Purlpower

Jewellery, Jewellery

2012-01-31T20:48:00.000Z

Just before Christmas I finished an eight week course at The Village Storytelling Centre in basic jewellery making. I have no wish to add another stash to my heaving craft-room but it was fun to try out a new craft and develop new skills. Plus I met some funky people. Here's some of the things I made during the course which was taught by the excellent Tina of Hans Julietta jewellery:

Tina also does home-based workshops for hen dos and such in the Glasgow area so let me know if you want her details.

Build your own Banjo!

2012-01-26T19:17:00.001Z

A lovely new comment from Sue H reminds me that I haven't posted in over a week which is unusual for me and entirely due to being busy in nice ways with work and music. Here in Glasgow we are abuzz with Celtic Connections and I spent a fantastic weekend last weekend with my old pal Billie going to see Cherish the Ladies and learning to play the tin whistle. Everything I am knitting and sewing at the moment is slow and steady which is fine for my enjoyment but boring to blog about.

Instead wouldn't you like to know how to build your own banjo?! I was intrigued at 'traditional music group' last week when member Bill turned up with a banjo he had made from an old cigar box:

Isn't it a thing of beauty as well as thriftiness.

Bill tells me that in the States there are competitions between people who make their own instruments from found 'trash' like this ironing board banjo:

And here's Bill himself playing his cigar box back when it was a fiddle (before it became a banjo):

It's one of the lovely things about not working full time that I get to go to folk group on Friday lunchtime and meet fascinating folks like Bill doing amazing things. Lucky me.

Campsie Hills/fells

2012-01-17T17:00:00.000Z

Blogging may be slowed down this month by me being rather busy and also missing a camera. Blogging without pics is no good. Here's some old pics from early winter when we were lucky enough to visit the Campsie Hills thanks to my friend Chris lending us her car for the weekend:

I was quite captivated by a flock of black sheep. Don't think I've ever seen a whole flock of black sheep before:

And the winner is!

2012-01-13T11:43:00.000Z

Thanks for all the comments/entries to Purlpower's 1000th post contest. Thanks to some help from random line picker I can now reveal that the winner is: Christine!

Get in touch soon Christine and let me know what kind of socks you would like, what size, colour, design etc. The choice is yours!

Commiserations to our losers. Better luck next time. In Bullseye fashion, here's what you coulda won.

Demon Daisy

2012-01-11T17:29:00.000Z

I was watching a lot of Psychoville when I made this for Ruby and so it became known as my 'demon daisy' as it looks like something a goblin child might wear!

She's no goblin though, she's ma niece!

More nerdy details here.

Coats Memorial Church

2012-01-10T21:59:00.000Z

Another of Paisley's beautiful buildings for your consideration: Coats Memorial Church

A building with strong ties (ho ho) to Paisley's thread industry.

St Mirren embroidery

2012-01-09T16:01:00.000Z

Tidying up prior to our festive visitations I came across this framed vintage St Mirren shirt which is some kind of family heirloom. I mean, Kenny knows exactly what it is and cares for it dearly, obviously, I have rather less interest.

Until I took a closer look at the embroidery on it:

The yellow badge is clearly machine-embroidered.
But the black one looks to me to have been hand-stitched:

Look!

Isn't that beautiful!

I also like the fact that the shirt has been repaired several times. Of course, this could have been done long after it had ceased to be worn but I like the idea of a footballer having a mended shirt. Can't imagine that would happen much today.

Jim's curtains

2012-01-08T21:17:00.000Z

I find making curtains really hard and a bit stressful 'cos when they look wrong they look REALLY wrong but I finished my second ever pair just before Christmas. Jim's old curtains looked like this:

With a huge amount of help from Kenny (the weight of the fabric is painful for me to sew as my shoulders can't cope with it)...

Jim's new curtains look like this:

Not bad.

Christmas table

2012-01-06T17:53:00.000Z

Our Christmas table looked rather fab this year, if I do say so myself:

I made the red under-tablecloth and quilted placemats. The white tablecloth is one from my collection of vintage linen.

And this is what it looked like just before we ate Christmas dinner!

1000th post celebration!

2012-01-04T11:49:00.000Z

Anyone feeling a bit flat as the new year begins?

Here in Paisley we have had gale force winds for the third time in less than a month and have lost fence panels and greenhouse glass galore. We're also full of cold and exhausted from our visits and festivities....although we had a lovely time over Christmas and New Year, hope you did too.

BUT - this is my 1000th post on Purlpower and I thought this warranted some kind of celebration so anyone leaving a comment on this and subsequent posts between now and midnight on Wednesday 11th January 2012 will be entered into a prize draw. Maximum one comment, per person, per post - I hope that's clear!

The prize is to have your very own pair of handknitted Purlpower socks. Winner gets to choose the colour, design etc. I'll buy the yarn and knit the socks.

Good eh?! (I'm illustrating this post with some of the socks I've knitted in the past year)

Seasons Greetings

2011-12-24T14:36:00.000Z

Presents wrapped and posted:

Stockings made and hung up:

Merry Christmas one and all. Here's a lovely song for all you sentimental agnostics out there. See you soon xxx

P.S. My 1000th post is coming up soon, check back here for an exciting giveaway!

Quilt no. 5 progresses

2011-12-21T17:04:00.000Z

As one quilt is finished another slowly progresses. I am at my favourite stage, the hand-quilting with the quilt that is currently known as 'quilt no. 5':

A hand-drawn cardboard template and some disappearing ink.

Scribbling over Moda fabrics, naughty but nice.

You can watch its progress in more detail here.

Quilt no. 4 is finished

2011-12-13T22:28:00.000Z

I have finished the quilt that I began back in April at the Worn and Washed workshop.

I bound it using an organic gingham from these lovely people.

This year I have been very inspired by the concept of slow textiles that I first encountered via Clarabella's blog and indeed by Clarabella's writing on the subject. I am not just reconciled to but rejoicing in the length of time it takes me to produce a quilt. Instead of getting frustrated at how long it takes to make I enjoy the process more and more, especially the hand work.

When I finish one and it becomes part of the world in its own right I feel a special sense of pride in having made something that could last a lot longer than I will. I'm aware that this might sound maudlin or odd. It's not meant to. I simply like the idea of sending these works out into the world and wondering where they may eventually end up in years to come.

For now, this one is staying with me though. It's my fourth quilt and I thought it was time to keep one for myself.

There's a whole heap more nerdy detail on Quiltgroup here.

All I want for Christmas is...

2011-12-12T10:15:00.001Z

A multi-millions lottery winner to buy the Russell Institute in Paisley and turn it into a haven for crafts teaching and practice. Sadly, I think this beautiful art deco building will be empty for some time now that it has gone on the market.

You can read about the history of the building here.

It is forbidden

2011-12-09T16:06:00.000Z

Who's enjoying the second series of The Killing on BBC4? I am, although so far I haven't found it as gripping as the first series. There are at least two new jumpers on display this time round though which is a big part of the appeal! Even the Today programme devoted a slot to talking about Lund's knitwear. Then my pal Chris sent me this link to a Colinette version of the series 2 jumper as featured in the Radio Times. Top fun.

Little Red in the City

2011-12-08T11:49:00.000Z

Really delighted to see that Ysolda's 'Little Red in the City' has made it into Knitter's Review's Books of the Year for 2011.

I had a teeny tiny role to play in one of the designs as I knit a sample of the Angostura vest early on in the year. A lot of the knitting I have done this year has been secret for one reason or another but now the book's out I'm sure it's OK to show you my handiwork:

This was such a lovely pattern to be involved with and I'm sure this vest would flatter most figures. I was thrilled to receive a copy of the book for my birthday from Brian, Bel and William and although it might take me a while to knit something from it, I've really enjoyed reading through it and seeing how the designs work on different shapes and sizes. Highly recommended for the knitter on your Christmas list!

