Nordic Saga

I have been trying to knit Aftur, a traditional Icelandic jumper, since September but have encountered many tests along the way. The first version was made using some jade green yarn that I bought in a sale a few years ago. It knitted up beautifully and I thought it would be no problem to buy a few balls in a similar weight and yarn content to knit up the multi-coloured yoke. But when I came to gently wash the jumper to finish it off, the green yarn felted and it is now so small I can't even get it over my head.   

I had really enjoyed knitting the fair-isle yoke and that has survived the wash perfectly.

But it hadn't taken too long to knit so I thought I'd give it another go. I had lots of yarn leftover for the yoke so just needed to choose a colour for the main body and arms. I spent ages trying to choose a colour and in the end went for this orange. I thought it would brighten up the winter. But after knitting a few inches I've decided that I really don't like it and I know I'll never wear it.

So I've abandoned version two and am now about to start version three. This time I've gone for something a bit more subdued for the body and will use the orange for the yoke. But I still haven't finished the journey with this particular project and I have a feeling that there may be more challenges to come...

Power Porridge

I'm over half way in my Channel swim and have just five weeks to go to swim the last 9 miles. I thought I'd be feeling super-fit by now; actually I've just felt shattered so far. But recently Kirsty reminded me that I need to be stocking up on protein and carbs in order to replenish my energy. Now why didn't I think of that?

So I have decided to follow my health and fitness guru's lead and start using chia seeds in my breakfast. I have been watching him sprinkling this stuff into his muesli every morning for months but its resemblance to fag ash has prevented me from following suit. However, this last few days, I have discovered that it actually tastes pretty good mixed into porridge, especially with banana and maple syrup on top. 

And I really do feel more energetic. Calais, here I come!

Hundreds of Little Ends

Progress on my left-overs cardigan has stalled. There are hundreds of little ends to weave in and I really hate weaving in hundreds of little ends. It's boring and fiddly and takes ages.

I will do it eventually but in the meantime I've started another stash-busting project and am trying to avoid the problem of hundreds of little ends by carrying the yarn up the side of the knitting rather than cutting it off to join in a new colour. But this means having to knit with lots of balls of yarn at the same time and it gets very tangled.

It's a dilemma - de-tangling every few rows or weaving in hundreds of little ends...



Back to School

This week has been all about getting ready for the new academic year while enjoying the autumn sunshine. Anxious emails from my new students are already filling my inbox and we start in earnest tomorrow. But I love this time of year; it's a time of fresh starts, high hopes, a new uniform and sharp pencils.

In high hopes for the new year I visited A Squash and a Squeeze: Sharing Stories with Julia Donaldson at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which was great fun. I particularly liked the way the exhibits were displayed at child height. But there was a lot to interest adults too - Donaldson's notebooks and the correspondence between editors and illustrators gave a useful insight into the process of producing a picturebook. Alex Scheffler's doodle of the gruffalo crouched ominously on his back, made during the stressful process of producing the illustrations for Donaldson's best-selling book, was particularly poignant.

I also rediscovered this Taylor Mali performance, which I have used to introduce my Linguistics students to the blur between everyday and literary language. I'm starting to get excited about this year!

For back-to-school cool, I finished this addition to my autumn uniform. The pattern is buttonbox from Knitty.com. It goes really well with the tweed trousers I bought at the charity shop with Naomi on Monday.

And Naomi too starts a new academic year this weekend and a whole new life at university. I made this owl cushion to keep her company in her room. The pattern is from The Eternal Thread

We love you Naomi - have a wonderful time!

The Library of my Dreams

I went to the opening of the new Library of Birmingham yesterday and came home feeling full of inspiration. Malala Yousafzai gave the opening speech and the whole event felt very emotional. I kept thinking about past openings of Birmingham's public buildings - buildings that are so much part of the city's landscape and culture - and felt really proud to be there.  

