Cross everything!

OK, people - my submission to Vogue Knitting goes off in the post tomorrow.... I've submitted two tops, one of which could be for summer, but both could be for evening wear. If you see what I mean. Anyway, one's in Rowan Wool Cotton and one's in Rowan Calmer, both of them a joy to knit with, I have to say. I don't usually use a lot of Rowan, but I needed something which was widely available on both sides of the pond.

Actually, I may find myself using more Rowan in future - after the lovely parcel I received this week. A full set of up-to-date Rowan shade cards. Mmmmmm.... I love being a designer, you get such fun stuff! And speaking of designs - p.27 -29 of the new issue of Knitting is my pattern for a moebius scarf :)

I've spent a lot of time this week working on a piece called 'A Pillar of the Community'. It's going to form part of a display that several local knitting groups, including the Knitting and Crochet Guild, are mounting in Sunderland Art Gallery in the autumn. We're creating a patio and garden (not to be confused with the knitted garden that the BHKC are creating), and my piece is a sampler of Aran and gansey stitch patterns.

I'm using the collections of Mary Wright and Gladys Thompson as my main resource. All their patterrns come from traditonally-constructed ganseys, ie those worked in the round, so I am creating a long tube. I'm alternating cabled sections with textured sections - it's looking OK so far....... I'm working out how to make it stand up as a pillar, and I think part of the solution is suspending it from the ceiling!

One last thought. I've been watching the first series of 'Lost' again in the last two weeks, on DVD. Is it a sign of my obsession that I get cold shivers wondering how I would survive there with no knitting?