Ginger Knits UK

I was surprised to see that visitors to London's galleries and museums are down as the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), cited as having the largest drop in numbers, was busy when I visited earlier in the week. The busiest part was the Portrait Award exhibition and while the pieces were technically brilliant only a few grabbed my attention. People often get hung up on art, what should they like, what's the correct way to talk about it. I say ignore all that and look with an open mind. If something takes your fancy, great, if it doesn't, move on. Someone else will like it. If you can't make it to the NPG you can see all the entries online . Here are a couple I like. I'm not going to say anything about them. It's up to you what you think about them. If they intrigue you there's more info on the gallery website. Patchwork   by Paula Wilson  © Paula Wilson The New Religion   by Conor Walton  © Conor Walton It is disheartening to see visitor...

I've known for some time, ahem years, that I have several WIPs (works in progress) that need attention. I've avoided them, hiding them in project bags and cupboards - out of sight, out of mind - the lure of casting on new items, telling myself they are more important, they will be more interesting, distracting me from the irritation of the unfinished. Truthfully they are not out of mind as they irk me whenever I go on my Ravelry project page, pangs of guilt for socks and sweaters I could be wearing. A post shared by clarestorry (@gingerknits) on Jan 2, 2018 at 8:05am PST In the post Christmas lull I decided to tackle a few, at least getting them out in the open, matching first socks with partially knitted second socks, finding patterns and checking needles sizes. I haven't found them all, that way lies madness, and I do want to cast on new projects as well as tackling the unloved. I outed myself in Instagram as a serial WIP procrastinator and invited ot...

In that idle time between Christmas and New Year some have dubbed Twixmas, I found myself recuperating from spending a week with my very intense mother-in-law by watching mid-morning TV. I flicked over to Nadiya's British Food Adventure  where this recipe for red split lentils and five-spice soda bread caught my eye. I'm a big fan of curry; it's my favourite cuisine and the combo of lentil soup and soda bread ticked the right boxes. My dad is a keen breadmaker and he talked about making soda bread over Christmas which had tickled my interest. While I like the idea of making bread, I'm unlikely to have bread flour or yeast in and I find the kneading and proving off putting, but soda bread is doable. The lentil soup was eaten before I thought of photographing it. It's similar to dhals we routinely make for dinner - so cheap and easy to do - though the garlic and butter were a treat. The bread has lasted for a few days as there are only two of us in the house...

Like many people, I've been contemplating picking up my blog. Heck, I've been doing this for over a year (53 drafts saved???) however the time now feels right to hit the publish button. Twitter is crowded and I seem to just retweet excellent content rather than making my own. When I do make my own it feels like I'm repeating what others have already said. Plus it's turned into an outlet for people understandably frustrated and angry by the current political climate, myself included. I miss the old knitting conversations which naturally drifted into a range of random topics. Facebook. I have issues with Facebook. Their algorithms skew what I'm seeing, hiding friends important news, repeating the mundane, endless ads, the list goes on. I liked it in the early days when it was a simple list of what my friends were up to. It was enjoyable and useful. Now it's a bizarre construct whose main goal is to keep us on Facebook. The only reason I still use it is my fri...

I've been a fairly faithful knitter over the last couple of months, working almost exclusively on the Box-Set Blanket . Nephew Two is due at the start of July so I'm hoping to have it finished by then. I'm on the final round of colours, although this is deceptive in terms of knitting as the last few stripes include some pretty wide sections. One upside of the miserable summer here is I don't feel guilty about staying in watching box sets and knitting. We visited my brother-in-law and Nephew One a few weeks ago and it was lovely to see Blanket One being used every day. The kid takes it to nursery for his afternoon nap and it goes in his pushchair when not at nursery. Makes all the knitting worthwhile! Hooray! I'm enjoying the garter stitch though I'm starting to hanker after something a little more complex and have plenty of WIPs sitting idle which I'm looking forward to picking up once the blanket is done. I did have a fling with a pair of bab...

After all my decision making in my post yesterday, and my eagerness to cast on, my brain interfered again and I spent most of the evening playing with colour combos in Excel. It looked like this: I stared at it for ages, showed it to my other half, stared at it again, showed it to my other half* *repeat until bedtime. I decided to get stuck in having whittled it down to two possible layouts. I'm still not one hundred percent sure but I'm hoping I'll have a better idea by the time I'm at the next colour change.

Almost two years to the day that I cast on for what has so far been my biggest FO, I'm casting on another. When I found out my first nephew was on the way I um'd and ah'd over what to knit for him; i.e. I spent hours browsing Ravelry looking at ALL THE BABY THINGS. I wanted to make him a blanket, something he'd hopefully use and keep for several years, maybe into adulthood. While I like knitting modular patterns, crocheting motifs and generally being a clever clogs, my brain kept on returning to a simple yet effective pattern. #knitting pattern is Teddy blanket by Millamia A photo posted by clarestorry (@gingerknits) on Apr 20, 2014 at 9:44am PDT I've worked with MillaMia in the past and their oh so cheerful Teddy Blanket had always attracted a lot of attention at yarn shows. It's a very easy knit though it is an exercise in stamina. After doing more browsing (thanks again Ravelry) I decided on it but using Rico Essential Cotton, not Mill...

