Knitting

Knitting is often seen to be one of those things done by grey haired Grandmas, sitting in a rocking chair, with their hair shoved up in a bun. Well, not THIS Grandma !! I do have a rocking chair - it's probably in pieces in the loft or the garage, I expect - & my hair is slightly grey in places, but each grey hair has been earned, simply by being a wife & mother :o) However,  that doesn't mean I have to act like an old fashioned Grandma, does it ?  NO. I am going to grow old disgracefully & corrupt as many people along the way as I can & if I feel like doing a spot of knitting, then I will, regardless of what others may think :o)  I'm not particularly good at it & I refuse to make jumpers & cardies for anyone over the age of 5, but smaller things like fingerless gloves, 'ats, Christmas decorations etc. & I can cope. Just about !! :o)

    This little top knot 'at was one of the first 'ats I made.

This is the first beret I knitted *in the round*.

A plain 2 needle baby beanie.

I loved this pattern - a baby beret knitted on DPNs.

My 3 year old grandson asked if I could make him a Father Christmas 'at . . .

and my daughter said Father Christmas always has a little helper, so I made an Elf type 'at for my youngest grandson :o)

A winter 'at for my youngest grandon - he has ginger hair & looks gorgeous in green.

I love the pattern on these fingerless mitts, it's easy to do but I think it looks impressive :o)

So much so, I made another pair :o)

These are the very first gloves I made :o) They're knitted with a chunky yarn so are actually a bit big, but they keep me warm. One day, I'll progress to full fingers !! :o)

The yarn used for these little sleeveless pullovers reminded my daughter of the sea. Another easy knit :o)

Winter jumpers for the boys. Now that this one is done, I'm unsure about the rust colour, but I'm NOT going to unpick the whole thing  !! :o)

Three shades of blue with a chunky cream. It looks lovely on my oldest grandon - he has huge grey/blue eyes, so all blues suit him.

This was my very, very first attempt at knitting in the round & only my 2nd attempt at cables. I was so pleased with how it turned out & although it doesn't show very well here, the colour - a gorgeous dark green - really suited my youngest grandson with his lovely red hair :o)

I like to knit in the evening, I find it very relaxing after a hectic day, but the patterns have to be plain & simple. Just like me !! :o) 

In an English Seaside Garden :o)

My garden has been somewhat neglected this year, due to *circumstances beyond my control* :o) However, I still managed a nice show of flowers.

Aquilegia, one of my all time favourites. I have quite a lot of them & their colours range from yellow, white, pink, burgundy & purple, including one purple that's so deep, it looks black from a distance.

This beautiful cerise clematis climbs up the fence right outside my greenhouse.

Pink roses - my favourite colour rose. Strange really, as I'm not a pink girly-girl at all :o) If you enlarge the pic (click on it) you'll see the tiny little brown spot on the right is actually a little spider :o)

Orange blossom - this smells divine, especially on a hot late spring/early summer evening. The black fly love it as well, so it often has to have a squirt of washing up water or garlic water :o)

Poppy - I adore poppies. I have these growing along the front edge of my greenhouse & as you look up the steps along the path, you're met with a sea of beautiful, waving poppies & lilies.

This peachy-orange rose is called *Simply the Best* & it really is beautiful. The bush is fairly small, but I had more than a dozen flowers on it at one time this year. It was stunning.

I love the rain drops on this photo.

Hemerocallis - the Day Lily. Another of my all time favourites. This is a glorious apricot colour & when it blooms, it seems to light up the area around it.

Another Hemerocallis - such a contrasting colour to the one above, but still as beautiful, especially with the rain drops glistening on it :o)

These pale lemon lilies grow with the poppies along the front of my greenhouse.  On their own, they're beautiful, but together, they're stunning.

Lastly, another lily :o) They always look so spectacular, I think. I have a few dotted around the garden & they really do give a lovely show :o)

Reminiscing

A comment by a friend yesterday had me scrabbling around, looking for a NOT very flattering photo of me, taken quite a few years ago. Anyone who knows me, knows I do NOT *do* photos - I take them, but I try to avoid having them taken of me - I aim to be the *designated photographer* at all times !! :o)

Anyway, the photo in question is of me on Shakespeare Cliff in Dover. For years, whenever we drove past it, I'd say to Shaun - *I'm going to climb that cliff one day*. That remark was always met with chuckles, chortles & occasionally, a full blown guffaw. Why ? Because I don't like heights - I get dizzy standing on the kerb !! :o) But, for some reason, I was determined to do it. (I have these funny turns now & again, you know.)

