in the garden

As the seasons have changed so has my small garden of pots. The basil and chilies have come out and the spinach and spring onions have gone in. The camellias and cyclamens have started to bloom and we have lemons.

my creative space

Whilst I have been joining together the squares of my babette blanket and knitting my rivage I have also start a couple of new knitting projects. A deep purple rose coloured empire cardigan and a ginger gyllis.  It is a beautiful and detailed cardigan pattern that came out of a collaboration of Gudrun Johnston and Quince and Co. Whilst gyllis is a lace shawl pattern from Stephen West, I am making the larger worsted weight version. I also received some yarn I have been coveting for over a year and am resisting the temptation to wind the skeins into balls and cast on something else now.

 

What are you knitting?
What is in your creative space? Check out more creative spaces here.

Yarn along

I have returned to my rivage, a three colour striped scarf. It is more than half way to completion. After completing the big as an 'ordinary ruler' middle stripe, the smaller stripes seem much easier to accomplish. I am getting through at least one each evening whilst I watch TV. The more I knit, the more I seem to find I like to have different sorts of knitting on the go. The listening to podcasts knitting, the knitting that requires complete silence, the knitting I turn to when it has been a long day and the tv/ travel knitting. This project is certainly in the last category. Do you like to have different sorts of projects on the go?

I finished the book I was reading last week and have promptly started another. I have only just begun the story but it is a completely different pace and style of writing but I am really enjoying it so far. The story focuses on an educated man, George from NY state who meets a much younger woman, Amina,  from Bangladesh via an online dating site. Amina moves to the US and they are married. So far the story has focused on family, relationships, adjustment, ambition and distance.  Watching the awful images of the clothing factory collapse in recent days has helped me to visualize the less familiar context of the Amina (in comparison to the more familiar US one). Are you reading anything good this week?

See who else is joining in with Ginny's yarn along.

weekend cooking

 

I had one kilo of fresh ricotta in the fridge, which meant Sunday night, was lasagna night. Lemon, herb and pepper ricotta, a simple passata, pumpkin and a couple of hours later lasagna. Some for now and some in the freezer for weekday dinners. Recipe from here.

We walked through the park near our home yesterday and were surprised how green it still looks. It is almost one month into Autumn and perhaps because it is still quite warm the trees have yet to turn. Perhaps next week?

my creative space: babette blanket

I have made a start on piecing together my blanket. Hiding ends and joining squares together. Listening to Angus and Julia Stone and maybe a podcast later. Watching the blanket taking shape as each square is added.

More creative spaces here.

yarn along

I started a babette blanket a while ago, actually it was probably 2 years ago. It was a bit of crochet I would return to now and then. I would make squares as well as circles for another blanket in bursts. Pull out three colours from my basket and make a few. Then leave it for months.

I started to lose interest in it. Then the thought of having to join all those squares left me with a feeling of dread. I am not a fan of joining squares or weaving in ends and try to do it as I go. So I left my box of squares hidden.

Earlier in the year I spotted this beautiful babette and with it the thought of making a baby babette. So a couple of weeks ago I picked up my crochet hook and started again. I laid thes squares out and like a jigsaw puzzle fitted them together and kept adding pieces. All of my squares are now complete. It looks like it will be a colourful baby blanket. A larger than expected size. Just the ends and some sewing to go and a border and a trim....

I am nearing the end of The Tiger's Wife: A Novel. It is a beauitfully told story, one of those which drifts slowly through time to tell a story.


What are you knitting or crocheting? Reading anything good? More Yarn Along here