...Kitchen update and knitting update coming soon...
Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have - Anon
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go - Oscar Wilde
The essentials to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to hope for - William Blake
and lifted in part from my Yarn Harlot calendar:
When I give someone a hat, I don't really mean, "Hey, here's a hat." I mean, "Take this. I made it for you. I want you to be warm and safe and careful in the big world. I want you to know I love you."
What makes you happy?
Who makes you happy?
...did you tell them today?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Dying instead of painting
Ok, so since I couldn't paint the kitchen this weekend, once we'd been shopping for some wires so that Boyf could do the wiring for the lights (which is going to be changed now) I decided to join in a dye-along.
I'm in a group on Ravelry called I'd Dye for Britain - it's for British dyers to talk about dying, among other things.
Anyway, they're having a dye-along. So, I decided to join in.
The rules are that you can only use primary colours (red, yellow, blue) to make other colours for your yarn.
I started with some yarn that I got through another group, UKarma.
Then I slapped on the food colour-vinegar-water mix.
Then I cooked it in the steamer.(not shown)
Then I hung it out to dry.
Once it is dry I'll re-skein it.
I'm in a group on Ravelry called I'd Dye for Britain - it's for British dyers to talk about dying, among other things.
Anyway, they're having a dye-along. So, I decided to join in.
The rules are that you can only use primary colours (red, yellow, blue) to make other colours for your yarn.
I started with some yarn that I got through another group, UKarma.
Then I slapped on the food colour-vinegar-water mix.
Then I cooked it in the steamer.(not shown)
Then I hung it out to dry.
Once it is dry I'll re-skein it.
I'm a Little Plastered
(Another Kitchen Update)
So, the plasterer has finished and we now have to wait for the plaster to dry. Which is going to take a while because it's pretty thick in places. We've got the dehumidifier on in there, but it's still going to take most of the week to dry out. Sigh.
(Yes, that's the same corner as last time, and the time before. Boyf keeps taking that same photo, which is great for comparisons!)
There was also a mishap.
(Sorry about all the crap outside, we still haven't taken everything to the tip yet. Perhaps tomorrow if it's dry enough!)
Anyway, we're working out what to do about the window. I've already called my insurer and a guy is coming out to us on Monday. Of course they only work office hours, so Boyf is going to be late in to work. Whether they're going to fix it on Monday morning or not is anyone's guess. Shame they couldn't come at the same time as the floor people, who will be here on Wednesday to measure up. After that it's a week for the floor to be ordered. That means I should still have time to paint all the walls before the floor goes down.
So, the plasterer has finished and we now have to wait for the plaster to dry. Which is going to take a while because it's pretty thick in places. We've got the dehumidifier on in there, but it's still going to take most of the week to dry out. Sigh.
(Yes, that's the same corner as last time, and the time before. Boyf keeps taking that same photo, which is great for comparisons!)There was also a mishap.
(Sorry about all the crap outside, we still haven't taken everything to the tip yet. Perhaps tomorrow if it's dry enough!)
Anyway, we're working out what to do about the window. I've already called my insurer and a guy is coming out to us on Monday. Of course they only work office hours, so Boyf is going to be late in to work. Whether they're going to fix it on Monday morning or not is anyone's guess. Shame they couldn't come at the same time as the floor people, who will be here on Wednesday to measure up. After that it's a week for the floor to be ordered. That means I should still have time to paint all the walls before the floor goes down.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Kitchen Update, Part 2
This morning we had removed everything from the kitchen ready for the plasterer.
And then he filled all the holes and levelled everything out.
Can't wait to see it finished tomorrow! Then it will be all ready to be painted (or, when it's dry it will...)
And then he filled all the holes and levelled everything out.
Can't wait to see it finished tomorrow! Then it will be all ready to be painted (or, when it's dry it will...)
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Seems like Monthly then...
Yeah, I know, no updates for a while. I've been busy!
Anyway, here I am.
So, what's been going on? Well, I went to Woolfest. Around this I wrapped a week away in the lake district. Beautiful part of the country by the way.
We started off going to Cambridgeshire, to visit Boyf's folks and friends. It was Livestock again (I'm sure I've mentioned it before) I thought it was better this year, though that could be down to the cherry beer I was drinking rather than pints o' wine. Anyway...
After that we headed off up the M6. Like, literally the whole way up the M6. We stopped off at Stafford Castle, which is approximately half way.
We spent three nights in Bowness on Windermere, which is a lovely little town on the side of the lake. We spent a day in Kendal. I have a couple of points to make about Kendal:
I'm sure there's loads more to do, but that's my impression of Kendal.
We also spent a day on the lake, on a big tour boat and got sunburned. (No pictures of that I'm afraid)
When we set off for our next destination, we went via Coniston to see the Bluebird exhibition in the Ruskin Museum. That was really interesting. They also had some local lace samples and local wool products available there. (Herdy too, which is a new initiative using Herdwick wool, that's the breed of sheep Beatrix Potter was interested in) and then on to the Bond Museum in Keswick. We also went to the Cars of the Stars exhibition. If you only have time to do one of those, go to the Bond museum. Neither takes more than an hour or so, but the Bond museum is much more interesting, and the staff were nicer.
