AMAZING!

I am a geek, and as such, I am going to give you the stats

• 30 guest blogs & bloggers!
• 5 brand spanking new patterns!
• Over 14,000 visitors to the blog!!
• Of which over 9,500 were new to p/hop!
• £1170 raised via justgiving!
• $685 raised via firstgiving!

Really AMAZING! On some days, p/hop’s blog had more visitors than MSF’s UK web site…. And even apart from the money raised, the number of new people the birthday blog-a-long sent our way was brilliant. People introducing their friends to p/hop, people introducing their friends to MSF and everyone having a good time while doing it.

p/hop was 1 this year and in that short time you have done so much… Many of the highlights have been mentioned in the birthday blogs, so I won’t go through them again. But, just in terms of funds, money that got Kiran, Claire and Fiona to Niger, Chad and Congo, you guys have raised an astounding £8,983 ($14,591). It is a humbling total. This includes gift aid by the way….

As the year draws to an end, plans for next year are being finalised and I wanted to leave you with my thoughts for p/hop. In truth, I have no idea what we will see in 2010. 2009 has continually surprised and delighted me and I know the spontaneity, the passion and the creativity that have characterised this year’s activities will continue and  predicting where they might lead us would be futile.

I work for an emergency organisation. We are really good at responding. When there’s an earthquake or conflict, we pride ourselves on being there quickest and getting to the people that need help most. Working with you guys has been an exercise in response – the ideas that have made p/hop what it is this year have been borne of knitters and carried out by knitters and, sometimes, I have been scrambling to keep up. All I can say is, long may this continue.

One year ago, who would have thought I’d be able to knit as well? It’s been a good year… Big thanks to all of you!!

All the best,

Pete

swatches

The life of a textiles designer is ironically often quite frantic, due to the slow and steady nature of the crafts involved meaning some projects can go on for months.

Last week was one of those busy-busy weeks, with lots of long projects nearing completion at the same time.I have had four knitting and crochet projects to swatch, finish making and/or write patterns for, as well as the day job, a launch party, knitting lesson and Christmas market preparation and some embroidery projects to complete. Phew!

The picture above shows some grey garter stitch, which is a sample of the cowl we shall be knitting in a beginners class coming up this weekend, a mock houndstooth fairisle knit coming to a magazine near you very soon and a couple of crochet swatches for throws. The nice thing about working on so many different projects is that you don’t get bored, or suffer so acutely with RSI or tennis elbow due to the differing patterns of your fingers when working crochet and knitting or chunky and fine yarns.

I have also been planning more adventurous projects, dreaming up and sketching wonderfully glamourous knits for a possible new book, here’s a little exclusive preview of a fringed number. Have been wanting to make this for what seems like forever, perhaps now will be the big chance!

So glad that this week is panning out a little more relaxed so I have finally had a chance to blog and direct people to the fantastic p/hop cause; hopefully all you generous knitters will get huge pleasure from knitting something from the site and be able to take the time to enjoy the process as well as the donating.

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Thank you very much Claire. You can read more from Claire aka Montyknits here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

I tend to knit presents for most of my nearest and dearest and over the last few years, this has included socks for both my parents, scarves for pretty much everyone, countless hats and mitts for my husband and adipose for my nephews and plenty of other things that I can’t even remember.  I remember tallying up last years knitting and realising I had given away twice as much knitting as I kept for myself.

In theory, there is nothing wrong with this at all.  It’s a good thing in a way as it makes gift giving a lot easier.  And it normally makes me feel very good knowing that my knitting is being appreciated by someone else for a change.  But this year, I didn’t want to give everything away.  I wanted to be selfish and keep the gorgeous yarn for myself (well, mainly) and so I am not and have not done any Christmas gift knitting.  This is probably a good thing as I seem to have no time for the knitting, what with all the World of Warcraft playing and house painting etc but it’s still left me feeling a little guilty.  I should be sharing my knitting with the world!

What to do about the guilt though?!?  I have two answers; firstly, I am going to try and design more next year, including something for p/hop and secondly, I am going to knit a p/hop pattern and donate to the brilliant cause, MSF!  Voila!  Guilt free knitting!

Now, why do I care about p/hop and MSF?  Well, it does help that 2 lovely MSF ladies kept me sane whilst taking the bus and train home from Woolfest but it’s also because I want to give something back.  If I was a medic, I’d be donating my time to MSF but I am not so p/hop is a brilliant way for me to be able to do my bit.

