It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

Buttons, buttons, buttons! I've been being buttony non-stop for the last couple of weeks. We've got a Christmas Craft Fair at work this week, so I've been building up supplies of stock in preparation. It's on Tuesday and has been organized by the Walker Creative Group (of which I'm part) for Walker staff to sell their craft to colleagues. We're holding it in the canteen over lunchtime and will give 10% of our profits to the homeless charity Shelter. For my part of the fair I've made eight new bracelets, two brooches, two rings and eight pairs of earrings. The earrings are a new line, and I'm delighted with how well they've turned out. I've also had a commission from my best friend to make two button bouquets for the flower girls at her wedding in April - hoorah!

Other great news is that (thanks to my pal Andy) I've discovered Folksy, a UK version of Etsy, so I've opened up an online shop called as cute as buttons. I've only listed a few items so far, but do please visit my shop and forward a link to as many people as you can!

Aside from the buttons, I am still knitting and at today's Poultry Cross Knitters KIP, I just finished Mum's Shalom cardigan, so all I need to do is block it ready for Christmas. On the needles right now, all I have is my Study Blanket and the Lacy Tea Top (which is frustrating me no end!) so I think it might be time to cast on something new...

Happy Holidays

D and I are just back from a rather wonderful week in Cornwall. We were pretty lucky with the weather and although it was cold, it was clear and just about the perfect weather for wandering along deserted beaches and staring wistfully out at the sea. As you can see from the photo, my Flicca cardigan got its very first outing in public, accompanying me to St Ives where we took in the sea air and visited The Dark Monarch exhibition at the Tate Gallery. We also stuffed our faces with the most delicious pasties and I took a series of photos of the boats in the harbour and the beautiful beach. Other days out included The National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek, Sennen Cove, a trip on the King Harry Ferry to St Mawes, a visit to Boscastle and a morning wandering around the gardens of the National Trust property at Trelissick.

My absolutely favourite place to visit in Cornwall though has to be Trevaunance Cove in St Agnes. It is always beautiful and on this occasion it was just stunning. It was really quite wild while we were there and D and I wandered around the sands taking photos of the magnificent waves. Talk about mean, moody and magnificent. Very romantic, too.

While we were away, I took full use of the amenities where we were staying and swam every day we were away. I also racked up nearly 20k on the treadmill in the gym, which I thought was a pretty good effort! I optimistically took about ten books with me, but only had the time to read a couple - Small Wars by Sadies Jones and Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, which were both perfect holiday reading. I also started The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, which I'm hoping will be a grower, as I'm not loving it as much as I'd hoped.

Due to the curious length of the Cornish mile, I really got stuck into Mum's Christmas present, the Shalom cardigan. Every time we were in the car going somewhere, I whipped out the needles and notched up a couple more rows. The pattern was made for someone six feet tall, so I'm having to take out a whole bunch of rows - hopefully it's still in proportion. I shall have to have a trying on session and check that it's not ended up completely wonky!

Now that Christmas is getting closer, I've opened up my button box again and started working on some new bracelets to sell at the Walker Books Christmas Craft Fair. I invested in some new buttons from Pavi Yarns online store, which is particularly good as you can buy in much smaller quantities than some other retailers, which means I can experiment a bit more without having to invest to heavily. I'd already been comissioned for four little bracelets from Lucy at work for her nieces, and it's been really lovely making them up. Here's an example of one of the new ones that I've made up - hope you like it!

Autumn Glory

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
Albert Camus

We’ve had another warm and mellow autumn weekend, so D and I packed up a picnic and paid a visit to Stourhead to admire the beautiful autumn colours. It was the busiest that we’ve ever seen it, but that did nothing to diminish the beauty of the place. I feel really lucky that we have such a wonderful National Trust property within such a short drive. And I’m glad that we really do get to make the most of it.

On the needles, I am back on track with my lacy tea top. It’s still not quite perfect on one row, but it is close enough (and I don’t think that I could bear to undo it yet again)! Luckily, the mistake is on the back of the top, near the bottom, so I’m hoping that no one will notice, and I shall try very hard not to point it out!

