Vagabundus

Back to basic

2009-11-08T09:39:00.003Z

I've made a couple more keyrings for next Saturday's craft fayre,

and a couple more brooches with some Rowan felted tweed left over.

Then, the weather having turned quite chilly this weekend I decided to knit myself another pair of socks. Hand knitted socks are really comfy and warm, perfect for cycling to work everyday :o)
I am using a basic toe-up pattern from Simply Knitting magazine (no 38, March 2008).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend :o)

Craft Fayre 1

2009-11-04T15:16:00.003Z

I've done my first craft fayre today!
Well, it wasn't very busy but I managed to sell a few things.
I took a couple of pictures but they are not very good.
Before:

After:
It looks very busy. We reorganized things a little later but I forgot to take a picture.

Well, the next one (14th November) should be much better, it is a proper craft fayre (this one was at my work place). Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this one because I am traveling to France on that day, but, luckily, my friends will (hopefully) sell my stuff for me. I probably won't blog about it but I am sure Di will, so don't forget to check her blog in a couple of weeks.

Keyrings

2009-11-02T17:12:00.003Z

Yesterday evening I had a bit of fun with some felt... I just wanted to show you...

And tonight, I made these...

They might end up on the table on Wednesday :o)

Final countdown

2009-10-31T15:39:00.004Z

More than 3 weeks without a post! where was I? Well, not very far, just very busy with the craft fayre preparation. Only 4 days left before the first one! and still plenty to do...
This is where I am up to:
I've knitted 15 pairs of gloves: 14 with Rowan felted tweed (50% merino, 25% alpaca, 25% nylon) and one with 100% merino. I've made nice labels and attached them to the pairs with matching left-over yarn.

I sewed 25 cotton gift bags:

I hand cut 140 fabric circles to dress the jam jars:

I've made around 100 cards:

The lavender bags still need to be stuffed...

That's it for now. In the next post, I'll let you know how it went...

Touring Scotland

2009-10-06T10:51:00.008+01:00

Last weekend I hired a car to show some part of Scotland to an Italian friend.

We've been very lucky as the weather was gorgeous (although very windy).

On Saturday we went to Pitlochry. Just outside the village you can visit Scotland's smallest distillery, Edradour. It produces in a year what bigger distilleries would produce in a week! It is a lovely place, the tour is free and you can sample a dram of whisky :o)

After visiting a few more distilleries (Blair Athol in Pitlochry and Dewar's world of whisky in Aberfeldy), we went for a walk in the woodlands at the hermitage.

Then, we ended up in Dunkeld. A charming village with a ruined cathedral and loads of lovely cafes.

On Sunday, we went North along the East coast. Our first stop was Dunnottar castle, an amazing ruined fortress built on a cliff.

We had a quick wander in Stonehaven harbour...

... before heading to Crathes castle.

We came back through central Scotland (glenshee) and we saw the first snow on top of the mountains.

Stained glass

2009-10-03T07:20:00.004+01:00

My blog is being neglected at the moment because I am working on my stock for the craft fayres in November. I have nearly completed my 12th pair of gloves (2 fingers to knit), only 3 more to go :o)
Today I am going to show you where I am up to with my stained glass projects. The Rennie Mackintosh style lamp made it home safely and I found a little bit of space next to the sofa to display it:

The Rennie Mackintosh mirror just need some lead around it to be complete. The teacher doesn't have the right thickness of lead so I will have to wait a bit before finishing it. I am going to a stained glass supply shop at the end of November so I am hoping they will have what I am looking for there.

A wee while ago I bought this lantern:

The glass panels are removable and I designed new ones with hexagon to match the top of the lantern.

I've done one panel and this is how it looks like for now:

The teacher is on holiday for a couple of weeks so I am having a break. It gives me a bit of time to think of my next projects...

Gloves

2009-09-20T09:28:00.002+01:00

I am knitting a lot of gloves at the moment for the two craft Fayre I've got planned in November.
I am on my eight pair!
It is a bit boring but I am using several colours...

