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'Busy' hurricane season ends
Today marks the end of the 2011 hurricane season in the Atlantic basin, although the season really began and ended in the last week of August, when Hurricane Irene bulled up the East Coast.
The National Hurricane Center says there were 19 named storms, tied for the third-highest total since record-keeping began in 1851. The NHC also says that total is well above the average of 11 and continues a trend in recent years of above-average storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.
However .........
Unless you are a fish, it didn't seem like a big season.
There were seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. Those numbers are only one above the seasonal averages. More important, only one hurricane -- Irene -- made landfall in the United States.
And no major hurricane (Category 3, 4 or 5 status) hit the United States this year. That makes it the sixth straight season without landfall by a major 'cane. The last big storm to hit the mainland was Wilma, late in the 2005 season. That year also included Katrina and Rita.
Irene did considerable damage to the eastern edge of North Carolina, and also in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states. It was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Ike in 2008.
"Irene broke the 'hurricane amnesia' that can develop when so much time lapses between landfalling storms," said Jack Hayes, director of the National Weather Service.
Hayes makes a good point in noting that Hurricane Irene served as a reminder that tropical systems can strike anywhere -- in this case, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut took a rare hit.
Irene highlighted both the good and bad of hurricane forecasting. The National Hurricane Center nailed the storm's path, several days in advance. But the intensity forecast was off, as Irene weakened before making landfall.
For most of the hurricane-prone areas of the Southeast, 2011 was a quiet year, a lot like 2009 and 2010.
The strong ridge of high pressure over Texas prevented tropical systems from affecting that part of the country. That prevented massive oil and gas price increases that result from a hurricane crossing the Gulf of Mexico's petroleum beds, but it also kept the Lone Star State deeply mired in an extremely damaging drought.
A persistent trough of low pressure off the East Coast kept storms out at sea, much as in 2010.
Look for the 2012 forecasts to start appearing in a few months.
Where is winter?
I'm starting to hear a few complaints from the winter-lovers, especially the people who are anxious to start wearing their heavier clothes and who think it's impossible to talk about Christmas when it's 70 degrees out there.
I'd be happy to have 80 degrees on Christmas, but I realize my opinion is in the minority.
So where is the chilly weather?
First, it's not unusual to have 70-degree-plus conditions in late November. The same thing happened last year, and we had a string of near-80-degree days a few years ago around the beginning of December.
Last year, the warm weather ended abruptly with a cold front that arrived late Dec. 1. From Dec. 2 until Valentine's Day, with a few exceptions, conditions in the Charlotte region were quite cold.
Almost like clockwork, much cooler air is on the way. It will arrive early Tuesday, and our high temperatures for a few days will only be in the 50s. It won't be quite as brutal a change as last year, when daytime highs were held to the upper 30s and 40s for a couple weeks. But it is a change worth noting.
Yet I don't see a complete change to below-average temperatures, through the middle of December. The Climate Prediction Center, computer models, and private meteorological services seem to indicate that, on average, temperatures will be about average. A few cold snaps, lasting two or three days, are likely.
But an abrupt change to mid-winter conditions does not appear in the offing for a while.
Region's worst bad-weather roads
Between now and the start of 2012, many of us in the Carolinas will hit the road for a visit with friends and family members.
This is a tricky time of year to travel.
Storm systems occasionally move across the South. They can produce a drenching, soaking rain that last for many hours, or sometimes they trigger rounds of showers and even severe thunderstorms (such as last week).
Dense fog can be a problem.
And as we progress deeper into the holiday season, the possibility of snow and ice rears its ugly head.
Based on conversations with a number of other people who travel a lot during the holidays, here is a list of sections of major highways that are the worst to travel at this time of year. I'm sure you'll have others to add, but this list of interstate roadways (and we're talking about segments of the roads, not the entire route) can be a real pain in the neck:
1. Interstate 77 at the N.C.-Virginia line: This is more than a pain in the neck. It's downright scary at times. The biggest problem is fog, but high winds and ice or snow also can provide the danger.
It's a stretch of about 10 miles that climbs more than 2,000 feet. Once, about 30 years ago, I was in a northbound car that struck a large rock. The rock had tumbled into the road during heavy rain, and we didn't see it until the last minute because of fog. It damaged our steering system. But there have been fatal crashes on this part of the road during fog events.
2. Interstate 26, in Henderson County: Once again, an altitude climb creates conditions that can lead to dense fog or icing. Four people died in a multi-vehicle wreck in October 2010 in this area, and I-26 is closed frequently during winter storms in Henderson County because of ice and snow. A large number of trucks use this road, and the combination of trucks, cars and fog sometimes is not good.
3. Interstate 40, at Black Mountain: A familiar theme here. There's a 6% elevation grade over a five-mile stretch of roadway, and it's been the scene of some nasty wrecks in the past. If you're eastbound (going downhill), test your brakes before you start. Because of the altitude climb, wet roads at the bottom of the climb can be icy at the top.
4. West Virginia Turnpike, Bluefield-Beckley portion: There's an altitude climb around mile marker 25, but the bigger problem here is icing in the winter. West Virginia road crews do a good job of staying on top of conditions, but if you're headed north and a cold rain or even snow is falling in Bluefield, be prepared for worse conditions ahead.
And consider making a rest stop at the big turnpike center near Beckley, because the portion of the road from there to Charleston is twisting and yet another headache.
5. Interstate 85, Greensboro to Durham: There are no altitude issues here -- just tons of traffic. And when heavy rain is falling, be careful. A number of times in recent years, traffic during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday weekends has been brought to a standstill by a multi-vehicle collision.
6. Interstate 81, various areas between Roanoke and Harrisonburg: One problem is I-81 has only two lanes in both directions, except for a few places near larger cities. The second problem is that half the population of the United States seems to travel this interstate highway on holidays or summer weekends.
Oh, yeah -- and some of the people who drive on I-81 seem a bit reckless. Add bad winter weather to all this, and you have the makings of a travel nightmare. It happens from time to time.
In all these cases, the various states' transportation departments have toll-free information lines, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and other ways of informing the public about wrecks and bad weather.
Before leaving home, make sure you have a way of being alerted in advance.
Autumn see-saw continues
Having a difficult time figuring out whether to pack the warm-weather clothes away ... or deciding exactly what to wear each day?
Our weather pattern is a see-saw affair, switching from late-autumn to early-autumn conditions every few days. And we're about to go into another dip -- followed, naturally, but another climb.
This pattern is something you'd expect at the time of year when things are about to change in a big way.
Autumn will give way to winter soon, and what we're seeing now is a sort of back-and-forth of seasons. We have a few mild days, and then the temperature tumbles for another two or three days.
I got an email from Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James, who noted that the current pattern is a working definition of Indian summer, and he's right. The traditional definition of "Indian summer" is a period of mild weather after a hard freeze. We've had freezing weather twice in recent weeks, and milder periods followed those freezes.
Temperatures today are expected to reach the middle 70s, with lower 70s again Wednesday as a cold front approaches the area. Then we fall, with highs in the lower 60s Thursday and the lower 50s Friday.
Then it's back up again, with 60 degrees Saturday, the upper 60s Sunday, and then the lower 70s Monday.
Guess what follows that?
How about cold weather for Thanksgiving (I saw one forecast of rain and a high of 42 degrees), followed by much warmer conditions on Thanksgiving weekend ... followed by (sigh!) a return to cold in the week after Thanksgiving.
Some meteorologists have predicted this back-and-forth pattern is what we can expect for much of the winter. Typically, though, we settle into more prolonged periods of cold and then mild temperatures.
Posted by Steve Lyttle at 11:58 AM 2 comments
Week of weather changes ahead
Don't look for consistent weather this week.
We'll have two very different air masses, starting with very mild conditions early in the week but ending with below-average temperatures.
In between, there will be a rainy transition day.
Most people will like the way the week starts.
Mild air will be in control today and Tuesday, with a light southwest breeze and temperatures reaching 70 degrees today. Highs on Tuesday will be in the lower 70s, or nearly 10 degrees above average.
Changes will begin to take place Wednesday, as a cold front approaches. Showers and possible a thundershower are expected to move into the area, although it appears as if the precipitation might not arrive until mid to late afternoon. It will be mild once again, with high temperatures in the low to mid 70s.
Much cooler conditions will spread into the region Thursday, with highs probably only reaching the mid 50s -- despite sunny skies. It might be even cooler Friday, with sunshine and highs only in the lower 50s.
A warm-up will begin Saturday, and at this point, the coming weekend promises to be very nice for the middle to end of November. High temperatures by Sunday will be back above average, possibly in the mid to upper 60s.
Imagine a hurricane with snow!
Alaska has some of the most amazing weather in the world, although I much prefer to marvel at it from afar.
It's a place where temperatures reach 90 degrees in the summer and 45 below zero a few months later.
And some of the storm systems that affect the state are incredible. Case in point: the storm that is expected to pound the western part of Alaska on Tuesday.
If you watched the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch," you know what I mean. Storms repeatedly batter the Bering Sea and the far northern Pacific Ocean throughout the year, but especially from autumn into winter. Those lobster boat crews battle hurricane-force winds and mountainous seas.
