Winter Sea Swims With My First Knitted Hot Water Bottle Cover.

My Hot Cosy's First Trip To The Beach.

I am currently in the season of ‘Little Knits’; the projects that fill the gaps between. It is also the season for cosy moments in the depth of winter, as the solstice arrives this weekend.

As I started to embrace the changes both in my knitting and in the environment around me, my lovely friend Sarah (who owns The Knit Lounge) reached out on a small WhatsApp group and invited three knitting buddies to choose yarn for a gift that she wanted to send us. The Maxine Mini Hot Water Bottle Cosy was the pattern of choice, and three personalised colour bundles of 'Pip' Yarn by Baa Ram Ewe were delivered, along with the cutest hot water bottle I ever did see! 

My reaction to this Christmas gift was deep for two reasons. I had been wanting a mini hot water bottle for a few weeks, but didn’t want to splurge with my Christmas budgets being a little tight this year. Sea swimming in the winter is cold, (as well as being, quite frankly, nuts), and I had started to realise that a small cosy would be ideal for my hands once out of the water. With the theme of the sea in mind for the project, I chose my colours to represent what I see when I swim. The apricot skies of the morning are close to the ‘Bronte’ colour, whilst the seaweed is picked up by ‘Chevin’, and the blue of the sea is represented by ‘Eccup’, which is a deep shade of blue that allows the pattern to pop.

My Baa Ram Ewe 'Pip' Colour Choices.

My Maxine Hot Water Bottle Cover At The Knit Lounge

Baa Ram Ewe was the perfect yarn for this project as it’s 100% British Wool. Wool, for me, is the most impressive fibre, and the more I learn about it, the more I am in awe of its properties. Being weatherproof and insulating, wool allows my cosy to stay warm whilst I swim, and I can hug it close once I am out and shivering, the water on my body won’t affect it. In fact, I noticed that once I had got back home, the wool was pretty dry. Yes, it was drying with the heat of the cosy, but the water had not made it soggy at all, with the structure of the yarn staying crisp. 

‘Pip’ was designed by Baa Ram Ewe as their colour-work option, which is why it is in small 25g balls. Sarah gifted us with 2 balls of the main colour, and one each of the pattern colours. Although I held it double for the project, I was left with enough yarn to make another three hot water bottle covers in different variations of colour-ways. (If you choose to knit the large size, you will obviously be left with less!) ‘Pip’ is a wonderful spin with enough toothy-ness for colour-work, but soft enough not to have an itch factor (on my skin at least, which flares like a firework if provoked). I loved the way that it knitted up, and it did not split once, which is rare for a 4ply. The stitches are clear and uncluttered, which is perfect for small designs like the Maxine Hot Water Bottle Cover. 

Laura Penrose has created a versatile pattern with the Maxine, and one that will be in use for years to come. The fit is perfect, and once you know your stitch count the body of the pattern can be changed to whatever you would like the colour-work to be; you can simply design your own, as the stitch count for the pattern portion is steady without increases or decreases. 

If you have Andrea Rangel’s Alterknit or Knitovation books, you can really go to town with your own designs! I have a lovely friend who has helped me so much with my move to Cornwall, and we often swim together at high tide. Although I don’t knit for other people, I am making an exception for her this year and have decided to knit her a cosy for Christmas. I am going to take a wave pattern from AlterKnit as a memory of our times on the beach.

I also valued that Laura Penrose offers a lot of ways to knit the cosy up. As it is knit bottom up, you have a choice to do Judy’s Magic Cast On, or simply cast on over and stitch the bottom up once you are finished, which was my choice. The number of stitches are set out for both DPNs and Magic Loop, and so there is no pressure to be able to do one style of knitting; it’s left to your discretion, which is wonderful. 

This knit has been precious to me in so many ways; to be gifted this beautiful Christmas present by Sarah was a big hug from a dear friend, and the fact that I was able to choose my own colours was fantastic, as they really made me smile yesterday when I took it for a morning dip. 

These small knits that we make are so often overlooked, but form the backbone of our home. Dishcloths, hot water bottle covers, hats, blankets; we reach for them every day and yet we so often dismiss them as they aren’t sweaters. This always saddens me, as I think they are so beautiful, and they give such character to our homes. 

If you are looking for a lovely little knit for yourself, or gift for a friend, I cannot rate the Maxine Hot Water Bottle Cover more highly, or the ‘Pip’ yarn from Baa Ram Ewe. The two are a match made in heaven! 

We are still enjoying our little WhatsApp group where we share our knitting projects, and it yet again reminds me how beautiful our hobby is, as it’s so much more than ‘just a bit of knitting’. Friendships and communities are stitched together with our knitting, and at this time of year, that means more than I could put into words. 

