Revealed

This weekend I took a brief break from essay-marking to visit the Revealed: Government Art Collection exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It's an odd collection of works, seemingly randomly selected - some even bought to 'save on the cost of wallpaper' to re-decorate government offices. But it makes for a fascinating exhibition that reflects changing conceptions of Britishness and art. 

The highlight for me was the section curated by artist Cornelia Parker called 'Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain', in which she displayed a selection of works 'salon' style (from floor to ceiling) grouped according to the colours of the rainbow. I thought it worked really well and I found my attention drawn to each individual work as well as appreciating the whole effect. 'Blue Lane' by Graham Crowley shone out of the blue into indigo section.

Visitors are encouraged to consider which work they would choose to hang in their office if they were Prime Minister. My overall favourite was this one painted after John de Critz of 'King James VI and I (1566-1625) reigned Scotland from 1567, England 1603-1625'. My knowledge of this period of history is sketchy to say the least but I liked this one because it is a modest little picture (approximately 20 cm x 25 cm) and, to me, seems to convey James as a gentle man with a twinkle in his eye and a smile not far from his lips.  

Astrid's wrist-warmers

For part of the week I work in an office with Astrid. We both suffer from cold hands, which particularly affects us when we're working at home. I have thought about wearing fingerless gloves while working in my cold study but this somehow seems too depressing (I just keep getting images of Bob Cratchit in my mind!) So I was interested to hear that Astrid's secret to keeping her hands warm is to wear wrist-warmers. 

The freezing weather and the pile of essays waiting to be marked has prompted me to have a go at making my own wrist-warmers. I used some left-over Rowan Kid Classic on slightly smaller needles than those recommended to get a nicely tight fabric. They've got stocking-stitch linings and a bi-coloured slip-stitch design on the outside.

I wore them today for the first time and they really do work! I've had toasty warm hands all day - which has made the marking so much more bearable.

Getting my lomo back

Last summer, my friend Kirsty bought a Lomo Diana Mini camera. It looked really cool so I copied her. I knitted my Diana a woolly case and she came with me wherever I went. We had a lovely time in the sunshine - on walks and picnics; visiting beautiful gardens. I bought a pack of three films and went through the first two really quickly

But I never got them developed. I said that when I finished the third film, I'd get them all processed at the same time. But then summer turned to autumn and Diana started staying at home.

But today, Diana and I went out together again. We decided that the snowy weather would be a perfect opportunity to rekindle our friendship and get lomo-ing again.

So I now have three films waiting to be developed. Watch this space for the results...

Belated Christmas Present

When I arrived at my office on Thursday morning, a little package was waiting for me on my desk. In it were these buttons, sent to me by an ex-colleague and dear friend who is in the process of selling up her house and clearing out her stuff to move on to a new life in a Buddhist community. In her note, she says, 'I found these while sorting out my drawers and thought of you'.

These little stars will be perfect for the button-decorated Christmas decorations I meant to make in 2012 and will make in 2013.

But I don't know what to do with these groovy green ones. They look like little green acorns so I'm thinking about using them on an autumn jacket - perhaps in shades of brown and orange? Or am I getting carried away by the seasonal theme?

Whatever I do with them, they are much appreciated. Thanks!

New Year's Resolution Underway

Every year my New Year's Resolution is to finish all my current knitting projects before starting any new ones - so I'm really pleased that this year my resolution is already underway. Today I finished this cardigan, which I started back in the autumn. It's my version of the 'Tweed Cardigan' from Henry Conway and Gail Downey's Weardowney Knit Couture (2007).

I started this cardigan because I had a lot of single balls of Rowan's 'Felted Tweed' yarn in shades of blue and green that I didn't know what to do with. I'd originally bought the yarn to make a Rowan fair-isle tank-top but quickly realised that a multi-coloured fair-isle design using hairy yarn like 'Felted Tweed' becomes a tangled mess. Having spent too many hours trying to untangle it all, I decided to give it up.

So back in October, I decided to have a go at an ombre effect with the left-over yarn. I enjoyed knitting the Weardowney pattern, which is more complex than it first appears. It has some interesting details that are not shown in the few photos included in the book - such as the moss stitch shoulder panels and the panelled back.  I've made a couple of minor changes to the pattern too - I've only used three pairs of buttons and used i-cord for the closures (which I hand-felted to give them a bit more structure). 

The buttons are from Duttons for Buttons, which I bought on a lovely weekend in York with Kirsty and Rhian.

Overall, I think I like it.

And my thanks, as always, to Ellie for her help and support!

Cycle of the Seasons

Last night I finished reading Sue Gee's Earth & Heaven. I really enjoyed the painterly, impressionistic style, which I think nicely captures the cultural mood of the period. It's about a family during the inter-war period and their creative and relationship struggles, moving from their student days at art school in London to family-life in Kent. It manages to capture both the atmosphere of the art-scene in the city and the slower rhythms of life in the countryside really beautifully. But what I liked most about it was the way it conveyed the continuity of nature and the perpetual cycle of the seasons. In spite of the hardships suffered by this family - the grinding poverty, the grief, the unfulfilled longing - there is a sense that nature just carries on; that spring will always follow winter. 

As I walked through the park today - in the January drizzle - I tried to think about the cycle of the seasons. It helped.