Robert Smith Frills

The peonies were spectacular this year, it's a shame they don't last longer in the garden. No sooner are they there, but they're gone.

This year we've added a more permanent piece of loveliness to the garden. Her name is Yolande and she's a cast stone sculpture made by an American company called Campania, from they're "Mythical" series of garden sculptures.



There is a long, ugly story attached to the acquisition of Yolande; the kind of story that makes me look bad, so I'm not going to share. An abbreviated version goes something like: first ordered over two years ago, three order mix-ups, one gigantic hissy fit (that would be me), a hefty price tag, and a shop that I will never shop at again.

However...

how gorgeous is she? She hides herself away in the corner of the garden and watches the back of house - I could stare at her all day. I think she's going to look quite majestic year-round.

Also new and majestic, is our new Betta, he's deepest black all over with shots of midnight blue running through his long, frilly fins. I've named him Robert Smith, after the lead singer of The Cure.



Oooo...how lovely? (Tricky to photograph, unfortunately).

Recently off the needles is a mermaid based on the Minnowmaid pattern by Amy Florence (that's a Ravelry link).



She's a tad on the hideous side, I think living under the sea is to blame, it's made her pasty-looking and all the swimming has given her shoulders like a linebacker.

Great hair and tail though, yes?

Also off the needles recently is Abrazo made from the Sweet Georgia Lace I blogged about back in March. This pattern only used about half of the hank, so another project may eventually appear in the future.



It turned out beautifully, though I miscounted the lace pattern the first go-round and had to rip it out and start again. I found the orange very cheery to knit with, but it's not a colour I can wear. I will have to gift it to someone...hmmm....I wonder who...?

A friend and I will be undertaking a major project tomorrow. We are going to sort and categorise my buttons.

I sincerely doubt we'll make it through all of them, since when all set out on the dining-room table I can't photograph them all at once.



Clearly, the amassed buttons are calling for a wide-angle lens.

In a brief effort to make use of a few I put together a bracelet this afternoon using some of the shell buttons.



It's not bad, but about two buttons too long.

I shall try again.

While I work on that, here's a look at the real Robert Smith in all his black, frilly-ness:

Where'd I Put Those Buttons?

Well, I found the perfect buttons for the wee baby jacket from my last post. Ordered from Wool-Tyme Canada, they were by Mission Falls and looked like this:



except, the ones I ordered were darker in colour. They were perfect, the size was right and they possessed enough quaint, homeyness to appeal to my knitting pals, and enough sophistication to appeal to everyone else. This is all past tense though because I have no idea what I did with them.

I was certain that I'd put them in the top drawer of the black dresser in the craft room, where I store yarn for upcoming projects along with various other delights. However, they weren't in the drawer when I went to fetch them for this post.

I did find the shawl pin that I bought from Wool-Tyme in the same order (seemed a waste to spend money on shipping for three little buttons, so felt I should "fill out" the order - this is one of my secrets to spending vast quantities of money, if Nigel is curious)



Lovely isn't it? It's shell with an ebony spear. I'll wear it to knit night on Wednesday so the girls can have a gander.

Yes, lovely, but the buttons weren't there...

I did find my darling package of White Stripes buttons (they're a band) Nigel bought me for Christmas one year. I've never opened these - too adorable. You've got to admire a band that doesn't just sell t-shirts and posters.



I looked all over my desk, which is a disaster at the mo'.



There's my Blackbird Shawl from a previous post - languishing, along with a piece of genealogy research - also stalled.



Oooo, a pattern for an apron and 10 skiens of black angora purchased on sale at Wolseley Wool. Angora and aprons - I am turning into a '50's housewife, yes?



Some half finished Alan Dart mice, and some of the yarn for a cardi I just started. I'll show that to you some other time, it's got a silk hem facing - fancy!



My sewing machine, poor neglected thing...



Hmm, are they in the hutch? If you click on this picture you might see Nessie lurking (she's a former whiskey bottle).



I can see the first buttons, later rejected, for the jacket. Also sitting there is a curling rock, also formerly a whiskey bottle (makes me look like a bit of a boozer, doesn't it?)



