V&A

Yesterday I met a few Hoxton Knitnight people at the V&A, where we drank tea in the beautiful cafe. Here's a picture of the ceiling. I know. Kind of random, but there you have it; it gives you an idea of the museum's ambience.



Larissa had brought her copy of A Stitch in Time with her for us to ooooh and ahhhh over. And ooooooh and ahhhhh we did. I had already favourited some patterns on ravelry, but the book is really nice. Definitely a concept that I'm okay with. I'm over bulky for right now, so I'm interested in all the finer stitchwork that these patterns seem to call for.

There's an amazing amount of stuff to look at in this museum. From the tunnel that links the V&A to the tube, I emerged into a hall full of greek-inspired statues. Off to the right was an exhibition on women's fashions through the age, which tried to show the evolution of style. So, for example, from teeny-tiny cloth shoe to the go-go boot of the 1960s. There was some beautiful clothing, and some that was ... well, not to my subjective taste. This category included the hot pink track suit and the bulky salmon sweater matched with a voluminous wool tartan floor-length skirt (only the slightest of clues gave away whether the mannequin was facing the viewer or had her back to us). But, it wasn't an exhibition about beauty, it was about the evolution of style, so, still interesting to see in that context. I also saw, from the corner of my eye, what looked like some Indian art, and there was an exhibition about hats. And this was just the first floor! I'll definitely have to go back.

I have to admit that we spent a great deal of time in the gift shop and the book shop. And, it also has to be acknowledged that these were the best exhibits, really. I think I will go there for every upcoming gift that I need!

Truth be told, though, I didn't buy much - just a gift for a friend's new baby. But I was really coveting A Stitch in Time. Given the current economic situation, the insecurity of my vocation, and my predilection for not working that often, I've been curbing my spending habits. Not that they're huge; but I do worry that I'm wasteful. I'm comfortable with the fact that I'll probably never be rich, but I do worry a lot that I won't be able to sustain myself and R when we're old, so I've decided to try to be more conscious of the cash I do have. That's right: I've started a budget. I'm starting out over-generous as well. £125 / week. If I have a lot left over by next Monday, I'll bring it down.

So... what I did was that I bought the book, and subtracted it from my weekly budget. Do you see how this budget thing could go very, very wrong?

In Paloma news, right now it looks about the right size for a 7 year old. But I re-checked gauge, and it should be right. However, I've made some glaring mistakes that I don't know if I can live with. The question is, how much more will I knit before I accept that I can't live with them and have to rip it back? It's quite lacy, so I'm hoping that will hide the errors. Though I know it won't. It's like watching Titanic or that movie Control about Joy Division: you know exactly what's going to happen and yet you sit back and watch it unfold anyway. You don't have to, but you do (full disclosure: I never saw Titanic - it seemed like it would be too... predictable...).

Cute side (actually, there are mistakes here too):


Messed up side:


Some gratuitous London in Springtime shots:

Chiswick mile



Hoxton Square