Just A Quickie!

To say Thank You YET AGAIN, to the wonderful Anne of Artis-Anne fame, for nominating me for another award !



It's a Schmoozer award, think I've spelt it right and is awarded for:


Schmoozing is the natural ability to 'converse casually in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection. Good schmoozers weave their way effortlessly in and out of the blogsphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don't limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.



Thanks Anne for even considering me, let alone nominating! I love the blog world, even if I don't spend as much time as I would like visiting it, and have made many friends, including Anne herself!!

I would like to nominate,

Amber, for her wonderful warm help and advice she has given me in times of need. I'm thinking of you and Mr Mog at this difficult time.

Also Helen, who has just returned from a blogging break, always has time to leave a friendly comment and I just love following her exploits.

And Kendra, who designs and knits the most beautiful garments, is a fab blogger,who always gives kind and supportive comments.

But I really want to say thank you to all you bloggers. You make the world a better place to be.

I'd like to thank......

Artis-Anne for awarding me this;

Wow!

I feel like Anne, that I'm more of a crock girl than a rockin' girl! Anne, maybe we should start up a new club ?! Perhaps our button could have a crocodile logo?! ;)

The next bit is the hardest, as I have to nominate blogs that I feel 'rock'. There are so many blogs I love to read, many of which have been nominated already, but I do love the following;

Frog In Knots, whose blog is funny and witty and who can create the most amazing things with wool and pointy sticks

and

Seahorse, who in a warm and friendly way, shares aspects of her life with us and who I feel deserves the award for her nettle fertilizer recipe alone!

Due to the thumb situation, ( which this very day has been relieved of it's stitches!), I have nothing to report on the knitting front, hopefully that should soon be remedied. On the garden front, we are eating tomatoes with just about every meal as we have such a good crop this year. The apple tree is also groaning under the weight of it's crop, so Ian decided to make some cider! Just so the tree didn't suffer you understand!

Ian peeled and chopped the apples, while I was in charge of the food processor, I could just about manage pushing the button down for 10 seconds!

So the grated apples are now lanquishing in the fermenting bin, with the yeast and sugar, and in a few weeks, we'll be able to bottle it and hopefully produce some drinkable cider. I don't drink very much at all, so poor Ian will have to drink it all himself, poor thing!! It's a hard job, but someone's got to do it! And, we still have a load of apples left on the tree and you can't even tell that any have been picked! Mmm, apple pie, apple crumble......any ideas?!

In Stitches!

Literally.....but more on that later!

Following a visit to my GP, I now know that my lack of oomph has a physical cause, my ever low iron levels having reached a record low! I feel much better knowing that there is a reason for it and am now throwing iron tablets into the system as fast as possible!

I'm not a 'cooky' type of person(kookie...possibly!), but I managed to bake some Bara brith and banana bread this week! It was such a momentous and rare occasion, I took a pic of the Bara brith!

I've also managed this week to start washing the fleeces I bought at Woolfest. I thought I'd tackle the smallest first, so the BFL and the Shetland hit the bucket!

This is the Shetland, srewn over 3 chairs on the patio! It was only half a fleece but it seemed HUGE! The BFL was only small in comparison, but much dirtier. It took bucket after bucket of water before it was anywhere near being clean. I also washed the Gotland too, though this was a

much more manageable affair as I only bought a few hundred grams.

BFL and Gotland drying on the table!

While the various fleeces were soaking, I gave the handspun yarns (with many thanks to Norman!) a wash, so when I get round to dyeing them they'll be ready to go.

On the line also is a mini skein of the Wensleydale that we dyed at the spinning group, using the logwood chips with alum mordant. I love the colour, even though it's not that visible on the pic.

By the time I'd finished all the rinsing, my hands were like an old washer womans!! It made me think about my maternal grandmother who would often talk about Mondays being THE washing day in the house, with all the clothes washed by hand. I can still remember the old mangle in her backyard, even trying to turn that was exhausting, let alone all the other bleaching and scrubbing that she did. It made me feel quite pampered with my washing machine and tumble dryer, let alone all those fabrics that dry faster and iron easier. And more appreciative.

