates the most dramatic lighting effects.  Here, the play of light over the fells as seen from the A596.

Finally, knitting.  I travelled up by train and entered the usual conversation with a lady of a similar age to me, as I showed her my progress on the Aeolian shawl in the lovely Cascade silk.  Why is it that people imagine you could sell hand-knitted items at a profit, or that you would want to?

This last, a cushion made from a failed attempt at a Starmore sweater, which was impossibly bulky. The buttons are Icelandic reindeer horn, gifted to me by my sister.

Period Details

A brilliantly sunny day last Sunday: so wonderful I cannot bear to be indoors.  We took down our bean row and began the last of the heavy digging on the allotment.  Courgettes, beans, leeks, swede and the two butternut sqashes -all gathered in.

 A walk up Church Street takes you past some fascinating period details.  Bow-windows with bulls-eye glass:

Full timbered houses, some of which have been shops at one time:

Carved bressumers:

And woodwork revealing previous use as a butcher's shop;

A quaint, country inn:

And a clothing warehouse, last remnant of the trade that built the wealth of the area over the centuries:

At last to the church, St Peter ad Vincula, with its "flinty, fifteenth-century tower", as Betjeman has it, although, in this case, war damage necessitated a rebuild at that end.

I don't think that this is the brass of Thos. Paycocke and his wife, but it is of the right period.

Finally, this week's tweed.  I can't tell you how happy this fabric makes me.  It's a jersey base, with the other threads felted on to the surface.  At Ally Pally, I saw a commercial stall selling a coat with panels of this fabric.  I plan to make the usual basic  skirt, the only dilemma being whether to feature the plain edges as the hem.

Old Beams

I'm currently embarked upon an Aeolian shawl, using this glorious laceweight silk, bought at the i-knit Weekender.    What really strikes me about this, apart from the lovely colour mix, is the label.  This must be an American import but the silk is said to be from Switzerland.  So this yarn has crossed the Atlantic twice, at the very least.  Henry's Attic and Cherry Tree Hill both appear on the label, leaving me not much wiser.  Since I try not to buy air-freighted veg, it does seem that we might need to invent the concept of yarn-miles.

Last week the Clock Tower and now the National Trust property in the village: Paycockes' house.  This is a wonderful mediaeval merchant's house, the exterior covered in very intricately carved beams.  It is an astonishing survival, since less than twenty years ago, the main A120 thundered past it, bringing huge lorries through from Harwich.  Houses lining the route were blackened with road dirt, and it was not unusual for buildings to be nudged when two juggernauts met.

The lovely linen-fold panelling on the doors guarded by these mysterious figures.

Every small section bears its elaborate decoration; it's a treasure-trove of detailed imagery, and a constant delight, as every time you look, there's something more to see.

And what might these be?  They are Pocket Book Slippers - see Ravelry .  You insert your foot into one side and the ribbing stretches to become a Mary Jane type slipper. Not a very substantial slipper granted, but one for indoors on a cold night, or for hotel rooms. 

These were knit from two skeins of Art Yarns sent to me as a reward for knitting little hats for the Innocent Smoothies campaign, by someone called Amelia.  It is lovely smooth hand-painted yarn, but each skein is unique, as can actually be seen here, in the more yellowed and muted colours of the left hand slipper.

Markets

We are blessed to be living in a village with a long history - the clock tower dating from Victoria's Jubilee - and yet which still has an excellent butcher, a Spar and a Co-op which are open until late, and at least five functioning hostelries within walking distance.

But it's only now, when one of my free days coincides with market day, that we can really take advantage of the goodies on offer.  A well-stocked fruit and veg stall....

a huge array of artisan loaves and cakes...

and, best of all, fresh fish and a cheese stall offering about fifty different cheeses.  One could spend a fortune, and some do.

This week's tweed, now a skirt.  Some many years ago, my mother's eldest sister died and, in the clearing of her house, a box of textile items was set aside for me.  Last week, rummaging through our loft for a quite different piece of fabric, I lit upon this.  A quick soak in Wool Wash and an hour or two on the line and there was a yard of tweed in colours which were doubtless biding their time for this season.  The zip, lining and petersham together came to about four pounds, so I am well-pleased with this.

Today, to Ally Pally, to a market of a quite different nature.  The heat, the crowds, the over-whelming range of choices on offer - each year I vow "Never again" and each year I forget the discomfort enough to venture forth again.

After Apple-picking

Two apples from our cordoned Bramley.  These two were from one spur: one pound two ounces and thirteen ounces.


Some time ago, I tried to install a site-meter, and was dismayed to find that it e-mailed each week to inform me that no one had visited - again..  How could this be, when I have two sisters and at least one colleague known to follow my blog? 

Last week, I discovered the Stats section of Blogger for the first time and was astonished to find that someone in Turkey has visited many times, along with visitors from India, Greece, Switzerland, Thailand....  I hope that they were not disappointed. 

Now, I have four followers, which I find very flattering, as I only follow two blogs and have a number of others on my Favourites list.

Recent posts have touched on the Celtic knotwork of the early 90s in knitting.  This quilt which is on the bed in our spare room, has a long history.  Some twenty-three years ago we had a snow-day - a rarity for us.  I intended to make it memorable and spent it cutting out the pieces for this Dresden plate patchwork, not thinking of it as a quilt.




 Once the blocks were completed and assembled, I thought to add wadding and backing.  Then I tried some simple outline quilting and discovered the template for the cabled sashing.

The navy valances needed some support from quilting.  Never one to be underambitious, I tried the feathered  ring, without grasping how to place the template accurately.

At that time, I realised two things: the wadding I had chosen was much too thick for hand-quilting and I didn't like getting my fingers needled so often.

I bought some Celtic quilting patterns from Ally Pally and I improvised some others by photocopying and enlarging, in one case a ceramic keyfob.  Celtic knotwork was in vogue at the time, on brooches and scarves.   I repeated patterns up each side.

Eventually, I had completed all but one roundel.  At this point Christmas visitors were expected, so I finished the edges without doing the final block.  That's how it remains, because that is the most complex block.

Random Harvests

Opal Socks

A pair of socks knitted in an Opal yarn I had not seen before.  Curiously, each colourway has the name of a Prince or Princess.  They are lovely colour combinations, richer in the yarn than in the photo.  In Selestat, in Alsace, I saw some yarn which produced a chequer board pattern.  These don't do that but they are more subtle than some self-patterning yarns.

The blue version has very small pink sections.  I chose to make the heel speckled, by selecting some from further though the ball.  The yarn has very clear colour repeats.

This week's dress-making features a lovely piece of tweed with a mid-brown base and pale blue and purple checks.  I bought this skirt-length in a sale in  Stratford some years ago: two lengths for £10.  This skirt has a pleat in the back to allow a bit more leg room - essential for getting into the car.  I am really enjoying getting back into sewing but it will take a while to build up my repertoire again. 

As a teenager, I made all my clothes using the hand sewing machine belonging to my mother.  She had bought it second-hand for thirty shillings - that is £1.50.  On it she made all our childhood dresses.  I recently came across the notebook in which my friend and I kept a record of what we made and where the fabric came from.  In the 60s it was still possible to buy fabric and all the notions more cheaply than you could buy ready-made clothes.  This would be a challenge today.  Fortunately, I have a stock of lovely fabric to work through.

Today was our shared day off, so my husband and I went up to our allotment.  Harvesting carrots, swede, leeks and using our own potatoes and onions I made soup for lunch.  Simple pleasures.