If the ‘sweet smell of Christmas’ is cinnamon, then the sweet smell of spring must be hyacinths.
Christmas gift from Lucy-Of-The-Lodge sitting in my kitchen window. What a lovely contrast to the dull, drab exterior view. Wishin’ I could invent ‘blog-o-smell’ to share the heady scent!
Way deep down inside, I’m a bohemian wannabe…
…but in reality, there’s no way that’s gonna happen. (Actually, I have great hopes for Daughter-Kate as I think it’s more instinctive.)
Anyway, every once in a while I’ll delude myself into thinking that I can indeed pull this off and buy an article of clothing that pushes the envelope of everyday traditional fashion sense. And such was the skirt made of this…
Once the wannabe fog cleared, I realized that this would never do. It looked…
a) hideous
b) ridiculous
c) outrageous
d) disastrous
e) all of the above
In fact, I think it made me look a little like this…
I believe the technical term for this look would be ‘pudgy-with-a-hint-of-dumpy.’ But, still liking the fabric, it sat in a hopeful pile of other ‘fabrics-I-like-on-styles-that-will-never-do’ discarded purchases.
But now, it’s been rescued from the Island of Misfit Fabrics to become the backing for the long-awaited wonky-square-intarsia-experiment-cushion-cover.
Yep, ‘wearing’ the fabric in the best way to preserve everyone’s vision!
Well….whichever it is, I’ve committed it.
I live in the land of the Aran jumper. You know, cream-multi-stitch-knitted-marvels, periodically coming into and going out of the hearts of fashion, but a staple to knittingdom nonetheless.
I am the owner of an aran-inspired knit cardigan. Cotton, not wool, but still intricate in its hand-knit-but-not-by-me stitchery.
And so…
Warning: Rationalisation Diversion Ahead
…I never wear it anymore. It sits in my wardrobe, yellowing with time. Oh sure, I wore it when I was a L’Oreal-Number-Seven-brunette, but those days are no more. And to wear it now? Hmmm….I’m sure I would tire of the enquiries after my health as I’d look so poorly…pale cardigan, pale skin, pale hair. The gray of the hair and cream of the fibre fighting it out for supremacy, with my complexion as the loser. No thank you.
Right, so living simply means trying to minimize excess and I can’t bear to have this cardigan taking up precious storage space. Okay, diversion done…
Cold weather is upon us and now drastic steps have been taken in the quest for a new piece of winter apparel.
As the cardigan is 100% cotton and washable, it’s a great candidate for sporting a new colour, sympathetic to my new colouring.
Instructions are fairly clear. In goes the dye. In goes the salt. In goes the dampened cardigan. Shut goes the door….oh my goodness….what have I done?!? Sigh. Can’t go back now. No changing of the mind. I can’t watch as the dye runs through every single fibre of the cardigan. Gonna distract myself by taking down Christmas decorations…
(A few hours later…)
Final result? Have to say that the in-real-life colour is a darker, truer green…
If you’re an aran purist, my deepest apologies, but treason or no, I’m quite happy with the results!
New year, new choices, new directions, new projects…hmm….I wonder what else will be ‘new’ in these next twelve months?
Have you ever had that subconscious feeling that something is about to happen…you know, catching a glimpse of what might be and that what is ‘now’ is perhaps the proverbial calm before the storm? Who knows? I suppose if I were to have a pictorial representation of what my new year might look like, it would include this view of our road…
Happy new year to all and to the new opportunities this year will afford!