Peerie Flooers, A Fair Isle Finish

I have completed my first ever Fair Isle knitted item and am so pleased with it!

I had no idea the crown would look so lovely once finished

I learnt how to do Fair Isle two-handed stranded knitting at an evening workshop with Deborah Gray, which I have posted about here.  Now a couple of photos of the hat inside-out to show the stranding.

  

Deborah has made up these kits that include an original Kate Davies pattern as well as the exact measurements of wool required to complete the hat.  Such a good idea to buy it as a kit, as I have already started looking into creating another Fair Isle hat but having to purchase entire balls of wool just for a few rows of colour really makes the total cost add up!

The pattern is called Peerie Flooers, meaning small flowers and is by Kate Davies, a stunning blog if you enjoy knitting design and Scottish landscapes.

I knitted the medium sized hat which is slightly slouchier than the one Kate wears in the photos on her blog.

I loved knitting in the round and using the 'magic loop' idea.  Stranding the wool in two hands was easy and I didn't have any tangling problems at all!   Thanks so much to Kate for such a pretty pattern.  I am hoping to start the Scatness tam next!  And Thanks to Deborah for teaching these techniques to me.  She even talked me through the pattern over the phone when I needed help starting on the crown!  

Learning Something New During Wool Week

Firstly a warm Thank-You to those who voted for me after my last post.  I came third!  I am very grateful for your kind support.  Now on with my new post:
Last week there were many events across the whole of the United Kingdom to celebrate the wonderful fibre of wool, as can be seen here on the events page from the Campaign for Wool website.  But there were also a number of local events here in Scotland to participate in.  The John Lewis department store ran workshops, which you can read about here on Alison's blog.  One of my favourite Scottish blogs is by Kate Davies and that was where I first read about Wool Week on the Shetland Islands.  One day I would love to visit Shetland wool week, as they have so many events on offer, plus the Mister would be kept amused with all the photography, hiking and fishing opportunities!

The closest event for me was a one-day event offered by Deborah Gray just 3 villages away.  Deborah teaches wool spinning,dying and all sorts of other wooly skills, running workshops in both Scotland and sunny Italy!  Plus she had just been to Shetland to teach workshops and was offering to show photos from her trip.  You too can see some of her photos and read about her time on Shetland here.  Apart from spinning, dying and felting she was also offering an evening workshop to teach and improve the technique of Fair Isle knitting.  Now this is something I am VERY interested in learning.

So here is my first ever attempt at Fair Isle Knitting:

Here's a shot of my stranding on the back:

Three new techniques I have learnt

Deborah taught me how to use a 100cm long circular needle to work this 40 stitch wide sample in the round by pulling the cord through my work about half way around, a technique she called the Magic Loop.  

I also learnt to knit with the background colour in my right hand and the pattern colour in my left and when I wanted to knit the pattern colour I did this using the continental or picking method.  It will make the pattern sit up high like the background colour.

When knitting the ribbed section, I did the purl stitches with the pearl colour in my right hand and used the picking method with the background colour in my left.  This makes the pearl stitches sit up just as high as the knit stitches.

The Result

I have only made a little sample to test out my knitting tension.  So far I think I am knitting too tightly so I will buy a needle one size up and try another knitted swatch to see if I can get the tension to match the pattern.  Which leads me to my next wonderfully woolly treat.  Unbelievably, some of the kits that Deborah had available to learn Fair Isle knitting were designs from my knitting idol Kate Davies!

Peerie means little in the Shetland dialect, and you can read about Kate's design and see some lovely photos of her wearing it here.

...AND the wool I am using is spun and dyed on Shetland with wool from Shetland sheep!

Such a serendipitous workshop for me - three things I have long admired all coming together in one evening!  Shetland wool week, Kate Davies pattern and learning to do Fair Isle knitting!

If you did anything for Wool Week I would love to hear about it!  Feel free to post any links about your Wool Week experience in the Comments box below.

I have now finished this lovely hat - you can see it on my blog by clicking here.

The Stitch Gathering - Part Two

Yesterday I wrote about the Modern Quilt Exhibition in Edinburgh and The Stitch Gathering event (click on the link and see some videos and photos of the day).
Today I want to share the two classes I took and the Goody bag we received.

Morning Workshop

My morning class was with the talented and organiser-extraordinaire Jo Avery to learn how to hand sew a cathedral window pin cushion.  It was lovely to see the variety of fabrics people had chosen!  Some people started on the embroidery panel whilst others started on the fabric folding and ironing.  It was so nice to be in a room full of women of all ages, chatting as though they'd been friends for years - and all of us hand sewing.  I live in a rural part of Scotland and have no sewing friends nearby so this was a real treat for me, and I loved taking it all in.  The classroom was spread out really well with lots of irons and ironing boards and a stunning view of Edinburgh castle and the city.
I didn't finish my pin cushion on the day, but I got as far as stitching a few of the curved fabric lips and Jo came around to make sure everybody was confident with the final steps so that we could finish at home.

 

And here it is, all finished.

