My Friend Woolly Wormhead

This post was actually due to be published on Monday (two days ago). Unfortunately on Saturday evening disaster struck the North West coast of Britain with unprecedented rain fall causing flooding throughout Cumbria and North Lancashire. I was very fortunate. Areas of my village have been flooded and further afield friends have been cut off from the outside world or forced to abandon their homes as the flood waters have reached them. At the farm we found ourselves without power for several days. Mobile phone masts went down along with our landline telephone. We had no light, cooker or hot water. We however were very lucky. We have wood burning stoves and ample supply of wood so were able to keep warm and cook using these. Light was provided by candles and paraffin lamps but the most difficult part was communicating with the outside world. Without power though we had no way of charging up our phones or using the internet. The roads all around us were flooded, the bridges damaged and closed so we were genuinely cut off. And so, I was unable to publish my planned post until now. It did however give me more time to contemplate what I actually wanted to say.

It has been difficult as I have struggled over these last few days to find the 'sunshine' that I have been trying to bring to the blog recently but despite the devastation all around me at the moment, the one thing I have witnessed and heard about repeatedly is the friendship and support people have been showing each other to help others get back on their feet, to have somewhere dry to stay, to have some warm food to eat. So I guess the 'sunshine' I'm trying so hard to find right now is just that - friendship - and that's what I want to talk about.

Woolly in a very familiar pose

Woolly Wormhead is an incredibly skilled craftsperson, an amazing designer and photographer but what she is to me is far more than that. Woolly is my friend. We have been friends for eight of the ten years as a Hat designer that Woolly is celebrating. During that time I have been her publisher, her distributor, a collaborator. Gavin and Woolly have also worked together on the graphic side of things. These connections gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better. Talking regularly via email, phone, skype and enjoying the occasions when work brings us together and allows us to unwind together. Our friendship has grown over the years, as good friendships do. I travel to Italy to stay with Woolly. Woolly, Tom and Aran come and stay on the farm to escape the heat of the Italian summer. Tom and Gavin are friends and most wonderful of all Gavin and Aran are friends. Aran waking up early in the morning to accompany Gavin on the farm rounds, feeding the chickens and checking the sheep. Woolly has also become friends with my daughter, Charlie, helping her with her final film for her degree, allowing Charlie into her and her family's life so that Charlie could create a truly beautiful film about Aran's life on the 'yard'.

Teaser Trailer - Mutoid from charliemoon on Vimeo.

Charlie and Aran are also firm friends. Woolly supported Charlie through this, giving her advice and encouragement when the creative process stuttered.

Charlie and Aran at the farm

 Woolly and I don't get to see each other often but we are always there for each other if needed. We have both created new lives for ourselves in a slightly unorthodox way and are both the 'bread winners' in our family group. Both of our lives are complex and sometimes difficult but having someone to talk to who instinctively understands is something everyone needs in their lives and I am very very lucky to have Woolly.

If you don't already have any of Woolly's patterns or books then you really should. From Going Straight, her first book to Painted Woolly Toppers, each and every one contains the patterns to some of the most exciting Hats design you are likely to see and Woolly's website includes some of the best technique tutorials around. I for one go back to them again and again. And just in time for this blog post she even has a fabulous new pattern out in the latest knitty. In the background of Woolly's stunning photographs you can just make out the time machine, an imposing structure, built by fellow artists living in Mutonia, and an important visual reference in much of Woolly's work.



Time Machine Teaser from charliemoon on Vimeo.

I don't know what the next ten years will bring but I do know that Woolly will continue to be creative, exciting, unpredictable and will continue to grow as a craftsperson and designer and I for one just cannot wait to see what she comes up with. Here's to you Woolly, I consider myself incredible fortunate to have you as a friend.

for now,
Susan xx

Images copyright Susan Crawford except for cover image of Painted Woolly Toppers copyright Woolly Wormhead. Film shorts copyright Charlie Moon. Not to be used without permission of the copyright holders.

Vat Changes from 1st January 2015

Many of you will already know about the fiasco that is the Digital product VAT directive which comes into effect tomorrow. If you haven't I would suggest you google 'vatmess', pour yourself a long drink and be prepared to be bewildered by the nonsense the various EU vat authorities have dreamt up. A very thorough analysis of the situation was also written by Woolly Wormhead recently. (Please note there have been some updates to the situation since this post was written).

I won't bore you with too many of the details here but the bare facts are that digital downloads and ebooks to EU member states will have to be sold with vat added based on the country that the purchase is being made from. This along with complex audit requirements make the act of processing a sale extremely complicated. I have looked at potential options for my business and over the next few weeks you may see changes and potentially, glitches, on the website as Gavin and I rebuild our shop on a new platform that can better deal with these new vat requirements.

