Stormy!

I've had a LOT of knitting time this weekend. I travelled from Norwich down to Devon on Friday evening to meet up with my old University friends. We meet up once a year and it's always good to see them and catch up. The weather was mixed - we did manage to dodge the showers on Saturday and went for a walk in the local countryside.

 

Of course a cream tea was obligatory too! I really do love clotted cream!!

The weather on Sunday was wild to say the least, and we battened down the hatches and played a variety of games. Qwirkle and Phase 10 are current favourites. The weekend passed all too fast, and before we knew it, we were back on the train heading home. Luckily I had my sock with me, because thanks to a lightning strike on some signalling equipment, all trains into London Paddington were delayed by over an hour! This is the Roxy sock, a free pattern just released on Ravelry by one of the members of the Three Bags Full group. It's Kim's first dabble with designing, so we are having a KAL in the group to show our support. I've been knitting the socks for less than a week and have already turned the heel on the second sock! The yarn is one that I've had in my stash for ages - a Regia self striping yarn that I bought in Canada many moons ago!!

 

My hand knit gifts were well received and orders placed for next year!! Thankfully I won't have to travel because my friends are coming up to see the new house!

 

Mr JK and I are off (again!) on Friday after work. We are taking the night ferry from Harwich over to The Netherlands and spending the week in Germany visiting family and friends. I am going to try to be relatively monogamous with my knitting and work on my Caissa sweater. I am desperately in need of a new cardigan and this one has been on the go since (ahem!) Boxing Day last year! It is pretty straightforward knitting so I hope to make great progress on the autobahns! So all being well, I shall be back blogging again at the beginning of November. Until then, happy knitting everyone! xxx

Time to dig out the woollies!

It's feeling very autumnal in our little corner of Norfolk. The temperature has dropped and the lawn is covered with leaves in varying shades of red, orange, yellow and brown. Needless to say, Flo is delighted and thinks we have been most generous with all her outdoor cat toys!! Mr JK and I have been walking every morning, and this past week I have had to delve into the wardrobe to unearth some cosy knitwear! As long as it's not pouring with rain, I don't mind the walk. We are both starting to see the benefits too, so that's really motivating us to keep going! So picture me, bundled up at 6am, wearing my handspun Fartlek hat ..........

 

 

.......my Tidal Sands cowl..........

...... and my Plain Jhayne mitts. These are so warm and light, it's a treat to wear them!

I may not look especially co-ordinated, but hey! I'm nice and warm! (Note to self - search Ravelry for hat, scarf, cowl and mitts sets!) What are your comfort knits that you dig out once it starts to get chilly?

 

Despite a very busy couple of weeks at school, I have managed to get some knitting and spinning done. Firstly, I finished off a slouchy hat for one of my Uni friends. We are meeting up next weekend, so I was keen to get it finished by this weekend. The pattern is Squish Me, and I know it would have been better knitted in a wool yarn. But my friend specifically asked for an acrylic hat! Sorry the photo isn't very good. I have been looking on ebay and think I will buy a model head to show off hats a bit better!

 

 

I also finished the first of a pair of handspun socks. I'm using some fibre that Marianne gifted to me. It's a mix of 50% BFL and 50% ramie, a plant fibre extracted from stinging nettles! They are a little more rustic than my usual handknit socks, but I think they will be perfect for slouching around the house or wearing in my walking boots. I love the way the colours blend together.

 

 

 

 

I'm taking part in a Spin-Along in the Fluff-n-Stuff group on Ravelry. We are spinning up our swap fibre with the aim of knitting some mitts next month. I haven't got very far yet, but am enjoying spending time at the wheel again.

 

 



This is another braid of Stinger fibre. I'm trying to spin it quite fine. Time will tell how it plies up, it's always a bit of a surprise!! I received another parcel in the fibre swap (we had an odd number of people taking part and so I gave myself two partners. What can I say except that I am clearly a total fibre glutton!!) This parcel was from Nic and she sent me a gorgeous braid of Halo, which is a mix of Polwarth and kid mohair. I think it is going to become a cosy cowl at some point. Nic also sent me a very pretty lace pincushion she'd bought while on holiday in Austria and a seriously cute Christmas tree ornament hot from Yarndale!

 

I was delighted to find a fun neck warmer in Sainsbury's yesterday. I have been suffering from a stiff neck and wanted one of those warmers that you could just bung in the microwave. Of course all the Christmas gifts are on display, and I pounced on this. It's got a pretty colourwork pattern and is wrapped around my neck as I write my blog!

 

 

If I don't manage to blog next Sunday, it'll be because I'm travelling back from my weekend away in Devon. But that will mean lots of knitting time on the train!! Keep warm and see you soon! xxx

Happy things!

These things have made me feel happy today.

The colours in my hand spun yarn. Such a lovely mix of blues, purples and greens.

   

A fried egg on top of granary toast! Mmmmmm! The eggs come from my friend Tom's hens and are really delicious.

A new bar of soap for the shower. I love these fruity soaps and shall be restocking when Mr JK and I go to Amsterdam in December.

 

Florence shadowing me the whole time I was spinning. She lay by my chair and snoozed!

 

The water lily in the pond flowering for the first time. We bought the water lily earlier in the year to give some shade for the fish.

Little splashes of colour all around the garden from these beautiful Japanese anemones. There are different shades of pink as well as white ones in bloom.

 

A mug of Yorkshire tea and a Reese's peanut butter pumpkin! Shhhhhhhh! Don't tell Mr JK!!! xxx