Prick Your Finger

PRICK YOUR FINGER'S BLOG HAS MOVED!

2011-02-08T16:54:00.002+01:00

Hello Everyone,
We have moved the blog over to our brand new website....
Go to the home page via the link below and click on the knitted candle!
The old blog archive has been moved there also so you can still look up old posts....
We hope you like our new website...it has lots more information, plus events, lists of the artists we show plus a new on-line shop....which we are adding to all the time.
see you there!
love
PYF XXXXX

http://www.prickyourfinger.com/

TOM OF HOLLAND'S PORTRAIT OF DORIAN GREY.

2011-01-25T17:54:00.004+01:00

2011 could become the year of the audio book, after we all get blown away by Tom of Holland's 'Reading Gloves' showing at Prick Your Finger from 10th February.

Pictured here is Tom's portrait of Tom's knitted gloves, which Tom knitted as a portrait of the 'Portrait of Dorian Grey'.
Genius.

Please come to a private view of this and all the other glove portraits of classic fictional characters, on Thursday 10th February.

JANET MORTON GETS ME GOING.

2011-01-25T17:34:00.003+01:00

d
Thank you Victoria Woodcock for sending me this beautiful picture of Janet Morton's 'Return Shift'.
It has got me back on the keyboard and I love it.

LOUISE'S WALK TO WORK.

2011-01-25T15:39:00.005+01:00

Louise was very brave. Fighting a fever, she put on her coat and hat, and braved the January weather to tidy up the back room at Prick Your Finger. Tidying up the back room has always been impossible - but we keep trying. At the end of Sandingham Road, she spotted the letter 'C', and picked it up. It was a useful fridge magnet, and she thought about who she could give it to.
On Dalston Lane, she stopped to grab a take away tea at the Dalston Cafe. As she was waiting, she spotted an 'a' on the pavement, and picked it up.
The tea made her feel a bit better and she started to walk a faster pace....until an 'n' stopped her in her tracks outside the Spurstow Arms. Picking up the 'n', she had the startling realization that she had just been told that she 'can'.
I would just like to second that motion - Louise can do anything.

PETE'S STRANGE TOOL.

2011-01-25T13:21:00.004+01:00

Can any of you tell us what this tool is for?
Pete brought it in the other day, thinking it was something for threading a needle.
Pete's friend found it in her father's drawer after he passed away.
It was made in East Germany, and has a flip out magnifying glass. A bullet shaped point thing and a bit with a fishing wire loop on the end, both of which fit into the main shaft.
Any ideas?

NEW EAST END KNITTING CLUB.

2011-01-11T14:01:00.002+01:00

If you are in the mood for finding new knitting friends for 2011, then get yourself down to Wednesday Knit at The Victoria, London E3, organised by Jackie, one of the busiest Prick Your Finger customers. Have fun!

OUR NEW DOOR HANDLE.

2010-12-22T17:38:00.004+01:00

Two and a half hours away from closing on our last day of 2010, I finally fixed us all a new door handle, made from a guitar neck which I found in a bin in Victoria Park in the summer.
It just took me six months to work out where to put it.
We can now shut the door behind us, without jamming our fingers in the funny brass thing.
The door will be ready for re-opening on 11th Juanuary 2011.
We hope you all have a lovely Christmas, and that everyone loves the presents you might have worked so hard to create.

R.I.P CAPTAIN BEEFHEART.

2010-12-18T13:15:00.001+01:00

Dear Don,
we are sorry that you died last night. You taught us to spin off an axis, set to any angle. It was great the way you ditched fame to make more art. You were a true artist, and when we have eaten lentils for several days in a row, we remember that that's how you made Trout Mask Replica.
The other day a new learned friend asked us weather we went to art school. She had been discussing the matter with another learned friend. They concluded that we couldn't have been to art school, because if we did, we wouldn't have had such 'gusto'. We explained that we did go to art school, we went to punk school, or which you were of course, Dean.
We shall continue to work very hard at being unpredictable.

WINNING CHRISTMAS.

2010-12-17T17:01:00.008+01:00

How gorgeous is Susan Crawford's re-working of the traditional Christmas reindeer jumper?
The easy to follow pattern appears in 'Vintage Gifts to Knit' (on sale here £14) and is one of the hottest knits this season; especially cosy in JC Renne Shetland 4ply.
Finishing this detailed garment before Christmas morning, is entirely possible, but for those of you wishing you'd started earlier, we say "KEEP GOING!" You are creating an heirloom to delight your friends and family year after year, and not stooping so low as to buy the H&M version, which is bound to be herding itself to landfill next summer.

Last summer we heard Annemour talk about Norwegian knitting. She told us how her grandmother knitted reindeer on jumpers for all the family, and one day a lady from the over the valley knocked on the door and said 'Could I borrow your reindeer pattern?'
Annemour's grandmother said 'Knit your own bloody raindeer!' and shut the door.

TOM VAN DEIJNEN'S READING GLOVES.

2010-12-17T15:56:00.011+01:00

'I wondered what the hammering was,' she said feeling weak and breathless, and a little afraid of him, as he looked straight at her.
"Ah'm gettin' th' coops ready for th' young bods." he said in broad vernacular. She did not know what to say and felt weak.
'I should like to sit down a bit,' she said.

'Come and sit 'ere i' th' 'ut,' he said, going in front of her to the hut, pushing aside some timber and stuff, and drawing out a rustic chair made of hazel sticks.
'Am Ah t'light yer a little fire?' he asked with the curious naivete of the dialect.
'Oh don't bother.' she replied. But he looked at her hands; they were rather blue. So he quickly took some larch twigs to the little brick fireplace in the corner, and in a moment the yellow flame was running up the chimney. He made a place by the brick hearth.
'Sit 'ere then a bit and warm yer.' He said.
We are looking forward to Tom Van Deijnen's Reading Gloves to be shown at Prick Your Finger in February. Tom has knitted gloves for our favourite characters from classic novels.
Pictured above, Mellors and Lady Chatterley from Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H Laurence.
Mellors made from Nettle fibre £5 per skein, and Lady Chatterley 4ply Wensleydale £4/50g.

LOUISE'S FAMILY SPRING A SURPRISE.

2010-12-17T14:07:00.005+01:00

Yesterday we were excited to hear that Louise's mum and cousin Fi-Fi were coming for tea, but surprised as more and more family piled in -
From left to right along the back - Stephen, our friend passing by on his way to lunch and it turned out his father was vicar in the church where Louise's Grandma Mo got married down in Cornwall, then Louise's mum Sally, Louise, Grandma Mo, Louise's dad Berny, Aunty Sarah and Uncle Clive, and on the floor cousin Fi Fi and me.

REMEMBERING WHAT YOU FOUND.

2010-12-17T13:33:00.003+01:00

On adventures away from home I like to send postcards.
In New York I was surprised to find the museums and galleries had rather poor postcard selections.
I bought 'From head to Hand' by David Levi Strauss and in it found that the Inca's thought writing memories down helped them go away, where as tying knots kept the memories alive, passing information on to future generations.
I thought by tying knots I might be able to describe my adventure in more detail when I got home. Fortunately I was carrying red and yellow Jaimson's DK (£2.80/25g)
I only tied 5 knots before it was tie to catch the plane, but it does work -
The knots represent more than the places visited, but I won't write about that for risk of forgetting.

SUPERHERO'S IN NEW YORK.

