Best Stash-Busting Project Ever. . .

Here's what I've been storing in my new Persephone bag:

I've been sorting through my stash and putting aside all these odd balls of wool - remnants from previous projects; the extra skeins where I bought too much for a pattern; skeins (mostly variegated) that I liked at the time but am now shaking my head over, and just any bits that I really don't have a clue what to do with.  Into the bag they've gone, along with a 4mm crochet hook and my latest project.

It started with a skein of purple/yellow/green DK that looked just horrible when knitted up.  But it was nice wool, so I decided to make just one large granny square and maybe turn it into a cushion cover. This type of simple crochet works up so quickly that the ball was suddenly all used up and I wanted to keep on going.  So I did . . . using up all my scraps and pieces.

I'm just loving the look of all these random colours, filled with happy reminders of successful projects.   The crochet is so forgiving too - I have mostly used DK weight but thrown in the odd aran and even chunky yarn too.  It looks huge in this picture, but I'm nowhere near done yet - the plan is to make it big enough to cover a queen size bed.  Yes, I have enough stash to do it.  So far, I've mostly been using leftovers, but I think as the rows get longer, I'll break into some full skeins of stash.

This has been such a joy to create although it's getting quite heavy now.  I haven't forgotten about my knitted Rowan blanket though; I've nearly finished attaching the trim then it's just a thousand ends to weave in and the backing to sew up and attach.  The light is at the end of the tunnel.  Oh, and I'm still working on my Lush cardigan. . . and a new autumn shawl. . . there's just not enough of the summer left!

In Praise (yet again) of Persephone Books. . .

As the summer draws to a close, we're very busy doing all sorts of projects to spruce the house up. I have guests coming in a month from Canada (hooray!) and so we're painting the spare room, finally getting around to hanging up pictures that have been leaning against walls for ages, weeding the garden, and generally GETTING THINGS DONE!

It's been over two years, but I'm finally starting to get all my books sorted.  It's taken me some time to convince the Liverpud that books (and bookcases) do furnish a room, and then to persuade him to take me to IKEA where the crowds and parking always fill him with dread. 

At any rate, on our last trip, I picked up two smaller Billy bookcases and got the accompanying glass doors, purely to house my beloved Persephones.  Possibly the most beautiful books in the world, they deserve no less.  I've been collecting them for over ten years now and have yet to read one that I haven't enjoyed. 

The birth of Persephone Books coincided more or less with the time that I started working in publishing. Back then, imprints often produced really lovely tote bags for marketing purposes but these started to decline in size and quality.  So I was absolutely delighted when Persephone announced they had one for sale.  Isn't it lovely?  It's big and roomy with a solid bottom and strong handles.

But the best part (and really, would we expect less of Persephone?) is the lining, based on the endpapers for one of their books - The Winds of Heaven by Monica Dickens.  Gorgeous!  It's the perfect book and knitting bag and I've got the perfect project to go into it.

Along with the bag, I ordered their latest book - Wilfred and Eileen by Jonathan Smith which I've just finished reading as part of my ongoing (albeit slow) challenge to tackle numerous books on and about the First World War during the next four years.

Aren't the endpapers stunning?  It's from a 1913 fabric called Maud, designed by Vanessa Bell.

It's a very interesting novel to compare and read alongside Persephone's first ever book - William: An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton.  Each features a couple falling in love and marrying during the First World War and focuses on their idealisms and naivete, and the inevitable loss of innocence and future plans that the conflict brings.  The characters and outcomes are very different though - written as they are, almost sixty years apart - but Smith's novel was based on an actual couple and their experiences and through their letters, he has been able to capture details and ambience from the period. It's another worthy offering from Persephone and a very moving story.  

The Festival of Quilts 2014. . .

I travelled to Birmingham last weekend to visit the Festival of Quilts and the show was an incredible riot of colour, creativity and inspiration.  I've only ever completed one quilt, which is really more a wall hanging, though I do have half a quilt sewn up somewhere in a bag that I really should dig out.  I'd definitely like to improve my sewing and quilting skills and this may have been the kickstart that I needed.

Though there were some extraordinarily detailed patterns such as the one below. . .

. . . many of the quilts had rather simple templates; it's their creators' talent for matching colours and patterns that brings such vibrancy and energy to these works of art.  These quilts were all hanging in the stall of Birmingham's own The Cotton Patch which was an explosion of colourful fabric.

I did do a bit of shopping but was really there to see the juried quilts on display.  Again, here is a simple pattern but the colour choices really make it pop.  This is The Colour of the Square by Petra Niermann.

Guantanamo by Louise Donovan was also striking, but again, simple stripes and simple stitching done to great effect.

And here are a couple of others that I really liked:

Sew Large by Sandy Snowden was part of the Contemporary Quilt category.