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Thank you very much Perversia. You can read more from Perversia on her Domestic Blissless blog.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

I received something exciting in the post today. No, I hadn’t won the lottery and I hadn’t inherited an estate from a long-lost relative. It was much more simple than that – it was a handwritten envelope. Now, this may seem a bit trivial, but the very fact that I feel moved to write about it made me realise how little of my mail these days is truly personal. Sure, I get bank statements and so on, but the rest is, let’s be honest, junk mail. Impersonal, mass-produced junk mail which goes straight in the (recycling) bin. (And yes I remove and shred the address and I don’t put the cellophane in).

So this letter (for letter it was), made me feel special – knowing that someone took the trouble to write to me, by hand, go to the post office, add a stamp and drop it in a letterbox. Not just pm me, email, post on my “wall” on Facebook – a real, live letter. And this made me wonder whether postmen and women feel the same. Is it satisfying delivering something you know will almost certainly give the recipient no benefit but go straight into landfill (or, if it’s lucky, be turned into loo roll?). Is there more pleasure in delivering  a lovely bundle of handwritten cards and hand-addressed parcels? I don’t know, but I shall ask my postie.

Either way, call me sentimental (or just plain dotty!), but I shall be ignoring my carefully typed “mail-merged” address list this year and writing out my cards and letters by hand. And hopefully someone as sentimental as me will also feel special, because, quite frankly, they are : )

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Thank you very much Debbie. Debbie designed the p/hop Chevron De Paix Socks. You can read more from her here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

I like to drink.

I like beer, brown liquors, and gin.  Not so much the Vodka, but maybe that’s an acquired taste.  Also not the Aqua Vit. I like the sociability of drinking, the warmth, the laughter.

However, I can do without the tears, recrminations and remorse, so I try to avoid those as much as possible by limiting my alcohol intake…

How do I do that?

TEA!

Tea can be a welcome “Hey there!” in the morning, a mid-day work break, a meal in itself (with milk and honey) and the perfect partner for tissues and sympathy when a friend is in need of a shoulder.

Tea demands nothing from us, nothing but a bit of love in our handling – and it gives us the world.

Tea offers many of the positives of a nice beer, but with a fraction of the calories and guilt. Don’t get me wrong, a large part of what makes a beer taste good is that teensy “should you really be doing this” voice that is comfortably drowned out by the sloshing of the amber, hops-infused beverage as it passes down the throat.

One NEVER asks oneself, “Should I REALLY be drinking this cup of tea?” because tea is civilized, variable (with or without caffeine) and medicinal.  (Yes, many alcoholic beverages are “medicinal”, too, but that’s an excuse I’ve hard FAR too many times from my dad.)

Currently my favorite teas are three:  Lady Earl Grey (Twinings), Russian Earl Grey (Lipton) and Earl Grey (Second Cup, in Canada)  We also have a few local tea shops with proprietary blends of Earl Grey that I also love, but I’m only mentioning the ones that are available for general consumption here.

MUGS!

I have several mugs that make my tea experience more delightful.  I’m a mug tea drinker, not really much of a “cup sipper”.  It’s the working class background, I’m sure, plus the fact that mugs keep the tea warmer and make me feel a tiny bit like an earth mother.

My absolute FAVORITE mug was given to me by the folks at Wool & Company a few years ago.  It’s solid, lovely, and the shape keeps my tea warm all morning whilst I work at my knitting or pattern writing.  I’ve tried many mugs, but nothing suits me like this one!

Two mugs that I own and love are by Jennie The Potter.  She’s a friend here in Minnesota who makes amazing and fiber/craft related pottery.  The green mug I bought the first day I met Jennie (it’s on my ‘precious’ shelf, and doesn’t get used much), at the Yarn Over event in St. Paul in 2006.

The second I bought from her at Rhinebeck in 2009, which seem odd – both of us traveling from Minnesota to New York so I could buy a mug from her there…

This Peace Symbol mug I bought at the Great Lakes Fiber Show in 2009 at the Moorfield Pottery booth.  I don’t use it much because I don’t want to break it (it’s so lovely) but the color makes me very happy.

KNITTING & TEA!

