What She Came For

A note to Cail Bruich: when you advertise gravad lax with salad and rye bread, do not serve sour-dough bread. It is not the same. Also, consider serving the sour-dough rye bread with a smidgen of butter. Just saying. Ah, I am nursing a post-birthday hangover (although not due to any alcohol consumption - perish the thought! - just general enthusiasm). So many of you have sent me birthday greetings - thank you so, so much - and I will make sure to get back to each and every one of you. It might take a few days, but you'll get a personal thank you.

However, someone is having a very special birthday today! Happy birthday, Charles!

Still So Young To Travel So Far; Old Enough To Know Who You Are

I have always wanted to cut a Virginia Woolf-esque figure. Tall and graceful with a certain Bloomsbury bookish air. Sadly I am much too silly, disorganised and plump to ever fool anyone. Except my boyfriend seems to totally buy into this dream, bless him.

For my birthday he has given me a 1920s knitting project bag. The embroidery is ever so fine - done in wool on jute (I think) - and the bag is lined with fine linen. It is absolutely gorgeous in the most perfect early twentieth century Bloomsbury intelligensia way. It's possibly the best present I have ever been given.

He also gave me a needle-felted scarf in black, orange and sky-blue. Needle-felted!

I've been given an absolute tonne of wool by friends and family: Drops Silke-Tweed in creme and mustard; Kauni Effektgarn in a red-burgundy colourway; 2-ply wool in deep indigo-purple and grey, Sandness Sisu in green and red, worsted merino  in a stunning dark fuchsia and a full cone of orange 2ply alpaca. Not to mention all the Rowan Felted Tweed I need for Flyte.I don't think I'll ever need to go wool-shopping again.

And people have also given me perfume, jewellery stationery, book vouchers and books! And the sun's out! Aww..

A huge thank you to everyone who's been part of making this one of the nicest birthdays I've had in a long time.

Monday Morning

All photos by Other Half who gleefully went out to play in the snow take photographs before he had had breakfast.

For This I Am Thankful

“His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their latter end, upon all the living and the dead.”

It is snowing outside (again!) and I am reminded of James Joyce's wonderful short story "The Dead" (found in Dubliners and made into a beautiful film by John Huston). Even if you are the sort who shudder at the thought of James Joyce, give "The Dead" a chance. It is exquisite - and also the snowiest story I can imagine (something which may sound nonsensical but if you read it, you'll understand).

Earlier this week I was given my first birthday present. I do not write much about what it was like moving from Denmark to Scotland - but it was an uneasy transition and I found it somewhat difficult to build up a new network of friends. So, when I was given an unexpected birthday present by my Glasgow circle of friends, this act of friendship felt particularly poignant. The present? All the wool I need to make Flyte. It feels slightly overwhelming, if in a good way.

(Related: I am trying to find buttons for my Forecast cardigan (which is knitting up nicely, hence much radio silence). I went to John Lewis and discovered that ten buttons would cost me almost as much as all the wool for the cardi. That's not an option. I have looked at Textile Garden, eBay, Etsy, Bedecked, Pavi Yarns and Ribbon Moon. Any other places I should look?)

Finally, I have found yet another t-shirt I feel I should own, I pity this poor dog (although I'm also slightly amused by the Poodle Ninja Turtle-Leonardoodle), and I'm keeping a close eye on Academic Earth in case anything fun turns up. And, of course, CityPoem Copenhagen..

Oh! You Pretty Thing!

The weather was very kind to me today. Everything turned out to be super-photogenic. Who needs an expensive DSLR camera when you have neigh-perfect light and location? Okay, so the frilly bit is a tiny bit out of focus.. But I digress.

This is my third finished object of 2009. It's a triangular shawl with an interesting lacy frill. It's very pretty, quite girly and thus not meant for me.

However, I have pattern notes and plan to knit another one, and then possibly I'll make the pattern available as a free download (Other Half seems to think I should). It's a relatively easy knit and I'm thinking its play with textures and volume also make it slightly more on-trend than many triangular lace shawls. Hmm.. something to ponder.

The rest of today will be spent sorting my stash and my knitting bags. I plan on making Forecast (I really like this version, just like the rest of the world, and this one) because a) if we are going to Southern Poland in March, I'll need a warm cardigan and b) I'm going use a pattern this time (she says looking at the Ever-Expanding Grey Pullover). I have some very pretty forest green wool in my stash which is begging to made into a warm cardigan. But first I'm going to be a good girl and get all organise-y on the tonnes of stray balls in the living room.

Twenty-Five

20. I'm allergic to pistachio nuts if I eat more than a pound in less than 30 minutes.

That fact and twenty-four other exciting and essential factoids about your bloggerista (i.e. me) can be found here. I was tagged to do it on a certain social networking site and thought I'd share the pain.