Mosaic from Aquileia by Rossana Romani was really clever.

And I just loved Paris by Anna-Karin Andermo

The Visitors by Susan Chapman was filled with interesting textured stitching.

This was the winner of the Miniature Quilts Best in Show: A Hundred Acres by Roberta La Poidevin.  It's about the size of a tablet. 

And if you want to feel really inadequate, look at this gorgeous quilt by the Young Quilter Award winner in the 12-16 year old category!  This is Unwanted Guest by Millie Ayers.

This was perhaps my favourite quilt among the hundreds on display: WWI Centenary by Janet Bevan.  I love the ghostly detail. 

There were also exhibits by professional artists that I admired very much but they requested that there be no photography. Ann Johnston's quilts inspired by the Sierra Nevadas were breathtaking - they looked like photographs.  You can see some of her work here. 

One of my favourite booths was The Eternal Maker - they had such an interesting collection of fabrics, many from Japan and I loved their bunting.

And here is some of what I bought: beautiful buttons, really funky, interchangeable zippers from Japan, some Kaffe Fassett fat quarter packs (how could I resist?) and some lovely Donegal tweed to back my knitted "quilt" afghan should I ever finish it.  I will, I will. . .

The Right to Roam: A Classic Walk on Kinder Scout. . .

In the rambling world, there are certain walks that achieve an iconic status; walks that one simply must do. Kinder Scout is one of these and I have to say that it lives up to its reputation.  It is one of the prettiest walks I've done - from start to finish - and though these photos are from the Liverpud's recce, I had no qualms about wanting to do the exact same walk the following week with the walking group.  I'd do it again today. And tomorrow.  Come along and see why. 

We started from the small village of Hayfield, just on the edge of the Peak District National Park, working our way up the Snake Pass.

Very quickly you emerge onto beautiful moorland.

With very friendly sheep.

A short downhill path takes you to a trail that skirts the side of Kinder Reservoir built in the early 20th century.

Then it was up to the start of the William Clough path.  Now I thought that it was named after someone prominent, but a "clough" is a steep ravine or valley. We were also treading in walker history.  On April 24th, 1932, nearly 500 people took this route up to Kinder Scout to protest for the rights of common people to have access to open countryside. This became known as the Mass Trespass and five of them were arrested and served jail sentences. It started a larger movement among ramblers however, and eventually led to the acts of Parliament that created the amazing network of access footpaths that exists all over the U.K.  The National Trust now owns and conserves this land.  This is halfway up William Clough looking back.  Isn't it stunning?

At the top there's just one last climb and then you are up on Kinder Scout, a very flat plateau with amazing views along its edge.

At this point the path joins the Pennine Way. You can see it continuing on as you look back from the top.  And just in that hazy distance behind the hills is Manchester.

Continuing along the edge towards Kinder Downfall, you get views of the reservoir again and lots of rocks moulded into odd shapes by the rain and the wind.

Kinder Downfall is supposed to be the largest waterfall in the Peak District, but alas with all the sunny weather this summer it was completely dry.  On the left is the edge that the water would have run over; on the right is the riverbed which at least was easy to cross over.

This is where the waterfall would have been.  It just means I have to do the walk again (yea!) to see it in its full glory.

Our next point of interest is Kinder Low.  This is truly a bizarre landscape on the top of a hill. It reminds one of a beach scene (the white trig point looks like a lighthouse to me) or a moonscape.  I love it!  So unexpected and so beautiful in its bleakness.

And then it was downhill on good paving stones, back to Hayfield through green fields with more peaks in the distance.

The heather is just starting to bloom. Stunning.

For variation and decent paths, this is a ten mile walk that won't over-tax if you are in decent shape. One warning - it can get really windy on the top of Kinder Scout so in rainy weather, while you might get a waterfall, it could also be quite a miserable trek.  No weather problems however when we did the walk with the group last Sunday (also a sunny, breezy summer's day, also with a dry waterfall). Several in the group had never done this particular walk, even after decades of rambling and their delight was infectious; it's why the Liverpud loves leading walks, why I like helping him out with the recces, and all the reward we need.

Crocheted Cushion Cover. . .

It's a bit lumpy, but I'm fairly happy with this crocheted pillow that I finished for my Mum just before our trip to Toronto (I think it was still a wee bit damp in the suitcase from blocking). Granny squares are definitely addictive and fun especially in thicker yarns.  I used various shades of blue and some cream Cascade 220 in my stash.  I especially like the zig-zagging that forms when you join up the squares using this method from Carina's Craftblog. 

Oooh, I made quite a lot of mistakes in the back doing various rows of double and treble crochet stitches. My tension wasn't great and I missed quite a few stitches, but hey, you can only display one side of a pillow at a time.