Flibbertygibbet

Time Poor

When I first started to freelance, I was cash rich, time poor.
When the work temporarily dried up, I was cash poor and time rich.
Now that the work has resumed after the drought, which I filled with crafting and 1,329 new commitments, I am both cash poor and time poor (they pay late).

Ever so slightly frantic at the moment, and just about sick to death of plumbers - and tradesmen in general - who do a crappy job and then run off, usually making things worse than they were in the first place.  Oh well, karma will get you every time, I guess. 

Currently I'm proofreading a sex book, a sort of 'how-to'.  Luckily I know the other person who's proofing so we are comparing notes ("I don't think page 48 is right, do you...? I mean, if he's holding her there, then how could he possible get his hand/leg/[other body part as applicable] under there, and still stay on the chair?")

Here's a glimpse of what's keeping me busy when I'm not "working".

My first quilt for a little boy - it's about 90% quilted and then has to be handbound.

1 1/4 gauntlet gloves done - everyone at knitting group will be so relieved when these are finished and I'm no longer ripping back, looking puzzled, asking for advice.  A long tedious story, but the rib is 4-ply and the glove part is dk.  With some creative eyelets in between to take it from 70 to 38 stitches. But it worked!

And here's a picture of the lovely surprise I got from the lovely, thoughtful Caroline.  I had mentioned that I was trying to find somewhere that sold the Clover embroidery patterns - and when she found them online, not only did she send me the web address, but also this hysterical card, and the flower pattern too!  Caroline, you are an angel.  I can't wait to try them out!

BTW the caption on the card says: "Manhood," thought Dickie, "is a very serious business".  I mean, the jumper isn't that bad, really - but oh, the knitted balaclava, with the natty little coordinating button. Does the polo neck roll up, perhaps, to be a full face mask? And as he is supposedly a figher pilot, with the plane in the background, or is he just taking the dog across the airfield for a walk, with that lead in his hand?  I also love the judicious colourization which has not only been applied to the paper under his arm, to make it look like the Financial Times, but also to his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a rather girlish blush or having been a bit too liberal with the Benetint.  Ah, just too much to ponder...

BTW, sorry not to have replied to comments etc lately - as I said, it's been a bit mad.  But please keep commenting!!  It's so lovely to see, and I promise I'll catch up...

PS D - yes, MissMouse again...

Super Swaps

Look at this BEAUTIFUL brooch from Caroline, as part of a little swap we did.  It also came with some beautiful FQs which are just visible in the background - how generous and thoughtful!  It was a lovely surprise when I came back to an empty house, missing an away-at-work husband and all the family back at home.

Also received my final two ATCs from one of my Swap-Bot swaps - on major arcana tarot cards.  Both of The Magician which is perfectly apt. There have been a couple of exciting developments chez Flib, and I'll be revealing more in the next few weeks - or in the next few eeeks, as I mistakenly typed a moment ago. 

The Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally turned out to be more of a social occasion for me than anything else - at knitting group yesterday someone was decrying the fact that there was too many sewing and non-yarn stands there.  Then I was asked what I bought and announced that I'd carried away some funky fat quarters and semi-precious beads and nary a skein.  The most popular stands as voted by our group were Cherry Tree Hill, Sublime from Sirdar and the Colinette sock yarn.

And just freshly liberated from the post sorting office - two fabulous new books all the way from Amerikay.  I'll be posting about them later this week once they've had the time and appreciation they deserve, and the drool has been wiped clean from the pages.

Right, off to move on the new twinkle in my eye into becoming a WIP.  It's a fabric day so that gives me permission to ignore the washing up for a few hours.  At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I've been away...

...meeting this cheeky little lady.  Isn't she just gorgeous??  Dusty is my mum's new obsession pet.  Dad says Dusty is Mum's dog to cover himself when she's being bold.  It was incredibly difficult to get a good photo of her, as she's a bundle of puppy-tastic energy and literally bounces off the walls. 

I came home to find lots of lovely things in the post for me, pressies!  More on those later...

Origin-al thought

A very pleasant morning yesterday was spent meandering around Origin (the hangover wasn't so much fun, but it was worth it for a great meal here the previous evening, complete with the thrillette of seeing Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) and I'm feeling completely inspired.  Once the housework is done tomorrow, there's a whole list of crafting and creating waiting for me. 

Here are the people whose work I adored:

Janet Bolton - whimsical fabric collage, and I would love to take one of her classes.

Adele Thurstan - ceramics, with almost Victorian scenes juxtaposed with contemporary images.

Alison Willoughby - wearable works of art, and Alison herself was so friendly, explaining the process of making her stunning gold leaf skirt.  She said the woman who bought it chose it to go with a gold handbag she'd already bought.  Perhaps that's the way to do, accessorise with clothing rather than the other way around.

