Summer

I have been on a much-needed two week holiday from work and have spent my time reading, attending Edinburgh Book Festival events, walking, sewing and knitting. It has been FAB.

I made the Merchant and Mills Fielder dress and I absolutely love it. It was such a satisfying make, partly because, finished, it could easily be a Toast creation, which sell for £80+. This cost me £16 in total in materials. The fabric was from Ikea, two metres at £4 per metre, and one metre of funky ribbing from the Merchant and Mills website, which cost just under £8. I'm already dreaming of making more. I'd like a black one next.

The blue is actually more of a petrol blue than the photos have captured. Warmer. And the photo doesn't show, but it also has side pockets. Actually, that's the only thing I would change next time I make it. I will insert the pockets slightly higher in the dress. They are about an inch too low, though still perfectly workable.

I also finished this pair of socks. I don't remember the make of the wool but perhaps I mentioned it in my last post? I will be buying more of it because it was also good value at £8 a 100g ball and I expect to get two pairs out of it. There is nothing like hand-knitted socks. They are the ultimate in cosy.

As a silly, quick project, I also sewed myself reversible bookmarks. I'd like to make more as I often use bus tickets or a post it note as bookmarks and it somehow detracts from the reading experience. I love both of these.

My edge-stitching was better on the second one I made (the snowman/skater one). It's (silly) fun choosing the ribbons for the top too. 

I'm looking forward to Autumn, though for the first time in years I properly enjoyed the warm summer. I went for a walk a few days ago and noticed the cooking apple tree had begun to drop its apples already. The apple trees in our garden are still holding onto all of theirs. The next day I returned with a bag (and my friends and their daughters as helpers) and collected LOADS. We barely touched what was there. I hate seeing home-grown stuff go to waste. I promised the girls I'd make them apple pies, so will do that sometime this week. Part of the objective was having a project for the girls to expend energy, because they have a LOT of energy.

We have LOTS of plums on our plum tree this year, and while I'm pleased to have so many in its third year, I'm disappointed with their size. They're barely bigger than large grapes. Maybe next year.

There are lots of brambles forming, but I found one wee patch that were ripe already, so I picked them and had them with yogurt. Delicious.

I always take the Book Festival off work, and I spent most of the first week attending events. I couldn't get tickets for a few events as they'd already sold out, but I took it as an opportunity to branch out and I'm so glad I did. Val McDermid was the most mainstream writer I saw. I've only read one of her books and should try a recent novel, I think. She's such a good speaker and is always intelligent, good-humoured and insightful.

Hagos bought a 10 foot pool and it was a huge hit with all of our child friends. Even though the water was COLD, they were in the pool for hours! I mostly enjoyed floating on the lilo when it was really hot.

Heading into Autumn I'm looking forward to the new Kate Atkinson novel, Transcription, that is published in early September, as well as Strictly being back on TV, and Bake Off starting. 

Makes, and my birthday

So I turned 50 on Saturday, and I feel good at 50. We had a wee house party, and I ate a lot of cake and sugar and drank Champagne.

I like this photo of me and my wee friend Willow. We are around 46 years apart in age, but very similar in our appreciation of silly fun.

I haven't done much sewing and knitting this year as I'm working on making something else, but this wee chicken was a quick, silly, satisfying make.

Progress on my cherry red cardigan is slow, but every so often I have a spurt of activity and it grows.

I've been looking for sock yarn for ages, and I finally found this in John Lewis in Glasgow one day when I had time after going through for work. This photo was taken at night in artificial light and doesn't at all convey the rich, gorgeous purples/yellows/greens. Plus, it's so lovely to have hand-knitted sock(s) again. I forget how luxurious and cosy they feel. I have one pair of hand-knitted socks left and they are very worn. I love the yarn (I don't remember what it is but I'll be buying more this week). And, self-striping equals no effort so that's a win.

la fin de l'année

We were able to hold our Christmas Carol Singalong this year, as Hagos and Rick were both around. I think we last held it three years ago. It is basically anyone who can play an instrument (and I use the term 'play' in the very loosest of terms) accompanying the singers. So we have Hagos playing guitar and trumpet (he can actually play), I play piano, Lynsey plays flute and Pete plays guitar. Rick did play guitar and possibly a drum(?) last time but not this year. We also have jingle bells and shaky eggs etc for the kids to make a racket with.

It was a riot this year! Summed up in Freya's facial expression above. What a cacophony! But it was great fun. 

Hagos and I drove to Dumfries on Christmas Day. My nephew and his fiancée had offered to host this year and they did a great job. It took me a while to adjust to my sister not hosting. For most of my life my parents hosted Christmas, until my sister took over just a couple of years before my mum died. Moving to my nephew's house meant adjusting to accommodate my niece-in-law-to-be's parents as well. It was great to see my great-nephew and great-nieces, and I think my dad really enjoyed it as well.

Christmas dinner was amazing, and Martin and Stacey had obviously gone to a lot of effort to make it lovely for everyone and they did a fantastic job. Everyone loved it.

We also had about four days' worth of SNOW!!! Oh, it was so great to get up in the morning before anyone else was about, and to walk to the top of the hill behind our house and SLEDGE down it. I had such fun. I managed four runs before being unable to climb back up the hill for a fifth go. The view is - just - breathtaking. I love it up there.

Covered in snow at the bottom of the run.

This was the final morning as the snow was beginning to melt. You can see the bottom of the Pentland Hills turning green in the distance.

My friend Janie and I try to meet once a year now that we live so far apart. We became friends when we both lived in Tufnell Park, London many years ago. It doesn't matter how long we spend together we just chat chat chat chat chat, from the second we meet until the second we part. We love meeting in York because it means we can go to Bette's tea rooms. This year we were mega excited to get a table in the window in the corner. Luxury! You can see 'Bette's' reflected in my Champagne glass.

I don't think anything could top last year's new year. BUT, we went to our friends Lyns and Pete's house and started a fairly standard game of Pictionary that ended in a RIOT! There were two teams of three, and one team of two; we all eventually ended up on the last square, where it's an All Play, and the team 'owning' the go wins if they win that All Play. Ownership of the go kept ping-ponging between the McMonkeys' team and Hagos and Pete's team. My team (with Lyns and Jay) didn't get ownership for ages. But when we finally did WE WON!!! At one point it was so tightly contested that an innocent recording I took was forensically examined to determine who had shouted 'nostril' first. I think we watched the clip about eight times.

I absolutely love this photo. It was one of those moments where I spotted the girls sitting in the window of Cocoa Black in Peebles (a sublime chocolate/coffee shop) and had the presence of mind to nip outside to take their photograph. 💚