DROP STITCHES NOT BOMBS!

Every few years, my knitted hand granade gets thrown around and makes it's point somewhere new. This time I am delighted to see it next to my heroin Vivienne Westwood, at Museums Sheffield. It was also image of the week in the Times Knowledge last Saturday.  To celebrate, I would like to share the pattern. Please Drop Stitches not Bombs. Thank you. 

Materials - Should be knitted in chunky army green and gun metal grey on 4mm needles. Grenade is fastened with a kilt pin and a key ring.

GRENADE BODY

Cast on 40 sts. and work in box stitch for 32 rows. 

1st row. k4, p4, to end.

2nd row. k4, p4 to end.

3rd row. k4, p4 to end.

4th row. k4, p4 to end.

5th row. p4, k4 to end.

6th row. p4, k4 to end.

7th row. p4, k4 to end.

8th row. p4, k4 to end.

rep. rows 1-8, 4 times.

33rd row. k.

34th row. k1, *yrn fwd, k2tog. rep. from * to end.

35th row. k 4 more rows.

Cast Off.

THE TOP

Pick up 30sts. along the 32nd row of the grenade body. Do this by starting and finishing 5 sts. in.

Commence in gun metal grey. 

1st row. k.

2nd row p.

rep. these rows 3 times, dec. 1 st. at each end of p. row.

9th row. k.

10th row. p.

rep. these rows 3 times, inc. 1 st. at each end of p. row.

Cast off.

press, fold along shortest row, and hem into 32nd row of body.

THE TRIGGER

Cast on 4sts.

1st row. k, inc.1st. at each end of row.

2nd row. p.

3rd row. as 1st row.

4th row. p.

cont. in stocking st. for 16 rows.

Then dec. 1 st. at each end of every p. row until 2sts remain.

k2tog.( 1 sts. remains) now make pin loop as follows.

1st row. Cast on 1 st.

2nd row. Cast off 1 st.

3rd row. Cast on 1 st.

4th row. Cast off 1 st. rep. this until loop measures 4cm. 

Cast off, and st. into a loop.

To Finish

St. up side of grenade body. 

Gather the bottom of the grenade by running stitches through row 1 of body and pulling tight. 

Fold trigger in half, lengthwise, press,  and st. onto side seam of body, leaving loop at the top. 

Gather opening of grenade by threading ribbon through holes made by row 34.

Put pin through top, and loop and then top, and now you are ready to throw your grenade!

FLEUR'S PLACEMATS.

Congratulations to Fleur Emery, who has made these fabulously pop place mats.  Fleur had the simple and effective idea of knitting in roving and felting to make it thicker, fluffier, with lovely rounded corners. 

Fleur makes delicious porridge which can be found at www.grasshopper.co.uk 

Fleur's porridge is designed for those of us who find the mornings difficult, and I'm sure I'd leap out of bed to rest my breakfast on one of these mats. 

Roving 80p/10g most colours.

BEACH COMBING ON THE STREETS OF LONDON.

I'm sure any spinner will tell you, that once you get going, and start dreaming, you can end up sitting anywhere. If we sit outside the shop and concentrate, it is possible to turn the noise of passing traffic, into the sound of waves at the seaside. Today I spun plastic bags for our "Rubbish  Collection" and pretended we combed them from the beach. 

POM POM INTERNATIONAL COMING SOON!

Amy Lame´'s Pom Pom International and Prick Your Finger invite you to a pom pom making party with Dj's. Bring your friends, bring a conflict and we'll get sorted.

Party starts on Friday 1st August 7pm onwards, with following afternoons, 2-6pm on Saturday 2nd August, Tuesday 5th August, and Saturday 18th August.

All parties are free. Please collect odd scraps of wool x

For more information go to www.pompominternational.com 

IN TINGLE NOOK AT 'IN THE LOOP' CONFERENCE.

For those of you that can't attend the 'In the Loop' conference at Winchester School of Art over these next three days, I wanted to share a song with you that I aim to teach the conference to sing on the 'New Wave' day.  It is called 'Knit, Knit, Knit" and it was written by the Kendal WI ( my local town in Cumbria) in 1927, and it won a prize at the Mary Wakefield Festival in that same year. It was a busy summer for the WI because Kendal experienced terrible floods.

If you feel your knitting circle needs a copy, we can copy you the the sheet music.

It goes like this....

Allegretto (With Humour)

We're a busy and joyous band, Terrible knitters of Westmoreland,

And many's the stocking we've sent away, to Kendal town on market day.

Week in, week out, you may see us sittin' In t'ingle nook a-do-in' our knit tin',

In t'ingle nook a do- in' our knit tin', a do- in our knit-in'.

Chorus;

Knit, Knit, Knit, By morn-in', by noon and by night.

Knit, Knit, Knit, So lang as there's owt of a light,

When ever you're sorry, when ever your sick, 

There's nowt that cheers like t'needles' click, so Knit, Knit, Knit.

T'men may snuff or drink or smoke, But that's not t'way with women folk.

To pass the time or to soothe her grief, 

She takes up her own lile knit-tin sheaf,

And hours on end, you may see her sit-tin, Just do-in' nowt but knit-tin an' knit-tin, 

Just do-in nowt but knit-tin, just nowt but knit-tin.

Rep. Chorus.

APPARATUS FOR ORCHESTRAL KNITTING.

Make sure your knitting circle is heard.
Here is a piece by Laure Drogoul.

REWIND.

Its happened to all of us.....collections of unwanted or unwearable knitwear start lurking in our wardrobes.
It might be a much loved old cardi with holes, a beautiful Sonia Rykiel number that your boyfriend shrunk (yes that has happened!)  or that old cliche - the Christmas jumper.  Well here at PYF, we are a thrifty bunch and we are turning the unwearable, unwanted, into the wanted and wearable. Here is a picture of me knitting with our jumper yarn, styling a re-worked jumper and Rosemary sporting an old sweatshirt she's remade by changing the shape, crocheting a new neckline and using fabric pens to draw a lobster! Lx