“What? Are you talking about me? I’m not blue. Although I don’t know what mizu is.”
No, Ev, the cushion.
Actually until I got that photo of Madame on top of the cushion I was going to introduce it all with New Order and Blue Monday, but Ev won the day. Oh, wotthehellarchi, have New Order as well (on Top of the Pops, obviously):
Not their greatest performance ever, but TOTP was something special. Enough rambling! Mizu is knitted in that most fabulous of fabulous yarns, Rowan (or Elann) Denim, and also requires a bit of DIY fun with some bleach to get the wavy colour in the lighter triangles (although you could chicken out and do it in a ready space-dyed yarn along with a solid in a similar colour). The point about the denim, though, as opposed to any other yarn is that it is so tough as a yarn it’s really going to stand up to being on the floor and abused a bit, and the more wear it gets the better it’ll look. Even the sort of wear a not-so-small rabbit can produce. There was lots of jumping on and off of the cushion in the name of being difficult, and attempted poking of nose into camera lens:
Next up – a fully-loaded-with-pics tutorial as to how to bleach the denim. Just in case you need convincing.
Gosh, bit of a break there whilst work got in the way. Anyway, onward!
‘Charleston, charleston, dum di dum di dum di dee charleston…’ no, not Flapper Girls and the roaring 20s but zig-zaggy cushions! I suspect the powers that be at The Knitter named these for the Charleston beloved of some of the Bloomsbury Set rather than the dance. (I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Charleston if you are ever in the area, by the way).
These are knitted in Lang Yarns Jawoll Superwash, a sock yarn, and so are practical as well as pretty. It comes in (I think) 60 colours so there’s no reason why you couldn’t knit them to match your own living room decor / settee and they are a great way to practise short-rows and fairisle without being too big to be offputting. The backs are stripy on the square cushions and the main body of the bolster is striped whilst the ends are the short-row bit. The ends of the bolster here are finished with some really lovely Czech glass buttons from the 1950s that I found at Loop, but I’m not sure they have any left now, but you could make a nice fat tassel or find a couple of equally lovely buttons.
Whilst trying to get some photos of the cushions I thought I’d see if Ev would pose with them. I give you:
Which is Ev telling me that she is not a performing rabbit, and then:
When she was feeling a little more amenable. But not much.
