Tag Archives: Hayfield Spirit DK

Trailed by voices

Posted on by

12

My second time at the craft group in a very relaxed café, lots of chat and a few hours that flew. Very good mocha too!

I paused and took a progress pic of the five circles I’d crocheted and thought I probably had better stop. I was surrounded by mostly crocheters, I think only one at the other end was knitting. I was so enjoying chatting and hooking that my hands found themselves getting busy again. In a way it’s good, because I’m seeing my hand therapist on Friday and can report how sore it now feels. This once would not have counted as a lot of crochet…

Describing my book group and this new craft group to a friend this morning, when we were driving along, I realise that I’ve now met two women who own and ride horses in the last couple of weeks. Maybe it’s not that interesting, but as they are from completely different groups and locations it’s tickled me.

The other day I was rather horrified that my new ball of Hayfield Spirit DK came vacuum packed flat in the post. I had noticed the generously cheap postage but didn’t realise some yarn sellers are now vacuum packing orders. I thought the wool content would be completely ruined, the fibres squashed into submission. Well, actually after springing out of the pack, the ball plumped up quite nicely and doesn’t feel any thinner at all than the previously non-vacuum packed. Have you had any yarn arrive packaged like this? Do you feel it made any difference to the quality of the wool?

This week I’m reading and also listening to Weyward by Emilia Hart and enjoying it very much.

‘Wearing together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.’ From GoodReads.

I’m also listening to Robert Webb’s How Not to be a Boy which ties into Caitlin Moran’s What about Men? And also part of Elizabeth Day’s Friendholic, both of which I mentioned last week. Robert’s writing is excellent. I really like the way he portrays himself and his family, making conscious choices to be fair and empathic about all (barring the dull grammar school science teacher!) Robert has a great voice for narrating audio (he’s known for being an actor and comedian, part of the Mitchell and Webb duo, in case his name is unfamiliar.)

I’ve realised that recently where audiobooks are concerned I’m doing the thing that lots of crafters do, only I’m doing it with audiobooks. I’ve started many, listening to some of it, then moving on to try a next, listening to more of the first and then bouncing back to the next, and then starting another, and then…. I used to have to commit to one book using a credit from Audible. I’d listen to the book, then wait until the next month brought a new credit to spend. With the Audible plus catalogue (3 months membership for 99p offer I could not refuse the other day) and Spotify premium including 15 hours a month of audiobooks or podcasts, I am now absolutely spoilt for choice. I have given up book monogamy for hopping around like a wild thing!

Instagram seems to be full of people at the moment unravelling, or frogging, crochet and knitting like billio! (iPhone does not like this antiquated slang.) I don’t really know whether it’s a chain reaction to someone prominent doing it, or spring cleaning approaching, but my feed is full of people posting photos of unfinished items, then either filming something being unravelled, or agonising over whether they should unravel it, or carry on. They say it’s not very fun to crochet / knit and maybe they could use the yarn for something else, but they’ve got so far in the making that it seems a shame. What do we think? Can we advise? Impossible to answer! But I’ve tried. I generally take the middle line and say surely it’s got to be fun? It’s a hobby, not work. And do you want / need to use whatever it is at the end? If you don’t think you will, then unravel it by all means. But then often find myself adding a caveat: it’s such a lovely piece of work, can you add a border and turn it into a baby blanket?! Anyway, what I suppose I’m thinking as I dictate this to my iPhone is that I will stop starting anymore new audiobooks and finish a few in the next week.

Spring has suddenly sprung here in my part of England: daffodils, pink blossom, white blossom, forsythia everywhere, beautiful magnolia trees in bloom and an array of spring flowers. It suddenly arrived and gosh it’s welcome!

~~~

Linking with Kat and the gang for Unraveled Wednesday, sharing what we’re making and reading this week. What are you making and reading at the mo?

Mustard, I’m looking at you

Posted on by

13

I’ve been crocheting granny circles again. Mid-morning Saturday, Spotify Radar playlist on the speaker, new music to play and colourful yarn to crochet, while Someone read his book. I really love the mustard yellow one. It draws my eye again and again.

It was time again for my friend Lucy and I to pick our next recipe book of the month. Here’s why it started last month. This time I found myself messaging her to say: ‘The recipe book of the month thing – I found myself really hoping you’d say no 5 because I’d wanted it to be At my Table by Nigella, so yesterday I decided that’s my recipe book of the month. Watched 1st ep last night as all on iplayer.’

I’ve chosen a few things to make already. It won’t be hard at all. I really like Nigella. I made her Stem ginger, walnut & carrot cake on Sunday. It’s so good that I’m ditching one of my other recipes.

I chose number 47 for Lucy, sticking to my resolution to give her a harder number to count in return for hers last month, not that I’m petty, ha! And got a ‘Whoop whoop!’ Number 47 brought her counting along the bookshelf to Fresh India by Meera Sodha. I’m pleased too, because I bought the ebook when it was a 99p KDD and so will follow what she makes with interest.

Later another message: ‘I had shedloads of pages marked in this one, just went into the living room and Theo has taken them all out.’

I laughed.

And then: ‘And I had to say thanks because he was really proud he’d been so helpful.’

Theo (of the Patchwork blanket) is coming up for 3 years now. A cheeky little tinker.

Today I met up with my absolutely lovely cousin, I mean I’ve got lots of cousins and they’re mostly all absolutely lovely (!) but she is one of my top favourites. Her brother says we’re more like sisters than cousins, which makes me feel very warm and fuzzy. We’re both lovers of wandering around charity shops, this time she donated and I bought. She gave some jigsaw puzzles, including one I bought from another charity shop when we were slowly coming out of the lockdown restrictions. There were still plenty of hours to fill when social spaces and such were still not fully open, and groups weren’t meeting. I completed the outside and then lost interest. 1000 pieces might have been 500 (700?) too many when it had been decades since I’d done a jigsaw. At last I admitted defeat, and wanted to claim back the end of the dining room table, so passed it on.

During our wander I found this beautiful looking book. When I read Nina Stibbe’s Went to London, took the dog she mentioned the author Cathy Rentzenbrink lots because they’re good friends. It also grabbed me because of the recommendation on the front: ‘I loved this book… I’m so desperate for you all to share in its wonder, Elizabeth Day.’ It made me smile because at the moment I’m addicted to Elizabeth’s audiobook Friendaholic. I’m probably one of the very few people who have never listened to Elizabeth’s hugely successful How to Fail podcast. I recently heard her for the first time on the bonus episode of the Ghost Story podcast and her articulacy, intelligence and my sense of her general likableness made an impression. Friendaholic is astonishingly honest and open. She makes me laugh out loud, but then I find myself welling up. I love her narration too. If you like a very proper English accent (I’m looking at you America) then you will love her voice. I’m going to look for some of her fiction as well.

Dear Reader cost me the non princely sum of £1! I’ll let you know my thoughts later on.

