Busy, busy, busy!

Here it is - the finished quilt.

What an incredibly busy few weeks I've had - I'm not sure I've had a single spare moment since my last post here. Highlights have been two weddings, a ball (of the dancing variety, not the kicking type), a flower show, a spot of culture at the V&A, the boat races at Henley, a house-warming party, a surprise gig and even a finished quilt! All of this has meant that I haven't had a great deal of time for crafting, but I am absolutely thrilled to be able to say that I have finally finished my first quilt and it has been christened with a picnic at the family day of Henley Business School.

Afternoon tea - heaven!

We spent the day and an evening at the races in Henley, complete with a picnic lunch, afternoon tea, a trip along the course on a beautiful wooden-hulled steamship, finishing the day with a picnic supper in the grounds of the college as we watched the fireworks that were being displayed from the bridge in town. I really do love all picnics, but I think that this one might have been the most memorable of all. And it was made all the more special by being wrapped up in something I'd made over the last six months, with a whole lot of patience and plenty of love. (If only I could finish more projects...) Of course, I already have a new quilt in mind and am currently resisting the urge to buy some of the beautiful Japanese prints that are available from Saints and Pinners.

The other high point of the month has been a trip to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show with my dear sister. She bought us tickets as a treat and it was wonderful. I took well over 100 photographs and I think I would have taken more if I'd charged up my camera battery the night before! Here are three of my favourite gardens from the show:

The conceptual gardens, the RHS edible garden, the poets' gardens and the small gardens were all just stunning. Inside the vegetable and floral display tents there were the most incredible arrangements and displays, my absolute favourites were the huge displays of allium and agapanthus and the amazing centre stand that had flowers, fruit and vegetables ordered by colour. It was such great fun! The garlic garden was also pretty cool and very beautiful too.

I came away from a wonderful day completely inspired and with a very long list of vegetables, plants and flowers that I'd love to have in my very own garden when it's finished. What a gorgeous day - thanks, Amanda!

Other highlights of the last few weeks have been two fabulous weddings. Huge congratulations to Rachel and Neil and Jenny and Adam! Dancing and dodgems with friends and lots of lovely fizz at Tidworth Polo Club summer ball was also great fun. A fantastic girly night out was had by all and we stayed up laughing and chatting until the sun came up! A surprise support slot by D for the Barnstormers topped off an amazing weekend last weekend.

On the needles, Bunting is getting more and more cat-like, but Coraline is taking a bit of a rest. I've been flexing my fingers with a bit  of crochet and the blanket that will complement my quilts is steadily growing...

And to finish this post, here are some of my favourite Instagram photos from the last month for you and a link to my updated online shop as cute as buttons:

High Days and Holidays

 Picnic season is well and truly underway now with a pair of picnics for my birthday; one in Pedlar's Park with lots of lovely friends from work on the Friday before my birthday weekend (thanks guys!) and a second with D on the day before my birthday. D had arranged a surprise day out to Oxford which was just lovely. We drove up from Salisbury, picked up some bread, cheese and fruit from the covered market and took it to the University Park for a long lazy lunch in the sunshine. After lunch we took a stroll back into town and I visited the Eccentricity exhibition at the Museum of the History of Science while D browsed for books at Blackwell's.


Next up was a smashing cup of tea at The Grand Cafe, the oldest coffee shop in Oxford and a perfect day was rounded off with a trip to the really rather lovely knitting shop, Darn It and Stitch where I took a very pretty picture of their rainbow of wool and bought a charm pack of creamy-beigey-brown and pale turquoise fabric from the Lily and Will range by Bunny Hill Designs for Moda. It is such a sweet little shop and well worth a visit if you in or near to Oxford.

The day of my birthday itself, I was completely spoiled. I was sent all kinds of cakey goodies; silicone muffin trays, the most beautiful measuring cups you are ever likely to see and a stunning three tier cake stand from my dear sister. D gave me a Kindle, which was a complete surprise and I have promptly loaded it with all of my favourite classics and even more that I haven't read yet. I also used some brilliant V&A fabric that hadn't fitted in with the colours of my quilt, to make a padded case to keep it protected on the train. Framley Parsonage, here I come...

I probably would've posted last weekend but D and I have spent the last week relaxing in the Tuscan sunshine! We stayed in the apartment of a friend and divided our time between swimming or lounging by the pool, and day trips out to the surrounding towns of Florence, Siena, Volterra and San Gimignano. I read some brilliant books; Great House by Nicole Krauss, The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe, High Wages by Dorothy Whipple and When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman. All of them were excellent reads. 

