A flower "of middle summer", that was William Shakespeare's take on lavender in The Winter's Tale. And for a few short weeks in July the lavender farms hereabouts prove the point. Catch one open - harder than you'd think - and you may stand in a sea of blue that's abuzz with bees and pick some lavender to take home. Sometimes there is lavender ice-cream to be had, sometimes jars of thick lavender honey. Always the air is heavy with the flowers' heady scent.
Tied tightly with a loop of twine these have been hanging, heads down, in the dry air of the attic for a week or two now.
A different William, William Shenstone, nailed that part of the story ...
And lavender, whose spikes of azure bloomPersonally I like my lavender to do its lurking from inside a lavender sachet, and the next batch of sachets I make will be edged with this ... hand knitted lavender-grey perle cotton picot points. What do you think?
shall be, ere-while, in arid bundles bound
to lurk amidst the labours of her loom
and crown her kerchiefs clean with mickle rare perfume ...*
* William Shenstone, The School Mistress, 1742
Is that linen under the picots? Lavender is such a beautiful plant. I would move to Provence just for those endless fields of lavender. Strangely, most of the lavender plants I can find locally are completely devoid of scent.
ReplyDeleteYour picot edge will be perfect with its silvery hue.
I think they will be very beautiful Annie. I'm going to pick some lavender from my scraggy lavender plant right now.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post, such lovely images. There's nothing like walking through Lavender, and being left with the scent of it on your clothes. The weather in winter here kills my Lavender off, so I only have a couple of bushes in the garden, which I have to keep on re-placing each year as they get killed off. I saw a field of lavender from the train the other day, the intense colour took my breath away! I think the picot edging will look lovely. Vanessa xxx
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea, and it will be beautiful! I love lavender scent!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than the smell of lavender, unless of course it is looking out at all the beautiful lavender plants in bloom! I have some lavender drying right now too, with the intent of making some sachets to tuck amongst my hand knitted items. Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, I love lavender, the colour, the scent, just gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteI think your pretty little picot points will look great on your lavender sachets. :)
Vivienne x
You are reminding me to look up the conditions for growing lavender. I can picture the fields of lavender near my former home in Dublin Ireland. And now I read that July is the peak lavender growing time over in Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula here in Washington State U.S.A.
ReplyDeleteOh, I do love lavender. Its such a beautiful plant, and love its scent. What a pretty little edging you've made, it looks like little lavender blossoms!~
ReplyDeleteUtterly charmed!
ReplyDeleteHi Annie, Thank you for dropping by Margie's Crafts and leaving your lovely comment. I love your blog and particularly this post as I am in love with lavender. I recently read a beautiful book called "The Lantern" a work of fiction which had a lavender theme. Lavender ice cream sound just perfect, I recently baked lavender cup cakes, using white lavender ( I have two big pots of them). Your knitted border is so nice! I am adding your blog to my list of favourites! hugs, Margie.
ReplyDeleteI think very, very lovely indeed. Seriously gorgeous even. I'm going to buy some lavender plants later in the week to edge part of my garden and we can't really get enough of it here. My girl goes to bed with about 5 lavender bags because she's convinced herself she won't sleep without them!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway Annie, beautiful photos and I think you should know it is my son's birthday today - the pen went down a storm. We knew it would didn't we?! Thanks once again.
Kate x
Oh hello there, thanks for your lovely comment on my blog, really nice to meet you. What an exquisite blog you have, I will definitely be visiting you again. I can never get enough of lavender, just love love it's scent and enjoy watching the bees having a field day of buzzing in and out of it. Beautiful picot edging by the way and I am most impressed with the french yarn web site you recommended, merci beaucoup xox Penelope
ReplyDeleteI've got the lavendar but no idea how to 'tricot'. Will you share? In English not French?!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Annie, for your lavender poetry. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely blog - came across it at random whilst looking at Kids and Capers'. Love those photos of the Welsh ladies in their Welsh hats from a few posts ago - being from Wales and a Welsh speaker but now living in England it brought a smile to my face.
ReplyDeleteJune
I've never had the pleasure to be in a lavender field. There is some lavender in the garden here, and I meant to pick some to make into lavender bags. But I think I may be too late now. I should trim it back anyway I know.
ReplyDeleteYour picot edge is a delight!
What charming picot edging - I've never tried to knit any. Perhaps I ought to.
ReplyDelete;-)!
ReplyDeleteHi Annie, I love your little picot edging, it is beautiful. I also love lavender we have a couple of lavender farms around here, I haven't been to them for years.
ReplyDeletex Sandi
Hello! Thank you for your comment on my blog :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been here before. Your photographs are gorgeous!
I'm glad I've inspired you with the paper piecing. I know what you mean about the glasses. I am on my third pair now, (they're the sewing ones). I don't like to admit to myself about wearing the stronger ones. So I still use the older ones for reading and such like.
ReplyDeleteI don't knit much any more, but that does not stop me loving your blog and especially this post which has all my favourite elements in it, crafts,literature, lavender and a wonderful prose......happy to have found you through Heather!
ReplyDeleteKaren @ Lavender and Lovage
Love everything about this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your advice Annie, I hadn't heard of that before. I've been looking into it. Jewel seems a little better today, must be the tablets taking effect.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend.
Oh, so many lovely comments. Thank you all :D A love of lavender seems to be universal doesn't it. And to my new readers, how nice to meet you :D
ReplyDeleteFor Claire, and anyone else who is interested, the picot edging is worked as follows:
Cast on 4, *k2, pass the first of these stitches over the second to cast off 1, k1 and again pass the first stitch on the right needle over the second to cast off another, now slip the stitch remaining on the right needle knitwise onto the left needle and k2tog, cast on 3*. Repeat from * to * for required length.
Francesca ... that's an old piece of rough silk under the picots, I'd pulled it out as I was contemplating making the lavender bags with it. But I think I'll hang on to it for now, it's so lovely it deserves a very special project.
Margie ... thank you for the book recommendation. Between the books I have to read for my research into Mr M, my biographee, and the demands of knitting and blogging, I seem to find little time to just curl up with a good story these days. But hopefully in the holidays ...
Kate ... oh I'm so pleased he liked it, but as you say, we knew he would :) Perhaps your daughter could dab a little lavender perfume on her wrists when she's going to bed, that's what I do, it's less lumpy than sleeping with lavender bags!
Penelope ... I absolutely swear by Laine et Tricot, they are so efficient and they stock such lovely hard-to-get-elsewhere yarns.
Lynne You're welcome, let me know how Jewel gets on, won't you :)
Thank you all again :D
Thanks so much for visiting me today. I hadn't heard of your blog previously but it's lovely. I have a lot to catch up on. :)
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