What have I done this week?

 Was what I was wondering - then I looked at my diary and saw that we have had quite a busy week!

Monday saw the first day of the local Rotary book sale which happens twice a year in a pop up shop in Wellington. I say book sale but in fact the books are free - you are just asked to leave a donation. So it is all very tempting. Some times I find lots of books, others not so many. I came away with two older cookery books by Felicity Cloake whose writing I love and this novel.

A murder mystery and clutter - got to be good.

While on the subject of books,I have just finished reading this delightful one about the residents of a small apartment block in Chennai threatened with being demolished to make way for an ugly new and larger apartment block. Lovely characters and lots of references to delicious Indian food.

At the other end of the scale I have just started reading this book which was published this week. It follows a family in Nazi Germany in the mid 30's and is a follow up to last years 'The Crooked Cross'.

Written and originally published in the 1930's it should have been a wake up call to those outside Germany who had no idea of what was happening.

On to happer things and my stitch journal for this week.

I have been busy with my Chookshed Challenge - the snap top bags. I cut out 8 earlier in the week, added iron on batting to the outers and marked them up for quilting. Yesterday afternoon I got out my machine and did all the quilting and have added the linings to the fronts.

Not a very exciting photograph. The next stage is to press open those seams and then I can sew up the sides. Each pair matches - but you cannot tell that from the wrong side!

Also this week I have been knittting in the evenings. Of course I managed to reach the heel of both socks at the same time! Obviously I worked on the easier one of the two first🤣🤣

In other news we have had two excellent meals out with friends - one at a new to us pub and the second at an old favourite. Good to try somewhere new though.

I think that is all my news for now - good weather ahead so looking forward to getting out in the garden, There are a table and chairs requiring paint and pots to get out of the greenhouse and plant up.

Have a good week everyone.

Summer!! came and went

 Yes, for two days this week we had temperatures of 23/24 which is very pleasant summer weather and we all cast off our woolies and socks and basked in the sun. Then spring/winter came back with a vengeance and we were back to 11 degrees along with winds and April showers. 

We have had a quietish week at home with a few short outings - it's Easter holidays so we tend to avoid anywhere touristy/child friendly. But I have been cracking on with a few projects.

First up my Stitch Journal - here is April so far.

Chookshed Challenge - this is to make some snap top bags for Christmas presents. I plan to make 8 with 4 large and 4 matching smaller ones. Not having made these before I thought a trial run would be in order. So having finally found a tape measure of the right width and ordered it, I pulled out some fabrics to make myself a small one. These pretties fell into my bag at Quilt group sometime last year and have been looking wistfully at me.

So I chose two to work with.

And made this little pouch - all by hand as I couldn't be bothered to pull the machine out.

It still needs it's 'snap' but the tape measure only arrived this morning, so that is a job for this afternoon. Once I am happy with my pouch I will pull ot fabrics for the rest and have an assembly line session with the machine later in the week.

I have been a good girl and kept up with my 'one pattern repeat a day' on the Ryegrass sock and it is coming along nicely.

I have also made a start on another Winwick Mum basic sock using some of the yarn very kindly sent to me by Stylecraft.

This is great TV knitting and I am pleased with how the colour repeats are looking. A pair for the Christmas box.

The garden is starting to grow at pace.

Grand National day here and like us, Liverpool are experiencing April showers. We just watched an earlier race happening during a hail storm! Not nice. The spectators had all disappeared inside, unsurprisingly. Fortunately our showers have just been of rain.

Have a good week everyone.

April - a new month

 And they are coming around pretty quitckly now. But first, a look at the end of March.

I completed the March section of my Stitch |Journal.

And the bottom quarter of the panel is complete.

So I have moved on to the next section and here are the first four days of April.

We did have a lovely day out on Tuesday visiting Killerton where we met friends who had travelled across Dartmoor to meet us. Fortunately although they left home in thick mist, they arrived to lovely sunshine, which we had had all the way.

A few photographs of the house and lovely gardens.

And just look at these gorgeous Crested Fritillaries!

Killerton houses one of the National Trust's textile conservation studio's so upstairs in the house there is usually some sort of textile exhibition. This year there is a lovely selection of ladies garments from the Victorians up to the 60's which are beautifully displayed and well worth a visit. Hopefully I will get another chance to look around later in the year.

