Super Wurm!

Oh beloved new hat of mine,
you are so snug and warm.♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

You caress my head and keep it oh so roasty-toasty.

You sit heavily and snuggly on my brow and back of neck, like a duvet.

The bitterly cold wind whipped around yet I felt deep and cosy in your yarny embrace

I am sure I heard you purring (or was that me)♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 But coz I know you ask....

Yarn - Silenzio Color 4 x 50gm (4 x 60m)
Needle size - 4mm
Love? Oh totally and utterly!
Details and pattern HERE

What's a cat gotta do?

What does a catling do when she is feeling a little catatonic?

When the weather is catastrophically cold?

When being imprisoned in a house serves as a catalyst to create a severe dose of couch 'catato-ism'?

Well, it means that being chief felis domestica (with four full time staff members) you get to use the laptop with your own personally heated seat and a self driven mouse.......

Oh what it is to be the top cat. Bliss.

Lunch time walk

A walk in a few words

A snowy seat - facing a lovely view - too cold to stop for long

A brave push for spring - a bit too early

Flowers, for someone gone but not forgotten

A slippery lane - perfect for a lunch break walk

Young blue faced Leicesters watching me watching them

How long had this gate lingered here?

Time to turn around - got to get back to work, the weather is turning and I am bitterly cold

the lane back to Settle

 Wonderful.

And I wore my new knitted hat - it is super warm and I am super happy with it - just need to get some photos to show. More snow is predicted this weekend so I shall certainly taking my hat for a walk.

A gift for myself (and my sister in law!)

With chrimbly time, school hols and new job, I never got round to show and share this glorious book I bought myself and my fav sis-in-law. It arrived with a thud through the post box mid December and I had such a terrible time keeping it secret and I did so want to show my sister-in-law but I had to keep the suspense until I was able to watch her unwrap her own copy.

Written by this wonderful and creative lady - Kate Davies, her blog Needled I have followed for a few months now and without fail she makes me yearn to knit as beautifully as she. Then she produced this:

 

A beautiful book, full of inspirational images and patterns, stories and charts and I just had to buy one two.

I am yet to start anything from it but never fear - I will, I most definitely will!

Knitting

Green hat - still growing - but been put aside................

For this.......

A baby hat for a colleague about to go on maternity leave. Where I am working now, there has been a severe outbreak of pregnancy..... two off already, one more about to go, a further 2 ready to pop in the next couple of months and a 6th collegue, still slim and trim but actively producing another member of the next generation!

Good practice for my knitting skills :)

PS Edited to add - I've finished the little hat, surprised myself somewhat that it actually looks like what it was supposed to do! phew..

Snow? or Snow DROPS!

For the first time in a-a-a-a-ages we have been able to get out for a walk. We wrapped up warmly and set off for the hills behind Austwick in the Dales. With bitterly icy winds and low cloud we followed an old packhorse route. Narrow and sunken, winding between old tumbled walls.

Eldest noticed first - catkins, nodding in the weak sunshine.

Then, further along the lane, in a quiet south facing tumble of dried leaves................snow drops. 

Snowdrops - this must be the earliest I've ever seen them. There were plenty of daffodil leaves pushing through the leaves too.

The lane undulated through fields and below woodlands and dropped down to a ford. We stopped at the old clapper bridge.

Over the years, we have crossed that clapper bridge many times. It is one of our favourite routes through a delightful part of our world

The walls were draped with thick pillows of moss. It felt incredibly spongy and luxuriant. 

 Probably due to all the recent rains, springs had erupted everywhere and usually small trickles were fast flowing streams.

Our lunch spot was another favourite of ours, the sheep wash dub fields. Farmers would herd their flocks up to this point, dam the river and wash their sheep,cleaning their fleeces hopefully ridding them of parasites.

Then, as the day progressed, the icy breeze blew away the low grey cloud and briefly gorgeous strong colours appeared.

As we finished the last leg of our walk, the sun slipped down behind the horizon, the temperature dropped and the sky took on a delicate pink tinge.

It was cathartic, it was refreshing, it was wonderful !

