DK: Knit
DK: Knit is an exhibition of contemporary knitwear design by graduates from the Kolding School of Design currently on display at the Danish Cultural Institute in Edinburgh. Being both of the knitterly and the Danish persuasion, I thought I might as well check it out.
Unsurprisingly, most of the pieces are machine-knitted and at a fairly fine gauge. Some pieces explore garment construction (like the piece shown left), other pieces explore the idea of "fabric". One particular piece resembles a big pink bath sponge plunged on the floor - I can admire the skill in its construction whilst at the same time reject its aesthetic, can't I? - whilst another piece looks like an upmarket version of IKEA curtains (and uses the same stitch pattern as the Summit Shawl).
My favourite pieces are the ones which add twists to so-called classic knitting: items that acknowledge their debt to generations past whilst still trying to pave the way forward.
Hans-Christian Madsen has two pieces included in the DK: Knit exhibition and I really liked both. My favourite was the pullover shown right: a traditional Icelandic yoked sweater in subtle colours - but when you get closer, you can see that the colourwork yoke incorporates unusual materials.The surface is broken up - but by texture rather than colour.
Katarina i Geil also draws upon knitting traditions - most obviously from her native Faroe Islands - but uses cables in a really organic, free-flowing way. I am also impressed by her use of embellishment and contrasting texture. One piece is handknitted(?) in rustic wool with clever crochet ornaments in silk. Sadly my photos has not turned out well nor does she have any web presence, so you will have take me at my word.
For a handknitter, DK:Knit is not the most inspiring exhibition. I can see some possibilities in the play with surface textures, but I think fashion students will find it more worthwhile. I did enjoy my chat with the friendly staff and I was alerted to a new Danish bakery in Edinburgh. Mmm, tebirkes!
The knitterly content continues tomorrow..
Yes, there is more. Oh yes, there is more.
Turning Pages
James Robertson is a writer whose books I enjoy very much, but I do not see him mentioned much. I was surprised and delighted to see a two-page feature on Robertson in The Guardian this past Saturday; the feature coincides with a new novel, And the Land Lay Still. I could have done without the Guardian proclaiming that Robertson was aiming to write the Great Scottish Novel that this country 'so desperately needs', though, partly because I think the Great Scottish Novel has already been written and partly because I think Robertson is aiming for something else.
I picked up Robertson's The Fanatic on a whim some years ago and thought it a great, complex read about Scottish identity, the Scottish psyche and Scottish history. A very clever and entertaining book. I was less enamoured by Joseph Knight which read more .. postcolonial, if you like, and I am mildly allergic to postcolonial novels after certain university courses (long, sad story). The Testament of Gideon Mack was Robertson's big breakthrough novel and I really enjoyed its sinister humour and subversive take on a psychological thriller. It felt more mainstream/accessible than The Fanatic and also reminded me a bit of Mikhail Bulgakov's marvellous The Master & Margarita. I'm yet to read And the Land Lay Still (I'm still reading Ulysses and then David Mitchell's latest will be next) but, yes, I'm really looking forward to a new James Robertson book.
If you are in the UK, I warmly recommend watching Women's Institute: Girl Talk. A simple premise: visiting the educational HQ of Women's Institute and talking to some of the ladies participating in the courses. And then as you learn a bit about some of the nice ladies, your eyes might just get a bit misty. One of the best hours of television I have watched for quite some time. Yes, I feel profoundly middle class now, thank you.
(I have also just checked out some of the available WI courses and am drawn towards Victorian Corset Making and Copperplate Calligraphy which should surprise absolutely no one)
Finally, my parents recently went to the Czech Republic on holiday and as a souvenir they bought me a book on Czech cooking. I was very amused to find a recipe for "Home Pig Feast" which starts: 'put the pig's head, knee and tongue in a pan..' The entire thing is served with a sauerkraut salad which is basically some sauerkraut mixed with horseradish. I think I'll politely give that one a pass.
Green
Aberdeen is known as "the Flower of Scotland", I'm told. I know it better as "Granite City" because such a huge part of Aberdeen is built from granite. Whilst Aberdeen's Duthie Park is understandably a turist attraction, most visitors will just know the grey granite city centre with its very few pockets of greenery/fresh air. You walk and walk and suddenly all you know of the world is grey granite. And then you make it to the Union Terrace Gardens and you sigh a very big sigh of relief.
Except The Aberdeen City Council has decided the Union Terrace Gardens need to be developed (or should that be re-developed).
