Turn on the broadband Gladys

Couldn't get to blog last week but I didn't notice straight away that Ben had switched off the router. It took so long to reset it was past my bedtime so apologies to those who checked by and found no news.

We had a lovely time at the quilt class last Thursday. Everyone was working away at their chosen blocks and it was good to see some ladies tweaking the designs to suit themselves. Quilting is about what you like and what you find enjoyable after all.  

Sometimes basic techniques come first and sometimes the design is more important and the techniques are perfected later.  There is no right or wrong way - some things work better than others - it's all part of the journey.

We had Lemon Yoghurt Bars by Donna Hay at the break and my favourite standby for busy times - palmiers.  

A sheet of puff pastry covered in sugar, rolled up then sliced and baked.  If you get fresh puff pastry you can bake half and freeze some for later. Sometimes I substitute grated parmesan for the sugar for a lovely savoury bikkie.

A lovely parcel was waiting for me on Thursday - a Knit Pro Symfonie circular needle.  I started the collar but it looks quite a bit smaller than the picture.

I didn't discover until I finished it this afternoon that the cast on edge is the bit that sits round your neck so is the smaller opening. 

I hope you can see the lovely nuances of colour, from soft hyacinth blue through jade green and purple.  It's beautifully soft too. I'll post a pic when I have blocked it.

Bernice - you asked about binding.  I did a reply on my phone but it didn't publish so I'll point you towards the tab at the top called Square in a Square where I have put a photo tutorial with instructions for binding at the end.  If I want to make a wide binding I usually cut a 3" strip and fold it in half with the wrong sides together then sew it on to the quilt front (in your case the blanket) front with a generous half inch seam, possibly three quarter inch seam depending on the thickness of the blanket. You can also use wide satin ribbon which is lovely for a baby - they seem to like the feel of satin.

When I was reading the Little Cotton Rabbits Blog I noticed Julie has a little block with 'Knit' on the top bar.  I painted a block a little while ago with a beehive on but I thought it would be nice to do something like Julie's. So these two are on their way.

Can you see the little tiny pair of knitting needles that Sandra gave me? I am going to do a tiny piece of knitting and a tiny little quilt to put on the blocks.  They are only about 10cm square though so they really will have to be small.  I need to do another two now for crochet and painting, I suppose I should do one for baking too!  How many blocks would you need?

Now though my thoughts are turning to Christmas designs.  Hilary has booked us for a Christmas stocking workshop at High Street Quilting on 7th December.  I will be finishing the designs this week as I have a couple of days off.

I'll be doing a couple of traditional Christmas colours and a couple of lighter colours. I have also got some sketches ready for a Cookie Cutter Swag.  First there is the small matter of Halloween this Thursday which happens to coincide with our next quilt class - so what do you reckon - should it be trick or treat?

Tea - the great reviver

It's been a long week at work and I've had a stinking cold.  I get them about once every five or six years so I shouldn't complain. I used to think I would volunteer for those research thingies because I so rarely get colds.  I've had flu once - when I was about 20.  All I can remember is my mother lifting a cup of water to my lips - I think I lost about 3 or 4 days. Trouble is you just keep going when you should really give in. I hate it when you feel like your eyes are going to pop out of their sockets every time you cough.  I gave in yesterday afternoon and slept for about four hours.  On Thursday my uncle rang to say he would be passing our house on the way to Edinburgh.  He had dinner with my brother on Friday and then came over on Saturday morning. Here are my two lovely boys, pumpkin Ben and Steph with Ben's Great Great Uncle Greg.

I made a whimpering phone call to John who made some lovely butternut squash soup with a chestnut and bacon garnish.  We had walnut bread with that and a Tarte Tatin with vanilla yoghurt for pud.  Very autumnal and a bit like the leaves - splendour for such a short time.

We have decided to spend Uncle Greg's 80th birthday next May in Ireland.  We have spent many a happy holiday celebrating family birthdays in big rented houses - mostly in France and usually a dozen or so of us.  It's been a while since we last celebrated someone's big birthday so I'm really looking forward to that.

There was nothing on the agenda today so I settled down for a nice quiet time.  I watched the Japanese Grand Prix.  John came round for quiet brunch and I got my wool out ready to knit. They hadn't got much sleep last night so they dispersed to their Mammy's houses for rest and recuperation.

Unfortunately my 4.50mm circular needle is 80cm and the pattern called for a 60cm. Poop. It seems I have every size of double pointed needle from 2.00mm to 6.00mm except 4.50mm. Deep frustration. Double poop. It will have to wait until I can borrow or buy the right size.

 

Half way through the afternoon Steph rang to say that Ben had taken his first steps!  They came round but he wouldn't perform again.  Her little brother Matthew came with them and asked if he could make cakes.  It was like Armegeddon in the kitchen and he ate about a quarter of the mix before we could get it in the tins.  Ben switched the washing machine off half way through a cycle and the tumble dryer is on the blink.  The condenser is leaking. It has actually stopped raining but it's too late to hang anything out now.  I still have four loads of washing and it's nearly 6pm.

