Well, hello!

Sorry that I've been away for a while. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I got out of the habit of blogging and it's taken me up until now to get my act together, find a little but more energy and enthusiasm and put fingers to keyboard!


So, what have I been up to? Pretty much the same as usual. I've done a
lot of crafting; mostly knitting but the odd bits of quilting, sewing, crochet, jewellery making and even the making of sock monsters. I've made two scarves, two hats, two scarflets, two pairs of fingerless mittens, a mug hug and I've cast on a lovely Olive Blouse with some wool which I swapped with Photographoe at a brilliant yarn swap.

I've also joined a second knitting group, which is based in my local pub and was lucky enough to find a book group that is made up of some really lovely people, meets right near where I get my train home from and reads children's books. Could they be any more perfect for me...? I don't think so!

I've carried on baking and made lots more delicious muffins. I've listened to lots of new music and fallen a little bit in love with Lana Del Ray. I've read some brilliant books and rediscovered the genius that is Thor Heyerdahl, adventurer and author of The Kon Tiki Expedition. I've also been taking lots of photos so here are some of the more recent ones that I've shared on Instagram.

I'm going to keep it brief, but will be back again soon. Happy Easter!
Nx

Taking it Easy...

After a good few weeks of being busy, busy, busy, this weekend has seen an incredibly welcome return to laziness! The last two days has been the longest time that D and I have both been at home without any visitors since we returned from our holiday in Italy in June!

Friday night started with a little tour around the Cathedral Close to admire Sean Henry's sculpture exhibition: Conflux: A Union of the Sacred and the Anonymous, a series of amazingly lifelike sculptures that are both around the close and in the cathedral itself. I could only see the outside figures as I had a date with D to try out a new pub that has recently opened just outside St Ann's Gate, The Lazy Cow. The bar itself was nice and lively, with a great atmosphere. I think it's probably the kind of place that would be nice for a long Sunday brunch. We didn't get much of a look at the menu, but I'm sure that we'll be back to try it out before too long.   

Saturday started with a quick trip on the train to Southampton. We needed to check out some wallpaper for our bedroom and after very thoughtful debate, we decided on a steel blue botanic rose print. It's quite big and bold and somewhat modern, whilst still feeling appropriate for our ramshackle old house. We just have to find the appropriate colour for the remaining three walls, but I'm hoping that it'll be one of those colours that you know is right, just as soon as you see it. At least that's the theory...

I also took the opportunity to spend the "towards crafty projects" birthday money that my parents sent me in June. Browsing through the selection in the haberdashers was a real treat and I finally settled on teh following prints from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow collection. I'm planning on using the fabric to make the Sample Book quilt from Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making. It's going to be another long-term project, but I enjoyed making my first quilt so much that I'm itching to get started on a second.

The short journey home from Southampton was broken up with a very welcome stop at Mottisfont and Dunbridge for a tasty pint of cloudy cider at the Mill Arms and this afternoon has seen a trip out into the country to visit the newly re-opened Beckford Arms at Fonthill Gifford, near Tisbury. On the drive home D and I decided on our top five country pubs, all within 30 miles of Salisbury and here they are:

1. The Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury (great food, drink, accommodation and a lovely atmosphere)
2. The Mill Arms, Barley Hill, Dunbridge (great location close to Mottisfont Abbey, gorgeous beer garden) 
3. The Ship Inn, Burcombe (this is a regular go-to for delicious dinners and Sunday lunches)
4. The Spread Eagle, Stourton (just outside the grounds of Stourhead, the Spread Eagle does a wonderful line in afternoon teas in the summer and toasty fires on a cold day with Winter Pimms)
5. The Compasses Inn, Lower Chicksgrove (award-winningly good grub)

All five of them are absolutely wonderful and if you are ever at a loose end in Wiltshire (or Hampshire in the case of The Mill Arms) then you would be hard-pushed to find a nicer way of spending a couple of hours than visiting any of them. 

I'm rounding off the weekend with some homemade ginger biscuits and tea, listening to the new album from Bon Iver and reading Meg Rosoff's new book, There Is No Dog, which is as brilliant as it is funny.

