grey

Its a grey, cloudy day here today so I feel like looking at a sunny picture. This was taken at the opera house in Uppsala on my recent holiday. The whole design of the building was very Swedish; clean lines and blocks of colour, and there were 360 degree views of the city from this gallery. Unfortuately I didnt go there to listen to any opera. Maybe next time. I have started on my back-tack knitting project after a trip to my lys in Shoreham yesterday. Also I have ordered 2 beautiful books from La Croix et La Maniere. Hope they get here soon - I cant wait.

socks

Finished my first pair of socks (we wont mention the brown socks started somewhere around 1978 but never finished). I cast these on very tightly and after a couple of rows had some problems moving the stitches along the needle. Ripped and restared more loosely and now they are v baggy! They are more like slipper socks and are very warm being made of Rowan Tapestry which is mostly wool. I like them!

Em is feeling better today. She had to stay in all yesterday and was very cross about it!

back-tack

I am taking part in the back-tack swop. It's the first time I have done one of these. Haven't decided what to make yet but whatever it is will be a secret so wont be appearing here until later. Im also busy making stuff for our Christmas craft fair at work. This is the second year we have held a fair raising money for Water Aid. I am planning to make some small items like hair bands with crochet flowers and maybe some gloves or something if I have time.

Em went outside this morning and came back dribbling. I was worried she had something stuck in her throat so we rushed off to see the vet. She is fine now but still dribbling a bit. The vet thinks she probably licked a frog and it tasted bad. Silly old cat.

shoes

I had a shoppping trip to Brighton yesterday. I just finished reading Atonement by Ian McEwan and loved it so I wanted to buy the dvd. Saved myself £20 by shopping around so I felt completely justified in spending £120 on shoes!! Chunky Fly sandals and Rocket Dog boots.

The photo is detail from a building near my brother's house in Uppsala, Sweden. I never got around to blogging about my recent trip there but have been saving up this photo. It looks like an iced cake. I love the flowers.

busy..

..finishing off my crocheted bag. I was so disappointed in the bag when it was finished, it really wasnt how I imagined it and so there are still 2 ends to sew in. I think the blue looks quite harsh so its destined to stay inside the house and become my knitting bag - containing half a sock, but more on that later. Em was wondering what the fuss was about.

Last weekend I drove to North Wales to camp with some friends, build fires and climb Snowdon. Sarah organised the trip, and she was right; there was no rain left in the sky by saturday. Perfect camping and walking weather and the views from the top were incredible.

beach

The Riviera? No, Worthing on the only sunny day in the last couple of weeks. The umbrellas would suggest a typical British summer day with sunshine and ice-cold wind! But it was warm enough for icecreams.

I had a lovely day today. Em decided to sleep on my lap for the first time since she was a kitten, so I sat and crocheted all afternoon. I finished off all the squares for my bag - there are 16 of them. Now I just need to crochet them together.

Yesterday I went to a friend's wedding over in Arundel. It was a lovely day - we sat out on the terrace overlooking the castle and drank a few glasses of Pimms. Pink roses from the table decorations - now on my fireplace.

baby jumper

I finished this little baby jumper last week... not sure what happened to blogging between then and now! Things have been busy here with a wedding party for my brother and his wife, and trying to keep control of my allotment and garden. There's another wedding tomorrow too, the allotment girlies have been embroidering some serviettes for the happy couple. Just finished at the last minute, and discovered we have been working to different thread counts. Oh well. The jumper is from Special Knits by Debbie Bliss. Good fun to knit, especially the patterened band. I cheated a bit and just used 2 colours. Debbie's version is much more complicated and beautiful. The colours look very washed out in the photo - really must make more effort with the camera. The recipient doesnt know whether she is having a girl or boy... obviously Im hoping its a girl or its back to the knitting shop for me. Em is doing a lot of lounging at the moment. She had a cat sitter last week and was fed far too many biscuits :-)