I wanted to get the fleeces done because on Friday, I had to have a biopsy taken from this growth thingy on my thumb. Using some very blunt (ouch!) instruments, they managed to remove a piece and after a couple of stitches, wrapped up my finger. Using a small plaster? No........a huge, cartoon type looking bandage that Tom or Jerry would be proud of!! (slight exaggeration!) It's only been on 2 days and it's filthy already! What is it going to look like after 10 days!? I can't do a darned thing either! I didn't realise just how much I used my thumb, until I couldn't!! So the black cloud is, I can't knit or spin, but the silver lining is, I can't do housework either, so its quite evenly balanced!!

I was going to post some pics of flowers in my garden, but the first one I uploaded, I made a boo-boo!

Can you spot the deliberate mistake? Ooops! I've spent too much time with Becky, her photo uploading style is beginning to rub off! ;)

The insects were out in force and I couldn't resist taking some pics of them.

Thank you for all your lovely comments, they really do mean alot and cheered me up loads.

Need Some Oomphh!

Has anybody got any oomphh? I need some desperately!! Or a kick up the backside, one or the other! I don't know whats wrong with me, I just feel bleurgh..!

I've done a bit more on the Potty Thomas sock, just working my way round the heel, but I seem to have just lost interest in it. I wouldn't care but I love the pattern, so hopefully I'll get back on to it soon.

I've almost finished the Nereus scarf, just need to cast off or crochet off or something! But I can't find the pattern with the instructions, so that's waiting patiently to be completed.

I've done a little spinning. This was some Wensleydale we dyed using natural dyes at the spinning group the week before last, using Logwood chips. I was amazed at the colour of the dye as it bore no resemblence to the colour of the chips. It turned out a rich, deep purple, which I've spun quite thin as usual. It just feels so chunky when I try to spin thicker, but I need to conquer it!

Sorry for the blurry pic!

Wednesday was definitely the highlight of the week! I did a fantastic workshop using Ten Second Studio stuff at Graphicus, a craft company in Barnard Castle.

We learnt how to mould and decorate thin sheets of metal under the guidance and tuition of the fabulous Lynn. Lynn is one of the best demonstrators and tutors I have ever seen, and it was a privilege to take part in one of her workshops. So much was crammed into the workshop,we learnt loads of techniques and completed several projects. I was really pleased with the results and I'm definitely going to try this craft again. This is one of my projects, a manly (said in a deep voice!)notebook!

I spent a lovely evening yesterday, in the company of Ian, Tom, Paddy and Alfie at the seaside! We went to Seaton Carew, our local bit of coast, for a walk on the beach and some fish and chips! A trip to the coast wouldn't be the same without fish and chips! And we weren't disappointed! It was a lovely sunny evening and Paddy and Alfie had a fab time, with Paddy charging through the waves to retrieve sticks and Alfie getting his ankles wet as he watched!

There's something quite magical about the sea,it really lifts the spirits. I love listening to waves crashing onto the shore. In fact I get that feeling near any expanse of water, I think that's why I love the Lakes and North Wales so much. It was a lovely evening, shame Kate didn't want to go but I can't have everything now, can I!

Ian's got a couple of days off, tomorrow and Tuesday. He's hoping to repaint the front door, but I'm not sure if the weather will allow it! The garden's also crying out for some TLC. But after seeing what many folks are going through due to the terrible floods, I'm just grateful I've got a front door and garden. My heart goes out to them.

Potty Thomas!

Otherwise known as Pomatomus, the beautiful sock pattern that has swept through blogland! I think I'm one of the few that hasn't yet knitted it, but I'm in the process of ticking it off my list.

