Work for Idle Hands

Archive Entries for 2006

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Monday December 25, 2006

Christmas Day

George and Deborah with their Christmas Stockings.

Posted on December 25, 2006 at 8:24 AM. Category: Red Letter Days.

Friday December 22, 2006

Tree transformed

Posted on December 22, 2006 at 9:46 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Thursday December 21, 2006

Redwings

Could not resist this view from my window - it's the time of year (about 2 or 3 days before Christmas decoration day) when the redwings can be sure to descend on the garden and clear every holly berry in sight. Here you can see two of them - one on the left clearly visible (posing) and one on the right behind the leaves (eating).

I had to take the picture through the glass and from a distance, hence the usual dubious quality.

Posted on December 21, 2006 at 1:27 PM. Category: The Garden.

A Nice Cup of Tea ......

....but mostly a Sit Down.

Actually this one is my elevenses, which is always coffee, (stop laughing).

Note the lovely mug from the Metropolitan Museum ("Santa Claus Please Stop Here") - a gift from Alison, of course. I had the amazing but also banal brainwave that what I needed for my expanding Christmas Mug collection was a Mug Tree - just temporarily while they are in residence in the kitchen over Christmas.

Posted on December 21, 2006 at 11:00 AM. Category: Kitchen and food.

Monday December 18, 2006

The Lost Weekend...

No - no - I did not spend the weekend in an alcoholic’s stupor. However, it seemed to disappear regardless. I can remember it though - and view the evidence.

I spent the entire weekend cleaning - and enjoyed it enormously; it's pretty good when you don't feel all the time you are wanting to do something else - maybe that's the key - I was using the NLP technique of visualising how I'd feel when the house was clean (which is "Good", by the way, for all you doubters). Now I just need to spend a bit more time in front of the TV watching "Anthea Turner: Perfect Housewife" - much better than "Desperate Housewives" - believe me! George spent Saturday morning in Dorking (Antiques Paradise) and I imagined I would have the whole day to potter around, cleaning and tidying, but his shopping was so successful, (we're all going to get eyebaths this year, obviously...) that he got back in time for lunch, and general chores.

On Sunday, the cleaning continued - we even cleaned the windows to try and prevent George’s Father commenting on them (negatively), which is his personal Christmas tradition. I expect Santa Claus also notices. So the current state of play is that the living room (“my” room) is now rather naked - I have removed the ornaments that are usually in residence - the tree is installed but there are no decorations of any kind yet. I could take “before” and “after” photos, but the true “before” beggars belief, so best not to dwell on it, I think, especially with photographic evidence. And I still have yet to evict my Stitchcraft collection….

Posted on December 18, 2006 at 12:48 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Saturday December 16, 2006

A Christmas Me-Too

I have nicked this from Alison and completed a competitive MeMe - however, I have shortened it as my target audience probably knows all this already....
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Yuk.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He wraps them.
3. Coloured lights on tree or white? White.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes
5. When do you put your decorations up? From choice, Christmas Eve, but it will be earlier this year, as I am fed-up with going to France straight after Christmas and not enjoying them for long enough.
6. What is your favourite Christmas dish (excluding dessert)? Goose.
7. Favourite Christmas memory as a child: On Christmas Eve, having a temporary bed on the sofa in the living room, and going to sleep with the Tree lights twinkling into the night. But there are many others.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What can you mean?!
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Nicely.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? A light dusting which should fall overnight on Christmas Eve. This has happened once in my lifetime.
12. Can you ice skate? About as well as I can skate at all, (which is slowly and carefully).
13. Do you remember your favourite gift? My Teddy.
14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? Small, cosy rituals and traditions.
15. What is your favourite Christmas Dessert? Trifle.
16. What is your favourite holiday tradition? Parlour Games: "My Mother Keeps a Shop" (a traditional variation on "I went to John Lewis and I bought"), "Old Mother Reilly's Dead", "Black Magic", and "Tippit" (we played it very slightly differently from the game described in the link) - none of which games seem to be played in our house now!
17. What tops your tree? Hand-made porcelain Fairy.
18. Which do you prefer: Giving or Receiving? Definitely, Giving.
19. What is your favourite Christmas Carol? God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.
20. Candy Canes... Yuck or Yum? Sound like I would not like them.

Posted on December 16, 2006 at 10:21 AM. Category: Red Letter Days.

Tuesday December 12, 2006

It all makes work for the working woman to do.

I crawled into the office at the crack of dawn today (to try and avoid long queues on the M25) in order to get a direct LAN connection and thus fix my laptop. Sadly my laptop refused to see any LAN either. I had to involve the Help(less) Desk - which confounded all expectations by demonstrating endless patience and helping me fix it.

Later in the morning when all normal people had arrived in the office, looking like they had spent the appropriate amount of time in preparation to come into work, I was regretting leaving the house in the dark and in such haste. Especially at lunchtime, when a complete stranger said to me conversationally: "Isn't it nice that we can all come into work in casual dress now?" - which was clearly code for:"My God, you look terrible! - didn't you even comb your hair?"

Posted on December 12, 2006 at 5:20 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Monday December 11, 2006

Twas on a Monday morning ...

...the gas man came to call...

The Engineer was supposed to have us as his first call at 8:00am. At 11 (well, it was raining - and I mean really raining) George called Them and They said "the engineer called but could not find your house so went away again". I will leave you to imagine what was said after that.

By about lunch time, the "engineer" had arrived and also left again, assuring us that the New Box would be activated after about 30 minutes. By late afternoon, after many calls to Them, repeating the codes and serial numbers from the New Box, and reinstalling the hardware (removing extraneous adapters added by the "engineer"), we finally got our service back.

I celebrated by downloading some new software platform to my laptop, which promptly caused all my networking hardware to become invisible, and removed any possibility of further home working (even dial-up)......

Posted on December 11, 2006 at 6:12 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Sunday December 10, 2006

Just a Lazy Sunday.

Hmm.

Our broadband connection disappeared on Friday - which was awful (what a nerd I am). Had to revert to dialling up, which was more efficient than I remembered. It turned out that the whole cable box had "a critical error" - but unlike the old days when you rented your TV, and the advantage was that if it broke, then day or night someone would bring round a replacement..... they have to send round an "engineer" to tell us what's wrong with it -
Me: "O - can he mend it then?"
Them: "no - it has a critical error"
Me: "would it not be quicker to deliver a new box right now?"
Them: "no - the Engineer has to diagnose what is wrong"
Me: "and I have to wait another 30 minutes in a queue to book the engineer?"
Them: "yes that's right. O wait a minute - you say your broadband is down? I'll book it for you here then. He can't call until Monday".
George spent much of Friday shouting at them - I would say to no avail, in that the "engineer" has not relented and decided to work weekends, but in the face of abuse They seem to offer you money to go away. So he gracefully accepted.

And we were condemned to a weekend without TV. We had to talk to one another.
No - it was alright - just kidding - we didnt have to - we used my (inferior) digibox.

Yesterday, we went into Kingston (no snow though) to do Christmas shopping. This means George is getting desperate. I had a lovely time as I have already completed my essential gift shopping. I managed to cover a huge amount of ground - and buy a ton of stuff - things went so badly for George that I was undisturbed for hours.... I bought myself the Perfect Thing, in Navy Blue, from my Favourite Shop (Wallis), at Half Price. [You will have to wait until Christmas for the photos.] Said Perfect Thing is usually obtained cruising swiftly around Asda on Christmas Eve looking for something appropriate, gaudy, and above all - cheap. I did resist buying a second example of the genre, managing to face the fact that I may have only a limited need for one crocheted evening top in navy, never mind two.

This morning we purchased The Tree. It is currently residing outside until next weekend - so it keeps cheerful until it really has to face the central heating. George spent the rest of the day showing his antique collection of eyebaths to a student, who wanted to photograph it as part of her thesis on "eccentric collections" (!).

