Whoosh...this is the summer going!

Hello,

Have you noticed? Or is just me that feels the summer, as always, is flying past! 

My job is a '52-weeks-a year' job so I do have to work over the summer, although I try to 

save as much of my annual leave entitlement as I can for the summer. I find myself trying to squeeze in days out and away with family and friends around work commitments. 

I do love the summer, I relish the opportunities to sit outside to eat meals  - eating 

breakfast outside feels so decadent, especially at 6am before I go to work, why is that?

I have to make the most of the longer (and hopefully warmer) days and spend as much
time as I can out of doors.

I am having fun knitting Rachel Coopey's Hartwith hat using Baa Ram Ewe's 

Titus yarn in Goathland. This is 4 ply yarn so for me it will take a while to complete this

 knit but there is something very soothing about knitting this cabled pattern.

 I have almost completed Susan Howatch's 'The High Flyer'. This is the second in a trilogy 

but silly me read book three first so I have in effect nearly finished the trilogy. It has been 

an interesting read although I have found the end of book 2 a bit laborious and tedious. 

This trilogy is being passed to a friend when read so that will be 3 more books off my 

shelf - YAY!

.I am joining in with Ginny's yarn along - please have a look at her great blog. 

Happy summer holidays to you all

xXx 

Yarn along....stockings and The Heartbreaker!

Hello,

Well I've been a bit quiet recently but I'm still reading and knitting, and today I'm joining

 in with Ginny's yarn along. 

Here I am reading 'The Heartbreaker' by Susan Howatch.  I've had this book on my shelf 

for a while (as you can see from the photo it is looking a little jaded) and as I'm trying to 

have a de-clutter I decided this was a book I would read and then pass on. I am quite 

enjoying it but I certainly would not bother reading it a second time so I'm just happy 

that I know this isn't going back on the shelf - yay, a bit of space cleared! 

The only downside is that I was about half way through this book when I realised that it is 

the third of a trilogy and that I have the two earlier books also on my shelf and of course 

haven't read either!! Doh! I was too far through this one to put it to one side to start with 

the first book, so I am resigned to reading them in the wrong order, oh well....

As for my knitting, I've just started my 4th (of 5) Osen Christmas stocking. Each is knitted 

in a different colour way in gorgeous Titus yarn, although I'm not sure this is quite an Osen 

stocking as I have changed the Fairisle pattern to my own design. Hopefully, as it is only 

just July, I should get stockings 4 and 5 completed in time for Christmas!

Happy knitting and/or reading!

xXx

Birdsong....and Ginny's yarn along

Hello,

Once again joining in with Ginny's yarn along. 

So I am re-reading Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. 

I first read this book several years ago and thought it was quite good 

and decided to have another go at it. 

I think my current opinions on it are very similar to those when I read it the first time. 

"It's quite good" but not a top 10 favourite.

The descriptions of life in the first world war trenches is impressive. 

 Knitting continues to be "those" socks for younger son, but I am on the home run.

 One sock finished, and turned the heel on the second sock so the finishing line is in sight! Yippee!

And today's photo is rather special: I took it outside in warm sunshine, yes, warm sunshine. 

Thank goodness I was working at home today and could nip outside to appreciate even just a few  minutes some very welcome sunshine.

Do have a look at the gorgeous yarn Ginny is using, it reminds me of a green meadow full of summer flowers.  

I hope you have managed to enjoy a bit of sunlight today!

                                                                                  xXx

And P.S. (all non-football-fans look away now): 

well done Leicester City on winning the Premier League!!! 

Yarn along.. blue thread and stripey socks (still!)

Hello,

Once again joining in with Ginny's yarn along. 

Looking back at my yarnalong post of 2 weeks ago, I can hardly believe that I have yet

 to finish younger son's first sock! But boy, these men socks seem to take much more 

knitting than socks designed for my size 5 feet! 

