I set the alarm for 3am so that I could drive to Arbor Low stone circle to watch the sun rise, but I could not move at 3am, so, I lay there trying to return to sleep but the cat came in and walked up and down me, talking, wanting breakfast – then the magpies started squawking which made me get up. So, around 5am, I got up, packed my knitting and a flask and I drove six miles from home to Burbage Edge, parked the car and walked over to Stanage, one of my favourite ever places to return all my senses to the present.
The sun had already risen high to my left casting a great sun-line across Burbage Edge. It was already warm and faintly breezy. I was the only person on Stanage Edge but many camper vans were parked along the ridge overlooking the valley – what a beautiful night they must have all had.
Stanage Edge is marvelous, in fact, so marvelous that it has been used in many films because of its timeless, unchanged, Peak District Beauty. I stood on the rock edge where Keira Knightly stood in Pride and Prejucice, which can be seen here. I just didn’t have a long dress or a long coat or a panning drone camera but you have the same feeling of absolute freedom. At the trig, I looked over towards Hathersage, the valley completely unchanged for years and years.
I scrambled over the edge to the Millstones and old stone trough, a place I go many times a year to have a cuppa and knit. I never tire of it.
What I wanted to wish you, is a very Happy Summer solstice day and thank you for your support, whether you’ve attended workshops, bought a knitting pattern or and other way that people have supported me.
And I wanted to say, that on Stanage ridge, I thought that, however young or old or in between people are, if you are able to, then, get out into this wonderful world of ours and stand on edges and look out over the vista – or, just walk in a park close by 🙂
Happy Solstice.
Oh, and yesterday, I went down to the Plunge Pool at Rivelin, which is 2 miles from my home. City life aint bad – here is Sheffield city wild swimming.
For some time now, when I wake around sunrise, I look at my wall.
This is my wall this morning, as the sun was rising higher, around 6am. I have an old hand sewn cut work lace panel in the window. It doesn’t fit properly, it is pinned into place and it looks a little scruffy, but on the whole, the overall effect is that it casts a shadow across my wall every early morning. Without thinking, I turn to look at the wall, or my cat and I feel at peace. Something I realise, I did not feel many mornings when I lived in my beautiful croft house in Shetland.
the thing is, I no longer live in my dream house but I feel calm and peaceful and can live with autonomy in this city. I can also leap, when the time is right.
Here are some of my first sights in the mornings
And, if I look the other way, this is often my first sight. The one of Alfie was taken at 6am the morning before the day he died, and there he was just purring and looking at me.
Tiggy hears me wake and throws his upside down head at me wanting to be loved. And this is peace, and love.
I saw a Japanese word this morning :- UKIYU – it means, Floating World – describing the fleeting beauty of life and the art of living in the moment.
I find that just looking at the shadow of the cut work fabric, falling across my wall is such fleeting beauty that I have looked at it over many viewings totalling many hours. It is peace.
Thank you for your continued support. Happy summer, Tracey 🙂
After a weekend away for my lovely long standing friend, Nina’s birthday party in Whitley Bay, I finally, definitely picked the name for my new jumper design.
Here it is, introducing Kaleidoscope. The jumper patterns move around like the inside of my old blue marble Kaleidoscope.
I knitted on the beach and under an ice cream parlour, thinking of the name. I loved 3 suggestions from Instagram – 1st, New Frontiers, suggested by @beingshonabrown, and I loved Mearl (Shetland name for Red Seaweed) suggested by @kimartsus and I also loved Forest Star suggested by @wool.halla
But after spending some time outdoors and playing with my old Kaleidoscope, this name seemed most fitting and I am happy. What do you think?
here’s to knitting Autumn jumpers in summer, all over the place to knit life into it.
Follow for more updates of the lovely jumper. Let me know what you think of the name.
