Mum's gansey knitting revival.

Here are a couple of pics of the fisherman's gansey knitted for me by my talented Mum, Pat, from 5ply gansey wool. Mum, born in Scotland and now living in Amble, has knitted many ganseys for local Amble fishermen in the past, including my cousin who now lives and works in Brixham. This is the first one she has knitted for a while, however, as she is 75, and she enjoyed it so much that she has already started one for Malcolm. 
The deep rose wool used in my gansey is from her stash and she is unsure of its origin (sound familiar?). The pattern is a fairly basic herringbone style but many of her past ganseys had more complex patterned yokes which involved her combining traditional patterns to each fisherman's direction. 
Looking back over her original notes has rekindled both of our interests in gansey making. Mum has quite a few books on the subject, some of which mentioned a traditional Amble pattern and we began piecing together how this would look. Many thanks to Jan at Frangipani (www.guernseywool.co.uk) for her help in sourcing a book confirming our endeavours (watch for pics of Malcolm's gansey, coming soon!) and also for selling us the most beautiful gansey wool!
Obviously I'm not heading out onto the cold North Sea in my gorgeous pink gansey but it at least gives me a reason to look forward to winter!

www.etsy.com/shop/LouiseHunterHandmade

Previous makes

I haven't got much crafting done today despite being up early to take my daughter, Bethany, to work. My elder son, Sam, had bought some Bermuda shorts on the internet for £2 and they were massive around the waist! I managed to sort them out for him by threading in some extra elastic that I'd recycled from some old trousers. I do love a bit of thriftiness, I'm sure I got a Brownie badge for that! I also had to unpick the top-stitching on the handle of the bag I'm making. I had a bit of a wobble off line 'cos I was hurrying to finish it before clearing up for tea. Does anyone else have this problem? Mine's exacerbated by the fact that I have to share with my model making husband! 

I thought I'd share a few of my previous makes with you. This is one of the first bags that I made, leading to a bit of a bag making obsession! I kept this one for myself and have sold a few to family and friends. The crazy patchwork is made from upholstery fabrics so is very textured and tactile. The random design also makes each bag unique. I can't wait to start on some new designs in lovely autumnal colours

These two cushions were made after pouring through library books on patchwork. I was instantly fascinated by the combinations of colour and shape. One book has a photo of a wall hanging that uses the straight lines of the log cabin design to make a beautifully curved and sensual depiction of sea and sand. My husband, Malcolm, and I recently saw another variation on this theme at our local high school 'A' Level art exhibition. I wish now that I'd taken a photo as it was so inspiring. 

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A toe in the water

Hi everyone, thanks for visiting my blog. This is my very first post on my very first blog so I hope you will bear with me. I'm a bit of a Ludite when it comes to technology and rather envious of my 3 teenagers ability to understand it all as if by osmosis. Still you're never to old to learn so I've finally dipped my toe in the water. Please let me know how I am doing, I still have a long way to go!

I decided to start a blog because I have recently set up an Etsy shop to sell my handmade goods-hence the name. When I say recently, I actually set it up at the beginning of March, but have only now got some items ready to sell. I'm not the most prolific of crafters, between part time work as a Teaching Assistant and full time 'work' as a wife and mum. I have also been lucky enough to sell a few items direct to friends and colleagues which has kept them off the site. All being well though I should have more goodies to add soon.
Here are my current offerings, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 www.etsy.com/shop/LouiseHunterHandmade