A Few Hundred Years Ago

This weekend Blackfriars, a restored 13th century Dominican priory, is home to a LARP Kit Fest. I'm not a fan of the latex weaponry, apart from a frying pan! But the handmade items from leather, wood, wool and paper are exquisite!

The highlight for me was the time spent with the Sealed Knot people. I was deeply entranced by their clothes. One guy took a lot of time to answer my questions and was very understanding that I wasn't interested in battle what so ever, but the history of everyday people, what they wore and how they lived was of far more interest. I enjoy historical costuming on YouTube, but this was so much better, being able to interact with people, and to touch and feel the clothing (with permission). One of my favourite items was a black cassock with red cloth buttons. It could be worn as a jacket, or a cape simply by unbuttoning and rebuttoning in a different way.

Just before we left Blackfriars, the Sealed Knot put on a display in the courtyard.  The officer explained who people were, their clothing, ranks etc. When the black powder man started preparing his musket, a couple of the guys cordoned off a section of the courtyard. This was the area they were going to be firing into. The sergeant stopped people from entering the firing zone, and was smiling at them. I barked out 'Sergeant, stop smiling at the civilians, and turn them back!'  He did this, much to my amusement. 

The sergeant came very close to where we were sitting/standing, at the edge of the exclusion zone, and gave us far more information than the officer was bellowing out. One little nugget is that when fired at night, a musket flash can extend to 5m! Another nugget is blacksmiths would sometimes fire a shot at a steel breastplate from 100m, and this would leave a dent in the armour. This was seen as a mark of quality and safety. However, at 50m, the musket shot would penetrate the steel and cause a huge deal of damage to the flesh and bone behind.

At one point I looked at the sergeant and remarked "Sergeant, you are smiling again." He grinned and said he liked us. We were interested in what was happening. I hadn't realised the armoured sergeant was the guy I'd been talking with about clothing etc. 

The Blackfriars Priory is also very interesting. It is a place I will need to visit in a subsequent visit to Gloucester.

February Hatathon

A standard hatathon is completed by finishing 26 hats in one month. This year, I'm going crazy, and I'm attempting a double hatathon. That's right, I'm planning to finish 52 hats this month.

Goodbye EU

It is with great sadness I type, "Goodbye EU". The huge amount of good the UK has gained from membership of the EU has been stripped away by a tiny number of self serving individuals who have dragged many older English people with them. This is a huge, huge mistake, and it was created by lie after lie, after lie. The departure helps only the very wealthy, and robs the average person of so very much.

Leaving the EU has created a raft of problems that will need to be resolved. Not least amongst these are the ways the Irish and Scots have been treated. But this is nothing new. It's just the latest round of dictatorial behavior from Westminster, and England.

Enough! This is making me morose and grumpy. That's no way to start a beautiful holiday Saturday. A bit later, we are off to a LARP fayre! There will also be some time in Cheltenham too. These should be good.

Wild Rice and Halloumi Salad

When we stop at motorway service stations, we try to stop at one with a Marks and Spencer Food. I can always find something to eat in their offerings. Their Salmon and Potato Salad is a particular favourite. Yesterday, we sort of missed our mark and ended up at a service station with a Waitrose instead.

It took quite a bit of hunting, but I settled on a little salad of Wild Rice and Halloumi. "It will do, I suppose." were the thoughts going through my mind. Then, "Oh blast, I didn't pick up a fork!", but when I started eating all those thoughts disappeared. It was rather delicious and I want to try making my own version of the dish. 

The ingredients listed are: white rice, wild rice, onion, halloumi cheese (milk) (7%), chickpeas, orange juice, spinach, jumbo raisins, lemon juice, rapeseed oil, red chard, coriander, dill, parsley, sugar, salt, black pepper, cumin seeds, cornflour, cumin, turmeric, garlic purée, coriander powder, sunflower oil, cayenne pepper, and allspice.

In addition, I bought sour cream and chive Popchips. It was like eating thick Pringles. How I have missed Pringles!

Welcome to Gloucester

We have arrived! It is so good to be on holiday, a time to see family, and stop working. This Christmas we didn't get much of a break, but now we have 10 whole days before it's time for work again.

The travel felt easy this time. Sailing is so much simpler with a cabin. It's just a little bit more expensive than the lounge, but we all find having space means we are much more rested by the time we reach England. 

