Notes From A Nomadic Knitter

On My Radio

2012-01-22T18:51:00.001Z

vintage 70s transistor radio from Wayside Flower on Etsy

A recent trip to the supermarket was transformed when the music on my radio was of an unexpectedly top quality. The husky welsh tones of Cerys Matthews, standing in on Radio 2, introduced this outrageously good selection: a 13 year old Michael Jackson singing the Bill Withers song - Ain't No Sunshine, James Blake covering Joni Mitchel's - A Case of You, and The Rolling Stones' inimitable - Gimme Sunshine.

This is music to make you feel something, to make you swoon. Cerys also usually has her own show on BBC Radio 6 Music. My life has been considerably enhanced since I realised I could listen to digital radio through our television. Instead of being spoon-fed somnambulising mush I can start the day with Shaun Keaveny who respects his listeners enough to treat them to Public Image Limited, Radiohead, Stevie Wonder (and I don't mean Ebony and Ivory). He chats clumsily about the universe with Professor Brian Cox most Fridays, and finishes the week with a poem written and performed by stand-up satirist, Murray Lachlan Young. You won't get any X-Lobotomy-Factor porridge here. Instead of anaesthetising the nation, 6 Music stirs and awakens.

Commenting on a trivial news item about the changing of rules on the wearing of fascintators at Ascot this year, Shaun's take was that a fascinator isn't really a hat, "... more like an emerging idea, or a mood." Profound genius, and all during breakfast.

Feeling Frosty

2012-01-16T11:26:00.000Z

At last, some proper wintry weather. A bit of frost anyway. Until now I haven't needed to wear my woolly hat, not once. Usually it is fixed to my head for the whole winter. In the last few days though everything has had that twinkly dusty covering. I have gone out of my way to walk on the grass just to feel that crunch. I was beginning to feel robbed of a decent winter. What's the point of a mild winter that's barely discernible from the rest of our temperate year?

Our bird feeder is the busiest attraction in the area. We always have a pair of woodpeckers (Greater Spotted, I think) as well as the usual selection of chaffinches, green finches and great tits. In the sunlight today the pheasants look like they're plumed in copper and gold. Last year one or two of them figured out how to perch on the top of the feeder and reach down to the seeds with their tail feathers raised for counter balance, but this year's population is still scratching around on the ground. I can be pretty certain that they are not the same birds since there is a lot of shooting in this area, although our 'landlord' doesn't allow any hunting on his land. Weirdly though, I have seen a shady character in full camouflage, including his green-splodged rifle, cutting across the camp site at dusk to get to the woods, only to return some time later, dragging a deer carcass behind him. I happened to have just stepped out of the Airstream one evening and, perhaps sensing my surprise and suspicion, the hunter tried to put me at ease by engaging me in conversation about how the local roads were less icy than earlier in the day. Phew! That sure did distract my attention from the fresh corpse on the ground.

My formerly-broken ankle is causing me less jip. I felt like there was a plateau in the process recently. I was expecting or hoping for steady and tangible improvement but I was still frustrated with aching and fatigue. Now I've reached that stage where I can be out and about and forget all about it. I do still feel tentative on potentially slippy or uneven ground though. A few walks to the pub helped me turn the corner. I can remember feeling chuffed that I could comfortably stride out rather than take shorter, safer steps. Thank God for the incentive of real ale.

Spiny Critter

2012-01-11T23:07:00.000Z

Here's a new addition to my shop. He licks envelopes and shop windows.

And So...

2012-01-04T20:09:00.000Z

Right, that's that then. It's quite hard to pick up a blog when it's been left for a while, as many of the blog writers I read point out from time to time. Is there a bloggers' protocol out there, whereby we just type in a codeword and everyone understands the futility of trying to make up for the un-blogged weeks or months. That would be handy.

Plus, of course, there was that December festive stuff that seems to have been building up since about October, so let's not mention any of that. We survived. Nuff said.

So what's new, apart from the year? Well, we trundled around and up and down the country throughout December for friends' big-birthday and getting-hitched celebrations, as well as the family visits at the end of the month for you-know-what. Now we're happy to be tucked up once more in our Worcestershire hideaway.

And I just posted some Sock Critters from my Etsy shop to someone in Niagara Falls! I know that's probably exactly the whole point of being part of the Etsy handmade hyper venue, but it's still blooming marvelous to think that I can sit here in our Airstream in little old Blighty, knitting and sewing daft bits of loveliness, and someone in Canada (and Australia recently too) stumbles across my stuff and decides it's just what they need or want. Brilliant! Now the Little Tin Hut shop is looking a bit depleted so I have another Critter on the go and a tea cosy, of course.

Here's a cosy which I should have shown off proudly some weeks ago. It was made for Carl and Gaynor's 1959 Tradewind, with some of Gaynor's wool left over from her crocheted blanket. Her sister-in-law started her off this summer and I don't think she's stopped since. Dare I say she's hooked? No, I'd better not.

I've also been inspired to pick up the crochet hook again. I recently bought this pattern from Wonky Zebra's shop of vintage crochet and knitting patterns, and I have started working on the array of granny squares. The colours will be different of course, because I'll be wading through my stash as much as I can without making it fit-inducing.

From Wonky Zebra on Etsy

Pass The Loofah

2011-10-21T12:16:00.001+01:00

Things I can do (now that the cast is off):

Walk. Yay!!! Well, put one foot in front of the other and move steadily in a forward direction.

Get in and out of the Airstream on foot, instead of on bum.

Sit on the floor and make a fuss of the bunnies whilst bribing them with leafy greens.

Carry stuff, instead of moving stuff incrementally along horizontal surfaces.

Shower standing up. (replace the word 'shower' with 'clean teeth', 'get dressed', or any everyday, simple activity)

Make a cup of tea in under twenty minutes and then carry it to the table. Actually I can carry two full cups, so myerrr.

..... I'm on fire! I would like my own leg back now though. Mine has been replaced with a rigid, puffy, pink, flaky one. Eeoogh!

Stifled Profanity

2011-10-07T15:52:00.000+01:00

Such is the strength of the rules of one's upbringing that in the throws of falling and fracturing a bone, you might be able to suppress the need to swear, even if you are a fan of the inherent oomph in a well savoured swear word like I am. When I slipped and fractured my tibia whilst out walking with my parents a month ago, I managed to simply suck air through my teeth, saying things like "Ow, ow, ow!" and, "It can't be all that serious, I didn't even say the 'F' word." Quite impressive really, since recently I had thought it would be amusing to try and train myself to say, "Oh dear. I didn't mean to do that." However, when it became clear I was going to have to walk two miles to get out of the woods I did find it helpful to utter a couple of mild profanities through gritted teeth. To be an effective release of shock and pain a swear word should contain at least one strong or sibilant consonant.

I am aware that some people choose to be offended by certain words, and I suppose we all have our limits or lines we decide not to cross. However, I think the intention behind a word or phrase can be far more offensive. I definitely don't want someone spitting the dreaded "C" word in my face, but the word itself carries no outrage for me. I'd rather be sworn at than patronised, or hear some narrow-minded views on race, gender or sexuality. And that's probably why on my ill-fated walk a couple of well timed "tits" and "twats" wafted harmlessly into the trees and at the same time helped me not to throw up. If my Dad hadn't been there keeping me distracted and comforted I would definitely have let rip and turned the green forest air blue.

Back to the broken leg and, four weeks later even my bright purple cast fails to keep me buoyant. I wish I could claim to embody a Zen-like acceptance, instead I feel useless and clumsy. The awkwardness of getting around the trailer with one leg solid and unbending at the ankle means that each simple, everyday task takes at least three times as long and involves newly learned adjustments and physical manoeuvrings. I am getting the hang of it but early on I literally felt nauseous with the effort. And as I set up for the job of taking a shower, once I've put on my waterproof leg covering thingy, I find that I pause, breathe and motivate myself to continue.

From a starting place seated on the loo lid I stand up, rotate 180 degrees, take all my weight on the two crutches, hop backwards over the shower ledge, stand on one leg whilst balancing the crutches in a handy place to reach them later, find dry and firm surfaces to grip while I sit myself back onto the shower seat, reach out the bathroom door to pull the stool into the bathroom and close enough to rest my outstretched leg on. Then I can commence my ablutions and the soaking of the bathroom floor. Of course by now I mostly remember to put the stool in place, within arm's reach, before I ensconce myself in the bathroom. I also mostly remember to heat the water sufficiently beforehand, and switch from the external tank to the internal, or whichever one is full at the time. Mostly, I remember, because the occasions where I have had to repeat the aforementioned sequence in reverse just to go and hop about the trailer, damp and half naked to flip a switch and then back again have taught me to plan ahead. All this sounds as though I'm coping alone. Far from it, but of course Pete will be outside doing water fetching and waste tank disposal and other outdoorsy chores. Which is why I also need to remember to take my mobile phone with me, just in case.

