E17 Art Trail

It's nearly the start of the E17 Art Trail in Walthamstow. For the first time since I've lived here, I am taking part. I'm very excited about it, but also quite nervous. My good friend Helen Reed invited me to join her for 'A Life of Skein'. We're venue number 11 on the programme.

 Photo courtesy of The Wool Kitchen

Photo courtesy of The Wool Kitchen

We will be hosting it over two days. On Friday 5th June from 10am - 3pm, and Sunday 7th June from 11am - 5pm. our aim is to 'Bring you knitting, crochet and spinning for knit and chat in the garden.'

Helen will be showcasing her hand-dyed yarns, of which she has many! In all weights, from lace weight to super chunky (above), and in a myriad of colours, solid and variegated.

I'm using a 2 ply Exmoor Blue Faced Leicester for my Moss Stitch Beret, which I will release as a pattern for the Art Trail.

It's lovely wool to knit with, super soft and fluffy.

Photo by Wozza

The Moss Stitch Beret in 4 ply alpaca.

This version is in an aran weight silk and alpaca blend.

Photo by Mike D

This is a pattern I had almost forgotten about: Pom Pom Beret. I previously released it as a kit with Abstract yarn shop in Walthamstow village, run by Alessandra Rigillo.

I'm using one of Helen's 'urban hand-dyed' yarns for this one: Another Blue Faced Leicester in an aran weight, so it knits up nice and quickly. It is a super easy pattern, perfect for a beginner. It uses only the knit stitch (garter stitch), with some decreases to shape the top. It has to have pom poms - the bigger, the better.

If you want to see more of her hand dyes, take a peek here.

Photo by Mike D

I seem to be big on the hat knitting. Hmm. Here's my 'Beret for Everyday'. This was done in Excelana, which is - you guessed it - Exmoor Blue Faced Leicester! This pattern will be available at the Art Trail, too.

Let's hope lots of people turn up, or we'll be getting through a lot of tea and cakes ourselves! If you are in Walthamstow, please do come and join us and say, 'Hello'. We aren't bitchin' (like in the photo below), we're just knitting nerds. But then, if you read this blog, you'll know that about me.

We won't be dressed like this, either. There will be more wool. A lot more. I hope it's not too warm out.

Theodora.

Free Pattern Friday and a year of blogging

The end of April marked a year of consistent blogging for me. I actually started this blog in 2011, and managed four posts before I let it slide. I still don't really know what my blog is about, but the consistent theme seems to be vintage knitting, interspersed with the fun things I get up to.

Sometimes, I combine the two, like on a day out with the kiddies in coordinating colours. Here's another look at my Victory Jumper, this time with shoulder pads. They just finish it off. I'm so happy with the length of the sleeves, too, just above the elbow. This was a very popular length in the 1940s, as it made it a very wool-saving alternative to long sleeves when wool was in short supply.

The free pattern this month is from the 1950s, and it's a twinset. A longish polo-neck jumper paired with a dolman-sleeved bolero.

I just love her pose on the cover, and the bold blonde highlights at the front of her tousled, bobbed hair. Quite fancy the skirt and chunky bracelet, too!

It is a larger size than usual: 35-37 inch bust. Worked in 3 ply at a tension of 7.5 sts to the inch, it would be easy to substitute a 4 ply for a slightly larger size.

It will be on the Free Vintage Patterns page, too.

I went to another International Club at the end of April, with my friend Simone. We met for dinner, and headed over for an evening of 78s and a live band. There was a vintage photo booth set up in the basement by Hanson Leatherby, a rather marvelous photographer, who specializes in vintage-style photography. I haven't seen any of the shots from that night yet, but everyone had a great time doing it, so I'm sure they will be amusing.

Simone promised vintage knitwear, and she did not disappoint. Here, she's wearing the Miss Marple coat from A Stitch In Time Vol 2, in a very sensible brown shade.

Her jumper is from a 1930s edition of Stitchcraft magazine, in D.K weight wool. She describes the shade as Sea Green, which sounds very 30s to me. She was very kind and gave me some 3 ply wool, in the same sea green shade, and some in cream. I will give it a very good home. I'm still trying to decide what pattern to knit with it. I'm wearing Embroidered With Tiny Flowers from A Stitch In Time Vol 1. I love the enormous balloon sleeves.

We had some fun in the restored pub where the night is held.

Simones' long-suffering pal Gordon took these pics of us clowning around.

On to the next night of frivolity. I'm still wearing pink, and my hair is still curly. Just fast-forward fifty years.

Mixtape was all about the Yacht Rock last month, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to wear a turquoise jumpsuit and my 'Stevie Nicks' sparkly kimono blouse.

My hair got some serious scrunching action, and I wore it to one side with a hair-comb and copious amounts of hairspray to keep it there.

My partner in crime was Magnum P.I. (see what I did there). The 'tache was pretty impressive.

There was dancing and white wine spritzers were sipped langorously.