The last few times we have visited Gloucester we have spent quite a bit of time travelling to visitor attractions etc. This time around, we have plans to visit Margaret in Wales, and Cheltenham, and very few other things are planned.

We are after a gentle holiday.

Brutti ma Buoni

Ingerdienti

300g di zucchero

300g di mandorle tritate(non troppo grosse)

3 albumi d'uovo

Sbatterelo zucchero con gli albumi in un contenitore a bagnomaria fino a quando diventa un coposto bianco latte (lustrente).

Togliere dal bagnomaria e aggiungete le mandorle alla "crema".

Mettete l'impasto in frigorifero per 15 min.

Sistemare l'impasto sulla placa del forno a cucchiaini non occore che siano tutti uguali. Infornate per 15 minuti a 160°

Conservare in un contenitore sigillato.

Questa dose e per 60 biscottini.

Woolly Chewy

How best to keep warm on a cold winter's night? Snuggle up beside Chewbacca!

A good few years ago, I made a Cookie Monster hot water bottle cover for Stitch. It has served her well. Unforunately, her partner, Lilo has taken a liking for it, and regularly smuggles (or is that snuggles?) it.

The time has come for Lilo to have his own snuggly hot water bottle cover, and that's why I've just started knitting Chewbacca.

Shut Up and Write!

The blurb is "We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 11 on Saturday mornings. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done."

The first meeting was on the 18th of January, and the second was the 25th. It's great meeting with others who write/writers, and taking the time to be creative. It's so much easier to do it this way than to carve out time whilst I'm at home.

As the 25th of January is Santes Dwynwen's Day, I decided to write a story around the bare bones of Dwynwen and Maelon as described below.

The history behind Dwynwen’s story is that she was the prettiest daughter of the Welsh king Brychan Brycheiniog, but she fell in love with a man named Maelon Dafodrill. Unfortunately, her father had already arranged for Dwynwen to marry someone else.

Dwynwen was extremely distraught and she prayed to God to ask for help in forgetting Maelon. That night an angel visited her whilst she slept and gave her a potion. This potion erased her memory of her feelings for Maelon and turned him into a block of ice.

But God provided Dwynwen with three wishes – her first wish was Maelon should be thawed, her second wish was that God would meet the hopes and dreams of true lovers and thirdly that she would never marry. As all of her wishes were fulfilled, she gave her thanks by devoting herself to God’s service for the rest of her life.


There were no problems picturing Dwynwen, Maelon and Brychan. They each popped fully formed into my mind. My problems came when I tried to describe Dwyn and Mae's first meeting, and how they fell in love. Everything I tried seemed to reek of Disney.

I'm currently trying to think of as many clichés of love, just so I can avoid them!

Lemon Soap

When my daughter was visiting at Christmas, she raved about the soaps I have made for her. She has problems with eczema, and the soap do not exacerbate the situation, but helps. As we are going to visit soon, I decided to make some more.

One of the requests was to keep it simple. In a previous batch, I had great fun creating a rainbow of clear soap, set in white fluffy clouds. It looked great when it was first made, but the colours leached out into the white fluff, and it became somewhat muddy and less appealing. 

This time, I decided to make a clear lemon bar. A tad too much yellow colourant was added, but I thought I could get around this by making a white opaque layer on top. Then I thought, "Oooh, how about adding the white before the yellow has completely set?"  Great idea, but I was impatient, and poured the white whilst the yellow was too warm. The result has been a very gentle mottled lemon appearance rather than rivers of clear yellow and opaque white. Ah well. It looks nice. It isn't going to discolour, and it smells great.

Good Intentions

It had been my intention to blog every day, and make it an interesting read. It seemed appropriate to restart thing habit on the 1st of January. And, well, as the saying I've never heard before goes, "Good intentions are not enough. They've never put an onion in the soup yet."

My soup is distinctly lacking in onions! and it definitely needs them.

I liked the idea of restarting on the first day of a new year, the first day of a new decade, but I was busy. Then I was busy again, and again. Next came some illness, followed by busyness. 

Earlier today I was thinking about writing a heap of blog posts and backdating them. But how about I don't? This blog is primarily been written for my benefit. What benefit would I achieve through back filling posts. Nope. Today is a new day, and today get's a new blog post!

Endless To Do Lists

What's with all of the 'To Do' lists? I want to get back into regular blogging, but my brain is still a bit foggy due to recent illness. The 'To Do' lists give me a chance to keep track of what I need to do, and have done, as well as helping be back into blog-life. Actual content will return soon.