Once inside, we were completely bowled over. It is an incredible building - stimulating and fun and, in Jo's words, 'the library of my dreams'. I was especially pleased to see so many of the library's collections of eighteenth and nineteenth-century journals out on the shelves. The building is both futuristic and reminiscent of the past and the materials used feel beautiful and solid - there's a lot of wood and stone. The outdoor areas are green and calm; there's a huge music library and film-viewing pods; the children's library is colourful and comfy. Around every corner and curve is something new and quirky. We spent about three hours just walking around yesterday and still didn't get to see everything. I'm really looking forward to spending lots of time there discovering new stuff.    

But is it art?

Last weekend we went to see the Shimabuku exhibition at the Ikon gallery. I am so often disappointed by exhibitions at the Ikon - although I've never been able to pinpoint exactly why. Perhaps it is the way they are curated, or the kind of artists they choose to exhibit. Whatever the reason, I frequently come away from an Ikon exhibition with a feeling of emptiness. The exhibitions seem somehow slight, flimsy and pointless.

So when Mark suggested we visit the Ikon last Sunday afternoon with Naomi, I was more interested in browsing in the gift shop and trying out the new Ikon cafe than in the art. But we dutifully went up to the gallery space, promising ourselves cake as a reward for traipsing around the exhibition. 

At first, I felt as baffled and excluded as usual. It all looked depressingly familiar - the usual post post-modernist nothingness. But I spotted a nice pale greenish glow coming from a room, showing some kind of film. It was a calm space - underwaterish - and the film was accompanied by some pleasing music, so I sat down and watched the film with Naomi. 

I couldn't really make out what was going on initially. Some fish were swimming around in the sea and something like a rock or pebble seemed to be suspended in the water. The fish circled it and occasionally gave it a little head-butt. Then Naomi said, 'it's a potato!' And it was - a great big potato! We giggled for a bit and I found myself completely entranced.

As we came out of the room, I noticed the neon sign just outside - 'Shimabuku's Fish and Chips'.

There were lots of other silly things to see and play with - Mark briefly became part of the exhibition as he tried to squeeze his body through an elastic band, while several people looked on in amazement (and amusement).

We also hit some balls with golf-clubs.

I had a great time - it was fun and absurd and it made me smile.

I have come to the conclusion that what is missing from the usual Ikon exhibition is a sense of playfulness and fun. A lot of current modern art is just ridiculous (in my opinion) but acknowledging that is what gives Shimabuku's work a meaning that is lacking from Ikon's average offerings, which take themselves way too seriously.  

Incidentally, I like the new cafe too. A bit more down-to-earth than its predecessor - and very nice cakes!

Still knitting

It has been noticed recently (by my lovely niece) that I haven't blogged about knitting much lately. So I thought I'd give you an update.

I'm currently knitting a jumper using some beautiful yarn that I bought in Paris a couple of years ago from Lil Weasel - a gorgeous knitting boutique in a very French shopping arcade.

The yarn is incredibly soft and light so I'm attempting to make a slouchy top in one piece to avoid spoiling the drape with seams. I'm making the pattern up as I go along however, so success is far from assured!

On the Pleasure of Pym

While on holiday recently, I read these two Barbara Pym novels. I've always loved Pym's writing - even though her novels are very much mid-twentieth century, the silliness of academic egos and surburban etiquette that she writes about are still very relevant to my life today. These novels are from opposite ends of Pym's career - Crampton Hodnet was the first novel she wrote in the 1940s (although it wasn't published until the 1980s after her death) and An Academic Question was written in the 1970s. But both novels are warm and witty and explore human failings so affectionately. I love the way she gently pokes fun at the pomposity of the well-educated and on the tangles that even the most serious and sensible can get into about the appropriateness of a brightly-coloured dress.  

Highland Adventure

Just back from our Highland adventure where we walked up and down mountains, through gorges and waterfalls. The landscape is incredible.

We managed to do Ben Nevis early on in the trip. Here's the start of the path...

 

... half-way...

 

... nearly there...

 

... to find snow at the summit!

