White Post Farm

We haven't been to the White Post Farm in over a year so we put that right with a visit today. It was pretty bleak at times but the sun did shine and there's quite a bit indoors, including play areas which Millie really enjoyed. Of course there were goats to be fed

(Cardigan in Wendy Fusion)
and groomed-

Yes, I am knitting honestly!

At the moment I am mostly knitting the tangled cable cardigan in the current Interweave knits but it is in a dark aubergine which I don't suppose will show the cable in a photograph.
I have just finished, in 2 evenings and 1 lunch-break a blanket for Baby Annabel, only once again I forgot the picture, maybe I can sneak one later while Mummy-Millie isn't looking

This is Millie with her new baby on her 4th birthday which was last Sunday. She thought it was a huge coincidence that it was her birthday, she was four and it was her birthday, all on the same day. Here is the ridiculous cake I made at her request.


She asked for a Sleeping Beauty cake and instead of buying a cheap doll which would come apart at the waist and stick in the top of a cake baked in a pudding basin I bought a real Disney Princess which not only doesn't come apart but is incredibly tall, needing not just a bowl but also 3 sandwich cake layers to provide the length of skirt needed!
As well as pass=the parcel and musical bumps there was competitive balloon modeling



What do you think? Should I be holding some sort of poll?

Craft4crafters

Isabel and I went to this unheard-of-before show at Newark which is only about 30 minutes drive from where she lives. If we were paper-crafters we would have been ecstatic as, as usual at these things, that was what it mostly was. In fact only 2 knitting stands where there. Black sheep (which can always be relied on) and Knitting 4 fun which was great. There was also the Notts dyeing spinning and weaving guild which was interesting, a bead stall and lots of ribbons. We quite like looking at all the other crafts though so we did enjoy it and we took a workshop in Tunisian crochet which was good. There was an inspirational stall of Morsbags where we bought 20 labels and set off to save the world. My Mum was way ahead of her time, she always had a clutch of tote bags she had sewn herself. While we were having our second coffee break Isabel mentioned how we had enjoyed the Christmas preview evening at Wheatcroft's Garden Centre last year so as we finished looking round by 2pm we decided to drive over there for a late lunch to see if anyone knew yet when it would be........what a good thing we did........it's a week on Thursday.How can it be already? Oh well, we are really looking forward to going again anyway.

My turn

I had a big surprise when I checked my emails tonight......my invitation to step into Ravelry
How exciting! So I don't have to remember even more stuff I am using mazzam as my name there too but I have a different avatar, namely:


This is Millie trying on a waistcoat. A perfect fit!

100th Anniversary

Look at what set Lily-the-Dog barking when the delivery man arrived this morning;



Flowers from my dear husband. Actually although I told them at work when I was booking the day off that it was my 100th, it is only 36 years now.Was I a child bride? Perhaps by today's standards. We were wed in the Baptist church at the top of the road. The reception was in the church hall then a few close family and family friends came back to my parents house whilst we set off for a week in the caravan in Buxton. My Dad wanted us to marry on a Wednesday as it was his half day closing, but I insisted on it being Saturday because I thought no one would come to a weekday wedding. In the event it didn't cost him as much as he expected so he bought us a second hand record player with the change. It must have been a warmer day than today as I remember being perfectly comfortable in the Swiss lawn dress my mother and I made between us. I had made no provision for it being chilly anyway. The optimism of youth! I had covered a Juliette cap with lace flowers and refused to contemplate a veil until Mum produced her own which she had 'got up' (washed and ironed with consummate care) and I realised it was the finishing touch I needed.
We went to Buxton for the day today. Some parts have changed, as everywhere but the arcade is still there, the Opera house in the park and even the caravan park under the viaduct. We have changed too. We have gained two wonderful daughters and a grandaughter we adore. We have lost both my parents and James' mother is in a nursing home. Three brain operations and bouts of epilepsy have taken their toll on my bridegroom. I have grown stouter but my hair style spookily has gone back to pretty much what it was then. And hey we are still together and I am still knitting!!!!!!!!!!!

Janet has left the building...

My friend Janet retired last Tuesday. No one believes she is 60 next Thursday. She must sleep in some sort of preservative. On Friday evening she and her family threw a bit of a do for present and past colleagues. It was like a time-line of the library service. People dating back to the days of Browne issue and addressing work mates by their title and surname, people from the time of Bookplus, Unicorn and Orfid (computer programmes). As Isabel put it 'It was like the last scene in Titanic when everyone is there'. Janet is so well thought of that people travelled up from Devon and down from Beverley to be with her. You can see how she will be missed.



Janet is the one in the patterned top.
now here are Isabel and Charlie. I'll leave the caption to you.



This was my gift to her, a little alpaca Flower basket.

Wednesday

Yesterday my bag went off to my swapee and today one arrived from my swapper from the Angelyarns forum.
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Isn't it pretty? it's resting on it's tassel which is the same yarn as Lindamay used in the edging. It contained 5 stitchmarkers, a notebook and pencil and a lavender candle which smells fabulous.
I finished a cardigan for Millie today.
Here she is wearing it, hot off the needles.

It is in Wendy Fusion self striping yarn, a bargain from Boyes in Kirkby in Ashfield.
I wanted to reknit the neckband but she wouldn't let me and insisted on wearing it to go home where she took it off and threw it on the ground, just like any of her clothes ( Rosemary pointed out that she should respect it - at least until I left :) )

Yesterday my dear friend Janet retired. She has been working at the library for ages, even before I started there and I had known her for years before that as our children, my 2 and her 4, were young together and we went to the same church. now we have grandchildren the same age too and I will miss her lots. I know she reads this and I hope she will continue to call by. She has just restarted knitting so, Janet, now you have time you could start a blog yourself so I know what you are up too! Well, there is always email.

Finished object

Just in time, before I packed it up for it's journey swapwards I remember to photograph this bag:

(It's okay everyone.....I have sorted out that rogue handle which was so glaringly obvious in the photo but unnoticed (by me anyway) in real life)
It is knitted in Noro Kureyno to a pattern in an old Knitter's magazine. It's a very easy mitred corner pattern but it shows off the stripes in the wool. It is felted too. Twice around the wash cycle. I think it's felted enough, I didn't want to kill it. The nasturtiums underneath were grown from seed by Millie. They are taking over the garden. I kind off forgot when I gave her a corner to plant them in that they would trail, and they are doing, all across the path and up the shed door. They are so pretty though and a constant source of delight to the little gardener. we went to theirs for tea today and were planning her birthday party which is in only 2 weeks. She will need 4 candles on her cake which somehow I find myself making.

Last Wednesday was Tot's at Attenborough again. It's ages since we went to one of these activity mornings and it was good to be back exploring the woods again. We were investigating and gathering seeds.
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Time to start looking for a cottage in Wales for next April. I want to go to Wonderwool but I may have to go alone as Isabel my usual partner in these jaunts is hoping to spend a month in Australia when she graduates next year and she and James won't be able to afford the time or money for an extra holiday. Rosemary and Millie are definately up for it though and when Rosemary was telling Johnnie what we were planning he was asking if we might have room.......so it's off to browse the cottage sites for something cheap but roomy and preferably all on one floor!

Lost Mitts

I have just realised that I posted off the Wine and Roses mitts which I had knitted for a swap without photographing them so now they are lost to me forever and I quite liked them. They were in varigated pinks and the pattern was from Interweave knits/ Hope you have a good imagination to conjure up a picture! It's not the first time I've done that either. I shall make a resolution to always photograph a project on completion!