Tag: gardening

September Colour

September colour

Today, I’ve been thinking about colour again, especially as my beautiful garden Dahlia are coming to an end.

I don’t think of colour as a palette chosen from a shade card, or a set of colours that are supposed to work together, or from a carrier bag in front of the tele but colour as something you discover by looking – really looking.  And this year, I have really looked at the flowers that I have grown.

So, I’ve been sitting with Rowan Kidsilk Haze and a handful of my last flowers. I’ve knitted little swatches, changed colours, changed my mind, pulled them out, tried something else and watched what happens when one shade sits beside another.  I feel the colours more than just look and I have a very exciting new knitting project in the pipeline. 

This is the part of knitting I never seem to tire of but don’t get much time to do. A full day just knitting and pushing colours and flowers around is a true gift of time and creativity.

A colour can look completely different depending on what is next to it. A pink becomes warmer beside rust. A green suddenly looks sharper beside red. A quiet, almost muddy shade can become the colour that holds everything together or becomes the subtle change that the eye doesn’t always see but the mind sees it. 

A Creative practice swatching and developing skills and outcomes,  is why I started the Colour Swatch Journal.

I wanted others to learn to explore that process of looking and experimenting rather than simply deciding in advance what a “good” colour combination might be.

I’ve been knitting for more than forty years and I’m still surprised by and LOVE colour.

I’m currently working on something new with these colours. I’m not quite ready to show you yet — but I will be soon.

September is looking very beautiful from where I’m sitting.

Want to explore colour with me?

The next Colour Swatch Journal group will begin in January. It’s a space for experimenting with colour, keeping a visual record of what you discover and developing your own understanding of colour relationships.  It is a place to learn and grow and take those skills into your own knitting projects after

There is more information about my Colour Swatch Journal Group on my workshops page which is here

some little summer things.

It feels like summer is drawing into autumn. The nights are drawing in and mornings are nippy. I’m grateful to be able to experience a safe, carefree, summer.

Water, river water, outdoor pool water and the water in the brook below the allotments has been a daily treat. We have been so short of rain that, in turn, we have been short of natural water outside but here are some of the luxuries of water

A summer of Flowers. All year, I have collected, saved and dried many flowers – from the first Peonies and Roses to the last Straw Flowers and Statis with Bronze Fennel, Daisies, Rosemary, Honesty, Yarrow, and any number of other flowers in between.

Every year, I make a dried flower wreath – this year, it felt like I made a ring of summer. I gathered all the left over flowers and made a bright ring for my daughter too.

On Bank Holiday Monday, it was Hope Show in the Village of Hope in the Peak District. It was a wonderful, happy day with sheep dog trials, Shire Horses, prize Sheep, Sheep shearing, many stalls – great food and stalls as well as a wool tent. I sat beside a couple I had never met before so that I could be near their beautiful Merle Sheepdog who only had eyes on the the sheep dog trials. It was another hot, bright day with thousands of people enjoying the many wonderful local shows. I loved the tent with the prize flowers, eggs, cakes and knitting. I will enter next year.

I went to Park Hill Summer Fair and my son arrived for the weekend, got straight out of his camper van and sat down to play chess with a complete stranger – this is Sheffield

I have been walking every evening in Sept in aid of Cancer Research Uk – where I will walk 3 miles every evening after work in my local area. I started a little early – about the 25th August and I will continue until September 30th. I share my walk on instagram in a post or in stories and share the local wildlife. If you would like to sponsor me, my link is here

I made a long overdue visit to see my daughter and her partner, in London – along with their dog, Luna, who had a fall.

and when In London, I saw beautiful hand made cards in a shop in Covent garden and promptly went back to Pattis and made two in the same style – here (below on the right) is the first one I made in vintage green checked ribbon. I think I am on to something.

and last but not least by any means, on Saturday, 6th Sept, I saw and felt deeply, the National Peaceful Protest of 300,000 people walking from Russel Square to Parliament to say that we do not agree with arming Israel to kill the people of Gaza. 300,000 people from all across the UK calmly marched to drums, singing, whistling and 800 were arrested – mostly over the age of 60 years old. It is all completely incomprehensible and we cannot turn away to what is happening.

So, I hope that you have had a good, care free summer, safe from harm and let’s hope that Autumn will bring world changes.