I notice that the Weather Channel is launching a somewhat-similar series Wednesday night, with its "Coast Guard Alaska."
A Hurricane Force Wind Warning is in effect for the western coast of the state for Tuesday and Tuesday night, and where the storm is predicted to make landfall -- around Nome -- there's also a blizzard warning.
The low pressure system is expected to have a central pressure of 944 mb when it makes landfall. That's the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane.
Winds in the western Aleutians, from the islands of Attu to Kiska, are forecast to be 75 to 80 mph Tuesday, with waves of 30 feet. In Nome, the forest is for 4 to 8 inches of snow and winds of 60 mph. Temperatures will be in the 20s while all this is happening.
The forecast for the town of Gambell -- on St. Lawrence Island, off the Alaskan west coast -- is for 75 mph winds and a mix of snow, rain and fog, with temperatures around 30 degrees. How can you have fog with winds of 75 mph?
The weather here in the Carolinas should be very quiet this week. I prefer "quiet" to 75 mph winds, snow and fog.
Posted by Steve Lyttle at 12:06 PM 7 comments
How good are our winter forecasts?
I've written several stories, and you've undoubtedly seen several predictions about winter 2011-2012.
It always makes great conversation, and meteorologists' ability to predict an upcoming season has improved mightily in recent years.
But will we ever be able to really get the winter forecast right?
It wasn't long ago that the Farmers' Almanac, the woolly worm and the groundhog were all we had to forecast winter. Then along came vast improvements in computer modeling and scientists' understanding of the various factors that create weather, and that gave winter forecasts a bit more clout.
Still, there are some obstacles.
Last October and November, all the talk was about La Nina, and what it would mean for winter in the South. The standard thinking is that La Nina means dry and mild winters in the South.
Lo and behold, arctic air blasted into the South on Dec. 2 last year, and for 11 weeks, the eastern two-thirds of the United States shivered. Snow fell several times in the South. Charlotte got its first Christmas snowfall in a half-century, and December 2010 was among the coldest months in recent years.
Some meteorologists had warned us that there were other factors in winter weather -- specifically, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) or North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). When high pressure builds near the arctic, low pressure tends to form at middle latitudes (i.e., the United States). That sends arctic air blasting into the United States, and it also provides a nice little track for storms to form.
It's why there was a series of winter storms last year from Texas to the Southeast coast, and then up the East Coast into New England.
It was what meteorologists call a Negative NAO.
Around Valentine's Day, the Negative flow went Positive, and La Nina took over. The weather got mild, and in late winter and early spring, the track of storms went across the South. That led to the series of tornado outbreaks that killed hundreds.
The question is: Can we predict a Negative NAO or AO?
"Right now, it's really not something we can forecast more than about a week in advance," said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center for NOAA since 2007. "It's the fly in the ointment for our winter weather forecast."
Halpert said that if scientists knew the NAO would be neutral or positive, then they'd forecast a mild, dry winter for the Southeast, due to La Nina. Instead, the prediction is for "an equal chance" or above-average or below-average temperatures.
As you might expect, scientists are working hard to improve their ability to forecast the Arctic and North Atlantic oscillations. There are theories, Halpert says. One links the amount of snow in Siberia in October and November. More snow means colder air and higher pressure near the Arctic -- hence, a Negative AO.
Halpert says another theory links the oscillation to the amount of sea ice or to sea water temperatures in northern latitudes.
"We're looking at the research," he says. "This is an area of study for us."
Some meteorologists, like Brad Panovich at WCNC, the Observer's news partner, have predicted this winter will have a similar pattern to last year -- a very chilly start, especially in December and early January. Then the indication is for a milder trend later in the winter, followed by the possibility of another bad tornado season in early 2012.
This AO and NAO situation is a reminder that meteorology is a science, but one in which there are still many questions without answers.
Wet night coming, but weekend should be OK
A rather vigorous low pressure system is expected to swing across the Carolinas later tonight and early Friday, and it will mean a rainy overnight period.
The rain might extend into the early part of Friday morning's commute.
But if your weekend plans include some outdoor activities -- football, for example -- the rain should be long-gone before the first kickoff. It will be chilly, however, and it could be breezy for the high school games Friday night.
The low pressure system predicted to move eastward -- somewhere near the N.C.-S.C. line -- overnight is rather interesting.
The computer models hint that moist air will surge into the area near the center of the low overnight. Coupled with rising air near the low, that could trigger a few overnight thunderstorms. At this time of year, overnight storms that form near strong low pressure systems need to be watched.
Either way, a good drenching is likely tonight, and most areas will get a half-inch or more.
The rain should end by mid-morning Friday, and a few peeks of sunshine are possible before sunset.
Don't look for temperatures to climb much Friday, after overnight lows in the lower 50s. Highs probably won't get much above the mid 50s.
Saturday and Sunday look to be mostly clear and cool, with daytime highs in the upper 50s and lows in the mid 30s.


Raffertys offer the perfect backdrop for exchanging your wedding vows. Choose from a range of on-site locations including the intimate bushland setting of the Arboretum and the scenic waterfront of the resort. Situated on 35 acres of pristine waterfront on sparkling Lake Macquarie, Raffertys features a choice of function rooms catering for small intimate affairs to formal banquet receptions for up to 150 guests.


From pastel, to vibrant shades of blue no matter your style, I always maintain blue and white is timeless and adds enchantment to a space.
I have always been captured by rooms with traditional blue and white ginger jars or soft furnishings with a spattering of blue and white stripes or floral, there is something about this colour combination that has a freshness about it and it is a colour that works as well by the sea as it does in a central city apartment. So, today I wanted to share 8 spaces featuring blue and white, each showing its unique style.
If you want to see the rest of the gorgeous home from image 1, you can visit here.
My son's wedding is over, it all seemed to happen in a flash, so this weekend will be a time to rest and recover from the most wonderful week spent with family and friends. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and you enjoy these spaces and I will see you next week with some exciting news.


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Crochet Hook Conversion Chart
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Selling Your Fleece
Yarn Specifications and Gauges
Care Of Your Products
Knitting Slang Dictionary
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The tradition of Cornish Guernseys and knit-frocks
by Ruth Strickley
The Cornish style of knitting originated way back in the times of Queen Elizabeth the First. Admiral Lord Nelson made the Guernsey jumper a valuable part of the Royal Navy's uniform during the Napoleonic Wars. And Guernsey jumpers – or 'ganseys' - were even worn at The Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Originally designed for fishermen, this is no ordinary jumper. In fact, it's quite extraordinary. Here's what you need to know about the tradition of Cornish Guernseys and 'knit frocks' – simply another way of saying, 'jumper'.
About the Guernsey jumper
During the 1700s and 1800s many Cornish women knitted Ganseys in between their daily tasks, to earn extra money while their husbands were at sea. The traditional Guernsey sweater was tightly knitted to provide a close, snug fit. Snugness mattered because that way you wouldn't get dangly bits of sleeve or hem snagged in a rope or in the jaws of a machine and potentially rip your arm off or get thrown overboard. When your jumper can't get caught in your fishing equipment, and your sleeves stop short of the wrist so they don't get in the way, life at sea is an awful lot safer. Shorter sleeves also mean your jumper didn't get wet, and the tight-fitting hem, neck and cuffs kept chilly draughts at bay.
Every Cornish fishing community had its own easily-identifiable pattern, some with fish designs and others featuring ropes and nets, herringbone pattern and even anchors. Families developed their own patterns, as did entire generations. The classic Guernsey stayed mostly plain but as time passed and the skills made their way steadily northwards, the stitches became more complex. By the time it reached northern Scotland's fishing villages the jumpers were smothered in complicated patterns.
The original Guernsey jumpers were square with a straight neck and they were also completely reversible, with the same pattern on the front and back. There were plain, non-patterned bands at the waist, so the jumper could easily be tucked in, and on exposed areas of the body, the patterning was the thickest and most complex, simply to help keep the warmth in. Making the patterns the same on both sides meant the jumpers lasted twice as long, with the wear and tear they suffered being distributed evenly.
Imagine using five needles to knit one jumper? That's how it was traditionally done, knitted 'in the round' from the chest to the back on two needles, then joining the pieces so they didn't get lost. The wool most often used was worsted wool, perfect for protection from the cold, wind, rain and salt spray. And you didn't wash your jumper very often, if at all. The people believed that the dirt gathered over the years helped to keep their garments waterproof, windproof and warmer.
As far as the colour goes seafarers, whatever their role, always wore dark blue. The dye used was natural Indigo dye, the only blue dye available until the late 1800s.
Mary Wright brings Ganseys back to life in the '70s
By the late 1800s Cornish hand-knitting was an important cottage industry and each small coastal village created its own distinctive patterns and names for their knit-frocks. But by the 1920s contract knitting – effectively a kind of poorly-paid piecework - had died out and Guernseys were in crisis. Then, in the 1970s, a woman called Mary Wright started asking elderly Cornish people what they remembered about it. The book that emerged is more than a fascinating picture of social history, full of fabulous old photos, detailed instructions and charts showing modern knitters how to make their own Cornish Guernsey thanks to thirty local patterns she resurrected.
