Roman ruins in Cimiez:

There is a large, modern apartment building a stone’s throw from here, just on the other side of a line of trees.

Franciscan Monastery:

The adjoining cemetery is beautiful and interesting, full of white marble. Ancient tombs, statues, and exquisite little chapels and mausoleums fill the small space, but photography is prohibited. Artists Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy are buried here. From this hillside, you can see the entire city spread out below:

The observatory on the opposite hill:

A rose-covered pergola in the garden of the Monastery:

Finally, this is a the very sweet, very ancient cat I befriended at the monastery:

‘Nectarine:’ hand-dyed alpaca, handspun bulky-weight 2-ply. Very cuddly.

‘Lagoon:’ Hand-dyed Romney wool, handspun into bulky-weight 2-ply. A Solid, hardy worsted yarn.

Commissioned spinning, from Julia‘s hand-dyed superwash merino top. I think the yarn was DK weight or thereabout. Very silky and smooth, and with the amazing colour saturation that you can only get from superwash. I enjoyed spinning Julia’s hand-dyed top. I’m used to spinning my own, and it’s refreshing to see the development of colour blending  from colours I never would have thought to combine myself.

‘Phoebe:’ She is patiently awaiting the other Titans. Hand-dyed Bluefaced Leicester with a pinch of Firestar, handspun singles yarn. Light and fluffy, and ever-so-slightly shimmery, as a lunar goddess ought to be.

‘iridescent orange’ romney singles with a pinch of firestar:

I think that’s the last of the Romney, which is pretty rough and scratchy. Now back to soft, squishy wool.

‘denim’ bluefaced leicester 2-ply:

‘grape’ BFL singles:

‘sunshine’ BFL 2 ply, which I am glad to say has found a happy home with Gwen

this one I’m calling ‘slush,’ because it reminds me of the dirty snow on the sides of the roads. but in a good way.

and lastly, ‘complementary’:

I’ve already begun more work in the same vein, and I’m having a grand old time.

Next is a slightly older necklace I only just managed to photograph. This one (and a few of its friends) were away from home for the last two weeks, on display in the holiday art sale at Sweetwater Center for the Arts.

In other news, I finally got around to building a small lightbox in which to photograph my small works. Now if I could just get out to buy the right lightbulbs, we’ll be in business. On a related note, would you believe that I only just figured out how to set my camera for tungsten light? This is a decent digital camera that comes with several lighting presets. I think I’ve had the camera for about four years. It wasn’t until a couple of months ago that I learned how to turn on the macro function… which is a physical button on the outside of the camera. You just push the button. Technology!

The first is one of my ‘branches’ series.

Second is one of my very descriptively-named ‘stranded’ series. I had hoped to include a picture of the first ‘stranded’ necklace being modeled by the lovely and talented Becca. Alas, all my pictures from that day turned out hopelessly blurry. Instead, I’m shamelessly leeching this excellent photo from Becca, taken by her photographer friend Natasha.

Here is a sneak peek of my current preoccupation with free-form crochet: I rather like the phrase, ‘sneak peak,’ as it implies that I am a fabulous, world-renowned artist, and my legions of fans, admirers, and imitators are all clamoring for the first glimpse of my much-awaited latest work. I will neither confirm nor deny.

Anyway, I’ve been woefully remiss as far as blogging is concerned. I think it’s mostly because I’ve been all over the place with my arts and crafts. (This makes my passion and purpose in life sound rather a lot like a rainy day at summer camp.) I’ve made plenty of progress, but finished projects and shiny photographs are sadly lacking as of yet.

Here are some pictures of my latest batch of dying. All are Romney combed top.

Electric Kool-Aid:

Unnamed:

I love how bright and orangey this one is:

A few years ago, my hair was this colour. It was fun and cheerful; I loved it! I even put assembled a Fifth-Element-inspired Hallowe’en costume. Sadly, I fell asleep (I’d been up late studying the night before) and slept right through the holiday. It was not one of my prouder moments.

The first one’s for sale; I’m trying to decide whether to sell the other two, or keep them to spin myself. Decisions, decisions.

Now it is time to bake a cake.

It’s a little tricky to see in the pictures, but the metallic filament adds (what I optimistically consider) just the right amount of sparkle without going over the top.

On the knitting front, hats abound! Several are nearly finished, only waiting for me to decide on any final ornamentation.

I got to see lots of professional crafters: some were impressive, others a bit tacky. I made some potential contacts, and even met a woman I am convinced is (possibly) a distant cousin.

I did a fair bit of knitting, but the only finished item was one hat which I just happened to sell while I was away, before I had a chance to photograph it. It was cute, orange, and pointy, and I wouldn’t have pictured it as man’s hat until just the right match came along and tried it on. It matched his hair, his sweater, and his personality. It is so satisfying when the perfect pair comes together.

Of course, I’ve been behind on my spinning and other usual activities. Here’s some handspun Romney from last week.

Ta ta!

So exciting! Thanks to Cosy for noticing and letting me know.

It’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten you. Here’s what I’ve been doing.

This first handspun is called ‘flurry,’ and it’s soft, lovely Falklands wool. There’s a handful of leftover roving sitting atop my desk here, which I’ve now felt compelled to bury my face in and just… nestle.

This next one is ‘Catalina Macaw.’ I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that the colours reminded me of, but I knew it was some sort of large bird. I scoured the internets and discovered the Catalina variety of hybrid Macaw. Lovely plumage, the Catalina Macaw.

It’s Romney, and nowhere near as soft as the Falklands, but so bright and cheerful.

As-yet-nameless, hand-dyed Romney top, in colours that remind me of the pea-blossoms in my garden. Can’t decide whether to spin it or sell it.

Some more hand-dyed Romney.

My current knitting project is a pullover for myself. Nothing fancy, just something that will fit well. The yarn is ordinary worsted wool from a pullover I’d made a couple of years ago, which fits very poorly and looks like maternity clothing. (Mind, there’s nothing wrong with maternity clothes, only I’m not pregnant.)

It is a little sad to be ripping out an entire sweater, complete with braided cables, and remembering all the time spent knitting it the first time. But it should still be worthwhile to finally have something I’ll use.

The felt purse is just about finished. I’ve just got to finish writing the pattern and take a decent photograph of it in action. Here it is blocking, stuffed with dvd cases in plastic bags to give it the proper shape.

Voilà! It’s just like the red one I made a few years ago, only larger, and with a four-strand braid for the strap instead of twisted cord. It just needs lining and a closure.