I had a few false starts. I've some Jitterbug yarn that's been in the stash a while and I thought would work well. I cast on but then read on Ravelry that this yarn is low on the meterage. So decided to try the STR yarn in Cracked Canyon. I was unsure about using this, as I wasn't sure if the pattern would show, but as I didn't have any other sock yarn decided to give it a go. NOPE! Pattern didn't show at all so frogged AGAIN! I was getting desperate now, I wanted to get started! I thought about using some undyed BFL sock yarn from Woolfest and dyeing it after knitting, but Becky came to my rescue and I bought some Trekking XXL from her in bluey shades and hey presto, I was finally away!!

I must admit it's an addictive pattern and difficult to put down without thinking 'just one more row'! But I'm really enjoying it.

Another addiction is Ravelry! I finally got my invite the week before last and I'm hooked! Having somewhere to document projects, yarns, needles etc and also able to look at others projects, patterns etc is brilliant. I know theres along waiting list, it took me about 6 weeks to get on, but its definitely worth it

I'm also crocheting the Nereus scarf from Natural Dye Studio. I love the pattern but I'm not keen on the yarn colour and the way it's 'distributed' in the scarf, for want of a better word! I loved the colours in the skein too and the yarn itself is beautiful, so soft and snuggly!

I've been really slow to post about my prize that I won on Kath's blog. When I met Kath at Woolfest, she gave me my prize, which came with a knitting challenge. No problem you may think till you see the prize!

Thanks Kath!! I tried to knit with them........ I really tried...honest, but chocolate......and me......yummy!!

The 'needles' kept breaking, so I just HAD to eat them.....or they melted so I had to eat them, there's a pattern emerging here!! I got chocolatey fingers, sugary knees and a full tummy!! Brill idea Kath, it was good fun. I'll get you back!

Last Monday, I had a gathering of knitting friends! Carrie Anne, Becky, Bev and Andrea all came to mine and we had a lovely knitty day, punctuated only by food and drink!! I just wanted to say 'Thank you!' to you all and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Well I think I might just go and squeeze in a row on Potty Thomas, before I get the hoover out!!

I

Out Of Bed....

at last!! My back has decided to behave itself and let me get off it! It's so frustrating, all the goodies I bought at Woolfest have been calling my name and I haven't been able to do a flippin' thing! But at last, things are on the mend, I can knit and spin so I'm a happy bunny!

Becky and I have been to our spinning class today. I love it! Today we were shown how to ply properly. Shame I plied my spinning efforts last night and I don't think I've put enough twist in but I know I learn by my mistakes so I'm not too worried.

Norman plied!

I also got a pressie! Becky and Bev bought me a beautiful nostepinne, as thanks for sharing the caravan. Silly Billies, there was no need to buy gifts. Hard cash would have been enough!! But it is beautiful, so thank you both sooo much. As you both intended, not only will I be able to wind balls of wool, but also it will help me put on my socks!! Don't ask!

My new nostepinne!

Towards the end of my forced bedrest, I was able to knit and I FINALLY got my Regia 4ply socks finished. They are a bit day-glo but I love them! I'm wanting to start the Pomatomas sock pattern next, but haven't decided which yarn to use yet.

I've also started crocheting the Nereus scarf from Natural Dye Studio in their cobweb kid mohair. It's a really simple pattern, which as a novice crochet-er, I'm pleased about and the yarn is so soft. I'm about a third of the way down it so I've still a way to go.

Thank you for all your wonderful comments too. They really kept me going through the grottiness of last week.

Pooped and Penniless!

I think it will take me a week to recover! But Woolfest was a fab few days!

My dear hubby took me and the caravan over on Wednesday evening. It was a glorious drive over, the shadows on the hills were so beautiful.

We arrived at Graysonside and as we set the caravan up we got the feeling we were being watched!

On Thursday, I spent a quiet day, knitting, spinning and reading! Bliss!! But as the day went on, the weather started to change, becoming wetter and windier by the minute. It got so bad that a nearby tent actually blew over and was rescued by some hardy souls!