~~~~

What are you making and reading this week? Have you also seen someone you love to spend time with lately?

Linking with Kat and the gang again for Unravelled Wednesday.

Crocheting while chortling

Posted on by

19

I’ve managed to do quite a bit of crochet in the last week, just picking up and putting this down as soon as my right hand starts to feel sore. Granny squares always grow so fast, which I think is probably part of their popularity. My other Coast Blanket squares, I think, are 30 rounds, so I haven’t got much to do now on this last one. Then I can undo the joined squares and rejig the blanket to make a sensible size, rather than a long narrow blanket suitable for a giant.

I double stacked my propagators out of the way, to take this picture by the brightly lit utility room window. I only planted my seeds last Friday and today see lots of them have shooted. I’m very pleased. Up periscope!

I’ve tried sprouting sunflower seeds (food grade, specifically sold for sprouting and micro greens, I haven’t picked them out of the wild birdseed mix!) The sprouts were very tasty; buttery and crunchy as I’d heard, so now I’m growing some as micro greens to compare.

Also I’ve planted peas for eating as pea shoots. Plus, I’ve started off my pointed red peppers (fingers crossed) since they take so long to grow I need to get them going earlier, rather than later. Next month it will be tomatoes. I’m already having requests for plants. A relative wants me to grow him some yellow tomato plants, as he doesn’t have any seeds left. I’ve agreed, especially if I can have some of his Balconi Red plants. They’re amazing producers, giving a really high yield of cherry tomatoes on just one bush. I’m not buying anymore tomato seeds either. I’ve got a multi-pack of a dozen varieties from a Lithuanian producer. I was thinking they might be dodgy, especially as I couldn’t read the packets (!) but the varieties I planted did very well last summer. I passed on so many young plants at an evening group I go to on a Wednesday evening, that one of them teases me now and likens me to Del Boy trading out of the back of my car. She’s convinced I should be charging, but I think it’s better to give freely!

I have pics in my highlights of my sprouts, micro greens and other planty pics on Instagram, if you’re interested. (Click the IG link top right to go through to my profile.)

Anyway, the focus today is making and reading, I’m definitely going off on a tangent!

One of my current audiobooks is making me laugh so much! I prefer to listen to Caitlin Moran’s books because she’s such an entertaining narrator. It’s quite rude, she generally holds no wishy-washy views about things and I don’t find myself agreeing with everything she says; as I feel there are lots of generalisations about men. But I have been thinking about some of the points she raises, the book is definitely making me reflect. That’s no bad thing.