2010-12-15T18:10:00.008+01:00

We have just got our photos developed from New York. We went there to do some research for our 'Spark Plugs' project a few weeks back. Spark Plugs is a curator's research grant, awarded by the Crafts Council. You never know what you are going to find when you start doing research.
Our subject is Clothes as Spiritual Support Structure. We looked at the odd gallery and museum, but the really interesting discovery came, when we were standing outside a pub, and in one of the flats opposite, there appeared to be some bare chested men in tight pants. We laughed at them for a while and then we noticed the door was open so we gate crashed, what seemed to be a party.
What we discovered was a men's only superhero gathering, fueled by baby oil, lycra, hairspray and a drug which we chose to ignore. The superheros were most welcoming, giving us beer and full filling our request for 'Prince'. The most serious superheros we had ever met, didn't talk or dance, but beet their chests and growled like Tarzan. Lycra and baby oil represented something powerful for this group of men. Collective dressing formed a secure structure for these men to enjoy flexing their muscles and forget all their worries, including the two giggling girls dancing to their stereo.

GINA BIRCH'S 57 WAYS TO SPREAD THE LOVE.

2010-12-15T17:42:00.001+01:00

Raincoats, protect us from uncomfortable weather, and Gina Birch, singer songwriter from the Raincoats, has taught us how to protect ourselves from adverse conditions of any kind, through her wonderful work now showing at Prick Your Finger.

Gina, whilst touring with the Raincoats, making films, teaching and being a mum, has knitted and felted Raincoats merchandise, with a series of bags about '57 ways to end it all'. The bags hang in our window, surrounded by stitched banners.
Each bag is different, with a pallette of black, white, grey, pink and red. Bags snap shut with sturdy poppers and are very cosy. Decorated with poison bottles, guns, and tower block jumping suicides, they also remind us that 'cups of tea are a clock', and you are 'no ones little girl'.
There is a wide selection and a lot of detail in each one.
Gina explained that the bags were so warm inside that last summer a lady in the supermarket said 'Isn't your bag rather hot for this time of year?'Band merchandise, doesn't get deeper than this. The bags are £250, and made for you by the lady singing the songs. Band merchandise, rarely brings you close to the artist, and is usually a system for raising extra cash on a tour. Expensive though they are, the price barely matches the love that Gina has put into making them, or the value she puts on making sure her fans look and feel good sporting her wears.

Gina has been making banners since the late seventies. These thoughts, explained to us by Gina and her friends as we were growing up, gave us the gusto to start this shop in the first place.
Heading towards mid winter, and feeling a bit nesty, living with the banners and bags is as comfortable as wearing a pair of jeans which have fitted you perfectly for years.

On Thursday we had a private view and party to celebrate Gina's work and Christmas. We cheekily asked if she would sing us some songs, and she did! She had a fuzzy guitar and microphone which sounded wonderful with the fuzz of the wool. She sang 'Sorry doesn't mean a thing' and 'Don't be mean' and 'Baby dog' and we were listening so intently, I can't remember what else, but the message was 'Why the hell wouldn't I be happy?" and lets be as loving as is infinatly possible.It was very special and there were listening ears inside and outside, with kids dancing and everything.

Outside on the pavement, Energy Cafe, the brain child of our friends Ella and Amy, was stoking it's wood burning stove to make us hot drinks and mince pies. Energy Cafe is an off grid catering experience built in and around an old horse box.

Our party was it's first outing, and we had so much fun bagging it a parking space, and buying it organic booze from Pittfield Brewery!
The inside is mostly built from scrap wood, just like Prick Your Finger is.
Tables and benches fold out of the back, and there was quite a toasty gathering inside on a chilly night.
Back inside the shop a disco was brewing, instigated by our favourite velvet elf Rocky. At this point the battery ran out on the camera, so we have no evidence of the hot sweaty bodies that flew their arms in the air to a rare seven inch of Led Zeppelin Rock and Roll or the krumping to Girls on Top.The party went on until 4am, and Zarah had the right idea, putting her pyjamas on right at the beginning.
Check out energy cafe at http://energycafe.wordpress.com/
And Gina Birch at http://www.ginabirch.net/theginabirchexperience/front_page.html

GINA BIRCH'S 57 WAYS!

2010-12-07T02:12:00.008+01:00

We are very excited to announce that Gina Birch from the Raincoats and the Hangovers will be displaying her beautiful hand made bags and banners in the window from Thursday. Gina has knitted and felted a bag for every song on the Raincoats first album, and her stitched banners say things that she thinks.Here are Gina's beautiful daughters Lei Lei and Honey, modeling two of the bags. Please come to a private view on Thursday 9th from 6pm and bring a stick, small log or piece of untreated wood no larger than 10x4" for Energy Cafe's wood burning stove which will be serving mulled wine and mince pies. And if you haven't heard the Raincoats have a listen, (they are amazing) otherwise you won't know which bag to buy.
See you there!

SUE COMES FOR TEA.

2010-12-06T18:26:00.002+01:00

It's always lovely when Sue popps in for tea, and rare too, because she moved to Portugal.
Sue is always full of ideas and takes shamazing photos .

Thanks Sue, come back soon x

REINVENTION AT THE BARBICAN.

2010-12-06T17:29:00.012+01:00

Thursday last we had the most inspiring evening at the Barbican for 'Reinvention'; an evening accompanying the exhibition 'Future Beauty : 30 years of Japanese Fashion.'
We were asked to do a talk and run a workshop about darning, along side the wonderful Dr. Noki, founder of 'NHS'- (Noki's House of Sustainability) Dr. Noki, who never fully shows his face in public..(We saw his face and I can assure you it is beautiful)...showed a film about his couture customizing, and spoke eloquently about how we are going to have to police our situations and stop being seduced into buying cheap crap. He talked about cutting - we all have an unloved t-shirt which is going to have to be cut from our lives at some point, so cut it now and reinvent it!
We had a rack of darned and un-darned clothes, and our lecture lasted long enough to enthuse most of the audience into darning through the workshop after wards. We were grateful to Dr. Noki on the back row, for chipping in questions about environmental issues in our Q&A time.
The whole event was curated by the amazing Rosie Cooper, who fortunately had a hole in the collar of her cardigan, which I enjoyed mending, while she fixed a draft in my brothers sleeve.
Louise is fixing an old tea towel of mine, which is full of holes but remains a beautiful blue, and reminds Louise of the time when she flew over some tropical islands off the coast of Mexico.
We darned with mushrooms and speedweves, but also demonstrated our new obsession with needle felting, where you stab at fleece over and under the hole, repeatedly, over a sponge. Needle felters were letting off so much steam, we wondered if the would could go home.

Thank you to Kaz for taking such lovely pictures, And you can see Dr. Noki's work at 123 Brick Lane, and needle felting tools are on sale at PYF for £9.

ICICLES ON N.

2010-12-06T11:09:00.004+01:00

If only we'd had an L we could have had icicles on knitted Noel and that could have been the Christmas card. Still, we were delighted, and it looks like there are more icicles to come.

LOVE-JOHN LENNON.

2010-12-05T20:06:00.001+01:00

On Wednesday it will be 30 years since John Lennon died.
Please help Yoko make the worlds biggest smiling face film by up loading a smiley face at http://www.smilingfacefilm.com/

LISA ANNE'S NEW CARDIGAN.

2010-12-04T17:43:00.009+01:00

We are delighted to see Lisa Anne Auerbach's new cabled red cardigan knitted in Wensleydale DK shade no.131 Lot no. 375 509 She has taken these self portraits.

Lisa Anne lives in LA and started the cardigan in the summer when she came to stay with us. We love the way she has left a bit of yarn hanging from the collar.
We especially liked seeing her lovely smile on a grey day. Lisa you look SO COOL!
You can see L_A A's work at http://www.lisaanneauerbach.com/

SISTER JO'S ANGELS.

