The English Armchair Abroad

Residential Upholstery Courses at The English Armchair Abroad

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Christina by Kim Hargreaves

When I was last in London I visited Peter Jones and came away (can't imagine how) with some Rowan Cotton Glace.  It's a lovely green and off I went to start Christina by Kim Hargreaves in her Whisper book.  Her patterns are always well written and this is no exception.

Christina by Kim Hargreaves

However, if I make this again I will definitely knit it in the round and in fact I did do the arms that way.  In the end I decided to join the side seams as I went and this worked well as all the stitch changes gave me a guideline.  The only change I made (apart from the joining) was an extra inch at the bottom.  To align the sleeve pattern with the body I then had to add an inch to the sleeves as well but they are three quarter length normally so this was no problem.

It's one of those little irritations that I was busy making this during the March heatwave and now it's finished I've taken out all my winter woollies to survive the cold weather.  However, I am sure that summer is just around the corner (summer - are you listening) because although we need the rain badly we don't really need the cold.

I'm off to find my galoshes and sou'wester.  The bees, poor things, are suffering as the rain is keeping them off the Oil Seed Rape - normally a major source of spring food.  The dogs have stopped begging us to take them for a walk.  The goat is bedraggled and the chickens look half drowned.   But the garden is loving the rain.

Forbidden knitting

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a girl in possession of a pair of needles and beautiful yarn must be in need of a pattern.  Especially if she is off for a couple of days holiday, generously given to her and her husband by friends - about which, more later.

Brantome - the sun didn't shine but occasionally we glimpsed blue sky

And so it was that a couple of weeks ago I bought a lovely shawl from Goddess Knits, dyed some wool black, ignored the fact that it came out grey, and started knitting something that I knew would take me ages. 

A week later, and long before the above mentioned holiday, it was very nearly finished.  This is something I am not familiar with - shawls always take ages don't they?

In desperation I put into my knitting basket a cardigan which needed sewing up, a vest thing that needed the neck re-doing and, of course, the shawl - and by this time there were only four more rows before cast off.  You can imagine that I was not amused when my husband told me that the holiday was to be a knit free zone.  This really was crisis.  I mean, not only had I nearly finished the shawl but I'd also nearly finished Jane Austen's Persuasion and didn't have any other holiday reading loaded onto my kindle - oh my life is so complicated!!  (Spoilt?  Moi?)

He doesn't look like the leader of the anti knit brigade does he?

Well, obviously, I did manage to sneak the basket into the car when he wasn't looking, craftily disguising it as an overcoat.  I think he guessed although he was kind enough (or resigned enough) not to say anything.  And obviously I didn't knit, much, and only when he was snoring and I was wide awake.  Not unreasonable I thought.  Those four rows were finished super fast and I decided, in the interest of using up spare knitting time, to add an edging.

It's only when I blocked it that I saw the clever linking of the designs in this shawl.  It is a lovely pattern.  I used a gorgeous mix of alpaca/cashmere/silk and the shawl is Annabelle by Renee Leverington.

Oh, and I finished the lovely Persuasion.  I highly recommend it but if you are a Jane Austen fan you'll have read it six times already.

Weaving Wednesdays

Or any day for that matter.  But this is a wonderful huck lace shawl.  Made using a hand dyed mix of alpaca/cashmere/silk it has a way of floating on your shoulders so that you barely notice it.  Light and feathery but warm as well.  Perfect for spring and summer evenings.  It's in the shop so feel free to take a look.

This was taken in a hurry soon after it came off the loom.  I love the way the colours blend into each other and although I'm not a "pastel" person the silk gives them a lustre which is lovely.  

 

You can see in the detail below the windows from the huck design.  It was great fun watching these appear.  I'll do more of these as they really are luxurious and lovely.

Dining Chairs finished

I spent yesterday and today in the workroom with a friend finishing her dining chairs.  These are the last four (of eight) which she took home with her this afternoon.  

This was a straightforward recovering job and the fabric was wonderful to work with.  The stripes helped to keep everything straight, it didn't fray and the corners folded beautifully.  You can see on the photo below that she did a great job getting the stripes positioned the same on each chair.  What is interesting to me is that the braid is very visible to the naked eye but in the photo you can't see it at all!

It was very companionable to have someone else in the workroom.  It was also very satisfying to see how much she had learned between the first chair and the eighth!  I look forward to seeing the chairs in situ.

In the meantime I have a new client who has asked me to work on a series of six Louis style chair seats.  I have the first two stripped down and hope to get them back from the carpenter shortly.

More Blue Jacket photos

I finally put new batteries in my camera this morning so some more photos of my current pride and joy. 

From the back (ignore the mess)

 

The collar detail (look at that blue!)

Frogging to die for from e-craft

And finally a bag with the leftovers - fullly lined of course!

Thank you for all your kind comments.  I hope you enjoy the update.