Mo money, mo winner!

2011-12-05T20:44:00.000Z

Saturday was the big event down The Argyle where the St Mirren supporters' movember taches were judged by St Mirren legend, Fitzy. Taches were judged on bushiness, width and 'Fitzyness'. Kenny's dedication to his whiskers paid off - he was judged to be the winner! Here he is with the great man:

Between them the fellas raised over £5,000 to help fight male cancers.

Huge thanks to all of you who donated. If you've been meaning to do so but haven't got round to it there's still time to put your pennies into the pot here.

Special mention also to my little bro who also grew an impressive row of facial fuzz and has raised a whopping £426. Nice work.

Stuff I see: wasted leaves

2011-12-04T12:59:00.000Z

Every year Gardeners' World encourage viewers to go and collect leaves to make leaf mould. Their presenters will usually be shown in a huge garden, gathering lovely clean freshly-fallen leaves into neat piles with handy rakes. Here's Pippa Greenwood on their website doing just that.

But I wonder how many viewers manage to do this and how many, like me, have small gardens with no trees in them and no leaves to rake. I have a vivid memory of accompanying my granddad to the large park near his house when I was about eight years old and helping him collect fallen leaves for his allotment. These days I see piles of leaves out in the street and road, clogging drains, soggy and soiled by litter and dog mess. I feel guilty about these wasted leaves but can't quite bring myself to go collect them. They don't look as nice as Pippa and Monty's pristine private leaves.

I probably need to let it go....

Knitted hotel room

2011-11-30T19:28:00.004Z

You've surely all already seen this? but have you read the DM comments? All human life is there......

Double trouble

2011-11-28T10:09:00.000Z

When I was in Derby last month I was able to pop by and see my cousin Amber who has just had a baby girl, Ava-Belle. My niece Ruby was there too - hence double whammy:

New baby = new hat:

It's a Woolly Wormhead design of course. You can read the nerdy details about it here.

UK Folk Music

2011-11-24T10:11:00.000Z

UK Folk Music

One of my new discoveries as I try to expand my folk singing repertoire.

Fuzzy face

2011-11-20T21:29:00.000Z

Kenny has grown a truly absurd moustache as part of the Movember male cancer appeal.

He is going to have his moustache judged by 'St Mirren Legend' Tony 'Fitzy' Fitzpatrick on 3rd December. Kenny has already been clapped at half time as part of the Black and White Fitzy Tache Squad but this is not enough - he wants to win!

PLEASE donate!! (even a pound is welcome if you are broke) to Kenny's Movember appeal so that I haven't had to live with this monstrous growth for no good reason.

You can donate and help fight male cancers here.

I haven't let him see this site yet. I don't want this competitive facial hair growing to get out of hand...

Totally gloved up!

2011-11-18T18:36:00.000Z

This autumn William requested some made-to-measure gloves in red, blue, green and/or orange. I couldn't deliver on the orange but managed to make a pair that have made him smile:

One of the things I really like about making gloves, even though they are a bit fiddly to make and can be tricky to size right, is that they are sort of the definitive knitted item. You don't see woven gloves and crocheted ones would be weird (although I'm sure it's possible to crochet them). Gloves are knitted. They've been knitted for centuries in just the same way. I like that.

Full nerdy details are on Ravelry here

Have you heard the good news?

2011-11-11T14:54:00.000Z

No, not that good news. My good news. Two things to share with you all. Firstly, I have finally got a referral to the EDS specialist unit in England. This has taken about six months of pestering and lobbying on my part so it's a great relief.

Secondly, I have a little job! This is my first regular paid work in over four years so it's going to be quite a shock to my system but I am hopeful that I can handle it so long as I keep a close eye on the pacing and physio and fatigue management. It's just a few hours a week for a local charity but it feels damn good to be back in the world of work. You may notice a decline in blogging for a while as I adjust to my new routine.

Finally, no one else will be interested in this (apart from my mum) but here's my winter honeysuckle coming into flower and gradually turning our ugly fence into a thing of beauty.

Glasgow School of Yarn

2011-11-07T20:07:00.000Z

Two weeks ago the big city was host to 'Glasgow School of Yarn' as organised by the lovely people at the Yarn Cake. I couldn't afford to sign up for any classes but I did enjoy spending time (and a little money) in the 'marketplace' which was set up in the beautiful Rennie Mackintosh church.

I bought some yarn yes but I can't show it you because it is a 'secret' at the moment and not for me (ooh cryptic!)...it was from here.
The prettiest stall was (IMHO) that of Old Maiden Aunt but unfortunately she hadn't anything that would fit the colour criteria I was trying to match so on this occasion I could only fondle and imagine.

But I think the most interesting stall might have been the Medecins Sans Frontieres 'pennies per hour of pleasure' stall where fabulous patterns are 'sold' in exchange for donations to their excellent cause:

They have a Ravelry group you can join here too.

The church itself is worth a visit at any time, look at these windows:

Stuff I see: 'justice' mural, Village Storytelling Centre, Glasgow

2011-11-04T19:58:00.000Z

Spotted this lovely stencil on the walls of The Village Storytelling Centre. I've been attending a free jewellery making class there for the past five weeks and really enjoying it, although I have no plans on making room in our home for yet another craft just now! What I'm really keen to do is learn how to make good, smooth, snagless stitch markers because I get through them at a rate of knots.

Anyway, I thought this stencil was a really beautiful piece of work.

Try some poetry in your book group...

2011-11-02T03:13:00.000Z

Have a look at the latest Poetry Issues from the Scottish Poetry Library for some great ideas for book groups. You can see who’s shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize, download (copyright cleared) copies of some of the poems, with a photo and biography of the poet – everything you need, whether you’re a poetry group, or a book group wanting to dabble in a little poetry.

That's the recommendation from the excellent blog of 'Glasgow Book Groups' but you don't have to attend a book group to make use of the resources they list. Go see!

More Ruby pics...

2011-10-28T07:09:00.000Z

Apologies to those of you not interested in this type of thing for the 'boring baby photos' - there will be no more for a while I promise!

This is me meeting Ruby for the first time earlier this month:

I like this one best; she has just the right level of suspicion in her eyes:

Ruby's blanket

2011-10-22T20:48:00.001Z

I don't have nearly enough pictures of my niece yet to share but here's one of her in the blanket I made to celebrate her arrival. The pattern is one of my own designs: a central square in a tulip lace and then several rounds of crochet forming a dense border. I've made it in Patons cotton dk which is one of my favourite yarns for making baby blankets. It washes really well and holds its shape brilliantly. I've used more expensive cottons from Rowan and Debbie Bliss in the past and while they look great when first knit up, I have been very disappointed with how they look after just a couple of wears and washes; like old dishcloths basically. The Patons cotton has real staying power, I highly recommend it to you.

The nerdy bit is here.

McHatties opens

2011-10-19T16:32:00.000Z

Went down to West Kilbride craft town for the first time at the weekend and even though it was a gloomy day the McHattie's opening was bright and welcoming:

While I was there these amazing 'knitted balls' arrived for the shop front display:

I'm hoping to make it down there again soon and take advantage of some of the workshops. The 'craft town' is an interesting experiment in social-economic regeneration and there's some beautiful work on display. Be sure to call the studios ahead of visiting though as the craftsmen and women are not all there full time.

If you can't visit in person, here's the online shop.

