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Musings on a modern world

Mar 11th, 2011 2 Comments

fabric-4Earlier in the week my phone line went down.  It started with the voice line turning into cracklesville and I couldn’t get a dial tone.  This was quickly followed by the internet becoming more twitchy than a fluffy cat sat in the middle of a dog pound that had run out of food.

The result is no voice calls and the internet has become so intermittent its not really worth the bother.  At first – being a thoroughly modern girl – I fiddled with the connectors and, after assuring myself it wasn’t something I or the beasties had done, called the phone company.  One hour, two companies and six operators later they decided an engineer needed to come out because ‘I had a fault on the line.’  Funnily enough I seem to remember that being my opening comment to all 6 people I spoke to.  Still I suppose they’re just doing their job.

So you’d imagine faced with 4 days or so without modern communications (my mobile signal is terrible at home as well) I’d simply reach for my knitting and think nothing of the passage of time.  But not so.  Even if you discount the internet for work (yes I often work at home on an evening) I found myself all twitchy.  No Ravelry, No blogs, No Mysewingcircle…… NO INTERNET SHOPPING!

It’s not until we have something like this taken away that you start to comprehend how much it has infiltrated our lives.  Isn’t it silly that I feel aggrieved I can’t shop online for stuff at 3 in the morning.  These photos are all images of some fabric I bought recently on a late night shopping trawl of the internet from Gone to Earth.

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They’re designed by Tanya Whelan and I’ve not seen them in the local fabric shops.  Years ago I either wouldn’t have been able to buy these, or would have needed to do it mail order, possibly via a catalogue.

fabric-6The plan is to make them into a quilt for my garden hammock.  I love my hammock.  It’s wonderful and I could rave about it for pages on end.  Yet, for reasons I won’t go into, I couldn’t really to use it last year.  However I’m hoping a nice new quilt to throw over it will allow me to bask in the summer sun once more with a nice cold drink.

So it was I decided (flushed with the success of my quilted cushions) to add a garden hammock quilt to my list of things to make.  The hunt for the fabric was on…

fabric-3I’ve chosen these patterns as I want something floral but with a slightly vintage feel.  In my minds eye I see the primary colours as blue and white with just a little bit of another colour for accent.  While I was looking around I worried that many of the fabrics would be to bright, or the pattern too busy.  I want the quilt to be beautiful but not compete with the real plants and flowers close by.  Thanks to the modern world of communications when I found these beautiful fabrics I was able to order and pay for them at silly o’clock.  Within a few days they were delivered and now they are tucked neatly away in my blanket box waiting to be turned into my new garden quilt. 

It amazes me how much we come to accept and expect the convenience of technology.  How it has so quickly become the norm, and how much I miss it when it’s gone.  I really hope that engineer turns up soon and put’s me out of my misery…

The Trouble with Tribbles…

Mar 9th, 2011 1 Comment

Anyone remember Tribbles?  Those furry little things that do nothing but eat, reproduce and trill when stroked from Star Trek.  Well recently I decided to make a furry doorstop for my bedroom.  I’ve been using one of my beautiful old stone hot water bottles for the job but I’d much rather have it in the bed with me warming my toes.

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It was something I’d been thinking about for a while but I simply wasn’t sure what to fill it with.  I mean the obvious thing would be sand but that seemed as if it would be very messy.  Besides I worried that sand might seep through the seams.  Then I came across a posting on the Flossie Teacakes Blog where she mentions using rice for the job. Rice! And so I dug out the white fur fabric that I used to make my furry pillow cases and got cutting.  I decided upon a pyramid design and added a tab of white satin ribbon neat the top to make it easier to pick up.

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Thing is it’s so cute I’ve now decided that I want one for the bathroom and I’m imagining eyes on the front.  Maybe I really have produced a Tribble and soon my home will be over run with them.

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The cats and dogs are very intrigued by it.  Although as yet the dogs haven’t decided exactly what it is.  It’s been sniffed and snuffled at, and even used as a head rest, but the best bit is that it’s performing it’s door duties admirably and freeing the hot water bottle to fulfil it’s design purpose as well.

