TAH DAH

Just a quick visit to say that Linus is off the needles, make that needle as it was on a circular.

It has not been blocked so the ends are a bit curly. I am not sure that it really needs a full blocking as it is in garter stitch, I will just do the points and see how it looks then.

On another point (or two) I started this off on straights then moved to a Knit Pro Zing circular. I loved the ends, the shafts are long and the tips are not too pointy but the cable. Oh Dear. they did not want to unfurl and it was a bit of a battle at the start of every row. I have checked on Cherry Heart blog, I knew that Sandra had made a podcast on circular needles and compare several different makes.

Later today I will be ordering some addi turbo lace and possibly some Hiya Hiya Sharps to try out.

Now I am off to walk the dogs.

                  TTFN                                                      Pam

ps, the sleeves are on the circular and 6 rows done, 14 to go before the cast off shaping.

Why Don't

Dog walkers clean up behind their dogs.

All road users observe, and act according to, the road conditions.

Smokers put their stubs and empty packets in a bin.

Car owners empty their ashtrays and fast food cartons into that bin.

Horse riders keep off the roads at busy times.

Cycling clubs go out in pairs not packs.

Chocolate manufacturers make calorie free bars.

Cats dig holes in their own gardens.

Newspaper printers use ink that does not come off on your hands.

Recycling collections take plastic every week when it forms the majority of today's rubbish.

Supermarkets provide receptacles for shoppers to leave said plastic.

Call centres use people who can understand and be understood.

Andonandonanson.

I have a case of  " the can't help its and don't intend to try" today.
I have done the brunt of the housework, walked the dogs, done the washing. Planned dinner, played with my knitting,

Still about 12" more to go on the Linus Shawl.

Naughtily made a start on the crochet shawl, it has grown a bit since I took this. It is a very simple 2 row pattern.

Found a note book to start recording what I make and materials used.

This is Linus, I just need to enter the finish date and add a small swatch of the yarn.

Ditto the crochet shawl.

I snitched this idea from Sam at betsy makes, it makes so much sense, I can never remember the important details so this will be invaluable.

The pink yarn is a little splitty, this may be my fault as I have not used such a small hook for ages. I nearly frogged it out but decided to push through the pain barrier and now am glad that I did so.

The Linus yarn is a bit tickley to work  with so I need long sleeves. I am not worried about any irritation when wearing it. If blocking doesn't help I will just make sure that I wear it with a polo neck top.

It has been a dull day and is raining now, I did get the washing hung out for a couple of hours and it is now on the horse.

If this weather persists I expect to finish Linus tomorrow, I want to get it off the circular needle as I want it to finish the jumper sleeves. My size 4mm pins are not long enough now that all the increases are done. Only 20 rows before the decreasing but I threw the towel in after dropping stitches off the points  last night.

I think that,s all for now, have a good weekend.

                  TTFN                                                   Pam

Lovely weather for slugs

The slug population of my garden seems to be immense. I am doing a nightly slug patrol, aided by mr/mrs tiggywinkle, and still they come. A slimy tumescent tsunami of mainly black keeled monsters. I need free range nocturnal chickens, about a thousand!!

This living in a cloud is perfect for them but hey ho that,s how nature is, the weeds are growing faster than I can pull them out and luckily the veg is not too shabby either. I did manage a decent strawberry harvest and the apples are looking good. If we get some sun there will be blue berries also, the wild blackberries are full of fruit and given some sun I will be stashing them away in the freezer. My rhubarb is prolific and the plants that I grew from seed are marvellous, both in volume and taste. In fact they are growing so well that I will be moving some of them in the autumn to give them more room to spread.

I have reached halfway on the shawl Linus and will post a pic tomorrow, I am almost at the top of my jumper sleeves and have the next project lined up. The crochet blanket motifs are unchanged, I am in no hurry to finish it. I really want to save this for the winter afternoons, radio 2 playing or maybe an audio book in the background. This is not a project for in front of the telly, I may be making another blanket from Lucy's blog, Attic 24.