Invite to opening of McHatties

2011-10-13T15:15:00.002Z

INVITATION
The Official Opening of

YARN BOUTIQUE

10am - 4.00pm Saturday 15th October 2011

103 Main Street, West Kilbride, North Ayrshire (PTO)

****10% Discount off all Stock****

Unique designer yarns, one off knitted accessories
Silver & beaded jewellery, handbags
Bespoke design service, drop in knit and natter
Workshops for all ages, any skills and both sexes
All provided by the professional crafters at McHattie’s

INVITATION
The Official Opening of

YARN BOUTIQUE

10am - 4.00pm Saturday 15th October 2011

103 Main Street, West Kilbride, North Ayrshire (PTO)

****10% Discount off all Stock****

Unique designer yarns, one off knitted accessories
Silver & beaded jewellery, handbags
Bespoke design service, drop in knit and natter
Workshops for all ages, any skills and both sexes
All provided by the professional crafters at McHattie’s

Directions:

By Road: 1 Mile from A78. Follow signs for West Kilbride, Craft Town.

Parking: Available at car parks in the town and on adjacent roads.

By Rail: West Kilbride Station is just 5 minutes walk from McHattie’s. Connecting services to Largs and Glasgow, including Kilwinning and Paisley.

Wheelchair Accessible.

Further Information:

www:wool4u.co.uk Tel: 07791 858685 & 07885 402872

Directions:

By Road: 1 Mile from A78. Follow signs for West Kilbride, Craft Town.

Parking: Available at car parks in the town and on adjacent roads.

By Rail: West Kilbride Station is just 5 minutes walk from McHattie’s. Connecting services to Largs and Glasgow, including Kilwinning and Paisley.

Wheelchair Accessible.

Further Information:

www:wool4u.co.uk Tel: 07791 858685 & 07885 402872

Derby visit

2011-10-12T17:03:00.000Z

I am home from an intense visit to Derby which had happy and sad elements. Here's the happy stuff.

The main reason for the visit had originally been to go to the Derby Folk Festival which was such fun last year. Great music, fine ale, lovely people and singing workshops with the mighty Lester Simpson. It would be hard to think of a better way to spend a weekend.

The visit had been arranged before I even knew my sister was pregnant but it gave me the chance to meet my niece Ruby for the first time. We had lots of cuddles. Here she is with me, my sisters and my mum.

There was extreme tomato based jealousy when I saw the state of my mum's greenhouse:

And outside the greenhouse she had yet more tomato plants groaning with sweet little jewels of fruit.

She had also grown a fantastic selection of scotch bonnet chillies:

This prompted us to wonder "what did people in the Caribbean call Scotch bonnet chillies before they had seen a Scotch bonnet?". By the miracle of the internet we discovered that these fiery fellows have also been known as 'goat peppers' due to their aroma apparently resembling the he-goat.

Scotch bonnets are the hottest chillies I have ever had and I tend to use them sparingly but I do think they can add an incredible earthy flavour. Here in Scotland attempting to eat extra spicy food recently caused a bit of trouble. I find most of the curries here to be disappointingly mild but I don't think I'll be chancing the 'killer curry' anytime soon!

Smoked paprika

2011-10-04T20:12:00.000Z

My old pal Zoe emails wanting recipe ideas and it reminds me that I have been meaning to blog about my great craving for smoked paprika. In southern Spain this is a standard ingredient available at even the smallest of supermarkets. I brought back quite a few tins of it with me when we returned to the UK but my supplies have now run out so I went in search of a 'reup' (as they are prone to saying in 'The Wire'). No joy in Glasgow but I found some in Edinburgh.

If you've never tried cooking with smoked paprika I recommend you give it a go. It has a taste way more interesting than normal paprika and can transform a simple beef and tomato stew into something more exotic. Like this recipe here. There are 'sweet' and 'hot' variations of smoked paprika. I favour the 'hot' (it's not really that hot) although they both have their place and I often use both together.

GQT plants for dyeing

2011-10-03T13:23:00.000Z

Last week's Gardeners' Question Time included a piece on growing natural plant dyes. Go here to listen.

Beetroot and toms

2011-09-29T11:33:00.000Z

The beetroots fell into the 'success' camp. I love to eat the leaves as well as the rooty fruit:

The tomatoes were not half as successful as last year.

They looked great when they were green but it was so damp both inside and outside the greenhouse that the ones which weren't eaten by very cheeky, climbing slugs seemed to go rotten instead of ripening. Perhaps blight but it didn't seem dramatic enough to be blight...

I chose to grow fancy 'heritage' varieties which I've since found out are more prone to splitting and rotting so next year I'm going with tried and tested 'disease resistant' seeds.

We ended up cropping most of the toms whilst green and making even more chutney than usual. No great hardship because we eat an obscene amount of cheese and chutney!

Nigel Slater did some good stuff with beetroot and chutney last week (catch him on Iplayer here). He also featured what might, if pressed, be my favourite food in the whole world - Vietnamese rolls.

Mik Artistik

2011-09-28T19:32:00.000Z

Been a hectic couple of weeks. Mostly for good reasons but it's all left me rather tired this week and needing to recover. Being tired makes me mardy but this video from Mik Artistik (thanks Glittr) is helping to put a smile back on my face:

Trust me, play this through twice and you'll be humming it all day tomorrow round Leeds market...

September gardening, successes and failures

2011-09-23T07:27:00.000Z

Failure:

My lupins were insanely good at the start of the summer but ended it being devoured by lupin aphid. A voracious little bugger which apparently has no predator in the UK, the usual aphid hunters like hoverflies show no interest in eating it.

Success:

I grew four cerinthe from the seeds kindly sent me by my UK Ravelry secret pal in April. I still have some seeds left to grow more for next year.

Stuff I see: Whey Aye Five O

2011-09-20T21:05:00.000Z

New moniker for the previously prosaically named '50' bus service in Newcastle area:

Geddit?

Pic courtesy of Glittrgirl. Ta.

Paisley Patchers exhibition at Paisley Museum

2011-09-19T19:23:00.000Z

There is a fantastic quilting and patchwork exhibition on at Paisley Museum from now until the end of October:

The exhibition is a celebration of 25 years of the Paisley Patchers group. I went along to see it last week with my pal Linda and we were blown away by the talent and creativity on display.

I even spotted a quilt that was featured earlier this year in Patchwork and Quilting Magazine:

"Mother and child" by Rosie Furlong

Is it wrong to pick a favourite? Perhaps but mine was the Japanese inspired "Eastern Circles" by Andrea Lee so it was a real stroke of luck that Andrea was helping to staff the exhibition when we visited and gave us a guided tour of the work on display.

The exhibition is free - go see it if you can.

Shetland Trader

2011-09-14T18:26:00.000Z

It takes quite a lot to get me excited about patterns these days. I suppose I have reached the point where I own a lot of patterns and I have shelves full of downloaded and printed out patterns that I may never get round to knitting and so something has to be quite special to make me part with my cash.

This week I found that something special over on Old Maiden Aunt's blog (her yarn is A-Mazing BTW and I can't recommend it enough). OMA's version of Laar really stopped me in my tracks as I have been searching for a laceweight cardigan design to use this prized stash on for simply ages.

After some false starts I am convinced that I have now found the perfect pattern and I'd recommend you check out the rest of Shetland Trader 'cos it really is quite the thing.

Stuff I see: blue police box, Glasgow city centre

2011-09-14T16:46:00.000Z

In Glasgow city centre:

Doctor Who nerds can read more about Glasgow police boxes here. Apparently, they used to be red!

Ruby Erin Sax

2011-09-12T08:31:00.000Z

Our first niece! Born on 7th September. So proud of my sister and brother-in-law:

Did you know the difference between 'feather and fan' and 'old shale'?

2011-09-07T11:44:00.000Z

I confess I had always thought they were basically the same until a recent enquiry on Ravelry re. the throw I made for Jane's wedding led me to this excellent article by Northern Lace.

Good reason why this will never be a proper foodie blog

2011-09-04T13:39:00.001Z

Because even when I make something that tastes great I am no food photographer:

And actually these prune-chocolate brownies from the always reliable Nigel Slater didn't turn out great. I am sure this is due to our strangely erratic gas cooker and my incompetence rather than the recipe. They tasted good but were far too gooey so I had to pretend it was a chocolate pudding rather than cutting them into brownies.