There's a crochet photo thing I'm joining in with over on Instagram. I'm enjoying it though it is mostly a sea of pastels and perfect home decor  there are moments punctuated with humour and insight. Today's theme ties in nicely with FO Friday. Out of pure laziness I'm re-posting here. Any questions? Ask away in the comments. Cheers and happy weekend! BIG WOOL got me back in to knitting after a 20 year hiatus. The satisfaction of finishing a scarf in days, rather than weeks was a revelation. I bought lots of BIG WOOL. As my technique improved, my yarn weight decreased and big wool was sadly redundant, relegated to the bottom of the stash. A few years later I discovered BIG HOOK and the #crochet circles project was born. This took me ages to make, mostly due to distraction from other projects. It also failed as a stashbuster as I had to buy more #colours, I really did! Is it a #blanket? Is it a rug? Is it a blug or a ruket? Who cares? It's toasty, col...

I have so many WIPs on the go that WIP Wednesday should be WIP-every-day for me. I'm pondering getting them all in one place so I work through them and actually finish them however that can feel a little overwhelming and in a way less fun. Who knows, maybe I'll get round to it. Having said that, not all my WIPs are lost causes, though some are slow burners. It's grey and miserable outside today so here's some #colour #wipwednesday #WIP #knitting #garterstitch #blanket #yarn #knittersofinstagram A photo posted by clarestorry (@gingerknits) on Mar 9, 2016 at 7:17am PST I started this blanket during last year's Tour de France. I'd made a garter stitch blanket for my nephew  and had enjoyed the mindless knitting, perfect for watching men in lycra cycling up hills. While having a stash sort out I realised I had accumulated a fair amount of aran weight tweed yarn. I did a fair bit of pattern browsing on Ravelry and decided on making another gart...

Here's another one of my learn to draw sketches. One of the aspects I'm really enjoying about the online course is it mixes up simple and complex shapes. This encourages concentration for some challenges and giddy fun for others. Yesterday's challenge was candy/sweeties. I decided not to watch the full tutorial before drawing as I wanted to see what I would produce without influence. "I know a guy who's tough but sweet He's so fine, he can't be beat He's got everything that I desire Sets the summer sun on fire I want candy" Yum yum in my tum. Yesterday's #CBDrawADay challenge was a sugar rush. This was a fun doodle, I'd forgotten how sinister jelly babies are when closely examined. Coloured in using Derwent Inktense - the colours really pop when washed. #sweets #colour #bowwowwow A photo posted by clarestorry (@gingerknits) on Mar 8, 2016 at 8:30am PST This isn't the most skillful of drawings but I had fun doing it a...

There is knitting action going on at the moment, I just haven't got round to blogging about it yet. I've also been doing more #CBDrawADay challenge. Here's birds from Sunday's lesson. I wrote about how I was approaching Sunday's #CBDrawADay subject with anticipation over on my blog. I love #birds. I #bird watch. I have binoculars next to my garden facing windows at home so I look like a freaky Rear Window type when I'm just looking at who visits my garden. I go on holiday to places where I can do some serious birdwatching. I watch wildlife stuff all the time. Love it! This is something I'd like to be able to draw well, ie field guide illustration well. As Pam the tutor says at the end of today's video " Just go with it and have fun" which is something I found tricky, unlike yesterday's challenge. I started off drawing cartoon-like birds but started getting irritated when I couldn't get the lines right, especially the back between ...

"What! You don't post for months then you write two in a day?!?!?!?" Yes, I hear you, my sly subconcious, and yeah, what of it? So what if I blog like buses! Anyway brain, get to it, your readers (hello dear reader, thanks for stopping by) are getting impatient. I had a little moment of self realisation today. I was being a good student taking part in today's #CBdrawaday challenge. The subject is Loving Cups. Loving what? Indeed. To save retyping here's my Instagram post with my homework and thoughts on the actual topic. When I saw 'Loving Cups' coming up as #CBdrawaday day five I wondered if it was something that would flag up inappropriate google searches. It's not a term I've heard before and my puerile British mind went to the wrong place. Oh, its trophies and the like. OK, still something that I don't see very often. I googled images - using trophies, not loving cups as my search term - as I don't have an inventor...

A lot has happened since I last posted here. I realised about halfway through last year that my job was having a very negative impact on my life so after much trying to fix it, taking time out, reflection and soul searching, I quit. Hooray! Best decision I've made in a long time. I miss my co-workers but that's about it. I'm still getting my head round it as the side effects of my job have taken a larger toll than I realised. Hindsight is 20:20 and all that. I may write more on this later, or I may not. I started writing about it  just now and it turned into an angry and upset ramble so it's something I'm still working on. Pushing that to one side for the time being, I'm taking a bit of time out from the rat race to rebuild me and work out what to do next. You'll be pleased to hear a big part of my rebuilding process involves craftyness. Now, I have all the blog ideas, but don't always have the impetus to actually write things down. I've ...