2010-12-04T16:29:00.004+01:00

Congratulations to Sister Jo, from Our Lady's on Old Ford Rd, for making a fabulous collection of angels, for penny and a prize at the Christmas fair on Saturday. Sister Jo has been working on the angels since the summer using lots of odds and ends. They are beautifully made, and we hope she has raised lots of money for the church funds.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST.

2010-12-04T16:14:00.004+01:00

I was so suprised on Thursday morning when Louise walked in wearing a hat I had made for her in 1994. Louise found it, all grey and dusty in her attic, and after a journey through the washing machine, it's come up all pink, ochre and fluffy.
1994 was the year that Kurt Cobain died and Louise had pink hair extensions. We loved Kurt.

THE WIND WHISPERS MARY.

2010-12-04T15:59:00.003+01:00

Somewhere up in the Shetlands, on an island which is likely to be Windy, is a little croft cottage, and inside, Mary is busy working. She makes pin badges and decorations from traditional hand framed Fairisle knitting. She also makes hand bound sketchbooks, with chrisp white paper and a woolly covers. All now avaliable at Prick Your Finger. Books are £15.99 and badges and decorations £4.50.
And here is Jimi Hendrix singing 'Wind Cries Mary' in Stockholm in 1967. (Stockholm was the nearest we could find to Shetland)

NEW BAGS AND COAT OF ARMS.

2010-12-04T15:13:00.007+01:00

We have a new bag (free with purchases over £10!) with a coat of arms. The bags were goody bags for Craftacular, but we shall keep making them for the shop. On the back it says, 'Be the change you want to see at Prick Your Finger' - wise words lifted from Gandhi.
The 'J' s on the main shield, are not actually 'J's they are tenterhooks, which we hang on a lot, being the sorts of people that continually take risks, but we also use tenterhooks for hanging washed fleece and skeins out to dry. We are smothered in nature and moths, with rulers, and cotton, hooks, needles, and buttons.
The coat of arms came about because I was in the middle of re-drawing Sebastian Horsley's coat of arms when he died. There were bits of tracing paper floating out of my sketchbook, waiting to become arms. Above is his original one. He wanted to swap the cotton for a top hat, change the leaves and fluff up the feathers. I guess he wouldn't have minded me borrowing his helmet.
And here is me with 250 bags on my bike. We printed them in one evening , along to the Sonic Youth Goo album which has kept us working at midnight for over 20 years.

DO IT YOURSELF!

2010-12-04T13:01:00.005+01:00

We went to a party the other night and bumped into our lovely friend John Paul Flintoff, author of 'Sew Your Own.' (on sale here, and a marvelous Christmas present) He said he couldn't stay out late because he had to go and interview Vivienne Westwood about environmental issues in the morning. Gasping, I said 'Oh gosh, could you give her our manefesto, because she's quoted in it as saying 'It could be so brilliant'.

J-P said that while he was speaking with Dame Westwood, some people handed her a manefesto which she stuffed in her handbag without reading. Down hearted, J-P tried anyway and gave her our manefesto, printed on re-cycled paper, she kept it in her hand, even after shaking hands with the other hand to say goodbye! We were delighted.
Anyway, Dame Viv, promoting DIY in this week's Standard says "Stop buying clothes for 6 months - Wear a towel instead of a coat - it's very chic!"
We couldn't agree more.

FIXING HOLES IN HAGGERSTON.

2010-12-02T17:26:00.006+01:00

Ahead of our darning event at the Barbican tonight, we were so chuffed to discover this beautiful piece of graffiti on a condemned council estate on the Haggerston Rd in Hackney.
A lady with a purl necklace is darning, with moths flying all around her.
Notice the moths darting off into the dark corner behind the drain pipe!
And amongst all the patched up windows on the estate, the darning lady is fixing all the holes that will soon appear, as peoples homes, with all their memories, will become a big pile of rubble. If anyone knows who painted this could they tell us, or notify the artist we would like to offer him/ her a free darn.

HOLES AS A STRUCTUAL INVITATION TO MODIFICATION.

2010-11-29T11:39:00.003+01:00

Please bring your holes to the Barbican on Thursday evening (2nd Dec) where we will be giving a talk about the many possibilities in darning and hosting a darning workshop. The event is called 'Reinvention', is part of the future Beauty show. There will be free darning threads and you can also hear a talk by Noki. We will be somewhere in the foyer bit, from 7!
See you there!

LOST SCARF ON COLNEY ISLAND.

2010-11-28T17:34:00.010+01:00

Louise and Stephen and me, had a sleepy walk around Coney Island in New York. The sunny day, colours and big wheel made me feel like using a brighter palliate when I'm spinning for the shop.
We were laughing over the worst cup of tea we had ever had, when we noticed a scarf on the sidewalk. It wasn't any old scarf. It was hand knitted in garter stitch with a handspun yarn by David Gentzsch from Missouri. Picking it up we formulated a plan. We'd been to a lot of yarn shops and thought the owner might have bought the yarn from Downtown Yarns. We would take it back there, and then put a shout out on Ravelry to locate the owner.
But we didn't need to, because as we approached the station, a woman came running towards us screaming 'my scarf!'.
We told Sarah our plan of return, and what we knew about the spinner, and I think she was rather surprised. She'd been directing a photo shoot in Coney Island that morning, and had come all the way back from Manhattan because it was indeed a valuable scarf.

SLEEPS IN OYSTERS- LIVE!

2010-11-26T15:07:00.008+01:00

We had a very cosy time last night when 'Sleeps in Oysters' performed their new album 'Brambles in Starlight' in the shop. Lisa also has an instillation in the window, with textile stories and instruments, a perfect backdrop for the gig.

Lisa has photographed textiles close up to make scenes where wonderous things happen. Focusing on them put us in the mood for making and listening.A colourful array of instruments, a record deck and a computer to made multi-layered folktronic soundscapes and pop, which sounded charming in a wool clad room. Their new album wards off the winter blues and leaves plenty of room for imagination to run wild while you are knitting.

Sleeps in Oysters describe themselves as sounding like 'the things we do on purpose and the things that just happened.' Seeing as that's what usually happens with everything around here, they seemed to make themselves at home.
Mark of 'Mark Knight and the Witches' played songs on his accoustic guitar, in between Sleeps in Oysters songs.
while Lisa made paper aeroplanes, and Taeko helped her throw them at our friends.
Sleeps in Oysters carried us all into individual worlds through the evening, creating a comfortable atmosphere where we pottered, chatted, listened, and thought. Their interaction with the audience made us all feel like we had taken part in a cleansing moonlit walk.

'Brambles in Starlight' is on sale now in the shop. As first glance it looks like a ball of handspun yarn, which of course it is. Lisa has wrapped a good 25g around each CD hanging in the window, ensuring we all get on and knit something before we listen.
Check out their sounds at http://www.myspace.com/sleepsinoysters

INVESTING IN HATS.

2010-11-26T14:45:00.005+01:00

There was a strange atmosphere at lunch today. Louise knitted a purple hat in a cashmere lambswool mix and didn't feel comfortable in it. Not long enough, it kept slipping forward and made her feel gormless. Zarah was feeling equally strange in a black berret, bought on the internet, which made her feel like she was wearing a tea cosy.
Danish pickled herrings, pumpernickel and mayonnaise shone light on the situation; Louise and Zarah swapped hats for an instant uplift.
We concluded that there is no point suffering in unfashionable silence, for an investment which could reward you in ways most unexpected.

ZARAH SAVAGE - HORROR AT THE HABERDASHERY -KNITWEAR, PORTRAITS AND A MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR- 2010.

