haze

Hello

This is a project that I completed this weekend - although I think that statement is stretching the truth ever so slightly. I should qualify my claim and say that I actually I finished knitting it months ago, put it in a cloth bag, stuffed it in a basket under some other craft items and left it in the corner of our lounge. I forgot all about it until this weekend when I was having a tidy up. I couldn't believe that all I needed to do to properly complete this scarf was to sew in 4 ends of wool. How silly is that!

So here it is  - FINISHED!

Knitted in kidsilk haze shade 606 'Candy girl'.

I have shown the above photos extra large as it makes it easier to see the lacy pattern.

I took the pattern from a book I borrowed from the library - I'm sorry, I can't remember the title of the book.

I love knitting with this wool - it just takes a few rows of knitting to readjust to the weightlessness of the wool.

Here is another scarf  I knitted last year also in kidsilk haze but this time in stripe using shade 'Cool' 202. I knitted this scarf in plain stocking stitch but am ashamed to admit that even on such a simple pattern I lost concentration occasionally and there are a couple of mistakes in it, but there is no way I can unpick this yarn so the mistakes stay, and as usual it is probably only me that can see them (please don't look too closely!)

And here they are together - TWO kidsilk haze scarfs.!!

Full of springy softness and lightness. 

Do you have unfinished projects languishing in corners?

My thoughts are now drawn to a throw I completed knitting some months ago which, like the scarf, just needs the ends sewing in - although there are rather more than the 4 found in the kidsilk haze scarf!

xXx

Skies

Hello,

Fantastic sunset yesterday - my daughter and I grabbed our cameras and ran outside.

Look at those sun rays.

I feel like I am looking into a cauldron or a furnace.

If this was a painting, viewers would wonder whether such a sky could ever truly exist.

xXx

Sipping spring ....

Hello,

I'm working hard at the moment. I'm sat at my keyboard, a little hunched. I search through the plastic folders that cover my desk, the chair next to me and the floor behind me. Ah! Found the paper I was looking for! I scan the paper, check the facts and figures that I have already extracted from the paper. Did I copy them correctly into the document that now faces me on the computer screen when I first followed this process several weeks ago? I might need to put the desk lamp on soon. How can that be when I notice the room next to me is bathed in a soft yellow glow of spring sunshine? I yearn to be outside, walking  - across a moor, along a narrow muddy track, through a wood of soft grey trunks highlighted by a patch of bright lichen or doused in the gentle sunlight of a clear March afternoon.  

Alas, this cannot be for now, so I take a short sip at nature's spring of hardy flowers growing in our garden.

 

Have you a favourite spring flower? What would you choose to do on a beautiful spring afternoon?

xXx

Spring stitching

Good morning,

For a change I thought I would start with a photo. This is a photo of two little padded hangings I made using charts from two Hobbycraft kits I bought a year or two ago. The kits come with aida but I prefer to use evenweave. Both hangings are about 6cm square so not very big. I am happy with the way they turned out - I love the spring colours of yellow and green.

I use these along with a few other items to welcome the arrival of spring.

I made some bunting two years ago - I call this my "spring bunting", much to the amusement of my family. It must be time to hang the spring bunting again!

Do you like to make changes to your home as the news seasons arrive? What are your favourite colours for spring?

xXx

A weekend of sport and a tow home....

Hello

So another busy week has meant that I haven't written a post for seven days and rather more alarmingly, I've had little time to pursue those interests that help me unwind, such as reading and my various crafts.

This weekend has been another busy one on the sporting calendar for us: a cross country race at Cofton Park, Birmingham yesterday and another key football league match today.

Cofton Park is beautiful and looked particularly impressive yesterday in the spring sunshine when we arrived. However it clouded over a little and so my photos fail to catch the hazy sun and blue skies that greeted us.

There were ten races in total and the course was muddy and well-churned in places, but I think it is those exact conditions that makes the sport so appealing to cross country runners. You can see standing water in the photo above; this is while we await the start of the U15 girls race. 

And see the girls below running through mud - what a challenge, and up hill too! Spiked shoes are a must and spiked shoes tied on securely are an even greater must. The runners in our family have all lost shoes at one time in very muddy races - if that happens there is only one thing to do - forget about it and carry on running.

 

So we had had an enjoyable afternoon at Cofton Park but these photos hide another tale that was occurring at the same time and not far away. On the way to Cofton Park our car developed a shake each time we accelerated; when this happens on a motorway it is a bit worrying. We were so thankful to arrive at our destination in time for the race but we really did not feel safe travelling back on the motorway so on arrival in Birmingham we called the breakdown service. And this is how we travelled home - with our car on the back of the breakdown truck!

Of course I had my usual crochet project with me, and I managed to crochet 3 stripes on the way to and from Birmingham. I had a mild panic half way through our journey home when I mislaid my crochet hook in the back of the breakdown truck - this happened when I stopped to answer my phone. But it was soon recovered and off I set, crocheting again. I wonder how many times our driver has had someone in the back of his truck crocheting? 

