Theft at the Knitting and Stitching Show November 8, 2009

Today I heard a sad tale.  Earlier this month, one of the stand holders at the Dublin Knitting and Stitching Show had her handbag stolen at the end of the Show.  I understand the theft happened  as we were all scrambling to dismantle our stands and get things out to our vehicles.  Of course the theft was annoying and inconvenient and it resulted in the loss not only of cash but also of credit cards, passport etc.    It is particularly sad as not only were personal items stolen but also money that the person had been raising for Breast Cancer.    Oh dear.  We all know we have to be careful at these shows and exhibitions and this serves as an extra alert to be ever vigilant and to take care.  There are some pretty unscrupulous people amongst us.

  Knitting with the big needles made from drain pipes – this was the project where the fund raising was taking place

  View of a rug knit on the drain pipe needles – the knitting materials are approx. 3″ wide waste strips   (I would have loved to source these waste strips to make a braided rug.) 

   Balcony view of the Knitting and Stitching Show.

  Display of the Irish Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers at the Knitting and Stitching Show – far from the scene of the theft

Farewell to my Glimakra Loom November 6, 2009

My first loom was a Spears rigid heddle loom which I purchased in a local toy shop in 1975.   We were being posted to Fiji and I wanted to learn to weave.  During our previous posting in St. Lucia in the Caribbean I had wanted to weave but couldn’t figure out how to go about it.

So I included this small rigid heddle loom in our shipment to Fiji and eventually got going after we got settled in Suva, the capital of Fiji.  Soon I wanted a bigger loom and ordered a table loom from New Zealand.  That wasn’t enough so I ordered a bigger floor loom, a Squirrel loom.  On that loom I wove my first rugs.  We brought the Squirrel loom back to Dublin but there was not a suitable space for it in our house.  Off we went to Bangladesh and my husband Ian built a very sturdy loom for me.  It was made of Chittagong teak and it was a splendid loom.  Too heavy to bring back to Dublin however. 

So when we were settled back in Dublin in 1983 I decided to order a Glimakra 10 shaft loom from Sweden.  And it is that loom which has served me well for over 25 years.  It has just gone out the door.  Alas.  But I’m not really sorry.  With the passing years, it is now too big and heavy and I no longer want to crawl around underneath it.  And also, I found that I was weaving on only 2 or 4 shafts – I had no need for the 10 shafts.  When I get to Seattle I want to replace that loom with a smaller but equally sturdy loom, on which I can resume my path of weaving rugs.

 

 

   At my Glimakra loom in 2004

  My Glimakra loom, well wrapped in 20 parcels, on its way to its new home in Limerick

 

Now for a word or 2 about spinning wheels.  My Ashford spinning wheel, imported from New Zealand in 1976 when we were in Fiji.  I have not used the spinning wheel as much as my various looms.  However, I have a certain affection for it, given its provenance.  It too is soon to leave us, but it has already been replaced by a Louet wheel, a nice reminder of my friends in Dublin and the Netherlands.   I am looking forward to getting to know it.

  Ashford spinning wheel from New Zealand

 

  the Louet wheel being used at the Dublin Knitting & Stitching Show

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building a Musical Instrument November 5, 2009

Here is a link to a recent news item from William & Mary College in Williamsburg Virginia.  A student took on the challenge of building a contrabass recorder.

  a family of recorders – the contrabass is to the right

  On the right, Evan Callaway and his Contrabass Recorder

  my bass recorder – seems rather large but nothing compared with the contrabass

  the alto (treble) recorder is smaller again

The Millenium Trilogy November 5, 2009

In this week’s Economist magazine there is a very good review of The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.   I read the first book in the trilogy some time ago.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. 

Then I was keen to read the 2nd book.  The Girl Who Played with Fire. 

 

 I could hardly wait for the 3rd and concluding volume.  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. 

 

I had to wait about 6 months but it finally appeared on October 1st.  It was in the bookshop at Dublin Airport after I checked in for my flight to Boston.  It was one of those airport editions – very big and heavy and awkward to hold or carry.  I couldn’t resist even though I already had enough reading material already with me.  Never mind.  I succumbed and read the first bit on my flight.  I didn’t get very far and I was so busy during my week in New England that I didn’t have time to get any further.  I put it aside, put it in my suitcase, and waited for a more suitable stretch of time.  That finally happened a week or so ago and I was gripped.  A wonderful book.  And a wonderful trilogy.  But do try to read them when you have a stretch of time and won’t be interrupted.

