Woollen woods

Hello, how are you? It's a long bank holiday weekend here in the UK so there's the added bonus of an extra day off - yay! I've just been sat outside with my first cup of tea of the day, enjoying the warm sunshine. It's one of my favourite things to do in the spring and summer, soaking up the quiet and the birdsong in those moments before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.

Well, I was planning to give you a different post today as there's still lots to tell you about from my two weeks off. However, I was watching the local news last night and there was a report about the Woollen Woods exhibition at Rufford Old Hall which we went to see last Sunday. So, I'm going to show you photos from that instead.

The exhibition is in support of the Campaign for Wool and the woods have been decorated with felted, knitted and crocheted fairies, flora and fauna. The owl above was my favourite and I also love the hedgehog you'll see below - after seeing the news report, it turns out they were made by the same lady. It was a wonderful time to be in the woods anyway as they were full of bluebells and spring flowers.

I hope you enjoyed that as much as we did. If you'd like to see it yourself, the exhibition is on until 30 August and will be added to over the months. However, even if you're not planning to be in Lancashire, there are other Woollen Woods exhibitions taking place around the country - Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, Devon, Isle of Arran and County Antrim, Northern Ireland - the website has links to the locations and there are links to some free patterns for the Rufford event here. I'll show you more photos of Rufford Old Hall and the gardens another time.

It's been a crafty weekend here in the Home Jules household. I've been madly stitching to complete my April journal quilt in time to show it at my quilt group on Wednesday. We're also having a charity night and I'm demonstrating my mug hugs again - four times! - so I need to make up some samples.

Later, we're going out to a restaurant as it's Chickpea's birthday tomorrow! Speaking of whom, she's just appeared so it's time to put on the kettle and make another brew. Have a lovely day wherever you are. xx

A scarf and other yarns

Today I thought it was time for a ta-dah moment as I've actually managed to finish something! Although, can it be a ta-dah moment if you've shown the item in the opening photo???

In any case, I present to you my Miyu scarf...

Ta-dah!

It was actually quite a relief to finish as it hasn't been the easiest of patterns to follow. I think that's probably why it's taken me a good year to get around to completing it.

The pattern was free on the internet and advertised as a perfect introduction to lace knitting for beginners. Well, maybe. There are 28 rows to the pattern and lots of yarn forwards and 'knit 2 togethers' which meant you really have to concentrate so as not to go wrong. I went wrong lots of times and it was an absolute pain to undo. I think I prefer a pattern with more of a rhythm that you can just relax into and not have to think too hard.

I do love the finished result though and the yarn was lovely to work with. It's Rowan fine lace, shade 924 (Patina) which is made of baby alpaca and merino - so soft and cuddly. And it takes less than one ball too.

Since finishing it, I've started another couple of yarny projects.

The first is a pair of fingerless mitts. I bought the pattern and yarn at Yarndale last year but have only just got around to starting it. I hope I'm not the only one who buys things and then takes months if not years to actually make anything!

Both the pattern and yarn are from Fyberspates and they had the most amazing stand with hanks of yarns hanging all along the wall in gorgeous jewel colours. I couldn't resist this yarn which is Vivacious in Spiced Plum.

Having said I like a simple pattern, I've challenged myself again as it's knitted in the round and I have to insert beads as I knit. Well, who needs an easy life?!

The second project is a blanket. I've wanted to make one for a while but haven't been able to find the right project. I love granny square blankets but they make me lose the will to live with all the colour changes and ends to sew in. So, I've decided to join in with Lucy's crochet-a-long and make her cosy blanket. The yarn pack arrived earlier this week and I'm already absolutely loving it! The colours are gorgeous and the yarn is crocheting up really well. I've not used Stylecraft before but am impressed so far.

So that's what I'm up to, along with an embroidery and a couple of quilts. I might need to start another project soon too if I don't find a present tomorrow. We're going on a coach trip to a Christmas market and I can't wait - I'm so excited! I won't say any more as I'll be telling all, hopefully in the next week. I'm also hoping to find a few photos for the scavenger hunt as I don't have a single one yet - gulp!

I'm off now to make dinner before settling down to watch Strictly and to crochet a few more rows of my blanket. Enjoy your evening and the rest of your weekend. x

Of yoga bags & dreamcatchers

Before I begin, I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for all your kind words on my last post. It means a lot to know there are so many of you out there who care about us. It's only been a week but it feels much longer than that. Both of us are fine and, for the most part, it's business as usual. The only real change is getting Chickpea into the routine of taking medication. She has to work her way up to the full dose so I've written the schedule on a calendar so she knows what to take when. Which has made me feel useful and has satisfied my practical problem-solving side.

Anyway, as I said, it's pretty much business as usual and that's how I want it to be, at least on my blog so...

I still have a couple of things from the summer to show you but, for a change, I thought I'd show you some crafting. Over the summer I managed to finish off a couple of projects and made progress on a couple of others. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that it was back in March that I started my yoga mat bag! It didn't take long to complete the bag part but I lost momentum when it came to the strap.

