Catching Up

Now that my elbow is almost better I'm starting to catch up with things.

The tank top that I bought the wool for in October at the Knitting and Stitching show is finished,

my second Kate dress is almost made (ignore the all the 'stuff' in the background I really must have a tidy up!

and I'm starting to reclaim my garden in which the snowdrops are emerging.

I'm also about to give the bathroom a make over, more about that another time, but tonight I shall be found knitting my next project - a lovely Brooklyn Tweed jumper -

which may will end up with extra cat hair knitted into it due to the difficulties of knitting with a cat on your lap!

A Touch of Lace

Whilst sitting around giving the needle eating cat lots of attention and cuddles I've managed to finish a knitted lace shawl/scarf.

It's a beautiful, fine, baby alpaca and silk yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns which I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show in October.

The pattern is from Ravelry (Daisy Chain Shawl)

I've never used beads in knitting before but they were surprisingly easy to do and add a nice weight and slight sparkle to it.  There's one in the centre of each flower and one at the end of each point.

And just as I was wondering what I could knit next the latest Brooklyn Tweed pattern book fell into my inbox, so that sorted that one out - new yarn ordered and pattern downloaded, oh and more knitting needles ordered as despite having a drawer full I don't have the right size ones to knit Merle (how can that be?)!

As for said cat, he's fine, 100%!  Enjoying a little snooze in amongst some fabric earlier on

Everything's Coming Up Tulips

Over the last few weeks the tulips in the garden have been beautiful. Some I planted and know what they are like these:

Doll's Minuet

Black Parrot

Spring Green

I love how the rain makes them bend over and then they ping back upright in the sunshine

Others were here when I moved in so I have no idea what they are but I always love this purple one as it contrasts so beautifully with the exochorda above it.

When the sun shines these red ones in the front garden open right up to reveal their yellow centres.

Other just appear from nowhere.

Apart from taking photos of tulips and planting seeds not much has been done in the garden this week due to a certain black cat deciding to swallow some thread and the attached needle on Tuesday evening.  Cue emergency dash to vets where the needle (and thread) was removed from his throat under sedation.  He's recovered fine, it's taken me longer!

Whatever you're doing this Easter weekend I hope you have a lovely time (well mainly be avoiding needles!).

Only a Matter of Time....

It was inevitable I know, it was only ever going to be a matter of time before one of them discovered my new woolly throw!

Although we've escaped any serious flooding round here, we have had high winds and rain so it's been a 'staying inside week'.  As a result I managed to finish a knitted tea cosy, adapted from a pattern I got at the Knitting and Stitching show.  It's working well at keeping the heat in my enamel teapot (I need a metal teapot as I have a poor track record with china ones!).  The curls look rather wacky (very me) but were an absolute pig to knit.

Cup of tea anyone?

A Day Out in Cambridge

I've had a few days off this week so a friend and I went to Cambridge for the day.  We did a little shopping then had lunch in here,

the Old Library (now home to Jamie Oliver's restaurant).  As we came out we saw the statue to Snowy.

Snowy was a big part of my childhood trips to Cambridge. He always had a cart full of animals, usually a hat full of white mice and often a white cat on his head.

Snowy Farr - photo from here

He raised thousands of pounds for charity.  You can read more about him here.

The real purpose of our trip was to see the Winifred Nicholson exhibition at Kettles Yard.  It was rather small, which was a little disappointing but it was still worth seeing.

Winter, Bank's Head - Winifred Nicholson circa1970

I could really imagine sitting in the warmth looking out of this window at the cold landscape outside.

I think this one was my favourite, the colours and the simplicity appeal to me.

White Saxifrage - Winifred Nicholson 1967

Although it's only small, it's worth a visit if you're in the area.  It's free and they let you take pictures too (providing you don't use a flash).

The rest of the week I've been tree pruning (I'm getting good with a bow saw up a step ladder!) and some of today was spent lining a beautiful picnic basket from here, to make a cat proof knitting basket.

Hopefully this will now be the end of chewed wool!

A List of Pleasing Things

A little while ago, well a few months actually, I was passed this book by Gina at Fan My Flame.

It's about Loretta, a single mum living in a small Australian town.  At one point in the point there is a lovely moment where Loretta is attending a creative writing class and has to read out her list of pleasing things.  The 'deal' in being passed the book was that I had to make my own list of pleasing things and then pass the book on to someone else.

My List of Pleasing Things

1.  A cup of tea in the garden.  Simple I know, but quite a novelty this year!  I love escaping out there and listening to the birds.  When the weather isn't conducive to sitting outside I sometimes sit in my greenhouse.

 2.  Roses.  Any colour, but they have to be scented and preferably old fashioned looking.  This one's my favourite - Abraham Darby and it grows on the front of my house.

3.  A contented cat - even when she is using my clean washing as a pillow!

 4.  This combination of vibernum berries and an inherited purple clematis.  The vibernum belongs to my neighbour and there aren't any berries on her side.  Sometimes nature just makes a perfect match.