2010-11-24T16:22:00.012+01:00

Miss Zarah Savage has shocked and delighted us all in our gallery window this month. In the window hang five intriguing portraits.
The first is a portrait of
'DAN BROWN, THE AUTHOR OF THE DA VINCI CODE, THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ.'
Enough said in this powerful portrait made in Shetland wool with a gold lurex border and cotton caption.
And never trust a dancing Polecat, even if he says he's the president of France.Sheep are all very cute and everything but be warned! It might be a wolf in sheep's clothing, complete with axe and blood and a book shelf with lots of mutton recipies. Hang this tricky blindfolded wolf in your hall, and monsters won't dare to enter.

And psychiatrists - you'd better watch out too, because this shark could eat you and there would be no way of gripping your text books, which would float to the sea bed and get caught up in fishing nets amongst the knitted sea currents.

Zarah has also presented us with three knitwear solutions for freaking out our friends and family this winter.
The first of these is a sleeveless upside down top with no bottom in gorgeous pink Shetland wool, with the inscription 'yikes!' on the back. In the middle ages, to say you had bottom, meant you were a grounded person. We love Zarah's creepy thought that if we flipped our world upside down, losing our bottom, the following words might come to mind, which form the label on the upside down neck line on the lower back which reads,
"I wonder if this is what it is like in New Zealand?"
The next piece in the collection is the 'EEK' jumper which spookily foresaw the terror which would come upon it.
And last but not least the shocking 'BOO!' jumper, with googleing 3D crochet eyes, checking out what you are up to.As all these jumpers were dancing their way through Halloween, they never noticed the horror that lay below them on the dance floor- yes Zarah has crocheted a 'Murder on the Dance Floor' mat, with bleeding tassels made from red chenielle.
We are so proud of Zarah's shamazing collection which was all made specially for the display at Prick Your Finger for this Halloween season. The places she had allowed her knitting to take her have amazed and amused us all.
These pieces are selling fast but for more info and prices on Sarah Savage knitwear, portraits and murder mysteries, please contact the shop.

LUCY KNITS A JUMPER.

2010-11-16T18:44:00.004+01:00

This is our friend Lucy.
Lucy lives in Dubai, but visits Prick Your Finger for knitting lessons. There aren't any knitters in Dubai, and people stare at her when she's making stitches on the beach.
Since we last saw Lucy, she'd been to a business networking meeting and met the love of her life, David. They will be married next year.
When Lucy told David she was off to her knitting lesson, he asked her to knit her a jumper and lovingly, she did.
Congratulations David, you found yourself the coolest wife!

100% ACRYLIC FUSION.

2010-11-15T17:39:00.008+01:00

Until now, acrylics have only ever appeared in our bargin bin.
Over time, our back room has gathered enough 2nd hand acrylic cones to start nuclear fusion.
Last weekend I got out the hand cream and started spinning 8ply acrylic peachy pinky lemony stuff, which is flying out of the shop.
These up-cycled acrylics are washable at 90 degrees, glow in the dark, look pretty, and if you want to create an heirloom, they will never biodegrade...
And while you are at it, candy floss making has huge ecconomic returns if you invest in one of these machines,
http://www.popcornandcandyfloss.com/floss-demo.htm

TRIPPING TO THE RE-CYCLING BINS IN BAD WEATHER.

2010-11-15T17:05:00.015+01:00

When I was a child, my Granny had a blue cloak which hung on the back of the back door. It interested me because she only used it for 'Going to the dustbins in bad weather'. I would have loved to wear it, but it served a specific purpose.

Recently, clearing out my drawers, I found this jumper which I inherited and is too big for me, getting thin, with lots of holes. It asked for new life.

I started to darn it, and thought of a friend of mine who is having a hard time drinking too much. His re-cycling pile takes up too much of his kitchen, and the jumper was his size. So I darned a bit more and gave it to him with some spare darning threads and a label saying, "For tripping to the re-cycling in bad weather"
(Last time I saw the jumper more holes had appeared at the elbows, but he had fixed the holes)

SLEEPS IN OYSTERS- COMING SOON!

2010-11-15T16:40:00.004+01:00

Prick Your Finger will be proud to present
'Sleeps in Oysters'
a gig and knitted instillation to launch their new album
"The Brambles in Starlight',
in the shop on November 25th. Keep the date free, it will be a cosy prickly time, and the newly pressed single with hand spun cover, individually made by the band will be on sale.
More information to come....

AGE 10 IN 1820.

2010-11-11T13:27:00.008+01:00

We are so grateful to Mary Burkett for showing us these beautiful watercolour paintings, made by a 10 year old girl in 1820. We don't know what became of her, but she clearly had a love of textiles. Here she illustrates a trip to the haberdashers; perhaps she was choosing fabric for a new dress.
Then she went for tea somewhere, and people wore more beautiful garments.
And we aren't too sure where she went at 11 o'clock...
and she must have loved this windy walk....
meeting her friends along the way....
and digging on the beach.

CRAFTACULAR TIME!

2010-11-09T17:03:00.003+01:00

Don't worry about your Christmas shopping! Bust's Craftacular is back, for a shopping, crafting and dancing bonanza at York Hall Bethnal Green on Sunday November 28th 12-6pm.
Prick Your Finger will be teaching a crochet-a-moustache class.
Entrance is £2 on the door with a free Prick Your Finger goodie bag for the first 50 to arrive.
See you there!

WILD NOTHING - SUMMER HOLIDAY.

2010-11-06T14:59:00.001+01:00

Nathan, the guitarist from the Wild Nothing, just came in and bought some Wensleydale and Jacobs, to help him through the UK tour. Wild Nothing is playing in Sheffield tonight and back in London for a show at Cargo on Thursday, where we expect him to be wearing a stylish ribbed hat! Check out their new video!

STEVE MESSAM'S 'SENTINAL'.

2010-11-05T12:25:00.004+01:00

We love Steve Messam's 'Sentinal', made during Wool week, up in the remote Eden Valley in Cumbria. Steve covered a barn in 200 Swaledale fleeces, on no budget with the help of four volenteers. Steve explained to the Westmoreland Gazette that barns, known as 'hogg houses' were built to shelter the year old sheep - or hoggs- overnight or during bad weather. The Swaledale sheep became so hardy that they no longer needed the shelter, hence bringing about the demise of the barns. Steve wanted to shw the relationship between the breed and the barn as points of history of agriculture and the shaping of the landscape.
Steve explained on his blog that he was delighted to make a piece of art that the farmers 'got'.

Swaledale, if you haven't knitted with it, is tough, oily, and very warm. We spin it here in DK, and it is 90p/10g. If you want a garment for walking in this kind of landscape, Swaledale, (or it's cousin Herdwick) is the yarn for you.
These lovely pictures are from Steve Messam's blog which you can find at http://www.stevemessam.co.uk

WE ARE BACK!

2010-11-04T13:42:00.004+01:00

Mrs G. crawled out of her teapot at approx 11am this morning, made us all a cup of tea and fell back to sleep again.
We have arrived back from New York and tried to open the shop and failed. If there is an emergency please ring and we can open for you, otherwise see you tomorrow x

ROB RYAN'S SHOW.

2010-11-01T19:29:00.000+01:00

If you are a customer of our shop, the likely hood is you will lean towards the romantic side of life and need to visit the new show by our good friend Rob Ryan.

"The Stars Shine all Day Too" is at
The Air Gallery, 32 Dover Street,
London W1S 4NE Monday - Friday 10-6pm, Sat 11-4pm, Sun 12-4pm

1st November - 20th November 2010

HORROR AT THE HABERDASHERY!