But first, a few To Do/Ta Das.

To Do
lay out clothes for Wednesday
Italian class
Quilting
wash and dry a load of laundry
declutter, clean and tidy metal utensils drawer

A New Day, A New Week

To Do
mend Ava's harness
This task proved a little tricky as I managed to leave it at work!

Ta Da!
mend Christine's wrist warmers
prepare for Italian class
prepare for Quilting Guild
lay out clothes for Tuesday

Today's Ta Da!

We have loved having the huge star light in the window, and weren't ready for it to be put away with the rest of the Christmas things. Instead, we have hung it in a corner of the sitting room. It's light continues to bring us joy.

To Do
(everything done!)

Ta Da
wash dishes
tidy kitchen
wash and dry a load of laundry
wash and dry a second load of laundry
put away Christmas decorations
tidy my corner of the sitting room
finish hat
lay out clothes for tomorrow

To Do - Ta Da! Today

I fear my body is battling with the nasties The Offspring is just recovering from. There's brain fog, tiredness, a little bit of a scratchy throat, and a deep, deep desire to curl into a ball and hibernate. Yesterday, I had two naps. Today, I'm aiming for one, and also getting some stuff done. There's no chance of that happening without a list or two. I tried going listless yesterday, but well, I was listless and nothing much got done until I started getting cranky.

To Do
put away decorations
tidy my corner of the sitting room
make dinner

Ta Da!
finish hat
take down Christmas tree
wash and dry a load of laundry
wash and dry a second load of laundry

His Loveliness made dinner instead, and I washed dishes and cleaned the kitchen. This left me unable/unwilling to tidy the sitting room, nor put away Christmas decorations. Ah well, this gives me something to make a start on tomorrow.

Double, Double, Toil and Success!

I was cranking away this evening, and found success with holding double knitting yarn doubled. 'Success' doesn't sound like a strong enough word. I am delighted with the results.  

Double knitting yarn makes up the bulk of my yarn stash. The fabric produced by the Addi Express with double knitting yarn was light and airy - it was like hand knitting produced on too large needles. My concern had been I would need to buy loads of aran and chunky yarns to use the Addi. This would be totally the wrong outcome.  Instead, I've found holding two DK strands together and looming with them creates a great fabric, not too tight, not too, but just right.

More Scurryfunging

Today's lists of tasks:

dry laundry

wash towels

put away woollens

dust guest room

re-arrange crafting materials in guest room

lay out towels in the guest room

lay out laundry basket in guest room

dust the guest room

take presents to bedroom

clean tops of fridge and freezer

dust sitting room

dust hall

tidy side board

tidy back vestibule

tidy kitchen

Christmas Scurryfunging

scurryfunge: a hasty tidying of the house in anticipation of guests

So far today we have:
walk the dog
dry laundry
wash woollens
wash dishes
sweep kitchen floor
wash kitchen floor
sweep hall floor
wash hall floor
make bed in guest room
tidy guest room
vacuum sitting room
vacuum hall
vacuum bathroom
vacuum guest room
dry woollens
wash laundry

Tuesday's To Do/Ta Da

Let's start the To Do with yesterday's unfinished business.

Dry laundry

Put on another load of laundry

Italian lesson

Finish one Christmas present

Start tidying dining room

Give Ava tummy rubs

Dry

Monday's To Do/Ta Da!

To Do

8. dry laundry

9. put on another load

Ta Da

1. work

2. work on a Chrsitmas present

3. shop for dinner

4. make dinner

5. make meringues

6. make Christmas cards

10. put money in wallet for Italian lessons

7. wash socks and smalls

----

Ah well, at least I have something to do tomorrow!

Get On Your Bike

The plan had been to cycle 4 minutes every day in December, and then increase it by 4 minutes a day each month until I was cycling for 16 minutes each day. This was to be training for the next IronMay. 16 minutes of cycling is the equivalent of 4 miles.

In April, I would start on the swimming portion. The first Friday would start at 16 lengths, then 32, 48, and 64 in subsequent weeks. 64 lengths is a miles.

The walking section is not a problem as I am no longer in a sedentary job.

This gradually building schedule was to take me to the point where I was doing an IronMay without even thinking about it.

However a little virus last week knocked me off my plan. No cycling was done last week, and so I'm now playing catch up.

We've Just 'Captur'-ed A New Car

Behold the Renault Captur.

