Blue granny-square-swatching for a new project
Dutch translating. Slowly and painfully from this book. But persevering because my new project is in it and I will not be beaten.
Tea-drinking. Once the ancient kettle, that hunts with the Camping Gaz kit, had done its stuff. I can't manage life without tea. Seriously. Does this mean I am addicted? Probably.
Walking. Close to home but in places I normally drive through rather than walk in. Under grey skies and curtains of rain.
As I say, raining. Just for a change.
Preserving. Candied orange peel in syrup from a 17th C recipe in this wonderful book, recommended by Anne here.
Baking. Hannah Woolley's 1672 Shrewsbury cakes flavoured with rosewater and cinnamon. Heady echoes of Stuart England on the tongue. Recipe from the same book.
Experimenting with a new crochet stitch. Just because. Because I find You Tube crochet videos quite addictive! This started out as the Duchess Lace stitch but I've simplified it a bit and made it my own and because in this pink it's so evocative of candy-floss, I think of it as "Candy Floss Stitch".
As you can see, it pairs nicely with this pink Tanya Whelan "Sugar Hill" "Birdy" fabric. So I turned my experimental sample into a little zipped bag. Because. Because you can never have too many little zipped bags.
It's been a good week. Low key, but without work for a few welcome days. Creative and good. My kind of week.
Wishing you all a happy weekend.
(And if you're in the UK, a weekend without rain for a change and, preferably, with electricity!)
E x
I know exactly where you are coming from re the camping stove E. Ours has come in handy more than once. It makes you so glad that you have it as spare, particularly at such short notice, like a powercut. Tea is what keeps this country going in difficult times!!!
ReplyDeleteNow I have seen your rosewater and cinnamon biscuits and had a quick look at the book by Mary-Anne Boermans (I am a huge fan of the Great British Bake-off) I will need to make some. I also need to know where you got that lovely teacup?.....it's beautiful! As for Youtube crochet videos, well, why did it never occur to me to have a look for those, especially as I am always telling people to go to Youtube for instructions on just about everything else? Doh! Will have to try and set aside an hour or so this weekend (although I'm sure that will be nowhere near enough!!! :) )
Thanks for some very interesting info!
B x
Thank you so much, Bev. The tea cup comes from Anthopologie. I love it because it feels like a cup and behaves like one but holds as much as a big mug! E x
DeleteI love the pale blues that you've chosen, so pretty all together
ReplyDeleteI hope you've got power back now, the novelty of a camping stove soon wears off even when you are camping!
http://ahandfulofhope.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you, Helen. You are so right about the novelty wearing off! I cherish every electric kettleful that boils now! Have a lovely weekend! E x
DeleteDear E
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear you have had a trying week with the power issues - thank goodness for tea (I'm a total addict too!). I hope things are improved for you. However, beautiful blues in your crochet. I have seen the Hannah Woolley book too, as I did a year of a Heritage Studies degree and we had to research C17th food. I made Lamb Pie (hot water pastry, lamb and herbs filling) and some pineapple tartlets (which tasty lovely when just baked, but rapidly went a bit squishy), As you can tell, we were looking at the richer end of the social scale! Really interesting though. I have the Sugar Hill fabric in blue - it is so pretty. Roll on Spring!
Hope you have a good weekend.
Best wishes
Ellie
Good to know I am not alone in the tea-addiction stakes! Have a lovely weekend Ellie! E x
Deletethis camping stove has some life left in it, it looks almost new, but I hope you won't need it again this winter (unless you plan to go camping of course). I am intrigued by your Dutch crochet book. I might order just because I want to make the "witte ronde bloemenpoef", it sounds nice and I assume it to be a pouffe with a crochet flower motif. I may well be completely wrong... I always think I understand Dutch because it sounds a lot like my native Swiss German. I am often wrong. Your tea cup is beautiful. Have a lovely weekend Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's OK when going but unfortunately one of its washers turned traitor and started to become leaky and when you turn it off, it now leaks gas. Eeek! It was all right until we had to change the gas canister on Saturday evening but from then on it all went downhill and not in a good way! Managed to burn the end of my nose while anxiously sniffing the thing for leaks into the bargain and with candles out of necessity going everywhere, , I feel I was lucky not to explode the whole kitchen! Fear not however, a replacement has been located and acquired against the next power failure! The Dutch book is a crocheter's dream and I am sure you will make short work of deciphering it. The "witte ronde bloemenpoef" is exactly what you envisage and a delight! You'll love it! Inspiration on every page! And delivery from bol.com in Utrecht to the UK is very prompt! E x
DeleteAargh! How did you get that book?! I've been dying to get my mitts on a copy but Amazon says 'no'. Such beautiful blues/greens you've chosen. Honestly, they're so serene, I could gaze at that picture all day.
