- At the beginning of February I finished this jolly little pram blanket and popped it in the post to a family friend's new baby girl. This was such an enjoyable project, I was really sad when it ended. Since I took up crochet again in 2021, after a nearly 50 years gap, I've become quite the granny square addict. I love the way they allow you to play with colour combinations and use up odds and ends of yarn too. I think there's a bit of a retro 1970s vibe going on here with the 'clashing' purply-blues and oranges adding a bit of a zing to the raspberry pink and softer peaches-and-cream shades. I kept thinking about Play School while I was making it!
- After the Autumn pumpkin hat and the Christmas pudding hat, the Gorgeous Grandson needed a cosy Spring hat to keep him warm through the March winds and April showers. I used this pattern and some leftover Stylecraft yarn (Pistachio and Duck Egg) to make this cute little stripy ribbed number.
- I've been trying to do a bit of painting and drawing lately - just doodling really, and working from memory rather than life. Sometimes photographs don't capture what I'm 'seeing' - the colours or shapes that grab my attention. This process also helps me to move away from the pressure of realism - because I'm drawing on images in my mind's eye rather than focussing on objects directly in front of me. .
- I really enjoyed making this top-down seamless Spring jumper for the GG. It's a lovely, simple design sized for babies aged 0-24 months, and I will definitely be making a few more of these. Not least because my eldest son and his wife are expecting a baby boy in September - I'm going to be in full-on Grandma knitting and crochet heaven!
- In March we had three nights away in a tiny cottage just outside Alnmouth. We explored Amble and Warkworth on the first full day...
...drove up the coast to my beloved Seahouses on the second day (so cold and windy that we popped the XXS Cat dog in the rucksack to give her a break from the scouring sand in her face), and then spent a happy morning at the wonderful Tynemouth Station Market on the way home. We keep talking about re-locating to Northumberland "one day", but with increasingly frail parents and the arrival of gorgeous grandchildren it's really just a pipe dream to be living North of the Angel.
- I started a second Nuuk jumper in January, but it languished for weeks in a half-finished state because I wanted to complete the neck ribbing before trying it on to check the body length, and I just couldn't face the neck ribbing task! I absolutely hate picking up neckline stitches because I haven't found a fool-proof way of doing it evenly enough to meet my (self-imposed) perfectionist standards. This pattern simply says "pick up 92 stitches around neckline", and leaves it to the knitter to decide how they should be distributed. In the end I forced myself to sit and count how many stitches I thought there were around the neck (102) and then did ten K2tog at evenly spaced intervals as I went round, to arrive at the required 92. It actually turned out ok (if not absolutely perfect), and was finished by the following day - just in time for the warmer weather that's no doubt coming soon! Sigh...
- In other news the park is turning green around the edges...
...and two odd-looking wooden mice came home with me from the charity shop this week, for the princely sum of 50p. I'm trying really hard to de-clutter, rather than continue adding to the "stuff", but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and resistance is simply futile.
Your makes are all so lovely. And I especially love the shades you've used for the blanket.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to visit Northumberland later this year. It looks beautiful there. Is there anywhere you would recommend? X
I'm *very* fond of Seahouses - understatement of the year! It's quite a down-to-earth, practical place, and geographically makes a great base for exploring from. There's a harbour with boat trips to the Farne Islands, the main street has a good blend of independent shops, a Co-op and two chippies, but the jewel in its crown is St Aiden's beach, which stretches up the coast to Bamburgh (you can see Bamburgh Castle on the horizon from Seahouses). It's only a couple of miles, but it's so beautiful, just a big, blue, wide open space, especially when the tide is right out. Bamburgh castle is very well-preserved, so you might want to pay to go inside the castle walls for a proper look round if castles are your thing! We often walk to Bamburgh and get the bus back, but "there and back" is definitely do-able.
DeleteI'd highly recommend Beadnell beach - a 5 minute drive down the coast from Seahouses (tiny harbour, lots of kite surfers and more wide open space) - there's a nice (if slightly pricey) cafe just next to the beach car park where you can get a coffee or a hot chocolate after you walk the length of the crescent shaped beach and back.
Up the coast you can visit Lindisfarne - driving across the causeway is fun, and there's usually time to explore the island, see the castle, have a picnic and get back before the tide comes in if you time it right! If tide times aren't favourable the walk from Craster to Dunstanburgh castle is nice - less beachy, more rugged moorland - can get a bit busy with people walking "there and back" - I'm not a sea-food person but Craster is famous for crab-based dishes!
Inland, Alnwick is a pretty market town - home of famous Barter Books second hand bookshop, which is worth a visit, but not overly cheap! I haven't been for many years, so can't say if it's changed a lot, but Chillingham Castle used to be a great place for kids to visit and explore - there's a 'haunted' dungeon and the whole place had a nice "lived-in" feel to it - as opposed to the museum-like vibe you get elsewhere.
To be honest, we've been going for years and still keep finding lovely places to visit, so I don't think you can go wrong. If you go north to Berwick you can walk round the city walls (like York), and there are some fab fossil beaches up that way. Tynemouth Station Market (Saturdays and Sundays) is part of our regular routine too - bric-a-brac, crafts, food etc. all housed inside a glass roofed Victorian station. I could bore for Britain on this subject, Jules, but really I'd just say "Go!", because I know you'll find so many things to explore and appreciate. Already looking forward to the blog post that will follow!
Your blanket is lovely and it is so good to be able to use up some of the yarn stash. Your knitting fingers have been busy too and I love your painting and drawing. Those mice are very sweet.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks Beverley, it means a lot coming from a consummate crafter like yourself! I am loving your dolls-house updates - they are inspiring me to give my mouse-house* a spring clean and an update.
Delete* my little wooden Ikea dolls-house is inhabited by a number of little mice - the two above have now joined the happy throng. There isn't room to swing a cat in there now!
I have to say your little dog is adorable! And you are a very talented artist by the way.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julia! She looks like a cute little teddy bear but is appallingly rude to anyone outside her trusted family circle - classic small dog behaviour!
DeleteOh, my, you have been busy. So love your little mousey folk, (except when they are in my greenhouse, lol.) And, I was in Denmark in the early 60's for the whole summer. My cousin spent her entire travel money on a set of teak ducks in Copenhagen for her parents, now of course worth a bloody fortune. I bought a Viking that was a bottle opener for my Dad. I have all the pieces ununited somewhere in all their stuff...totally brought back those memories. Hugs, Sandi
ReplyDeletePs the teak mice need a nice coat of linseed/furniture oil to come back to life...I do think they are 60's teak from Denmark!
DeleteI think I have a bottle of linseed oil somewhere (for oil painting purposes originally), I will have to dig it out and give the mice a spa treat. They remind me of the original Mickey Mouse (before he got cute) so I guess they could be quite old!
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