When even the Gents is a Work of Art

I have spent a little time in London recently. Lucky me- I love the Thames and the buzz and the industry of everyone off to work. Crowded tubes...? Bring them on! 

Of course I'm sure I would feel that way if I lived there, but to dip in and out is a privilege. 

I made time to visit my favourite fabric shop, and looking at my purchases, anyone would be forgiven that I have a bit of a fetish for blue. 

I also visited this gents toilet. The gents which is now a café, that is. I visited for the novelty factor, but I had not realised how stunningly beautiful it was going to be, both inside and out. It was also very peaceful, and the soup was divine. 

Although it wasn't strictly a holiday, since returning home I have felt energised and refreshed. I have had a lot of work to catch up on, but I've enjoyed doing so and I feel more excited to create than I have done in a while. 

As lovely as London is, some things are better close to home: on Monday evening we went to watch Giselle live streamed from Covent Garden to our local cinema. You would be hard pushed to find a greater advocate of this invention than I am- it's amazing to just pop round the corner and find yourself in the best seat in the house. The editing is such that you feel like you are actually on stage watching the performers, and little extraneous details like the sound of ballet shoes on the sprung floor bring so much immediacy to the show. We cried, lots, at this beautiful love story. 

An added bonus was that Carlos Acosta was playing the lead male rôle. He truly is a stunning dancer. 

Having spent a little time in the Costume Department at the Royal Opera House, I always pay particular attention to what is worn on stage. And with my new creative impetus I am of a mind to make a Giselle blouse with some of my new fabric. In blue, of course. 

Looking for spring... but still wanting to hibernate!

The year has turned, and by rights we should all be rested, relaxed, and ready to start 2014. Well, in theory at least. I, however, have the urge to hibernate with my stashes of yarn and fabric (yes, lucky me, I have more than one stash!), and wait for spring.

It's not that I'm not excited to start the year, not that at all. I am very excited, it's just that my mind is pulling me in different directions to the ones which would be most useful. I'm quite sure it has nothing to do with being in denial about tax returns and the like. Not at all...

So in the mean time I have devised a couple of crochet projects, pictured here. I'm really loving un-dyed yarn at the moment.

This cosy cowl is made from the softest alpaca

I made snowdrops in an attempt to embrace the spring.

This is the 'Little Landscapes' scarf made by one of my students. She has done a really lovely job, and has a great eye for colour- well done Katy!

Finishing writing this pattern is another thing not ticked-off my 'to do' list. I know the pattern inside and out, I just can't seem to finish typing it. Ok, I haven't started typing it- it's only written in crazy shorthand. Ho hum, I'll get there.

I love that this is so 'Katy'!

Well, somebody hand made it (even if it wasn't me!)

Yesterday I wore a beautiful hand-knitted cardigan to the Tuesday group. I wore it because it is very warm and very comfortable.

But here is the confession: I did not make it.

However, I did rescue it from the charity shop, where it was languishing, crushed up in the rails, filthy and smelly, and very much unloved.

I don't want to think about why it ended up in the charity shop, as I am quite sure that the person who made it with so much skill and love would not have parted with it lightly, and if it had been made as a gift then I am equally sure the recipient would have wanted to keep it forever. So that leaves the likely explanation that the owner no longer walks this earth.

I am surprisingly alright with the idea of wearing a dead woman's jumper (ha, things you never think you will hear yourself say!). Should there be a big stigma about the possessions of the dead? What a waste it would be if everything you owned was destroyed when you passed away?

As I mentioned, the jumper was filthy, and I asked advice on ravelry about how to wash it. I had heard of no-rinse hand washing formulas, but it was reassuring to have them recommended to me by those in the know.

The jumper took two washes, during which the not unpleasant smell of wet sheep pervaded the house, and indeed continued to do so until the jumper dried, the best part of a week later.

Coincidentally, my friend was wearing a jumper in a similar style, and she mentioned that the knit stitches used have a meaning and a symbolism... if you know how to read them. Alas I do not, but that is just another mystery which the wonderful art of knitting will have to reveal to me in the fulness of time.

