just saying ... the thing about Mrs Arnolfini's lovely woollen dress ...

Jan van Eyck (circa 1390–1441) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Did you watch the Waldemar Januszczak series about the Renaissance on the BBC? It was really interesting. I was lucky enough to watch all 4 episodes as I was finishing off a project. I love catch-up telly when I'm working on something that leaves my brain free to enjoy all the good stuff that I never get to watch live-time.

In the first episode the wonderful Waldemar talked about this painting from the National Gallery painted by Jan Van Eyck in 1434. It's an odd little painting that I know well. In fact, truth be told, I could look at it for hours, like some kind of time-travelling voyeur. I mean, spare a thought for the fact that it's transporting us back half a millennium to this couple's bedroom in Bruges, then the textile capital of Europe. I should add that it was fashionable, back then, to entertain guests in your bedroom so that they could see (and sit on) your opulent textiles.

Fantastic Mr Fox ...

I got a surprise this morning when I looked out the kitchen window. There, larger than life and full of vigour, sat Fantastic Mr Fox on my garden wall, and he carried on sitting there staring in at me for at least half an hour. I was transfixed ... watching him ... watching me. He wasn't in the least bit timid. In fact he looked like the Lord of the Manor, surveying his domain.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Okay, okay, I may be gilding the lily - or should that be the daffodil? -  a bit. In truth it's hard to do the lonely as a cloud thing on Ealing Common with the traffic thundering by on the Uxbridge Road, but it is just a little bit glorious out there at the moment with the wonderful mini-daffodils that are exploding with cheerful colour all over the grass. 

In the pink ...

The weather here in London continues to put on a cold, grey face, but I'm resolutely clinging to the notion that spring must be just around the corner.

Notwithstanding the unseasonal gloom I spent a very happy day yesterday photographing my new collection of organic cotton 4 ply in all the wonderful shades of summer. It's a tricky business taking photos that accurately record the colour of yarn. My favourite place for indoor photography is in our south-facing conservatory, which has wonderful, clear, white light.

The first Sunday ... way back on 7th March 321 A.D.

On this day in A.D. 321 the Roman Emperor, Constantine, issued an edict declaring that his subjects should henceforth observe Sunday, as a special day of rest. Today we tend to think of Constantine as the first Christian Roman Emperor, but he was also strongly associated with the pagan cult of Sol Invictus - the unconquered sun - after which he chose to name his special day.

Being a pragmatist he specified that the day of rest had to be observed by the non-essential workers in the cities who were obliged to close their workshops and take a day off. The folk who were involved in agriculture in the countryside, however, were given a special dispensation to carry on as normal - lest by neglecting the proper moment ... the bounty of heaven should be lost.

Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman Empire, and a patron of soldiers with a special appeal for the senatorial upper classes. Many Christians across the empire already treated Sunday as a day for religious observance, although a number in Rome and Alexandria preferred Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. And amongst the wider population Sunday was a popular day because it was frequently the workers' pay-day. 

So here's to Constantine, Sol Invictus, a day-off and the inauguration of a weekly holiday, a thoroughly civilised development.

All the best for now,

Bonny x

w.i.p. ...

Spring feels a bit like a work-in-progress at the moment. It's cold and chilly outside, but there are all the wonderful spring bulbs and seasonal flowers giving us a hint of better days to come.

I had to go into town last Thursday, and chose to follow the alleyway along the allotments that skirts the back of the churchyard. I walked under this amazing magnolia tree. And then I stopped, turned around and went back the way I'd come - just to have the thrill of walking under it again. Those big waxy flowers were so freakishly glorious against the perfect blue sky behind. I say freakish because they come before the leaves, and to my way of thinking that's just a little bit weird.

Think invisible ... be invisible ...

When the Wonderdog doesn’t want to do something, he’s got a sneaky habit of disappearing. Sometimes it works, but other times it doesn't ...

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Bonny x

Happy St. David's Day ...

... to all my friends in Wales!

And a very happy first day of meteorological Springtime to everyone else! Although here in deepest, darkest, greyest Ealing you could be forgiven for believing that Spring had missed its cue.