Until next time, may your needles always bring you joy, and your frogging be rare. 

Jenny xx

The Mindful Wardrobe: Creating Space For Our Creative Makes

Creating A Home With Awareness.

Welcome to 'The Mindful Wardrobe’ series. It's been rummaging around my mind for a while. As I share it with you I hope it will create a space where we can open our wardrobe doors, take a breath, and enjoy some reflection whilst we look at our knitting and sewing projects. The series is a gentle focus on our knitting and sewing projects, mood boards, and where we source our materials, to a rounded chat about sustainable fashion and how we care for our world.

The aim is not simply on what we can gain from our daily meditative knitting and stitching sessions, but how we can powerfully harness a mindful process of creating to help engage with change.

‘Mindfulness’ is a term that was bandied around a lot when I was in the wellbeing and physical rehab world. In all honesty, I got to the point where I became a little disillusioned with it all; someone was always selling something to enable people to slow down and make space. I started to talk about it less and less when I treated my clients as I didn’t want them to think it was yet another thing that they had to put their money into. The concept of pausing, talking a breath, and allowing our mind and body to connect and slow down in harmony is something I feel should be a basic, instinctual, human state - we have a right to be at peace. 

It is with this caveat that I rather hesitatingly start this new blog series; I can assure you that I am not about to try and sell something to you. 

What Is Mindfulness?

Taking time to breathe.

Mindfulness is a practice of reflection in our bodies, our minds, and our hearts. I used to term it the ‘pause-and-breathe’ moments in the day; those times when you are in a grocery queue where you can pause, breathe, and check in with body and mind to align yourself. Mindfulness is nothing more, or less, than being aware of your present state. 

You can broaden this practice out in ways that make sense for you. Personally, I make a point of creating time to breathe with intention each day, and journaling is a powerful tool in my arsenal to help me reflect on the past so that I can focus on positive movement towards my future. Many of my therapy clients used yoga as a useful tool for their own healing, as well as walking and structured meditation. But you get the idea… find some time, be with yourself, gently reflect and enjoy a little peace. You do you, and you don’t have to spend a fortune doing it. 

In this blog series, we are taking mindfulness one step further to see if we can offer breath and peace to the wider world around us.

The Economics Of Mindless Fashion

Fashion and Mindfulness.

We will get to our wardrobes in a moment, but I want to set out the two concepts that we will be returning to, before we begin this series. Consider this our compass setting as we roll out the map before us.

It is worth noting that ‘Mindfulness’ on its own is set to become a billion dollar business by 2027, in a wellness industry that is with trillions. (Yes - that’s Trillions with a T.) 

The fast fashion industry is worth billions also, with Shein alone worth between $66-$100 billion in 2023 according to Mackinsey. If we add every other form of fast fashion, we get another ‘Big T’ heading up the numbers.

Both of these industries, fashion and wellbeing, arguably take advantage of our basic needs for health and clothing on an industrial scale, but we can get into those topics at a later date. Waste, over consumption, debt, slave labour, water pollution… The list is endless. But my point here is that to presume that our wardrobes and our peace of mind are not linked is to be blind to the economic structures of the world that we live in; leggings for a yoga class is the easiest example I can think of.

Inner Development

Taking Time To Stop, Think, And Create.

The term ‘Inner Development’ may seem a little heavy handed for a knitting and sewing blog, but it is the name given to a process that can be used when thinking about human development, or in our case, mindful making. It’s a framework backed by the UN, and if you are keen to learn more, I would encourage you to follow the link below. I learned about this during a masterclass for Sustainable Fashion at Falmouth University, and I thank them for offering this to everyone! 

Inner Development Framework

When we are knitting and sewing at home, embracing Inner Development is a great way of seeing how we can start to turn the tide towards a more sustainable way of life in our own homes, and how that can enable change in our communities: 

1. Being - Our relationship to ourselves

2. Thinking - Our cognitive skills

3. Relating - Caring for those in our world

4. Collaborating - Our social networks 

5. Acting - Enabling Change

(As I look back at my work in rehab for physical trauma, I also think the World Health Organisation’s ICF framework could also be applied to this subject, but that is a whole other tangent!)

We shall be using Inner Development for our series, referring back to it time and again as we grow in our understanding of how we can mindfully create and embrace change for the better. So, let’s start! 

Mindfully Opening The Door

Opening The Wardrobe Door.

Our wardrobes are an eclectic array of rainbows. Different colours, textures, styles, and designers are reflected there. Every time we get dressed in the morning we choose to dress in a way that reflects how we feel and where we are going. Fashion can also be seen as showing off our economic and political stances to those we meet or pass in the streets. Our wardrobes are never ‘just clothes’.

Before we delve into the series, I want to encourage you to download the pdf and take it to where you house your clothes; your bedroom, dressing room, laundry room, and just sit in that space. 