2010-11-01T10:36:00.000+01:00

Zarah Savage is about to deliver a show, the likes of which have never been seen before.
Horror at the Haberdashery, will blow your minds, come if you dare, proceeds of sales will go to the charity 'Sane'.

ZOE'S LOVELY SCARF.

2010-10-30T16:16:00.000+02:00

Zoe came back today! She comes all the way from Sussex to visit her son, and us!
This time she has made a cross-over scarf in Sari Yarn £5 / 50g.
We like the little flower to cover the crossover hole.

JULIA'S LOVELY JUMPER.

2010-10-29T15:34:00.000+02:00

Check out Julia's beautiful alpacca jumper made from an old Ralph Lauren pattern.
We felt so joyous when she came in wearing it this morning.
There are people walking dogs under her armpits and everything.
Julia said she is happy to be retired, knitting and growing vegetables, just as she did when she was a child.
Marvelous.

KID MOHAIR AVIATORS.

2010-10-28T16:06:00.000+02:00

I'm rather pleased with these Mohair aviators. They were rather a fiddle to make but easier than the last pair, so when I've perfected it, I'll write a demonstration article.

ANASTASIA'S BOYFRIEND'S BIRTHDAY.

2010-10-27T16:17:00.000+02:00

What does one give the boyfriend who doesn't want anything?
This question had been bugging Anastasia for a while.
The boy in question has good taste in knitwear, but she couldn't buy him new pieces because he loved the old ones so much.
Clever Anastasia found her way to PYF, wearing her boyfriend's favourite guernsey, and booked herself a darning lesson. The jersey was seriously holey. Both cuffs had major gashes, the neck was unraveling and there were smaller holes all over the place. We had a very simular 5ply yarn in stock and we got to work, discussing the best ways to tackle the problems, speed weaving the little holes and tackling the big ones. Anastasia took the jumper home and finished the job.
She wrapped the jersey up neatly for the birthday boy, who on opening it, looked very disappointed and said "Did you buy me a new jersey?"
....and then he realised it was his old one and was delighted.
Well done Anastasia.

POM POM MONSTER IS COMING.

2010-10-27T16:16:00.002+02:00

Thank you to Zarah Savage for this amazing news flash.
Zarah will be our next artist in the window. Her show 'Horror at the Haberdashery' opens with a party on 5th November. More details to follow.

OUR TRIP TO THE BARTLETT.

2010-10-27T15:41:00.006+02:00

This is Frosso, the head of first year at the Bartlett school of Architecture where we have just spent the morning, explaining the architectual qualities of Prick Your Finger.
We explained our fascination with sourcing materials, how we study skills so we can make things in all dimentions, and how textiles is a place where you can live work and breathe. Our slide show was basically this blog, and all the posts seemed to turn into parts of a village, with all you villagers busy going about your knitted business.
And here are the students leaving after we have fried their heads. Thank you Frosso we had a lovely time.

HURRY WHILE STOCKS LAST!

2010-10-26T16:54:00.003+02:00

Stop loosing pennies through holes in your pockets with the Milton - ready for fitting! Hurry while stocks last!

TED'S TIP.

2010-10-25T18:32:00.007+02:00

Ted came to visit this week, and brought us some Halloween cake.
He also said we must go and see the Louise Bourgeois show at Hauser and Wirth on Saville Row.

http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/743/louise-bourgeois-the-fabric-works/list-of-works/2/

WHILE CROME HOOF ROCKED, PEOPLE POSED WITH POM POMS

2010-10-25T18:23:00.003+02:00

For the full story about Supersonic pom pom making, see blog post below. This isn't actually a video of Chrome Hoof playing this weekend, but it was the best Chrome Hoof footage I could find - thanks to Ubiquios Rind.

SUPERSONIC POM POM ACTION.

2010-10-25T17:25:00.019+02:00

We hadn't realised how much we needed thumping beats and ear bleeding feedback, until we arrived at the Supersonic Festival in Birmingham this weekend. We were invited there by Craftspace Collective.
The Custard Factory was full off friendly rockers, eager to have a good time. This gentleman found the crowds a bit intense at times, so got busy making pom poms to decorate his hat. By the end of the day he had also made a necklace.
Charlotte's pom pom necklace blended beautifully with her dress. She used all acrylics because she is a vegan.
Our room was next to the stage, so the music was loud enough to kick off a working party atmosphere.
Carrie made a poodle. She didn't know it was going to be a poodle at first, but they bonded straight away.
This picture was taken during the tidying up at the end. You can see all the up turned stools for pom pom making and Louise rocking a pom pom look.
Some pom pom makers had acute colour sense and managed to enhance their already spectacular outfits.
As well as up turned stools, we made pom poms on oak niddy noddies which my Dad made, and are on sale at PYF for £30.
The sun shone for most of the day, and then the rain came down with the rock.
Posing with pom poms is easy. Louise loved posing in her Chrome Hoof inspired coat. When the Chrome Hoof girls came to visit us, they were suprised, because Louise had basically created the new Chrome Hoof uniform for herself with out realising.

R.I.P ARI UP.

2010-10-22T11:41:00.003+02:00

We are very sad that Ari Up died this week. I am lost as what to write.
We know every frame of this video, so lets watch it again.
We were very fortunate to have grown up with her influence.
She was only 48.
There was a lovely tribute by Vivien Goldman on Woman's Hour this morning.
Listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vcqw5/Womans_Hour_22_10_2010/
(about 3/4 of the way through the program)

POM PON RISING.

2010-10-21T15:09:00.006+02:00

Please come and join us at the Supersonic Festival in Birmingham this Sunday! We will be making and throwing pom pons at all our favourite Halloween rock bands. Louise will be wearing this pom pon dress as pictured above, which she made last weekend.

Your local yarn shop is listed up there with Napalm Death, Ruins, Chrome Hoof, Blue Sabbath Black fijji, Melt Banana, and many other rockin' acts.
Louise has filled out a health and safety document about Pom Pon making especially for this event, and we are pleased to tell you, we have the go ahead to be as wild as we like and come to no harm. See you there, and for directions please follow the link below.http://www.supersonicfestival.com

OUTSIDE - IN - WITH CELIA PYM.

2010-10-16T12:22:00.005+02:00

OUTSIDE -IN

Outside-In

Art Space G, Aichi Arts Center, Nagoya, Japan

06-31 October 2010

Claudia Djabbari

James Parkin

Celia Pym

Sebastian Stumpf

Richard Wentworth

If any of you are near Nagoya, we strongly recommend going to see the work of our dear Celia Pym, pictured above.

SPINNING IN GREECE.

2010-10-15T13:57:00.004+02:00

Thank you to Gill Bower who has sent us this lovely postcard of lumpy spinning in Greece. It might actually be spinning in the grease because the fleece might not have been processed!
We love the pink walls with yellow chairs.

JEREMY'S BRILLIANT POSTER.

2010-10-14T14:26:00.003+02:00

If we had a heap of Jeremy Deller's posters to protest against threats to cut funding for the arts, then we would stay up all night, pasting them high and low.

'PURLS OF WISDOM' BY JENNY LORD.

2010-10-12T18:44:00.000+02:00

If you are learning or re-learning to knit this winter, 'Purls of Wisdom' is the book for you.
Jenny Lord is a kind knitting tutor. Her instructions and illustrations are clear, the projects charming, the styling cool, the graphics subtle, and even the paper has a lovely smell. Here she is signing books at Prick Your Finger.

Jenny's introduction takes you through the history of knitting, and at the end of the book she explains how you start at knitting circle, and where to find shops and on-line communities. What sets this book apart is that it explains why you are becoming a knitter, as well as how to live as one.
Jenny has worked as a book editor with penguin for years. Her team wanted to make a book about knitting and Jenny an enthusiastic knitter, started flowing with ideas about who could write it and what it should have in it. "We think you should write the book' her team replied, and so she did!
Well done Jenny!