I have been podcast watching again, socks in particular. I am hovering between dpns, short circular and magic loop methods. I have a set of dpns and a pattern and yarn so will be trying that out first. Then there is top down or toe up, and what about crochet? Kathryn from Crafternoon Treats has crocheted some and they look amazing. Then heel shape "Fish lips kiss" who would have thought it and what about a "whirlwind toe". There is no wonder that I can not make my mind up, and that is before I consider what brand of needles to use. As for the yarn Oh My Goodness, what a selection, I am in serious danger of becoming a yarn junkie. There are some wonderful small businesses out there dying yarns for socks that look good enough to eat. Then there are the spinners, I want to spin.
On that note Deb from the wool shop has a contact who spins and maybe, just maybe we will have a little demonstration one Tuesday.
I have used a drop spindle before, but that was at primary school. We had raw fleece and went right through the process to spinning and knitting our yarn. Of course I remember very little about it, but if I can relearn those skills, and hone them, there is fleece to be found at reasonable prices.

So many crafts, so little time. I need to live for another 50 or so years I think. But bearing in mind that my word for the year is time. As in taking time to enjoy I am happy to toddle along enjoying each day to the full.

My friend M, who lives a few houses down from me had a problem in her garden. There was a fairly large corner with a very elderly shrub, dying slowly, we had a chat on Saturday about it. Sunday morning she tootled off to buy some pinks and compost. Monday morning I loaded the wheelbarrow up with some manure, a fork and trowel, three potted shrubs that had no particular home in my garden. I added some self seeded Lady's Mantle and a Hydrangea cutting that had made a nice little plant.
I trundled this down the road and 20 minutes later the plot was transformed. M had removed the old shrub, dug out the roots and forked it over with the compost added.
We decided on the planting plan and then added some manure to the soil mix, in went the plants and each had a good amount of water to settle them in.
I walked past this morning and all is looking good, I will take a pic and post as soon as the mist lifts.

Today will be a knitting and sewing sort of day, finish the sleeves and get the bag linings sewn, possible get the bag handles sewn as well.
       I am still waiting for the bamboo handles!!

Maybe today, touch wood.

Any how the lap top needs to go on charge so,

                    TTFN                              Pam

A bit of a catch up.

I have been busy, lazy and all points in between over the last few days. The weather has been jumping around from hot hot hot to Wet Wet Wet. 
I have been hurtling round the house trying to keep it all up to date. I have also been a bit of a couch potato, feet up, tea to hand, knitting and crochet beside me watching podcasts.
Mainly 4, Amy at Love made my home, Sam at betsy makes, Catherine at Crafternoon Treats and Sandra at Cherry Heart.

I am such a klutz at times, Crafternoon Treats is written by Kathryn, and I knew that very well. My only excuse is that I was under the influence of Solpadol at the time of writing. I should know better really. 


I have learnt loads, laughed out loud, drooled and gone pea green with envy and been inspired.
I have almost completed one project, I am just waiting for the handles to finish this.

This is (or will be once finished) my version of Wink's fat bottomed bag, it looks floppy without it's handles. They are on their way and I will be able to sew the flowers on once they go in.

The basic construction is a large Granny Square. I made this with a James C. Brett chunky yarn, Lakeland in colour K6.

This is 72% acrylic, 18% wool and 10% Polyamide, it is very lightweight 200 metres in a 100 gram ball. It is soft and lovely to knit and crochet with, I used it for my Moccasocks.

As you can see it is a greedy bag and will hold a good sized project.

I have lined it with a double layer of quilting cotton in 

coordinating colours. The handles will be bamboo.

Catherine from Crafternoon treats made one for a Charity raffle earlier this year and I aim to donate this one. I will put yarn, pattern and hook in ready for a project. Once the handles are in and it is finished I will let you all know where it is going.

It was knit and natter this afternoon and I took it along for a "show and tell" and I think that some of them have caught the bug.

I read daisy Jones blog and she mentioned the latest copy of this magazine,

I am going to make this little shawl, I have lots of thin summery scarves and wraps and only a few woolly ones.

I got this from Deb's today for the shawl. Is is so soft and is superwash 100% wool

2 balls of this jumped into my arms as well, a King Cole anti pill Acrylic, very soft and very smooth, probably another shawl.

