Op-Shop Perils.

I found this cone of lovely stuff at our local op-shop. The picture doesn't show it but the yarn has a silky sheen with a slight slub to the texture. Greedy little me grabbed it and headed for the counter to pay for it, believing it to be acrylic - just what I wanted for the base colour of the crocheted blanket I'm working on. Sure the yarn is very fine but that's OK, I can use 3 or 4 strands together to get the thickness I want. What a surprise when I got it home and did the flame test. It certainly isn't acrylic and definitely not wool as it burns too enthusiastically, although it does burn to an ash that simply disappears leaving no residue at all. When I wound off several skeins and washed them the smell was not that of washed wool and they shrank. Curiouser and curiouser. Could it be linen? Maybe viscose? Surely not silk, the quantity is huge, weighing well over a kilogram. The odd thing is it is cold to the touch and doesn't get very warm at all so I won't be using it for a baby's blanket, especially as it is very flammable. Further experiment showed that the knitted swatch I tried, with 3 thicknesses of yarn, washed without further shrinkage and the fabric is lovely and soft. So all is not lost, it looks as though I will be treating myself to something lacey for Summer. This is actually the first time I've tripped up over an op-shop purchase. I've had some lovely bargains in the past and am still hopelessly addicted. I'll just have to go back until I find the yarn that I need for my baby's blanket won't I?
Bye for now until next time.

Blogger's Block

What to say when there's nothing to say? I suppose I'm not the only one to suffer from it. You know those times when there's so much going on in your life, but nothing that would be of any interest to anyone else. It's been like that for us of late - lots doing - gripping stuff even, but only to we who are caught up in it. In short, the man of the house has been struggling with ill health for months and continuous trips to a confusing number of specialists have proven only frustratingly un-enlightening. At last we know, and it is mendable, entailing a short stay in hospital, probably only overnight. In a couple of weeks he will, hopefully, be his old self again. It has been a long, anxious time for us and I am very grateful for this new turn of events.
Another reason to be grateful is shown in the pictures here. We have a friend who parks his caravan on our block as he has no room on his own. A couple of nights back we had some really violent winds overnight, so much so that the man and I dragged our bedding into the lounge to sleep as we feared that the very large Ash tree outside our bedroom window might fall victim to the elements. It didn't but one of the old cypress trees that border our property did and here is the result: To quote Maxwell Smart, "Missed it by that much." Despite the rather frightening sight we found when went out to survey the results of the storm, the caravan had only the tiniest dent from a branch no thicker than my wrist.
Scarier for me was watching Greg, the tree removal man, clambering around to clean up the remaining branches. I couldn't help but think, "I'm glad that's not my bloke up there." But Greg likes to do it and he does it well. Thanks Greg.
Winter solstice has passed. Warmer days on the way. How lovely.
Bye for now until next time.

Messy Monday.

This uninspiring, un-beautiful mess is where I spent most of my day today. When all those pieces of wood are sorted they will become kits for pencil cases. We at the woodworker's club have a program that we call 'Kits for Kids'. We cut out kits for, not only pencil cases, but breakfast trays and small tool boxes. This year we are adding shopping-list boards and mug trees as well. We drill holes for the nails so that the wood won't split, then sell the kits for a nominal fee (we're a not-for-profit club) to local organisations such as schools, church children's groups and sometimes to groups for the active elderly in retirement homes etc.
When we get 150 kits together, we will be off to the local Special School where, with the assistance of the teachers, we help the children there to make up the kits. The children that attend this school are intellectually challenged to varying degrees but they are able to weild a bottle of glue and whack a nail with a hammer and love doing so. When the job is finished they have something they can take home and present to their parents with great pride.
For me, having a child come to me, hugging his work to his chest, smiling as he thanks me for helping him and announcing "You're my best friend." is the highlight of my day and always leaves me with a rosy feeling.
I always remember to take my ear plugs with me cos its a really noisy time.
Must go now. I hope yours was a nice week-end.
Bye for now until next time.

