Hermione's Everyday Socks

I'm so thankful for my lovely hand knitted socks at the moment, they keep my feet so warm and toasty, just the thing for the cold weather we're now experiencing. I've knitted quite a few pairs of socks, many for other people, but I've got a new pair to add to my own sock drawer.

These are Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder, inspired by the Harry Potter character. I really like the pattern, both to knit and to look at, and it's available free on Ravelry.

I shall definitely be knitting these socks again, however, I'd like to knit them in a plain coloured yarn. I don't think a variegated yarn shows off the pattern as well. I've used Laughing Yaffle yarn in Mango Tango colourway on this occasion.

I've got another pair of socks on my needles at the moment and this time they're for Mick, they'll be the first pair of hand knitted socks I've made for him.

Joyful World - November

I'm very nearly finished with the Joyful World March design, there's just the lettering to stitch now.

I found there was a lot of stopping and starting with this design with all the different flowers and bits of stitching, it was quite time consuming. I did have a good tip though on a previous post, pre threading a number of needles with the coloured thread you're going to be using can save a lot of time.

I'm hoping that there will be a finish to show you next month.

Moving Home

You'd think we were moving house ourselves the way our house has been looking over the past week, there's been bags, boxes and suitcases everywhere.

Daniel and his girlfriend have been living in York since they finished at university earlier this year but they're both starting new jobs tomorrow so they've been packing everything up and it's all been making its way here ready for the big move.

Daniel's going to be working in Surrey, it took Mick the best part of five hours to drive down there yesterday when he took Daniel and dropped him off at his new house with all his belongings. Mick then had the same drive home again, alone this time.

His girlfriend is American and she was running out of time on her student visa, it was touch and go whether she'd have to return home. The visa allows a period of four months after the end of their course to find a job otherwise they face deportation. Luckily, she has now found a job and she'll be living and working in Essex. She was hoping that she could start a week after Daniel so that Mick could move her in too, however, her company need her to travel to Germany in a couple of weeks and to allow enough time for them to arrange the necessary visa she'll need, they require her to start tomorrow. She hasn't found anywhere to live yet so her employers are paying all her travel expenses and footing the bill for hotel accommodation and once she's found somewhere to live, Mick will take her belongings down for her.

Obviously, being apart isn't what they'd hoped for but it could have been so much worse, there'll be seventy miles between them, which is better than the four thousand seven hundred miles which would separate them had she had to return to Colorado. They're quite a way from us now too. We're hoping that we'll see them at Christmas but nothing's certain yet.

They've both done really well for themselves and landed good jobs with good salaries and benefits, all the hard work they put in at university has been worth it. I'm really proud of them and just hope that they're both happy in their chosen careers.

Wollaton Hall

We had a trip to Nottingham on Saturday to see Eleanor, it's the first time we'd seen her since we dropped her off at university over six weeks before. She's absolutely loving her course and has settled in to university life really well. She won't be coming home until she breaks up for Christmas, though she's travelling to Sheffield to stay with her boyfriend this weekend.

Archie was with us and as the weather was fine we decided to go somewhere for a walk. We don't know Nottingham at all but I remember visiting some friends of the family when I was in my teens and we had a trip to Wollaton Hall. It's not far from the university so we made the decision to head there. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to take my camera with me so the photos included in this post were taken on Mick's phone.

Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s which stands in Wollaton Park.

We couldn't go in the hall itself as we had Archie with us, but since it opened to the public in 1926, it has been home to the city's natural history museum.

There are a couple of suggested walking routes through the park but we just sort of ambled around taking in the changing season. The trees were stunning, all different colours, though they're now dropping their leaves and they're littering the ground.

Archie had great fun running through them.

There are formal gardens in the park, and The Camellia House, the oldest cast iron glasshouse in Europe. Wollaton's Botanic Garden, which has been developed and cared for by volunteers from the Nottingham branch of the Hardy Plant Society, is also here but we didn't visit any of these. I'm sure we'll take a trip here again on one of our visits to see Eleanor so we'll explore further then.

About 80 Red deer and 120 Fallow deer roam freely in Wollaton Park. We approached with care but they don't seem timid at all. Archie was nonplussed and just wanted to get back to the leaves.

Wollaton Hall is a lovely place for a walk but it was rather chilly so we didn't stay too long. Afterwards, we took Eleanor shopping, her cupboards are well stocked again.

All too soon it was time to leave, but when we got home we found that our door key had been left in Eleanor's room and we couldn't get in the house. We had to take a trip to York so that we could borrow Daniel's key. Oh well, at least I got to see both my children on the same day, something that doesn't happen very often these days.

No-Fuss Shade-Loving Shawl

Happy 82nd birthday to my lovely mum. I've been to see her this morning, in fact, she had an appointment at the doctors so I took her there. It's no fun at all having doctors appointments on your birthday, is it? Never mind, I took her cards and presents so that's made up for it.