The Canterbury Trot

My poor neglected blog!

It's sometimes difficult to find a good level of intimacy with my lovely readers: if things are going well I don't wish to prattle on about them and seem smug, and if things are more difficult I don't wish to moan.

But here is a little adventure I can share with you: last Wednesday I went to the new Yarn Club Social Knit, Stitch & Crochet, in its gorgeous rural location.

I extracted my bike from the cobwebs and saddled up. The way was further than I remembered, but I did not mind, as it was so refreshing to be out in the countryside. I had wonderful encounters with ducks, herons, magpies, and cattle, and despite it being a grey day I arrived feeling uplifted.

I must remember to wear two pairs of socks next time, as it is the sort of building where the cold seeps through the floor, but I have found a great pattern for some aptly-named leg warmers on Ravelry and this seems like as good an excuse as any to make them.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/some-cloudy-day

J. told me a while ago that I looked like an apache when I was riding my bike, with my hair streaming behind me as I crossed a grassy field. This is just how I felt as I made my way back to the city. I am not a horsewoman, but I image that a good cycle feels a little like an invigorating canter. I didn't even mind when mud splashed up onto my face... although I did get a few strange looks!

Disappointments and Social Crafting

Strange things have happened this week, nothing world-rocking, but things that have left me feeling underwhelmed with my fellow human beings: a let down, a theft, a few more let downs, a bad cheque that someone wrote me... you get the idea I'm sure. 

Yet, I have been consoled as ever by my wonderful nearest and dearest, and my lovely cat. I have also really enjoyed the company of other women at the 'Knit & Natter' and the 'Stitch & Knit', where we have bonded over our crafts and vented our frustrations. Or maybe it was just me venting my frustrations! They are both such lovely groups of women which is a real blessing.  

When the sun showed up for five minutes this evening I wandered into the garden, braving the still Arctic winds, and had a look at these three faces. They're a diverse bunch from around the globe, and yet they seem at home in each other's company. Yet, they are all masculine, and in honour of the feminine creative spirit I think I need to find a mermaid or something to sit out there with them. 

I decided to run some craft classes from my garden over the summer, which was a really positive and exciting step.

Another Beautiful Day, & Handmade Me #2

Once again today I thanked whatever it is that gave me the fortune to have been born and raised in this beautiful part of the world, not to mention having the senses to be able to drink it all in, and the mobility to wander through this landscape in a reverie. We visited another favourite haunt, with wonderful wild fowl and luxurious gardens. I was excited to meet this little chap pictured above amongst the blossoms. A brush with a curry plant inspired us to come home and get cooking. 

It was also the first outing for the jumper I made a few weeks ago, although I have to admit I needed my duffle coat over it in the arctic wind! I am pleased though, as it was comfortable and takes me on another step towards operation 'Handmade Me'

Life Lines and Learning

Although my background is in mainly in sewing, I have become very excited by knitting and crochet in recent times. Today I took advantage of the quiet house and indulged in these passions. 

Part of the appeal of these newer skills is that I feel like I am learning all of the time that I do them, especially so with knitting. I have a little lacy project in alpaca on the go at the moment (amongst my many, many current projects), but I can only do it when I am feeling fresh and focussed as I make mistakes so easily. Happily a lovely friend recently introduced me to the concept of 'lifelines' in knitting, and I have begun to make use of them. What I once regarded as almost the dark art of making something stunning from two sticks and a ball of string still foxes me from time to time!

This is another of my ongoing projects. It started life as just some samples to accompany my teaching, but it seemed pointless just to make squares to no end, and so eventually it will be a throw. This is barely a quarter of the squares I need. The colours and patterns look unbalanced and disparate as yet, but I think it will come together. And if not it will just be a ramshackle throw, reflecting my journey, each stitch a little part of my life.

But, it was against this background today that I received some sad, and yet not unexpected news. Immediately a recently viewed clip of George Harrison (one of my heroes) remarking how "life carries on within you and without you" came to mind.

It seemed an appropriate day to be musing on lifelines and learning.