The Byatt Shawl. . .

Here finally is my Byatt shawl and I love it!

I really agonized over colour choices for this one.  I knew I wanted to add a third colour so I wouldn't run out of yarn but trying to harmonize the three in terms of tone proved a bit tricky.  I used three skeins from my stash - Rowan Fine Art for the first section, Titus in the lovely teal Eccup colourway for the lace and contrast colour, and then the brown is Polana Ranch Alpaca which was a gift from my friend Roz and is sooooo soft and squishy.

I also added beads to the lace section as I love the extra weight they give to a shawl. Again, I switched colours going from using copper beads which proved to be a bit too shiny to these matted silver ones.

I probably spent four times as long as I needed to, knitting this project but am so happy to get there in the end.   This is the perfect shawl for throwing around my shoulders at night while reading in bed.  I absolutely loved reading The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt, which inspired this shawl design and it is so rewarding to combine my love of books and knitting into one project.  In a former life, I used to work for Byatt's Canadian publisher and I did get to meet her twice which was the greatest thrill. She was also very gracious with her time and granted me a fascinating interview about researching and writing The Children's Book.  It's still knocking about the internet and if you are interested you can read it here.  Needless to say, I highly recommend the novel; I think I like it even more than Possession.

Much Ado About Theatre. . .

I salute the genius who came up several years ago with the brilliant idea of broadcasting live theatre to cinemas around the world; I absolutely love it.  

Last night I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Much Ado, which they were calling Love's Labour's Won.  They used the same cast as in Love's Labour's Lost which I saw last month.  Lost was set in the summer of 1914 and at the end when the four men in uniform marched away to war, I couldn't help but think of the four men in Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth.  The men do come back however in Won which is set in 1918.  The stately home has been turned into a hospital where Beatrice has been nursing, and instead of hiding amidst the garden foliage, Benedick scampers behind first a curtain and then a large Christmas tree to great comic effect.  Overall, the whole modern concept worked very well - the two leads, Edward Bennett and Michelle Terry were sharp and witty, and the sets and costumes were gorgeous, as was the music by Nigel Hess.  I may need to purchase the CD as I do love a good Noel Coward pastiche and wouldn't it be grand to end every Shakespearean comedy with a Charleston?

On the darker side, I thought it was intriguing to suggest that Dogberry was suffering from shellshock; it made more sense of his character's language idiosyncrasies and nervous tics and Nick Haverson gave a very poignant portrayal. It was so moving at times however, that I couldn't laugh at the humour and felt very uncomfortable when the audience did.  Don John also had war injuries and walked with a crutch, which perhaps added to his envy of Claudio but this could have been further developed. 

But overall,  a very interesting idea that I think the RSC pulled off splendidly.

I'm certainly spoiled for live theatre in Liverpool too.  Last month I saw Willy Russell's Educating Rita at the Playhouse. This has to be the quintessential Liverpool play and I was quite proud to get all the local references although I only caught about 90% of the words in Leanne Best's Scouse accent.  

Next up is some Beckett at the Unity Theatre. 

And then more theatre on the big screen - two National Theatre productions that I'm really excited about.  Mark Strong is getting great reviews in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge. . .

. . . and if I'm going to sit through the full version of Shaw's Man and Superman, it needs to be with a mesmerizing lead.  Ralph Fiennes should fit the bill.

Returning to Shakespeare - this project looks intriguing.  Contemporary novelists will be retelling Shakespeare's plays in novel form.   The pairings are quite good.  Jeanette Winterson (The Winter's Tale), Margaret Atwood (The Tempest), Anne Tyler (The Taming of the Shrew), Harold Jacobson (The Merchant of Venice), Jo Nesbo (Macbeth - that should be quite intense!), Gillian Flynn (Hamlet - hmmm, not sure about that one),  Tracy Chevalier (Othello) and Edward St. Aubyn (King Lear).

I'm still trying to catch up with the recent Austen retellings.

The Old Man Obliterated: A Real Winter Walk. . .

In my last post, I enthused about the perfect winter walk during our recce at Coniston. Fast forward a couple of weeks to the actual walk with our rambling group and you get a very different set of photos.  This is what I love about the Lakes and country walking in general; the times of day, the weather, the seasons - it's never the same walk twice.

It started out promising.  No sun, but it was clear and dry.

The woods were greener.

And darker.

The water was choppier.

And then rain turned into a short spell of hail. And then the white stuff started falling.  Just random, rather pretty flakes to start.

Then it got heavier.  By the time we were on the top of Carron Crag the visibility was nil and the wind was fierce.

And yet, if you are going to be out walking in a snow shower, deep woods are not a bad place to be.  I found the snow quite magical.  It felt like home.

No sign at all of the Old Man.

Until we came to the very end of the walk and the skies cleared.  The mountain looked even better with its new white coat.

And the clear air and still puddles gave off fantastic reflections.

It took the last ten minutes of the walk to get a decent view and the slightest glimpse of pale sunshine but nevertheless, it was still an invigorating walk enjoyed by all.  Enough snow had fallen down the back of my neck though to soak my fleece, so I was quite happy to seek the warmth of the pub.