ReplyDeleteI empathise re the power cuts - we've had two this week, one of two hours, the other of five. My daughter and I pulled coats over our pyjamas and walked the half mile to the local electricity substation and did our best to chivvy the chaps into restoring our power pronto. I daresay it didn't make the slightest bit of difference but we felt quite proactive!
Have a lovely weekend.
Heather x
Sorry to hear the powers been off, looks like you've been making the most of it, the blue squares are so tranquil and I just love the candy floss stitch, here's hoping for better weather, we still have no power in the summerhouse and garage (where the freezer and washing machine are) as water got into the fused box over a week ago now, so I'm hoping for sunshine
ReplyDeleteClare x
The candy floss stitch is perfectlynamed and very pretty, I like your blues too, very serene and calming. Weve had the electricity off as well, for 26 hours at one point with an hour back on somewhere in the middle of the night, I have to admit with the boys all having various gadgets it would have been useful to have some sort of campingaz charger! I'm thankful it wasn't off longer as it was bad enough for that long, crocheting by candlelight proved difficult! Our half term is just beginning and I'm so looking forward to not having packed lunches and school runs to do, but then there will be no excuse for the cleaning now!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous blues:) x
ReplyDeleteto help you with your new book you might want to take a look at
ReplyDeletehttp://zjizjipke.blogspot.com/2011/03/multilingual-crochet.html
its a helpful Dutch -> UK terms overview
best
Hazel
Stunning photos depicting a beautiful week. I'd love to be sitting with you having a sip of that tea, crocheting and chatting.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
I love the candy floss stitch and your lovely photos x
ReplyDeletemy, you have been a busy lady!
ReplyDeleteI love your blue squares - and well done for persevering with the translation, will be so worth it. What a lovely teacup - sorry to hear about life sans electricity - probably not as cosy and lovely as one would imagine wearing one's rose-tinted specs...
x
I love the blue granny squares! Those colors are so pretty together!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you were without power again. (I remember that it went out at Christmastime, too.) Hope it is dry where you are and that your electricity is on. Also, thank you so much for your comments on my blog post. I know I tend to whine. Perhaps my creativity is fueled by my mundane day-to-day struggles. The blue and green yarn you are using reminds me of the sea. I love your determination in translating the pattern pattern.
ReplyDeleteSo many lovely crochet and culinary delights, E! Tant birdy fabric and pink crochet has me swooning. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteOh no, no power I remember those days from the 70's and we've been lucky to miss out on the powercuts in Shrewsbury (!) this time around. Love the pink candy floss stitching. Enough of the rain already. Bad news about the icecream - did you not eat it?
ReplyDeletePowercuts suck! There are quite frequently cuts in South Africa due to a shortage of electricity. Your blue colour palette is great, I just started working on a completely different pattern, but similar colours. It was lovely to see through your squares what my project might look like colour wise. Very nice I say!!!
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to see the bag properly. You don't provide a picture of it.
ReplyDeleteIt HAS been a good week for you, in spite of the power outage! Your crochet is so very lovely. That photo full of blue squares -- oh my! Delectable. And the pink stitch ... I'm gonna have to learn that one. The zippered bag is adorable and useful. I hope you've got power now and don't have to cut back on tea drinking! That would be disastrous :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful colorplay! Your blanket will become wonderful :-). Sorry to hear about your power-cut. I’m a tea fan, too, need several cups a day ;-). The cookies look soo yummy! I could buy the book just to get this one recipe ;-). Wow, the little crochet bag is fantastic! What a beautiful color, perfect for this pretty pattern. I think I have seen it in written form somewhere on the web too, must have been called the Star Stitch or similar. Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteNata
Very much appreciate the link to the recipes! Must check if available on this side of the pond!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the power loss, living on this tiny Pacific NW island we have learned this is a regular happening!
Exchange your countryside photos for our cedars, boulders and beaches, and we share the same forecast...foggy, rain, rain, rain!
Blessings,
I miss you and your posts...just thought I'd say that. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm currently persevering with a Japanese knitting book because there is a pattern in it that I want to knit ... I feel your pain!
ReplyDeleteYou are able to make even a power outage photogenic! And I like your historical eating:) Here's wishing for a happy, bright spring!
ReplyDelete