Last night my friend Azi came round for dinner. She arrived to find that I’d gotten distracted from cooking by attempting to put together a very makeshift curtain for the kitchen window. Admittedly it took more than the five minutes I was planning on but I’m rather pleased with the results. Quickly rolled up and tied with bows during the day and unfurled at night it makes the whole room cozier. There aren’t any buildings very close to my kitchen window, which is nice, but it means that it’s really, properly dark in a way that you don’t often get in the city. The tree print is also a nice reminder of the real trees outside. Leah sent me this fabric in a swap about a year ago, and while I don’t plan on this being its permanent use it is nice to have it on display.
Azi’s just finished a stint working at the London film festival, and as I listened to her talk about the stress of trying to find a (paid!) creative job in the industry I felt a new found appreciation for my little work at home design gig, and for how privileged I am to have this home to work in. It’s not the big ‘what I’m going to do with my life’ thing, that may or may not exist, but until it appears this certainly beats the rat race of graduate employment. And so, here are a few of the things I’m loving about working at home today, other than my newly framed view:
I can wear whatever I like. Today that means the first sweater I ever made, my crazy long curled up Skull Illusion Scarf (I’ve seen far, far more succesful versions of this and mine definitely could do with re-blocking but I love the way it’s about 8′ long, unintentionally the perfect length), and the dress I made at the beginning of the summer – now rather faded from so much wearing. I need to make some more twirly dresses.
Today’s work so far has included much catching up on email, but also finishing this pretty border on the 2nd Arabella (I was binding it off in the photo above)
and winding yarn. I did a little experiment, inspired by this Ravelry thread, and re-wound the balls to take the tension off the yarn. You can see a huge difference between the swift to ballwinder ball and the ball to ballwinder one. I have a feeling these might be so loose they’ll fall apart but the yarn does seem less stressed.
And finally, I get to eat leftover messy but yummy lasagne.
Thank you for humouring my silly Elijah story, I’m so excited to see what adventures you guys come up with for him.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Are you sitting on an old stove? I love it! I wish I could find an apartment with original fittings and things like that. I think my boyfriend likes the whole modern thing I bit too much I’m a bit more rustic, therefore our apartment is just a mess. Its confused.
Anyway love the stove.
And I love the twirly dress. You should post your sewing patterns too (or do you and I missed it). I should remove th dust from my sewing machine and start using it again.
Oh and I loved the story!
Left over lasagne’s the best! Love your outfit too! Glad to hear your happy with where you are in life…that’s always a good thing!
Ho this fabric is really pretty and prefect for curtains!
I love the way you dress at home! You should go out! You’re so stylish and pretty!
Me at home, ho my god, none should see me, i’m horrible, i dress myself with most horrible clothes i found! I had no style and it’s rare that i care about the way i dress myself…
Have a nice week end Ysolda! I enjoy your blog, come nearly everyday to read you or see if you posted something new!
And it’s good, it made me improve my english! Ha thank you so much!
That’s so awesome that you get to stay at home and knit…I wish I could!
That is a great outfit.
I think I should try that technique with my yarn. My tension is extremely tight, so whenever I go to knit something from a pattern, it ends up getting ripped out because I can’t get the right gauge. :P Hopefully this will help!
I was so glad to see your yarn balls, Ysolda! Since I’ve been having the most horrendous problems with my yarn winder – it was such a pleasure for me to see your perfect 2 balls sitting prettily there on the windowsill. Sigh!
I love how you dress so whimsically too! Can’t wait for the Arabella pattern!
As a creative person who’s stuck in that daily grind thing of working I’m always a little envious when I read your blog – how you have time to actually explore your ideas and designs. It’s inspiring to know that someone is able to make a life that supports their creative pursuits. :)
oh i feel clever today. i almost always wind my yarn twice, to take the tension off. it’s because i love winding yarn, but i know that i really shoulnd’t wind it until i’m ready to use it.
i think i’ve just about perfected loose winding.
(i don’t love winding yarn off a swift as much as Nico does, though, he could do it all day too)
you’ve got great style!!!
i wish i had a bunch of knitting projects, instead of a bunch of university projects…
Hi there, i’m loving the outfit too, a quick question though, is there a trick to prevent the illusion scarf from curling, i made one for the hubster last christmas and now it looks like a tube, i’m planning on making another 2 for the wee ones i think i heard about slipping the 1st stitch, but not sure. thanks.
PS Very excited, i’ve enlisted the help of a friend to measure me up for Stripy today, so i can start asap.
ooh i love this little dress so much!! its so pretty! is there any chance of a pattern?? hope so!
I love the photos – and you look like a mod Alice in Wonderland, which is excellent. You seem to have lovely views from your flat as well.
I second (third? ??) the asking for a pattern for the pinafore – it is flattering and classic. Want!