And, if you would like to knit this jumper when the pattern is out in Autumn, but would like to prepare, then the hat pattern is a perfect starter
I’ve been working on this beautiful jumper for a while – planning, swatching, checking gauge, adapting, knitting, writing the pattern, setting up test knitters, test knitter yarn box to post office, knitting and more knitting, adapting the neck, measuring and knitting more.
I am at a place where I shared it yesterday because a perfect name for it evades me.
It is all in the details of colour blending, pattern, concept and design.
I am hoping that this jumper pattern will be loved as much as I am loving knitting it. I cannot wait to wear in in the Autumn, maybe with a kilt, certainly with denim.
If you can think of a name that you think is fitting, leave a comment.
If you want to knit this jumper and would like to prepare for its pattern, then I am jumping from my Tree and Star hat pattern, which is here
If you would like to join my next online colour blending workshop so that you can successfully develop your skills to blend your own colours in another pattern and accomplish your own desires 🙂 then here is the link to my next online workshop on 26th July. I only have 3 places left.
If you have attended one of my online colour blending workshops or, if you have knitted my Sea Urchin hat pattern or the Tree and Star hat pattern, I am looking out for another interested person who could do a test knit for me.
This wool is going to a good friend of mine, Mary, who had done a fabulous test knit for me previously (the Fair Isle Hat pattern)
But, if you are interested, please get in touch with me through the contact form below (do not leave a comment as I cannot respond to a comment – please fill in the contact form provided) and please say if you have attended a previous workshop or if you have knitted the hat pattern. On this occasion, I can only work with people who have done the online workshop or knitted my patterns before. I am excited by this new idea and look forward to hearing from you.
Today, is the 26th May, a UK bank holiday. I left home at 6:50am to walk the three miles to Sheffield station and buy the tickets to catch a train to Leeds then on to Saltaire for the annual BH Arts trail open up of the houses and I wanted to see the work in Salts mill by Ann Hamilton.
In Leeds, on platform 4b, I waited for the Skipton train to be unlocked, when a young woman asked me if it was the train to Keithly. I showed her that beside the train is a platform sign which shows all the stations that the train will stop at because I didn’t know if she was familiar with how our trains run as she was from China or Japan. We entered the train together – she said that she was going to Keithly for the Haworth train to go see the Bronte house. We got on immediately with an open, relaxed flowing conversation. I asked her if she lived in Leeds but she said she was on teacher training – she asked where I thought that she was from by looking at her face, which she circled with her forefinger. It wasn’t her face that I was entirely reading. Her English pronunciation was absolutely perfect without any hint of any accent and my experience of Chinese English teachers from living three years in China, is that their pronunciation is recognisable. In China, I was never called Tracey – but Tlacey. When she said she was from China, I couldn’t help saying that I used to live in China, in Suzhou – and honestly, we are talking of a dot of a Chinese city famous for its classical gardens, with a population of 8.5 million in the huge China with so many cities that I couldn’t believe that we both had a connection to the same place thousands of miles away for a brief collision of place and timing on platform 4b in Leeds. She said that she was going back to Suzhou in 3 days so I couldn’t help but mention the special people in my Suzhou life. I told her of my Chinese Jie Jie – (Older sister) who was my landlady and her husband Shu Shu and my Buddhist friend Cai Gen Lin –these three people changed my life deeply when I lived in the old hutong lanes in Pingjiang and I still love them very much to this day, but have not seen them since 2013. I lived in Suzhou from 2008 – 2010 as an English teacher and felt very grateful for the job because I learned so much about daily life from my adult students. In excitement, on the train, I found in my purse, a business card of Jie Jie’s property rental business that I have carried since 2008 and only last week, I was wondering how I could get in touch with them as none of them speak English nor have email. My new train platform friend is called Zhang Yu, I remembered her name after she only said it once and I began to speak with her in Mandarin, something I haven’t done for years. I was catapulted back to a time and place so loved that I could hear it and feel it. We parted after only 10 minutes on the same train. I gave her my email and she gave me a silk bookmark from Suzhou. I have tried to email her this evening but it bounced back. I am hoping that she will keep in touch and if she has time, will seek out my Jie Jie and hand her the card that I have carried for 17 years. On the back, I wrote, Jie Jie, Wo ai ni. Which means, Sister, I love you.
