So, I told you in my last blog that I was going to be a witness at a trial. I suppose I could talk about what happened in the case now but it's not fun and it might get me or somebody else in trouble and I don't want to risk that because the outcome was positive and I think that will make a big impact on the victim's life - I don't want to jeapardise that. Anyway, at the last minute the court was moved to Lincoln - having spent all of my money on Yarndale and being told I wouldn't get compensated I decided I couldn't afford to get there so they sent a police escort! Luckily it was an unmarked car as I was being picked up from Mum's house and what would the neighbours say!? Ha. We got a bit lost on the way there which I thought was hilarious - what if it had been a police chase!?!?! When we got there we parked up in a car park just outside of the castle and had a chat about what to do because we didn't know where the court was. Turns out it's INSIDE THE BLOODY CASTLE!
Readers, that is Lincoln Crown Court. If I'd have known courts could be that pretty I might well have been a barrister now...
Honestly, it really interests me because that seems historical doesn't it? I bet the court was there when it was an actual functioning castle. It's a motte and bailey - I know that from visiting as a kid - and I bet the court was always within the motte - could that have been the bailey??! It looks a bit Victorian too me so probably not, but could that have been the place?! Could a king or one of his circuit judges delivered judgements from that very place back in the dizzay??!!?!? WHO KNOWS?!?!!? Not me! But once I've finished my bits today then google will be my friend. :)
Anyway, the victim went in and I hung around with some police people -
they still make me nervous - a hangover from my misspent youth and
perhaps from learning about police brutality during my degree (not that these police were brutal I must add but it does put you on edge...). I tried
to relax but it's hard. Then I was sent in the the witness room - I
hadn't asked anybody about my crochet and I'd left the house in such a
rush that I had scissors and 2.5mm dpns and sewing up needles and all
manner of dangerous items in there. The bloke checking my bag made a
joke about that and the amount of tissues. :/ That's called organisation
mister.
Anyway, it was quiet in the waiting room. I got my crochet out and all of a sudden we were in a massive room-wide conversation about knitting, weaving, crochet, spinning, sewing, photography, cooking, Birds the bakers. Everybody relaxed. I must admit, once out of the way of police people, I was pretty relaxed in the court but then tension when I walked in was palpable and I'm glad I helped in some way. I nipped out to the loo at some point and when I got back they told me it'd gone back to silence. It would have been a good time for a sing song I reckon. Anyway anyway anyway. I was there about an hour when the news came that the accused pleaded guilty which meant I was free to go! We all trundled back to the car and headed back to Nottingham - much quicker than we got there.
I nipped for a coffee and headed towards Verity's. As I walked through the Viccy Centre Bus Station I saw a customer of mine looking a bit confused. She'd got on what she thought was the free bus to Broadmarsh but due to somebody asking how long it'd take to get to Doncaster(!!!!) she knew she was in the wrong place but didn't know where the right place was... So I pointed her in the right direction, helped her with her knitting and spent the next hour and a half talking about life, the universe and comparing human beings. Lovely. Deep.
Anyway, then I got on the bus to Vezza's and finally got there. We got to work more or less straight away because we knew what we had to do. Remember this?
Anyway, it was quiet in the waiting room. I got my crochet out and all of a sudden we were in a massive room-wide conversation about knitting, weaving, crochet, spinning, sewing, photography, cooking, Birds the bakers. Everybody relaxed. I must admit, once out of the way of police people, I was pretty relaxed in the court but then tension when I walked in was palpable and I'm glad I helped in some way. I nipped out to the loo at some point and when I got back they told me it'd gone back to silence. It would have been a good time for a sing song I reckon. Anyway anyway anyway. I was there about an hour when the news came that the accused pleaded guilty which meant I was free to go! We all trundled back to the car and headed back to Nottingham - much quicker than we got there.
I nipped for a coffee and headed towards Verity's. As I walked through the Viccy Centre Bus Station I saw a customer of mine looking a bit confused. She'd got on what she thought was the free bus to Broadmarsh but due to somebody asking how long it'd take to get to Doncaster(!!!!) she knew she was in the wrong place but didn't know where the right place was... So I pointed her in the right direction, helped her with her knitting and spent the next hour and a half talking about life, the universe and comparing human beings. Lovely. Deep.
Anyway, then I got on the bus to Vezza's and finally got there. We got to work more or less straight away because we knew what we had to do. Remember this?
Of course you do. :) It's pattern 3899 in the delightful Masham DK
and we were dip dying it! Although on some blog somewhere I realised
that I'd said we were tie dying it. Nah. Deffo dip dying. Now, we all
know Vezza is the queen of dying around these parts - just look at Truly Hooked
- but she'd never tackled something like this before. So, we decided to
leave it in parts. A front, a back and some sleeves. Babbeh was
impressed:
Now, because it's a drop sleeve rather than say a raglan we had to clip
it together and try it on before we knew where the sleeve would sit and
therefore where to dye to we used numerous lovely stitch markers:
And then we used bits of wool to mark where on the sleeves and body we were going to match to. It took two of us to dye it at the same time (otherwise the dye might not have been exactly the same) and we needed them to let us know roughly that we were dipping at the same speed.
That photo also shows the skein that I dyed at the same time too so that I have something to sew it all with.
AND THEN WE WERE OFF! You need to soak the thing first to help with the take up and stop it burning if it touches the side of the pan. Then you put the dye in the water and heat it up like this:
And then you put the stuff in! Slowly. Slowly. Slowly.
Then take it out and let it cool. Smoosh it about it some water. Take a load of photos for t'blog.
Then go about the process of blocking. JUMPER SAUSAGE ROLL!
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Then admire it some more and take it home!!!!!!!! WHAT A DAY! I am SO pleased with it! It's still slightly damp so I don't want to sew it together and we might have made a mistake. Let me show you:
Can you see? It's at the front so I'm still deciding whether I can style it out or whether I'm going to rip the back down and make that a 'front' too so that front and back are exactly the same. Another option would be to rip just that side down to where it goes wrong and work that up again. But I kind of what to leave it in there - it was a lovely day and a mega experiment and I like the hand-done approach. I'm just not sure I want it all up on my left tit - know what I mean? I think I'll probably make the back into the front and then I can sew it all together which will take a matter of minutes, crochet around the neckline. Reblock and spin it so that it comes back into shape a little and BISH BASH BOSH I have a dip dyed jumper!!!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?!?! Who am I kidding? I don't care what you think! Mwhaha! I have the best jumper to collect my award in made by me and my best mate and me and my best mate are gonna have the best time in London. Tra lala lala.
:)
Tomorrow I talk Yarndale again.
Love Eleanor. xxxxxx
:)
Tomorrow I talk Yarndale again.
Love Eleanor. xxxxxx
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