One of her presents is the No-Fuss Shade-Loving Shawl by Susan Ashcroft. I started this on the very last day of May and though it was finished a while ago, it's been waiting to be blocked for ages. I used James C Brett Woodlander double knitting yarn which is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. As there was a small percentage of natural fibre I decided to wet block the shawl. This means that the garment is rinsed through then pinned out and laid flat to dry.

Here it is laid out on the bed. It's blocked in to shape, however, the edges were starting to roll.

I did what I should have really done at the start and steam blocked it. A squirt of steam from the iron is the best way to block garments made from acrylic yarn and as you can see, it sorted out those curly edges.

I really like the colour, blues mixed in with beige and cream, and my mum liked it too, she said it will go with lots of things.

It has a nice drape to it, I wasn't sure it would have as it's quite a thick shawl being knit with double knitting yarn, It sits nicely on my mum's shoulders and will keep her nice and warm through the winter months. She always feels the cold so it will be handy to grab when she feels a draught.

I've been wanting to have a go at a shawl for ages and now I've tackled my first one, I feel much more inclined to have a go at a lighter version and perhaps choose a more lacy design.

Home Is Where The Heart Is - Framed

It's only taken me a year but here is the very first cross stitch I've ever completed, finally framed. There's a little bit of glare on the glass but you get the gist.

I haven't had it done professionally, I've just bought a frame and done it myself. I know it's not perfect but I do think the frame adds something.

I wrote all about the cross stitch in my Home Is Where The Heart Is post back in November last year. I think I'll hang it in the porch so that everyone can see it as they come through the door.

Dishcloth Swap 2016

Back in June, I signed up for the Dishcloth Swap 2016 which is run by Kimberley from Creative Chaos. The rules were to knit a dishcloth or sew a mug rug, choose another couple of kitchen items and something sweet to send to your partner. The parcels were to be sent off late July.

I was paired up with Tracy from Mad About Bags and so much more.......... Tracy has had a busy time over summer so she was a little delayed in putting a parcel together but I received it recently so I thought I'd show you what I received.

First of all, two fabulous dishcloths, aren't they pretty? I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to use them so I might just have to display them for decoration. The same goes for the lovely tea towel. I also received a pretty card adorned with a rose.

Tracy told me she'd sent extra goodies for the parcel being a little late, they were all things I love. A fabulous writing set, always handy as I still love hand writing letters even in this age of technology, a lovely diary which has a great layout as there's lots of space for writing, some cute note cards, these will be very handy for when I want to drop someone a line or two, a bath bomb which smells divine and some Toffifees, yum.

As you can probably guess from the name of Tracy's blog, she's Mad About Bags and actually makes them herself. She sent me the most gorgeous shoulder bag which I'm thrilled with. The fabric is fabulous, especially for me who loves gardening.

It's lined with even more pretty fabric which coordinates perfectly.

Thank you so much Tracy, it was a wonderful parcel and well worth waiting for.

Would you like to see what I sent to Tracy? I thought so.

First of all, the dishcloths.

Here you can see the two different patterns.

A pretty tea bag rest, an egg cup, a shopping list pad and some sachets of Taylors rose lemonade tea.

The swap was posted just after I got back from Cornwall so it was on my mind whilst I was there. I thought it would be nice to include some yummy hand made fudge so I picked some up whilst I was on holiday.

Thank you for organising the swap, Kimberley, it was great fun, and thank you, once again, for my gifts, Tracy, you're a great swap partner.

Reading - October 2016

Four seems to be the magic number where my reading is concerned, I've read another four books again this month.

I'm not really one for short stories, I think they just get going when it's all over. I much prefer something longer where the story can actually develop but after reading a couple of Jojo Moyes books just recently, I thought I'd give Paris For One a go. I have to say that I did enjoy it and I think the Characters were put across very well to say there aren't that many pages to establish personality traits and back-stories. I'd say give it a go if you get the chance but I wouldn't particularly go out of my way to buy it.

Death On The Nile is one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels, however, I don't think it's one of her best. I thought it took some time to get going, the murder doesn't happen until half way through the book, there's a lot of setting the scene. I actually guessed the murderer right from the start. I still enjoyed reading it but I've read better from her.

I've read Jennifer Worth's midwife trilogy, the books that Call The Midwife is based on, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Afterwards, I read In The Midst Of Life, which is about her experiences as a nurse and ward sister, treating patients nearing the end of their lives but I didn't enjoy this one as much. This month I've read Letters To The Midwife which is a collection of correspondence received by Jennifer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, each letter gives a glimpse in to what life was like 'back in the day'. It also contains some of Jennifer's journal entries along with an introduction from her family. I enjoyed reading this book.

Eleanor& Park by Rainbow Rowell is a book aimed at young adults but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I actually bought it quite a while ago for Eleanor but she's not a bookworm in any sense of the word and she's never read it so I decided I'd read it myself, I'm glad I did. The story is set around two sixteen year olds, Eleanor, who lives in a dysfunctional family and Park who's half Korean and keeps himself to himself. It's basically a story about first love but with issues. I really enjoyed it and though it's aimed at younger readers, I think it's a book for older readers too.

I've bought lots of new books just lately, some that I've found in charity shops and some which have been offers on the Kindle. I won't be stuck for something to read for quite some time.