Since then Mary, a specialist knitting instructor, has exhibited her work throughout the UK and beyond. If you'd like to buy a copy of her book and give a Gansey a go, here's a link to the book on Amazon. It was last reprinted in 2008, in line with the growing contemporary trend for knitting.
See pictures of inspirational Ganseys!
If you're feeling inspired to design and knit a Gansey of your own or knit one for someone you love, Pinterest has some super photos to whet your appetite, here. And if you'd like to buy some gorgeous worsted alpaca wool to knit with, we sell wool from our own alpaca herd.
The language of Yarn – The origins of knitting and crochet terms
Knitters and crocheters around the globe share a deep love of their craft, but they use different words to describe the details of the things they do. If you'd like to take a journey around the wonderful world of woolly words, walk this way.
Where does the word 'knit' originate?
The word 'knit' has been used in England for 1000 years or more. It comes from the old English word 'cnyttan', to tie in a knot. By the twelfth century the verb meant making string into a net, and by 1530 it was being used to describe something woven in a series of interlocking loops using two needles. The 1500s saw knit become a noun, first describing a basic knit stitch then describing knitted fabric itself.
What about 'crochet'?
This one's nice and simple. Crochet is derived from the French word 'crochet' which simply means 'a small hook'.
How about 'purl'?
The word purl comes from the ancient Scots word pirl, which meant 'twist'. A purl stitch is the second foundation stitch for knitting, and the word dates back to the fourteenth century. Originally it didn't describe the stitch itself but the beautiful gold and silver thread used for embroidery, often decorative edging work on knitted garments.
Where does 'yoke' come from?
The word yoke describes the fitted piece at a garment's shoulder and dates back to the 1800s. An earlier meaning referred to a wooden frame used to link two working animals together, and its origins date back at least 1000 years.
What's the history of 'intarsia'?
All knits involve just two stitches, knit and purl. But there are countless ways to use the two basic stitches to create new patterns. One of them is 'intarsia', which involves creating a multicoloured design from several different balls of wool.
Fair Isle knitting is intarsia work, where the knitter holds a contrasting colour behind the knitting. They then weave the edges of the contrasting colour into the edges of the main colour so there's no stranding over the back. Turn it inside out and you see a mirror image of the pattern from the outside. The word intarsia comes from Italy, originally describing a complex framed mosaic made of different woods. The first case of the English use of the word came about in 1867 and it finally became part of the knitting lexicon in the mid-1900s.
Where does 'swatch' originate?
Every good knitter creates a gauge swatch, a small square of knitting that works as a test-drive, using the same needles and yarn as you would for the actual project. It reveals what the final item will look like, and helps you to understand the number of stitches per centimetre. Swatch entered the English language during the 1500s, a name for the tag people fixed to cloth sent away to dyers. Owners could find their cloth amongst many other people's cloth thanks to their own unique swatch. These days a swatch describes any small piece of fabric.
Why's it called a 'cardigan'?
Some say an English person's home is their castle. We say it's their cardigan! In 1862 what had originally been merely a split jacket became the cardigan we all know and love, thanks to the seventh earl of Cardigan, well known as a sharp dresser. His knitted woollen vests, split down the front, kept him warm during the Crimean war, and thanks to his glittering military career the name spread fast.
What's the origin of the word 'raglan'?
One of the 7th Earl of Cardigan's commanding officers was the first Baron Raglan, Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, who lived from 1788 to 1855. He wore a loose-fitting overcoat with sleeves that extended all the way to the neckline instead of stopping at the shoulder, and the word 'raglan' originally became used to describe that style of coat. Now it's a sleeve thing, and most knitters would recognise a raglan sleeve.
How about 'ravel'?
Ravelry is a social network for knitters, crocheters, spinners and weavers. But the word ravel once meant 'to knit together' in much the same way as 'unravel' means to take apart. When the word first arrived in the English language, in the 1500s, it meant something entangled. Less than a century later it was being used to describe tangled yarn or thread.
When you knit or crochet, you tap into history
Every time you buy wool, grab your needles and tackle a new knit or crochet project, you're tapping directly into a suite of ancient words that reveal the origins of your craft. And that makes the whole thing even more exciting. You are not merely knitting or crocheting, you're making history.
The history of knitting and crochet as an art
Knitting isn't just a practical and effective way to make things to wear and keep you warm. It's also an art. Apparently, knitting began life in ancient Egypt before spreading to Spain via the Islamic Conquest and eventually spreading across Europe.
In the early days in Europe, knitting was something only the super-wealthy could afford. That explains why the earliest knitted items ever found in Europe came from the tomb of Prince Fernando de la Cerdo, the Spanish leader, namely a collection of stunning silk pillowcases dating back to the year 1275 or so.
Early Spanish knitting also consisted of religious garments made from extremely fine yarn. They often featured gold and silver thread decoration and were delicate things, mainly pillows, stockings, purses and pouches. Then the 1400s arrived and everything changed.
The knitting Madonnas – Dating back to the 1400s
In Italy and Germany, a trend arose for paintings of the Virgin Mary knitting while holding the baby Jesus. Nobody really knows why, but perhaps it was because knitting was becoming more common and also more fashionable among upper-class women. At the same time, the Pope's reputation was diminishing at the time, and the artworks may have been created to strengthen the reputation of the Catholic church.
The Virgin Mary is pictured knitting in the round, so the technique must have been familiar by then. As the trend for knitting took hold members of the nobility each chose their favourite Master Knitters, often highly skilled Muslim knitters who made some incredibly beautiful items. Knitting as art was set in stone, and knitting has been regarded as art under certain circumstances ever since.
Modern knitting as an art
During the '70s and '80s artists like Louise Bourgeois and Rosemarie Trockel carried on the trend for creating art in yarn. They harnessed knitting and crocheting as a feminist tool as well as an art, a way to connect the craft as women's work with domestic repression.
In the decades since then many contemporary artists have carried on using knitting and crocheting to talk about an incredibly wide range of themes, from politics to ground-breaking social change. Other artists have used knitting and crochet simply as a fresh and exciting medium for creating beautiful things, including the legendary Frank Havrah, AKA Kaffe Fassett, probably the best-known knitter on the planet. He's world famous for his stunningly colourful designs in needlepoint, patchwork and knitting.
There's the incredibly talented Haegue Yang, an artist who creates dreamlike sculptures from everyday objects including hand-knitted cosies. And Orly Genger, whose vast crocheted sculptures are more like landscapes, like land art than anything else. Her amazing 1.4 million foot long lobster fishing rope sculpture, for example, was installed in New York's Madison Square Park in 2013. And the Polish artist Oleg crochets powerful political messages, also based in the Big Apple.
Jim Drain started knitting as a student, now he incorporates knitting and embroidery into his sculptures to synthesise craft and art with contemporary culture and technology. His fabulous jumper designs look just like the patterns found in old 1980s video games and early computer tech. He also includes knitted elements in his amazing multimedia sculptures, fascinating angular creations made from webs of yarn that owe a lot to digital networks. And the remarkable Brazilian artist Neto creates huge installations that look like enormous crocheted body parts, using networks of crocheted yarn embellished with heavy things, which droop dramatically from high ceilings.
Next time you knit, remember you're an artist
Every time you create your own knitting pattern, knit without a pattern or knit something off-piste and unusual, you're making art. You might weave beads into your crochet or knits or use unusual materials to knit with, things like jute, string, rope and strips of cloth. If you've got something special to show us, we'd love to feature it here on our blog. Have you made anything exceptional recently, or had any exciting creative knitting and crochet adventures? If so, send a photo!
Medieval knitting – A hot new pastime
In Europe the Medieval era, AKA the Middle Ages, officially lasted from the 5th century to the 15th century, beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West and ending with the Renaissance, the Age of Discovery. That's not far short of 1000 years of complex human endeavour, all neatly wrapped up in one short description.
It's hard to imagine knitting being hot stuff, a brand new, thrilling craft that swept the land. But we know that towards the end of the Middle Ages knitted goods became incredibly popular, dramatically so from the 1300s onwards, spreading like wildfire across Europe. No wonder the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is home to such a fascinating collection of ancient knitted items.
The ancient origins of knitting
Knitting goes a lot further back than the Middle Ages. The oldest knitted artefacts are socks from Egypt, dating from the 11th century, surprisingly complicated in design and very finely done. Some ancient artefacts look so very like knitting that it's hard to tell the difference, for example, Roman-Egyptian toe socks from the 3rd - 5th centuries, which used a 'Coptic stitch' that may have been knitting's forerunner. But the actual origin of knitting is probably the Middle East, from where it spread to Europe and later to the USA.
Knitting in the Middle Ages
Archaeological finds and medieval tax documents reveal the popularity of knitting in 1500s England. So many hats were being knitted at the time that special protectionist controls were put in place by the government. The Cappers Act of 1571 said everyone aged more than six in England, except "Maids, Ladies, Gentlewomen, Noble Personages, and every Lord, Knight and Gentleman of 20 Marks Land", must wear a knitted cap on Sundays and holidays, except when travelling. The act, therefore, helped protect the living of the countless cap knitters of England.
