A crafty weekend

Hello there! Thanks for calling in. It's been a hot and sunny weekend here on the North Norfolk coast, unlike much of the UK, and we've been making the most of it, with some lovely al fresco meals. Mr JK has come up trumps in the vegetable stakes again this year. We picked some broad beans, and had Delia Smith's broad bean salad for lunch today, with some warm pitta bread. I love podding broad beans. They look so cosy inside their pods. I'm always reminded of the children's song 'Paintbox', all about fruits and vegetables, and the line ...........'broad beans are sleeping in their blankety bed' .........., and it's true, they are! Look at this little lot that I disturbed today!

We also picked our first cucumbers and tomatoes, and had them with a bbq for supper. The tomatoes were delicious - so sweet and full of flavour. I hope that we'll be picking them right through to the autumn now.
I've been busy on my swap items, but can't show them to you yet, just in case Nancy or Ethmay are reading this! I've finished the knitted items for Ethmay's teatime swap, and I am really pleased with what I've made. I hope she will be too! I just need to buy a couple of treats and then the parcel will be ready to post. I'm having great fun getting to know Nancy over on Ravelry too . She's got a wicked sense of humour, and it's going to be a great swap, I just know it! I've started a knitted project for her, and I love the colours in the yarn I've chosen. I can't wait to show it to you all!
Remember I told you that I grafted the toe of my first Jaywalker sock last weekend? It's made it onto the sock blocker now. The yarn is lovely and soft - it's merino, soy and nylon. See what you think.

I've also blocked my Inga bag. It needed some not so gentle tugging and pinning to stretch it out, and it's still not perfect. But hey, I can live with it! I think that I must have crocheted the squares together a little too tightly, but it certainly looks a lot better now that it's blocked into something resembling a bag shape! Here it is all pinned out (and no, I don't co-ordinate my towels to match whatever I'm blocking! This one was top of the pile in the airing cupboard!)

I've chosen some fabric to line it with, so I need to be brave now and have a go with the sewing machine! I did go as far as getting it out of its box, and it's sitting on the table, but I need to get a few scraps of fabric from school first and have a little play around before I try with the lining fabric. I love the little pattern on it, don't you?

Hopefully next week, I'll have a couple of finished bags to show you! I also bought some fabric to make some little lined project bags with, and have found a super online tutorial which I'll share with you next time. Here's the fabric I chose. I think it must be related to the lining I bought first, don't you? Those black squiggles look similar!

I received a lovely squishy parcel from Ethmay this week - some mini skeins of yarn for my sock yarn blankie. Henrycat never likes to think that he's missing out on anything, and he was reluctant to let me get a proper look at all the little balls.

I'm sure you'd like a proper look too, wouldn't you? Here they are again, minus the cat!

There are some lovely yarns there, including Jitterbug, Cherry Tree Hill, and two that I've not come across before - Old Maiden Aunt and Ripples. Hmmmmmmmmm, I need to do some more investigating I think! I'm really hoping to get stuck into the blankie over the summer holidays. I've got loads of yarn just begging to become mitred squares!
With all my swap-making this weekend, I wanted to do something quick for myself. I've been admiring other people's little crocheted birds from Attic24, and decided that today was the day for me to make one! So I did. I used up oddments of Patons Sorbet yarn left over from the Attic24 bag. He's quite chunky - obviously a well fed birdie! I've hung him up in my craft room.

Have a lovely week, whatever you've got planned! See you soon. xx

What a scorcher!

Good evening to you! I meant to blog earlier in the week, but just got caught up with other things. Anyway, better late than never! We had a wonderful time in London. We managed to pick the hottest weekend of the year so far! Saturday was spent at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew.

Despite the heat, we ventured into the Palm House, and emerged, a little droopy and bedraggled! It felt cool coming out in the 30 degree heat!

There were swathes of brightly coloured flowers ........

........ heritage trees that have witnessed so much history ........

..... and some really intricate seed sculptures. I love these sycamore seeds, don't you?