What are you making and reading this week? I am interested. Have you planted any seeds lately?

~~~~~~

Linking up again with Kat and the gang for Unravelled Wednesday.

Circles & rectangles

Posted on by

17

I’ve picked up my bag of granny circles to add a few more lately. I love this as it’s not a project or such with a plan in mind; it’s just crocheting an occasional circle when I want to sit and do something quietly. I’m using the remnants of Hayfield Spirit yarn which I used to crochet my two Bobble Cowls. Here’s the first cowl which I’m wearing a lot. I’m kind of hoping that one day someone says wow where did you get that cowl? And I can say “Well, actually I made it.” Still waiting!

I’ve been playing around with methods for using continuous joining, I’ve used the method before where you complete one round of the first motif and then start to join the others, but continuous joining means you do not break the yarn at all. You could stop and start adding motifs as you go over a long period of time, or plan the exact placement and do it that way. I think I’ll have to plan the placement because I don’t know what colours I’m going to end up with in the end. I also need to decide what they’re going to be. But there’s absolutely no hurry for that.

For the continuous joining method I’ve had to scratch my head and turn it to one side and then the other because most illustrating the direction of crochet (actually 99%) for the joining have been for right-handers. But I’ve saved a picture and flipped the mirror image. You have to become good at this kind of thing as a left-hander.

Anyway, it’s so far it’s an experiment to see how I liked them turned into hexagons and a try at perfecting the JAYGO. The beauty of circles is that you can crochet to enclose them within squares, triangles, rectangles or hexagons or…

I’ve decided for my Wednesday post that I’m going to try to feature printed books which I’m reading. I’ve always got Kindle books and audiobooks on the go, for a long time I have rarely read printed novels, but am enjoying the novelty of having a physical item to photograph, rather than screenshot.

I’m reading Maggie O’Farrell‘s latest for my next Bookclub meeting. We voted on half a dozen books and this came out top. I was delighted. (When I joined the BC last December the choice had already been made: Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. I put that down after a dozen pages. Absolutely not for me!) I love O’Farrell’s writing. I read her debut in 2000 and have read everything, apart from The Distance Between us, as it’s been published. I shall definitely seek out a copy and read that too.

I’m probably only a quarter of the way into The Marriage Portrait and I’m already gripped by the revealing of the main character’s childhood and family life. It’s based upon a real life young Italian: Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara who died in 1561 from illness aged sixteen, but rumours abounded that it was at the hand of her husband. Lucrezia is written as an intriguing character, the story begins from her point of view as a little girl, to showing her as young married girl of fifteen experiencing a strong sense that she is soon to be murdered. The story is, so far, interwoven with flashbacks to her growing up in a busy household, the third daughter of a Grand Duke. It’s a little like Hamnet in that you know the ending before you begin. But do you? I am intrigued. I’m already recommending it to others!

Last night I joined a second book club; an online version with my friend Lucy. She used to, before having her baby, choose a recipe book every month and cook a new recipe a week from it. Then she would often decide whether to keep or pass on the cookbook. She says it floundered because she let her husband pick the alternate month’s books, but he never got round to it. So I wondered, would she like to do it again, with me?

“Oh yes, that’s genius! Plus then I get to hear all about the books you have…”

I regularly cook new recipes, but after years of aiming, and mostly achieving, to make something new every week, realise I often neglect my own bookshelves and mostly use those I’ve seen online. It’s just easier and fast, particularly when I’m doing an online grocery order. I’ve got hundreds of recipes bookmarked on my iPhone and iPad, emailed to myself, linked to on WhatsApp messages (one reason why I can’t delete years worth of threads with some foody friends) collections on Pinterest, Instagram, BBC Good Food site, Olive magazine site and probably a dozen more sources. It’s a shame as I have a mini library of my own.

So, we got on and counted our cookbooks. It took a while. I left out those only focusing on cakes, desserts, a chocolate cookbook, preserving books and bread books.

“I suppose I can’t pick a cake or desserts book, or can I?!”

“You totally could!”

But I decided it was too dangerous, and maybe too narrow a category, so left those out.

We shared our total number to be included (50+ for me and 80+ for her. I know. It’s a lot isn’t it?) Then messaged each other a random number. She chose number 42 for me and so counting left to right along my bookshelves I came up with Thomasina Miers Mexican cookbook. One of my sister-in-laws gave me this several years ago. I know I haven’t used it enough, so was really pleased that it’s my first pick. Lucy had to count along her shelves to number 27 (I didn’t make her count nearly as many she made me. Next time I’m picking somewhere in the sixties or seventies, evil laughter… ) I’m ashamed to admit that mine took three goes to get to the right number. I just wanted to check and it went from The Bean Book to a Thai recipe collection, which Someone was quite excited about (Thai, definitely not the beans!) then to Mexican.

A thought – join in if you would like to? Send me the total number of your cookbooks and I’ll pick one, or pal up with a friend. I’d love it if you’d share a photo of the cookbook on your blog, Instagram, or Facebook and tell me / us about your recipes as you go?

We’ve already decided to choose our next on or around 6th March. Now I’ve got to choose something to make this weekend. ¡Arriba, arriba! Mexican here we come!

~~~

Linking with Kat and the gang for Unravelled Wednesday again. Sharing what we’re making and reading.

Ready to crochet again

Posted on by

15

The weather has turned much, much cooler after we’ve had a mini heatwave…in October?! Last Sunday we walked in T-shirts and shorts, sat under an oak tree for shade and drank lots of water during our six mile walk along footpaths and bridle ways. Afterwards I laid on a sun lounger in the garden, eating birthday cake, sipping tea and loving the sun. Actually I remember now that I had to go in to get something to shade my face, it was so baking on the patio. I could feel my cheeks burning. Now, a week later, it’s much more typical for the autumn season and is at least ten degrees cooler. (Last night we had our first frost and so I went out and cut the best of the lettuces this morning, just in case they keel over later in the week.) Crochet is suddenly looking really appealing. With something warm and woolly on your lap to keep you cosy, why wouldn’t it? In the last week or so I found I kept stopping at woolly posts on Insta and thinking ‘That crochet lark looks like a good thing. I used to do a lot of that, didn’t I?!’ I always have a hiatus during the summer, because it’s just too warm for wool, especially as I always have hot hands, but it’s been even longer this year…

So, I’ve begun to join my squares to make up my coast blanket. Started in 2020 when we went away on holiday, finally, after months of Lockdown, it really began life as an unplanned project. “Argh! I’ve forgotten to bring anything to do on holiday!” I had to buy a hook and whatever yarn the small local yarn shop had in stock in a town in West Cornwall. I wasn’t sure if it was to be a cowl, scarf or what. I ended up crocheting a basic granny square and was so taken by the look of the colour changes that I made another and another and ….

Do you remember how during Lockdown the urge to be creative and keep busy with crafting took hold of a great many people? I suspect crochet and knitting alleviated anxiety for many as well. I know I found it soothing when I felt caged and lonely at home. Because of the huge demand it became really difficult to get hold of specific yarn. Also when you’re living on an island during a pandemic and post-Brexit, shipments were (are still) often stuck in Europe. I ended up having to chop and change Hayfield Spirit DK colour variations. I just had to hope they would all blend in the end. I do think they work together. Also, the joining colours of the greys and cream should bring together all the others. My original intention was to have a blues and greys colour theme, so that they would match a Dorma grey flower king-size duvet, it’s rather more mixed than that, but this reflects the fact that it came to be during a very topsy turvy time. (I’ve paused to lay and light the log burner. It’s really getting chilly now. Chicken & lentil soup for dinner should help too.)

