Dotted
The crochet bag is almost finished. I just need to crochet around one particular edge, weave in ends and then add lining. I have found some fab lining material, but more on that in a second.
I had completely forgotten how wrecked my hands become when crocheting with cotton. I grew up using cheap cotton and I had assumed that the cheap cotton was to blame for my aching hands. For this bag I am using Roman Pima Cotton, a very luxurious cotton that I'm loving to bits, but my hands are still utterly wrecked - particularly my thumbs. I'm used to being able to knit for hours on end, but I cannot work on this project for more than ninety minutes before I'm in pain.
Worrying.
I had planned a few more crocheted bags, but I think I shall be postponing these projects until my hands are much better. I wonder what I'm doing wrong? Hmm.
But back to this particular crochet bag. I was beyond thrilled when I found the perfect lining material in the Amy Butler fabric range. Just look at it - isn't it just perfect?! Of course I cannot work the lining until I have finished the bag properly, woven in ends, steam-blocked it, cleared the dining table, and unpacked my old sewing machine that I'm not entirely sure actually works and .. did I mention that I have fever, a sore throat and earache? Yeah, I should possibly focus on getting over this mini-flu (or whatever infection it is I'm fighting), but I'm just so darn excited about getting this project finished*. Uhmm..
(* somewhere my 15-year-old self is looking aghast and cringing at my enthusiasm).
So, well, I'm trying to nap as much as I possibly can (and I'm revisiting an old favourite read which I actually haven't read in about twenty years - more on this in a later entry) and I'm also having slightly feverish dreams about my next few projects.
But isn't that fabric just fabulous?! Sigh.
Love Spreads
Life is good when the sun is out and you have the day to yourself.
The postman brought me the Spring/Summer edition of the Rowan International newsletter and I read it whilst surrounded by buttercups, daisies and playful squirrels. Later, when the sun disappeared, I went to the local Polish deli for rye-bread, tuna pate and buttermilk. It made for a delicious late lunch. I also found two beautiful tweed skirts in a charity shop along with an old, old knitting magazine. Total cost: £3. Yes, it has been one of those days today. One to savour.
I need a tiny pick-me-up, actually, because I have been struggling with wrist-pain following yesterday's knitting group. The old ice pack came out again as did the pain killers. I have been able to crochet without too much bother, so I am wondering if the small knitting needles are exacerbating whatever is wrong with my wrist - I am using 2.5mm and 3mm. Presumably it would do my wrist good if I swapped my usual Continental style for the English style, but as I am working with cotton, I am worried about any change in tension.
ANYWAY. Today has been a lovely day.
And that is even before I mention that a girl in winter has given me a pat on the blogging shoulder. Basically, it is one of those spread-the-love things where someone says "I love reading your blog, have this virtual plaque, think of ten random facts about yourself, and then mention ten blogs you love reading."
I'll give you six factoids, though, because I'm really dull.
1. I have two of my own designs on the needles at the moment. One is a sock pattern and the other one is a beaded scarf. I plan on releasing the patterns.
2. I think in colour and suspect a mild form of synaesthesia.
3. I cannot wear high heels thanks to hypermobile feet. Well, okay, I can, but I'll be limping the next day. I have inlays for my (flat) shoes which ensure my feet are kept steady throughout the day. Thankfully I don't need to wear the inlays constantly. My podiatrist once told me that had I been born in Russia, I would have been part of the State Circus. Thanks.
4. I identify as a Secular Humanist which sometimes makes people think I'm a big fan of Richard Dawkins. I am not. He veers far too close to fundamentalism for my taste and I find him decidedly off-putting.
5. When I say that my style is "vintage-inspired casual", I really mean "perpetually student-ish". I still get asked for student ID in shops despite being in my mid-30s.
6. I once appeared on a Danish quiz show and then travelled around New Zealand on my winnings.
Now imagine the next sentence in big pink sans-serif letters across the bust of a Photoshopped Hollywood Starlet:
Ten Fabulous Bloggers You Need to Add To Your Feed Reader Right Now:
- Drop Stitches, Not Bombs - clever and stylish Italian woman knitting her way across Europe (although mainly UK-based)
- Bellsknit - Bells in Australia has a way with words, yarn and food. Gorgeous photography and great sense of humour too.
- Thrums - a recent find. New York-based woman who reads, knits and observes people.
- A Friend to Knit With - the photography is just stunning
- Feather & Fan - the brilliant Orata's blog filled with her own designs and travels.
- Ms KnitWit - I really like how she captures the extraordinary in ordinary life in her photos. Also: smart, funny and crafty.
- Roobeedoo - Someone else who has been transplanted to a life in Scotland. She's a reader, a crafter and very human.
