It’s dark outside and has been for a while now – the rain and wild windiness that was promised for our part of North Wales arrived with a vengeance. Fortunately the rain part of it didn’t really get going until I had finished driving back from Mum’s (although the wind on the M54 and A5 was getting very determined!), so I was able to get my stuff out of the car without getting too soaked! That’s why this week’s post is a day late – sorry!
This week I’m going to show you some finished things – and only one is knitting (as the other two things I’ve been working on are secret…!)
Incidentally, the title of today’s blog is the name of one of the songs from ‘Sunday in the Park with George‘ by Sondheim. It’s totally recognisable as Sondheim as soon as it starts – definitely worth a listen. Yes, I’m still aiming to give the vast majority of my blog posts song titles – it’s quite a fun challenge to find something that fits each week.
My Morph hat is done!! I’ve shared quite a lot of the progress of this hat, designed by Woolly Wormhead, with you. It’s part of their new Cuboidal collection of 8 hats that are all created from mitred squares. My first photo was from October 11th, with just the crown complete and the first round of the body started. The body grew and the brim was added and so the knitting part of it was complete. At this stage I wasn’t wholly convinced about it as a hat as it seemed so enormous – but I could see great potential in it as a bag if I just added a strap! And then I followed Woolly’s instructions to complete the envelope of the crown and all of a sudden it made sense.
I can see myself wearing this in the house this winter while I’m working – it can get chilly in the study as there is an under house cupboard below it running the full length of the room – this hat will keep the warmth in on my head very nicely!
And I’ve been doing more spinning. This was something I committed myself to doing in October. I didn’t manage every day, but I did spin on more days than not and I now have some gorgeous yarn to show for it. I started spinning this fibre in July. It was 200g of undyed Polwarth that I had bought at Fibrehut, just outside Evesham. Being 200g (so double a ‘standard’ amount) makes me feel less bad about it taking so long! I love the way the fibre changes as it’s spun into singles, then plied, skeined, washed and twisted up as the final yarn. This particular yarn fairly exploded into fluffiness after having a wash.
The last finished thing I’m going to share with you today is our pumpkin. You may have seen it already on social media already. It’s the first time I’ve tried this ‘surface carving’ rather than trying to go all the way through the pumpkin and I do like the detail that’s possible, but I think a better tool than a blunt paring knife would be a good idea. I’ve seen people online talking about using lino cutting tools and that seems ideal, so maybe I’ll try that out next year!
It would probably have been a good idea to draw an outline first, but I went straight to the pumpkin with the tip of the knife and then realised that whatever I’d cut was staying cut! The candle didn’t shine through very well initially, so I used a spoon to make the wall of the pumpkin thinner where the picture was by scraping layers of pumpkin out. The final lit result was quite pleasing and it certainly encouraged the trick or treaters to knock on our door!
Actually, there is one more thing I want to tell you about today.
I have been donating a digital pattern of choice to the raffles being held by Treasure Chest YGC (that’s Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, or Glad Clwyd Hospital). The charity’s aim is to support and raise funds for patients had/having surgery or treatment for Breast Cancer in Glan Clwyd Hospital, Denbighshire. The raffles are open on Sundays for 23 hours. They also have a JustGiving page that is not related to the raffles.
Next Sunday (Nov 6th) is the Christmas raffle and my contribution to the prizes this time is the Mini Socks Advent Calendar pattern. Visit Treasure Chest YGC’s instagram page or their Linktree, to find out more. I think the link for the raffle itself is only there on Sundays.
On that note, check yourselves regularly, and make something that makes you smile. Take care, K x