I have just managed to get a photo out of my machine and onto Ravelry. With the 'speed' of internet connection I normally get, that is quite an achievement. Mind you, it took four games of free cell to ease the impatience while it uploaded, but it just goes to show what I can do when I have a spare afternoon.
If anyone wants to see a rather sparse and scrappy selection of my work, I am on Ravelry as Jeanfromcornwall.
Next time I have the spare time, I will see if I can get a picture onto my blog. For now, I am just basking in the warm glow of accomplishment!
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Three days
That is how long it has taken me to find my pompom maker. There was a scrap of yarn left over and I thought it would make a nice pompom - for no good reason, I have to add. This moving house business has a lot to answer for. I knew I had seen the thing - I clearly remember thinking 'Ah, that's where it is, I must remember that'. I have, at least, found some other treasures along the way.
There was a programme about the Darjeeling railway at the weekend: the one that runs up the hills and took the folk from Calcutta up to rest and recuperate away from the heat. It was fascinating - such a wonderful line - two foot gauge, and they still run the steam engines a lot of the time - for the tourists. One of the things they showed was the renovating of an engine, which was 112 years old. It was shown in the workshop, and then out it came shiny and smart, ready to go back to work.
Does that sound like a non sequitur? It isn't. One of the treasures I dug out in the course of my hunting over the last three days was a photograph. A group of children and some highly corsetted ladies. The little board at the front of the group says 1900. My Mother labelled it "Father at school in Darjeeling" His parents lived in Calcutta. His Father was a box-wallah - that is to say, he was chief engineer in a jute factory. Since he would have travelled up to Darjeeling on that railway, it is entirely possible he would have travelled behind that very same engine.
I should add that I never knew him - he died before I was born. But I still felt a wee bit emotional, seeing some of my own history up there on the screen.
There was a programme about the Darjeeling railway at the weekend: the one that runs up the hills and took the folk from Calcutta up to rest and recuperate away from the heat. It was fascinating - such a wonderful line - two foot gauge, and they still run the steam engines a lot of the time - for the tourists. One of the things they showed was the renovating of an engine, which was 112 years old. It was shown in the workshop, and then out it came shiny and smart, ready to go back to work.
Does that sound like a non sequitur? It isn't. One of the treasures I dug out in the course of my hunting over the last three days was a photograph. A group of children and some highly corsetted ladies. The little board at the front of the group says 1900. My Mother labelled it "Father at school in Darjeeling" His parents lived in Calcutta. His Father was a box-wallah - that is to say, he was chief engineer in a jute factory. Since he would have travelled up to Darjeeling on that railway, it is entirely possible he would have travelled behind that very same engine.
I should add that I never knew him - he died before I was born. But I still felt a wee bit emotional, seeing some of my own history up there on the screen.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Still here
I feel rather shame-faced at the five months I have let slip by with no consideration of the general state of things. It seems that the photography was more of an encouragement to post than I realised.
This will resonate with anyone English of a certain age - Junior School and the diary thing. Every day having to write a couple of sentences and then we could draw a picture on the rest of the page. It was supposed to tell about what we did yesterday, or something significant that had taken our interest. I still have the exercise book (Mum insisted on keeping it) where the news of the day was that my cat had been sick in the sitting room - with picture. I also have the one with news of the Australian cousins who were nurses working their way around Europe, and came to see us on the way. One of them took it into her head to cut up her pink petticoat to make a dress and bonnet for my baby doll. She did this in an evening, after I had gone to bed, so it was a wonderful surprise when I woke up. This was my first encounter with Nylon used for a woven fabric.
Anyone who has children of that age and gets the chance to keep any of these deathless works DO IT! It is so important to have something with which to embarrass them in later years.
Still knitting like crazy. Mostly little things for a little treasure. I feel immense gratitude to Lene for producing two entrancing patterns just when I needed them. And for the sock yarn stash which is ideal for knitting them.
This will resonate with anyone English of a certain age - Junior School and the diary thing. Every day having to write a couple of sentences and then we could draw a picture on the rest of the page. It was supposed to tell about what we did yesterday, or something significant that had taken our interest. I still have the exercise book (Mum insisted on keeping it) where the news of the day was that my cat had been sick in the sitting room - with picture. I also have the one with news of the Australian cousins who were nurses working their way around Europe, and came to see us on the way. One of them took it into her head to cut up her pink petticoat to make a dress and bonnet for my baby doll. She did this in an evening, after I had gone to bed, so it was a wonderful surprise when I woke up. This was my first encounter with Nylon used for a woven fabric.
Anyone who has children of that age and gets the chance to keep any of these deathless works DO IT! It is so important to have something with which to embarrass them in later years.
Still knitting like crazy. Mostly little things for a little treasure. I feel immense gratitude to Lene for producing two entrancing patterns just when I needed them. And for the sock yarn stash which is ideal for knitting them.
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