Jenni Wilson - incredibly cute, and clever - not the kind of thing I'd actually wear myself, perhaps with the exception of these as a pendant or brooch but I appreciate the concepts, they indeed made me smile.

Linda Miller - when I asked her what sort of dog this is, which features in many of her beautiful embroidered pictures, I was wondering if it was a miniature bull terrier, much beloved in our household and she said that it wasn't.  Rather it's the made-up dog she'd ideally like, but says that the embriodered one is lower maintenance.

The Bookery - a book in a bag.  A bit daft but sweet.  The sort of impractical thing that I rather love.

Melanie Tomlinson - she makes automata.  How incredibly cool is that?  As well as pretty butterflies, which are my own personal girls-in-white-dresses-with-blue-satin-sashes at the moment.

Julie Haslam - domestic bliss indeed,  which comes from the reassurance of personal culinary traditions and history, based on her grandmother's recipe book and reinterpreted as stylish textiles.

Sarah Grove - her jugs and vases are divine and might even have been my favourite things in the entire show.

Johanna Basford - stunning wallpaper and prints.  Lizzie Allen's wallpaper was fabulous too (her website is still under construction).

Grainne Morton - I've long been a fan.  Absolutely inspirational. One of those "I want to be her when I grow up" moments when you see those treasures in real life - I certainly want to make things like that. 

Ruth Singer - a wonderful maker who also has a great blog  which I've been reading for ages.  It was lovely to meet Ruth in person, I just hope she doesn't think I'm too stalkerish for bounding up to her like a labrador. 

Cathy Miles - I loved her sense of humour and coveted the 'Stu' on his postbox, fabulous stuff.  Another favourite from the show. 

After sheltering from the rain afterwards I made my way to Cooksons in Hatton Garden and bought some new tools for jewellery making so that I can cut out some new silver pieces tomorrow.  I like Cooksons for two reasons - they have no minimum order amount, and more importantly, they are really friendly and helpful.  You can also order over the net. 

Today I visited Loop again - twice in a week, it's like an addiction, and this is with Ally Pally on next week.  Although they had a customer there who'd been in yesterday - he was buying sock yarn and was wearing the most amazing socks he'd knitted himself.  He's been knitting for forty-three years, his grandmother taught him when he was five. There was a discussion about knitting needles - I always thought that the brightly coloured needles in my great-aunt's knitting roll were made of plastic - it turns out they are casein. Milk protein.  As the sock knitter said 'as eco as you can get'.

Afraid of my own shadow

Yes, sometimes I am timid.  I might hide behind an excuse to dodge a social occasion.  I don't ask the question that might make me look a little loony.  I cheer others but can't motivate for myself.*

I scurry off like a little mouse.

But recently, the mouse has begun to roar.  Well, certainly to squeak a little louder and bustle on her own behalf.  I've been detailing it all here so I won't go into it again, but when I was out for my morning run (week four, going well!) I realised that I am, in fact, still afraid of my own shadow.  Because as it loomed long before me, burned on to the pavement by the eight o'clock sun, I had a chilling realisation that matched the goosepimples that had risen on my arms as I pounded along the path under the tree cover -

MY BUM IS ENORMOUS!

Folks, maybe it was foreshortening, or a trick of the light, or my own skewed perspective but my tiny little football head on my rugby ball body was like a thimble on the moon.  I am now terrified of my shadow.  And determined to keep up the running.  And strangely (for me) motivated rather than downhearted.

Lots of crafty stuff on the way, most of it will be given away as gifts but I guess I can't post photos until it's all been received.  Which would mean I'd have to finish it, and post it.  I need to do some blanket stitch, button attaching, shrink plasticing, varnishing, assembling, some fastner removal and reattachment and some wire work and then photography, of course.  And as I also made up quite a few of those words, perhaps some work on my vocabulary too.



* a - bad hair day. There's a tall order social occasion looming so I'm having my hair done before it [another thing I dislike intensely but now's not the time to explain that one] so I'll look presentable. b - I really want to ask the local mounted police, who ride past here about six times a day, where the horses are stabled because I'm curious, but can't bring myself to do it in case they think I am up to no good.  Yeah, I look like such a crim. c - well I think most of us are good at that.  But participating in swaps has made me think that some of my creations are no worse than others, in some cases they're equally good, and of course there are lots of others who are infinitely more talented but that's ok too.

Words, words, words

I needed a laugh this morning and found this in my inbox.  Enjoy (as much as I did, which translates to honking with laughter over my Special K) x

Mensa asked its members to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. The 2005 winners are:

• Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
• Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
• Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
• Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
• Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
• Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
• Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
• Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
• Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
• Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
• Karmageddon: It's when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes and it's a serious bummer.
• Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
• Glibido: All talk and no action.
• Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
• Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
• Caterpallor (n.): The colour you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

Lost and found

Just lost a long post - ack, it was dull!  Here's what I've been up to, in pictures as much as in words. 