I am planning on knitting a dozen of pairs. If I don't sell them, it will be hand knitted gloves for my friends and family for Christmas ;oP

Rennie Mackintosh style lamp

2009-09-17T21:10:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since my last post, well, three weeks. I've been in France for about 10 days and then I was very busy making bramble jam. I've ran out of jars so I have some time to show you my new stained glass lamp. I finished the shade a few weeks ago but only last week the teacher manage to find a supplier for the right base. I am not entirely sure about it but, unless I have it custom made, I won't find what I exactly want so this one will do.

Initially, I wanted this base but it was far too big for the shade. I kept it anyway as I am designing a lamp shade for my mum and this base will be perfect. I am making sure the shade is the right size for the base. You'll see it in a few weeks, or months...;o)

I've also made good progress on my mirror. The teacher is giving me a hand to tidy up all the soldering as it is very time consuming. The last step will be to lead the edges.

More later...

What came off my needles?

2009-08-27T06:16:00.004+01:00

I've been knitting a few things lately and finishing of others.
I finally finished a men jumper (free pattern here): I only had the collar to knit but, for some reason, I never did it. I decided to go for it on Sunday, I hate leaving things unfinished. I now have to find a zip (on Saturday, I am going zip hunting) and I'll be able to show you a picture of it.
I made a dress for one of my friend's little girl. The pattern is from Bergere de France 08/09 (pattern 897) and I used Katia Peques (100% acrylic but extremely soft).

I've also started making some stock for the two craft fayres I've got planned in November. I am going to sell my cards, jam, crochet flowers brooches and gloves.
The gloves pattern is from Erika Knight's book "Classic, 15 timeless designs to knit and keep forever". I've modified the pattern slightly to knit it in the round instead of flat (I hate sewing). I am using Rowan felted tweed (50% merino, 25% alpaca, 25% viscose). You just need 1 ball for a pair of gloves :o)

Palais Ideal

2009-08-22T08:07:00.002+01:00

Some of you wondered where the picture on the banner came from....This was taken at "le palais ideal du facteur Cheval" at Hauterives, near Valence.

Ferdinand Cheval (1836-1924) was a postman who built his dream (between 1879 and 1912): a magical palace. He was a self taught builder and sculptor and found his inspiration in nature and pictures from all other the world printed in illustrated magazines. Ferdinand Cheval is considered as the international precursor of primitive art. He was admired by Picasso and influenced numerous artists like Max Ernst.

If you are in the area, it is a very pleasant visit, don't miss it.

Lace

2009-08-17T08:26:00.003+01:00

Just before going on holiday last month, I had time to finish a lace project (more details here). I couldn't knit the whole pattern because I ran out of yarn, which is probably better otherwise I wouldn't have had enough space at home to block it! The cast off stage took me about 6h and to pin it on the carpet to block it about 1h! I am very happy with the result :o)

More pictures from my holidays will be posted soon...

From Grenoble to Valence

2009-08-09T08:04:00.007+01:00

For 1 week we rented a car to go to the South East part of France to visit some friends I haven't seen for 14 years !
Our first stop was Grenoble. We took some cable car to have a panoramic view of the city.

We also made a detour to go to Alpes D'Huez, a famous ski resort and one of the main Tour de France step (not this year though).

A lot of people cycle the 13.8km to the top (average climb 7.9% and 21 hairpin bends) everyday. The view from up there is spectacular.

Then, we had to go to Piegros-la-Clastre, South of Valence. We chose to take the small roads going through the Vercors Regional Natural Park instead of the motorway (it would have taken 2h instead of 1day). The roads are very picturesque but there are treasures hidden in the mountains.

We stopped at the Choranche caves. One feature of this cave, unique in Europe, are thousands of very fine stalactites (4mm diameter) called "soda straw". The temperature inside, constant all year round, is 10 C.

The water in the cave is joining the Bourne river.
A few kilometers from Choranche, we stopped at the beautiful medieval village of Pont-en-Royans, renowned for its suspended houses over the Bourne river.

Then, just before arriving at my friend, we spotted the first lavender fields, typical of the Provence area.

More later...

I am back

2009-08-06T19:22:00.003+01:00

We spent 3.5 weeks in France, enjoying amazing landscapes, drinks, food, friends and family. As usual, GG and Leon came with us, and, for the first time, Hariette joined us. She joined our family a few weeks ago (thanks to Charlie).

