A Stitch In Time

Simpsonized!

This is what we would look like if we lived in Springfield:




Groovy! Have a go at simpsonizeme.com.

Blue, Blue, I Love You!

Here is some loveliness to make up for my gloomy last post:



The gorgeous postcards are from Jane's Apron, check out her blog and etsy shop, it has lots of vintage inspired, beautifully crafted goodies.

I bought the yarn from ebay after going to a Debbie Bliss lecture last week with my friend Marilyn. I was really intrigued to learn more about her design process and the life of a knitwear designer.

Which isn't as cushy as I had envisioned. She still works from a bedroom in her house (I'd imagined a loft-ish studio with lots of staff), and at one point she said she couldn't do a photo shoot in the location of her choice as the budget wouldn't stretch to cover it. It was only in Scotland, so not exactly pushing the exotic boat out! I suppose I had assumed that once one's reached her level of success that these kind of financial considerations wouldn't be a big issue. But then I think it's much harder to make a living as a designer than in a lot of other professions, especially if you are seen as a craft-based designer.



Her working life was pretty enviable though. The life of a designer sounds so very appealing. She gets to spend a lot of her time creating yarn or garment designs and then one of her knitters will work out how to write the pattern and do all the dull, technical bits. She also told us about visiting yarn/knitwear shows in Italy where she sees predictions for future colour and style trends. And creating a 'story' for a new range, encompassing the yarn, garments, the style of the models, the location, the theme for the book... I guess the creative satisfaction must more than make up for the relatively-limited financial rewards.

I was really impressed with how down to earth she was. She clearly knows her craft inside out having spent her working life in textiles and the fashion industry. She has an absolutely intuitive understanding of how yarn and different fibres work, speaking about the yarn 'talking' to her about how to use it. And she spoke about body shapes and how tailoring can enhance certain figures, something which was clearly important to her. She'd brought some of her sketch book pages with her which were beautifully detailed and bursting with a wealth of designs, a bag of beautiful swatches and plenty of garments for us to try on.

Her lecture was so inspiring, I'm bursting with ideas for future projects now. It lead to my friend and I having a conversation about inspiration, where it comes from and what to do when it's absent.  And how it's easy to feel guilty about spending time reading books/magasines and visiting galleries/shows when you feel you should be 'working'. But I reckon spending the time gaining inspiration and viewing other people's work is a really important part of the creative process. Or at least that's what I like to think after a few hours visiting other people's blogs!

This is the design I'm planning to knit:



It's from her Pure Silk book. It'll be good to take a break from the blanket and actually finish something!  Watch this space for the results!

I hate camping

This weekend the girls and I went to a 'music' festival with some friends. Now, I wasn't exactly excited by the line-up (it was actually pretty poor and not my kettle of fish) but I thought it would be fun, especially for Annie and Eliza, as it was being promoted as a family-friendly event.

I've never been anywhere as far removed from fun, or anywhere more family un-friendly.

It rained for the entire duration of the first day and intermittently for the next few days (except for a two hour window during which I somehow managed to get sun burnt). From the first morning the whole place was a mud bath (the photo above was taken when we first arrived, it got worse, much, much worse!).
A-ha, I thought smuggly, I have had the foresight to bring wellies. I haven't worn them since before Annie and Eliza were born though, when my feet were a whole size smaller. Within half an hour I had the biggest blister on my heel. So I had to wear my sandals for the rest  of the weekend with the mud squelching between my toes and around my ankles. My beautiful birkenstocks will never forgive me.

The site was a mile-long boggy trek from the car park, which I had to make three times to get all our food, clothes, bedding and tent. In the rain. Obviously although the children need a lot of stuff, they don't carry anything! And then back again at the end.

The 'organisers' had provided two port-a-loos at the entrance to a campsite for about 10,000 campers, which, unsurprisingly, were seriously minging after half an hour. The only other loos were inside the festival area or a very long trek away.
And there was no water on tap. Honestly: No water. I don't mean no showers or basins/sinks. I mean no water. at. all.
And no rubbish bins. Intermittent recycling bins but no actual rubbish bins. So you can imagine what a state the site ended up being in.

