Float'n'purl

No time to blog but......

I've no time to blog but I had to put up these pictures before the weekend. Thanks to the very talented Lynne I now have a beautiful wrap in Rowan Scottish Tweed (DK in Lavender). How do I know this.....well I gave Lynne the yarn for her birthday. See, if you give a fellow knitter yarn as a present you never know you might just get it back knitted up into something beautiful.

Sorry I don't know the pattern but I do know that it will keep my shoulders warm in the chilly summer evenings!

Also a FO - herdwick crochet bag from a kit bought at  in Penrith (no website).

Right I'm off to pack my swimming costume for a FREE Spa day tomorrow.......more on this later.

Bye Bye Baby.......

Today was a sad day as we said "goodbye" to my beloved narrow boat "Sissy Jupe". We decided to sell her about a year or so ago to help fund a new project (build a house in Scotland) but today the reality hit home.

We've owned her for ten years and she was our pride and joy. I bought her initially to live on while in London not long after I'd met DH. I'd been renting a boat for six months and had fallen in love with the way of life (then fell in love with DH who I met on the canal!) so she has many strong memories for the both of us. She's been there, through thick and thin, coming north with us eight years ago. DH in particular has spent countless hours (and we don't even want to think about how much money) resorting her to the beautiful vessel she is today but sadly we had very little time to really enjoy boating on her......life always seemed to get in the way, but the times we did spend away were precious - she was our bolt hole which we'll sadly miss. She was my first real "home" (having only rented before), the first time I could properly unpack after years of trailing my stuff around in boxes, she was our special space in a world of mad consumerism - peaceful and tranquil. 

We'll miss her but our compensation is that we now have some funds to start on our next adventure and her new owners are the most perfect couple we could have imagined for her. I know they'll love her just as much as we did. We've both shed a few tears today but hopefully she'll have some great new adventures of her own - bye, bye baby!

(if you look closely enough at this picture of the happy new owners you can see DH & I holding each other in the background! I know we're pathetic but there you are - I guess we're a bit emotional when it comes to boats...)

Austin Obsessed!

Thank you so much for the lovely birthday wishes in the comments of my last post :)

We had a lovely day despite the fact that it was a bit dull and chilly. Lyme Park is on the edge of the Peak District and much higher up than I expected so our planned picnic was shelved and we dinned on "afternoon tea" instead in the National Trust restaurant (how very civilised!). We ate our picnic, complete with plastic plates and cups when we got home!

As for Darcy - well I took my own (but he refused to get wet!). In fact I learned that Colin Firth dives into another Lake somewhere else, and when Elizabeth and her Aunt and Uncle are approaching "Pemberley" they're also somewhere else but scenes in front of the house were shot at Lyme Park.

In answer to Heather's comment - I'm a Matthew McFadyen fan too and the scene where he walks out of the mist in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice made we weak at the knees in the cinema. What I wouldn't give to see that on the big screen again!

I also loved Matthew McFadyen in Spooks and of course the delicious Rupert Penry-Jones isn't bad either(shame that he's named after a bear!). So imagine my delight when this came on the TV recently - heaven............and thanks to my friend Shirley I now have the DVD! Can't wait for the chance to sit down and watch it (while knitting of course).

Anyway, this is in danger of becoming a Jane Austin blog so I'll have to leave it at that and promise some more craft content in my next post :)

'Tis my Birthday!

Yip, 36 today and loving every minute. DH has bought me a lovely charm necklace from Hot Diamonds (my favourite jewellery) with two lovely charms and a friend has just arrived with another one so I may have to treat myself to the matching charm bracelet (I'm very lucky indeed). In an hour or so we're off to Lyme Park which was the setting for Pemberley Hall in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice - you know the one where Colin Firth dives into the lake! I've been watching it on DVD this morning to get in the Austin "mood"!

I was only thinking the other day how life in my thirties has been great. Although I had lots of experiences when I was in my twenties (living in London, traveling abroad) I spent a lot of my time feeling like I had a big dark cloud over my head. When I changed my lifestyle three years ago my health improved and life has been great ever since. I wouldn't give anything to change where I am now - living and loving life.

So onto my little blogiversary competition. The first name out of the "hat" was Tiennie - congratulations. My friend Janet helped with this but then DH came in and being the spoilt only child he is, he wanted to pull out a name so there will be a "runners up" prize for Mary!

Thanks to everyone who commented on this blog last week and any other week for that matter. It's lovely to know that there are so many like minded fiber enthusiasts out there!

Woven Thoughts

Just enough time for a quick post about my first woven scarf on my Ashford Knitters Loom I finished about a week ago.

Yarn - my own handspun (2 ply) merino, silk and angora blend from The Woolen Rabit in beautiful heathery tones of green and purple (lovely but difficult to photograph well as shown below!). I used it for both the warp and the weft with two vertical stripes of a 4ply viscose with lurex which I hand dyed using dyes from DT Craft & Design.

Its just a simple balanced weave using the 7.5dpi heddle supplied with the loom. I used the whole width of the loom which I think gives just the right proportion for a scarf. I'm so delighted that it drapes well and my tension remained fairly even despite the great time gaps between weaving. At least now I'll have something to show at our Guild exhibition later this year. I was worried that I would let the side/ myself down by not finishing anything in time!

I'm more delighted about this scarf than anything else I've made in the last two years. I don't know why? Maybe because its turned out better than I expected where as I've often been disappoined with other results.

(just realised that I'm in my usual "home" attire in the above photo of jogging pants and vest top! I thought when I was younger I would never get to this stage!! Note to self - must try not to be photographed like this again!

Two and Counting

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my socks. It was the most commented post I've ever had which just goes to show what passion socks can stir in knitters! So to encourage a bit more on the commenting front I thought, like many others before me, that I would give away some stash on my 2nd Blogiversary which is tomorrow!

I can't believe I've managed to keep this humble little blog going but it has become really important to me now. I wouldn't have been brave enough to try half the different projects I've tackled if it wasn't for the power of blogging and the inspriation of the knit-blogging community so to say "thanks" I'm offering two 100g skeins of Colinette Yarn.

Now admittedly this yarn is from their sale room so there is no ball band but I think it's Zanziba. The colours are discontinued (I'm not really selling this well am I) and each skein is a different shade but I would describe one as a grey steel colour and the other a subtle grey/ heather (I'm really not selling this well), plus I'll through in another little treat. All I ask is that you post a comment and at the end of this week I'll have a prize draw. I'm happy to post to any where in the world. Just remember to leave an e-mail address :)