I spent the rest of the day reading "Lifeless" by Mark Billingham. This book mentioned the sinister trivia that in 1997 the "Yorkshire Ripper" was stabbed while in Broadmoor by the"Woolworths killer" - the latter having been responsible for a sad and shocking local murder in Teddington in 1994. Reminding me of that event after so many years, strongly reinforced how far the world of the fictional whodunnit is from the poignant sadness of a violent death (even that of a stranger) in real life.

Posted on December 10, 2006 at 10:13 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Friday December 8, 2006

Limbering up for over-indulgence.

Two Christmas lunches in two days.

Today I went to the Spinners group meeting, which included a "bring and eat" buffet lunch. I was committed to take quiche, and luckily (à la Agatha Raisin) our local baker sells 'home cooked' quiche - which saved me a lot of time! I am pleased to say no-one appeared to have been poisoned, and I was not sucked into some unlikely rural amateur detection ritual centred on a local craft group.

Sharron was able to report that her little traveller wheel, that she was having such difficulty with last time, is, in fact, working fine now, and no-one understands why it was acting up; it probably did not fancy being loaned to me. I was able to share my exciting wheel news with Pam and Ann. They offered some good advice, and I have now ordered some items from P&M Woolcraft to set up the scotch tensioner.

Yesterday I went to Oxford again, where nice food was enjoyed in nice company. It was very atmospheric - dark and wintry - all it needed was the snow - but then I would not have been able to travel there, so you can't have everything.
Here is a rather amateurish picture of the covered market - but it looks very pretty despite the camera shake.

Posted on December 8, 2006 at 4:01 PM. Category: Days Out.

Wednesday November 29, 2006

One step closer to a niddy noddy of my very own.

Another great day.

Meeting and lunch in Oxford, followed by an excursion to Winslow (famous for its Boy?). I spotted 12 thatched roofs just driving up the high street. Why was I there? To collect my very own spinning wheel, at last, purchased through eBay.

Having got it home, it seems to be in very nice condition and. (I finally got round to doing some treadling after remote encouragement from Alison), it has a very smooth action. I think there may be a little spring missing from the scotch tensioner, but these fall off very easily and I think are equally easily replaced; however, until I get more experience I am not really sure what I'm talking about....!

Darren, the extremely pleasant seller, is a very genuine chap who seems to have had a middle aged woman's craft possessions explode all over his house. [A friend emigrated, apparently, and I only surmise the age as I cannot believe anyone younger could have collected such stuff]. Thus weakened by the sight of quite such a large bag of knitting needles outside of my own house, and unable to resist, I also purchased a lace pillow and some bobbins; there were only 13 bobbins which is strange as they are used in even numbers, but I think it was a good bargain for me, nonetheless.

Darren also pressed upon me a motley collection of fleeces (small quantites I hasten to say) which I have yet to explore, plus a jumbo flyer and a pair of carders.

It would be nice to spend the weekend playing with my wheel, but we are off to France again so I will have to contain my enthusiasm. Even without that, I still have a lot of other stuff to do for Christmas, if nothing else. I was pleased that not only did I get a good head start on Sunday by making two Christmas Puddings, a Dundee cake, (three french hens, two calling birds) and the mincemeat, but I discovered through that educational "every day story of country folk" on the radio that it was actually "stir up Sunday" so I was being thoroughly traditional to boot.

Posted on November 29, 2006 at 10:41 PM. Category: Spinning, Dying, Weaving.

Sunday November 26, 2006

Guernsey.

OK I admit it. It is very small. It may not fit George. It may not fit anyone over 12 inches in height.

Posted on November 26, 2006 at 10:15 PM. Category: Knitting.

I felt good.

Actually I'm not sure if I felt good or not (yet).

I rashly bought my eldest sister a rather basic digital camera as a Christmas present, (Fuji refurbished thing from Amazon), as she had admitted to not having one. It seemed a shame, as she has recently returned from a trip to Israel where she used disposable cameras, so I went for it. After that, it belatedly occurred to me that a knitted camera bag would be a perfect addition.

I hunted for some kind of pattern for a felted bag on the web, but found everyone else is just doing their own thing, so I decided I would just have to work it out. I used left-over wool from the Fliss scarf (Kid classic) - not sure if it would felt successfully or not, as it's not pure wool. I noted that all the early Rowan stuff seems to be done with Yorkshire Tweed - which they are retiring just now - so....

I knitted a 4x4 swatch and popped it in with the washing (the red washing - ha! can't catch me out like that!). What came out was a tiny ball of fur - from which I deduce it will work. I carefully prized the ball apart and measured it; it seems to have lost the standard 25% in length and about 15% in width.

And here it is; to my relief it seems a good fit, (yes I did risk quickly trying it while the bag is still damp - I am so wild sometimes).

I am not sure she will appreciate the bag - I may have to attach a label saying "these are very fashionable you know". Now I have the taste for it, I may try using left over Rowan Tapestry to knit a bag for my own camera. [That will be in tasteful shades of blue, rather than a Dennis-the-Menace inspired look].

Posted on November 26, 2006 at 1:52 PM. Category: Knitting.

Saturday November 18, 2006

Bangles and baubles.

It's the third Saturday in the month, so I went over to Headley for the monthly guild meeting, not expecting to join the beading workshop, but unexpectedly (and happily for me) they had a spare place. The workshop focussed on knitted beading, and all kinds of methods were taught, including knitting jewellery by using beads and invisible thread. Our project was a small knitted purse. Here is what I did: threading the beads to start.

What I had finished by the end of the day.

As we are all ladies of that certain age, it was mostly a real challenge for our eyesight. Here are some samples of finished articles brought by the workshop tutor Fiona Morris.

She brought along many of her other knitting products as well (see the website); it is always good to see the items knitted up - often much more inspiring than pictures.

Posted on November 18, 2006 at 6:00 PM. Category: Knitting.

Tuesday November 14, 2006

The goose is getting fat.

Here are some projects which I am making as presents. You have fair warning. If you think you may be a recipient of such a gift, look away now. [Actually we are all fine - my readership does not have any potential gifts here...]

First up is a pair of bedsocks, (yes that's right), knitted using woollen leftovers, (Patons Clansman, and Forsell double knitting). The vintage pattern was supplied by George's Mother (she knows my weaknesses) and was designed for leftovers in 3 colours. Last Christmas I knitted some in shades of brown for George's Father, (as a bit of a joke), since I know he wears socks in bed, especially when visiting our house. This year G's Mother requested another pair; it seems they are so popular he wears them all the time.

Next we have the ruffle scarf I have knitted from the latest Rowan book 40. This is for Fliss. In the book it is in an unappealing (no doubt fashionable) grey, and I did not really notice it; however, I saw it knitted up in John Lewis and bought the wool in more adventurous, and what I fondly hope, more Fliss-like colours. I had some trouble in deciphering the pattern and had to go back and check the item in JL to see that I was crocheting as instructed - it seems OK.

And finally: here is the beginnings of the scarf I decided to knit for George. It is a vintage pattern from Jane Waller's (out of print) Man's Book, referred to in the previous entry. I used some very old Rowan wool/cotton in a lovely sage colour.

Posted on November 14, 2006 at 6:33 PM. Category: Knitting.

Thursday November 9, 2006

"Men don't care for new ideas in dress..."

".... fashion means nothing to them".

After seeing a copy of the (out of print) Man's Book by Jane Waller at Alexandra Palace, I ordered a copy through Amazon. It was quite expensive and took some time to arrive as it seems to have been shipped from the US - and I think it is a US edition as the title is a little different. Anyway, it finally arrived today and I love it.

Here it is, showing the great cover shot of Edward Fox, sporting the Fair-Isle sweater "of his choice" - as well as a knitted muffler, I notice. The book covers knitted fashions from the 20s to the 50s; the 20s knitwear fashions were much influenced by the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII), and Mr Fox is an obvious choice for this picture after his excellent and memorable portrayal of the Prince in the 1978 drama series "Edward and Mrs Simpson".