Is the hat supposed to have the pixiesque acorn top?  No.  I considered either sewing it in, or attaching pompoms to it.  Both options are still on the table. And both are unlikely, let's be honest.  I'm just happy I knit something-that-isn't-a-scarf.

Is this the same glove as before?  No, and yes there are two. Now, I'm not saying that they actually match (whoops, missed a couple of lines out of the pattern so one has eyelets and the other one doesn't!) but there may be some sort of embellishment on the way.  As someone pointed out yesterday at SNB, they are certainly unique now (even being distinct from each other) and I liked that perspective.

The pincushions are pressies and there are quite a few more WIPs at an advanced stage. Right now though I must reluctantly return to some work that pays some bills - or at least buys my ticket for the Knitting Show at Ally Pally.  So will get on with things, and hope to resume our regular schedule of programming soon x

Vice Versa - I want what you've got...

Some time ago, in a quaintly musty bookshop in Devon, I picked up this:

It's old school, proper dressmaking and teaches you about the components of tailoring (and should I ever feel the need to make my own lingerie, I am now fully theoretically equipped)  I put it aside for a while as I am crafting more than dressmaking at the moment though that is about to change. 

On the back it lists a companion volume called Dress Pattern Designing - The Basics of Principle and Fit and I thought 'Wow, I would love to get my hands on a copy of that...' I was reading through Caroline's lovely blog and lo and behold... on the 25th July she posted about having found the first volume and looking for the second!  Small small world, I guess...

* with a bit more research I've found that these books are still in print which is incredible.  I think they are on the fourth edition now...

Glovely stuff

Ah, after only a little solicitation of cyber-karma, two phone calls to Mother, and staying up to a ridiculously late hour, I have completed [the knitting part]{of one half of} my first Not-A-Scarf Knitting Project!  I wasn't sure what most of the instructions meant but I figured it out.  After a LOT of ripping.  I also didn't count the rows in the rib so well so I think it's longer than it should be, but that's ok as long as I match the next one.  The cast off is little tight, I will make it looser for the left mitt.  Just have to do the second one, sew them up, and put the ribbon through... but when I say that it makes it sound like a lot!  Today I have to complete a freelance job that's hanging over my head so that I can get back to knitting...

Inexplicably my feet were really cold last night when i was curled up on the sofa.  Then the mog came and placed her little paws on my iceblocks and warmed them up.  Awwwww. 

K2, P2, R2 or 3 rows

Thank god for the kindness of almost strangers - well, ok, not strangers exactly, it's not like I randomly approached people on the street asking for knitting advice.  I went to a knitting group in town yesterday, having legged it to John Lewis beforehand and splurged on some Louisa Harding yarn and her accessories book - and I'm making the garden mittens, to satisfy my urge for wristwarmers.  I was asking advice in John Lewis and said 'I'm a beginner, I'm making gloves' - meaning sleeveless gloves, gauntlets, and the woman's well-plucked eyebrows shot up into her hairline before she regained her JL composure, and I corrected myself.  I suppose that a novice knitter starting with gloves is the equivalent of a novice runner setting off on the marathon des sables. What delicious yarn, and patterns - ok, admittedly I had a bit of trouble following the directions (started off with the wrong sized needles etc) but everyone at the knitting group was friendly and helpful.  Particularly faced with silly questions, such as 'how do I go from K2 to P2?  Ok, I realise that it's not that difficult - but that's once someone has shown you how.  I also realised that some of my favourite bloggers were actually part of the group which was amazing, but I thought that perhaps it would be a little bit stalkerish to get too excited about that. Perhaps I'll confess my adoration later...

I then spent the rest of the day, pretty much, clicking and clacking.  And I still only have this to show for it?

I keep screwing it up because it emerges that I have the concentration span of an amnesiac mayfly.  I have knit about 20 rows and ripped about 432.  But  I'm really enjoying it, bizarrely enough.  Leslie, please send good knitting vibes, I need a little [lot] of your skill. I echo what Leslie said about knitting with beautiful yarn - it's like the first skirt I started to make, I never completed because I used cheap material and knew that I would never actually wear it.  But Louisa Harding's range is gorgeous - just look at what's going to be used for the trim...

It's gratifying to keep plugging away at it.  Not my usual style, at all, this perseverance lark, but I believe it just might be worth it.

Edit ** Bekka, thank you so much for the comment - I rang my mother in the end, (ah, bless mammies!) and realised that what I had done was incorrectly read (yo, K2tog, K1) 12 times as (yo, K2tog, k1) 1 time, (K2tog, K1) 11 times... which is why I only had 3 stitches left at the end!  Then I interpreted 'work three rows' wrongly as repeat the previous row three times and lo and behold, it grew exponentially for a while... but I may have the hang of it now.  Just not making any promises - and bizarrely, still enjoying it!