I really love Hayfield Spirit, it is fine and lightweight for DK, but with even only 20% wool content it’s really warm.

I crocheted eight large granny squares, many done during the subsequent Lockdowns when long calls became a lifeline to friends and family. Then the rest slowly followed over the last few years, in between other makes (remember my bobble cowl obsession?) The squares are made up of 30 rounds, after each round I flipped the square over to avoid tilting. I’m doing a continuous JAYGO (join as you go) method. It’s lush! (I always think of Gavin & Stacy when I say that.) There’s something really satisfying about the way it comes together without fuss. Less breaking and joining of wool while connecting the pieces should make for a stronger blanket too. It’s been a while since I did this method, so I needed to find a diagram to use as a map. Heather of The Patchwork Heart blog has a great photo to use as a guide. (Here, if you think you will need it I suggest that you save a copy of that photo since I’m sorry to write that Heather is struggling with ill health and has stated on Instagram that she’s going to delete her blog and social media accounts. She hasn’t yet, but may do in the future.) I saved and edited it; flipping it to a mirror image. We lefties crochet in the opposite direction and 99.9% of instructions are naturally for the 95% of right handers.

The blanket will probably need to have a good sized border because I want it to be a fairly large size to cover the bed.

I sent this photo to a friend who had helped me decide on the squares layout: “All four top squares are joined!”

As soon as I’d sent it I realised…Uh oh! That the grey block is the wrong side up. I want all the right side foundation rounds to be the right side up, and the yarn tail is on top. How can I have missed that?! Ridiculous as I definitely very carefully checked.

“Here we are! NOW they’re joined.”

Luckily I had the dulcet tones of Miriam Margoyles reading her new book Oh Miriam! To ease the pain of going around again. If you’re a Premium subscriber Spotify now includes 15 hours a month of audiobooks. (In the UK at least.) I’m so pleased! I’ve already listened to all of And Away by Bob Mortimer and a bit of something else, so I won’t be able to listen to much more of Miriam’s until the beginning of my new membership month, unless I can access to a copy on the library apps Libby or BorrowBox. But it doesn’t seem to be available on those yet. We went to see Miriam recently on her theatre tour. She’s absolutely fab, so quick and funny. But I’m warning you; the woman and the book won’t be for the faint-hearted. The faint-hearted will be missing out.

I’m deliberating whether to leave you with a photo of my Romaine lettuce pickings from this morning. It’s the first time I’ve grown them and I am VERY pleased with their crunch and flavour, but I think I should keep this a woolly post and you can see them later. Sorry to disappoint the lettuce fans!

A square in progress in May

How are you? What have you been making? Are you listening to any audiobooks at the moment?

Crochet! Crochet! Crochet!

Posted on by

14

Here’s the eye catching postbox topper that my friend’s WI (Women’s Institute) put together for Remembrance Sunday.

Can you spot any of the crochet poppies that I sent her?

Offering to make some poppies was the best thing for me really. We had such a hot summer. I don’t usually do much crochet when it’s warm and even less so this year, as England had some of the highest temperatures since records began. But since I made some poppies I’ve got my crojo back again, with a vengeance. It’s probably the darker evenings and the cooler weather too.

I’ve been buzzing. I’ve looked through my crochet books, read the latest issues of Simply Crochet mag on the e-library site PressReader (it’s free! Great app. Really, really good) and dived into my storage cube to see what was in my yarn stash.

Making a resolution not to start anything new, but to finish off projects I’m already halfway through this year has not been that exciting. I’ve made some headway, but felt bored, so then ended up doing little.

I checked to see what yarn I already have, but of course I didn’t actually use any of it! I mean we don’t, do we?! That’s why we build up stashes in the first place. Mine’s modest because I’ve sent a friend some and donated other bits to a charity shop, so I reckoned I could buy a little something. I chose some brand-new Hayfield Spirit DK. I really like it. When there’s even 20% wool content it’s much nicer to work with than pure acrylic, and looks better as well. It should be warmer too. I never usually make wearables with 100% acrylic, but of course it’s far more affordable for big projects, such as blankets.

I started a virus shawl. Here’s a quick snap that I sent to a friend when we were sharing what we were making one night. It’s not a great photo, but it was enough for her to see what I was doing.

This is the autumn colour way, the people at Hayfield (Sirdar) must have been thinking of autumn flowers, such as dahlias and asters, because the colours don’t say autumn leaves to me.

Then although I was happy with how it looked, I realised I would probably never wear it. I’m more a scarf or cowl wearer. I unravelled it and started a virus blanket. I bought the pattern from Jonna Martinez. Here. There are lots of You Tubers whom you can crochet along with (fun thing to do) as you start your own Virus shawl or blanket. I did that to begin.

Jonna brought the Virus pattern back to the fore and made it famous – go viral. I have read that the Virus design is actually based on an old pattern from Rumania or Russia. This wouldn’t be a surprise; I don’t think there’s really much that’s original in crochet, we’re all replicating stitches and patterns that have been done over decades, maybe centuries.

Pretty colours, aren’t they? But you see the problem? You see what’s really, really, REALLY annoying me, that means I’m going to have to unravel it?

All I will say is that I am looking into the standing stitch and checking out various ways to do it. One crocheter made a video to demonstrate one and it really made me laugh, because she can hardly get her hook through the loop. I’m not sure about doing that version. Might give it a swerve and find another!

Simply Crochet issue 128

And then when I was reading Simply Crochet, issue 128, I found a Bobble Cowl design by Sue Pearson, that I really fancied making. Pattern available here too.