Inside is a very early example of Roger Moore as a model; how handsome he is, and how accurately Jane Waller points out how he and Michael Bentley "epitomized the rugged, clean-limbed look that became the aspiration of every man in the fifties".

Posted on November 9, 2006 at 4:02 PM. Category: Knitting.

Sunday November 5, 2006

F is for Frost, and Feeding Frenzy.

But not Fawkes, as F was also for France, where they do not have a Festival to commemorate the burning of catholics (Funnily enough). We came across here on Thursday overnight arriving at St Malo on Friday morning, and the sea was blissfully calm, (Belle Mer). The weather is actually great: not too cold, no wind, and, following the early morning mists, beautiful clear frosty days.

Sunrise while we travelled from St Malo to Brécey yesterday:

The cats seem to be surviving; the kittens still have no manners, and scream for food - in fact, I should have taken a short video so you could hear how bad it is. I have now confirmed that the small pretty tabby one is a female, and the larger (ruggedly handsome) one is a male. They still refuse to be approached, but are much bolder. They were so hungry on the first day that once their heads were in the bowl you could do what you liked to them and they really did not notice; since then they have not been that hungry.

Here are front and back views. The kittens are frantically drinking a bowl of warm diluted milk, leaving their astute parent to hoover up all the food she can manage without competition.

Posted on November 5, 2006 at 2:47 PM. Category: France.

Tuesday October 31, 2006

All man but no trousers

I've been involved with this guy for a couple of days now;

it's been heady and exciting ... but somehow not quite real.

Maybe we've been seeing too much of each other.

I feel it's time to call a halt.

Nice legs though.

Posted on October 31, 2006 at 10:47 PM. Category: Knitting.

Saturday October 28, 2006

Furrowed brow

I have started another project from Rowan book 40, called Furrow. I liked the Dotty slipover so much that I thought Furrow would also be nice to knit, being made of Tapestry, Kid classic, and Wool-cotton. I thought the pattern was nice stripey rows made interesting by the self colouring wool patterns and some purl stitching giving additional texture. Turns out, it is some mad pattern involving slipping blocks of stitches on alternate pairs of rows, and stranding the yarn across the back of the work. The effect is quite pleasing but does not seem to warrant all the complexity.

Posted on October 28, 2006 at 2:40 PM. Category: Knitting.

Saturday October 21, 2006

A sheep in clover...

What a fantastic day I have had.

I went to join the nearest Spinners Guild, which after some research turned out to be "Creative Fibres" Group for East Surrey. They sounded small but they meet monthly in Headley Village Hall, which is (as I proved this morning) about a 4 minute drive from my house. As luck would have it, this month was their annual "Open Day", and that being the case I did not expect to stay too long. However it was so fantastic I stayed all day and had a great time. I was hoping it might be enjoyable, but it exceeded my expectations in every way.

They are involved in many different fibre crafts, have experts in every discipline and run regular workshops, and are a jolly welcoming group of people. I am so looking forward to being a member. They also have a separate Spinners group, that get together monthly in Ashstead, and I met several of them there, (with their wheels). To a man (or woman - only one brave man showed up to look around), they seemed to favour the Ashford "Joy" wheel, eulogising about how easily portable it is compared with "all the other wheels" they each seemed to own!

Here is their display table showing weaving, cards, knitting, (which includes spinning and dying the wool), braiding, silk paper, and a home made frame for Kumihimo braiding.

In case any of you are thinking of keeping sheep, I should point out that clover isn't too good for them it seems, as described in Far from the Madding Crowd.

See many more photos from the day in the extended entry.

Creative Fibres Open Day Headley Village Hall

Group	Peg Loom	Pam's Work	Carding	Carding
Carding	Inkle Loom	Sharron	Iris	Anne
Mavis	Marudai	DIY Marudai	Pam and Betty	Display

Posted on October 21, 2006 at 10:07 PM. Category: Spinning, Dying, Weaving.

Saturday October 14, 2006

Urban Decay

I have just returned from the dentist. No - no - it's better than that... I was just there to provide supportive transport for Robert, who finally had to have his last wisdom tooth removed.

Here he is with Mike Deasy, who has provided our dental treatment for the last 15 years or so, at the Bushy Park Dental Practice in Hampton, Surrey. Mike is a great guy, and it's always a pleasure to see him (apart from the actual treatment thing).

Posted on October 14, 2006 at 3:43 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Friday October 13, 2006

Alexandra Palace and the Knitting and Stitchery show 2006.

The great day has arrived!
I have been so looking forward to this - and at the same time I can hardly believe it's October already.

I set off with George's Mother, Sheila, as usual at around 7:45, driving through Richmond Park and up through Kew; it's lovely in the park at this time of year - the deer are rutting, (as we have been shown all week on the TV in "Autumn Watch" and can now see here without going up to Scotland). We finally arrived at the Palace in good time just before 10. They changed the parking again this year, so we were able to park in a nice little spot just at the back of the palace; I hope this does not indicate a lower attendance - they are running an extra event this year at the NEC and I would be sad if they abandon the London venue.

In the entrance hall we found an amusing exhibit; the Ferrari was entirely knitted, supported on a wire netting frame underneath. Sheila took my picture next to it. I am wearing "Elspeth" from Rowan 37.

"Elspeth" is designed to be knitted in Calmer, which is a wool I like a lot, but I chose to use Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino because I wanted this true cherry red colour. Calmer is a sort of Aran weight yarn whereas the Cashmerino is 4 or 5 ply (quick knit, fine double knitting.... whatever). I ended up knitting it at least 4 times (due to my tension changes and because this style needs to be more tight fitting than I would choose normally) and had lots of fun with the crochet edging (because Rowan do not see fit to give you any guidance as to how many stitches to pick up - 1:1 is too many, and different ratios apply according to which part of the edge you are doing). I also knitted it about an inch longer than designed.

All this effort on "Elspeth" was well worth it as both Debbie Bliss and Jane Waller commented on how nice my knitted top looked (dog with 2 tails, I was). I must say what a really nice lady Debbie Bliss is - she, and her companions on her stand, are so cheerful and pleasant and seem really interested in everyone's satisfaction in their knitted projects. Two or three years ago at the show, I purchased both pattern and wool for a cardigan, entirely because of her attitude and her encouragement to try the display model - she also gave me lots of good advice as to what size it was knitted in and how it might differ from the pattern. I cannot emphasise enough how good it is to see your favourite designers making what must be such an effort with the public. I remember Kaffe Fassett years ago responding, with such good grace, to an audience asking him endless questions about knitting rather, than what he is really skilled in, which is design.

I had not met Jane Waller before, and she is also simply charming. It seems that, unbeknownst to me, she is a ceramicist mainly but I know her from her books on knitting. She specialises in reproducing old patterns and showing them knitted in modern wools. I purchased her books in the 1980s "Thirties Family Knitting Book" and "A Stitch in Time". I found her at the show in the Woman's Weekly Cafe with a fantastic display of knitted items from her new book "The 1940s Knitting Pattern Book"; she also had some of her source materials on display: Stitchcraft magazines - how wonderful! Irritatingly for her, the publishers had failed to publish her book in time for the show, or I, for one, would have taken it at once! It is due to be published on October 27th. She did mention that she would like her old books to be republished, and I can only whole-heartedly agree - they seem to change hands on eBay for tidy sums.

The show this year had, as expected, far more emphasis on wools and fibres than in previous years. When we first came about 6 years ago, at Sheila's instigation, it included the Quilt Show, but this has now moved to an event of its own run in August. There are still enough fabric stalls to interest Sheila, though, and she thinks she might do more knitting in the future - last year we attended a crochet workshop at the show but none of these events interested us this year.

See Sheila, left, (note snazzy quilted bag), at the Knitting and Crochet Guild learning finger knitting.