I have hundreds of pictures to go through, and in the meantime I can show you what I have done in my spare time in France. I asked my mum to give me some sewing lessons because I wanted to make a gift bag for this mirror instead of wrapping it in paper.

Then, after a trip to the local fabric shop, I made this bag:

More later...

Rennie Mackintosh style Lamp

2009-07-10T05:43:00.003+01:00

I've finished soldering my lamp this week. It took me two sessions. My soldering skills are getting better and I don't need much help from the teacher now :o)

Now, I only need to apply the patina, and most important, find a base which will be quite difficult because the choice is very limited in the UK. I'll deal with it next month when I'll come back from my holidays.

Woolfest Booty

2009-06-28T10:06:00.003+01:00

As promised, this is what I bought at Woolfest yesterday:

Hand dyed sock yarn: 1 skein from Wild Fire Fibres and 2 skeins from Laal Bear.
Schoppel Wolle sock yarn: 2 zauberball
2 skeins of undyed 90% Alpaca/ 10% nylon (I forgot where from)
2 skeins of cobweb/lace weight from KraftyKoala: Alpaca/Cashmere/Silk and Merino/Silk
1 cone of lace weight 65% Wood/35% Milk fibre from Uppingham yarns
Thanks to Andrea who found Fiberspates Fairy Wool bargain basket, I bought 3 skeins of hand dyed lace yarn and one of hand dyed sock yarn for a fraction of the regular price :o)
a cotton bag with a B-ewe-tiful sheep
a pair of sock blockers

Now, I should go knitting...

Woolfest 2009

2009-06-27T21:09:00.002+01:00

Today, we went to the lake district (300km from Dundee) for Woolfest :0)

Andrea, Diane, Louise and I had a great day.
We saw several breeds of sheep, alpacas, angora....

There were loads of amazing fiber, yarns, buttons...to spend our cash on...

Some of the knitted goodies looked really yummy...

Check out Diane and Louise blogs for more details and great pictures.
In my next post, I'll show you what I bought....

Just on time

2009-06-26T22:47:00.003+01:00

I need to have something I've knitted to go to Woolfest tomorrow. So, I've worked hard to get this cardigan finished:

I made the pattern as I was knitting it (top-down). My mum gave me this yarn (Plassard, Lassive, 100% bamboo) a while ago. I had only 7 skeins, so, I wanted to make the most of it, hence the top-down design. It is a bit heavy so I expect it to stretch a little. Otherwise, it is very soft, pleasant to wear and perfect for summer :o)

Mirror

2009-06-25T17:28:00.004+01:00

Just a quick post to show you the progress I've made on the stained glass mirror, my most complicated project so far.

On Saturday, I am going to Woolfest with Diane, Louise and Andrea. We are leaving Dundee at 6am and we should be on site by 10am.

Finished, at last!

2009-06-20T18:19:00.003+01:00

It seems to me that I started this cardigan years ago (free pattern here). I finally finished it today. It is a fairly easy knit, but as it is knitted in one piece, every row seems to take ages and it is very heavy, especially when you do the raglan.

I made the sleeves less wide so the lace pattern does not match at the yoke but it is not too obvious so it is fine.
It turned out about 1 or 2 sizes smaller than expected so it is pretty fitted. I am hoping it will loosen a bit as it is linen and cotton...

Lantern, lamp and mirror

2009-06-11T17:55:00.002+01:00

Last Tuesday, I finally finished my leaded lantern:

I now have to work on the base. My idea is to have a pine base, a wee bit bigger than the lantern (probably 20x20cm, the lantern being 15x15cm), with a groove to slot it in. A trip to the nearest DIY shop is planned next week, so I am hoping they will cut the piece of wood to the required dimensions, then I'll ask the carpenter at my work to dig the groove. Then, I'll work on the finish...

The other stained glass project I am working on at the moment is a Rennie Mackintosh style lamp. All the pieces are cut and ground but I can't solder it together because I don't have any black coated copper foil left and the teacher didn't get delivered this week :o(

So, I had to start on my next project :o)

It is a Rennie Mackintosh style mirror. I found it on the Internet here. No pattern was available so I just increase the size of the picture to an A3 size. The one on that website is much bigger, it is leaded. I am doing it with copper foil, it is not as strong as lead so I have to make it smaller. I will finish the edges with lead though.

