Strange times!

This week has been a bit unsettling. First we had some more news about my Mother-in-law. A worrying time but we have been assured that she should recover well. Then I developed a very bad migraine - possibly a reaction to the worry and stress. I thankfully don't get them very often but when I do they can be quite severe. It is such a shame that this week has been so horrible as we had a great weekend.

On Saturday I went to Christchurch and had a wander around the Priory and Quay. It was very overcast but I spent a happy afternoon experimenting with my camera.

The foundations of Place Mill, on Christchurch Quay are over 1,000 years old - it is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

On Sunday we spent some time at the allotment. Our fruit bushes are developing well and we should have some blackcurrants, raspberries and blackberries this year. In the afternoon we went to look at a garden nearby which was open under the National Gardens Scheme. This is a great way of a raising money for charity. People open their gardens to the public for a few days each summer and the entrance money is donated to their chosen charity, in this case Cancer Research, which is a cause very close to my heart. The garden was absolutely stunning. Then we wandered home and I made a meal of fresh pasta and the first of our own homegrown broad beans and asparagus.

Our rather overgrown herb patch. I have promised my Other half that I will help him sort it out!

The beautiful garden opened under the National Gardens Scheme.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday so I am looking forward to spending an extra day with my Other Half. The weather forecast does not seem very promising so I am planning to do a lot of beading. The City & Guilds Summer Exhibition is looming and I want to finish my passionflower vase in time for it. Hopefully I will post some progress photos next week.

Beads and Knitting

Although I have recently been distracted by knitting. I am primarily a beader at heart. Whilst knitting some socks recently I was irritated that I could not use my conventional row counter on double pointed needles. So I found a pattern for a beaded row counter bracelet designed by Kate at West End Design Knits. Great - an opportunity to use my beads to help me with my knitting. So I raided my substantial bead stash and half an hour later I came up with this.

I had some trouble with the coloured tiger tail (not my favourite beading thread) so the toggle bar end is not as neat as I would like but otherwise I am really pleased with it. It works on an abacus principle. Each time you complete a row you move a pearl through the beaded ring (strung on elastic thread) and then when you have done 10 rows you move a crystal through as well, and so on up to 99. Then you start again. I can't wait to try it out with my next pair of socks.

I have finished the Prismatic scarf for my Mum using the Manos del Uruguay hand-dyed yarn. It is beautifully soft and is a pleasure to wear. Although it is a bit too hot to wear it at the moment - it is currently around 24 degrees C outside.

My next project will be for my Mother-in-law and I am going to make her a lace shawl. She is in hospital at the moment. Thankfully her illness is not as serious as we first though but she is still has a long recovery period ahead of her. It will be nice to sit and knit it for her, sending lots of positive thoughts and hopes for a speedy recovery. One of my friends, who has recently learnt to knit, was entranced when I said that the movements would start to flow as soon as she relaxed and enjoyed what she was doing. She said that she could imagine thoughts and love flowing through her fingers into her knitting. What a lovely idea. I will try to do that when I am knitting the shawl.

I saw this hydrangea flowering outside my neighbour's house so I had to stop and take some photographs. I would like to use it in my beading, although I am not sure exactly how. I will add it to the dozens of potential projects currently swirling around in my brain.

Socks update

Just a quick update as I promised to post some pictures of my finished socks. Now that I have my camera back again I have been able to take the following photos. They have proved a great hit so I am aiming to make another pair - possibly from the toe up this time - as soon as I have finished the scarf.

Plus here are some more pictures of the Gardens in the centre of Bournemouth, which are looking absolutely stunning at the moment. I was waiting for my Other Half yesterday evening and couldn't resist taking a few shots.

Bank Holiday Blues

This Monday was the May Bank Holiday, normally a time to spend with family and friends and enjoy the Summer weather. The weather was not too bad but unfortunately this weekend was marred by sadness, as a close relative was taken into hospital unexpectedly at the end of last week. She has a potentially serious health problem so we could have a stressful time ahead. Her test results will come back at the end of this week so we will know more then. So, I was in a very sombre mood when I arrived for work yesterday morning. As usual my friends and colleagues were a great help. Lunchtime spent with two friends sitting in the sunshine lifted my spirits. I rarely take a real lunch break, often eating at my desk, so it was a real treat. In the evening I attended our craft group where we chatted, laughed, knitted, sewed etc. and ate Jaffa Cakes! Who could remain blue after a day like that. When I got home my Other Half was also feeling a bit more positive about things too, so the day ended much better than it had started. Such is life!

My current knitting project is a scarf. I was tempted to buy some Manos del Uruguay yarn recently which is absolutely beautiful. It is a mixture of silk and wool and is hand dyed, so every skein is unique. It was quite a challenge to find a pattern that does justice to such a stunning yarn, but I am a member of the Ravelry online community and I found the ideal pattern on their website. It uses slipped stitches to break up the coloured patches on the yarn and so make the most of the brilliant colours.

The Prismatic Scarf designed by Huan-Hua Chye.

The slipped stitches show off the beautiful yarn to perfection.


The reverse is just as beautiful as the front.

I have my precious camera back at last from being repaired. I collected it on the way to work this morning. It is such a beautiful day that I took some photos of the Gardens in the centre of Bournemouth whilst I was standing at the bus stop. As you can see, Summer is well and truly here.

