SparkyFizz

Autumnal Figs...

Autumnal fruits such as figs, pomegranates, apples and pears are plentiful now. Figs are particularly  delicious with air cured hams and soft goat's cheeses...

Pomegranates...

Continuing my photography homework on different views of the same subject, I decided to feature pomegranates.  They cost a fortune, these were £2 each in Waitrose... but I needed them then and there and so they were purchased.  So I hope I got my money's worth photographing them, because I can't see them all being eaten at home!  I used to spend hours as a child picking out the glassy seeds with a cocktail stick, but then I suppose there wasn't much else to do.  I find my children much more impatient, they will use the stick for a while, but inevitably end up bashing the thing on a plate to release the seeds! 

I love the irresistible colour of pomegranates, all those blush and pinky shades together with their glossy sheen...

Early Morning...

...swagger in Kelsey Park, Beckenham...

Pom-Poms...

Are very popular on the High St at the moment.  My girls have decided to make their own...

...pom-pom scarves. They are so easy to do, but not, I hasten to add, any cheaper than those available to buy.  Obviously this depends to some extent on the wool chosen.  We did use good 100% wool, but not all expensive.  The expensive ones included fabulous multi-coloured Kaffe Fassett 'Colourscape' chunky and Debbie Bliss 'Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran'.  However, we also included a Twilley's wool which was much cheaper and my girls' favourite.  It seemed to create fluffier balls, but I preferred the other wools.

This made me realize that  the pom-pom scarves in the shops, which are much cheaper to buy, must be made using machines, cheap labour and presumably wholesale acrylic mix fibres.  Making home made versions look wonderful, including all the mistakes, are all slightly different in size and texture, look very individual, but are very costly... 

The shocking thing about pom-poms is how much wool they require.  This average size pom-pom uses about 21 metres of wool...!  I hardly dare admit this, but I tried, stupidly, to make a super fluffy pom-pom using over 30 metres of wool, I filled up the hole entirely, then found I couldn't get it off the plastic pom-pom template... Okay, lesson learnt, what a waste, I had to cut it all out.  So the advantage of using cardboard templates is that you can, in fact, cut it out, and therefore, create a much more luscious pom-pom.  It just means you have to create a new template for each pom-pom, which isn't difficult, and doesn't have to be perfect.  From my experience, it's best to make 2 cardboard templates with quite large central holes, and the outer section can be any size.  If anyone wants to know how to string them together securely, I can provide instructions.

Tom is the reluctant pom-pom swinger, as his expression testifies!  I was just trying to capture blurred movement using the shutter speed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Fizz is slightly less grumpy...

The scarves are growing daily, I think it's nice to use a mixture of wools, textures, and random autumnal colours...

Autumn...

Is definitely here, and begins with September, in my opinion.  The general daily, and more importantly, night time temperatures have dropped.  Good day temperatures around 20 degrees, but night time can be about 8 degrees!  The nights are starting to draw in, dark now by 20.30, time to drag out all the warm throws and make root vegetable soups.  I look forward to all those plums, pears and apples and lots of knitting and other textile projects, hunkered down by an open fire.   

I love it...  my favourite time of year.  Often lovely sunny days, combined with those amazing colours.  If it stays dry, those leaves are such a pleasure.  We frequently experience 'Indian Summers' and  I'm now obsessively taking pictures of my fading hydrangeas and I always wish I was a great painter around now.  I'm looking forward to taking lots of photos.  Even October can be quite pleasant.  I just feel this time of year makes up for our disappointing summers...