It was quite scary, as the caravan was rocking violently. I was so pleased to see Carrie Anne, Becky and Bev!! As Andrea wasn't able to make it, we decided not to put up the tent and just squeeze into the caravan. This is a pic of the four of us.

On Friday and Saturday, we started with a hearty farmhouse breakfast, well worth staying at Graysonside for alone! On very full stomachs, and with a lot of excitement, we went to Woolfest!!

As last year, it was an amazing combination of animals, fibres, equipment and wonderful people. I met many people who I only knew through Blogland and it was brill to put faces to the names. The first bloggers I met were the wonderful Artis-Anne and her fab daughter Kath. It really made my weekend meeting these two warm and friendly ladies. It felt as though we 'clicked' straight away, as though we'd known each other for years!!

On Friday and Saturday morning, I spent the day shopping, while on Saturday afternoon I attended the Artic Lace workshop with Carrie Anne. This was really interesting, learning about the Eskimos of Alaska and their use of musk oxen hair ( is it spelt quivert?) in knitting.

I mainly bought fibre, including Shetland, Blue Faced Leicester, Ryeland and Gotland fleece.

This pic shows the dark Gotland as well as the golden and smokey Angora from those gorgeous bunnies! There's also some Suri alpaca in there too!

I also got a couple of extra bobbins, for all that spinning I'm going to do and a niddy noddy.

I really would like to try some more dyeing, so I bought some Procion dyes from DT crafts and some natural dyes from Pure Tinctoria. The undyed yarn is in sock and lace weight.

And finally I bought some reading material, some Spin Off mags, a book on natural dyeing and a kit from Natural Dye Studio, to crochet a mohair scarf! Gulp! It seems to be simple crochet, so fingers crossed!

So all in all, a fantastic few days. And to top it all off, I won Kaths Krafty Kreations blog prize! Thanks Kath!! It came with a challenge, which I'll post about next time. So here we are worn out and skint, but very, very happy!! Thanks to the rest of my caravan comrades for a fab time! Shall I book up for next year??

Woolfest!

Well I'm off to Cumbria tomorrow in preparation for Woolfest, woo hoo!
On Thursday I'll be joined by 4 fellow blogging fibre addicts for two fab fibre-filled days and I'm sure we'll have a fantastic time. Our spinning wheels are coming with us, and so is more of Norman, who is spinning up nicely!! I'll post some pics after WF.
If anyone reading this goes to Woolfest and passes a rowdy bunch of women, please say hello!

The Holiday's Over!

Well and truly! The washings done, the ironing pile is wobblingly high and I just want to spin!


The holiday was fab with just one hiccup in the middle, namely Fair Isle!


It had all started so well. Ian and I travelled to Benderloch, just outside Oban and stayed on a very small croft/site, which was so peaceful, and only a short walk to a lovely beach.




We walked and ate and generally relaxed in the glorious weather. We visited a poultry place which was less than a mile away from our site. I'd love to have a few chickens and it was wonderful to see all the different breeds and talk to the owners who were so helpful and full of info.



We then travelled to Braemar in the Cairngorms, to a Caravan club site called The Invercauld, another peaceful site. The village was only a few minutes away. Handy for Ian while I was in Fair Isle.............we thought!

The flight to Shetland was brill and Carrie Anne was an absolute star! The flight was followed by a two and a half hour ferry ride, where we saw a minke whale and many different types of seabirds.

Our first glimpse of Fair Isle.

Then everything seemed to go downhill from there! The 'retreat' was nothing like we'd hoped it would be, for many reasons, which I won't go into here, suffice to say we were so disappointed we decided to leave after two days.

The positive sides to the trip though were plentiful. Firstly, Carrie Anne flew! Twice! Evidence below

We saw a beautiful part of the world, albeit briefly. I would love to return and see the islands and their wildlife more closely. We also met some wonderful people along the way, who were very supportive when things were going wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed spending some time in the company of Carrie Anne!

