A little bit sad

I've been feeling a little bit sad today, couldn't work out why, then realised that today would have been Amy's 27th birthday. I hadn't forgotten her birthday, it just took a while for my feeling of sadness and this fact to match up - not that I'm ever slow on the uptake or anything! Still miss you Amy, hope they have good birthday parties with Jesus.

Trying to keep the old pecker up and all that, but tired from my weekend, in spite of its peacefulness. Sometimes it really sucks having a condition that makes even a phone call tiring.

Back to blanket edging now, that's more fun than the blanket itself.

Peaceful weekends

This weekend has been lovely, peaceful, quiet, social, but not in an overwhelming way. Yesterday I spent the morning watching Time Team on More4 and knitting; they make a good combination and enable me to engage with history (my main academic love) in a way that my brain can cope with. I also like the programme's good humour, lightheartedness and the willingness of the archaeologists to enjoy a joke.

In the afternoon, after posting a birthday present to a dear friend, I went to knitting group in central Croydon. We meet on the first Saturday of the month in Cafe Nero in the Allders end of George St, near the George St tram stop and opposite 'The George' pub, from 2.30. Yesterday afternoon's meeting was lovely, sociable and relaxed and the combination of air conditioning and iced drinks made a welcome relief to the sheer heat of recent days. If anyone reading this lives in/near Croydon and feels like joining us you would be welcome, we also meet on the third Thursday of the month from 6pm, generally in Cafe Aroma in High St. Although we're called "Croydon knitting group" other portable crafts are very welcome, we have done knitting, crochet, spinning, tatting and cross stitch at meetings between us so far. Naturally some crafts are always going to be more difficult to do out and about - bit hard to heave a pottery wheel down to a coffee shop! If you want more information feel free to email croydonknittinggroup@googlemail.com

Today I haven't done anything in particular, listened to Gardener's Question Time on BBC Radio 4 and then to the Classic Serial - P.G. Wodehouse is perfect for a Sunday afternoon, particularly when it stars Martin Jarvis and Patricia Hodge. As ever with Wodehouse I struggled a little to keep up with who all everyone was, particularly among the younger set; I tend to find it works best simply to listen/read on and go with the flow of the story, it's just as enjoyable as understanding what exactly is going on and infinitely less mentally taxing! The only pity about Wodehouse dramatised is that one misses out on the sheer creativity and wit of his prose in his descriptions of people, places and what have you.

Alas despite all this I still haven't managed to finish knitting this blanket for SANDS, I'm not far off, just need to persist. I have garter stitch fatigue! So I'll get on with knitting it while hoping it starts to rain before plant watering time! (There are some promising clouds up there... anyone know a rain dance?!)

New skills

Of late I have been expanding my skills base, branching into sewing and crochet. It is important at this point to say that knitting will always be my first love and my main craft, but it is nice to be able to learn new skills and expand the range of creative possibilities, particularly as these three crafts compliment one another well.

This week I completed my first sewing project (beyond my practice straight lines!) and made a draw-string bag. The fabric is "Lucy's farm" in Liberty Tana Lawn and is utterly utterly gorgeous, so much lovely detail and a good balance between real style and good fun. Even better, I got it on sale! The lining is simply some very plain pale blue poly-cotton from our local department store's haberdashery department. It has wobbles in places, but overall I'm very pleased with it.

Knitting Survey

Stitchlinks and Cardiff University have a new survey up about knitting and how it impacts on your life - click here Stitchlinks are doing interesting work around knitting and its impact on pain management and chronic illness.

