It’s been quite the week! Last I wrote I was busy setting up my craft room to prepare for the arrival of my knitting machine. I finally got my hands on it on Monday – and while this is super exciting, I was too scared to touch it for a day! I worked the day job from home on Tuesday, and while I had the computer set up right next to the knitting machine, I managed to restrain myself and not touch it once until my work day was over.
When I finally got around to having a play with the knitting machine, I enlisted the help of my long suffering husband to help me get it set up. The cats were pretty confused at this point – both of us sitting at my desk ignoring them is not a regular occurrence in this house!
So set up went pretty well – and then I tried to cast on for the first time. I say tried… I definitely failed! I had known I’d struggle to get to grips with the machine at first – it’s not like the first time I hand knitted or crocheted I was immediately proficient either – but there’s something about not immediately understanding a machine that is slightly more frustrating!
Eventually we decided it was getting too late and I was too tired to learn, so I tried again on Wednesday… and I had a lot more success with it! I say a lot more success – there’s not much I can do with my two knitted worms, but I’m very proud of them, even though I think I need to work on getting my tension more consistent.
So my next plans for the knitting machine are to successfully use two new cast ons, and to work out how to do stranded colourwork. I’ve got some cheaper machine yarn on order for me to practice on – the £26 mercerised cotton I picked up from Unravel probably isn’t yarn I want to waste (it is so pretty – check out its sheen!)
I’ve also been working on a couple of other projects this week. This cute little snowman amigurumi was for a friend’s little boy on his 2nd birthday. He loves the film “The Snowman” so I’m just delighted he has his own snowman now!
Side note – I seem to specialise in snowmen! I went through a bit of a snowman phase over Christmas…
I think some of the next patterns I write up will be various snowmen – they’re surprisingly satisfying to make. Maybe I’ve missed the time of year to publish them though!
Wednesday was my Mum’s, ahem, 21st birthday, so I got to deliver her handmade Tunisian crochet birthday cushion. I was chuffed to bits to get a few happy tears upon delivery!
The “I shall wear purple” reference is from the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph. The poem is the inspiration for the Red Hat Society. It’s long been Mum’s favourite poem, and I thought it would be apt for a birthday on which she kept saying made her classify as “old”.
In case you’re not familiar – this is the poem in its entirety – it also sums up most of my aims in life!
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.Warning – Jenny Joseph
Other crafty pursuits this week have all been Tunisian crochet. My obsession continues! I’ve been taking a Tunisian crochet course on Craftsy and I am loving learning new techniques on the course and seem to be spending more time on Tunisian crochet than regular crochet at the moment. Look at how pretty it can be though – can you blame me?!
I’m including this post in Handmade Monday this week – I really enjoyed reading the other contributions last week so I’m pleased to be part of it again!
Elsie Pop xx
Julie says
8th March 2015 at 11:19 pmI’ve never tried Tunisian crochet, I keep hearing about it from others in a fb crochet group I’m a member of, if the results can be this pretty I’ll have to add it to my to do list.
I love that poem, I think of it every time I wear purple or wear a hat and wonder if people will judge me (I’m thinking they probably don’t!) The cushion you made you mum is just lovely. No wonder she looks so pleased.
Elsie Pop says
9th March 2015 at 9:25 amThanks Julie, I’d definitely recommend trying Tunisian crochet – it’s really versatile and a lot of fun. Thanks for visiting!xx
Lilly's Mom says
9th March 2015 at 3:36 amIt looks like you have been really busy. What fun you must be having knitting with your new knitting machine. And, I love the pillow you made. What a special gift for your Mom. Have a great week.
Elsie Pop says
9th March 2015 at 9:22 amThank you! Yes, it was a bit of a crazy week! 🙂 xx
Caroline says
9th March 2015 at 7:25 amYou have been busy and the Purple cushion is great. I have that poem on my wall and intend to grow old disgracefully
Elsie Pop says
9th March 2015 at 9:23 amHaha me too! xx
Lucy Blossom says
9th March 2015 at 7:58 amI love that poem, and like Caroline, intend to grow old disgracefully! Your snowmen are really sweet, and I’m sure your The Snowman will be happily received.
Elsie Pop says
9th March 2015 at 9:23 amThank you so much! My friend’s son loved The Snowman, which was a big relief! xx
threadsnshreds says
9th March 2015 at 10:35 amI hope you continue to have fun with your knitting machine, I did my degree in machine knitting, you can make such diverse fabrics and by picking up stitches from rows below can achieve some wonderful textures, sadly my machine has been gathering dust in the garage for years :-/
Loving the look of tunisian crochet, its another thing on my ‘to do’ list!
What a great poem, I already wear purple so I better get started on the other bits 😀 xx
Elsie Pop says
9th March 2015 at 10:46 amWow – a degree in machine knitting! It sounds like I’ll have a lot to learn then! I highly recommend trying Tunisian crochet – it’s simpler than hand knitting (to my crocheter’s mind at least) and you can achieve some fantastic results from it. Thanks for visiting! xx
Ali says
9th March 2015 at 7:02 pmI love the cushion and the poem, love purple too 🙂 Your Tunisian crochet looks wonderful, so many lovely colours.
Ali xx
Elsie Pop says
10th March 2015 at 11:03 amThanks Ali – I can’t believe how much I love Tunisian crochet, after all those times I’ve said I love crochet because I can only drop one stitch at a time if I lose my hook, it’s a real revelation! Thanks for visiting! xx
Anna says
9th March 2015 at 8:34 pmI haven’t tried Tunisian crochet either but I’d like to! I love that poem, I have plans to be a very peculiar crazy old lady 🙂
Elsie Pop says
10th March 2015 at 11:03 amHaha me too Anna! xx
Mlissabeth says
10th March 2015 at 12:05 amThe tunisan crochet is beautiful, both sides of the cushion and the project for your class. I really like the colors and textures of that project.
Elsie Pop says
10th March 2015 at 11:04 amThank you! It’s a really unique look you get from Tunisian crochet isn’t it? I find it fascinating! xx
Free Spirit Designs says
10th March 2015 at 10:13 amHow exciting to get a knitting machine! I’m sure you’ll get to grips with it in no time once you’ve played around with it a bit more. Love your pressie for your mum 🙂 x
Elsie Pop says
10th March 2015 at 11:05 amThanks, I’m slowly but surely getting there with the knitting machine – managed my first fair isle pattern this morning without a hitch! So excited to learn more about it and start doing some actual designing. xx
Fiddly Fingers says
10th March 2015 at 10:11 pmI really enjoyed reading your post, so much to take in 🙂 Good luck with your knitting machine. I’m sure you will master it very soon. I too love that poem. A project I have had on the go now for a while is a crocheted doll dressed in the style of the lady in this poem. So far she has a red dress and a purple cloak, both embroidered in bright colours. I may get around to finishing it one day, perhaps when I am ‘wearing purple’ 😀
Elsie Pop says
12th March 2015 at 3:11 pmThat sounds like a fab project – maybe one for mum’s birthday next year! 🙂 xx
Clare says
15th March 2015 at 8:26 pmWell done for getting to grips with your knitting machine, I can see why it was daunting in the beginning! My mum loves the poem I Shall Wear Purple too! She made a doll inspired by it and blogged about it here http://fiddlyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/i-shall-wear-purple.html. I know she’s made a beautiful hand embroidered dress for the doll too, but I can’t seem to find any photos on her blog! x
susan says
16th March 2015 at 2:55 amHow wonderful to have a new knitting machine! I’m sure it’s going to be lots of fun learning how to use it. Very sweet snowmen and pillow for your mom. She looks thrilled to have it. What a good daughter you are!