I had never used this kind of embroidery thread before = perle 8 and learnt a tip from Jo about choosing needles with a rounded eye.  She always uses Milward #4 sharps for a successful result.

Lunch

We stopped for a delicious lunch of sandwiches, mini rolls, wraps, fruit and baked tasty treats.  Then some people took part in a Show and Tell.  It was lovely to see the handiwork of some of the ladies I had met that morning.  Seeing a person's creative work really helps you get to know them.  Sally (not a blogger) showed us some stunning hand stitching and Lynz spoke about a wonderful round-robin quilt.  I had heard of these Round Robin ideas before so was thrilled to actually see one in real life.  There was one young lady, Emily who showed her first ever WIP quilt - Beautiful english paper piecing hexagon flowers.
After the show and tell there was a Lucky Dip - I rummaged around the bottom of the mystery bin to score a roll of green washi tape.  Then we had a Fat Quarter swap - we brought along a fabric 1/4 and placed it onto a table.  Then upon the "ready set SWAP" call we grabbed one to take home.  Here's a pic.

Afternoon Workshop

The afternoon session was longer to include a tea and coffee break.  I went to Fiona Calvert's Quilt making with a Jelly roll class.  (click on the link to see her lovely example of the quilt we were starting)  She recently had her beginner-friendly pattern published in a magazine - I even met a friendly lady named Jane who works on this magazine in this class!  

I took along some chicken-themed fabric that I had collected that didn't have a project, but after seeing the amazing choices I wish I had chosen something new.  Catherine made hers out of some lovely green Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and JB chose a rainbow of plain strips by Robert Kaufmann.  I'll be keeping an eye on their blogs to see them when they're finished.

The beginnings of my quilt - pattern by Fiona Calvert

Fiona did a great job teaching us about sewing bias cut triangles together and there seemed to be two of her, she was so busy getting around to all of us with patient help and assistance.

The Goody Bag

Now this was just surprising!  The sponsors of Stitch Gathering were so generous - we were given a HUGE bag of goodies - and some brands I have never used before - so it is going to be fun to try new things.

Inside there was a bottle of Highland Spring water and 3 individually wrapped oat cakes from Nairn's - both of which I was very glad to have by 11am.  The bag itself was from Liberty and inside was a fat quarter of Liberty Lawn too - I got a floral blue one (seen below, top left) and I love it.

There was also a Frixon pen from Pilot that goes invisible when you iron it - and would you believe that if you want the pen lines back you just pop it into the freezer!  A box of ten threads from sewing machines direct, a spool of aurifil thread, an amazing thread snipper that hangs on a lanyard - this has already come in handy!  And a little fabric pack with perfectly cut out paper hexagons from webfabrics - and the owner of this shop Dolores came all the way over from America to join in the classes.

This group of goodies were from Coats Crafts.  Inside their tote bag was an Opti zip bow brooch, some red quilting thread, two bright fat quarters, some Anchor embroidery floss and Milward between needles and a pen!  This was so generous - the bag just kept going and going with goodies.

 In this photo you can see the water and the two remaining biscuits.  There was also a lovely empty button tin, some liberty scraps from Very Berry fabrics.  I recently read about Ali and her perfectly cut hexagons and papers kits so have purchased some - I shall share soon - but it was really quick service and although there were 70 hexagons in the little kit, NONE were repeats!  Amazing.  The thread and button collection at the back, left of the photo are from The Button Company and we received a bundle of bright fat quarters from Jo's shop Avery Homestore.  There was also a pamphlet reminding us of a place where you can have your patchwork quilted for you  OR they can teach you how to use a long-arm quilting machine and you can do it yourself!  After my last quilting dramas I will definitely be using Beechwood Quilting services in Stirling.

All the goodies!

Oh, and of course the Journey

Whilst we were all making our tickets and nametags there was a flickr group where we could share our creations.  On one of the discussion boards I was able to offer a lift to anyone attending from my area and the lovely Claire took me up on my offer!  We both come from different areas and so met up at a central spot in Perth then drove down together to Edinburgh.  Lucky for me Claire was very familiar with the beautiful residential streets of Edinburgh and we got there on time for all the good fun to start.

Claire and I went halves in petrol but she also very kindly gave me a sweet thank you gift for taking her.  I've never bought a charm pack before, so I am looking forward to lots of pattern researching and idea gathering.

A handmade sewing-themed card and
a pack of pretty 5" coordinating fabric squares!

Of course it was a pleasure and a joy to have company on the journey and to get to know a fellow stitcher.  Plus, it meant I had someone friendly to walk into the building with and to chat with - just in case I felt nervous or shy.

 Thank you to Jo and her wonderful team of teachers and helpers, and to the Sponsors for such generous goodies.

I had a great day out and met some very friendly and creative people.  Thanks to all who attended and made it such a warm and positive day!

The Stitch Gathering - Part One

Yesterday was a big day that I had been looking forward to for quite a while. The Modern Quilt Exhibition in Edinburgh was one of hundreds of events held all over the city of Edinburgh during August, as part of an annual International Arts and Culture Festival.  Many people from all around the world have visited the Modern Quilt exhibition throughout the month at Avery Homestore and yesterday we got to meet many of the fabric artists over bubbly and canapes and to hear the winners of the the People's Choice as voted by the many visitors to the Edinburgh Festival.