We also took the ferry to the Isle of Rum, pop. 42. Mark was briefly tempted to give it all up and make it pop. 44 but the midges and lack of shops (one shop that only opens for 2 hours a day - and that's during high season!) put me off.

But while walking through the Nevis gorge on our last day, I realised just how much I was falling for the Scottish Highlands - we'll certainly go back.

summertime

Just got back from a lovely week in Cornwall, where we swam in the exotically aqua ocean at Carbis Bay and went for long walks along the South West Coastal path. We patted dogs of all shapes and sizes, including the 'rock dog' (a very useful landmark on the walk from St Ives to Zennor) and this crazy woolly dog with a skinny tail, who lives in an idyllic fisherman's cottage in Penberth Cove. Wish I lived there too...

Put Some Effort In!

My job involves a lot of sitting at a computer, either at home or in the office, so as the academic year has come to an end it has been lovely to get outside and do something more active.

During May I joined three of my colleagues in training for the Bewdley 'Pub and Club' Regatta, which involved five one-hour rowing lessons on the River Severn before we rowed in the Regatta on June 1st. We were knocked out in the first heat but I think we rowed really well! 

Rowing is hard work and while some of our training sessions were on beautifully sunny afternoons, most of them were on wet, cold evenings when the last thing we wanted to do was mess about in boats. The day itself was warm but the river was fast-flowing after a lot of rain. The cox kept yelling 'put some effort in' and I can tell you that we all did!

As if my arms, legs, back and hands hadn't had enough by then, I spent the following week in the garden doing a job I've wanted to do for a year. Since we laid some turf over a large patch of ground that was left after Mark had dismantled an old out-building brick by brick (he literally has the scars to prove it), I've been wanting to shape the lawn. The fine weather and the quietness at the office has meant that I've finally had the time to do it. 

It was fiendishly difficult but at least the previous week's rain had softened the ground. After cutting the one half in a pleasingly organic curve, I kept having to run into the house to look out of an upstairs window to check that the other side matched! So, in the past few weeks I've learnt how to row, my garden is finally coming together and I've slept like a log!

On a Roll

Just finished these pj pants - it took me about a day from tracing the pattern pieces to finishing the hems. I'm getting much quicker!

I've not made trousers before so this is another first. I was surprised at how easy they were and I'll certainly be making more. These were from the cropped wide-leg pant pattern in Simple Modern Sewing and I'm inspired to try the long belted-pant pattern now - perhaps in linen?

But, for now, I've bought some denim to make a dress next...

Out of Office

I'm on leave this week so I've finally got some time to get on with my crafting projects. Spent yesterday afternoon and this morning sewing this smock top. I cut the pieces out weeks ago but just haven't had a decent run of time to make it until now.

It was a bit fiddly but I really took my time and made the effort to tack it all together before letting loose on the machine - and I'm really glad that I did. It probably saved me time because I didn't have to use the seam-ripper once! This is the first time I've set in sleeves and I'm very pleased with their neatness.

The neckline required some finessing though - the gathered bit was much longer than it should have been so I had to gently pleat it into place before inserting the elastic.

It's a lovely soft fabric and I think I'm going to enjoy wearing it.

Modern Life

I'm just coming to the end of a really busy period at work and I've realised I haven't had time to blog about these exhibitions that we've visited recently.

Firstly, we went to see Metropolis: Reflections on the Modern City at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery at the beginning of April.

Then a couple of weeks ago we went down to London to see Lichtenstein: A Retrospective at Tate Modern and Manet: Portraying Life at the Royal Academy.

It struck me that even though each exhibition represents a very specific era, there are a lot of parallels between the kind of 'contemporary' urban life that is portrayed in all of the works on display. Consumerism and popular culture mingle with 'art' throughout; the simultaneously beautiful and seedy of modern life.

The order in which we visited them meant that we slowly slipped into the past - from the twenty-first via the mid-twentieth into the nineteeth century. It's interesting that 'modern life' has been with us for at least a hundred years...