You see, planning permission was already in place for a new visual arts centre - an expansion of Peacock Visual Arts which would have provided North East Scotland with a proper arts centre next to its Art Gallery and the library - as was funding, but these £13.5m plans have now been scraped in favour of a £140m plan suggested by local oil tycoon, Ian Wood. Wood's plan involves raising the Gardens to street level (using a concrete base), a car park and new shopping facilities.
Cue massive public outcry, a public consultation which found overwhelmingly against Ian Wood's plan, and a City Council which decided to side with the money man.
As you can tell, I'm on the side that think a concreted Union Terrace Garden will just make Aberdeen look even more grey. It is a shame.
On an entirely different note, if you read nothing else today, do go read Bells' blog entry about reading her grandmother's letters. It tugged damn hard at my expat heartstrings and it also made me miss my grandmother even more. I'm a professional cynic, but, really, my heart's not in it (especially after reading Bells' words).
Søpapegøjer!
We saw puffins in Aberdeenshire. We were out cliff-walking just south of Aberdeen when D. took out his binoculars. He spent almost twenty years living in a small fishing village off the North Sea coast, but this was only the second time he had ever spotted puffins. They were out to sea, but they were unmistakably puffins. Søpapegøjer!
I also saw a couple of yarn shops. Wool For Ewe came recommended to me, but I came away feeling slightly underwhelmed despite pleasant staff and a nice selection. I ended up buying enough Jamiesons Ultra to make a lace shawl (shh!). I also bought one ball of JC Rennie 4ply in a green-blue colour which brought home just how much I'm itching to do a proper fair-isle project. I have a good selection of colours in various Shetland 4-ply yarns stashed aside and these days most of my pattern purchases seem to be colourwork-orientated. Apart from the new Rowan 48, I have also just bought Sasha Kagan's classic book on fair-isle knitting. Kagan's book is very dated in terms of styling - hello 1980s make-up and hair! - but the patterns are very interesting and inspirational. While the idea of a dachshund-covered waistcoat might not appeal, I can certainly see myself knitting some fingerless gloves with pansies or seagulls.
I'm slowly moving towards autumn-knitting, you see. Scotland is never the warmest place in the world (or even in the UK!), so woolly knits are never far from my thoughts. However, I was browsing through some old blog entries the other day and I noticed how much I emphasised Needing Accessories. My thinking is that I might as well get a few quick-knit accessories under my belt before I start to yearn for big woolly cardigans. Last winter I loved my big snuggly scarf, so I have kept that in mind as I'm trying to narrow down my must-knits. Matters are complicated by the fact that I have been commissioned to design a couple of scarf patterns, that I have a few commissioned knitting projects, that a colleague of mine is expecting (and is going on maternity leave in two weeks, so I better start knitting!), and that my wrists are still not entirely happy about the amount of knitting I do.
Most of all, I wish I could take more time off and spend it up north. I do not why I love Aberdeenshire so much, but I suspect it reminds me of Denmark (albeit with dangerous cliffs, birds of prey, hills, crumbling castles, granite, puffins, and glorious 'high' skies). I always feel at peace whenever I am up north and it takes me a few days to adjust being back in Glasgow. Sigh.
Lovely
When I think of summer, I tend to think of long and languid days covered in a golden haze and ripe wheat fields swaying gently. Reality is very different: short bursts of humid weather, the urban jungle covered in a flimsy layer of sweat, and then rain. Except tonight has been an exceptionally lovely evening - the sort you usually only see in adverts. Our communal garden was filled with neighbours, an old man played a fiddle whilst children danced, the adults sipped Pimm's & lemonade, and all the trees were decked out with bunting. My other half had baked oatmeal and raisin cookies and I devoured a bowl of strawberries whilst being entertained by two Australians. I wish I had brought my camera but perhaps some moments are best preserved by our memories, not photographs.
(this might be a good place to direct you to my mum's local rag's summer photograph competition and my current "favourite" summer photo)
Another lovely thing occurred this week. I was looking through people's projects on Ravelry when I came across a Canadian woman. Hmm, I thought to myself, hmmm. Something about her triggered something in my old brain (it used to be an Aston Martin but now resembles a Trabant). I looked closer, sent off a tentative email and, yes, Mysterious Ravelry Woman turned out to be May. Not just any May, but the May who was my supercool Canadian penpal way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She sent me mix tapes and I could barely form a sentence in English. Sometimes the world - and the internet - is a very tiny place.