So I returned to Braemar and spent the rest of the hols with my dear hubby, who I fear has started a new hobby, munro bagging! The dogs went beserk when I came back too! They had a whale of a time, walking, swimming, eating and sleeping with a bit of stick chasing in between!

Paddy and Alfie looking pooped!

Revived!

And so it was back to reality, Ian back to work and the holiday washing done!

I've spent the morning washing some fleece that I bought yesterday on a spinning course that Becky found only half an hours drive away! It was everything I'd hoped Fair Isle would be. Yesterdays lesson was on a members farm, and we were shown what to look for in a fleece and what to do with it to prepare it for spinning. It was brilliant,all the members were so friendly and welcoming and the tutor fantastic. I was buzzing afterwards and as I said I brought some fleece back home from a lovely Shropshire called Norman!

So Normans drying in the garden at the moment and I can't wait to spin with him!

Isn't life strange?

Are You Ready Fair Isle?

I can't believe that it's actually here! The time has come to put the last bits in the van, make sure the kids have enough food to last them til Christmas and get out of those raggy knickers!

Fair Isle here we come!

Ian and I are heading towards Oban first til next Wednesday when we move across the country to Braemar. And Thursday of course is D-Day. Or should I say GCOTP-Day? (Get Carrie On The Plane Day!) ;)
After our flight from Aberdeen to Shetland, we get the ferry (for ferry, read fishing boat!) to Fair Isle. I have been told by Angela, our tutor and hostess for the week, that we will be travelling on the ferry with cargo that she has been waiting to be delivered. Namely a cow and her twin calves! Aaawwww! I think she should name them Carrie and Kath!!

Ian and the dogs will spend their time in the Cairngorms, while Carrie and I are in Fair Isle. I'm sure he's looking forward to some quiet time on his own, without my constant chattering!

So make sure you all have a restful few weeks, cos when we get back, I'm sure you'll need lots of strength and perseverance, to get through mine and Carrie Annes mega posts and pictures!
See you soon!!

Fair Isle Prep!

The Fair Isle in the title is the place, not the knitting technique!!

Though I would like to have a go at fairisle, perhaps I could learn while we are actually there! That would be brill !

Its only a week before we start out on our adventure, though Acrylik and I don't actually fly until June the 7th I think it is!

I am so so excited already and the packing has started in earnest. You know what I mean, clothes that have been laundered are squirrelled away in a, usually vain, attempt not to have to wash them again before you go! Does anyone else buy new knickers for their holidays? My Gran always told us to wear decent underwear if we were going out, in case we were in an accident and had to go to hospital! I think the new knickers for holidays,may be a subconscious leftover of my Grans wisdom!

The packing is a bit more complex this time, as I have to pack a case for myself and Ian and also a case for myself for Fair Isle. Add to this the fact that I think we take as much stuff for the dogs as we do for ourselves, it all adds up to lots of packing, and lots of lists! Lots and lots of lists!

This is a photo of Burkle croft where Carrie Anne and I will be staying on Fair Isle.

Hopefully the weather will be as good as it is in the picture! The croft also has its own small flock of sheep, which will be sheared while we are there and we can have a go too!! Though I don't think I could inflict one of my haircuts on a poor sheep, I wouldn't complain if its coat found its way back home in my suitcase!!

In preparation for our fibre retreat, Carrie Anne spent an afternoon getting to grips with my spinning wheel! Now I know she'll disagree, but she picked it up really quickly! Treadling the wheel(or whatever its called!), seemed to come really naturally to her, she was flying!

I'm not sure what knitting to take on my hols. There'll definitely be a pair of socks in the bag and I'd like to take some lace too, but I can't decide on a pattern ! Too much choice, I think!! I do have an ever increasing lace stash, which needs to be attacked, preferably before Woolfest so I can buy some more!!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post, I so love to read your comments. The meme brought some really interesting comments, so keep up the good work!! And I'll see you all in a few weeks!

Anniversary Waltz?

21 years! We've been married 21 years and boy, has it flown!