I'm not a fan of the colour, but it is a comfortable ride, has lower fuel consumption than our previous car. I really enjoy the comfort of Renault seats. They fit my body. It's also easy for me to get in and out of. One car we looked at really needed a little folding step for me to climb into the car! If I have difficultly getting into a car on a good day, then it would have been almost impossible on a day when my joints were acting up. 

A Pair Of Tomtar Have Arrived

 

A Tomte is a Swedish gnome, or brownie. They are said to live in and around the houses and sheds on farms and remote houses. If you are wise you will show the Tomte “due respect”. If you respect him he will protect your household from accidents and disasters. But watch out! He might play tricks on you if you annoy him. 

In the past at Christmas time, it was a custom to leave a bowl of porridge outside your house under the front door stairs. If the bowl was empty the next morning all was well for another year.

A pair of Tomtar have arrives, Inge and Sven. They have taken up position on the mantlepiece.

Ooops, Where's the Advent Calendar?

It's the first of December, and it's time to open the first drawer of the Advent calendar. Where is it? It's still tucked away with the Christmas decorations.  And, we have no treats to put inside. This will obviously have to be remedied.

Today's plan is three-fold: 1. buy some chocolates for the calendar, 2. make a little forest of Christmas trees, 3. make an Advent wreath, 4. decorate the sitting roo… ooops, this is not a three-fold plan. This is a multi-fold plan! Let's 'To Do' and 'Ta Da!'

To Do

make an Advent wreath

make a little forest of Christmas trees

Ta Da!

clean sitting room

re-arrange sitting room to include space for a Christmas tree

buy Advent chocolates

decorate sitting room

Ah well, the Advent wreath, nor the forest was created. Not to worry, we had a lovely time.

December Goals

1. finish Christmas presents

2. don't get stressed about Christmas presents

3. finish the Duck quilt

4. make healthier food choices

5. cycle for 4 minutes each day

6. change the dining room from a craft/Christmas Tree storage room back into a dining room

November Goals - Review

I have managed to have a thankful and grateful month. There are so many good things in my life, and I am very grateful.

The Christmas Tree for Refugees is up, and is looking very tree-y. It is not my idea of a beautifully decorated tree, but it has a fantastic story/motivation.

With regards to making healthier food choices, yes and no. There have been good times, and bad times. I think it was due to the stress of getting the Christmas Tree ready. 

Work has certainly progressed on the Duck quilt. It isn't finished, but I'm okay with that. There's been a lot going on. My plan is to do a little on it each day in December.

Buy Local

In response to 'Black Friday', let's go out an 'Buy Local'. Buy gifts from small, local shops, from small local farms, small local crafters. Money spent in the local economy circulates around 8 times, making the local economy wealthier. Money given to corporations and multi nationals makes wealthy individuals even richer.

Black Friday

And all that money used to be time!

Black Friday makes some sort of sense in America, but not over here. It's just a pre-Christmas sale. Instead of taking part in the worship of consumerism, how about not bothering and just having a lovely "No Spend" day.

Best Night's Sleep in Weeks!

I was so elated, relieved and excited last night when the Christmas Tree for Refugees was completed. So many emotions! And last night, I had my best night's sleep in weeks. 

There have been multiple times when I've been sleeping, and have suddenly sat bolt upright saying things like "Oh bugger!" I was fearful I had forgotten things I had promised to do, and everything was weighing me down, causing some panic.

My stress levels were climbing and climbing. But when the green squares were attached on Tuesday evening things calmed right down. And then last night when the last winter woolly was placed on the tree. my heart sang. My heart sang, my heart whooped, my heart giggled and squealed.

On the way back from the airport, we stopped off to buy ice cream. It was a reward for a task done well. 

By 11am, I was in bed, and I slept the sleep of the just right through to 6.45. It was glorious.

We have a TREE!

It is 7' tall, and we would have needed at least another three trees to display all of green squares and winter woolies! 

There's a white space at the front, and that's where some information about the project will go. It will be added this afternoon. 

Many, many people across the Island have contributed to this project. A little yarn and a little fabric can bring a big bit of love to refugees who have nothing.

Add A Bit OF Foliage

The tree has been decked in green. And there's two large plastic crates, and two bags full of green squares left over! We have enough for at least 4 trees.

Christmas Tree 'Skeleton'

We've just collected the 'skeleton' for the Christmas Tree!  My stomach is now full of butterflies. This is really, really, REALLY real!

