BRING ME SUNSHINE - and Lots of it Please!!

 

First of all, I would like to thank everybody who has been kind enough to leave a comment for me this week.  I love to hear from you and it makes me very happy. X

Yes I think we could all do with some Eric and Ernie cheerfulness right now.  I am really trying not to keep moaning about the weather, but it seems to affect so many other areas of our normal daily life!

For example, at the beginning of the week, poor hubby was walking around, scratching his head (sigh, sigh, moan, scratch) and constantly looking out into the garden, until I eventually asked him what was wrong.  He invited me up the garden to the greenhouse and showed me all the plants that he has been growing.  The problem became clearer when I saw just how much things had actually grown!  When any teeny, tiny little bit of sunshine appears, the greenhouse is actually lovely and warm (I found this out a while ago, when DH would keep making excuses to disappear into the greenhouse to find something to do in the lovely warm environment, and I would take him a cup of tea).  The garden on the other hand, has been mainly wet, cold and windswept.  Hmmm maybe it would be better to live in the greenhouse as it is usually warmer than the house!

The problem it seemed, was that the plants were quickly outgrowing their pots and they probably would not survive much longer in such a small space.  But would they survive outside in a cold garden?  Would they go into shock? Could we have a night-time frost this late in the year, even though we live by the sea?

In the end, we both decided that there was nothing else that could be done.  They had to go out into the garden.  DH wanted to utilise greenhouse space for the tomatoes and cucumbers.  So on Tuesday,  the one day of this week that it stayed dry, the wind  died down a little and the sun peeped out from behind the clouds (briefly) DH planted his plants.  So now we are keeping our fingers crossed.  But typically as predicted, the weather has not improved and has actually got worse.

In my last  blog post I mentioned my purchase of yarn from baa ram ewe on the way to Harrogate.  I have been drooling (yes literally) over some of the blankets that I have seen on my travels through blogland recently.  In particular, the very talented Matt's gorgeous blanket  seen here I just love all the different squares of colour edged with white.  I think it looks so sophisticated, and it is exactly what we need to brighten up our living room.

On the way home from Harrogate, all I could think about was that bag of scrummy yarn in the back of th car.  When we arrived home, and before DH could even get the kettle on, I had hook in hand ready to try out the new yarn and colour combinations.  Now at this point I have to say that although I have purchased some new yarn, I will also be using some yarn from my stash.  The stash yarn is Rowan Cashsoft DK and it goes beautifully with the King Cole Merino Blend DK.  Also I have to tell you that DH was not impressed with me when he read my last blog post about needing more cream wool, as I am supposed to be decreasing stash mountain (Oops!), but I have assured him that there is a method in my madness (more wool + stash wool = less wool in the long run) and we will have another beautiful family heirloom.

Have fun until next time X

Here, There and Everywhere in Harrogate

Birthday Part II 

First of all an apology to anybody that may be following this blog.  I was supposed to report back on my birthday weekend a day or so after my last post, but as we all know, life isn't always straight forward is it?  Let's just say that I have had a topsy turvy week and although I started out with all good intentions, other things happened and I had to change course a little. Anyway, hopefully we will be able to sort out the topsy turvy in time, but I now have the opportunity to update my blog.  At this rate, my birthday will be going down as the longest in history, but I had such a lovely time (and rare in having some time alone with DH!) that I wanted to share it with you.

So Saturday morning we set off for Harrogate, but on the way I convinced DH that we really needed to visit baa ram ewe, as the opportunity may not arise again and we were almost going to be driving past the door (well sort of) and DH agreed (well it was my birthday!).

The ladies in baa ram ewe were so friendly and helpful.  It is only a small shop, but it is packed full with lots of yummy yarns, and everything is displayed really well according to yarn weight (very helpful when you know you are on limited time, as I was).  They also had a wonderful selection of books, buttons, needles.  I could of happily spent hours and lots of money, but sadly I was on a time limit and low budget.  So I settled on something practical which is some DK yarn by King Cole called Merino Blend.  I picked it not only for the price, as it was very reasonable, but also because of the lovely colours you could get it in.  This is for a crochet blanket al la mode Attic24 and According to Matt.  But I will report back on that next time.  I also picked this yarn because it can be washed.  I realised when I got back home after the weekend, that I am going to need much more of this wool, especially the cream - I hope that I will be able to get it!!!

After our brief trip to baa ram ewe, we got back into the car and made haste to Harrogate.  I have only been to Harrogate once before, to attend the Knit and Stitch Show, which was fantastic, but I didn't really get to see much of Harrogate and at that time the weather was absolutely freezing (November 2010).