And finally, on the needles, Bunting is growing before my very eyes. I need to get a move on to get him finished by my end of summer deadline, but with a good wind and a few more weekends at home, all will be fine!

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.

A Little Piece of the Quiet Life

There's something particularly beautiful about the British seaside in winter that can't be matched even on the sunniest of days. D and I are just back from having spent a wonderful relaxing week in St Ives, staying  in a simply stunning flat right on the heart of town on The Digey. It was a week of only good things: fireworks, chips, long lie-ins, strolls along the beach, lots of photography, reading, pasties, plenty of knitting (of which, more anon), reading great books, the odd pint of cloudy cider and even finishing the Guardian cryptic crossword for the first time ever!

The sea is incredible at any moment of the day and taking a stroll whenever we wanted was a pleasure. There were moments when it was quite wild walking along the harbour wall and the beaches of St Ives, (especially on Thursday morning when it felt as if Force 10 gales were raging!) but there was respite to be taken in any one of the many charming pubs along the harbour. And a few pints were gently nursed while we puzzled over the crossword, staring out at the waves.

The flat itself was gorgeous, with slate flooring, clean white walls and original artwork everywhere. Looking out of the window to the left we could see the wild and wonderful Porthmeor beach and through the window on the right we could see the boats coming in and out of St Ives harbour. Amazing! Everything was exactly as we would have hoped and we felt right at home from the very first moment we stepped through the door. The Digey is in a wonderful location just off Fore Street, with its very own chocolate shop, Chocolat and delicatessen, The Digey Food Room. There was a really homely bakery at the bottom of the street and a very handy paper shop at the bottom of Fore Street, just on the harbour front. Just about everything you could possibly need for a relaxing week in a home away from home.

St Ives is not only beautiful and perfectly placed, but super-cultured too! We visited the Peter Lanyon exhibition at Tate St Ives, and had a lovely lunch in their cafe. (In the exhibition space I managed to get myself told off for taking a photograph out of the window - oops! But I couldn't resist, it looked so tempting...)

Without a doubt the cultural highlight for me was a visit to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. To see where such a talented artist lived and worked and to be in that space was humbling. Being out of season I had the place almost to myself and I could have stayed for hours and hours, just taking it all in. I took some photographs in the garden and of her studio, but they in no way convey the true beauty of the place.  If you are visiting Cornwall, please visit. Inspiring and beautiful.

Barbara Hepworth's Studio

Here's my own attempt at art - a snapshot of the sunrise from our window.

On the needles, I've had an incredibly productive couple of weeks. The weekend before we went away, I treated myself to a ball of Rowan Cocoon to make up Ysolda's Icing Swirl Hat which I'd picked up the pattern for at Knit Nation in the summer. It was really rewarding to start and finish something just in a couple of days, I just wish I had a balloon to block it on, so that I can wear it!

I took quite a bit of work in progress away with me and so Cheadle is also coming on apace and all of it is now knit apart from the collar and cuffs. The central plaited panels and picking up for the top half didn't prove too difficult, but the thought of sewing the bottom section onto the plait is a little bit daunting, so I'm putting it off just a teensy little bit!

A bit of a mixed project is the blanket that I've been making for my study for - oh, only about the last three years! It started off as a bunch of squares, each in a different stitch, but I got bored and no two squares were even remotely the same size. Then it turned into a really rather lovely Moderne Log Cabin pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting's Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, but it became unwieldy and sat gathering dust upstairs. Well, as they say, third time's a charm and I'm now on my sixth square of Diamond Afghan from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Knits. And I'm loving it! It should be in aran, so I think it'll probably take about 60 squares altogether, but I'm off to a pretty happy start...

St Ives is served by not one, but two yarn stores, Kuiama Crafts on Fore Street and the really rather lovely House of Bartlett where the proprieter hit exactly the right spot when she asked if I needed any help, or if I was happy just to stroke the wool!

I'm also loving The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. It's great just to dip in and out of whilst enjoying a bowl of porridge and a cup of tea in bed on a Saturday morning and I'm quite sure that it's going to inspire me to get some Christmas gifts started for friends and family. (Only six weeks to go - eek!)