These caps were, "of wool knit, ticked and dressed in England, made within this Realm, and only dressed and finished by some of the Trade of Cappers, upon pain to forfeit for every Day of not wearing three Shillings four Pence". If you belonged to the middle classes your cap might be trimmed with ribbon to imitate the expensive silk versions worn by the posh and rich. These caps were knitted very like the French beret of today, 'in the round'.
Knitting trends from the Middle Ages onwards
Knitting fast became so fashionable and popular that knitting guilds started opening their doors, the earliest of them appearing in the 1300s. It took three years' special training to become an apprentice or 'journeyman', and to be fully qualified you had to create a series of masterworks to demonstrate your skills. These were often a cap, a woollen jacket, a pair of fingered gloves and a flower-patterned wall hanging.
Knitting was accepted as part of a refined lady's repertoire, also a socially acceptable way for posh people in financial dire straits to earn extra cash. The poor knitted too, to make money, and knitting was widely taught in orphanages and 'poorhouses'. The earliest knitting schools turned up in Lincoln, Leicester and York in the late 1500s, and hand-knitting for money was a big deal in Yorkshire well into the 1800s.
In the early 1600s a trend for knitted silk jackets called 'waistcoats' arose. Knitted by hand in plain silk yarn, the most expensive contained metal thread made from real gold or silver plus beautiful contrasting colours. Sometimes the complex silk panels were knitted abroad – mostly in Italy – then imported for people to sew together at home.
In 1838 the National Society's Instructions on Needlework and Knitting was published, effectively the world's first knitting instruction book. It was designed to help the organisation promote Christian education, especially among the poor. But pupils were taught how to sew and knit by their teacher because the instructions in these early knitting books were so difficult to understand.
Carry on the knitting tradition
Whenever you knit, you join the dots with people who lived a thousand or more years ago. Every time you cast on you're continuing a tradition that goes back millennia. No wonder knitting feels so natural – it's more or less part of the human condition. Fancy a go? Walk this way for really gorgeous knitting wool!
Britain's Brilliant Regional Knitting Styles
We're only a small nation, a little island, but we are fortunate to have a plethora of different regional knitting styles. Here's our quick guide to regional knitting styles in Shetland, the Yorkshire Dales, the Aran Islands, the Channel Islands, and Fair Isle.
About Shetland knitting
Shetland sweaters, made from local wool, are not bulky like cable knits or thin like merino. They're wonderfully light and airy, knitted to keep them warm in without weighing you down. No wonder woollies are so popular here – the islands are home to 400,000 sheep, out-numbering humans twenty to one.
Knitting is more or less in local people's DNA, done for centuries to make money and make warm clothing to keep the harsh weather out. Locals once traded knitted hats and socks with passing fishermen. And every island had its own unique knitting traditions. Unst, for example, is still famed for delicate lace-work and Fair Isle for its rows of colourful, intricate patterns, so very popular that these days youngsters who live on the islands actually wear knitted Shetland hoodies!
About Yorkshire Dales knitting
Sheep have been domesticated in the Yorkshire Dales since the Bronze Age, as long ago as 200BC, which means Dales farmers have had a very long relationship with the animals. In 1590 a knitting school was set up in York to teach the children of the poor to knit, a good way to make a living. But York was wealthy and there was plenty to do there as far as work was concerned. As a result, it disappeared into the countryside and thrived there. Throughout the 17th century, knitting spread faster across the Dales. 'Carriers' from larger towns like Kirkby, Richmond and Kendal would collect the knitted stockings made by residents and deliver a new load of wool, a 'bump', for the next batch of socks.
Everyone in the household knitted – men, women and children. Stockings were the most important product but they also made bonnets, hats, gloves and vests from the thick, greasy local wool called 'bump'. Some gloves and stockings made from fine wool were produced too, and it was these that featured distinctive Dales patterns. You can see some pictures here.
About knitting on the Aran Islands
The Aran jumper takes its name from the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. Traditional Aran jumpers are usually cream in colour and feature dramatic cable patterns on the body and sleeves. They were originally made from rough un-scoured wool full of natural lanolin, which meant the jumpers were water resistant. You could wear yours wet and stay lovely and warm, very important for fishermen.
Knitting on the Channel Islands
Originally made on the islands for passing fishermen, so-called gansey sweaters – also called jerseys or guernseys - are still knitted to this day. It's even possible that the word jersey comes from the island of the same name. Worsted spinning was once a staple industry on the islands, and it didn't take long for their wonderfully warm, close-fitting garments knitted in worsted-spun yarn become popular with sailors and fishermen. The Guernsey is another version, this time a very simple square-shaped wool sweater with a famous straight neck, which meant it could be reversed and worn either way.
Fair Isle knitting is a traditional technique for creating complex patterns with multiple colours, vivid and bright. It comes from Fair Isle, one of the Shetland islands, and was most popular of all with the locals until the Prince of Wales decided to wear them, which made them particularly popular during the 1920s. Original Fair Isle patterns have a small colour range of around five colours, using just two colours a row, but these days the term Fair Isle refers to any coloured knitting where the stitches are knitted alternately in various colours, with the unused colours stranded across the back. No wonder it's also sometimes called 'stranded colourwork'.
Want glorious wool?
Little Wool is the source of some of the most beautiful, knitting wool around. Why not try our home-grown alpaca wool? It's gorgeous!
Love to knit? Know your needles
You adore knitting? You really do need to know all about knitting needles to do the best job first time, every time.
Why are there so many kinds and sizes of knitting needles?
Different needle materials are designed to support knitters by helping them handle the yarn efficiently and comfortably, with minimal repetitive strain on their hands. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and they're made from a wide range of materials because each material works best for a different kind of yarn. In fact the choice of often made by feel – what 'feels' best often works best.
What are knitting needles made from?
Knitting needles are made from a wide variety of materials, everything from the ordinary plastic and plastic-coated metal ones we're used to seeing to sustainable bamboo knitting needles, glass ones, even knitting needles made from bone. The more knitting experience you get under your belt, the better you'll understand, instinctively, the best needles for the project you're working on.
Three kinds of standard knitting needles
There are three types of standard knitting needles, each with their own special function, designed for knitting in a specific way. Every needle is classified according to its circumference and length.
Single point needles, AKA straight needles – This is what we're used to seeing, a plain and simple straight needle with a point at one end and a knob at the other end to stop your stitches falling off. They're perfect for flat knitting, where you work one row after another. You finish one row, turn it round and go back again to finish the next row.
Double pointed needles, AKA DPNs - Double-pointed needles let you knit tubes of fabric, for example socks and sometimes sleeves. Some people use four or even five needles to knit round in a circular movement to make a tube with no seams. Every row is counted as a 'round', and the final stitch in one round leading directly to the first stitch of the next round.
Circular needles – A circular knitting needle is made up of the shortest needle tips just 4-5 inches long. They're joined together with a flexible cord and can be used exactly like everyday straight needles to knit back and forth, and also knit in the round to create seamless tubes. You can make long rows of stitches on the needle so it's brilliant for knitting large shawls and adult-size seamless jumpers.
Having said that, circular needles come in two flavours. Fixed circular knitting needles have their ends permanently fixed to the cord or line, and you buy them in a specific length and needle size combinations. The joint between needle and cord is smooth so your stitches can move smoothly from the cord to the needle itself. Interchangeable circular knitting needles are different, featuring separate tips and cords, where the tips screw into the ends of the cord. You can join them up in any combination of needle size and cord length, delivering an awesome amount of flexibility – you can knit a massive range of things this way.
When to use plastic knitting needles
Plastic is nice and warm, which means it's comfy for people with carpal tunnel syndrome and makes knitting a pleasure if you suffer cold hands. They have a flexible core that strengthens them, and because they come in bright colours they're great for kids learning to knit.
When to use metal knitting needles
Smooth and fast, the metal knitting needle is a classic. It's ideal for hairy or textured yarns because they slip over the metal smoothly instead of getting caught, and because metal needles have the sharpest tips, they're perfect for complicated lace work and cable knits, as well as ideal for making very fine stitches.
When to use wooden or bamboo knitting needles
Bamboo is 100% sustainable, always good to know. Wood is 100% natural. They're both smooth and strong but have a very slightly rough surface that means they work really well for hairy yarns, stopping the wool from sliding off the needles. They also happen to be warm to the touch, and the small amount of 'give' they offer means they're good for knitters with carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.
When to use carbon fibre knitting needles?
Carbon fibre is very light, high-tech stuff with a clever non-slip surface, ideal for keeping hairy yarns under control. It's also very strong indeed, which means you get extremely fine, non-bendy needles that are exactly what you need to work with very fine, silky and lace weight yarns. If you're sensitive to nickel, they are perfect.
About knitting needle lengths
Straight, single point needles come in a wealth of lengths: 18, 20, 25, 30, 33, 35 and 40 cm. In old money that's 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 16 inches
Double-pointed needles come in three lengths: 15, 20, 23 cm, or 6, 8 and 9 inches
Circular needles are usually 20cm, 40cm, 60cm, 80cm,100cm, 120cm or 150cm long, very occasionally a whopper of 2-3m long
Now all you need is wool!
