WIP Wednesday #14 - another bites the dust

Hi to all you WIP Wednesday bloggers.  Work on the baby cardigans is progressing well

I have finished last weeks' WIP #2

 Knitted a hat to go with cardigan #1

 Started #3 which is Bright Sparks from Sirdar 203 With Love booklet.  I am knitting it in James Brett Top Value DK with an oddment of cream for the tucks

Cast on for another hat using up some oddments of white

I am still deciding on #4 but its likely to be a Sublime pattern, and again in either white or cream, one of the draw backs when you don't know the sex of the baby.  I really dislike the yellows and greens, so decided to play safe for now.

I'm itching to get started on my next ten-stitch but it must wait til the cardigans are done.

More WIPs? Head over to Tami's

Oh dear

all I'm going to say is Aldi had yarn today.  In my defence hubby took me we were on the Harley and I couldn't stop him!!

Kirkton House Rustic Aran 400g balls £6.99 each - contains 25% wool

Call of the sea

We awoke on Saturday and Peter said "lets go to the coast", why not I thought, I had spent all day Friday in the garden and he had got the grass cut, and there is always Sunday to finish off.  So we got up and headed out to Old Hunstanton.  We love the walk along the beach, so here are a few photos of our day out

No day to the coast would be complete without a portion of Haddock and Chips with lots of salt and vinegar. Shame about the plastic box

Easily distracted

On Friday I went into the garden to pick the last of the beans, a quick job I thought, no, I ended up being out there all day.  It was such a lovely day I decided the housework would wait.  I cleared the aforementioned beans and harvested the last of the carrots too.  Cleared out all the raised veg boxes.  Tidied the remaining outside tomatoes, checked on the squashes.  The potatoes will be dug up today, Sunday, then we can clear that patch of garden.  We are planning to get more chickens! I think we are over the trauma of the last lot and willing to try again.  Anyone know how to make a fox proof enclosure.  It was so lovely to have fresh eggs every day and they are such characters, best bit is feeding them cooked spaghetti its hilarious.

After popping in to prepare an Oxtail cassarole dinner I turned my attention to some of the borders.  I was surprised to see quite a bit of colour still there.  I picked a few for the house, and here are some that are still in full bloom.  See previous post for all the yellow flowers

 I love the garden in autumn, lots of shadows and dappled lighting, the smell of the slowly dying foliage, but not the falling leaves.  As you can see our garden is surrounded by trees so unless we get a really good wind they all end up in our garden. Still its good exercise clearing them all up.

Project Spectrum - Yellow and the month is nearly over

September is yellow or metallics.  Nothing on the knitting front in yellow, not a colour I like in knitwear but in the garden another matter.  I was surprised how much yellow was still in evidence in the garden so here are a few photos

a change is as good as a rest

Now that autumn is here I felt that the blog needed a new look, hence the autumn leaves background.  I have also added some pages, not sure if you noticed?  Anyway, there is now an About Me page, one for my main postings and one for My Knitting.  The About Me is more or less finished, the Knitting ongoing. Let me know what you think.

What are your plans for the weekend? The forecast looks good for us, so it will be gardening, there is so much clearing up to do.  I will also be making more chutney and I guess more apples to press, so watch this space for the weekend report.

Whatever you are doing have a wonderful time, remember you aren't at work ............

WIP Wednesday #13 - back on track

Number 13 - unlucky for some but I seem to be back on track with my knitting.  This weeks WIP is the 2nd cardigan for my god-daughters' baby due at end of October.  I love this pattern, which I'm knitting with King Cole Big Value Baby yarn  - Design E - Snuggly DK Baby Cardigans by Sirdar Spinning Ltd.

 

close-up of simple cable

This is the first cardigan which I finished this week, it still needs to be blocked.  I knitted this in Cygnet Superwash 100% Merino.  Buttons came from the charity shop, a bargain at 25p for 6.

My other WIP today is some Blackberry and Apple Jam, I wish you could smell my kitchen right now.  There is something so satisfying about making preserves.  Makes me feel all Little House on the Prairie, putting up supplies for the winter!   Ok I know I'm sad.