I can happily zip along knitting socks for me as I know the size perfectly and a quick

 count of rows every so often, and then I'm off again. Whereas with this unfamiliar sock 

size I have to keep stopping, finding my tape measure, deciding how much I should stretch 

the socks while measuring them and cogitating whether I have reached the desired size 

yet, while also having a slight concern in a corner of my mind as to whether I'll have 

enough wool for a second sock. 

In comparison to the relatively slow progress in my sock, and despite an initial inability to concentrate on Ian McEwan's 'Atonement', I eventually got 'into it' and loved it! I think it 

might even become one of my top 10 favourite reads! McEwan gives very detailed 

descriptions of everyday happenings and objects, but it all helps to build the tension. I

 couldn't understand the purpose of the postscript at first but on reflection I can see now 

how it explains much of the story - I shan't say more in case you wish to read it.  

Now onto my next book 'A spool of blue thread' by Anne Tyler which has been 

recommended by several people - I'm looking forward to it!

And finally, thank you to everyone for your kind comments on my last yarnalong post. 

The family/child-related problem was eventually sorted last night, just over 2 weeks after

 it first raised its ugly head. Two weeks of stress, albeit it in peaks and troughs, and now

 time for some calm again in the family.....

Wishing you a peaceful week

xXx

Yarn along... stripy socks and Atonement

Hello

Here I am joining in with Ginny's Wednesday yarn along. 

I recently finished a pair of socks for me 

(I hope this link to the photo on my instagram account works!) 

Younger son seemed particularly taken with them and asked for a pair of very bright 

hand knitted socks. And of course if someone actually asks us to knit something for them, 

we get very excited, and so I rushed off to scour the internet for suitable wool and came
up with the above. Yes, son approved, wool was ordered, arrived 2 days later
and off we went, socks cast on - weeeee........ 

But I am having to knit a larger size than normal and making a few other adjustments. 

I tried them on his feet yesterday and he was wiggling and giggling like

 a toddler - he's nearly 20!! But I am enjoying knitting these - those bright colours

 can hardly fail to lift the spirits can they?

As for my book, well I have read a couple of Ian McEwan's books and really

 enjoyed them. We are reading his 'Atonement' for our book club. Sadly, I haven't read 

far into the book yet as my mind has been distracted by family events, you know those

 sort of 'children-related' events that occur every so often and that stress the heck out of

 you. Anyway, given time, as with all of life's little ups and downs I'm sure our 

present bumps will soon be smoothed...

I hope you are enjoying your current read!

xXx

Yarn along!

Hello

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along this week. 

So I'm reading 'The Nazis: A Warning From History'. I wonder how many of you remember 

this as a BBC TV series back in the late 1990s. I have read this before but as part of my 

mission to de-clutter I decided this was one book I would read once again and then pass
on. I am making slow progress though as I get distracted by facts and find myself
continually stopping to look up lots of extra details on Wikipedia. Still, it is quite nice
to be distracted in such a way. 

In the introduction there is a quote from Karl Jaspers, a German-born philosopher

"That which has happened is a warning. To forget it is guilt. It must be continually 

remembered. It was possible for this to happen, and it remains possible for it to happen 

again at any minute. Only in knowledge can it be prevented."

I'd like to think that was true but sadly I am not wholly convinced. 

As for these socks, oh boy they are taking me an age to knit. I've been suffering with that 

awful cold/cough bug that is going round and I haven't even had the energy to knit. 

Instead I have sat and read.... not a bad substitute.

Happy reading/knitting!

xXx

Ove and Osen... yarnalong!

Hello,

Joining in with Ginny's yarnalong.  

Making slow progress with my Osen Christmas stocking. 

I think this is mostly due to my need to up my exercise and shift a few stubborn pounds, so when I have a few moments,

or half an hour, I take myself out for a short/slightly longer run/walk. I can't even blame Christmas for the extra weight 

I'm carrying because I did make use of the extra available time 

over the festive period to get out and exercise and as I was also very constrained with my Christmas nibbling, I didn't 

add any weight to the scales over Christmas - yippee!