On the top floor of the magnificent, gargantuan Salts Mill in Saltaire, is the multi-faceted Bradford supported exhibition by Ann Hamilton which responds to the space, its heritage and the future. Three different spaced out horns rotate slowly in the huge roof space unhurriedly moving towards my face, playing repetitive singing then whistling. The mechanism to turn each horn is visible on the floor. I’m here early and have the huge space to myself – I don’t know what it is all about yet but I cannot turn away, intoxicated by the layering of sound. At the end of the room, great swathes of locally-woven blue fabric hangs in great lengths held down by rocks, like a loom. In another room, huge images of faces on woollen cloth hang like banners whilst a woman in a, kind of manager’s-box reads letters written by hundreds of unknown and unnamed people as part of the exhibition to their ‘Dear Future’ this is the part of the exhibition that most interested me before I came to see it. The woman reads letters while singing can still be heard from the horns in the vast room next door. News broad sheet papers hang on rails behind each large printed doll (which are blown up images of Feve’s – tiny ceramic dolls / a small trinket or charm which used to be baked and hidden inside French cakes for luck) I have walked around the gallery and collected every news print sheet, some I have duplicated, some I may have missed – there are many sheets. I’m in love with this space. It’s a space that needs a commanding artwork within its huge vaulted roof space. Every time I come, I am in love with the immediate old wooden, oiled smell and openness and light in this huge mill which once wove wool. I’m also in love with this work which I am not quite understanding but want to, so much so, that I sit on a bench near the woman reader, to eat my sandwich and to just listen and give it all time. It is so multi layered that it really needs more than one sitting. Normally, I look at art and leave quickly. Here, I am engaged, writing with enthusiasm and speed, trying capture what this work is making me feel. And here it is.
I feel alive. A first careless rapture of something so completely new to me, that I am besotted.
I feel engaged fully. I’m not off in a rush, not thinking of some other place but I am here, in this roof space in Salts Mill thinking of my own ‘Dear Future’ Something that I have been thinking of for some time but not had a thread of where to exactly, precisely put my energy to reach a goal / aim because I am, for the first time in decades, not sure. My future aim is staying just out of reach – not unattainable but latent as if I am once again standing at a crossroads. My choice is not yet clear enough to run headlong towards it or even to quietly walk or even stumble towards it – my time future is precious as I am getting older. I am hoping that I can make the right choice. The reader in the box, reads on while pulling strings to ring a bell above the large artworks, she’s opening letters from unknown people who have written to their Dear Futures, mostly thinking of the future world,
But what is my Dear Future self? A dream or hope is forming involving heading back towards the east and meeting Zhang Yu on the platform in Leeds, seems to be a sign that heading back towards the old lanes in Suzhou and onwards to the base of a mountain in Japan is maybe the path I should take.
You know, when a piece of paper has been folded and unfolded and refolded again and again, then stuffed into a bag to get out in a cafe or on the moor or on a bench, to follow for reference – correct / edit, then folded again and, you know how the paper flops and becomes thin around the folds until it finally tears?
that’s what I love – use and working outdoors with a loved project
I live in a city called Sheffield in South Yorkshire. The Peak District borders Sheffield for quite a few miles. Here’s some of the things that I do in Sheffield.
I’ve recently started meeting Sara and her friends to go wild swimming at the weekends at Barbrook, which is between Sheffield and Baslow. There is also a stone circle there and an old burial mound. Many people use this large pond of water and there’s always activity. Last week, a lovely young man came and played his banjo on the top of the hill by the water, before he swam. There were horses and butterflies and cake and lovely people – mostly of whom were women out enjoying the freezing water. Thanks Sara Davies for the photos, here is a little link to the post on Instagram.