Life’s been a bit rubbish chez Gingerknits so in a bid to cheer myself up I bought not one, but two crafty kits. I have some knitting projects on the go but fancied a change. Project one is making a lampshade, something I’ve wanted to try for ages as shop bought ones are pricey plus it is a nifty way of using my fabric stash. Project two is making a pair of knickers. Again with the fabric stash.  Also I want to improve my sewing skills but get nervous about cutting fabric. I’ve got my mum’s sewing machine at the moment, it’s a 1980s Toyota which needs a bit of a service, but will hopefully improve with a bit of a clean and oiling. I’ve had a bit of a sneaky peak, both kits are beautifully packaged with clear instructions. I’ve got the day off work tomorrow so I’m going to give at least one of them a try, though I imagine I’ll start dithering over which fabric to use….

Back in November my work friend Tim was wearing a beautiful Aran cardigan, albeit a beautiful Aran cardigan which was full of holes. We got chatting about the cardigan as I was admiring the cables. Tim said his Gran had knitted it for his Grandad in the 70's and he enjoyed the continuity of wearing the cardigan, especially as his grandparents are no longer alive. Tim is also into sailing and wears the cardigan a lot on his boat, 'tis a very warm garment. I couldn't let this beautiful piece of knitwear stay in its holey state, so I offered to fix it for him. I took the cardigan home, which felt a little bit like taking the class pet home for the weekend, there was definitely an air of responsibility. On closer inspection, as well as a few large holes, there were several small areas of wear and tear all over the cardigan. I didn't count them all but I think there were about 40 in total. I didn't fix this all in one go - that way lies madness. I worked on t...

Finished: Book The Circle by Dave Eggers. I thoroughly enjoyed And you shall know our velocity by Dave Eggers, so when my work friend Nick was reading this I asked if I could borrow it. I tend to read borrowed books faster than my own as I feel the impetus to return them before they get lost in my piles of book. I had no trouble finishing this and found it compelling from the start. I won't say much about the plot (I hate spoilers and hardly ever read the blurb on the back of books which seem to give away half the plot) but it starts with a young woman leaving her dull hometown job to work at a googlesque company, Circle. I work in digital communication which may have piqued my interest but if you use the internet (and here you are dear reader), you should read this. Heck, I'm not even sure I should be blogging after reading this book. Started: Allotment 2014 We headed to our strip of land on Saturday. Most of the work was wedding, pulling up an ex...

2013, where did you go? Last year was stupidly busy and I think it's OK to accept that sometimes some things have to give way. I my case it was this little corner of the internet, as well as a lot of crafty time, that was sacrificed for other things. What other things I hear you cry? Well without banging on too much they were moving house and my job. It wasn't all work and new home hunting. I did cram in a fair bit of travel and adventure and if I find the time I'll do a spot of retrospective blogging about that. Where does that leave me now? Over the last few months I've felt the urge to blog, so I'm starting here. I also occasionally feel a tad hypocritical as my day job is running a blog site, and I don't want to lose touch with the insight I get from keeping my own blog. Hopefully this won't be one of those "I'm back" posts followed by weeks, if not months, of silence. I've had a weekend at home, which has been a rarity over ...

Just a quick post to say I spotted this challenge for Lent  http://plasticbeaches.blogspot.co.uk/ On first glance it looked fairly easy, on closer inspection it's very, very hard. I'll be following Emily's progress and while I don't think I can quite match her in cutting out plastics from my life I'm going to try and reduce the amount I use. Good luck Emily!

MrG and I went out for a nice stroll this afternoon, along the Thames from Wapping and its expensive warehouse apartments to Tower Bridge and St Katherine's Dock. We had fun trying to stick to the Thames in Wapping, including turning down a side street heading down to the river to discover steps leading into it. A bit too much Thames for our liking! Our reason for heading to St Katherine's Dock was a replica pirate ship was moored there and was free to visit. According to MrG it was featured in Hornblower and the crew would try and sell you onions? - can you tell I wasn't paying much attention and was just along for the ride? Anyway, just as we arrived at the dock the ship was leaving so while we didn't get to poke around the galley and splice the mainbrain (or somesuch pirate speak) we did watch it carefully manoeuvre out of the dock back to the Thames.  We also discovered The Honesty Shop  housed in an old routemaster.   There was a little bit o...

I went to Stitch London's Christmas meet up on Monday night. As well as catching up with old friends and meeting some lovely new knitters there was a raffle. Now I used to run lots of raffles when I organised  p/hop and as I was the organiser I couldn't enter. I din't mind this as the money we raised helped MSF's incredible work, though I did covet some of the prizes we were donated. So it was with some excitement entered Stitch London's raffle buying a few tickets as the money was going to Great Ormond Street Hospital, my old workplace. I'd entered their raffle last year too but didn't win anything so wasn't holding out much hope. Low and behold my name came out of the hat bag not once, not twice, but a cracking seven times, including drawing my own name three times. While I was pretty pleased by this it did seem excessive so I turned down some prizes when I drew my own name out plus gave one away. However, with some encouragement from Deadlyknit...