Alison Casserly - Natur-ally

Tell Them Of Us

6/20/2014

In my 'spare time' recently I have been privileged to be part of the number of volunteers from Orkney to Omaha who are knitting or crocheting garments & accessories for the WW 1 film 'Tell Them Of Us'. I was especially excited as it is filmed in Lincolnshire, & based on the Crowder family from Horncastle. You can read all about it here -
http://wagscreen.wordpress.com/tell-them-of-us/
There is also a gallery of the knits (& crochet) here - http://wagscreen.wordpress.com/ww1-knitting/

The patterns are all originals from the time of the First World War, the instructions are extremely basic compared to recent patterns & mostly no indication of sizing! Considerable swatching is needed to use the modern yarns & trying to match the needle or hook size.

My first challenge was a Tam O'Shanter, which was fun & quick to do.

Next was another Tammy worn here by Grace Crowder (Victoria Rigby) whilst driving a 1913 Studebaker.
This was slightly more problematic as it needed to be quite tight on the headband in order to stay on! It definitely looks better on the actress than on my polystyrene head!
Photo by John Bennet.

Still waiting for a photo with it's buttons, but this was even more challenging as the pattern initially came up so tiny!
After 3 attempts, & re-working the pattern I still hope it will fit the 5'8" actress (Claire Lyons) who plays the school teacher.

There will be a premiere for all the knitters in November, & we are all looking forward to meeting up together after much liasing in the Facebook group page!
Plus, more exciting news to come...!

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Fragranced Champagne! A Dyeing Day...

5/14/2014

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Well, shame on me for not up-dating this blog for W A Y too long! I am loving being here at The Ropewalk, however I seem to be concentrating on knitting lots of special orders & commissions, & have done very little dyeing this year as I have to do this back at home now.
The ornamental cherry had been pruned, so I had a dyeing day at home yesterday. As I get asked a lot about how I do this, I took photos to show you . . .

Mordanting - First the yarn needs to be mordanted to help the dye 'stick' to the wool & you need to soak your yarn overnight, or at least 2 hours. I bought my trusty old Baby Burco a few years ago now in a charity shop (£5 bargain!) It's had a couple of repairs, but still keeps going & it means that I can mordant up to 1.5 kg. at a time.
It is quite a slow process. . . (so I did some pattern work while waiting) After filling the boiler with tepid water, you mix Cream of Tarter with some hot water, mix well & add to the boiler. Then do the same with Alum crystals. These used to be mined along the East Yorkshire coast near Ravenscar, & you can go & see the ruins on the cliff side - a lovely walk, but a bit muddy & slippery when we went! The yarn is then plopped in too, & mixed well. The lid goes on & everything comes up to a gentle simmer for an hour. I usually like to then just turn the boiler off & let it cool down slowly. The yarn needs a rinse before dyeing, but can be kept in a bucket of clean water for a few days (or more!) until you are ready to dye with it.

Dyeing - In the meantime I had soaked the cherry leaves & small twigs in water for a day or so. Brought them up to a simmer for about an hour or more to get as much dye out as possible.

The whole house had a wonderful fragrance too, as I discovered the first time I used this ornamental cherry.
I produced a beautifully unique & fragranced yarn!
You can't buy that at Boyes!

I ended up with 7 skeins of Champagne coloured British Bluefaced Leicester Natur-ally dyed wool!

Self seeded Comfrey in the garden . . .that's for another day!

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New year, New start!

1/13/2014

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After moving over Christmas, I am very happy to be here at The Ropewalk & have spent a few days settling in & finding a home for everything, & now getting back to some work again. Catching up first with some knitting orders, & looking forward to working on some new designs.
The '100' on the wall was originally to indicate 100 feet when the ropes were made here. The outside walls have to be left with any original markings like this! There's lots of interesting things about the place, & I must go & have another look in the Museum sometime.

It's lovely & tidy at the moment! I spent ages sorting the cones onto the shelves & working out how best to arrange the machines so they could be used easily, but didn't take up too much room . . .

OPEN DAYS - Friday 24th. & 25th January - Come along & visit me, & my neighbour http://www.haughtyhatsmillineryschool.com/ & find out about our workshops!
1 1 am to 4pm.

So pleased too that I've managed to find room for my comfy sofa. . . still waiting for it's cushion covers!

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Re-location...

12/14/2013

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It has been a busy but difficult time with lots of dilemmas & decisions, & finally the floods last week has meant that the Old Tile Works is closing for a couple of months - The studios & restaurant were fine, but the older part of the tileyard & the Drying Shed shop were under a few feet of water.
Therefore I will be re-locating to a studio at the Ropewalk in Barton from 1st January 2014, so please ring me on 07828131581 to make an appointment or check that I am there before you come along.
One advantage of my moving is that I will be able to be more flexible in my working - & able to go out & about to other craft fairs, or run workshops elsewhere, rather than being in one place all the time.
As much as I love my spacious studio with this gorgeous fire, it has been very quiet lately, and the Ropewalk is much more central, close to the bus & railway stations. I am looking forward to the New Year, new opportunities & adventures in knitting & design, & holding workshops at the Ropewalk.

