26 February 2015

The village of Chalfont St Giles

The Chilterns, photo for Chalfont St Giles blogpost by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Some years ago we lived in a small village in Buckinghamshire with distant views across waving fields of wheat. It was wonderful to sit on the deck at the end of the day and watch the sun go down behind the large manor house on the far hillside.

Well, that and the London express trains on the nearby railway line! Yes, it wasn't completely the rural idyll that you might read about in a story‐book, but it was beautiful none the less.

It was an interesting area to live in, with a yarn store only a few miles away (let's get our priorities right about local attractions shall we), a network of canals nearby and rolling countryside courtesy of the Chiltern Hills.
Ducks by pond, Chalfont St Giles, photo for blogpost by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
One of our favourite Sunday pastimes would be to drive through the Chilterns and then walk for a few miles, ending up at a scenic pub for lunch. One such excursion took us to a delightful village called Chalfont St Giles, complete with a duck pond right in the centre.

This is an old village and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1068. The Feathers pub there was established in about 1580 and there are many wisteria‐clad cottages dating from the 16th and 17th century.
St Giles Church, Chalfont St Giles, photo for blogpost by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
The church in Chalfont St Giles is Norman with a large square tower and an old wooden lychgate. It has some wonderful mediaeval wall paintings and wood carvings inside.
Milton's Cottage, photo for blogpost by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
John Milton retired here in 1665 and his house is now open to the public. It is said that he completed his epic poem "Paradise Lost" in this cottage.

Another local celebrity is William Penn who was buried in a Quaker cemetery nearby after his return to the UK from the colonies, as they then were. There is a town called Chalfont in Pennsylvania named after Chalfont St Giles and by co‐incidence, we ended up living close to that town when we moved to the USA.

There are several other places with the "Chalfont" name in the area, including the old village of Chalfont St Peter and the newer town of Little Chalfont, which arose with the coming of the railways.
Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
We visited the area around the Chalfonts a number of times and always enjoyed walking in the hills in all seasons – through the colourful shades of autumn, then walking in our wellingtons through the dusty snows of winter. The following year we could stand, leaning on a fence rail, and watch the spring lambs in the chalky fields.
Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
So it seemed a natural choice of name for the Chalfont Scarf that I wrote about in my last blogpost. This is a real three‐season scarf ‐ just right for country walks and gentle meanderings.

Until next time – Happy Knitting!

Moira
Keywords: Patterns/Women’s Scarves & Wraps, Travel/Postcards,
ladies scarf, scarf, scarves, stripes, striped scarf, lace, lace scarf, reversible lace, reversible stripes, wool, reversible scarf, reversible knitting, reversible stitches, cream, blue, navy, brown, rust, 

14 February 2015

Chalfont Scarf

Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
I can’t believe how much snow we’ve had this winter! Has it be the same where you are? My days seem to be: have a cup of tea, go out and shovel snow for an hour or two, come in and get warmed up, then repeat…. By the end of the day, all I want to do is sit in front of a cozy fire and knit.

So what have I been knitting recently? Well, the answer is scarves! Some while ago, I made a lovely chocolate coloured scarf with reversible rust-coloured stripes and I loved it.

What is truly remarkable is that this is a lace scarf. Worked in stripes. And it’s completely reversible! That is such a rare thing to find. So often, the wrong side looks so different from the front but not here.
Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
This is Roman Lace from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book and is well-deserving of its reputation as one of the best examples of a reversible striped pattern that there is. I wrote about this in a previous blogpost: Reversible Stripes, so have a look there too for more details about this great stitch.

You really can’t tell which is the front and which is the back. In fact, when I am working this pattern I often add a safety pin as a marker so I know which side I am designating to be the “Right Side”!
Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
So I decided I would like to make a couple more scarves using this pattern. I like to have lots of different scarves in colourways to suit the different seasons, so firstly I made a scarf in a two-tone blue. I purchased some more of the lovely Valley Yarns “Amherst” yarn with Regatta Blue as the main colour and then added Navy stripes.

I love the way this has come and can see myself using this version in the Spring-time for cooler evenings – or for late-season snow showers!
Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Then I wanted another one in Winter White. I made this slightly wider so that it would really keep me warm while I was outside clearing the snow. It is amazing how those northerly winds can find even the tiniest of spaces by your neck if you don’t wrap up well, isn’t it!

Again this is in Amherst in their “Natural” colour. Amherst is a buttery soft 100% merino wool with great stitch definition, and I feel it has really brought out the beauty of this stitch.
Chalfont Scarf by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
I have just added these two new versions of the scarf into the Chalfont Scarf pattern, so now there are three different colourways and three different sizes too. Please click here to read more about this pattern, and here for more details about our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. Both are available for instant download.

So now it’s time to put the kettle on, make a lovely cup of tea and sit in front of that fire for some more scarf knitting!

Keep warm and keep knitting!

Moira
Keywords: Patterns/Women’s Scarves & Wraps,
ladies scarf, scarf, scarves, stripes, striped scarf, lace, lace scarf, reversible lace, reversible stripes, wool, reversible scarf, reversible knitting, reversible stitches, cream, blue, navy, brown, rust, 

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