Monday 26 August 2013

Hello Sunshine

Over the past couple of weeks we've had more wet days than sunny ones, but it doesn't matter. We've seen the sun, it was nice while it was here. I will remember what it looks like in case it doesn't fully appear again until next year. 

Have a look at this...


It is not a Pantone colour chip, although they have probably patented this particular shade along with every other colour that ever existed. It's the sky above my house, taken earlier in the summer. After three years of crap, wash-out summers, I thought I'd snap this to enjoy in the winter. It's probably also the best composed photo I have produced for this blog.  

It actually got hot enough for us to do a bit of wild swimming this summer. There was a beautiful quiet place, so still and peaceful it looked like the setting for a low-budget horror film. The glamour was provided by my friend R, looking very elegant in her Esther Williams 1950s swimsuit.



Somehow, whenever I go wild swimming I find myself enjoying the sunlight and scenery, pushing through the water at a gentle pace thinking "this is nice", then I start to wonder if there might be a pike waiting to savage us under the water. It has never happened, yet as soon as I think about it, the idea of swimming loses its charm and I retreat to the bank. On that occasion we got hassled by some creatures that looked like caddisflies which kept nipping us so getting back in the water provided some protection. It did at least take my mind off the possibility of a lurking pike. 

"Look out!"

Creature from the black lagoon's relaxing swim was marred by unsettling thoughts of pike attack

There has been little time for creative activities although I have finished a simple a-line skirt that had been draped over the back of my sewing chair for a good while. It has subsequently been worn to work a few times, as I have to look a bit smarter in my not-so-new job. So here it is, having been worn and washed a few times... 

Purple mini-cord a-line skirt
This skirt actually looks quite nice on, but there is no one about to take a picture of me in it and I haven't had much luck with the "selfie" approach to garment photography so far. This picture reminds me that as much as sewing has been a feature of this blog, so has bad photography. 

I did a bit of knitting when we went on holiday to the Borders, but that was blighted by my inability to pay attention to what I'm supposed to be doing. I was going great guns until I realised one of my needles was the wrong size. Subsequently, the knitting had been shoved into a bag and ignored. However, this fabulous summer we have been experiencing will come to an end at some point and cardigans will be required. Now that my studying is over (until October) there really is no excuse not to knit and get ready for Autumn. So far I've got the back knitted (with the correct needles) and am about to start a sleeve. Since I seem to have at least a two-month gap between posts there's a possibility it might be finished for my next write-up! 

Ollie-bird had been doing well after surviving a cat attack where s/he sustained a broken leg and a gash to the side of the head. Last seen, s/he was still slightly bald, but the leg was mending well. There's so much for birds to eat in the garden this time of year that are probably tastier than cheese (if grubs and beetles are your thing, that is) so we only get fleeting glances of him/her.  

So next up, hopefully another completed nomad jacket. I was also hoping to come up with my own version of a mock kilt I bought over the summer but need to get suitable fabric before I can tackle this. From October there probably won't be much time for sewing and knitting as I have signed up to do a social sciences course with the Open University. It's nice to have something planned for the winter months and to gain a sense of moving forward after a long period of feeling stuck in a rut.   We'll see how it goes...




No comments:

Post a Comment