Da Aunties Tea Cosy

I have finally done it! I finally made Da Aunties Tea Cosy. 2 years, and a few practice runs later, I finally got it together. (I made 2 because there are lots of Aunties, and when one sees it, I am bound to be asked to make another).

Materials used: Crochet edging (roughly 30"), Wadding, Scraps of real Irish Linen from Ulster Weavers. So, it is up-cycled, re-cycled, etc, etc...

I did 2 different edgings, I preferred the bottom one, but the top one ended up the better cosy. I did 2 rows of just dc, 1ch, skip 1 st, because I thought these would be easier on the sewing machine than using solid crochet. And there was no point doing a motif, if it was to be sewn in and not seen!

I tried 2 different ways of sewing the scraps of linen. It was very fine, so you would be able to see any selvage. I though I would prefer the double sewn edge, but ended up preferring the simple version.

Then, using the same method as the previous teacosy's, (using The Rusty Bobbins method), I made 2 very traditional, very Irish, and very Aunty-ish tea-cosies...

More Hyperbolic'ness....

The People's Reef - Made by the People of Ireland

I have spent the past few days thinning down my mass of Crocheted Coral Reef photos to 38 I can't live without. (You can see them here on Flickr, in their own special folder Crocheted Coral Reef Exhibition).

I have to say I am still recovering from the buzz of the exhibition, and the sheer excitement it has given me both working on the project and meeting such wonderful people. I first came across Crocheted Coral over 2 years ago, and have been pretty obsessive about it since. I have always been a timid crocheter, afraid to tell people what I really did, what I have made, and what I wanted to make, and it's working on this project that really gave me the confidence, (and the excuse!), to become the stitcher I am today. I feel Ireland has finally caught up to the potential of textiles, the kind I have wanted to see, to hear about, and, basically, to talk about. Because anyone who has met me, knows I can talk about it!!

These are the models that started it all. The original models by Dr. Dainia Tainina, the Holy Grail of Hyperbolic Geometry. I almost felt like bowing in front of them. They opened up a world of possibilities not just in scientific terms, I won't even pretend to understand it all, but in the opening up of the possibilities of textiles, of its usefulness, and resourcefulness. And I honestly felt awe when I stood in front of them.


It's because of the Coral Reef exhibition I also got to meet with one lovely lady, Mitsuko Tonouchi, a fellow member of the Freeform Guild, and woman of astonishing textile skills. I have been reading her blog on and off for a few years, so it was amazing to meet her in person. I have always been very partial to Japaneses idea's and textiles; amigurumi, kumihimo, shibori, sashiko, I even have a book on Wabi Sabi and Japanese gardening!! So, it was interesting to hear how she had an affinity with Ireland and has always wanted to travel here. We both agreed that there are strong, well, something, hard to describe, to put into words, aesthetics?, between Ireland and Japan.

We had a lovely day, went to see the Book of Kells in Trinity College, which I had never actually seen before, but was always intending to, then the National Museum of Archaeology, and finally a few lovely hours in The Science Gallery, where we oohed and aahed over the Crocheted Coral Reef.

She even brought me a lovely present which I was not expecting. A tea towel and a handkerchief which, Mitsuko, is not going to be used but hung on the wall!!
ありがとうございます (I hope I got that right)

Finally, The Hyperbolic Crocheted Coral Reef Exhibition

I finally got up to the exhibition in Dublin. I am still recovering from the shock and awe of a gallery full to the brim with crochet, with people talking about crochet, with people actually crocheting!! My God, Ireland has changed in the past few years. Not that long ago, in The Crochet Liberation Front Book One, I wrote an article about how little crochet there was in Ireland, and how it was a revelation to hear about such crochet groups as the CLF, to be able to talk to someone else about crochet.

It is going to take me a while to get my photos together. I took a lot! I am going to do a few every other night, but here's a few sneakies....

Urban Knit Limerick

Finally dug out the ole knitting machine and knitted up some patches for Eilish of Urban Knit Limerick fame.. thought I have managed to loose the Scottish Shortcake box that has my clamps and tools in it. So, it is hand machine knit under slightly dodgy circumstances....

Got to use up lots of odd end-cones of chenille. (Sorry, Tiia!!). For some reason chenille just doesn't do anything for me. I just don't like the feel of it, it feels un-natural or something. Can't quite put my finger on it. So, I was delighted to use up the chenille for this project. (Although I did put away the pink for a different project). I made roughly 530cm's of patches. I had been lamenting the fact I have been doing nothing mad lately, and although what I made wasn't mad, her project is! So, this definitely made me feel a bit better.

(If you don't know about the Urban Knit Project check out her Facebook page, Urbanknitlimerick and on The Woolly Way blog, she needs A4 or larger patches for an Urban Knit project by end April!!)

Dealing with WIP's

Doing OK so far on the Yarnaholic 10 Step Withdrawal Programme. Although I still only have 3 steps thought up of so far, I felt that was enough to deal with.

"RULE NO 3: Dig out all WIP and frogged projects and finish them before starting any other. Found a few very old projects under the couch today. Spun yarn waiting to be washed, bag and blanket waiting to be felted, bag needs lining, etc..."

The past week, I have dealt with all the WIP/frogged projects that were under the couch. Here is the finished projects... my son insisted on modelling for me, and he did a pretty fine job too.

180g 2ply handspun Ashford Merino/Silk from The Yarn Room

170g 2 ply handspun.
Don't ask me what this is, I lost the label, there loads of different fibres in it. Batt from Rockpoolcandy

200g 2ply Handspun Jacob from Kerry Woollen Mills

Crocheted bag made from first handspun yarn. Tried to felt it, but Irish yarn just doesn't felt well. (Good for beginner spinners who are nervous at washing their precious handspun!!)

Shopping bag made from vintage linen string, scrap upholstery fabric and salvaged lining