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

Enjoying, 17!

Hello, 

Enjoying, and with disbelief, that daughter celebrated her 17th birthday on Friday!

Daughter has a habit of never being at home for her birthday. 

Her birthday usually falls during the autumn half term and sometimes we have been

 away as a family but last year daughter was away on a school trip so we didn't 

see her at all on her 16th birthday. 

This year she was at a two-day football tournament in Cambridge. We eventually 

caught up with her late afternoon on her birthday.  

Next year she has vowed that she will spend all her 18th birthday with us, and 

has already requested that brothers must be present too.  

Enjoying Cambridge in all its autumnal glory. 

We used to live here...I miss it. 

Enjoying two football matches, daughter in action .... playing central 

defence for a change and outrunning the forward!

Enjoying mid air antics to clear the ball - number 6!

Enjoying her cake belatedly. I had promised to bake her favourite birthday cake but 

being away for two days scuppered these plans. 

Enjoying the reflections on my new candle holder.  

Enjoying more of those autumn views and late sun from the bedroom 

windows as I vacuumed and dusted.

Enjoying all those nostalgic moments invoked by dusting my dressing table - 

daughter has brought back these tins for me from her school trips, she knows my taste!

Enjoying the possibilities these little goodies promise - bought from 

John Lewis in Cambridge. Definitely a rosy, Christmas theme going on! 

Enjoy your weekend.

xXx

Progress!

Hello,

Gosh, the weather has been warm here in the Midlands of England, but I am not complaining. 

It's so nice to walk out of the house on seemingly endless days and not have to think

 "Do I need a cardigan?" or even more likely "Do I need a raincoat?"

As the title suggests, my post this week is all about progress - 

I feel there has been a definite theme developing in my life over the last few days. 

It doesn't happen very often so please bear with me and indulge me in my glorification

 of recent progresses! Sometimes they are few and far between!

So here goes (but I do apologise for the quality of some of these photos) 

and also for the mundane subject matter of some of them too.

Number 1: Boy, oh boy - when I bought this cute cross stitch kit I didn't realise quite 

how much sky (and snow!) there was to stitch, but I now feel I am making 

measurable inroads into that sky. Only 5 more rows to go!

Number 2: Mr. Gissing, you are a talented writer, constructing complicated sentences and using a

challenging vocabulary which I love to read, but after a day at work I struggle

to read more than a few pages before my eyes close.

 I have been reading this book for what seems an eternity, but I am now over half way! 

I started to read this book several months ago and downloaded it onto my kindle to continue 

reading it while I was on holiday, but it wasn't until I was actually away that I realised the

 kindle version was an abridged version, and no way did I want to read it!  

(OK, diversion here from my progress. My daughter spent the weekend in Oakham and I

picked her up Sunday, while I waited for her I wandered into the town, found a bench 

(and a coffee) and sat to read a few more pages of my book. I then had a short wander 

round. Oakham is a very pretty town. The Butter Cross below first appeared on a map in 1611.)

 (Note the five holes in the stocks! Why? How? The mind boggles!)

(Back to progress)

Number 3: Once home from Oakham I tackled that dreadful chore - ironing. 

Here is just some of the items I de-creased!

 Number 4: Saturday, and a dirty job that has been waiting several years, 

yes I cleared out the garage! 

There is still more stuff to sort out but it is much tidier and cleaner - yay!

We even got one of the bikes fixed on Saturday afternoon. 

Sometime elder son had said he would fix a problem with a back tyre - but 

said tyre and inner tube had languished for months on the garage floor. 

But every cloud has a silver lining, as husband and I we sat outside drinking 

coffee at the cafe next door to the bike shop while the tyre, and a new inner tube, were

 reunited with the bicycle frame!

What more could we ask!

Number 5: Crochet blanket - there had been little crochet on this blanket for many

 months, but some longer car journeys of late has meant that I have added 

several limestone and candy pink rows. 

I ordered more crochet cotton tonight too, desperately hoping that 

it arrives before we leave for a long weekend away in Yorkshire on Friday. 

Number 6: And finally - I am having a bit of a clear out at home. 

