Knitorama

Gemma, by Laura Long

2012-01-19T05:10:00.001Z

I finally finished Gemma tonight while watching TV. I thought it would take me ages to deal with all the loose ends, but I eventually just tied them together 8 times, hoping they won't come undone in the wash, and only sewed in the ends at the very bottom of the hem. There were too many to deal with and so after six years it's finally, absolutely, completely and totally finished. I originally posted about it right at the beginning of this blog, here.

So the inside doesn't look pretty, but no one except me will know once I have it on. I've already talked about the colours not really being my colours (pastel purple???), and I only chose them because the photograph in the Rowan book was so seductive. Anyway, I'm glad it's finished. (My little assistant got in on the act as usual when I was taking photos, nudging me so there were lots of blurry shots.)

All in all, I'm pleased with it. It's lovely and soft, and I don't have anything else like it.

I did look on Ravelry and discovered pretty much everyone on there who has knitted Gemma had the same problems as me with the ends. Laura Long could easily have given clear directions on that from the start. Anyway, it's finished.

The Big News

2012-01-18T15:09:00.002Z

Is that there is no news, it being January an'all. So to entertain myself I have finished the first of my new mittens (sans thumb).

I like how it's turned out and think these colours may be a keeper! Phew. I've just started the second mitten so I should be finished them in about a fortnight, thumbs included. The matching hat will take an afternoon, but the matching scarf could take about three weeks. I'm thinking of knitting the Norwegian star design on my mittens into my scarf but will probably also need to do some rows of pure yellow to use up wool and get a long enough scarf. Still playing around with the design.

Hagos has been making soup every other day. It's totally amazing and so delicious. He uses either a lentil or a split pea base and then adds stock and vegetables. It's very healthy.

This has become my favourite spot in the house, round about 5pm. I either sit and read for an hour, or knit a few rows in silence. It's all too easy to put on the TV or radio and actually it's lovely to just sit with the sound of the fire beside me. I'm re-reading the Harry Potter books (alongside adult books too) and I usually read HP at 5pm and when I go to bed. My brain doesn't want to deal with any complicated or clever plot-lines at 11pm.

And, the snowdrops are out! Such a relief to see them poking through the earth along with other, later flowers. I really love snowdrops.

The only other news is that our Tuesday night pub quiz is doing fairly well (should be, considering we had nine members last night!). It's been great to re-instate our London pub quiz tradition, and to have three of the original members in our new team is great.

Coffee, and Third Time Lucky with the choice of Mitten Colours?

2012-01-06T10:37:00.000Z

This is my coffee ritual in the morning. A half-caf, as a fully caffeinated coffee is too much for me and keeps me awake at night.

And my new colour combination for my mittens. This is the third time I've attempted to get the colours right. The first was purple and orange (yuck), the second was green and purple, which I liked, but which now seem a bit garish. More subtle, but still striking (I'm hoping) is my honey-yellow and charcoal.

Moleskine Diary, and Me and Meg Portrait

2012-01-05T10:49:00.002Z

I love Moleskine notebooks, particularly the cahier designs. And my favourite colour at the moment is around the yellow and orange end of the spectrum.

So I was pleased when my new diary arrived today. It has a week per page as well as useful information at the front, but most useful to me will be the time zones page and the page that has a ruler with inches and centimetres :)

Moleskine notebooks are/were favoured by artists (according to Moleskine) including Van Gogh, Picasso, Hemingway and Chatwin. I love the range they do, for example notebooks with musical scores in, sketch books, story board notebooks, watercolour books, Japanese concertina books, specified city notebooks, as well as their range of sizes and colours. And they are incredibly, aesthetically satisfying to use. They are beautiful.

This is me attempting a self portrait of me and Meg. I set the timer on my camera, and then ran to pick her up. She struggled of course. (Please ignore my hair, which seriously needs washing!)

And in this attempt she had been sitting facing towards the camera, but when I slid into shot to join her she simply walked away.

Post-Christmas, Pre-New Year

2011-12-28T12:00:00.001Z

This was me and Meg having a quiet few moments yesterday afternoon/early evening. It's been such a busy, sociable few days and I feel I've neglected my little ginger friend. So it was such a treat to sit quietly on the couch with her yesterday having a cuddle, while I read one of my new books, Death Comes to Pemberley.

Pride and Prejudice is probably my favourite book of all time. There are others I absolutely adore and champion, but Pride and Prejudice is the only one I re-read at least once a year. As a model of how to write a good narrative it is fairly faultless. Plot and character development drive on at a fair speed and there is very little fat to the story at all. And then Jane Austen's wonderful sentence construction - again, she writes so succinctly with no superfluous words. I often re-read particular paragraphs a few times as they are so well-written and so moving.

So, when I discovered that PD James was writing a murder-mystery sequel I just had to have it. I'm almost halfway through Death Comes to Pemberley. It's an easy read, and, much as I want to love it, it isn't quite what I thought it would be. The part I've just read spent a long time repeating judicial information. And she hasn't quite pitched the characters of Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane and Bingley right. Of course it's a monumental task to take another writer's characters who are so well-drawn and develop them further.

But, I will continue with an open mind, and yesterday it occurred to me that if I was reading it as a standalone book then I would enjoy it for its own sake. So that's the spirit I'll continue reading it in.

When people asked what to get me for Christmas this year I directed them to my Amazon wish list. Part of my grumble about Christmas is that people spend a lot of money on each other buying gifts that no one wants. And when I am choosing what to get people I don't like to feel I'm wasting my money on gifts they won't get full use out of. It ripples out further to waste in the world in general BUT this isn't a post about that.

So I was very pleased to receive the above books from people who had shopped from my Amazon wish list. The Andrew Motion book wasn't on my wish list but the others were (I'm happy to receive books that people think I might like too).

I put the Julian Barnes on my wish list after reading a comment an old friend made on her Twitter page about it. She is also a writer and there is promise of a clever ending. I'm totally in awe of all things Sarah Waters so I'll look forward to reading Affinity, and The Bag Making Bible is for my creative side.

I love all things stationery, and already have Postcards from Penguin. So I was excited to see the Postcards from Ladybird series too. Although I like the concept of Postcards from Penguin, quite a lot of the 100 postcards weren't to my taste, so there are cards in the box I would never display or send anyone.

However, Postcards from Ladybird is terrific! I like every one of the 100 postcards. The above selection are the Ladybird books I had as a child. I'm sure I had more, but these are the covers I had on my books. A couple of years ago I discovered two or three of the original books in an Oxfam shop and bought them. Of course, my mother had given away all of my books!

I love the range of subjects they cover. Educational and entertaining. And I remember the books I had were so beautifully illustrated.

A bit of gender-stereotyping going on in the 'People at Work' series but it was the 70s.

I could easily have photographed them all as examples of greatness. I particularly love the 'Fireworks' book cover. Not quite sure what is going on with the boy in wellingtons, shorts, tweed jacket and hat with that indeterminate creature in front of him! I would like to have all of these books now.

And as a final note: this piece of fabric arrived in the post for me today from my friend Angelique who lives in Denver Colorado. She has recently bought into a fabric/wool shop there and when we met up in Edinburgh a couple of months ago we discovered we are both fans of Lara Cameron's designs.

It totally cheered me up and now sits behind my laptop so I can admire it as I work.

Christmas

2011-12-27T12:01:00.000Z

Well I belatedly got into the Christmas spirit. And had a really good three days. We visited Hagos's mum on Christmas Eve, my parents and family on Christmas Day and the Burnses on Boxing Day. Above is a short video of the boys playing Monopoly yesterday. It's highly competitive, and there was a Monopoly game a few years ago when the Burnses had rented a cottage near where we lived in Norfolk and once the little boys were in bed the adults played Monopoly and after 26 years of friendship we were on the brink of falling out over it! :) We laugh about it now, of course.

I've really enjoyed seeing so many people and having a good sociable time. And it's been lovely to be able to come home at the end of each day and be in our own house, with Meg. And driving comparatively short distances.

I'm keen to get onto the next round of making stuff. Lots of ideas. And maybe better planning throughout the year.

Goodwill to all.

This time of year

2011-12-15T12:24:00.000Z

I struggle with this time of year. Or, I struggle with the expectations and consumption surrounding Christmas. I could go on about it for paragraphs, but I'll focus on the positives of what I do like instead.

I am only making two lots of Christmas presents this year. Possibly a third one will get made, depending on the time. Above is a necklace I made for my niece. I love the colours and think it is quite striking. I don't often make jewellery any more so it was fun to put this together. I hope she likes it.

And these little shoes for my nephew's daughter. They still have to be sewn together but I've chosen the buttons and rose-decorations.

There are lots of things I do like about the festive season: this weekend we are hosting a Christmas singalong, where those who can play an instrument accompany everyone else while they sing. And I like Christmas Day where I get to be with my husband and parents and sister etc and play games, have dinner together and see my great-nephews and -niece.

I find buying Christmas presents for people difficult though. Maybe because it's all done in one go. I like giving presents when I know I've found a present for someone they will actually like. And I hate that feeling of just buying anything to fulfil the expectation. And when I receive presents in that vein too. It's a waste. Yes, I dislike waste. And expectation. And duty. On that cheery note... :)

Snow, bridges, rivers, birthdays, knitting and buttons

2011-12-12T05:37:00.000Z

We've had two days of snow around here in Edinburgh this week. And one day of such stormy weather that we didn't leave the house after 10.30am!

Hagos and I found this little bridge across the river near where we live. It was great fun exploring the other side (more to be discovered).

Hagos on the bridge. We've both had colds this week. Hagos got his as soon as he returned from tour. And I came down with it on Friday evening. Saturday and Sunday were bad, and I expect today to be the last of it, though Hagos still has a bit of it left over.

When I woke up to the snow the other day I just had to get out in it straightaway with my camera before anyone else was out. I felt like the boy in The Snowman. I put on my wellies and my coat over my pyjamas. It was great.

Three and a half hours later our neighbours dropped in as they'd seen my footprints in the snow. Hagos and I were still in our pyjamas, trying to smooth down our hair and look semi-respectable for visitors. Their baby, Archie (6 months) had on his little santa hat and a pair of Rudolf slippers. Very Christmassy.

I love the composition in the above shot.

And this was Sunday at Pete and Lynsey's house. Lynsey had organised a brunch for Pete's birthday. Above are Hagos and Nate. Hagos is guessing what characteristics Nate's school friends may have based on their names.

It was lovely to catch up with other friends there too and work on persuading them to join our new pub quiz on Tuesday night, resurrecting an old tradition when we used to live in Highgate, London. The pub quiz was run/frequented by people who worked at Private Eye and it was SO difficult. Our friend Kev, who is now also back living in Edinburgh was in our team, along with other regular members Mac and Janie. Good fun.

And these are the only Christmas gifts I'm knitting this year. Little bootees for my nephew's new daughter Lucy. They're satisfying to knit as they can be done while a cat is sitting on me (anytime I sit on the couch) and are finished fairly quickly.

A second pair, which I'm hoping the mum will see as purple rather than blue. Some people are funny about gender/colour-dressing. The buttons alongside it are possibilities.

And it was nice to go through my novelty button collection, which I haven't done for ages.

Well, it is almost half five in the morning. I got up at 4am needing a Lemsip. I really don't like Lemsip but have had a lot of them in the past few days. Meg is all over me, trying to get me to give her more roast chicken, stamping on my laptop, biting me.

I started re-reading The Night Watch by Sarah Waters when I went to bed last night. My friend Sophie sent me a text on Saturday saying she was reading Fingersmith and described Waters as 'devastatingly good'. And it's true. She is a blisteringly good writer. Affinity is on my Amazon Wishlist, and I ordered Fingersmith myself. I would love to observe her working methods for a month. And be her friend :)

A meditative drive

2011-12-03T19:48:00.001Z

This is The Devil's Beeftub, which I drive through on the way to my parents' house. I absolutely love the drive; I make myself a cappuccino and today I listened to the radio adaptation of Jeeves and Wooster (on CD - live radio reception drops out for most of the trip). PG Wodehouse has such a silly sense of humour, he's great.

These photos don't capture the grandeur of the hills and the sweeping 360 degrees scenery. Often, the mist is so low it skims the hills. The entirety of the drive is a sort of meditation.

Also lining the road, which I didn't photograph, lots of Christmas trees, so very apt :)

Wool porn

2011-12-02T20:52:00.000Z

I had coffee today with my friend Lynsey, who I recently knitted mittens for. I loved the dark, charcoaly-black of hers so much that it made me rethink the pair I'd been knitting for myself (one mitten finished in purple and green). So after coffee I went into town as I had to change up some Euros anyway, and popped into John Lewis while I was there.

I was immediately drawn to the above wool, mostly because of the yolky-ness of the yellow ball, but also because it is so amazingly soft (75% wool / 25% alpaca). And I knew I just had to have it! And of course, there was no point buying one ball of yolky-yellow wool, so I bought two black balls too and will knit them into my new winter scarf.

I also bought a ball of the charcoaly-black Pure Wool 4 ply to use with my leftover, similar yellow 4 ply wool and will knit them into my new mittens, to match the scarf.

I'm not sure what I'll use to make a new hat, but I have some leftover wool in my stash that might do.

And this is Meg tonight. She is so sweet. I think part of the reason I'm drawn towards those gorgeous honey-yellow colours is because Meg's colouring is in that part of the spectrum.

Must Try Harder

2011-11-17T14:54:00.002Z

I make my own bread from Dove's Organic Wholemeal and White Strong Bread Flour. I do a 50/50 mix. Yesterday I went to the cupboard to make a new loaf only to discover I had run out of the wholemeal and only had 250g of the white flour. So I made these lovely rolls instead. There were four of them but they were so delicious that two got eaten before I thought of taking a photo. I'm the type of person who thinks I can work stuff out by myself, with only the barest of instructions, so though I knew that kneading the dough is an integral part of bread making, I only ever kneaded the dough for a minute or two because, well, it turned out okay like that.

It's only very recently that I've started kneading the dough for the full ten minutes (after watching one of the baking programmes on TV), and what a difference! It really is much lighter and airier. And more delicious.

"Paula will get an 'O' grade without too much effort. But more effort would get her a V good pass."

My mother is completely unsentimental when it comes to keeping stuff from the past. She's constantly on at my dad to go through drawers and cupboards with her to throw stuff out, and will list items that have been in their bedroom walk-in cupboard for 30 years that they've never used. My dad is the complete opposite and keeps everything just in case it comes in handy. This means that when I left home my mother disposed of most of my childhood toys, which I find quite shocking because, eh, well, I thought they belonged to me, and I never got the opportunity to say whether I wanted to take them with me or not. This included board games, dolls, and books! A few things survived, and when I realised what had occurred I would rescue any remaining items I could, mostly books (though very few actually made it). The last time I visited my mother she said she'd come across an old school report of mine, which she gave me.