I remember how much I like crocheting bobbles. I started the cowl without really checking what size I would prefer, but happily it’s exactly the height of my favourite knitted Edenvale cowl. Here it is, I wear it all the time in the winter.

And that is what I’ve been making, making and unravelling, making and measuring, then sighing with relief when it’s right.

What about you? What are you making? Any unravelling going on? Any new yarn purchases?

I’ll be back soon with a new books post.

Taking Stock – November

Posted on by

6

Making: the rest of the Gingerbread Man. I finally have eyes for him! Crocheting the Coast Blanket bit by bit

Cooking: Sausages with apple & onion in cider sauce

Sipping: Twinings tumeric, orange & star anise tea

Setting up for Christmas at Blenheim on 15th
November has been stunning for autumn colour – very calm, mild weather so the leaves stayed on the trees for much longer. Until we were visited by storm Arwen…

Reading: the lost bees article from The Guardian newspaper, so interesting. It’s HERE

Waiting: for orders to arrive. Actually I’m really waiting for my (December) gin box most of all!

November’s Craft Gin Box – I promised to show you
Danish gin. It’s delicious. Love the owl line drawing

If you’re in the UK and you’d like a half price box for £20, (free P&P) Here’s my referral code. I know I’ve shared this before, but it’s so good I just can’t not. (I get points to spend for successful referrals, which is nice for me too.) You can have a one-off box for a treat, or buy it for someone else for a surprise. Then you can continue a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly subscription. Or never have another again. Whatever you want

Looking: out to see how frosty it is some mornings. Lately we’ve had some hard frosts. I’m wary of black ice when driving

Basildon Park, NT, our first Christmassy thing on 21st

Listening: Comfort Eating with Grace Dent podcast

Wishing: for a good December – everyone healthy and well

Basildon Park after a good look around the house

Enjoying: Jamie O’s ‘recipe’ for baked feta, eaten with fresh tagliatelle & green veg

Appreciating: family and friends

And tea & cake! Especially after a long chilly walk

Eating: Roasted vegetable pasta bake (Seeds of Change semi-wholemeal tortiglioni pasta – not something I’ve had before, but it worked well because it didn’t go claggy after baking. Not so keen on 100% wholemeal pasta, but would have this again)

Liking: seeing the birds back on the feeders now. The robin has been heartily chomping the mealworms after the cold and snow last weekend

As we walked back to the car at Basildon Park

Loving: meeting up with an old friend who’s over from Australia for a few months

Buying: Baptise Dry shampoo – it’s amazing. But not the part where your hair is covered with white residue, and you get a glimpse into what you’ll look like as an old lady. If you get some, the best tip I’ve read is to leave it on for at least 10 minutes before doing anything at all, so it soaks into the oil. Then do the massage step and brush it out. Be prepared for white flakes everywhere. Don’t wear your best top until afterwards!

Worcester, the River Severn

Managing: multiple Christmas wish lists. Always try to get a head start in November

Watching: Friday night films. Here some we watched during November: Adult Life Skills on Netflix, The Last Bus on Prime, TICK TICK BOOM on Netflix

Hoping: no Lockdown restrictions are ahead, though if we need them, we need them

Worcester cathedral, before Remembrance Sunday

Wearing: a MASK! Wear a mask, protect others

Noticing: some are still flaunting the new rules that came in on Monday

Following: I’m a Celebrity when it started, not watching so much this year though. It’s just not the same when it’s in Wales, compared to Australia! Have you seen any eps?

Sorting: through photos from the summery summer

Getting: apples in from the garage

Worcester has giant sycamore leaves!

Coveting: a Mac Book, a whizzy new SatNav, more walking trainers…(the real Father Christmas might read?! I mean the real one. Not family. This is not a hint for them.)

Feeling: purposeful

Hearing: Hard-Fi’s Hard to Beat on the radio

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What are you planning this weekend? I think we’re heading to a National Trust house tomorrow to see more Christmas sparkles, as a sweetener after having flu jabs, cooking a roast Sunday lunch and I’m still planning to make that chutney! I need help to peel the apples

Snow Face!

Posted on by

6

It’s been an exciting morning. It’s been really stormy here overnight, with Storm Arwen bringing very, very gusty winds but luckily no damage. I think the north of the country have had it far worse with 98 mph winds.

I kept having shouted weather updates from downstairs first thing, as we were anticipating some changes. First it was “It’s only raining at the moment” yawn, then “I think it’s starting to sleet” ok a little more interesting and then I got a WhatsApp video showing snow falling!

At the time I was sat up in bed ordering more wool for my blanket and toy eyes from Wool Warehouse. I tried to support my local yarn shops, but neither of them had the right sized toy eyes. It was enjoyable browsing online, as it’s months since I have properly looked. But when the snow video came I ended up jumping out of bed, grabbing my iPad and FaceTiming a friend to show her our blizzard of snow. I can’t help squealing, and my snow face was definitely on.

Last night I started to join two of my Coast Blanket granny squares together. Actually as well as JAYGOing I initially went all the way round the outsides too, but wasn’t happy so unravelled it all. Now they’re just joined in one line across, with a third block added to make a longish rectangle.

I can’t really do anything else now, until I’ve got some more of the yellow grey blue wool. But as I did far too much crochet my hand is really protesting today, so a break isn’t a bad thing. I want to make some chutney soon. I might have to have some help peeling and chopping the apples. Oops.

I have three more blocks to join, but I just don’t think the colours go. Although looking at the photo above they look fine. What do you reckon? During the lockdowns, last year and this, supplies of wool ran really low. Across the country people hunkered down to knit and crochet their way through the anxiety and boredom. So, I ended up with three quite different colour-ways of Hayfield Spirit DK for my Coast Blanket. Hmmm. I have a feeling that they will be turned into two smaller blankets, instead of one king-sized. No matter. If this 2° weather continues I’ll be wrapping myself in both! Brrrr!