And finally for today - yes, the crochet cardigan is a finish. I am so glad I changed the border and cuffs as it gives the garment a smarter, more of a jacket feel.

I have a feeling that the top corners of the front band may iritate my chin and so I am going to be looking out for a couple of buttons which I can use to just stitch down those points to the front. But otherwise I am really happy with how this has turned out.

No movement yet on this months Challenge - snap bags - but I have got out my Ryegrass socks again and am determined to complete a pattern repeat a day to get them finished this month.

So, a long post from me - if you made it to the end then thank you very much and I will see you next week. Have a very Happy Easter.

March Chookshed Challenge progress

 Well, the cardigan is sadly not finished but a finish is not far away.

I have decided not to go for the ribbing look border and instead I am doing the same border as I did on the Wildshore blanket which is making a nice firm edge. Another couple of rows of dc to do all around the the bottom, fronts and neck. Then I will just need to pull out that cuff and work both cuffs for a finish.

Meanwhile #10 is our number for April and on my list this is to make some snap top bags to use as Christmas gifts. So first up I need to buy a tape measure!

Happy April!

 It's a beautiful sunny day here and lovely and warm in the conservatory, but pop outside and you get hit by a chilly wind! We are enjoying watching a pair of blue tits nesting in a box we put up on the fence which has honeysuckle growing over it so they are slightly hidden. We get a perfect view from the conservatory and look forward to welcoming some babies in time.

My weeks progress on my Stitch Journal. At the moment I am working through some feather stitch variations.

My granny squares are now a cardigan but still a way to go on this.

I have had to make some adjustments while putting together as it was going to come out far too wide. I have also ordered some more yarn as I wish to make the cardigan longer than the pattern says and also need extra for the front edging as the pattern was for a jumper. As this will not arrive for a couple of days I shall not get a finish for the end of the month. However, I am looking forward to seeing which number Deana pulls for the April Chookshed Challenge - I am hoping for something simple off my list to allow for finishing my cardigan.

Having had a mostly dry week we have been working in the garden - I have painted the new gate we had put in at the end of last year and oiled up the wooden garden chairs. Next up is to paint the matching table and chairs that sit by the greenhouse. Annoyingly the day we had earmarked for going out turned out to be damp, grey and windy! Hopefully better luck for next week when we are meeting friends at Killerton for the day.

Wishing you all a happy, stitchy week.

FNSI for March

 Friday was a beautiful day - Yes! the sun has been shining this week and we have had lovely temperatures, even warm enough to sit outside. So we have been busy in the garden cutting and tidying. Also we bought some new plants at the beginning of the week and most of them have found their new homes. I will get out and take some photos before my next post. So Friday was either spent in the garden or catching up with some admin.

I did get a little break after lunch to add to my Stitch Journal. Here you can see my week with Friday's addition, the snake like couching on the left.

In the evening I worked on my crochet cardigan. All the squares are now made and I have started putting them together. Two sleeve panels are now complete and look like this.

Here is the last batch of squares just before they came off the blocking board.

As you can see I 'splurged'  (haha) and bought the smallest board I could get away with - my squares are 4". Hopefully I am on track to finish by the end of the month as this is my Chookshed Challenge.

I am off to enjoy some more of the sunshine - have a great week.

The Middle of March Already!

 The year is starting to fly by again. Only a couple of weeks until we change the clocks and it will really start to seem like spring. Well the sun is shing today, in fact it is a beautiful day, if a bit chilly, but I don't mind that. Good to get windows open and watch washing blow in the breeze. Shoots of green are appearing all round the garden and the tulips are showing signs of imminent flowering as the daffodils start to fade. We are being visited by lots of goldfinches this year and they are enjoying the sunflower hearts I put out for them.

There are often three or four on the feeders at once.

My stitch journal continues.

and I have been hooking away at my granny squares at every opportunity. I have now completed seven of the eight sets of eight that I need before I can start to put the cardigan together. So hopefully some joining pictures next week. I bought a blocking board and have been blocking a batch of eight at a time. It does make a huge difference to their appearance.

Have a great week.