Could it be Spring? Shhh....

Amazing how a bit of sunshine lifts your mood. Today has been really glorious and I can't tell you how much brighter it made me feel. Odd isn't it, I wouldn't have necessarily said I'd been feeling a bit low, fed up with winter, for sure, but this weekend I've suddenly felt much more motivated and got loads more done.

Its been getting there over the last week. We've had some nice bright days and less wet and grey but so cold still! Last weekend, I joined a friend and some of her 'fitness' pals for a walk. They are planning a trip to do the Yorkshire 3 peaks at the end of May and this was the first 'training' walk. I'm not sure a meander round Norfolk's country lanes is quite the Yorkshire hills equivalent but we walked about 10 miles so it was a reasonable distance.

It was pretty chilly, but lovely if you kept moving. The sunshine was trying through trees that still look incredibly wintery.

Norfolk has lots of pretty little churches and this one was tucked away...

No leaves on the trees, but proper blue sky!

The trouble is, when you stop to take photos...

Actually, we all did a bit of fiddling about and stopping and starting, which was quite nice as it meant there was a chance to talk to different people, most of whom I'd never met before.

The walk took us through what was aptly described as 'a rather scruffy farmyard'...

Past some gorgeous calves...

Sadly, I suspect these are not destined for particularly long lives as the sign on the gate the other side of the shed announced itself as a 'prime meat' farm... I don't eat a lot of meat, but I'm not vegetarian either, so I have to accept that what ends up on the plate comes from somewhere, but the proximity of the information was a bit close for comfort for me!!

We walked through a tiny village with lovely houses and gardens, one of which had a pond and these...

I'm not sure I've ever seen black swans before. They were a bit smaller than the usual white ones and made a quite different noise. Very striking birds.

Believe it or not, given this was the end of the first week in April, this was the first proper full on lot of daffodils I'd seen too...

There have been a few odd ones here and there but mostly they've been really slow to open. But there was definitely some evidence that we might be reaching the end of this very long winter...

At last! Green shoots!! 

And lambs!

These were very cute, but difficult to photograph as they kept running around!

It has to be said that in spite of the blue sky in these pictures it was still cold if you stood still for too long and the evenings and nights have been freezing. Literally. I have still been scraping ice off my windscreen most mornings. 

So although I have a bit of a love hate relationship with it, I have been quite glad of the blanket that I feel I've been working on forever (albeit a bit sporadically at times). Its big enough and thick enough now to keep the legs warm as you work - my evenings sorted then!

This was the 'trying to get the colour distribution right' session...

I'm still not entirely sure I did, partly because I'm not mad about all the colours. Quite a few were ones I just had odds and sods of wool left over as this was supposed to be a 'use up' project. Ha ha, famous last words! The bottom right is a bit of a red herring. I was thinking of doing a row of crochet round the edge of each one; I thought it would even the squares up and make them easier to sew together and I also thought it would add a bit to the size. This was meant to be 144 squares but by this stage I was soooo bored with the squares so stopped at 108... But after I had edged one row of 9, I decided I didn't much like it and pulled it all out again!

I have joined them all together now, using the crochet method as I think it gives a strong join and I did enjoy looking at it hung on the line today...

I do still have a few issues with this 'affectionately' named Wretched Knitted Squares Blanket - the mish mash of colours being one and the fact that the patterns meant that the squares all came out slightly different sizes which made it a nightmare to join! But hung up here, it is sort of growing on me...

The other thing I'm not keen on is that, unlike crochet, there is a very obvious right and wrong side. I don't mind the contrasting joining stitches showing but it does look a bit messy from the back...

I suppose it won't matter when its in use. So just the border to go now!

It was lovely to sit outside with a cup of tea and a piece of fresh brioche this morning...

I've never made this before but thought I'd give it a go. It was a bit messy (loads of melted butter in it!) and it has to prove for a very long time (I left it overnight) but it wasn't difficult. I didn't have the right size or shape of tin, hence the odd shaped loaf! But it was delicious; though I say it myself, it was way nicer than the stuff you buy in the shops.

I even dared baring my legs to the world (well the back garden!) today, lovely to feel the warmth of the sun.

Lets hope the frosty mornings are over and we'll get some more of this cheerful weather!

