Oolong knits

Sumatra by Katie Ferry is a lovely scarf pattern that would look really good in curtains too. It continues the streak of eye candy that is free, but has very little recognition on Ravelry. Note: You can get the pdf file for this pattern here .

This is the first plant I have bought for my garden. It has a lollipop shape, unfortunately, as I would prefer a more natural one. It would also blend better with my garden which has a cottage style. But I hope it will change with time. Bay trees grow very slowly and are very easy to shape by light pruning. It is a relatively easy plant to care for , that grows well in a container, which is how I will keep it. Even though I have read that it can survive a bit Winter frost, I am not going to risk it and will move it indoors during the coldest months. It is an AGM (Award of Garden Merit) plant . I love to cook with bay leaves, I use it almost daily, and it is ridiculously hard to find good tasty leaves where I live. So I really needed to have one. Last but not the least, a couple more links: this one and this one . Potting and repotting: Repot every two years in Spring. Adding a layer of 2cm of stones at the bottom of the pot improves the drainage. Move up the plant as it grows...

How is your Prometheus reading going? I have not finished it yet, but I am listening to Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels, not reading them. I like to listen to books while I knit. Some patterns require too much attention for synchronous reading and some books demands it too. Greek tragedy is definitely on the latter category. I have finished My Brilliant Friend yesterday and already downloaded the next book which is The Story of a New Name. I have found My Brilliant Friend a very, very interesting book. Amazing insight into childhood and teenage years. I understand why so many people believe the books to be autobiographic, but I think that is quite naive. Do you really remember your inner thoughts and feelings, the conversations with your friends and family word-by-word, from so long ago and with such vivid detail? What this book shows is that the author is an amazing observer of the people around her. A mind-reader almost. And that is what is so captivating to me. I am betting...

We are in a streak of patterns that are both free and unpopular (in the sense that they have few projects on Ravelry) and that deserve more attention, in my opinion. Edgewater Braids by Kristin Nicholas, reminds me of a sweater my mother knitted for my father before I was born. I loved its boxy, rustic look and wore it myself for most of my teenage years. I think I am going to knit it and wear it for the sake of the good old times. Now you know I am the nostalgic type.

The Honey Cowl by Antonia Shankland is a very, very popular pattern on Ravelry. Despite its simplicity, I only had to read it once to notice that there are a few obvious improvements that can make it even simpler. Make it knit-only If you use two skeins of yarn (or the two ends of the same skein), you can avoid all that dreadful purling: Cast-on with yarn 1 , join in the round (place a marker at the beginning of the round) and knit one round. Turn the work and join yarn 2 . Knit round 2 of the pattern: (knit 1, slip 1 with yarn in the back) repeat to the end of the round Turn the work and pick yarn 1 , knit (rounds 1 and 3). Turn the work and pick yarn 2 . Knit round 4 of the pattern: (slip 1 with yarn in the back, knit 1) repeat to the end of the round. Continue repeating the above rounds 1 to 4 until you reach the desired size and bind off. Make it perfect The above method is the simplest, but it does leave a noticeable ridge at the line formed by the beginning of the r...

A very simple stitch pattern, but I really love the result. And, of course, it can also be used on a different project. Blue Barley by Adina Logsdon is a cowl that knits super fast and easy. It is also a free pattern that is not as popular as it deserves to be.

I do have crocus, I do, or at least I had a few flowers when I moved in. I also used to have frequent visits from a squirrel or two, which means I may no longer have any crocus at all. Crocus are a bulb flower, like all the others I have mentioned in this series so far. But they flower in late winter, long before any of the others, which makes them even more charming. This is a good thing, because their stems are so short, their flowers would be invisible under the green foliage otherwise. Crocus are quite charming when grown in the lawn, something I may do in the future. Here are a couple of links of interest: one and two .

I am not a big fan of shrugs, but Thysania by Alison Green with its beautiful combination of cables and eyelets and its flattering shape is an exception. This is not a very popular pattern, but it does deserve more attention. It is also free, which is always a good thing.

I have tones of Bluebells in my garden (looking specially beautiful around red tulips). It is unsurprising I have so many, since these beauties multiply so easily they are sometimes considered a weed. This means they require no care, except when it comes to controlling them if they are out-competing other plants. In this case, it will be necessary to dig out their bulbs, which should be done while they are in leaf, because on their own they are hard to find. For now I will just leave mine alone. Another issue is that they are of the Spanish variety and their presence in gardens in The Isle is an ecological problem, since they are spreading to the wild and out-competing the native species. This is a problem even in urban areas, where I live, because their (sturdy) bulbs can find their way into compost that is used in rural areas through garden waste and this is one of the ways they have been able to spread. They are quite short, but, because I have so many, I have gone and bought sm...

I have a shameful confession to make. I have been very, very unfaithful to my book club. The reason I have not written my post on Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges yet is that I have not finished reading it. On the contrary, I am only half way through. And the reason for not having finished is that I have read at least two other books for every short story. Shame, shame, shame. Currently I am reading Prometheus Bound and Other Plays by Aeschylus and if nobody wants to read it with me, feel free. PS: Do not take my lack of enthusiasm for Ficciones against the book, I say. Borges is well known for writing mysterious and wildly imaginative short stories that easily grip their readers and Ficciones is arguably his best collection. My excuse, rather than total lack of enthusiasm, is that I am reading it in Spanish and Borges' use of the language is quite challenging to me. I end up often feeling too tired to follow (because I usually read late in the evening, just before sleep) and fa...

Cables 'n' Ribs by Melissa Leapman . Just what the title says, a raglan sweater with all-over ribbing and cables. I absolutely love the combination. This one is a personal favourite I have every intention of knitting. If not this exact model, a similar one with the same concept. But I love the cables on this one so I may be tempted to, for once, follow a pattern instead of creating one myself.