The above report sums me up pretty well. I get by in most things without much effort. I pick information up pretty quickly and managed to be in the top sets at school (except science, which I was in the second set for) for all subjects and managed to get a 'B' or an 'A' pass fairly easily, only having to cram for a day or so before each exam.

But recently I've been thinking a lot about what I could achieve if I put actual effort into my work. My friend Janie recently completed her BA in Music and got a First; she then went on to do her Masters in Music and got a distinction in that too. I know exactly how much effort and application is required to achieve this. I got a 2:1 in my first degree and I also have a Masters degree (each without distinction, though I did get a distinction for my final piece of work in my BA and was chosen as one of the four top students out of the whole year - something I've just remembered).

But anyway, the point is, I am aware I need to apply myself to my work with the hope that I will achieve more. Though I know I work better when I have a deadline to hit.

And onto more frivolous subjects: Meg had brought a mouse in just as I was making lunch. She set it under the table (where I was working) and wasn't too interested in eating it. I disposed of the poor wee thing in the bin and then sat down to eat poached egg on toast. She then jumped onto the table and kept trying to nose her way onto my plate. I fended her off until the last couple of bites, then I had to push the last of my egg on toast to one corner while she licked the rest of the plate. She likes the butter, but I think she likes egg yolk too.

And this is an amazing tree root near where I live. It's taller than me (I like scale) and is so impressive close up. One of my favourite things is to be outdoors scampering about the countryside. I like having a purpose (collecting kindling, looking for the river) but just being outdoors in this beautiful Scottish landscape with the colours and the light is amazing.

Pay It Forward

2011-11-12T11:57:00.000Z

A couple of years ago I responded to this offer and this week I received these lovely gifts from Caireen:

A Clutterbucket, which is a great idea for keeping current projects in. I filled it with my knitting immediately. A long time ago I bought some plain, faded green material to make 'project bags' for my many unfinished knitting and sewing projects, the idea being to line them all up, with a photocopy of the project on the front, so I could easily pick up the project at any time and continue. Anyway, I think clutterbuckets are a better idea as they are reversible, compact, and easy to see what's inside already. And they sit perfectly on the shelf.

My current knitting project modelling the bucket :)

Caireen also sent me these gift tags, which she's recycled from magazines by sticking cut out pictures onto card. I love anything stationery so these appealed to my messing-around-and-making-things streak.

It was SO lovely to get something fun and exciting in the post, and in the spirit of the original entry, I am now offering a 'Pay It Forward' myself.

So, the first three people to leave a comment on this post will receive a home-made gift from me within the year. I have a few ideas of what to make and pass on.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Bonfire Night! and Monday Morning

2011-11-07T15:15:00.001Z

We had a great Bonfire Night this year. We always try to celebrate with the Burnses and this year it was much easier living only 8 miles away. I wanted to keep it as easy and stress-free as possible, so we stripped it right back to: bonfire :: takeaway food :: fireworks.

During the afternoon we collected firewood with our neighbours and their kids (having a truck, a chainsaw and a mini-wheelbarrow really helps!), then the three wives did a dash to the fish and chip shop (and Tesco's for wellies and dry socks) while the husbands continued to build the bonfire. After food Pete and our other neighbour Hamish (who had turned up with his one mega-box of fireworks) disappeared into the darkness and from then on the rest of us watched the lovely colours and sparks and heard the bangs. We could just make out Pete and Hamish beating a hasty retreat from the occasional larger firework. It was great fun, and so lovely to be outside next to a warm fire. I missed lots of good photo opportunities by leaving my camera back in the house after we returned with food. There was a particularly good shot of three of the kids lined up with sparklers, which I missed. It was great to see the kids getting involved in the wood collecting with much gusto! Nate and Peter and Guy threw themselves into the adventure. JJ was struck, almost as soon as he arrived, with very wet feet and was out of action until the wellies came to his rescue.

I also enjoyed walking back to the field the following morning (bright sunshine, crisp and frosty) to collect the spent fireworks and try to return the ground to its former state. Though I did think that if a woman had been setting up the fireworks she would have carefully laid the removed clod of earth next to its corresponding hole, for ease of return, rather than what looked like Pete and Hamish's excited frenzy of flinging the clods willy nilly across the field making them difficult to find :) But, you know, boys and their toys.

This was the lovely reflection above our fireplace this morning.

My jumper progress. I'm liking it more and more. Though I feel I should stop once I complete the front, and work on Christmas presents instead.

I wanted to capture the close-up detail of the stitches but I think I need a macro lens to do that.

I'm thinking of knitting more of the capped 4-ply jumpers to use as vests through the winter. I never really knew what to do with that jumper until now, but it really adds insulation to wear it as a vest (on top of my actual, cotton vest - one can never have too many vests in winter in Scotland). It only uses four balls of wool and is an easy knit.

I'm also thinking of re-designing my new winter accessories range and going for charcoal and purple as the colour theme. I loved the charcoal base of Lynsey's mittens, and I think purple snowflakes on the mittens would be striking. I'd also knit my favourite winter hat pattern in Big Wool charcoal, and put purple pom poms on the bottom. Then I'd just have to decide on the design for the scarf. I like the idea of chunky cables somehow, though I also thought of repeating the snowflake pattern at each end of the scarf. Lots of winter knitting coming up!

Apples on the Bounty (apart from the mittens)

2011-10-31T14:58:00.000Z

We tried our real cider last week and it was much improved on when we put it into the bottles for its second fermentation, so now we're letting it rest some more before getting stuck in. Above is a little crate of goodies we took round to our neighbours: six bottles of 'Toe Curler' (real cider), a jar of Tomato Relish and a jar of Plum and Apple Jam. All of which has been made from apples off the estate. A good little hamper, I thought. It was fun taking it round. Our neighbours had come over the previous week with Apple Cheese (can you spot the theme?) and Apple and Walnut pudding, which was delicious. We had the pudding after dinner that night. So nice to get an unexpected present.

I love those squat jars. I haven't found an independent baking/cooking supplier in Edinburgh so far. Lakeland is okay for some stuff but heavily over-priced on others.

I like seeing all the preserves and relishes lined up, ready to be used throughout winter. Next year I hope to be better prepared for canning/preserving.

The relish is a Mrs Beeton's recipe (as is the jam). I like it because it uses very little vinegar and sugar to preserve the fresh ingredients, which include root ginger, chillies, apples, tomatoes and onions. So it remains fresh and delicious.

And finally, the mittens I've made for my friend's birthday tomorrow. I doubt she will look on here before then. I totally love the colours. I wasn't sure when I began, but quickly loved the contrast. They are very vibrant. So much so, that I may un-knit my own green and purple mittens and knit them back up as black and purple. I'm loving this slightly-off black (Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply).

Insomnia

2011-10-18T13:04:00.000Z

For the past week I've been getting up for a couple of hours during the night, unable to sleep, even with herbal sleeping pills and Ibuprofen. I know it's to do with my caffeine intake as this happens every so often. I drink strong coffee (usually only one) about mid-morning. Then the build-up of lots of strong coffees over time takes its toll and I have to cut it out completely for a few days. I had no caffeine a couple of days ago and slept really well the night before last. But yesterday I just couldn't resist having a small amount of caffeine in my decaf coffee. Big mistake! I felt sleepy around 9pm, that passed and I was up until midnight. I read in bed for a while, put the light out, couldn't get to sleep, and ended up getting back up until 6am!

I re-watched Strictly Come Dancing, AND the results show, AND It Takes Two from yesterday. I didn't feel sleepy at all.

I ate two satsumas, and three squares of dark chocolate, knitted a few more rounds of my mittens, and STILL didn't feel sleepy.

I was badgered by Meg into giving her the last of her half-chicken, knitted some more, Meg got on me and we had a cuddle for a while.

And finally I went to bed. I took more Ibuprofen and fell asleep.

I slept until 11.30am and woke up feeling full of caffeine (though I've had none).

So, today will be a caffeine-free day, and probably the rest of the week, until I feel normal again.

For some reason, during the darkness, Elspeth Thompson came to mind. I had only just discovered her writing and books and had begun following her blog when her husband announced on her website that she had died. I felt very sorry for her and her family (of course), and sorry that she wasn't able to get through that deep depression to surface again and find enjoyment in life. Because she had so many positive things and interests. Sometimes life is about endurance, until the fog clears and colour returns.

Busy-ness

2011-10-13T13:23:00.001Z

It has become a tradition of mine, every year, to make Plum and Apple Jam, roundabout now, though I am a little later this year. Part of the purpose of the exercise is to make jam from the free bounty that is around but I am short of a plum supplier now, and we used all of our eating apples to make cider! So, I went to Whitmuir Organic Farm and bought local apples and imported Italian plums. I was hoping they would have local plums, or some of the Greengages I used earlier in the year to make jam, but non.

I must say it is one of the best batches I have ever made! It turned out really well and is as delicious and jewel-like-in-colour as ever. Two jars are for my friend's birthday, and the other two I'll keep for ourselves. I think it's very likely I'll make more very soon.

This is my little bowl of bounty that I got from the garden the other day. Not as much as in previous years, obviously, but lovely to see nonetheless.

The Great Cider Mission! I collected Hagos from the airport on Tuesday and we headed straight to the home brew shop to collect bottles and bottle tops for the real cider. It smelled a bit whiffy when we took the top off the tub (!) but I thought it tasted okay. Hagos thought it tasted like lemon juice! So now it's fingers crossed for this second fermentation process. There are so many people who are interested in the real cider, it has to be a success.

On Friday when I watched Nate and JJ we went with our neighbours and their children to the cooking apple tree in the centre of the maze. We picked a few apples, though it had recently been plundered, and I got enough to make this batch of apple tarts. They are okay. Not great as I only had butter rather than margarine for the pastry, so they're a bit heavy, but nice anyway.

I really wanted to include my latest knitting project in this update, but though I think the friend I'm making them for won't check my blog before her birthday I don't want to chance it. But, I'm very pleased with the knitting! And I was/am just in the mood to knit this particular thing, and the colours, which I really wasn't sure about to begin with, I've grown to really love, and I think they look a bit gothic! I'll update photos after 1st November when the present will be given.

Cakes, and a Wedding

2011-10-03T20:36:00.001Z

JJ and I baked fairy cakes on Friday, and decorated them (as above, and below). He did all the mixing of the cake mix, and requested the raspberries, and directed how the cakes with icing/writing icing should be done. There were 12 cakes altogether, but we had to test one to make sure it was okay, hence why there is no cake with my name on it. Actually, stopping him from eating them all was no mean feat! I had to keep reminding him they were for dessert.

I was really pleased I'd decided to make the cakes rather than buy them pre-made, as I did with the gingerbread men. They tasted delicious. Recipe was from The Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

And then, on Saturday, Hagos and I went to Rik and Jenny's wedding, held at Duddingston Kirk in Edinburgh, then onto the reception in a lovely hall in Leith.

We've known Rik for years, met him way back in London while we were touring with Senser.

It was a really great day, though I started crying as soon as I turned and saw Rik walking into the church! I know he reads my blog so I will restrain the sentimentality, but suffice to say he is such a heartfelt person, and this was reflected in the enthusiastic happiness and genuine joy his friends felt for him on this special day.

We also bumped into another mutual old friend at the wedding and had good fun swapping a few unrepeatable Rik-tales. Splendid.

Many tangents

2011-09-29T15:15:00.005Z

So, I've been feeling very distracted recently. And feeling that the effort and energy I exert each day don't quite produce an equal or greater return. I lurch from one task to another and bumble through it all and feel worn out and dizzy at the end of the day.

Anyway! Below is a selection of some of the good fun bumbling that has occurred in amongst the annoying bumbling.

I watched my Godson JJ last Friday and we decorated gingerbread men!

I had considered making the gingerbread men as well as decorating them, but decided eventually to just buy the kit from the supermarket with the gingerbread men already made. It took me by surprise that JJ started eating the gingerbread man before he'd finished decorating it. And that he thought he had to eat each one he decorated. So I had to eat a couple myself, and dedicate one to be put aside for his brother.

I finished my orange, winter socks. They are less stretchy than the Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply, but I like the colour very much, and it's great to have a second pair of bed socks. I love that there is so little sewing to be done once the socks are finished, thanks to my amendment of the pattern.

On Sunday we had the most fun day of all. Hagos had decided he wanted to make cider using real apples. We have recently started making cider from kits, and the results have been good! But there are so many apple trees around where we live that it seemed a good opportunity to try real cider-making.

The Burnses came out to help us gather the apples, and our initial caution over the kids climbing ladders and trees was soon thrown aside and the kids were soon up the ladders and trees gathering apples with much gusto!

This is Hagos and JJ returning to the small apple tree (big tree, lots of small apples) after checking out something in the house.

And JJ showing off all the apples we had gathered from five different trees over the course of the day. They looked amazing in the bath.

Hagos and I then spent the rest of Sunday juicing all of the apples. It was a long, laborious process but we were happy to get through it without breaking the juicer! It's now bubbling away in Hagos's studio and we're excitedly awaiting its readiness.

I'm now reading The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, having become re-interested in the Uncanny/Marvelous/Fantastic genre after reading Sarah Waters's The Little Stranger. I was so impressed by the whole book I did something I've never done before and I wrote her a fan email via her publisher. And she emailed me back! It made my day.

Hagos has a lot of coming and going coming up over the next two months. It's been so great having him home for a longer stretch over the last month (with a few gigs thrown in) but, you know, money is useful.

So I'm looking forward to Rik and Jenny's wedding on Saturday, and then getting back into writing.

Carrot!

2011-09-21T15:56:00.000Z

I think this may be the only carrot I get this year from the very few I planted. I did a tub with about 11 carrot seeds and 11 beetroot seeds in each half. The beetroot has formed fine, but the remaining carrots are small, and will be gone in one bite.

So, we'll probably have it tonight with dinner.

I'm planning to make the beetroot into relish again, if I can put my hands on the great recipe I made last year.

Next year we'd like to grow loads of veg and try to store as much as we can to see us through the year, and can/preserve whatever's possible. It was such a joy last winter to go to the shed and get a fresh bulb of garlic that was hanging there. The onions lasted no time at all and I would need to grow a lot more next year. Our potatoes in the tubs are lasting us well though. I did one tub of International Kidneys, and they produced a heavy crop, all fairly big. Now we're onto what I think are Red Roosters (all my writing got washed off the marked sticks a couple of days after I planted them!). They have also provided us with a heavy crop.