I notice that the fibres and general thrust of the show is less oriented towards knitting conventional clothing, but far more towards fibre art work, with specialist fibres available in tiny quantities, more suitable for, say, embroidery, weaving, felting etc.

In the extended entry see photo albums of the show, and a felting demonstration. Click on the thumbnails for larger views.

After the foggy start to the morning, this was the fantastic vista from the palace when we left at 5 o'clock. We could see the Gherkin, the Post Office Tower, the London Eye, and, I think, St Pauls. Don't strain your eyes to check, though, as only the Gherkin is visible in this picture, (in the middle of the 2 trees on the right).

See many more photos from the show below.

Here are some pictures of the show - click on the thumbnails to page through the album.

Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitchery Show 2006

Knitted Ferrari	Spin, Weave	Fabric Folding	Rag Rugs I	Rag Rugs II
Quilters	Lacemakers	Braiders	Milliners	Patchwork
Sashiko I	Sashiko II	Me in cardigan	Rose Violet	Wool Tops

"Felt Better" Knitting and Stitchery Show 2006

Felt1.JPG	Felt2.JPG	Felt3.JPG	Felt4.JPG	Felt5.JPG
Felt6.JPG	Felt7.JPG	Felt8.JPG	Felt9.JPG	FeltA.JPG

If you have a video-enabled browser, you can roll the cursor over the picture below for a little animation.

Posted on October 13, 2006 at 11:50 PM. Category: Knitting.

Wednesday October 11, 2006

Spotted leopards

Here is George, delightedly playing with the best birthday present in the world, (from his Mother, I might say).

In case you are wondering, it's a Butter Wizard; he has been longing for one of these ever since he first found it on the web. I am not so keen on gadgets - but it is functional - that's all the praise it gets from me - but it's not my birthday. You can buy Butter Wizard from Lakeland.

You may notice that he is wearing the pullover I knitted for him without his expressing too many symptoms of distress- ["I'm not wearing a tank top; I won't, I won't!"] - I mean, I didn't have to force his little arms into it or anything like that. It is a Kaffe Fassett design from the latest Rowan book 40 (page down on the linked page to see "Dotty"), and is knitted in Felted Tweed and Tapestry. It was a joy to knit (relatively simple) and feels wonderful.

More details about the knitting below :

I knitted the smallest size for Dotty and it came out easily to fit George for whom a 42 inch chest would be normal. I noticed that it knitted up to a larger gauge than quoted, although normally my tension is standard according to the needle gauge and wool thickness. This is a Fair Isle technique, though, and typically this comes out tighter than straight knitting, for which I try and compensate by knitting loosely (as in "strand the threads loosely across the back"); it may be that Rowan accounted for tight knitting in the tension quoted.
The original is in rather nice shades of brown, but when the right Felted Tweed colour finally arrived in John Lewis, they had sold out of the recommended Tapestry colour. As the birthday was fast approaching, I went ahead with it in two shades of blue instead and it has worked out quite well.
I think this project would also work out well in black and grey.

A word on the wool quantities:

The pattern calls for 4 balls in each of the two main colours, and I used only 3 balls of the Tapestry for the size I knitted - by a long way - and took one back.
Worse, (on the budget), the pattern also calls for 2 further balls of two different contrasting colours. The first is used only to cast on the stitches (!). The second to do the first two rows of the welt. They are also used to finish off the neck and sleeve bands in the same way. You could miss the rows out altogether, and knit the welts plain but I am against this; I think these little touches really add to the design (as Kaffe knows best, I'm sure). However I am very mean about these things - this tiny detail adds on up to 30% to the cost. So I would urge anyone to try and find a substitute among their wool oddments - you don't need much. I think I would have found it hard to find the browns but for my colour scheme I would have had to choose my own colours anyway; for the cast on row I used a completely plain black double knitting wool (Patrons Clansman pure wool), and for the second contrast, I was lucky that I had some pale grey Rowan Felted Tweed left over from another project.

A word on the Tapestry wool:

You may need to be warned that the pattern that you achieve in the Tapestry wool depends on the number of stitches in the row, rather like the self-patterning sock wools. This is easily visible in the photos of the items in Rowan book 40 (see, for example, "Serge" in the web link given above). With Dotty, you get different patterns in the spots as you decrease for the neck, and, consequently also the patterning is asymmetric on each side of the neck.
I did not like this for Dotty (although, it is nice in some of the patterns) so I went to tedious lengths to avoid it. I knitted across both sides of the neck together (both on the needles at the same time, using separate balls of wool for the background), and I kept breaking the Tapestry wool at the V neck edge, and sewed in these ends once I had finished. This meant the dyed pattern on the wool progressed evenly up each side of the neck. I preferred this outcome, but I can also see that some people (Kaffe?) may prefer the asymmetric design.

Posted on October 11, 2006 at 9:41 PM. Category: Knitting.

Saturday October 7, 2006

Visions of humanity

Have just returned from the Royal Academy exhibition "Modigliani and his models", and (as Rob observed), my head is just full...
Unlike Kandinsky, Modigliani's work is much more accessible and I am particularly keen on it.

This is the last week of the exhibition so we turned up at 10 and queued for tickets, but did not have much of a problem getting in, and managed to escape before it became too crowded. Quite a contrast to when I was last there for Monet, which was hopelessly popular.

We began our tour in the last gallery (again, as a crowd avoidance measure - it works until you get back to gallery 1). However, it was desperately sad to hear about the end of his life and even more so that of his lover Jeanne Hébuterne - too sad to talk about here.

This portrait is an unnamed "Woman with a red necklace", painted in 1918. Text quoted from the gallery descriptions best sums up his work I feel: "His mastery in these portraits lies in his ability to retain the essential likeness of an individual while couching her likeness in his own restricted vocabulary of forms."

Posted on October 7, 2006 at 4:01 PM. Category: Days Out.

Thursday October 5, 2006

Clink Street

I went to London today, arriving as usual at London Bridge station, and walking along the south bank of the river (as usual) towards the Globe (next to the Tate Modern, where I had been not 2 weeks ago). No doubt I took a slightly different route to the river, but I am now left thinking that I must have previously been walking around with my eyes shut - or that London offers too many wonders to be fully appreciated by a lady from Surrey.
First of all I noticed a number of grand ecclesiastical buildings, which turned out to be (of course) Southwark cathedral no less - more like cathedrals abroad, being stuck right up against many other buildings so you can't step away and appreciate its architecture.
Next I happened upon a replica of the Golden Hind - thinking "this looks like an old ship" in a rather dull early-morning sort of way - so I stopped to read the notices.

Finally I passed the ruin of the Winchester Palace, which is at the junction of Clink street and Stoney Street. Only one wall survives, really, but it is very open to view from the street, as there have been archealogical excavations there in the past revealing Roman remains on the same site. I was going to add a photo but Mr Monkey describes his experience so much better.

Educational History: Winchester Palace, completed in the 1140s, was the London residence of the Bishop of Winchester for over 500 years. Many important visitors were entertained here – King James I held his wedding banquet att the Palace. It was used as a prison from 1649 to 1660 and was then leased for housing. Destroyed by fire in 1814, now only the west wall with its 14th century Rose Window survives.

Posted on October 5, 2006 at 6:14 PM. Category: Days Out.

Tuesday September 26, 2006

Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Went for a swim at the gym - paid annual suscription - and weighed self.
Weight has not changed since end of May - which is good (given that weight-watchers diet and points counting has not been happening). Hopefully am evolving into person who can eat right amount without obssessive counting.
Still 4lb to go to target weight.

Went into library (next to gym) and took all I could carry on spinning.

Posted on September 26, 2006 at 5:15 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Sunday September 24, 2006

Birthday boy

Robert's birthday.
I knitted him (at his request) Warrior in Calmer from Rowan book 39. The yarn is very soft and light weight, and so very suitable for him as he is allergic to rough wools. Here he is modelling the sweater, while opening his other presents (Bad Bird Watchers Companion, Surfacing, and a light box), and complaining about the quality of John Lewis packaging.