Super duper stripey socks

So... I had two different single balls of sock yarn and couldn't find a striped sock pattern that suited me so I came up with my own with the help of some of the technical information from Cookie.a's brilliant book Sock Innovation (to be particular the tables of numbers needed for heel turning). The alternately coloured heels, toes and cuffs appealed to my inner anarchist and I enjoyed the single row stripes that can be done when knitting in the round. I made these a while ago but hadn't got around to writing up the pattern. Hope it's clear, do get in touch if anything doesn't make sense.
Regia Uni 4ply one ball blue (Colour A), one ball green (Colour B)
Any other 4ply sock yarn in contrasting colours would work.
2.75mm needles
To fit UK size 7 (European 41)

8sts to the inch

First sock:
CO 60 sts, K2 P2 rib for 1 inch in Colour A

Knit one round in Colour A , then one in Colour B, continue in stockinette stitch striping in this manner, always picking up the new colour strand from under the old one at the end of each round/stripe (jogless stripe). Continue until leg is 6inches long or desired length ending with a stripe in the same colour as the cuff/heel/toe. Turn and purl across 30 stitches, leave the other 30 stitches on their needles or a stitch holder as preferred (these will become the instep stitches).

Heel flap:Using the stitches just purled work heel flap as follows:
Row 1: *Slip 1 purlwise, K1*, repeat across the row
Row 2: Slip 1 purlwise, P to the end of the row
Repeat these two rows 14 times (30 rows worked total)

Turn heel:
Row 1: (RS) S1, K16, SSK, K1, turn
Row 2: (WS) S1, P5, P2tog, P1, turn
Row 3: S1, K6, SSK, K1, turn
Row 4: S1, P7, P2tog, P1 turn
Repeat these last two rows, working until the last stitch before the gap each time, until there are no more stitches to be worked
Turn and knit across the heel stitches

Gussets:
Pick up and knit 18 stitches along the side of the heel flap (approximately one per row plus one or two more in the gaps between the needles and the flap, don't worry about being too exact as numbers can always be evened up during the gusset decreases). You may wish to knit the stitches through the back loop. Knit across the instep stitches then pick up and knit 18 stitches along the other side of the heel flap.

At this point rearrange 9 of the heel stitches from the first needle to the last one. There should be 27 stitches on the first needle, 30 instep stitches on the second needle¹ and 27 heel stitches on the last needle. The start of the new round would usually be between the two needles of heel stitches.

However, due to the 'seam' formed when changing colours in the striping, which would be uncomfortable to have underfoot, the round is going to start at the beginning of the instep stitches. Therefore, when the stitches have been arranged on the needles knit across the remainder of the heel stitches in the colour you used for the heel. Add in the next colour for the new round and proceed as follows, changing colour each round as before and beginning the round at the beginning of the instep stitches.

Round 1: Ndl 1¹ K, Ndl 2 K1, SSK, K to end of Ndl, Ndl 3 K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1

Round 2: Knit all stitches

Repeat these rounds until there are 15 stitches left on each of needles 2 and 3

Continue knitting foot until it is 1.5inches shorter than the length of your foot. I am a UK size 7 and my foot is 10inches long, if that helps to give guidance. End with a round of the contrast colour, cut that thread and continue in the colour used for the ribbing and heel.

Toe
Round 1: knit
Round 2: (keeping the needle numbering used for the heel gussets) Ndl 1 K1, SSK, K to last 3 stitches, K2tog, K1; Ndl 2 K1 SSK, K to end of Ndl, Ndl 3 K to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1

Repeat these two rounds until 32 stitches remain. Repeat Round 2 twice more (24 stitches remain), slip stitches from needle 3 onto needle 2, graft remaining stitches together. Sew in ends. Try on finished sock. Immediately start on sock 2 to prevent the onset of “second sock syndrome”.

Second Sock
Begin with Colour B and use that for the cuff, heel and toe, with stripes in between as in the other sock.

1 or fifteen stitches on each of two needles, as you prefer

2If instep stitches are split over two needles renumber needles two and three accordingly

Hannah's baby hat

My friend Hannah was looking for a pattern for a baby hat knit flat on two needles the other night and even with the wonders of Ravelry neither of us could find anything suitable: a clear pattern that would be easy for a beginner knitter. So I decided to try my hand at writing one. Here it is - please get in touch if you have any questions or if anything isn't clear - be patient with me, it is my first finished written up pattern. There will be proper photos of the finished article tomorrow, as I finished knitting up the prototype quite late tonight, after the decent light had gone.
Baby hat knit flat