We don't know exactly how things will work in the first instance, but we will remain open for business throughout the switch-over and as the customer you will hopefully not be affected other than ultimately we hope to have a better, more streamlined website, shop and blog.

Due to additional processing costs incurred as a direct result of the new VAT rules I will have to increase prices on digital patterns and ebooks very slightly. These will be introduced over the next few weeks. I will keep these increases to an absolute minimum but the new system imposed creates a substantially increased administrative and processing burden on my business, that I just can't afford to absorb completely.

My patterns and e-books will also still be available on ravelry as before but again slight changes will be seen when you checkout and VAT may be applied dependent on where you, the customer, is based.

I will also be introducing 'hard copy' versions of a number of patterns to purchase via the website for those of you who would prefer this to a pdf download.

My apologies in advance for any complications during the switch over but as I said previously, we remain very much open for business! Its not the best way to be starting a New Year, but I'm determined - as always - to carry on.

With very best wishes for 2015


Susan xx

Film on the Farm

Last week saw a very special event taking place at the farm. Not only did we finally have our long planned Farm Warming, but we also combined it with the Premiere of my daughter, Charlie's graduation film, Mutoid, all about six year old Aran, the son of my very good friend, Woolly Wormhead. 

We decided to use our 'slightly' shabby 15th century barn as the venue for the screening and the after-party.

We set about pressure washing the interior and then utilizing a number of old doors left behind after the farmhouse renovation, Gavin built a magnificent door of doors.

We created a large screen above the 'stage' area hung from roof beams and set about decorating the barn with bunting, paper lanterns and wild flowers from the surrounding fields.

 

Fairy lights were then strung around the barn and the scene was set.

We all sat entranced as we watched Charlie's poignant and revealing film. Aran himself sat on the front row, mesmorized at the sight of himself on the big screen.

After the film and some refreshments including our very own Elderflower Champagne we finished the evening with music. First there was an impromtu performance on the piano from one of the guests.

Then a very special acoustic performance by Seattle Yacht Club, arriving at the farm directly from their gig at Kendal Calling.

The band's guitarist is Charlie's boyfriend, Denis, and in addition to her 'official' degree work, Charlie has directed all of the band's videos to date. 

All in all the night was a great success and it was wonderful to hear the sounds of laughter, chatter and music emanating from this old, old barn, empty for so many years, but now coming alive once again.

As Aran put so very simply in the film, 'I think I will live here forever'.

Aran and Charlie before the film screening

for now,
Susan xx

All images copyright Susan Crawford 2014

A Very Personal Kickstarter Appeal

My daughter Charlie, is very familiar to many knitters both in the UK and around the world. She has been modelling for me since I first started in this business and she was a wee, slip of a thing. She has been amazed over the years when people have spoken to her or even contacted her via social media to ask her if she is the model they have seen wearing such-an-such a pattern. She has never declined to be a model and has also been my photographic assistant on more shoots than I can remember, often producing just the right shot that we need.

In fact, Charlie had always been interested in photography, going to a local junior photographers club from around the age of 8. Coupled with an inherited obsession with film, it was really no surprise when she chose to move to Edinburgh to study Film at Edinburgh College of Art. The four years are passing in a blur and she is now working on her graduation film which will hopefully provide her with the results she is aiming for to move onto the Masters programme at the same college. Her chosen area is documentary and she has already produced some beautiful short films about people around her.


Charlie has also modelled for my very good friend Woolly Wormhead and stayed with Woolly and her family along with me when I have visited but also by herself, becoming good friends with Woolly independently of me and also forming a wonderfully close bond with Woolly's son, Aran.

Charlie's plan for some time has been to feature the Mutoid camp where Woolly and Aran live in her graduation film, and gradually after discussions with myself, her tutors and particularly Woolly, the project began to take shape. Charlie's film will look at life in the Mutoid camp through the eyes and imagination of 6 year old Aran. It promises to be a beautiful film, but to be able to make it, Charlie will need to travel to Italy two or three times in relatively quick succession over the next couple of months to get all the footage she needs and therefore needs funding to help her fund travel and production costs.

So yesterday, she launched her first ever Kickstarter appeal to raise £800 (£850 including kickstarter fees). You can find out a lot more about the film and Charlie's approach on her Kickstarter page.



If you are able to pledge even the smallest amount, or spread the word about her appeal that would be simply wonderful!

