HOLIDAY TIME! HOORAY!

 At last it's the half-term holiday!!!! I don't think I could have lasted another week. It's been a particularly busy and tiring half-term. I've pottered about this weekend, getting jobs done and bits of shopping bought, as tomorrow I'm off up north to see little Sophie! Yes, I'm looking forward to the visit tremendously. Mr Snoopydog has a week off as well, but as Oscar is still on very reduced exercise, he's decided to stay at home with him and spend some time at his allotment.

So, this morning I mooched on down into the city centre. What a lovely Sunday morning it was too! I took the above photo just as I arrived at John Lewis. Our city has many, many churches. In fact, it was once famous for having a church for every week of the year, and a pub for every day, with the highest number of watering holes per square mile in the UK. It is also thought that Norwich's churches were so popular, in part due to activities that resulted from the popularity of its pubs!

I've not been very productive this week, as far as knitting is concerned. I've almost finished the left front of Miss Snoopydog's cabled coat, 'Gayle' and I've completed the heel and got going on the foot of my mystery KAL sock.

I just love this yarn, with it's subtle colour changes and soft, springy texture. I expect I'll take my 'Raspberry Coulis' socks with me. No car knitting this time though! Boo hoo!

We had an unexpected visitor to our bird feeders, early one morning this week. Just look at the antics of this cheeky little chappie.

I'm not sure how much success he had!

Oscar was supposed to start his hydrotherapy on Saturday afternoon. It was a 50 minute journey and we needed the 'sat nav' to find the stunningly pretty little farm, nestled in the heart of the Norfolk countryside. The place has an excellent reputation and is used by vets from all over the are. Oscar was having a 'ball'. Just being out and about, was just the best afternoon! Looking forward to a swim was almost too much to wait for! He was assessed and poked and prodded...... and then came the crunch. Mr Snoopydog had forgotten his vaccination card!!!!!!!! OH NO!!!!!!! He takes full responsibility as he had taken the telephone call from the physio. Hmmm! Oscar was not a happy boy. So, after all that, all he got was a look inside at the pool.

Never mind Oscar. You get to swim on Tuesday.

 It's a short post this week, as we seem to have been experiencing snail pace internet speed over the last few nights. I have no idea why, but it is very frustrating as every manoeuvre takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r! Hope you have a great week, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT and a bit of yarn..........

 Good evening all! Hope you have all enjoyed some beautiful October sunshine, wherever you happen to be. It's been fabulously glorious here in East Anglia. Can't you just tell how much I love, adore, need, the sunshine. It's been just the best thing this weekend. A weekend that precedes a busy week of parent consultation evenings on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as the regular Monday and Tuesday 'after school' meetings that take place every week. Oh, how I wish I could win the lottery and give it all up, in favour of a woolly paradise. Now that really is wishful thinking, but it helps to ease the pressure ;).

Knitting has been a necessary evening 'de-stress' this week and Rowan's 'Gayle' by Marie Wallin is coming on a treat. Although there are plenty of cables to contend with, the fabric does grow quickly with the chunky yarn and size 7 needles.  The 'Purelife' undyed pure wool is so beautifully soft; it's a real pleasure to knit with.

I'm up to the armholes on the back!

I need to keep pressing on with this big knit, so that I don't loose the momentum. The youngest Miss Snoopydog would be none too pleased!!!!

I've waited avidly all week for the next installment of the 'Through the Loops' KAL, secret sock pattern. Who would have dreamed, that the anticipation of PART, not even the WHOLE, of a pattern could have caused me so much happiness and excitement ;-) All day on Friday, I thought of arriving home, doing my housey jobs and then settling down to start the leg of my sock. I have to say, I am really liking the pattern so far. There is just enough patterning to keep me interested, but not so much that I have to fire up every single brain cell in my weary brain, in order to avert mistakes. It's looking great so far.........

Last week the rib was completed. This week, the leg has taken shape, Firstly, there is a couple of inches of 'Little Boxes' pattern', which is followed by 'Tiny Trowels'. They really do look tiny garden trowels. I'm loving it!

I've been busy pottering, in the kitchen this weekend too. I don't think I could ever truly admit to being 'busy' in the kitchen. I have my little whims, when I fancy cooking or preserving something, but I'm definitely NOT an avid cook. We've pickled the last of the allotment beetroot  and harvested another couple of kilos of tomatoes. These are now slowly coming to an end, leaving us with plenty of green ones for chutney making.
 I also made a 'Lemon Trickle Cake'. I used to make this years ago, when the children were younger. My son and his close friend always took one back to Uni with them at the start of each term. Then .....shock....  horror..  the 'special' recipe disappeared!  Oh no, I hear you cry. Fear not, the story has a happy ending. Whilst browsing through my 'favourite of the moment' cookbook......

.......I found....the EXACT recipe! Amidst squeals of childish delight, I declared I had to cook one that very afternoon (yesterday). It's delicious!! I think it needed 5 mins less in the oven, but never mind.

Don't ask about the tiny missing 'bite'. Just suffice it to say, I couldn't wait to cut my piece (this was for Miss Snoopydog).

As last Sunday, we are enjoying some roasted vegetables ( red onions, whole garlic cloves, sweet potato, celery, white carrot, butternut squash, swede, with some maple syrup and a little sunflower oil, salt and pepper) with our chicken this evening. I just had to show you as it looked so ....autumny!

