Last weekend I went to the Innocent Village Fête in Regent's Park. It was an absolutely scorching day, beautiful blue skies, not a cloud in sight, the first fine weekend after three months of rain. There was an impressive array of food, not the usual dodgy hot dog stands, but delicious foods from all over the world, with a strong emphasis on ethical and eco-friendly sources. There was music, maypole dancing and craft stalls. I love people-watching and it was wonderful to see everyone happy, relaxed and friendly (so not what I'm used to in London), never better demonstrated than at the 21st centrury barn dance, where complete strangers - young and old - danced with each other for hours. I was itching to take part myself, but um, perhaps next year. A very pleasant day was rounded off with tapas and sangria at Jamon Jamon.
I have tried to attend a group once a week. In the past month, I've been to Angelknits twice [albeit the first time I had no knitting with me!]. I haven't been to the group for many, many months and it was nice to catch up with the regulars. During the summer, the New Rose Inn is a great place to knit, since the windows are large and there is lots of natural light till late. And of course, this week saw another great I Knit London meet at the Bricklayers' Arms.
On the knitting front, well, there's been some good and some bad. At my last visit to Angelknits, I made another mistake on the Forest Canopy Shawl. At home, in exasperation and with two glasses of wine behind me, I ripped it off the the needles, pinned it and my earlier attempt, took photos of both these wretched pieces with my phone [sorry], and since then they have both been lying on the floor. I'm not sure whether I'm going to attempt the FCP again; in any event, I still have almost three skeins of the beautiful Sophia cashmere to knit a shawl for a friend.
Speaking of Posh Yarns, last weekend, one of their pink packages arrived containing two skeins of Eva in Dryad. *sigh* This picture doesn't come close to reflecting the colour of this gorgeous yarn, but it is Just. Beautiful. Ideally, I would have used this for the melon pattern shawl.
Ah, the melon shawl, well, I've finished the centre panel which, with a few extra repeats, measures about 48" long. This has taken one skein of the sea silk, and on this basis, the second skein should easily cover a few more repeats and the border. But I'm at a standstill, agonising over whether I should increase the length or the width.
With no FCP to take on the road, I've reverted to socks for on-the-go knitting. I've been using Sundara's Blue Grape Hyacinth to knit Hedera. It's taken a while for me to get into this pattern, and to be honest, there have been many times I thought it might go the same way as the FCP, but this week I really looked at the pattern, and the yarnovers et al in relation to the centre stitch and something clicked, and now I'm just speeding along. Pictures to follow at some point.
It's been a dreadful week both at work and at home. 1) Some lunatic abused me in the street, and then called the police when I confronted him! 2) Since July, I've taken up running again, and this week I really noticed some benefits, so imagine my dismay to learn that I AM PUTTING ON WEIGHT [and yes, I understand about building muscle, but according to the various means of measurement, I am obese, you'd think I would lose a pound or two first]. 3) More importantly, I have managed to fall out with a number of people close to my heart; my companion, my best friend, my sister and my parents, each one on different issues. It's been a lonely week.
Ah, the melon shawl, well, I've finished the centre panel which, with a few extra repeats, measures about 48" long. This has taken one skein of the sea silk, and on this basis, the second skein should easily cover a few more repeats and the border. But I'm at a standstill, agonising over whether I should increase the length or the width.
With no FCP to take on the road, I've reverted to socks for on-the-go knitting. I've been using Sundara's Blue Grape Hyacinth to knit Hedera. It's taken a while for me to get into this pattern, and to be honest, there have been many times I thought it might go the same way as the FCP, but this week I really looked at the pattern, and the yarnovers et al in relation to the centre stitch and something clicked, and now I'm just speeding along. Pictures to follow at some point.
It's been a dreadful week both at work and at home. 1) Some lunatic abused me in the street, and then called the police when I confronted him! 2) Since July, I've taken up running again, and this week I really noticed some benefits, so imagine my dismay to learn that I AM PUTTING ON WEIGHT [and yes, I understand about building muscle, but according to the various means of measurement, I am obese, you'd think I would lose a pound or two first]. 3) More importantly, I have managed to fall out with a number of people close to my heart; my companion, my best friend, my sister and my parents, each one on different issues. It's been a lonely week.
2 comments:
Sorry to hear about the fallings out (if that is a phrase). Sometimes that just happens - I wonder if there is some sort of domino effect. Anyway - good thoughts to help you mend it all.
On the melon shawl - I hope I haven't been the cause of the standstill with my comments on the edging! If you haven't seen it Grumperina (http://www.grumperina.com/knitblog/archives/2006/12/faulty_skein.htm ) subbed another edging in VLT and it looks good.
I'm still debating as I want an edging that is wide enough to make up for the length I lost due to the different coloured skeins. Sigh.
Your green yarn looks beatiful. I hve been knitting Hedera socks, and they are just great!
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