Self embellished fabric tickets, one created by each attendee
 - they will be made into a quilt to be auctioned for charity in the future.

This quilt was voted as number one favourite by the visitors to the exhibition and it truly is stunning.  It was made by Katy from The Littlest Thistle as part of a block swap.  It is striking yet thoughtful and just beautiful.

Two other personal favourites

Here are some detailed snaps of a lovely Hexie quilt that I have often admired online and got to see up close and in person for the first time.  It is by Sheila at bluepatch quilter and I find it very inspiring. 

It was the bold, vibrant colours that drew me to this next quilt, a tumbling logs quilt.  I could happily stare and wonder at this quilt for hours.  It is by Jo at myBearpaw and is more dramatic than words can express.

 









However most of the day was spent participating in two workshops at:

The Stitch Gathering

When a group of women arrive from all over Scotland on an early Sunday morning, they of course need a cup of tea (or coffee) and a sit down.  We soon got to chatting with newly met people before we handed in our self-embellished fabric tickets (displayed altogether in the photo at the top of this post).
Then we had to find the person for whom we had created a nametag.  I made a nametag for Lorna Pascall - and it brought a little tear to her eye when she saw how personal it was, reminding her of a wonderful day she had had climbing the mountain Beinn a'Chlachair, which I had appliqued onto her nametag.  And this is the nametag that she made for me: I truly LOVE IT!!!!  A number of people throughout the day commented on just how beautiful it was.

My actual name

the detailed back - and the lanyard was a tape measure - so sweet.

Here are some close-up photos all of the embellished tickets displayed together.  It is beautiful to see such a variety of creative ideas all together - what an artistic collection of women!  I wonder which block you are most drawn towards?

 

This post has many photographs already, so I shall write another post about the lovely ladies I met, the workshops and the heaving goody bag that we received!
The next installment can be found here.

A Gathering of Stitchers

In August I am attending a Stitching day in Edinburgh.  I haven't done anything like this before, and am looking forward to meeting so many ladies who are skilled at patchwork, quilting and hand-stitching.
There were only 65 available places at £95 each, which is a lot of money for me.  I really hope I get to choose the workshops that will be most useful to me and I'll be able to learn a new skill or two.  (I have a link on the right hand side bar if you are interested to know more)

We were sent a square of fabric with a printed medallion in the centre that reads Edinburgh 2013 The Stitch Gathering.  We are to embellish the fabric in any way we like and hand it in as our ticket on the day.  They are planning to create a quilt out of everybody's square and use it as a charity fundraiser, which is a nice idea.

Here's mine: I used the word gathering as my jump-off point, and chose a fabric that matched the colours of the centre circle.  I gathered a strip on the machine, then needle-turned the edges down.

We've been asked to post them onto a flickr group, but I'll wait until there are some others there before I post mine.

We have also been asked to stitch a name tag for another person going to the Stitch Gathering.  Again we are asked to post them on flickr but without the name so as to keep it secret.

I've hand appliqued a loose representation of Beinn a'Chlachair, which is a hill / mountain in Scotland.  I will now embroider the lady's name upon it and attach a brooch fixing on the back.
It's fun to think of somebody out there busy trying to think of making a personal name tag for me!
August seems like a long time away, but hopefully it will soon fly by.

A New Workshop!

I had often bemoaned the lack of fabric shops within any kind of 'drivable' distance of my home, when a work colleague of the newly-moved-into-the-area-so-I'll-explore-everything kind shared one of her discoveries... a fabric shop! 

So we went online together and checked out the address, opening times and other details when we happened upon their list of up-coming workshops! Amongst a lot of long-term beginner courses and twee projects, there was one workshop that I thought I could benefit from.

It was a machine quilting class, only £20 for 4 hours. Bargain! And within an hours drive!

We were given good instructions to hold the fabric firmly and let it do the moving, and were then able to practice on a fabric/wadding/fabric piece first so as to build up our confidence with the possible speeds, directions and styles.

Then were were given our (ugly) sampler fabric, and drew up the grid boxes to fill with 6 different styles of quilting stitches. Inside each box is an attempt at a different stitch. Clockwise from top left: Watery stitch back and forth, Stipple stitch, handwriting, Pebbles, stippling around an appliqued shape (I removed it), and "didn't get time". Around the edges are two examples of a running border, one is butterflies and the other are little flowers.

My favourite was the pebbles one. It really makes the fabric puff up beautifully and is the only one to make this hideous fabric look any good.

So in the end I bought myself the free-quilting foot for £12 and although my sewing machine doesn't let the feed dogs drop, it does have a darning plate to cover them up, which is something I wouldn't have learnt if I hadn't gone to this workshop. A whole new world of sewing possibilities has been opened up to me, just by knowing my machine a little bit better and by enrolling in my first workshop. Now I won't be as shy or nervous next time.