Just pootling along

Hellooooooo! It feels like such a long time since I was here! Hard to believe it was only last weekend. I've spent the week in Derbyshire on a residential trip with my class. It was a packed week with all kinds of adventurous activities such as kayaking, rock climbing and stream scrambling and the kids had a great time. It is a beautiful part of England with some stunning scenery and plenty of sheep too! I managed to fit in a few rows of knitting each evening sat outside the dormitories, waiting for the kids to fall asleep. As soon as they were quiet, I went to bed too, so I didn't make very much progress. Still, I've had a rather lazy weekend, filled with baking, knitting and sewing as well as catching up with what's been happening online. I had a mug of tea and cake to fortify me as I ploughed through a week's worth of photos on Instagram! It's a very delicious Marmalade cake - recipe here should you wish to try and make your own. If you like a cake with tang, it's worth a bake! 

I've been working on some secret projects for the Stylecraft Blogtour which starts later this month, so can only share tiny peeks of what I have in store for you for now. One of my designs is hopefully going to combine knitting and sewing, since I have become a little addicted to it in recent months. The last photo shows the start of an i-cord edging - I could be some time with this! I love the neatness of the finished project, so it will be worth it! 

I worked on a new sock pattern while I was away - using the new Head over Heels yarn from Stylecraft. I'm using a textured stitch pattern which hopefully shows off the colour changes quite nicely. I'm ready to decrease for the toe now, so ought to have the second sock on the needles by next weekend. The kitty bag is from ThreeBagsFull. Michele does have excellent taste in fabrics and I love how the lining matches so well. 

Talking of next weekend, I'm going to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace on Saturday. I'll be on the Stylecraft stand at some point, so please stop by and say hello if you're there! I'm going to have a rummage through my stash before I go because UK Hand Knitting is holding a special event on their stand. They are asking visitors to take along any unwanted yarn to be donated to the charity Knit for Peace. In return you'll be entered into a draw to win lots of goodies. What a great idea. I know I have yarn in my stash that I'm unlikely to knit and it'll be going to such a worthwhile cause. If you're planning to visit Ally Pally this week, why not take along a couple of balls of yarn from your stash to make room for new purchases?! Have a great week, I'll report back on Ally Pally next Sunday. xxx