I hope this photo thing doesn't mess with your head, my phone did it automatically.

Last month wasn't all fun and games. We had to say goodbye to our beloved puss, Mr Tibbs. He'd been with us since 2006, wandering into our garden as a stray, and becoming a very willing house cat. He was an ace mouser, too.

I'm glad I got some pictures of him before he was put to sleep. He was very ill by the end, so skinny.

He lost that eye quite recently, as a result of an infection made worse by the FIV he had. He was such a loving cat, but he shared a house with two female cats who never took to him, so there was always tension. He had a good life though, I think.

Theodora.

VE Day and My Victory Jumper

I finished it just in time, yesterday in fact. Frantically sewing up, voting and baking brownies with my boy, who was off school. He also took these photos. He is five.

Your Victory Jumper, a now famous pattern, put out by the Victoria & Albert museum, and available on their website. On Ravelry, there are over 100 versions of this jumper. It was actually released by Home Notes magazine in June of 1945, so you wouldn't have been able to wear it on VE day. But I can. And I'm very proud to.

I used a vintage 3 ply wool in navy, Beehive Purple Heather. The red was a Cygnet 4 ply, but it is actually closer to a 3 ply in thickness. The white was a 4 ply, pure wool. I was amazed at how far the vintage wool went, only using the 3 balls the pattern called for. Two balls of Cygnet 4 ply, and one ball of white.

I followed the pattern, but was worried it might come out slightly too wide. I kept measuring as I was increasing on the body, and it was coming out at 18 ins. I stopped increasing at 128 sts, but I needn't have bothered as when I came to pressing it, I blocked very lightly, to keep it narrow. It can be pressed wider if need be though, easily accommodating a 36 inch bust. It is shorter than the original, but I like it sitting high on the waist, rather than blousing over. I think I will knit some shoulder pads to square off the shoulders a bit.

I'm wearing a turban from The Vintage Pattern Files. It is a 1940s pattern, and inspired my own version, the Herringbone Lace Turban. This one I worked in aran/worsted weight wool, instead of the 3 ply stated in the original pattern. I'm also wearing my socks and slippers, which are just out of shot! And while I'm at it, the skirt is from Sainsburys. That's how I shop vintage these days.

My son was very interested in the VE Day parties that I told him about, and I showed him some of the black and white (and colour), footage of children packed around the tables, stuffing their little faces. He couldn't understand that there were no treats to be had, no chocolate, and NO bananas, for over five years. To be honest, I can hardly picture it. I've been thinking about it recently, just trying to imagine how ordinary women would have coped. Especially if they had families. Could I have sent my two away from London? To strangers? A few of our clients at the salon have told me their stories of that time, being about the age my children are now. One of the ladies' mothers' wouldn't send her or her brother away, but kept them in Hendon, running from air raids day and night. Another stayed with her mother just out of London, in Herfordshire, where they had WAAFs billeted with them. They weren't out of danger, though. She remembers many daytime raids while at school, which luckily had a shelter in the basement. I think a lot of children would've quite enjoyed missing a bit of school. I know this little chap below would!

The little photographer in the making

I missed a post last week, which was when I would have celebrated a year of consistent blogging, but one of our dear puss cats had to be put down. It was a very sad week. I'll catch up with all that next week, along with some pics of me and Simone at the International Club - the knitwear edition.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite tunes from the end of the war, and a image from one of those VE day parties.

I'm Going To Get Lit Up (When The Lights Go On In London) by Carroll Gibbons & His Orchestra.

Theodora.

Crocheted gifts, current projects and gadding about

A short and sweet post this week, as I haven't any finished jumpers to show.

I'm on the second sleeve of 'Your Victory Jumper', so it might be near completion by next week.

I recently made my friend a clutch bag for her birthday.

I looked at lots of chevron patterns, tried them out, but none worked for me. I had a go at my own version, and I was pleased with how it turned out.

It is a pattern I would like to make available as it is relatively quick and easy. It uses chunky weight yarn and a 5 or 6mm hook. You have to be a bit partial to chevrons though.

We've been busy in the TGW household, the start of a new term for my boy, and out and about DJing in the Stow. Last Sunday we took Nashville-on-Thames to the Wild Card Brewery, for some Honky Tonkin' and Rompin' 'n Stompin'. It was an afternoon event, so we brought the little ones along. Our friend Andrew Mueller was there, as the other member of the 'family'. In fact, it was just he and my husband who first set up Nashville-on-Thames at The Lexington. I've just muscled in recently, to play what Andrew describes as 'pre-war horseshit'! Otherwise known as Western Swing, and damned good it is too. Bob Wills, Hank Penny, early Hank Williams, Tex Williams, Leon McAuliffe, Al Dexter, and the Modern Mountaineers to name just a handful. It was a success, but quite stressful 'wrangling the critters'.

He is quite a shy boy, but has shown an interest in being in the limelight recently. He took the microphone at his school disco at Christmas and thanked people for coming, which nearly floored me. (I think someone had spiked the punch).