We arrived and checked into our hotel, and then made our way to Betty's Tea Room, as DH had booked afternoon tea for me.  I've always wanted to have a lovely afternoon tea out somewhere posh.  One day I intend to go to the Ritz in London,  but I have also wanted a proper Betty's afternoon tea.  Although we have been to York many times, and there is a Betty's in York with a tearoom, it has not been possible to go due to the expense of having four people to pay for (DD and DS have always been with us).  They were a little upset  to be excluded this time!

 Well it was absolutely lovely in there.

The staff were so efficient and very, very nice.  We were shown to our table, and I was able to take a phtoograph of the beautiful room.  Good job I took the photo's early, as within 10 mins the tables filled up.  The staff told us that this tearoom was decorated in the style of a tearoom on the titanic.  The staff all wore the old fashioned black and white uniforms.  The table linen was to die for - it was so white and crisp.

We started lunch with a glass of pink champagne (which went straight to my head because I was getting quite hungry!) then they took our tea order, there were so many to choose from. 

I settled on the Darjeeling.  Then they brought out the sandwiches and cakes.

It was absolutely delicious.  I think they realised that DH could have polished this lot off on his own, so they offered him another plate of sandwiches, which made him very happy.  It was such a lovely afternoon.

After lunch we had a little wander around Harrogate and did some window shopping.  There are some lovely shops in Harrogate, but sadly I had already spent up on yarn and it was a lovely treat to go to Betty's.  The next time I visit Harrogate, I will go with the intention of doing some serious shopping. 

In the evening, we went out for a quick bite to eat, and then found a pub called the Old Bell Tavern.  DH was very, very happy as they sold real ale and speciality beers - he was in heaven, quite literally.  There was a real sort of olde worlde feel to the pub.  I spotted these on the ceiling by the bar .....

It did make me chuckle, as I imagined it was the beer drinkers alternative to a crafters patchwork quilt.

We stayed out until late and then found our way back to the hotel where we enjoyed a good nights sleep.  The hotel was so quiet! ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Next day, after a lovely big cooked breakfast, we headed off to the Turkish Baths.

Apparently Harrogate was famous in Victorian times as a Health Resort and these Turkish Baths are only one of four left in this country.  They still have the original victorian tiles and wooden changing booths.  I couldn't take a picture inside, as I think they would have chucked me out for strange behaviour.  I thought that it might be a bit more, well spa like I guess, but it was more Victorian Bath house.  There are four 'heat' rooms which start off with room one being warm and room four being very hot, even the floor was too hot to stand on.  The quiet room at the end was quite impressive with a lovely glass dome ceiling and stencilling on the walls.  And I was very impressed to see that the toilets were the original Thomas Crapper toilets.  The flush was a wooden lever in the middle of the front of the cistern that you pulled down to flush, and efficient it was too.  I've never seen a toilet that was so old and fully working!

I felt so clean and so relaxed after the Turkish Baths.  We had a little walk around the centre of Harrogate and enjoyed the sunshine.  These tulips looked like they were enjoying the afternoon sun too.

We could not leave Harrogate without going back to Betty's for one final purchase  .....

DD and DS would not have forgiven us if we had gone home without some fat rascals!

We said a final farewell to our hotel and picked up the car from the car park to go home.  But before we left,  I had to get a photograph of the mat in the entrance to the hotel.  The few members of the public that were sitting in the hotel foyer thought I was crackers but what do you think .....

I could not decide if this stain on the mat looked like a donkey or ......

a unicorn ha ha ha ..... i'm glad I had my camera with me.

I had a fabulous break in Harrogate.  Thank you so much DH X

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Oh yeah, yeah the whole weekend through!

It was my birthday on Friday and I was lucky to spend the whole weekend celebrating!  More about that later.  

But first dah dah dah dah dahhhh (sorry imagine fanfare there) the first birthday present I received for the day was my very first follower on my blog.  A lovely lady all the way from California has signed up as my very first follower!  I cannot tell you in enough words here, just how very, very happy that has made me and on my birthday too! - thank you so much X.  Now, of course, I would love more people to join her and keep her company so that she doesn't get all lonely there.  Also, I would love to receive more comments about the blog (nice ones of course!).  I have had a few comments so far, but would love to receive more.  


Now as I was saying, Friday was my birthday.  So here is a little peek at some of the things I received ......

DD made me this delicious cake with fresh cream and fresh strawberries (it was delicious, Shh don't tell Slimming Club lady).


Then these lovely flowers arrived .....

They were from DS and they were gorgeous!! The tulips have the most delicate petals that I have ever seen ....

DH got some wonderful books for me (amazing how he knows which ones to select) ......

 and some lovely hand painted wooden ornaments by a local artist.  Each one she makes is different, and the detail is so small, she has to use a magnifying glass to work on them ......

 I have been told by the shop that you can only buy them here www.staacks.co.uk
and the shop will only tell me that her name is Anne (probably because they want everyone to go through them, not directly to the artist).  They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes (I have my eye on a beach hut next). 