I've missed my gardening this year due to the move. The potatoes have kept me going, but next year I want to do it all properly again.

Country Walks

2011-09-20T10:49:00.001Z

This is Flotterstone Reservoir in the Pentland Hills. I was introduced to it by my neighbour, Gill, a couple of weeks ago, and Hagos and I returned last week. There's a good car park by the Ranger Centre at Flotterstone Inn, and then there is the choice of either walking on the road (very few cars come by) or going off into the hills on one of the many footpaths. Part of the land is military and there are signs warning you may be 'ambushed'. Sounds fun.

The colours of the water, the hills and the heather are just amazing in the afternoon light. We chose a very windy day to go and at some points I was unable to move forward due to the wind pushing me back. But it was exhilarating.

On Sunday I met up with the Burnses (below) to go to Vogrie Country Park (Vogrie House, above). The house and grounds are amazing. It is all now owned by Midlothian Council, and though there is a sweet little cafe at the back in the main part of the house, the rest of it has an institutional feel about it. It was sold in 1920 by the Dewar family and operated as a mental health hospital. Later it was used as a communications centre during the Cold War. The downstairs is open to the public and has various rooms marked off for Boy Scouts etc. The house has an open day one day a year, I believe, where people can explore the rest of the house.

We went to do the Pond Dip, an event arranged by the Rangers, for kids to take a tray, a net and a tub with a magnifying lid to explore what lies in the pond. All the boys, including the biggest boy, were keen to get their hands on the net, and Lynsey and I were disappointed that at least one boy didn't fall in the pond.

I'm really enjoying finding different country walks and houses and castles in the area to explore.

In other news: I have just finished reading one of the most impressive books ever. It's The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters. I do believe that finding the right book at the right time is one of the most rewarding experiences ever, and I was exactly in the mood for The Little Stranger. It was so well paced and developed, and though there was one point towards the end where I suspected what was going on, Sarah Waters keeps it well contained. And the resolution in the very last sentence was just brilliant. I would highly recommend it. A word of warning though: it is a ghost story, and I finished it in bed while Hagos was away (I live in a country house, in the country!). I had only intended reading a few pages before falling asleep, as the following day I was due to get up early to drive to meet my sister for lunch, but the end of the book pushed me on, and I was so absorbed that by the time I finished it was 2am, and I became aware of my surroundings, realising I was alone, and how late it was, feeling a little unsettled!

And, other news: I have almost finished my second orange winter sock. I reckon three more nights of TV knitting and it will be done.

PJ Harvey!

2011-09-07T04:08:00.001Z

This smudgy photo is PJ Harvey playing at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Sunday. One of Hagos's colleagues is touring with her at the moment so we were put on her guest list for the gig.

I've admired and respected her as an artist for years. The first time I was aware of her was about 1993 when I was on tour with my husband's band in Europe. They were playing at a festival in Belgium (probably Pukkelpop) and PJ Harvey was on the same stage either just before or just after, which meant we were all backstage at the same time. Some of her band members came into our dressing room, and a few of us went back with them to theirs. PJ Harvey was lying across some chairs having her make-up applied. It was drag queen-type make up: huge eyelashes, lurid green, sparkly eye shadow to match the lurid green cat suit she was wearing. This is from memory. If I researched the gig the eyeshadow and cat suit may turn out to have been lurid pink, or lurid, sparkly blue. But I remember it as green. She was extremely skinny and played a great set. I watched it from the side of the stage and from the mixing desk front-of-house. And I've liked her ever since and respected the career she has built and directed for herself. A true artist from inception to delivery.

So I was really pleased she won the Mercury Prize tonight.

Winter approaching

2011-08-30T10:47:00.000Z

Sunday felt like the first proper winter's day. Though it has never been exactly hot this summer, the air on Sunday had a definite chill about it. I remember this always happening each year round about the time the schools go back for the Autumn term.

So with this in mind I cast on my gorgeous orange wool to knit a new pair of bed socks, as I only have one pair (my yellow socks with red beads) and they are in high demand and need back-up.

They are so easy to knit, basically just a tube with a bit of ribbing and turning, so I'm hoping to get them finished fairly soon. I've adjusted a Debbie Bliss pattern, which she knits flat, as I much prefer to knit socks in-the-round. There's no sewing up afterwards, so much easier!

I also took a GREAT liking to this bicycle material I found in John Lewis recently. I initially thought of making a skirt with it, but quickly remembered that white clothing and I don't go well together at all.

Then, while Hagos was on tour, I had a great hankering for cotton napkins of all things. I occasionally read through old knitting, sewing, baking, general crafting books and magazines and I looked through Bend-the-rules-Sewing by Amy Karol, and I loved the photos of her mix-and-match napkins. So I spent a lovely evening cutting them all out and sewing them up. I absolutely love them.

I also made two toiletries bags out of the grey bicycle material. One is for a friend, and I hope she doesn't read about it here before receiving it in the post, and the other I made for Hagos, though he said he likes his old toiletries bag so much he wanted another exactly the same, so I'll probably do that and keep the bicycle toiletries bag to give to someone else.

I have been really lax at taking photos recently. I've been to four events at the Book Festival: Alasdair Gray, AL Kennedy, Maggie O'Farrell and Rebecca Hunt. I didn't take any photos of the Book Festival at all!

But now that I'm not reading towards upcoming events I'm contemplating which of the three books above I will read first. Probably in order from top to bottom. I want to read The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It's only about a hundred pages. Then The Little Stranger. I've only recently discovered Sarah Waters. I knew about her, of course, and read The Night Watch a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved her storytelling. Really involving. And then I was so impressed by Maggie O'Farrell at the Book Festival I immediately ordered her book from Amazon.

My husband returned home a couple of weeks ago from a long tour of America, Canada and Japan. Though I think the anticipation of it being a long tour meant it actually went by rather quickly and it didn't feel so long after all. Five and a half weeks.

Anyway, Japan is my favourite destination on earth and I would love to go back for a visit. I love Japanese design, particularly with stationery paper, fabric, knitting, styling, cups and plates etc. It is all so understated and just right. So my lovely husband brought me back some Japanese stationery to add to my collection.

The notecards are particularly spectacular. I'm not sure I'll ever use them!

But the writing paper is beautiful too. Exquisite.

Red and Purple Loop Jumper finally finished - after six years!!!

2011-08-01T09:09:00.000Z

Well apart from all the ends still to be woven in, I've actually finished knitting and sewing together my red and purple loop jumper. I almost can't believe it myself.

I think I'll probably just weave in the ends that would otherwise hang down (as you can see in the photo) and knot all the other ends. There are too many to deal with. So, it will have a kind of fringe on the inside. But that's okay.

I tried it on straight away and really like it. Although I still don't know what possessed me to buy that colour of purple, except those are the colours used in one of the knitted examples in the book and it looked good in the book! I wish I'd knitted the main colour in blue, but nevermind, I have a pair of deep purple cords that it'll go with very well!

This is the next thing I'm knitting from another of the Rowan magazines. Again, I bought the wool for this years ago, though I never really started it. Well actually I did start it on a plane journey a few years ago, but the 4-ply rib took ages to knit up, partly because it's such a wide rib. Anyway, that was enough to make me put the project away for about four years and I only took it out recently because I'm determined not to spend any more money on wool until I've knitted all the outstanding projects I have wool for already.

This is the finished version in the magazine. I don't plan to knit that big butterfly attached to it!

Once I got into the body of the jumper I actually really like it. And it's very easy to knit. Not much shaping and just a repeat pattern over 8 rows using the two colours. The body of the jumper is knitted on 5mm needles so that makes up for the 3mm needle rib!

The first of my strawberries turning red! I hope to be able to eat it in the next couple of days. There are lots of strawberries appearing all over the plant.

I love this photo of me and Meg out collecting potatoes in the early morning a couple of days ago. What more does a girl need except a cat friend, pyjamas, wellington boots and home-grown potatoes? Well, my husband coming home in two weeks' time will complete the picture nicely.

A Little Update

2011-07-27T15:54:00.001Z

It was my sister's birthday a couple of weeks ago, so she came up to Edinburgh during the day so we could indulge and celebrate before heading south to our parents' home to a family party. We went to The Chocolate Tree in Bruntsfield. I'd passed it a few times as I walked through Morningside, through Bruntsfield and across The Meadows into town. It was totally amazing. The choice of cakes (all chocolate) was impressive, and they also had a cabinet of individual chocolates to buy, and bars of chocolate on the shelves. And, I was pleased to find, the coffee was pretty good too. I was sorry not to be able to sit inside as it is fairly small and all the tables were taken, as I wanted to photograph the cabinet discreetly. But also, I much prefer sitting inside cafes to sitting outside. My coffee stays warm for longer, and I just really like the cafe atmosphere and warmth. Jacqueline and I both had a chocolate tart with raspberries and cream.

Before Hagos went on tour we paid a visit to Edina Home Brew and bought a cider/wine making kit. We got the cider tub to begin with. It was good fun concocting it, but it hadn't stopped fermenting before Hagos went on tour, so I had to sit with the syphon tube and syphon it into the barrel once it was ready. I got a little bit drunk doing this. The cider will be ready when Hagos returns from tour in two weeks and five days' time (not that I'm counting). I tried some on Saturday morning and I thought it was grand!

The two men who ran the shop were right characters. Almost like a Two Ronnies sketch with their stories, ladders, and dishing out whiskey to all the customers.

On Saturday morning it was such glorious weather that I decided to take a drive south of Edinburgh and see what I could discover. I drove out to Peebles, and wasn't very impressed with that town, but on a different route out I rounded a corner and discovered the most breathtaking castle, Neidpath Castle. I didn't realise I had my camera in my bag or I would've taken a photo. I was so astonished I turned back on the road and returned to get a better look at it. Sadly, it isn't open to the general public, though my neighbour said he was taken there twice on tours when he was at school. They seem to hire it out for weddings and events, and it looks like they accept tours too. Maybe I should try to get a gang together and make enquiries.

The other place I discovered on the way home (after driving through amazing, rolling, sunny hills) was Whitmuir Farm, an organic farm with a cafe, a shop and a few walking routes. I'm sorry to say the cappuccino wasn't so great, but the ambience of the whole place was amazing. Maybe I'll try a different type of coffee next time I go. I bought a bag of organic plums and apples from there and yesterday I made an early batch of my famous Plum and Apple Jam. It tastes totally delicious.

And finally, I finished my bee jumper. I don't remember if I blogged about this project before. I unraveled my bolero, keeping the sleeves intact, bought some extra black wool and honey-coloured wool (both Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply) and knitted them all into the body of a TV jumper from Sarah Dallas's Vintage Knits. The bolero had come from that book too, but because the band was sewn on afterwards and not knitted on to the bolero, it never quite sat right. It was the first time I'd knitted a band separately and I think I made it too long, and so it didn't have the tautness once it was in place. I wore the bolero a few times, and loved the wool (the long ago discontinued Jaeger 4-ply, which I still yearn for) but the way it sat always bothered me. I absolutely love the finished result. It looks good on and is really snug.

That's all for now. I have other knitting projects that I'm making my way through with great success. When Hagos is on tour I knit in the evening while I watch an hour of telly. I'll photograph and update my next two jumpers soon!

Edinburgh Book Festival

2011-06-30T13:54:00.000Z

My tickets arrived today for the Edinburgh Book Festival. It's so lovely when something good arrives in the mail.

I've bought for four events so far. And I'm tempted by two more - Kathleen Winter and Audrey Niffenegger. If they haven't sold out nearer the time and I'm feeling flush I'll buy tickets then.

I missed out on getting tickets for Alasdair Gray's Fleck, for which he's roped in many leading Scottish writers to perform: AL Kennedy, Ian Rankin, Will Self (not Scottish, I know, or maybe he claims to be, many people do), Janice Galloway and Louise Welsh. It's the event I most wanted to go to but it sold out on the first day.

But I'm very pleased with the tickets I do have. I saw Alasdair Gray at the Book Festival a few years ago, and he was very entertaining and erudite.

And AL Kennedy, well, I'd like to have her career.

I loved Rebecca Hunt's book Mr Chartwell, about the personification of depression, though her 'black dog' came across as so sweet and charming that if he was my black dog I'd rather want to keep him hanging around. I wondered if Rebecca Hunt has had any personal experience of depression, or knows anyone who has suffered from it, as (as much as I loved the book) I didn't think it depicted depression accurately at all. I wonder if I'll have the bravery to form that into a polite question to ask her at the reading?

And Maggie O'Farrell is someone else whose career I'm interested in. She seems to manage that great feat of being well-regarded by her peers and critics, and having popular sales.

Best Wishes,

Paula

x x x

A Woman's Prerogative

2011-06-15T22:26:00.000Z

Well maybe I was a bit hasty. Maybe.

All I know is that I had a great desire to slash and burn when I left Norfolk.

And the move was huge.

But anyway, we're settling into the new house/new city/new country.

Yesterday I took a walk to aquaint myself with Edinburgh. I parked outside my friends' house in Morningside (my great homing-instinct intact as ever) and walked down Morningside, through Bruntsfield, then turned at the Meadows and walked across. I had no idea where this path would take me, but it was a sunny day and I felt like walking.

For a while I've wanted to make a trip into town to visit the Central Library, find a yarn shop, and go to The Elephant House, and strangely once I'd walked through the Meadows I bumped into all three.

(My laptop has been attacked by a virus and Hagos is on tour so I've been unable to upload my own photos. The pictures below are from the internet/the relative websites as I'm currently using our office computer.)

The Central Library. I was disappointed by it. I expected it to be bigger/laid out better and I was hoping it would have an area to work at, like the desks at Swiss Cottage Library in London, where I really loved to work. Maybe I haven't realised its full potential yet and of course I will give it another go.

K1 Yarns. A beautiful, beautiful, beautiful wool shop with lots of gorgeous and lots of Scottish wool. I particularly loved the alpaca wool for £5 a 50g ball. I'll definitely be back in there. And I think I touched every ball of wool they had on sale.

And The Elephant House. I haven't been in, and it may very well have good coffee and a good atmosphere, but I was very put off by the largely-writ claim on the window of it being "The birthplace of Harry Potter". From interviews I've seen and heard with JK Rowling, she began writing the book in London, I think she then took it to Portugal with her while she lived there, then brought it back to Edinburgh. So, it's a bit of an exageration.

