The English Armchair Abroad

The Fuchsia Shawl

The quest continues with my Knitmaster machine. This time I decided to make a shawl using yarn leftover from the shawl I made at Christmas, but this time combined with a plain background. I punched out a fuchsia design from Wendy Phillips book Flower Festival and off we went.

Several problems with the yarn jumping stitches but actually if I'd left well alone it would have been fine. Instead my interference resulted in a few pattern misalignments which I only spotted after I'd cast off. They are still there and a little too visible for my liking, but there we are.

I finished the sides with a few rows of garter stitch. Still striving for perfection but getting to know the machine quite well now!

 

Autumn, one step at a time

For a very long time I have wanted to make this cardigan. I love the colours and it just seemed to leap out of the Drops catalogue and say "What are you waiting for? You know we are destined to be together."

There was a problem though. I made a mitten (note, only one mitten) using alpaca yarn a while ago and I know that it's a slippery yarn that is a pain to use for fair isle. Also, I anticipated difficulties steeking such a slippery yarn - a disaster I was not prepared to risk. But that cardigan, so gorgeous, so alpaca soft, so me!

I could not really see a solution so I got on with other things until one day I woke up with one of those "What if?" thoughts. What if I punched a new pattern and made the cardigan on the Knitmaster? A machine that I have never really got to terms with. The odd pair of socks for Max and a couple of other small items but I've never felt comfortable using it. What if I set it up and actually used it slowly, learning its funny ways and what if I actually make owning it worthwhile?

Out it came. First step was a new sponge bar. That done I did a test run with left overs from the mitten to make sure the machine would knit the alpaca - no problem, it positively begged for more. Then a small miracle...the alpaca was reduced in price and the various colours were all in stock and available. Unbelievable! How could I possibly resist?

Next up was finding a pattern to punch out. I would happily have used the one in the picture but it is more than 24 stitches wide so not possible. I have recently bought "Small World" by Wendy Phillips and found in there a leaf pattern that I liked. The acorn pattern seemed an appropriate background.

And off I went. I took it slowly, one piece at a time. If I started making mistakes I stopped. I photocopied the punchcard and wrote in the colours, line by line. This was a good move as it meant the body and arms were just a matter of following the colour switches. When I got to the neck, I referred to the advice from Ravelry, thought it out carefully and amazingly it worked first time. The button bands took three attempts and I'm still not entirely satisfied but they look ok and will stay. I'll learn a better technique for the next project.

 

 

 

Le Gîte

We are now with Gîtes de France who rated us 3 épis.

 

 

 

TMS

 

You either TMS or you don't. For those of you who don't, TMS stands for Test Match Special. Still in the dark? Then lucky you!

When we came to France about twenty years ago, I very quickly became a fan of BBC Radio 4. For a start it was in English which meant that I could understand what was being said. As years went by the language became less of an issue but I was hooked and stuck with what I knew. In this house you are never more than 10 metres from a Radio 4 outlet.

However, in rural France Radio 4 is a luxury. It exists only on long wave and we are constantly under threat of the last couple of transmitters going out of service. We nearly lost R4 LW in the 90's but public outrage erupted and Auntie backed down, thank heavens.

And so we pay for our privileges. We pay an extremely high price. All those years ago I would occasionally turn on the radio only to hear men talking about silly legs and Jack Russells on the field. It was all gibberish. Listen a bit more and these male voices all had odd names: Johnners, Blowers, Agers, CMJ. And they would talk for hours and for up to five days at a time.

Sometimes it would be raining and I thought we would go back to something familiar. But no, Blowers has a penchant for bird watching and would tell us about the pigeons flying in front of the commentary box, of the red buses going down the road.

Yes, cricket.

In those days, England never seemed to win any matches. If at any point we were heading for a win the rain would arrive and (eventually) stop play. It wasn't until we won the Ashes in 2005 that I began to see the point of cricket. It was a very exciting series. Unfortunately, Radio 4 LW plays TMS live so you get the very boring series well. Ball by ball. Only ever to be interrupted by the shipping forecast and even that can be delayed if something might happen.

Things improved with the Internet. If I missed The Archers I could read a résumé on line. If I missed a play, well, too bad. If something dramatic happened in the world we usually found out about it through discussion between Aggers and. Blowers and then would wait fretfully until a news bulletin eventually told us what was going on in the world.

But now I have an iPad. I bought this with advice from my son Guy expressly so that I could have a form of Internet radio in the workroom when the wretched cricket blotted out everything else. I've had the iPad for two months in eager anticipation if sticking two fingers up to TMS. Nothing. I was beginning to think Aunty had realized that five days of cricket was just too much.

Sure enough, miracles are not that easy and this morning it started again. YES! My moment had come and I was able to listen to Radio 4 all day without hearing Geoff Boycott droning on and Aggers trying to keep the peace. I was able to enjoy Woman's Hour, listen to the news and then just have it on as background.

I'll miss Aggers and Blowers (but not the droning Boycott) and might even occasionally check in for an update on the pigeon population or the state of the Barmy Army. Or even the score. But not that often!

 

Rempaillage

Finished last week and delivered this afternoon.

