Tuesday 29 September 2020

WOYWW #591 Patterns and woods

So here we are again doing our weekly peek into What’s on Your Workspace on Wednesday  kindly hosted by Julia at The Stamping Ground. Have a look, join in, the more the merrier!

My main workspace this week is the blocking of the diamonds for my Persian Tiles blanket project.





I’ve also started the Gloria crochet- along I mentioned last week, but so far, it’s a bit of a challenge  the yarn is very fine, it tangles easily, and the pattern needs a lot of concentration right now  

Here’s how I spent the first 2 days after the yarn arrived:





And this brings me to my:

Mystery object!

Last week’s mystery was a Nostepinne, a traditional tool for winding yarn into centre-pull balls, originally from Norway. It seems that it used to be an engagement gift which showed the fiancé was a competent woodworker. I hadn’t heard of them till recently but they definitely improve my yarn winding  


I’m a sucker for a nice piece of wood, and now I have a yew version as well, which has a deep groove to anchor the yarn. 
Here’s a link to show how to use a nostepinne


This week's mystery object:
No-one guessed the last one, so here’s another one for you. If last week’s was vegetal, this one is definitely animal 😏 I'm hoping it's an easier challenge!



Family
No news for my better half from the eye clinic yet. I was inspired by Shoshi's post last week to mention how we met, 42 years ago this month. I wrote a poem about it a while ago:
How we met. He was running a 1 day a week vegetarian restaurant in an art centre, in Stoke-on-Trent. Id returned to Stoke after a few years away. It was well ahead of its time: He used to have to take pictures of things like aubergines to help the greengrocer identify what he wanted from the wholesale market. I'm not vegetarian now, and he never was, but he still likes to do all the cooking.

Dino continues to improve slowly. 
Dino and Thea are now practicing hibernation for the winter





Dino came back in wet from the garden so, after drying him, I covered him with the blanket we usually use to protect our legs from his claws. He insists on patrolling his garden, leaving p-mails for any marauders. 

Walk
Our reaction to the end of the warm weather was, quick, let’s go out before it rains!
This week we went to Walmer Castle gardens. The castle is still closed but there’s a good wood walk, where they’re quite creative in using trees they’ve had to take down. 


This was a little tricky to get  up into. Getting out was rather ungainly so I’m glad there’s no photo of that!

When the Queen mother became Warder of the Cinque ports, they built a new garden for her. My Mum would have liked a garden like that. 


You could see a bust of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, keeping an eye on the place. He died there, so I guess he can.









Their kitchen garden was doing very well.



I don’t know what these are!


I love the way they shaped these hedges into clouds. 

After, we went to St Margaret’s at Cliffe to blow away the cobwebs. This is the beach Cross-Channel swimmers use. You can tell how close France is as our phones welcomed us to France! I wish....

Anyway, have a good week, all, and stay safe. Thanks for visiting; a comment would be most appreciated!
Hugs
Lynne xxx






22 comments:

  1. We visited Walmer Castle many years ago when camping on the South coast Lynne. I live in Stoke now and love it here - Staffordshire born and bred. No idea about the latest item unless it's a bone folder. Stay safe and happy WOYWW. Sarah #5

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    1. Had to comment on this, Sarah - didn't know you were from Staffs. All my aunt's family lived for many years in Abbots Bromley and we had lovely hols. Beautiful county. The only one still living there is my godmother.
      Shoshi x

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  2. Lots of lovely things to look at on your blog today Lynne! I shall have to have a look at the yarn winding whatsit as it seems a great idea. The only commercial yarn I've bought which is already inside winding is Caron. The new implement of torture looks like a bone folder to me! Lovely pics of Walmer, lots of interest and a beautiful place to have a wander. The crochet is glorious and, like I said yesterday, I admire your patience tremendously, my attempts would have been chucked out of the window in a paddy by now......
    Hugs LLJ 2 xxxx
    PS The boys have always enjoyed sociable things like shelling peas and beans, or winding thread...I've done it with them from an early age. And you're right about Owen and G, so alike in many many ways!

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  3. Me again - I've just watched the Nostepinne link - how fascinating! I don't think I've ever seen a. British equivalent apart from the massive whirligig yarn spinner. I do love a good low tech solution to things!
    LLJ xxx

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    1. Hi Jan, I don’t remember where I saw it but it struck me as so logical. You could do it with any smooth turned piece of wood, of course, but the groove makes it easier. For my first, cheap one, I used an elastic band to secure the yarn.
      The yew one came from Newcastle!

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  4. Loving your crochet and looking forward to this fine knitting, just a small sample would be lovely. Nostepinne? Never even heard the word but it looks awfully useful to someone like you who uses lots of wool. Not a clue what the other thing is, not like my bone folder which is the guess of Sarah. Love you being Queen of the castle and would have loved an action video of you getting in and out. Sorry, but it would have brightened any day to see any one of us in the act.
    Stay safe and well
    Neet 8 xx

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    1. Thanks Neet. There is a v small sample of the Gloria crochet in the lower right hand corner of my 3rd workspace photo. You’re braver than me if you’d video you struggling bottom first out of the castle! Anyway, take care love Lynbe x

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  5. Hi Lynne, the crochet panels are looking fab. Thinking the mystery object may be a bone folder? Fabulous pics from your visit, I do love to walk around gardens like that. The plant you don't know is from the Pitcher Plant family- one of the carniverous plants. They have a bowl filled with liquid that attracts, then drowns, the insects!Stay safe, Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz X #6.