In Cornwall, apart from the papers, I read only fiction: The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey, The Road Home by Rose Tremain, The Cat Sanctuary by Patrick Gale and Life of Pi by Yann Martell. All great reads and perfect for a week away. 

Lots of Knitting and a Little Bit of Culture

I am delighted to say that the button-eyes for my owls sweater turned up this week, so I've spent a rather lovely afternoon actually finishing things off! Now, usually, I'm not a great one for finishing things, but this weekend I have managed not one, but two FOs! Normally, I find that I enjoy the process of knitting much more enjoyable that the pleasures of admiring the finished object, but for some reason I've really wanted to get the owls done. I wonder if this is to do with what a beautiful pattern it is. Or maybe it has something to do with the nights getting longer...? On my walk to work, I've noticed that a couple of the horse chestnut trees in Vauxhall Gardens already have some pretty big conkers that look nearly ready to drop, and leaves that are already on the turn. Don't get me wrong, I do love the summer - with it's sunshine and long lovely evenings, but there is something about getting wrapped up in your woolens and taking a brisk stroll through misty mornings, kicking through fallen leaves as you go. (And it'll be an excuse to wear owls - it's far too hot to wear anything wooly just now!)

The second finished object is a baby jumper for D's niece, Tess. For once I've thought it through and knitted it for when she is nine months to a year old, so it's all ready to send to them in October or November. I hope that they like it! Having finished off two projects also means that I can cast on two more, and with autumn on the way I've decided to go for the gorgeous Snapdragon Tam from Ysolda Teague's Whimsical Little Knits 2 in some super soft pale blue Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk that was languishing in my stash. I've also got my heart set on bella's mittens from subliminal rabbit's blog. I think they're stunning and they look so toasty to wear, too. I've treated myself to three skeins of ggh Giglio in marl grey from Loop Yarn's online shop, which will hopefully turn into a smashing pair of mittens.

Aside from knitting, I've been cramming in the culture. I've read a couple of amazing books, including the really rather special If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor. It's a poem of a book - nothing much happens, but when I was reading the book, it felt as if time had slowed down. Amazing. I've been home alone for the last fortnight while D was away in Singapore, so I've also had a bit of a movie-fest! I started off with A Single Man which was simply beautiful, followed that with Julie and Julia (great fun) and Precious which was deeply moving and topped it off with Up which was good, but not as good as it had been sold to me. Of the four I think I would watch the first and third again, as I loved them so much. I've also been making the most of my Spotify subscription and have been listening to Sigur Ros' ( ) Bombay Bicycle Club's I Had the Blues, But I Shook Them Loose and Teenage Fan Club's Shadows. It's so nice to be able to listen to whatever I like whenever like. Isn't the internet amazing?!

Birthday Goodness

Another year has passed, and always one to enjoy celebrating a birthday, last weekend was a real treat. I started the festivities slightly early this year, as my dear sister treated me to an incredibly posh afternoon tea at Sketch where we tucked into delicious cakes in heavenly surroundings! After tea we took our time wandering along Regent Street, popping into some of my favourite shops along the way.

The actual birthday morning started well, with breakfast in bed followed by presents! My main gift was the laptop I'm typing on a laptop, which is replacing my poor old babymac, as it has pretty much reached the end of its useful life. I was lucky enough to receive a subscription to Spotify to go with my new laptop, so I’ve been enjoying some new music; Manmade by Teenage Fanclub, Bang Goes the Knighthood by The Divine Comedy and Infinite Arms by Band of Horses. It’s amazing that you can listen to whatever you like whenever you like, and I will definitely be broadening my musical horizons. The rest of the day was spent picnicking, admiring the roses at Mottisfont and a lovely dinner at our local Italian, Alpinos. Marvellous.

Sunday saw us take a trip to Frome to check out the delights of St Catherine’s Artisan Market. It wasn’t exactly D’s cup of tea, but I loved it and will definitely return for a more leisurely visit. As it was, we certainly got stuck into a fabulous brunch at the Garden Café with Shona and Iain.