To fit c.3 months (c.15 inch circumference, unstretched; stretches bigger)
c.60m Patons Fairytale Colour 4 Me or any other DK (double knitting) yarn
4mm needles (or size needed for gauge)
tapestry needle

Gauge: (check before you start) 22sts to 4inches/10cm

Cast on 84 stitches and work 2 inches in K2P2 rib
Then work in stockinette stitch (knit one row, purl one row) until piece measures 5 ½ inches ending with a purl row (WS) from cast on edge.
*K2tog K5* to end of row (72 stitches)
Purl 1 row
*K2tog K4* to end of row (60 stitches)
Purl 1 row
*K2tog K3* to end of row (48 stitches)
Purl 1 row
*K2tog K2* to end of row (36 stitches)
Purl 1 row
*K2tog K1* to end of row (24 stitches)
Purl 1 row
*K2tog* to end of row (12 stitches)
Cut yarn off leaving a long tail to sew up the seam. Thread needle, weave through remaining stitches, pull tight and then sew the seam using mattress stitch. (Good tutorial here)

I would like to acknowledge the help that the baby size charts at Bev's Country Cottage gave me in putting together this pattern, thank you.

Julie and Julia

Or is it Julia and Julie... regardless of which it is, I definitely recommend this film. I watched it last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. It has made me wish I had more energy to cook, but we can't have everything and I did discover that we owned a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Our copy is a slightly tatty Penguin copy from about 1963 that belonged originally to my dad and that has been sitting unobtrusively on our bookshelves for years without me taking any notice of it. I'm glad that I have because it does seem to contain some rather splendid recipes, though I regret to announce that I am not currently harbouring any plans to cook everything in it as in the film. Were I to try such a challenge with a French cookbook I think I would try Joanne Harris' The French Kitchen (would I be allowed off the fish section? I've tried to like fish and just can't). The pictures alone of this book are a delight and the recipes are clear and work well as many delicious dinners will attest. As she is married to a vegetarian there are an usual number of meat free recipes too; unusual in French cuisine.

Another book I would consider trying all the recipes from would be Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery, a book previously mentioned on this blog. For now my next culinary experiment could well be a foray into 'water ices', otherwise referred to as 'sorbet' or 'granita', probably using the recipe in Elizabeth David's Italian Food. She makes the whole process sound so easy as to inspire confidence and the weather has been delightfully warm this week, which is an added incentive. Modern freezers make water ices a far easier proposition than in the days of Mrs Rundell, Mrs Beeton or Hannah Glasse, when a barrel of ice with several handfuls of salt added was necessary, though I would be interested to try Mrs Rundell's recipe for brown bread ice cream.

I'm increasingly interested in old cook books, a love that started when I first found my parents facsimile edition of Mrs Beeton and now I own a small collection of old books of recipes and household management, including one from 1936 and a the Persephone books reprint of Mrs Rundell's cookbook (first published 1806). Although I am yet to get my hands on a copy of any of Eliza Acton's books or of those of Hannah Glasse's 18th Century cook books and I'm sure there are many others out there. Interestingly Hannah Glasse's 1747 work implores readers not to overcook vegetables - apparently the cry of cookery writers across the centuries.

Accordingly I read the extract of Bill Bryson's new book Home that appeared in the Guardian newspaper a couple of weeks ago with considerable interest. And thanks to my slightly odd interest in old cook books I did discover one discrepancy. He asserts that,

"...in 1845, a poet in Kent named Eliza Acton wrote Modern Cookery For Private Families. It was the first book to give exact measurements and cooking times..."

However, both Mrs Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery (1806) and Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747), predating Eliza Acton's work, use weights and measures and give times for cooking things. True they do not use them universally through their cook books; but where it matters, such as in baking bread or cakes, they give more exactly quantities, than in say making a soup or stew, where it matters less. Mrs Rundell's work is a little more practical for modern life than Hannah Glasse's, which stipulates such items as "new milk hot from the cow". However, I would not wish to make a cake from either, since the icing requires whisking for three hours - all I can say is that they must have had stronger arms than I do!