I am counting the days until the cast comes off (it's 11), and the recent late burst of warm weather did perk me up, as did a visit from Pete's parents. We had some lovely trips out to local historic and pastoral places. I would sit in the sunshine and exercise my brain with crosswords while the rest of the family exercised their tourist muscles looking at castles, churches and fortified houses (like Stokesay Castle picured above).

On a couple of balmy evenings we sat outside with Carl and Gaynor and the boys. We are still guests of their incredible hospitality in this beautiful piece of Shropshire. It is perfectly remote from any light pollution and we have been able to star gaze and spot satellites and shooting stars. As a happily relocated city girl I am always impressed by anyone who knows their constellations. Pete's Dad was telling me how they used to navigate when he was in the merchant navy. It's probably obvious but in this age of Sat Nav for all, it's extraordinary to think how recently one's position in relation to the stars was the way to navigate the vast seas.

How conducive to relaxed chatter is an evening under the stars, a glass of wine in hand and a blanket to snuggle under.

A Very Big Tent

2011-09-16T21:50:00.001+01:00

Before the 38 Airstreams arrived for the UK Airstreamers' September Gathering, Rockhill Rendezvous, there was a bit of a build up.

Recently added to our list of favourite things: our marquee, reminiscent of an old fashioned beer tent, dressed with 200 metres of homemade bunting and 320 metres of fairy lights. (You can see us and the whole Huntbatch family raising the marquee on our other blog here). When Gaynor said it would be "worth it" to make our own bunting rather than buy some sub-standard stuff, she was right. We spent large chunks of the following two weeks passing a bag of fabric triangles and tape between the farmhouse and our Airstream. She must have been experiencing some spooky intuition when she ordered 200 metres instead of the agreed 200 feet of tape.

When I fractured my tibia a week before Rockhill Rendezvous, sewing up bunting was the most productive thing I could do. That and make endless 'To-Do' lists!

Ready to Rock and Rendezvous

2011-09-05T12:44:00.003+01:00

I was getting my hair cut and coloured last week and was describing our Airstreaming life and where we are at the moment, at Rockhill Farm, and the imminent Rockhill Rendezvous, and my colourist and I got the giggles. She loved the sound of it all, and I'm sure she had never heard of anything like it. She kept saying how amazing it all sounds, and we just kept laughing.

Mostly, this way of life is amazing. We chose it, we made it up as we went along, it keeps evolving. And we've got to a point where it is self-perpetuating. What I mean by that is, we have met some great people, we hold these events, people invite us to stay with them, we meet more great people, we visit and meet up with them. And where we are right now is the epitome of that wonderful organic process.

We have been staying at Rockhill Farm and getting ready for Rockhill Rendezvous which is happening this weekend. Carl and Gaynor and their three boys came in their 1959 Tradewind to our very first UKAirstreamers Gathering, a very informal, try-it-and-see meet in the Spring of 2009. They weren't sure if it would be their scene, and neither were we to be honest. But all along we have tried to avoid the cringe-inducing, enforced group activities and formalities of a 'rally' and that mission seems to be attracting a mighty fine crowd of Airstreamers.

Carl and Gaynor have a farm in the beautiful Shropshire countryside and invited us to hold our September Gathering here last year. The trickiest part of holding a meet or gathering is finding a location where we can fit our plans in or around the rules of a campsite or land owner. A couple of examples; no noise after 10.30, no fires, and no flags!!!! Imagine. Why don't they just say, 'Don't have too much fun'!?! But here, we already see eye-to-eye on what you do or don't need for a good weekend of laid-back yet stylish camping. And so far we have never been told, 'you can't do that'. So we arrive nice and early, and bit by bit we all tick things off the 'to-do' list.

On top of that, we get to camp here in a lovely field, all to ourselves, only to have it 'spoiled' by a load of Airstreams turning up for a long weekend of catching up, laughing, drinking, sitting around a big camp fire, making as much noise as we like. As we say, sucks to be us!

Only three days to go. There might be bunting.

Soothing

2011-08-18T13:59:00.000+01:00

Is there anything better than strolling along a sandy beach at the water's edge on a sweltering day? It soothes the soul, and allows the brain to have a word with itself. I indulged in that sensation when we stopped on the Belgian coast before heading back to dear old Blighty. We were so dedicated to tracing the British coastline during our first two years in the Airstream, so I'm flummoxed that we have rarely dipped or paddled since.

Highlight of our first trip across the pond with the Airstream? Making lovely new friends, by far. We were overwhelmed by the hospitality of Dutch Airstreamers, Axel and Annieta, who let us stay in their 'yard' for so long that I virtually lost track of time. In fact, we met a lot of really friendly people while we were away. And spending time in Drenthe was incredibly pleasant. I think the far away horizon has a profoundly settling effect on my state of mind.

Where are we now? Not telling; we're lying low and prepping for Rockhill Rendezvous, the next UKAirstreamers' Gathering which is only three weeks away! But we are 'back home', and it's raining.

Inspiring Travel Writing

2011-08-08T18:14:00.001+01:00

I have done a fair bit of reading during the summer so far, but the most inspiring by far has been this little Penguin travel book, part of their Great Journeys series. Adventures in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird is a collection of letters by the adventurous traveller to her sister. But this is letter writing which I am convinced is no longer practised. Her letters read like prose, and her descriptions are beautifully evocative.

In 1873 Isabella Bird travelled alone to Colorado, encountering rough and wild characters, grizzly bears and stunning, but often inhospitable landscapes.

She is told, "There's nothing Western folk admire so much as pluck in a woman..." and she is shown respect by the most lawless of settlers. Plus, she knitted! "- my usual resource under discouraging circumstances."

Long Lost Project

2011-07-12T15:17:00.001+01:00

The number of times I have needed a little bag this size! I remember now that it was specifically for carrying my pocket-sized camera that is just a bit bulky for an actual pocket. So that, when Pete and I are out exploring (I can vaguely remember us spending two and a half years doing just that, bliss), and we've parked up next to a field with a hunebed or monolith, or "pile of old stones", I can just pop in the camera and car keys and go.

I had forgotten all about this poor abandoned little bag until Carole reminded me of it last week. I retrieved it from the depths of my half-finished project bag and just got on with sewing up the sides and attaching the strap. That's all that needed doing. How insane. And I am completely over the moon with it. I now feel the need for one in each colour.

Also handy for trips to the pub; money, keys, phone, lippy. I might have to turn this into a blog about the combinations of essentials that will fit into my handy little crocheted bag.

Prototype

2011-07-10T21:53:00.001+01:00

It needs a bit of work. I think it needs a chunkier yarn. But it's a start.

Dabbling

2011-07-05T18:19:00.000+01:00

We seem to have slowed right down. While Pete has been dealing with some rather annoying shenanigans on the UKAirstreamers forum I have managed to read a couple of books and dabble with my knitting. I'm trying out a cup cosy to keep my tea warm while I'm sitting outside. It's like a little cardi for your cup. A bit daft really, but I just feel like experimenting. I must have unravelled it at least four times so far.

Perhaps I should make one to fit around my glass of red wine as well. It was getting a bit chilled as we sat around the campfire last night.

Borger

2011-07-01T14:01:00.000+01:00

Axel kindly took us out a couple of times to see some of the hunebeds (stone burial chambers) which are numerous in the Drenthe region, and around some of the lovely neat villages, as well as for a walk in the woods. Apart from spending a couple of pleasant evenings which were topped-off beautifully with sitting around the firepit, swapping traditional alcoholic beverages, it also helped us to get our bearings.

One drizzly day we took a drive to the village of Borger where there is a very attractive and informative museum about the hunebeds. The tour started with a rather hypnotic and atmospheric film, without commentary, showing simply with images how the large stones (glacial erratics, I love that term) came to have arrived here from Finland after the ice age.

In the museum I especially enjoyed its large collection of reconstucted, decorated pots, and a series of dioramas demonstrating how the landscape would have changed with the advance of agriculture and the introduction of the canal and drainage systems. Although I was baffled when some text explained that settlements would have been built on higher ground. I haven't seen any yet, but the concept is more subtle here than we're used to.

Euro Airstream Gathering

2011-06-30T16:59:00.001+01:00

Rather belatedly, here are some of my images from the Gathering of European Airstream owners near to Venlo in the Netherlands. I mostly managed to avoid getting any people in my pics, but there was a lovely crowd, honest. And some of them had gone to a huge effort to restore some very cool and covetable vintage trailers and trucks. Fords and Chevys seem to be very popular, and they do go rather attractively with vintage Airstreams. But that's a lifetime's worth of polishing to commit to!

We had been a convoy of new Airstream trailers on the way from Britain, so it was a pleasure to mix in with the heavily vintage crowd. Every old trailer has so much history and character, whether it's been preserved in original detail, or restored with some creative flair.