On the subject of Shawls, this is what I started this afternoon,

Shawl Linus, a free pattern from Annett Cordes, this Ombre yarn is a Designer Yarn choice La Paz, colour 010. 190 metres, 100 gram and is a 75% Polyacryl,15% Mohair and 10% Alpaca blend, very soft and not too tickley .

I have a few quilted and lined bags, in various stages, on the work table. I hope to get those finished by the weekend.

I also have a hedgehog.

???

That's right, a hedge hog, just a little one. I found him soaking wet in the courtyard bit of my garden the other morning, he was lost and confused. He was wrapped up and tucked away in a box in the warm, he has been fed and grunted his thanks, very loudly. If he stays in the garden he will have a permanent home made for him.

In the meantime I am now buying cat food again.

My sciatica has returned with a vengeance, it will pass, it always does and in the meantime pain killers keep it in check.

I am almost at the "go to bed before I fall down stage" but want to share a couple of photo,s of Ben after his bath.

How one little dog can soak 4 big towels I do not know, he almost swims through them

                            TTFN                                         Pam

Hi De Hi

Helloo everybody, I am still here just been very busy. The garden is a major time guzzler and I am working on a new crochet project. I hope that this will be finished by early next week so that I can share.
I missed knit and natter on Tuesday, although Ben was very much better I did not want to leave him. I did do my run out to Llandybie on Wednesday and as Ben was fine I dropped my passenger off and went on to visit the wool shop in Llandeilo. Good job I did, the new quilting shop "Flying Geese" was open. It was their first day and I was their first customer, a little bag of bargains. I did not take photos as they were still filling shelves but I will tell you this. They have Moda Scrap Bags for £10, fat quarters in bundles of 5 for £10 and I bought some Makower fabric for £10 a metre. I will be popping in next week and will ask about photos then. They are on the main street about 10 shops past the wool shop.

.......... Break to charge the battery on the laptop and get dinner on the go, Prawn curry very tasty.

I have been watching more podcasts, Amy at Love made my home has made several now and there are various others, craft and gardening mostly. The main ones however have been the series from Crafternoon Treats, mostly crochet but some knitting. One in particular caught my interest, the fat bottomed Bag made for a Marie Curie raffle. It was a version of the pattern made by Marinke Slump, AKA Wink who sadly died far too young. I followed her blog for ages and have made many of her patterns. 
Anyway this version was made in the Marie Curie colours and was stunning. I decided that I wanted one and it is almost finished. I have also decided to make one for charity, after careful consideration I have one in mind and will be contacting them next week to see if they are at all interested. Watch this space.

Apart from that I have made a start on the sleeves for my jumper and tried out a shawl pattern. I like the pattern and just have to decide what yarn and what colour, the ball that I used on the trial run is far too itchy for me. I found it when having a turf out, I have no recollection of buying it but must have done at some point. I will use it for something or send it off to the CS.

It is far to late to write more tonight, have a good weekend wherever you may be.

                      TTFN                                          Pam

Breaking the Rules

My rules that is, first one is
Never buy cheap, you only have to buy again.
Number 2,
One in, One out.

I saw this in Home Bargains, and it came home with me.

Very pretty, very cheap bed linen and not needed at all. It does have one redeeming feature though, It Is Thin and Cool to Sleep Under.

I can stick it on the line and in 30 minutes it is dry enough to go back on the bed if I so want to. I do not expect it to last beyond the summer (?), if it does it will be a Brucie Bonus.

I have spent my time from Sunday looking after Ben, he has settled down now and has had 2 very small meals today, fish and rice, and kept them down.

I have whizzed round the house and got every thing done, no Knit and Natter today though. I did not want to leave him alone, just in case.

Most of the time I have been in the middle of the sofa, feet up on a cushion on the coffee table with Ben either sprawled over me or by my side with his head on my lap. He has had 2 little walks and will have another later.

I have been knitting the second sock of a pair and watching podcasts from Crafternoon Treats on You Tube on the telly. I have followed the blog for a while but only watched the first podcast.

I learnt lots and enjoyed all the ones that I have watched, she has inspired me to order some yarn for a couple (ha ha) of new projects.