Now you know which needles to use, you need wool. Our popular wool shop, Little Wool, is home to loads of gorgeous yarns, some from our own herd of friendly alpacas. Go explore!
Baaaah! Why does Britain have such good wool?
Is it the weather? Maybe it's the geology, or the quality of the land, the way the land lies, our location on the face of the planet. Whatever the reason, Britain has long been known as the home of particularly good quality wool.
These days the nation is one of the world's biggest wool producers, generating a massive 22,000 tonnes of wool every year. There are 45,000 sheep farmers in Britain, between them looking after around 34 million sheep, which fall into 60 breeds, 25 of which are rare. But at the same time the country only has two wool scourers these days, people who clean the raw wool to remove grease, sweat and muck so it's lovely and clean. In total you have to go through ten different processes to transform wool to fabric, but despite the hassle an increasing number of people and organisations are starting to champion 100% British wool in all its beautiful glory.
Useful for a lot more than mere carpets and rugs!
Traditionally the idea is that British home grown wool is only any good for carpets. British wool is indeed very strong, with a high micron, but it's also brilliant for tweed and upholstery fabrics. There's more – a particular wool's use tends to depend on the breed it comes from, and where the sheep live.
As you can imagine because of the harsher weather, wool from northern and Scottish sheep breeds produces coarser yarns which are great for tweeds and interior textiles. The sheep living in warmer, dryer places like Dorset and Devon produce finer wool, softer stuff that's less harsh, the ideal for yarn for clothes. No wonder the UK's finest wool comes from the comparatively gentle, warm, calm landscapes where the Blue Faced Leicester breed thrives.
We've been breeding sheep in the UK since 4000BC or maybe even earlier, originally horned brown sheep like today's Soay. Preserved wool from the Bronze Age has been found, and it looks very like Soay wool. You don't spend at least six thousand years with an animal without getting to know it very well, becoming an expert in everything that keeps it happy, fit and healthy. Poorly or unhealthy sheep have poor wool. It takes experience and expertise to breed healthy sheep and keep them that way, and as a nation we've got plenty of that!
Where does British wool go?
Specialist wool merchants still trade British wool across the planet. More than half of it is sold to China, a fast-growing market that doubled between 2013 and 2015 and remains healthy. The remainder is mostly bought by other nations. Because the wool preparation process is so long and complex, comparatively little British wool stays in the UK from start to finish. It's often scoured and spun in China then sent back here to be woven.
A growing trend for wool from dedicated flocks
Cherchbi, which insists on gorgeous British Herdwick wool from a particular flock, isn't alone in its love for British wool. They also keep their entire supply chain in the UK. As Cherchbi says on its website:
" The Herdwick has a 1,000-year heritage and worthy reputation as Britain's hardiest mountain sheep. Reared primarily for it's specialty meat, the breed has EU protected food name status and appears on menus of many of the country's best restaurants. However the fleece is considered almost worthless and is sometimes burned.
Over four years and nine weave trials this low value fleece was transformed into a high quality cloth. Herdwyck No.10 is a pure wool, it's colour and texture derived from the distinctive Herdwick fleece. It is spun, woven and finished entirely in the British Isles.
The fleece originates in the Cumbrian Lake District and is spun into yarn in Kilcar, County Donegal. The spinning process is slowed giving the yarn greater strength. This is woven into cloth in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Extra picks are added into the loom creating an unusually dense weave. The tweed is sent to Galashiels in the Scottish borders where it undergoes specialist finishing. Finally, in Lancashire, the finished wool tweed is bonded to its cotton lining with a natural rubber core."
Buy British alpaca wool
We sell the most deliciously soft, gorgeous alpaca wool, 100% British from the field to our shop. If you fancy knitting something lush, it's perfect!
Canada's Salish women and their amazing wool dogs
What do you do when there are no sheep or goats, they live so far up the mountain it's too dangerous to catch and shear them, or the local tribes herding them are not keen to sell you the wool? You get creative. You make your fabrics out of dog fur.
The Salish Wool Dog was also called the Comox dog or Woolly dog. Now long extinct, it was a small, white, long-haired dog rather like a Spitz, bred by the native people who lived in what is now Washington State and British Columbia. So far, so ordinary. But the extraordinary thing about these dogs was their fur, which was unusually beautiful, soft and pale. In fact it was so good the tribe wove it into a beautiful, soft fabric.
The Salish Wool Dog was kept in packs of as many as twenty animals and fed on luxurious raw and cooked salmon, a precursor of a modern scientific discovery. These days we know for sure that fish oils are really good for a dog's coat. It's used widely by breeders and people who show dogs.
To keep their coats pure and white the dogs were prevented from cross-breeding, confined on islands and kept in gated caves, then sheared like sheep in May or June every year.
Incredibly thick wool and a strong fleece
The Wool Dog was selectively bred to create wool, while other dogs kept by the tribe were treated the same way we treat dogs today, as companion animals and hunting partners. In fact their 'wool' was so thick that the explorer Captain George Vancouver reported one could pick up an entire dog fleece by one corner and it would still hold together, something a sheep fleece just wouldn't do.
No wonder Salish blankets, made by the tribe from the fur of their dogs, were so highly prized by Native American tribes. In fact they cost almost as much as a slave, the ultimate in luxury. While the yarn quality of the pure dog wool was pretty good, the tribe often improved its quality and made short supplies go further by blending it with mountain goat wool, feathers and plant fibres.
Goodbye to the wool dogs
When the Europeans finally arrived in North America, the Salish Wool Dogs started to decline. There was better access to sheep. Hudson Bay blankets became a popular staple, sold widely across the new nation. And the Native American tribes were destroyed, displaced, forced to leave their homelands. The Salish Wool Dog eventually interbred with other dogs and lost the precious traits that made it so popular. By the mid-1800s there were no pure bred wool dogs left. And in 1940 the breed's last known descendent died.
All this happened so long ago that people eventually started to doubt the Salish tribe's oral history. But recent DNA analysis has proved dog hair is an ingredient in historic fabrics made by Salish weavers. Today all that remains is a strong oral tradition commemorating the dogs. A wool dog pelt was found in Washington D.C's National Museum of Natural History, a dog called Mutton who accompanied a scientist studying the tribes long ago. And a few photos of Salish people with their dogs have been unearthed. Other than that they're a lost doggie tribe all of their own.
Could you knit with your dog's fur? Have you tried? If so, what breed are they? We'd love to know!
Sheep of the month – The rugged, tough Herdwick breed
You might think that Brighton, in sunny East Sussex, is a balmy place where every breed of sheep can survive. But the Downland behind the city is home to a council-run conservation flock of almost 1000 sheep, many of which are Herdwicks and Herdwick crosses. The South Downs are not as harmless and pretty as they look – far from it – which means Herdwicks, Swaledales and cross breeds of both are the only sheep hardy enough to remain high up on the Downs, in the teeth of the westerly winds, all winter.
Welcome to our first sheep of the month feature. Introducing the Herdwick.
All about Herdwick sheep
The Herdwick is a domestic sheep native to the Lake District in Cumbria. The name comes from the ancient Norse herdvyck, which simply means 'sheep pasture' and reveals how old the breed is, dating back to the tenth century, maybe a lot longer. The Vikings brought their Herdwicks with them when they invaded the north, and by the end of the 1200s Herdwicks were a familiar sight in The Lakes.
Grazing these sheep keeps the fells bare, without trees, and the dry stone walls dividing the fells and valleys were mostly built to keep the sheep corralled. No wonder so many of the area's ancient words relate back to sheep and sheep farming. In fact to this day 95% of Britain's 50,000 or so Herdwicks live in the Lake District.
Herdwick lambs are called hoggs or hoggets, born mostly black then slowly getting paler as they age, ending up either pale or dark grey. Unlike many sheep breeds they have particularly stocky, sturdy, wool-covered legs. They don't have many lambs and their unmistakable grey wool is not as popular as wool from other commercial breeds, but Herdwicks are widely prized for their robust outlook, good health, ability to thrive on poor quality forage and tendency not to stray far. Their meat is famously strong-flavoured.
These are one of the slowest-maturing sheep breeds, no wonder when they spend their time as high as 3000 feet up the fells in all weathers. They spend the entire winter up there, in the open from December to April, grazing freely in their own 'heaf', a heaf being the familiar, small area a Herdwick won't move away from.
These sheep are so tough that they've been know to survive for several days underneath the snow, eating their own wool. And Herdwick wool is as tough as the beasts it grows on. It comes with coarse, thick, bristly fibres that stick out and can feel all prickly. The advantage of this is clear when it's cold, when you appreciate the most amazing protective barrier layer full of cosy, warm air, working on the same principle as a dry diving suit.