Thirdly, my wrist appears to have recovered nicely thanks to my new wrist support, so I have whizzed through the first sleeve on my 4ply cardigan and now have one of the fronts on my needles. I shall miss the FIFA World Cup and not just because it allows for so much knitting time. Although my team, Denmark, did not acquit themselves with quite as much aplomb as I had hoped (cough), I have been enjoying the Cup so far - with a few notable exceptions. And we are heading into the second week of Wimbledon too. Maybe I will get my cardigan finished this summer! I need to ponder what to knit next.. Still or Calm?
Away for the Day
As today was a Scottish bank holiday, we both had the day off and decided to spend the day in a semi-productive way. We took the bus thirty minutes out of Glasgow and spent the best part of the afternoon walking a tiny part of the West Highland Way through fields of bluebells, hiking up fairly steep slopes and catching our breaths underneath old, gnarled oak trees. A beautiful sunny day with a defiant breeze added to our enjoyment, as did spotting several buzzards flying high over the Campsie Fells.
Next time we will plan ahead, pack a proper picnic basket and maybe even check the map before we head out. We ended up on a bit of a detour involving a massive 19th century water reservoir (pretty, but not what we had in mind) which I'd be quite keen on avoiding on our next adventure.
PS. Eurovision? Wasn't it exciting?! Congratulations to Germany (who can almost afford to host the event unlike most of the other participants) and a big congratulations to Norway, a fabulous host.
PPS. I have cast on a shawl.
Still Winter
This has been the coldest winter in Scotland since the early 1960s. So I have not just been imagining things nor have I become obsessed by that most British of things: the weather. It has been bloody cold and, despite today's sunshine, it continues to be cold. I am so, so ready for spring to arrive. Failing that, I wouldn't mind spending a week holed up somewhere like this place with its "underfloor heating (..) boosted by a woodburner with logs from the garden (..) passive ventilation and thick insulation whist inside there is a drying room with an extra radiator to get those outdoor clothes dry after bad weather." To me, that sounds like heaven.
But I am in Glasgow and I am wearing my sleeping bag like it's the new black.
Pour Le Monde Mitts And Other Stuff
I made these Garter Stitch Mitts way back in November but seeing I made them as a Christmas present, I have had to keep quiet about them. This was the project which made me fall in love with Russian grafting. It is not entirely invisible, but it is a very tidy and neat way of grafting. Anyway, the mitts have been gifted and the recipient has already begun using them. I plan on making myself a pair of Garter Stitch Mitts at some point - the pattern is bordering on being absolute genius.
I have had a couple of (planned) days off work and like a sensible person I have mainly kept indoors. Britain is having "the worst winter in 30/70/100 years" (depending upon which news outlet you believe) and snow is everywhere. Being Scandinavian I am actually used to snow (even if I dislike it immensely) but I am not used to people not dealing well with snow. Pavements are not being cleared; cars do not sport winter tyres and have a troubling tendency to spin slightly out of control whenever I walk near them; and public transport is predictably unpredictable. I continue to get a kick out of watching people walk around in wellies and big acrylic jumpers - winter boots and layers are key to dressing for freezing temperatures, folks! The cold snap is set to last for some time yet - which is good news for my Scheherazade Fan Shawl (a few rows away from being done) seeing as it is more a lap blanket than a shawl. So nice and snuggly - perfect for this weather.
Finally, a little plea for some help. My birthday is about a month away and my family is asking me for a wish list. I have decided against asking for yarn (I have decided that 2010 is the year of stash-down), but I have no idea what else to ask for. I have this weird thing about only wanting things I actually NEED rather than wanting little luxurious things. If you could ask for little little luxuries, what would you ask for? Remember - non-yarny things only!
Fog of a December Afternoon
Among the smoke and fog of a December afternoon
You have the scene arrange itself—as it will seem todo—
With "I have saved this afternoon for you";
And four wax candles in the darkened room
Four rings of light upon the ceiling overhead,
An atmosphere of Juliet's tomb
Prepared for all the things to be said, or left unsaid.
We have been, let us say, to hear the latest Pole
Transmit the Preludes, through his hair and finger-tips.
"So intimate, this Chopin, that I think his soul
Should be resurrected only among friends
Some two or three, who will not touch the bloom
That is rubbed and questioned in the concert room."
-- And so the conversation slips
Among velleities and carefully caught regrets
Through attenuated tones of violins
Mingled with remote cornets
And begins.
Addendum: My friend Iain shot a great photo of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery today.