5.  My pond.  Not the prettiest pond in the world (I wish the liner didn't show), and with copious amounts of duck weed (which provides regular treats for next door's new ducks), but loved by wildlife.  At this time of year the damsel flies dance around it and the frogs sit and watch me watching them.  If you look closely you'll spot 'Mr Ginger Frog' on a rock on the right (yes I do know my frogs by name!!!).

6.  Aldeburgh.  My favourite seaside place.  A lovely little town on the Suffolk coast, with nice shops, great restaurents and an unspoilt shingle beach.  It's never heaving with people (unless you happen to try and go when it's the Carnival) and is perfect for watching the sea and the seagulls.  Just look at the blue sky and sea - perfect.

7.  Gin and Tonic!  And preferably Plymouth Gin and Fever Tree tonic (not that I'm fussy or anything!).  Can't beat a G & T in the garden on the summer evening :-)

The book is a good read - it's really quite funny in places.  If you'd like to read it next then please say so in your comment and I'll draw a name at random.  The deal is the same - once you've read it then post your own list of pleasing things and pass the book on.

If you don't want to read it then you can still comment - I'd be interested to know if any of the things on my list would be on yours?

Birthdays, Messes and Little Plays

Did you celebrate this weekend?  It was my birthday and I'd like to thank the nation for providing me with a weekend of bunting, pageants, concerts and flypasts - I'm sure the Queen doesn't mind sharing her jubilee with my birthday!  Three of the aircraft from the flypast flew right over my house this afternoon, they must have been on their way to line up. 

I don't really do big celebrations for birthdays, but I had a lovely meal on Sunday with some friends (whose husband also has the same birthday as me) and they bought me this little Victorian stool - isn't it just gorgeous? 

It's for sitting on down by the pond, so I don't have to sit on the mossy rock anymore (not the most comfortable of seats and often slightly damp!).

I had coffee on it on my birthday morning whilst watching the tadpoles - they have tiny back legs now.

But I'm afraid that for much of the rest of the weekend I've been ensconced in my study, as it had become rather untidy (that could possibly be a rather large understatement) and I couldn't actually work or sew in the space that was left!  This was it before I started to tidy up on Sunday afternoon (I do wish I was naturally tidy and that mess didn't accumulate around me!):

This was it by Monday afternoon (that awful "I wish I'd never started this" stage):

And this is it now - finished, and very organised!:

By throwing out loads of old paperwork I managed to clear enough space to put all my fabric on the shelves and not in piles on the floor.  It also gave me the chance to go through all the fabric I was fortunate enough to acquire via a friend of a friend on twitter the other week (but more of that another time).

Part of the reason for the tidy up was that I bought these Amy Butler fabrics from John Lewis on Saturday.

and now I actually have the space to make them into a dress and a skirt.

But I'd hate you to think that I've just been tidying - I've also been playing.  With this little lady, and her brother and sister.

Don't panic she's not mine, my neighbour breeds Abyssinian cats, and they need to get used to being handled and played with before they can be sold - it's a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Bank Holiday Doings

How was your bank holiday weekend?  The rain actually stopped here at times so I was able to get out and do a little in the garden between the showers.

I love the contrast of this 'Queen of the Night' tulip against the self sown euphorbia.

I managed to do some much needed weeding in the veg garden and was pleased to see that, with the exception of the carrots, all the other seeds I'd sowed just before the monsoons started have germinated.

I was also very surprised at how many flowers there are on the strawberry plants.  I now have to make sure that the birds and slugs don't get them. There is such expectation at this time of year, imaginings of tastes to come!

But I didn't just garden, this afternoon I went over to Lavenham to the Art Festival - it was lovely.  The chance to see artists in their studios, with real range of work and also an amazing range of studios and settings; some old and medieval, some new in beautiful gardens and then this one, the last one we visited:

Not only was it a stunningly beautiful garden (and this is only a part of it!) it was home to beautiful bronze sculptures by Kate Denton (if you enlarge it by clicking on it you might just see a stag and a hare sculptures).  Did I have garden envy?  Just a little!

And to finish, it's Florence and Dylan's 7th birthday today.  They've had fish for tea and are now sleeping it off on the throw I made for the sofa  (I'm so pleased they use it after all the hassle they gave me when I was making it!)

P.S. Thank you for all your good wishes about my back on the last post, it's fine again now :-)

Feline Helpers Win!

I have a black cat and a cream sofa.  In an attempt to keep some of his hair off the sofa I decided to make a throw.  It was only going to be a little 'cat sized' throw but it sort of grew and this afternoon I got to the quilting stage of it - that's when my feline helpers arrived...

First of all Florence tested the front

Is this for me to sit on?

 
   and then she tested the back.

It's quite nice and soft.

Then Dylan came to see what he thought of it

What's going on here then?

while Florence retreated to my sewing chair.

What do you mean you need to sit here to sew?  I'll turn my back and ignore you!

I hung it on the back of the chair while I made a cup of tea in an attempt to keep them off it.

Silly me, did I really think that would work?  Look who I found under it when I came back!

It makes a nice tent!

Then he pulled it all onto the floor and really didn't want to move!

I don't know how it ended up on the floor but I'll stay here anyway!

I hope this means that they approve of it and will sit on it when it's on the sofa.  Mind you that might be some time away at this rate - I've given up for now, admited defeat to the two feline helpers!