I have still to find a good cafe/writing place because I too like to write and I like good coffee. I've tried a few cafes but so far none has provided that winning combination of great coffee, personal space and time, and interesting clientele that I like. I miss Expresso's in Norwich very much for that. It was located beside the art college and I always felt as though time stood still when I was in there and I could THINK and be inspired and be creative.

But there are many cafes in Edinburgh and a few I have my eye on to try. One promising cafe called The Chocolate Tree, and one called Konditorei (spelling may be off there).

Until next time :)

Goodbye

2011-05-20T22:05:00.000Z

Well, I've decided to stop blogging to Knitorama. It feels like it belongs in a past part of my life. I'm heartily grateful to Chrissy for encouraging me to continue (loved your comment, especially as when I checked your blog you haven't updated since December last year :) ).

I am sure I'll start another blog. Slightly different, more focused, probably even more honest, or transparent. Anyone who wants to read it can email me and I'll send you the link once it's up and running.

Otherwise, ciao. Thanks for reading. I wish you a good life. x x x

To Blog, or Not To Blog? That is the question.

2011-05-19T10:02:00.000Z

So, I had pretty much decided to stop this blog. I have just moved country (above, packing up the old house in Norfolk) and it seemed like a natural place to make big changes. This blog is rambling and unfocused and sometimes even pointless. And maybe that's okay, but moving country has been a big ambition of ours for years. And along with achieving that, I also want to be more focused, less rambling, and to have a point!

This is the end of the pack. The end of a very long few days. I've already sent a very heartfelt thank you to our two friends, Janie and Ba, who pretty much turned up, moved in, and took over the move. They know how we feel, and we would never have achieved what we achieved in those four days without them.

Along with other friends who helped: Pete who took a day out of his holiday in Derbyshire with his family to come over and help us pack in Norfolk; my sister and her husband who drove up from Dumfries after work to help us unpack at the new house; Kev who also helped us unpack at the new house after a long work day; and Tommy, the muscles of the operation, who took time out of his degree to help us unpack at the new house. We are very grateful to all those people.

This is a moving in present from our friend Rik: a delicous apple crumble.

And living in Scotland again means I get to see more of these two lovely people, Nate and JJ (hiding from our neighbour's dog, Vanwall. Vanwall had long since wandered off, never having been very interested in us in the first place, but they boys couldn't be persuaded to re-emerge from under the blanket).

And it makes celebrating family birthdays much easier too. It was Hagos's mother, Bette's, 80th birthday on Friday. His sister Jill came over from Australia with her friend Ann, and his brother Ewan and his wife Christine came up from Bath. It was great to see all the siblings together again, and I think Bette had a good birthday.

So, I'll see how the blog goes. Friends tell me they like to read it. And perhaps I can feel better about it and be more focused about what I want it to be.

Meringues and thoughts

2011-03-18T19:33:00.000Z

I've been thinking lately of stopping this blog. Or maybe starting a new one. I don't know.

Anyway, in the meantime it was my turn at the Shake 'n' Bake today (about twelve colleagues we each take it in turn to bake on a Friday). I made the above meringues, an absolute favourite of mine; and I also made another newer favourite, Triple Chocolate Cookies. I didn't take any photos, but they were absolutely delicious. They have a chewy, fudgey, brownie-type quality to them.

And tonight: Meg and I are watching Star Trek Voyager in front of the fire, with a hot water bottle and blankets.

The Kitchen Table - a snapshot

2011-03-06T08:40:00.001Z

I like taking still shots of the kitchen table from time to time, because they tell a very accurate story of what is going on in my life.

The hat box full of knitting: my almost finished red and purple loop jumper - I just have to sew it all together and weave in the hundreds of ends and after six years in the making it will actually be finished. I can hardly believe it. For about five minutes after I'd knitted the neckband yesterday I thought of writing a strongly-worded letter of complaint to the designer. The pattern structure and maths were perfect, but the repeating loop pattern was very badly explained. It took me knitting all of the back (to her exact instructions) to realise that if I did it on a circular needle (instead of two straight needles) with two balls of the red wool, and one ball of the purple wool on the go at any one time, I wouldn't have to keep cutting the wool and re-joining it (the repeating loop pattern is such that the next colour of wool you need to knit with is very often at the wrong end of the needles). Also in the box is green wool for a pair of socks, and upstairs on the bed (not strictly on the table but only because I took it to bed with me last night) I've started my bee jumper already.

Other stuff on the table: my hot water bottle, because I'm constantly cold in this house; herbal sleeping pills and ibuprofen because I have so much going on that I need these to knock me out at night and shut my brain up; flour on the scales ready to make bread rolls for lunch; Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, which I had to take out of the library yesterday because Hagos is in Hong Kong and he took our copy with him; daffodils to cheer up the kitchen and me; the Radio Times to plan my TV watching for the day (at a push I might watch Dancing on Ice while I'm having dinner, only because there's nothing else on I want to watch, unlike last time where BBC 2 dedicated the whole evening to World Book Night, which I lapped up); wine given to us by our friends for helping them to move; my breakfast bowl; and packing tape. I need a lot of packing tape at the moment.

We're currently packing up the house to move. It's a huge job. I've already gone through my book shelves and have a huge box full of books to somehow make disappear. We also went through our CD collection (hundreds) and have sold some to a company that takes CDs and binned all the rubbish and kept the ones we like.

Well, I think I might go back to bed while my bread is rising.

Purple and red loop jumper - it must be Easter!

2011-02-28T12:04:00.002Z

I remember pulling this jumper out last Easter and being sure I would finish it, as there were only a few rows left to do.

And then I must've bought some new wool, for a new project, and back into the bag it went, not to be seen for another year.

But as I'm now at the cast off for the front, which is the final piece, I'm sure I will actually finish it this time. I have to knit it at the kitchen table, otherwise I get tangled in the three balls of wool.

And then I plan to start on this. It will be a black long-sleeved TV jumper with some honey-bee thick stripes. I got the idea from a Next jumper my work colleague wore recently. I liked it so much I decided to unpick my black bolero, which I have never felt comfortable in due to the band edging: the bolero never sat properly. So I'm unpicking the body of the bolero and will use the sleeves as they are, as they are the exact same pattern for the TV jumper, and I will knit a new body. I'm planning to buy two new balls of Rowan Pure Wool black 4-ply to go with the honey-coloured wool above.

It's such a fail-safe pattern (Sarah Dallas's Vintage Knits) and easy to knit, and I love the result.

An unremarkable jumper?

2011-02-26T09:21:00.000Z

Well, I haven't posted for ages. I've been working full time since November, and at first I took to it with relish, got into it, enjoyed it; but for the last three weeks I've just felt so exhausted. My job is very intense, lots to keep an eye on, no balls can be dropped, absolute deadlines on everything!

And now, I have two and a half weeks off, except for next Friday, and I already feel odd! Getting up on a Saturday morning, knowing I only have two days off before heading back into the fray on Monday is different to getting up on a Saturday morning, after working intensely for four months, and having two and a half weeks stretch out in front of me. It's almost like being back to my old touring days.

Anyway, back to the point. I finished my black double knit Rowan Cashsoft jumper. And, it's the most unimpressed I've ever been with something I've knitted. I'm not sure if it's because of the colour (I don't like knitting black, but I like wearing it and think it suits my colouring and hair), or because the sleeves skim my wrists and I prefer them to be longer (they don't look short, just my preference), or because the neckband took about four attempts to get it to where it is now and I'm still not sure it's right (but no bloody way am I unpicking it again to re-do it), or that from the second I started knitting it the wool attracted every cat hair and piece of fluff as if it were a magnet!

I haven't worn it out yet so maybe I'll get to like it then. I felt better about it once I'd pressed the neck band. And it is lovely and soft. Hmm. I was hoping to have a new template jumper that I just knit over and over again in different colours, like my TV jumper, but now I'm not sure.

Today we're going to Giraffe in Norwich for breakfast, then we come home, potter about, light the fire, then watch a DVD in the evening, and then later we watch my favourite thing on TV just now, the Danish crime programme The Killing.

And it's Hagos's birthday on Monday so I will have to make him his favourite Bishop's Cake, and another friend's birthday just after that and I'm planning to make something to send to her too, and my dad's birthday tomorrow.

My head is so busy. I will update more on all that soon.

But for now it's Saturday!

A new jumper

2011-01-02T11:12:00.001Z

I got this book a few years ago and have been meaning to knit something from it ever since. I got some black DK Rowan Cashsoft in a John Lewis sale last year and decided to knit the cover jumper (shown in Kidsilk Haze).

However, when I came to cast off for the sleeve and neck (on the front) it soon became apparent that the pattern didn't add up! I sat down with a pen and piece of paper twice to try to make sense of it, and failed. So I decided to knit the back first, which did make sense, and hope that that would throw light on the front cast off. And it did. But I did have to re-calculate the whole cast off for the neck. The numbers were significantly out!

So I now have the front and the back, and being DK it didn't take that long to knit up. Two weeks of TV watching (and bus riding). I'm hoping the sleeves will take another two weeks and I'll have a new jumper by the third week of January.

We had a lovely Christmas day and Boxing day. It was great to just eat, drink and watch TV and not try to achieve anything. Hagos's mother was supposed to spend it with us, but she got a third of the way on the train only to be told the connecting train was delayed by five hours, so she made the decision to turn back rather than continue, which was the sensible decision but we were all disappointed she couldn't make it.

Here's hoping 2011 will be a prosperous year!

December

2010-12-28T17:38:00.000Z

So, I haven't been on here for a while. I set myself the task of doing an advent photo every day on Facebook (up until 24th Dec) so that took over. Plus, I've been working full time for the last month or so, and haven't had much time for crafty stuff. I've pretty much been working, bathing, sitting in front of the coal fire, and watching TV!

Here are some of the images from my month:

Hagos's mum was supposed to come to us for Christmas. She made it as far as Carlisle on the train (from Kilmarnock) and had to turn back due to a 5-hour delay! She was due to arrive in Norwich at six o'clock, so five hours extra (and who knows how many more would have been added along the way) meant she wouldn't have got here until 11pm at the earliest. That's a long time for an elderly lady (or anyone) to be hanging around cold train stations. We were all disappointed, and on Christmas Eve and the first couple of hours of Christmas Day Hagos and I didn't really know what to do with ourselves as we'd been expecting company. Anyway, after we'd opened our presents, Hagos had a bath, I poured myself a glass of port and started baking a banana, walnut and chocolate cake for Christmas dessert (Bette was bringing the Christmas pudding and brandy butter!) and the rest of the day went very smoothly and pleasantly. Giving in to doing nothing when we're so used to always doing something, was very welcome indeed!

I've started a new DK jumper so will upload photos soon. x x x

Long-sleeved TV jumper!

2010-11-08T10:51:00.001Z

This jumper has been hanging around for too long waiting for me to sew it together. I hate sewing jumpers together, and it was delayed further because when I sewed the first sleeve in place I noticed this:

The stripes didn't line up! They do on my three short-sleeved versions, because that's how Sarah Dallas, the designer, designed it. (The pattern is from Vintage Knits, by Sarah Dallas.) I hadn't taken this into account when adapting the pattern to make it a long-sleeved jumper.

Anyway, yesterday I finally decided there wasn't anything I could do about it and finished sewing the other sleeve in place, and then the sides together. I did wonder if I could/should unpick the sleeve and try to push and pull the stripes to line up, but I knew it wouldn't work.

So today I am wearing it for the first time, and I really, really love it. It's completely comfortable and warm and neat, and the stripes not lining up can't really be seen when my arms are by my sides, which is most of the time.

I definitely want to make another, but this time I would dispense with the stripes altogether. I know it adds interest when knitting and to look at but apart from working out how to line up the stripes it just adds unnecessarily to the cost (Kidsilk Haze is about £8 a ball now!). I really want a jumper in Rowan Cashsoft Redwood next.

Before I do that, however, I have the red and purple loop jumper to finish (still!), my second purple and green mitten (though I've decided that will be next year's winter accessories instead of this - I'll get another year out of my green and white mittens, scarf and hat), and my black double knit Cashsoft jumper.

I also bought two balls of the Rowan Cashsoft Redwood in a sale at John Lewis at the weekend, along with some new acid-green beads and want to knit another pair of beady bed socks.

I think I'll pencil in the Redwood long-sleeved TV jumper for next winter!

Beady Bed Socks - 3 lots

2010-10-24T11:45:00.000Z

I finally decided the time has come to replace my old beady bed socks (last two pictures) with the new beady bed socks I recently knitted (above).

The reason I didn't start wearing them as soon as I'd knitted them was because I wanted to knit another pair for my friend's birthday at the beginning of November but I wasn't sure if they would be ready on time and I thought I might have to give her my own instead!

Thankfully I have finished the first of her beady bed socks (the green with red beads). I think green is more her colour, and I absolutely love the yellow of mine.

I experimented with the pattern while knitting the green pair. I much prefer knitting socks in-the-round, and the Debbie Bliss pattern for the socks is knitted flat and then sewn together as a back seam. It pretty much works because of the rib at the heel and the sole - you can't see the sewing together there, just up the back above the ankle.

Knitting the pattern in-the-round was better I think. There isn't an obvious join. The only thing I wasn't so happy about was I had a couple of little ladders where the needles changed. It's only slight, and I did try to avoid the gapping. But the biggest benefit was not having to sew them together afterwards! I just had to sew together the heel and the toe. So, I think it was a success.

I really like this Rowan pure wool 4-ply. I love the feel of it. Very textured and old-fashioned, as I've said before.

These are my old faithful bed socks. I've worn them constantly for about two years so it's no wonder the sole has worn in places.

The good thing is that when I pull them apart I will be able to save and re-use the beads in another pair of socks!

In other news - it's a funny old time for us at the moment. Lots of changes afoot :) and I feel a mixture of excitement and fear.

Mostly on my mind: how to make proper money.

Saturday

2010-10-09T17:49:00.000Z

I decided I would clean the kitchen today, so I got up, had breakfast, and made myself a half-caf cappuccino with the percolator.

Then I went for a bike ride and did my shopping: books back to library, veg and fruit from the greengrocer's.

Meg was relaxing in the front room.

I got out my collection of jars and decided to make...

...Plum and Apple Jam!

This year I stoned the plums first, because trying to scoop them out of the pan while it was at a rolling boil was far too scalding and messy.

And this is what I ended up with: two jars for my friend's birthday (she really liked the jar I gave her last year), one little jar for me, and a big jar possibly to give away to someone else.