I’m growing an abundant range of flowers in my tiny garden area outside my flat – The Flag Iris is particularly stunning, the tulips from Amsterdam have been magnificent and I have an eye on my Peony buds. At work, I am drying flowers in the hot windowsill for confetti, for no one in particular, yet.
Putting up my tiny tent.
Yesterday, at 3pm, we were in the middle of a heat wave again, so I decided to spontaneously go camping and the best place is 7 miles from my home at North Lees Campsite in Hathersage. It is a very secluded spot but very popular. It sits at the base of Stanage Edge and beside North Lees Hall, a place of great beauty. It is said that Charlotte Bronte stayed at North Lees Hall and used it as Mr Rochester’s house in Jane Eyre. It is fitting for that purpose and is currently owned by the Peak Park with tenants in it.
I packed up really early this morning so that I could walk along Stanage Edge and sit and knit in my favourite spot beside the age old stone trough and millstones, which were cast aside many many years ago when there were millstone quarries in the area.
Stanage Edge is 5 miles from my flat and is always a great wonder of the world.
There are so many ordinary things that I do in Sheffield that make up my life, like, go to work 2:5 days a week at Sheffield Hallam University. We have a huge new build in the centre of town with its own roof top garden and other fancy benefits. I love working for SHU, it is where I did my own BA Fine Art degree and now I support apprentices doing theirs. On Thursday, I have been going to the Over 55’s film screening including a cuppa tea and a cake. The cuppa is quite normal and the cake has diminished somewhat and the price has gone steadily up from £6 to £9 now but I have seen some marvellous films on a Thursday from 10am – 1pm alongside new friends.
We have festivals. From the flat now, I can hear the fake festival way down in Endcliffe park and it has a bunch of bands on, we have Sheffield Doc Film festival and any number of other things, park runs every park – every saturday, and tomorrow it is Nether Edge yard sale where lots of folks sell their stuff on tables on the pavements or from their gardens or garages – who doesn’t like a rummage?
Once a month now, Mary and I have arranged a crafting night at Café 9 – the next one is on Monday 12th 6-8pm, if you are in Sheffield, and I have started to join Petra from Black Elephant hand dying at her knitting night too.
I live beside a walk into the woods up Porter Valley and every week, I see herons, king fishers, tiny birds and last week I saw a bambi in front of my, really I did and now I feed the foxes as well as my badgers and my cat. Owls call each other from the tree outside.
Life in a South Yorkshire city isn’t what you might think it is in a city and I am nearly 62 years young and still go to the gym every day to swim or yoga or body balance or endurance class. I have a great bunch of friends that I know there which is good for wellbeing. Many other folks have diverse lifestyles here too. It’s a pretty cool city to live in.
I still knit every day and am excited by what I am making at the moment. It is a companion to the Tree and Star Hat pattern.
I will be doing a one day Colour Blending workshop with Hope and Elvis on 18th May but other than that, I am not doing any workshops in May or June – I’m taking a break. My next available session is on 26th July – 2 hour colour blending. my link to the workshops is here , I can send you a booking form and an overview, if you would like to join me on 26th July
I hope to see you at one of my classes or get in touch through Instagram. Show me the projects that you have done using my patterns. I love to see them on instagram and I frequently share your work to my feed.
Alchemy is a mix of all the beautiful things to make something deliciously golden.
Dear lover of coloured yarn and of the tactile act of blending colours in your patterns.
My new Tree and Star hat design is a remake of my original Sea Urchin Hat pattern but this time, I have used Jamieson & Smith Woolbrokers 2ply Jumper weight / 4ply/fingering yarn. I have also used different size needles to create a slouchier hat than the original beanie shape and there are more details in this pattern to help you achieve the look you want. Making this new design has been an alchemy between years of working this pattern with colour blending ideas, a trial with a new yarn and the inspiration of pink blousy cherry blossom trees that have festooned this city during the entire month of April.