 

 

What do you read? – Dear Friend and Gardener

Mar 7th, 2011 3 Comments

What sort of books do you read?  Do you have favourite authors and if so are you faithful only to them?  Perhaps you dot around from one genre to another?

Some bloggers I follow occasionally talk about what they’re reading.  This is usually (but not always) restricted to books related to the main focus of their blog.  Given how I enjoy reading these posts, and have even discovered some new authors this way, I thought perhaps I should do the same.

So here is the first up.

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It’s called ‘Dear Friend and Gardener’ by Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd. 

I am fortunate enough to live quite close to Beth Chatto and visiting her nursery and garden is something I do perhaps four or five times a year.  It has nothing to do with their excellent cheese scones, honest!  Now in her late 80’s she has written many books on gardening and won numerous Gold Medals at the Chelsea Flower Show.  When you sit in the nursery tea shop it is difficult to not be impressed by those Medal Certificates displayed on the walls.

The garden is beautiful and once you realise that it has all been created from scratch it’s even more inspirational.

The book is a series of letters between Beth and another famous gardener Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter.  So far I’ve not managed to visit that garden but believe me, if I ever find myself in the vicinity I’ll be there like a shot.

So why is this one of my favourite books?  Well, that’s difficult to explain.  I like different types of books at different times, dependant upon my mood.  There are times when I want something that will rivet, thrill and engross me, at others I want something to make me laugh.  Sometimes however, I want something safe and comfortable I can read without fear of upset.  The literary equivalent of that cosy armchair and blanket which you can snuggle into with a steaming mug of hot chocolate on a cold winters evening.  This book gives me that feeling.

There is a warmth between the correspondents which draws you in along with their obvious love of plants.  The idea of writing letters to a friend seems slightly old fashioned in this modern world of texts, emails, facebook and twitter.  Yet whenever I read this book I really do wonder if our reliance on these near instantaneous forms of communication has somehow taken something away from us.  A level of joy and eloquence in communication which seems to have been lost.  Perhaps quality really is more important then quantity.

 

I’m finally tweeting…

Mar 6th, 2011 2 Comments

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Up until now I’ve resisted twitter.  It’s always appeared rather confusing compared to the likes of Facebook and every time I’ve looked at it I’ve decided to close down the computer and put on the kettle.

However this time I was determined to be brave and persevere.  So far I’ve made it farther into the world of tweeting than ever before.  Of course this only means that I’ve managed to set up an account and make my first tweet, so it’s not as impressive as it sounds.

Unfortunately Mara is taken, as is Mara72, ditto for Fantasia and so I’ve gone for fantasiayarns and I believe it’s common to put an @ sign before to show it’s a user name.  So if I’ve got this right I’m now @fantasiayarns

Unfortunately the gadget that places the ‘follow me on twitter’ little button on the side of your blog doesn’t seem to be working, boo hiss… So I’ll just say that I’ll add it when it’s fixed but in the meantime if you’re a twitter user let me know!

Assumption is the mother of all…..

Mar 5th, 2011 1 Comment

(I’ll warn you now this is a serious rant on my part)

Recently I saw a documentary on Caster Semenya, the South African runner who was subjected to a media storm in 2009 over her ‘gender’ and suspended from competing.  I sat in amazement, staring at the screen while expert after expert babbled on and on about how there is no scientific test for gender!  It seemed fairly obvious to me, if she was born with girlie bits and no boy bits, she’s a girl.  At no point was it ever suggested that she had knowingly tried to deceive.  The authorities kept going on about hormone levels and medical disorders potentially giving her an unfair advantage.  ‘Unfair genetic advantage’ was a term used a lot.  I found it interesting that all these ‘authorities’ were men.  Has anyone suggested that some of the really tall basket ball players shouldn’t be allowed to play because they have a genetic advantage (being tall), or Michael Phelps the swimmer should be disqualified for having large feet?  Yup, got it in one….  no-one is suggesting that at all.