Sx

anticipation...

Today, I drove across to Cambridge to see a friend; her baby is due any day and I wanted to get her pressies over there in time.

Such excitement in those last few days before your first baby arrives, that mixture of apprehension about how it will all go, combined with the feeling that you just want to get on with it and be a bit more comfortable, and slight disbelief that a whole new person is going to enter your world and change life forever very soon.

Took me back 24 years and made me feel a bit wistful... not that I have any desire to be there again now! But its such a special time and I can't quite believe it was such a long time ago - and we were young and optimistic and full of anticipation about what the future would hold. Suddenly feel a bit sad and old!

It was lovely to share my friend's excitement and nerves though. And she loved the blanket :-). So much so that she had to have a little practise with it in the pram that is just ready and waiting...

And that made me feel really glad. And very happy that my little bit of handmade love could be shared and appreciated.

Worth the drive in the snow there and back!!

Sx

ooo, loving these!!!

What's not to love about cheerful tea towels? Always up for something to brighten up the kitchen! So this give away at Tales from Cuckoo Land caught my eye.

Lovely designer tea towels from All Tea Towels - something for everyone, go and have a peep :-). And if you fancy a chance of a freebie, pop into Cuckoo Land!

Sxx

mostly, I have been crocheting...

Actually, mostly I've been at work! But in between, I've been on a bit of a mission... My friend's baby is due in about a months time, but she's been having a bit of a rough time, had to leave work early and its looking very likely that this little person wont wait until the official due date! So I had a few evenings of mad square-making before getting to this...

You'll have to excuse the dingy colours, I just can't get a decent photo in my house because the rooms are never properly light at the moment and its been way too miserable to take photos outside. I love this bit of making a blanket and spent some time fiddling around with the layout. 

I usually leave a longish tail on each square and use that to join them but this time I'd been very disciplined and sewed all the ends in as I went along. So this time I decided to crochet them all together with a contrasting colour and actually, I really liked the end result...

Then came the tricky business of a border... I always stress over this a bit, mainly because you can't tell if it looks ok til you've done it! Originally I thought I'd go for quite a wide border and try to incorporate most of the colours...

I faffed about with the first row, first a row of trebles in every stitch, then 3 treble clusters, then clusters with spaces... After several lots of unravelling, I settled for three rows of 2 treble clusters, then a solid trebles row. I was going to do a fancy border after a dc row in the bright red, but then I kind of liked it with just that plain edge so, suddenly I was finished!!

Its a bit wiggly round the edges, mainly because I don't do the whole blocking/pressing thing with blankets, but I quite like it that way and I think they feel squishier and nicer somehow...

I hope my friend likes it!

I've also managed to finish a little thing thats been hanging around years! To be honest I'd forgotten about it, then found it when I was having a bit of a sort out. Can you spot it on my bed...? (in the awful dark, fuzzy photo!)

I think I made this little piece of lacework (think it has a proper name but can't remember it!) shortly after teaching myself to crochet again two or three years ago. It was supposed to be square but my tension was obviously off a bit. I'd made the cushion and the base cover from an old jumper but had never got around to attaching the crochet.

Silly really, it didn't take long to stitch on the crochet, add a few buttons...

...and I tucked in a little lavender bag, the plan being that it'll sit on my bed and help me sleep (ha ha!!!). It's not my favourite thing ever, don't really think the essentially monochrome look is for me, but there is a certain satisfaction in ticking another 'thing done' off the list :-) And it smells lovely!

Now I'm back to knitting... I'm making a poncho for a friend who has to spend much of her time in a wheelchair and thought a poncho would be an easy. cosy thing to put on and off.

Its dead easy - basically like knitting two small blankets, joining at the shoulders and adding a collar, but they are seriously long rows!! Getting there, I'm probably two thirds of the way up the back now. The yarn is Stylecraft aran, acrylic and wool mix and its really soft and lovely to knit with. Need to get it finished while the weather's still cold!!

Apart from all that...

I've had another trip to London, to a meeting at a venue practically under Tower Bridge - great view!

You can walk across the high walkways, where there is apparently an exhibition but I missed the last entrance by about a milisecond!

