Sunday, March 31, 2013

Of knit and crochet

I started this cardigan more than 2 years ago to wear in Canada. It was so bulky it wouldn't fit in my suitcase, so I didn't end up bringing it to Canada to finish. 

I decided recently to finish it but looking at it I decided that I didn't like the style anymore. So I undid the cardigan and started again with a new pattern. The new cardigan I finished within a week and I'm happy with the fit. I made only one modification to the pattern to extend the front button placket so I can button the whole front.


The finished cardigan.



 Detail of the travelling lines & buttons.



This dress is from Interweave Crochet and I've been working on it for at least 6 months. It was sleeping for a while as I ran out of cotton. The layout is modified from the original to accommodate less squares at the top.



The new cotton was a different shade and so I had to overdye the dress to even out the colour. I first washed the dress and then I used very strong black tea to dye it. It had two attempts in the dye pot and a few days of soaking.



Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The edges of Singapore

Since visiting Australia in December I've been preoccupied with edges.

Singapore is an island but you rarely see the edges, you have to go search for them and they are largely quite inaccessible. 

I wanted to find a place to see the sun set over the water, to look out of Singapore over the sea.


Sunset over Jurong Island with a gunmetal grey sea. This is about as far south as you can go on mainland Singapore.


Light fading over Tuas Checkpoint. This is as far west as you can go in Singapore. The hills you see in the background are in Malaysia! 

Perhaps I should search for North and East too.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Birds, blurry birds

The bird-paparazzi-ing never stops. Here are some (horribly blurry photos) snapped in Malaysia.


White-Throated Kingfisher.


Might be a Grey Heron.


A Little Heron?


A Grey Heron in flight.


I spy with a Black-Naped Oriole.


Spotted Dove.


 Possibly a Grey Heron.


A Pacific Reef Egret?


My favourite, Rock Pigeons.


I think this is a Purple Heron.


Two Zebra Doves running away.

A preoccupation with light

Back in December (yes, a while ago!) I went to Malaysia for a short holiday. The resort had a golf course, and even though I know nothing about golf, I found the place inspiring. Every afternoon there was a short storm and in the morning the light over the course was amazing.


The rough texture of the road.


The colourful lichen growing on the palm trees.


The morning light through peach curtains with the tree behind.


The tree shadows on the wall in the morning light.


The wet grey colour of the road contrasted with the yellow crossing after a storm.


Dew and misty morning light over the golf course.


The speedbump after the rain.


The late afternoon blue sky with dark cypresses reminded me of van Gogh.


I love the footprints to tell you which side is for pedestrians and which side is for golf buggies!


If I could paint, I'd paint this scene. To the left a storm is brewing and to the right colourful golfers converse seemingly oblivious.


Moss! A rare sight in Singapore!