The apartment we stayed in was simple and stunning. It is situated in a tiny little hamlet in the hills not far from Pisa. The view from the bedroom window is of the church in the village at the top of the road and the view from the pool was of olive groves - I can't tell you how amazing it was! The sun shone every day and without internet, email, phone or TV it was a real retreat from the busyness of modern world and a step away from our everyday lives.

Trips out and about gave us a bit of culture and we visited the Uffizi Gallery in Florence for the first time. Both the museum and Florence were slightly overwhelming, so it was nice to visit a few of the more quiet towns in the region. We had the most amazing ice creams on each of our days out, including pistachio, yoghurt, vanilla, lemon, peach, fruits of the forest and best of all stracciatella, which is a plain cream gelato with delicious strips of dark chocolate. Mmmmmmm!

We pootled around in a brand new Fiat 500, which was charmingly Italian and very brave as it tackled all of the hills, often in first gear! I couldn't resist taking this picture of one of the original models that was parked up in Siena. Isn't it cute!

After all that activity, we made sure to make the most of the long evenings; eating wonderful Tuscan recipes, drinking local wine and gazing out over the landscape. I even managed to get in a spot of crafting, starting up the crochet blanket that I had my eye on in The Gentle Art of Knitting. 

January – The Longest Month of the Year?

It's been three weeks, since I last posted here and it feels like it's been even longer. I don't know if it was to do with going back to work, or D being away, or the fact that I've been busy every weekend, but it just seems as if January is taking an age to pass. Still, I'm sure that it's taking longer for any of that you out there who have decided that January is the month to detox!

On the upside of the last three weeks, we have had some lovely, lovely snow. No I know that there are some people that hate the snow. Yes, it makes it difficult to get out and about. And yes, it is cold and wet. But still, I think it's just beautiful. There's something about the pure, brilliant white snow on the fields that just brings a smile to my face every single time I see it. Every day, I get up early to either walk (or in good weather, cycle) to the station, and there is nothing nicer than being the first person to walk through the newly-fallen snow. Heaven!

This weekend D and I found ourselves with a little time on our hands, so we took a trip for the first time to Salibsury City Football Club, to watch them humping Histon FC 3–0! We were in the old men's stand, and it was so much fun. It was alos pretty cold, so the celebratory dances did wonders in keeping us warm! I've also been out for a good long run in the sunshine and spent a couple of hours up in my den with my lovely Janome serwing machine. It just purrs! Here's a snap of the dress so far; pockets are on, side and back seams are together and the sleeves are nearly finished.

To round off a lovely weekend, D and I are having our Burns' Night supper a night early tonight. It is, of course, a veggie haggis and I'm dishing it up with the traditional buttered neeps and tatties. Yum, yum! (I only hope that there'll be enough left over to have again for lunch tomorrow!

On the needles, I have picked up my study blanket again and I should hopefully finish off my crochet scarf in the next week or two...

New Beginnings

Happy New Year and happy new beginnings to you all! 2010 has arrived and I wish that the year brings you only happiness. No great resolutions were undertaken by me, but I am hoping that this year will be as good as last and I shall endeavour to enjoy every minute. D and I got off to a rather nice start with a trip to Bournemouth for a stroll along the beach in the afternoon sun. It was quite buzzy and busy, and a great start to the year.

I've already started enjoying my new sewing machine. I laid out the pattern for my new dress and realised that I could really do with a pin cushion to help me out. A quick search of Threadbanger and Craft lead me to Planet June's tutorial for an Offset Square Wrist Pincushion for which I put my Janome into good use for the first time yesterday afternoon. I think that it might have to be a weekends only project as it feels as though I want to spend sizable chunks of time on it. I promised pictures as I go along, so here are the pattern pieces so far.
On the needles right now, I still have the study blanket and the lacy tea top, both of which are having a bit of a rest, so I'm using up my odds and ends to make up a stash-busting crochet scarf. (Accompanied in this picture by the stunning grey velvet bag that my sister gave me for Christmas!)
Off the needles, I am enjoying re-reading The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper, I've started running again, and I've also had a lovely night out with my dear friend Piney to see New Moon. Lastly, I'm loving listening to some new music thanks to an iTunes voucher from David. This week on my iPod it's been largely Scouting for Girls, Paloma Faith, Muse, La Roux, Jay-Z and The Temper Track.

Nearly There

Although the cats still aren't quite finished they really are moving in the right direction. Everything bar one tail has been knitted and the last eight limbs are all sewn up. In theory I could get them finished this week as they just need faces, stuffing and finishing off. Never say never, I say!

