Cathedral Grove – a lovely scarf/wrap is still in testing. All gauge issues have been ironed out and I expect this to complete testing by end of July maybe early August. Barring complications it will be ready to publish quickly for the fall.
Socks! I had hoped to develop a cool Halloween sock for this year, but it’s going to have to wait till next year I’m afraid. The socks currently in test or development are as follows: Full Fathom Five (publication expected in August), Hummingbird (still in development) and Teddy Bear’s Picnic (still in development). Based on the type of sock Picnic and Hummingbird are I’m expecting to release them for Spring 2022.
But fear not, I do have some Fall and Winter patterns that will be dropping through September – November. There is a fabulous knee length Midwinter sock and an easy Fair Isle hat to keep people going.
I’ve got a cat meowing at me forcibly to complain about his neutering and the being kept inside and the terrible cone around his head. We’ve got 7 more days and he’s going to really have lost it by the end of the week. Meanwhile the other cat brought in a live rat last night and placed it happily on the rug. Then it ran away and he was ever so surprised.
We were ever so not pleased with the result. Finally found it cowering in a rolled up yoga mat and managed to send it back outside where it belonged.
Cooking inspirations
In cooking news I have been informed by my carrot, celery and onion hating child that Lasagne (containing all of those things) is her very favourite and I must make it at least every week. After years of not really enjoying making lasagne (it just took so long), I have gotten it down to a fine art. Instant pot for the ragu and using a blend of ricotta, parmesan and herbs for the cheese layer have reduced the prep time to around 1 1/2 hours. Which I can live with.
I’ve been using a local meal kit service and they have been amazing. Great value and really interesting meals. This week I’ve got some lemon parmesan scallop risotto with spinach and spicy pork dan dan noodles. The best part is their zero waste meals. I’m not fretting over all the plastic as everything comes in a long plastic tub with little containers inside. It’s all the mise en place done for me. All I have to do is cook the food, wash the tub and then put it outside for pick up.
Knitting
Oh yes, there’s always knitting! My Cathedral Grove wrap is coming along fabulously. I started it in laceweight and it looked beautiful but I decided it was too delicate for a pattern that most people would buy and also that it would be difficult to care for when it was meant to be an everyday scarf. So I doubled the lace. It’s still delicate but has the extra strength and weight that doubling the yarn gives garments. I’m knitting it in 100% baby alpaca and it feels so soft and light!
It is spring and the cherry blossom season is here. I’m lucky enough to live in an area with beautiful blossom trees. They are inspiration for my one crochet project that I am developing.
I got this beautiful yarn for Christmas from Dragon Hoard Yarns as an advent calendar. It took me this long to take a photo and stop admiring them. I’ve added them to the hoard while I work out what will show these glorious skeins off to their best advantages. In the meantime I’ll just take them out of hoard and murmur my precious over them occasionally.
For yarn dyers out there. Please do yarn advent calendars. I am ready to impulse buy all of them (budget allowing).
I have struggled with this shawl. The idea is clear as day in my head, but getting it out on paper and realized in yarn has been more challenging that I thought it would be. The good news is that the problems have been solved and it is now coming together beautifully. The rosebuds look gorgeous and the Czech seed beads are a lovely shade of pink/copper/gold. I’m a bit concerned about the ears of wheat, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
It is my suffrage shawl and it is not going to be ready in time for the NZ elections where one of two women will definitely be Prime Minister (17 October). Nor will it be ready for the British Columbia elections (24 October) but I’m pretty sure it will be ready for me to swish around my shoulders and watch the US elect a women Vice President. They might fall short again, it’s true. But the shawl is reminder to keep fighting for your rights not only for the most basic of things, enough money to buy food and shelter but also that we all deserve beauty, art and inspiration in our lives.
I hope when the pattern is published at the end of October 2020 that this shawl inspires other knitters or brings joy to anyone lucky enough to have it given to them as a gift.
Glorious Inspiration
Bread & Roses (Judy Collins)
I have loved this song and this specific version for as long as I can remember. As I got older the lyrics resonated more and more for me. If there was an anthem just for me and my philosophy on life, this would be a good place to start. It has never failed to move me and I wanted to pay tribute both to the beauty of the song but also the continuing cause of women’s suffrage.
Lawrence Textile Strike
As someone in fiber arts I’m also interested in the association the song has with the Lawrence Textile Strike where thousands of women mill workers took to the streets for better pay and working conditions. Although the strike captured public sympathy and drew attention to the cause, it ultimately was not successful in significantly improving the lot of mill workers. Yarn dyers, and fabric designers are still trying to work out how to make a living wage from fiber arts. Sweatshops in the developing world continue to have horrendous working conditions and give the developed world a false sense of the cost of clothing production. It’s still relevant.
Lyrics
As we go marching, marching In the beauty of the day A million darkened kitchens A thousand mill lofts grey Are touched with all the radiance That a sudden sun discloses For the people hear us singing Bread and roses, bread and roses
As we go marching, marching We battle too for men For they are women’s children And we mother them again Our lives shall not be sweated From birth until life closes Hearts starve as well as bodies Give us bread, but give us roses
As we go marching, marching Unnumbered women dead Go crying through our singing Their ancient call for bread Smart art and love, and beauty Their drudging spirits knew Yes, it is bread we fight for But we fight for roses, too
As we go marching, marching We bring the greater days The rising of the women Means the rising of the race No more the drudge and idler Ten that toil where one reposes But the sharing of life’s glories Bread and roses, bread and roses
Our lives shall not be sweated From birth until life closes Hearts starve as well as bodies Bread and roses, bread and roses!
Another photo shoot. A triumph and a learning experience all at the same time. The beauteous Steph has been my model for this wonderful winter rose cowl that I finished recently. She graciously did the photos I requested from her so that I could publish them. As you can see she looks amazing and so does the cowl. Except it could look better. It is inside-out. As a knitter it never occurred to me that someone wouldn’t know the stocking stitch garter stitch game and be able to see which way was the correct way to wear it. So even though I have had to ask for new photos I feel like I learnt an important thing about how your item will be worn.
Even better news – pattern will be available as soon as I get the new photos!
I made a great lamb pie which was meant to be an edible prop to go with a set of tea towels I am doing. I was thinking this was a win-win for us. We eat yummy lamb pie and get a good photo for the tea towel pattern. Of course, I ended up having to unpick a section of the tea towel and underestimated how long it would take. This has resulted in half-eaten lamb pie and half finished tea towel.
I am fairly sure that my photo editing skills (non existent) are not going to be able to put these two things together.
Beloved has suggested making more lamb pie when tea towel set is completed. He seems very enthusiastic about that solution to the problem.
I just discovered today about the word clue being related to a ball of yarn in English. How cool is that? It all relates to the Minotaur and Ariadne giving Theseus a ball of thread to guide him out of the labyrinth. She literally gave him a clew (clue) to get out of the labyrinth.