My sister’s Toasties are also coming along nicely, and should be finished by the next time I post. This is fortunate as A and I have decided on Mum’s Christmas present this year and it is to be the lovely Shalom cardigan by Meghan, published on her lovely blog Involving the Senses. I’ve chosen some wool from Pavi Yarns. It’s a Louet Riverstone Chunky in the fabulously named Foxy Fucshia. I shall be casting on just as soon as the wool gets through the postal strike. Grrr!

Knitting-a-go-go!

Since my last post I have been to not one, not two, but three knitting groups. Firstly, there's the regular Wednesday knitting club at work (aka the Walker Books Knitting Club) and then we had an extraordinary session at Bou Tea, which was basically the Walker Knitters, plus Gemma who defected to a printers last month. Third, and by no means last, on the list is The Poultry Cross Knitters who meet up on the first Sunday of the month (whether there's a Gradnd Prix or not) at the Poultry Cross in the centre of Salisbury.

Now, you would think that having been to three knitting groups in the last two weeks would have led to an enormous volume of knitting taking place, wouldn't you? Well, yes, you would, but it turns out that the lovely lace pattern I'm working on right now is just that little bit too complicated for me to manage whilst talking at the same time. This means that I have knit and unknit, knit and unknit the same piece twice, and I am still not back to where I was a fortnigth ago. Bleurgh!

On the up side, I have now finished the lovely Milo, as you can see from the picture! He's absolutely gorgeous and a really fun project to have worked on. I'm only sorry that I shan't be able to keep him. (Although I know he'll be very happy with Corinne.) I sent a couple of photos of Milo to Jan Fearnley (his creator, as author, illustrator and pattern designer, and a very talented lady to boot) and she was delighted with him. She kindly gave her permission for me to list the pattern on Ravlery, so check him out here to make your very own Milo to love, cuddle and enjoy.

I've also cast on a pair of wristwarmers for my sister in the Maya that I bought at Jolie. I was going to make another pair of Fetchings, but I have rather fallen for a beautiful Toast-inspired pattern by Leslie Friend. Her blog a friend to knit with is delightful, and I suspect that this is another project I'm going to end up wanting to keep...


Away from the needles, I am still enjoying the great autumnal weather. Last weekend, I took a stroll up to Clarendon Palace (the medieval hunting lodge of the kings of England), where I met this rather cheeky fellow and five of his pals! And this weekend I've been following Salisbury Art Trail, which is held annually. There are five homes and venues within a stone's throw of my house and it's wonderful that people open their doors to make art available to all. I have also been enjoying listening to The Resistance by Muse and reading The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, both of which I can't recommend highly enough.

A Lovely Weekend

This weekend started on a great note with a delicious dinner at The Beckford Arms in Fonthill Gifford, near Tisbury. It's only a 25 minute drive from Salisbury, and well worth it. A glass of Garnacha, a goat's cheese and spinach souffle followed by another glass and a wonderful plate of cheese and biscuits. Yum yum! The pub itself is gorgeous and has a really nice atmosphere. It has quite recently changed hands and I was a teeny bit worried that it might not have been quite as good as it has been on previous visits. I am hugely relieved to say that this is not the case and I'm really looking forward to our next visit.

Saturday started early with a short drive out to Nomansland in the New Forest to drop the Volvo off for a quick service. D and I took the opportunity to take a delightful walk in the early morning sunshine through the trees and commons, coming across ponies, cows and these two rather lovely horses. (D took the photo on his iPhone as I didn't have my camera with me.) The early morning sunlight breaking through the clouds was so beautiful I wish I could be sharing it with you, but I don't think my photography skills are quite up to the level that would do justice to such an amazing sight.

