Out with the old

I'm having a clear up. Blocking things that need blocking and chucking things that need chucked. Or rather trying to find the right home for the right stuff.

There is just a possibility spinning might be making an entree into my life and something has to give. It does worry me that the same things applies to my head. As I stuff it full of the required new spinning knowledge, something has to fall out the other ear. Like where my car keys are. Nope, too late, that's gone already...........

Thumbs up - part three

When you've finished your caterpillars, s/c into the top of your turning chain to join and you're off for the final few rounds of single crochet. I started taking it down a stitch or two to narrow it for the fingers. Decrease one stitch in the next couple of rows.

Try the glove on and see where you would like it to finish. I quite often make the mistake of making them come up too far. Very awkward when you're trying to use your fingers. Probably just past the base of your fingers is far enough.

You could just cast off here but I chose to finish it with a row of crab stitch (backwards crochet). Darn in your ends and you're away!

Thumbs up - part 2

You can make as many rows of caterpillars as you like on your hitch hiker's gloves. I made three and in each row I decreased one by missing the first stitch in order to take the diameter down to fit snugly around my wrist. If it's not appropriate for your hand, leave it out.

Once you're all caterpillared out and have finished roughly above your original cast on tail, change to single crochet. If you are snuggling it into your wrist, keep decreasing in the first two single crochet rows. I took it down to 16 st.

Work 5 single crochet rows in total then begin increasing (single crochet into the first st twice) for the palm of your hand.

Row 6: s/c increase in first stitch
Row 7: s/c no increase
Row 8: s/c increase first stitch
Row 9: s/c no increase
Row 10 s/c no increase
...or as many increases you you require. Continue single crochet until in the glove comes to the base of your thumb. Then the fun begins!

You could experiment with wrapping the yarn round the hook 3 or even four times and crocheting into each stitch. This time though, before you begin, you are going to make a turning chain, although you are not turning your work. This 'turning chain' makes your caterpillars stand up straight instead of bending over. So if you're having three yarn overs make a turning chain of 4ch before you begin. Four yarn overs, a five stitch turning chain first.

When you've done a few caterpillars, try on the glove and stick your thumb through one of the spaces between them and see if it's comfortable. (I know these should technically be called (quadruple half double something-or-others but to me they are forever caterpillars.)

More later...

Thumbs up

Glad you liked the glove pattern folks. Here are the loopy stitch instructions.

Make a chain that will go round your wrist and over your hand. In the bulky yarn it was ch 20 for me but I have been told I have wrists like sparrows legs.

Join your chain with a slip stitch and single crochet round it once. I hate marking the end of rows so I just used my cast on tail as an indicator of where I should be finishing.

This is the loopy stitch :

Wrap the yarn round the hook 7 times, hook through first chain in your circle, yarn over hook as usual then start taking the 7 yarn overs off the hook in pairs (sets of two stitches). The yarn goes over the hook again between each pair of stitches. The results is a thing like a humped back caterpillar. Single crochet back into it's roots, the same chain as you used to start it. Ignore all holes and odd looking things. They are called texture. Move onto the next chain and repeat.

You should end up with one caterpillar in each of your stitches. Your circle will now consist of very big stitches and it is into these that you single crochet for the next round.

Then you're off making caterpillars again.

See how that goes and I'll tell you more later. If it's as clear as mud I can post pics.

Hitch Hiker's gloves

Guess what this is? It's my new prototype fingerless glove.


There is a row of treble crochet round about where the thumb should appear. You just stick your thumb between any two stitches takes your fancy


I want each glove to use exactly one ball of Lamb's Pride yarn - I don't really know why - so I'm going to add more ruffles. I'm also going to turn it at the end of each row instead of crocheting in the round for a neater finish.

I now declare this panel finished

Palm tree! Yes, you do get them on the west coast of Scotland. A roll of painted calico fringed at the top and caught down with........hmmmmm, goodness knows what. One of those must have things you buy at stitching day out that lies in your workroom for the next fifteen years until you see it sticking out for under something some day and thing, wow, that looks just like the bark of a palm tree.

Unless of course, unlike me, you file your fabrics by colour, size, texture and in alphabetical order.


Anyway, here it is, finished. Really enjoyed it. Off to hand it in this afternoon. Please don't let me come back with another one to do. As Forrest Gump would say, a box of chocolates may be nice but two boxes of chocolates will probably make you sick.


I would think it'll be seen more from this angle once it's hanging up in which case the cow's fringe and the palm fronds will hide a multitude.

Big Mess

Big Draw was a huge sucess but tidying up will now have to take place before any more creativity happens.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!

The castle and the coo

Highland cow smoking a fag



Rather drunk too I would say, and so is the castle he's standing on.

Land ahoy

I decided to stuff my porpoise from the back. I think it's official name is trapunto quilting. The porpoise fabric is left over from a long and laborious project where I kept trying technique upon technique to make it work. This little scrap worked first time!

I'm particularly pleased with my land. It's a hand painted silk scarf complete with Celtic design I found wrapped around a rose bush one wet and windy day. I bet the owner was sorry to loose it. I was using it in my recent nuno felting experiments, hence the nice crinkle. Makes a great land mass with the felt giving it just the little bit of height.

Spot the deliberate mistake - shouldn't have stitched between top of bird's head and star. Oh well, a bit of fudging will happen later.



This is the castle and the coo auditioning for their big part. I really want to use this piece of knitting for the castle, even though it's more impressionist than realism. I think I'll get away with it.

The star and the flying trousers

The Rothesay panel begins. The gold and pink star represents Mount Stuart House, our very own Gothic revival rebuilt by the 3rd Marquess of Bute after it was destroyed by fire.

The bird in progress is made from a bizarre pair of evening trousers I coveted many years ago. I convinced myself they were too expensive and impractical. Someone obviously agreed with me because I stumbled across them in a charity shop some months later. I probably only wore them twice before they hit the rag bag where they have languished for the past some years. Nice to see them involved in a new flight of fancy.

Rothesay beings...

Pattern transferred to calico with dressmakers carbon. I've decided to use reverse applique for most of this. The first thing I'm going to do is stitch along all these lines so I can still see the pattern from the back when I have fabric stitched on top.

' Wouldn't it have been simpler to transfer a mirror image of the pattern to reverse of the fabric? ' says you.............nice weather for the time of year..........I have to go over here now.

Old knitting never dies...

I rejoined the Embroiderers' Guild recently just in time to take part in a group project. We are making hanging to commemorate the 10th anniversary of our branch. The panels represent the surrounding towns and villages. I chose Rothesay, situated on the Isle of Bute where I go play when I get the chance.

In my scrap bag I have already found, the sea, the land a highland cow and the castle




The 'castle' is a piece of abandoned knitting donated to our sales table. As a would-be chess player, I'm going to keep it alive by castling it!