I also had cards and presents from other members of my lovely family, and I had coffee in the afternoon with a group of my friends.  I had a very nice day indeed.  A big present from DH was still to come - he had booked a night away for us in Harrogate and I will tell you all about that in my next post.  Bye for now, will be back very soon!
 

SOS - Save Our Shops

Hi bloggies

I just wanted to do a post today on something that I am beginning to feel quite alarmed and very sad about.  The picture above shows some lovely art purchases that I made yesterday.  The gorgeous coloured pencils are watercolour pencils and I have been lusting over these ones since my art tutor introduced me to them ages ago.  They come in such lovely colours, and I thought that they would come in useful for my design work.  I also got some guache paint in gold and silver (not sure what I will do with them, I just liked them!) and a really cute box containing postcards made from watercolour paper.  Also, the lovely big watercolour pad that you can see underneath everything else. 

These purchases came about because sadly, the art  shop (my only art shop) where they came from is closing down.  Yes going, forever, no more.   And the reason that I am sad is because it is the second art shop to close around here recently.  When I went into the shop yesterday, business was very brisk indeed, in fact the shop was packed!  The last few visits I had made to the shop, well the shop was empty ...... perhaps one other person in there each time.  Yesterday, the shop was full of people like me, stocking up because everything was reduced by 50% and it was closing and I kind of felt guilty about it because maybe we could have all done something more  to help them survive and keep their business.

The main reason I am upset about it is because it is becoming harder and harder to find a decent craft shop these days.  More and more business is being done online.  This is to our advantage when we are looking for a good price, and we can seek out those that sell for less, but what I need is the shopping experience that I just can't get from the internet.  This is particularly true when buying yarn or fabric.  Unless you absolutely know what you are buying because you have bought the exact thing before, you can't browse around the shelves.  You can't see the true colour.  You can't pick it up and 'squish' it to see how soft it is.  You can't judge the quality and hold it up to the light and run your hand over it.  You can't compare it with something else to see if it coordinates with another item or product. You can't smell it (sorry I have a bit of a thing for paper, magazines, wood, new fabric etc).   

The more we use the internet to make purchases, the more likely we are to lose our local shops.  They cannot compete with the big giant, out of town stores because the running costs for a small shop is usually a lot higher, but what they can give us is the personal shopping experience, that quite frankly, is going to be lost forever very soon.  Then it will only be the giants left and we might find that some things will be completely unavailable, because profit is the name of the game for them!

Maybe we could think 'Use it or lose it'  when we shop for our crafts, or anything for that matter. Everybody is feeling the pinch at the moment and pulling in their belts, but are we only saving pennies elsewhere?  How much is postage costing these days?  How much further are our supplies having to travel around? Just a little thought, but one I hope you will share with me. X

 

BOOGIE KNITS

Or Boogie Crochet to be precise, but first .......

How lovely is this?  This is a picture of the beautiful blue sky over our house at 8.00am this morning.  Not one single rain cloud.  When we woke up this morning the sun was streaming in through the cracks in the bedroom curtains, I can't remember the last time that happened!!!!  I had to go out in my dressing gown and take this picture for you.  Can you imagine - me in the middle of the garden in my nightwear taking pictures of the sky......... bet the neighbours know think that I have finally lost the plot!!!

Anyway, back to my other bit of important news ........ my ta da ......

I have enjoyed this project so much!!!  It has been satisfying on so many levels

1.  It has got rid of so many balls of acrylic yarn that was taking up room in a cupboard in our house (and I have a halo above my head because I didn't need to buy any extra yarn - a real stash bash indeed!!!!!).

2.  I had so much fun working with the colours and came up with some interesting combinations because I had to work with the yarn I had.  I am sure I would not have picked such a bad bold colour combination if I had gone out and purchased the yarn for this project, but I feel that I have learned so much about taking chances with colours now.  It was a great chance to experiment.


3.  It was so quick to make, it has only taken two weeks of pleasant evening hooking and I could watch tv at the same time!!!  Very relaxing.

4.  I have a great feeling of satisfaction every time I look at it - it just reminds me so much of the  things that were around when I was a child in the 70's, lovely bold stripes of bright colour, it makes me feel like pulling on some hotpants and platforms and going for ankle breaking wobble boogie on down (ha ha if DD heard me saying that, she would be replying in disgust "mum that's sooo weird, please don't say that again" sigh, she just doesn't know what fun it was in the 70's.

5.  It makes me very happy that DD loves her new bed cover and she loves the fact that it's so colourful.

I decided to do a simple shell edging on the blanket to finish it off.  I got the instructions for this from The Crochet Stitch Bible by Betty Barnden.  I think it's quite a basic one called Shell Edging.

Have fun until next time X

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!