Because you stuff the gingerbread man as you go and add his eyes, before completing the rest of his head, the poor little thing is eyeless and looks like he’s had a lobotomy. He’s by the magazine for scale. I think if I’d used the proper cotton and smaller hook he’d probably be half the size, but I love him. (The pattern’s by Victoria Kairis and was featured in Simply Crochet mag, issue 115.)

On Thursday I met Cathy for a walk in Badbury woods. We did a 40 minute circular walk, with a sit to admire the long ranging views across Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, then a wander around the Clumps. It was a chilly 3°, so I wore my Edenvale cowl I am very glad we went, because those trees will definitely not have leaves now. It was really rather beautiful as the breeze blew Copper Beech leaves down on us, as we walked underneath the trees.

Badbury is managed by The National Trust. It’s well worth going in springtime for the bluebells. That was the first trip Someone and I did when we came out of Lockdown. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the joy of being somewhere completely different after so long. I drank in the views. Cathy tells me the snowdrops are a must-see too.

Afterwards I went into Faringdon for a wander around the churchyard and then had a pot of tea and a wrap for lunch in Costa. Later I had quite a fright as I went into a shop. You remember in my last post I was talking about dogs making a beeline for me, although I’m a cat person? As I opened the shop door and walked through the doorway a head shot out to the side, coming straight at me, between bags hanging on hooks. I shot up into the air and squealed a most peculiar sound. If they’ve got CCTV I bet it would be hilarious to watch. Nothing scary after all, but what a surprise!

Isn’t he gorgeous? He’s an older cat, who lives in the shop. The guy was at the till and his partner (I assume) was running a yoga class in the back room. After a fuss and photo session I went to browse the candles and teas, the cat jumped down from the shelf and walked past me. I thought he was hinting for some more strokes, but no he obviously knows the class routine well; the yoga finished and as people came out of the back room, lots of them stopped stroke him. It was time for more fuss. Clever puss.

I bought this little decorative pot which came in a reusable bag, made from old sari silk. I thought after asking to take photos of the cat and having a chat with the owner, it was the least I could do. I gave it away as a little gift that afternoon. I will definitely go back for more, the shop is called The Lotus Retreat.

It’s opposite a bakery which has been there for years. It’s well known for their Lardy Cakes. My FiL used to drive a lot for work and seemed to navigate the country via bakeries. When I once said I was in Faringdon he immediately recommended the bakery and Lardy cake, for next time. (Oxfordshire should be on that list too Wikipedia.) But I’d already found it and bought us one! I have a good nose for cake too. So, if you’re anywhere near Faringdon, Oxfordshire, you now have a recommendation for a nice walk in the woods, a browse of independent shops and are well prepared for a cat who will shoot his head out and make you jump! Plus a source of fresh cake and breads to take home.

We have planned to go to a Christmas craft fair this afternoon and the switching on of the lights tonight. I’m not sure if I fancy 40+ mile an hour winds, we will see…

What have you got planned for the weekend?

Taking Stock – September

Posted on by

8

Reading:

The Man Who Died Twice

Even better than the first book, which was The Thursday Murder Club (as if anyone really needs to be told; it was an instant international bestseller.) It would be best if you read the first before this one.

The Beloved Girls

A 5 star read. Twisty turny, with a slow building atmosphere of menace. I had so many thoughts and questions about what might be happening, when I wasn’t reading. Always a good sign of a compelling book. Also It jumps back and forth in time, which I always enjoy. It keeps you on your toes. Plus it is partly set in a large English, country house. Enough said?

Freckles

This was a surprise; there was a time when I always used to read new Cecilia Ahern books and then I just felt like I’d grown out of them. This is a new, more real and grittier style of writing. I couldn’t put it down.

Enjoying: all the late summer / early autumn colour in the garden.

Noticing: some beautiful bright sunny days, with magic golden light just before dusk.

Making: hexagons! Too many so now I’m on a self-imposed ban for a week, as my hand is so sore. I did enjoy it at the time though.

Instagram stories questions… Be prepared for lots of responses. Don’t ask if you don’t want honesty! I didn’t mind, as the slightly circular nature was bugging me
New and improved. Sharper corners (absolutely nothing to do with the pattern, just me cutting corners. Literally!)

Planning: to use this book. I’ve now bought the tin for *half the price* of the recommended one. It’s still really good quality. I bought a James Martin one from an online retailer who have a bricks and mortar shop in Dorset too. (Ask me if you’re in the UK, I’ll send a link.) Very happy with the look and weight of it.

One Tin Bakes

Cooking: The days were mostly been so warm at the beginning of the month that I haven’t made a single batch of soup yet. (Plus being unwell for the whole of September didn’t feel like chop, chop, chopping … ) Latterly I’ve eaten porridge with maple flavoured golden syrup and chopped apple on top. Always a sign of cooler weather. Soup making isn’t going to be far off.

Baking: Dark choc walnut brownies to eat with raspberries and creme fraiche, after roast chicken, new potatoes and salad

Rosemary & Cornish Seasalt focaccia

A Facebook friend said it looked like spiders. They were very tasty!

Cinnamon buns

Cinnamon buns! YUM!

I typed out my recipe for cinnamon buns and sent it to my 13-year-old niece. She made them the next day and sent me photos. They were perfect.

Watching: tomatoes ripen. I’ve been taking a daily photo, then sending it to my friend who loves tracking the changes while he works in his office in London!