I also wanted to share this little wrinkle for knitting socks on straight needles.

When I divided the stitches to make the heel I was leaving the spare ones on stitch holders, all very well but for 2 things.

One, they were heavy enough to drag the knitting down and stretch the stitches.

Two, with a dark wool I had trouble counting the slipped stitches for picking up.

My solution for One was to leave the stitches on a bit of spare wool. For Two I just put a stitch marker on the first slipped stitch on each side, it made counting up an easy task, even on this brown.

This pair is just waiting to be crocheted together with a central seam.

Dinner tonight will be a lentil and sweet potato curry, I may add some chick peas if I feel like it. I have rice in the freezer, a couple of minutes in the ding oven will see to that. Dinner in 25 minutes and one pot to wash up, nice.

Ben will have more fish with just a sprinkle of rice, not pampered at all you understand.

I hope to cast on the sleeves of my jumper this evening, unless it is just too hot. In that case it will be some crochet, perhaps a flower or three.

Now I think that a cool drink is in order, squash for me and water for Ben. Even I can only drink so much tea in this heat.

               TTFN                                              Pam

How fast can I get up the stairs?

Very fast!, I spent a large chunk of yesterday hurtling up the stairs, fast enough to compete in the Olympics. A touch of  "I don't remember eating anything that hot" lots of water and some milk of magnesia soon had it cooled down and by early evening I was much more the ticket.

                                                       

THEN

Just as I was feeling almost tickety boo Ben decided to see how strong his tummy muscles were. 

The answer was very. He managed to projectile vomit right across the sitting room.

Good job my tummy is even stronger!

Carpet cleaned, thank goodness for the Vax, Ben settled in a clean bed and I slumped into the sofa.

Some therapy of a yarny nature was called for. The front of my jumper was finished but rather than start on the sleeves I picked up The Blanket Pattern.

I made a start on the first 16 units,

I  got round 3 done on 2 of the 16 and then had to stop as Ben decided that the only place that he could possibly be was on my lap.

The potted Hosta,s are doing well in the wet weather, next year I will have to either pot them on or find a shady spot in the ground for them.

This deep pink Penstemon is also thriving in a pot, it was a gift and was unlabelled, this autumn will see it in the ground.

The pale pink are doing well

as are the almost red ones. I will always have Penstemons in my garden, they were a favourite of my Mother.

The ground cover plants are thriving,

the Fuchsias are just coming into flower, there is a wispy forget me not growing with this one. I hope that it sets seed for next year. 

There are some glorious Iris flaunting their beauty and a random Lily has crept in from somewhere. That rose in the background is a very pale pink and has an amazing perfume.

My "snow on the mountains" is also starting to flower, my Granny had this in her front garden, it used to cascade and froth everywhere.

I have knitted up another pair of socks and made a start on yet another. I find the basic pattern very easy to knit and I am almost to the point of not looking at the pattern at all. My mother used to knit them while watching her soaps and I never saw her with a pattern.

I am woefully behind on blog reading and am resigned to just starting again from today. What I have missed will have to be let go, otherwise I will forever be 3 days out.

My commiserations go to Rachel Radiostar from Eternally 28 who has had a really bad case of Dehli Belly. Get well soon my friend.

Now it is time to check outside, I have the whirly thingamajig full of washing and another load in the machine. The coastal fog cleared dramatically this morning and I have a few days to make up for.

The other chores are done, kitchen and bathroom deep cleaned...don't want any bugs lingering. Floors all vacuumed and even the polish has had an outing. I may well strip the bed as well, it was a touch sticky last night.

On that note I am offski.

                           TTFN                                       Pam

My day cut short.