March has definitely come in like a lion.  The Liverpud is leading another walk on the last weekend of the month; we'll see if the weather behaves more like a lamb.

The Old Man From Afar: Another Walk Around Coniston. . .

This is what perfect winter walking weather looks like.  It may have been -3 degrees when we set out around 9am, but the wind was perfectly still, allowing the sunshine to warm all exposed skin.  Bliss!

The last time we came to Coniston, we tackled the famous Old Man which looms above the town.  You can follow that walk here.  But the Lake District offers gorgeous views from all heights and this recce that we did for a future walk with our rambling group, demonstrates how one doesn't need to go to the highest point for the maximum views.  And let's face it, the Old Man looks pretty picturesque from a distance, especially covered in snow. 

Starting from the town, we briefly walked away from the Old Man, through bits of woodland and across fields still encrusted with the morning's frost.

This brought us out to the head of Coniston Water, also looking quite magical in the still, morning air.

The Herdys were enjoying the sunshine too.

From the other side of the lake the Old Man still majestically dominates the landscape.

Our path up was on one of many that snake through Grizedale Forest where we encountered this very odd sign.  I still don't really know what it means or what it may be cautioning against.

The highest point on our walk was Carron Crag and on the way up you encounter various wooden sculptures.

At 1,030 feet it may not be the highest peak in the region, but just look at the 360 views you get, not only of the Old Man and its surrounding crags. . . 

. . . but also this great view of the ranges near Ambleside.  I hope I'm correct; I think it may be the Fairfield Horseshoe on the far left with the Kentmere Horseshoe also visible further along. 

I could have spent hours up on the top of Carron, basking in the sunshine and fresh air.  However, there was an important football game on at 5pm (they all seem to be important to the Liverpud), and we had to finish the recce, so reluctantly we started heading down through more deep and magical forest. . .

. . . finishing on gentle country lanes - I love this type of walking path.

At every clearing, the Old Man reasserted itself, looking particularly lovely in the lake's reflection,

A truly super winter walk!  I can't wait to do it again with our group.

First Finished Sweater of the Year. . .

Hooray - I'm on the board with my first finished sweater of the year (only 11 more to go).  This took exactly one week to complete and I really love the look and fit of it.  Hooray for bulky yarn!

The pattern is the Wendy Sweater by Wendy Barnard and I made a few modifications, shortening the sleeves and omitting the waist decreases.  The yarn is Rowan's Big Wool Colour in the Jamboree colourway with plain black Big Wool for the trim.  I'd definitely use this pattern again for a bulky jumper in one solid colour, lengthening both the sleeves and the body.  I liked the fact that it was top-down and knit in the round so it was easy to try it on as I knit it. 

A few words about the yarn:  I absolutely fell in love with this colourway when I saw it in the shop and I knew I wanted to create a garment with it.  Finding a suitable pattern was a bit tricky though.   I would suggest that you stick to stockinette and knit on slightly smaller needles than are called for, to keep the fabric tight so it looks a bit less bulky.  I had originally started a pattern that involved garter stitch across the neck and shoulder area and it looked awful.  Garter stitch really doesn't show this yarn's colours and textures to their best advantage.  Stockinette definitely does.

The nubs do make it a bit difficult to frog as they get caught up in various other strands.  Similarly you need a bit of muscle to weave in the ends (and a large tapestry needle).

I'm really thrilled with the results though and I think it's a fun top that can work just as well dressed up with a black skirt as over a pair of jeans.  And I really love the plain Rowan Big Wool - would definitely like to knit more chunky jumpers with this yarn.

Progress. . .

Ripped back the second bit of Byatt and restarted with a stronger contrast colour so that slip-stitching showed up better.

And I'm maybe a third of the way through a potential jumper with my Rowan Big Wool Colour.  This pattern is the Wendy Sweater by Wendy Bernard, a very simple top-down jumper that I'm hoping will be my go-to pattern for chunky wool.  I'm knitting it on 8mm needles so the fabric is quite tight, yet there's still a bit of give in the stockinette.  The fit seems okay so far.  Now I just need to decide if I do the ribbing at the bottom and around the neck in black or gray.

FO February?. . .

I am supposed to be concentrating on knitting sweaters this year but I have so many other projects still to finish. I'm determined that this month will be Finished Object February. 

Here is the first of a pair of mittens that was supposed to be my mum's xmas present.  Maybe this year.  I'd settle for getting one done by the end of the month. 

Have I completed one sweater for my 12 sweaters in 12 months project yet?  Nope.  Have I started two shawls though?  Oh yes.  Here is how my Earth and Sky is looking.

And I'm now on the second part of Byatt.  I really want to finish this by the Edinburgh Yarn Festival in mid-March.

I have been working on one sweater.  I've finished the back of Sous Sous and am just up to the neck division on the front.  It's slow going though.

And this is all that is left of the Tender. I frogged it as it was just too bulky looking with all the extra nupps in the Rowan Big Wool Colour.  I've actually cast on for a better pattern but it's too soon to tell whether it will look any better.

Five projects I'm aching to get done so I can cast on for another sweater or start finishing the three cardigans that I've got stowed away in bags with just the sleeves and seaming to finish.  Three weeks to go - can I get any of these done?