Afternoon Tea

Growing up in the country in the 1950’s, one of the daily events was afternoon tea. This consisted of several cups of hot, strong tea and was accompanied by one of my Mother’s delicious cakes or square cracker biscuits (‘Simply Serve with Saos’) topped with a large slice of a home grown tomato. It was also an opportunity for a break from work and a pause in the day for the family members. In those days, the very same teapot that appears in the photo, wore a tea cosy made by my Nana who was an experienced knitter and expert at making very fine Irish crochet. Her tea cosies were usually multi-coloured and probably knitted from leftover wool as life had taught her to be frugal. So this is my ‘Afternoon Tea Cosy’ with homemade fruitcake, made with memories of a very happy childhood. Join me for a cuppa?

The Royal Souvenir teacup from 1902 of Edward VII (Queen Victoria’s son), that was given to me years ago, is very unusual as when it is held up to the light it reveals a portrait of the King. The ceramic has been moulded inside in such a way in various thicknesses, that it forms the portrait. Amazing!

Mystery Knitted Object ...Revealed

It's a ...

Rosie Posy Tea Cosy

Variations:  As tea can be strongly staining when spilt, I used a darker wool for the body of the cosy rather than pastels, and also kept all the roses the same colour as I think this is a more elegant combination.

Mystery Knitted Object 3

What on earth could these be? Still have to make at least another four to complete the project. The blue/green tube is now folded in half and sewn together.

Here is a clue on how they will look... Hope this all turns out okay...I'm sure someone knows what this is by now...

Mystery Knitted Object 2

The mystery object has now become a tube but it's not a hat, a scarf or a cowl and it will be folded in half to complete. I think this probably gives the game away... The burgundy wool will be added next.

Mystery Knitted Object

Any ideas on what this is? 

 Can you guess what I am making here? It is a bit frivolous but should also be useful. Watch this space for further developments and all will be revealed...

Living in a cloud

 

For the past few days we have been staying at our weekender in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, enclosed by the mist, so we stoked up the fire and enjoyed the peace and quiet of mountain living. The ferns were almost luminous in the mist and the King Parrots soon arrived for their handout of sunflower seeds. The red parrots are males and the predominantly green parrots are females and immature males. They tend to move in large groups so there is a definite pecking order when it comes to feeding. I counted over 20 in this flock and you can see some waiting in the trees in the second photo.The much smaller Crimson Rosellas, who are predominantly red and blue, have to wait until the others depart. They are delightful little birds, and my favourites, and make a chattering noise to one another while they are feeding. 

This is not TV knitting!

Yes I’ve made a few mistakes and pulled out a few rows, but the Eriskay homespun jumper is growing slowly. Each row is different and within each row there are five different patterns that all have a different repeat length, so easy to make a few errors. However because this wool still retains some of its natural lanolin, at least the stitches keep their shape when a row is pulled down...a small mercy. The patterns are probably not as defined as they would be with more regular wool but the jumper looks very authentic in homespun so I’m pleased with the result. The zigzag symbolises the waves, the diagonal lines are marriage lines, and the diamond pattern is ‘the heart in the home’.

Autumn Mt Wilson

Mount Wilson is a small community in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney that consists of many historic homes and outstanding cultivated gardens. As the Australian bush is evergreen, the autumn foliage of the Mount Wilson gardens is very dramatic and colourful by comparison, and a delight for artists. This is one of my watercolours from Mount Wilson.

Adding some colour to the day

A friend recently asked me if I still did any silk painting and I had to say that I haven't done any for a while. Here are some silk waratahs and poppies painted some time ago. Silk is a lovely fibre to work with and this is just an extension of painting with transparent watercolours on paper as the techniques are similar, but using fabric dyes instead of water pigments. But the finished silk painting has to be steamed to set the dyes so is more complicated than watercolours.

Eriskay knitting

For those old enough to remember The Seekers, you might also remember Judy Durham singing the beautiful Eriskay Love Lilt, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzxdgsSCth4, a traditional song from the islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Eriskay is also famous for the unique knitting patterns developed for the fishermen’s ganseys or jumpers. Using simple diamond, chevron and herringbone patterns based on knit and purl combinations, repeating patterns become symbols of Marriage Lines, Tree of Life, Starfish, Heart in the Home and Fishing Nets.  These patterns are knitted into the jumper in a particular format that creates a unique garment. 

As I haven’t been able to find any knitting patterns from the Isle of Mull (the home of my ancestors) but as it forms part of the Inner Hebrides, I decided to use the Eriskay patterns to knit myself a jumper using my homespun wool. I think my g.grandfather, who was a lobster fisherman and a farmer on Mull, would have approved.

Here's another version of the Eriskay Love Lilt by the Corries, with superb photos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Oh4mWtZxXU

A Celtic design

Just finished a Celtic knot design scarf for Mum and painted a red rose card as well

New slippers for little Emilia

Makeover

Don't have problems with other knitting but I'm usually not satisfied with items that I make for myself. Made this jacket from wool from a quality Merino fleece that I spun some years ago but although it was soft and very warm, I wasn't pleased with the fit. So yesterday decided to pull it down and start again with something else. The skeins washed well and are like new again. Homespun wool from a good Merino fleece is a real delight.