KnitNell

I never expect authors to be good at speaking.  In most cases I know that they are good at writing but presume that they hide behind their words and are averse to appearing in public.  In the same way, I suppose, when actors are happy to perform unashamedly  in front of an audience of hundreds or show every emotion on film only to be apologetically timid and shy in the flesh. I went to Fleet Library last week where the guest author was Ann Cleeves – no not the fourth wife, as people keep quipping, that was a different Cleves, and she is dead ……and kept her head – but the writer of the Vera and the Shetland books, amongst others.  It was a most enjoyable evening and Ann was as entertaining as her crime novels.  Such a relief.  Many will have watched Vera on the television, the protagonist being played by Brenda Blethyn but it seems that there is a two-part series coming out in December based on her book ‘Red Bones’ which will be filmed on location – I hope to see plenty of hand knitted Fairisle woollies.

Returning to the title of this  Post – Ann Cleeves is not the UFO in question – I was reminded of my Norwegian Ski Jumper.  This item has nothing to do with either Norway or Skiing but tales of Shetland, the Vikings and the bleak cold made me think of it.  This is a picture of what it is supposed to  look like: -

But in fact it looks like this: -

Mmmmmm not quite there yet …..

And it has looked like this for some time now …..

UFO, of course, stands for Unfinished Object, no need to look skywards.  The concept of the UFO as something to be treasured and not to be ashamed of was introduced to me by Rachel Matthews of Prick Your Finger  (lovely website and blog)  during an Unravel event.  However I think that I have treasured long enough now and should knit more.

If you are looking for interesting designs and free patterns have a look at GarnStudio’s site.  Many of the Drops Designs are by Scandinavian designers and often feature very interesting twists to the garments.  The design featured in this Post is named 83-5a – mmm and I thought Norwegian Ski Jumper was bad.

On the bright side I did complete my crocheted poppy for this year’s Remembrance Day.  I put my donation into the collection tin – I thought they would welcome more coins with which to rattle but in fact they would have been quite happy with a folded contribution – and declared that I would make my own poppy this year.   I have TheStitchSharer to thank for the free pattern and the brilliant photographic step by step guide.  I would recommend Stitch Sharer’s blog if you are new to knitting or crochet or need more guidance – she makes it all so very clear, with wonderful photographs and the patterns are described in UK and US terms.

‘To boldly row ……….’