EDITED TO ADD: for a demonstration of how a foodie blog should be done I recommend the delightful Fingers & Toes

Esme's finished dress

2011-08-22T18:46:00.000Z

When I saw this lovely Japanese fabric on sale online many months ago I thought 'I have to make Esme something with that' because the last time we saw her she was so excited about making tea for everyone in her new red kitchen and this red fabric was covered in teapots and the words 'tea party'. It was meant to be.

She's growing so fast I was worried that by the time I finished the dress it would be too small but for once I seem to have got the size bang on.

Party on.

Stuff I see: very specific pub promotion

2011-08-20T06:24:00.000Z

Spotted outside Paisley pub:

Is this the most specific pub promotion in Britain?

1. It appears to only be available on Sundays
2. It offers 15p off 'all pints' rather than 'all drinks'
3. It only applies to SPL (Scottish Premier League) matches rather than all matches
4. It only applies to 'selected' SPL matches rather than all SPL matches

This is the sort of thing I see and find amusing.

Esme's dress-in production

2011-08-19T11:47:00.001Z

It's been an intense week; nipping across to Edinburgh to see fantastic comedy/art whilst battling a cold. The cold took less than a week to go but I am left feeling rather sore and tired, which shouldn't be too surprising in view of how busy August has ended up being.

So, not much writing of blog this week but here are some pretty pics of a dress I made back in April. The dress was designed by Jenny of The Lifecraft (their shop is on a hiatus at the moment but hopefully they will reopen in new premises soon) and Jenny gave me some one-to-one tuition in making it which is why it turned out so well!

Modelled pics coming soon.

Rebellion

2011-08-14T12:44:00.000Z

Not going to put a lot of text up here as I think the pics should speak for themselves - last weekend we went to Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. First time at Rebellion for both of us and first time in Blackpool for me. Here's what it looked like:

That last pic is of the Saturday night where thanks to the power of the wheelchair I managed to stay up till the early hours to see the anarcho-punk legends Subhumans. You see here me, my pal Tracy and singer Dick from the band who kindly posed for numerous pics despite putting in a seriously energetic performance. As you can probably tell from his shirt.

What a weekend!

Bloomin' Specs-tacular!

2011-08-13T12:45:00.002Z

I so nearly didn't go.

I had tickets booked for two Edinburgh shows yesterday Josie Long and John Hegley. But the night before I was shivery and more achey than usual (it's hard sometimes with EDS/HMS to work out whether you have a cold or are just having a bad spell). Then I woke up in the morning sure from the sneezing and sore eyes and nose that I definitely was not feeling 'normal'. Non-refundable tickets. Endless rain outside. What to do?

I debated this with myself for most of the morning and then took some advice from Facebook friends. The consensus was: Go! Dose up on Lemsips and Laphroig (being ill is no excuse for inferior whisky) and go!

So I went. And as I struggled to wash and get dressed and leave the warm house and head out in the wet for the train I thought 'this had better be bloomin' spectacular'. But I already had a sneaking suspicion that it might be because Josie's show was my favourite thing at last year's Edinburgh Fest and I have loved listening to and reading John Hegley for almost twenty years (although never seen him perform live before).

It wasn't easy. Edinburgh is one of the most difficult cities to negotiate with sore legs that I've ever come across. Every road and street seems almost mocking in its uneveness, cobbles, slipperiness, steepness and (of course, at this time of year) crowdedness.

I made it. Not only did I make it, I met John Hegley and he was delightful and he agreed to sign my book and have his picture taken and even suggested that we swap glasses.

So, this is me wearing John Hegley's specs and him wearing my specs. Admittedly our specs are rather similar and I couldn't help thinking this would make a better picture if I wore Deirdre Barlow type 90's frames but I don't and it would be a bit weird to do so just in the hope of swapping glasses with John Hegley.

After a refuel of Laphroig and the fine company of pal Paul in the ace Captain's Bar, I went to see Josie Long and she was once again inspiring, thoughtful and very, very funny. Plus I had a much better view than last year and I was the only member of the audience to put my hand up when she asked who was a fellow fan of political nerd-fest 'This Week'. Fun.

Today will be very subdued and sore but it was worth it because I had a bloomin' specs-tacular day.

PS. Buy any of John Hegley's books if you don't already have them (and even if you do, buy some more to give to friends!) but I especially recommend his latest volume 'Confetti' because (although it's an oft-used cliche) I really don't think there are many books that would make me laugh and cry on the train and this did.

This week: Creativity found by mocking death

2011-08-13T11:21:00.001Z

One of our Spanish chums, Manik the tattoo artist, recently directed my attention to these phenomenal stitchings from Nicola De Jager, titled Calavera (“skull” in Spanish). Go 'ave a look.

Reflecting on the riots | CLES

2011-08-11T15:45:00.000Z

Reflecting on the riots | CLES
My friend John, writing with much more clarity than I can.

Estonian Rhubarb Cake

2011-08-11T14:25:00.000Z

It was the end of the rhubarb season a week or two ago. I made this cake:

I found it on this blog.

Obviously our rhubarb season ends much later here and to be honest I'm not sure why I can't keep eating it because it still looks pretty luscious but there's some legend about the devil having spat in it by now....or is that blackberries? I'm tired, figure it out yerself!

As is usual with my puddings reception was mixed. Jim and I thought it delicious, Kenny thought it tasted 'like toad in the hole without the sausages'. Hurumph.

Lovage going to seed

2011-08-10T11:41:00.000Z

Looks pretty and dramatic against an unusually blue sky:

Dialect of the week: RP

2011-08-09T19:47:00.000Z

RP RIP

Sonny's quilt and bootees

2011-08-01T08:36:00.001Z

Calling in on Anna and family gave me a chance to meet baby Sonny and hand him his quilt and his new bootees.

Here's the quilt label from the reverse for all you stitch freaks out there (you know who you are):

There's lots of nerdy quilty details on Quiltgroup here.

I had also made him some bootees. This is an ace Jaegar pattern that I have used a few times before:

I didn't put pom-poms on the icord this time though, partly because I detest making pom-poms and partly because the last baby who received a pair of these proceeded to gradually eat the pom-poms. Nerdy details are here.

These bootees were hand-knitted with hand-spun, undyed, cashmere-silk-angora that I bought at a charity stall at Derby folk festival last year. And if that isn't the most right-on sentence you read this week I'll eat my pom-poms.

Video re. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

2011-08-01T08:09:00.002Z

It's not 1992 (and that's a good thing)

2011-07-30T11:56:00.003Z

All week I have had the sensation of being transported back to circa 1992. The reason being Caitlin Moran's fun-yet-serious new book which my friend Anna kindly lent me.

The book is sort of about feminism and sort of about growing up. Reading it has been an odd experience for me for two reasons. Firstly because I agree with about 95% of what Moran says (this in itself is mind-bending since I don't even agree with as much as 95% of what I say). Secondly because from 1991-1995 I basically wanted to be Caitlin Moran.

She wrote for my favourite music paper (Melody Maker) a copy of which was reserved for me at our local newsagent and faithfully picked up by me every Wednesday morning before school/college for four years - it was the highlight of my week. She got to meet all my favourite bands. She was funny and clever and knew lots about lots of different things and she seemed confident even though she was (like me at the time) a little overweight. She had excellent hair.

I devoured everything in Melody Maker but I paid special attention to anything with the initials 'CM' attached to it. It's strange to think that in those days you couldn't just instantly find out loads about someone via Google or Wikipedia. You had to gradually glean bits of information from passing references.

At some point I learned that CM was THE SAME AGE AS ME AND HAD ALREADY WRITTEN A NOVEL and this was an exhilarating and terrifying discovery. I felt utterly inadequate in comparison. Even worse, she was from the Midlands so I couldn't even blame her precocious talent on her growing up in that London. But then, the fact that she had done it at least meant that it was possible didn't it? Maybe I would move to London one day and see bands rather then just reading about them whilst mournfully chomping on Hobnobs thinking 'life is elsewhere'*.