[Try rolling your mouse over the image if you have a video-enabled browser].

After the gift excitement we went out for lunch at the Dolphin in Betchworth, suggested by George, and which I can also thoroughly recommend, despite variable reviews on the web. The food was good, with main course and pudding for 2 (including a pint and a half of beer) costing £40 - I mention this as other reviews imply it is expensive.
Oh - and I thought the toilets were fine....!

Posted on September 24, 2006 at 9:53 PM. Category: Red Letter Days.

Saturday September 23, 2006

In a spin

O what joy!
I have spent the whole day learning to spin and the world is now redefined in terms of Rollags, Lazy Kates, and Niddy Noddies.

I should explain this is my first spinning lesson, which I have waited 30 years to accomplish. I wasn't terribly good at it I have to say but, thanks to the encouragement of cousin Ginny and her friend Rosemary, I plan to work at it - "practice makes perfect" [Good Advice].

This shows what I spun today on the bobbin, (in my defence, it had a fairly long staple length - but in the long run that probably made little difference), and the drop spindle work that I attempted in my youth. In 1980, I lived close to a business premises near Canonbury station in North London; I think this business was run by Mike Halsey but I can find limited reference to him on the web, other than his books and pamphlets on weaving. Despite the amazing temptation of the local shop I was unable (as a student) to afford to take up the hobby in any serious way, but (with great foresight!) did purchase a pair of carders when the shop finally closed.

In addition to the dedicated and patient tuition, I was treated to a delicious lunch, and I was introduced to a different sort of wool stash, of which type I hope to soon acquire so it can sit alongside my other stashes of wool and quilting fabric….

Posted on September 23, 2006 at 5:53 PM. Category: Spinning, Dying, Weaving.

Friday September 22, 2006

Path to Abstraction

Today we went to Tate Modern to see "Wassily Kandinsky's intriguing journey from figurative landscape painter to modernist master, as he strove to develop a radically abstract language". That is from this:

to this:

One of the intermediate pictures was most revealing to me, (after having had it explained by the audio guide), in that although at first take it may look like an abstract picture, every element within it is a recognisable feature (people and animals, or plants); it is not at all an abstract. During this earlier part of his life's work that the exhibition covers, he evolved 3 types of work: Observations (taken from nature), Improvisations (expressing a mood or emotion), and Compositions (large scale abstract works, of which only 7 survive). The latter 2 descriptions emphasise his correlation of music and visual art.

The "audio guide" was in fact a multimedia iPod thing which I would strongly recommend; they are able to describe the pictures, provide musical references (Kandinsky was very interested in the new musical theories of Schoenberg and the link between music and colour - synaesthesia - he saw art providing an alternative music for the senses), and show other influential artists work. His work followed the changes in his residence, which in turn were stimulated by wars, and politics. He lived in Germany until the outbreak of war in 1914, whereupon he moved back to Russia; he then returned to Germany (to join the Bauhaus) after the revolution, and finally moved to Paris in 1933 when the Bauhaus closed - it was not right wing enough for the fascist government of the time.

The other amusing thing for the uninitiated is that the abstracts always look like a load of wild uncontrolled splodges of paint thrown at the picture; however, all his abstracts were very carefully planned pieces, evolving from many sketches and preliminary paintings. These plans and the paintings themselves were on display.

Posted on September 22, 2006 at 8:52 PM. Category: Days Out.

Saturday September 9, 2006

Tous à Cuves

Today we joined the protest march against the proposed (and now I think actual) scheme to install a land-fill site in Cuves. It seems a pretty poor idea - apart from the NIMBY syndrome as it will be very close to our cottage. I listened to an hour and a half of speeches by local mayors, listing the risks to health and the environment - children at risk from the camions (lorries/trucks) and pollution of the See valley. Notably the Mayor of Cuves was absent since he is the villain of the piece, having sold off his own land, and waived through planning permission for the site. He appears still to be the incumbent mayor despite having (wisely) moved out of the village to St Malo in the several years this proposal has been on the table.

For the past year or so there have been notices all around the area - my personal favourite is the Wheel of Fortune.

It was very sad really - I believe every single villager was in the square - and I believe it will make no difference.
"Le maire a trahi les électeurs".

Further pictures of the marchers:

Posted on September 9, 2006 at 5:17 PM. Category: France.

Monday August 28, 2006

Headway

I have been making lots of progress in projects both craft related and in the house. However, this has meant less time spent on the blog or website. When things are going well with more active pursuits, I am always loathe to stop and glue myself back to the computer, so there's been quite a gap. I will try and fill in my undocumented needlework activites in due course.

In the meantime here is the latest sweater I knitted ("Rosa" in Kidsilk Haze). It is a lovely wool to work with - fine but with a larger tension gauge and therefore quick to knit.
The sweater is slightly short for my taste (and figure) but I will have to review what I intend to wear it with. It is supposed to have the frill all down the front but it does not seem to hang like a godet (maybe I did not gather it enough) but I decided to leave it at a rather more staid collar.

I added a Ribbons and Beads Corsage by Sarah Hatton from Rowan book 39 (for modesty's sake - probably necessary also because of my figure....).
I made quite a few of these corsages with left over wool from mutiple "Rivers", and they proved to be a hot-selling item at the Bourne Quilters annual show.

Inexplicably more pleasurable for me was completing a little quilting project. I wanted to make some "Grandmother's Fan" patches, and chose to make them in some nostalgic floral fabrics (mainly "Sentimental Journey" by Robyn Pandolph). I designed a circular needle holder, which opens like a concertina booklet with pockets - if I were going into production, it needs a little refinement, but I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Posted on August 28, 2006 at 6:08 PM. Category: Knitting.

Monday August 14, 2006

Woe, woe, and thrice woe.

Hard disk failure. I may be some time...

Posted on August 14, 2006 at 8:24 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Saturday July 29, 2006

Just so you know....

...sometimes I do complete things.
Sometimes I complete things more than once. Here are my two cardis:

The turquoise one with the reknitted sleeves.
The original (Rowan 39 "Deep" in Summer Tweed) did not have the sleeves turned back, although I thought that's how they were in the magazine picture. This is probably because of the striped pattern which I omitted (I know - what is the matter with me? omitting the opportunity to knit stripes!).

The black one (Rowan 37 "Lucy" in Cotton Tape ) with everything but the sleeves reknitted (in a much smaller size - and still too big). Experience with the other Rowan cotton tape sweater I knitted leads me to believe it will improve when washed, (and then, according to Alison, stretch again as you wear it).

Finally - my yellow Conkers repainted an attractive shade of red for the complete Noddy and Big Ears look, which is so fashionable now.

I have to confess that after this thrifty refurbishment, I was seduced by the local village shoe shop and bought 2 more pairs of shoes - one (you guessed it) in red, and the other in navy blue. One in every colour. (I guess there's a reason I have been unable to buy navy shoes for the past few years - the same reason they are in a shop in the village - but I am ignoring the obvious). The worst part, I am not about to confess - even to you - since my (older) sister assures me that once you start buying shoes by this manufacturer, you have to admit to really having reached your dotage (..... but they are so comfy. And no-one will ever need to read the label, as I will never again be forced to kick off my uncomfortable shoes during business meetings...).

Here are the Conkers in France (enjoying a break with a cup of tea) while still yellow.

Posted on July 29, 2006 at 1:44 PM. Category: Knitting.

Monday July 24, 2006

Amiens et les Muches

I am pleased to report that the air-conditioning in the car has now been fixed so the journey home was quite pleasurable - probably more pleasurable than being out of the car in fact. The pleasure was further increased in that we did not have to drive to Boulogne for the ferry all in one day.
Our stop-over turned out to be in Amiens, which is a lovely town, and was complete serendipity since it was the only place we could find that was available at the time we booked.

