LEFTOVER WOOL CUSHION

My friend Emma is a keen knitter who uses her leftover wools, combined with a Kaffe Fassett pattern, to make cushion covers for her daughters. As she hasn't got a sewing machine, I end up sewing them together!  I featured a dotty cushion she had knitted in a post last December and have just finished the one shown below. The only problem with this one was that the cushion filler she gave me was too big so I had to open it up to transfer some of the filling to a new inner cover. That was when I discovered it was filled with feathers! There were feathers everywhere, so I wore a face mask and used my vacuum cleaner which became blocked!

DOTTY CUSHION

My friend Emma is a great knitter but she has the problem most knitters have - small bits of leftover wool.  She has come up with a good solution - multi coloured cushion covers using Kaffe Fassett patterns with her own colour schemes.  I helped her by mounting the knitting onto a plain background fabric and making it into a cushion cover, as she hasn't got a sewing machine.

I remember going to a talk by Kaffe Fassett many, many, years ago.  It was so exciting, as he introduced loads of colour and pattern into garments at a time when knitting was dull and boring - not the exciting and colourful craft it is today.  He came to knitting as an artist and worked with Rowan Wools to introduce ranges of beautiful coloured yarns. He was also intriguing, being a young good looking man in a world which at the time was dominated by middle aged women making unimaginative  knitted jumpers. He is now somewhat older, but is still going strong, having introduced his colourful world to needlepoint. mosaics, fabric, rugs, patchwork and painting.

 

CHUNKY KNITS

I did a blog post back on May 13th on extreme knitting and promised to show some results. Here they are. It is so satisfying to do, as the knitting grows so quickly. I haven't the patience for knitting with normal sized needles!  I also don't like having to think about what stitch I should be doing, so stocking stitch suits me just fine.  The beauty of extreme knitting is its chunkiness so no fancy stitches are required.

The cushions are done with loads of balls of wool of different thicknesses and colours, knitted together on my enormous needles.  I produced a long rectangle which was then folded in half and the sides sewn together with wool.  A cushion pad was placed inside and the open end was fastened with ties made from material in the same colours.  As regards to colour, I didn't worry too much if a ball of wool ran out, I just tied on another one within my colour scheme. If you look carefully you can see variations of colour within the cushions.

The top picture shows a bathmat I made with two fleece blankets - one lime green and one turquoise - which were on offer together in a discount home store.  It would have been bigger if I had known how much material the knitting would take!  I did go back to buy another set when I realised how small the mat was going to turn out, but the store had run out of the colours I wanted! I cut the blankets into strips and sewed them together, alternating the colours, with a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine.  It does make a lovely soft and washable mat.  Now that I am getting used to the big needles and how far wools or materials will go,  I shall certainly be doing some more soon.

EXTREME KNITTING

Extreme Textiles at the Creative Crafts Show

Rachel John on her stand at the Bath & West Showground

I recently went with Dawn to the Creative Crafts Show at the Bath & West Showground, which is just along the road from my home in Shepton Mallet.  It was mostly stalls with products designed for card making, beads, fabrics etc. We didn't find anything particularly inspiring, until we came across Rachel John and her extreme textiles.  As my birthday was coming up, Dawn asked me if I would like a set of the huge needles and some wool to get going.  I was delighted and chose the biggest pair (24mm in diameter!) and some wools in colours that reminded me of the beach.  Dawn also bought some needles and wool.

We have now started knitting with our enormous needles and find it great fun as the knitting grows so quickly.  It is hard on you hands when you first start but you soon get used to it and it is something which can be done while watching tv or chatting!

I will show the results of our efforts in a future blog.  We are starting with chunky cushions for our homes before trying out other things, such as, throws, scarfs, bags etc.  Here is a pic of me battling with my big needles!  If you are interested in further information visit Rachel's website - www.racheljohn.co.uk