 

THE HAT COLLECTION November 4, 2009

  my collection of handknit hats

At Kilternan Market last Saturday a friend inquired whether I had any more hats in addition to the 5 I had on display at the Market.  I told her I had a few at home and we agreed that I would bring them in to the Knitting and Stitching Show to let her see them.  When I got home and looked at my collection I realized that I had more than a few – 32 to be exact.  That’s a lot of knitting.  These new self-striping yarns are so addictive!

I’m happy to report that I am now minus 3 of the hats in the collection thanks to purchases by my friend and a friend of my friend.

16 Year Old Weaver Arrested October 29, 2009

This morning, reading about the Suffragettes , I found the following information:

In March 1907, a 16-year-old Huddersfield weaver named Dora Thewlis was arrested.  The sensational photograph of the arrest was later turned into a picture postcard – wouldn’t this be a nice one for my collection.     

And I like the cover picture from a 1974 issue of The Radio Times of 3 of the Suffragettes in later life.

And here’s another old postcard that I read about today.

  This is from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.  Written in 1922.  And the accompanying blurb is to be found here.

Getting Ready for the Knitting and Stitching Show October 27, 2009

This is a busy week as we get ready for the Knitting & Stitching Show.  Setting up day is Wednesday October 28 and then the show is open to the public from Thursday the 29th to Sunday November 1st.  I’ll be on duty at one of the stands – up on the balcony at the stand of the Irish Guild of Weavers Spinners & Dyers.   This year the emphasis at our stand will be on spinning.  At the show there is a chance to do a lot of shopping.  Last night I decided to assess my current stash of knitting yarn.  Here is the result.

  Current stock of knitting yarn, October 2009

The above picture should remind me not to buy any more yarn.  Watch this space.

Where Has All The Knitting Gone? October 24, 2009

Regular readers of this blog might be wondering if I am still knitting, what with all my rambling on other topics.  Don’t despair – I’m still knitting – knitting on trains, planes, cars – knitting while watching tv, knitting in between uploading photos (thanks to a slow computer), knitting while reading, etc.  I’ve had a change from doing hats and have been working on a couple of larger than usual projects. 

The brown short sleeve sweater I was working on a while ago has morphed into a tank top and as soon as I’ve sewn the ends, it will make its appearance.

When I was in Connecticut I bought a pattern for a child’s skirt.  I knit round and round and round on that, and now it is waiting for the final sewing of the loose ends.  Soon to appear.  The skirt will match this hat, knit with Noro yarn and Icelandic Lodband.

 

 

And just to have some plain knitting on the go, I am working on another tank top – this one in a nice solid green.  Maybe one-third done.

Usually I find time to knit on Saturday morning at Kilternan Market, but this morning I was so busy that I didn’t have a chance.  Sales in the craft section were brisk.  Hooray.  Of course, being adjacent to the vegetables, we get a chance to sell a few of those too.  I am happy to report that a pair of my handknit socks and one of my notecards were among the sales.  As my woodturner friend at the Market said, it’s these little sales that keep us going.

 

    Socks knit from stash yarn

 

  My stash of knitting yarn, March 2008

 

 

The stash is considerably reduced from when this photo was taken – I’ll change that to considerably altered – I’ve probably added as much yarn as I’ve used up.  But when I sell something at the Market, e.g. socks, then I immediately want to knit more of that particular item, in different colours of course.  You can probably read between the lines and conclude that all those hats I knit recently have yet to find heads to rest on.

Getting ready for the gig October 23, 2009

 Poster for Florence Joelle, found on the Shoreditch Sisters Women’s Institute blog.  I found this blog by reading Lesley’s blog about raising sheep and goats.  Only that particular blog entry was about the age profile of the Association of Guilds of Weavers Spinners and Dyers, compared with organisations which are more attractive to up-and-coming younger designers and craftspeople.

Anyhow, to fit in with my guitar lessons, I used this picture as my model for sketching today in my sketching group.  Here are my efforts, in sequence:

    Florence Joelle 1

 

  Florence Joelle 2

 

  Florence Joelle 3

The Provenance of a Violin October 22, 2009

A couple of days ago, having coming to the last episode of the Lewis detective dvd’s,

  Lewis, Series One, Two, and Three -   remember Inspector Morse?

 

 I searched and searched for another series to watch.  I finally came up with a film called The Red Violin.

  The Red Violin, directed by Francois Girard, with Samuel L. Jackson, Greta Scacchi, Jason Fleming.  A very good film about the makers and owners of a rare old violin.

And quite by coincidence I found a book on my shelf of  ”unreads” called The Tender Wire.

   The Tender Wire by Claire Kilroy – a very interesting novel about an Irish violinist living and working in New York.  She goes on a quest for a rare violin of dubious provenance.

I recommend all of the above.

p.s. on the same theme, I have been reading today about the theft of an old recorder in August and now it’s appearance for sale on e-bay.  Interesting!