On Saturday evening we ate at the seemingly inappropriately named "Queue de Vache" on the Quai Bélu which has a lot of restaurants to choose from. George ate an uninteresting steak (the only one on the menu), and I had a delicious "souris d'agneau", which I discovered was a lamb shank - supposedly because it might look like a mouse when cooked (? - they must have big mice in France - that's all I'm saying).

On Sunday morning we visited the "Maison de Jules Verne" - it is a quietly impressive house. Living there, even I might be inspired to write exciting adventure stories and make my fortune.

There were many great items on display, including models and puppets, as well as memorabilia and early editions of his books.

We then walked back into the town, and along the river to see the Hortillonages.

These are allotment gardens surrounded by water which were developed on marshland during the Gallo-Roman period. There are numerous plots of land, criss-crossed by canals, the “rieux”, which are navigable by flat-bottomed boats known as “barques à cornets". The Hortillons (market gardeners) sell vegetables every week from the quai, and once a year, in June, they dress up in antique costumes and sell from their boats in a "water market". You can go on a tour in a barque but we passed on that due to the intense heat.

Amiens was serenely beautiful and the weather was glorious - and you cannot help but poignantly think of the notorious battles of the Sommes - and fail to imagine.....

After lunching at a riverside cafe, we sped on to our next destination: Naours.

The “muches”, (hiding places), which apparently occur under many towns in Picardie, are underground passages hollowed out of the limestone by man. I can compare them to our own Chislehurst caves. These underground passages can accommodate an entire village including the cattle. The Muches at Naours are the largest, made up of about thirty galleries extending over a total length of 2 km, including public areas, cattle-sheds, wells, chimneys and even a chapel with three naves. The height of these galleries varies between 1.60 m and 2 m. They were constructed to provide shelter during the wars and invasions, as well as extracting building stone to construct the village.

Of course you only visit a small part of the caves on the underground tour [I have read a very mean-spirited review suggesting that the experience is not as advertised but merely a tourist trap]; however I found it nonetheless very interesting - despite the whole tour being commentated in French of course (though a written guide was provided for us in English). It is quite cold in the caves - a steady 9 degrees (warm for the villagers in Winter) - which was a great relief from the current heatwave, but really you need a cardi!
The tour ends with "a small museum dedicated to the old Picardy crafts" - probably least said about this the better, but maybe fun for kids.

We ended by climbing Watchtower Hill, above the caves, to see two pivot wooden mills. One was an oil mill, the other a flour mill.

Posted on July 24, 2006 at 3:20 AM. Category: France.

Tuesday July 18, 2006

Villedieu-les-Poêles

Yes - that's right: God's town, (of) the frying pans.
Best not to ask. But they are well known for their copper ware (as even a passing tourist might deduce), and for their bell foundry. On previous visits we did the museum tours - I wanted to see the lace museum (which I enjoyed but no-one else did), and I can thoroughly recommend skipping the tour of the furniture museum (yawn) - what a lot of wardrobes those French have... my, my.
But the tour of the bell foundry was a real treat (honestly) - not to be missed. I think it has to be said we were lucky with our tour guide who seemed to be a young member of the family who own the place, and utterly fluent in English as well as very knowledgeable on the casting processes. They make small commerciaI souvenir items, like doorbells, but their traditional business is in casting gigantic bells - big one-off special projects for churches and so on.

Today we were there to catch the Market as this is where the Market is on a Tuesday. It does not get to Brécey until Friday and we will be thinking about leaving by then. It was very hot (has been every day). So having got up at 6 while it was still cool enough to work in the garden, we were in Villedieu well in time for coffee and croissants.
We were also on a mission to buy a replacement for our cafe curtain which the previous visitors had broken somehow, (hard to imagine how but it was mangled and the fitting snapped). Instead of mentioning this when they left, they had set it up like the slapstick "paint bucket atop the door" joke, so that it fell on our cleaner immediately she walked in - very amusing....

Posted on July 18, 2006 at 3:39 PM. Category: France.

Sunday July 16, 2006

Les chatons sont arrivés

And here they are (photo supplied by George):

Very shy as usual, but the more couragious one did tolerate my touching his head momentarily whilst distracted by scoffing some food. He withdrew immediately he realised what was happening, of course.
They are similar to the previous kittens in that: there are 2 of them, one is white with blobs of plain colour, (the bold one, seen left with his Mother), the other is white with blobs of tabby colour, (the scaredy-cat); however, most delightfully, instead of being ginger and white, they are grey and white, (be still my heart!). If I could coax them into my handbag they will be coming home to England with me...

 

Here is Scaredy-Cat who would not come down for me and "have his photo took", (and he's so pretty...)

I estimate they are 6 weeks old and suspect that next time we visit they will be gone - hopefully to a self sufficient life in another territory rather than anything more sinister.

Posted on July 16, 2006 at 11:53 AM. Category: France.

Wednesday July 5, 2006

A plague of frogs.

Here they are again - cute isn't it?

Our entire lawn covered - and I mean literally hopping - with baby frogs about 1 cm long. I guess they all mature at the same time and leap out of the pond - and then rush off to find a nice mossy home somewhere. I suspect most of them get eaten by the birds - except for the ones that are contained by the 3 year old from next door - having shown him the frogs he went to get his garden rake ("that's best"). His older brother was very worried and wanted to take them all back to the pond (little softie).

I think this happens on one day every year but we don't always see them on the day. Can you find the frogs in this picture?

Read on for the "spot the frog" competition solution:

Posted on July 5, 2006 at 5:39 PM. Category: The Garden.

Tuesday July 4, 2006

An up-start Crow

I walked along the Thames between London Bridge and Blackfriars early this morning. It was already hot. I got slightly lost on the way as I walked too far along the river, but on the way back I saw this fabulous piece of Victorian aggrandisement: "London Chatham and Dover Railway". I arrived at the client hot and bothered, but then spent all day in a windowless air-conditioned room - for which I can only be grateful really.

I had a hot return journey on the train. Spent the time knitting (which seemed especially unseasonal); reknitting "Cannes" from Beach Cool. It seems to be so small I am beginning to wonder what on earth I did to the first version - wrong needles perhaps?

Posted on July 4, 2006 at 7:05 PM. Category: Days Out.

Monday July 3, 2006

Toast

We took our toaster to live in France. And a new kettle. [Visitors take their toll].
Ever since then, snacks have been off the menu.
But today - the Fancy New Toaster arrived.
See here, lovingly displayed on its way to delivering poached eggs on toast.

Yesterday evening I made 3 pots of strawberry jam.
Hmm... another idea involving a snack and toast is forming in my mind's eye....

Posted on July 3, 2006 at 8:46 PM. Category: Kitchen and food.

Saturday July 1, 2006

...wearing divine garlands and apparel...

So now it is really hot, and I have just returned from the quilt show at Sandown, (where it was really hot). My compatriots in this venture were George's Mother, and her neighbour.

Naturally I bought loads more Stuff, (see under "stuff"), including yet more bag handles, when in fact I am pretty sure I have never actually made a bag. But soon that will be resolved. I shall make a bag. Or two bags. Or as many bags as I have handles.

I bought some pretty 1950's style fabrikkk (see under "Miss Soutar" pronounced ssootaah); however, I remain unsure as to whether to make myself a pretty summer frock, or cover the sofa with it.

I also bought a book - Erika Knight's "New Knits: 20 knitting projects with a contemporary twist" - on the basis that there were at least 3 things in it I wanted to knit, and which I am not going to reveal here. However I now know the solution for Alison to make over her Pottery Barn living room furniture; start knitting now, sister! [Good Advice].

A view of our day at the venue.

A well as an opportunity to spend money, this show exhibited entries to the National Quilt Championships. Here are some of the quilts that I liked; I would say they are not necessarily the best quilts or the winners - they are ones I would like to own or copy. [The middle row shows a detail of the quilt above it].

Posted on July 1, 2006 at 4:15 PM. Category: Quilting.

Anointed with celestial perfumes...