NEGATIVE CREEPY TUESDAYS.

2010-10-12T12:17:00.002+02:00

Last Tuesday, a lady walked into Tatty Devine, the first and last Raw jewelry shop, and said,
"That's wierd, I just went to Prick Your Finger and they were playing the same song."

Nivana- Negative Creep - Bleach album 1990.

SUSAN CRAWFORD SIGNS 'VINTAGE GIFTS TO KNIT'.

2010-10-09T18:02:00.010+02:00

Susan Crawford, has written a fantastic book, "Vintage Gifts to Knit" with full instructions inside. Signed copies are on sale here now.
It is beautifully illustrated with quick projects, easy to complete for Christmas.
Susan and her husband Gavin have poured their hearts into this edition and packed it full of nostalgic graphics, with a fresh and modern feel.
Here is Susan signing books last night in our favourite Soho restaurant 'Lorelli' which has a mural of a mermaid waving goodbye. Susan had the Lorelli special pizza with extra anchovies, Gavin had the prawn and ham pizza and Louise and I had our usual Sicilliana pizza, all followed by ice cream and coffee.
You can catch our favourite Vintage knitters on the last day of the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, tomorrow. The patterns are truly glamorous - a rare thing these days!

ROCKY'S POSTCARD.

2010-10-09T17:26:00.002+02:00

Thank you Rocky for the home made post card of a Spanish Shepherd, feeding his lambs from the bottle, fag in mouth. Rocky's Dad lives on a farm in Spain and leads a similar sort of life.
What a lovely image.

WOOL ON THE BONE.

2010-10-09T16:53:00.007+02:00

Finest handspun wool on Herdwick bone.
For stone age knitters and carnivores.
£3.50 -£10

SUE'S CARDIGAN.

2010-10-09T16:46:00.001+02:00

Congratulations Sue on whipping up a beautiful cardigan in J.C. Renee DK, before any of us could blink. Sue likes Public Image Limited and so do we.

ZARAH'S TRIP TO BIRMINGHAM.

2010-10-08T14:20:00.003+02:00

Here is Zarah's report on her trip to Birmingham with London's Knitted Bench for Trevor Pitt's Knitted Bench Salon. Zarah did a little talk about the project, but the wine didn't agree with her. She talked coherently and held together a dizzy spell from Birmingham New Street all the way back to her home in Surbiton, where she made it to the bathroom and threw up quite badly for the rest of the night. Well done Zarah.

KEITH'S KRAUT ROCK PHASE.

2010-10-07T17:32:00.001+02:00

Thank you to Keith for sending us a picture of a jumper he knitted during his 80's Kraut rock phase, using Patricia Robert's mohair with a tension of 20 sts 28 rows, 10cm on 4mm. It was in the same colours and stripes of his favourite record at the time.
We met Keith at the Craftism show in Shiply art gallery, and sadly he had his arm in plaster and couldn't knit. All he can use his needles for at the moment is scratching under the cast.
We hope your arm gets better soon Keith and lovely to meet you.

RACHAEL AND DIANA STITCH THROUGH FENERBACHE'S 3-0 WIN AGAINST GENCLERBIRLIGI.

2010-10-05T18:54:00.012+02:00

I have been on holiday to Istambul with my family. My brother Monty speaks Turkish and is a fantastic tour guide. He suggested that the way to see how the locals behave is to go to a football match.
My mother Diana, doesn't really like football and wasn't sure if she wanted to go. I asked her why and she said,
"It becomes a bit nurdish, who's been transfered to who and for how much money. There's better ways to spend money quite frankly, like having nice gardens or not eating junk food".

Diana agreed watching football wouldn't be a waste of time if she did her sewing and I did my knitting. Diana was stitching acorns from Phillipa Turnbull's 'Tree of Life' in crewel work.
We loved the men's singing, and the man pictured here with the designer stubble told his friends not to block our vision of the game, because we wanted to sit down and all the men were standing in front of us. Monty and Dad David found the 3-0 win very exciting.
The next day we were in the Turkish barbers, watching Monty have a shave with a cut throat razor, when David found our picture in the newspaper 'Banko'. Monty translated the captions which read,
"The fans of Fenerbahce didn't let their team alone despite of the rain at the stadium." and
"Supporters who came as family to support yellow-navy blue set out different sight at Saracoglu" (the name of the place)
We were very excited and the barber took pictures of us with the newspaper and our stitches.
Later I asked David why he liked football so much and he said,
"It never goes quite the way you expect."

CEILIDH'S POM POM SHOOT.

2010-10-05T14:54:00.005+02:00

Keilidh is from Wales, came to do work experience with us. She is a very creative lady and is just starting her fashion BA at University of the Arts. In her spare time she makes amazing looks with pom pons and styles them with her friends.
What a colour full life she has!

TITANIC: THE MISSION.

2010-10-05T10:07:00.009+02:00

Many of you have asked what all the banging and drilling and dust is about next door to us. It's been going on all summer, and that's why we have been shouting at everyone, making a racket with our own power tools, re-building our shop by competing with them and feeding off the vibe!

Brendon (second from the left in this picture) and his wife Jo have literally re-built next door, and it is almost ready to become a beautiful home and design studio.
The amazing thing is, Brendon been re building the Titanic on channel 4 at the same time.

It is a very exciting program, showing the craft skills and man power used at the turn of last century. They investigate the impact Titanic had on Belfast, by delving into social history by chatting in the pubs.

Every craftsman will love this program. It is brilliantly researched, sensitive, clever and quite frankly, beautiful.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/titanic-the-mission/4od#3124222

POP UP SHOP- CRAFTISM AT THE SHIPLEY GALLERY.

2010-10-03T01:17:00.000+02:00

Thank you to the Shipley Gallery in Gateshead for inviting us to do a pop up shop as part of their Craftivism show. Louise bought a couple of raincoats from a charity shop and we stitched elastic inside so we could flash our stock.
It is quite a traditional gallery with marble statues and oil paintings.
It was brave of them to stage a Craftivism show. Three were people making all sorts of things all over the place.

I had to do a talk. And so did Trevor Pitt, who got everybody on the mic, and then,

We went on the radio.There's a lot of pictures of us posing because Trevor had the camera.

Louise was reading the history of anarchism. There are wonderful discos in Newcastle. We had a lot of fun dancing and in the morning after a full breakfast we went to the Baltic and saw some art.
This is the car park which features in the film ' Get Carter'. It was being pulled down when we were there.

DARNED WALLS AND JUMPERS - SHETLAND.

2010-10-02T00:49:00.000+02:00

Filled windows in derelict croft cottages Bressay, Shetland.
Blue Marks and Spencer jumper darned with Jamieson's Spindrift £2.80/ 25g and Cecilia Hewitt's hand spun, hand dyed kid mohair embroidery thread, £4.95/ 12m.

IN THE LOOP 2 / OUR LIGHTHOUSE.

2010-10-01T13:53:00.000+02:00

Louise and I took some fresh sea air and watched the sunset, intermitently peeping through the kitchen window to see what was for dinner.
It was always something delicious.
And Trev was so good at keeping the kitchen spick and span.
At about 7am one morning Trevor rushed in with the tea, and said there was a beautiful boat on the horizon.
After breakfast, Katy and I climbed to the top of the cliff and looked down on the light house, where the others were preparing the second coffee and tidying up.
We all loved that lighthouse.

ZARAH'S 'EEEK!' JUMPER.