Wake up at 5:45.
Kettle on, Ben out the door. washing in the machine.
6:15 in the shower.
6:30 more tea.
7:00m washing on the line, warm in the sun.
Wander round the garden, Ben at heel.
7:45 out the door to collect Archie and Dolly for walk. Dive back in for a jacket Brrrr
8:45 drop A and D off at their home and head back with Ben.
9:00 breakfast for Ben, cereal and coffee for me.
9:30 wash up clean sink and tops then floor.
10:00 dead head flowers in front garden, pull a few weeds.
10:30 Look at back garden in despair . Vow to spend tomorrow out there.
10:40 more washing in machine, whizz round bathroom.
11:00 collapse with tea and knit for 30 minutes while brain stops whirling.
11:35 Help to move equipment in garden over the road, large deck being put in.
12:00 walk Ben, pick wild strawberries.
12; 40 grab washing in and fold up.
12:45 make and eat quick sandwich, brush hair, grab knitting and leave house.
1:00 pick up K and take to Xpert diabetic course in Llandybie and breathe.
Go straight on to Llandeilo and rush to Debs shop.
1:20 fall onto shop sofa and start chatting and knitting.
drink tea, chat, knit rinse and repeat,
3:40 leave to drive back to Llandybie, collect K.
4:00 call in at Lidl for milk.
4:45 arrive home and walk Ben.
5:30 make tray of roast veg up and hurl into oven, slice some cold roast beef up.
6:20 eat, drink tea.
7:10 wash up.
7:30 on sofa, have knitting, mindless telly on
That was my day. The back of the jumper/sweater is done, the front is on the needles. Ben is snoring. Telly is now off. 
I still have not answered comments and I am far behind on blog reading.
Tomorrow is mine, I hope, no errands to run, no chauffeur duties, shopping, machine moving or any other tasks lined up.
I plan on back garden in the morning and front in the afternoon, any precipitation will see me head for sofa and knitting.
I am determined to  finish my knitting before I touch the blanket.
Now just a few more rows and another cuppa.

               TTFN                                             Pam

Drifting away to Persia

Knit and Natter this afternoon, lots of both and tea and choccy biscuits. Mmmm, I wonder if there is room to curl up for a week or so somewhere in the building. There is a Red Cross book shop almost next door just in case I (perish the thought) got tired of reading patterns, not to mention the ice cream shop and the salad bar down the road.

Any how, enough of such foolishness and down to business. I must be speedy as dinner is in the oven.

I have made a good start on my jumper.

It is a King Cole pattern for Drifter, a lovely soft and smooth yarn with 25% cotton. I find that it knits up really fast and is on size 4 needles.

Here is my work so far, a good 10" from the rolled hem, I started knitting it last night even though I did cast the stitches on a few days ago. I am going to knit it a little longer than the patter says so only have 8 more inches to do to the armhole. I should do that tonight with no probs.

Now as for Persia just cast your eyes over this.

Just one glimpse of a pretty poor photo copy a few weeks ago and I was hooked and reeled in. I now have the pattern and a wool pack, deep joy. (and there is another blanket on the way as well more next week on that)

The pattern was made for Stylecraft Life DK but I am going to be using Stylecraft Special DK.

 I have made 3 blankets and not a few cushion covers in it already. It is lovely to work with, washes up a treat and dries fast, what more could you want, oh yes, it is a dream to knit or crochet with and not at all splitty or inclined to turn into a tangled rats nest at the drop of a pattern.

There is a lot of Midnight in there but that will only serve to make the bright colours glow. My fingers are twitching already, I may have to make one of each motive at the weekend.

I did manage to hang a wash out and get dry before I went, and I spent a couple of hours tidying up a bit of the garden. Mostly stems that the wind brought down and a bag of flotsam and jetsam that the wind gathered in it's path and kindly deposited in my garden.

Ben had his walks, and I did the kitchen floor after the first one.

Washing up was done and the sink cleaned, my black tea and coffee does leave nasty stains even when I run a bit of cold water after tipping the dregs. When it is not raining I do put it all on the garden but it would just sit on the top now.

Before I forget there is a show coming up next month in Llandeilo and Debs will be having a stall, it is towards the end of the month and I plan on spending most of the day there. If I get too crushed by the hoards I will retreat to the shop and sit and knit or crochet.

I have been told the date, but due to the amount of nattering it went in one ear, straight through and out the other. I will check and let you know, although I expect all you local readers know more about it than I do.

There are some delicious smells coming from the kitchen so I must dash.

                  TTFN                                                    Pam

A new pattern and a change of perspective.

