The Wool Palace

Precipitation

This weekend marked the beginning of a cold snap, or rather, a return to the normal temperatures for this time of year.  Fortunately this also meant we had some sun, very welcome after days of rain and wind.

We were looking after two of Toby's mum's dogs for the weekend, which gave us a good excuse to get our and about.  Toby and the children went to the beach on Saturday while I was at Get Knitted, so on Sunday we decided to vist a new (to us) bit of the Quantocks.

Things didn't get off to a great start.  When we were halfway to the car park, Sam tentatively asked, 'Should I have brought my walking boots?'.  To which we replied, quite emphatically, yes he should have and no, we weren't going back to get them.  So Sam had to walk in his Heelys, sans wheels, which meant, he declared, that his 'heart wasn't in it'.

Still, the sun was shining, so we set off - and then there was a hailstorm.

Even the dogs aren't looking too impressed are they?

Luckily it passed and the weather cleared.

We spent a happy couple of hours tramping through mud and enjoyed some good views across to Bridgwater Bay.

It was the first time in a while that we've all been out together; it felt good to get some fresh air.

I'm away for work for the next couple of days so probably won't be posting or replying to email.  Normal service should resume in the second half of the week.

Snip snap

The weekend weather was wet and windy, just for a change.

Time to break out the craft supplies and get busy.

(Sam was involved as well - he just decided not to be in the photo).

I've been itching to try out the soft tree pattern since seeing it last week, so this was the perfect opportunity.  We put it together with some little houses, inspired by this post and came up with a mantle piece fit for Christmas.

And given the weather, we accessorised with a roaring fire.

Sam has plans for expanding the village and is talking of a church, pub and shop.  Watch this space...

Fired up

Toby's climbing partner came to stay.  They did proper scary climbing on Saturday - the children and I stayed away.

On Sunday we went to Haytor - along with many, many other people.

There was climbing - successful

and otherwise.

After the climbing it was time for bundling.

We watched the sun set

and the moon rise.

Then it was back home for sparklers in the garden.

Weekend in pictures

Gifts from my neighbours.

Late tomatoes.

Early hazelnuts.

Saturday sky.

A walk after lunch on Sunday.

I still can't quite believe we live here.

Life's a blur

The Bank Holiday weekend came as a welcome relief to the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks.  We did briefly consider a camping trip but decided we'd done enough trips away recently, so we stayed in London.  Saturday and Sunday were pretty full days so Monday was designated as a staying at home day.

While Josie recovered from a friend's sleepover birthday party (she claims they went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 2am - I hope not but am afraid it's probably true),

Sam and Toby practised climbing knots and belaying techniques in the living room

and I took advantage of the peace and quiet to browse the stash.

I decided the best way to climb out of the slump was to pick some yarns that spoke to me and just go for it.  I decided to pick one sock yarn and something else that had potential for a garment.

For the sock yarn I chose Lorna's Laces in Tuscany, which is being turned into this.

Slip stitch rib pattern, which I think works rather well.  I don't know if these will be for me or not.  I have volunteered to be a sock angel for Sockapaloooza, so if they fit the specifications of anyone who needs them, maybe they will go to them.

The garment choices were a little more difficult.  I really want to knit something in Rowan Denim, but don't have any in stash.  I may well cave in and buy some soon but I fancied having a play around with something else in the meantime.  I have a hankering for a cardigan at the moment, perhaps with a cable down each side of the front.  I found some of this

which I think would be perfect but - I only have 8 skeins.  I don't think it will be enough, but I'm going to have a play around anyway and see what I come up with.  Alternatively, does anyone have 2 skeins of Rowanspun 4 ply in Shade 703 they'd like to swap for some sock yarn?  If it was dyelot 29J1, I'll send you some chocolate too...

Late to the party

My Olympia round up is shamefully late, I know.  It's the usual excuse - work, family, busy, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, I went along on Friday to help out at the Relax & Knit stand and maybe do a bit of shopping.  It was primarily a stitching show, almost all cross stitch from what I could see but there was a nice little knitting section upstairs.  HipKnits were there, plus a somewhat reduced Get Knitted, Silkwood Angoras and a few others whose names I can't recall.

It was great fun on the Relax & Knit - nowhere near as manic as Ally Pally but still lots of people very enthusiastic to talk about knitting.  It seemed that most people on Friday knew how to knit already and either wanted to try out some of the novelty yarns we had on the tables or learn new techniques.  Domnio knitting proved very popular, courtesy of Yvonne and Mary-Lou was demonstrating the use of the Loopa to quite a few people too.

I got to meet lots of nice knitters and quite a few bloggers as well.  Kerrie, of course, and Ruth.  Nic was there too, helping on the Silkwood stand.  I'm sure there were others who I haven't linked to - apologies if I've missed you out!