I have been slightly distracted from the cats by my current projects, Noe Noa and the soft green Anthropologie-inspired capelet. The scarf is pretty much finished, I just need to work up a handful of crochet flowers to embellish it. I'm thinking of making them up in pink cotton, which should go well with the grey of the scarf. The little capelet, turned out to be rather too little for my liking so I have frogged the rib and am adding in a handful of extra rows just to finish it off. Here's hoping that next week, I'll have lots of lovely finished objects to show you...

Happy Easter!

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and we've got a long weekend to do what we please. There's chocolate to be had and life is good! Easter is upon us and I'm having a wonderful weekend. Friday started off pretty promisingly as I set out to walk from Salisbury to Winchester along the Clarendon Way. I got to the halfway point (about 13 miles) just in time for lunch, but then I lost the path, the heavens opened, and I called on my handsome boy to come and rescue me! I was really enjoying being out and about in the fresh air, so I'll definitely finish it off in a week or so - but I think it might be better with a map! After a long hot soak in the tub, I was tired but happy and ready to enjoy another three days off!

Saturday was a real treat, as the boy and I went to one of our favourite places, Lyme Regis. As ever, it was absolutely beautiful and the light was amazing. I spent quite some time trying to get the perfect shot of the newly painted beach huts on Marine Parade. I was particularly taken with hut number 16, which was pink (of course) and had the most charming rose-printed curtains. We enjoyed a lovely cup of tea with Victoria sponge cake, walked along the Cobb in the sunshine and had some delicious chips while sitting on the beach looking out at the sea. What a lovely way to spend the day.

We also popped into Susie Cole, which turns out to be a rather lovely little shop. I'd bought an old lace nightdress from there a couple of years back, which hadn't fitted very well and after quite a bit of wrangling they'd reluctantly issued me with a credit note. Luckily, a much lovelier lady was working there this time and she let me use the credit note even though it probably should have expired by now. The result was a great haul of two wooden bangles, a gorgeous vintage pair of dusky pink satin gloves, a green leather rose bracelet and a pair of old 5.5mm needles made of pale blue plastic.



I also took the opportunity, while we were out in the sunshine on the Cobb, to photograph my Noe Noa scarf, which is now in it's third incarnation! Having frogged it once (do you frog in crochet?) because it wasn't particularly neat I realised that it was actually in the wrong stitch, so with the help of the ever-trusty Debbie Stoller and her Happy Hooker I set about correcting it. I still don't completely understand what I'm doing, but at least the American version of double crochet is twice as quick!

Easter Sunday itself was spent in a rather more prosaic fashion when out of the blue, the boy suggested that we have a spring clean. Now, anyone who knows me will know that cleaning is not exactly my idea of fun and I'd rather just scoop up the balls of cat fur when they get big enough to be mistaken for another cat. Still, it did turn out to be strangely enjoyable as I took the opportunity to sort out my stash, frog a couple of long-dead projects and start thinking about actually finishing something! I also dug out my Clothkits Christmas present and have spent this morning cutting and trying to edge the pieces on Libby's sewing machine so that they don't fray.

And finally, in the midst of all the chocolate loveliness that is Easter, I just wanted to show you something truly special from my sister. Check out this fabulous alternative Easter egg that she gave me! Isn't that just the best Easter gift a girl could ever want to receive?

Not Knitting!

This weekend I have been attempting (again) to learn to crochet! I've got quite a lot of Rowan 4ply Cotton in my wool box and while I'm waiting for extra supplies for the Soft Green Capelet, I thought that I'd get some good use out of it. To that end I searched Ravlery for a pattern that used 4ply cotton (I really do love that feature) and found Noe Noa by Bente Barosen. It's really beautiful and because it's crochet, it should be quite challenging too! Luckily, I had a trip planned to Bristol with my dear friends Piney and Lib, so on the train journey Libby helped me with getting started. Once more, I can confirm that Libby is a much more patient teacher than I am student! Getting home, I started it again, and here it is so far!



I'm not convinced that crochet is going to become my favourite craft, but it is nice to do something different. The button business is still going strong and I've recently finished a number of commissions. I've particularly enjoyed crafting this trio of bracelet, brooch and ring for a particluarly lovely friend, Angie. Creating something for friends is such a pleasure and I really hope that she loves them!



I've also been doing a spot of baking for a charity cake stall in aid of Redress. Louise, who I sit next to at work, is running the London Marathon to raise funds for this wonderful human rights charity and everyone in the department is chipping in to help her reach her target of £1,200. She's very nearly there - and you can help her on her way by clicking here.

Louise has been training incredibly hard and is doing brilliantly! I really admire her and anyone who has the determination, strength and courage to run over 26 miles. I'm not sure that it's something I could ever acheive - no matter how worthy the cause...

Good luck, Louise!