Henry Griswold Jr

Based on Victoria and Enid by Helen at the museum. Henry has got braces.

A few little extras

Barley and lavender bag - saw a similar one in the chemist - all the stuffing pushed to one end, folded for packaging. So knitted a simple tube of 140 or so rows, grated both ends, half-filled with barley and lavender. Supposed to me microwaveable for warmth, chillable for a cold compress. Looks like an out-of-shapre beanbag! Swedish Dumpling doll - two rounds, or on the CSM, one tube, colour-change in middle. Facial features on top half plus a hat. Forgot to take pix before I put them in the museum. Also trying out the tomato wedge heel socks again.

Cyril the silly centipede

...or really, Damien the daft decipede

Body is one long tube, the gathering is done at the stuffing stage. Essential to use yarn with some nylon in it for this, which is why the "mouth" (which started as a red nose) has not come out right - the yarn broke at the gathering stage. I thought it looked funny, so just left it, Legs are tubes sewn, and split.

Going Round in Circles in Ruddington

What a fantastic event this was towards the end of March! 20 people and 22 machines packed into the Chapel of the Framework Knitters Museum, for a day of learning and fun. Any more people and we wouldn't have been able to move, so perhaps my initial aim of 30 was a tad over-ambitious. It wasn't the machines really that took up the room, but the size of the tables that people brought with them.

Still, the day has set the "seed" for a weekend event elsewhere in the country - I don't think many of the people at Rudd had been to the Bournemouth event in 2005, so this is all new to them. One think=g to come out of discussion was how machine prices have shot up for the £400-500 price range to the £650-850 in just a couple of years.

Something to sit on

At last, got round to knitting a cushion on the CSM. Three tubes, joined vertically, washed, stuffed and the colour change lines "quilted" down. I-cord trim and ties.

Took it for first day of the course, although it was still slightly damp! it goes very well with the Victorian surroundings of the Griswold Room at the museum, so will now live there. Mind you, at the temp went down to minus point five of a degree INDOORS, I may very well find it frozen to the stool next week ...

Another skoleppar cushion

At last finished the second one. The colours have come out a bit duller, but 'im indoors prefers this one. It's the one towards the back of the chair. As it is such a dull day here, they look pretty identical through the camera's eye. Thought I would give skoleppar a rest now as I have this pair of cushions, but an out-of-the blue email came from somebody who would like me to consider giving workshops for fairly new knitters plus herself, who she considers to be quite advanced.

As this week I have also finished a baby cardigan following Pat & Steve's schematics (woollythoughts.com), it might be a good idea to do Glorious Garter, and lead them up from dishcloths via shoe inserts and the scissors keeper. Mind you, it looks as though my local shop has finally run out of those folding scissors.

Plus a course at Ruddington is due to start early Feb - my part is to teach the techniques of the CSMS to five people one day a week for up to ten weeks - petrol expenses paid. Despite having notes from the one-day learners and the Uni students, I am still having to do some prep. A lot is going to depend on what they are like - progress is never faster than the slowest one in a group. One of them will be Judi, whom I have already taught - she might find herself promoted to Deputy Sheriff.

Three-quarters-of-a-skoleppar Kindle cover

I had an idea for a bag for a skoleppar shape in rainbow stripes much earlier in the year - leaving off one of the points. Think South American shape, with the point at the bottom completed with a tassel. I abandoned it as I didn't have enough colours for the other side, but the one-sided piece looks set to be folded over into a Kindle cover, as Santa is being very kind to me this year. I can't actually sew it up to make sure it is the right size until Santa has been, but it doesn't look far off!

It's lovely when it's folded as the stripes turn two corners. I have seen lots of Kindle cover pattern on the net already, and it seems to me that if you have the opening at the top, they can all too readily slide out. I will probably sew a little piece of Velcro on for a fastening. I am really pleased not to have wasted those hours knitting!