Knitting and tea are so perfect together they’re almost a cliche.  But far be it from me to damn a cliche if it’s a good one! The yarn, so colorful and varied; the tea, so aromatic and warm.  Small joys that mean a great deal to me.

If I can have a cup of tea, a nice knit and a visit with a friend at the same time, I’m in a little bit of heaven!

Go have a cup of tea, have bit of a knit, and call a friend.  Then give some $, £ or ¥ for Doctors Without Borders so that more folks can share the small joys that make every day a bit more livable.  Life is amazing, good health and tea make it more so.

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Thank you very much Annie. You can read all sorts of interesting things on Annie’s website, including her blog.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

It’s not too late to take part in the p/hop birthday blog-a-long

Last week was such a success that we are keeping the birthday blog spot open until Saturday 5th December.

Details on how to take part are here.

Chris and I managed to tick another 4 of the list yesterday and had a very enjoyable afternoon too. We started by going to the ‘The Way of Tea’ demonstration in the Japanese Gallery at The British Museum. These are held every few weeks, are free to attend and you can find out when they are on by looking at the events diary on The British Museum website. The demonstration lasted about 30 minutes and was presented by three Japanese ladies dressed in beautiful kimonos. The first lady talked us through the ceremony while the other two played the parts of the host and the guest. Powdered matcha was passed around the audience for us to see and smell. It was a vibrant green colour and smelt similar to English tea.  I would recommend this short and accessible presentation to anyone interested in Japanese culture and traditions.

Challenge 2, 13/1000 completed

We then walked to Gordon Square which is situated just next to part of UCL. Like most of the squares in London at this time of year is was looking a little bare but it is a nice space with less people and less noise from the traffic than nearby Russell Square. Some of the houses around the Square were once occupied by members of the Bloomsbury Group and the house where John Maynard Keynes lived features a Blue Plaque.

Challenge 576, 14/1000 completed

With the announcement that the bookshop Borders had gone into administration it felt appropriate to visit one of our many local independent bookshops. The London Review Bookshop really is a lovely place. There is a very relaxed feel about the shop and there really are books everywhere. Its the sort of bookshop that makes you want to loose and afternoon brousing and then spend lots of money.

Challenge 41, 15/1000 completed

Also in the photograph you can see the sign for the Blade Rubber Stamps shop next door. I love this shop and would recommend anyone who enjoys crafts to pop in and have a look.

Then it was time for tea and cake in the tiny cake shop that is housed within the bookshop. This was really busy at about 4.30pm when we went in but the service was good and the tea and cake were really fab. Possibly a bad place to have discovered so near to our flat – I’m sure it won’t be the last time we visit!

Challenge 849, 16/1000 completed

Although Chris would go mad if I turned our blog into a knitting one I thought that the p/hop readers would understand my pain with my latest knitting project. I started knitting a Christmas present last night but after only a few rows it some how turned into this purple mess! I know that I am going to spend the rest of the week trying to undo it!

Claire (aka yellowpurplezebra on Ravelry)

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Thank you very much Claire. You can follow Claire and Chris’s  Timout Challenge here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

Hello!  My name’s Karen and I’m a knitter and spinner from the US.  Spinning and knitting are two of the things that bring me joy.  They’re very different, but related, activities.  In fact, one of those activities led straight into the other – but not in the order some might expect.

When I was a very little girl, about the same age my daughter is now, my mother tried to teach me to knit.  She had made lots of things for my sister and me; sweaters, hats, mittens and gloves, pretty much the usual little kid stuff back in the late ’60s.  I remember her making some valiant efforts to teach me.  No matter how hard I tried, it just never made sense.  Then I tried crochet the next year (shh…), and that was that for my fiber efforts.

Fast forward about 20 years or so.  My husband and I were traveling in the North Carolina mountains and went into a pretty large fiber arts store in our favorite mountain town.  I mentioned that I had tried spinning cotton not long before, and that it wasn’t going very well.  Could they give me some help, or at least show me what I was doing wrong?