And this evening, some mitten-knitting and watching Strictly Come Dancing.

The kitchen cleaning might get done tomorrow.

Chocolate Pistachio Macaroons

2010-10-08T19:44:00.000Z

My first attempt at macaroons didn't go so well. I think I folded all of the air out of the whisked egg white when I added the ground pistachios. So that, when I went to spoon the mixture onto the waiting baking trays, they glooped and merged into a big PUDDLE.

I tried whisking the whole mixture again to thicken it, but could tell it wasn't going to work.

So I had a BRAINWAVE to spoon it into little paper cups, to enable them to hold shape while baking.

IT WORKED!

I then made the chocolate ganache, and sandwiched the macaroons together with it.

They didn't look like the glossy photo in the baking book, but they tasted absolutely heavenly.

And everyone at work loved them.

As I had lost some of the mixture when I first tried to spoon it onto the baking sheets, I only got 12 macaroons. Luckily there were a few people off today so I didn't need that many, but nonetheless I felt I should bolster my offerings with something else. I didn't have the energy to begin baking anything else from scratch and remembered I had half a Bishop's Cake in the freezer.

I defrosted that, cut it into 9 pieces, and we managed to have a merry little feast after all.

Knitting and Reading

2010-10-02T20:27:00.001Z

So, I unravelled the dreadful orange and purple mittens, bought myself some Rowan pure wool 4-ply green wool, and started knitting these green and purple mittens instead! And I am so much happier with them. I know they're right.

I was interested to read Livvey's blog entry called The Brain Drain recently, because that is exactly what my head has been feeling like too. Except my headings are: Work; Housework; Hagos's Schedule; Accounts; Writing; Maintaining Weight; and a few other headings I don't quite want to reveal. But BUSY. And out of kilter time-wise.

I'm sure at some point next year it will all fall into place in terms of priority but right now writing takes a back seat to pretty much everything else. And focusing enough to write is something I'm finding difficult at the moment. And peace of mind.

I need a less busy brain.

But reading is something I'm doing a lot of, and really enjoying. I'm glad I have enough concentration for that.

At bedtime I'm reading The Emergence of Memory: Conversations with WG Sebald; and during the day I have just finished the Millennium trilogy, and will either begin Regeneration by Pat Barker; Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson; or Room by Emma Donoghue. I'm thinking probably Regeneration.

Planning Ahead

2010-09-19T13:23:00.000Z

My friend Janie told me about another friend inviting her to lunch recently and how this friend, Ginny, was such a great hostess and produced a lovely afternoon tea, with home made scones. I instantly rose to my own challenge (I have such a competitive streak!) to produce an even better afternoon tea when Janie comes to visit me on Tuesday.

So now, as Tuesday draws nearer and suddenly my schedule is really busy, I'm having to decide what to actually make. I got the Covent Garden Soup Co recipe book out of the library on Saturday and settled on the above recipe.

I'm also planning to do home-made bread, and various other additions (tomatoes, homous and such). And for dessert I think I'll make Nigella's chocolate pistachio fudge.

Our Shake 'n' Bake at work is still going really well. We're on our third round and I think there are about 12 of us doing it. I'm really pleased that everyone is so enthusiastic and I also love the range of things that people make. On Friday Gavin made strawberry pavlova; the week before Sheila made raspberry muffins and rhubarb and ginger tarts.

So, with that in mind, and having just drawn up a new rota, I got a few chocolate recipe books out of the library as well. And I think I've decided to make chocolate pistachio macaroons and chocolate and mint biscuits (above). I've never made macaroons, though I am a great meringue-maker, and I really like the idea of sandwiching the biscuits together with peppermint icing sugar and then dipping them in chocolate! My Shake 'n' Bake turn is in the first week of October. I'll let you know how I get on.

Onions and Garlic for Winter

2010-09-07T21:21:00.000Z

I've been drying my onions in my mini-greenhouse the last few days, and today decided to string them up and hang them in the shed, along with the garlic. It's the first time I've grown both, so I'm really pleased with how they've turned out.

I really like the idea of having enough produce to put by for use through winter. Very 'Good Life'. I haven't managed it this year, but would like to at some point.

I've taken the last couple of days kind of off. I've been feeling overloaded. Like I'm in one of those transparant balls that you can roll around in. Everything is shifting around me. So it was good to just be at home with Hagos and let go of my own expectations. String up vegetables, snuggle up on the couch with Hagos and fall asleep to an old film, read for pleasure, discover a new writer (Scarlett Thomas), and go to the cinema.

How I occupy myself when my husband is sleeping after staying up all night in the studio

2010-08-28T15:15:00.001Z

I knit
I read - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson; and, The Emergence of Memory: conversations with WG Sebald
I eat chocolate cigarettes
I mess around on the internet

My jumper is coming along nicely and I'm keen to finish it because then I shall have TWO long-sleeved new jumpers, and I can then get onto knitting my next project (possibly my black DK jumper).

It took me a while to get into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as everyone said it would, and then the pace finds its rhythm and I'm completely in and reading all the time, which I love.

Today I picked up The Emergence of Memory: Conversations with WG Sebald from my local library. I was lucky enough to have Max (WG Sebald) as my teacher when I did my Masters Degree at UEA. There is a little anecdote he tells at the end of the book, about a rat, and it so reminded me of the pattern our tutorials took every week. He always began by relating some little tale that had caught his attention during the week. It always started off well, and quickly deteriorated. And he would chuckle and we would eye each other warily as the story began, and then chuckle with him when it ended badly.

A new old-fashioned sweet shop has opened up in Norwich and it sells chocolate cigarettes, which I LOVED as a child, and LOVE as an adult.

Hagos came home today after being in the studio all week. He was just half an hour away, but studio work is entirely absorbing. There is no room for anything else. He was up until 5am finishing off this morning. So he has been sleeping on the couch accompanied by old films on Film 4 while I am quiet in the kitchen.

Beetroot Relish, and some garlic bulbs

2010-08-27T22:35:00.000Z

So I took this

and turned it into this.

I was really pleased that my beetroot worked this year. I sowed Boltardy seeds, and true to their name, they came through.

I'm planning to keep one jar, and give the other jar to friends for Christmas.

I pulled up three of my garlic bulbs and have hung them in the shed to dry. Every time I go in it smells amazing!

I'll pull the remaining five bulbs up this weekend and hang them too. And I think it's about time to pull the onions and do the same with them.

The gardening is almost done for another year. I'm still getting a good crop of tomatoes. My favourite dish at the moment is onions, along with my own garlic, fried in some half-fat butter, add the tomatoes, add to pasta - and it's so delicious, quick, and low on points (I've been doing Weightwatchers for a while). There are still a lot of tomatoes waiting to come through so I should have some for another couple of weeks, and then I'm hoping the Romas will be reddening. I have one more tub of potatoes to pull up and then they'll be finished too. I might pop some more garlic and onions in over winter.

Good Things From Today

2010-08-14T20:26:00.000Z

Meg, my little friend. This is her lying with her legs across me, belly to belly.

My oddly-shaped tomato!!

My home-grown carrots, that are so long they had reached the bottom of the tub.

Pure escapism! An adventure, and a Weightwatchers Cookie Bar and cup of tea.

Curry, made with my own carrots, garlic, potatoes and tomatoes.

I was also pleased to read about Kate Atkinson's new book, and curious about a book called Room, by a writer I'd never heard of before, Emma Donoghue. The book has been longlisted for the Booker.

Especially for Rik

2010-08-12T14:00:00.001Z

Rik - we pretty much ate the Bishop's Cake before I could photograph it. But here is the first ever Bishop's Cake I made for Hagos's birthday this year.

It's such a more-ish cake. Not good for people who are watching their figures!

We got the recipe from Hagos's mum, who had made the cake for us at Christmas (probably one of the best afternoon teas I've ever had: home-made soup, Bishop's Cake, crystalised ginger dipped in chocolate, and coffee - mmmmm! Very Famous Five).

Apparently it's called Bishop's Cake because, when cut, the cake looks like a stained glass window due to the glace cherries, mixed peel and angelica (my cake doesn't have angelica, which is green, as the local baking shop didn't have any that day).

I'll make it for you one day.

Some nice stuff

2010-08-09T17:42:00.000Z

I made Tomato Relish again. I used my own home grown tomatoes and garlic. I had hoped to use my own onions and chillies too, but they weren't ready in time. I had a really nice day at home in the kitchen making it, along with a Bishop's Cake for Hagos.

And the first Beetroot! I've roasted half of it for dinner tonight (along with other roast veg and a chicken!) and we ate the other half raw. I really liked it! It was a fairly mild taste.

And the last of my earlies: Charlottes! My friends didn't get such a good crop out of theirs so I wasn't expecting this many. Also having some for dinner tonight.

We went camping last week for a couple of days to the Peak District. Very P&P. Our friends were staying in a chalet there. I really enjoyed being out of Norfolk, and seeing friends. We always have a silly, adventurous time with these friends, and I always laugh a lot.

I need more of that.

Jumper progress

2010-08-01T20:52:00.002Z

So I've knitted all the parts to my first long-sleeved TV jumper. I'll sew it together and knit the collar next weekend.

I really love this pattern. I've blogged about the three short-sleeved versions I've done many times. The pattern is from Sarah Dallas's Vintage Knits.

I'm already planning to make another in Rowan's Cashsoft Redwood colour.

In the meantime I'm back to knitting this! And I know I'll get it finished this time. I've finally figured out the pattern, which didn't suggest using a circular needle but requires one, otherwise there are LOTS of ends and joining-in.

I'm now on the front, the final piece, having knitted the back and sleeves already.

I also bought some black Cashsoft DK in the recent John Lewis sale, and I'm thinking of either using it to knit the jumper on the front of this book, or a zip up cardigan from one of the Rowan magazines from a few years ago.

I'm really enjoying working my way through all my unfinished projects. Here is my list so far:

~~Kaffe Fassett daisy green skirt~~
Ikea Sew Easy dress pattern (material cut out, just needs to be sewn together)
~~Amy Butler Chelsea Handbag~~
~~Sarah Dallas long-sleeved TV jumper~~
Red and White Norwegian mittens (2nd mitten and two thumbs to be knitted)
Green and purple jumper from Rowan magazine (barely begun)
~~Red and purple loop jumper from Rowan magazine (front only to be finished, then sewn together)~~
~~Yellow bed socks with red beads (one knitted, one to knit!)~~
Yellow cotton slippers (bases knitted, tops to knit and sew together)

I'm even looking forward to knitting my green and purple jumper from Rowan magazine, that - after the initial excitement of buying the wool - I've never felt any enthusiasm for! Though I have knitted the back rib due to airport delay a couple of years ago.

Knitting

2010-07-20T09:15:00.001Z

I finished knitting my long-sleeved TV jumper a couple of weeks ago and decided that instead of sewing it together and knitting the collar to completely finish it and make it wearable, I would knit the second sock of my yellow and red beady bed socks.

The wool is the Rowan pure wool 4 ply. I really like it for it's old-fashioned look when it's knitted up. Some of the more expensive wools are so smooth and feel great, but sometimes I like the roughness of a retro-type wool. Especially for socks.

I'm not sure if I'll keep these or pass them on as a present. I may be tempted to keep them for myself. I only have one other pair of bed socks, and in winter they're just the right thing.

I also made a start on my winter mittens, BUT, oh, I don't like these two colours combined at all. I've knitted a good enough amount, to give it a good enough chance of growing on me, and there have been moments when I've thought I could be swayed, but most of the time I look at it thinking, hm, it doesn't quite go together. I think it's the hand-dyed effect of the orange wool, offset by the light purple. If the orange was a flat colour, or the purple was darker it would stand more of a chance, but as it is...NOPE.

It's a shame because I was really enjoying knitting two colours again and making the mittens, and I knitted this up quite quickly.

So now I'm thinking of ditching the orange all together and exchanging it for a flat green. Green main colour, with purple snowflakes and contrast.

The SENSIBLE thing to do would be to take my purple wool and purple coat into John Lewis and hold them up to several balls of green wool (or another colour if it looks right) and see which is the best combination.

I remember when I was knitting my white and green mittens, and my purple and blue mittens, I thought the colours were so amazing together, I loved the combination while I was knitting them, as well as the finished product, and I just don't feel that way about the orange and purple mittens as they are.

I'll probably use the orange wool for more socks. I do love it. It's such a warming, cheerful colour.

Perfect Peas

2010-07-02T17:35:00.000Z

This is about our fifth pea pod from the plant.

They are amazingly sweet and satisfying.

Also bought today: new 4 ply wool for making my winter mittens, and hat.

I got it from a lovely independent yarn shop in Norwich. It's just the right colour and will be combined with purple.

1st Earlies: Swifts!

2010-06-22T13:57:00.000Z

My first crop of potatoes for the year: 1st Earlies: Swifts! I'm really pleased with the size of them. I haven't pulled up the whole tub, I thought I'd just dig around one stalk and see what emerged.

We shall have them for dinner tomorrow night!

The first pea, tomato, and courgettes

2010-06-14T08:41:00.000Z

My very first pea pod!!!

Courgette plant is in full production. We had one gorgeous meal from it last week.

The first tomatoes of the season. Soon we will have a glut of them.

Amy Butler Chelsea Handbag

2010-05-30T20:01:00.000Z

I've had my eye on this Amy Butler handbag pattern for about a year now. I bought it with some birthday money, and today I set aside time to make it!

I've had some fat quarters hanging around for a while, and they just about covered the pattern. I ran out of material to cover the false bottom of the bag, but as this sits inside and isn't really seen I'm not too bothered.

This is the reverse. I didn't bother making it symmetrical; I quite like it being slightly off. But anyway, this was mainly a trial run.

It was fun to make! And will probably be used as a knitting bag.

Today I...

2010-05-28T22:59:00.000Z

Went to the Turkish Cafe in Norwich with Katy and Leanne. We had Turkish Tea (above) and Turkish pizza!

And I baked Chocolate Orange Cake for work, which went down very well. The colleague whose turn it was to 'Shake and Bake' this week hadn't been told it was her turn! and she was on holiday today, so I quickly re-jigged the rota and relied on this least-fuss-maximum-pleasure cake.

Finishing an Unfinished Project

2010-05-16T09:54:00.000Z

I finally finished my tweed skirt last night. I used Amy Butler's A-line skirt pattern, but actually had to adjust it a fair bit as the material was too heavy to sit in such a flared shape. I shaved quite a bit off the sides! particularly the bottom. Anyway, I'm pleased with it now and I think it'll look lovely with coordinating jumper and tights.

