Knit with a View

I love the movie Room with a View. Helena Bonham Carter was eighteen at the time of the filming and so pouty and adorable. Juxtapose Julian Sands in his free-spirited masculinity and what is there not to love? As I have watched this movie countless times before, it makes the perfect foil to knitting mindlessly and so I have. One does work up an appetite with the clicking of the needles and since Mary the house servant is not around to bring sandwiches, as at the Honeychurch establishment, I am left to my own defenses.

Fortunately, indeed, groceries included almond milk and eggs, Nutella, bananas and ice cream! So crepes it is. My latest kitchen purchase is a crepe pan which comes from Italy. A 10" round griddle which is now dedicated solely to crepes and is absolutely perfect for the job. Using a generic recipe but sibstituting the almond milk for whole milk elevates the eggy yum and obvious filling choices had my tastebuds twirling to the opera as Lucy discovered and admitted her true feelings and put an end to all the lying. Is it Italy, or truly Fate? Is there a distinction?


Ooooh, salivating!


Almost ready and must fight the urge to devour on the spot.


Too wonderful! Heavenly Hash makes all divine.

We progress from the Edwardian period, leaving Lucy and George, poor, poor Charlotte and even the deflated Cecil to sort out life, and fast forward to the twenties where my Smitty Cloche becomes the focus. Tossed five into the washer for fulling and now have the delightful task of creating embellishment for all. Hmmm, remains to be seen. What did you all think?



Darlings all in a row. Knitted, fulled and drying.


Perhaps will do. Pinned on a crochet cord bow, a la Clara Bow. Could be IT!

Knitting as always,

Lisa

Summer Production

TOMORROW we set up for yet another Friends of Rose Algrant Art Show. Fifty years this show has been happening! Always interesting and I have exhibited in this show every year since moving to Connecticut--- only 21 years for me.

Rose was my next door neighbor in the early years but she has been gone now for more than ten years. Fascinating little bitty woman who had arrived on friendly shores from France at wartime and worked milking cows and teaching French to support herself and her son. Her stories were much bigger than herself! Taught many years at the local private school and became friends with talented artists, writers, creative, performing and thinking people who used to grace her table and conversation. She pulled everyone together in her way of supporting the arts and her tradition eventually became the annual art show in Cornwall.

I have been knitting and embellishing and sorting through projects. Have pulled out about a dozen hats to take to the show. August weather is not often conducive to selling wool hats. I take a card table in and drape it with something in the center to elevate that spot. I then perch hats all around and on top over hat stands and hat stand stand-ins like vases and giant martini glasses inverted. Whatever works.

Over the years I have exhibited everything from my handwoven baskets to painted floorcloths, English smocking, decorative painting on furniture, quilting and, yes, even fine art every so often. Sometimes I even sell a piece or three. I love being a part of the show and get to get and give a kiss on the cheek to friends I haven't seen regularly. There will be artists of reknown, Robert Andrew Parker (I've had a crush on him for twenty years!), Marc Simont, Scott Zuckerman, Tim Prentice and also artists you've perhaps never heard of but whose work is lovely none-the-less. Sometimes newsy notes are added to the Cornwall CT website.

Meanwhile, also am preparing for Rhinebeck, aka NY State Sheep and Wool Festival. But will fill you in on that story another day.
I guess I'd better go finish up my list and tags for the exhibit.

xx,
Lisa

Fibergood and Finishing

So I couldn't stand it any longer, when I returned home from work the other night, and stayed up past the usual bedtime to over-dye a couple of yarn colors, coaxing them into even more radiant shades. Sherbet results are pleasing to the eye and now they are sherbet cakes after having been wound on my blessed contraption known as a ball winder. How I love that thing! Traditionally wound balls are a joy to behold but these yarn cakes are so convenient to stack and easy to pull the two ends at the same time for all this fulling madness. And did I mention beautiful? Oh yeah.

Today is my first day off for a solid week of days off and already the time is flying by much too quickly. I've got a gazillion things I'd like to do while home (yes, home) but am concentrating on finishing up some projects that have been languishing on the heap. Have finished an Amy Beret and a Smitty Cloche with the last of the details and also tossed several bits in the washer to full at lunchtime.

The Amy Beret is so fortunate that I went shopping last week and found these gorgeous beads. My intentions were to use these big girls as stitch markers for extra large projects but when I opened the package, they struck a chord and I immediately thought of this particular beret.

Very much a striking contrast against the mohair and the smaller seed beads swoop along underneath for drama. Notice how the random pattern of the mohair color helps lend the perfect backdrop. Makes me sigh....

