Picking up the Clarinet

What was your 'thing' when you were a child? Did you play sport, dance, act ...? My thing was music. I began learning the recorder at primary school and then moved on to the piano. When I was about ten or eleven I started going to a weekend music school where everyone played in the orchestra as well as their normal lessons. Funnily enough, the orchestra didn't need lots of pianists but there was only one clarinet player. So, I started learning the clarinet too.

During the years since then I've always played the piano and have developed my recorder playing to include alto and tenor recorders as well as my original soprano. But ... the clarinet has been neglected. I'm enjoying learning the violin and I started wondering if I should get my clarinet out again ... which is when I discovered that clarinets don't like being left in their cases for decades. The foam lining of the case had disintegrated all over the place and lots of the pads were dry and cracked. I have to say it reduced me to tears.

Then I pulled myself together and emailed my local music shop Presto Music who suggested I take it in for them to have a look at. Fast forward some months and look what I've just collected ...

One working clarinet, complete with a brand new case (no nasty foam this time), reeds. grease and cleaning thingy. That last was a revelation to me; when I last played, we still used those brushes on a stick to clean our instruments. Now there are things called 'pull throughs' which are basically cloths with a weighted cord on the end. You feed the weight down through the clarinet and then pull the cloth through after it - very clever.

So far, so good. Now was the time to wonder whether I'd be able to play it after all this time (40 years). Having decided I needed to start from the beginning again, I got some soft reeds and fished out my original books.

My very first book was this one, A Tune a Day for Clarinet Book One which is still in print (although they've updated the cover just a bit). My copy cost 40p too, rather than the £6.99 it would set you back now.

Anyway, this book takes you through the notes, one by one and also has detailed instructions on putting the instrument together and the embouchure - that's how you position your mouth to make a sound.

I was relieved to find that I remembered how to assemble the clarinet and how to put the reed on. The embouchure was fine too but ... it took me ten minutes to be able to play a single note. I'm not sure if it was me or the reed that needed warming up but, eventually, it all started to work. 

I can now play about a dozen notes and it's starting to come back to me slowly. Each new note is vaguely familiar and my breathing is getting better too. I'm hoping that, at some point, it'll all suddenly 'click' into place. I think I'm probably progressing more quickly than I would if  I'd never played and I'm enjoying the challenge. 

The clarinet is a beautiful instrument; I'd forgotten how much I loved its sound. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, here's Dimitri Schenker playing Norbert Burgmuuler's Duo for Clarinet and Piano, written in 1834, just two years before the composer's death at the age of 26.

Finished Blankets

Over a year ago I published the first of fifty knitting patterns for a sampler blanket called Frankie's Blankie. All through 2018 I released a new pattern every week; some were simple knit and purl designs using one colour, others were multi-coloured slip stitch patterns. The whole thing was finished off this month with patterns for a knitted on border and a colourful edging.

As you can imagine, this was a lot of work to design and, as normal, I had my moments of wondering whether anyone would actually want to undertake such a big project, stretching over a long time. I needn't have worried. Lots of knitters rose to the challenge and one of the best things about the last year has been the community that has grown up round the blankie on my Ravelry group. We've talked about anything and everything, supported each other through difficult times ... oh yes, and compared notes on our knitting too.

Quite a few people have finished their blankets now (how impressive is that?) so I thought I'd share a few of their photos here. let's start with this one ...

This is Amity's blanket. Amity is from the US but currently living in England. All year I've been admiring her choice of variegated yarn for her contrast colour and the finished blanket is lovely. Note the cat in the bottom photo - what is it with cats and knitting? Whenever I pin out a blanket to block, my two always step carefully over the pins and lie down in the middle of it. Even if it's something quite small, they'll do their best to squeeze their furry bottoms onto it.

As you can see, Amity and I aren't the only ones that this happens to ...

Clockwise from the top left that's blankets by Amity, Anysia, Debbie and Monika. Monika's blanket isn't actually finished yet but her cat already approves. Lida from the Netherlands doesn't actually have a cat but she didn't let that stop her ...

Isn't that a lovely knitted cat? The stripes are the colours in the blanket - now I need to knit a toy to match my blanket too. Should you want to knit yourself a cat, it's a free pattern called The Window Cat by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. Sara has a beautiful blog called Rabbit Hole Knits with lots more toy patterns to tempt you.

Now where was I? Ah yes, finished blankets. Here's Lida's blanket without the cat; I love all those fresh, modern colours.

And look at the border on Anysia's blanket - I think this is inspired.

I'm going to steal that idea for a multi-coloured border one day. Again, this blanket looks so bright and modern.

There are several red and white blankets which I think are particularly attractive; you can't go wrong with red and white. 

This one is Hilary's and the next one is Shelley's.

I've really enjoyed seeing all the different colourways knitters have chosen for their blankets. This one, by Maggie, has given us sunshine all year.

Regina's colours are much closer to mine but I think hers looks nicer somehow.

Some of the best blankets are being made from stash yarns. This one, knitted by Jackie, is a good example.

You can read about Jackie's blanket on her blog Finally Finishing. In a year she's gone from someone who could knit and purl to this. Isn't that brilliant?