Today's task is to make a sleeve/cover for the tree. The knitted and crocheted squares will be sewn on to the sleeve, as will the decorations. 

Frosted Autumn Colours

Central heating is utterly wonderful! We hadn't realised how cold it had been during the night. When we were packing the car to return home, we noticed the car's thermometer was reading -8C. That's rather chilly!

We said goodbye to the Birthday Boy, and set off on our journey southwards. And what a glorious journey it was! The sky was bight blue, with a few white fluffy clouds. Some trees were bare, but many were decked in their autumnal colours, and the whole lot was dusted with diamonds! Mile after mile was a sight of unfolding beauty.

By the time we arrived at Heysham, the temperature had climbed to 7C. That's probably the biggest outdoor temperature change I have experienced over the course of four hours!

This Way, That Way, Forwards and Back

This way, that way, forwards and back, over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum.
That's the life for me!

Well, not a bottle of rum, more like a 'nice cup of hot chocolate, and a bit of knitting', and that's the life for me. I sat, I knitted, I sipped, and listened to my audiobook. It was a rather pleasant way to spend a morning.

When I found myself rocking backwards and forwards a bit too much, I laid down on the bed in our cabin and had a little nap. This is such a civilised way to sail.

Today's To Do List

Time for a To Do/Ta Da! list. There's a lot to be done before we go off-island for our long weekend, and I want it done in good order.

To Do  Ta Done!

Ta Da!

• dry wet washing
• put dry washing away
• take down birthday cards
• dust sitting room
• sweep kitchen floor
• bleach dog's bowls
• organise items for the Christmas Tree for Refugees, separating out the items that need to be paired, or have ends woven in
• pack items in need of completion
• pack Mam's Christmas present and a gift bag for Dad
• pack googly eyes for Mam
• tidy sitting room
• empty sitting room bin
• vacuum sitting room
• wash dishes
• add postcodes to Kindle
• change bedding
• wash bedding
• dry clothes
• clean work tops
• clean hob
• clean out fridge
• dry bedding
• put away bedding
• water plants
• pack Ava's items
• wash another load of laundry
• take Ava to kennels
• update satnav
• put away clothes
• check tyre pressure
• fuel car
• lay out clothes for holiday
• dry clothes
• pack
• empty bins

World Kindness Day

"Throw kindness around like confetti!"

I had no idea World Kindness Day was a thing, but I love it. Be kind. Be gentle. Be loving. If in any doubt about how to react to a situation, be kind.

A post from my Facebook memories came up. It was from two years ago today, and it seems rather apt. "On coming out of the GP's surgery I asked for Celeste's arm to steady me. (I have a migraine.) We called a taxi and whilst waiting for it a fellow patient said she had overheard me saying I was dizzy, and could she drive me home. It was such a kind thoughtful gesture, so touching. I thanked her and explained a taxi was on its way. Here to all the people who are kind! You are wonderful."

That one little act of kindness made me feel a little better. We never know how our kindness can help others.

Attitude

I was watching a Swedish YouTuber, Northern Heart, listing the ways to survive the dark days of winter in the norther latitudes. One word that rang a bell with me was 'attitude'. There are many situations we simply can not change, but, our attitude changes our perception. Instead of looking out the window and bemoaning the rain, we can say 'Great! A perfect day to be snuggled on the sofa, listening to a podcast, and knitting.' The rain is still falling, the skies are still dark, but instead of being down about it, the application of a little attitude changes a dark, grey situation into a warm, cosy one.

As I was coming home from work today I realised my back was sore. Instead of moaning and groaning, my attitude was 'Fantastic, it won't be long before I can take some pain killers, and sit in my lovely chair.' Nothing had fundamentally changed. However, I was looking forward, and looking beyond. I've now had a couple of hours to myself, and my body is feeling quite a bit better. I'm ready to work through my 'To Do' list.

A DIY Cardigan

I had a little brain wave,  I work in a yarn store, my Mam likes yarn, perhaps she might like some yarny bits from my shop. Apparently, she would love a DIY cardigan.

King Cole Subtle Drifter in lilac was the choice we made. It's a rather lovely dusty lilac and will look great with black, navy, and white.