And this beast (the trailer, not the flamingo) has just been happily collected from Southampton Docks, all in one piece and without dents or bits missing, after its Atlantic crossing.

I've said it before, you've gotta have flamingos!

Three Nights In Ghent

2011-06-23T14:49:00.000+01:00

So we took part in this convoy from Dover to Venlo (Netherlands) via Ghent, picking up more Airstreams along the way until we were fifteen arriving at the campsite, and joining many more for a weekend of relaxing, partying, and loving our Airstreams. There will be more Airstreamy facts and observations on our Pete and Tracey On The Road blog, but here are some details from Ghent, where we stopped off for three nights. I was a bit wiped out from the travels up to that point ( and I wasn't the only one because everyone crashed out later that day) so I don't have a lot to say about it, just some pics.

bottle top window decoration

scary ashtray

you've gotta have pink flamingos

A Boondock Stop-Off

2011-06-11T13:19:00.000+01:00

We just spent two nights boondocked at the beautiful and welcoming home of Airstreamers Pete and Glynis. They have been coming to the Gatherings in their 1964 Bambi 2 since the early and improvised ones, and extended an invitation to stop over with them if we were passing. It just so happens that we were passing on our way from Worcestershire to Kent. Why such a schlepp? Because we are on our way to the Netherlands for a Gathering of many Airstreams (49 at the last count)! Lots of grown up people are getting very giddy with excitement, and a couple of us are a little nervous about driving on the continent for the first time.

So what is boondocking? I'm not sure but we believe it's where you stay in a mate's driveway or something like that. That's what we did anyway and I don't think you'll ever find a more elegant 'dock' than Pete and Glynis' immensely cool 1929 Deco house and garden. I can also now claim to know a Domestic Goddess. That would be Glynis, not Pete. We were entertained and fed in style and we stayed up ridiculously late and drank far too much wine, or was it just enough?

Honorary Airstreamers Simon and Emma live nearby so we had an evening at their lovely house too. It was one of those typical English barbecues that has to be hurriedly moved indoors because the weather misbehaves. It was a very jolly evening in spite of that. Honorary Airstreamers? Well they used to have an Airstream and they were at our first two Gatherings and have followed and supported us and UK Airstreamers all along. Now they have a very cute vintage Sprite, whatever that is. Only kidding!

Part of our journey to Hythe in Kent was on the horribly busy M25. When you spend lots of time tucked away in a field with the occasional tractor and school bus passing by you forget that there are all those people out there, driving around in cars and trucks. It's not so much the volume that worries me, as the delayed manoeuvring and lane changing that goes on. This is our home following us along the road and the nutters rushing to cut in front of us don't have a clue that we aren't as nippy as them.

But we made it, of course, and here we are, the fourth unit to congregate so far. And an Airstream welcome is about as warm as a welcome can be. I think five more will arrive over the next few days before we depart in convoy for the ferry from Dover.

Lovely Laundry Day

2011-06-07T12:23:00.001+01:00

I have stumbled upon a foolproof way to make laundry day less bothersome: Find the nearest launderette that has sensible opening hours (8 till late works for me), bung washables, detergent and money in machine, go and buy ice cream. Then the remaining bundling and folding goes by in a haze of gratified self indulgence.

Apply above method to any tiresome activity. In winter, replace ice cream with chocolate and hot milky beverage.

Classic And Frivolous

2011-05-30T15:15:00.000+01:00

Pete's Mum asked me to make a cosy for a friend who likes blue and white china and always makes her tea in a pot (the proper way, right?). So here it is, more restrained in colour than usual but with a generously oversized pom pom to make up for it. I think a tea cosy should be frivolous in some way.

This bank holiday weekend, with the rain we have come to expect, has proven to be perfect for staying in and knitting whilst watching old movies which we have probably seen too many times already.

Glamping Essentials

2011-05-28T15:55:00.000+01:00

I enjoyed seeing the glam accessories at the Spring Gathering last weekend. Since I am such a fan of bunting and tea cosies myself I was happy to see I'm not alone (see previous post). Other lovely extras included Trudie's Union Jack awning, some multi-coloured, striped deckchairs with co-ordinated wind-breaks, the obligatory pink plastic flamingos and an over abundance of fairy lights as John and Pete tried to outdo each other (John triumphed, just).

Our friends in Brazil just placed a huge order at my Little Tin Hut shop which is obviously fantastic in itself, but also because I get to make more stuff to fill the gaps. Luckily I have some red and white bunting ready to add and a turquoise, red and white tea cosy that is almost ready.

Happy Cool Campers

2011-05-27T12:02:00.002+01:00

Well, we have reflected and discussed, we have caught up on our sleep and on Wednesday we moved from the site of the Gathering, back to our little Worcestershire hideaway. Now we will now get ourselves organised for taking part in a convoy to northern Europe. Very excited about that.

Our Spring Gathering last weekend was a big success. Phew! If you fill a field with beautiful trailers and vans and friendly people, what can you expect? Everyone mingled and chatted and admired each other's pride and joy. There were some very chilled out scenes, sitting in the sun, cups of tea being made, flags, bunting, lights, flamingos, stripey deckchairs.

Children played, food was blackened, fire warmed us as the night chilled. A downpour during the Sunday breakfast didn't even dampen our spirits (having a barn to shelter in helped heaps). It was just lovely.

As usual I didn't get to spend time with everyone. I think that I need to be on the site as people arrive. That way, at least I get to say "Hi".

Pete and I really appreciate everyone's help, contributions and enthusiasm, and we will definitely take up those offers of help for the next one. Everyone knows it's the people who really make an event a success, and so many comments were about what a lovely bunch had turned up. It was also fun to have a mix of the Airstreams and the European vintage caravans. It made for a field of style and character.

the view from our trailer

Travel Day

2011-05-18T00:08:00.001+01:00

Since today was a travelling day we decided to set ourselves up with a decent breakfast, and all four of our eggs had double yolks! Now would someone please tell me that a double yolk is a sign of good luck while I go and check if our lottery numbers have come up? I mean, what are the chances?

We are now at the site where the Airstream and Cool Caravan Gathering is taking place this weekend. We have been comparing our 'to do' lists and will stock up on supplies tomorrow. Early birds start to arrive over the next two days, then most will join us on Friday. Can't wait to see all the pretty caravans, trailers and camper vans.

Cool Airstreams

2011-05-15T16:45:00.002+01:00

The countdown is on and I am getting very excited about our Spring Gathering next weekend. For this one, we at UK Airstreamers have teamed up with Chris Haddon and his My Cool Caravan Facebook followers and we are going to have an eye boggling and mega groovy weekend in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

It is time to dust off the pink flamingos, unravel the bunting......

..... untangle the fairy lights,

and prepare to chill, laugh and generally relish being surrounded by some of the finest trailers, caravans and RVs in the country. More information can be found here.

Felt Flower Brooch

2011-05-10T11:33:00.000+01:00

I am continuing my experiments with felt and my best friend's birthday was the ideal occasion to branch out and try something bold and floral. I spotted a flower brooch tutorial on the Feltorama blog, but it was glued and I wanted to stitch the whole thing. So I started with the sort of heart-shaped petals as per the blog and then figured out the stitching as I went along. I also attached the scrunched petals to a flat flower base to give it some support and to introduce a contrasting colour.

Then, since I didn't have a suitable button for the centre, I made a squishy felt one filled with a tiny bit of polyester stuffing and embellished it with some seed beads which have been begging to be used.

I can't find the exact blog entry on Feltorama now but it is a treasure trove of links to a myriad of shared ideas and tutorials which are brilliantly listed under categories. So if you want to make a felt chicken dinner you look on the list under Felt Food and it will link you to the appropriate blog.

Morris Men

2011-05-07T12:26:00.000+01:00

We finally got to enjoy some morris dancing. In our three years and a bit of living on the road this is our first encounter. It was the May Day bank holiday and this team (The White Hart Morris Men, I think) were stepping out at The Star Inn, Ashton Under Hill in Worcestershire.

I had always thought that Morris is an all-male dance, and this troupe was, but apparently there are regional variations and some have women! Wiki describes the dance as "rhythmic stepping", and I think that's pretty accurate. Plus, of course there are complicated formations. There are hankies flung and sticks tapped, bells jangled, and prompts are yelled out. The musicians were ambidextrous, one playing a whistle in one hand and a drum with the other. It's a great entertainment for a beer garden on a sunny afternoon.

Easter Bunnies

2011-04-23T12:18:00.000+01:00

the grumpy one

the cheeky one

Their Bunninesses

There can be only one

2011-04-21T14:06:00.001+01:00

I used to pick the peel out of marmalade until on a train from Penrith to London I met a dapper elderly gent in a chalk-striped suit who told me he was heading to Harrods or Fortnum's to buy some No Peel Marmalade. It could have been created for me. Even better once I discovered that you could buy it in any self-respecting supermarket. When John and Carole came to visit the other day we discovered that Carole and I share the same discerning taste. We have tried others but they all fail to impress. There can be only one.