 

For more WIP's check out Tami's

Chutney time

Its that time of year when your crops are still prolific and you can't physically eat them all.  We came home from holiday to find 2 large courgettes - more like marrows - with a note saying can't eat any more of these. I've today turned one of them into Marrow and Tomato Chutney - its a spicy little number - read didn't take the seeds out of the dried chillis but its certainly given the courgette/marrow some oomph. 

I love the smell in the kitchen when making preserves.  Tomorrow will be Blackberry and Apple jam and maybe another batch of chutney.

While I was in the cooking mood I made some Fruit & Nut bars, and a Bread Pudding (below) with some stale bread - yummy my mum's recipe which is always good, mixed spice, dried fruit and lemon. Went through the freezer and found what I thought was a tub of stock but turned out to be vegetable soup, I really should label the contents of my freezer, the times I have taken the lid off and tried to work out what I have frozen!

Back in the swing

we are now a week post holiday and I am finally more or less getting back into the swing of things.  It was a funny week where nothing much really got done. Very busy at work, which I must admit is a good change.  I managed to get some of the ironing done, but still have a basket full.  The garden is a soggy mess, and needs lots a clearing up.

Friday was my day with Rufus.  He had another cold poor thing, snotty nose, croaky throat, but he was a good boy and we managed to get the ducks fed, sticks collected, watched some men putting up a tipee and do the usual things you do to amuse a 15 month old little boy. 

not a Friday photo - forgot the camera but every post needs a picture

Friday evening I went with Peter and Rachel to see Clare Teal at the Arts Theatre, a very enjoyable evening, Clare was on good form and I think Rachel enjoyed herself.

Saturday we went to Olney to visit friends Judith & Stephen, we had a very good lunch out, dodged the rain storms, always good to catch up with old friends. 

We have all been friends since school days, which actually is a long time........  its their wedding anniversary tomorrow - 36 years - congratulations to you both.

Sunday we had hoped to get out onto the garden, but by the time we had pressed all the apples for juice and picked tomatoes, there was just time to prune the grape vine before the heaven opened and the rest of the day was a washout. 

A bit of knitting got done, then undone, wasn't happy with the front bands, so all pinned on to sew up again this evening.  I have also frogged  the short sleeved cardigan I knitted for myself.  It turned out to be a much looser fit than I liked- even though the tension was correct.  I looked to see if I could alter it in any way but decided just to pull it all out and start again with a different pattern.  Oh well it didn't take too long to knit and even less time to pullout!!

A year in Provence.... well 2 weeks

We are just back from our holiday in France, we've had a great time, the weather was wonderful, apart from the odd moment but well into the high 20's low 30's degree centigrade.... phew a bit hot at times!!

Our base was Montagnette, Barbentane, which is just outside Avignon, we stayed in a lovely villa which was a real home from home, beautifully equipped, clean and roomy, which I would highly recommend if you are looking for a base for a family holiday.  Each bedroom had its own facilities which was great, no queueing!!

A very hot walk - can you spot the yarn shop bottom right

The Abbey St Michel de Frigolet

Market Hall in Avignon

The villa and gardens - include view of house from 'our mountain'

Of course there a hundreds of pictures of this little man!  His new favourite is his bicycle seat, off to the bakers, then back for his second breakfast

Day in Avignon before the thunder storm

More Rufus, well why not - all the fun of the fair in Graveson village, plus a sit in a lorry, he seem to do this a lot, the boy is obsessed with all things mechanical, tractors being his favourite

Barbentane village

 

Fete day - bull running in the street (controlled by horse) then the bull fight - well not really a fight, more wind the bull up, try not to get a horn up your bottom and get a tag on the horns, you need to be very athletic!  Rufus loved this until the 'bull' hubby says they were heifers came over the wooden barrier.  I think he enjoyed the sugar crepe in the interval more.

We also went to the market in St Remy (huge) and then on to Arles but I forgot our camera. It was good to share the holiday with our family, I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did, though the 4 days we had on our own was very quiet. I did manage to get 2 books read but only 6 rows of knitting done - far to hot. 

Drunk far too much wine, ate too much bread/cakes/croissants, so back to being good now, but then what are holidays for..............