Wedge Scarf

Yarn: King Cole Tonal Chunky
Composition: 100% Acrylic
Colour: Quicksilver
Yarn: King Cole Tonal Chunky
Composition: 100% Acrylic
Colour: Humbug
Pattern: Wedge Scarf
Size: adult
Needles: 6mm
Amount used:
Started: 10th Nov 2019
Finished:

Cast on 3 sts.
1. Kfb, k to end.
2. K2tog, k to last stitch, kfb.

Repeat these two rows until the scarf is long enough.

To add a bit of interest, I decided to make every fifth ridge in the darker colour.

An Ironclad Memory

A memory came up on facebook, and it made me smile.

----

I was sitting down, getting ready to do some patchwork and quilting. Then I realised there was a 'hole' where something should be. What was missing?! A few head scratches later I came to the realisation that the iron disappeared!

Puzzled was I! Puzzled indeed. Eventually I asked my trusty side kick, Celeste Jeni Ketteridge. Pondering for a few moments, the response came back, "I think I saw Dad ironing a shirt a few days ago." What a dastardly thing to do! That man swiped my crafting equipment! And he didn't replace it!

The iron is now back in its correct location - beside the sewing machine and cutting mats. The miscreant is now serving his penance in the kitchen. All will be forgiven when a couple of bacon sandwiches appear, along with a mug of Earl Grey tea.

No Pattern

Whilst thinking about Blame Dunderknit, I decided to knit a scarf for myself. When I finally settled on yarn and a pattern I realise the pattern I had chosen was for DK weigh, and I had Chunky. Rather than working out how to resize the pattern I decided to do my own thing. (Quelle surprise!)

I started work on my interpretation of the scarf, and dutifully began to write a pattern. Then it struck me, I don't have to write a pattern. I don't have to plan. I can swing it instead. I don't owe it to anyone to write patterns. They can be written as and when I want to!

Blame Dunderknit

Dunderknit is a Scottish YouTuber who lives in London. She has given me permission, well, everyone really, to make something just for me(ourselves). She explains often at this time of year we are so caught up in creating for other people that we forget to make beautiful things for ourselves.

The yarn can come out, and work can begin, and if anyone asks any questions, we can blame Dunderknit. I've just cast on a shawl for myself. It's in a chunky yarn, and won't take long to make, but it's for me.

Fabrics Bought for QAL

At work today, I decided to buy the next metre of fabric, and I couldn't remember which ones I had already bought!  I obviously need to keep track of them. The ones with an asterisk have been bought.

Row 1: Dark Red  R64 20 cm
*Row 2: Red  R06 42.5 cm
Row 3: Orange  N47 30 cm
*Row 4: Orange-Yellow Y06 30 cm
Row 5: Yellow  Y05 30 cm
*Row 6: Lime Green  G45 37.5 cm
Row 7: Teal  G46 37.5 cm
*Row 8: Turquoise  T78 32.5 cm
Row 9: Blue  B58 35 cm
Row 10: Indigo  L07 27.5 cm
Row 11: Violet  L65 30 cm
Row 12: Pink  P87 30 cm

Background:  White   5.25 m
*Accent:   Grey  37.5 cm

Mini Christmas Stockings

A customer came into the shop yesterday. She wanted to show me the progress she has made on her mini Christmas Stocking.

She brought out the red and white stocking we had been making in the workshop, and it looked good. Then she brought out the pink and white one. This one had been made at home, by herself, and it looks good! At home there's a second pink and white sock, and it looks even better than the one pictured. And, it seems the pattern I wrote is excellent for size 4-5 in a child's shoe, which just so happens to be the size her daughter takes. The little one pointed at the pink sock and said 'My sock'.

She bought yarn for two more pairs of socks!

More Fabric!

I was not totally convinced by the solid grey for the accent fabric. I felt it was a trifle 'flat'.  Instead, I have gone with  'linen look' by Makower, in the colour 'Storm'. 

This was ordered at the weekend, and has arrived already!  Excellent service, Doughty!

Pinterest Wins

While setting up a new Pinterest board for the guest room, I came across this quilt.  It is beautifully simple, and would make a fantastic backing for the Sugaridoo one. I will be able to use up little bits and pieces of fabric leftover from the top.

Sugaridoo QAL - Fabrics

I was umming and ahhing over fabrics for the Sugaridoo Quilt-A-Long. The fabrics in the shop didn't make a good enough rainbow, and I was wondering whether I would need to go shopping next time I was in the UK. But, then a new delivery of fabrics arrived, and all of the colours I needed appeared.