Friday 27 March 2015

A spectacular sight….

as we were driving south on the M6 near Shap in Cumbria. We had been working on the house renovation project (which seems to be taking up all our time at the moment) and were on our way home.  Groups of birds came flying in from all directions and formed a huge murmuration. We were just near the motorway junction so pulled off to watch the display. It was absolutely fascinating and mesmerising. I don't think I had actually seen such a display before, it lasted well over half an hour and then suddenly all the birds disappeared! 






Fascinating!
A bit of a catch up post next - the house, the seaside, and a little progress on the crafty front!

Monday 2 March 2015

Yarn and fabric ….

Yarny things first. I have started to knit another wooly cowl. I have made a few of these now and they seem to disappear! The last one went back to London with Clara. I like this lime green colour and have made one in a similar shade before. The yarn is a superwash wool by Louisa Harding Yarns and the pattern is called Honey Cowl. There are only four rows to the pattern and two of those are knit rounds so it is quite a simple
This is in contrast to the second yarny project I have on the go. More concentration needed for this as I have also started to knit the the little dog that Molly gave me for xmas. The yarn is Sirdar snuggly snowflake - and to begin with I was not liking it at all to knit with, but am getting the hang of it. I tend to knit quite tightly so have had to slacken off quite a bit or else it is just too difficult to pull the wool through. 
The third yarn project is a long standing on going crochet blanket, but this has been a bit on the back burner but I will try and push on with this a little more. I started this last year when I learned to crochet and was intending to make a square every now and then as I didn't have the time for a bigger project with the house renovation we are masterminding …...

…and I still have my cottage ripple blanket to start!
I've also been playing around with fabric as I am making a play mat for my nephew and his partner for their first baby. I saw this charm pack at the festival of quilts last year and thought it may come in handy, and I will probably add a few extra fabrics into the mix.
 
The baby is due in about a month, so I really need to get on with this. I've looked for ideas on pinterest and am now having a play making a couple of different blocks. I wanted to try something a little different from just simple squares this time, and a play mat is a good size to experiment with.
If I use this block, I will either hand quilt or make an embroidery motive in the centre. I may make the blocks a little smaller as these are about 8" square.
or I may use this square pattern, and use up some of my lovely scraps of fabric - I love a scrappy quilt, so may keep this idea for me!!
So, I have lots to keep me busy at the moment…...