Super-ironically a big theme in her new book is that women should spend less energy trying to work out who to be and more time getting on and doing good stuff. What I realise now is that I should have spent more time writing and going to see all those bands I adored (they rarely came to Derby but Birmingham was only a bus ride away) and less time moping about who I wasn't and what I hadn't done yet.

When I went off to university I stopped buying Melody Maker so frequently. I was actually living life rather than just reading about talented others living theirs. I kind of knew that CM had ended up writing columns for The Times but it's not a paper I've ever bought so, without me really noticing it had happened, her voice left my head. Until this week that is when it has been ricocheting round my brain like the persistent tap of a ping-pong on a church hall floor.

Reading the book brought back vivid recollections of wet Wednesday afternoons, poring over the singles reviews wondering how I would get to hear any of the records contained therein (THERE WAS NO INTERNET CHILDREN, CAN YOU IMAGINE!). I thought about me then and me now and unlike the comparisons of yore I felt happy, not sad.

Even though by any objective measure of success Caitlin Moran is still beating me hands down I couldn't help but think how remarkable it was that we could have had such different lives (so far, so far!) and experiences and yet have reached much the same conclusions about the women and the world.

Some of the similarities are downright spooky. For instance, she's written a fair bit about the politics of Brazilian waxes and I vividly remember arguing with some bloke in some pub some time in the late nineties (which now seem like halcyon days in terms of widely accepted levels of hirsuteness) and shouting "if I had spent as much time, money and effort on learning French as I have on hair-removal I'd be FLUENT in French by now". Not that the politics of hair-removal is such original fodder for feminists but still, Moran's emphasis is very much the same as mine has been for the past twenty years: this is a colossal waste of my time and money and I'm angry that I'm being made to feel like it is something I have to do when I could be doing something useful**.

[Of course, there's always a chance that she was secretly programming my brain during those wet Wednesday reading sessions and I have unknowingly been following this template ever since but I'm putting this down to tramadol-induced paranoia on my part - I'm trying to reduce my meds at the mo, it's going quite well].

Stepping out of Central Station yesterday, with her book newly finished on the journey into toon, I wandered into Fopp for a browse (I am still a fairly committed music-nerd even if the preferred inky of my past has long since folded) and find in the bargains section near the door a large pile of these at just three pounds each. When the dominant musical genre of your youth has not only spawned a poncy coffee-table book but spawned a poncy coffee-table book that is now in the bargain pile, well, you really know you're 34.

And it feels mostly good my friends. It feels mostly good.

Thank you Anna and thank you Caitlin.

P.S. It was double weird to finally get round to sketching out a blog post about all this and log into Yahoo this morning to find this story. Coincidence? Well, yes, of course it is but a jolly bloggable one dontchathink. And scary with it, I mean can you imagine waking up one day and thinking it is still 1992? The horror, the horror.

*Yes I was reading a lot of Milan Kundera at the time, mostly during R.E., I was a pretentious swot and I considered R.E. was being imposed upon me and was a pointless waste of my time. Much like hair-removal.

**Doesn't have to be learning to speak French, could be learning to play the bodhran or learning about particle physics

This week: Northern Soul

2011-07-28T16:44:00.000Z

This week I have also been stomping around in my 'special shoes' to a great deal of Northern Soul like this:

Best lyric? "The money my husband made was for red beans and rice, but my man cooks me steaks now ain't that nice"

This week: The Johann Hari Podcasts

2011-07-28T16:25:00.000Z

This week on the recommendation of my pal Gail (a woman of unerring good judgement and taste) I have been mostly listening to The Johann Hari podcasts. Ace.

The sun is oot

2011-07-27T19:24:00.001Z

Two consecutive days of glorious weather. That's all I need to feel like I've had a summer and thankfully it has arrived:

The garden is bursting with goodness.

Is this the prettiest cabbage in Britain?

And we're munching mangetout like nobody's business:

The sparrows have also taken a fancy to my fancy veg though hence the tin-can bird scare device:

I really like growing something that is usually too expensive for us to buy in the shops. Yum.

Stuff I see: inside of dried lupin

2011-07-21T21:27:00.000Z

Lots of seed driving going on here at Thrift Central (last train to thrift central, all aboard, all aboard whoa oh...no?). Inside of lupin seed cases found to be particularly beautiful:

When the roses bloom again

2011-07-19T13:49:00.000Z

This spring I followed the advice of my favourite gardening book and gave the rosebushes a fairly severe pruning even though I had already pruned them the previous autumn.

For a good couple of months it seemed that this was a mistake: no rose buds even as our neighbours' neglected roses were flowering.

I planted geraniums around the barren bushes. Much needed splashes of colour and a plant that happily reminds me of the time my dear friend Hazel rescued a pile of geraniums (or more accurately, pelagoniums) from a wheelbarrow of 'waste' while we were at college.

Then, just a couple of days of good weather and the roses bloomed again:

The bushes are covered in many more buds than last year:

That's what we at Purlpower Mansions call a result.

This week: Summersville's quilt

2011-07-18T19:19:00.000Z

From today a new 'feature' on Purlpower whereby I shall try and highlight at least one ace thing a week that has been attracting my attention.

This week I have mostly been envious of this beautiful quilt on Summerville's inspiring blog. I believe it is being exhibited at the Festival of Quilts. I love whitework on quilts.

Cannibalised

2011-07-18T13:56:00.001Z

These boots didn't fit into any of yesterday's categories:

Not only are they now too painful for me to wear, they are also falling to bits and therefore no good to anyone else:

I've had a huge amount of fun in these boots. These boots have stomped about merrily at many a wedding and celebration. They've tripped up and down Hackney in search of elusive early morning public transport. They've danced and (sort of) darted through several darkened cities.

Now they have been filleted like a pair of giant red shiny disco herrings. Any leather I could salvage has gone into my leatherwork box for the next time I dabble in skincraft while the stompy heels are headed for the bin.

No business like shoe business

2011-07-17T15:39:00.001Z

Do you remember back in February that I was referred for help with my collapsed feet? Well, I picked up my orthotics at the end of June and have been getting used to them:

As soon as I tried them out, although they felt strange and my arches hurt a little to begin with, I could feel an immediate difference. When I wear them my hips and knees stop clicking so much and I feel more stable and less 'wobbly'. Just one problem; they only fit in three pairs of my shoe 'collection': trainers, docs and these weird spacey boots that I bought with my second full-time pay cheque in 1999:

Taking advantage of a sunny day to sort through my footwear I find that I have seven pairs of 'comfy but can't fit the orthotics' shoes and boots. I can continue to wear these sparingly but not for more than a couple of hours at a time.

Five pairs which I class as 'special occasion' (including flip-flops, here weather suitable for the wearing of flip-flops constitutes a special occasion)-

One pair of 'completely unwearable but can't bear to get rid' sandals, is it wrong to be sentimental about shoes? It feels daft but just look at these things, they're amazing!

And six pairs which are destined for the charity shop:

Unless any of you want to have them and pay the postage. I'm a size UK 4 - 4.5 and I'll hold onto them for a month before taking them down the charity shop.

I've heard Caitlin Moran being interviewed this week about her new book and the contention that high heels are a feminist issue. I've got much sympathy with that argument but the sad thing about having hypermobile feet is that all kinds of shoes start looking like instruments of torture. I find myself wincing even when just looking at ballet-style flats. I'm wondering how I will ever comfortably yet stylishly ever manage to wear a skirt again...

Lovage, the sweetest thing?