The craft cupboard... if you know me from ravelry and click on this picture, you might see the black and white felt cat that appears in my ravatar...no buttons though...Hey, also my half finished Lady Grey jacket I was working on! I really should put the lining in that before summer gets here.



Old tins full of buttons, but not the ones I'm looking for...



glass jars full of buttons, also not the right ones. Hard to believe my entire button collection once fit in these jars...



Would I have put then in here?



no...



no...



no...



Oooo, special buttons!



But not the buttons...

These aren't buttons, but at least I know where (some of) my marbles are...



ah, vintage game pieces and dice, so, so charming...but not those Mission Falls buttons.



I will continue to look through March, but if they're not to be found I'll be forced to place another order...possibly with more "filler" merchandise...poor Nigel...

A Question of Buttons

Bunnies!

Recently off the needles are a pair of Bunny Baby Booties for a wee boy who's due at the end of April. The pattern is from Animal Knits by Zoe Mellor, and are knit up in Sirdar Snuggly DK in cream, plus a few other bits and pieces.

Adorable, yes?

I'd never used this pattern before, but I'll definitely count it as a keeper.

Also (almost) finished for the same wee laddie is the Cardigan for Merry. Also worked in the Sirdar Snuggly, this pattern is a variation on the Cardigan for Arwen from Interweave Knits Winter 2008 issue. In order to make Merry, you'll need the Arwen pattern for the reversible cable pattern.



The cardi is still missing it's buttons though. I'm having a hard time deciding between the classic toggles...





and the quainter, sweeter hazelnuts (these are made of plastic).





Nigel and Elly agreed that the toggles were better, but both thought them a tad pale, and the Wednesday knitting group all agreed on the hazelnuts (there were nearly twelve of us in attendance that particular night, so consensus was surprising). Nigel and Elly know the parents of the wee one, and I would certainly agree that they'd probably prefer something classic over quirky, however... I'm still a bit torn. Would anyone else like to weigh-in on the subject?

Which do I choose? Classic, but too pale, or high contrast and quirky...

I could order in dark toggles...

...made of wood...or horn...

...that would involve some Internet shopping...

Oooooo....must go ogle some toggles...

A Few Finds

Completed slippers. Hurrah!

Before anyone lies and says, "beautiful...", we need to concede that they are, of course, hideous. However, they're felted slippers and aren't suppose to be good looking, merely practical, which they are. Super-cosy in fact.

Also in the "hurrah" department - the computer seems to be working fine at the moment - hence, the snapshots. I'm going to take advantage of this and share all the little happenings around here.

Last Sunday (the 18th) was the annual Doll Show and Sale here in Winnipeg. I'm not a true collector, but I've always had a few dolls in my possession; some I've had since childhood, some I've sewn through the years and some, on occasion, I've purchased. I'd never been to the doll show before, but was curious what others were collecting and selling.

I was tempted by a 1959 Lloyd's doll carriage (cream coloured metal, spring suspension), and though I thought to myself how fantastic it would be for displaying dolls, I just couldn't quite decide if it was "the one" (does anyone else understand?) and so walked away from it, all the while wondering if I was going to have regrets. I was also very tempted by one little bisque head baby doll from pre-1930's Germany, but wasn't quite sure if I was REALLY, REALLY willing to part with ALL that money for THAT particular doll. It was ALMOST exactly the sort of doll I'd like to own, but sadly, I'm just not that good at large-ticket impulse buys. I'm so, so much better at small-ticket impulse buys.

I found a vendor with buttons,



lovely, shiny buttons.

And another vendor with patterns,



I bought one reproduction pattern (uncut) and one original (cut). Well though, to be honest, I didn't buy that Winnie-the-Pooh pattern. I got to talking to the vendor and told her that my Mum had made Eeyore for my brother back in the sixties from that same pattern and it had been his favourite toy from childhood. She was so touched she gave me the pattern for free and told me to think of her when I sewed an Eeyore for my brother. Wasn't that sweet?

It was while I was driving home that I realised Eeyore was so very, very important to Ian that he'd kept it all these years (probably not requiring another one).

However, if I ever need to make an Eeyore, I'm ready.