2010-09-30T01:07:00.000+02:00

Zarah learned to ride a bike specially for our trip to Shetland. She also knitted this jumper which has lots of holes knitted into it and a big pair of black scissors and the word 'EEK!'
Marvelous.

ZARAH REPORTS EPISODE 2.

2010-09-29T23:34:00.000+02:00

Here are more of Zarah's Shetland reports, drawn on her raincoat. You can see sketches of Deirdre Neilson's gin socks, which demonstrated how much gin you could buy for the amount of money you get from knitting socks. Then Annemore's knitted woolly pants which keep you very warm and only itch for the first two months you wear them. Then there was a lecture that Zarah really wanted to see because it was called knitting with attitude - except it wasn't it was knitting with altitude, about some knitters on a mountain in South America.

There were a lot of custard creams.
That's me giving my presentation (on the UFO Project Administration Service) and people clapping and knitting at the same time.
More Shetland Reports on their way.

TAEKO LEARNS TO KNIT.

2010-09-29T23:22:00.002+02:00

Last week, Taeko came to visit Prick Your Finger.
She started knitting, and couldn't stop.She knitted and knitted, and it got way past closing time. Her eyes went droopy, and she still couldn't put her needles down.Her parents asked her to stop, but she couldn't do it.Finally she finished the ball and went to sleep on a sack of wool.
Her parents waited until the sleep was deep and then carried her home.

AUTUMN EQUINOX AT PYF.

2010-09-28T00:00:00.000+02:00

Our friend Theodore is from Georgia, where there is a great tradition of balancing eggs on the equinox. It works because of something to do with the earth's magnetic force. It takes a while and then they just stand up! The customers were most vigilant and walked around the eggs.
Mrs. G. our tea cosy was worried about the eggs falling over and breaking, so she kept two behind.

KATHYRN'S FIRST PROJECTS.

2010-09-26T09:28:00.000+02:00

Thanks to Kathyrn, who has sent us photos of her first giant leaps in crochet.
Kathryn came for a class last Halloween, and since then she has not looked back.
Kathryn said, "I didn't believe you when you said I could learn the basics in just 2 hours, but you were absolutely right, and I thought you might like to see some of the things that I have made in my first year of crocheting."
Kathryn clearly has plans, she explains,
"I've totally fallen in love with crochet and its many possibilities. I especially love the freedom you get with crochet and am about to start my first ever freeform scarf (oh, and a blanket, and a multicoloured granny shawl, and some fingerless gloves, and a beret, and a hand puppet, and a cushion cover, and a toy dragon, the list goes on and on...)"

Well done Kathryn, we are delighted for you. Love PYF x

FLOCK OF BENCHES.

2010-09-25T09:44:00.003+02:00

Trevor Pitt of Pod Projects would like to invite all the makers of the knitted salon benches and their friends to a celebration of 'Flock of Benches at,
NEST, BIRMINGHAM
321, Bradford Street
B5 6ET
on TUESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER, 6pm
Zarah, pictured here putting our bench together, is talking about how the London bench was made, in all it's Herdwick glory, by so many of you.
It will be a wonderful opportunity to meet other knitters of planks from all over the country and have a good old chat.

THE EAST LONDON TEXTILE ARTS SHOW AT PYF.

2010-09-25T00:08:00.008+02:00

We would like to congratulate Celia Ward and East London Textile Arts for their touching display in our window. Women from many different faiths, joined together at St. Barnabas Church, to embroider alphabets and animals. Women who couldn't make it to the church, were visited by an out- reach worker, who delivered sewing materials. That even included women from Malancrav, a small village in Transylvania who have their own alphabet!
On the wall is a large hanging showing some of the animals which have been lovingly stitched.
We love this community's work because they have pro longed and enhanced the life of their embroidery by photographing it and reproducing it by making decorative papers and greetings cards on a desk top printers. All the cards and papers are for sale and the money goes back into the community fund. They have designed charming repeating patterns and packaged everything beautifully. The papers would be lovely for wrapping presents of covering books.
To learn more about this project visit www.eastlondontextilearts.org

COMMUTING IN SHETLAND.

2010-09-24T23:01:00.009+02:00

In the Loop 2 knitting conference was held in Lerwick, but we chose to stay on the neighboring island of Bressay, at the lighthouse. This meant that we could get lots of fresh air before and after the lectures.

We loved traveling on the ferry twice a day. Celia Pym took all these romantic pictures.

Most evenings we cooked at the lighthouse, but one night we dined out on chips.

Left to right, that's me, Trevor (Treasure)Pitt, Katy Beven, Louise, and Our Zarah.The ferry was quieter at night, and then we would cycle home in the dark. We didn't have lights on our bikes, (there were very few cars), and when it got really black, the light from the lighthouse would come every half a minute or so, and light up the way ahead, and then we would have to remember which way to steer. So much fun!

ZARAH SHETLAND REPORT EPISODE 1.

2010-09-24T22:40:00.008+02:00

We bought Our Zarah a plastic cape, in case it rained whilst riding our bikes in Shetland.Of course it didn't rain, so she documented the whole trip on it instead.
Read more about our trip to Shetland, in the next episode, to be published soon.

NEW IN STORE!

2010-09-24T22:37:00.003+02:00

The whole place feels new,
but there's great potential,
in fabric glue.
£2.50 a bottle!

IN THE LOOP 2 - SHETLAND / FURY GABLES.

2010-09-20T13:40:00.010+02:00

...and here is another reason why I haven't blogged for ages! We were blown away in the Shetland Islands. We went for In The Loop 2 Knitting Conference at the Shetland Museum in Lerwick, where I was speaking. We took our bikes and one day I bunked off to photograph fury gable ends of deralict croft cottages, which turned me on for many reasons but mostly because I am knitting a grey Herdwick raglan pullover.More Shetland anecdotes to follow soon.

SHOP RENEVATIONS / THE DRESSER HAS MOVED!

2010-09-18T19:19:00.002+02:00

There's new paneling, (read about below) and the dresser has moved into the second room. This means the front of the shop is purely yarn and darning and the second room is embroidery, haberdashery, books and suprises. It is much cosier and brighter.

SHOP RENEVATIONS / RESPECT THE SPINDLE SHELF AND FLEECE CORNER.

2010-09-18T18:55:00.005+02:00

The drop spindles have finally got the respect they deserve! Only £4, this ancient tool, with it's own shelf, has been a top seller this week.
Underneath the spindles is the fleece corner, the home of Prick Your Fingers M25 Fleece Orbit, which is mostly Romney and Oxford Down, washed and yours for £3/ 100g, fiercely guarded by Lorna's denim Barbora Bears.

SHOP RENEVATIONS/ FRONT UNITS.

2010-09-18T18:48:00.004+02:00

These are the new front units, which I built out of the doors which used to panel the second room. They are not totally full yet but are designed to house our new range of coloured ropey.
That's Aska winding yarn in the window - she's our new Saturday help, and she makes fantastic shortbread. Hopefully you will be seeing more of her!

SHOP RENEVATIONS / TOP SHELF.

2010-09-18T18:38:00.006+02:00

Top shelf is where the tops in moth proof sweetie jars live, ready for hand spinning.
Didn't bother sanding too much, because I was hoping no one would look too closely.

SHOP RENEVATIONS / STEP.

2010-09-18T18:14:00.003+02:00

Ever since I knocked down the partition wall, into what we call 'the library' (where we work and hold classes) we've been saying "Mind the step!" because there wasn't a step there to mind. I filled the gap and built one, so we don't have to take giant leaps to serve customers or answer the phone.

SHOP RENEVATIONS/ WALLS.