We then spent three nights in Cockermouth, which is where Woolfest happens. More on that soon.
We arrived in Cockermouth on the Thursday night and had plenty of time to check out local eateries. We found a great little Mediterranean cafe for lunch (we had lunch there twice!) and the restaurants were all lovely too! There's a real-ale microbrewery pub called the Bitter End.
It's a lovely town, and is central for walking and cycling too. (We didn't do much walking due to it being so hot, and no cycling.)
So, Friday?
Friday was Woolfest
Woolfest is organised by a cooperative in Cumbria called the Wool Clip. It's a place where all things fibery come together under one roof. There were sheep, alpaca, angora goats, angora rabbits, more sheep, spinning wheels and supplies, so much yarn in so many beautiful colours, both dyed and undyed. I had a blast.
I met some other knitters who like Howies clothing.
And I bought a haul!
Much fun!
On the Saturday we went for a bit of a walk, and then on to the Jennings brewery for a tour. It was an interesting tour, I'd recommend it. You also get beer, so Boyf would recommend it too.
-o0o-
So, moving on, what's going on now?
Well, I have 10 projects on the needles, officially. I'm only working on a couple though. The one I want to mention is inspired by my haul at woolfest, and also by the Log Cabin blanket that Yarn Harlot is making. I'm using one of each rare breed yarn to make a square-pattern cushion. (a throw is beyond my patience and budget for this yarn!)
The lightest one is Wensleydale, the darkest is Jacob, The dark grey is Herdwick and the light grey that's in progress is Swaledale. Cool huh?
I'm finding YH's explanation about the difference between "pick up" and "pick up and knit" to be invaluable, so it's here, if you're doing anything where you need to pick up stitches you should check it out (unless you already know the difference!)
Well, that's all folks.
Anyway, here I am.
So, what's been going on? Well, I went to Woolfest. Around this I wrapped a week away in the lake district. Beautiful part of the country by the way.
We started off going to Cambridgeshire, to visit Boyf's folks and friends. It was Livestock again (I'm sure I've mentioned it before) I thought it was better this year, though that could be down to the cherry beer I was drinking rather than pints o' wine. Anyway...
After that we headed off up the M6. Like, literally the whole way up the M6. We stopped off at Stafford Castle, which is approximately half way.
We spent three nights in Bowness on Windermere, which is a lovely little town on the side of the lake. We spent a day in Kendal. I have a couple of points to make about Kendal:
- The one way system is horrible if you're not big on driving. Take a bus.
- The Chocolate shop is amazing, go there and have chocolate instead of lunch.
- The Quaker Tapestry is beautiful. They also have an amazing quilt there, and the garden is lovely and peaceful. You can't take pictures inside so you'll have to take my word for it. Go there. (They do have a cafe which is meant to be good too, but we didn't try it after all the chocolate!)
I'm sure there's loads more to do, but that's my impression of Kendal.We also spent a day on the lake, on a big tour boat and got sunburned. (No pictures of that I'm afraid)
When we set off for our next destination, we went via Coniston to see the Bluebird exhibition in the Ruskin Museum. That was really interesting. They also had some local lace samples and local wool products available there. (Herdy too, which is a new initiative using Herdwick wool, that's the breed of sheep Beatrix Potter was interested in) and then on to the Bond Museum in Keswick. We also went to the Cars of the Stars exhibition. If you only have time to do one of those, go to the Bond museum. Neither takes more than an hour or so, but the Bond museum is much more interesting, and the staff were nicer.
We then spent three nights in Cockermouth, which is where Woolfest happens. More on that soon.
We arrived in Cockermouth on the Thursday night and had plenty of time to check out local eateries. We found a great little Mediterranean cafe for lunch (we had lunch there twice!) and the restaurants were all lovely too! There's a real-ale microbrewery pub called the Bitter End.
It's a lovely town, and is central for walking and cycling too. (We didn't do much walking due to it being so hot, and no cycling.)So, Friday?
Friday was Woolfest
Woolfest is organised by a cooperative in Cumbria called the Wool Clip. It's a place where all things fibery come together under one roof. There were sheep, alpaca, angora goats, angora rabbits, more sheep, spinning wheels and supplies, so much yarn in so many beautiful colours, both dyed and undyed. I had a blast.
I met some other knitters who like Howies clothing.
And I bought a haul!
Much fun!On the Saturday we went for a bit of a walk, and then on to the Jennings brewery for a tour. It was an interesting tour, I'd recommend it. You also get beer, so Boyf would recommend it too.
-o0o-
So, moving on, what's going on now?
Well, I have 10 projects on the needles, officially. I'm only working on a couple though. The one I want to mention is inspired by my haul at woolfest, and also by the Log Cabin blanket that Yarn Harlot is making. I'm using one of each rare breed yarn to make a square-pattern cushion. (a throw is beyond my patience and budget for this yarn!)
The lightest one is Wensleydale, the darkest is Jacob, The dark grey is Herdwick and the light grey that's in progress is Swaledale. Cool huh?I'm finding YH's explanation about the difference between "pick up" and "pick up and knit" to be invaluable, so it's here, if you're doing anything where you need to pick up stitches you should check it out (unless you already know the difference!)
Well, that's all folks.
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