Knitting and a little snoozing...

I'd seen the one row lace scarf by Turvid and thought it looked great.  Although I couldn't quite believe the comments that it was so easy.  Can lace ever be easy?  I cast on with some squidgy drops merino extra fine, and surprise, surprise... it was easy!

The pattern calls for a one row repeat (hence the name) and once you have knitted a few rows it becomes super simple.  I managed to rattle through the ball in two days, and made the strip into a twisted cowl.  I am now ready for Autumn!

I also realised how difficult it was to take a picture of yourself wearing a cowl without a) looking like you have 4 chins or b) looking like you have really odd shaped breasts!  In other knitty news, at the weekend I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally.  I was surprisingly restrained with buying goodies, although I did get some lovely self-striping Rico superba yarn which will make some very cute socks.

I also treated myself to a copy Pop knitting by Britt-Marie Christoffersson, which has some amazing knitting samples in it, that I can't wait to experiment with.  On the needles currently I have some rather silly, but very practical slipper socks.

My attempt to progress on these this morning, was halted by a rather sleepy Jeremy cozying on my lap.

Who wouldn't want to climb in to a fleece sleeping bag on an overcast October morning?  And I think we can all agree that this is good foot action!  Glasgow is home to some VERY exciting knitting events this week here, here & here.  Maybe you can catch one?

The sun is shining...

Perfect for going on a (inflatable Stonehenge) bouncy castle.

And for a walk along the east shore of Loch Lomond.

 Now, I better get back to my crafting!

Farewell to the miracle...

My QR code has been having some adventures recently. Firstly, it was mentioned on the very cool Mr X stitch blog, and then on craftzine (when I realised this I almost fell off my chair!). The QR code is currently taking part in the Farewell to the Miracle exhibition at Make it Glasgow.
The exhibition is in response to the legislation being put forward which will cripple grassroots arts and culture in Scotland. You can read more, and sign the petition here. The exhibition is up until the 31st of March, and features some beautiful embroidery from Frayed at the Edges (including some glow in the dark thread!).
Check it out if you can.

A moment of calm...

After a hectic day shopping (it takes it out of you!) a much needed sit down and a pause.
Enough of that though, better get out to the dancin'...

Singer

I usually take the train to work. The final destination for the train is at the base of Loch Lomond. On its way, it passes through a place, with a name familiar to any crafter - Singer. Isaac Merritt Singer neither invented the sewing machine or came from Glasgow. So why is Singer here?
Before industrialisation women were responsible for sewing the families' clothes, linens and reusing materials. The invention of the sewing machine speeded up this work. Household sewing machines also meant that this could be a source of extra income for the family, and gave women some independence. The first patent for a sewing machine was given to the British inventor, Thomas Saint in 1791, however a working model was never built.
Isaac Merritt Singer was an American engineer, he founded his business in New York in 1851. Singer wanted to expand his business into the UK and chose Glasgow. A branch office opened in 1856 close Queen Street station, with parts imported from America. The popularity of Singer sewing machines led to the first Singer factory opening outside of the USA, on James Street in Bridgeton. Incidentally James street is about 5 minutes walk from where I start my train journey.
Despite the Bridgeton factory, there were long waiting lists for owning a sewing machine. So Singer decided to open a larger factory, where all parts could be made on the one site. On 46 acres of old farm land at Kilbowie, just outside Clydebank, the largest sewing machine factory in the world opened in 1883. It was a very modern building, with sprinkler systems fitted, a 200ft clock tower towering over the plant, and recreation grounds for staff. An extra 2.5miles of railway track was added to link each department with the Glasgow to Helensburgh train line. At opening the factory employed 5000 people, with the workforce peaking in 1960 at 16,000. Singer at one point is reported to have made 80% of the worlds sewing machines. And during both World Wars the factory turned its production from sewing machines to munitions. It is even rumoured that the statue of liberty is modelled on Isaac’s beautiful wife Isabella Eugenie Boyer Singer.
The Singer factory in Clydebank factory closed in June 1980. Singer permanently leaves its mark in Glasgow with the name of the train station remaining. Singer station is beyond the stop I get off, maybe one day I shall skip work and head off there on an adventure.

Sunshine & finger puppets!

Yesterday was the last day of the Merchant city festival. I must say with the sun shining Glasgow scrubs up pretty well. There were stalls, music, a parade, pole vaulting, plus a caravan being pimped!
We saw comedian David Kay (see the very funny Freedom) in Make It Glasgow. It was very civilised with tea and scones, and afterwards we all got to make our very own finger puppet of David Kay!
I think mr crafty captured his hair perfectly! Also this week I sent in my very first entry for write in for writing' sake. By giving a topic and a deadline, they help to inspire writers. The title was headhunting, and you can read my entry here.

Keep calm...

Oh the fun you can have with this. In other news I am now past the 40,000 stitches mark in the Op Art Baby Blanket.
Also the lovely Made in the Shade peeps have created a fantastic guide to Glasgow - with even a few places I have yet to visit!

Flemish Baroque Guinea Pigs!

For my UWA I needed to look at some northern baroque art. Off I went on a sunny day to Kelvingrove which has a large collection of Dutch art.
I wandered around trying to pick a painting to look at in detail. There are wonderful pieces from Rembrandt, Ruysch and de Lairesse to name a few. However it was a collaboration piece by Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel that caught my eye.