“Oh baby, cotton’s pretty tough to learn on.  Here, try this.”  She offered me a spindle behind the counter and some medium-fine roving to try.  It was like magic.  It made huge gigantic super-duper bulky yarn, but yarn it was.  Yarn that held together too.  When we went home, with a small drop spindle and about a kilo’s worth of roving, I started making yarn.  I haven’t stopped yet. Well, maybe a couple of times here and there…

Spinning brought me back to trying knitting again.  Somewhere in those 20 years I had figured out how to make the sticks work together to create a fabric.  Real stuff, like my mother had made.  Just like the spinning, I’ve only stopped for brief periods of time.  One of the longest times was when our daughter was placed with us.  I can’t ever remember being tired like that before or since.  One day when I was whining to a friend about not realizing how much work an infant could be, she mentioned trying to spin again.  I couldn’t spin at a wheel – babies usually don’t stay still and calm long enough to use a wheel  – but drop spindling was something I could do.  So I did.  In fact, I spun enough to make myself a tank top.  Bright pink and black silk, with little angora skulls around the top.  In those very early days of being a mum, it helped me stay relatively sane.

Both knitting and spinning have done more for me than keep me sane.  They’ve helped me to make friends and given me lots of exciting experiences (like the time I helped out with a shearing day).  They have also given me many hours of pleasure.

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Thank you very much Spyderkl. You can read more from Spyderkl here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

yarn gifted from India

When this lovely local woollen yarn arrived from a dear friend in India, I knew almost straight away what it wanted to be. Two single 50g balls in co-ordinating colours? Why, stripes of course!

Add to that my need lately of simple knitting, I set about knitting a beanie. A striped beanie. And I don’t know about you, but these colours gave me  a retro feeling.  And so, a striped beanie in garter stitch was born.

Now, my son Aran doesn’t really need any more Hats, but this one was practically begging to go on his head! With a pom-pom of course, because all good retro inspired stripey beanies need pom-poms.

Aran in his stripey beanie, front view

I chose garter stitch for this Hat because it seemed to compliment the style just so. And me being me, went for the ‘inside out’ look. The beanie is structured on multiples of 8 with a balanced 4 point crown shaping. It’s a pleasant, simple knit, and flowed perfectly on the needles… the perfect, mindless knitting pattern!

Aran in his stripey beanie, rear view

And why am I telling you all this? Because I have donated this pattern to P/hop so that you can enjoy it too! There are a good range of sizes included (the garter stitch is super stretchy, so this one will see Aran well for a few years yet), with notes about how to knit it ‘right-side out’ and even how it can be converted to knitting on straight needles (this one is knitted in the round) You can vary the width of the stripes or even knit it plain should you prefer. It’s ideal for all ages and is pretty much gender neutral.

I’m pretty sure my friend who gifted me the yarn would approve of this Hat and it’s pattern for P/hop – a generous gift that can live on and benefit others.

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Thank you very much Woollywormhead. You can read more from Woolywormhead here.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.

Hello friends!

I love to make things, but I’ve realised I find the process of making them quite anxious. I get so much pleasure from giving someone a homemade gift, or from using a bag or a scarf that I made for myself. I like to embellish and decorate things that I own as it feels like then they really belong to me and I am really getting good use of them. However, most of the time when I am crafting a thing, the very act of making it means sitting down, focussing and getting something done. I’m not proud of myself but most of the time I hate concentrating. Once something feels like an obligation, if I’m not in the mood, I’m like a cat being given a worming tablet. I will resist in any way I can. It’s ridiculous. Just trying to type this I have made cups of tea for everyone around me, checked twitter 15 times and reorganised my rucksack.

And that is a problem with knitting because knitting takes ages. And attention! When I worked at a call centre, it was great (the call centre was not ever great. On a scale of 1-5 where 1 is gloomy and 5 is hiding in the toilets to weep, i would put myself at about a 4 most days) because I had so much time where I was stuck on the phone and knitting was a therapeutic escape. I made so much stuff and was so much cooler with all of my accoutrements and accessories. I made everyone I loved mittens (with proper colour work!). But now I feel like a faker, not having the time or the good habits to focus and get anything made.

P-Hop’s birthday feels like the best time to stop my nonsense and start something new. I reckon I’ve got just about enough time to make some good quality Christmas presents, and raise some money for MSF, which is a lovely thing to get to do as well. This is a video of me starting a new top-secret p-hop pattern..

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Thank you Josie. As well as seeing Josie on TV you can follow her adventures at www.josielong.com If you’re intrigued about what she’s knitting, all will be revealed tomorrow.

Remember you can get all the blog-a-long updates by following p/hop on twitter and in the p/hop Ravelry group.