PRESSIES, TENNIS BALLS, STRAWBERRIES............MUST BE MY BIRTHDAY!

Hello there! I've had a really lovely day today. First reason being that it is my birthday, second reason being the men's Wimbledon tennis final went to five fabulous sets and was surely one of the best men's finals ever. Yes, it would have been even better if Andy Murray had been there; he did us proud though and I'm sure the trophy will be his in the not too distant future. All credit to Federer, who now enters the record books with his fifteenth grand slam title. Roddick put up a good fight and 'remained defiant behind his rocket serve'. He was so gracious in defeat and I hope his turn will come. Thirdly.......strawberries! My memories of childhood birthdays are always of Wimbledon and strawberries. Then, strawberries were not available all year round and so we made the most of the short, intense feasting season. As much as I love their delicious, sweet flavour I refuse to buy until they are in season and even better until they are produced within a 20 mile radius of our home. They taste so good!

I have been very spoilt and received some lovely presents. I thought I would show you the knitterly gifts that my good friend josiekitten and my youngest daughter bought for me.







What fabulous knitterly gifts they are too!!! Don't you agree? Firstly, my youngest daughter bought me a copy of Cookie's book 'Sock Innovation' and a skein of Laughing Yaffle sock yarn. The colours are intensely gorgeous. And if that wasn't sufficient to feed my addiction for at least a week, my great pal josiekitten supplied the rest................... surely I should feel sated for at least the whole of the summer hols (only two weeks away BIG SMILE). There was a skein of Laughing Yaffle in the suptuous colourway 'merry go round', a skein of Natural Dye Studio merino and bamboo sock yarn in the colourway 'sweet pea' and some mini skeins of Natural Dye Studio sock yarn, ready for my sock blanket project that I hope to start as soon as term ends and the summer hols begin. Next up, was the excellent book 'Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns' that I had been coveting for a while. There are some great patterns inside and really good advice on how to avoid pooling etc. and how to select the best pattern to show off the yarn! A pack of 'Knit Pro' wooden sock needles will ensure my knitting quality is the best it can be!!!! I told Mr Snoopydog that I would like some Knit Pro sock needles and his reply went something like..... ' Haven't you got some needles in that tin on the windowsill?' I tried to explain that there are needles....... and there are NEEDLES! Needless to say there was a distinct manly lack of understanding. Thank goodness for josiekitten! I also received some Clover circular stitch markers ........ just what I needed, as I only have two small and two large. Hmm!

Oh, and better late than never, here are my June socks. I'm sorry to disappoint by using the Circles pattern again, but I cast on at least three other patterns with this yarn and it pooled horribly. I had also left myself very little time to complete a pair of socks in June, as I fed my mojo for baby knitting.


Hope you like them!

Finally, here's a sneaky preview of July's offering.


The pattern is Daydreamer by Vikki Harding. The yarn is my own 'Kool-Aid' hand-dyed (my first attempt!). The yarn is quite fluffy and loosely spun, but I am pleased with how it is knitting up and how the colours are patterning. Hopefully, I will be able to show you more later this week, along with some pics showing how the allotment and the summer pots are coming along.......... and news of Trevor the toad!

At the end of an exciting high summer day, I guess it's about time to regroup my thoughts for school tomorrow and maybe think about bed. Goodnight!