Quite imposing up close! Will have to save the exhibition for another time. Instead, although it was bitterly cold, I had a nice walk along the south bank of the Thames, under the bridges and through all the modern glass fronted office buildings...

I really love walking through London and I am definitely getting better at doing this on my own!!

Last weekend my eldest son was 24, can't quite believe that, it still seems amazing to me that these lovely men have appeared where my babies were 5 minutes ago! We had a lovely day out at the zoo. Although, I've always had slightly mixed feelings about zoos, Ben has loved seeing the animals, right from a small boy - think his favourites are the big cats - and this zoo seems to have happy, healthy animals and a big part in the breeding programmes that seem to be essential for preserving some of the animals that used to be prevalent in the wild.

This family of lions look and behave just like giant versions of your household moggie, basically pretty lazy and laid back...

They are seriously impressive beasts...

but I think I still love the giraffe the best...

We had a fun time, but why oh why can I still not manage to get a decent shot of my sons at the same time...!?!

Love them to bits!

That's about me done, til next time then...

Sx

Seriously overdue...

I just don't seem to be able to get the life balance right at the moment! It seems as though I could spend almost all my waking hours at work and still not feel on top of everything. I can't decide if this is a subconscious way of avoiding facing 'stuff' at home (or rather lack of anything particularly positive at home) or if there's not much positive on the home front because I'm spending way too many hours at work! Either way, I seem to be in a bit of a stuck place just now and all my good intentions at the beginning of the year have gone a bit out of the window!

So this is a bit of a catch up and confession post...

Confession no 1... I have completely failed to get out there and do the scavenger hunt thing. I love looking at how other people turn the words into images but I've decided not to beat myself up about not managing it myself.

Confession no 2... It is looking a tad unlikely that I'm going to meet my own goal of taking alphabet related pictures each month! 

Confession no 3... And if I do, guaranteed I'm not going to post on time at the end of the month -January being case in point!

So now I've got that off my chest... here comes a random selection of catch up photos... Some of these were deliberate attempts at the photo challenges, some just things I want to record...

I loved this bright blue post box outside a house in a little village near where my son is living in Shropshire...

The colour looks odd on the next photo - it was taken under street lamps on my phone - but it really made me smile when, after a very long day at work I came out to this on my car...

You have to admire the perfection of the circle and if anyone's of a science-y frame of mind, the little 2 was a clue to me as to who the culprit was - we have been working on a project to do with oxygen...!

Another finished object...

I found a couple of skeins of gorgeous Debbie Bliss Alpaca and Silk blend in the bargain bin, just enough to knit up this lacy cowl for a friend who is a 'purple' girl. It was so lovely to knit with, beautifully soft and warm.

I didn't manage to take a single photo of anything beginning with A for January! You wouldn't think it would be so tricky to think of things but it was a bit like that board game where you have to name things against the clock - suddenly nothing comes to mind at all!

I did manage a few things for B...

Potted bulbs...

Pretty bow...

This is the prettiest little parcel of tea ever! It was part of a Christmas present and contains jasmine tea flowers that open up slowly when you put hot water over them. Lovely.

Bubbles...

Bunting and baubles...

Blue sky...

It has to be said, given that it is 17th February now, its not looking good for C and D for February but hey, can't worry about it!

In terms of my challenges to myself each month, this is how January shapes up...

• Photo challenges - bit hopeless, as above...
• Crafty stuff - better... Finished scarf for eldest son, cowl for friend and have very nearly finished crocheted baby blanket for my friend. Not sure I've done much successful stash busting - the pile seems to grow as fast as I use it, can't think how that happens...
• General living
• go somewhere new - had never been to Stafford before... Sorry Stafford, but you didn't set me alight. Although, to be fair, it was the most miserable wet day and I'm sure in sunshine it might have been more appealing...
• Doing things I might have said no to - played badminton...and enjoyed it!
• Catching up with friends - terrible! Haven't managed this at all! Must try harder!!
• Learning about something - finally watched a Tarantino film, not the new one, but Inglorious Bastards, recommended by my sons and happened upon on late night TV one night... Honest opinion??? It was ok, quirky and darkly humorous but probably not really my thing...

So, belatedly, that's January in a nutshell. Best go phone a friend if I'm going to get anywhere with that one this year...!

Til next time...

Sx