I didn't buy much at all.  Get Knitted only had the self patterning sock yarns, which I have more than enough of already, so I showed restraint there.  HipKnits had loads of lovely stuff, but I was good again and just bought

a couple of dye your own sock yarn packs to do with the children over Easter.  If it goes well I might do it with my knitting class next term - so Kerrie, keep some packs for me!

With all the money I saved by not buying yarn I was able to buy something I had been secretly planning to get.  A rather nice wooden frame to use with (ahem) this

No, you're not seeing things.  That is indeed a needlepoint kit.  That sound you can hear in the background?  That's the maniacal laughter of Ms Woollywarbler - happy that someone else has joined her on the dark side.

Don't worry - this is still a knitting blog.  It's just nice to have a change from time to time don't you think?

On Saturday I renewed my knitting credentials and met up with Polly, Amelia, MarydeB and Kay at Liberty for a couple of hours of knitting and chatting.  It was lots of fun.  I hadn't met Kay or Mary before and they were both very good company.  I would have liked to have stayed longer but family duties called.  Family commitments also meant I couldn't make it to Loop on Sunday for Kay's talk, but I hear it went very well.

Coming tomorrow (and this time it really will be tomorrow, I promise) I prove to you that I am still knitting as I reveal the latest mitred square combinations.

Cream Crackered

I went to the gym this morning.  When I went I had forgotten that I had promised to take the children swimming and I that I had also promised Josie a chance to go out on her rollerskates.

An hour in the gym, followed by an hour swimming, followed by a quick sandwich and then 1½ hours in the park makes one quite tired.

When we got back from the park I stuck a chicken in the oven, settled the children in front of Bill Oddie watching wildlife in South Africa, poured myself a glass of red wine and spent some time with this.

This little beauty is Badcaul, one of Anna's delightful sock patterns.  I am knitting it in some Fleece Artist sock yarn, colourway Jester, that  I bought from Kangaroo at the Brighton show.

I love the feeling of anticipation one gets when using a new yarn.  How will it feel?  Will it stripe?  Will it pool?  Winding it up into a ball gives one the first clues.  Does it tangle?  How do the colours fall?

The Fleece Artist has been a dream so far.  It wound up wonderfully with no tangling and it feels lovely to knit with.  Combine that with a pattern I haven't tried before and you get a recipe for satisfaction.

The cables and the slip stitches add interest without slowing down the flow of the knitting while the yarn manages to be bright without being garish.

These should be my Sockapaloooza socks - if I can give them up.

Thank you for all the tips and support over the short row heels.  I am sorry to have caused some of you distress at the sight of such large, gaping holes.  Rest assured, remedial action will be taken.

In which I ramble about snow and walking

Yes, it was Wales.  Snowdonia to be precise.  In fact the photo in the previous post was of Sam and Josie in front of Yr Wyddffa, or Mt Snowdon as it is also known.

We stayed in a cottage we have rented before, in Beddgelert.  The cottage is in a beautiful location at any time of year, but just take a look at the views from the balcony on Saturday morning.

Toby was meant to be ice climbing on Saturday but a combination of equipment and transportation problems meant he wasn't able to.  Bad news for him, but good news for the family as it meant we did the walk we had planned for Sunday on Saturday, when the weather was at its best.

No, Tracy, we didn't tackle Snowdon itself - although I did catch Toby staring longingly up at Crib Goch.  We didn't have any ice axes with us, only two small(ish) children, so stuck to gentler terrain, though still spectacular.

This is part of the Ogwen Valley. Wonderful walks in what feels like a really remote setting, yet it is accessible by a 10 minute walk from the road.  We circumnavigated the (frozen) lake while watching other walkers make their way up to the Glyders and Tryfan.

Contrary to appearances in the photo, we didn't take the children out in just fleeces and tracksuit trousers.  Although snowy, the sun was very warm and the valley is sheltered, so they quickly shed most of their outer layers.  In fact it was so warm, we stopped for a picnic by the lake.

In the afternoon we took the children sledding (or maybe sledging?), something they had never done before.

Here's Sam learning that while it's fun to go down, you have to come back up the hill if you want to do it again. 

There was no fresh snowfall on Saturday night, but there was still a fair bit of snow around.  On Sunday we did a small section of the Watkin Path and then back by another trail.  Sam got to practice his map reading for cubs.

 

Despite the 6 hour drive each way it was a fun break.  We're back in London with some colour in our cheeks, wet boots and lots of washing to do.

We decided, at short notice, to get away for the weekend.

Can you guess where we went?

Of course, I took some knitting as well.

More tomorrow when I've had some sleep.

I predict a riot

It was all about gender stereotyping at the Wool Palace this weekend.

While Josie and I made fairy cakes

Sam and Toby made an Airfix model.

We were all united by our loud singing along to The Kaiser Chiefs while we worked and we did get together to admire our handiwork at the end.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on the mittens.  I will do a more in depth post on them tomorrow.  For now, Toby has an urgent need to arrange an ice climbing trip and needs to send emails and so on so I must leave it at that for tonight.

Off to do some project planning I think.