So we`re back in England...well we`ve been back a week now...
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| The T Station at West Bay |
and as I had brought some quilting with me I thought I would do some today - now that things had settled down. However, my mum`s machine had other plans. The handwheel felt stiff and it made a high pitched scream of pain when used. We knew these were not good signs. Admitted to triage, we oiled it, we took the bobbin shaft out and oiled that. We brushed for lint under the plate. Nothing. So we did what we should have done at the beginning and phoned the machine repairer. There was an audible intake of breath as I explained the symptoms over the phone. His diagnosis? The shaft had slipped. We were not to continue using it under any circumstances. It was a job for `the mechanics` and would have to be admitted for a few days. We winced.
So I did what I always do when I receive disappointing news and went shopping...on the internet.
I can`t knit. However, undeterred by this fact and inspired by
The Gentle Art of Knitting by Jane Brocket (which is unsurprisingly fabulous), I had a fancy to make this beautiful cable stitch blanket...
but when I discovered it needs fourteen skeins of wool at £10 each and I can`t actually cast on, it was just a little too much retail therapy for a Tuesday evening. Undeterred, I ordered these funky needles from
Loop...
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| KnitPro Symfonie 25cm Straight Wooden Needles |
and a couple of skeins of this...
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| Blue Sky Alpaca Melange in Relish |
...so that I can attempt to make this (suitable for beginners)...
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| Jane Brocket`s slouchy hat from The Gentle Art of Knitting |
Clearly such an idea is ridiculously ridiculous. It`s May. I live in a hot climate. I can`t knit. I`ll let you know how I get on. For those of you in the knitting know, and you know who you are - stand by. I may need your help!
but when I discovered it needs fourteen skeins of wool at £10 each and I can`t actually cast on, it was just a little too much retail therapy for a Tuesday evening. Undeterred, I ordered these funky needles from Loop...
I can't knit but I sure do admire your optimism!
ReplyDeletegood luck with the hat.....maybe you can tackle that throw in a smaller and more affordable cushion version when you're more confident.....
ReplyDeleteoh, my! I just wrote to Helen in Switzerland and told her I want to learn to knit more than a scarf. I actually made a blanket similar to that one when we were first married out of fisherman's wool, but to get something to scale and something that would actually fit...I can't do that.
ReplyDeleteThose needles are so pretty and I love the hat. Keep us posted.
The blanket is lovely. I can't knit either but would really, really like to learn!
ReplyDeleteI gasped when I saw the blanket - such ambition! If you manage the hat, as someone who says she can't knit, I'll take mine off to you!
ReplyDelete