While we were in Frome I popped into Marmalade Yarns to stock up on Cashmerino Aran. D and I stayed with his brother and sister-in-law last night, so I had to knit like a crazy-girl this week to start (and finish) a baby jumper for his new niece Tess! It took quite a while just to decide which pattern to knit, and I thought that I'd settled on Debbie Bliss's Raglan Jumper, until I realised that it was far too warm for the summer and that in order for it to be useful I would need to make a size that I wouldn't quite have enough wool for! Luckily Ravelry, and a mercy dash to John Lewis on Tuesday lunchtime, came to the rescue and I made her a supercute Debbie Bliss Shrug over three train journeys and a knitting club! Also on the needles, I have cast on a navy swing cardigan and I've blocked out my owls sweater. (Will add photos when I've bought and attached the button eyes...)

One last treat, was a trip to my favourite museum the V&A to see their Quilts exhibition. It was really wonderful and incredibly inspirational. It's on until the 4th of July so if you do get a chance to visit - take it!

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.

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.

Nice New Things

Christmas is coming early, and I've already started my first present project! It's the Danica pattern from Knitty that I was thinking about last week. Now, I usually find that scarves are just about the most boring thing in the world to knit, but this one is an entrelac scarf, and that makes it much more interesting. You only ever knit ten stitches at a time, and you really just have to trust in Jesse Loesberg's brilliant pattern without thinking too much about it, so that you get this...The other nice new thing in my life is a very exciting gadget for my iPod. It's called Nike+ and it is just about the most funky little gadget in the world. You simply plug it into the bottom of your iPod, go out for a run, plug your iPod into your laptop when you get back and it gives you a graph of how far you've been and how fast you've run. It's brilliant! It even tells you how you're getting on during your run. I can certainly see myself getting out and about more often. (And that's no bad thing at all!)

Finished Flicca

The day is finally here, and although I was beginning to think that it would never happen, I am delighted to announce that my Flicca cardigan is finally finished. It's taken just over fourteen months (in which time I have finished quite a few other projects) and I really think that it's been worth it. I still need to sew some velvet ribbon around the collar and rib to strengthen it and to tidy it up a bit, and I also need to block it. (I hope that the kitchen table is going to be big enough...) I'm really looking forward to wearing it, when the weather turns cooler. I can just picture myself curled up on the sofa in Flicca and my pyjamas with the cat and a good book!

This now means that having finished one project I can start another. I still have four balls left over from Flicca of the Sirdar Click, so I've just checked out on Ravelry what I could use them for and I think I've settled on a really interesting scarf from Knitty for my dad called Danica. I think that he'll really like it, and it looks a lot more interesting to knit up than a plain scarf.

I spent quite a lot of time yesterday looking for a new project for nine balls of Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4ply. So far, it has attempted to become Ysolda Teague's beautiful Arisaig and a very pretty lace-knit tea top by Erika Knight, which was featured in the first issue of The Knitter magazine. I think that part of the problem is that the wool is so lovely and delicate that I really want it to turn into something that I am going to love to wear. I did find a gorgeous design by Helga Isager called Olive, but I just can't track the pattern down anywhere, so I guess I'm back to the drawing board. In the meantime, I shall keep on with the blanket for my study. It's probably going to take me another fourteen months to get this one finished (and goodness only knows how much wool) but it'll be very satisfying to make something so huge, and such a great stash-burner!
Speaking of which, I've really been enjoying a couple of knitting podcasts, most notably Stash and Burn by Jenny and Nicole, which is brilliant. It's really nice to hear people talking about patterns that I'm familiar with and their easy banter makes 20 minutes on the treadmill at the gym fly by! I've also liked Cast On by Brenda Dayne which is great. It's interesting, informative and unusually, it's recorded in the UK. Number one on my iPod (joint with BBC Radio 4's The Archers) has got to be Threadbanger. It is an absolutely brilliant video podcast that makes you want to make every single project that the feature. It's on twice a week but as far as I'm concerned if it was on everyday, that would be just fine!

I'll just round up this week with a couple of reading recommendations. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is every bit as good as The Shadow of the Wind, and is an intriguing thriller, that will definitely stand up to a second reading. I also read the second title in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy The Girl Who Played with Fire which was almost as good as the first title, no mean feat as I loved the first title. One other series that I've really gotten stuck into over the last couple of weeks is the Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare, which gets a special mention for being gripping, glamorous and perfectly trashy! Brilliant!