Wordless Posts

As typing is no longer my forte, I am going to attempt to blog mainly in pictures. Here are some versions of the Los Muertos hat that customers made from the Los Muertos patterns

Well it has been a long time....

I always assume people don't read this blog or visit the website because most knitters flock to Ravelry now and rarely step outside to visit designer's own website. However, this is not always the case, and I can only apologise to those folk who wrote and left comments here because as you can see, I have not posted anything since last year!

Since my accidents, and severing my thumb with surgery, I seem to have developed locked joints and arthritis. I also have a lot of numbness. I was very worried that my activities such as typing, knitting, and reading eBooks was setting off problems in hands, arms and shoulders. Some of the symptoms are a lot better if I do not type. I do have speech-to-text programmes now, but they are not very accurate.

So apologies if you have taken the time to visit here and feel I have just given up. My interest in knitting and crochet remains. I am still selling my past patterrns and think a lot about the ones I still have waiting to be released. However, my health has meant all of this is on hold at the moment. But don't stop writing to me, and asking me questions, just be a little patient if it takes some time to get around to it.

What I would suggest for people with pattern problems is:

Email me directly using the contact information on your pattern.
Write Urgent Knitting Query on the subject lineIn the body of the email put the exact name of the Design/pattern and subtitle or description e.g. Calaveras de Azucar earfflap hat pattern (just hat with skulls on is not enough)

Quote the subheading of the part of the pattern you have trouble with and explain your query. E.g.
Brim
Row 3: K2, P2; rep from * to end

If you have trouble downloading a pattern
Write the email ID/ravelry ID that you used as your name when downloading
Write the date you attempted to downloaded
Write the error message or type of error occurring.

Note. All my patterns are in PDF  format, even images and charts. We do not supply printed patterns.
It might not be a problem our end and it might be because you do not contain the correct programmes in order to download PDFs. Our PDFs are made in Adobe PDF maker and so you will need to have a PDF reader on your device. Not necessarily Adobe but one that will allow you to read PDFs in general.
You might not always see it immediately if your device automaticlaly downloads it. You will need to get to the documents list on your device and look for downloads, or you will need to look in your web downloads menu and you will probably find it there because you may have not set your docuements to automatically open after downloading is completed.

At the moment, no bought patterns are available in Europe except for the UK. This is because suppliers of digital products within the EU need to be set up for sales tax for export from the UK. When I get back to work properly, I should be able to sort that out but for the moment you will need to be resident in the UK, or rest of World non EU countries to buy my patterns.

Uncle Frank's Boat

I was chatting with my carer/helper Zlati today, about Bulgaria and how pretty the countryside is there compared with London. I explained to her I am from Devon and Cornwall orginally and that there are beautiful beaches and countryside there and I showed her some pictures. I was explaining that part of my family were fisherman for centuries, and googled a pic of a trawler to show her the type of boat he worked on.

I found this beautiful oil painting by John Russell Chancellor, a well known maritime artist, and could not believe it when I read the description. This is a painting of Uncle Frank's actual boat, called Souvenir.
I really want that painting as we have so few family photographs of his trawler. I am looking into making an offer to the owner, or at least finding out if prints of it are available.

not only knitting but....

My old school buddy reminded me today that not only do I knit, but I design charts too. This is something I might be able to do whilst I cannot complete any knitting projects. I am going to start knitting slowly, despite hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder injury but obviously it will have to be slow and for personal projects only.

This is one of my Easter (or Ostara in Pagan speak) Charts of The Hare and The Moon...it is free to download from Ravelry and may be used for personal use, but not for commercial projects without written permission in advance. I normally allow people to make up to 10 items from one design per year to sell if they ask first. If they sell well, I may also extend the licence...this costs nothing but just ensures that sellers have the appropriate copyright clearance for reusing a design. This avoids negative feedback from their customers.

A Snood for a Hound

From January 14th we are now donating all proceeds from sales of the snood pattern to Whittingham Kennels Retired Greyhound Trust. The kennels rescue ex-racing greyhounds and find them new homes. They have cost of running the kennels, as it operates only for the purpose of rehoming, as well as extra costs for transport and veterinary fees.

We adopted our Harry from the kennels who were enormously supportive when we lost Dizzy last year. Going to the kennels and meeting new hounds, and realising life has to go on for other furry boys and girls despite us grieving heavily for our boy has helped us get through a difficult time. We fostered Harry when the kennels needed to get a new roof to remove absestos and we fell in love with him.

The kennels are beautifully clean and airy, and lots of natural light for the dogs. There are small stalls with a large bed lined with paper and fabric to make them cosy. The stalls/individual kennels have a half door so the dogs can stand up and have a nose out, to see who is visiting and what is going on in general. When the dogs have a medical problem they are taken promptly to the local vets. And to top it all, the kennels have beautiful surroundings of quiet Essex countryside and walks. There are grassy ( a bit muddy in this weather though) paddocks and the dogs are regularly allowed to run in their paddocks and stretch their legs.

So why would a dog want to leave such a beautiful place?
Well, firstly, however nice the kennels are they do not have a sofa, beds or other furniture normally in houses. And the dogs do want to be part of a family and not have to share the humans attention with 40 or so other dogs. They also want to have walks with the same people and build up to perhaps one day being trusted and trained enough to let off the lead. They want to drape over owners that belong to them and them alone (well perhaps to share with another pet or two) and watch TV with them in a lovely centrally heated house. And they want to go to exciting places, hang their noses out of car windows, go on holidays and visit beaches, get cuddles from all their owners' friends and  extended family too.