fourth edition

Dr. George Tiller, a Kansas doctor, was shot today in his local church. Apart from being a family doctor, Dr. Tiller also ran an abortion clinic. He had previously been shot and wounded by a pro-life* activist. His clinic had also been the target of a bomb.
(*pro-life? I’m pro-choice which doesn’t make me anti-life. I [...]

There she is, that Ishbel.
The shawl blocked out beautifully and post-blocking I only had it in the house for about an hour before sending it across the Atlantic to a friend who needs a big hug.
So, yes, I was very pleased with the finished object – it looks lovely, works out larger than you think [...]

BBC has a Poetry Season which means I am watching far more TV than I usually do. So far Gryff Rhys Jones has explored why poetry matters, the Orkney poet George Mackay Brown has had his own programme, and last night I got a full hour of Simon Schama and Fiona Shaw reading John Donne [...]

I could listen to him all day (and frequently do if nobody else is around). Just listen to that phrasing..
(I was raised on a diet of Sinatra and ABBA – and Other Half maintains this fact explains my psyche perfectly. I have no idea what he means by that. Any takers?)

After spending the afternoon drawing, laughing and singing at Dr Sketchy’s (brief nudity, beware), it was a bit of a downer heading back onto Glasgow’s streets to find that Rangers winning the football league equalled people heckling other people and a lot of drunken aggression. Sectarianism is such an ugly thing and never fails to [...]

As I am finally getting to the last Ishbel chart, let me round up some of my yarn purchases. First, though, a few comments on knitting Ishbel.
It seems every time people are touting a pattern as “really easy” and “you’ll knit this up in a few days”, I struggle with said pattern. Ishbel was no [...]

From left to right, going clockwise: Copenhagen pedestrian street (Fiolstræde) with secondhand booksellers, quirky fashion and a Japanese supermarket; typical Danish pedestrian street in Holbæk with parked bikes (and bike helmets); Copenhagen City Hall tower; Mjølnir (Thor’s Hammer) seen at an exhibition on amulets at the National Museum; cloudy skies over a field in north-west [...]

Being back in my native Denmark feels bitter-sweet.
On one hand, I’m loving speaking Danish. It’s really, really good seeing my loved ones. I am enjoying simple pleasures taking a walk around the beautiful countryside with its gentle rolling hills and soft green hues. The food is super-fresh and tasty. The streets are clean and public transport is [...]

I’m so ridiculously pleased with my new cardigan (Rav link).
I used Berocco Ultra Alpaca in “Pea Soup” and Fearthainn’s handspun. The idea was to have a garterstitch yoke in handspun wool and then hopefully have enough to incorporate it into the cardigan’s edgnings. It worked beautifully.
I used The Garter Yoke Cardigan as my template [...]