I will be at the Waters' Edge Christmas Craft Spectacular on Sunday 15th December, 10am - 3.30pm & also having a pop up shop in Barclays Bank, High St, Bartonon Monday 16th, from 9.30am - 3.30pm.

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A Changeable Week...

10/14/2013

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What a crazy week - Last weekend was so warm & sunny that I went for a walk along the Humber Bridge after work ,& went a bit overboard on photographing the Old Tile Works.! My studio is in the left hand building. The restaurant & coffee shop is in the rounded building in front, with the Drying Shed shop, & reclaimation yard to the right.

As I said, I got a bit carried away! It was such a lovely afternoon.
I had also just had a visit from a lovely lady taking photos for her blog - http://meanqueen- lifeaftermoney.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/visit-to-old-tile-works.html There's lots of tips for saving money here too...

I find the natural patterns of the riverbank inspiring . . .

I had also just finished this 40's style jumper for a customer, made to fit under her vintage lace collar, which was somewhat challenging, knitted on the fine-gauge machine in a tuck stitch. The gorgeous dusky pink colour was perfect too.

So after so much sun, & warmth, this week I have had the fire lit in the studio, & getting on with knitting orders, both on the machine & by hand., plus mordanting lots of yarn ready for dyeing, in my old big Baby Burco, now sadly, but hopefully being fixed after tripping all my sockets out! It came from a charity shop in Brigg & has been worth it's weight in gold! Lots of dyeing & knitting times ahead ready for Christmas accessories & gifts.
If you want something made, don't leave it too late!

Finally for now, I also have some lovely shawl pins for sale, made locally for me . . . these are made walnut, but will be getting some beech ones soon, they are all slightly different & individual.

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Classes, Buttons, Ganseys etc

9/14/2013

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O my goodness, life has been busy since moving into The Old Tile Works........is it really 10 weeks?!
I have had an amazing summer (fantastic weather too !) with lots of visitors, & I've met some lovely, interesting people! I just love the wonderful view as I drive down the hill every morning & so blessed to be working in such a stunning place!

These were the ladies from my first beginner's Crochet class, it was great fun & it was great to see what one lady has been making since! The Beginner's knitting class was also such fun.......we laughed all day! I have now got further dates arranged for the next few weeks, details on the workshop page. I'm also working out some dates for Natural dyeing workshops.

It is great to have the space to do my dyeing without having to clear everything away to cook tea at the end of the day!
I have had quite a few orders for 'Lincoln Swirl jackets' & am now working on a special order to make a lighter version of this jacket in my Natur-ally dyed wool.
I have also had commissions for a baby blanket in some gorgeous local alpaca wool,, & am currently working on some accessory designs for a new mohair company
Mo & Co that will be launched at Yarndale a brand new Yarn & Knitting Show in Skipton on 28th & 29th September, that I'm hoping to get along to.

Jim at Yellow Belly Woodwork has made some lovely buttons for me from Cherry wood, drying here in the sun!

Another of the summer's highlights was attending the preview of the Close Knit Gansey exhibition at Hull Maritime museum where one of my Gansey inspired jumpers is on display. The Knitting Genealogist has written more about it here. There were lots of ganseys, old & new. (The exhibition is on until November.)

So it's been a busy few weeks, & I'm already getting some orders for Christmas presents, & will soon be dyeing more wool for accessories & other gifts..........

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Grand Opening Weekend!

7/3/2013

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The Old Tile Works was officially opened by the Mayoress at 10am Saturday! Pictured with Gordon Harrison. There was a steady stream of people round all day & the weather was great too! There was Falconry on the green & giant puppets! A lovely day!
I had lots of positive comments about my work & interest in workshops & promises to come back.. & a big thank you to family & friends who came along to help & support me!

I had a busy time leading up to the opening - My parents had been up for the week which was lovely, & my Dad helped with some odd jobs, sorting the drawer runners for my old kitchen sink! (the drawers came from a skip & fitted fine!) & also putting up some shelves for me so I could get all the cones of wool tidied away!

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Lincolnshire Show 19th - 20th June

7/2/2013

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Goodness what an exciting couple of weeks! 3 days after speaking at the Guild of Machine knitter's AGM I was lucky to be able to take some of my yarnie goodies to the Lincolnshire Show this year - Thanks to Women in Rural Enterprise -Lincoln, & the kind sponsers Andrew & Co Solicitors & Adam Winfield from Through the Lens Photography (who also took the photos of us in the marquee).
We were able to share a marquee & were privileged to meet HRH Countess of Wessex.. It was a great couple of days & the weather was kind as the rain stayed away until 4pm on the second day! We met some lovely people & it was wonderful to get to know the WiRE members better too! We all had great fun together & a big thanks to Sandra at AnChen Acupuncture for organizing us all!

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Opening - 29th June!

6/10/2013

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We finally have a confirmed Opening date, so come along to the Old Tile Works! http://www.theoldtileworks.com/

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Signposts!

6/1/2013

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Signposts have been going up around the site. We are hoping to have a confirmed date for the opening VERY soon!

The signposts have all been hand-carved on site!

I have also finally unpacked my fine-gauge knitting machine & it is wonderful to be able to work on a different gauge machine without having to put them up & down all the time!

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I've been passionately knitting, crocheting & designing for many years.
I love to create my own yarns from natural dyes & creating lovely garments & accessories with them!

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