Nolon Stacey

I'm harking back to the August bank holiday week again in this post to the Thursday when we visited the Yorkshire Dales.

Masham is a small town in Wensleydale and the last time I visited was when I went on an outdoor pursuits course with work some thirty years ago, our base was situated there. I have happy memories of the time we spent abseiling, canoeing and orienteering among other things. The place we stayed is now a luxury castle hotel, spa, cookery school and events venue and looks very posh.

We parked the car in the market square and set off on foot to have a look round when we came to a sign advertising Nolon Stacey's Gallery. I know of his work but didn't realise his gallery was in Masham so we popped in to take a look.

I've been looking for a picture of a hare for quite some time now and as Nolon Stacey specialises in both domestic and wild animals, I should have known that I'd find something I liked in his gallery. I have to say that I was spoilt for choice. I did find my hare picture, but it was one of several I could have brought home with me, along with a number of other wildlife pictures too.

My mum and dad gave us some money for our silver wedding anniversary last year and we knew we wanted to buy a picture with it, we've been saving it until the right picture came along. It's a limited edition print and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

I couldn't leave this one behind either, how cute is he? We spoke to Nolon about the choices we'd made and he told us that this one is modelled on a dog he had as a child.

I'm thrilled we stumbled upon the gallery and I'm sure we'll be back again in the future. The pictures just need framing now and then they can be hung.

August Bank Holiday

It's a long time now since it was August bank holiday and yet I still haven't blogged about what we got up to. For the last few years now, Mick has not only taken the bank holiday Monday off work but has also taken the following four days to give him a full week at home and he did the same this year. We were considering going away for the week but in the end we decided against it, preferring instead to have some days out and about.

When I read Rebecca's Day in Saltburn post on her Writing, fatshion, me blog earlier on in August about the yarn bombing on Saltburn's pier, it had made me want to visit for myself, so on the Monday of that week, that's where we headed.

I've never been to Saltburn before. Actually, I have, I've driven through it but never stopped, I'm not sure why as I had a lovely surprise when we did visit, it's such a quaint little place which hasn't been spoilt by commercialism. The main attraction here is the Victorian water balanced cliff lift which is still in operation today.

The lift was built to allow easy access from the cliff top to the newly constructed pier, and that's what we were there to visit, well, the yarn bombing on it.

The entrance to the pier opens in to an amusement arcade which you walk through to get on to the pier itself, this is the only remaining pier in Yorkshire.

Well, we looked and looked and walked down to the end of the pier where a few fishermen were watching their rods, then we looked back towards the way we'd come and the yarn bombing was nowhere to be seen. It had obviously been removed. We were too late.

Never mind, we decided we'd pop down to the beach and let Archie have a play in the waves.

He had a lovely time.

It would have been nice to have seen the yarn bombing but I didn't mind too much, we've now found a little gem on the Yorkshire coast. I would urge you to pop over to Rebecca's blog though and see the photos she took of all the wonderful knitting and crochet, all Yorkshire themed, it looked fabulous.

Saltburn by the Sea, we'll definitely return.

We spent a few hours in Saltburn before heading off down the coast to Whitby where we spent another delightful few hours. I do love Whitby with its 199 steps, its connection to Dracula, the abbey, the olde worlde charm of its cobblestone streets, the busy harbour where there's always something going on that makes you stop and watch, I could go on and on.

Other places we visited that week were Bolton Abbey, Knaresborough, The Yorkshire Dales and York and we managed a couple of meals out too. We had a lovely week and were quite glad that we hadn't booked anything in the end, there's something about deciding on the spur of the moment what you're going to do that day that makes it quite exciting.

Joyful World - October

Spot The Difference.

The top photo is progress to date, the bottom photo is from last month.

Quite hard, isn't it? There hasn't been much done on the Joyful World Stitch Along since last month, but there's something else being stitched behind the scenes which I can't talk about on my blog at the moment so there is stitching being done.

I'm determined to get back to Joyful World again though now so that I've got something to show you next month. Now where's my needle?

A Beautiful Quilt

My lovely friend, Susan, from Granny Smith's Quilting blog lives in Australia but I was lucky enough to meet her a couple of years ago when she came over for a holiday. She's very sneaky though, I had no idea that she'd made plans to visit again this year until I got a phone call out of the blue one day telling me she was here.

We made loose arrangements to meet before she returned to Australia but it wasn't to be, we just couldn't find a time when we were both free. We had a chance meeting at Bolton Abbey one day in early September but that was it.

It was my birthday while Susan was over here and she'd brought with her, all the way from Australia, a gift for me, how lucky am I? Here it is, a most beautiful quilted bed runner.

I'm not going to use it on the bed though, I think it's perfect to drape over the back of the sofa, that way it can be shown off as it deserves. Just look at all the beautiful fabric which has been used.

Even the back is lovely.

This close up shows the flowery quilting stitch. Sorry if that's not the right term, I'm not a quilter myself.

Thank you so much Susan, I'm absolutely thrilled with it and I shall treasure it always.