Always take a photo before you start work so you can enjoy the results more!

 

Running...again?

I used to run. I used to run a lot and when I stopped it was something I missed. With two marathon medals hanging in the kitchen, I always wanted to run a half marathon but twice I failed to get to the start due to injury in the last month of training. Frustrating.

All that was about eight years ago and I finally gave up the running and started playing tennis. A lot more sociable and because I was so fit from running, I had a lot of fun playing in local tournaments.

Then last week arrived and whilst having dinner with friends a fellow guest, who hunts with my husband, started describing his latest half marathon. I was astonished that my husband had never mentioned that Jacques runs but then I saw Max's face and realized it was not something he knew about either. Not surprising as Max breaks out in a rash at the mere mention of running.

Jacques clearly saw the longing on my face and so he lay down the challenge. Spring 2014. A half marathon in the Vendée. How about it? A quick calculation in my part and I worked out that if I started NOW I would be able to train for a very slow half marathon in the spring. Actually, I don't mind if I have to walk it; I just want to start - and hopefully finish!

So I have started. Tipsy (our bearded collie) thought she'd died and gone to heaven when she realized what was going on. I am starting slowly and using my old friend "Couch potato to 5k" to get started.

I'm not as unfit as I was when I started all those years ago so I am starting with week three. I will let you know how I get on.

 

Hotels and the disabled

I am experiencing a steep learning curve at the moment involving hotels and my disabled mother. She is 82, to all intents and purposes wheel chair bound and suffering what is probably Alzheimer's. I have been planning a five day break with her in June and started looking for hotels that could accommodate my mother, her two carers and me.

I realized that plenty of places would not be suitable - pub accommodation for example. I also took off my list any hotel that had a photo of a discotheque since it was not something we were likely to require!

Prerequisite was a room with access for a wheelchair and a bathroom with strong grab rails. Beyond that I could be very flexible.

Looking at the hotel websites I was able to learn a huge amount about the welcome visitors are given, how wonderful the hotel cuisine is, how much I would enjoy my morning coffee overlooking beautiful grounds. The bedrooms all looked gorgeous in the photos but not one website gave any information about disabled facilities or access.

I learnt very quickly that the hotel telephone number was frequently not at the hotel and the person I was talking too had no idea whether the "disabled access" room was accessible without having to negotiate stairs. "Oh, I should think so as it is disabled access." Just for the record this thought is not always accurate.

Secondly, I discovered that if you asked a question and the person didn't know the answer you were put on hold, with or without musak, for an indefinite amount of time. Sometimes someone would pick up the phone, say "Oh, yeah" and put you back to the original person, sometimes they didn't pick up the phone at all - or not before I hung up anyway.

So I changed my technique a bit. As soon as the call was answered I asked not to be put on hold UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! This was hotel number five I think. The girl on the other end giggled a bit and assured me I was safe from the dreaded hold button. Good sign number one.

Followed by good sign number two - they had a disabled room with grab rails in the bathroom, she knew because she'd seen them, the room was available on the dates required as were two further rooms. I had other questions and she answered them. The question she couldn't answer (no, I wasn't testing her although it was almost tempting) she referred to her manager and gave me the answer less than thirty seconds later. It's booked.

What is the point of this post? It is NOT a rant that all hotels should have wheelchair access - there are many reasons why this might not be possible and there are, anyway, plenty of hotels that DO have good accommodation for disabled people.

No, it is only a plea that the person at reception - and indeed at "bookings" - should know what facilities there are for wheelchair users. This could be in a file marked "facilities for wheelchair users" with all the information required (plus photos if necessary) to answer telephone enquiries.

I bet you anything there's a file marked "annoying people who ask difficult questions, to be avoided at all cost."

 

DIY Electric Spinning Wheel

Just before Christmas I sold my trusty Ashford Traditional spinning wheel as I simply wasn't using it enough. I found using it for more than half a nothing made my ankles ache and spinning 100grams of wool took forever.

Then my son Guy gave me the most lovely roving which he had bought with him from Vancouver so a solution was required.

I toyed with borrowing a wheel but this wouldn't really help as my ankles would still complain. I'd heard of electric wheels and searched the Internet and came across plenty - the most lovely of which was from Hansen but whilst I'm sure it's a lovely machine I can't possibly afford the $800 plus tempting extras plus import tax.

Back to the drawing board then. I found wonderful instructions in how to make my own but they involved electronics which aren't my thing, and woodworking which wasn't really my thing either.

Then I discovered a design which was so simple it was perfect. For the expense of an Ashford jumbo flyer plus bobbins and a sewing machine motor with foot control I made my own. (Then my husband came home and remade it in the grounds that as everyone would assume he had made it anyway it was jolly well going to look better than my effort!)

The result is a handy little wheel that spins very acceptable wool for my needs and cost me less than £100. It is a little noisy but that doesn't bother me. It grabs the fibre a little but I'm getting used to that and learning to work with it.

If anyone wants any information please let me know. I'd be happy to pass on the very little I know!

 

Spring arrives

I love this time of year. It's all just beginning and the light in the early morning is wonderful. So, some photos to reflect upon...