We went for a treetop walk .......

....... and admired the massive lily pads in the waterlily house. This was my favourite part, and I could have stayed there all day!

It's a wonderful green space for the people of London. It never felt crowded, despite all the visitors. We chilled out in the shade of a tree, and whilst Mr JK had a mini-snoozle, I made good progress on my Jaywalker sock!

On Sunday, we headed back into London, stopping off at the National Portrait Gallery so that I could take a look at the Tudor portraits (my mind's already planning for next year's curriculum!) Trafalgar Square was buzzing with activity - people dipping their feet in the fountains trying to cool off ..........

...... and enjoying the refreshing spray from the fountains!

After lunch, we made our way to Hyde Park, and found a space to settle ourselves for the next 8 hours! It was Baking Hot, and there wasn't a scrap of shade anywhere! So we slapped on the suncream, donned our hats and drank gallons of water! There were people as far as you could see in every direction, listening to the various bands playing, watching England lose spectacularly in the World Cup, and relaxing in the sunshine.

Leading up to Paul McCartney were Elvis Costello, Crowded House and Crosby, Stills and Nash. I really enjoyed Crowded House, as they had a good rapport with the audience. It was great singing 'Weather with You' on such a sunny day! It was almost too hot to knit, but I did manage to finish sock number one and graft the toes whilst standing!

Finally the great man himself came on stage. Wow! What a concert it was! He played a good mix of Beatles songs, as well as Wings classics and some of his more recent material. Imagine 50,000 plus people all 'na-na-na-ing' along to Hey Jude, and it might give you a hint of the amazing atmosphere!

It was back to earth with a bump, and an early start to get back up to Norfolk for work on Monday morning! Fab-u-lous!

Normal service has resumed

Me again! Fingers crossed that Flickr is behaving itself now. Did you take a look at all those luvverly buttons yesterday? There are some really glorious colour combinations there. Too much choice! Talking of buttons, do you remember the button necklace Mr JK bought for me in Cornwall? It came from Button Love, and after a bit of searching, I discovered Alison's website. I emailed her a photo of the necklace and asked her if she could possibly make me some earrings to match. I was thrilled when she said 'no problem' and even more delighted when these arrived last week ........

Aren't they great? Alison was worried because they weren't a matching pair (she very rarely gets two matching ceramic buttons), but I wasn't worried at all. Look how well they go with the necklace .....

I've been working on my crochet bag this week in between school reports, and have now finished all the squares. The next task is sewing it all together. I love the bright, zingy colours!

It's rather an unusual shape when it's all sewn up so it will be an interesting job lining it. I'll have a look in my local fabric shop this week to find something fun. They have a really good selection there, so it shouldn't be too hard. Then, I'll be able to try out my New Sewing Machine! You remember I promised myself one once my reports were done and dusted. Well, they almost are, and Mr JK told me that I deserved it! I'm waiting for some comments to put on from a colleague, and I just need to read them through. So they are as good as done!! I had to turf Henrycat off his chair to put the box on it - you can see from the look on his face that he wasn't impressed!

My Jaywalker socks have grown too. I knit them (a little too enthusiastially it turned out) to and from Norwich this weekend, and then realised that I'd made the leg too long. I ended up having to frog about 10 rows! Never mind, the heel flap is underway now.

I bought some yarn whilst I was in John Lewis. A group of us on the Phoenix Knitting Forum are knitting squares for Knit a Square. I didn 't really have any yarn suitable as I wanted to use a yarn with a high(ish) wool content for safety reasons. So I settled on 4 balls of Patons Diploma. I hadn't realised quite how patriotic my colour choice was until I saw all the balls together! I'm sure that they will make some lovely cheery squares for this great cause.

I also bought a skein of yarn from Squirrel. She was trying to destash, so how could I not come to her aid?! It's from The Yarn Yard, and it's extremely bright and squishable!