After a relatively painless service we poppped down to Southampton for a spot of shopping (thanks ever so much Mum!) and a trip to Goldsmiths to get the mechanisms and bracelets of two members of the watch collection swapped over. Both watches have benefitted hugely and D is simply delighted! The afternoon was spent watching the Grand Prix qualifying from Singapore, snoozing and reading, then out for a run before gorging on D's macaroni cheese. Double yum again! Sunday, so far, has included a lie-in with my book, a bike ride and a spot of knitting whilst watching Formula One. Some weekends are just full of goodness, and this is one of them!

I've cast on a new project this week, with some beautiful Rowan Kidsilk Haze. It's the Lace Top by Erika Knight from Glamour Knits that was also published in the first episode of The Knitter magazine. It's fairly strightforward, but the lace pattern makes it a bit more challenging that just a standard knit. I had to do a little bit of unravelling as I managed to get the lace wrong on the first attempt, but I'm back on track now. It might take a while, but it's a great yarn and a great pattern, and I think it'll make a beautiful top that I will wear very happily! I've also picked up my blanket again, which seems entirely appropriate as we move further into autumn. Nothing is as snug as sitting on the sofa curled up in front of the autumn scheduling knitting a big warm blanket!

A Couple of FOs and a Comment on the Season

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. I've been a bit busy and have been out and about enjoying the last of the summer sunshine. I do love autumn and winter, but I shall miss the luxury of all those hours of daylight. It's now dark when my alarm sounds in the morning and by the end of this week I suspect it'll be dark by the time I get home from work. Oh well, I suppose I shall just have to adjust and get used to it. I think that this is the time of year that we all need to take a little extra care of ourselves and not get run down. (Something which I failed to do miserably this week and ended up with two days spent in bed.)

However, all gloominess aside, I have managed to get a fair bit of knitting done over the last three weeks. I've finished Milo the Armadillo, all bar some squiggly black lines on his back. My Fetchings are looking, well, fetching! And I've blocked my great big grey Flicca and it's drying out on the floor of my study waiting to be finished with some beautiful pink and silver velvet ribbon that I bought from Jolie, the LYS in my sister's village, last weekend. I also got a skein of pale blue Debbie Bliss Maya in the sale, which might just turn into another pair of fetchings for Amanda...

I had a lovely weekend with my sister, her husband and their three adorable dogs. We did a bit of window shopping, had a lovely lunch at the village tea-shop and took the dogs out for some nice long walks before we were joined by D and our parents for a lovely boozy dinner!

I know it's not knitting, but I'm incredibly proud that I have finally finished the Clothkits traffic skirt that my wonderful sister gave me for Christmas. I've worn it to work and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it when people asked where I got it from and I could reply "I made it myself!" Here are couple of pictures so that you can enjoy it yourselves!

Nothing But Blue Skies

Just back from a really lovely afternoon spent at our local National Trust property, Stourhead. D and I started off with a super picnic in our own private part of the garden in the sunshine right by the side of the big house. We followed this with a long leisurely stroll around the lake and grounds, taking in the grotto and the temple, admiring the ducks and watching the fish basking in the sun. Some of the volunteers on the estate were doing some clearance work and had a little fire going - there really is nothing to beat the smell of woodsmoke. Gorgeous! We rounded it all off with a trip to The Spreadeagle for a nice quiet pint in beautiful surroundings. I've included a selection of pictures here from the afternoon, so you can see just how lovely it all was!


On the needles, I have cast on another new project since my last post. Now, I know that this is ever so slightly against my one in - one out policy but Dad's Danica is so nearly finished that I just thought it wouldn't hurt (just this once). It is completely worth it as I'm making a fabulous pair of Fetchings by Cheryl Niamath in Sublime Angora Merino. It is just so soft and fluffy. Delightful! The only problem is that the dpns I'm using are super-shiny and incredibly slippery! Add in the fact that there are four of them, and an additional cable needle to boot, and you can soon see how I managed to let not one, but two needles drop under my seat on the train journey home last night! In spite of this, I'm really rather proud of my first attempt at cabling and I can't wait to wear them!