- Academia Nuts- I'm privileged to call her a friend. You should see her knitting projects too.
- Anarkistens (ægte) Kogebog - Danish food blog. The funniest blog I've read in a long time. And she's all about using 12thC recipe books in her kitchen. Respekt dér.
- Petra O - a Swedish craft blog which is hugely inspirational with its beautiful photography and distinct style.
Injury Time
I thought the tragedy should be captured in majestic black/white and adorned with a Photoshop effect. Yes, it is my left wrist. No, I cannot knit. Yes, I'm icing it and am booking a doctor's appointment today. And I'm typing this entry with my right hand only which means blogging is really slow and annoying.
Instead I'm reading and I'm very glad that I got the new Scarlett Thomas book out of the library instead of paying real money. I will tell you why when I can touch-type again.
Update: "bruised tendon" and I "need to watch the activity level". My doctor muttered something about I should have gone to A&E back when my injury first happened. Cough.
World Where You Live
This week I cast on for my Harmony cardigan for the sixth time. Let me run down the other five attempts: 1) cast on during Doctor Who, 2) cast on during knitting group, 3) cast on long-tail and ended up out of yarn 13 stitches from end, 4) cast on wrong size, and 5) cast on with seriously wonky tension. Cast-on number 6 worked, thankfully. I have had to adjust the needle size, so I am now knitting a 4-ply cardigan on size 3mm (US 2) needles. Wish me luck.
One thing is certain: Rowan Fine Milk Cotton is a quality yarn. Remember, I used the same length of yarn to cast-on (and rip-out). While the actual yarn looks a bit crinkly, the knitted fabric looks as fresh as a daisy. Just look at the photograph and think of the abuse .. I knew that FMC would be a good yarn to work with - after all, it is a staple Rowan yarn - but I'm still impressed. I am now pondering other potential FMC summer knits (Geno from Rowan 43 and Arielle from Kim Hargreaves' Misty spring to mind), but let us see how the 4-ply on 3mm needles work out for me and my sanity..
Yes, my hand is better while I still cannot knit as much as I usually do. Actually, my hand is just peachy, but the arm gets pretty painful when I've worked/knitted/typed for a few hours. I try to rest it as much as possible, but I'm also notoriously bad at "just sitting around". I need to do something!
A few links for you:
- Your Life is An Open Book. If you have a Facebook profile, you might want to reconsider how you are using Facebook. You will definitely want to check your privacy settings, and I also recommend using the ReclaimYourPrivacy widget. As an expat I find Facebook incredibly useful for keeping in touch with overseas friends and family members, so I cannot bring myself to quit Facebook, but I have locked down my profile as much as I possibly can.
- This Cate Blanchett/Alexander McQueen outfit is the most stunning thing I have seen in a very, very long time.
- This DNA/RNA necklace is pretty nice too. And more attainable.
And the rest of the day will be spent on paperwork before I suddenly become eighteen years old once more and will be screaming/singing at the top of my lungs (YT link). You never really get over your first love, do you?
Fools Gold
Despite my fears, my hand is slowly getting better. I managed a bit of knitting yesterday before settling down to watch Worried About the Boy, a BBC2 drama about Boy George's pre-fame life (warmly recommended, particularly if you liked Velvet Goldmine. WATB is not as heady nor anywhere as clever as VG, but it explores similar ground).
Completely unrelated, I have decided that this track is going to be the soundtrack to my summer..
The rest of my day is going to be spent doing chores, seeing some friends and hopefully my hand will keep on getting better. Thanks for all the well-wishes!
A Big Dose of Grrrrr
Disaster has struck - or, rather, my own clumsiness has struck.
Last night I walked from our kitchen into the living room, closed the door behind me, and somehow my left hand got entangled in the door-handle. The wrist sort-of twisted around the pinkie and .. well, it was not good. I iced the wrist/pinkie immediately and bandaged the area. I also made it through work today thanks to a heady combination of pain-killers, ice-packs and assorted swearing. Sadly knitting seems to be out of the question (I managed one row during my lunchtime and it did not feel good) and I'm now wearing my left arm in a sling.
This could not have happened at a worse time as the next fortnight will be very, very busy in terms of knitting, working and socialising (and even all three activities combined). I have a shawl with a looming deadline, a 4-ply cardigan I am exceedingly keen to get started within the next five days, and a ten-hour train journey which I had planned to pass with some knitting. Oh, and a concert with my favouritest band.
Poor timing, Karie, poor timing.
If the pain down my arm continues I will seek medical advice, but for now I'm all about painkillers, ice-packs, copious swearing and therapeutic sessions of Cursed Treasure. Wish me luck.