Caster Semenya (photo taken from the Guardian Website – hope they don’t mind)

So what exactly was the problem?  Well as far as I could tell, some people consider her a little butch in appearance.  Now I’m sorry if I’m up on my soap box about this, but that really gets my goat.  Who is to say what a woman should look like? 

The media? They’d have us all skinny with boob implants.  Take a look at how women are represented on the tv or in magazines.  If you’re attractive, you’re thin in their world.  I work with teenagers and I know how many of the girls suffer from incredibly low self esteem simply because they don’t look like Kiera Knightley.

Hmmm so what about the Sports organisations?  Well Caster Semenya was 18 at the time and I remember all to well how I felt at that age.  Constantly worried about my appearance and desperately trying to conform to the ideals of how I was supposed to look.  The slightest comment could knock my confidence out the street, round the corner and then propelled it far out to sea where it was set adrift on a small rickety raft and left to die.

Thing is throughout the documentary I just kept wondering how those officials would feel if someone questioned their gender.  We all know how sensitive your average man is about his manliness.  In her mind this young woman is female,  she’s always been a female, and yet here were a bunch of people saying she wasn’t because she could run fast and didn’t look like their idea of a girl.  I just saw a teenager in a pink girlie top.

Anyway I shall stop ranting now and if you’re still reading I’ll just say thanks for letting me get that off my chest (a chest I might add that has not been and never will be surgically enhanced).

Blocked Branching Out

Mar 4th, 2011 2 Comments

I don’t know if you remember me mentioning a scarf I was knitting out of a blue silk?  We’ll it’s now finished and blocked!

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I’d never done spray blocking before but it went smoothly (if you don’t count having to chase animals off while it dried) and relatively quickly.

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In fact I’m rather pleased with it, especially given I’ve been so exhausted this week after going back to work.

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But what better way to cheer yourself up than by adding another scarf to your wardrobe.  What could be better for keeping your throat warm?  Of course given this weather I need a scarf ALL the time hehe…

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I’m also planning on updating the Folksy shop later this evening (if I can find the energy from somewhere).  But here’s a sneak preview….

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Right I now need a cup of tea or a nap – possibly both……

A bag for the fair…

Mar 2nd, 2011 1 Comment

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Recently I’ve been looking for a shoulder bag.  I have a lovely tote bag which was a present from Maytheweed, but since it says ‘I knit so no one has to die’ on the side it’s not really suitable for strolling down the High Street.  I’ve been wanting something a little more dressy.  You know the sort, big enough to get all your stuff in without having to resort to a rucksack.  Well given my monumental failure to find anything that was just right I decided to make one instead.

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It’s very much based on the free pattern on the Lula Louise website with a little bit of tweaking.  For instance I used an interfacing to give it more rigidity and also added an interior pocket.  The fabric came from a local fabric shop and was even in the sale.  Normally when I wander round and just look for what I like you can guarantee that I’ll gravitate towards the most expensive stuff they stock.  So I was delighted to see this was in the sale.

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You can probably just see that the fabric has a pattern and I knew straight away I wanted this to run vertically on the bag rather than horizontally.  This necessitated buying much more fabric in order to cut the pattern in the correct orientation.  The side effect is that I have quite a lot left over, which can be used for something else.  How tragic is that hehe…

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Named the ‘Cream Rose Bag’ for obvious reasons it’s first outing was last weekend to the Bead Fair.  In general I’m was very happy with it, although if I was to make another I would look into one of those magnetic bag fasteners, just for that added piece of mind. 

Cochineal Red

Mar 1st, 2011 Leave a comment

cochineal redLast summer I wandered into a book shop in the Metro Centre while visiting with my mother before heading off up to Scotland.  I was looking for something non-fiction to read that wouldn’t tax my brain but would be interesting at the same time.  Since I was off on my travels a travelog of some sort seemed appropriate.