I had the worst nights sleep ever. Annie (who is obviously going to grow up to be a traveller-extraordinaire) slept like a log but Eliza was really unsettled.
I'd bought an air-bed which I couldn't pump up, because it required a nozzle of a different size to the three we'd brought along for Annie's, Eliza's and my friend Esther's air beds. And even though I have lots of God-given, chocolate-enhanced padding, the ground was hard, hard, hard.
Add to this the happy campers either side of our tent violently throwing up in the early hours, someone thoughtfully having an impromptu camp-fire, playing the guitar and singing (badly) at 3.30 am and, the final straw, being woken up at 6 am by people trying to find some drugs to buy.
And we were in the 'family' field.

I've always liked to think of myself as something of a practical, down-to-earth, sturdy girl, but I couldn't stand it.
I hated every. single. moment.
I am now officially a lightweight. I will never go camping again without a written contract promising dry weather, ample loos, water, thoughtful organisers and considerate fellow campers.

I wished I'd stayed home and shared David's weekend which involved queuing with entertainment in Borders on Friday night for the book and then enjoying a child-free uninterrupted reading marathon.

The up-side is that when we got home I had the best, most loveliest bath of my life. And my feet are very soft, mud is obviously super-hydrating.

Oh, and the girls had an absolute blast! They loved the mud, the puddles, the un-ending squelch-iness! But that's because their mother had the foresight to pack their wellies...

Details Part Two

(Details from La Pedrera and Parc Guell)

'God is in the Details' Part One

(Lace Curtain in La Pedrera)



(Pavement outside La Pedrera)

Hola!

I'm back! I had an absolutely fabulous time: It was hot and sunny; the landscape, art and architecture were stunningly beautiful; the ice cream was gooood.

But best of all, I got to spend four whole days with my sister, just lazing on the beach, in and out of the sea, getting to know her girlfriend and where they live, seeing breathtaking sights together, enjoying each other's company.

It was good to come back to the girls and David and our home though, really good.

It's just a shame it's so damn cold here. I'm off to put the heating on, brrrrr!

Little Bird

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on the apron post... the winner is:

Congratulations Thimbleanna!!!
I'm leaving, in a round about way, (via Annie's school, Eliza's Nanny's house and my parent's), for Barcelona in an hour, so I'll send it off when I return.

Before I go here's a little more avian appreciation:

I ordered this lovely pin cushion from minori design (it was very reasonably priced and came very quickly).
It's so beautiful I haven't been able to stick a pin in it yet!

Well, adiós amigos, I'll be back next Thursday, hopefully bringing sunshine with me!

Novelty Yarn

So I am still plodding on with the blanket.  I'd put it to one side for the 'Summer' as I find knitting uncomfortable in hot weather. But we're having none of that here: It's cold and very, very wet so I've been inspired to pick it up again. And when I popped into John Lewis for lining fabric I spotted a sale in their yarn department. 
I usually avoid novelty yarns as I prefer natural fibres and a smooth, clean look. But these had 50% off and I need some kind of excitement to keep my interest going in this extra-long term project. And they were the perfect colours.


(Rowan Holiday Samphir)

This one looks more like braid than yarn:

(Rowan Cotton Braid Degas)

I love the way they knit up:



The pink yarn looks so gnarled and tangled that I can barely make out the stitches.

The green looks like fisherman's rope.

So my passion for knitting is renewed!

On Thursday I am off to Barcelona for a few days to stay with my sister (do you think that in light of the recent terrorist activity I'll be allowed to take my knitting with me? I'd hate to have it confiscated). I want to take a good look at the Gaudi buildings and also spend a day lounging on the beach. But if anyone has any other suggestions they would be gratefully received!

I haven't forgotten about the apron draw, there's still time to enter by leaving a comment on the post below. I'll post the winner's name here on Thursday morning.