Next, we move on to tackle a jaunty flapper cloche, the original Smitty which has been waiting ever-so-long for her embellishment. We have tried to keep this project going but every time I thought I had it right, my conscience was niggled into another direction. I had been trying to needle felt the spiral and spent hours on it only to rip it out again in frustration. The Look finally was achieved with the humble crochet hook and I worked the yarn right through the hat, gauging the width of the spiral as I worked. Pleased with that portion, I purchased flat black glass beads for the scattered trim. Vintage speaks, the crocheted bobbles dangle and add yet another textural treat for the illusion. Hmmm, visions of bobbed hair and blushing knees.

Enjoy! I think I'll go knit.
xx,
Lisa

New to the World

Is there anything more darned cute than a brand new prancing and curiously nuzzling baby? This doll is a prime example of adorable in its second day of life. I am told that Baby Iris is already running wildly around the barn and causing hysterical angst for her mother by the third day!
Iris is a baby miniature donkey. Her mother, Fiona, is a full-grown miniature donkey although she stands perhaps less than three feet tall. Both belong to my friend Tara along with Lukka the Icelandic pony who is a whopping thirty five years old! They live in a neighboring area that is delightful on a sunny summer day, rare, indeed, this year.
I grabbed another donkey-loving fiber friend and we visited the farm for the day, enjoying our time snapping photos of the newborn and progressing to the deck for egg salad sandwiches with asparagus and also fresh carrots from Nan's garden. We talked fiber and RHINEBECK and soaked in some sun. Delightful is the only way to describe the day! Don't you LOVE dear friends?!
Returned home to my kitchen and could not resist the pull of the wool--- mixed a little magic in over-dye fun. I promise pictures will follow.

Blessings,

Lisa

Lichened to None Other

The Lichen Beret in all its glory performed exactly as planned. The fuzz doing its best to create a cohesive color bond and the colors themselves play and sway with one another making it difficult to see any borders whatsoever. Perfect! A happy composition and am sure that this winter someone will be delighted, sporting this green loveliness.

Rain has continued but I didn't notice it much. Fact is, it became a comforting sound as it lightly pattered the roof, a backdrop. Some words can be very misleading. Sounding more like an Italian fashion term, the word "influenza" as it rolls off the tongue should bring to mind a bit of bare knee
beneath a flounce of a gown which taken as a whole could make a grown man cry as it influences fashion 'round the world. "In-flu-en-zaaaaa."
However, shortened to "flu" takes away any glamorous connotations and lands one smack into the center of reality-- a harsh reality in which any movement whatsoever sends one reeling and running for the loo. We shall spare you the details and suffice it to say that the last couple of days have been a challenge. Now that I've progressed to dry toast the world is vertical once again and I can appreciate the color around me. Perhaps it's the "aaaaaa" part that reminds you just how good you feel once the 'flu is gone.
Be well and savor the summer.

Sunshine and Green

Today was lovely. Really lovely after having so much rain.

You might think the very middle of July would be much too hot and sticky for wool but not so this year. We had our 90's in April and all our rain over the last six weeks. Highly unusual and the sunshine of yesterday and today seemed a dream. AND--- I've had an opportunity to knit and dye, and over-dye, and live to dye another day.

Inspired by the lichens covering the New England trees, I have knitted one of several hats planned in the misty lime to aqua over brown and gray colorways nature presents. I can never decide if I prefer the lichen on the trees or lichen on the rocks (sounds cool and refreshing!) as my favorite. They take on such beautiful shades with the rain and if trying to capture them and take them inside to savor, it seems they immediately lose their luminosity and go dull and lifeless. Studying their color outside and trying to duplicate that subtle glide across the blue-green scale is a trick indeed.

The Amy Beret will be snazzy and warm. This particular example will be fuzzy with the added mohair and subtle in changing color. The band on the edge is a golden glow, representing tree bark. I have used eight different colors for this project plus a single strand of mohair in one color throughout, which helps to marry all the colors. Is that legal? We shall see!

Knitting for a better world,

Lisa

SEATTLE SWEET!!

Contemplating spring in mid-April and heading westwardly one would think the horizon might hold a glimpse of warmth otherwise unknown in New England but such was not the case while visiting Seattle last week! Record low temperatures and HAIL afflicted those of us in the Emerald City while at home in New England glorious sunny days forced people inside only long enough to grab their shorts and sandals!


