30 August 2006

Iron Age Sheep


Back from a lovely Somerset where we spent a busy week roaming around the place and having a flipping marvelous time with children. Very exhausted after two weeks of heavy duty works on the kitchen I was abducted by my significant other and three sweet peas otherwise known as Louis, Clara and Oliver and taken to a gorgeous palatial cottage in a tiny hamlet. I span loads of balls of summer tweed (Louis was very keen to help) and saw Iron Age sheep grazing on the rocks of Cheddar Gorge and in few other places. There you go - I snapped a quick picture for you, my knitting comrades. This one was actually taken in the field neighbouring onto Long Barrow (Iron Age mound). Cute, arent they: fluffy, round and brown.

Off to bed to gather some strenght for the continuation of Epic Works on the Kitchen.

12 August 2006

The Art of Knitting in Exile

And this is precisely why I haven't been around lately. Knitting has been put on a back burner and it is very far back indeed. I have been managing a building site, which once upon a time was my kitchen, whilst (quite literally) single-handedly looking after my three full of energy children - whilst decorating, researching materials and buying cookers, designing cupboards, having chats with neighbours whilst waiting for the kettle to boil (our cooker is out of bounds at the mo) and sleeping like a log.

I am looking longingly at Clara's cursed cardi and I so wish I could just sit down for a bit and knit (this is saying something that I am looking at that damned cardi longingly).

The proverbial carrot that keeps me going is this picture I have in my head of spending long afternoons in the afore mentioned kitchen designing knits and knitting and making chocolate truffles, and sometimes roasting a beast in the oven for a family dinner (this bit seams particularly appealing after surviving a week on take-aways). In short - my idea of heaven on earth.

Actually, when I think about it there are lovely yarns arriving in the post and I ordered a/yet another stack of knitting books for my reference library - a little bits of sustenance for a starved knitter.

I wanted to post a picture of the cardi, but I have no faintest idea where the camera has gone, so an archival picture will have to do. Don't you just love this pattern?


Linen. 2003.

03 August 2006

Loopy




Silk dyed in cochineal, indigo & safflower and logwood. 2001-2003.

01 August 2006

Harlot

Today is time for ... Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.
(imagine applause here)


For 2 reasons:

  • her blog is listed in my favourite links

  • she is a famous lover of Knitterly Arts and I bet most of you have already heard of her, which is just brilliant as I only have about 3 minutes to finish this (read: before my children get home from their outdoorsy adventures)



  • Stephanie is a writer, and she writes about knitting. If you haven't read anything by her yet - quick, get onto Amazon and get one of her books! And if you can't wait for it to be delivered visit her blog.

    She's funny, smart and a Mum too. And I have a secret suspicion (it's not going to be much of a secret once this post is published): I think she might be a dula or a midwife also. Did you see the amount of pictures of little tiddlers on her blog? Frankly, how does she get to know all those babies? Stephanie, if you get to read this (I know from the harlot you're busy sleeping at the mo) can you please clarify? Sorry, I don't mean to be nosy, but I'm really into this style of midwifery - and something in one of her/your books made me think that.

    To quickly sum up - brilliant KC*. Must know about her (or even better - her) if you consider yourself a knitter in the know.

    I wonder if she's going to visit the Wool Empire (read: GB)?

    PS: I think London would blow your mind, S. As far as the travelling sock is concerned, I don't know, but I think "having its socks blown off" would be difficult, technically speaking.


    *Knitterly Celebrity