sock knitting

i'm knitting socks (or should that be sock) on four needles. i've knitted in the round before but never attempted socks but i thought i'd give it a go after buying this rather lovely wool from the ever fab tiger. i'm following jenny gordy's instructions in lena corwin's made by hand book. as you can see, progress is rather slow. it's satisfying though, to get away from the screens and sit down to something like knitting which, in my case at least, requires complete concentration (and when knitting rib, for me to repeat 'knit, knit, purl, purl' silently to myself). it makes me appreciate my fore-mothers who knitted and sewed and made so many beautiful things in the days when such craftiness was done out of necessity not a need for creativity. both my grans were so quick with the sticks, the rhythmic clickity-clickity was the soothing soundtrack of my childhood visits to their homes. thank goodness that we have the option of less labour intensive hosiery or my menfolk would be chilly of toe!

not at home

we're heading north tonight in the mum and dad mobile (roof box, car seats, wheels on the bus CD on loop). here're my grandparents having a much more fancy-free time, my gran and a gang of her female friends stayed in a holiday cottage called 'not-at-home' a few valleys along from their home town. their male friends and sweethearts came to visit for the day, legend has it that they got there by swimming along the coast (as great aunt g puts it 'those were the days when men were men and women were grateful'!). my gran's pal elsie always used to say 'that was the best holiday i ever had lil' to which my gran would reply 'that's because we had youth on our side'. strange to think i am now (much) older than they were when this was taken. i've always loved this snapshot, aren't they fabulous? my gran is top right in the dark jacket and my grandad is the one smoking a ridiculous pipe.
i'll be posting my 14/52 photos but it'll probably be a little quiet here other than that. have a super week and don't forget to enter my print giveaway, i'll be picking a winner on our return.

money on your cup

my grandma always used to say that when there was a bubble floating on my tea. perhaps the little beauty that quivered atop my cuppa this morning might mean that much needed riches are on their way?!

grandma's hands

zig zag knitting

i've started knitting the 'helmet' hat for the lovely ex neighbour's lovely new baby. at first it looks like a bit of a knotty bumpy mess but after a few rows order emerges from the chaos and you start to see chevrons appearing.
all old ladies seem to be able to turbo knit whilst simultaneously doing several other things (in my grandma k's case these other things might include; boiling the living daylights out of a pan of veg, winding a baby, listening to the radio, keeping a watchful eye out of the window to log passersby's admiring glances at her garden and playing an ultra competitive game of cards). i, on the other hand must keep my eyes and mind firmly focussed on the knitting in (v-e-r-y slow) progress. as captain oates said, i may be some time...

old lady swearwords - new colours!

yesterday, while o-o hung out with b and l-man, i donned my inky printmaking/canoeing jeans and set about printing some old lady swearwords. thankfully no one was around to witness the horrifyingly disorganised process; discarded balls of masking & parcel tape everywhere, tea spoons used to mix ink in old (rinsed!) food tins and milk cartons, precariously balanced mugs of brew, bathroom towels used to mop  soggy screens, wet prints drying on every available surface and other trip hazards too numerous to list here. time flies when i'm making stuff, i love it so...

what was your granny's swearword of choice? mine used to say 'duw duw' (which i later learned means 'god, god' in welsh) when we tested her patience (by knocking the pebbledash off the house with a tennis ball etc). she must have said it a lot because as a tiny tiddler i actually called her grandma duw duw!

red, green, grey and light blue versions are for sale in my etsy and folksy shops now.