I've been feeling irritated by the amount of unfinished projects I have hanging around. I wasn't quite in the mood for sewing last night but I was determined to clear them all until I am only working on one thing.

My current unfinished projects are:

Kaffe Fassett daisy green skirt (lining to cut out and attach)
Ikea Sew Easy dress pattern (material cut out, just needs to be sewn together)
Amy Butler Chelsea Handbag (new pattern, all to be done)
Sarah Dallas long-sleeved TV jumper (one sleeve to knit, then to be sewn together)
Red and White Norwegian mittens (2nd mitten and two thumbs to be knitted)
Green and purple jumper from Rowan magazine (barely begun, no enthusiasm to finish)
Red and purple loop jumper from Rowan magazine (front only to be finished, then sewn together)
Yellow bed socks with red beads (one knitted, one to knit!)

So you see, there is a LOT to be done. These have all been started and left over the course of 3-4 years! And as I'm on a money-saving mission what better reason to work on what I have instead of buying new wool or material?

The only new thing I shall buy is wool to make my new winter accessories. My work colleagues gave me a John Lewis voucher for my birthday so I'll use that to buy most of the wool needed. I can't wait to finish everything I've started

Peas, Potatoes, Garlic, Onions, Lettuce, Tomatoes, and a Cat!

2010-05-15T08:52:00.000Z

Meg was outside sunbathing this morning, so I went out with my camera to try to get a photo of her in amongst the plants. And ended up photographing the progress of my vegetables as well.

The peas are doing much better than I expected.

As is the lettuce. The only thing I'm not sure is - is it ready to eat now?

The rest of the gang: potatoes, garlic and onions.

Tomatoes, courgette - and cat!

Hagos is off to Brighton for a gig today. I'm planning to finish off a couple of sewing projects, make some late Christmas presents for friends that are visiting on Monday, and watch my current TV indulgence - Over the Rainbow. I would never had thought to watch such a programme, but I saw the first one when I was at my parents' visiting, and I find it interesting seeing people working hard towards their dream.

A Jumper and Thinking Ahead

2010-05-11T11:54:00.003Z

I am so close to finishing my long-sleeved TV jumper. Only one more sleeve to knit! Even though it's 4-ply it hasn't taken me long at all. If I hadn't had all the other projects that I made in the meantime it would've been finished months ago.

I'm already thinking about the next long-sleeved TV jumper (black with red stripes; or red with midnight blue stripes?) and also about my winter accessories for this year: hat, mittens and scarf. I make myself new winter accessories every two years. They always match my winter coat. And this year I have two new winter coats, both from Boden.

I bought the above coat (which is a deeper colour than in the photo - more like a redwood) a couple of years ago at a Boden sale in Norwich. And I bought the coat below in last winter's Boden online sale. I never buy Boden full price - it's just too expensive, but their sales are good.

So, I've decided to have the main colour of my winter accessories as orange/spicy ginger, and the contrast colour a violet purple. That way they'll match both coats (I don't want to knit two sets of hats, scarves and mittens!) and the colours themselves will be very warming and cheerful.

That's a LOT of knitting to come!

Progress

2010-05-03T10:02:00.000Z

My work colleagues bought me the Kaffe Fassett material above two years ago for my birthday. I cut out the pattern straight away, and the lining, and it has hung on my shelf unit in my kitchen ever since, waiting to be sewn together!

I think the reason I hadn't finished the green skirt, was because this other Kaffe Fassett skirt was also hanging on my kitchen shelf unit waiting to be finished. This purple skirt was ostensibly finished. I just had to sew the lining to the zip, the rest was done. Except, I wasn't happy with the way the zip lay alonside the back seam. There was a little kink.

I've written before about how much I love this material. I think I bought it with birthday money my sister gave me a few years ago, and I love it because it reminds me of the hydrangeas that grew in my granny's garden when I was a child. So, I knew that I wouldn't be happy with this skirt unless I fixed the zip/seam problem at the back, which for months (years) I thought it meant I would have to unpick the whole skirt and sew it together again.

It was only during my four days off a couple of weeks ago, that I had the brainwave to unpick the back seam and unpick a little bit of the hem, and just realign that. If you're still following me, it worked! The hydrangea skirt was completely fixed in half an hour, and I could go on to my green daisy skirt.

I have decided to finish most of my unfinished stuff before starting on any new items, except perhaps to allow myself to make my new Amy Butler bag pattern, which I also bought with birthday money :)

Chocolate Fudge and Jam Tarts

2010-04-20T21:30:00.001Z

I promised my work colleagues last week I'd make a little something to celebrate my birthday. And today I was totally in the mood for baking and making treats. First of all I made chocolate fudge, from one of my favourite books, Christmas Treats to Make and Give. It was super-easy to combine all the ingredients (not much more difficult than melting chocolate), put it in the fridge, and it was ready.

As a contrast I then made jam tarts, from Jane Brocket's book, Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer. Everything I've ever made from CCaGB has been a huge success. The recipes are well-written and turn out absolutely PERFECT, so I was surprised when I took my jam tarts out of my oven after 12 minutes to find them burnt (above are two tarts from my second batch, which I baked for 7 minutes). I also had trouble rolling out the pastry as I'd added two egg yolks (which were listed in the ingredients but not in the instructions! it just said to add liquid) and this made the pastry too wet. So when I tried lifting my beautifully crinkly-shaped rounds they were stuck fast to the table! And I had to prise them off with a spatula and re-roll them! Anyway, they actually taste okay, even though they're burnt round the edges, and I was lucky I had enough pastry left to adjust my times in the second batch.

The meringues are a by-product of making the jam tarts. I hate to waste food and I LOVE meringues!

Personalised Pairs Game

2010-04-19T10:00:00.002Z

It's abundantly clear from my blog that I love making things. If I could, I would spend all day, every day, making things. I'd love to learn how to do woodwork and make my own furniture. I love bespoke craft.

I decided before Christmas to make a Pairs Game for our friends and their children. We have so many photos of us all having adventures - exploring castles and at the beach, etc, that there were plenty to choose from.

Above is the entire game.

I overshot my Christmas deadline but managed to finish the game in time for their visit at Easter. First of all I printed out 15 pairs of mini-photos at Boots. Then I designed the backs, as above.

The trickiest part of the whole enterprise was deciding how to protect the photo and back so they wouldn't get grubby from fingers turning them over. That's why I decided to laminate them all. The laminates can be bought from Ryman's. I'm glad this is the route I chose, however the laminates are pricy.

It was as I was writing the rules (last pic) that I decided to add this element of deciding who starts the game. Who goes first is very important to children (and adults). I didn't want it to be done with dice so made up these cards that are particular and personal to the Burnses. For example, Some cards are obvious, like The Person Who Has A Cat Called Yeow could only relate to Nathan. And, The Person Who Has A Ukulele, could only be JJ. But I also wanted to add a bit of fun, so The Person With The Darkest Pants On, and The Smelliest Person, will be open to interpretation!

I played a sample game myself. The cards are laid out in a 6 x 5 grid. I think there are enough cards to carry a game, but not too many that it is overwhelming and impossible. However, for younger children it is easy enough to reduce the amount of cards.

Two Darth Vaders!

The lovely thing about the game is it allows you to remember the fun, good times while you're playing. The Burnses and The Haggartys all like adventures.

I tried to keep the rules as simple as possible. I particularly like the last instruction, "Everyone must then say something really nice about the winner."

I'd love to make the game again for my nephews' children. My idea to make this game originated when I gave a shop-bought pairs game to my great nephew Keigan for his birthday one year. I thought how nice it would be to personalise it. When he's at my parents' house he's always naming people in the photographs on the wall. Anyway, it took me about 8 months to get this game together, so maybe I'll wait until my other great nephew is a bit older and do a game for them both.

One bit of advice I would give to anyone considering making this game for themselves is: it's crucial to make the backs of the photos exactly the same. It must be impossible to tell from the back which photo it is, otherwise players could use this knowledge to their advantage. When I was putting the photo and back into the laminate I had a template drawn onto paper, so I could place them in exactly the right place in the laminate. I also used the sticky side of the laminate for the photo, so that the backs would all be indistinguishable from one another. (Laminates have one sticky and one non-sticky side.)

A Gardening Update

2010-04-18T19:52:00.000Z

It's been an extremely busy month, begining with my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary, through to having our friends and godsons here for a week, then it was my birthday, building up to Hagos going on tour again. I'm only just getting caught up with everything.

I'm in the middle of four days off, at home, by myself. After the intensity of the month I felt very odd on Saturday morning, waking up with no plans, no social engagements. So I've been doing what I love doing most - pottering.

Hagos bought me a mini-greenhouse for my birthday and I couldn't wait to put things in it. For the first time ever I bought PEAS and LETTUCE! I'm very excited about the peas. And even though Ba is kindly giving me the exess tomatoes she's grown from seed I couldn't resist buying the same tumbler tomatoes I bought from the garden centre last year.

Peas

Lettuce

Courgette

Tumbler tomatoes

Garlic

First earlies: Swifts

Chilli plants: Cherry Bomb and Ring of Fire

My other chilli seeds didn't germinate. So I've sown more and am trying again. I find vegetable gardening extremely exciting. It's the first thing I do every morning - go outside to check all my plants. I have a lot more plants than I did last year so I hope I can keep up with them all.

More, non-gardening, updates to follow.

How does your garlic grow?

2010-04-03T22:08:00.000Z

My French Garlic is already sprouting! As are some of my chilli plants (below).

Tomorrow I plant the rest of my potatoes.

Chillies!

2010-03-23T12:25:00.000Z

So, these "Jiffy plugs" were given to us as a Christmas present to plant chilli seeds in. They're all from the South Devon Chilli Farm, and were given to us by Hagos's brother's family. They usually send us chilli chocolate every year too, and I have to say, they make some of the best chocolate I've ever tasted (and there were a few years when I tasted chocolate daily from all over Europe).

This is them in their little propagator. It's very cute. I have it in Hagos's studio at the moment as it's warm and sunny (but not direct sunlight) in there.

And these are the types I've planted. The Cherry Bomb looks particularly exciting.

I haven't had much success with chilli plants. A couple of years ago the aforementioned brother-in-law gave us 20 packs of chilli seeds - far more than we could ever hope to grow, and I wasn't even a gardener then - and our gardening expert friends Janie and Ba adopted them all and their whole house was covered in chilli plants in little pots. They gave us one back to bring home, we put it in the bathroom (it was only about 8 inches high) and it grew into a GIANT BEANSTALK!! It took over the whole bathroom, grew up and along the beams, and it didn't give us a SINGLE chilli. I had to throw it out in the end because I noticed it was attracting little flies to it, and then when I looked at it very closely I noticed lots of little white things crawling all over it! Yuck! Immediately it was chopped down and put in the outside bin.

So, I'm hoping for more luck/success with these. Janie and Ba gave us another (normal-sized) chilli plant last year, which we grew outside and that produced THREE chillies, which I used in cooking and they were delicious.

These are my gardening bibles. I consult each one intensely about everything I'm planning to do, and then I email Ba to double-check everything with her. She's given me SO MUCH advice and help. I'll have to make her some extra-special tomato relish this year as a thank you.

Gardening is just great! During my daily morning tub-check I noticed that my garlic is already growing!!!

Gardening Season Begins!

2010-03-22T10:59:00.001Z

It's so lovely to wake up in the morning, to know the sun is shining, and to jump out of bed, excited to rush outside and see how the vegetables are growing! Of course, having just planted them I know nothing will have changed so far, but it's exciting to look nonetheless.

The back three planters have potatoes in: 1st earlies Swifts and Pentland Javelins. The yellow planter at the front has onions, and the big tub beside it has garlic!

These are my Swifts before being covered up. I'm impressed with the planters I have them in actually, they have little pockets at the side so you can pull the odd potato out without upsetting the entire sack.

And the garlic I planted midweek last week. I love garlic, and I've never grown it before, so this is of particular interest to me, especially as it's French garlic, which tastes better than any garlic I've ever tasted. My half-French friend brought me some back from France once and it was amazing, so I hope mine will be amazing too.

I also sowed my chilli seeds. I didn't photograph them, and now they're snug in Hagos's studio so I will have to photograph them and post another time.

Happy Spring!

Shake and Bake Friday!

2010-03-13T13:30:00.001Z

It was my turn to bake for our Shake and Bake Friday this week at work. I wanted to try something new, of course, and chose these triple chocolate cookies from Linda Collister's gorgeous book Christmas Treats to Make and Give.

They were good fun to make - melted chocolate combined with whisked eggs and sugar, a little flour, and chopped chocolate and walnuts thrown into the mix before putting splodges on a baking tray and baking for ten minutes until they were just baked.

The photo above is taken from the book itself because, uncharacteristically, I forgot to take photos of my finished product. My biscuits turned out darker, possibly because I used golden caster sugar instead of white. I also didn't bother drizzling chocolate over the top, so stricly speaking my biscuits were double chocolate cookies. Really, they didn't need any more chocolate! The house and oven smelled delicous for a day, and my work colleagues LOVED them, which is always gratifying.

Friday's Shake and Bake is turning out to be something we all look forward to, and it's a great shared experience. We're all interested to see and know what each other is making or thinking of making.

After the momentous task of finishing the boys' jumpers (which they were chuffed with, according to their parents) I have now leisurely picked up my own stripy, long-sleeved TV jumper. I'd finished the back and front ages ago - at the beginning of winter! The pattern has short sleeves, and as documented in this blog I've already made three short-sleeved versions, but I realised I rarely wear them because it's usually either too cold to wear a short-sleeved jumper, or too hot to wear a short-sleeved jumper. I'm using the sleeve instructions from a bolero pattern, which is in the same book (Vintage Knits) and have only had to make a slight adjustment to the sleeve top to fit it into the body.

I'm having a great Saturday so far. Hagos and I went to Cafe Rouge in town today for breakfast. We both had cafe complet - croissant, jam and butter with orange juice and coffee, and I read the Arts section of The Times, which had a piece by Jeanette Winterson in it. I always like reading her journalism though I've only read her first book Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, years ago, for some reason. I should try another.

Happy Saturday! (photo above of Meg contemplating the outside - she's loving the arrival of spring and the spring-time birds!)

The Finished Jumpers

2010-03-09T02:06:00.000Z

The jumpers are finally finished. Never again will I attempt to knit two jumpers at the same time, with the same deadline.

I got up at 7.30am on Sunday, set myself up at the kitchen table with my laptop and the audio book of Pride and Prejudice, and sewed.

Sewing together is my least favourite part of knitting. I have to be in the right mood to do it and I'm rarely in that mood.