Life Outside

2011-04-08T13:11:00.001+01:00

Today I had my first al fresco yoga session of the year. The occurence of these is usually limited as much by privacy as weather, but both were in my favour today, after our over-the-hedge neighbours had been for a look at the Airstream. We seem to be having an early summer and it is perfect for starting to spill out of the trailer and do stuff outdoors that is limited to indoors for rest of the year. I think it is about seven months since we put away our outdoor furniture and stored the firepit and barbecue, so it's not a day too soon. When you can leave the door open and seamlessy swap between inside and outside, that is what it's all about, whether you are Airstreaming or campervanning, fulltime or holidaying. I'm outside right now!

To get myself to make time for yoga I took my own advice that I used to give when I taught yoga classes, and that is to aim small. If you think that you need an hour put aside then, unless you're dedicated, you'll just find that you have more pressing things to do, like answer some emails or clean the kitchen bin. So, if you tell yourself that you will simply do ten minutes, or one pose, you are more likely to step onto the mat. The thing is, once you get started you will probably end up adding a few more poses, and afterwards you'll feel more alive and maybe a little bit pleased with yourself.

I have recently bought a cheap foam bed roll to put under my yoga mat to counter lumps and bumps under foot and to help to keep my mat clean. The sun warmed my face, birdsong was ringing all around me. A couple of brave Goldfinches even dared to use the feeder which was only about eight feet from me. I savoured sustained breaths of fresh spring country air, I reached up to the sky, I thought about having a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits. I was at one with nature, and then I wasn't. I didn't dwell on the beverage fantasy, but it was a persistent yearning which I have since indulged, and my life is complete and well balanced I feel.

Reality Bites

2011-04-03T16:42:00.000+01:00

Here are a couple of pics from a little visit to Broadway in the Cotswolds, ridiculously pretty and a perfectly preserved version of 'Englishness' which only exists in affluent pockets and attracts tourists from all over the world. It is a lovely place to wander about, have some tea and cake, buy something traditional from a traditional shop, look at some yellow houses with their regulation sagey-putty-coloured front doors before returning to the real world.

A few days after I brought the Land Rover home from its cheap-as-chips MOT it started to lose its umph. It wouldn't accelerate at an acceptable rate. I had to return to the hinterlands of Cheltenham to get it fixed, and once more had to 'kill' time, a whole day in fact.

I had a few gratifyingly gratis and discounted experiences in Cheltenham, starting with a free coffee, courtesy of a loyalty card lurking in my purse. I made up for this by signing up for the coffee chain's not-free WiFi. It took as long to sign up as to actually be online.

Next, some reward points helped me to purchase a book (Room, by Emma Donoghue) for £2.44. Then an early summer sale in a department store got me 20% off some new bed linen. So far so good.

All was negated by the bill at Land Rover at the end of the day. This seemingly simple life of ours can be bloody expensive at times. We've chosen this big shiny trailer to live in, which needs a big monster car to tow it. It works by some kind of voodoo/electrics, which has been cleverly designed so that the voodoo/electrics wear out a lot and have to be fixed by the voodoo/electrics pixies, not by mere mortals. You look under the hood and you can't even see the engine. What goes on in there? It looks big and tough but it seems to be made of marshmallows and tissue paper, and it disappoints me quite frequently. Can you tell?

Hey Ho, here's some more Spring stuff. Oh and the book was superb. I devoured it in two days.

Airstream Blush

2011-03-25T12:35:00.000Z

Doesn't she look gorgeous, with the sunset making her blush and the little star lights showing from inside? When the sky or the weather does something interesting you have to be quick and leap out of the trailer, camera in hand. And by now I have taken so many photographs of reflections in the Airstream windows that I am experiencing deja-vu of a non-spooky variety.

The site where we have been staying for a little while has provided challenges to photography. The view from some of our windows is wonderfully bucolic, but we are also surrounded by tin barns, piles of gravel and an array of ageing farm machinery. Oh, and a couple of conventional caravans, and some strategically placed traffic cones. That's what cropping is for, right?

Here At Last

2011-03-22T15:44:00.001Z

We went to see Submarine. It was charming, and funny, and uncomfortable, and beautifully shot, like a french film set in coastal Wales.

We saw cherry blossoms in Cheltenham.

I saw a girl in flip flops yesterday. Where do you go from there?

I have spotted a jay a few feet from the Airstream. All of the birds have on their best plumage.

Feral cats are skulking around.

All of the windows and skylights are open.

Refreshing Modernism

2011-03-16T15:20:00.002Z

The car had to go in for its MOT. The dealership/garage is nowhere near to anywhere I want to be so I took a bus in to Cheltenham. In the midst of all its Regency, wedding-cakey poshness someone had plonked a concrete block, presumably in the nineteen seventies. Actually its presence is refreshingly discordant, especially since The Swallow Bakery has turned the ground floor into an urban-feeling cafe. I remembered it being a bit pricey on a previous visit so I was content with just a coffee and to sit and people-watch in an airy, contemporary space. I'm sure it will feel even lighter when the scaffold is removed from outside.

The car passed its test, hoorah! That was the cheapest visit to a Land Rover establishment ever. Big sighs of relief all round.

Enticement

2011-03-14T13:13:00.001Z

We drove to Malvern for a walk up a big hill. It rained, so we had some tea and cake and a heart-racing look around the delicious Knitting Parlour. There was a warm glow within as we ooh-ed and aah-ed at the window. Inside it smelt of new wool and wood. They had quality yarns in irresistible colours. There were some crazy textured yarns too, like the giant one that you knit with your forearms instead of needles.

Pete bought this soft as angels' breath alpaca-cotton blend. I exercised restraint. Well... I have to use up a lot more of my stash before I can get carried away again. It's not easy though, when your senses are being gently teased like that. But they have a website here if it turns out I neeeeeed more yarn.

The Felt Revelation

2011-03-03T11:47:00.002Z

One of my challenges at the moment, having filled a box with Sock Critters and listed them on Etsy, is what to focus on next? The Airstream has a finite amount of space, the Critters' box is full, time to work on little things. But my mind is in butterfly mode. Must grit teeth and focus.

I have made drawings for lots of smaller projects but I keep flitting from one to another. I've got some knitting on the go - a new tea cosy for the shop and another for my Mum-in-law, plus a couple which are knitted but not finished. As I've said before on this blog, I enjoy the repetitiveness of knitting rows and watching the form unfold slowly from the needles. I might also have one eye and half of my brain on a cheesy/classic film, or the ramblings of a DJ on the radio while I engage in this semi-autonomic activity. But, as soon as the time comes to sew up seams and sew in ends it starts to feel like a chore and I'm tempted to succumb to the thrill of a new project, abandoning my old one until I literally have NOTHING more interesting or pressing to do.

I'm dabbling with felt at the moment. It is a new material for me, and I'm enjoying getting the hang of how it behaves. It behaves very co-operatively in fact. You cut it into shapes and it doesn't fray, or stretch, or roll up at the edges. It comes in all kinds of vibrant colours. You can layer it, or stuff it. It lends itself to cute or funky designs. You can draw something, then make it in felt and it looks just like your drawing! Brilliant! I made this pin cushion to fit a specific space in my sewing box.

Little Tin Hut Shop

2011-02-18T12:24:00.002Z

My Little Tin Hut online shop is open and ready to welcome curious visitors, and those in need of some essential frivolity. Let's face it, who isn't? Click here to go directly to the shop.

So far there is a collection of my Sock Critters, each with their quirks of character and all in need of good homes. Tea cosies will be added soon, and other little projects that I'm working on at the moment. All made and photographed in, and dispatched from an Airstream! Brilliant!

The shop is located on Etsy, which most crafty people will know about. For those who don't, it is a venue for all things handmade and vintage. The variety of artists and crafters is astounding, the quality is high and they are based all around the world. I find it inspiring just browsing the other shops. And even though I only started to list my items on Tuesday and Wednesday, I've already been receiving lovely messages of encouragement from other sellers, and had individual Sock Critters and my shop added to people's 'Favorites' (American spelling since it's an American site, all you pedants!). It's quite overwhelming. I don't know what I expected really. Now I need to dive in and find out how to interact with the Etsy community.

There was lots of helpful advice on Etsy about setting up a shop, as well as blog posts from other sellers. Even though I'm just little ol' me making stuff in an Airstream, I looked around a load of shops where I thought people were doing some really good quality work, or fun and quirky, and where they were presenting themselves very attractively and effectively and tried, with my limited facilities, to emulate what I thought was working well.

Naturally I've had lots of help and advice with the computery stuff from my technical support team of one, Pete. Taught me everything I know (about computers anyway).