Anyway, this morning it was off to a football match. While we were waiting for the players to warm up I noticed this beautiful tree, I love the colours of the bark, lichen, soil and white flowers. They reminded me of the colours of the wrap knitted by Kristen  - please find a link to her blog here. She is an extremely talented and prolific knitter.

This reminded me of how much we can use nature as an inspiration for our craft projects. And I slowly raised my camera from the bottom of the tree trunk to higher up to its bares branches and snapped a photo of the tree outlined by the blue sky.

 

And finally a photo of the girls in action on the football pitch. Our team won 1-0 so we came home happy.

But just before we left..... we'd noticed on arrival that there was an abundance of groundsel just near to where we parked our car. Now, we know a little boy who is very fond of this weed, and so we picked several clumps to take home to him for his lunch. And here he is.... munching away.

He is a big boy but even he looks dwarfed by the mountain of groundsel he was served!

I hope you have a good weekend and have had the opportunity to enjoy the spring sunshine and blue skies.

xXx

A busy week...

Hello,

Yes it has been a busy week and rather stressful too. I have pieces of work to finish, deadlines looming, and as I am employed permanently on temporary contracts, I far too frequently, it feels, find myself having to search for more funding for myself.

So on Friday I had an interview, at work, the worst kind of interview, and I have now funding for FOUR more months - whoopee! To me 4 months seems a loooooong time; it gives me time to complete two pieces of work so I am happy. I am someone who really does like to see a project through to completion.

But what has all this got to do with my blog? Well, I just haven't had time to write a post or to take photos - until today, that is, when I quickly took some at home before the light faded. 

These are photos not of anything special - yet another photo of that darned stripey blanket. This time it is a photo of it on my lap in the car - I crocheted 1.5 rows on the way to and from my daughter's football match today (and they won their match 4-1).

The other photos are of some little china rabbits I saw in our local shop on Friday - about 6 cm high, they are SO cute, I couldn't resist. 

 
And these two little cross stitch decorations I made last spring. It's funny how you can make something and love it and then quite quickly wished you'd finished it in a slightly differently way. They are both about 8cm square. The design for the house came from Helen Philipps' book Home Sweet Home available here. You might like to take a look at Helen's bright and cheery blog.

So after a rather lazy day today I am looking forward to a new working week, starting tomorrow with renewed vigour.

Hope you have a good week too.

xXx

train travels 1: Filey

Hello,

I started to write this post some time ago but then other posts seemed to be more timely and muscled in on publication. This post, I decided, could be published almost anytime and the subject of this post is, of course, obvious from its title - travels by train! 

Trains are one of my most favourite forms of transport - in fact, it would be difficult to decide on my most favourite - bicycles or trains? For me personally there are so many benefits for travelling by train:

1. Firstly, I have to get to the train station and for me this often entails a cycle ride. It is about a 17 minute cycle ride for me to the station (and nearly all downhill) so of course the cycle ride home takes me a bit longer - probably about 22 minutes. And from where I live, the one way streets are much more favourable to the cyclist riding to the station.
2. Secondly, travelling by train is much more environmentally friendly than travelling by car. 
3. Thirdly, the rail tracks may pass through parts of the countryside not always available for viewing when travelling by car.
4. Fourthly, you can sit and relax when on the train, no stressful driving and busy roads to contend with - definitely a case of "let the train take the strain" 
5. And finally - you can sit and do things when you are travelling by train; I don't feel like I am wasting so much time as when I am driving. My choices of activities, depending on the reason for my train journey include:

• drinking coffee - well, that is a must no matter where I'm going or why. I consider available coffee facilities prior to any journey and plan my strategy - can I buy on the train? Will there be a dining car or an at-seat service? Or shall I buy at my local station prior to boarding or can I purchase en-route while waiting to change trains?

• work - my laptop is an essential item on any work trip

• listening to my music - I love my Apple shuffle, it fits into the smallest of purses and hence bags

• reading - often I take my Kindle Paperwhite with me but it could also me a paperback (sorry this isn't a sponsored commercial for electronic gadgets)

• knitting - here is a link to one item that often accompanies me on any train journey - my portable project - socks!   

Often I indulge in more than one of these activities on any one journey - I say indulge because it does feel like that - an indulgence - a treat of time, for me to relax and enjoy one of my interests.

So I thought I would share with you some of my train journeys. And today, our first journey is one my daughter and I made to Filey on the East Yorkshire coast.

Filey is a lovely old fashioned, small seaside resort which we visited many times as a family when the children were younger  - there is so much to do given its size - pitch and putt, crazy golf, amusements, 

 

(view from the boating lake)

donkey rides, paddling pool, boating lake, miles of beach, cliffs...... and all in easy walking distance of each other.

Sand art.......

paddling.....

 

 

 

 walks along the beach.....

We stayed in a lovely B&B (Bed and breakfast) and had a traditional seaside fish and chip tea - a fun, relaxing two days away.....by train!

xXx