First let me apologise, a little bit of grovelling does no harm, to all my recent followers. I have not welcomed you and am very sorry, there are some on GFC and some on Bloglovin.  I see the little GFC pictures but have not been able to fathom out the Bloglovin thing.
So welcome one and all to the party, I hope that you fond something to entertain you in my ramblings.

Socks, socks and more socks, the love affair infatuation goes forward.

 This pair is knitted to the pattern in my lovely book, Knit your socks on straight, and apart from increasing the leg length are exactly to pattern. The seam is finished with a crochet hook from the right side and gives a slightly raised seam.

I have knitted a few colour variations of this pattern and then the long socks, also from the book, with a central front crochet seam.

I decided that the Eye of Partridge heel pattern on those was so pleasing that I had a little play and came up with this pair. The cast on was a bit too loose but they are fine on.

They have a central front seam and 10 stitches either side of that are in the pattern, as is the heel. I used the invisible join method on the seam, it gives a slight ridge inside but is not noticeable when wearing them.

This pair are from the made up pattern but in SS and also have an invisible joining seam. Because they are in Aran weight the seam is bulkier but still not noticeable when wearing. I did struggle with the dark yarn but moved my spotlight to the table and worked directly under it, I also blocked them first which was an enormous help.

I have not finished the sockathon, I aim to try more patterns from the book and attempt a pair on 4 needles ( oh my 8 points to contend with.)

That word "contend" leads me neatly to my next topic. My home and the decoration or lack of it.

I grew up in a house where my Granny loved her shadow boxes, several on each wall, crammed with bits and bobs of china and glass. I spend many hours taking all those bits off and washing them, then drying and replacing on the dusted boxes. Each piece had to go back to the exact spot from whence it came. Not a labour of love I can assure you.

My Mother was not keen on those BUT could not bare to see a flat surface empty, there were vases, pots, jugs etc etc every where. In retaliation I have never been an ornament lover. Yes I have some things collected over the years but put them out in rotation and usually behind glass.

One of the main reasons was that I worked full time had a large garden and had a son with renal failure to care for. Yes I know the medication was there and also long periods when he had the benefit of a transplant. But the cloud was always there and diet restrictions meant some seriously inventive meals had to be developed.

To that end all that I wanted from home was a clean and tidy environment, not a place that required hours of dusting and polishing.

Since moving to Wales I have kept things much the same, indeed possibly sparser, from habit.

Then I started following a more diverse selection of blogs. I oohed over Amy's mantel displays and Sadie's little vignettes from her home to name but 2.

I have a much smaller garden to look after and  my crafting  paraphernalia has it's own room. I have more space to put my treasures out to enjoy them and the time to keep them cobweb free.

But there are still the hangups from childhood to consider, not to mention the fireplace that is so awful I have it hidden behind a sofa.

To be a touch more precise, I have committed to a Change of Heart. I told you that I had bought a display cabinet, and I have dug out a few things for it. Well it is a work in action and I am not rushing to decide what stays and what is on it's way out. I have one shelf nearly there, one started and one empty. The bottom shelf is not really visible, unless you walk right to the spot where the sofas meet and peer down. That will hold some delicate things that I perhaps do not want on full display but equally want to keep. I will chop and change things around until I am happy with them. I already have a selection of things for the CS and am on the lookout for a little bit of Chinese inspired porcelain to sit in front of a set of 3 plates. Apart from that I intend to be relaxed about it and just go with the flow.

And to finish up I have a photo of Ben sleeping off his walk and his breakfast.

 

I had a very relaxing weekend, despite the rain I got some washing line dried, did a little cooking and quite a bit of knitting. Now I am off to see if the kitchen floor has dried so that I can have a brew.

Oh yes, that is another change. I normally make it my last task of the day to sweep and wash the kitchen floor. Then in the morning I take Ben out and he comes back and wanders around leaving a trail of muddy paw prints. Hmmm. From now on I will be sweeping and washing it after we come back, his afternoon and evening walks are on the pavements so no mud to drag in.

                         TTFN                                             Pam

I also have some comments to reply to and some bloggy catch up reading on the agenda.

Loooong Sooooocksssss

I have been knitting away at home through the dismal grey days. Lots of bright colours to make me feel toasty, these are from my newish book, Knit your socks on straight.