Basic Tutorial: Dyeing Yarn with Cake Paste Dye
There are various methods you can use to dye your own yarn or project. You can handpaint hanks of yarn, microwave your dyeing project or use a big stove top pot. For actual hanks of yarn, I prefer the stove top method, but if I am dyeing actual projects, I use my oven.
My Modus Operanti for (over)dyeing shawls:
I use the basic methods outlined in the links above, but opt for a cake icing dye paste which I bought in a local cake decorating shop. The paste is so concentrated that I need to use only a small amount to dye an entire shawl, thus making it a more economical choice than, say, Kool-Aid (at least if you are in the UK) or commercial food dyes available in your local supermarket. The icing paste also comes in a gazillion colours and you can mix/match to your heart's delight.
For my Echo Flowers Shawl I used half a teaspoon of paste which I dissolved with boiling water and I added citric acid as a mordant. Most dyers use vinegar as it is easier to obtain, but I happened to have some leftover citric acid from some lemonade making. The rest of the dyeing process was straight-forward and I am still very happy with the result.
Completely unrelated: how amused am I to try my hand at Quizlet and getting a B- (75%) score on my Danish language skills? I guess that is what I get for spelling words correctly instead of imitating the quiz master's spelling mistakes. Lumosity is a much better way of wasting time online in an educating and self-improving manner.
And headcold has turned into a real cold. I apologise in advance to anyone meeting me off-line in the next few days. I look and sound like I'm on the edge of death.
(Ain’t) Misbehavin’
I like late nights. I like staying up till the world around us grow quiet and I can hear myself thinking. I like caffeinated drinks: coffee, tea and various soft drinks. And I like working away until I finish things and then have a long, meandering chat with the Boyfriend. Unfortunately my body does not agree with me and so today I am incredibly shattered to the point that I began crying in public today for no apparent reason. Embarrassing, yes, and also worrying.
Pledge to myself: I'll quit misbehaving and begin listening to my body again. Everything else is just plain silliness and I'm too old to be silly.
A few random links:
- Les Garcons de Glasgow. A Glasgow street style blog. I'm slightly unsettled by how many of these people I know (sort of) and how many photos have been taken in our neighbourhood. Also: looking like a drunk East German hairdresser circa 1983 is really not cute (or go the whole way and get yourself a Trabi)
- Caring for Your Intro-Vert: I spent years and years thinking I was a quiet extro-vert. Yeah, I know. Link via Anna.
- Interior Design from Scandinavia. My old Copenhagen flat looked like a cluttered version of this photo. You can take a girl out of Scandinavia..
- And if you are in London, make sure to catch the V&A exhibition on quilting. It looks fabulous and I wish I lived close enough to actually make my merry way there. So catch it on my behalf, mm?
Sunnudagr
Life itself has caught up with me, so I am running behind on important things such as answering emails, sorting paperwork and, well, doing the dishes. This weekend I have allowed myself some time off and will be cooped up in bed with books, hot tea and a warm duvet. I have finally accepted this is a necessity, not a luxury, if I am to remain relatively sane, capable and congenial. It only took me some thirty years or so.
I finished reading China Miéville's The City & the City the other night, though. I had previously tried getting through Adam Roberts' Swiftly (which felt like a disastrous date set up by an online dating agency based upon our preferences and demographics, but the spark wasn't there and we disliked each other from the get-go) and Mark Slouka's The Visible World (which I'm pondering giving a second go), so when I flew through Miéville's novel, I was relieved. I'd recommend it - particularly if you like smart speculative fiction or want a detective novel with an added flourish - although it was a bit too plot-driven for my taste. Also, I liked Miéville's light writerly touches such as naming the border area between the two cities "Copula Hall" (grammar nerd alert).
I'm now awaiting the paperback releases of Colm Toibin's Brooklyn, Hillary Mantel's Wolf Hall and, of course, Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood. What books are you looking forward to reading?
Knitting-wise, I have made some headway on my summer top (now forever known as "Frankie Says.." and I'm showing my age) and I have cast on for a second pair of socks(!) seeing as my first pair are lovely, warm and perfect for snuggling up at night (again, showing my age).
And now it is time to do said snuggling under the covers with a book. Have a lovely Sunday.
Embodied
Just a link to another weblog today, but it is a link I encourage you to click. A fellow knitter-in-Scotland, Kate, suffered a stroke some time ago and this is how she is experiencing the recovery process.
Without going into too many details, I can relate to her words and her post made me think quite unhappy thoughts about past events in my life. Then I began thinking about how we relate to our bodies, about how we define ourselves and about that strange link between our minds and bodies (a link it took me decades to accept for one reason or another). And how life is one continuous process of defining, discovering and accepting ourselves in ever-changing contexts. I know I am now very different from who I used to be but I also remain the same.
I wish you all the best, Kate, and I hope for your speedy recovery.