Watch this space for updates and news of new additions to the Little Tin Hut, as well as more random bloggy ramblings.

Sunlight and Sweet Melancholy

2011-02-07T13:05:00.007Z

As I write we are being pelted with windswept tree branches. Nothing too big thankfully, more like large twigs. Sandwiched between a succession of grey and windy days there was a sunny one. I was ready with the tripod and a roll of white wallpaper and my trusty and versatile Canon Ixus. Oh, and a piece of string to suspend the paper from the paper towel-holder. My mission: To photograph my sock creatures.

The sun shone obligingly onto the extending kitchen worktop, but it does move around and sink low very quickly. So the clock (if I had one) was ticking. Sock monsters are not very co-operative either. I had to scour the trailer for discreet objects that could hide behind the critters and hold them up, things like small paint pots and paperclips.

Normally, while I potter I am more than content with having Huey Morgan in the background and his 'if it's cool he'll play it' style radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music. But while I got absorbed in my task I felt I needed an album to unfold around me. I downloaded Nina Nastasia's 2010 release, Outlaster.

I played it all the way through, and then immediately had to play the whole album again. I knew this wasn't really going to be background music since I have often been sucked into her second album, The Blackened Air, and wallowed in its delicate darkness. Outlaster is a more deliciously lush offering. There are moments where you find that you have simply stopped what you were doing and are listening, really listening. It is not just the unpretentious clarity of her voice, or the compelling lyrics. There is her gently meticulous guitar playing and the strings that swoop and scrape in raw, rough-edged, folky gusts.

Nina Nastasia's rare gift of a voice is an intimate, winged presence that is able to either freeze or melt your heart; that can powerfully soar and twist, or brush ultra-gently against you, suddenly summoning goose bumps. Mojo commented on its ability to "suck the air out of the room"
Fat Cat Records

If you embrace melancholia and cheer in unsentimental equal measure then this might be your cup of tea, but listen alone, because if anyone talks over this music it would be hard to forgive.

Postcards From The Edge of a Village

2011-01-27T13:53:00.001Z

A little while ago I put together the Little Tin Hut website, which has a gallery of some of my favourite projects that I have made since we took to the road in our Airstream. The sock creatures get great reactions, and I have had some 'commissons', which I have been very pleased about. Recently I have put other projects on hold while I have been sewing and stuffing until I now have a box of critters. Next, I'm hoping for good light so that I can photograph what I've made so far and then put them in an online shop.

I have the trailer to myself a lot more at the moment while Pete is out helping a friend with a vintage Airstream restoration project. I have even become an early riser, although this week it's been more of a struggle. As well as an alarm to wake me, repeatedly, I need one to yell at me at night, "Get to bed!" We have always been nocturnal creatures and it is a really hard habit to break. I always want to squeeze a bit more out of the day. Plus some of the most absorbing films are shown late at night. You don't get any Pedro Almodovar in the nine o'clock prime time spot, or Roadhouse! (Mr Swayze does T'ai Chi and defends a crappy bar against thugs. What more do you need to know?).

Regular brisk walks also have to be fitted into the days. It is about half a mile to the nearest village and if there was a village shop I could perfectly combine picking up milk and bread with stretching my legs and taking the marvelous Worcestershire air. But there isn't. Instead I have taken to writing post cards to friends, you know, like we did in the old days, and then striding out towards the post box, envelope in hand. If you receive one of these and wonder why I didn't just text you or send you an email, just indulge me and know that you will be helping me to keep alive the ancient art of handwriting whilst looking after my cardiovascular health in one gesture. I thank you.

Photo Archive

2011-01-15T18:27:00.002Z

I was going through some of my photographs, trying to arrange them into albums, as you do on a rainy, wintry Saturday, and I came across this one. It is from our summer of 2009 trip around the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. That journey is still with me, beauty you can actually inhale and take away with you. More here if you missed it the first time around.

Even though it might seem like a shame to turn those blue skies grey, I rather like the drama of the landscape and the silver of the Airstream and car in monochrome.

And here's one from my 'Stuff' album.

I will admit that it is not the prettiest photo I took on Orkney, but I do like random stuff in a field. I wouldn't swap it for the Airstream, but it has potential.

Winter Projects

2011-01-11T00:27:00.000Z

I did finish the shorter mittens from Hand Knitted Things and made another pair to give as a gift. I have, as I expected, had more use out of these than the longer, 'arm warmer' version of the pattern. There's just too much bulk to tuck up into my jacket sleeves. Maybe they're more suitable with just a sweater, or a gilet?

They knit pretty quickly, although when it comes to sewing up any project I usually lose momentum. My attention wanders and my eyes glaze over and I will allow pretty much anything else to grab my interest. So, if you are not me, these mittens are brisk gratification.

Currently on the go is a knitted camper van from The Little Knit Kit Company, one of my lovely crafty prezzies from Pete. So far the pattern looks simple, no shaping involved. The kit comes with everything you need, including some 4mm needles (although I'm using my own longer ones) and some pretty beads to use as headlights and decoration.

We live in an Airstream now but we used to have a red 1973 VW camper van and I still love them to bits. Living in one might be just a bit cramped though. My mission to fill our trailer with sewn and knitted stuffed things is going rather well, except I have been thinking about putting some sock creatures up for adoption.

Silver and White

2011-01-04T13:41:00.001Z

Well we're just about back to our own version of normality, apart from conscientiously eating our way through a small hillock of cakes and puddings that is still sitting here on the galley counter. Most of it would probably keep for a few months, but the usual space restrictions apply and we need our horizontal surfaces back. We'll soldier on.

We have just experienced the most beautiful winter weather I can remember. It's been a challenge at times, but stunning to look at. There has been freezing fog, which resulted in the thickest and spikiest frost I have ever seen, literally covering every surface in jagged white needles. And then there was the snow, which just kept falling. The temperature never rose above freezing, so it remained light and powdery and as pure as when it fell.

The nation attempted to carry on as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, but of course that didn't really work.

We kept warm and toasty inside the Airstream, using up the gas at a ridiculous rate, but things froze up outside. Some days our chores would take way too long. We have to fetch our fresh water every day and dispose of our waste. Normally I'm perfectly happy to get out there and do what needs to be done, but the winter days are short enough without having to spend the daylight hours thawing out pipes and taps.

Our internal tank and pipes were fine but our external tank would freeze, as would its connecting hose, the fresh water tap, our waste water container, the waste water disposal point and the 'black water' disposal point. Many trips back and forth to the trailer to fill up flasks with hot water were required to thaw everything out. The trick is to ensure that there is sufficient water left in the internal tank overnight so that you've got enough for the thawing out business the next day, plus your morning beverages of course.

I was just hoping that the winter wonderland would stay in place for Christmas day. After all the rigmarole and the nationwide gnashing of teeth it would have been a disappointment to have a big thaw and end up trudging around in slush and mud instead of snow. I got my wish, and the sun came out too. It was glorious.

Now there's mud, lots of mud. Hey ho.

Happy Christmas

2010-12-24T01:15:00.000Z

Wishing you all happy, cosy and sparkly festivities dear blog readers. May your stockings be filled with handmade treats.

Chunky Mitts

2010-11-23T12:02:00.001Z

Here, at last, are the Arm Warmers, made with Sirdar Click Chunky yarn, on straight needles, and following a very simple pattern from Hand Knitted Things. I actually finished them very quickly, for me, but I was put off photographing my hands wearing them because they have been in a right dried-up old state. I had to slather on some heavy duty hand cream before taking this pic, just so that you wouldn't recoil in disgust.

The yarn is a mix of acrylic and wool. I usually buy pure wool, even when it isn't necessarily practical. I just prefer the feel of it. But the wool shop which is to be my local for as long as we decide to stay in our current location (somewhere in the county of Worcestershire) has a large selection of yarns, but most of them are blends. If I'm going to be a purist I'll have to travel further afield.

The cable stitch was a cinch. How pleasing to be able to create a complicated effect by simple means. And I like the finished result so much I went straight out to buy more (blended) wool and I am knitting a shorter pair. I liked the idea of a long-armed mitten, but I think I will rarely have exposed forearms in the next few months.

Still Cosy After All These Years

2010-10-31T13:20:00.000Z

This tea cosy inspired me to knit. Just look at it. Isn't it perfect? Clearly made from brightly-coloured scraps jumbled together, it is the word 'jolly' manifest in wool. It used to belong to Pete's grandmother and it brought a bit of crazy colour to our neutral-hued home for a few years before being put into storage at the beginning of our Airstream travels. We weren't going to have a teapot, taking up space and payload (weight allowance). Well that soon changed. Tea and coffee are important to me and they have to be made properly - brewed and infused rather than scalded and wrung out!

We recently had a bit of a sort through of our stored possessions and this little cosy came to light again. It has been brought aboard, even though I had just made a new one. A bit restrained in colour perhaps, but in keeping with the Airstream's interior.