There has been no sewing or painting this weekend so I have nothing to show and I find myself wondering just what happened to the past two days. So I have done what any good Brit would do under the circumstances - made a cup of tea. So here I am just about to tuck into Matthew's chocolate cake.  

Can you see the reflection of the vertical blinds in in tea?  I love pictures inside pictures. The dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer (with a bucket underneath) are all working their little socks off.  There's a chicken roasting in the oven (together with potatoes, carrots and broccoli - only two tins to wash).  Another sip of tea and I'll be revived and ready to start the ironing. In twelve hours I'll be getting up for another week at work.  Let's hope it's a bit quieter!  Whatever your week brings I hope it's a good one.

Roses again-but I just love them

Ben was one year old on Tuesday - I can hardly believe it.  The house was full of noise - I wonder why?  It was also jammed to the rafters with toys and clothes for him.  Steph's little brother (aged 6) and cousin (aged 3) wanted to play with everything and insisted on helping him undo all the wrapping paper.

A little music

and some art

We had our first session of Mavis and Gladys at High Street Quilting on Thursday.  I'm looking forward to seeing all the lovely stitching the ladies produce.  There was quite a mixture of abilities, from the complete beginner to some more experienced stitchers. Lovely Karen had brought some designs. She scanned the fabric and printed a little sample so that she could see what the finished blocks would look like.  I always want to be that organised but never quite manage.

I made two dozen cupcakes but left a few for the boys.  It was dark when I iced them so I decided to wait until the lighter morning but there wasn't much left to photo.

Mmm raspberry vanilla and triple choc.

I'm afraid I've been a bit of an idle girl this weekend so don't have much to show.  I had bought some little bottles in a basket from Laura Ashley last week.  I went to the shop next door early last Sunday thinking I would be safe because Laura Ashley wouldn't be open but,  as I walked past - swish - the doors opened and my feet marched in.  I came out with a duvet cover, pillow cases and a little basket with three bottles.  I actually needed the duvet cover but probably not right now.

Anyhoo. I was going to put some lavender in the little bottles but the urge to do some more roses overcame me this morning. I spent most of the Korean Grand Prix trying to wind the yarn into a ball. Got a bit tangled. 

It was a good race though, interesting and full of goings on. Apart from Vettel leading most of the way of course. Luckily the TV company didn't focus on him at all. I stopped watching F1 when Michael Schumaker dominated. It was so boring. It's a bit like deja vu with Vettel.

The roses I have made previously were a bit too small so I added some stitches  to the design to make them bigger. 

They don't take long - about 20-30 minutes. It always amazes me how beautiful they look. (I know - I'm easily pleased)

 I added some leaves and a stem,

 And then used some florist's wire to stiffen the stem.

I made three and put them in the bottles. Maybe not high end interior design but they make me smile when I look at them.  

Apart from that I haven't done much - just the essentials, cleaned and fed the hens although I left the weeds in my leeks and onions.  My purple carrots got an attack of root fly which is very sad because they look so pretty.  If there's any decent ones left I will photo them for a future post. 

Tomorrow I am going to a conference in London.  I leave on the 5.38am train from Durham and get back about 9pm. Oh joy.  I think I'll take a little something to pass away the six hours I will be spending on the train. A sleeping tablet maybe!

Now I'm going to see if there is anything lurking in the fridge for tea. I'm not holding out a great deal of hope though.

The whole world was at Yarndale

Mavis and Gladys changed their usual Saturday morning trip to the Hill for a little trip to Skipton. The first Yarndale (first of many I hope) was being held at the Auction Mart.  We really weren't sure what to expect but, as the day wore on we realised we were seeing a lot of unexpected things. The first was the queue of traffic about two miles out.  Actually there were other things going on in Skipton but there were still huge quantities of (mostly women) heading, with magnetic force to the beautifully situated Auction Mart.  It was quite easy to park although there were loads of cars. First unexpected - we were in the overflow car park and had to walk half a mile to get to the door - it was a lovely stroll downhill, which of course means uphill on the way back! Following the bunting we found the route to the entrance easily enough. People from all over the world had crocheted bunting triangles - 6000 in all.

Could I just apologise for the pictures which are poor and very few.  Firstly I forgot to pack my camera so had to use my phone and secondly there were so many people there you couldn't get a picture of anything except, well, people.

Ah and there were some animals - alpaca and rabbits.  They calmly watched the huge throng of ladies and the odd husband pushing by.  They probably wondered what on earth we strange humans were doing.  They must have been bored with being stared at because they had turned their backs on their audience by the time I had wrestled my way to the front. 

 

So what did I buy?  Fortunately none of the credit card machines seemed to be working in the great metal building so I had to content myself with spending only what was in my purse.  (I had been to the cashpoint before we left - ha!)

A little gallery of beauty:

 A Calico Bag for my purchases;

Some paper yarn - yes paper! and some monster rick rack;

Possibly for swags;

 Some hand dyed merino wool and a pattern for a neck warmer;

 Some silk blend for wristwarmers

 Some pink cotton and viscose for something I haven't thought of yet (at £2.50 a ball I will think of something)

Another unexpected - yarn made from sugar cane.  I love the ice cream parlour colours.