When Charlie launched the appeal yesterday, she genuinely didn't believe anyone would find her project interesting enough to pledge, but people have already been incredibly generous and I really can't thank you all enough. Charlie really has to fight a lack of self confidence but I, both as her mother and as a former art teacher, can see her developing almost daily, turning into the Director and Artist that she could and should be.  I am so very, very proud of my little girl.

for now
Ruby xx

Classic Woolly Toppers Competition Winner!

I'm late as always! However I am delighted to announce that the winner of a digital copy of Classic Woolly Toppers by Woolly Wormhead and two balls of Excelana DK in their chosen colour is.....

ancebak! Well done! I'll email you for your address details shortly so if  you can be thinking about which colour of Excelana you would like me to send in the meantime.  I will also pass your email on to  Woolly to send you the download details for Classic Woolly Toppers.

And if you want to know who she chose as her favourite hat wearer and why:

I absolutely LOVE the Ravine - very charleston! My favourite hat wearer has to be Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). Her hat makes an otherwise very masculine outfit extremely feminine and shows just how important a hat can be to an outfit.

Very well said and I hope you enjoy your prize.

for now
Ruby xxx

Classic Woolly Toppers Book Tour

“Why do you wear a hat?” What you really should be asking is “why are you not?” *

I have always worn hats even in the dark days of the 1980s, when as a teenager I was laughed at for doing so. When my daughter was born in 1992 I engulfed her wardrobe with hats, both for play and dressing up and for ‘real-time’ use. Throughout her teens, hats have been once more, a fashionable item, and she has been able to wear her many, many hats without being ridiculed. To quote my hero, Stephen Jones, “Hats are the important accessory. ..when worn with verve, they are often the raison d’etre of many an outfit”. I believe hats complete an outfit and create a frame to a face, adding something that isn’t there without it. Imagine Marlene Dietrich here in ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ (1957) without her trademark beret.

Or Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in ‘My Fair Lady’ going to the races without one of the most famous hats in fashion history.

If I was asked to name three of my favourite hat designers, I would undoubtedly choose Stephen Jones, Cecil Beaton (because of My Fair Lady) and Woolly Wormhead. Woolly is without doubt a milliner in the truest sense of the word using knit fabric as her medium of choice to represent her constant stream of ideas. Like Stephen Jones, Woolly has been inspired heavily by natural forms and architecture but for her latest collection, Classic Woolly Toppers, has delved into classic hat shapes and styles, re-interpreting them in her own inimitable way and updating them for the ‘modern’ knitter. I am truly inspired by the way Woolly has looked at established hat styles and found a way of putting her own unique stamp on these and creating a contemporary, forward-looking collection. 

Classic Woolly Toppers contains 10 fabulous hat designs perfect for all different face shapes and hair lengths. In fact, Woolly provides some very useful advice on picking the right hat. The patterns are clear and as always with Woolly, well written and carefully thought out. And to top all of that, my daughter the hat-wearer is on the front cover!

Copyright Woolly Wormhead

In this photo she is wearing the Camden Cap which shows how effectively Woolly has interpreted well-beloved hat shapes.

My favourite of the ten designs however is Ravine. 

Copyright Woolly Wormhead

Closely reflecting the cloche hats of the 1920s, this hat sculpts itself to the crown of the head and frames the eyes and mouth of the wearer. It instantly made me think of the helmets worn in Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ 

and also of these crocheted cloches from a ‘Woman and Home’ magazine from 1930. 

I really wanted to see how Woolly’s hat would look with a bit of vintage styling (and I wanted an excuse to make myself Ravine!) so I decided to knit the hat for myself. I used two balls of Excelana DK in Saharan Sand to go with my classic tweed coat and worked the hat exactly as specified for the fifth size in the pattern, which is for a 22 inch head circumference. I probably should have reduced the depth of the hat by about 4 rows to get an absolutely perfect fit but I wanted to see how my head shape compared with the pattern so I would know how to adjust in the future. If I had reduced the length by 4 rows I would actually have got the hat out of just ONE ball of Excelana DK. And here you have it. Ravine by Woolly Wormhead worn by yours truly! I'm still not used to seeing myself in photographs but I am really trying hard not to hate every single photo just because I'm it. However  I love my hat!

copyright Gavin Crawford

Copyright Gavin Crawford

It fits snuggly and naturally on the head. It frames the eyes exactly as it should. It feels and looks extremely stylish and is very, very warm. So does everything that a good hat should. Fabulous! And I added a brooch for a little vintage flourish.