At our book club we are reading 'A Man called Ove'. I really wasn't impressed with our choice of book and nearly didn't bother downloading it, but when I realised the kindle version was 

only 99p I thought I would give it a go and I have been pleasantly surprised by it. I'm not saying it is one of my top 10 favourite 

reads, or that it even makes my top 50, but it is amusing 

and surprising in parts.

 (I won't say more in case you decide to read it). 

Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post - no imminent changes as daughter still has 18 months left at 

school, but no harm in planning ahead. 

And finally, daughter passed her driving theory test, just needs to get practising her practical skills a bit more!

Best wishes

xXx

Yarn along - Bad Pharma and Folksong scarf!

Hello,

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along, and because I am not working today for a

change I'm posting this surprisingly early for me on a Wednesday.

 

On the needles:

my second girl's chunky scarf in Sirdar Folksong.

This scarf is for daughter and so mostly gets knitted when she isn't around.

 

The first one I knitted for daughter was safely stored in my gifts cupboard but was

summarily called into service about two weeks ago. Daughter had been invited to a party

and had forgotten all about until a friend rang from the pizza restaurant for the birthday

 meal and asked "Where are you?"!

 

So we had to find a gift immediately and I suggested we gave this scarf as a gift.

Daughter of course hadn't seen it and said how nice it was, and asked whether it had been

intended as a gift for her. I had to admit that it was so I promised I would knit another one

for her. I think Sirdar have discontinued this wool but thankfully I managed to find

some more on ebay.

This should be finished in time for Christmas.

 

My book:

Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre.

Loving this book!

This book describes how data in medicine is misused and unused, and so doctors

 are making decisions, such as prescribing drugs without having a full picture of a

drug's efficacy and side effects.

Loved Ben's previous book too Bad Science, especially the chapter on Gillian McKeith.

 

Happy reading and knitting!

xXx

November

Hello, 

November, what an unseasonably mild month it has been. 

November, means it really is time to crack on with Christmas crafts. This Osen stocking 

is proving a lot of fun to knit. 

I'm using Baa Ram Ewe's Titus  yarn. I also used this yarn for 

my Whitlam Cowl and maybe I just had a dud skein of Yorkstone but 

I was a little unhappy with it. The yarn had been spliced several times and I 

ended up with 4 balls of variable sizes. Not particularly satisfying.

So I bought Chevin (green), White Rose and Wesley Bob (red) with a bit of trepidation - 

but no fear! After balling each of the 3 skeins I ended up with 2 equal sized balls of each colour!

This would make a fantastic festive hat wouldn't it?

Progress has temporarily been halted while I wait for a small circular needle in the 

appropriate size to land on my door mat.

In the meantime I have just started to crochet the first of several small 

bags for Christmas gifts. 

We like to have reading material close at hand to our kitchen/dining table, something

 to fill our brains while filling our stomachs. For months these books and magazines

have sat on the end of the worktop by the table, their untidiness annoying me. But no longer! 

They are now neatly stacked in a wall-mounted magazine rack. I'm really pleased with it, 

and with my new book 'Student World Atlas', a super book full of facts, ideal for just 

dipping into for a few minutes. 

How beautiful our carillon looks through the autumn leaves.

This was built after WWI to commemorate those who gave their lives in the war. 

For the size of our town we have a very large event held here on Remembrance Sunday, 

with poppies dropped from the top of the carillon. 

And for those of you who are interested, here is a definition of a carillon from wikipedia:

A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower (belfry) of a church or municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cup-shaped bells, which are played to produce a melody. A traditional manual carillon is played by striking a keyboard with the fists.  

A walk in the city on a Sunday morning while daughter warms up for football. 

We tend to walk the same route as we know where we can buy coffee at the end with just 

enough time while daughter warms up. I love the mix of city life and buildings we see on 

this walk: light commercial, residential, 

and even the empty buildings have some beauty.  

We could be in the middle of the country here, rather than in a city, 

with the tram line passing behind me. 