My own grandmother showed me how to make cosies, carrying the yarn across the back and keeping the tension. She was a speed knitter. She used to make some dodgy things though, like ladies in crinoline dress toilet roll holders, and lacy tissue box covers. All of these unnecessary disguises would be in whatever garish wool she had stashed. Every time my parents redecorated the bathroom a new crinny lady would be produced, whereupon ( yes that is a real word, heathens) it would be hidden out of sight until she visited and it was ceremoniously placed on the toilet cistern, as if that was where it always lived. More grateful recipients were, hopefully, the charities to whom she donated her wares to raise money.

Anyway, I shall be making good use of one or other of these cosies today. Pete has gone to Wembley to see the NFL game and I will be indulging in a new knitting project, lots of tea and biccies and repeats of Sherlock Holmes and Poirot. More about the project later. I'll just say that it's a pair of hand warmers with a cable stitch. Hand warmers? Like gloves, but without fingers. I was assured by the enthusiastically helpful woman in the wool shop that there's nothing to a cable stitch, much less complicated than it looks. We shall see. Now, time for a brew.

Hydrangeas and Pearls

2010-10-10T15:17:00.000+01:00

While Pete and his Mum went searching for ancestors in the graveyards of Lancashire, I was happily distracted by this unexpectedly theatrical tribute.

Smile

2010-09-29T15:26:00.001+01:00

Today's colour is grey. It is raining, the distant Cumbrian fells are completely obscured by clouds, so our view is dominated by electricity pylons and traffic on a busy 'A' road. To cheer myself up I am wearing this button. I bought it yesterday in a wonderful shop in Ambleside, filled with colourful quirkiness and called Detail.

A Glimpse of Ludlow

2010-09-22T14:46:00.000+01:00

We finally forced ourselves to leave our idyllic spot in Shropshire. Where there was once a field dotted with shiny Airstreams is now a field of grazing cattle. The next time we are near to Ludlow we must explore the area much more. For now, here are some images from an afternoon in the lovely town.

Crafty Airstreamers

2010-09-17T19:52:00.002+01:00

Last weekend at the fourth UKAirstreamers Gathering near Ludlow we had the first 'Unhitch and Stitch on the Sunday' afternoon. There was some knitting going on, and some exchanging of techniques. I learnt how to cast on with my thumb and other crafties who had forgotten how to knit, had their memories jogged.

I got engrossed in teaching four young Airstreamers how to make sock creatures. Alice and Will had to go home before finishing so I hope I'll be getting photos of their creatures sometime. Jordan and Rory weren't in a hurry, as this is their farm, and they each managed to make a creature in one afternoon. Check them out! Aren't they brilliant?

There is much more about the completely fabulous time we had at our UKAirstreamers Gathering on our other blog, Pete And Tracey On The Road.

The Airstreams Are Coming

2010-09-09T09:52:00.000+01:00

The fourth UK Airstreamers Gathering is happening this weekend and the new bunting is ready. Thirty-plus new and vintage Airstreams will be wending their way to a beautiful spot in Shropshire. Airstreamers, Carl, Gaynor, Connor, Jordan and Rory are welcoming us all to their farm, and it promises to be a stunning and unprecedented gathering of Airstream travel trailers and motorhomes in the UK.

On a crafty note, on Sunday there will be 'Unhitch And Stitch' under our awning, where Airstreamers can bring a project of any kind, and partake of tea and cake. The cake part is a twisted form of enticement because I'm not an experienced baker, but I sometimes have beginner's luck on my side. Let's hope that will be the case this weekend!

Anyway, onwards, there's lots to do today. I might get another go on the sit-on grass cutter if I'm lucky, having already fulfilled a long-held wish yesterday. I can't help it. I'm a city girl. I've only ever had a balcony and some window boxes. I digress. A couple of early arrivals will be turning up later today, then everyone else tomorrow.

If you're in the Ludlow area around lunchtime, look out for a lot of shiny aluminium beasts on the roads. I'm off to drape bunting. You can't have too much bunting!

Vintage at Goodwood

2010-08-19T00:30:00.002+01:00

We went to the Vintage at Goodwood festival last friday. Unfortunately it rained, a lot, so there was lots of sheltering and drying out with intermittent browsing and bopping. Luckily for us we knew the guys at the Silver Rocketeer Cocktail Lounge, newly refurbished and looking classy and chilled. The rain and poor light meant that I didn't get many usable pics, and I'm gutted that I can't show you the Rocketeer's shiny Spartan Mansion.

The festival had a very relaxed party atmosphere, loads of vintage vehicles on show (including a few Airstreams), an auction on the Sunday, vintage clothing and furniture stores, performance tents and stages. Friday had a reggae flavour on the Soul Stage. I enjoyed a bop to The Beat and later to The Wailers, great bands and a really happy crowd.

Hopefully this was the first of a new annual festival, but with better weather. Who would have thought The Buzzcocks would ever be considered vintage? I guess nostalgia can take hold of any of us!

Eyes Open

2010-08-12T10:51:00.000+01:00

During a day of chores and errands the supermarket car park presented this jewel. Some days it's a relief to realise my eyes are open and to catch a little bit of natural sparkle on a rainy day.

I never find the right bag. I assume there is one bag for every day, but I'm wrong. Sometimes I just need a little bag that will simply hold my point-and-shoot camera and the car keys, for those times when we hop out of the car to check out a bit of neolithic resilience, or the sun on the hay bales, or a rainy leaf! So I'm making one. I'm trying to make it quite tight and supportive, so I'm using cotton and double crochet (in English terms that is). The work feels a bit stiff, it doesn't glide like wool so I'm not really getting into a satisfying rhythm. And I'm making it up as I go along. How tricky can it be?

Getting up early has its rewards. Our Airstream is parked in a lovely wooded site this week. So we get dripped on long after the rain has stopped, sunlight is dappled, and there are acorns. Doesn't it already feel like summer is winding down? Or is it just here in the woods?

It's A Knitted Slug!

2010-08-02T12:58:00.000+01:00

I had a go at knitted Amigurumi for the first time. There's a lot of it out there on the crafting websites and I didn't really get it until now. Wiki says it is the "art" of crocheted or knitted stuffed toys, typically animals and "inanimate objects endowed with anthropomorphic features". Now that's what's been missing from my knitting projects. And naturally it originates in Japan.

I've seen lots of funny little crocheted animals, some more recognisable than others, and then there's the craze for knitted cup cakes. All very clever but I couldn't really see the point. It was all a bit too pretty and cute for me.

And then I found a pattern for a knitted slug! Now that's more like it. Find this and other bugs and pesky creatures at cheezombie on Etsy.

I had to concentrate. It's not a project for doing on autopilot whilst watching an episode of Wallander in Swedish. It was so much fun. I learned new shaping techniques. This one was one of cheezombie's flat-knit patterns, most are on circular needles.

What next? I like the idea of a family of slugs, and their gnat pattern is ugly-cute. Or what about Eddie Lizzard? Or the Lobstah?

Shopping For The Crafty Nomad

2010-07-09T15:18:00.001+01:00

As we move around I am getting used to finding my craft supplies in a variety of places, from gorgeous little independent shops and old fashioned and fusty little places, to haberdashery departments in well-known stores and monster-sized craft warehouses.

Ideally I love to go to the little, characterful shops first. Everyone knows that our high streets are at risk of becoming identically dull, lined with the same old chains. I can confirm this, having scoured many of the nation's high streets in two and a half years of the nomadic lifestyle. Many of them are functional at best, a boring waste of time and shoe leather at worst. So we need to frequent and support the independent and the individual when we find it.

On the other hand, I can get excited by the seemingly endless choice in a large store. I'm the same with bookshops. Sometimes I know exactly what I want and I know a small bookstore will do everything in their power to get it for me. On other occasions I have stumbled across something delightful and unexpected whilst moseying around a large temple to all things bookish.

But variety is key. We used to live in a town in the Lake District. There were about twenty shops selling walking gear and waterproofs but there was no haberdashers, and we had to drive forty miles to buy new underwear. And when we got there, we were in Carlisle, or The Pit Of Despair, as I tend to call it. One of our first stops on our Airstreaming odyssey was Bath. What a contrast. I thought I'd transcended this mortal plane and been reborn in a more heavenly realm.

Luscious Temptation

2010-07-04T19:39:00.001+01:00

We found a lovely fabric shop in Cambridge, Cally Co. It reminded me of a cake shop, filled with luscious temptation.

Occasionally, but not often enough on our travels, we come across a french-style patisserie which will have confections of the lightest, aerated meringue and macaroon. Have you seen those pink and pistachio macaroons? I always have to have one, not only because they are divinely light but chewy and a bit gooey in the middle. I have to have one because that type of frivolously colourful and pointless confectionery is such a rarity that it might just be my last chance to indulge in that way for a very long time. Scones and fruit cake have their place, but so do mille feuille and macaroons.

