A Stitch in Time

The last three weeks have been pretty hectic, both at home and at work. We've had guests to stay, had a wonderful bit of decorating done (thank you RJ for our beautiful new staircase), and been out and about a fair bit too. I feel like I haven't had much time for knitting and stitching so this weekend has been a very welcome craft-fest!

The weekend kicked off on a high note when the door knocker heralded the post man who was carrying a divine parcel of happiness from the fabulous folk at Fabric Rehab. The photo on the left shows the material which I'm hoping will turn into a Beach Hut pattern quilt from Jane Brocket's Gentle Art of Quilt-Making. I bought a super-duper quilt ruler on Saturday morning (and the most gorgeous muffin cases ever seen - thank you Dinghams!) and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in, cutting out a trillion 2" x 8" strips! 

In the meantime, my first patchwork project is coming along quite nicely. I've machine-stitched all of the pieces into strips and pressed them all nicely, so I just need to sew the strips together, buy some wadding and backing fabric and put it all together. I think that the part I'm most looking forward to is the actual quilting part - hand stitching each of the squares through all of the various layers. I'll report back when it's progressed a little further. 

On the needles, the navy aran from my mum is now in its third incarnation! It started off as an asymmetric cardigan, then it was going to be a capelet, but now I'm rather hoping it will be comfortable as a Danica. Fingers crossed that third time will be a charm. (Didn't I say something like that about the my afghan blanket? Hope I'm not spotting a pattern...)

I've not fallen out of love with Instagram yet and have been snapping away at every opportunity! Here are some edited highlights from February:

 

I've read a couple of pretty good, albeit completely different, books in the last couple of weeks, Trespass by Rose Tremain and The Radleys by Matt Haig. I've just started Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor which has a slightly odd start, but I have high hopes that it'll be every bit as good as If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things and So Many Ways to Begin. I've also watched a couple of movies, The Social Network, which was really good and surprisingly moving and Black Swan which I enjoyed less, but mostly because I was expecting something beautiful and art-house not the horror movie it really is. (The costumes and the dancing were incredible, though!) To end this post on a hight point, I heartily recommend the new album, 21 by Adele. I've had it pretty much on repeat since I bought it - hope you'll like it too.

Keeping Busy

I've had a pretty busy month, so sorry for the lack of posts. Knitting has taken up a fair amount of my free time, especially as my dear friend Jenny is getting ready to have a baby (the bump is affectionately known as Bobbin) and I've been crafting away to make something ready for when she arrives. The knitters from work joined together to make this really lovely blanket for her. The pattern is from Stephany Lein's YARRRRN! blog and Jenny E, Suzie, Claire, Maya, Chiara, Alyssa and Gemma all chipped in to make an incredibly personal gift for Bobbin. Jenny E, Gemma and I had great fun choosing particularly Jenny-esque colours. Wool was handed out just before Christmas and the knitting started in earnest. Squares started coming in a couple of weeks ago and with a bit of patience, a lot of needlework, a long, long chain of double crochet and the magic of blocking, a baby blanket was born.

Bobbin is going to be a very well dressed little girl as she already has a beautiful nautical jumper and gorgeous baby jeans knitted by her mum, a stunning pinafore dress knitted by Jenny E and a little red asymmetrical cardigan from me! I think that the dress, the jumper and the cardigan will form Bobbin's going home outfit. She'll be the best-dressed baby that day, and pretty toasty too! I can't wait to see the photos and I can't wait to meet her even more! We gave her a pretty good send off from work last week and I'll really miss her over the coming months. Big hugs go out to Jenny and good luck for the big day.

My Kaffe Fassett Patchwork book that Mum and Dad bought me for Christmas finally arrived and I have at last been able to start on my first quilting project. I'm using the fat quarters that I received and a pair of jeans that David has kindly donated to craft to make a quilted cushion cover. It's early days yet, but I'm rather looking forward to having something to show you as the project to share...

Off the needles, I've had a trip up to Scotland to stay with Angie, Robin and Joe and we had a wonderful time. Angie and I even managed a girls' night out at the movies to see The King's English at Dundee Contemporary Arts. I had just discovered the Instagram app for the iPhone so spent a fair amount of time snapping away and posting my pics!

Edinburgh Castle in the Dusk

Woodpile at the Pillars of Hercules

Flowers in the Guest Room

Up In the Clouds

I've been reading some absolutely cracking books this month, including You Against Me by Jenny Downham, Mrs Miniver by Jan Struthers, Life: an Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. 


My favourite book by a very long way, however, has been Being Billy by Phil Earle. Being Billy is an incredible book. It is a work of honesty and sensitivity. Rarely have I cared quite so much about a protagonist as he struggles to come to terms with the life that he must lead. Being Billy has integrity, it is moving and heartfelt and above all, it's a brilliant read. I was lucky enough to be invited to Phil's book launch at Waterstone's Piccadilly in January and it was wonderful to help him celebrate and catch up with so very many old friends. Phil's working on his next book; please do visit his website for more news, reviews and more.