The joy of socks

I am getting totally obsessed with knitting socks. That is probably a very sad admission! I have almost finished knitting a pair of socks for my Other Half. They are my first pair and I can understand how people become addicted to making them. They are little miracles of engineering yet you can make a pair in a matter of days once you master the technique. My Mum, who is a skilled needlewoman, taught me to knit as soon as I was old enough to hold knitting needles. She showed me how to knit in the round using 4 double pointed needles so I already had that skill under my belt - thanks again Mum! Now I simply had to master turning a heel. The first sock was a bit of a struggle. I couldn't get my head around the different parts of the heel and how they fitted together. I took a deep breath, forged ahead and I did it - a sock started to take shape before my eyes! I have now discovered that there are lots of different ways to turn a heel and shape the toes. You can knit a sock from the top down, or the toe up, or even two socks at once on a circular knitting needle. I can't wait to explore. I will upload some pictures of my progress as soon as I get my camera back from being repaired.

I want to take a moment to pay tribute to my wonderful Mum. I owe her a huge 'Thank You' for teaching me how to knit and sew. My Mum was a dressmaker when I was a small child and one of my earliest memories is sitting on the bedroom floor playing with cotton reels while she worked on her beloved Singer treadle sewing machine nearby. When I was old enough she taught me to sew on that machine. I can still remember the joy of finishing my first sewing project, a brightly coloured wrap skirt trimmed with white rick-rack braid (well it was the 1970s!). Who cared if the hem was a bit wonky and the stitching was far from perfect - not me. Over the years I have sewn a host of things, curtains, clothes, patchwork quilts, bags, scarves, cushions, slip covers for my sofa, the list goes on. I owe all that to my lovely Mum. Thank you for your patience and encouragement.

I attended my City & Guilds beading class last Thursday. It is held in Christchurch and I sometimes go to the Quay and watch the swans after my class finishes. It clears my mind and lets me think about what I have done during the day. I always look forward to seeing the others on the course. They are all very talented beaders and it is fascinating to see how their work is progressing and to bounce ideas off them. I really look forward to our monthly meetings.

Swans squabbling over bits of bread on Christchurch Quay

Monument in the grounds of Christchurch Priory

Life, knitting and other mysteries...

My Father died nearly twenty years ago and I still miss him and think about him every day. A recent incident started me thinking about him and the influence he still continues to have on my life. He was very down to earth and practical and a good person to turn to in times of trouble. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis while still only in his mid twenties his adult life was a constant battle with ill health. He rarely complained, although he must have suffered a great deal. Whenever I told him of my troubles he would listen very carefully and give me some really good advice but would invariably end by saying. "No one ever said that life is easy or fair - you just have to make the best of it". When he died at a relatively young age from cancer I was devastated. I still feel that he is with me, guiding me, so I am trying to take his advice and I am feeling much more positive this week. As always, a friend was also a great help. After meeting her for coffee at the end of last week she suggested that I go home and spend the afternoon doing something I really enjoyed. I did just that and took up my knitting needles again. I started knitting a pair of socks for my Other Half! I have been promising to do this for over a year. So far I have been really enjoying it. The process is challenging enough to keep me engrossed but as socks are fairly small I should finish them in a day or two. Sitting in my living room knitting away I felt a sense of peace come over me. Not only was the knitting soothing but I get to keep a promise to my Other Half.

I feel bereft. My camera has been sent away for repair. I bought a digital camera in December, using some of my Birthday money. I have never been one for gadgets and the latest phone but I love my camera. It is so small that it fits easily into my pocket and it takes great pictures. Apparently it is only a minor fault with the mechanism that holds the SD Card in place so it shouldn't take long to repair. I can't wait to get it back. I use it to record the things around me and use it for inspiration for my beadwork.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We woke up on Sunday morning to discover that it was snowing. It wasn't settling on the ground but large flakes of snow were falling none the less! It doesn't snow very often on the South Coast of England so you can imagine it caused quite a stir. Inland parts of Dorset and Hampshire had a 10 cm covering by lunchtime. Thankfully the weather has warmed up a little bit although it is still bitterly cold. I love the changing seasons but snow in April is pushing it a bit!

I am on leave this week and I am spending quiet time at home. Last year was not a good one for me and my family. Two family members were taken seriously ill. One has completely recovered but unfortunately the other one died after a brave struggle with lung cancer. It was a hectic year, coping with full-time jobs and travelling to and from Devon and Somerset to see various family members and then, sadly, a trip to Somerset to attend a funeral. Then on top of that I had some health problems myself including a bout of shingles, no doubt brought on by the stress. So when I requested my Easter leave I thought that it would be good to have a quiet week at home getting on with my beading and relaxing. However, I find myself feeling a bit down and struggling to concentrate on my beadwork. It is probably a reaction to the last 18 months. My Other Half and friends as usual have been a great help. Creativity also helps.

It is not a new idea that creating something can be a help in sad and stressful times. It does really seem to help me so I will persevere with the beadwork. I am also doing some knitting in the evenings so that should help too. I have always liked the Amish idea of 'sunshine and shadows'. You can only really appreciate true happiness if you have experienced true sadness. I have a great life - a loving family, great partner, a job that I love and a wonderful set of colleagues. I have nothing to really complain about. I also find that taking a moment to really appreciate your surroundings can put things back into perspective. I am extremely fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the UK so I am going for a walk with my camera this afternoon in search of inspiration. I love architecture and often spend time looking at the buildings above street level. Many people don't look up from the every day hustle and bustle and really appreciate the beauty around them, even in a humble urban street. So next time you are shopping take a few minutes and look up you might be surprised at what you can see.

This gorgeous Art Deco roof is almost hidden by modern shop fronts.