So imagine my delight at finding a book with this title!  Yes, yes, yes I know how shallow it is of me to buy a book based on it’s title (let alone it’s cover) so would you like me to put a little effort into making it sound like I had more lofty reasons?

Oh ok then…  Well I read the blurb on the back which mentioned the Nasca Lines and Machu Picchu and how this was an ‘immensely personal and accessible guide’.  The little review quotes were all glowing, but then if you’re publishing a book you’re hardly going to include excerpts from unflattering reviews.

I’ll admit I stood at the shelves for quite a while debating between this book and one about a guy walking across Afghanistan.  Then I remembered my one and only foray into the South American area of the British Museum.  It did not end well.  In fact it ended rather badly with me high tailing it out of the museum and refusing to go back inside the building.  Instead I found a little cafe and sat there for the rest of the afternoon.  What happened is a bit of a mystery even to me.  The only way I can describe it is I suddenly came over all funny and every fibre of my being wanted to be elsewhere.  The desire to ‘not be there’ was so strong my legs moved without any conscious decision that I can remember.

When all this came flooding back I quickly decided that the Afghanistan book was the one to get, made my way to the till, paid, and left for some more shopping with my mother.  So I was more than a little perplexed when I opened my bag later that evening to discover the Peru book, not the one I thought I’d bought.

All that said, I’m glad I ended up with this book as I’ve really enjoyed it.  Thomson doesn’t just explain the current theories on the development of Andean cultures but carrys you along with himself on a personal journey of discovery.  The book has many facts and explanations but most of all he approaches them from a very pragmatic view point.  He looks at how views have changed and evolved, even talking about how his own ideas have shifted in ways he never expected.

I warmed to the subject and peoples he described, and, by the end I felt a fondness for the book that had nothing to do with it’s title.  So would I recommend this book?  Yes.  Am I going to go back to the British Museum? No.  But this book has earned itself a permanent slot on my bookcase.

Going to the Fair…..

Feb 27th, 2011 Leave a comment

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Today I went to the Essex Bead Fair in Tiptree with a friend.  We were a little later arriving than expected as some helpful Road Repair people had put ‘Road Closed’ signs up and a diversion.  Thing is the diversion just took you round in circles, and to get to the venue you had to ignore the signs and go down the ‘closed’ road.  So what should have been a short journey from her home became a magical mystery tour of north Essex with an increasingly grumpy driver.  (The grumpy driver would be me by the way)

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Anyway, once there we fortified ourselves with tea (always a good way to calm me down) and headed off to see what we could find.  One of the ‘stalls’ was a display stand of some amazing pieces created out of beads where I took I these photos.  (Sorry about the quality – I only had the camera on my mobile)

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Don’t these chocolates look good enough to eat!

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Or a drink which definitely looks alcoholic…

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Tinny anyone?

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These beautiful cuddly looking toys weren’t so cuddly when you realised that they were made completely out of tiny beads.

I have mixed feelings about beading.  On the one hand you get amazing pieces like these where the artistry is plain to see.  There were some stunning beads you could easily imagine forming part of jewellery in a select little boutique.  Gorgeous semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls and cut crystal.  Unfortunately, alongside all this beauty was stuff that looked like it had been found inside a really cheap Christmas cracker.  Of course I guess it’s the same for any craft.  Does beading have it’s own version of a ‘yarn snob’ I wonder?

That said, I didn’t come home empty handed as I bought a couple of pendants, but I’ll blog about them another time.  In part because one is a fossil my inner geek wants to research more, but also because I’m feeling the urge for another cup of tea… Hmm… Time to put the kettle on again.

A Place on the Web

Feb 25th, 2011 1 Comment

After a lot of encouragement (and a bit of arm twisting), Fantasia Yarns now has it’s own website.

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I’ve also uploaded some new yarns to the Folksy shop.  However, since I’m uncomfortable with self promotion, I’m going to end this post with some photos of a few yarns in the shop update before my cheeks go completely red, and simply ask you all to forgive me the shameless plugging….

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