off white

I finished this cardigan a week or two ago. I was a bit worried when I started knitting it that the wool looked a bit like a dirty white colour but it looks a lot better now the whole thing is finished.

My first raglan knit and I'm very pleased with how it fits!

I even sewed some toggles on. Un hommage à Jonathan Creek.

Making

I went to the Power of Making exhibition at the V&A on Saturday. It's worth a visit!

My favourite things were the giant Aran knitted rug, the giant crocheted bear and the fingerprint gloves. I also liked the craft table where people were experimenting with using Woolfiller.



I like the idea of this very much, both for mending holes and for adding decoration to knitwear. I've ordered myself a sample pack so that I can try it out. Possibly on my new Aran wool cardigan.

mosaics

Our last stained glass class was dedicated to mosaics. I was dubious about this at first but it turned out to be a lovely lesson. I managed to finish off the last of my stained glass projects, and then we all sat around the table with some wine and snacks using up the left over pieces of glass.

Most people were creating their mosaics on glass so that they could use them as candle holders (the theme of the course it seems...) but I went for the kids option and stuck mine onto a painted wooden block.

A coaster for my desk I think.

living the dream

I'm really making the most of this lovely later summer weather. I've been paddling in the sea in my lunch breaks and have had a swim most evenings this week. I even had a quick dip this morning as I am off to London in a short while. An October swim!

My tomato plants have also been having a final flourish. I've been collecting handfuls of cherry tomatoes for my lunchbox each day this week.

I'm conscious that the weather is going to turn very autumnal and blustery soon so am soaking up every bit of sun.

low tide

This evening I cycled home from work in the sea mist, and then made my way along the sand and paddled in the sea while the sun went down.

Days like this make me feel very happy that I live and work by the coast.

Das ist gut!

I spent my August bank holiday in Berlin this year. A lovely city to visit.

My favourite day was Sunday when Yumi & I went drawing in the Museum für Naturkunde, and then we went to the Flohmarkt am Mauerpark and watched the Bearpit karaoke. It made me smile in a big way.

further adventures in stained glass

I've now finished my stained glass evening class. For the last few lessons I dedicated my time to making smaller pieces using copper foil and the soldering iron. I find this method far simpler, and less worrying, than using the lead and it was nice to make some bright and colourful little pieces using the leftover scraps of glass.

I'm currently trying to decide whether to hang these birds and leaves in a row across my window, or to create more of a hanging mobile...maybe the window option.

Rockfleet & Achill Island, Ireland

Next time I need to take my tripod.

stained glass

I'm currently taking an evening glass in stained glass which is nice and hands on (although almost too hands on as I manage to come home every week with my fingers covered in plasters from the glass splinters).

My first project was this circular window hanging of some peas in a pod. Surprisingly it came out quite close to my initial drawings, even though my glass cutting was far less than accurate.



I'm pleased with it!

one photo

...from a lovely weekend trip away.

new

I'm all moved in and mostly unpacked. Hello to Hove!

I'm trying to get used to sleeping on a platform up high - is it bad feng shui to have my whole room under my bed? We'll see...

all change

I'm moving house and office AND going on holiday this week.
I'm looking forward to not having 1001 things to do - I think I've forgotten how to relax.

family of four

A gaggle of geese. 50p. Sunday market.

growing

My tomato plants are growing rapidly, well, apart from the little one in the middle, but this one has just been re-housed to a bigger pot so it should catch up soon.

I am also re-housing myself this month so soon these plants will have a balcony with a sea view. That should help them grow!

south west coast path

This week I walked the first two legs of the South West Coast Path with Derek and Yumi.

We stayed in a lovely youth hostel in the woods above Minehead, which we walked from to Porlock Ridge on the first day.

Then on the second day we took the mammoth journey up and down cliffs to Lynton. Very tiring. But from the looks of it even the experts find it to be a tricky route. We were lucky enough to stay in the best bed and breakfast I've even been to on that night though so we were well looked after once we arrived, soggy and windswept.

I now feel motivated to do the whole of the coast path so I'm going to try and do a bit each year. At this rate I'll have it finished by the time I'm 50...

blueberry and apple

Continuing with my domestic weekend, I decided to bake some puff pastry tarts for a barbecue I attended last night.

I based them on this recipe but added more blueberries and cinnamon to suit my taste buds.





They were especially tasty when eaten with some thick vanilla cream, and I even have a few left over to accompany a sunday evening Grand prix roast dinner. With custard tonight I think.

cornflower blue, tomato red

Hannah gave me some of her tomato plants a couple of weeks ago and today I spent my morning re-potting them and introducing them to the outside world.

I hope they flourish, not perish (like most of my other plants).

I've also recently decided that cornflowers are one of my favourite flowers. I bought a bunch 2 weeks ago and they are still going strong. Although I think the pollen is making me cough...

everyone likes a llama

I met these two on sunday at Hollycombe.

square

I managed to accumulate a small pile of crochet squares in my recent break from knitting.

I should probably have had a break from wool craft in general, but at least I am on the way to making a blanket now. I'm also learning some new stitches too.

Here are some that I have tried so far:

My favourites are the cluster pattern and the popcorn pattern. Nice and bobbly.

I'm back onto cardigans again now though...

a ticket to Rye

Yumi and I took a trip to Rye on Monday. There were flowers on the beach and some ostriches in a field.

We have been working our way through Yumi's book of walks in Sussex and this was walk number one so it is good to have it ticked off the list.

We saw some nice mosaics of flowers and birds in the Nature Reserve which has sparked up my interest in doing a course again. Although maybe in the autumn as I have stained glass to do in the summer.