Eating: pink omelettes! I had a phase of these, if a phase can consist of two?! One with the spoonful of rose harissa are mixed in and the other a spoonful of red pesto. They taste good. Try it?

Enjoying: my micro-greens which I left to grow to salad leaf size. Much better value for money than paying £2.99 per packet. I feed them a little so there’s enough nutrients to feed the plants. Still going strong…

Mackerel with lemon & dijon dressing & cannelini beans

Learning: Italian on Duolingo app, it’s free. So many languages to choose from, but I’ve always wanted to learn Italian.

Someone is really not impressed

Listening: to Mickey Flanagan What Chance Change? If you’re a fan this is a must listen. It’s on BBC Sounds week by week. There are two episodes so far, charting his life and aspirations in the 1970s and 1980s. I’m looking forward to the next two decades. He’s SO funny.

Watching: Upload on Prime. It’s unexpectedly good, lots of twists and surprises. Maybe not for the faint-hearted at some points. We’ve watched six episodes so far.

The IT Crowd classic British comedy from the early noughties, laugh out loud funny.

This Way Up it’s currently on C4 Catch up. I hope it’s on other international platforms soon, so you can all watch it too. You just want to hug Aisling Bea’s character so hard. I sat silently feeling all the feels, at the end of the last episode on Thursday. Stunningly written TV.

~~~~

See, I told you I had a lot to tell you! This is what happens when you’re home-based for a month.

Have a lovely weekend, enjoy a bit of reading, cooking, making, watching… Whatever floats your boat!

Reasons to be Cheerful

Posted on by

10

My wool delivery came! And it didn’t take that long either, despite many warnings that there are delays. Thanks Wool Warehouse.

I ordered lots of balls and in a few different colour-ways, so I can power on with my Coast blanket. I managed 57 minutes of crochet while on a call earlier. That’s impressive work for my dodgy hand.

Slowly, slowly I’m knitting my next dishcloth*. Choosing the design for February must have been a breeze. I really like it. I always enjoy lace knitting, though I have to concentrate.

I had a proper lightbulb moment the other day as I kept worrying that I was doing something wrong. It wasn’t looking heart-like at all. Thank goodness I didn’t undo and go back to the beginning! I probably missed a pattern note where it says the hearts appear upside down. I made someone jump by suddenly shouting “OMG, there ARE hearts after all!”

It turns out I’m not the only one who worried about this one. Always a relief.

*It’s part of a free 12 month KAL, go back to my last post for the link and description.

Winter flowers and the promise of Spring flowers. The garden is coming to life. Just look at those cheeky little croci coming up in the gap between the last two steps. We missed these last year, as we moved after they’d flowered. After the snow had gone it was a nice surprise to find a carpet of lilac all over the garden.

Look at these tulips; despite my not having cleared away some of the leaves of the grape leaf anemone, they’re coming up anyway. Top marks for doing what they’re meant to do. I felt so guilty I stopped snapping photos and did a bit of tidying to help them along.

Chicken soup in the making (much therapeutic chopping while listening to favourite artists on Spotify.) Apparently I said we were having chicken soup for dinner on Wednesday, three times on Tuesday. I don’t dispute that. My memory is fine. I was just excited! It feels so healthy and tastes great too. I added garlic, mixed herbs, homegrown dried bay leaves, red pepper, leeks, Merchant Gourmet ready cooked puy lentils, sweetcorn, chicken stock, leftover Sunday roast chicken and a spoonful of leftover double cream, a good grind of fresh black pepper and pinch of salt. So good. Sooo good.

Refreshing walks relieve head pressure and get the body moving. I score myself out of 10 some days and never failed to return feeling an 8/10.

I know many don’t have such beautiful places and views nearby. I’m really sorry if that’s you. I’m appreciative and grateful, I don’t take it for granted.

We had the Beast from the East again last week. Temperatures went down to -5° some nights and didn’t get above 0° on the whole during the day.

We walked Saturday afternoon, it was -1°. That wasn’t the coldest walk we’ve had, but might have been one of the swiftest 4.5 miles because of the bitingly cold wind.

I found a few big chunks of ice in different places on verges, where there were no puddles at all. My shoe was for scale. Aren’t they thick? I reckon they may have come off a farm vehicle as it went along the track.

Homemade cinnamon buns with a toffee sauce and clementine glaze. Nuff said!

~~~

I’m going to admit that I started this blog post with rather gritted teeth. I feel like I’ve finally hit the wall this week. We’ve been in lockdown to varying degrees coming up for a year now. It’s worn thinner than thin.

