do you mind if i knit

Giving and receiving gifts.

So the contents of the gift are revealed! A little red cardigan knitted in Sirdar Snuggly-Tiny Tots, DK. The pattern was bought from my local yarn shop, it's a Peter Gregory pattern no.7211, 'cardigans,bonnet and bootees'. Also in the package.............. A striped cardigan from baby cashmerino 2, by Debbie Bliss, using baby cashmerino yarn. I love this yarn, it washes beautifully in the washing machine, no experience of shrinkage, and it's so soft and luxurious to knit with. Those were my gifts to baby George, who is a very sweet, good, and laid back little boy. He is one of those very floppy, relaxed babies, the ideal baby for cuddling, and so tiny, tiny, tiny. I received a small gift too....... something you don't write thankyou notes for, called a cold. Here's another gift for me, a recipe for soothing the symptoms of a cold, from my Father-in-Law: Half a fresh lemon Large pinch of cinnamon 2 teaspoons of honey Boiling water Squeeze your lemon into your mug, add the cinnamon, pour in the boiling water, then stir in the honey. These quantities can be adjusted to your taste. A nip of Whisky added to the mix goes down well with some people............ My addition to the recipe is this. If you're able, go and hibernate somewhere warm and quiet. Unfortunately I'm not able to follow this last part of the recipe.

Saying it with colour.

This lifted my spirits last night........... after a long train journey home. Then this morning, something struck me as I looked at the yarn I bought, on my visit to London. the same colours as in the bouquet of flowers! But the coincidence doesn't end there, because the colours I chose to wear today, are these.......... Poetic, isn't it.

My new Nephew.

Apparently George is a lovely little chap...........which I shall soon see for myself, as I am off tomorrow to see my new Nephew for the first time. I shall be taking this gift with me........ The contents of which I shall be able to reveal to you on my return next week..............

Mark Hearld prints.........to satisfy your curiosity.

Some people have expressed an interest in seeing the prints we bought from Mark Hearld's show....... ...........so here they are.

The story of a weekend.

Last weekend we packed lightly, made sure we had a map, knitting, notebook, and most importantly, the address for................... This was our reason for a trip to Harrogate. I have known about Mark Hearld's work for a long time, (because my sister-in-law, Tamsin, shared a flat with him when they were students in Glasgow, and she has some of his work on her walls), and have always longed to be able to buy a piece. So when I saw his flat was featured in the magazine 'World of Interiors', and that he was showing at Godfrey and Watt, it seemed like fate was directing us to Harrogate. Most of Mark's work was sold out at the private view, but we were lucky enough to buy a print. And then after lots of debate as to whether we should, could we afford it, would we regret it for the rest of our lives if we didn't, we bought a second print. And I'm very glad we did stretch our finances, we are now the proud and very happy owners of two beautiful prints, which we will have for the rest of our lives. We celebrated our new acquisitions with a visit to Bettys tea room The next day was spent winding back home over the Yorkshire Dales, through atmospheric mist, finally breaking into sunshine. By the time we arrived home, it was cold and dark. So what a welcome surprise ............ ........... this was.

I'm rich in jewels........

I suppose you couldn't get much less Autumnal colours than these could you! Nor these! Getting closer now................ I can gurantee they will make their seasonal appearance, because we went to Yorkshire for the weekend, and the trees were shedding their jewels.......infact I am now 'rich' in jewels.

At this point..............

I want to introduce my........................ Yes, my inspiration for this blog. "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" by Jane Brocket of blogging perfection which is the must-see Yarnstorm. Yarnstorm has an enormous following, and those followers have a huge affection for Jane and the inspiration she gives us on a daily basis. So naturally we were all thrilled to see she had produced a book based on her blog. We haven't been so thrilled to see the ill-informed, biased and bitter reaction of the British press, which attacks Jane and her wonderful book. And Jane's post today made me feel rather sad, that she feels forced to justify herself, her life, and everything she has achieved. It was in great contrast to all her other posts on her blog, where she never mentions anything negative in her life, she is only ever positive and inspiring. I am really enjoying this book, it is like a series of short stories, each one ending with something to mull over. Actually it makes lethal bed-time reading, because I'm left thinking about it so much I can't get to sleep............... So that's my tribute to Jane and her creations. Long may they continue!

I wish I was Miss Marple

When I saw "Miss Marple" in Rowan magazine no.38, well, I had to knit her. I would love to live in Miss Marple's world, with it's fine bone china and glamour, and cardigans, intrigues, old-fashionedness. And I would love to have her razor-sharp mind, and a generous nephew who keeps insisting on sending me for nice holidays, in smart hotels, where I can knit, and watch glamorous mysteries unfold, and where the murders aren't too gruesome of course. And then there's the people-watching of a world-class standard. And it's all so English, it's delicious. The only thing missing from Miss Marple's world is my husband Hugo, who I am rather partial to...........and could not leave out of the plot.

Good enough to eat

This was the start of something I ended up re-knitting twice..... I just have to get things right, my masochistic streak. Sweet peas are some of my favourite flowers, they are so old fashioned, yet so contemporary, with their bright day-glo colours. These aren't from my garden, they are from my mother-in-law's garden. There's something very special about being presented with flowers picked from someone's own garden, I can appreciate that they are flowers that can no longer be enjoyed in the giver's garden. The height of generosity on the giver's part, don't you think?

As if by magic

It might seem like a quick jump from my post yesterday to this finished piece. This is another one from my imaginary blog archives. It's from Rowan magazine no.39, and it's the "Crinkle" pattern in cotton glace.