Not quite as it seems

Have you ever started something that you thought would be easy to complete?
You know one of those jobs that you 'know' will take a little effort but are worth it?
Well - this was not one of those.

I did think it would be................. a quick job, that is.

All it was, was a small amount of tanglement - courtesy of a tidy up session to include a catling. A small white catling with 20 claws and a wicked sense of play.......who thought ruffling through a ball of red yarn was about the most delicious fun E*V*E*R.......

 Who would have thought that from that mash-up of yarn (above) to the lovely tidy squat ball would taken me SEVERAL HOURS........................no, me neither,  *sigh*

So, despite having my hands and mind occupied with yarn - I didn't get much knitting time this weekend.

Still languishing under the thumb of a lingering lurgy. Catling likes it though - means lots of cat-lap-napping =^.,.^=

yours in sniffles - hawthorn xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps We're getting geared up for our Yarnival -the adventure continues 2013 - pop over for an update!

Zombie Nation

Be scared.....be very scared.

Meet the zombie my son......off to a horror disco. Complete with fake blood, stitched body parts and bullet hole in his head. While he was out, Eldest and I attempted to put the chrimbly decs away.

 Apparently Zombie-boy had a good time apart from finding the music too loud!
As each guest left they were handed a rather yummy cupcake complete with the birthday girl's age, small ghost and black star.

The sweaty mini-zom was sent upstairs for a shower forthwith and came back down restored to his former more human self. I think he had a good time :)

PS shhhhhh - bought some more yarn. Think this is becoming a serious issue.......actually if I'm honest I was taken to buy the yarn by Himself (bless him) so I could finish my hat, pictures later.

Night all - time to go to bed, already sent the zombies boys upstairs, putting the chrimbly tree away can wait another day.
zzzzzzzzzzzz

Guess what I have?!

I have my own *LYS!!

Oh the envy I have felt over the years of reading other bloggers bragging about their lys.

Lys this and lys that....yadda yadda yadda.

Now - I have one.... less than 100 yards from where I work. 

Bliss.

Only thing is - I have had such a dreadful lurgy that I've not had the energy to lift my knitting needles, however I did manage to buy some yarn (for medicinal purposes you understand).....

*lys - Local Yarn Store

Progress....

....is slow.

Not through lack of inspiration or ability, just time and 'omphff' are missing. I have good intentions all day and plan to to get on with some knitty-pleasure only to wilt on the settee and stare glazed across the room once I get home from work.

I have toyed with the idea of taking my knitting to work but still working up to that one!

But, when I do get the time - even for a row or two, I enjoy the escape, the rhythmic click of the needles and the slow progress.

I am not going to do a 'To Do' list this year, I have too much going on, but I am going to do a 'de-clutter challenge' and a 'Don't Do' list.

I've already started on the de-clutter challenge and have filled 3 large bags - just need to take down to the charity shop - I would like to re-home, recycle or throw out something every week until I feel that we are not drowning in 'stuff'.

As for my 'Don't do' list I am going to add - don't stay up too late!! (I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to a good bedtime routine.....yawn)


What are you creating at the moment?
What is on your needles?
Is it flying off or hanging around waiting waiting waiting...
And for the new year? Any challenges or targets you have set yourselves?

Have a good Wednesday xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A new day.

Welcome 2013.
For us it came with a quiet whisper rather than a bang - just like we like it.

I was working New Year's Eve during a biblical proportioned deluge. Clattering hail almost deafening us, making communication virtually impossible.
Driving home was interesting.
Huge transitionary fords dashed across the road from one saturated field to another. Columns of cars were halted as drivers cautiously went through these fast flowing waters. Through the dusk I could make out flooded fields and swollen rivers and at one point the River Ribble had burst it's banks and the lapping edges were tickling the margins of the road.

I was glad to get home.

This afternoon we were needing to get out and get some fresh air - despite the weather we set off. Clouds whirled around and icy sharp rain stung our cheeks. We battled up the lane with our heads down. Himself and I caught each other eye - time to turn back.

Back in the car we drank tea and nibbled shortbread as we looked at the flooded valley.