2011-07-15T08:23:00.000Z

Actually it's not sweet at all. It's a damn weird but interesting herb and unlike all the herbs I have tonnes of uses for, grows very well in our garden. I bought a tiny plant two years ago, planted it near the fence, it died away and I forgot about it. Then we acquired our greenhouse and it was only the following summer when the lovage reappeared that I remembered it was there. So, although it is in a strange cramped position between the fence and the greenhouse it seems to like it and I see no need yet to move it:

Last year I used just a few of the leaves in salads and as garnish. It has a very strong flavour that not everyone will like, not quite aniseedy but with a definite anti-septic tang, like cloves?

This year I got bold. I cropped almost all the leaves and smaller stalks and decided to make a soup. To me, the nearest thing to which I can compare the taste of lovage is celery leaf so I wondered if I could tweak that old standard 'celery and stilton soup'. Back in the mists of time my organ teacher, Mrs Buckless, gave me a great recipe for celery and stilton soup using white stilton. It proved impossible to find white stilton in Paisley so I resorted to feta instead.

The result was a punchy but, I thought, rather delicious and almost summery soup:

Lovage and Feta soup.

As usual, Purlpower is way ahead of the zeitgeist (well, at least a week ahead) because a couple of weekends later Hugh FW put together this tantalising selection of lovage recipes.

I cropped just in time. This week the lovage started to set seed.

Anyone want some lovage seeds? I'll warn you now - it grows massive.

Thriving

2011-07-13T14:18:00.000Z

Sorry for the recent blog-absence. I have been house-sitting and not logging onto the internet much for the past couple of weeks. If you've got a house that you want me to come sit in at any point please do let me know. I am spectacularly good at sitting on other people's settees watching other people's DVDs (and watering plants, feeding cats, walking dogs etc.)...

Have you heard of the charity 'Thrive'? I came across them during some web search or other and have been really impressed by their website. They are involved in using gardening for social and individual good. Unfortunately it doesn't look like they have any projects up here but if you're interested in gardening please take a look at their website and perhaps you'll find something with which you could get involved.

Alibali Jewellery

2011-06-26T11:40:00.000Z

Suz came to visit the wetlands of the West yesterday. We enjoyed tea and yarn at the Yarn Cake followed by tea and cake at The Life Craft. Then we sauntered through a Maker's Fayre in Hillhead library, laughed at amusing cards and admired vintage goodies in De Courcy's Arcade before settling down to smoked mackeral sandwiches and a pot of gin-based cocktail in the Blind Pig.

It was as good a crafty (if soggy) day as can be had. My favourite find of the day: Ali Bali Jewellery's little bird earings.

Not dolls

2011-06-24T15:54:00.000Z

Passing through Partick on the way home from central Glasgow my friend Chris and I happened upon some giant crochet figures. They are not dolls. Go see if you can.

Making a clean sweep of the Cobweb

2011-06-22T07:55:00.001Z

This is possibly the longest in-production knitting I have ever done.

It's a simple shawl in laceweight Cherry-Tree Farm merino that I began in May 2007. It's quite frightening how WIPs can sit around for years even though you love the yarn and are happy with the pattern (which is the Cobweb shawl from Emma Crew, originally published in Magknits).

And even now, I can't seem to take a picture that does it justice. It's been dark and raining for most of the past two months.

Close-ups are easy enough but trying to give an impression of the whole piece? Difficult.

I don't know where this will end up going but I thought I'd best blog it before another four years goes by.

Full nerdy details on Ravelry here.

Blethering Scots

2011-06-21T09:27:00.001Z

Since moving to Scotland my interest in accents and dialects has grown even further. The dullest of bus journeys can be brightened by overhearing some real linguistic gems. Last summer I enjoyed listening to the nasal tones of the be-capped old gent sat behind me, as he recounted his latest adventures, all the way from Paisley to Glasgow. It was only when he got up and left the bus that I realised he was all of seventeen. That's what life on a Paisley scheme can do to a lad.

Scots is more than a dialect and considered by many to be a language in its own right. Most of you won't have seen this programme as I think it was doubtless only broadcast north of the border but by the magic of Iplayer I direct you towards Blethering Scots.

Victor-ree-hee

2011-06-20T15:15:00.000Z

After nine months of exhausting bureaucracy this morning I won my case against the DWP in the tribunal court. Am too tired to feel victorious although I am relieved. I haven't got the energy to feel angry but we all should because the amount of time and money being wasted in this current system is huge.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to lie down.

It's the ergonomy stupid

2011-06-17T11:31:00.000Z

While I was in hospital I had a lot of help from an occupational therapist and my eyes were opened to all the little things you can do to make everyday tasks easier to complete. Unfortunately a lot of the adaptations and aids that can improve life cost money but I'm hoping this will turn out to be money well spent. A big issue for me was how to make cooking, which is something I love to do, easier on my joints particularly my wrists which frequently bend more than they should and ache afterwards.

These are my new secret weapons in the kitchen:

An ergonomic chopping knife (you grip the handle in your fist).

A set of ergonomic saucepans which are lighter than my normal pans and also have a clever handle design which keeps your wrist in the all-important neutral position. They were invented by a young woman called Celia Gates and she's won several design awards with them. You can hear her explain how it works and how she was inspired by her grandmother's difficulties with arthritis (in what I find to be a very endearing manner) here and here. I've always been interested in how design can influence our world and behaviour and these really work so I'd recommend them to anyone struggling with normal pans, they are super-ace.

There's just one problem:

Every time I use them I find myself singing "doc, doc, doc, doc, doctor cook" in the manner of Gloria and her ruddy marvellous Miami Sound Machine.

(A nice little example of Adam'n'Joe style a-popriation there to get you in the mood for tomorrow's show). Good good.

Stuff I see: communal straighteners in ladies' toilet, Wetherspoons, Kilmarnock

2011-06-14T21:39:00.001Z

The war against us curly girls continues:

Went to Kilmarnock to see my friend Zoe who has just had a baby (boy, Harris, healthy weight). She's bored of twee coffee shops so thankfully we met in the pub, a Wetherspoons with the customary large range of middling kept beers on-tap. It's also got hair straighteners in the ladies' that you can 'activate' for a pound. For those of you who are worried by such things, I took a close-up:

"High temperatures ensure plates are sterile": Because non-sterile plates is definitely the most worrying thing about there being hair straighteners in a pub. Good Grief.

Didn't take any pictures of the baby. Hopefully Zoe won't be too insulted. He was cute enough but mostly asleep and at the end of the day, I've seen a lot of babies by this point in life but I've never before seen a pair of communal hair straighteners in a pub toilet so I think we can all agree which of these two things was more bloggable.

Lupin-watch, update

2011-06-10T15:04:00.000Z

For a few days, before the gales brought destruction, I had the best lupins in town:

Imminent 'Little Red...'

2011-06-09T14:14:00.000Z

Very excited to find in my inbox today that Ysolda's latest book has been reviewed by Knitter's Review.

Everyone should watch this

2011-06-08T13:41:00.000Z

Poor Kids. Get some tissues and a punch bag ready. Though I would agree with this review; I like Adele as much as anyone but enough.

Random weather pic

2011-06-07T11:28:00.000Z

This past month the weather has been all over the place but mostly a bit colder and much wetter and windier than I would like. Has led to some incredible skies though:

Spring into Summer Ravelry UK Swap

2011-06-03T12:12:00.000Z

Earlier this year, inspired by a post on Lixie's blog, I joined a craft swap for the first time in years. I have had almost entirely positive experiences of swaps in the past but I suppose with all the moving from the UK to Spain and back again I'd fallen out of the habit of joining them. It can be expensive too but I am so glad I participated in this one.

A couple of weeks ago this super-packed package arrived:

Inside were lots of pretty wrapped presents like jewels in a jewellery box:

I think I may have squealed with excitement as I found:

Four balls of alpaca in a deep wine shade and a lovely shawl pattern which I am certainly going to make for myself at some point.

