FO Friday: Halcyon Blues

Mystic Art Tarot

It's been offly quiet round here - the kids are still at their Nanny's, Titch has gone back to work ..... so distract myself and simultaneously do something useful, I crocheted a couple of blankeys for St.John's Hospice, who cared for my sister in the last week or so of her life. The patterns are quick to make and straightforward, but there is a peacefulness in the repetition, a kind of mindless focus, if that makes any sense. Made from good quality acrylic (Stylecraft Special DK and Cygnet DK), they are lightweight but warm, and very easy to care for: machine washable and of course needing no tumble-drying or ironing.

The first Granny Rectangle blanket is approx. 44'' long and 38'' wide, just right to throw on a bed or to snuggle someone up in a chair:

 


    The second one is a Granny Waves blankey, at 40'' long and 24'' wide,  the sort of size Americans call a 'lapghan' - enough to go over someone's lap and legs whilst sitting, or perhaps to drape over their shoulders:
 

Really, I'm posting just to let you know I'm still around .... but am off now to open some tins of paint to redecorate the kids' bedrooms as a surprise for when they come back ....

Sad Lammas

 

Hanson-Roberts Tarot

So today it's Lammas, one of the old cross-quarter days, that marks the first harvest of the year. And in some ways my sister's funeral service was an opportunity to see the harvest that her life brought her: the many, many friends and family that attended - some having travelled great distances - to pay their respects to her, share their memories of her, mourn her loss and show support for her family.

Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery

Mythic Tarot

For me, III The Empress with her prolific bounty is linked in perpetuity with XIII Death, for without one there cannot be the other: without Death, there can be no growth; without growth there can be no Death - and harvest always means death: a scythe cuts down wheat as well as souls.

The star in this card reminds us that in death there is also new life .... which will end in time with another harvest. And that is what makes the Circle.

I wanted to thank each and every one of you who took the time to send me kind words at this time - you do not know how much they are appreciated: thank you very much.

Auntie Fashion

Shadowscapes Tarot

Today my sister, Halcyon, known to you all as Auntie Fashion, has gone to the great catwalk in the sky. I hope they have enough bling for her.

WIP Wednesday : Temper, Temper

Tarot of Durer

So there it is. I am so over shawls right now I can't even tell you. No, the Epic Fail was Monday, and today all I have to show you is a Tantrum:

That is WYS Signature 4ply in 'Bubblegum' - a nice bright color, quite springy, and not a skinny fingering weight yarn. Somewhere there are a couple hundred toning size 6/0 beads. Next to the yarn is the pattern - a beautiful shawl, 'Blue Dahlia', which, in spite of looking complicated, isn't, owing to the clearly charted instructions.

So why the temper and the crumpledness ? Because the publishers chose to print the charts so that they go across the middle of the book, with a break in the middle, rather than printing them landscape style so it would fit in one piece. In addition, the charts are not large. These 2 things combined to make what tennis buffs call a 'forced error' which I could not fix.

So I threw it across the room and ripped - ripped being the operative phrase - it all out, beads sproinging off to all corners.

I am SO over shawls right now.

So I started a cardigan. In beige. I have no idea why I chose this color, it's so nothingy.

Madaket, using Drops Lima. I still don't think this is quite unthinking enough of a knit for my requirements - I'll be spending time keeping company with Auntie Fashion in the hospice to which she has been moved, so I need to occupy my hands but not so much my brain or concentration. Perhaps some kind of crochet for my squillions of metres of yarn leftovers ....

Learning Experience

World Spirit Tarot

Mini Diva's school production of 'Oliver!' is this week - and it being set in Victorian times meant I was suddenly cooler than ever amongst her friends, who are all aware that I knit shawls. Many shawls. Many shawls in many colors. Many shawls that could be borrowed to wear as part of the costume.

I thought I'd better whip up a quickie just in case there was a need for an extra shawl, and chose the Thimbleweed Shawl: being for 4ply/fingering yarn, a fast knit, not too complex but without being too boring. And I had 2 balls of Drops Alpaca in charcoal gray hanging round which I had no other plans for.

No, I have no idea why they were in my stash either, actually. It's not exactly like I'm a jay for color, and have nothing but ponycorn rainbows in my stash, but dull drab subtle colors like gray are definitely not my bag at all.

About halfway through, I decided the color and the pattern were both 'meh' without much to redeem them. But I plodded on, finished the shawl in a couple of days, then washed and blocked it. It did look better.

I left it on the back of the sofa prior to photographing it and giving it to Mini Diva.

Somehow, someway, somewhere, someone .... managed to swoop it up into a pile of dirty laundry.

Yes, one of the markers of a tragedy is the inevitability of the result. I know you know what that was, and here is the crime scene photo evidence:

No, I shan't be bothering to re-make the pattern. It might be a good thing and a lesson from the Universe that this was ruined ie. at least it was inexpensive yarn and a pattern I didn't care about, the lesson being not to waste one's time with things one doesn't feel enthusiastic about.

FO Friday : What A Difference .....

Phantomwise Tarot

.... a day makes. Well, yes. But that's not what I'm talking about, actually. I'm talking about the difference that blocking can make to a shawl. Same pattern shawl, slight difference in the blocking, big difference in the end result - as you can see:

Lale Lace Shawl, Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lace                                                   

Lale Lace Shawl, Austermann Merino Lace

And a close-up so you can see I beaded the burgundy version:

Both yarns were laceweight, knitted on 3.75mm needles; I used 25g/350m of the Austermann Merino Lace, and approx. the same of the Cascades Alpaca Lace. Both shawls were blocked aggressively, but the pink shawl is larger; the burgundy shawl is beaded, using 19g or so of size 8/0 ruby silver-lined Czech preciosa rocailles from Laserbeads at Etsy, who combines excellent prices with matching service and quality.

An interesting comparison of resulting shape and size - at least to me. For you ? You may have this classy ear-worm for the rest of the day:

WIP Wednesday: Weedfree July

Hudes Tarot

And we enter the home straight that is known as the end of term - 3 weeks to go and the ponies children are beginning to flag: our weeks are filling up with The ''Production''(it's 'Oliver!' please gods have mercy on me), the Leavers' BBQ, the Leavers' Disco, Cub Camp (ALL weekend, this year), various sleepovers .... in addition to the usual sporting load. I am tired, and I only have to watch ! In these enlightened times, whipping is not allowed, so I guess I must find some carrots somewhere.

Oh why what a fortuitous coincidence - if only I believed in them - here are pics of  veggies wot we iz growing right now:

Cut and come again lettuce. Of which we need to eat more, by the looks of things.

Our 1st attempt at peas. Report card says ? Could do better.

Potatoes. Pentland Javelin, to be precise. I read somewhere that we will still be harvesting these at Xmas.

 

From left to right: 1 pumpkin, 1 tumbler tomato, 1 plum tomato, 3 bush tomatoes. I LOVE tomatoes, but even I am quailing at how many this will be .... unfortunately I am not a fan of chutney apart from mango.


So not too bad so far, for our 1st summer in this house; there is also sweetcorn and strawberries, as well as culinary herbs. There is a sad lack of floral brightness - I do miss having petunias. Next year I think things will be more cohesive ....

What have you got in your garden right now ?