In the end I just had to put my mind to it and, luckily, managed to complete it before the class restarted last week. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and it attracted a few admiring glances - that and lots of teasing :) The atmosphere at the class has been lovely since we restarted. Doing the walks over the summer really helped us get to know each other better and brought us much closer. So much so that, if we can get our act together, we plan to hire a cottage for a walking weekend. If we don't, we'll definitely be doing our walks again next summer.

The other thing I completed was a dreamcatcher. Like the bag, it was a pattern in Simply Crochet magazine (issue 5). Although the web is made up of different colours, it's actually the same yarn, Katia Candy, shade 656. As I only needed small amounts, I unwound the ball until I reached a colour change and made several little balls. The ring is an embroidery hoop.

I bought the crystal a while back, not because I liked the crystal but because I wanted the silver chain it was on for another pendant. I knew it would come in handy for something! The ribbons with the silver balls and pink crystals were from Lidl and came in lots of different colours. The other ribbons were cut off clothes - they're the ribbons you find in shoulders to stop clothes falling off hangers in shops. Yes, I save everything!

I've also finished knitting all the pieces of my cardigan (photo of the pattern here). Unfortunately, I've hit a problem in that the needles I need to complete the edging already have something else on them! I need to ask Mum if she has a set so I can finish it. My light summer cardigan will just be ready in time for winter...

Last but not least, I've put a border on my wonky star quilt. The star was a sample made in a workshop, using a technique I will never ever use again as it came out completely wonky and sticks up in the middle. I'd tried to salvage it by adding the applique in the corners but it was then abandoned and stuffed in a drawer. However, I wanted something to practice free motion machine quilting on and this seemed to fit the bill. It was meant to be a quick finish so that I could move onto doing the quilting: I can't tell you how many times I had to unpick and resew that border! I've layered it all up with the wadding now but haven't started the quilting yet - if it turns out ok I'll show you the finished result. If you never see it again, you'll know why!

I have also almost finished the little birds quilt which was my blogiversary giveaway. Louise, it will be with you shortly!

To finish, not something I've made but which I've grown - the bargain 50p chilli plant! I don't think I really believed it would actually produce chillis but here they are. We haven't been brave enough to try any yet - they're habaneros so are going to be very hot!

Hope you had a lovely weekend. We had a day out yesterday which I'll tell you about later. For now though, here's a taster of what we saw. xx

Coffee pot cosy

Lately we've been enjoying real coffee again. That is, ground coffee which you make in a cafetiere rather than out of a jar. The only problem in these wintry months is that it starts to go cold while brewing. After wrapping the cafetiere in a towel for a while, I decided it was time to make a cosy.

I wanted to make a jaunty striped cosy and found the pink and green yarn, which came free with a magazine, in my stash: it's Bergere de France Barisienne in shades 'Nerine' (pink) and 'Nil' (green). As you can see it's just a rectangle with ribbed sides. If I made one again, I'd knit the sides as part of the pattern instead of making them separately and sewing on at the end. 

I did puzzle over how to fasten the cosy and experimented with press-stud fastenings before settling on buttons. The loops for the buttons are simple crocheted chains. Initially I was kicking myself for not taking time to knit proper button holes but, actually, I think the loops make it much easier to fasten. Hurrah! No repenting at leisure for acting in haste here :)

Doesn't he look handsome in his woolly jersey? It's been in constant use so has really been worth the small amount of time it took to make. Next time, I'm going to tell you about something which would go very nicely with the coffee from the pot. x

PS The canisters in the background were my Christmas present from Chickpea - I love them and their little birdy handles :)

PPS Thank you for all the lovely comments about the Cookery Book Challenge - glad you're enjoying it as much as we are. xx

Home alone

I've been home alone this weekend as Chickpea was away on a residential course. Yesterday, I made the most of it by pushing aside all the furniture to lay out the fabric pieces for my latest quilt. The colours are brighter than this in reality but the light was poor what with all the rain, thunder and lightning!

This morning I ground up some spices to add to coffee (recipe from The Simple Things).

And then curled up on the couch to start a new book, unearthed in a charity shop this week.

Before long, baking called as I had a plan to use up this chocolate orange and make...

Popping candy rocky roads - perfect as a Bonfire Night (day) treat for my colleagues at work (with a few left over for us).

The morning rain eventually cleared away and the sun lured me outside. The lawn really needs mowing but is still too damp. In the meantime, I can admire the mushrooms sprouting up all over the place. I have a post featuring some amazing mushrooms coming up soon.

Lovely red berries on the berberis.

Then it was time for a stroll around the lake.

Time to pause to gaze at the sky through the leaves that survived the winds last night.

And to smile at the ducks in a frenzy as a mum and her daughter threw them bread. I love the ducks, they're just so funny and endlessly entertaining :)

Finally, back home to once again curl up on the couch with the last of the sun's rays warming me as I waited for Chickpea to arrive home. This is the first time I've knitted with circular needles and I'm quite enjoying it.

And that was my weekend - well, apart from the dull stuff like washing, ironing and hoovering. I'll be back on Tuesday with more biscuity treats to enjoy by the bonfire. x