Temptation

That's it. I can't take any more. These balls of yarn have been sitting there, taunting me for a couple of weeks. A friend gave me some of them and, inspired by their rainbow hues, I added a couple more to complete the rainbow spectrum. I love the bright colours and have yielded to their beckoning - one rainbow blanket coming up. Yes, they're acrylic, but the blanket is destined for the local welfare centre and mothers who may not have the facilities to enable them to wash pure wool with the care it needs. I will knit it in the garter stitch patchwork that I enjoy so much. Being something that I have done often, I can take it to knit in the car on long drives. Then I can knit without thinking about it while I enjoy the scenery. I have also started some crocheted granny squares with the leftovers from my last blanket. I don't know whether to call them WIPs or UFOs; a little bit of both, I think.
I can't believe we're almost halfway through the year already, can you?
Must go now. I'm still messing about with that newsletter and I've got to get it out this week.
Bye for now until next time.

Old time sparkles.

With beading so popular today I thought you might like to see these necklaces from a craft article of 1928. This magazine is The Australian Woman's Mirror. from July 1928 and is interesting to compare with today's magazines. Apart from the lack of gossipy articles on who's sleeping with whom or pregnant to whomever else, the articles are pretty much the same as we have today. Lots of recipes, home hints, craft patterns and jokes, the instructions for making these two little necklaces are there too. That little one is a choker.
I really like beadwork, the blingier the better, with lots of sparkles etc. and have a shoe box of saved up beads waiting for me to turn them into something magnificent. Another one of those 'one-of-these-days' projects - sigh. Humans don't live for 200 years, that's my problem, because that's how long I'd need for all my 'one-of-these-days' projects.
Anyway, I have a newsletter to get out and here I am nattering on to you. Gotta go. Hope you are warmer than I am, it's freezing here today.
Bye for now until next time.

A beautiful secret.

I've been spending so much time with my lovely old books lately because my arthritic thumb has packed it in and I'm trying not to overwork the poor thing. It's nice to have an excuse to just look at a book and I thought you might like to see what I've found this time. The magazine that I've been reading is a copy of The Needlewoman, printed in 1922 and for sale at threepence quarterly.
This picture is that of a knitted tea cloth and according to the text with it, it was made "in secret by an old Irish lady using very fine sewing cotton. The old lady took a great pride in this piece of work, and would allow no one to watch her knitting it, having done the tea-cloth entirely in the privacy of her own room."
Can you imagine the time it must have taken? I haven't even tried to count the number of stitches she would have cast on, but there are 16 medalions knitted in a sort of feather stitch, joined together to make the large square with the borders added later. Of course there is no pattern for the cloth.
I am seriously impressed. I wonder what condition her thumbs were in, not to mention her eyesight, neck and shoulders.
Just for fun I found a reel of sewing cotton which is about as thick as a number 80 crochet thread, and tried a few stitches and I've gotta tell you the old lady will have no competition from me. About a number 20 is my limit.
If you click on the picture you might be able to get a closer look at the work in the cloth.
Must go now. I hope you will have a happy weekend. Bye for now until next time.

Just wondering

Somewhere around the beginning of the last century we women escaped the tyranny of the corset and slipped into something a little more comfortable. I can't help wondering, when I look at these picture from one of my ancient magazines, just what on earth did we do with our waists.
Somewhere in the 1950s & 60s we found them again and started squashing them up into the tightest belts we could bear, even getting back into corsets again for a few insane years.
Oh, vanity thy name is Woman. Why do we do these things to ourselves?
I wonder if these fashions would look the same on us if we wore them today? The scarf wrap is not unlike some of the patterns I've seen in todays knitting books and would probably be very comfy to wear.
The patterns are here in the magazine but just listen to the list of materials required: For the dress, 5 large hanks "Anchor" Velveno, 4 balls "Anchor" Stranded Cotton, Knitting Pins, No.7. Knitting Needles, No. 12.
The scarf wrap uses the same yarns but in smaller quantities.
It was a different world back then. I can't even imagine what those yarns were. And what was the difference between knitting needles and pins?
Signing off in confusion and wishing you all a blissful weekend.
Bye for now until next time.