Not much on....

Very slow on the knitting and spinning front. Too busy studying this week - having to hit the books with a vengance tonight. Hopefully next week I'll be able to get back to some crafting.

I made some body scrub last night for a birthday gift, that was nice and quick to do. I much prefer cosmetics which are as natural as possible.

In the interim, here's another scarf:

This one is in Wendy Frizzante in the Porpora shade, I used stocking stitch, and ripped it out after the first time as it was far too long and skinny! This didn't have the same tendency to curl as the heavy eyelash yarns.

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We're having a Book Sale at work for Children in Need tomorrow, and I'm hoping I'll spot some needlework books to buy, but it's usually all novels. People tend to hang on to their non-fiction.

The Briary - George Frederick Watts

After my trip to Compton a week or so ago, I was musing on the existence of The Briary - the house that GF Watts built on the Island in Freshwater.

On Friday I thought I'd take a trip over to the West Wight and look around for it. After drawing a blank I thought I'd go to Dimbola Lodge and ask there.

As fate would have it I was introduced to Elizabeth Hutchings who has written a book about GF Watts - Discovering the Sculptures of George Frederick Watts, OM, RA - which is on sale at Dimbola and at Compton. She told me she had a picture of The Briary on her PC at home, and that I was welcome to go along and have a look.

So, here is the The Briary, built by Watts for his friends the Prinseps. He stayed here whilst painting landscapes of the Island. Sadly it burned down in 1934.

I'd have been impossibly lucky to find it by just randomly driving around!

Another day, another scarf

The sun is dazzling today, but still cold enough for another scarf.....

This one is made with Louise Harding yarn from last winter - Kimono Angora and Kimono Ribbon. Both in the complementary Shade 01. I knitted it sideways on a circular needle and cast on loads of stiches and knitted in garter stitch stripes until I ran out of yarn. Some ripping was required to work out the best use of the yarn.

Unfortunately this has stretched alarmingly and is now v-e-r-y long, so I'm half tempted to rip it out and make it shorter but wider.

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I have a spinning day in the diary for this Saturday, but have an overdue essay to write and two birthday presents to think of and buy this weekend. I don't think I can allow myself the luxury of a whole day spinning - no matter how tempting it is.

Better to get the more onerous tasks done and at least be able to sleep easy at night!

Watts Mortuary Chapel - Compton, Surrey

My photos from the trip to Compton.

The Ceiling

Close-up of the lower frieze.

The decoration is very lavish inside and out.

Innocent Hats - Bon Voyage!

My Innocent hats have gone off in the post today, through the fog and the murk. Look out for them hitting the shelves, in a Sainsbury's or Eat, near you soon.

Today's scarf, braving the weather:

This is a ubiquitous eyelash yarn, Patons Whisper, in the Velvet colourway. I knitted this in k1, p1 rib, as it has a tendency to curl up when you use stocking stitch.

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On Friday I'd had such a bad week, that I took myself off for a day on the mainland. I went to Guildford, a town I'd never visited before.

I used the excellent Park & Ride scheme 10 minutes outside the town centre. In the town I discovered Pandora at 196 High Street, an excellent needlework and knitting shop. They stock Rowan, Debbie Bliss and Gedifra yarn amongst others, and Anchor, Paterna and Appletons tapisserie wools, patchwork fabrics, needlework kits, books and haberdashery. A real gem.

I took the opportunity to visit Fibrecrafts just outside town, and bought some Deka Fabric Paint, some cloured tops for felting, and some white Blue Faced Leicester fibre. Their prices are not as keen as other UK suppliers.

Then I went on to Compton nearby, to visit the runner up in the BBC's Restoration 2006 programme - Watts Gallery. As a teenaged art student, I was totally obsessed with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and Watts' paintings often appeared in my reading about them. A pervading smell of damp was about the place, but it's in an idyllic setting in the Surrey countryside, and well worth the Heritage Lottery Grant that they are working to secure. Admission is free, take a trip and visit.....

I bought a small pamphlet referring to the friendship Watts had with Tennyson and Julia Margaret Cameron on the Island, and noted that Watts had a house designed by Philip Webb built for himself in Freshwater called The Briary. Julia lived at Dimbola Lodge rescued from demolition and now a photography museum with famous patrons such as Charlton Heston. Tennyson lived down the road at Farringford which is now a country house hotel. I will have to see if The Briary still exists.

My last port of call was to the Watts Mortuary Chapel just along the road. Built by Mary Watts, with the help of locals, this is a breathtaking, richly decorated little wonder. I took some photos on my other camera which I'll post later, but which probably won't do it justice. The interior is shaped like a bullet and is heavily decorated with gesso and painted with cherub heads, angels, waves and trees all in the Arts and Crafts style.

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Currently on some big 12mm needles is a scarf for my sister's birthday next week. I raided my stash for some Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk in the Petrol colourway. The yarn is soooo soft!



The pattern is one that I saw on a display scarf in Pandoras in Guildford. They knitted it up in Rowan Little Big Wool. Theirs had a fringe, but I'm not a fan of fringes.

Cast on 15 stitches. Every row = k1, (yfwd k2tog) to end.

Brrrr! and Today's Scarf

Winter and the accompanying frost has reached the Island this morning.

I hear there is snow in Scotland already. Snow here is catastrophic. We're not geared up for cold weather, and substantial snowfall makes driving impossible in a lot of places. This is due to the condition of the roads, the hills, and the lack of expertise of the driving population. I have been here for 21 years, and have only known snow deep and persistent enough to build a snowman 3 times in those two decades.

For the nippy weather I have donned my first scarf of the season.

This is easy garter stitch, using two mismatched balls of Rowan Biggy Print from a Sale bin that I liberated in the summer. I thought they blended quite well, so did alternate double rows. It's very warm.

My So-Called Scarf was on the needles at the Guild meeting on Tuesday and was much admired. Promises of copies of the pattern followed.

I also took along my marbled fabric that I did at the Knitting & Stitching Show workshop. Murmurs of 'You could do us a workshop' came from the Committee who are currently planning next year’s calendar. Eeek! That would be a challenge. Perhaps they'll forget.....