I've just signed up for two swaps - the first one is on the Phoenix Knitting Forum, and is called 'Afternoon Teatime Treats'. I've already got a few ideas about what I'm going to make. The second swap will be my first on Ravelry, and I'm really hoping that my swap partner will be overseas, so that we can exchange some new yarns. The parcel has to include one or two skeins of yarn, a pattern, a handmade item of some kind, a summer-inspired recipe and some other small gifts. I don't know who my partner is yet, but once I do, you can be sure I'll be doing a bit of detective work on Ravelry to find out all I can about her! Watch this space!

I won't be blogging until after the weekend, as Mr JK and I are heading down to London after work on Friday. Depending on the weather, we thought we might head to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew on Saturday. On Sunday, we are going to Hyde Park for the Hard Rock Calling festival. Paul McCartney is the headline act, along with Crosby, Stills and Nash, Crowded House and Elvis Costello. I was planning a day of knitting in the sunshine, listening to the music, but have discovered this evening that no chairs are allowed into the arena - standing only! I can't say that I'm looking forward to 7 plus hours of standing but Mr JK has been desperate to see Macca for years! I shall try my best to take some sort of knitting in with me. Just hope that they don't count knitting needles as offensive weapons! Have a good week, whatever you're doing! xxx

Frustration!

GRRRRRRRR!!!!! I have so much to share with you, and I'm having real problems with Flickr this evening. It's really, really s - l - o - w ! And when I finally manage to upload some photos, I can't see them properly or get to resize them. Rude words! Never mind, I will just make this a brief post tonight, and try again tomorrow. You might remember when I was in Cornwall last month, I found some ceramic buttons on sale in a National Trust shop. I have done a little bit of detective work on the Internet, and discovered a whole world of wonderful buttony goodness. I just want them all!!!! Look at these hearts! And how about the squares and oblongs? Maybe you're looking for round buttons? They make other shapes too! There's also a lovely pebble range. I'm almost too scared to get in touch and find out how much they cost (I paid £1 per button at the NT), just in case I get a severe attack of buttonitis and it runs out of control. Just looking sets my heart beating faster! I shall love you and leave you for now, and go and gaze at those buttons again! See you soon.

ETA - Oh yes, I did get myself a sewing machine! Big smiles and cartwheels (in my head at least!)

In need of some instant gratification

Hello there. It's that time in the school year that pretty much every teacher I know dreads - report time! The deadline for mine to be done by is looming fast, and I've spent the weekend working on them in bursts! As a reward, I knitted a little in between completed subjects. I've been working pretty diligently on my Katerina shawl, and have completed 3 sections. Now all that remains to be done is 160 rows of the main lace pattern (40 repeats!)

It's not very exciting knitting if I'm honest. Each row of 127 stitches takes quite a while to complete, and I'm not seeing it grow quick enough! So, something more instantly gratifying was required. I like having a pair of socks on the go - a portable project, so I rummaged around in my stash and dug out some yarn I bought in Germany last summer. It decided that it wanted to become Jaywalkers, so I duly cast on. I knitted most of it last night when Mr JK and I went to spend an intimate evening with Rick Wakeman. He was performing nearby, and it was a most entertaining evening. He really is the most incredibly talented pianist, and a very good storyteller too. He had us all in stitches (me quite literally!) with tales of his days touring with Yes. If you've ever heard Cat Stevens' version of 'Morning has Broken', Rick is playing the piano on that too.

But even this lovely sock wasn't enough! I needed something even more instant! I've had in my favourites on Ravelry a crocheted cotton bag, and I bought some yarn for it several months ago when it was going cheap in Kemps! It's made from 16 squares sewn together in a rather intriguing way. Squares - perfect! They grow nice and quickly, so it's easy to sit back and feel a sense of achievement! The pattern is called Inga's Haekelbeutel, and it's going to make a perfect summery bag. I've done three squares so far, and love how the yarn is working out.