Spring color was in evidence at Pike Place Market just a few short blocks from my son's apartment. Along with the fish throwing, funky garb and street musicians, radiant bouquets brought the hope of sunshine and warmth in their glowing colors. Combined artfully at the stalls and wrapped in humble brown paper each upturned countenance charmed and cajoled until snapped up and danced out into the street by a fortunate soul with vision. A holiday atmosphere prevails every day of the week in the marketplace, one of my favorite spots in Seattle, and I was cheered in spite of the chill.

Ferries, as I learned many years ago, offer a transition, literally, from one world to another and the ride to Bainbridge Island is a perfect lookinglass to adventures there. After the 35 minute boat glide and a short walk to the village center my imagination was rewarded with the delightful reality of Churchmouse Yarn and Teas. This beguiling shop has been on my list of places to visit for years and it did not disappoint! Kit and all the smiling staff were ever-so-gracious and welcoming. Bustling with patrons and softly glowing with all things dear to the needleworker, the hand-dyed specialty yarns and stunning samples steal your heart and fill your senses. With the addition of tea and needlepoint....truly the shop makes one wish the island fantasy could last forever.

The Blackbird right near Churchmouse was the destination for lunch. YUM. What a hopping place! Cindy from Foxglove Fiberarts met me there and we talked wool and dyeing while souping it up. Cindy's kindly countenance and warm spirit were much appreciated and talking technically about wool, well, it's what we do. Always new product, new practices to discuss and I feel I have found a new best friend.

Next was Jennifer at Esther's Fabrics, again nearby, across the street and down only half a block. Hip fabrics and a creative atmosphere RULE at Esther's. Jennifer, I am told, is the new owner and with a nod to tradition has the place stuffed with quilting fabrics and also the latest trends. I picked up some of Moda's (Barbara Brackman) William Morris fabric. So pleased to find such an old friend on the fabric shelf and my head is gone imagining usage. Her other fabrics include vintage types, elegance and funky strutting. Jennifer also has felting supplies and other materials for creative pursuits including an array of marvelous trims and vintage finds.

Priority: Return to Bainbridge Island! Hopping the ferry back to the mainland was a difficult thing to do because of the magnetic pull. Pike Place created a diversion prior to heading up the hill once more.

On Thursday I borrowed the car and took a little drive to Renton. There I found Skacel and the largest stock of knitting needles I had ever seen. Oh, those Addi Turbos! More smiling faces and I was treated to not only Karin's grace and hospitality but was fortunate to meet her parents as well. Felting was the topic and again, technique was thoroughly picked apart, expanded and circularly fluffed. Their Artfelt Paper has so many applications. Nothing but fun.
We have here Fontelle and the Gang! Great Yarns in Everett was a short drive north along Lake Washington. The shop from the outside, a muddy brown color, belies the explosion of color that smacks you upon entry! Fontelle Jones and her crew are bursting with exuberance just like the riotous yarn, projects and buttons on display. Chatter and creativity reign in this fiber oasis and I felt I had landed in a private yarn studio managed by long lost cousins! The urge was to set up camp and just keep knitting. I found tiny HiyaHiya needles on Fontelle's needle wall that just had to go home with me. They are 9" long circulars with mini bamboo points. Perfect for airplane knitting and they help my sock projects fly while on the ground too!

Friday brought me two unxpected appoint-ments in Seattle's Queen Anne district. First, a stop at one of the most wonderful fabric shops I have ever visited, Nancy's Sewing Basket, oh-my-gosh. I LOVE the ribbon room! Beautiful fabrics of all descriptions and a happy and helpful staff are definitely the right combination. Tamara gave me insight to the shops workings and I had no problem finding velvet leaves, ribbon of the double-faced variety and some classy closures to stuff in my bag. For inspiration, none other than Candace Kling's magical book, The Artful Ribbon which now permanently resides on my bookshelf, full of divine color and memories of my visit, too.

Crossing the street plops one at the steps to the front door of Hilltop Yarns. Again, cheerful faces and charming attitudes from Anne and Soheila. The building itself is a wonderful structure, having recovered recently from fire damage, and lovely yarn was in evidence on the built-in shelves, the window seats and even in the sink! Dark wood everywhere gives the impression of a solid and knowledgeable approach to the fiber world. So different from the bright white of Churchmouse but every bit as captivating. So little time, so many wonderful shops!

Priority: Return to Seattle. The date for my return trip to Seattle is a mystery at this moment but I await the time in eager anticipation! A smile creeps up and my imagination whirls when I think of it, the connections made and the exciting times to be had 'next time'!! And I am told that the weather did indeed warm, once I had flown!