Opening My Wardrobe Door pdf.

David Hockney was once asked when he knew his paintings were finished, and he said that it was when he could sit with them for an hour and not fiddle with something on the canvas. As you sit there with your clothes, what makes you want to get up and ‘sort it out’? What irritates you? What makes you happy? Is it a colour, a texture, a style? Also, what do you feel is missing?! Is there a red dress that needs to be added, or a sweater that you’ve always hankered after? Is there a spot where a lightweight cardigan could go? What colours do you want to see added to your sock draw?

Other questions could be:

• What does a ‘core closet’ look like for you? 

• What does colour mean for your wardrobe?

• How can you plan our projects in a mindful and meaningful way? 

• Is there a community of makers and creators near you that you can join to help you make your wardrobe? 

All of this gives you data and information to build on later. Take note, write it down, and then just close the door. Allow these note-ings to settle in you for a while; let them be and then see how they evolve. Take note of thoughts that occur later on when you are out for a walk, and embrace time; there is no rush to the next thing we need to do.

The only thing I would encourage you to do is pause, take a deep breathe, and offer thanks for the clothes that you do have, and for the space that they are in.

Let’s Travel Together!

Let's Enjoy Our Mindful Wardrobe.

We have set our compass, and the map has been laid out in front of us, and one thing I am sure of is that we will probably get a little lost in the middle of the series. At the end of this trip together, and what I wish is for, is that these blogs to help us define our wardrobes in ways that reflect our true selves.

“Align Your Wardrobe With Your Values” is the call from Sew Liberated, and I believe this to be a rallying call that we can start to get behind. Even though it will mean different things to each of us, our making and creating can build communities that can help nurture our world in a better way.

The Perfect Hug. Knitting my first Gansey sweater.

It has been a grey springtime. Rain has stormed through the valley where I live, flooding the lammas lands and driving most people indoors to snuggle up on the sofa as if it was autumn. Plants in the greenhouses are a few weeks behind in their growing seasons, and like them, everyone was feeling rather droopy around the edges before the sun came out on Monday. 

So it was rather fitting for me to step into The Knit Lounge at the end of April, and shake my raincoat off whilst I said hello to Sarah. We were catching up with stories about our latest WIPs, and she was filling me in on what I had missed out on when the knit-night crew met on the previous Tuesday whilst I was in Cornwall. As we were chatting away, my eyes were drawn to a lower shelf where I saw, to my heart’s delight, a true navy ball of yarn; a colour I had been seeking for about 6 years, and in the perfect yarn weight. 

Baa Ram Ewe's 'Skipper Yarn' From The Knit Lounge,

As I walked over to pick up this longed for treasure, I had a flashback to the days where I used to go clothes shopping. I had been browsing through the racks at Jigsaw and found the most beautiful blue fisherman’s jumper, and I can remember dithering about purchasing it and trying to convince myself that spending £300 that I didn’t have would bless my wardrobe. Fortunately for my budget, my better-self put it back on the shelf, but there hasn’t been a time when I have thought about it and not then kicked myself. There was only one reason why I didn’t just go home and knit my own version, and that was the colour; a deep true navy in a solid yarn that would make a trustworthy sweater that could see me through wild days. Through all the yarn shows and crawls that I have been to, I’d never seen ‘The Navy’ that was on my dream list. In the days of variegated dyes, poppy neons, and soft neutrals, the classic colours have been hard to find, especially when I wanted it in a raw British wool. 

I confess that at the point in time when my coat was still dripping rain water onto Sarah’s shop floor, my yarn budget felt as if it was breeding moths in the bottom of my wallet; I was down to my last £50 in the ‘Knit Pot’ and I had been planning on topping it up for a new sweater in May. 

But… there it was… and it was raw British wool. What’s a woman to do?! The first thing to do was pick it up and try to convince myself that it was too scratchy. Well that didn’t work, as the yarn is ‘Skipper, 5 ply Guernsey’ by Baa Ram Ewe, with a micron count that was just on point for a hardy Gansey sweater with little itch factor. I was also flummoxed as I also had a pattern in mind; The Gansey Folk Sweater by Anton at Raw Wool, which is a pattern I have wanted to knit for ages as it reminded me of the sweater in Jigsaw all those years ago, (but with a better construction around the neckline). 

With my £50 in mind I worked out that I wanted to purchase 5 balls of yarn, thinking that it would cover the yardage, and asked Sarah how much it would be. The total came to £39.50, and with the £7.50 for the pattern, I came out under budget for an inspo knitting project, and I was beyond elated! 