It is very difficult to photograph long socks whilst wearing them, a bit like playing twister. I did not worry about trying to colour match the stripes, I pull the yarn from the middle and just go with it.

This is James C Bretts Lakeland liteweight chunky in colour K10, it is lighter and brighter in real life. The pair takes 2  100g balls and knitted up in 2 evenings.

I just love the heel stitch, the book calls it "Eye of Partridge", it is formed by alternating slip stitches on the right side, I quite fancy it for a jumper.

Apart from knitting I have been a bit housewifey, a bit gardnerish and a bit bookworming.

It is possibly my fault that it rained today, not only did I clean windows yesterday but I watered  the  whole  garden and then fed all the pots and the greedy guts plants.

Please don't shoot me, I have more sewing and knitting to do.

I am still grumbling away inside about the sewing bee, the final was a closed book as to who would win, but I am not sure that either really deserved it. It may just be that the last 2 series have had such amazing people that the standard set is too high. I have been sewing for many years and would never ever enter for something like that.

 That shirt! rows of pin tucks! glad it wasn't me. I made one dress with pin tucks, screwed the pattern up, jumped on it and binned it. 

Then the evening dress, in a DAY, you would wait at least a week with any seamstress. Anyhoo enough already.

My roses have blackspot, I have treated them all, removed the affected bits and burnt them, fed them all and now hope for the best. I take comfort in the fact that Monty Don was doing much the same last week.

The climbing peas are standing up reasonably well to the wet and wind. They are quite tasty but next year I will be going back to Victoriana Nursery for my seed. Their variety is stronger, clings to the supports better and I prefer the taste.

I am still to try the carrots although the first lot are ready to pull. The Purple Sprouting Broccoli plants are looking very strong and the garlic will be pulled soon.

My rhubarb has been growing apace and the strawberries are doing well despite the weather. I will have blueberries this year and hopefully honeyberries next year, my 2 plants are set to take over the garden, if not the village.

I have little else to say for today so am off to make tea. No surprise there then.

                          TTFN                                           PAM

Yesterday,

Well that flew by. I was busy in house and garden all morning, with some dog walking on the side. Then it was off to Debs wool shop for knit and natter. it was a good afternoon, 3 new faces and a demonstration in invisible joining.
There was new wool to drool over (and maybe some fell into my basket) and some glorious patterns to show the wool off in all its glory.

I started a new project and will share later in the week. There will be, fingers crossed, another delivery of wool and a new crochet blanket pattern in time for next Tuesdays session. I do like a long term something on the go as well as a fast and furious small thing to work on.

The sun was out but even though I was early I did not succumb to the delights of the ice cream shop. A jolly good thing too as there was chocolate cake to have with our tea and coffee, I was very restrained and only had one slice AND I resisted the lure of dabbing up the crumbs with a wet finger. 

Come on, you know you do it. Well I do if no one is looking.

Deb has finished a beautiful circular baby blanket in crochet. She only learnt a few weeks ago, mastered the granny square and jumped right in the deep end. Now she is organising a blanket crochet along. I could almost say that she is well and truly hooked. 

I have been outside most of the morning, more washing done and on the whirlythingamajig. Where does it all come from? Who creeps in and fills the washing bins? Is it the tooth fairy going bad?

Enough of such guess work.

I had to cut the lupins right down, the wind had done so much damage that once I had cut the broken stems out it looked as though a herd of goats had chomped their way through. The plants had become very large so out they will go and some smaller, less thuggish plants will be moving in. I have a couple of Penstemons in pots and a rock rose to start with. Then there are Wallflowers, Aquilegia and Sweet William seedlings for later on.

I had a lucky find in a CS on Monday afternoon, a small coffee pot in Royal Albert Old Country Roses for £2:45. It is in perfect condition and sits well with the rest of my china. I will use it as a hot water jug to top up the teapot. I did give them more than they were asking, although I have no idea what it is valued at I would imagine around £20.

Now I need to get a wiggle on, my tea is drunk and Ben is looking at me. You dog owners will know exactly what I mean.

       TTFN                                                          Pam