So, back to the scrummy Cally Co, I found it just as delicious as a posh cake shop. You know when you want to touch everything? We bought some polka dot, dove grey PVC to use as an outdoor table cloth. We have been looking out for just the right one. Some are too dull, some are too madly patterned. Dove grey seems just right with our silver table and grey chairs.

We also had a jolly chat with the two lovely women in the shop. When we described our nomadic living arrangements I knew I wouldn't need to explain what an Airstream is, and I was right. I'm going to try to go back to that yummy shop before we leave the area. There must be something else I need.

Mad As A Box Of Critters

2010-07-03T13:08:00.000+01:00

The sock critter commission has arrived at its destination and everyone is happy, especially me. The walk to the local village post office with a box of critters under my arm was most enjoyable. And here's a sneak peek at the crazy little monsters.

They will be for small kiddies so the eyes are firmly sewn-on felt instead of buttons. And you might have noticed a glimpse of the Airstream in the background. I've been enjoying a bit more of the al fresco life and sewing outside, under the awning. Sucks to be me!

Things Take On A Life Of Their Own

2010-06-24T12:23:00.000+01:00

I'm still in sock creature mode. Some lovely friends have asked me to make some for them. If I wanted to big myself up a bit I could call it a commission. Either way, I am completely chuffed to have been asked.

Since they are going to be given away as presents I had better not reveal too much here. You never know who's looking, and I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises.

When I visited my best friend in London last weekend she was displaying flowers in a tall vase I had made for her. I used to go to a pottery class when we lived in Cumbria. Actually it wasn't so much a class as a space in which to experiment with clay, with a very experienced potter on hand for guidance. I loved it with a passion and I hope I can take it up again sometime. It was such a messy, tactile experience. The clay felt heavy, pliable and yet resistant. Although the potter, with his thirty-odd years of sculpting and throwing could make the clay obey him. It literally surrendered to the movements of his hands.

The processes seemed like a kind of alchemy to me. From this grey, earthy lump to a pinkish and lighter, biscuit-fired form. Then coated in liquefied, dull minerals which magically transformed into glossy, glassy, translucent colours after firing in unimaginable heat. The whole craft was an incredible marriage of primitive and intuitive with technical and scientific. Mind blowing.

Seeing this vase again, to my eyes it had a charm to it but it was also clumsy and lacking the grace I had envisioned when I was designing it. How often is that the way? So gratifying though, to see something I had made having been integrated into my friend's day to day life. Like the tea cosy I knitted for her a couple of Christmases ago, sitting askew on her teapot.

Making stuff is engrossing and satisfying. Giving stuff away and seeing it take on a life of its own is beyond gratifying.

Purple Sock Bunny

2010-06-17T01:50:00.000+01:00

We had a visit from one of Pete's oldest friends, Andrew and his two young sons, James and David. David, the youngest, is four and he seemed to like our sock creatures so we decided we would start to make one there and then. We chose a sock in David's current favourite colour, purple, and I set to work with the scissors.

It was fun to work quickly, freed from the tyranny of neatness, the emphasis more on showing how it's done and getting David involved in the decisions. He suggested it could be a purple rabbit, and he chose one pink and one purple button for the eyes. I got him to put in some of the polyester stuffing, and when I suggested that he might want to add more because it was going to be a bit squishy, he thought it would be nice like that. So we went with soft and squishy.

I finished it after he went home, taking a bit of license with the facial features and adding a fluffy tail, which wasn't in the original brief but a cute and tactile detail and well worth the fiddlyness involved.

Al Fresco Knitting

2010-06-02T10:17:00.001+01:00

We have been without internet for almost a week. We had used up our monthly bandwidth in the run-up to the Airstream gathering and ended up counting the days til the 2nd of June when we could start communicating with the world at large again. I may have already made a big dent in this month's quota by catching up on blogs.

The gathering was lovely. More about it on our joint blog. I even fitted in a few rows of knitting under the shade of our awning. It's going to be a tea cosy. The craft world has embraced the internet and there is an overwhelming universe of knitting and crochet websites and blogs out there. I've noticed that some knitters get hooked on making socks. Just check out Yarn Harlot. She makes all kinds of stuff but always seems to come back to socks. For me it's tea cosies. It's like a default setting or a return to normality after trying something new.

We are on the road again. We actually ended up in one spot for six months. We hadn't planned it that way, it just happened, and we were in a lovely place on the Somerset Levels. Moving on to the gathering was a brilliant way to start our summer travels and now that we are on our way, I'm really looking forward to some new scenery and fresh outlooks. We will be moving every two or three weeks from now on. I will also be looking out for any signs of the upcoming World Wide Knit In Public Day, which is apparently on or around the 12th June.

The Genius of Wally Byam

2010-05-15T11:39:00.000+01:00

Last night I was already enjoying The Genius of Design on BBC2 but got very excited towards the end when the subject became Wally Byam, the designer of the very first Airstream trailers and the founder of the Airstream company.

The programme was about 20s and 30s design innovators and the birth of modernism. It showed the explosion of creative invention going hand in hand with the development of industrial materials, a move towards minimal and functional style as a reaction against the overly-decorated. One of the principles was that good design can be more affordable and democratic if it isn't laden with unnecessary adornment. The story went from Bauhaus to Habitat via Le Corbusier, Henry Dreyfuss and Wally Byam. Those kinds of leaps in creativity make my heart flutter. And the paring down and simplification are like a whiff of eucalyptus to me.

The narrator described the Airstream style of the thirties as "folk modernism", "Le Corbusier meets Henry Dreyfuss from a designer who probably never heard of either of them." I guess that puts Wally in a school of his own then. I know that the best thing you can ever see in your rear-view mirror is an Airstream. That's just one of the many reasons why we live and travel in ours full-time. Like the Airstreamers on The Genius of Design said, it's self-contained, has all the comforts of home and if you don't like the view you can just move on.

Still Hooked

2010-05-12T20:31:00.000+01:00

The shawl is progressing, slowly. Although each row is one loop shorter than the previous one, I'm not feeling it yet. I am happy with the trellis stitch though.

The pattern is from Sirdar but I have substituted the shiny, synthetic yarn they recommend with a merino from Debbie Bliss. It has a little bit of stretchiness in it so I'm hoping I'm not going to end up with a massive, distorted, shapeless thing.

This might be a bit naff, but here goes anyway. While I was deciding what my next crochet project should be I saw Jennifer Aniston in some film or other and she was nonchalantly and stylishly sporting what looked like a crocheted shawl. It was open and light enough to be draped a couple of times around her slender neck. Consulting my copy of the Compendium of Crochet Techniques I guessed the stitch was trellis or similar. We can't always choose where we find inspiration, can we?

And why do I need a pattern for such a simple garment? Well I'm a novice and I needed the guidance for the shaping involved. It's all a learning process.

Henri Matisse

2010-05-12T20:13:00.000+01:00

The BBC's Modern Masters series focused on Henri Matisse this week. Alastair Sooke highlighted how Matisse's bold use of colour and simple shapes has influenced art, design and fashion. It was interesting to see the extent to which his work, particularly from later in his life, has become part of our visual language, whether we are aware of it or not.

This postcard is one of my favourite things, on permanent display in the Airstream.

And here's some seaweed from Lligwy beach on Angelsey.

A Village Fair

2010-05-05T10:47:00.000+01:00

On Monday we went to the Kingsbury May Festival in Kingsbury Episcopi in Somerset. It was a proper village fair, but bigger. There were people demonstrating their crafts and skills, like spinning, stone masonry, bee keeping, archery. There were stalls with all kinds of handmade products from knitted children's clothes to pottery, from felt bags to turned and carved wooden bowls. There were places to have cream tea, there was live folk music in the street and a brass band outside the church (playing an Abba medley at one point!?!). David and Ali, our Airstreaming friends who have been our neighbours here in Somerset, explained that the festival has grown over the years. It now spreads through the village and into two fields.

In the children's area there was the funniest and most inspired thing of the day, a medieval fruit machine. In a box, painted to look like a mini castle sat three jesters. When you rang the bell they would each hold up a piece of fruit. Beautifully bonkers.

I noticed that, at a festival there is no such thing as too much bunting. It looked so pretty and celebratory flapping around in the breeze.

Getting Hooked

2010-05-03T21:29:00.000+01:00

I have been experimenting with some crochet stitches, including this funky purple ruffle. I'm new to crochet and I just wanted to learn the stitches and to see how the textures and three dimensional shapes turn out. So I made some swatches of squares, circles, trellis and the ruffle as well as various flowers.

Now I am starting a shawl for myself in a trellis stitch. I'm looking forward to sitting outside the Airstream late into the approaching summer evenings and I think the trellis stitch looks like it will be open and drapey and wrap aroundy.

