Gone to the Dogs!

Well, what a lovely weekend! I’ve been staying at my sister’s house in the middle of nowhere looking after her two fabulous lurchers; Max and Tiggy. We went for four walks (two long and two short) and had a number of adventures including catching a rabbit (bleurgh!) and a scientific experiment to see if you really can get two human adults, two very large dogs and a small but fluffy cat into a standard double bed. (And the answer is yes, but it gets a bit cosy!) Unfortunately, I was far too busy with the dogs to make anything with my buttons, which have arrived already.

On the knitting front, I have started off quite a large project at work. My dear friend (and fellow founder member of the Walker Book Knitting Club) Feefer is due to have a baby just before Christmas and I’ve adapted this log cabin blanket pattern so that everyone can knit their own piece then I can sew them together and knit a border to finish it off. So far I’ve got three pieces in, so nine more are due. We’re keeping it a surprise and I can’t wait to see the look on her face when we present her with the finished article!
Speaking of surprises, David’s birthday trip is this weekend. I’ve managed to keep where we’re going a secret since May, but just keeping the destination under my hat for this last week is proving most challenging!

It's Been a While...

Autumn is really setting in now, and I'm slowly getting used to the change in season. It's hard leaving the house in the dark and getting home in the dark, but I'm sure that once it's properly dark and I'm used to it, I'll be back to my normal cheerful self...

I have been out and about since my last post; picnicing with my old Ottakar's friends, visting Claire, Nig and Oliver in Devon, back to Stourhead with Martin and his new wife Melanie, and down to Christchurch to meet up with my parents for dinner in their campervan.

I've also been a bit crafty; making my first Christmas present for this year, continuing with Flicca, starting a new project called Glister and trying to organise a special baby blanket for Fi at work, that will have a square knit by ever member of the knitting club at work! The Social Committee at work are organising a Christmas Craft Fair, so I've ordered lots and lots of buttons from The Button Company to make some bracelets to sell for Christmas presents.

Today I've been making a birthday present for my sister Amanda. Here are some pictures of how it looks:

Back to School

Well, September really is here, which means that I really need to get a move on with my Flicca cardigan. The scale of Flicca is ambitious and I've been making progress, but to date, I still have one sleeve and the collar to do and I really, really want to start wearing it as soon as it gets cold.

David and I went to Stourhead for the first time in a while yesterday, where we saw these beautiful hydrangeas. We had a lovely walk around the lake and saw five cygnets and our first autumnal leafdrop. Stourhead is one of may favourite places to go and I can't wait to see the place in all it's autumnal beauty.

I do love autumn. I love going for walks in the afternoon. I love it when it's cold, but the sun is shining. I love the colours out there in the world. And I love being safe and warm at home on those cold dark evenings.

A Pair of Odessas!

...and on the knitting front, I've been none too lazy either. I started an Odessa by Grumperina in a lovely grey alpaca bought from my favourite wool shop, I Knit London last weekend and managed to finish it in a couple of days. It's proven so popular I've already made a second for my friend Helen, who is celebrating her birthday next week. It's such a great pattern- really easy, great fun to knit and incredibly satisfying in the speed it knits up. I also love how impressive the finished object looks, and how nice it is to wear.

I shall have to get a move on with my Flicca now and try not to get distracted by any more projects, especially if I want to have it ready to wear before it starts getting cold. Brrrrr!

Beautiful Cambridge

Last weekend was a busy weekend, firstly at a fabulous party entitled Shrewfest hosted by my dear friends Piney and Jez in their new(ish) house in Shrewton, then on Monday David and I went to beautiful Cambridge. Most of the day was spent just wandering through the alleys and strolling along the river, we even had the treat of being punted along from Magdalene College down to Queens. In the evening we dined at The Cambridge Chop House, where we had one of the most wonderful dinners I think I've ever eaten!



I was so taken with Cambridge that I took nearly fifty photographs- here's just a couple of my favourites...




David and I are off to Parklife right now (a party in a park very close to where we live) but hopefully I'll manage another update on my knitting progress over the last couple of weeks.

Knitting in Public

I've had a lovely knit-filled weekend; starting one project and finishing another. Leah's jumper is all finished, and I'm just waiting for it to dry so that I can wrap it up as a brown paper parcel and send it winging it's way to Fi and Paul's.



This afternoon has been spent with a picnic in the Close of Salisbury Cathedral, where I got stuck into Odessa by Grumperina. It was really nice to be able to sit out and David took the opportunity to get some study in for his dissertation, in what may well be the last of the summer sun...


On the book front, I've just started A Man of Property the first book in the epic The Forsyte Saga series, by John Galsworthy. Set in Victorian London, these books are intelligent, witty, lavish and simply wonderful. I'm really looking forward to reading every last word in the series!

A Week of Rain

It seems to have rained pretty much non-stop since we put in out our little seating area last weekend. David and I have managed only half an hour outside today, which is a shame (especially for August!) but hopefully we'll be able to make up for it next weekend. By which time, I should also have finished little Leah's baby jumper.

On the up side, I've read a lovely book this week by Justine Picardie called My Mother's Wedding Dress. It's a collection of essays on life, family and social history; all told through the story of clothes and fashion. I'm not usually a great reader of non-fiction, but this was a pleasure to read!

Other treats this week have been lunch with my sister, who gave me a rather delightful metallic pink bag called Amore from my favourite bag company, Ollie & Nic.

I've also stayed with my dear friend Shona in her new house in North London. We had a very girly night in, putting the world to rights with some pink fizz and a movie! The next day we went out to the local Aquadrome to walk Tali, the weimararner, before heading back to some warming tomato and mascarpone soup with cheesey herby scones. Yum!