Parcels

Look what the postman just brought! First up, this:

There will be one happy bean after school at least.

Then there was a supersized grey package that turned out to contain this:

Yes, its an Attic24 colour pack, affectionately known as a 'Lucy pack'. I'm running out of plain dk, and as I seem to have well and truely caught the granny bug I needed some more and a large pack with lots of colours made absolute sense to me. Husbean enquired whether I had bought one of each colour available and was vaguely impressed when I said there are 55 colours, and I only have 17. Restraint, you see. (One of each did cross my mind...) But I love it, and can't stop looking and stroking and hugging it. It's very squishy all in a bag like that, but I have opened the bag too, and that's even nicer.

Now I just have to finish a couple of other projects before I can really get started...

The Great Gathering

After the Wool Experience, it was the other half's turn.  So it was that we made our way this weekend, on an even hotter day, to the National Railway Museum at York with some friends.  We were going to see the six A4 pacifics, the Mallard and all its friends, all together for the first time (and quite possibly the last).  I like steam trains and so do the kids, but the men were just slightly besotted.  The way it was laid out meant that you couldn't see them all until you were standing on the turntable.  They are awesome engines and are beautiful, especially all together.

(Click on the photo to see it better; there were six, I just couldn't get them all in!)

We had a very long day (did I mention it was hot too?) and came away with exhausted kids and very happy menfolk.  And us ladies?  Well, we enjoyed the trains but also the tea and scones, and the chance to chat. And we also really enjoyed the children's storytime that involved being trains and making lots of noise!

The Wool Experience

Well, it was time to experience wool again last weekend, with the added bonus of the most delicious ice cream.  The venue was, as ever, Blaze Farm and the children enjoyed seeing the animals and watching the sheep shearing while I explored the wool. I didn't take any pictures of the actual event as I was too busy fondling wool, and I only had a limited time before the children got too hot and wanted to go home.  I could have bought so much, but as I still have a whole fleece from last year I really couldn't justify any more, so I came away with just one fibre braid:

This is Finnish, from WeaveKnitIt, and it is so soft and gorgeous, I can't wait to try spinning it. (It's also brighter blue-green, in real life, but I can't get my phone to comply.) Plans are afoot for a wheel (what are big birthdays for if not for big pressies?) but until then it'll have to be on the spindle. The spindle is of course currently occupied with something else:

so I'll have to finish that first.  I forsee much spinning in my immediate future...

Spring in the garden

Yes, it would appear that spring is finally here.  The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and the sun is shining, at least for the moment.  Our gardening started in earnest by planting seeds over the Easter holidays, courgettes and French beans, and these have been growing happily on the windowsill.  But they grew so much (as they do tend to) that they got too big, and needed to go out in the garden, whatever the weather decided to do.

I've spent a while trying to find suitable containers that don't cost anything and then planting out the plants.  So we have three bean plants in an old jute supermarket bag with the plastic lining removed, and three courgette plants in, from bottom to top, old tyres, a broken plastic box and a fruit crate.  They may not be the most aesthetically pleasing containers but they do the job.

The other things I've planted are potatoes.  I love growing potatoes and discovering all that potatoey goodness hidden in the soil when we empty out the tubs (so do the kids, it's like a treasure hunt).  We use plastic dustbins with holes drilled in them that we've had for several years now.  This year's variety is Maris Peer, and they are poking their leaves above the soil now and growing at a fantastic rate.  I am a bit behind, but they're second earlies so they'll just be a bit late.  I can wait.

Other things going on in the garden include fruit trees and bushes blossoming...

...and how could I forget the rhubarb.  Crumble, anyone?  I love spring!

Crochet!

I learnt to crochet before I learnt to knit, but never got very far with it.  However, I was challenged recently to try some crochet again, at least that's how I took it, and this was the result.

Eventually.

What do you call a polygon with five-and-a-half sides? I don't know either but I made one, and that was the second attempt.  Anyway, after two weeks, much ripping (with appropriate language) and a short sojourn in hospital (unrelated), I finally managed to produce a decent looking tortoise, with which I am quite chuffed.

I am now back to knitting thank goodness, but I suspect I will be crocheting again soon.

Leverage...

We've started a group at school making story sacks, currently working on The Hungry Caterpillar which involves knitting a lot of green balls. Now I've always known I was a slow knitter, going for consistency rather than speed(!), but at the first meeting it got ridiculous. So I've been inspired to try to speed up my knitting, or at least make it more efficient.

After much envious watching of the Yarn Harlot on youtube, and after reading somewhere that if you do something every day for a month it will become a habit, I decided that my just-started cardigan was the ideal project on which to learn lever knitting. I'm knitting Common Ground, which starts with garter stitch (practise the knit stitch first), then has a period of stocking stitch (add in the purling) before doing a little light lace work and ending with the ultimate challenge, ribbing.

I'm now part way down the lace section and I can report that the knit stitches are ok, the lace a little more challenging, and the purling still rubbish. Still, I've got till New Year to practice, and I should get a bit more knitting time once Christmas actually gets here.

Advent stars

We went to visit a friend on the Glossop Christmas Art Trail at the weekend.  She's a stained glass artist but was busy making stars from dogwood twigs, so she taught us too.  The children were using them as magic wands, I went a bit mad and made quite a few and then wondered what to do with them all.  So now we have this:

advent stars hanging above the fireplace.  It must be nearly Christmas!