West Coast

2009-06-06T17:43:00.005+01:00

Last weekend we went to the West Coast of Scotland. We spent Friday night in Oban (which is only 3h drive from Dundee) in Order to meet with our friend Elise. The next morning the 3 of us set off early to go to Mull. We took the A828, along Loch Linnhe, to Corran where we took a ferry to Ardgour.

Then we took the A861 and A 884 to Lochaline and took the ferry across to Mull.
The weather was perfect. We had lunch in the harbour in Tobermory before going to the cheesery (Just outside Tobermory, on the road going to Glengorm castle).

We had a walk at Glengorm castle, along the coast before touring the West coast of Mull.

The next day, We had booked a boat trip to Staffa, an island 10km west of Mull, well known for its basalt columns. It takes 1h to go there and we had 1h to spend on the island. We saw some birds, mainly cormorants, and, coming back, we saw some puffins having a swim (sorry no pictures).

We then spent the rest of the afternoon on Iona where Elise and Stephane had a swim.

In the evening we took the ferry back to Oban where we dropped Elise before coming back to Dundee.

we felt like we had spent a week there, it was so relaxing! The West coast of Scotland is amazing and well worth a visit (well, several I would say).

Sun Kissed

2009-06-03T20:53:00.003+01:00

We spent the weekend on the West coast of Scotland. We've been extremely lucky with the weather. Everything was perfect; blue sky, warm breeze, 20-25 C.
I am hoping to have more time and post more pictures in the next few days. In the meantime, I can show you these:
Loch Lubhair:

Calgary bay on the isle of Mull:

GG and Leon enjoyed themselves, as usual...

More later...

What's on my needles?

2009-05-24T14:34:00.006+01:00

I haven't shown you any knitting for a while. I am still knitting but long term projects that seem to take forever as I keep knitting smaller ones in between...
I am knitting a men jumper (free pattern here). The pattern is very simple, 4x2 rib, with a nice cable pattern on the sleeves only. It will probably be turned into a zipped jacket. I haven't done the front yet, I am on the second sleeve so I have some time to make up my mind.

Last weekend I worked on 2 quick projects:
a head band called bamboozled (free pattern here)

and a pair of fingerless mittens (free pattern here).

Both are for a friend who's leaving next week.
I am also knitting a jacket for myself, called decimal (free pattern here).

Front and back are knitted in one piece, then you knit the sleeves and finish with the yoke (therefore, no sewing is required!). I am on the second sleeve for that one. I found the sleeves too wide to my taste so I had to change the number of stitches. As a result, the pattern won't match at the yoke so I am not sure how it will look. I might have to frog it...

Finally, I am still working on a lace project I mentioned earlier. I am now on row 157 (70 more to go) but progress is slow as it now takes me about 45min to knit a row.

leaded stained glass lantern

2009-05-24T12:15:00.005+01:00

I had my first lead class yesterday.
I made a simple design for a square lantern.
It is 15x15cm. By chance, my friend had 5x5cm square bevels, which are perfect for the centre of the panel.

Then, I had to choose the glass. I decided on several shades of yellow/orange.

I didn't take pictures of all the steps. Leading is much more time consuming than copper foiling but it is very interesting to learn. In 3hours I just had time to cut all the glass and lead came pieces for the 4 panels and to assemble one panel. I still have to solder the lead joins. I couldn't do it for this panel yesterday because my friend didn't have flat lead came needed for the top and bottom of the panel. I will ask the teacher at my class on Tuesday.

My friend explained me how to finish it (she lives too far for me to go easily), so I'll do that during my Tuesday classes.
There is an additional step when doing leaded glass compare to copper foil: cementing. It helps secure the glass in the came, strengthen, and weatherproofs the piece.
For more details about leaded glass panel, click here.

Another lamp

2009-05-19T22:05:00.003+01:00

Stained glass project number 4 is a Rennie Mackintosh style lamp.
I am at the grinding stage.
This lamp is going to be for me (again) :o)

On Saturday, I am going to learn another stained glass technique: leaded stained glass panel. I am not sure of the project I will be doing yet, a garden lantern or a window panel probably. Pictures should be available on Sunday...