Rubens and Brueghel - Nature adorned by the three Graces, 1615
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow

A classical inspired statue of a multi-breasted mother nature, surrounded by mythical characters and a huge garland of fruit and vegetables. Standing in front of the painting I noted the variety of produce - pumpkins, peaches, plums, artichokes, cabbages, carrots, turnips, wheat, apples, pears, lemons, oranges, cherries etc. Also painted are a monkey, a squirrel, a parrot and in the bottom right hand corner two guinea pigs! Firstly I wasn't too sure of it was guinea pigs, but there are definitely no tails, and the body shape is right, and they are sitting eating podded peas.
The painting is from 1615, at this time Amsterdam was a wealthy port. Guinea pigs were first brought to Europe by traders after the discovery of the Americas. They were popular exotic pets for the upper classes, a sign of fruitfulness and apparently even Elizabeth I had a pet guinea pig. I should point out that Brueghel would have painted the guinea pigs (rather than Rubens - who painted the figures), and apparently Brueghel has painted pairs of guinea pigs in other paintings too!
Currently we are without guinea pigs, as poor Oscar had a seizure and passed away. But it seems even when I go to the gallery I am automatically drawn to them!

The Spreull Family and their knitted stockings

Every time I go to the Hunterian Art Gallery I am drawn to a painting by David Allan of The Spreull Family.

David Allan - The Spreull Family, 1793
Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow

Not because of the size (though at 117cm x 154cm it is huge), nor the detailing of the landscape, nor the expressions on the sitters faces, nor the little girl sitting on the floor staring into the distance, not even the gun dog on the right. I am drawn to this painting because the older lady has in her lap on double pointed knitting needles the start of some socks! Actually they are probably stockings, as apparently socks were rarely worn in the 18th century.

The artist David Allan (1744 - 1796) studied at the Foulis academy in Glasgow. Allan spent ten years living and painting in Italy, before returning, firstly to London and then back to Scotland. He became renowned for his genre paintings or conversation pieces, usually of families in informal settings (such as this painting). The family were the Spreull family, the father is James, graduate of Glasgow University, City Chamberlain and Superintendent of the Clyde. With his bright red hunting jacket, the vast landscape and size of the painting, this is all about James showing off his wealth and power. His wife Margaret (McCall) sits with their three eldest children (records show that they went on to have ten children in total). And to the very left of the picture, looking rather sternly, with knitting in her lap is Hannah (Park), James's mother.

Stockings were worn by everyone and without the advent of lyrca or nylon, they were made to fit the leg, narrower at the knee and ankle, and wider at the calf and thigh. Very poor people may have had stockings cut from woven cloth, rather than knitted. These would not have stretched very well, and may have been uncomfortable, so knitted stockings were preferable. Stockings could be machine knitted, as a stocking frame had been invented in 1589 by William Lee. The story is that Lee invented it to get revenge on his girlfriend who preferred to spend her time knitting rather than attending to him! By the mid-18th century machine knitted stockings were commonplace. So much so that hand knitters of stockings would, despite knitting in the round, imitate a seam by adding a line of purl stitches. Usual stitches for stockings were stockinette stitch (I assume this is were it gets its name from) or 1x or 2x rib. Fancy 'clocks' (patterns or motifs) were knitted by use of purl stitches or embroidered on to the finished stockings. I wonder what Hannah's finished stockings were like? And was she just desperate to get back to her knitting rather than posing for a painting? Note: for an 18th century stocking pattern see here.

Papergirl Glasgow Exhibition!

Remember the in bloom bicycle embroidery I did? Well it was sent off to be part of Papergirl Glasgow. A fantastic random act of kindness project, where art work is donated and then given out free by people on bicycles. See this video from the Papergirl Berlin project which explains it far better than I just did!

Paper Girl from BAM viral on Vimeo.

Anyways, last night was the exhibition launch party. It was amazing to see over 1000 pieces of art from over 100 artists adorn the walls of the LA Group, including my bicycle!
I was drawn to the other textile contributions, including some rather lovely cushion covers by Little Rhymes.
And some wonderfully stitched fabric disguised as lined paper by Lilllebe.

Love and Freedom with Dirk Bell

A computer game where by collecting Love and Freedom causes a star to shine brighter. This dreamy romantic idea is brought to life in Dirk Bell's Merkaba.
Thirty six neon tubes connect via a mass of wires to a laptop, and you are in charge. Is this a statement on enlightenment? Religion? Consumerism? I'm not sure.
Bell's metal structures spell out the words you want to cherish, combining warm words with cold steel. Whilst his paintings of intense eyes stare down on you. Are these the all seeing evangelical eyes or is it our own eyes searching for something that isn't there?
A very thought provoking exhibition at the Modern Institute.

Telling Stories

On Sunday we had a wander down to the Market Gallery. This is a little gem on Duke Street. The current exhibition is entitled telling stories, looking at graphic artists and fine artists who use storytelling and narrative to construct their own worlds. I particularly enjoyed those pieces that brought a little bit of Glasgow to life. From Stuart Murray's folk that ye bump intae, to Mitch Milller's amazingly detailed Red Road dialectogram. I liked the eerie imagery of Sorcha Edward's work. It was great to see work from Penny Sharp & Heather Middleton, two contributors to Team Girl Comic. This is a Glasgow based all-female comic collective, that features work from artists of a variety of backgrounds. I'd brought a couple of editions recently at the very lovely Plan B Books. With such taglines as 'indie boys: What they really think' and 'perverts: can you spot 'em?' It is a great read & hopefully it will encourage more women to get involved in comics.
In a related theme, my uncle has just put some of his comics that he wrote in the early 90's on-line. Check out his Super-Zeroes!

Down at Fraggle Rock...

Sunday was the loop sitandknitabit fundraiser at Stereo.
I got to drop off these squares.
I got to have a knit and a drink.
I saw this little creature on the stairs.
I watched some great bands.
I admired some lovely decorations.
And attempted to teach Mr Crafty to knit - the lesson learnt is that Guinness + knitting don't mix!
For more photos see here.