The best tablet I have ever tasted. It's the white chocolate tablet from Sprinkle Happiness in Stirling. I've written about tablet before (when I thought I didn't like it....I was wrong) and in fact I feel a bit guilty because I bought some for the person who I was sending stuff to and while it was very nice, the Sprinkle Happiness tablet is much better. Wow.

Several packets of Kool Aid for dyeing yarn with. This is almost psychic because I had just given away my last few packets of Kool Aid as a treat for my friend Chris who helped me out hugely when I was in hospital in April. And then some more arrives almost the next day! Instant Kool Aid Karma?

An incredible handmade mushroom pincusion with wee mousey on it which drew much interest and compliments when I took it along to my quilting class last week. She kindly gave me the pattern link too so if any of you are really jealous you can make one for yourself.

A delightful book about the senses.

More chocolate related treats - I can't have too much no matter what the doctors say!

Some fascinating looking seeds for a New Zealand plant. I've sown some already in the garden, just waiting for them to pop up...

Delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies AND the recipe to make some more AND a recipe for Guiness Cake!

More beautiful yarn, this time some Rowan Pure Wool Aran in one of my favourite shades of greeny-blue.

And finally, phew, a lovely printed out pattern for a knitted floral choker that just looks so elegant (I don't have easy access to a printer so getting a printed out pattern is really appreciated at the moment).

I was quite, quite overwhelmed by all this beautiful stuff which turned out to be from montyescomama, a fellow Scotland dweller. I hope she and my downstream swap partner are at least half as happy with their parcels as they will then be very happy indeed. Roll on the next UK Ravelry swap say I!

BMJ article on hypermobility

2011-06-02T12:02:00.000Z

It's great that the BMJ allow full access to their articles online. Here's a simple one on Joint Hypermobility Syndrome as part of their 'often missed' series.

Stuff I see: (or rather, Kenny saw) patriotic urinals in The Lismore

2011-06-01T09:23:00.000Z

Made it along to the excellent Lismore Pub in Partick on Saturday for a tiny slice of the Partick Folk Fest.

Fabulous music and two excellent local beers on tap: Carte Noir from our local fave Kelburn and Crystal from Houston.

Kenny returned from the loo with the words "have you ever seen the urinal in there?" I said "why on earth would I have seen the inside of the Gents when there's a perfectly nice Ladies next to it?!" so he took the camera and came back with these shots (you may have to click through to the originals to read the notice clearly):

The rest of the Lismore is pretty smart too with gorgeous wooden panelling, stained glass windows, murals and (my personal pub furnishing fave) leather banquettes. One of the jewels in the Partick crown, which is my most preferred part of Glasgow. Go there, before you die.

Slug wars

2011-05-29T19:26:00.001Z

Almost everything I try to grow gets attacked by slugs. As far as they're concerned I'm running a 24 hour diner in their honour. So I have to plan my defence. Firstly, I have my bran traps sited around the garden. This is just cheap wheatbran from the healthfood shop in little piles near plants that I don't want to be eaten.

It is supposed to be very attractive to the slugs but the downside is that you still have to go out at dusk and collect them up. Dusk here is not until after 10pm and I'm usually asleep before then so it's tricky.

Secondly, I have my cloches made from water bottles with the bottoms cut off. The problem with these is that they keep blowing away in the terrible wind we've been having.

Thirdly, I put a crushed eggshell barrier round plants I am trying to protect. This seems to work for some things but even though I eat an obscene amount of eggs I can't get through enough to protect all the things I want to.

So this year, for the first time I thought I'd spend some money on this:

It's a biological control. The theory is that it will increase the number of nematodes in the soil. Nematodes which specifically feed on slugs and nothing else. At first the results were good but four weeks later the slugs are back with a vengance. I think the problem is that we don't have proper boundaries to the garden so it's difficult to exercise any kind of biological control.

Hm. Back to picking them off after dark. I'll have to set my alarm perhaps.

Beer and Cheese

2011-05-27T17:22:00.000Z

Oh My God!

I would love to do this course.

One of the highlights of my last trip to Derby was discovering a new pub trend for serving a rack of third-pints of the current ales with a big bowl of local cheeses and/or a slice of pork pie. Sadly this extremely tasty and civilised custom doesn't seem to have made it north of the border....

Beer And Cheese. Mmmmm.

Worn and Washed Workshop

2011-05-24T18:37:00.001Z

Back in April I had the great pleasure of going to one of Kim Porter's Worn and Washed quilting workshops. She has posted a great slideshow of the weekend on her website here but here are my pics from the Saturday workshop:

Some beautiful quilts made from Kim's fabric packs were on show and Hugo's quilt (which I completed about a year ago) was on display too.

It was the most physically demanding thing I've done for a while and took some getting over but I thoroughly enjoyed the day and I was really pleased with the resulting quilt (which is about half-done) and it was great to spend some quality time with Belinda (my sister in law) too.

I think I chose the 'Homespun Henry' pack but can't be certain. The hardest part of the day was having to choose which pack to use!

If you get the chance, I'd heartily recommend seeing Kim's wares at quilt festivals or going along to her next workshop. Failing that, you can now order her fabric packs online or buy them in Liberty of London.

Interesting debate

2011-05-21T14:35:00.000Z

Featuring Benefit Scrounging Scum on Radio 4 on 10/05/2001 which is still available to listen again. BSS has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and makes the very important point about the problem of working and/or claiming benefit with a condition which varies hugely from one time to another.

Charity bounty

2011-05-11T14:53:00.000Z

Before going into hospital I was on one of my charity shop raids and scored a load of super cheap stash:

Cream of the crop, bargain Rowan, a rare treat.

Lots of ole baby pink Patons cotton AND

Whoops, I accidentally bought meself some acrylic (brain saw the word 'Perle', brain thought 'cotton', brain did not read fibre-content on label until brain got home) still, it feels soft and is bright RED which is sometimes all that matters. Especially at 10p a pop. Result.

Views from a hospital bed

2011-05-10T17:36:00.001Z

I was very comfortable in hospital, I had my own room with bathroom attached, a comfy bed and the staff were great.

Every couple of hours during the day I had to rate my pain and fatigue out of ten on a chart. This task is kind of impossible - have a go and see how you do!

Of course I understand the reasoning behind it but essentially what this is an exercise in making a subjective experience into something objective and measurable. After a couple of weeks of doing this a pattern was clear and I don't have to do it any more which is good. My new schedule revolves around matching 'activity' with 'rest' and presently at a ratio of minute-for-minute so for every 10 minutes of activity I have to rest for 10 minutes. Feet up, no computer. This is why I won't be blogging quite so much in the next few weeks and why I am going everywhere with our kitchen timer clipped to my trousers. It's taking a lot of planning and is time-consuming but I can already see that resting in this way can allow me to both do more and be more consistent than I have been managing in recent years. Over time the plan is to increase the activity in relation to rest.

Here's some forget-me-nots.

EDITED TO ADD:
I made quite a poor attempt at explaining pacing but if you're really interested then you would be better checking out some of the work done by Action for M.E. which you can find here.

Lupin-watch

2011-05-04T18:22:00.000Z

I am back home and getting to grips with a new schedule and exercises designed to manage chronic fatigue and pain. The schedule means I won't be getting online quite so much for a while but I hope to be blogging at least once a week.

While I've been away the lupins I grew from seed last year have been romping away. I can't wait for them to flower.

'Proper' blog post coming soon!

TTFN

2011-04-11T10:24:00.001Z

The blog is going to sleep for a few weeks as I am going into hospital for an intensive physiotherapy course with the rehabilitation team. I may be away for two weeks or it may be a little longer. There was a cancellation by another patient so I've been called in a few weeks earlier than anticipated. See you soon!

EDITED TO ADD:
Very interesting post here about gender and pain I recommend you read it.