Still I'm looking forward to sunny days ahead, when I can spread my work onto the terrace, and throw my doors and windows open after all this closed-up-indoors winter living. Today may be a bit of a let-down on the sunshine front, but I'm sure there's plenty in the pipeline that's been specially earmarked for us by the weather gods.

So, for now, I'm grateful for the hellebores ...

knit & stitch it 2016

Thank you to all the lovely ladies who stopped by my stand at knit & stitch it 2016.  It was a treat to meet so many fellow yarn-enthusiasts. And a big thank you to those who bought my wool. I hope it knits up a treat for you.

I had a really interesting couple of days, meeting loads of new people with new takes on life and knitting. I drew enormous inspiration from all of them. Some had great practical tips and ideas to pass on, some had great ways of mixing colours and others were simply great raconteurs with a multitude of stories to share.

So, thank you, everyone, for stopping by and sharing the moment. I had a ball!

All the best for now,

Bonny x

Easiest baby jumper ever ...

I've just finished this little jumper. And I think it's the easiest, quickest item of baby-wear I've ever made. I've got a feeling that it's going to become my go-to pattern for every time a new baby arrives in my circle.

This should fit a little one of 6 months to a year old. It measures 24 cm/ 9.5 " from armpit to armpit, and takes 3, 50g/ 100m  balls of my Costa Brava Knitting double knitting variegated bamboo yarn in Cinnabar & Spice. In stocking stitch my tension comes out as 22 stitches x 28 rows for 10cm².

It's knit in the round up to the armpits, and then the front and back are knit separately. The stitches for the arms are picked up from the armholes, and knit from the armhole down to the wrist. And it's all worked in stocking stitch for ease and speed. The wonderful variegated yarn does its stuff to create a series of spontaneous stripes that provides plenty of interest without the need for any fancy stitch-work.

Just read on for the pattern:

Cosy wool for chilly days ...

It's been really cold here in London, and I've been keeping cosy inside with some lovely new wool. Fancy a peak?

Oh, okay. I'm never hard to persuade when it comes to showing off my yarn collection.
Feast your eyes on my Buttered Caramel: it looks good enough to eat!

Potato Pancakes for Pancake Day ...

This morning we had pancakes for breakfast. Potato pancakes to be precise. It was a dry run ahead of Pancake Day on Tuesday.

I'm not mad keen about sweet things, so you can hold back on the maple syrup, but I do like savoury pancakes, and when you combine them with some smoked salmon, a poached egg and a dollop of sour cream, you're heading in the direction of a pretty classy breakfast.

Just read on for my recipe ...

TGI February ...

Phew ... we've made it! We've got through the awful grey doldrums of January. At the risk of repeating what I said last year: January sucks! It's the one month of the year that I'd be happy to miss. Wake me up when it's over! And this year, with grey weather, sniffles and colds and a nasty dose of flu here at Talk-a-Lot Towers, it was especially grim.

But roll on February ... with Pancake Day, Valentine's Day, loads of spring flowers and the half term holidays to look forward to. January, with its dowdy back-to-work mentality, and those awful New Year's Resolutions, makes February shine. Yeah! Fun-time February has arrived, and not a day too soon in my book.

Yesterday the Wonder Dog and I took our customary walk around Ealing Common. The daffs were up, the sky was blue and it definitely felt like the season was turning, but there were still a few traces of the post-Christmas hangover lingering around the edges of the green. Here and there a few discarded Christmas trees still lay dejectedly on the grass. Can you spot the sad little conifer lying forlornly at the bottom of the second tree from the left?

There are few things that look glummer than last year's Christmas tree, dumped outside, withered and grey, when the festive season has long since been and gone.

All the best for now,

Bonny x

Bamboo baby dress ...

So here's a little something I've made for Knit & Stitch it 2016, and to road-test my new consignment of bamboo yarn.  I should stress, for the benefit of friends and family, who might be reading this that Emi's not about to have a little sister.

No, this project was an experiment, a fun experiment to create a dream dress for a lovely new baby girl.

It should fit a little person of about 6 months to a year old. It measures 24 cm across the chest from armpit to armpit, and 41 cm in length from the shoulder down to the bottom edge of the bottom frill on the skirt.