Last evening, and just now, the garden is full of an overwhelming perfume. Here is the culprit:

the beautiful mock orange tree.
It is huge and glorious.
I can show it to you, but I cannot begin to convey that beautiful scent.

Posted on July 1, 2006 at 7:03 AM. Category: The Garden.

Sunday June 25, 2006

The people we used to be.

I have just come back from a party.
I took great care in dressing and preparing for this party. I wore a skirt, strappy sandals, painted my toenails, and shaved my legs. All of these pretty normal and tasteful things to do if you want to dress up and look nice. In my case though, I was not dressing to impress my host and fellow guests as such - it was more a ritual tribute in memory of the people we used to be. The strappy sandals were for Lesh - it was his 50th birthday (last Thursday in fact), and these were the things he talked incessantly about when he was 20. I stopped short of binding my breasts and dying my hair red though - but I did give him a framed photo of Bonnie Langford (the Perfect Woman); however, now he has Val, maybe he has forgotten about Bonnie.
Earlier on this year, Lesh and I met up again for the first time in about 25 years. It's always a doubtful experience to renew old acquaintance but really it was ... just great. I suppose we were firm friends for a few years in our 20's - constantly in one anothers company, and I had just forgotten how much I must have liked him for that to have been the case.

The leg shaving, now - that was for Chris - we'll leave it at that - I have not seen Chris for at least 25 years. He and Lesh were great buddies as undergraduates, but by the time I got to know Lesh better, Chris was out in the wide world of work, and my contact with him was an occasional drink at the Duke of Wellington. I expect he has forgotten about the legs (or maybe it is his overriding memory of me - who knows?) but it made me laugh at the time.

*******************************************************



Here are the strappy sandals -so flattering that Alison and I bought a pair each (not from Hobbs - that's all I'm saying). Very comfortable and secure on your feet. Spent ages this evening glueing all the chain decoration back into place before I could wear them.

Note the elegant skirt, pedicure, and silk smooth leg.

Posted on June 25, 2006 at 12:04 AM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Friday June 23, 2006

Mere Pond

It was a water related day really.

I had to get to Thames Ditton to pick up Mini. Travelling by train, there are 3 stations to choose from but benefiting from a fortuitous set of connections (2 changes) I ended up at Kingston station. Although this is the furthest away, I was able to slip into John Lewis on a little errand, only to discover that the bargain wool I bought on eBay and expected to augment was not such a bargain after all, since JL have not sold their own brand of wool for about 5 years! What a time to give it up....... I suspect it is linked to the demise of the UK mills but (sigh) "let's not go there".** In JL, I bought Rowan's "Beach Cool" all over again - it's a nice book - as I need to alter Cannes which I knitted last year. I did look lovely in it (she said modestly) but now it doesn't fit me ... but in a good way. I also popped into Calico, (how could I not? it's in Rams Passage just off the Thames walk). Its a lovely shop run by a friend of my sister from way back - though he has no idea who I am. I was on a mission for Alison to check out the Liberty Tana lawn; he had lots of bargains but I could not decide on anything without further consultation.

** Lack of availability in this quarter led me to find lots of nice UK websites selling guernsey wool by mail order, though, so it's not all bad; more on this when I've knitted something.

After all this, as part of the master plan, I continued my walk down the Thames to get to the Cooper garage. The Thames towpath has been revamped since I lived there, and so much more of it is accessible. It was a simply lovely day and the walk raised my spirits no end.

My spirits were sufficiently raised, that in the evening before the weekly curry at the Indus with Robert, I suggested we went for a walk to the Mere Pond in Walton-on-the-Hill. I thought Robert needed his spirits raising, and I had seen a pile of cygnets settled by the side of the pond as I drove past earlier. When we got there, they had moved off to a safer position on the far side of the pond, but there were a lot of baby coots and moorhens, and all the birds in the wood were out and about with small families.

...and here are a few more pictures of the ponds - Coots on the Mere Pond:

... and Moorhens on our local pond.

I was pleased to see they are still there with some chicks, as there was such a rumpus in the middle of the night a few days ago that I assumed the fox had got them all. It's amazing that they manage to avoid the foxes and raise any chicks at all.

Posted on June 23, 2006 at 11:31 PM. Category: Days Out.

Thursday June 22, 2006

Mini in Shock Facelift Revelation

Mini has finally had gone to the beautician garage to have her eyebrows window trim plucked fixed.
Some time ago while driving to work round the M25, Mini the car began to make the most terrible noise which in some pathetic girly completely reasonable way I erroneously attributed to the wheel arches. Once at my destination I found the trim had come loose on the windscreen and was slapping cheerfully against the roof.

I was forced to make some temporary repairs involving masking tape. Gaffer tape was suggested by both George and Robert and my colleague Tony (what is it with men and gaffer tape?) but I felt that masking tape would be easier to remove when the time came. As it turns out, the masking tape peeled off all by itself while driving along, and began slapping cheerfully on the car roof (a slightly higher tone that previously) ... but only in some places. In other places it hung on like grim death and left a sticky mess all over the place.
I am not popular in the mechanics fraternity.

Posted on June 22, 2006 at 7:35 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Sunday June 18, 2006

Football

The title says it all really.

I suppose I should be grateful as it drove me into my workroom to recover it to some kind of status where I can use it to - well - work. I was beginning to lose all hope but made pretty good progress in just a few hours of effort, (several interludes of 90 minutes to be precise). I made all sorts of the archeological finds - D-rings (never a D-ring when you need it) - eyelets (that I thought had been snaffled by step-daughter). Now I can steam ahead and add that extra eyelet hole to my belt... I know what you are thinking but it's in a good way.
How long does this football thing last? I may be able to rediscover the entire house by then.....

Posted on June 18, 2006 at 10:14 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Tuesday June 13, 2006

Eco-princess

The trip home was unbearably hot as our car has non-functioning air conditioning. Just like travelling on summer holidays used to be. I can think of an especially memorable trip to a fancy dress party in Manchester in 1976 (medieval princess in case you were wondering - although some would argue that all clothing in 1976 was fancy dress). It was Wimbledon finals day - Bjorn Borg won his first Wimbledon title beating (the lovely) Ilie Năstase in straight sets - thus giving me mental as well as physical anguish. My idol's last stab at the title - as if 1972 had not been bad enough, (Stan "God was on my side" Smith - which he may well have been - but I would prefer to think that, being omnipotent, he'd let the best man win a sporting event without interfering, whatever his personal preferences, Stan).

So - it was very pleasant when I awoke this morning at 5am to the patter of tiny raindrops - and immediately did what anyone would do and rushed outside to tend to my plant pots. They had been sheltering from the desert like conditions on the porch while we were away, and I moved them back into the gentle rain. We do have a hose-pipe ban here, so keeping them wet from now on will be slightly more of a chore than usual.

Still, it's not all bad - you are also not allowed to wash your car..... so I am no longer the sloven with a filthy car but the ecologically-minded publlic-spirited woman who cares about our planet.

Posted on June 13, 2006 at 6:00 AM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Sunday June 11, 2006

Roses round the door...

Several barbecues later, and another sweltering day in the garden.

But what a lovely garden it is....

Not that I am in any way responsible for the amazing variety and quality of plants that keep springing up in unexpected places - that was the previous owners - but they were fond of roses - and, apart from apparently being Britain's favourite bloom, ( BBC - Gardening - Flower shows - Nations Favourite Flower), roses seem to be very tolerant and rewarding plants despite the traditional view of the fussy tea rose.

Here is but one of the splendid rose bushes, frantically blooming beside the front door. Every summer it is intent on covering the window (not ideal as the interior is already quite dark) and every spring we cut it back to within an inch of its life - but then off it goes again.....

.... and here are examples of the flowers in more unexpected places.