You Will Always Need Your Umbrella

Hello from a very wet Wirral 

Ok, so I cheated, but I had to!  This picture was taken a long time ago..... in the month of June.... a few years back, to be precise.  The rain here has been relentless.  It has been splishing, splashing, sloshing and mostly drenching!!!!  No washing on the line (good job its been so cold that we need to have the heating on too, as this aids indoor washing drying).  No favourite walks along coastal paths.  Even the blossom on the trees are drooping under the weight of water.  Now I am sure there will be many folks around the country who are absolutely glad of all this rain, especially those who are having to put up with a hosepipe ban at the moment.  But here in the North West, I am sorry to grumble, but we do seem to get more than our fair share of rain, not always, but very, very often.  I wish we could programme the rain clouds and send them to where they are most needed.

We do also get lovely days here too.  Nothing beats a lovely crisp, blue, clear sunny winter morning.  And when the sun does appear in the summer, it shimmers on the sea and creates wonderful sunsets.  Anyway, if the weather was better, I would have gone out and taken some lovely inspirational pictures for you, but at the moment i'm having to use these old ones.  I do hope they will bring some welcome colour and cheer for you.

Gosh I have been quite busy, but I haven't managed to finish any projects, they are all still ongoing.  The crazy 70's crochet blanket is nearly finished.  I will post some pictures when it is complete.  I am now in the process of dreaming (yes dreaming, because I go to bed with these projects in my head and it's definitely more calming than thinking about food shopping and paying the bills!!!) of designing my next blanket and how I will be able to obtain the money for the huge amount of yarn it will take!  The jumper for DD is in the knitting bag untouched for a few weeks (she has reminded me).  And now i'm thinking about bunting for the Royal Jubilee and Olympics hmmm....  wish I was an octopus. 

Anyway, I will leave you with one of our lovely sunsets ........ i'm dreaming of some warm sunshine, just like the sun I used to know .......

Have fun!

 

 

A Hooky Kind of Love

That's better.........

I have something to show you today......  it's another WIP..... and it's all because of the lovely Lucy from the Attic24 blog.   I have been following her blog lately and like many others, have fallen under the hooky spell.  One minute i'm knitting a jumper and then, before I know what's happening, I have a crochet hook in my hand!

Well actually, it is a good thing (this is my excuse) because I have finally found a use for the TWO big bags of wool which have been stuffed in DD's wardrobe for ............ 19 years!!!! No I cannot believe that it has been there soooo long, but I know it has because it contains, amongst other yarns, odd amounts of yarn that were left over from garments that I knitted for DS and DD when they were babies.  It is a big fitted wardrobe which DD uses, but still contains some of my stuff (well quite a lot of my stuff actually), but as she is getting older she is gathering more clothes etc and running out room.  Hence the reason why it might be a good thing, this sudden crochet addiction of mine.

I have done some crochet in the past, but not much really, a few practice granny squares and a scarf to be precise.  When I was little, I used to sit with my nan and watch her crochet blankets.  I used to love helping her choose the colours for the different stripes and she used to flick her hook in and out so quickly, working around and around.  She used to make blankets for everybody in the family, but sadly I don't have any of them today.   I have got quite a few crochet books in my collection, with the intention of one day making a start on a project.   I do love delicate crocheted tops in white or black.  

When I saw Lucy's Attic24 blog, I just completely fell in love with her blankets and cushions and the lush, lush colours she uses.  I liked the look of the ripple blanket, I would definitely like to make one of these, but I think I need a bit more practice yet.  The sample piece I made didn't look like it had enough ripple, not as nice a Lucy's and so I will try some more samples of that before I start a full size project.  Then I liked the look of the granny stripe blanket,  but didn't fancy making the long chain  to start off with.  So I decided, what if I made a basic afghan square and just kept going around and around? (i'm sure this must have been done by so many people before).   I thought that it would be both easy and unfussy for my first project.  Because I am trying to use up what's in the stash, it's turning out to be a mix of outrageous, psychedelic, acrylic crazyness ...... but I love it, to me it looks retro and sort of from the 1970's.  Just like Lucy describes, when I'm not working on it, I drape it over the settee and lovingly gaze at it every time I walk into the room.  

I'm finding that at every spare moment, I want to pick it up and add another row.  The only downside to this construction is that the rows are getting longer and longer and because of this my colour choice is getting smaller because I need more of each colour to go around the four sides.  Mmmm may need a small purchase of a few extra balls (Shhh don't tell DH).


The granny blanket isn't even finished yet, but already it has a home - yes you might have guessed.......  DD is insisting it will look so good on her bed and how can I resist?  She has the same crazy colour taste as her mum.  I will let you know how it looks when it is finished.  Bye for now (just off to do some more rows, the washing up will have to do itself!!). X