The Herdwick breed survives thanks to farming subsidies, and it is still widely found on National Trust properties, Places of Historic Interest and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. These days the breed is iconic, so typical it's hard to imagine The Lakes without it. They remain more common in Cumbria than their fellow high country breeds, the Swaledales and Rough-Fells. But there's more. 2008 saw one Oregon sheep farmer importing semen from Herdwick rams into the US for the first time. In response, during 2013, Lakeland Herdwick meat was awarded Protected Designation of Origin status by the European Union.
Because it's so hard to dye Herdwick wool, it is mostly used for carpets. And because it is such an excellent insulator, it is often made into natural insulation for buildings, fireproofed first for safety. When they're crossed with Suffolk, Cheviot, Charollais and Texel sheep, the resulting lambs are worth more than pure bred Herdwicks.
What's your favourite sheep breed?
Do you have a breed of sheep you'd like us to feature? If so, we'd be delighted to hear from you.
What is Bohus Knitting?
Bohus knitting is a thing of wonder and beauty. But what's it all about?
It comes from a vintage Swedish knitting co-operative named Bohus Stickning, which operated as a cottage industry between 1939 and 1969. Designed to provide income for poor families in Bohuslän, Sweden, during the Great Depression, the resulting knitwear was sold to shops all over the world, with designs by people like Emma Jacobsson proving particularly popular. The work of the women of Bohuslän Province remains highly desirable, a knitting style loved by millions.
How Bohus Stickning started
Emma Jacobsson was the wife of the governor of Bohuslän. In 1937, when times were hard, a group of local women asked her to help set up a co-operative to improve economic opportunities for local low-income families. After some experimentation they decided on knitting, which didn't require special equipment, large amounts of space or much training.
Hand knitted clothes became their focus, and Bohus Stickning was officially opened on 12 th September 1939, led by the inspirational Emma Jacobsson. In the early days they made mittens and socks, sold by Emma to department stores in Stockholm and beyond. The wares proved so popular the women soon started making scarves, hats, sweaters, and jackets, specialising in women's clothing.
Bohuslän didn't have a tradition for knitting, so they started from scratch. The 1940s saw the characteristic Bohus Stickning style emerging, a series of gorgeous multicoloured patterns in lightweight wool or angora created using a unique combination of knit and purl.
As more women joined, more luscious designs appeared
Over the years Emma was joined by Vera Bjurström, Anna-Lisa Mannheimer Lunn, Annika Malmström-Bladini, Kerstin Olson and Karin Ivarsson, Mona Reuterberg and plenty more, with Göta Trägårdh acting as a fashion advisor. It didn't take long for the Bohus Stickning brand to take over Swedish fashion, worn by famous women like Helena Rubinstein, Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly.
1995 saw Wendy Keele publish a brilliant book, Poems of Color: Knitting in the Bohus Tradition and the Women Who Drove This Swedish Cottage Industry. It drove a dramatic revival in the craft, and Bohus Stickning style work went international. In 1999 a master dyer working with the Bohusläns Museum, Solveig Gustafsson, decided to recreate a number of original designs and offered both the patterns and dyed yarns for sale. And the rest, as they say, is history.
A tradition that has spread the world over
Ever since then the tradition has carried on, through different people. At one point an angora rabbit farmer, Pernille Silfverberg, took over and expanded the number of patterns available. In 2009 Susanna Hansson and Wendy J. Johnson curated an exhibition called Bohus Stickning. Radiant Knits: An Enchanting Obsession, which opened at the USA's American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it drove even more publicity.
These days knitters all over the world are creating Bohus knit masterpieces, and the style has become a legend in its own lifetime. You'll be glad to know what alpaca wool is the perfect yarn for the job!
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Textile Labelling Act
The Textile Labelling Act is a regulatory statute. It requires that consumer textile articles bear accurate and meaningful labelling information to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. The Act prohibits the making of false or misleading representations and sets out specifications for mandatory label information such as the generic name of each fibre present and the dealer's full name and postal address or a CA identification number. The Act allows designated inspectors to: enter any place at any reasonable time; examine textile fibre products, open packages, examine and make copies of documents or papers; and seize products, labelling, packaging or advertising material which do not conform with the Act and Regulations.
Paragraph 3(a)
Prohibits a dealer from selling, importing or advertising a prescribed consumer textile article unless it bears a label stating the fibre content of the article.
Paragraph 3(b)
Requires that this label be applied in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Act. Paragraph 6(b) requires that each label containing a representation with respect to the fibre content show the identity of the dealer.
Prohibits making any representation with respect to the advertising of the textile fibre content of a consumer textile article unless it is made in accordance with the Regulations.
Subsection 5(1)
Prohibits the sale, importation or advertisement of a consumer textile article that has a label applied to it that contains any false or misleading representation that relates to or may reasonably be regarded as relating to the article.
Prohibits the making of false or misleading representations related to textile fibre products.
Provides guidance on what types of expressions, words, figures, depictions, descriptions or symbols may be considered to be false or misleading representations.
Offence and punishment
Every dealer who contravenes any of section 3, 4 or 5 is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of up to $5,000 on summary conviction, or to a fine of up to $10,000 upon indictment. Every person who contravenes any provision of the Act, other than section 3, 4 or 5, or of the Regulations is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment up to six months on summary conviction, or to a fine of up to $3,000 and/or imprisonment up to one year upon indictment.
Guide to the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations
Other relevant publications
Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations
Labelling Assessment Tools — Textile Labelling
Labelling Assessment Tools — Down and Feather Labelling
CA Identification Number


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Search in titles only Search in Compelling C1s through C7s only
Front Engine Corvettes
Compelling C1s through C7s
Carbiturary - C7 Corvette
A British Point of View:
Rarely bought on this side of the Atlantic, but it will still be sorely missed
It's easy to make jokes about the Corvette. So let's do that first. This is the all-American hero that uses cart springs and pushrods, which smells like the inside of a chemical factory and has the sort of panel gaps that get elephants horny. This is a sports car whose ownership demographic is older than that of pretty much any other. It travels outside its homeland about as well as twangly country music, non-ironic rhinestone boots and that flavourless plastic that Americans call Cheddar cheese.
How was that?
Now that's out of the way, let's pass straight to the case for the defence. That infamous leaf spring is made from carbon fibre and fitted transversely at the back, effectively allowing for a more compact suspension design. The pushrod V8 is about as highly developed as any engine can be, using its lack of cams in the heads to give both lightness and the compact dimensions that allow for such a low bonnet line.
Then there's the unanswerable one: the Corvette is the world's longest lived sportscar, in production since 1953 giving it ten years on the 911. Its appeal is long proven, its simple recipe of brawny performance, low weight and relative affordability having survived fuel crises, emissions controls and changing fashions. Haters gonna hate, but in terms of pure sales the Corvette blows every significant rival out of the water.
Which is why we are here to mourn the end of an era. The C7 generation, due for imminent replacement, is set to be the last of its line. The first seven generations of 'Vette evolved at such a gentle pace they wouldn't upset an ardent creationist. From the arrival of V8 engines in 1955 the basics have remained unchanged. But the next one, due later this year, is set to make the dramatic transition to a mid-engined layout that will enable it to go and play with the junior supercars.
You might well be asking why we should care. Despite being nominally on sale in the UK during at least some of its lifespan you are much more likely to see a Ferrari or Lamborghini than a C7 Corvette. It's the American football of cars: huge at home but pretty much ignored everywhere else.
There is, of course, a basic financial reason for this. In the U.S. a base Corvette is officially $55,500 - £42,800 at current exchange rates - although there is usually deep discounting on top of that. Further up the range it becomes even better value, the supercharged 650hp Z06 costs $79,500, almost exactly the same as the Cayman GTS but with twice the cylinders and nearly double the power.
Any Corvette that crosses the Atlantic is pretty much guaranteed to lose this bargain status and therefore a big chunk of its appeal. But there's also something about the Corvette's unashamed brashness that has always riled some people up. There's no doubting it feels big and short on finesse when asked to tackle UK roads, especially with the need to pilot it from the wrong side. Yet it's really not long since all sportscars were as raw and unfiltered as the C7 is.
It's not a car that ever downplays the seriousness of going really fast. The engine is raucous and lumpy at low speeds, turning loud and angry as the revs rise. The seven-speed manual gearbox is a proper workout, needing to be guided both firmly and carefully between ratios. Cruising is never anything but loud; stratospheric gearing makes use of the engine's low-end torque, and can deliver impressive economy, but road noise struggles to escape from the cabin's composite structure. And yes, it still does smell strongly of the resin that holds the plastic bits together: Eau De Corvette.
Yet as with the good reasons for the archaic mechanical carry-overs the C7 is far cleverer than a dumb Yank stereotype. Selectable drive modes do more than tweak throttle maps and steering weight, they also tighten the active dampers, reign back the stability control and alter the behaviour of the active rear differential. Build confidence in the low-feel steering and the Corvette can be driven at a pace very little can keep up with. Even in standard form it will tolerate hard track use.
It's not hard to see GM's logic in moving things on. The mid-engined Vette will undoubtedly be quicker and probably also a good deal slicker. Presuming it keeps a segment appropriate price advantage it could well end up as a viable cut price alternative to an Audi R8 or McLaren Sports Series. But we should also miss the C7; with its combination of huge, loud performance, look-at-me styling and an attractive price tag it is pretty much the better-handling American equivalent of a Wheeler-era TVR. Which is meant as a complement.