There are lots more blankets that are nearly finished and more being knitted this year so I'll try to show you some more later on this year. Thank-you to everyone who's made the blankie journey such fun.

Miss Clare's Teapot

Has anyone else read the 'Miss Read' books? Miss Read was the pen name of Dora Saint who wrote two long series of books in the second half of the twentieth century. The Thrush Green books are set not far from where I live, being based on the village of Wood Green. You can do a tour of the village on the blog House-Elf Doings if you'd like to see it in real life.

I think my favourite series though is her first, the Fairacre series. Beginnng with Village School, Miss Read writes in the person of a village schoolmistress and, throughout twenty books, we follow the children and their families through the years. Dora Saint was a schoolteacher so she knew of what she wrote.

The books were illustrated with beautiful drawings by John Goodall which really serve to bring the characters to life. Miss Read has a reputation as a 'cosy' author who glossed over the realities of village life but this is simply not true. There are neglected children, damp cottages and plenty of poverty to be found in the books but the overall tone is a positive one.

'So, who is Miss Clare?' I hear you cry. Miss Clare is an older colleague of Miss Read's, one of the old pupil teachers who lost their men in the First World War and remained single. Miss Read values her friendship and visits her often after Miss Clare has had to retire. In Storm in the Village, the two friends share tea ...

'She had brought out the family silver teapot for the occasion, a wonderful fluted object with a yellowed ivory knob like a blanched almond.'

Now this teapot really caught my imagination when I read this and, ever since, I've been looking out for one like it in my visits to antique shops. It turns out that teapots with black knobs are much easier to find; I suspect that they replaced the old ivory ones. I carried on looking for years, keeping my fingers crossed that, when I finally found my teapot, it wouldn't be too expensive.

Finally, on a trip to Banbury Antiques early in the New Year, there it was - on the first stall I looked at and only £12.

There were some nervous moments as I tested that it didn't leak - I really wanted to use this teapot, not just keep it as an ornament. And ... it's fine, watertight and pours like a dream. Metal teapots nearly always pour better than china ones. 

So the next thing to do was to knit my new teapot its own cosy. That shape meant that none of my others were the right size. Miss Read doesn't mention whether Miss Clare's teapot had a cosy but, if it had, I think it would have been one like this ...

If you look through old knitting patterns from the middle of the twentieth century, you'll find lots of tea cosies knitted in this pleated pattern. The yarns are carried tightly across the back of the work, resulting in a very thick fabric. These cosies are particularly warm, dating as they do from before the days of central heating. My old house is always cold in winter so this seemed the ideal sort of pattern for me to use.

The most tricky part was the shaping. The top of the teapot is nearly flat so I had to decrease stitches rapidly while still keeping the stitch pattern going. After lots of unsuccessful tries, I eventually got it right. The cosy is knitted in two identical parts and joined so that the pattern continues uninterrupted.

Now I can enjoy my pot of tea, knowing that the last cup will be as hot as the first. Should you by any chance have a teapot of a similar shape, you can download the free pattern for my Old-Fashioned Tea Cosy from my design page on ravelry. For a normal, rounded teapot you'll want to start the shaping earlier and space it out much more. One day I might design a matching cosy for round teapots but not now.

A New Doll for Christmas

Should you have been lucky enough to get a new doll for Christmas about ninety years ago, it might have looked like this ...

This is the most recent doll illustrated in the new book my son gave me as a New Year present. I say 'new book', it was actually published in 1928 and is called 'Ancient & Modern Dolls'. It was written and illustrated by Gwen White who was an artist who wrote books on design. I recognised her work immediately as I have her book on toys in my collection of King Penguin books.

Aren't these two of the most beautiful book covers ever? Look at the endpapers in the dolls book ...

Both books feature toys and dolls from museum collections (with details of where to see them) and are written in a friendly style. Here are some early toys in the smaller book ...

... and some very old dolls from my new book ...

I love the little story about the handkerchief that goes with this 19th century doll ...

This is a book to treasure. I've just been looking to see what else Gwen White published and came across a book called 'A World of Pattern', published in 1957 which looks like the most perfect book for me ever. Just saying, Jack. You might need to start saving now.

Anyway, I may not have got a new doll for Christmas this year but I did buy an old one a few days later. 

I found her on a trip to Brackley Antiques and I think she's lovely. She's a Rosebud Doll from between 1955 and 1960 which makes her just a bit older than me. Rosebud started making soft vinyl dolls in the 1950s and soft is the word, she's slightly squeezy to the touch. Her dress looks to be the original and she also came with a hat. She's not allowed to wear that anymore though as it had made her hair a very funny shape. 

I've carefully washed her and sorted out her hair and I've washed and mended her clothes. There's a stiff petticoat under than dress - very 1950s. She didn't come with shoes but has flat feet so I think she would have had them originally. I found some to fit and then made her a pair of socks out of a finger bandage. I think a white cardigan with tiny pearl buttons would be nice too.

I haven't been able to find a picture of this particular doll online so if anybody recognises her, I'd love to hear from you. It would be great to find a catalogue from the time which included her.