Getting out into the garden to photograph the flowers earlier was a good decision. I also had a nagging feeling that if I didn’t blog today, I might well not blog again. It’s been proactive to list reasons to be cheerful. It’s a bit like smiling when you don’t feel like smiling, but by the end of the fake smiling, you are genuinely smiling…

~~~

I really appreciate it when you read and comment here or contact me privately elsewhere. Tell me a few things. How are you feeling? What are your reasons to be cheerful right now? Have you made anything as sinful as my cinnamon buns? (Ha that’s a hard challenge to beat!)

4 WIPS

Posted on by

11

Hello there, despite the least variety, or many plans to look forward to (apart from Zoom meetings, online singing classes, FaceTime drinks with friends and family and excellent roast Sunday lunches some weekends, which all equate to the most amount of time we’ve spent inside at home) it seems to be over two weeks since I posted. I’m not quite sure how that happened; because after I wrote my Yarn Along post I was buzzing with ideas for more posts. Time and opportunity has not been an issue!

Anyway, thank you so much for your comments on my last. It was so nice to hear from so many of you. Your comments all made me smile.

I’m going to jump straight in to show you what I’ve been doing for the last few weeks. I still only do a little at a time as I can’t crochet or knit for long periods, like I used to. But I’m thankful that I can still do some, as long as I stop the moment I feel a twinge of hand or wrist pain.

What I’m making has to be quite simple. I’ve tried more intricate patterns and unfortunately it’s still a no-go, unless I crochet or knit just a little, for about 10 minutes at a time, and that’s really unsatisfying. I’m happy with all these makes though, and hope you enjoy your peep at what I’ve been up to…

I kept seeing these Vintage Flower Hexagon motifs on Insta. I haven’t seen anything quite like this before, it makes me think of Orla Kiely designs. I bought Atty van Norel’s pattern on Ravelry. Really pretty isn’t it?

I’m using chunky yarn and so my motif is 18cm across. The slightly wiggly shape will sort itself out when joined with others.

Yep, it’s back! I had stopped this Star Blanket with a view to it being a baby blanket. But I kept eyeing it, wondering about continuing. It’s really cold weather here and a chunky blanket is the nicest thing to sit underneath while you work on it. Today it’s 3° but feels like -1° according to the BBC Weather app. We had quite a good fall of snow yesterday. The Snowhare we made in the garden is starting to tilt as it melted slightly today, but there’s still plenty of white stuff around.

I unravelled a few rows because I’d spotted a stitch or two I wanted to re-do, and hooking those rows back up made me remember how deliciously tactile it is using chunky yarn and a 6 mm hook. I’ve got quite a lot of Paintbox Simply Chunky yarn as Lovecrafts.com sent some to me to try last summer, so I’ll carry on and see what size it becomes.

If you haven’t tried Paintbox Simply Chunky yarn yet, do. It’s so soft and makes a really squishy fabric. It’s 100% acrylic but has a really nice feel. This isn’t an advert or an affiliated link, it’s genuine enthusiasm for a new find.

I know that some of you are waiting for the pattern for my knitted cowl, but like an idiot I sent it to my friend before I worked out a few details for the written pattern. She sent me a picture wearing it when she’d just received it. I hadn’t told her when it was posted as I thought a surprise would be really welcome in this bleugh time. Her little face was a picture of joy, so I can hardly ask her to send it back. So, I’m starting another and this time trying to be a little bit more professional about things…!

I’m so enjoying making these large granny squares. My hand feels most comfortable using this fairly fine DK wool blend with a 4 mm hook. This is what I often crochet when I make telephone calls. I wear my hands free ear pods and we chat about all sorts while I do some hooky.

I started the blues and greys square on holiday in September, in Cornwall. I bought a couple of balls of Hayfield Spirit DK yarn, a wool blend, and a hook in Penzance. It was pure pleasure sitting up in bed in the earlyish morning, in our holiday house further west, looking at the sea views, with the sun sparkling on the water. 

Sadly I can’t get any more of the yarn at the moment. Wah! I contacted Sirdar as I’d searched on many yarn company websites for the colour shades I need next and it’s a no-go. I can get maybe one colour blend, but not all. Apparently the lack of availability is down to Covid and Brexit. The terrible twins.

Still, there’s plenty here to keep my hands busy. What about you? Tell me what you’re making and busy with, please.

A Woodland Walk

Posted on by

9

Into the woods, around boggy bits, along field edges, slipping up hills and slivering down others in the mud, catching on brambles and holly, walking in pelting rain, climbing over fallen trees and back into the woodland, until I finally implored them

“SLOW DOWN! Aunty Rachel’s legs are a lot shorter than yours!”

I felt like I’d been through commando training!

~~~~~

Chop, chop, chopping for a chicken and pearl barley casserole.

Ohhhh. Not sure about including the sweet potatoes!

Do we want a pink dinner?

~~~~~

I’m now on my second granny square. The decision whether to keep going on and make a huge one-square blanket was made when I laid it on out a table at the weekend. I realised the edges were starting to frill. Rather than fiddle around adding extra chains along the sides I unravelled some rounds until it wasn’t frilling any more, fastened the yarn off and began another square.

Sometimes decisions are made for you and it’s easy!

I need to decide whether I carry on using this colour combination (it’s Breeze) or buy some more Hayfield Spirit DK in another colour combo. I can’t decide whether I want a purely blue and grey blanket, or one with a more colourful patchwork effect. I’ll have to decide soon because I have only half a ball left…

~~~~~

Tell me a few things?

Coastal Crochet

Posted on by

6

Can you believe I forgot to bring any craft away with me, so the first thing I bought (apart from a pasty for lunch!) was a hook and 2 balls of yarn.

I know a nice little wool shop in the middle of Penzance so headed there first. The yarn I chose is Hayfield’s Spirit. It’s 20% wool and has a lovely soft feel. It isn’t the thickest DK but luckily works up well with the 4mm hook I bought. The colourway is ‘Breeze’, the blues and greys perfectly reflect the changing colours of the Cornish sea view we have from our cottage. It’s a few minutes walk from the South West Coast Path and overlooks the sea and a lighthouse.

I’ve brought my Tilted Squares blanket with me to snuggle under. That’s my one packing triumph this year; I always think I should bring a blanket away in September because it gets quite cool during evenings and at night. It’s such a cheery thing to see on a bed or sofa. All the complex patterns in the world can’t beat a bit of classic granny squaring! Ah! So why not make another?! I’m still deciding whether to go for a multi-square rectangular or one simple round and round you go square blanket.

My view as I sit up in bed in the morning:

It’s already named the Coast Path blanket, though this will probably change a few times. It won’t be tilting this time because I’m changing direction on every round.

I’m off to sip my tea, make some breakfast and discuss plans for the day now.

What are you making at the moment? Have you managed to go away anywhere?