I can’t remember casting on a gauge swatch so quickly, as when I got home I popped the kettle on and went straight for my 2.75mm needles as the tea was brewing. As I knit the sample swatch, I was nervous as the stitches seemed a little too rigid, and the cloth that it was forming a mite too stiff, but I carried on and thought it would be easy enough to loosen the stitches if need be. With a little dip in the Clothes Doctors Wool Wash and a gentle block overnight, I was delighted to see that the resulting fabric was structured but not stiff, and bang on gauge for the Size 2 option that I wanted to make. (I’m a chest size 37 inches, and wanted the finished size to be 44 inches.)

We have the most amazing wool throughout Britain, with each region offering different properties in the fleeces depending on the environment the sheep grow up in, as well as their breed. I am often astounded that such a majestic fibre is overlooked. At yarn shows, I often hear people proclaim that raw wool is just too itchy or scratchy, as if we are still in the 1970’s and forgetting how far our farming and milling knowledge has come. Anton, Steve and Sarah breed stunningly beautiful sheep-ies that offer us some of the softest raw yarns I have felt for the company Anton runs: Raw Wool. I have knitted with their yarns for a few years now, and it has been a privilege to learn about farming husbandry, micron counts, and the unique properties that wool can offer us through them. (However, sadly, they still have not worked out how to breed a natural Navy into their folks!)

Some lunch-time knitting at work helps get the stocking stitch stretch go quickly!

My knitting notes tell me that I started the sweater on Sunday, May 5th. The hem is made with a 2.5mm needle and I knitted for 2.5 inches to make a depth that was proportionate to my great height of 5 feet. By the time I saw Sarah again a week later, I was on to the body of the project, and that is when my life started down a slippery slope. Along with the rain that had begun to feel unceasing at times, things started to drop from the emotional skies as well; Finchely getting sick and needing emergency vet care, flooding my Mum’s house, work, family, friendships, my move to Cornwall, more work and more family stuff… it all crashed and burned, to the point where I just had a bit of a breakdown and found myself in a pretty dark place after three years of trying to juggle. 

As I trudged through the puddles, my Gansey project started to become my constant companion. As it was all pretty much stocking stitch, and my needles were 2.75mm circulars, I didn’t have to think much as Anton’s design did all that for me. The row repeats and counts were clear, and all I had to do was work out how long I wanted the body before the gusset increases, which was down to my personal preference. The neckline has a clear option; you can either shape it as I did, or you can leave it neutral. I chose the shaping as I wanted the back of the sweater to come up my neck a little. There was a funky technique for the wrap and turns at this point, which I ended up doing wrong, but only because I didn’t read the instructions correctly. 

The ribbing gives shape and structure to the neck, and going down to the 2.5mm needles helped with that effect. The eight rows of stocking stitch gives the classic Gansey roll on the collar, and sits well on the ribbing due to the smaller needles. When I wear it, it doesn’t gape or sag, which is the one thing I was worried about, but with the structure of the raw wool, my neck is safe from gusty breezes from the shore line. 

Sleeves! I love my DPNs for these.

There was a Thursday in May when I was curled up in my knitting nook, listening to Lord Of The Rings on Audible, thunder rolled outside and Finchley was tucked under the blanket I had draped over my feet. We were as snug as could be, but I had a decision to make about the sleeves. In Anton’s pattern there are four rows of garter stitch that form a band around the upper middle arm. Personally, I wanted a chunkier amount of garter to make a bit of a statement, so I simply popped a row of purl stitches on every third round until I got to row 26 and then picked up Anton’s pattern. There is a very gentle decrease on the arms, and I just love the shaping; it’s so satisfying! It allows for movement around the armholes, but the cuffs sit close to the wrist, so you can get a coat over it without feeling all bunched up; perfection for rambling. 

The last sleeve had to wait four days to be finished as it turned out that I needed another ball of yarn. Although annoying, it really didn’t matter, and I was able to cast off five weeks to the day I cast-on, which was the day that both the sun came out from behind the wintery clouds, and my life started to ease up. I can safely say that this project was my emotional hug when all was dark, and its consistency and ease was a balm to my tired mind and heart. The design and wool were perfect partners, and I cannot remember wanting to cast on another one so quickly. I shall certainly be making more of these for my Cornish Adventure in the coming months. 

Blocking my Gansey Sweater!

Enjoying a blustery autumn ramble along the Cornish paths is, I have to admit, one of the things I am looking forward to the most when I move out west. During the summer I soak up the sun like a lizard, capturing every sunray that I can so that I can save it for the winter to come, but there is something about being outdoors in wild weather by the coast that makes my energy dance! The elemental nature is lost here in the suburbs, and I think a lot of my move to Cornwall is about being able to connect with ‘the other world’ more readily. Sweaters like The Gansey Folk, and wool such as the Skipper, are the perfect allies for facing the storms on the cliff paths, as well as those within us. 

The finished object!!