To mark such an occasion, my dear hubby bought me a beautiful bouquet. I've always wanted one of those bouquets in a 'bubble' of water! No doubt there's a proper florist-y term for the bag of water , but my knowledge of floristry is minimal!

A very talented friend called Judith, makes fantastic figures from Fimo clay, in a range she calls Jobsworthy. Take a look at her blog http://claggybitz.blogspot.com She made a figure of Ian for me! Ian loves walking with his beloved dogs and so she made a hiker from clay, complete with packed lunch and a thermos in his back pack! I love it and more to the point, so did Ian!

The detail is fantastic, even down to his favourite rugby shirt!



This week also saw the delivery of some Handpainted yarns. They look fab, and really for the price, you can't be robbed! Carrie Anne and I clubbed together and chose 3 yarns each. These are the ones I chose, 2 lace weight and one I want to try felting with.

I've also been tagged by Kat of Knitty Kitty Kat Chat. Thanks Kat!
I have to write 7 facts/habits about myself on my blog and tag 7 others to do the same. As I'm always one for breaking the rules, if you would like to have a go, consider yourself tagged! Here's my fact/habits,

1. I got married at Gretna Green! So did Ian! Isn't that a coincidence!

2. I'm very tall. Just under 6ft actually. I HATE clothes shopping cos nothing is ever long enough! Thank goodness for Long Tall Sally! But occasionally I do feel small, especially when I stand next to my 6'8" son!

3. I am a craftaholic ! I love loads of different crafts and would love to try loads more. I don't make as many cards as I used to, as the yarn has taken over, but I still design and make card samples for Graphicus.

4. I am a qualified nurse. I qualified in 1983, which feels light years ago! But due to quite severe back problems, I am no longer able to nurse. :( I loved the hustle and bustle of the wards and Ian thought the uniform was OK too!

5. I passed my driving test first time, though you'd never guess by watching me reverse!

6. I used to be a really bad nail biter, but finally kicked the habit about 10 years ago. I would love to have lovely shaped and polished nails, but I'm terrible for not wearing gloves in the garden or when washing up.

7. I used to play the flute at school and would love to have a go again. I would also like to learn guitar, but my memory is sooo bad, I don't know if it's possible!

Hope I haven't sent you all to sleep! Thanks for all your lovely comments too. If there's anyone who hasn't commented before, please do!

Dyeing Day.

What a fab day I had when Acrylik invited me to play!! Dyeing yarn is something thats been on my 'to do' list for a long time, but as with most crafters, there just never seems to be enough time to try everything. So when Carrie Anne asked me if I wanted to join her and try dyeing yarn, I had my pinny on before you could say niddy noddy!

We prepared all the ingredients ready for dyeing. Carrie Anne explains this really well, so I'd take a look at her Acrylik blog to get the details.

Putting the first colour on was exciting, and I think I got a bit carried away with dyes on the first skein! I was definitely a bit 'heavy handed' especially with the blue dye!

I just had to add a bit of red to the mixture and sloshed ,., I mean carefully placed a bit around the skein!

This is how it first looked, but after a few minutes, the colours became more muted. When I bought the spinning wheel, the lazy kate had yarn on the bobbins, so I plied this up and this was the yarn I used for the first attempt. It still had a lot of grease on it and was goodness knows how old. I don't know if this was why the colours were more muted, perhaps someone with much more dyeing experience can tell me why. As you can see in the next pic, the colours changed dramatically, and a little more colour rinsed out, though not a huge amount. I quite liked these earthy shades. The mix of olive, terracotta and muted yellow was beautiful.

The next skein I tried, I was much more controlled with the dyes! I still had to use all 3 dyes though! The result was much more vibrant on this yarn. It was one I'd bought from DT Crafts at Woolfest, a DK 100% wool. There was no dye at all in the rinse of this yarn and the colours stayed true.

We had such fun documenting each others attempts, and did get a bit silly at times, as you can see from the next photo! The incredible bearded lady!