Just read on for the pattern:

Chalk painting furniture ...

I've always liked the shabby-chic look of painted furniture, but I've never been quite brave enough to take the paintbrush to anything that I liked having in the house. Call me a coward! Anyway, I have to dress up a stand for Knit & Stitch it 2016 and I'm on a budget (spent all the money on wool <ahem!>). I have four square metres of space, some (very ordinary) shelves that will be filled with my (very wonderful) wool and a (very ordinary) table and chairs where I'm scheduled to do some knitting demos - and it's all got to look super-duper wonderful on the shoe-string that is my expo budget.

Knit & Stitch it 2016 ...

I'm doing my first knitting show at the end of February. Yikes! I'm so excited and so nervous all at the same time. If you're around in Farnborough on Friday 26th or Saturday 27th February do drop by. I'm going to be on Costa Brava Knitting's Stand (Stand number 38), and I'd be delighted to see a friendly face.

Moonlit London by the Thames ...

The weather in London has finally turned wintery, and the very best sort of wintery at that: cold and crisp with blues skies that make the spirits soar. Sadly we were unable to go out and make the most of it yesterday. I had a towering mountain of work, and a series of meetings that kept me indoors all day.

Finally night fell, and I had to take Emi to swim club. Normally I bring a book or some work, and sit around with the other parents waiting for our kids to do their stuff. But last night I brought the Wonder Dog, left the child with his chums and tore off to the river. It was wonderful. Exhilarating. Joggers jogged by; a few revellers hung around the riverside watering holes having a sneaky smoke outdoors. And apart from that it was just my faithful hound, the moonlight, the river and me. An amazing moment stolen from my normal routine.

Ever thought of knitting bamboo?

I know it's not a fibre that people have traditionally used for knitting, but I've just ordered my first own-label consignment of bamboo yarn. It's all very exciting. I wanted to create something for summer in a sustainable fabric. Variegated yarns seem to be very in at the moment, and they also happen to be one of my favourites, so I've worked with a textile mill to produce a limited range of variegated colour-ways for Spring/ Summer 2016.

Aran cowl ...

I've designed this wonderful Aran cowl for my Costa Brava Knitting workshops in February. I do hope my guests enjoy making it up and adapting the pattern to create their own unique holiday knits. What do you think?

It's a relatively straightforward project as both the cables and the central tree/ rope panel repeat over 8 rows, so they stay in step with one another as the project progresses, making it easy to keep track of where you are.

I used just under 2, 100g hanks of the wool (just under 400 m/ 440 yards), and it knit up on 4mm/ UK size 8/ US size 6 needles in the pattern at 47 stitches x 30 rows for a 10cm x 10 cm tension square. My scarf, before I folded it up and stitched it to make a cowl, measured 16 cm/6.5"  wide x 80 cm/ 31.5" long.

Just read on for the pattern:

Grrrr ... not going my way ...

Don't you just hate it when everything gets knotted and you spend more time unravelling the wool than you do knitting the jumper? :-(( Normally I can count on Emi, Mr B ... the Wonder Dog ... anyone to hold their hands/ paws up obligingly so that I can unravel and wind my skeins into nice, neat balls of yarn ready to go. Today, however, things did not go according to plan ... .

Note to self: buy one of those umbrella-twister/ ball-winder combos to avoid nervous melt-down!!!

New Year, New Wool ...

It's turned a bit chillier here on the Costa Brava. The blue skies have gone, and in their place are leaden clouds and unkind sea breezes. Luckily we've not had to venture out very far, and have been cosily tucked up in front of the fire watching movies.

I've been road-testing a beautiful collection of hand-dyed merino wool. It starts out white, and they add dashes of dye until it's got a wonderful Jackson Pollock thing going on with depths and layers of colour. At first I thought that the multiple colour-way might be a distraction from the Aran stitch-work, but, now that I see it knit up, I like the look. What do you think?

Multi-coloured wool has the advantage of opening up all sorts of colour-matching/ clashing possibilities that a straight one-colour blend just doesn't touch.

Happy New Year 2016 ...

May your pockets be heavy, and your heart be light.

May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Traditional Irish blessing for the New Year