lettuce and ladybirds

About this time last year, two interesting projects collided in my brain. First, Emily made a simple, but absolutely exquisite, brooch: a knitted leaf with a ladybird button stitched on. Then, when I heard Daina Taimina talking about hyperbolic geometry, she mentioned lettuce as a prime example of the supposedly "impossible" geometry that had been on mathematicians' plates all along...

And so the idea for "ladybirds on lettuce" was born. (And yes, it is just my basic sea anemone formula, what took the time was mixing a sufficiently lettuce-like dye!)




The buttons are by Injabulo, who supply fair trade imports from South Africa. I got mine in Norfolk Yarn in Norwich. The Cascade 220 that I dyed came from Wibbling Wools in Bury St Edmunds.

I've made them to sell (I can picture them filled with tiny, foil-wrapped Easter eggs), but may not be able to part with them (see previous note re Easter eggs). time will tell!