KnitWit

The heat has addled my brain.

I'm not the most romantic of souls at the best of times* but I swear this maybe the most romantic thing I have ever read. (I have always felt that my idea of romance is slightly warped as Wuthering Heights is still the most heart-breaking romantic book I have ever read. Hmmm, and as John Mullan pointed out during the Gordon-Brown-cringe-making-Heathcliff-debacle, the central love interest is completely destroyed by love and indulges in not only sadism but also mild necrophilia.)

Anyway I am sure that the above link will melt the stoniest and cynical of hearts - it brought tears to my eyes (which not even the last episode of Springwatch can usual manage). I was also very impressed by the inspired use of a red second-hand sofa that was found by the road by the photographer on the way to the wedding. 

I think the combination of being back at work and the heat has made my brain turn to mush.

*I am really nosy though and I always like small factoids about how people get together….

Prototype - the mix tape lives...

As part of John's birthday present I wanted to make him a CD of tunes, "mixtapes" are still symbol of geek love in my household. When we first started going out J and I exchanged quite a few CDs with handmade cd cases.  In the end it turned into a double album extravaganza raiding friend's music collections for extra surprise tunes he hadn't heardn't before - my CD collection can get quite folky, indie music c.1995 and also quite shouty (john's words - not mine) with a fair smattering of Kate Bush. The cover was (you've guessed it) knitted.

I used to make a lot of mix tapes for friends, usually covered in stars, the odd smattering of glitter and with lyrics written on the box, probably Suede lyrics if the truth be told. I did have slight nostalgia for these days when I was listening to Kenickie at Katie's house - we were talking about how Lauren Laverne is so embarrassed about Kenickie when actually they were cool at the time because they were up on stage singing unpolished songs, looking like we did with lashes of eyeliner, glitter, plastic jewellery and puppy fat. Anyway, Come out 2nite was put on the mix, In your car was ruled out about being inappropriate for a romantic themed CD, (it is about picking up an older man with a good car with fair amount of coy innuedo and was possibly a bit too sleazy - "Is it your car? That's quite a machine...")

 I really enjoyed experimenting with a knitted CD cover - I had been very inspired by the bag Lisa had made Felix and wanted to try something similar using up leftover wool. I am fairly pleased with the result - I decided to use Turkish cast on and knit it in the round because I wanted the colours to be symmetrical on each side. It turned out to be quite bulbous which I hadn't expected but the CDs fit well and I liked the buttons I sewed on it. oooh and another rediscovery was using some helvetica letraset I had bought on impluse on the cds - letraset is perfect for personalising CDs, much better than smudgy pen and excellent fun to use.  I'm planning on making more CD cases in the future have decided to knit it as a rectangle and seam the sides - I think that will produce a flatter and more conventional looking CD case. But the possibilities are endless, I'm thinking felted cases would also work really well. One of the best things was knitted something quite small in a couple of hours on the bus - good for the knitting soul.  

The wool is mixture of sari silk, Debbie Bliss maya from John's scarf, cashmerino, and some italian wool. It was knit on size 5mm bamboo circulars and is ravelled here.

Quiet time

I am currently back at my mum’s house, looking after her post heart surgery. Thanks so much to everyone who was sent us good thoughts - mum is mending very well. We are settling down to some quiet time after a very hectic time of hospitals and travelling. Recovery involves quite a lot of pottering around, looking at plants and watering the garden, gentle walks, making lists, watching old episodes of Morse and Sex and the City, and knitting of course.

I have been enjoying her garden - there are so many hidden treasures tucked in different corners and blasts of colour. I have especially loved this watching this lily come into flower with its speckled brown petals.

I found this trail of honeysuckle near the front door, tucked behind leaves.

And I love love love the colour combination in this border of the lime green leaves, dark pink flowers and dark purple leaves.

It feels really peaceful here and a perfect spot for recuperation. And although the last week has been really stressful, now I’m starting to feel relaxed and that pottering around doing gentle activity is just what the doctor ordered - I’m reading books again and feeling more energetic than I have for a while.

Yesterday one of my mum’s friends popped round bringing beautifully wrapped scones and homemade raspberry jam. Never has greaseproof paper ever looked so chic.

I am a great believer in the importance of good food to aiding recovery and was very pleased with this rather fine breakfast tray. It felt very decadent to be eating scones for breakfast on a Friday, and I’d like some clothes the same colour as the jam. It looked so jewel like. Especially good is that the jam is made from raspberries that were scrumped from an overgrown garden in a Cotswold village so it is nice that we saved them from going over and has a nice Midsummer Murders touch (the crime drama obsession is kicking in...).

 

Perfect for a July breakfast!