A WHIRLWIND OF A WEEK......

Hello there! What a lovely day it's been here in East Anglia; sunny sky with fluffy, white clouds and a warm breeze. It was just perfect for sitting in the garden and knitting. It's been a busy week and I was in need of some knitting time.

I began the little cardi shown above, in readiness for the Anne Hanson class at Knit Nation. We didn't get to actually use the seaming techniques, so I waited until I got home to seam it up. I used mattress stitch and it certainly does give a much flatter and invisible seam Even though I was using the stripey yarn to sew up, you are unable to see the yarn. Great! I just love those pretty little stripes. I think Sophie will too.

I've also completed one of my Knit Nation socks. I took this straightforward pair to knit on the train and at any suitable times whilst we were in London. Needless to say, I talked so much and knitted so little! Same yarn as the little cardi, just a different colourway. It's pretty mindless knitting, but pretty addictive striping, that always makes me want to knit 'just one more colour' before finishing.

I made a little purchase on e-bay a couple of weeks ago. I haven't  looked on the site for months, but had signed on to hunt for some music books for school. Needless to say, I didn't find the music books, but.............. I DID find this little treasure.

I've spotted these little skein winders around on the internet. I had the fun of bidding for it and won! It cost me £5! A bargain I'd say, especially as it produces these perfect little yarn cakes........ so easily........

Guess what that delicious yarn is! Yep, it's my first ever skein of Wollmeise (colour: Lila Ludmilla). It's the most fabulously scrumptious yarn. It has the colour of summer berries and even smelt like them!!!! Do you want to know what I plan to make? SOCKS! Now there's a surprise. Not just any old socks though, oh no. I'm going to challenge myself  a little and tackle Cookie A's 'Pomatomus' design. I've been wanting to knit these for a while, but didn't have a suitable yarn. Yes, I know that sounds totally impossible with a stash the size of mine, but it's true. I needed a special solid or semi-solid dye and I do tend to go for the beautifully colourful, multi-coloured yarns. So, branching out yet again. I now need to stash more soli ........ oh, let's not go there! Here we are then, ready to go....

'Pomatamus' ready to take up to the cottage in Pickering, North Yorkshire, next week. Yippee! I can't wait!

I said I'd had a busy week and a busy weeek it was indeed. I spent my time visiting my little grandaughter, Sophie. My son and his wife have just bought a much larger, family-sized house in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. I have to admit, I just loved the area. It's so bohemian! There's the little cupcake shop, of course, that I blogged about a couple of months ago, but so, so much more; fabulous water meadows, a beautifully cared for park, great schools, and amazing independent shops. We visited the delicious Barbikan deli and the simply brilliant Unicorn Grocery . The co-operative's 'Statement of Purpose' declares that ....  'We aim to trade in a manner which supports a sustainable world environment and economy.  We aim to trade in wholesome foodstuffs and household goods of non-animal origin. We trade in foodstuffs which have undergone minimal processing, in contrast to the steady trend towards a highly processed diet in this country. Specific product guidelines include the avoidance of added sugar, salt and animal derivatives. We strive to sell products of organic standard and maximum nutritional value whenever we can find or generate a market. Provision of food educational materials help in this aim'. It is a real gem of a shop... an organic shop.....in fact,an organic supermarket! You could do a large percentage of your day to day shopping here and for a very reasonable price.

I had a really lovely time visiting both my son and his wife, Sophie and Scott (the dog) and my elder daughter and her boyfriend, who have now bought my son's previous house. Nothing like keeping it in the family. In fact we bought the house about twelve years ago, when our son was a student at the RNCM. He was studying on a five year course, so we knew it made sense to buy. It's helped  to give two of our children a 'step up' onto the property ladder.

 I must show one or two photos of Sophie at ten weeks old, taken this week.

Sophie has the most beautiful little hands, with long, very expressive fingers. Perhaps she'll be a musician, like her parents! I know I'm biased, but she is very, very sweet!!! She has the most 'heart-melting', cheeky smile. Can you tell that I'm smitten beyond all imagination. I love her to bits!!! :)

Oh, I nearly forgot to show you the jam pots Mr Snoopydog filled while I was gone. He picked the blackcurrants from the garden and managed to fill eight jars. I did the the prettying of the jars this morning! Scrummy!

Phew! That's it. The whirlwind tour of Snoopydog's week is at an end. I need to draw breath and spend a day or two on housey things and and a day or two on school 'stuff' this week, as next Monday we are all off to North Yorkshire. Hooray!!!!! Have a good week everyone.