If I finish my reports before next weekend, I'm heading into Norwich to treat myself to a sewing machine. Pop back next week to see if I've managed it! Have a good week Bye! xx

No place like home

Hello again! Back home from Cormwall, washing done, Henrycat collected from his pussycat hotel, relaxing before the onslaught of the final half term! We had a lovely last day in Cornwall. The day started in Wadebridge, where I just had to call in at Granny Wobbly's fudge shop for some delicious maple and walnut crumbly fudge! We then headed off on the Camel Trail, where we visited Camel Valley wines. Mr JK is rather partial to a glass of red, so he bought a couple of bottles (and a pinot noir vine!). The vines did look quite majestic, basking in the sunshine.

After that, we went along the Camel Estuary, enjoying the views across to Rock and Daymer Bay. It's one of my favourite parts of Cornwall, associated with lots of happy childhood memories.

We popped into Padstow where Mr JK bought me a necklace that I'd spotted when we were there on Wednesday evening. I love it, and am hoping that I'm going to be able to contact the designer to see if she can make me some earrings to match. Do you like it?

We've been so lucky with the weather this week. Most of the time it's been warm and sunny, and even the small amount of rain didn't stop us getting out and about. I smiled when I looked at my feet and saw my 'virtual flipflops'! (Jenny, this photo's specially for you!!)

We had the perfect end to our week when we went back to Port Isaac on Friday evening to listen to the shanty group, Fisherman's Friends. They have become quite famous over the last couple of months, but still perform each week for charity in the harbour. The crowds were gathering as we arrived. It was a lovely setting, with the sun going down, the tide coming in and a few sea gulls flying overhead.

We set off from Cornwall back to Norfolk early yesterday morning, and had a very good journey - just over 7 hours driving/knitting time! I've been working on my Katerina shawl in Manos Silk Blend this week, and have finished the first half. It's made in two halves and then grafted together, and I'm hoping to have it finished in time to enter this year in our local summer show. Here's how it's looking .......

Have a good week, whatever you're doing! xx

In search of the perfect pasty!

We've had an action packed two days here in Cornwall. Yesterday we visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Wow! It was absolutely fantastic, and a place that I'd definitely return to. There is so much to see, from a truly impressive walled vegetable garden, to woodlands .....

......and a sub-tropical Jungle.

Even though there were lots of visitors, the gardens are so big that it never felt crowded. There are some lovely sculptures to be spotted, hidden in the woods. My favourite was the sleeping Mud Maiden.

Afterwards, we drove down to the little fishing village of Mevagissey. It's another picture postcard place.

Lots of little streets, packed full of arty, crafty goodies! It would be sooooooooo easy to spend lots of money very quickly! I did find a little bead shop, The Bead Store, and bought a few tubes of beads. I will learn to knit with beads this year!

Last night, we had supper at Rick Stein's cafe - the most informal of his dining establishments. I had a cod fishcake with watercress to start, followed by a tomato and feta tart with caramelised onions and basil, and to finish, summer pudding and ice cream. It really was very nice food, and pretty reasonably priced.

Today, we headed down to the south west tip of England, to Land's End. It is pretty commercialised, but the coastline is spectacular - rugged coastline.

After that, we drove round the coast to St Ives. It was packed with holidaymakers, making the most of the sun!

We asked a local where to find the best Cornish pasties in town, and weren't disappointed! We ate them overlooking the beach, keeping a beady eye on the watching seagulls! I wasn't going to share my pastie with anyone!

We then drove to Mousehole, a driver's nightmare, full of narrow, twisting lanes, and tiny cottages all packed in on top of each other higgledy piggledy!

Mousehole is famous for the legend of Tom Bawcock, a local fisherman, who braved terrible storms to catch fish for the starving villagers. The result was Star Gazy Pie, eaten on Tom Bawcock's Eve (December 23rd). The fish heads poke through the top of the pie, looking upwards to the skies!
We ended the day at Marazion. The tide was out, so we were able to walk across the causeway over to St Michael's Mount.

Tomorrow is our last day! I'm hoping that we will wake up to a sky like today's! Have a good day, wherever you are. Hope the sun is shining for you too!