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  6. Loving the crochet. Your mystery tool is a mystery still but how fascinating. Helen #3

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  7. Awww, the kitty looks so cushy wrapped in that blanket! I've looked up Walmer Castle, hoping it's near us but nowhere near :( Looks like a lovely place to visit! Happy WOYWW! zsuzsa #21

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  8. ps. is the mystery tool a bone folder? although it looks a bit too round to be one.

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  9. Hi Lynne. What a lovely post. Your crochet is growing! Well done you. That wool winder is fascinating - never seen anything like it. I wonder whether today's mystery item is a bone folder. I have one very similar to look at. The day out at Walmer sounded great = lots to look at, miles of wandering space - wonderful.
    Take care. God bless.
    Margaret #4

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  10. Lynne, I don't crochet, I am a knitter, but let me say that that stash of yarn is sooooo yummy! I love all those colors! So your mystery object from last week is sooooo clever!!! I have never heard of one of those guys, but I NEED one for sure! I know what you mean about the yarn getting all tangled up! How handy for sure! So this weeks mystery object.....hmmmm...well me being a knitter, it looks like a large size wood knitting needle that goes on a round! The round would attach to the bottom of the needle??? That's my guess and I'm sticking to it!!! LOL I love your photos from the castle!! I love castles and on my bucket list is to go across the pond and visit as many as I could! Lucky you! Blessings for your rest of the week! Felicia, #26

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  11. I always enjoy your posts, Lynne! Last things first - thank you so much for sharing the gorgeous photos of Walmer Castle. We had a fabulous holiday in Kent a few years ago and went there, and went round inside too. We loved the Queen Mother's garden. Did you notice the Scottish heather planted there? We loved the undulating hedges too. That Kent holiday was one of the best we ever had - there was so much to do and see. Sometime I must get the photos up on Flickr...

    I'm glad Dino is feeling a bit better. He looks adorable all snuggled up under his blanket! They are both such beautiful kitties.

    Your yarns are all beautiful. I had no idea what that mystery object was. Like you, I love wood, and beautiful things made from it. I have a yarn winder that makes mini-cones, but I don't always remember to use it. Dad made me a large rotating niddy-noddy for skein winding - it goes up like an umbrella.

    Your Persian Tiles project is coming along nicely. I am watching a lady on YouTube at the moment, who teaches Islamic geometric design, and the most recent one I watched closely resembled the Persian Tiles crochet pattern. I commented with a link to it and had such a nice reply from her with a heart too! She loved the pattern. I am so looking forward to starting mine but must finish my Tiny Carpets first.

    I have no idea what this week's mystery object is. First thought, bone folder, but too obvious on a crafty blog hop I think! You said "animal" so perhaps it's a tongue depressor for a cow.

    Thank you for your visit and for your kind words about my tiny carpets, and also for your good wishes for my dealings with the hospital. Run around just about sums it up. I'm really really fed up with them!!

    Lily and Ruby say "meow" to Dino and Thea, and I say happy WOYWW!
    Shoshi x #20

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    1. Hi Shoshi, many thanks. Could you share the YouTube link of the Islamic geometric design please? That would be a pleasure to watch. With Iran being under sanctions, they can’t buy anything internationally, not even patterns I bought the Persian tiles for someone there and emailed it to her. It seemed such a small, simple thing to do but she was very grateful. If I ever get to visit Iran, I have a friend there. 😍We learned so much from the Middle East; from garden design to art, physics, maths and medicine, I hate the way they’re demonised. Rant over, hugs, Lynne x

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    2. So glad I checked back, Lynne, and saw this! Here is the link to Samira Mian's channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHGr_iHO5nvwPWX6Od3j89Q and here is the link to the video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHqOkkPH6IE

      She is a very good teacher and her instructions are very clear. She is honest enough to acknowledge when she's made mistakes too - so easy to do with such complex patterns! The videos are fascinating to watch and quite addictive. I am looking forward to having time to settle down and actually draw some of them!

      Shoshi x

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  12. Gorgeous photographs and loving the crochet tiles and it looks as though your kitty appreciates your work too. Wishing you a happy week and a very creative woyww, Angela x12x

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  13. Your tiles are fabulous Lynne, I have a very nice crochet blanket that my Hubby brought me last year, perfect for those chilli nights but still let the air circulate, just what a woman of my age needs. The yarn tool must be a handy helper for wool lovers. Kitty looks very happy under the blanket hee hee..
    Thanks for sharing WoywW & your latest ventures, super photo's. Tracey #7

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  14. Terrific crochet ~poor kitty~ I'm glad he has a little blanket to snuggle under. Beautiful park pictures ~ Enjoy the fall season, Love Karen#32

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  15. Loving the progress on the crochet tiles. The kitties are adorable and the photos of the garden are gorgeous. Happy belated WOYWW. Take care and stay safe. With love & God Bless, Caro xxx (#14)

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  16. Heey Lynne!
    Soo is the new item a Teflon bone folder???
    I love your projects, the detail is amazing. I would not have the patience to wind all that yarn!
    Have a lovely week
    Ellie #30

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