The temperatures are dropping – we’re going down a few degrees a day and by Friday it will be minus 15….brrrr….too cold to snow.

I’m hunkering down as much as possible and trying to make the house as cosy and welcoming as I can for all those coming in from outside. There is a log fire burning, candles lit, bread rising and a Victoria Sponge cake in the oven…I’m mostly by the fire knitting and reading when I’m not in the kitchen.

It still doesn’t seem to be enough to stop teenagers from locking themselves away in their bedrooms though. What is it that makes cosy family time so deeply unattractive to them? Hormones? Mothers?

I’ll keep trying. One day they will realize that it’s so much nicer down here!

Helen

So…that’s it then. January is all but over. A drab month this year, but surprisingly mild although Siberian air is on its way and it should be down to minus 15 by the weekend.

For me it’s been a month of hibernation, sometimes frustrating and sometimes painful. A quiet month. A time when I’ve retreated, stayed home, hit the sofa, knitted, sewn, read. Never as much achieved as I expect when nothing much else is going on, but some projects finished and a few new ones underway. A few good books read. No shopping. A little headway has been made in the various stashes…yarn, fabric, books and DVDs.

I’m still simplifying, sorting out and rehoming where I can. Trying to create elusive space, order and simplicity. There’s a huge amount still to do and a lot that I can’t really get my hands on because it’s other people’s stuff…and I guess I just have to live with that. I’m learning to change what I can change and accept the things that I can’t. It’s a long-term project in patience and tolerance.

Spring still looks a very long time away. More hibernation is in store. Not a bad thing when it’s cold outside!

Helen

Thank you so much to all of you who have been asking about my knee. Today I finally had my appointment with one of Zürich’s top sports doctors – so I can now report that at least I know what is going on. As I already knew, there is a large oedema (bone bruise) inside my knee, which isn’t going to go away in a hurry. The ligaments on the inside of my knee are also partially torn….again time is the answer. I have to start physio and water therapy to build up the muscles again, take medication to stimulate more calcium production and yes, you’ve guessed it….rest, do nothing, sit with my leg up…..yawn…

So boredom and no sport will continue for the next couple of months, but it should start to get better…and the doctor did promise me that if I’m good and let everything heal then I could be up and running again in the spring. Maybe I’ll even manage a little yoga and pilates before then if I’m very careful.

So I shall be swimming, ladies….not my sport at all….but if it helps, then it’s worthwhile. And at least it will get me out of the house!

In the meantime I’ve been doing quite a lot of drinking tea, watching amazing tennis from the Australian Open and knitting away at this rather natty little shawl. I just love the border – and it’s way easier than I thought it would be!

Highland Fling by Susan Mills for Classic Elite Yarns. Made with Classic Elite Yarns Mountain Top, which is an alpaca and wool mix. Smashing!

Helen

I loved Northcote by Cabbages and Roses from the first moment I laid eyes on it. I didn’t jump right in and buy the fat quarters right away, because…well, you know the story…I’m supposed to be using up my stash and not buying new stuff. Anyway, at some point last year there was a weak late night internet moment and there you go…..Northcote joined the stash

At heart I’m old-fashioned and conventional. I’m a sucker for chinz, for full-blown old roses, for pinks and blues, for stripes. What was there not to like? Frankly, it had my name on it. In capitals. It says calmness, beaches, New England beach houses to me…it has a whiff of a foregone era. It doesn’t pop, it’s steeped in conventionality – but I absolutely love it!

Cabbages and Roses was always going to be a quilt for me, for our under the eaves, whitewashed wood bedroom. I would have put good money on me using a Carrie Nelson pattern too.

But that isn’t quite how It has worked out. Once I pulled out Northcote  and my pattern books, I realized pretty quickly that this was a no-go. Let me tell you, this is a difficult fabric collection to use. The chinz patterns are big, the stripes are broad and dominant and there are a huge number of small spriggy fabrics. Carrie’s wonderful patterns just wouldn’t work with these fabrics – the pieces are too small and somehow there is too little variety – which doesn’t mean I don’t love it, I do!

I’m not the only one finding it tricky either. There are incredibly few photos of quilts made with these fabrics out there on the web.

So… what to do? Well, I let the fabrics speak to me. I realized that I have to have something with big pieces that can showcase the strong fabrics – I need to celebrate the stripes and big roses, not loose them in itsy bitsy little pieces. When you see what I’ve done I’m sure some of you will smile and say, What? Can’t she ever make a quilt that doesn’t have stars in it?

I think I’m happy with this – and I think it plays to the strengths of the fabrics – I know it looks like I’m stuck in a big fat old rut, (OK, OK, I probably am!) but I honestly, truly think that this is the best way to use this fabric!

I may or may not use the four patch I made. It’s an experiment – maybe I won’t just have stars. The jury is out – so what do you think?

So there you have it…more stars…but doesn’t it say lazy summer afternoon to you too?

Helen

Isn’t it amazing what a difference a good night’s sleep can make. I feel like a new woman today. I slept long and got the day started at my own pace, not one dictated by everybody else. My knee isn’t very good today, but my head is in a much, much better place. Another long sleep tonight should set me up a treat for the week ahead.

I’ve been pottering with Cabbages and Roses – but more of that tomorrow, when there is more to show than I have at present. Enough to say that it isn’t turning out quite how I expected.

I also finished sewing up my Lang Donegal cardigan – you remember the one with the incomprehensible German instructions that Mel sorted out for me? The one I’ve been working on, off and on, for months and months? Well here it is…

I’m a bit of a scoopy-necked cardigan sort of girl, so I think this will suit me down to the ground. I made the smallest size and it’s certainly fairly fitting, but I can’t abide knitting that makes me look like a sack of potatoes and in my experience hand-knitting always stretches with time. The pattern worked out fine, except for the edging up the front and round the neck. I knitted it according to the pattern and it was so tight that you wouldn’t have got a 6 year old into it. I ripped it all out and just improvised – knitting about a zillion stitches round – more than twice the original number at a guess, but I didn’t count, I just winged it. Hey presto! Perfect. Sometimes it works to just go with your gut feeling.

The Donegal yarn is tweedy and a little more turquoise than it looks in this photo. It varies quite a lot in thickness, which I guess is part of it’s homely charm – I just hope those slightly thinner areas don’t wear out too quickly…but then, how many cardigans have I actually worn out in the last decade? Not a lot, that’s for sure!

I’m now revelling in that lovely feeling you get when you finish a big project that’s been hanging around for ages – and it’s great to have another 1000m  used from the stash.

Now back to the sewing machine….

Enjoy your Saturday!

Helen