*these funny little bulbs appeared at random throughout the garden when I was weeding last year so I gathered them all together into this one bed to see what would appear. Turns out they are grape hyacinths.

Snakes Head Fritillary

2011-04-10T15:56:00.001Z

I have been wanting one of these for years, ever since I saw one in a gardening book. Anything that 'relishes damp conditions' is perfect for this little patch of the planet.

Finally I bought one when mum visited last month. Isn't it gorgeous;

And it provided some inspiration for mum's mother's day present:

I like looking at the back of all stitching, don't you?

A lesson in patience

2011-04-07T15:58:00.000Z

Do you remember the dire state of my purple sprouting broccoli earlier this year?

Well, I left it in the veg bed in the hope that it might recover (and because there really wasn't anything else waiting to go in there until now). When the bad rains of the past few days finally stopped today I went out to see how things were doing and was delighted to find this:

Result!

I will definitely grow more of this in 2011-12. Yes it takes ages to mature but it's not an unattractive plant and the leaves are really tasty so even if you don't get the florets you can still enjoy eating it.

The big quilting decision

2011-04-06T21:41:00.000Z

So, after a great deal of deliberation and some testing of different options I decided to go with Polly's suggestion of using a variagated thread on the tartan quilt.

I found one on Ebay called 'red, white and blue' by the brand YLI. I haven't used this brand before but I like the results. My only issue with it is that the white sections are smaller than the other two but between the red and blue there's a purple shade which tones in really well with the quilt and picks up on Glenda's suggestion too.

I also decided, after testing it out, not to quilt the tartan sections of the quilt and to do just simple lines on the white because this is a small quilt and otherwise there was just too much going on.

Here's some of the stitching so far from the front:

And the back:

Thanks for all your help with this one chums.

Burnistoun

2011-04-06T15:10:00.003Z

I don't know if this is a sign of having lived in Paisley too long but I truly did laugh out loud at least three times when watching Burnistoun last night especially during the rap sketch. Warning, contains 'language' (although most of it is said with such a strong accent that you may not understand it).

Royal ramblings and groovy gardenings

2011-04-05T17:13:00.003Z

Not known for my royalism but I have to admit that this is the one souvenir that has set my republican heart a flutter. Gorgeous and certainly better than the lame sugar spoon we got given at school when Fergie got married. I seem to remember that we watched the whole of Andrew and Fergie's wedding at school on tele....can that be true? It was boring and I'd rather have been doing maths, I'm sure of that.

I was completely fooled by this Yahoo jape by the way - at least I was until they got to the bit about the hired cloud. I'm not convinced that a late April blizzard is impossible up here. It was snowing last year in April (I keep a gardening journal with this sort of info in it on Monty's recommendation) and we get harsh frosts well into May. My wellies and woollies are not retiring to the back of the cupboard for some time yet.

Beechgrove's back on tele. It's great having a gardening programme that's centred on Scotland rather than down south and it's always interesting to compare it with Gardener's World. Usually whatever Monty's advising is three weeks ahead of the Beechgrove schedule because of the difference in climate.

I find Beechgrove more old fashioned in many ways, the garden can look pretty drab and some of the presenting is very dated in style (the presenters talking to each other when they could just address the camera is one of my personal bugbears!) but I have a soft spot for it nonetheless. Watch this first episode for details of how plants are recovering (or not) from the hideous winter including palms and exotics.

*this will be the only mention of 'the event' on this blog!

Mum and dad improve the garden

2011-04-05T11:38:00.000Z

Firstly by their very fine presence:

Secondly by their very fine presents:

A lovely climbing honeysuckle.

And a pretty everygreen clematis.

In honour of their visit we harvested the ~~forced~~ encouraged rhubarb and used it in a rhubarb meringe pie which was rather fine too.

Stuff I see: faded fonts

2011-04-04T10:52:00.000Z

This post is mainly for Adam. Faded signage on stone buildings in Paisley and Glasgow:

Look at the civilsed opening hours!

And my favourite:

Ribbons and bows (vintage finds)

2011-03-31T16:52:00.001Z

Does your sewing box look anything like this?

I have several different boxes for different types of sewing stuff but they all always end up crammed to busting. This wooden one is identical to one my mum has but I found it in a car boot sale in Newcastle several years ago. Believe it or not, even though it looks stuffed, all it contains is ribbons and bows!

The best ones were also from the same Newcastle car boot (actually, I think it was in lovely Hexham) and cost mere pennies for whole reels.

I wonder what the history of these is....

Big up to AJ who correctly identified the mystery shrub as a golden spirea. Clever AJ.

Coming soon: the all-important tartan patchwork quilting decision.

Making supermarket basil pots last

2011-03-28T14:57:00.000Z

I like to try and make pots of supermarket basil last a very long time. I grow plenty of basil from seed too but the supermarket pots are good for instant basil gratification and for those times of year when seeds are slow to germinate. The latest one I bought says it has an expected life of 'three days'. Pah! Of course, supermarkets don't want your basil to last for weeks on end, it's all part of the capitalist conspiracy (like liquid soap, don't get me started on liquid soap).

I've had a few people ask me how I manage to get one pot of basil to last several months at a time so here's a tutorial for yous.

First and most important step: Repot it. Your basil will be in the smallest, most crowded, dried up pot imaginable. A bigger, deeper pot with good drainage is what you want. Some extra compost to fill the pot and allow the roots to spread. Water and maybe give a little feed of tomato feed or baby bio if you have some.

Secondly, basil likes lots of light but not direct sunlight so a window that doesn't face south is best.

Thirdly, water basil in the morning not the evening. It likes a small drink everyday but doesn't like 'wet feet' i.e. standing in water. That's why you need a pot with good drainage and a saucer or collecting pot underneath. If you live in a hard water area it can help to use boiled water that has cooled down. Feed maybe once a month.

Fourthly, and I think this is where lots of people go wrong, always pick pairs of leaves from the top not the bottom of the step i.e. these leaves:

Like this:

NOT these leaves (no matter how big and deep and luscious they may look):

Picking from the top encourages the plant to grow new shoots and become bushy whereas if you pick the bigger leaves from the bottom all you'll end up with are several barren woody stems with some puny poorly looking leaves at the top of 'em.

When the basil throws up a flower stalk it's a sign that the plant is getting stressed and trying to reproduce. Snip the flowers off (you can eat them same as the leaves) and repot if the plant is getting too big for its current pot.

Everything dies eventually (so says foxy Coxy) and so too will your basil plant but last year I made one last for nine months so that's my challenge to beat this year.

Extremely dull mitts

2011-03-21T21:42:00.000Z

It's been a bad year for losing mitts. I lost my lovely alpaca gloves:

AND my even lovelier alpaca Endpaper mitts:

The only blessing is that both were lost as pairs so there's some chance that someone out there is using them and getting good wear out of them. I get very sad when I see lonesome single sodden mitts draped over railings in the rain, like as not never to be reunited with their partner and worn again.

My hands get very cold very quickly so even though spring is nearly here (ha, I jest!) going mitt-less was not an option and obviously I couldn't buy a pair, that would be insane. So I whipped up these extremely dull and ill-fitting mitts. They are the Endpaper pattern but in single colour for speed and this is why they don't fit well (because of the tension difference between single and dual colour knitting).

This is a wonderful pattern which fits brilliantly (if you make them properly) and I will make a proper pair again in time for next winter but I'll knit an icord like I did with these to minimise the chances of losing yet another set.

Don't know why you would want to look at the nerdy details for these, they are u.g.l.y. (they ain't got no alibi) but in case you do, it is here.

Read this

2011-03-20T15:04:00.000Z

Nice short piece by Lucy Managan on her experience of temporarily joining the ranks of the incapacitated. Meanwhile Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC) is collecting virtual protesters; those unable to protest in London on March 26th can email their support so that the ill and disabled are represented. There is more info here.