It is going to be a big, holey triangle. So far I have made a very long chain and a foundation row of one hundred loops. Each row will now get shorter by one loop, like a very slow countdown. Then there will be a fringe. Pretty glamorous really.

Shiny New Pins

2010-04-27T22:56:00.000+01:00

I don't know if this features on the list of the signs of madness (first sign: Talking to yourself. Check), but I find myself rather enamoured with my new pins. I had no inkling that my old pins were lacking in any way but I have moved into a new league here.

They are just lovely to use. They have brilliant coloured glass heads so that you don't forget them and leave them in your work, and I think they must be made of superior steel to my old pins. These are sharper and shinier. Now, I know that it is a pin's job to be sharp, but these little gems positively glide into the fabric. The macro setting on my point and shoot camera loves them too.

Fun Bunting

2010-04-22T10:36:00.001+01:00

I am making bunting for the Airstream.

My mini sewing machine is coming into its own. I bought it a little while ago, thinking it would be handy for stitching up the sock creatures. And, of course, any new arrival into the Airstream has to be carefully considered. We can't just keep filling it up with stuff. Every time we buy something we ask ourselves, where will we keep it? So getting this little thing was not a rushed decision. So far though I have found sewing the socks with it a bit fiddly and I missed the hand-sewing. But now it is the perfect tool for the job.

We have been having such a beautiful, sunny spring and thoughts of summer are in the air. There are two rallies, or gatherings of UK Airstreamers planned for the summer (details on the website) and the trailer will be adorned with jolly little flags as well as the usual strings of lights. Sometimes when we all gather in a field we new Airstreams can all look terribly smart and all the same. Not this time!

I have got some smart-looking blue and white fabric and some red and white which I will make up later. For now I'm thinking sunshine, barbecues and fun.

Stripey, Spiney Sock Chums News

2010-04-17T13:51:00.000+01:00

Update on the two who flew the nest: They both made it to London, and they have names.

This is Brewster...

...and this is Stella. She's a girl!

Well Hello!

2010-03-20T11:55:00.000Z

These two beauties are my new favourites but, since I'm not keeping them I can't get too attached. I usually can't resist giving them names but once you have named them it's a bit tough to let them go.

This chap's destiny is to be an urban sock monster in London, or maybe he'll just sit in the post office depot for a few weeks before being returned to me. What an adventure.

I was so taken with the finished creature, especially the stripey spines and because he looks so good in the Airstream, that I decided to make another similar one. It turns out I had an ideal piece of orange and black sock left over from my very first attempt at one of John Murphy's Stupid Sock Creatures.

It seems a shame to split up these two.

Good luck in the big smoke, oh spiny one.

Crocheter's Block

2010-03-17T11:53:00.000Z

Oh dear, I am stuck. I can't seem to make a decision about colours.

I have been thinking about making a throw, or blanket for the Airstream. I like the cosiness and familiarity of retro or traditional afghans, but our trailer has a modern interior with a fairly monochromatic colour scheme. I am happy to mix up contemporary and retro styles but I think the colours need to be just right. The granny square blankets lend themselves to fun colours but in this interior it could dominate. So I thought about sticking with the monochromatic scheme, or would that be too boring? What about adding splashes and flashes of colour?

I tried a few sample squares. They were too awful to even show here on the blog. Pete said they were a bit pearly king and queen, which is definitely not the look I'm going for. Maybe squares are too grannyish after all. Perhaps stripes would be better, or one big square radiating out from the centre.

Ooh I don't know. My indecision is making my head hurt. When we had our 1973 VW campervan we could just put in anything red, orange, rainbow-coloured, stripey, spotted and it would add to the grooviness. Mind you we didn't have to live in it.

As a reaction against the black and white disappointment I started a new project with as many random colours as I could muster. This piece is going to be felted and then cut into petal shapes and sewn together to make a flower. At least that's the theory. I'm following instructions from a Nicky Epstein book, except her colours are more restrained. I clearly need to get something out of my system.

Meanwhile I also continue to add to the monster menagerie.

I can't post pics of the finished wonders yet because they are destined for new homes and I don't want to dilute that first encounter.

Do You Really Need Those Socks?

2010-03-03T20:48:00.000Z

The blame for my still-growing collection of buttons falls upon the sock creatures. Most of them have buttons for eyes, or noses. Previously the only buttons I had around were those spare ones that come attached to a new shirt or jacket. Now I am on the lookout for just the right button-eyes. Also, beads. Is there any hope for me? Is this a one-way slide into haberdashery delirium?

Last summer when we were touring the Highlands of Scotland and rain kept us indoors for a couple of days, I decided it was time to pluck up the courage to delve into "Stupid Sock Creatures" by John Murphy. It had been recommended by a Stitch And Bitch pal from our pre-nomadic days. I had been carrying it around, plus some stuffing and a rather worrying pair of orange and black striped socks for long enough. The time had come to bring these strangers together.

Anyway, John Murphy uses white buttons with a black centre for the eyes. I have never found them, yet. But I've grown used to, and even fond of the vacant look you get with a plain old button. And so far I like them to be quite traditional and buttony. Certain colours can also be a bit scary, which can be OK too.

Reactions to my little sock world vary between "Yes, but what is it?" to "Can you make me one, with a beard?"

More instructions and ideas can be found in "Stray Sock Sewing" by Daniel. The style is less bizarre but still quirky and sometimes cute. There are different techniques too. John Murphy's creatures are usually stitched together inside out then turned out the right way, stuffed and finished. The whole process is accompanied by a frisson of anticipation since you can't really know for sure how your creature will look until the later stages of construction.

Daniel's creations often start with stuffing the main body and head then attaching limbs. There's more embellishment too. So far I have found with this process I can see the creature evolving and can make adaptations as I go. The character of the thing reveals itself sooner and changes can be made if they will suit it better.

I think with both styles one of the most important things is that you can still see in the finished design that it's a pair of socks with some buttons sewn on.

The Accidental Collector

2010-02-25T00:23:00.001Z

I used to think that the world was divided into collectors and non-collectors. I also thought that I was part of the latter group. I was wrong.

I didn't wake up one day to find myself fascinated by stamps or Lord of the Rings miniatures but I do now have a stash. This is a legal kind of stash. It includes wool in as many colours as I can find, and lately a selection of buttons has been growing in a box of many compartments. And when you live in an Airstream the size of the stash soon reaches its limit. Some clothes had to go.

Most of these things are there just in case, just in case a future project demands them.

I was once the same way with stationery. I loved a good stationery shop. When I lived in London I could be tempted into an irresistible one in the Leicester Square area. It was like walking into a dream-like sweet shop. Everything was arranged in colours: gorgeous, edible, tropical fruit colours. It was impossible to browse and leave without purchasing at least a gel pen in bright orange, or some handmade cards to have 'just in case'.

Bead shops and wool shops can enchant me equally. I'm like a magpie, stimulated by colour as well as sparkles. Time and currency can melt away in these places.

Recently we relinquished quantities of both in the amazing Mandy Wools in Wells in Somerset. This shop fits the 'Alladin's cave' cliche very snuggly. They have all kinds of yarns, in all the colours. I like a shop you can get lost in.

Take One Pair Of Socks...

2010-02-12T15:07:00.001Z

Surly sock pooch.

"I'm smiling on the inside."

Branching Out

2010-02-08T15:49:00.000Z

After two years living and travelling in an Airstream and sharing the blogging on ukairstreamers.blogspot.com I thought it was time to branch out and put some of my wooly musings on my own blog. Don't be fooled by the title. It's not all about knitting.

Yes I am a nomadic knitter, and more recently crocheter and sock creature maker, but those titles don't scan so well. Plus I enjoy going off on a tangent and I aspire to avoid consistency.

One grandmother taught me the basics of knitting, the other crochet. These skills lay dormant until I decided a few years ago to knit a scarf in the style of Gromit's in A Close Shave as a Christmas present for Pete. I was perfectly happy to knit scarves for a while, simply enjoying the repetitive act of knitting rows and rows, and friends seemed more than happy to receive them as prezzies. Then when I was ready for more skills my knitting grandmother showed me how to make old-fashioned, pleated tea cosies. I have her pattern which is so folded and thumbed it has practically lost its molecular integrity.

So I make small things. I think I'm a slow knitter and I get excited about a new project, but I don't want to have to wait too long for the finished product. I also get excited about the colours, finding the right one that just sits there looking gorgeous, combining colours so that they blend or pop out from one another. These combinations aren't always wearable but they look fab on a teapot.

I recently had a flashback to how my other grandmother showed me how to crochet a granny square. Sadly she wasn't around for long and I didn't know anyone else who crocheted. I recently bought a "Compendium of Crochet Techniques" by Jan Eaton and so I am branching out. I like the potential for more three-dimensional textures with crochet so I'm looking forward to combining those with some jumping colours.