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The rose was awake all night for your sake

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A few final, idle touches of England. The wind-blown rose reminds me of Maud, but then, as it’s one of those poems that is so musical that you memorise it without even realising, I find lines (both floral and florid) going through my head quite often.

Come into the garden, Maud,
For the black bat, night, has flown,
Come into the garden, Maud,
I am here at the gate alone;
And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
And the musk of the rose is blown.

John William Waterhouse - The Soul of the Rose

Tea & roses go beautifully together too, in tea rose perfume (still my favourite), rose hip tea, and Cath Kidston mugs. My mug was the first thing to hand when I wanted to try my new Pentel water brushes (Amazon UK | Amazon US). They’re great fun, and perfect for travel-sketching or for watercolour doodling when you can’t be bothered to get up and fill a couple of glasses with water. And it just occurred to me that they might come in handy for spit-splicing too, though I tend to use my tea for that!

By the way, if you would like to do your hair like the lady in the painting (& I spent most of my teenage years striving very unsuccessfully to look Pre-Raphaelite), then you might like this video. The fishtail or herringbone plait that Sam demonstrates is also the one I used for the braided tie for the Cornflower Hat, so you’ll be a step ahead!

15th September, 2011 // Photographs // tags: art, england, poetry, rose, tea, watercolour.

Weekending

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common%20blue

There’s been a profusion of butterflies here over the last few days, all fluttering madly and hardly ever landing during their fleeting lives. This little chap stopped for a drink just long enough that I could snap a few photos. Doesn’t he look like he flew a bit too close to a pot of blue pigment?

I love being by the Aegean. I love the landscape & the colours & the myths. I like to imagine the coastline without any of the buildings that now clutter it; it must have been even more achingly beautiful back then.

Some things never change though… I bought these skeins of lace-weight cotton at the market for 1.50TL (about 60p or 90¢) each. So cheap! But hand-winding lace-weight is disheartening work; the ball doesn’t get bigger and the skein doesn’t get smaller. The Turkish word for a skein is “çile”, which also means “suffering”. Coincidence? I only wish I looked half as cool and serene as the girls in this painting by Lord Leighton.

Leighton-Winding_the_Skein

The cotton is for a pair of shawls I’ve been working on, inspired by summer & classical literature. I’d say more, but perhaps they should remain a MYSTERY? ;)

10th July, 2011 // Life, Photographs // tags: art, cotton, lace, summer.

Sunday Morning Knitting Project

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Well, none of us are in heaven… and it’s Sunday. But don’t worry, I have a project that’s sooo quick & simple, it’s sure to cheer you up. :)

Here’s what you need:

an old wooden frame. You won’t need the glass, but you can brighten it up with a lick of paint, if you like.
a few thumbtacks. I used 18.
small amount of lace-weight yarn, and suitable needles. I used some undyed cotton, and 3.5mm (US 4) needles.
(optional) s-hooks

Knitting
If you already have a nice swatch lying around, and it fits your frame, perfect! But if you’d like to make one just like mine, here’s the stitch pattern I used. You’ll need to make it about an inch shorter than the outside of your frame (or wherever you’ll be pinning it) on the long side & the short side, so that you can stretch your lace out to look nice. My frame is 18.5cm x 13.5cm on the outside edges. I cast on 30 sts, and worked 4 pattern repeats.

LATTICE LACE
Cast on a multiple of 7 sts + 2.

ROW 1: K3, *k2tog, yo, k5, rep. from * to last 6 sts, k2tog, yo, k4.
ROW 2: P2, *p2tog tbl, yo, p1, yo, p2tog, p2, rep. from * to end.
ROW 3: K1, *k2tog, yo, k3, yo, ssk, rep. from * to last st, k1.
ROW 4: P across.
ROW 5: K1, *yo, ssk, k5, rep. from * to last st, k1.
ROW 6: *P1, yo, p2tog, p2, p2tog tbl, yo, rep. from * to last 2 sts, p2.
ROW 7: *K3, yo, ssk, k2tog, yo, rep. from * to last 2 sts, k2.
ROW 8: P across.

Rep. these 8 rows until swatch is desired length. Bind off loosely. No need to weave in ends.

Note: Check KnittingHelp if you need help with abbreviations, or working stitches.

Tacking

Secure each corner of the swatch with a thumbtack to the corners of the frame (make sure the wrong side is facing you!).