Measure twice, cut once!

Such a good piece of advice, although often in my haste to get on with it and get it made, it's advice I don't stick to.

Surprisingly, this framed 'Measure twice, cut once' sign appeared in the Cycle Revolution exhibition at the Design Museum, running until June 30 2016, but it's as valid for making a bike frame as it is for sewing a pair of pedal-pushers.

Small steps

Some things we make last a lifetime; others are more transient, and in this case, as Paul Weller put it in Broken Stones: 'like pebbles on a beach/Kicked around, displaced by feet'.

On an autumn day in Dorset, I made some pebble feet, and then did an experiment in 'taking a line for a walk' as Paul Klee described drawing.

Yarn arts with a twist, by Banksy

Not going to make it to Dismaland so contented myself with a Banksy exhibition at Croydon’s Rise Gallery. I have to say I found the approach through the arcade of dilapidated shuttered-up shops in St George’s Walk a little depressing. (Don’t get me wrong; I’m not dissing Croydon; it’s near where I grew up and was my Saturday shopping haunt as a teenager and I’m aware of the regeneration that’s going on.) 

But the gallery space was great, and the wall pieces by Banksy including Di-Faced Tenners, Rude Copper and Grannies (above) were thought-provoking and amusing. Grannies illustrates the point that knitting and the yarn arts aren't all about knitting sweet little baby booties (and older people can be a bit controversial). 

The history of afternoon tea

Everything may not stop for tea at four o'clock any more, but afternoon tea has a strong heritage, not to be forgotten. So why not tuck in for the fifth national Afternoon Tea Week, from Monday August 10 to Saturday 16?
In the 1840s, the British habitually ate just twice a day: breakfast, and dinner in the evening. Anna Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, complained of 'having that sinking feeling' as the afternoon wore on, and had the bright idea of enjoying a pot of tea, becoming a popular beverage at that time, in the afternoon, accompanied by a light snack.

Tiring of taking tea alone, she began to invite friends to join her for a cup of tea and afternoon snack at her country home, Woburn Abbey. Once the summer season was over and she returned to London, she'd grown so fond of her teatime ritual that she saw no reason to stop. The idea caught on with other society hostesses and before you could say 'Polly put the kettle on', she'd started a trend.

Teatime traditions 

Afternoon tea traditionally consists of dainty sandwiches (crusts on or off) with fillings such as salmon, watercress, egg and cress, cucumber, a selection of cake and, of course, tea with milk.

For a cream tea, whether invented in Devon or Cornwall – both claim it as their own – split freshly baked scones in two, cover each half with clotted cream and then add raspberry or strawberry jam. Or if you prefer, start with the jam, then add the cream.

Read my feature: Best places to take afternoon tea in London, on Prima.co.uk
Try my apricot and walnut scones recipe, on Allaboutyou.com

Coming close to a Clanger

TV viewers of a certain age look back fondly on the Clangers, and we were happy to hear that they're coming back to our screens, albeit in slightly different format.

I went to the Canterbury Heritage Museum, which was like a trip back to my childhood: Bagpuss, Rupert the Bear and more familiar faces. The Clangers case was surrounded by grown-ups like me grinning like idiots, all of us so hay to see a Clanger up close!
CBeebies has a free new-look Clanger knitting pattern – download it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/clangers-knitting-pattern

Discovering the difference between raisins and currants

I'd never consciously considered it, just thought: currants...gritty...yuk...raisins and sultanas...chewy...yum. However, all is now made clear to me thanks to a new book on around the UK via its regional baking: A Slice of Britain: around the country by cake, by Caroline Taggart (AA Publishing, £14.99). It may seem obvious but raisins are made from seedless grapes, and currants are made from seeded grapes!

Pick up and knit (not the same as 'pick up your knitting')

I've been knitting a jumper for myself for a couple of months. Before Christmas I went wrong, very wrong, and I've just gone back to it this week. I managed to get the knitting on the needle the right way round (there's no obvious RS and WS with this yarn), and off I went. And the next step was 'pick up and knit' (PUK) to create a collar. I was delighted to discover that it's very simple: just insert the needle a little way in from the edge, loop the yarn, pull through and there's your stitch. Now it's just a question of more PUK to knit a ribbed border for the armholes and it's done! Apart, that is, from mending a few dropped-stitch holes and weaving in far-too-numerous loose ends...