You can copy the pattern to the exact stitch and colour, or you can use it as a springboard to develop your own ideas by choosing your colours or even a different tree and star motif to the one I have chosen to incorporate into my hat – you can make this hat your design too.
Here it is – the pattern is out on Ravelry and if you haven’t knitted any Fair Isle or stranded knit projects before, then, this is the perfect easy pattern to start with.
I’ve made something completely different to what I normally knit and instead of it taking 3 months or more to make, it took me 3 days. It is a very easy, quick knit vest. There is a lot of pleasure in such a fast growing knit and I have made a pattern so that you can also knit it. The pattern uses your stash yarn.
If you want to look quickly Here is the link to the pattern, and for the first 24 hours of sales, I will donate £1 per sale of each pattern to the RSPCA in Sheffield – because that is where Alfie cat, was rescued and they are a wonderful animal rescue centre.
alfie
The pattern for the Chunky Yarn Vest is made by using stash yarn. I made mine by using some that I have had for 10 years or more. Anyone with a stash of yarn can make this vest. It is a very sustainable project – using what yarn you already have but if you would like to make it but don’t have a stash, then I have listed some of the yarns that can be used and given examples in the pattern.
But, I thought it would be good to use what we have already. You have bought your stash because you have loved it at one time or another. If you collect yarn, now is the time to have a go and use some of it to make something that you’ll love wearing. This is the perfect project to use lots of bits up. Any amount of bits of chunky or plied wool will work. For my yarns, I tended to go soft and fluffy
The vest is made by using one chunky yarn or by plying 3 – 5 yarns together to make a chunky yarn. Please be aware that what you make with your plied yarn, may be thicker or thinner than what I plied, which makes precise pattern writing for everyone impossible, so, I have written this pattern for the exact stitches and size used to create the two vests that I have made.
You will need to swatch to get a gauge similar to or the same as the one I made up. My test knitters managed to make the same gauge for their knits and No two vests will ever be the same.
The knitting pattern works best with extra chunky yarn or for you to play around and ply 3 or 4 strands of thick yarn together or one extra chunky yarn with a strand of mohair or 2 strands of Aran yarn together or 2 double knitting yarn with 3 strands of mohair, or by mixing yarns together to give a marl look.
What I was aiming for was a variety of beautiful colours to use up my stash and to have fun whilst making something to wear that I love.
The end result is VERY FORGIVING and it stretches width ways.
The pattern gives you information on brands of yarn that I used from my stash and photographs of the yarns and how I mixed them. But really, this stash buster project is for you to use your yarns, which will be different to mine and it is a very personal project – you can see that by looking at the test knit image of her vest made by Annie against my striped chunky knits.
Annie’s test knitthe two vests I knitted
The pattern also has photo examples of how to knit the neck area, easy to follow written instructions of how to decrease the stitches around the neck as well as measurement and stitch conversion table giving you exactly how many stitches I used to make this vest.
There is another thing that I think will unexpectedly happen – which is that you will feel it is cathartic to use up yarn that you have had for years, so that it is not wasted. In this case, the project will cost you nothing now – just what you have put away for some time.
I knitted my 2nd vest after my cat, Alfie died. I found it very calming and relaxing to make it, when I was feeling very sad. I bought the yarn for this vest so that I could knit it for a 2nd time alongside my test knitters. I loved the outcome. I made it a little hand sewn label for the back.
I will be selling my 2nd knitted vest, which you can see in the photos above. It fits a 36 – 42 chest easily. When flat the front measures 20 inches but stretches to 22 inches. It has my little ‘Doxey’ hand sewn label in the back and it is really comfy and warm. If you would like to buy it, please get in touch for a price – traceydoxey@hotmail.com
tracey doxey 