Some bamboo needles with beads on the top - I was brought up on metal needles so all the beautiful wood needles you can get now are sheer joy for me.

I have added these lovely purchases to my little basket of goodies waiting to be turned into something gorgeous.

I couldn't really take any pictures of another unexpected thing - it was the number of people whose hair resembled knitted items or un-spun wool. Some people had yarn and fabric woven into their hair. Some looked like they had plonked a bag of roving on top of their heads (we had to look to make sure it was actually hair - it was green too).  That was one of the men on the stalls. 

I'm not a great one for crowds - especially when you have to queue for hours for the loo but Yarndale was certainly a fantastic experience.  Lucy from Attic24 was mobbed every time I saw her, she'll be shattered.

We passed a sign saying Great Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm on the way there so we decided to call in on the way back.  Little farm shop, home-made ice cream? That was the last 'unexpected' of the trip.  It was a huge building with a wrap-around porch.  There was a massive playground and outdoor tables, heaving with families.  Inside there was an American Diner, again heaving with people.  The ice-cream was home-made and utterly delicious.  We each had a three scoop sundae and to wash it all down I had a cloudy ginger beer and Alison had a sarsaparilla.

The food looked delicious - the menu choice was huge and very USA Diner (lush and high calorie).  The sugar rush only lasted a short while and then we yawned all the way back up the A1.

Our first Stitchin' Friends class for some time is on Thursday at High Street Quilting in Birtley so I've been busy checking through the teaching materials. I also made a pattern for the bag I originally made last year called Autumn Glow.   We have had a lovely Harvest Moon this month so I adapted it slightly to celebrate this.  I painted some more pumpkin buttons and will print out the patterns ready to pack up and take with me.

The bag under construction.  

I cut out the purple fabric in the wrong order and didn't have enough to make a back in one piece - hence the striped back which I think is really nice - I made a good mistake for once!

The finished article - a lovely size for knitting and other projects.

It's 9.30 in the morning and I'm going to steel myself to go shopping.  I try to avoid Sundays but needs must.  Then I'm going to come home and finish Ben's First Year book.  Oh and housework, don't forget the housework.....

Harvest Home

In his new garden John has a bramble - cultivated I think, because it hasn't got any thorns.  I noticed the fruits were ripe last week so I took the liberty of getting a bramley apple.Text conversation:

Me: Juicy Bramley seeks ripe blackberries for friendship leading to crumble and custard.

John: I was picking some today actually.

Me: Are they good?

John: As sharp as my wit.

The result of this blessed union?

 He must have eaten quite a few during the picking session.....

Actually there was no custard so we had ice-cream instead.  The blackberries were not, I have to say,  as fragrant as wild berries, but it was good nonetheless.

Hillary (High Street Quilting) had given me some pink and purple fabric strips to make an alternative coloured star quilt.  

I added some of my own because you really need a big selection of different prints and spent the week-night evenings cutting up squares and half square triangles.

All ready to go by Saturday night.  I was at the machine at 7am on Sunday morning and barely lifted by head until nearly 5pm.  Just put on loads of washing at various intervals, stuck some duck legs in the oven to confit.  A baked potato and some salad completed the Sunday meal.  No effort at all.  Here is the (nearly) finished result.  It needs an inner and outer border yet but I've left that for Hillary to choose.

That was why I didn't post last week.  By the time I had got the ironing done I was whacked.  Work was ultra busy last week too.  I don't think I was home before eight every night except Friday.  On Wednesday it was well gone nine. I'm up at six every morning and out of the house just after seven - it makes for long days.  I think I had worked my contracted hours before the end of Wednesday.  Not so bad if you're a Spring Chicken full of energy, but I'm more of a late Autumn Boiler myself.

I had an early morning visit on Wednesday because John had left the gas meter key at work and they had no hot water.  He is going to monitor the costs and may keep the meter rather than have it changed to a direct debit. (Oh those days of yore when you had to add up the cost of the shopping as you went round the supermarket so you had enough money when you came to pay - there are some compensations for age after all).  They all arrived in their PJs except Ben, who was wrapped up warm.

Don't you wish you could bottle them?  He's one in a couple of weeks.

This weekend I am recharging my batteries.  A lovely morning on the Hill continued with an afternoon, leading into the evening finishing my pumpkins and sunflowers ready for garlands.

Base-coated and ready for the next stage

Building the layers of colour and design

Shading

And the sunflowers are ready to join the pumpkins

Tonight I will start crocheting the leaves and 'string' with some green Rowan Cotton Glace.

I'll be ironing in front of the Singapore Grand Prix this afternoon and then settling down to make a fabric pumpkin garland which may become a workshop.  The fabrics are ready but the design is still in my head.

A quiet day should allow that design to become reality - that's what I'm hoping for anyway.  Sadly there's still a bit of housework to do before I can get down to the joy of creating.

Oh - the Harvest Home (apart from the bacon!):

Broth - the ultimate comfort food.  Have a good week everyone.