2010-09-18T17:32:00.004+02:00

Walls have feelings too!
We have paneled the second room in ply wood, for a warmer feel. All our building materials are found disguarded - that's our rule.
The ply wood had been left for dead, after being abused by a building site just around the corner. Used as a fence around the site, the other site was painted in purple gloss with QPR graffiti in yellow spray paint. Each sheet had been attacked with a glue gun, and stuck to another piece. Then, as all the sheets were brutally pulled apart, the thin wood layers were ripped, leaving darker red layers underneath.
We spent two days, drilling around the wounds, sanding away the splinters, darning with linen and Herdwick, and cutting the sheets into 12" panels.

POST.

2010-09-16T12:39:00.004+02:00

Hello everyone!
I haven't posted in such a long time because I'm still making sawdust in the shop 24/7.
Thanks to Rocky, who has made the first post for me.

CLOSURE UPDATE.

2010-08-16T12:15:00.007+02:00

Introducing the new knitting needle display system!

I'd been wondering for a while, how to condense the knitting needles, which were taking up a whole wall of the shop.

The answer came while I was helping my Dad survey a site in Kendal.

A few months before the general election, the Conservative Party office in Kendal was torched in an arson attack, and burnt to the ground. Dad is designing flats to go in it's place.

Out the back of the site, in the undergrowth I found an old rusty display for paint brushes, all tangled up in the brambles. It took me a couple of evenings to crochet around the rusty metal, and I spray painted the top and drilled the word 'Pricks' in the metal, because in Kendal, the old word for needle is 'prick.'

Kendal has an interesting history as a wool town, with teasles and tenterhooks on it's crest. I was tempted to remove the dandilion bottom left, but mum was parked on a double yellow.

AUGUST CLOSURE.

2010-08-16T11:51:00.003+02:00

Apologies to anyone who missed our e-mail and attempted to find us open. We have shut for August, (Like they do in Italy) for re-furbishment.

Building at Prick Your Finger is a journey. Our tradition of only using found materials, means we don't know exactly what will happen, but the shop will be more spacious, streamline, and easier for you to find what you want.

Good quality scrap timber is scant in East London these days, but with a recent tip off, the pieces are starting to fit! Watch this space...

CALLING ALL GRADUATE KNITTERS AND CROCHETERS!!

2010-08-05T18:26:00.007+02:00

Friend of Prick Your Finger Martine Rose is looking for help knitting /crocheting hats for her upcoming show at LFW.
If you need the experience and want to get into fashion this is a good chance to get your work seen and credited at LFW plus you get pics for your folio!
Heres the info she sent us....

Martine Rose, is a young menswear brand that has shown on schedule at LFW for the past 3 seasons,and has just been selected for MAN catwalk show SS10. Primarily a shirt label, it has now developed into full looks fusing traditional elements with strong references to sportswear
I am looking for a knitwear student/graduate,who would be interested in making hats for the show, which would feature on the catwalk.There would be between 4-5 hats all random styles and all knitted/crochet

It would be an interesting project,where the student/graduate would have the opportunity to showcase there work on the catwalk at LFW, obviously get full credit and images for the portfolio.

The show is on the 22nd September so the time frame is quite tight.

If you might be interested, please contact me as soon as possible

+447787514696/studiomartinerose@gmail.com

SNAKES AND LADDERS PHOTOS.

2010-08-05T15:03:00.004+02:00

Congratulations to all our friends who worked so hard, helping us construct this amazing snakes and ladders board for the Wellcome Collection. These are the pictures that the Wellcome library took, and in high resolution we can see every loving stitch you made.

For those of you who didn't see it, it is approx 8ft square, and embroidered on tie dyed printed aiva canvas with black PVC snakes and brown felt ladders. Printed on each square were drawings of microscopic pictures of nutrients and bacteria, with numbers on top. Embroiderers had free reign to decorate in any way they wished. The spots on the dice and counters were made with hand made felt. Made by friends of Euston Timebank and Prick Your Finger.

RIHKARD'S STRANGLING JERSEY.

2010-08-03T13:48:00.006+02:00

Poor Rihkard. He made a brilliant choice when he purchased a navy blue cashmere aran style jersey at considerable expense, but unfortunatly the collar was too high, so when ever he spoke , his adam's apple got caught on the front of the collar, and it started to wear the fabric away. It's the sort of problem that you can not foresee at the time of purchase, and so annoying because he couldn't have the relationship with it that he was anticipating.
I chopped an inch and a half off with the scissors.

A rolled over collar, I had to pick up stitches on the inside and out. I knitted a couple of rounds for both, cast off and then joined the edges together with a round of double crochet.

A satisfying job because it was such a beautiful garment. I hope it can be worn for generations now.

URGENT! £2000 FOR A WOMAN BETWEEN AGES OF 40-60, WHO WEARS DENTURES AND DOESN'T MIND BEING IN AN ADVERT FOR POLYGRIP?

2010-07-29T14:40:00.003+02:00

E-mail Maggie at Alternative Arts info@alternativearts.co.uk or phone Jules on 07791012837.
We would go for it, but we've still got most of our teeth.
Good luck.

ELEN'S TIMING.

2010-07-29T14:01:00.003+02:00

Elen's timing is usually spot on. She arrived in time to help put the finishing touches to the shop sign and knocked up this stylish fascinator from the offcuts.
Now there is no disputing the fact she works here, and to add to her credit, she's made this extraordinary watch from Shetland spindrift. The time is always Friday afternoon, which is about right for here.

SUNGLASSES.

2010-07-28T17:12:00.006+02:00

Tidying up my dusty accessories box, I found myself crocheting around a pair of rather tasteless blue frames I bought at a car boot sale, with blue cotton, silk boucle and some purple beads which I have never worn.
There's plenty more dead car boot sunglasses and beads where they came from. I'm really excited. I drilled holes then it's a pain to get the first row through but then it speeds up and feels a bit surgical with a tiny hook, pots of beads, and lots of fiddling.

MOTHS ARE WANKERS.

2010-07-27T21:56:00.004+02:00

This morning we had a telephone call from the Hampton Court Palace Restoration Department, requesting 30 'Moths are Wankers' badges, to become part of the staff uniform.
We posted them straight away.

Zeel, the artist who produced the badges, joins us in wishing the restorers every success in their on-going battle.

OUR NEW SIGN.

2010-07-26T13:00:00.002+02:00

Check out the new look! We needed a new lick of paint, so we've gone a shiny sour bronzy green with woolly carpet yarn letters and flowers.
We knitted a length of two colour intarsia on the chunky knitting machine. It took about a day and a night, was quite a work out on the arms, but most satisfying. I put it in the washing machine on 90 degrees. The weather was so hot, it dried instantly.
Then we cut the letters and loads of leaves and petals. With the help of the Kate Bush 1979 Christmas Special and the late Sebastian Horsley's generous spirit we spent quite a while stitching them together.

Unfortunatly there wasn't a man around to go up the ladder, so I went up there myself. It wasn't that bad, except that when you hit felted carpet yarn with a hammer in a light breeze, it lets off fiberous bits, which go up your nose, causing a hey fever effect.
Funnily enough, a lawn mower parked up on the pavement below. The driver was lunching at the Worker's Cafe. As I was putting up the sign, more dust was coming from the building work next door, and sticking to the window and the new glossy paint work. The builders, who were generous in lending their ladder, kindly offered to clean the window, so there we are, there were men about after all.
And here is Prick Your Finger's new facade, which I hope you will all come to visit soon.

SPUTNIKO! - MENSTRUATION MACHINE, TAKASHI'S TAKE.

2010-07-17T16:50:00.001+02:00