I was really pleased with the finished results. The yarns look so different its hard to believe that the same 3 dye colours were used on both! So here are the finished articles, ready to use.

As I said before, I've skimmed over the process, so do please read Acrylik's blog. I really do wish I'd tried before as it was not as complex as I'd thought. As messy?.......yup!

I've still got a red thumb! Wonder if Carrie Anne's fingers are still purple?!

How Does Your Garden Grow!

Quickly, I think the answer is! I can't keep up with the speed things are growing and seem to spend loads of time repotting things into bigger pots. Unlike the balmy South, Ooop North we can't put tender plants outside yet, so the greenhouse is looking decidedly cramped!

It really feels as if the garden is coming alive again after the long winter sleep. Lots of flowers are blooming, despite Paddy and Alfies best attempts to eradicate them, either by trampling or eating!

Unlike the garden, things have been quiet on the knitting front. I'm progressing slowly on the Regia socks. I love these colours, they are so cheerful and put a smile on my face each time I look at them.

I couldn't resist sale bargains at Hipknits either, I think it was the colours that called me again.

I really shouldn't buy any more yarn for several reasons,

• I have plenty in my stash to last me years!
• I'm going to Fair Isle to learn to spin, so I can make my OWN yarn.
• I'm also going to Woolfest and should be saving, instead of spending!

BUT

• There are some gorgeous yarns out there.
• Even when I can spin, I'll have to learn how to dye to get some of the yummy colours!
• Knit shops keep having sales!!
• I NEED to try different yarns, patterns, books, magazines.............!

There's more things in the second list, so I reckon that means I'll just HAVE to keep on buying!

I don't know, life is SO tough!

Wool And Walkies!

I've been soooo bad lately, in keeping up with the world of blog. I hopefully will soon be able to catch up with everyone's blog! I hang my head in shame!!

We had a wonderful few days in the Lakes. The weather couldn't have been better, with unseasonally hot sunshine to relax in. We stayed on the shores of Lake Coniston, which is beautiful and not as busy as some of the other lakes. This is an early morning pic of the southern end of Coniston.

We stayed in our caravan, which is going to be put to good use again in June. Five of us County Durham knitters are going to 'caravan' at Graysonside camp site , in order to visit WOOLFEST!! Woohoo!!

As you can see, the caravan isn't massive, it's going to be very 'cosy' at Woolfest!! Please excuse the pic of topless hubby, he was slaving over a hot stove at the time!!

I finally got my shawl blocked, and persuaded my dear daughter to model it!

I'm really pleased with it, the border really made a difference when I FINALLY sussed it out. I'm still not sure if it's on backwards, but it looks OK!


I also knitted a couple of the Booga bags, which are drying post-felting as we speak. This is what one looked like before felting.



I've also been playing with my new toy, the swift! It's absolutely brilliant! It winds a skein in no time. I wound three yesterday, Two Jitterbugs from Colinette and my precious Socks That Rock! The colours really complemented each other and I couldn't resist taking a photo.

I'm knitting socks in Regia 4 ply at the moment, I started them at last Fridays KnitnNatter, which was a lovely morning as usual. Bev gave me two of the dinkiest pens I have ever seen! Thank you again Bev! I've always been fascinated by miniatures. I love the mini wheel that Artis-Anne recently bought too!

Speaking of gifts,inkyartitude gave me a belated birthday pressie of some beautiful metallic acrylic paints, in gorgeous colours. Thank you again Lynn!

Aren't they beautiful? Can't wait to use them! Just need more hours in the day!

I'll leave you with some pics from our garden, after a light shower. The spooky thing was, Carrie Anne showed me some pics she'd taken of flowers and they were the same flowers that I'd taken pics of! Spooky!!
I've put the photo of the Grape Hyacinth on, even though it's blurred, just so Carrie Anne can see the coincidence for herself!

P.S. Thanks for all your wonderful comments, they really mean a lot.