Yet there might be another twist in the tale. Word from the 'States is that a heavily updated version of the C7 will be sold alongside the mid-engined Vette for those with more traditional tastes, for a while at least. Offer the pair in right-hand drive and we might start to take them more seriously.
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/gen...corvette/40044
I think the bit at the end about continuing the C7 alongside the C8 is a fantasy, though.
Milliwatt Rob
ZORA Patron & Sr. Contributor
I will say, my roadster was quite odoriferous for quite a while, made me wonder what I was breathing. But i usually drove it with the top down, so all those unknown vapors went up to the ozone layer
After reading that, it makes it that much harder to give up. Wonder if owners of XK-150s had the same issue when the XK-E came out?
2022 HTC 2LT Z51
Front lift, mag ride
black exterior, adrenaline red interior, bright red calipers
Thank you meyerweb for finding and post that article.


If you are still having difficulty hearing the TV, or need to turn it up louder than your companions prefer, it might be time to revisit TV solutions available to you. The good news is Starkey offers two great ways to enhance TV watching with hearing aids.
For those currently wearing Starkey's Made for iPhone solution, Halo or Halo 2, your TV solution is the Tunity app. Starkey recently partnered with Tunity to provide wireless streaming from over 100 popular TV channels directly to your Halo devices.
Simply download the free Tunity app from the App Store. Next, with your Halo devices paired to your iPhone, open the Tunity app and scan the live TV you're currently watching (read this if you don't know how to pair your hearing aids). The Tunity app will then identify the channel being viewed.
If the channel is one supported by the app, your iPhone will begin to stream the audio to your Halo devices. This is a great solution for wireless TV streaming at an airport, the gym, or even at your home. For a full list of the TV channels supported, visit "Supported Channels" on the settings page of the Tunity app.
If you're currently wearing Starkey's newest product line, Muse, or our older technology, like Z Series, your TV solution can be one or all three of our popular SurfLink accessories.
SurfLink Media 2 is a wireless TV device that connects directly (hard wired) to your television and transmits the audio to your Muse hearing aids. There are two ways to connect SurfLink Media 2 to your television, depending on the connection available on your television. You will either plug it into the RCA jacks for your television, or you'll utilize the S/PDIF, Optical TOSLINK jacks.
You can listen at the volume you want, and those watching with you can set the TV volume to what is comfortable for them. SurfLink Media 2 can be paired to several sets of Muse hearing devices at once, so if a family member also has Muse devices, they can take advantage of the wireless stream from the TV, too. To end the stream, simply turn off the SurfLink Media 2 or the TV.
To make things even easier, have your hearing healthcare provider activate the 'automatic streaming' option in your Muse devices so you do not need to touch a button on your hearing aids to activate the streaming.
SurfLink Mobile 2 is another option for TV streaming with Starkey's Muse or Z Series hearing aids. SurfLink Mobile 2 is a multifunction accessory. With your Muse hearing aids connected to SurfLink Mobile 2, access the Streaming Screen by selecting the musical note icon at the bottom of the SurfLink Mobile 2.
Next, select the Surround mode and place the SurfLink Mobile 2 next to the TV speaker. To adjust the streamed volume, adjust the controls on the left side of the SurfLink Mobile 2. To end the stream, tap the Surround mode icon again. SurfLink Mobile 2 does a lot more than just stream TV, though.
SurfLink Remote Microphone is the third and newest option for TV streaming with Starkey's Muse hearing aids. The SurfLink Remote Microphone was designed to be easy and convenient to use. With your Muse hearing aids connected to the SurfLink Remote Microphone, slide the power slider up to power on the device.
Next, place the SurfLink Remote Microphone flat on its clip next to the TV speaker. To adjust the streamed volume, simply use the buttons on your Muse hearing aids to increase or decrease the stream. (You will need to let your hearing healthcare provider know you would like to activate this option as it will need to be done at a fitting appointment). To end the stream, slide the power slider down to turn off the SurfLink Remote Microphone. Check out this video to see what else you can do with this cool tool.
As you can see, both the Tunity app and Starkey's SurfLink accessories can be added to enhance your enjoyment of TV at any time, not necessarily at your first fitting appointment. For additional TV streaming support, please contact us today with any questions you may have.


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Mario (Wolfe Releasing, NR)
By Sarah Boslaugh October 30, 2018 October 31, 2018
Leave a Comment on Mario (Wolfe Releasing, NR)
Mario Lüthi (Max Hubacher) is a promising young striker on a Swiss Under-21 football team. He lives with his parents, practices hard, eats right, maintains good relations with his teammates, and generally stays out of trouble. His orderly world is disrupted when a German striker, Leon Saldo (Aaron Altaras) is traded to the club. In many ways they are opposites, starting with (as is often the case in films) their hair color: Mario is blonde, Leon dark-haired. Leon is also a risk-taker, something of a ball hog, and likes to stir things up. Both are gay, but Mario is firmly in the closet, while for Leon his sexual identity is fundamental and he's not willing to suppress it.
The two men are assigned to share an apartment, and before long the inevitable happens. Mario takes some initial steps to come out, with varying results—his mother (Doro Müggler) is supportive while his father (Jürg Plüss) is less accepting and is also concerned about how a public revelation could impact Mario's chances for a professional football career (it's obvious that he is in part living vicariously through his son). Team officials are even less pleased, because having an openly gay player on the team could make it difficult for them to get and keep sponsors. But wait–Mario has a convenient and platonic female friend (Jessy Moravec) whom he has known from childhood, so one obvious solution is to entice her to act as his beard. He makes a decision which I'm not going to spoil here, but I will say that Mario does not shy away from portraying the consequences of that decision.
Footballers are noted for their fitness, and directeor Marcel Gisler, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Thomas Hess and Frederic Moriette, takes advantage of the opportunity to put some of those well-toned bodies on display in various stages of undress. On the whole, however, Mario is a fairly chaste film (it was rated "suitable for all audiences" in France, but got an 18 certificate in the U.K.: make of that what you will) that focuses attention not so much on what Mario and Leon do in bed, but on the choices they make about concealing or revealing their sexual identities and how that affects their general life chances. The acting and production values are good throughout, with Hubacher and Moravec winning Best Actor and Best Performance in a Supporting Role, respectively, at the 2018 Swiss Film Prize.
Mario is a sports film as well as a GLBT drama, and the football sequences (mostly of practice, but isn't that how most athletes spend most of their on-field time?) are convincing. The film also captures the pressures put on young athletes to conform and avoid anything that might hurt their chances to advance, because there are so many talented players and an opportunity might just as well go to someone else instead of you. To put it another way, it's a much bigger risk to come out in a homophobic environment when you are still working your way up to the big time than it is to come out once you have reached the top—the latter may cost you endorsements and popularity, but the former could mean that you never get to have a career at all. | Sarah Boslaugh
Mario is available for rental or purchase on VOD from Wolfe Releasing.
Tags: aaron altaras featured football frederic moriette gay glbt Home Viewing marcel gisler mario max hubacher soccer sport thomas hess
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Comprehensive list of Hickory, North Carolina based commercial and residential roofing companies and suppliers.
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Siamese crocodiles, such as this baby seen here at the Pilsen Zoo in the Czech Republic, are among the world's most endangered and least studied crocodilians in the world.
Photograph by Pavel Nemecek, CTK Photo/Alamy
Nearly 400 Rare Baby Crocodiles Saved From Becoming Purses
In this week's crime blotter: endangered Siamese crocs saved, 525 bear paws seized, and a tourist attack on a flamingo.
ByRachael Bale
Chinese police seized 399 baby Siamese crocodiles from a house in southern China, according to the state-owned Xinhua News Agency.
Police in Dongxing were collecting registration information from residents when they noticed three "nervous-looking men" moving goods outside a rental house. Police approached them for questioning, but two escaped in a truck. The third was caught.
Siamese crocodiles are one of the most critically endangered species of crocodilians on the planet. In 1992, they were virtually extinct in the wild, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, though later a few surviving but fragmented populations were discovered. The freshwater crocodiles are native to Southeast Asia but most likely remain only in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.
Though nearly extinct in the wild, about 60,000 Siamese crocodiles are farmed each year for leather products such as handbags, shoes, and accessories, according to the website of Pan American Leathers, Inc., an exotic-skin tannery based in New York and Colombia.
These baby crocs were likely about 15 days old, and Chinese police say they believe they came from Vietnam, destined to be killed for leather products once they grew big enough. In China, it's illegal to raise Siamese crocodiles without a license, and it's illegal to trade the species. Siamese crocodile products are illegal in the United States and European Union, so Asian countries are the main market for them.
Some other wildlife crime busts, convictions, and investigations around the world announced this past week:
BEAR PAWS SEIZED: Russian authorities seized 525 bear paws worth almost $500,000 headed for China, the Siberian Times reports. Federal security agents and customs investigators also found nearly 4,000 mink furs, more than five pounds of jade (2.4 kilograms), and a piece of a mammoth tusk. The paws were from brown and Himalayan bears, which are critically endangered. One person was charged with smuggling.
