I did Blog with Pip and it was/is fabulous!

I've been hanging out with Pip Lincolne. 

I know, cool right? Well, actually, we've never met, but I've spent time hanging out online while Pip taught a course called... Blog With Pip!

As soon as she announced this course I signed up and I think its one of the best things I could have done. Yes, I've learnt lots of bloggy stuff (and trust me, I had a lot to learn!), but I've also 'virtually' met lots really fab people. It was so good to be learning with others as we often had the same questions and to have Pip answer our queries with lightning speed was the best!

The top three things I learned?

1. Write great content. (In 2014 I'm going to spend more time getting all the great stuff in my head onto the screen, you know, actually blog it.)

2. Canva is awesome! (Everyone has little bit of designer in them.)

3. People are really cool. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, make you smile and give freely of their knowledge. Make sure you do the same for them. 

So, if your blog is in need of a little sprucing up, if you'd like to learn more about what makes a great blog, if you don't even have a blog but would like to give it a whirl, then sign up! 

Pip really is the best. Have a look at the cool certificate she made each of us! 

Thanks a bunch Pip, 

Kx.

Fair Isle Friday 3

(Gosh darn it! I know its Monday, but I forgot to publish this one!! Have a little fair isle for your Monday! Kx.)

As I write this, the temperature today is predicted to reach 43C (about 110F, can you believe it?!), and I think I've finally 'un-Christamssed' the house. I haven't put the boxes of decorations away yet as everytime I walk through I find a little tree or bauble hiding around the house. I thought I'd put plenty out, but my sister arrived and put out LOTS more!

I hope your Christmas and New Year were filled with joy. My home was full of visiting family and way too much food, hence my quietness on the blog!

But they've now departed and I can find some quiet time for knitting. This year I'm planning a steeked fair isle cardigan based on this pattern, Lissuin.

Designed by the talented Ann Kingstone, Lissuin is a pattern I've had for a long time and 2014 is going to be a year of 

of trying to use some of the hundreds of patterns I've got in my Ravelry library!

At this stage I'm choosing colours for my cardigan. I'm going to use Skein Yarns Merino Cashmere fingering. While not a traditional fair isle yarn I've found it has enough 'stickiness' to create a gorgeous fabric and I do love cashmere! After learning a lot about colour through choosing fabric for quilting, the same principles apply to choosing colours for knitting. One of my favourite ways to check colours is to take a picture, convert it to black and white and then use those colours. 

Here's a snap of the Skein Yarns colours I've stockpiled for this project.

And here's the same photo converted to black and white to check the contrast of the colours.

Next week I'll reveal the selected yarns! I need six colours for this project and I'll write more about yarn selection and swatching then. 

In the meantime I'm drinking lots of iced tea and trying to stay cool. What's your favourite way to stay cool?

Kx.

Fair Isle Friday 2

A mad, crazy week for me. This time of year is full of school events, Christmas parties, catch ups, and trying to get things organised for 2014.

I'll leave you with just a little snippet of fair isle knitting for to week. Wouldn't you love to have a draw full of samples like these? I'd love to have them and get them out and look at how all the colours work together. 

These are from the Shetland Museum. Yes, it's on my list of places to visit. One day!

Kx.

Fair Isle Friday

I've been a lover of Fair Isle knitting for as long as I remember. I truly think that growing up watching The Sullivans was the cause of this happy mallady.

 

Set in the 1940's patterned vests played a supporting role to life in the kitchen and Mrs Jessop's gossiping ways!

 

About the same time Mum got this book.

 

 

 

It had pictures of traditional knitting from many places, but it was the Fair Isle garments that really captured my imagination.

 

They intrigued me, as I was only a child knitter making dolls clothes and, if adventurous, adding a stripe here or there. How DID they get those patterns in there?  When I had made more dolls clothes than they could wear, I graduated to knitting for myself. My second garment was a Fair Isle Jumper of 15 colours. I was 15 years old and it was the late 1980's. Just let me say there are a few 'interesting' colour combinations in there! When I look back on that garment I see bad technique, bad guage, but a whole lot of love! 25 years later, I still get it out and wear it at least once each winter. Sometimes as a joke, but some years it has been 'on trend'!

 

So over a few posts I'm going to delve into the history of Fair Isle. What it is, what it isn't. I've got the Fair Isle mallady again! And I love it!

 

Kx.

Be Radiant in 2014

Does anyone else wait with baited breath for the announcement of the Pantone Colour of the Year? I do, and here is the colour for 2014...

 

TA DA!

 

I think I like it! Radiant Orchid (sounds much fancier than purple doesn't it?) isn't a major colour in my life. A splash here, a stripe there. I use it more as an accent than a stand out colour. Check out my Pinterest Radiant Orchid board to see more ways to work this fab colour into your life. 

Are you a purple person?

Kx.

C is for cabbage

Last week Dirt Boy and I picked the last of the season's cabbages. We've enjoyed eating them and tonight it was time to use the last one.

How to use it? With the temperature broaching 40C I definitely wasn't going to cook it, so coleslaw it was. I must confess I love coleslaw. It screams summer and barbecues and steak sandwiches. Even the plasticky supermarket variety. Weird huh?

There are so many recipes for coleslaw. Sometimes I go fancy but tonight's version was a basic, though delicious version. There are no real quantities, just make it!

Shred your cabbage finely. Pop it in a bowl and (here's my secret!) sprinkle over about 2 teaspoons of sugar. Massage this through the cabbage. It softens the cabbage a little and sweetens it a tad. 

To it I added a couple of finely grated carrots and a Thai shallot very finely sliced. Now the dressing...

I put about 3/4 of a cup of whole egg mayonnaise and about 1 tablespoon of good white wine vinegar in a bowl. Adjust the sharpness of the dressing by adding more or less vinegar. Throw in some ground white pepper and mix through your coleslaw mix. 

I added some toasted white sesame seeds for a little nutty flavour. Heck, I added a heap.They are so yummy!

                 

 

 

There really is no substitute for homemade coleslaw using your own cabbages. Now, to think about digging the garden over and doing some more planting. As summer starts it will need to be something that likes heat! What are you planting at the moment?

Kx.