Well, I finally decided that it just HAD to be done before I was 12-with-28-years-experience & so, on New Year's Day 2003 a week before THAT day, we set off for Dover.  To keep me warm, I had with me my new  'at, a Christmas present from my best friend, Julie. I knew I was going to need it because the rain was coming down like stair rods, the wind was howling & the mist was more like pea & ham soup than plain ol' pea !!  We parked up & made our way through the underpass to the signposted cliff walk & off we set. It took a good 15 - 20 minutes to get up there - poor Shaun trailed along in my wake - I was like a galleon in full sail, leading the way  :o) 

We really did battle against the elements & the view WOULD have been spectacular if it weren't for the mist & rain. When we got to the top, Shaun took a pic of me for posterity, something to show our future grandchildren, so they could see that Grandma always was a bit peculiar & always had a thing for funny 'ats :o)

So. Here's the pic. Not flattering AT ALL, but you know, it raises a smile every time I see it & in these days full of doom & gloom, that's not a bad thing, really :o)

Woodwork

Some of Shaun's work today, all made on his lathe in his husband hut :o)

 He made this sewing thingy - see how I know ALL the technical terms ? :o) - for his Mum for Christmas. It's OK, she won't see this, she doesn't have access to a computer & bless her, wouldn't know what to do with it if she did !! :o)

In all its naked glory

With its needles & cotton :o)

Some of his pens - the labels say what type of wood they're made from.

Post box money boxes for our 2 favourite little boys.  Hope Father Christmas is feeling strong this year considering the wood he's going to carry !! :o)

Just 2 of his bobbins - he's made so many now & is actually using them to make lace, which he really enjoys doing. (Thanks for teaching him, Val - he LOVES it !!)

His very first pot pourri bowl, which he made for me :o) It's made of Ash & the top is a poppy design, cos I LOVE poppies :o)

Shaun is one of those people you love to hate - he can turn his hand to almost anything. He's got the patience to work things out & do them properly & thoroughly. Not like me  - I think of things & then rush through them because I want to get onto the next thing :o)  I really should have been called Patience & not Patricia (Are you listening, Mum & Dad ??!!) Maybe I would have lived up to the name if I had been :o)

Autumn Garden

A couple of week ago, the spiders had been very busy spinning their webs during the night/early hours. It was very misty morning when I took these photos - the sun was beginning to break through & I loved the way the webs all looked, draped across the bushes in the garden. It was difficult getting a decent photo, partly because it wasn't easy trying to capture the flimsiness of the webs & partly because I HATE spiders & kept coming face to face with them !! Shudder !!!!! :o)

All the white bits in the apple tree are webs - there were loads of them, just hanging from the branches like lace doilies.

I am SOOOOOO glad I saw this web before walking into it !! :o)

We always hear parakeets screeching overhead & they often pay a visit to the garden, especially at this time of year when they help themselves to apples on the tree. Sometimes, it's a race to see who gets to them first - me or the birds !! :o)  This one sat in the tree for ages, while its mate flitted about from garden to garden.  Not the best pic -  I had to zoom in from a distance because I didn't want it to fly away before I got the photo.

Some of my favourite places

Kittiwake colony at Seaford, East Sussex. Photo taken in 2009. When I walked along the prom, I didn't know this was at the end, so when this view came into sight, I was gobsmacked :o) It was so unexpected & beautiful, it made my day. It's one of my favourite memories, a wonderful few days away from home, spent with good friends. Oh, & 'imself, too, of course :o)

Birling Gap, again in East Sussex. This place is just beautiful, even with the coastguard cottages falling off the cliff :o) We stayed at the Birling Gap Hotel for our  20th wedding anniversay & it was just so peaceful falling asleep to the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. For me, it's heaven -  sea on one side & countryside on the other.

Russell Gardens, opposite Kearsney Abbey in Dover. These pics were taken in 2009. Autumn is my favourite season of the year :o) I just love the richness of the colours, that nip in the air, the misty mornings & not feeling guilty on a wet Saturday afternoon when you can curl up on the sofa & watch a good film :o) In the better weather, there's always something else to do !! :o)

Even in the rain, the rich beauty of Autumn shines through.

Tree Decorations

I'm on a roll :o) Some tree decorations sewn & knitted. Christmas is just around the corner & down the road a bit, so it's all hands to the needles :o) They're not brilliant, but we all have to start somewhere, don't we ?