TOURIST BRUTALITY: A tourist at Busch Gardens in Florida has been arrested on felony animal cruelty charges after attacking a flamingo named Pinky, Tampa Patch reports. Joseph Anthony Corrao, 45, was with his family when he reached into the enclosure, picked up a flamingo, then set it down unharmed. He next picked up Pinky, but witnesses and his mother told him to leave the flamingos alone. He then threw Pinky to the ground. She had to be euthanized because of her injuries.
INDIAN FLOOD: Monsoon flooding in India's Kaziranga National Park has killed up to 20 rare one-horned rhinos, and poachers are taking advantage. Guards discovered three poachers and the bodies of a mother rhino and her calf after they were drawn to the scene by the sound of gunfire, according to India's the Telegraph.
SOCIAL-MEDIA SALES: Chinese authorities have arrested 21 people and questioned 400 more in relation to the seizure of 10,000 illegal products, including ivory and rhino horn, according to Finland's GB Times. They were allegedly using social media to sell their products.
BUSINESSMEN ARRESTED: Two businessmen charged in the Republic of the Congo in connection with the trafficking of 1.6 tons (1.5 metric tons) of elephant ivory made their first appearance in court, according to Freeland, an anti-trafficking nonprofit. They are also suspected of being linked to several major shipments of ivory from Africa seized in Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore during the past two years.
This story was produced by National Geographic's Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on wildlife crime and is made possible by grants from the BAND Foundation and the Woodtiger Fund. Read more stories from the SIU on Wildlife Watch. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to ngwildlife@natgeo.com.


Emily's True Love is part of the Delicious series about a young woman and her life's adventures. In this part of the story, Emily meets many a men who wish to woo her, but determined to find true love, Emily begins an adventure that allows her to do what she loves best… cook, while trying to live her dreams and keep her parents happy.This is a stunning time management application that has obviously been made to capture the eye with it's beautiful graphics. It's creators have also put a lot of thought into their storyline, a most uncommon approach when it comes to most time management games.
There's a better than average amount of variety in this application with Emily changing environments at a good pace and a fabulous variety of tasks to accomplish in each one. If you like time management games, Emily's True Love will I have no doubt be a winner for you, and if you are yet to try one, do yourself a favour and let Emily's True Love be your first.
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Compatible with iPad.


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Pictured above: The photo used for the first DIY theater and performance article I wrote, with Anna Rose Ii-Epstein, Jamie Newell, and Caroline Wright in Nothing Without a Company's Punk Punk/Photo: Matthew Gregory Hollis
On January 28, 2018, I put together a document to address the topic of DIY theater and performance. This was created out of two threads:
My piece about DIY theater and performance in Chicago in Newcity Magazine, where I explored the definitions of this movement by gathering perspectives from non-mainstream, non-institutionalized theater groups and artists throughout the city.
I was asked to join Scapi Magazine as Theater Editor, and wanted to establish what kind of coverage we would be focusing on.
Since then, that document served as a basis for the coverage of the DIY Theater section of Underground.
What It Is, What It Is Not
In order to understand what it is, I had to figure out what DIY theater was not:
Extremely high ticket prices, extremely high ticket prices, even "accessible" ticket options are high
Investor-owned
Set and defined roles within the theater (1 producer, 1 director, 1 writer, etc.) with not collaboration
A board or a large pool of investors are responsible not only for funding the initiative but are also stakeholders in the content the artists put out
Investors have a say in artistic output
Theater artist, playwright, and director Jamie Olah had the suggestion to add "Big corporate (i.e. Fortune 500) sponsorship, or more colloquially speaking, externally or internally owned sources" as what DIY theater is not.
I originally had the following two points on what DIY theater is not, but realized they were qualities that would be difficult to uphold for DIY theater groups and artists:
For-profit business whose proceeds do not go back entirely to workers/artists
Income for a space/company/group is coming from someone who's giving it to them and is looking to make a profit
After narrowing down what DIY theater is not, I was able to determine what it is:
Collaborative in nature (roles and productions)
Testing conventional limits of performance
Groups/collectives/etc. are owned by workers/artists
Portion of the profits do go to paying artists and workers
Experimental and subversive themes often happening
Performance options that are accessible to folks of different backgrounds
Originally, I had the following two points on what DIY theater is but opted to remove them:
If the business is for profit, surplus goes back to the workers/artists
No investor owned groups
The "definition" of DIY theater and performance that was developed through my own coverage and through the growth of my section at Scapi was constantly changing and developing as we figured out what the term meant. We knew it would be hard to cover groups where the profits of the production exclusively went to the artists. What seemed more important, in the end, was that a portion of the profits went to paying artists and workers.
We got feedback on how the word "profits" could trip people up. It often did not make sense when we described a non-profit business model. One thing Editor in Chief of Scapi Magazine Daniel Johanson pointed out: "It is important to think about if the income for a space/company/group is coming from someone who's giving it to them and is looking to make a profit."
We also thought about what it meant to have "no investors," which is, again, a hard rule to follow to keep a production or team going.
Constantly exploring the definitions of DIY theater and performance meant asking theater artists their perspectives on the movement. Below are some of the questions that were peppered into interviews, news, features, and more:
What are some additional articles written by journalists that explore the ideas behind DIY theater and performance?
Where does it intersect or correlate with the DIY music scene?
What does DIY mean in terms of theater and performance? How do you define it? What does it look like?
What are the goals of DIY theater/performance? What makes it inherently different than mainstream/storefront theater?
Is it possible for a theater to be a storefront/have a permanent location and also be DIY?
How are audiences treated differently in DIY theater/performance spaces?
How are artists/creators treated differently in DIY theater/performance spaces?
What does the future of DIY theater/performance look like?
Is it possible for a theater/space to go from being DIY to being mainstream? What does that look like? Where and when does that transition happen?
Audience Reach Thoughts
Others' articles and voices contributed to the makings of the term. Without their perspectives, the living and breathing definitions could not exist:
Monty Cole's manifesto on Rescripted in response to Pass Over, performed at Steppenwolf Theatre: This insightful piece examined the same people who read mainstream theater critics and are those who attend mainstream shows. The demographic: white, middle-to-upper-class folks, typically middle-aged or older.
Mainstream theaters hike up their ticket prices, serve certain audiences (aforementioned) and appeal to that audience and thus their subscriber platforms. They're also located in neighborhoods and places that are only available to those demographics.
DIY theaters, social-justice oriented theaters, and DIY performance artists are serving audiences outside of this mainstream reach. They make theater affordable. They position themselves in neighborhoods where demographics are other than white/middle-to-upper-class. These companies were born with the ability to be communicated via word of mouth, via the internet, which could never have happened before 1990. They're able to promote and support themselves in communities with the opportunity of having free/affordable platforms to promote themselves on. I interviewed theater companies and artists like Free Street Theater, Katrina Dion, Coya Paz, Ricardo Gamboa, Quenna Barrett, FEMelanin, Mariana Green, Deanalís Resto, For Youth Inquiry (FYI), Collaboraction Theatre Company, and Marcus Robinson in this Newcity Magazine piece to learn more about these initiatives.
Associated Words
Words are obviously crucial to me as a writer, and finding similar, related, and inspired words to surround the term "DIY" was important to me. Here's some of the ones I came up with as being directly related to DIY theater and performance:
Anti past establishment
Opposite of represented
Describe or portray (something) precisely.
Synonyms: describe, set forth/out, present, outline, sketch, depict, represent;
Indicate the exact position of (a border or boundary).
Synonyms: outline, trace, block in, mark (out/off), delimit
Non-mainstream
Non-institutionalized
I also thought about how these words related or did not relate:
Esecondary
Ultimately, all these ideas, specific and abstract, allowed me to fulfill Scapi's motto was and continues to be: cover the under-served perspectives of Chicago.
We knew that there would be groups and artists that fell into our coverage that were "DIY-ish", as we acknowledged it as impossible for theater artists to fit strictly into the confines of DIY as they work through in the American theater model, i.e. through capitalist systems.
What we placed as the highest stipulation in the Underground section was focusing on highlighting the voices of LGBTQIA+, PoC, womxn+, immigrant populations, and disenfranchised folks, in general.
There are so many wonderful journalists and publications doing the good work to highlight the underserved perspectives. I look forward to witnessing in, participating in, and writing about the evolution of Chicago's theater scene, from DIY to mainstream.
Danielle Levsky
Danielle Levsky (she/her/hers) is the Theater Editor of Scapi Magazine. She is a feminist, Jew, poet, essayist, performance artist, and instructional designer. In addition to her work at Scapi, she has covered community news, arts reviews, lifestyle editorials, and cultural events for several publications. Between February 2018-2019, she completed a fellowship where she wrote a collection of community-engaged essays about her identity and heritage. She also writes typewriter poems on demand with Poems While You Wait. Follow her on her poetry Instagram to read some works in progress.
daniellelevsky.wordpress.com
Published in Theater and Underground
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diy theater
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