Ummm, coffee at McDonalds - oh, we know how to treat 

ourselves on a Sunday morning when it's a home match!

November, and the fair has arrived in town! 

And I mean right in the centre of town - how unusual is that!

It brings congestion, confusion, empty shops 

but also bright lights, heart-thumping music, candy floss and happy faces!

November, with a huge fireworks display at the town's University and firework

 toffee made by my husband (ideal for expanding waistlines and removing loose teeth)

 .... yes, I like November!!

xXx

Answering a distress call: yarn along

Hello!

Thank you for all your comments to my "yarn along" post last week. 

Some of you asked what I thought to the book I was reading 

'The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters' and I have to admit that I have 

abandoned it, at least for now but maybe forever. 

I found it quite hard going reading the letters, keeping track of who was writing 

to who, and as it was a huge book I realised it would take me some time 

to finish it. From reading a portion of the letters you can glean an idea of 

their style of writing and their personalities and I think that is sufficient for me. 

A few years ago I read 'The Mitford Girls: the biography of an extraordinary family' 

by Mary S. Lovell and I think if you are interested in learning about the Mitford sisters this would be my first recommendation. 

So I have moved onto Ian McEwan's The Child in Time. I have found this quite challenging to read in parts with detailed descriptions of issues I have not considered before, but I have also found it amusing, insightful and sad. 

And as to my "answering a distress call" - a few years ago, on a whim, I knitted 

my work colleague a phone sock, and I have to admit it always surprised me quite 

how much she loved it, so when she changed her phone she asked me to 

knit her a new, slightly larger sock, which I was more than happy to do. 

However, a couple of weeks ago I received a 'distress' text from my colleague saying 

she had lost her sock and would I knit her a new one. Of course, once again I was 

more than happy to oblige and so here I am knitting a new one! 

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along on a much-drier-than-forecast Wednesday. 

xXx

One messy cosy: Six Mitford sisters. Yarn along

Hello, 

Well I'm still struggling with my tea cosy - I feel I have been knitting this for 

many months and it is taking me far longer than it should. 

My problem is that I need to have an empty pot to use as a model, 

and an empty pot is rarely seen in our house. 

Also, I need a good hour or two to really crack on and get the 

pattern sorted, but at the moment I never seem to find that elusive hour or two! 

 So while I do battle with my tea cosy I'm reading The Mitfords: letters between sisters.

What an interesting family, especially the close links of some family members with Hitler.

 It makes fascinating reading. 

Joining in with Ginny's Yarn along.

Best wishes

xXx

Bulging Brains...yarn along!

Hello

Here I am joining in with Ginny's yarn along. I haven't joined in for weeks so 

it feels good to be back. 

Now, dare I admit that I'm currently reading a book from the Horrible Science series

 "Bulging Brains". For those of you who may not know, these books are written for children

 in a humourous style. There is also a series called Horrible Histories. We have just a few of

 these but as the children are, well, hardly children any more, I've decided it is time these

 books found a new home so I am reading them and then taking them to the charity shop. 

I'm still knitting my Snowflake table runner - I say still knitting...it has progressed little

 recently because I've been cross stitching little ornaments instead like this one and these.

But I do feel a growing urge to finish this table runner!

Happy knitting and reading

xXx

A geographical miscellany!

Hello

Thank you for the lovely comments you left on my last post - I appreciate you taking the time to leave comments and I do enjoy reading them.

Today I am joining in with Ginny's yarn along. My yarn along this week has a distinctive geographical flavour. 

Firstly, I am re-reading Alexander McCall Smith's '44 Scotland Street', based in Edinburgh. The first time of reading I didn't enjoy this book as much as his The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency but I thought I would give it another go. 

And as for my knitting, well I recently purchased Nordic Knits written by Martin Storey, which has some beautiful projects in it, many using my favourite yarn of the moment, Rowan felted tweed dk. 

And so on my needles I have just started knitting the Snowflake Runner using the colours 

Seasalter (a light denim blue) and Clay. 