I also decided, because it had been part of my original idea, to re-knit the pockets with each child's name or initials. Nate was shortened to N8, as above.

And JJ of course was easy. The picture above is fuzzy - probably due to tiredness and feeling delirious that I'd finished - but you get the idea.

They are packaged up, ready to post tomorrow.

I'm also nearly finished making the game for the same family (everything I decided to make instead of buy at Christmas had problems. In fact, I don't think any of my home-made gifts were finished on time, jumpers, pavlovas, Yule logs, games...). I'll post photos of the finished game once the family has received it. I'm quite pleased with the concept and, of course, I hope they'll like it too.

Saturday so far

2010-03-06T16:43:00.000Z

Lunch at Frank's Bar with the beautiful iitalla mugs.

One jumper finished (thank goodness).

One jumper to sew together (my least favourite part of knitting).

It is a beautiful spring day here in Norfolk. The washing is on the line, the sky is clear and sunny, and I have an urge to buy daffodils.

I'm just about to sew together Nate's jumper. I'm so looking forward to posting these off on Monday. It's taken me too long to finish what was supposed to be Christmas jumpers. I just hope they fit the boys and they get a good amount of wear out of them (and that they like them!).

Happy Birthday Hagos!

2010-03-01T10:47:00.000Z

It was Hagos's birthday yesterday, and I decided a while ago to make him Bishop's Cake from an old family recipe his mum had. Bette made us Bishop's cake at Christmas, and on Christmas Day evening we had an Enid-Blyton-esque tea of home-made soup, Bishop's Cake, chocolate and ginger pieces, wine and coffee. It really was my kind of tea! We were so impressed by the Bishop's Cake that we took a copy of the recipe. Hagos said he used to have the cake when he was a kid, and there was an association of visiting his uncle Bill who had a grocery store.

The only ingredient I couldn't get locally was Angelica. Next time!

We had a really lovely day, and went out to Pizza Express in the evening.

This is my new Thermos Flask! from the great people at Amazon. It means I can have non-stop coffee (well, two coffees is pretty much my limit anyway) while working in my shed. And in the afternoon, after I've been to the gym I can have a decaf earl grey tea waiting for me! And we can take it on picnics, or car journeys. It's so versatile :)

Saturday Projects

2010-02-21T11:27:00.000Z

I'm so very nearly finished Nate and JJ's jumpers. Sewing the bits together is my least favourite part of knitting, hence why it's taken me two weeks between knitting all the parts and sewing the shoulders together to knit the collar (which I did mid-week - two full evenings!). Yesterday I did charts for their names/initials as I want to embroider (if that's the correct term?) N8 and JJ onto the pockets, which will then be sewn onto the left sleeve. The 'JJ' was easy to chart; 'N8' not so much! But I think it will be fine. I WILL finish the jumpers entirely by mid-week and am hoping to post them off by Wednesday.

Hagos and I had such fun fixing our oven yesterday. It's been bust since before Christmas. First the fan spectacularly blew up (while baking bread), then the element broke too. So we've been without an oven, without home-made bread and biscuits and ROAST CHICKENS, for too long.

When we started out cooperating yesterday it initially wasn't going so well. I think we're both used to being in control and figuring out the best way of doing things, and our styles were clashing. But once I understood the mechanics of what we were trying to do (instead of just holding a screwdriver and following orders) we got on much better and pooled our thinking and problem-solving skills. Something we're good at. It took us a good hour and a half and we laughed a lot.

So I had to test it out and quickly made these Mrs Beeton's chocolate chip cookies. Having an oven is such a simple thing and something we take for granted, but being without really made me appreciate what having it means.

The cookies were ready for our nightly episode of the wonderful FIREFLY. Delicious!

Postcards from Penguin

2010-02-08T10:00:00.001Z

So, I love books and I love stationery. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered 100 Postcards from Penguin - postcards of book covers! What a blisteringly great idea.

They arrived this morning, and I love them all. There are postcards of book covers for every occasion.

I tried to choose four of my favourites to photograph, and had to stop when I reached eleven. I really love the old-fashioned simple orange and (off-)white covers with the title and author, but also the more progressive covers. The colours are beautiful. And aesthetically, this is what book covers should be. Not awful, scrappy-montage rubbish on shiny paper, but covers designed with only the book in mind, using wonderful colours and a matt finish.

One of the postcards even matched my favourite mug! There are a few postcards I don't think I'll ever be able to part with. The postcard of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl are so distinct and easily-identifiable.

Okay, I need to calm down and get back to work :)

A wet, cold, muddy exhilarating bike ride

2010-02-06T15:48:00.000Z

I've been wanting to get back out on my bike for the last week or so, and this morning - unusually for a Saturday - I woke up full of beans and determined to get out before Hagos and I went into town for brunch. It was so amazing to be out in the fresh air as the countryside whizzed by. I'm really looking forward to spring and summer.

After we'd had lunch at Frank's Bar (again) Hagos and I went our separate ways to shop, before meeting back at the car to come home again. I wanted to spend some time in the library looking for all things Martin Amis*, but I took a detour down a street that had an Oxfam shop on it, and in the window were a load of Ladybird books. I've long wished my very generous mother had kept my books and toys instead of giving them away, so I was really excited to come across this version of Sleeping Beauty, that I had as a kid.

I was trying to get a photo of the bride at the end, which I thought was beautiful at the time, but my ever-present 'helper' had to stand on it, as she stands or sits on everything I do. She is gorgeous though.

*Martin Amis has just published The Pregnant Widow, his first fiction book in seven years. I read Time's Arrow a few years ago and really loved it, and I read his memoir, Experience, too, and I dip in and out of The War Against Cliche, but I haven't read any other of his fiction, and I really want to read The Pregnant Widow, based on several interviews I've seen and read with him recently. So I got several of his books out of the library today and will make my way through them. I think I might still have to order his latest from my friends at Amazon though.

Potatoes aplenty!

2010-02-01T17:58:00.000Z

I was very excited to collect my potatoes from my friend Ba yesterday. She had researched, deliberated and chosen the best varieties - did an amazing spreadsheet - and was kind enough to ask if I wanted 'in'.

So we have 1st earlies: Swift and Pentland Javelin; 2nd earlies: Wiljers and Charlottes; and main crop: Pink Fir Apples. VERY exciting. I can almost feel the heat of spring and summer just looking at them (while sitting in front of the fire).

Because writing isn't hard enough

2010-01-26T16:54:00.000Z

It helps if you have a little friend on hand,

So that just as you're about to reach some clarity,

This happens.

Butter Fiend

2010-01-25T13:24:00.000Z

As soon as I stepped into the shed her nose started twitching. I love that she's so assertive she just gets up and sticks her nose right in my lunch! She wasn't interested in the egg (sometimes the only way to stop her standing on the plate is to let her smell things close up. I picked up the egg and held it right under her nose), it was the butter she was after. I broke a bit of toast off and gave it to her to lick. She was then content to lick the butter all over her fur before settling down to sleep again. Ah, she's so sweet.

Winter Jumpers

2010-01-24T16:30:00.002Z

The jumpers are knitted! Now they just have to be sewn together (one has to be pressed first), have their neckbands knitted and buttons sewn on and they will be entirely, completely and absolutely finished! I'm so looking forward to packaging them up and sending them off. I hope Nate and JJ like them!

In this state they remind me of a fish game I had when I was a child. Something to do with, the fish came in bits, like a jigsaw, and the object of the game was to put the whole fish together. I think dice were involved. The fish were all colour-coded, but I like to mix and match them, so they were multi-coloured. I won't be doing that with the jumpers.

Sewing together is my least favourite part of knitting. So I reckon - today I'll press the top jumper, then next weekend I'll knuckle down, sew the shoulders together and knit the necks, then I might save the remaining sewing together for another day. We'll see. I would like to send them off as soon as possible, before Spring arrives.

The pattern is a Sirdar, I think. The wool, as always, is Rowan. Pure Wool DK.

I've been really enjoying knitting recently. I briefly went back to my TV jumper while waiting to be able to go to John Lewis to buy an extra ball to finish Nate's jumper (I had already bought one ball over, thinking that would do but I ran out a couple of inches from the top of the sleeve. Luckily the dye lot is so close I couldn't tell where the join was).

I've also been itching to set aside time to sew my tweed skirt, and I thought this weekend would do it, but no. Time went far too quickly for me. Next weekend for sure.

My co-writer

2010-01-18T15:48:00.000Z

My little co-writer loves spending the day in the shed with me while I write; except she gets a little outraged if I move around too much, or make noise (suddenly lifting her head and looking at me with a mix of disbelief and disgust). Last summer there was a daily battle between the two of us as to who would reach and claim the swivel chair first. If it was her there would then ensue a bigger battle to move her from the swivel chair onto the blanket I'd laid out specially for her, taking up one third of my desk. I wasn't always quick enough to place something on the swivel chair to dissuade her from jumping on it as working in the shed means I have a couple of boxes of books, my laptop bag, pens and paper to transport each day from the house. She, of course, is straight in, unencumbered.

Tweed Skirt

2010-01-16T17:20:00.000Z

I love tweed, particularly the more colourful and striking weaves, though I love deep plain colours too. Last summer Hagos and I came across the shop Jack Wills in Edinburgh. I loved their jackets and their knitwear and their sleepwear and their socks, and the pants were cool too. I loved most of the shop. After that I decided to make myself and Hagos winter tweed coats (because, why buy something when you can make it yourself?). I got as far as buying a Project Runway pattern for myself (previously blogged about) but no further (so far).

My local fabric shop, Anglian Fashion Fabrics, had a small selection of tweeds in and I chose the one above to make a skirt out of. I've cut it out (pattern the ever-trusty Amy Butler A-line skirt, but shortened) and it's hanging up ready to sew. I thought I might also get a bag out of the material (I love matching items). My lovely Mulberry bag is nearing its end, but I haven't found anything to replace it with. It's perfect as it is, so I thought I might use it as a template for making the tweed bag. It won't be as sturdy, of course, but I might get a bit of use out of it, and I can always make a replacement.

My aim for the last few years has been to plan and make winter items in the summer, and summer items in the winter, so that they're all ready for the correct season, but I've fallen behind this year and am only now getting round to making my winter skirts and jumper(s). My long-sleeved TV jumper (blue with orange kidsilk haze stripe) was put on hold weeks ago while I knitted jumpers for my Godsons, Nate and JJ. As I near the end of the second jumper I remember very clearly why I stopped knitting jumpers for children older than two. It takes too damn long! And two jumpers takes twice as long. But then having someone knit you a woolly jumper is very cool. I hope they both think so when they're finally finished!

Hibernation

2010-01-05T18:00:00.000Z

It's so cold here in Norwich; too cold to venture far from the fire, definitely too cold to go to the gym, too cold even to go out for dinner in the evening, or go to the cinema. Motivation to get the year started is also hibernating. Now that I've recovered from the flu I have an urge to get on with things, but the weather and the temperature both say, non.

So, apart from photographing cat and bird prints in the snow, I haven't been doing much at all. Oh, I finally finished my cord skirt yesterday: I sewed the lining around the zip, and hemmed the lining and outer. I like it, though I think for the next skirt I'll skinny it up a bit. The pattern is a bit too flarey for heavier material. But it's fine to wear at work, which is what it was made for. I want to make the next skirt in tweed.

I'm ssoooooo looking forward to the snow clearing and the warmer weather coming and the gardening season starting.

Under The Skin

2010-01-02T00:05:00.000Z

So, after the excess of socialising and travel over Christmas, the days since I got home have been mostly spent with this book and this blanket (and a hearty thanks to Lemsip and Nurofen Plus).

It's more luxurious to do nothing after a hectic period. To really do nothing. I always have a list that I'm working my way through, and for the last few days I haven't tried to achieve anything at all. Some days have been spent entirely in pyjamas :) And it's been years since I spent the entire day reading.

I first read Under the Skin by Michel Faber a few years ago. I loved it because I absolutely didn't know where it was going, page by page. And I liked the language, and the ideas that emerged. I don't want to reveal anything about it as I'd really recommend reading it.

Tomorrow will be more of a back-to-normal day. But I've really enjoyed the last few days resting, sleeping, reading, watching TV with Hagos and Meg, and cuddling up under the blanket. My flu has pretty much gone.

Christmas and Willies in Scotland

2009-12-30T09:51:00.003Z

We are now home after an extremely busy Christmas period where we drove a total of 900 miles. The weather forecast on Christmas Eve said not to travel unless absolutely necessary; there were multiple accidents in Lincolnshire (where we had to drive through) and snow was forecast for Yorkshire (ditto). It was very stressful making the decision to carry on with our plans, but I'm glad we did because the roads were fine (the BBC travel advice must've scared others off) and it was so nice to see our family and friends. The worst part of the travel was driving from home to the cattery, half an hour's drive, to drop off Meg. The country roads and our driveway were icy.

These photos were taken at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh when we stayed with our friends Pete and Lyns and their kids. JJ always attaches himself to me from the moment I turn up to the moment we leave and he is the sweetest little person. One of the best conversations I had on the trip was when JJ and I were sitting in one of the rooms at the gallery while our friends milled around looking at the art. Instigated by JJ we discussed which of our friends had willies, and which didn't. These things are important when you're three years old. It was established that Haggis, Pete, Ian, Kevin, Paul, JJ and Nate all had willies. Paula, Lynsey, Connie, Isobel and Sam were declared willy-free.

So, now we are home. I drove from Edinburgh to Wetherby (the halfway point where we change drivers, get Costa coffee and food from M&S) and as soon as I stopped driving my body started shaking with flu. This used to happen to me when I toured with Hagos's band. No matter how long the tour: two weeks or two months - as soon as I got home I got a cold. My body had managed to hold out for as long as it needed to, and then it collapsed.

I spent most of yesterday in bed and am feeling better all the time. I had just completely exhausted myself before we even left, and with all the driving, socialising, and sleeping in strange beds on top of it all my body had just had enough.

So, now we're glad to be home and settled and calm and I'm looking forward to getting back to my own work, though I still wish we lived near our family and friends and could see them more easily and frequently.

Snow; Snow; Snow; Snow; SNOW

2009-12-20T12:58:00.000Z

This is the view outside my kitchen window this morning. Poor Meg is (literally) climbing the walls because she can't get out hunting and exercising. She goes out for seconds at a time and often comes CRASHING back through the cat flap.

These are her footprints early this morning. Sometimes you just have to go out in the snow, even if you'd rather not.