Whereas Miss B is always forcing her way to the front of the crowd. That's my girl! Loves dancing and singing. And roaring like a monster.

We have another Mixtape coming up next Saturday, in conjunction with a Bank Holiday Hog Roast and Cider Festival at The Chequers. We have decided to theme ours as more of a luau though, when my husband found this image.

I'll be walking into the party like I'm walking onto a yacht. Think late 70s, early 80s sophistication.

Image from Prom Night,

 trying not to laugh

At the last one we had people dancing on the tables. I think it was Tori Amos' 'Professional Widow' that did it. How do you top that?

I'm looking forward to another gig this Sunday in the Stow again - BeBop Baby. This will be the youngest crowd I've played for, and I'm really excited about it.

Tomorrow night I'm going to The International Club again.

...a small back-street club in some European country, it doesn't matter exactly where, a place where they played hot jazz, dance bands and swing music interwoven with Latin-American rhythms, bal musette and other popular music of the day. A place where high-life rubbed shoulders with low-life... where the flotsam and jetsam gathered to try to forget the real world outside.

I'm meeting a like-minded vintage knitter for dinner first, who promises to wear a completely home made outfit, including a knitted jumper and coat. Hmm, the gauntlet has been thrown down...

Theodora.

The Shellac Sisters - a 78 rpm adventure in pictures

Jenny, Virginia, Jane and Theodora

The Shellac Sisters celebrated ten years of spinning 78s together at the end of 2014 with cocktails and dinner at The Gilbert Scott, part of the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. I've been meaning to put up a blog post and a page about The Shellac Sisters for a long time, so here it is. 

The Shellac Sisters (with cocktails) at The Gilbert Scott Bar
Mine's a Corpse Reviver No.2.

The Shellac Sisters began DJing with gramophones in 2004, after a birthday picnic that summer when one of the sisters brought a gramophone and a handful of 78s along. It sounded great, and filled the picnic spot with sound loud enough to dance to. It didn't take long before we had all 'found' a gramophone (or two).

One should never dress down to a picnic.

It's been an amazing ten years, with gigs varied and exciting. Take a look at the page if you want to see more, but here are a few of my favourite pics from the past ten years.

On a platform in the middle of a man-made moat at

The V&A

This has to be one of my absolute favourite gigs of all time: A private party for a publishing company, which had the fantastic idea of hiring the V&A for a summer party. They flooded the outside area, and we had to jump on the platform before it got too high! We were then stranded there for the whole performance. Or, at least I thought so. Thankfully Jane had had the forethought to purchase some wellies in advance. Mine were leopard print.

Tate Britain 

I don't know who took this photo, but thank you whoever you are. My hubby doesn't dance much anymore, so this is a very precious picture. It was a Late at the Tate night, and we drew a huge crowd of Lindy Hoppers.

 I Knit Day 2007

I shouldn't have been at this gig, as it was on a Saturday when I work. It was for the wool shop I Knit in Waterloo. A whole day of knitting workshops, stalls and a talk by Jane Waller, whose 1972 book 'A Stitch In Time' I'd long coveted. It was a real turn of fate that got me here - one of those days when everything changed for me.

It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been scratched by a cat in my garden a couple of months before. I got a really bad infection in my hand that needed surgery (Cat Scratch Fever)! I couldn't work for about six weeks, so at the last minute my mum and hubby convinced me to go along to this gig, as it wouldn't be too strenuous. That was the day that I met Susan Crawford and Jane Waller. Jane was talking about the re-issue of 'A Stitch In Time', with Susan, and when she saw The Shellac Sisters she offhandedly asked us if we would model for the book. I immediately said 'Hell yeah!' I wore my knitted dress that day, which later came to be featured in the book.

I've thought about that day many times since, and what got me there. It sounds a bit trite, but out of something awful, really awesome things can happen. Well, they did for me on this occasion.

The V&A

Another V&A shot, with both of us beaming with happiness. A very gallant gentleman kindly waded out and supplied us with refreshments of the bubbly kind, which may help explain it.

This was shot in an alleyway next to The Rose & Crown pub in Walthamstow for a newspaper article. I honestly can't remember which newspaper, though I've got a copy somewhere. I nearly didn't go, even though it was only up the road from me. It's not that I'm lazy (though I am!), just that I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. I was five months pregnant and feeling sick all the time. In retrospect (and in spite of the look on my face), I'm glad that I went.

This is from a picnic, and one of V's photographer friends took a couple of shots of us for promotion as we really needed them in the early days. I don't know why the other ladies' faces are cut off though. It wasn't me, really!

 The National Theatre

A nautical themed party for the National Theatre. We were on the roof, the deck, with views over London and the river. It was summer, an English summer, so there was a torrential downpour. Like the hats? They are all made by Jane (in the red hat), who is a milliner.

Gotta love that moat!

Theodora.