Beaker Button Blog

We went to Unravel this Sunday and had such a good time I thought I'd write about it this week.  I save all year for Unravel.  I put £1 in my money box every time I take over £100 in the shop.  That way I have stash growing funds without having to feel guilty.  I went with Kay and met up with Mum, Debbie, Mandy and her friend.  Kay and I spent the day together, meeting up with the others for lunch and a well earned hot chocolate in the afternoon.  Our first sweep revealed some gorgeous yarns, beautiful fibres and an intriguing rug hooking kit.  Both Kay and I decided not to spend on the first run round. Sunday is a nice day to go as it's not so busy.  I had time to talk to the very nice people who supply Beaker Button with Soak (the perfect stuff for washing your hand knits, delicates, holiday clothes, Dorset button jewellery, blocking.... the list is endless), and I now have a bottle of Flatter to try. Flatter is for spray blocking (if you have...

This is just a quickie, with photos from  the Fair Isle top I'm making.  I've completed the second pattern repeat, and I've worked out how to fix mistakes without unpicking.  You simply drop the stitch in the wrong colour and pick it up from the float at the back in the right colour.  I'm quite proud of myself for figuring that out (although it probably says it in my book if I'd looked).  Still, it' getting there.  I have about 30 more lines to do and then I'm onto the bit that will be cut later.  That's a whole new skill to learn.  I've been weaving in the tails as I go as well, so I don't have too much of a job later.  The book says that some Fair Isle jumpers are left with the tails loose and they felt in as they're worn and washed, but I'm finding it helps to close the hole caused by changing the colour.  I'm pretty sure I'm doing something wrong though, because the tension is wobbly at the side where the round begins. ...

As you can probably guess from the title of this post, I finished the rib on the Fair Isle top.  I'm very pleased with the way it's turning out.  I've got used to having the wool over two fingers, and making sure one always goes over the top of the other.  It looks very neat if I do say so myself. pretty rib first line of pattern I knitted my first row of pattern, while watching Con Air (I'd forgotten how dreadful a film it was).  I got to the end of the row and had four too many stitches, which puzzled me for a moment.  I shrugged philosophically and knitted them together so I had the right amount of stitches, then I carried on with my second row.  And then half way round the row I noticed my first mistake, inevitably.  I'm blaming the film for the lack of concentration.  Normally I would just drop the stitches down and pick them back up and fix the mistake.  Of course I didn't know how to do that in Fair Isle so I duti...

I have just had the most amazing experience with Alex.  He has proved himself a dab hand at blending a batt.  He has the most extraordinary eye for colour, as you can see from the blended and spun wool below.  I wish I'd taken a photo of his batt before I began spinning it.  The yarn round my neck has just been spun.  I have since set it with hot water and hung it to dry.  I wanted to spin a single, partly because the finished article is to be felted and partly to see what happens to knitted singles. I started knitting the ball after dinner and had worked several rows.  As it was his batt I offered to show Alex how to knit it.  He sat down, watched me twice, let me guide him twice, then made his first stitch.  He ran from the room to tell his Dad he'd knitted his first stitch, then cam back for more.  The second stitch he pulled the right hand needle out.  After that he got it, more or less perfectly.  I'm am gob...