Last, but definitely not least, an update on Oscar. The orthopaedic specialist is fairly certain the operation on his shoulder has been successful. He thinkes there may be a similar probelem in his elbow, which is why he is still limping. This seemed like 'good news' as the operation had been successful. He has to go back tomorrow for a CAT scan on his elbow. A scan produces better results for elbow problems, as the joint is more complex than the shoulder. So, once again, I'm hoping everyone will cross fingers and paws, in the hope that the news will be positive and a that a successful outcome can eventually be achieved for him. He has been spending some time mooching about in the garden  this week, which has definitely put a spring back in his step, as he is still on a very restricted exercise programme. It's a good job that he adores playing with all kinds of dog toys, as by doing so, he has been very good at keeping himself amused, at times when one of his humans is busy and isn't there to amuse him! Please wish him well. Have a great week everyone!

SUN, SEA, WALKS, FAMILY......

Hello there! It's good to be back. I have just returned from a wonderfully relaxing week in North Yorkshire, where we met up with our family! We walked and explored and dined and supped, found forests and Roman Camps, beaches and art galleries, spotted birds and butterflies, ate fish and chips outdoors, visited a stately home, enjoyed amazing skies and views and generally had fun. I did find time to knit. It was good! Here's a snapshot of our week .........


I took several projects with me to get started on; more than I needed of course! But you never know and ... just in case .... Needless to say, I had more than enough and so not much actually got finished. I tended to knit only for short spells of time in the cottage or in the car. As always, I spent much more time looking at the stunning views, than actually concentrating on any knitting and made endless errors that needed large scale 'frogging'! Let that be a lesson learnt. Either knit or gaze but don't try to do both. This is progress so far........

Very Fetching! (completed)





These are such a quick and simple knit. The pattern is 'Fetching' by Cheryl Niamath. It's very well written and so easy. It would be a good pattern for anyone who is desperate to try out cabling for the first time. There is just enough to practice with and quick gratification of a finished project in about two hours. The pattern suggests one or maybe two balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. I found one was sufficient with very little excess. Always 'good'! They fit like a dream and the cashmerino is so gorgeously soft. I have no doubt that a few more pairs of these may be sprinting off the needles in the run -up to Christmas.

August Welsh Hills Socks





I gave you the details of the yarn and pattern in my last post. I managed to get one sock finished and have to get a move on to finish the other by the end of the month, as these are my August 'Sock Challenge' pair. They are going well and the pattern is easy to memorise. If I hadn't taken several other skeins and patterns with me, they may well have been completed. You know what it's like though. If you've chosen two or three great patterns and you've got two or three (or more :D ) skeins of yarn sitting there in the bag just waiting. It is impossible not to get started, even if it does mean having way too many WIPs!

Seascape Scarf



Oh how I love this yarn and the pattern. I've had it ready and waiting for a while now and once they had both jumped into the 'holiday bag', well ........ couldn't leave them alone for too long now, could I. Just look at the results so far. I LOVE it! Reminds me of the beautiful blue-green sea reflecting an azure blue sky at Robin Hood Bay and the cliffs and the sand and the stunning views as early evening falls and Scott and his humans swim and play. I'll remember; every time I wear my Seascape Scarf!

The pattern is Drop Stitch Scarf by Christine Voegel. It's another great free Ravelry download. I'm using a 100g skein of kettle-dyed Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend. It's perfect for this project as it is quite slinky and has a gorgeous sheen. I think I might be in love!! The pattern is a straightforward 8 Row repeat. Two rows involve yarnovers and two rows involve dropping the the yarnovers SMILE! The rest are just knit! It's very easy to memorise. I haven't got too far yet, but it seems to grow quite quickly on the size 5mm needles and the ball of yarn doesn't seem to be getting very much smaller, so I'm guessing that my 100g will make a perfectly acceptable silk and wool blend scarf, to remind me of lazy summer days.

Speaking of lazy summer days, I can't resist letting you see this lovely picture of Scott ..... he found the spade on a deserted, small beach at Robin Hood Bay and carried it all the way back up to the top of the cliffs, insisting it be thrown for him to retrieve repeatedly, as we all trudged up the steep incline; only to lose all interest in it once we arrived at the top. Typical! We love you Scott!



Wavy Yorkshire Socks

Here they are so far, one and a bit complete ..


These are my 'in the car' socks. I began them on the journey up and completed the first sock within about three days. It's a pattern I've used several times before and always produces a good result' It's yet another freebie - 'Waving Not Drowning Socks' by Violet Green. There are lots of really lovely patterns on her site, many of them free! I'm using a Trekking XXl yarn. Stripy yarns always work well with this pattern, which is 4-row, ultra easy but effective. Just great for long journeys!

No trip away is 'perfect' unless an ever so little yarn stash purchase has been made. Bearing in mind that I am off to the 'I Knit Weekender' in London in about three weeks time, I was very controlled and only bought two skeins of Regia (colourway 04451). What do you think?


Well I have just another week and a half of school summer hols left and my aim is to complete these projects. I do also have the cardigan I showed you last time and a smaller version of the 'Ice-cream Sorbet Bag' to finish. Hmmm ...... lots of knitting time required! Before I go let me leave you with another lovely photo of my grandog, Scott, taken last week at Robin Hood Bay.


AAWW! Such a cute boy!

Have a great week, whatever you are doing!

As promised + one!

Been out for the day today so not much knitting done, but did complete and sew up (I hate doing that!!!!) my newly finished cotton top. It took one skein less than the pattern said and that's always good news 'cos it means I can legally spend a bit more on my next yarn purchase. I'm sure I'll be able to find something to make with one skein of light green Debbie Bliss Stella.Yay! Maybe a very small hat! What a productive girl I've been.

Here as promised is a pic of my first finished BIG object and it's fab!...........even if I say so myself. I loved knitting it and have worn it lots over long sleeved t-shirts.

Need to try another pair of plain socks next, as I got a little muddled on the heel of my first pair and I am already champing at the bit to do something more complicated sockwise. I KNOW it will only end in tears if a don't practise a little more with the basic ones first. Watch this space!