A couple of days after the doll show I found this at a local shop,



I can't even speak.

I'm so glad I didn't buy the metal one from the fifties. This one was the same price.

There are no regrets, not one.

And the very same day, while trolling the local thrift stores, I made one of those rare "Finds of a Lifetime" - a stunning crocheted afghan.



The significance of something like this will be lost on some people (Nigel, I'm looking at you), but it is, I assure you, truly magnificent. It's made from scraps of fine sock-weight yarn in an enormous palette of colours. The time that would have gone into making this isn't lost on me and I feel fortunate to be the current "keeper" of this piece of 20th century folk art. Does anyone else see the colours of the Book of Kells?

Lovely...

Now, off to reno-land,

I did not order an orange floor, this is just the layer beneath the tile.



tiles,



tiles with grout (that means this section of the floor is done).



And just in time for the cabinet delivery.



And this is what the cabinets will look like. Kind of, sort of antique white.



Cabinet installation is set for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Soon it will look like a real kitchen - it just won't have running water, appliances or lights.

***soon***

More Buttons, No More Hauntings

Yesterday the Costume Museum of Canada held a button sale at a local sewing shop.

I went....and I bought.

There were lots and lots of very beautiful and interesting buttons. Sadly the museum decided last minute that rather than sell off ALL of it's buttons, it should make displays out of the best ones and only sell off the next to best. So, the two women staffing the event had to decide right there and then what was allowed to be sold and what wasn't. There were many things that I picked up and ogled, but had to put right into the bag of display buttons (one in particular was a lovely big bag of mother-of-pearl belt buckles).

*sigh*

However, I'm looking forward to going into the museum some other time to see them all sorted and posed to be admired.

***Please note, they're looking for people to help with this project, so if you love buttons and are here in Winnipeg, then give the museum a call and they should be able to put you through to the person in charge of this.***

These weren't the least expensive buttons I'd ever seen, but the funds raised were going to support the museum, so I forked over the cash. Here are my catch(es) of the day:

Some vintage/old black glass - my favourite are the square ones, perfect condition Art Nouveau,



More vintage glass, in charming colours,



A few plastic, I liked the shape of these,



Two vegetable ivory, these buttons are always in colours that are not me at all, but there's something about them I just love,



A group of metal,



This Italian one makes me laugh, it says "Attention, Forbid Access to the Person Not Authorized". Sounds menacing, but it's a fairly modern, cheaply made button, probably from the end-of-the-Cold-War 80's,



There were lots and lots of lovely mother-of-pearl,



And some more, I would have bought lots more if they'd been more affordable,



I love buttons. Love them, love them, love them.

Also this week, I ventured off into the world of yarn dyeing. This is quite a popular pasttime amongst knitters these days, and I thought it was about time I gave it a try.

Late last year I bought 10 skiens of Jaeger Aqua cotton yarn online. Colours can sometimes be deceptive on a computer screen, and "Muse" which looked to be a pale shell pink, turned out to be more of a salmon/coral colour when it arrived.



Not a terrible colour, but not a good colour on me. I'd bought some Procion MX dye in Fuschia, and set to work. I hadn't dyed anything in a very long time and forgot to buy the dye fixative (soda ash), so after stirring the yarn in the dye bath for 50 minutes, I started rinsing the dye out, and quickly realised that way too much of the dye was going down the drain. I abandoned the yarn in the sink, ran out to Artist's Emporium, raced back home and threw the yarn into a second dye bath. I didn't stir it this time though, I just let it lay there soaking.



I'm very pleased with the end results. Very bright fuschia, but with a streakyness, very summery, I think.



And lastly, an update on our haunted landing, mentioned here and here. After setting out crystals and having a "chat" (really more of a rant) with whatever was killing off my houseplants, I wondered if our visitor was still lingering in the house. Shelagh, whose husband has a gift for this kind of thing, suggested that I put out some letters and see if the ghost wants to send a message.

I put out all the Scrabble tiles (except the blank ones - if I get a message from beyond, I want it good and clear) and left them on the windowsill of the landing.



After two days, this is what it said,



Perhaps I should have mentioned to Ian and Nigel that they weren't the one's I was trying to commune with.