And these are the bitesize Christmas Cakes I brought back from Diane's Pantry yesterday. I couldn't resist them when I got to the till.

I've been trying to finish Christmas jumpers for Nate and JJ, but this morning I have admitted defeat. I reckon, realistically, there is 12 hours' work to go. And I could knit all day today and have them both finished but I would be completely exhausted. So I will buy them a shop bought present instead, to go with the game I am making for the whole family. The jumpers will be sent in the new year, when I've had the leisure to finish them. Common sense MUST prevail, because I want to have the energy and relaxed-ness to enjoy my wedding anniversary on the 23rd December, and Christmas with our families.

Christmas Tree

2009-12-09T06:22:00.001Z

We bought our Christmas Tree today. I like short, dumpy trees and we found the perfect one. We decided not to put tinsel on it this year. It looked so good with just the white lights. So we left the tinsel off and just put the ornaments on instead. Now we just have to add the chocolate :)

It's so nice having Hagos home - a real treat. I love it when we're both knocking about the house doing our own thing, and then come together later to watch a film, or earlier to go out for the Christmas tree.

An almost-finished Winter Skirt, and a new Walking Foot!

2009-12-08T22:33:00.000Z

The above photo isn't great. I decided to take the photo after I'd unplugged the machine so it didn't have its light anymore! Anyway - it's my new walking foot, which I only discovered because I bought stretch cord to make my skirt with, and when I tried to sew the front to the back it stretched big time. I tried about three times and had to unpick it each time. So, a trip to John Lewis saved the skirt. I was very excited first time I used the walking foot. I also used a concealed zip attachment for the first time, which made a huge difference. I've been struggling to make my favourite Amy Butler A-line skirt with the wrong zip attachment all this time. It's a revelation to use the right materials.

So this is the skirt, almost finished. I just need to slip stitch the lining around the zip, then hem the outer and the lining and that's it! I can see myself ending up in the fabric shop during my lunch breaks on Thursday and Friday! There are some tweeds I like. I could make these skirts in different materials indefinitely.

I think the lining has worked out very well. Always - contrasting linings.

Blue-and-orange is the new purple-and-green

2009-12-06T11:12:00.000Z

Last night I cut out the winter A-line skirt I've been meaning to make for ages. I got the material from Anglian Fashion Fabrics, the shop near my work. When I was buying the material I almost chose a blue lining, then I thought, why should I? I love contrasting linings - it seems to add a secret luxury to a garment. So I chose orange. It was only when I laid it on the table last night that I realised I'd chosen the same colours as my TV jumper I'm currently knitting. Perhaps blue and orange is the new purple and green.

I've had a lazy morning so far. Now I plan to do a little bit of housework, then have lunch, then sew my skirt. I really hope it turns out well because I'd like to make a few.

I also want to make some knitting bags and a bread bag from my Oxford Green material. We have a little padded seat next to the fire, recessed, that is covered in my knitting projects, music books, my iPod and camera live there too, and I'd like to tidy it up a bit. I thought if I made knitting bags for each project, just a simple rectangle with a pull-cord and stopper, with a tiny photocopy of the item I'm making attached to the cord, it would all look organised and would make it easier for me to pick up projects to work on. Apart from the current project, which is Nate's jumper, all other projects are buried in various types of bags. It's such a jumble. But it's another of those projects I've been meaning to do for months.

Hagos arrives home about 4pm from Munich, hopefully avec chicken.

Delight: Finding interesting articles in the paper while making sticks for the fire

2009-12-05T20:30:00.001Z

I save our newspapers through spring and summer so I can make them into sticks to light our Parkray fire in autumn and winter. And one of the delights of doing this is coming across stories or items I missed in the papes first time round.

Today, for example, I saw this beautiful coat.

And something that appealed to me greatly: a reading holiday, where all you do is read!

Making sticks can take up to an hour, depending on what I find. The end result is then used on top of firelighters, in place of real sticks, which cost a fortune.

I was awake at half three this morning, making Hagos breakfast before he drove to Stansted, then flew to Munich. I went back to bed, of course, and eventually got up at half nine. I've had a really lovely day, sorting the house out, reading, shopping, and early afternoon I had an urge to make bread.

The finished loaf is lovely, but I had a bit of a scare very soon after putting it in the oven. I was in the bathroom handwashing my mittens, scarf and hat, when I heard a bang. I came through to find smoke oozing from the cooker! I turned it off immediately and opened the front door, as there was an obvious electrical-burning smell. I was really upset as I'd put so much love into making my loaf I thought it would be ruined. But then I got brave, once I trusted the cooker wasn't going to go on fire. I turned the oven back on and believe the bang was something to do with the fan, and nothing else. Anyway, Hagos is back tomorrow and I'm sure will be able to figure out exactly what's happened.

Christmas in Reepham

2009-12-02T23:15:00.001Z

When I drove through the village tonight, after being at the gym, I saw that the main road was closed off, which could only mean one thing: Santa would be switching on the Christmas Tree lights!

It's become an annual event. Little stalls line the street, with a heavy St Johns Ambulance presence (tonight there was even a fire engine at-the-ready). There is a hog roast, lots of mulled wine, tombolas etc. You get the picture.

I was sorry that Hagos is in Birmingham today for one gig, as last year we had fun attending. Anyway, in my pyjamas, covered up with Hagos's jogging trousers, I headed into the square to buy some mistletoe, only to find no one was selling it this year. Anyway, the tree was nice, though I missed seeing Santa himself. Hopefully he'll be round on Sunday, passing all the houses on his sleigh being pulled by a tractor.

When I came home I downloaded Delia's Christmas programme from yesterday onto my computer and sat on the couch under a blanket and a cat in front of a roaring fire watching it. I would've liked some mulled wine to go with it but hadn't managed to find any.

I had been planning to test-drive my Chocolate Yule Log tonight (I'm making Christmas dessert this year: Chocolate Yule Log and Raspberry Pavlova. I want to make them both before the actual day to make sure I don't encounter any problems when I make them for Christmas dinner!), but I didn't quite feel in the mood for that much effort (it has to be made over two days), so instead I scoured my cook books for chocolate chip cookies and Mrs Beeton didn't let me down, et voila, half an hour later they were made. I'll take most of them into work tomorrow, and leave a few at home for Hagos when he returns.

Home

2009-11-22T10:39:00.000Z

I finished one beady bed sock. I really like it, but it took me much longer to knit than I expected. When I bought the wool I chose the colours because I liked them for myself, but I also had half a mind on a friend who might like them too. So, depending on my other knitting and sewing commitments, I may or may not give them as part of a Christmas present to a friend. It's a shame they don't knock up much more quickly because otherwise they could be my thing to make and give this year!

The colour in the top photo is truer, but I like this close-up shot.

Meg and I are very happy that Hagos is home. I picked him up from the airport on Friday morning, dropped him at home, then went back to work. It was very hard going back to work, but I know from loooonnnng experience that the first day back off tour is given over to decompressing: vagueness, distractedness, sleeping, bewilderment, so I was better off at work letting him go through all that himself. We had a lovely Saturday of going up town, having lunch in one of our favourite cafe-bars, then home to light a fire and potter around it all day. Bliss.

New Beady Bed Socks

2009-11-08T09:23:00.002Z

Inspired by Anna's Secret Santa present to Mia last week, I decided to treat myself to a new pair of beady bed socks, as my old pair are looking well worn (though I still love them, and they're still my socks of preference when I'm in my pyjamas).

I don't usually like socks that are flat-knitted on two needles, rather than knitted-in-the-round on four needles. I don't see the point of not knitting them on four needles. But this pattern works due to the rib hiding the seam once they're sewn together.

The pattern is from the Rowan Home book, and I'm using Rowan Pure Wool 4-ply. This wool appeared at the same time as the Jaeger 4-ply disappeared, and I assume one was supposed to replace the other, but this new 4-ply doesn't quite have the softness or elasticity of the Jaeger.

Anyway, it seems to soften when steam pressed (through a damp tea towel).

I was BOUNCED awake this morning at 7.30am by my sweet little cat Meg. We always open the bedroom window during the night. The window is Velux and is positioned right above our heads and Meg very cleverly stands on the window and jumps up and down so it makes a noise. She also miaows along to the bouncing, just in case the bouncing isn't loud enough (it is). I hasten to add, she has a perfectly servicable cat flap that she uses quite happily to come in and out of the rest of the time. I had already been miaowed awake at 5.30am for breakfast (I know, I'm far too soft). It used to be 6.30am, which wasn't so bad but cats don't know about British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time, so it's now 5.30am.

So, I have stayed up, hung out two lots of washing, had breakfast, etc. And what do you think Meg is doing now?

Yep, she's snuggled down to sleep for a good 14 hours. Isn't she cute though? That's how she gets away with being so cheeky. As soon as I look at her I'm so stunned by her beauty and attitude I give her whatever she wants.

Make-it-Yourself Secret Santa

2009-11-05T18:30:00.002Z

It has become a tradition that the crown court team does a Make-It-Yourself Secret Santa sometime in autumn. I think we first did it four or five years ago, when only Anna and I took part, making a present for each other. We have since recruited more members, though with colleagues coming and going the mix is always different. The only condition for taking part is that you have to make the present yourself. ANYTHING that is home-made is allowed. What I really love is the inventiveness of what people come up with, particularly colleagues whose first reaction when asked if they want to take part is, "But I can't make anything."

The photos I can show are: above, Mia holding up her Beady Bed Socks, knitted by Anna (pattern from the Rowan 'Home' book).

Mia made Katie this delicious bread (we all tried it), with her name lovingly spelled out on top. No need for a gift tag.

Katie made Anna the most delicious, soft oaty, choc chip biscuits.

Jo made me chocolate and syrup cornflake cakes.

And I made Jo this Postcard Pouch! It's a fairly simple design, inspired by Amanda Soule's Gratitude Wrap. Jo LOVED the Go Elephant exhibition that was spread all over Norwich last summer. I was struggling to decide what to make her when I had a lightbulb moment as my sister was paying for her Christmas shopping; the postcards of the Go Elephant elephants were displayed next to the till. I was originally planning to put recycled envelopes in one of the pockets in the pouch, but I couldn't find any envelopes the right size, so I defaulted to postcards in both pockets and added the stamp pocket and a pen holder in the middle. It took me a bit longer than anticipated (I was finally able to go to bed about half eleven last night!) but I was pleased with the result.

I love the outer Amy Butler material, and the velvet green ribbon just finishes it off beautifully.

I also made, for the first time ever, Treacle Toffee! I've wanted to make it for years and never got round to it. When I was a child one of my neighbours made Treacle Toffee every Halloween, and it was a race to go round all the neighbours who made the good stuff first (one did Treacle Toffee, another did Toffee Apples, another did Fudge), before going round the rest of the neighbours who gave out monkey nuts and fruit and shop-bought sweets. The home-made stuff always got snaffled up first.

The Treacle Toffee was the best I've ever tasted, though I did take it off the boil perhaps a little early. I ended up having to roll each piece in baking parchment as it all stuck together when left in a tub. A definite winner. The recipe was Mrs Beeton's

Delight: Gardening

2009-10-25T14:15:00.001Z

I was encouraged to start gardening by two friends, Janie and Ba, who are gardeners extraordinaire. Last year they gave me a tub of potatoes, which I pretty much just left to look after itself, until the day Janie and Ba said it was time to dig them up, and then I was astounded at all the potatoes that appeared as Hagos tipped the tub upside down over some newspaper and I scooped the Anya potatoes into a blue bowl.

So this year my crop has been well-documented here (pretty much every single tomato has been catalogued), and I had a whale of a time growing tomatoes, courgettes, potatoes, chillies, and parsley. The potatoes and courgette plant were given to me by em, Janie and Ba, but I went to the garden centre mysef and bought the tomato and chilli plants and potted them all up.

Encouraged by my roaring success, I decided to go to the garden centre and see what else they had on offer. This was in mid-August. I found seeds for everything hanging up on a display, and finally bought carrot seeds and beetroot seeds. I ignored the instructions on the back of the packet for how many seeds to pop into each hole in the compost because I didn't really believe anything would come of them.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the carrots above are the result of those seeds I planted three months ago. I can't describe the amazement and wonder I feel that the seeds turned into carrots. And I know that that is how all vegetables grow all over the world, but growing them myself makes me much more appreciative of the process, and grateful for the product.

My beetroot, on the other hand, failed miserably. I don't know what I did wrong.

But I'm not despondent. It's all a learning process. I have GRAND plans for next year's crop.

I also became appreciative of finding ways to preserve my produce. My Tomato Relish is delicious, and the Plum and Apple Jam (with plums from my friend Sophie's tree) was also a Delight.

Delight: and rediscovering JB Priestley

2009-10-17T21:43:00.003Z

I first discovered JB Priestley during secondary school, when we studied Time and the Conways, and, An Inspector Calls. Both plays made a big impression on me. I loved the messing around with Time and Narrative Structure and Chronology.

I was lucky to have a great English teacher for four years. He totally ignited my passion and love for literature and writing and poetry. His enthusiasm was palpable and he carefully explained the meaning of everything very clearly.

So I was delighted to discover that a book JB Priestley wrote in 1949 was being reissued.

The book is called Delight, and is a collection of snippets that made JB Priestley happy.

Some of the titles of the pieces include: "Detective stories in bed", "Trying new blends of tobacco", "Gin and tonic, 1940", "New box of matches", "Long trousers", "Suddenly doing nothing", "Departing guests", and "Timeless mornings". Each piece is evocative and concentrates on taking deep pleasure in very small and simple things. Something I prescribe to myself.

So I thought for the next wee while I might blog about the very small things that give me great delight, and the back story to them.

Sylvia Quinn's Pancakes

2009-10-05T21:33:00.005Z

I decided, at 9pm, to make pancakes. Not the thin French pancakes, but the thick pancakes I had as a child, when we visited our neighbours the Quinns.

Sylvia Quinn made these pancakes, and I loved them. Though I have to say hers looked much better than my first ever attempt. I think my next attempt will be better timed, and I'll reduce the temperature by a notch.

But still, they were extremely nice, and just what I was in the mood for. I had them with my very own Plum and Apple Jam. The recipe came from Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer and the pancake recipe was inspired by the Little House on the Prairie books. Very apt as I'm watching the DVD at the mo.

I had a very good day today. I had a home day, got up at 7am, did some housework, had breakfast, did some work, went to the gym, had lunch, read for a while, did some more work, lit the first fire of the season, watched Strictly, played piano, worked some more, then made pancakes. Now I'm on the couch being cuddled by a warm cat, about to watch some telly.