It does feel a bit strange to be making another table runner when I have only just finished a Christmas table runner but I think the snowflake is not so 'snow flakey' that it means I can only use it over Chritmas - I think this will be adorning our dining table for a few months of the year!

What have you currently on your needles? Are you desperately trying to finish off Christmas presents? Have a good week!

xXx

Double love

I'm in trouble! I am suffering from a case of "double love" just now.

Firstly, I came across this great yarn from Rowan, Felted tweed dk. I think I'm a bit late in discovering this wool as I think it has been a round for a while.

The tweed effect is gentle and mutes the colours somewhat but Rowan offer a reasonable range of colours. The yarn just has such a lovely, light feel to it. I could really imagine wearing a cardigan knitted in this yarn. 

I chose Seasalter and Rage for my project.

 Oo, look at them nestled in the bottom of my shopping bag.

I bought these for a particular project I had planned.

For my second love, I came across this picture on the internet of knitted book covers

And I instantly fell in love with them and with the idea of knitting covers for my notebooks.  

  

Don't these look great!

  

 So I soon had my needles out and, after about 3 false starts trying to gauge exactly how many stitches I needed to cast on for a perfect fit, I was away.   

 I decided to knit a very simple fair isle pattern, just to add a bit of interest.

And fairly soon.....

I had a snuggly warm notebook tucked up inside its very own cozy!! 

And I love it!! And so does daughter so I shall be knitting more of these.

You see, we have a slight, but very well controlled, obsession with stationery, so I have

 notebooks of various shapes and sizes to keep cozy this winter.

I admit that I think knitting cozies for books is a bit bizarre but for some reason

 I just love the idea!

And my mind is buzzing with further project ideas for this yarn.

What is your favourite yarn of the moment?

xXx

My cottage by the sea and still Felix!

Hello, well, after completing two knitted projects this week, yes two, I have gone back to knitting my own little bit of paradise by the sea.

I posted about this kit here.

My friend also bought this kit and completed her own little cottage long ago and it is so cute! Although she did say that sewing the roses round the door, or in other words, sewing on the beads, was a bit tricky so I'm not looking forward to that bit.

I am still reading The Map of Time by Felix J Palma. This is taking me a looong time, but only because I have been distracted by other events and so I just haven't been reading much recently.

Some nights I have been so tired that by the time I get to bed I don't even bother trying to read, instead I turn the light off immediately,

 and thankfully I am one of those people who can fall asleep within seconds! 

Joining with Ginny's yarn along.

**    Happy knitting    **

xXx

My shawl is nearly there!

Yay,  I've nearly finished my Sirdar Freya shawl. 

I haven't exclusively knitted my shawl this week - I have also added an inch or two to my socks.

As to my book, I'm still reading The Map of Time by Felix J Palma and 

I am about one third of the way through it. 

While I was really excited by this book when I started reading it, it isn't turning out quite as I was expecting and I'm not enjoying it quite so much. But having said that, it's an easy read and a bit different so I'm happy to continue with it.

Joining in again with Ginny's yarn along.

Happy knitting!

xXx

Yarning along on a sunny September day

Well thank you to everyone who commented on last week's yarn along post 

- your comments were lovely to read 

but I fear that you may all be expecting something spectacularly stunning to emerge from my yarn and needles and that you might find the end result disappointingly functional. 

I really hope that isn't the case. 

 Anyway, I have made good progress with my shawl during the last week. This is an easy knit, 

just plain old stocking stitch with the odd couple of rows of garter stitch 

thrown in to break up the plainness.

I took these photos in the garden - we are enjoying some beautiful sunny days here in the UK. 

The mornings have been misty and I love driving to work through a particular village where the mist lies low over the fields and at the time I am driving the sun is just poking above the mist, 

a huge orange orb.

And as for my book.... I have just started reading "The Map of Time" by Felix J Palma which, so far, I am enjoying very much but I think it will take me some time to finish as it is a loooong book.

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along. 

Best wishes

xXx