Finally, I am pleased to report the little cat has clearly had her kittens but she is keeping them somewhere secret - not in our barn which seemed to be the usual place. This has meant she has turned up for food morning and evening, but been absent in the day (and night) - hopefully feeding them. Here she is, cooling off, and taking a break from the kids. I understand she plans to get her normal figure back (spherical) by helping in the garden.

Posted on June 11, 2006 at 8:13 PM. Category: France.

Friday June 9, 2006

Pyromania

A day of frantic work - George, clearing weeds and ivy from around the well:

... and then a bonfire. I felt, given the excessive heat, that this was a mistake, but up until yesterday it had obviously been raining in France as much as in England (witness the stunning growth of grass and weeds since our last visit) so most of the grass was green and damp, and not at risk from stray sparks. Despite this we had a hose on hand to contain the surrounding area, (no hose pipe bans here - just metered water).

And to round off the 30-degrees-in-the-shade experience, we ended the day with a barbecue.

Posted on June 9, 2006 at 9:23 PM. Category: France.

Thursday June 8, 2006

Poachers Moon

As we set off for France the weather was changing to be a lot warmer than of late. I moved all the garden pots into the shade of the porch and watered them well, before we left. I have brought with me a neglected Rosemary tree - one of a pair I had bought to rescue from the mangling hands of a DIY store - the second, I shall plant in England, but have yet to choose the spot; I have already lost one and they can hardly be said to be fussy plants. I am expecting that the climate will suit it better in Normandy than in England. At La Gonfrairie, we have two huge bay trees - so big that I failed to recognise them when we were first there - but no Rosemary, which I always miss given the availability of all that delicious French lamb. However this plant has a way to go before I can mutilate it for culinary purposes. We crossed the channel to Boulogne, which then leaves quite a journey to get down to Basse-Normandie. On the way, we stoped to eat at Neufchatel-en-Bray - "something fried in a basket" in food terms but much nicer surroundings, despite 3 out of the 4 tables being occupied by the English.....

We arrived in the middle of a delightfully cool night.

Here- a view from our bedroom window - sadly imperfectly captured on camera.

It is so completely dark here at night.

Around cities you forget how utterly black the night really is, and how utterly beautiful moonlight really is.

Posted on June 8, 2006 at 12:45 AM. Category: France.

Monday June 5, 2006

High-powered business woman.

What? ...no... I mean me.

How could I fail to impress? ... with my new shoes.....

...and.... my wonderful new PC bag - lovingly knitted by Alison, (at least - that's what she said).

Here it is artfully displayed lounging on my veranda, shortly before going to earn its keep at a meeting with a client.

After successfully concluding the day's business - success all due to the new accoutrements, of course - I went on to complete Boudoir Bedjacket which, all being well, will be on its way to Diane tomorrow.

Posted on June 5, 2006 at 10:32 PM. Category: Oddments and stray thoughts.

Monday May 29, 2006

Quiz Night at the Fox

This weekend is the traditional Whitsun Bank Holiday - now renamed "Spring" as it no longer follows the church calendar, (Whitsun being June 4th this year, apparently). We have not really taken much time off as such, since we have both had some work to catch up on, in order to be ready for next week. In addition, as usual, there are a lot of things to be done around the house.

I managed to put some real plants into the outdoor pots to replace the little dead things that had been overwintering there. I also renewed my pelargonium pots, and tried again to grow some "useful herbs" (chives, parsley, and tarragon), on the kitchen windowsill. The books say that tarragon grows to a height of 2 feet - but somehow not for me - and the old wives say that parsley only grows in a house where the woman wears the trousers - so I am hoping for greater success there.

Meanwhile, George was turfing a load of geraniums off the car port roof - they had self-seeded and were a providing a splendid floral display; however the roof was bending dangerously under the weight, so action had to be taken.

In the evening we went to make up a quiz team at the Fox, with my sister Lyn, husband Terry, and Sam. And what a team we turned out to be! We came second - beaten by only one point....

******************************************************************************

More excitement - a deer appeared in our garden in the evening. It seemed young and on its own. However, it came back twice, seemingly mesmerised by the house, but at the same time very wary. I wonder - knowing what a pest they can be - if it was attracted by the flowers in the beds near the house, but too scared to come up close enough to eat them!
The Gardener, (o.. you caught me... yes, I have a gardener who does the less lady-like things in the garden), reported that the deer has already eaten the lower blossoms on the apple trees.

Posted on May 29, 2006 at 1:47 PM. Category: The Garden.

Wednesday May 24, 2006

Ladies that lunch

Sometimes your working life provides unexpected pleasures - like my friend Sheelagh. Of course, in fact, she is one of my customers, but I've been working with her for over 10 years now. Thus I was able to go and see her today and it was a pleasure to share a spot of lunch. We went to Browns and here we are with our fish and chips.

After that we went for a short perambulation, during which I felt duty bound to take a picture of the (presumably Victorian) Magdalen Street public conveniences. There are not many of these facilities left these days - councils found they were too difficult to maintain and protect from vandalism so they have filled them with concrete.

To add to my amusement - on my way through St Giles I found the "Gents" - nicely labelled "St Giles Gents", making a suitable matching pair with the one below. I thought a single photographic record was sufficient however.....

Posted on May 24, 2006 at 8:10 PM. Category: Days Out.

Sunday May 21, 2006

Boudoir Bedjacket

I managed to knit "River" for my friend Diane's birthday - and, if you don't know what that is, do take the opportunity to see: "River" at Ferretworld for Alison's version. Since then, I have discovered that Diane is about to embark on a long spell in hospital, so I decided that a bedjacket might have been more appropriate, and embarked on the project right away.

This is an obvious opportunity to explore all those vintage magazines that I love, looking at the bedjackets. There are a great deal of patterns for them but overall they conform to the same standard, which is a bit dull or a bit overly fussy (I know - probably a reason for that - they are bedjackets).

Here are two from my Mother's collection showing how little things had changed from the late 1930's to the late 1960's. Further, this pattern seems to have been much reproduced among all the recent proliferation of shrugs**.

In the end I decided to knit this (probably 1960s) pattern, in a modern synthetic baby wool.

Now I can see that some of you will already be questioning my taste in choice of pattern. In my defence, I was also trying to apply all kinds of criteria to avoid irritating wool, and anything too impractical, like flappy sleeves and so on - and I want it to be quick to knit. However, after I had knitted a few rows, I really was not enjoying the result. I tried several times to get something that looked the right size (Diane is very small) and finally gave up in disgust.

Alison then helpfully confirmed that I should go for pretty not practical; so I kept some of my criteria, and, using the same "practical" basic pattern (three quarter sleeves and no frills), I am devizing my own design. I'm using some ancient stash wool purchased in Germany in the 1980s.

Doing my own thing is very unlike me - which is why I had the stash for 20 years in the first place I think - but the wool and knitting, so far, is proving to be very inspiring.

**This likeness between shrugs and bedjackets has not gone unnoticed (Skank Shrugs and Other Useless Items); I am currently knitting a shrug/cardigan from the latest Rowan magazine which is precisely the same design as a vintage bedjacket pattern that I have, (although in a rather nicer wool, the recommendation for the original being Bri-Nylon).

Posted on May 21, 2006 at 11:12 AM. Category: Knitting.

Tuesday May 16, 2006

The Perfect Blog

There's nothing like having the gauntlet of a challenge laid down to encourage you to get on with something.

Actually I'm pretty sure I that's not a sentiment I subscribe to - but that's another topic. Meanwhile, take a look at the advent of Ferretworld....

...and then here, as described: "the perfect blog".

Emerging from a dream-like state, invoked through excessive interest in cascading style sheets and the like, I am the first to admit it lacks something on the styling front. But hey! for a few moments of strange lucidity it all made perfect sense.
And it all works.
Fantastic.
And by the time anyone reads this, maybe it will have been "improved" - although.... ... can you improve on perfection?.

Anyway - I have no time for all that now - there is serious idling to be done.

Posted on May 16, 2006 at 6:28 PM. Category: Red Letter Days.