We have a stack of jigsaws in the loft and I decided it was time some found a 

new home. But of course I have to check that there are no pieces missing 

before I take them to the charity shop

 (Ok, it's also a grand excuse to do each puzzle one more time.) 

This jigsaw has 1500 pieces - and I like to make it harder by

 not looking at the picture on the box.   

So, there it is. 

Sometimes when life feels a bit busy it is good to feel progress is being made,

 even if in very small ways. 

Thank you for indulging me!

Have a great week.

xXx

On Thursday I bought.....

Last week Sue, from sweetpea family, made me smile because she wrote this post explaining how she nipped into John Lewis and ended up buying 40 balls of wool, too many to hide behind the sofa or under the bed!

I'm sure quite a few of us know exactly how Sue is feeling. So I thought I would write a little confession.

On Thursday I bought.......

Yes, this was my little haul from Hobbycraft. 

My nearest store is in the city about 20 miles from where I live but it is also in the city where I work. This could be bad news except for the fact that it is the other side of the city, so temptation is kept at bay - phew! 

But last Thursday I had to visit a different part of our campus on the way home. Now, to be completely honest, the campus I had to visit is only a short distance from where I work and I hardly have to make a detour from my usual route home to go there but because this visit had changed my whole routine ever so slightly AND because it is the school holidays and so I don't have a tight time schedule to stick to, I decided to drive over to the other side of the city and come home via Hobbycraft. Makes complete sense doesn't it?

And what a great little selection I bought - supplies for cross stitch, crochet, sewing and stationery! There, I've made my confession and boy, does it feel good!

(the only downside was that when I got home and showed my goodies to my daughter she said she would like to go - so I guess we'll just have to make a special trip sometime....oh dear, such a shame!!!

Have a good week

xXx

This week's yarn along

Hello,

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along. I am just about to start reading that tatty old book in my photo.

It has been languishing on my shelf for years. I can't even remember where it came from but it is a book printed in a small old fashioned font, my favourite, so I am looking forward to getting stuck into it. 

As to my yarn work, this week I have crocheted a few more rows on my blanket (after having to pull 6 rows out when I realised I'd used my yarn in the wrong order - argh! So frustrating! It's good to see that the blanket is still growing.

I wonder what you are reading, and what yarn project you are creating this week. 

Enjoy the rest of your week

xXx

We must be artists!

Hello,

I had a fantastic week away recently with my son and while away we visited a couple of art museums. There was an 'interesting' selection of art on display, and with neither me or my son being art experts I'm afraid we were heard to utter several times "how can that be considered art?" Such Philistines!

But there were a couple of pieces of art which caught my attention for different reasons. Firstly, I saw this painting by Thomas Eakins, entitled Mrs Mary Arthur an dated 1900.

And here is the accompanying description of the painting.

It amused me that Mrs Arthur was described as being "absorbed in an old-fashioned manual task". I can't quite decide what that "old-fashioned task" might be. At first I thought she was crocheting but she looks to have a long hook/needle in her hand. Is she maybe tatting? I really don't know, but I was slightly put out that whatever she was doing was considered 'old-fashioned'. I can only hope that the description of the painting was written some years ago and pre-dated the current revival of knitting and crocheting. 

The next piece of art that caught my eye was this. It was hung in the Museum of Modern Art, although I'm afraid I failed to make a note of the artist or the title of the piece. Personally I don't particularly like the piece; I think the colours are drab. 

I'm sorry too that the photo isn't of better quality - by this time I was hurrying after my son who was only really interested now in the most popular pieces of art on display. 

But, the above piece is approximately 5 feet square and comprises strips of material sewn together. My first thought was "it's a quilt!". And sure enough when I read the description it said that the artist was inspired to make this piece after watching his mother sew quilts when he was child.

So, my first thought was "when does a piece of 'craft' become 'art'?

But then I realised that I found the description of this piece very heartening. 

Clearly this suggests that for all of us who knit, crochet, sew etc - each article we make is a piece of art! 

I never considered myself an artist before!

So what will your next piece of art be?

 xXx