So what better way to round off the blog tour than to offer a prize! For a chance to win a digital copy of Classic Woolly Toppers courtesy of Woolly Wormhead and two balls of Excelana DK in your colour of choice from Alabaster, Persian Grey, Cornflower Blue, French Rose, Ruby Red, Saharan Sand, Powdered Egg or Nile Green, just leave a comment telling me who is your favourite iconic hat wearer and why. They can be ‘real’ as in Marlene for example, or a character such as Holly Golightly. I’ll choose a winner at random on the 7th November. Please leave me an email address so that I can get in touch.

If you can’t wait to hear if you’ve won, you can purchase the book from Woolly’s website. The print edition is $16.99 and the digital edition is £9.

Good luck!

for now

Ruby xx 

* (from Hats an anthology, by Stephen Jones, Published by V&A Publishing)

Italia!

Last week was a very exciting week. Gavin, Charlie and I set off for Italy to spend the week with Woolly Wormhead and her family just outside Sant Archangelo in the North East of Italy.

Woolly, Tom and Aran off to a wedding - copyright susan crawford 2011

With four avid photographers, Woolly, Tom, Charlie and myself all armed with our cameras at all times, there have been a LOT of photos to go through. In the end, I've chosen a small selection for the blog that I think sum up our time there.

The camp we stayed at is known as the Mutoid Camp, which is the base for a group of sculptors and artists who make the most amazing pieces out of scrap.

Copyright susan crawford 2011

 The sculptures are larger than life and are dotted all around the camp.

copyright susan crawford 2011

 This first sculpture is by the lovely Lou, who made us very welcome on the first night of our stay, inviting us to a barbecue she was hosting. Later in the week, Lou was to get married. Unfortunately we had to fly home on the morning of the celebrations which was a real shame.

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

 This huge 'man' is one of a number done by another camp resident, Debbie who makes incredibly detailed and intricate sculptures, particularly for their scale.

copyright susan crawford 2011

This huge beast stands at the entrance to Woolly's plot. Its scale can't quite be appreciated here but it is over 10 feet tall.  Many of the sculptures on the camp have been done as communal projects so I unfortunately don't know the details of the artists for all the works I have shown.

Gavin and I slept in Barp which Woolly used to use to get around in. Charlie was in a separate trailer

copyright susan crawford 2011

and Woolly, Tom and Aran were in the 'silver decker bus'

copyright susan crawford 2011

Sant Archangelo is a beautiful, Italian town, which has built up around a walled centre.

copyright susan crawford 2011

This is the view from about two thirds of the way up the hill

copyright charlie moon 2011

 This it the beginning of the ancient walls rising above the town.

copyright susan crawford 2011

And of course amazing typically italian streets. I love the shades of green and pistachio, coral, pink and terracotta all blending into each other in this photograph. High up one of these winding streets is a small museum - a button museum! It is a fabulous museum with buttons from 1700s through to current times, and with a huge number from the 1920s-1940s which made me very happy.

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright woolly wormhead 2011

The owners made us extremely welcome offering us iced tea and cake whilst we studied the collection and even had a small range of 'overs' from between the 30s and 50s from which I purchased a small number! I'll share these another time though.

One of my favourite day trips was our visit to San Marino, which is only 30 or 40 minutes from Sant Archangelo and rises up on the horizon in front of the camp. It is apparently the oldest republic in the world. It is also very wealthy and very, very pretty. Cars are parked part way down the mountain that is San Marino and then the rest is done on foot. The views are spectacular, stretching across Italy in all directions.

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

The streets though are very, very steep so I would recommend good walking shoes!

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 2011

Three year old Aran made light work of all the steep climbs! However you are rewarded at the top with some very nice restaurants and cafes to sit, recover, eat and drink - I'm good at that bit.

Me - copyright woolly wormhead 2011

Charlie - copyright susan crawford 2011

Gavin - copyright susan crawford 2011

Back at camp there was some work to do as Woolly had photography to do for both her forthcoming Bambeanies booklet and also a retrospective she is beginning to work on. I couldn't resist getting involved and taking some photos of Woolly's work myself. A particular sculpture features heavily in Woolly's photos, which is known as the Time Machine - a result of a collaborative project by the Mutoids.

copyright susan crawford 2011

It has many parts, sides and shapes which Woolly has used to great effect. I actually managed to catch her at work when she wasn't looking!

copyright susan crawford 2011

copyright susan crawford 201

As you can see from the photo above, Woolly persuaded Charlie to do some modelling for her. I took a couple myself in an attempt at Woolly Wormhead style -

copyright susan crawford 2011 - hat woolly wormhead

copyright susan crawford 2011 - hat woolly wormhead

I will most definitely return to Italy. It was everything I hoped and more, but most of all I want to thank Woolly, Tom and Aran for making us so very very welcome and sharing their little part of Italy with us.

for now
Ruby xx