A Taste of Things to Come.

You know how some half term holidays are gone before you can look round? You know, that waking up each morning and finding the day has disappeared with no-one getting properly dressed; no child wearing clothes that are remotely clean enough to be seen out with on the rare occasion they actually do dress after much tiresome nagging. Nothing achieved other than the endless handing out of nourishment for fear they (I) should fade away.

This holiday has been different, each day evolving into a time of making and doing. Projects have been finished and new ones started. The problem is, I can't actually show you much of what has taken place until after the weekend, merely give you little tantalising glimpses instead.

The above projects are Mr Davey's. He has been knitting up a storm and turned out three - yes, three completed items of knitwear in as many days.

One of them is for Isabella who has been in desperate need of a new hat as her two other ones have looked rather like tea cosies perched upon her head, both having a tendency to slide up over her manic curls as they escape from her ponytail during a hectic day at school.

Did I ever mention my baby girl is now at school full-time? Probably not as it has taken me a little while to accept this fact, much as I revel in the extra time I can now spend on developing the business.

Ah well, at least I know her pretty head will be kept warm in the playground by the soft Crofter wool hat Daddy has knitted her.

We have also undertaken a family sewing project, though again I can't actually reveal it just yet. Here's a taster

or two

and maybe just...

one more!

So after that rather unenlightening post, I will leave you with the one thing I can show you, Miss Isabella wearing her new hat whilst playing with a bowl of water and her toys at the kitchen sink. Doesn't that face say it all?

See you Monday x

A Need For ...

Still fighting the lurgy here, though I am feeling so much better than when I last posted. Thank you lovely people for the get well wishes; so very appreciated and comforting when you are feeling yukky - hmm, didn't recover my poetic use of language just yet then.

Being so ill has made me look for comfort in all around me and the somewhat dark, grey days we have been experiencing have added to this need. I finally cut open our tiny Munchkin squash to see whether there was anything to be had from within its hard shell.

It is one we grew in a pot outside the girls' bedroom and though only measuring about four inches across it had a little flesh to add to a rich stew. Comfort food indeed.

All the children have succumbed to poorliness in differing measure, all feeling snuffly, all a little chesty, but nothing keeps a good cook down and Lucy invaded the kitchen yesterday to knock up a batch of flapjacks. How easy things become when you are merely sitting in the background ready to offer help when asked, but no longer needing to actually 'do' every step for them.

Oh, go away Mamma! Get back to your knitting.

Though today is just pouring rain from the skies in a manner that suggests God's bath is overflowing somewhat, I managed to take myself outside on the drier days to see what has emerged. Hurrah! The first buds of bright zingy forsythia are bursting forth, the ridiculously over-the-top yellow threatening to hurt my eyes should the sun ever appear and strike the petals with its rays of light. A true sign that spring is well on its way I think.

I take my coffee and sit on the step, the first time I have done so this year without a coat.

Next to me the daphne also shows an unfurling floret. This is one of my most favourite plants (from a list of thousands); its sweet scent is so typical of many of the late winter/ealy spring flowering plants: fresh, almost citrusy, light & so daintily delicate, yet one tiny sprig is able to scent an entire garden and will tickle your nose when carried on a soft spring breeze. If you have never encountered it I advise you to search one out posthaste - just walk around sniffing the air and you will be led in its direction should one be close by.

On the courtyard the pots of tulips are racing away and I uncover a few buds fattening ready to bloom in a few weeks. I think they are red, though I can't really remember as they were blind last year and so the thrill of discovery is there.

But on a day like today we are all huddled indoors. It is a day for planning and plotting in our garden book, a day for noting what is missing at this time of year, sketching and scribbling notes so that we will remember to do something about the empty patches which are a little depressing just outside the kitchen window. I think planting more snowdrops and sunshine yellow crocus would help things along.

And once the orders are completed I think a little more knitting will be necessary for the rest of the day. I feel a need to huddle by the fire while the rain does its worst, maybe play a sedate game of Mah Jong - hah, that's a contradiction in terms - and let the last of the lurgy hopefully melt far away.

Sound good?

What are you up to? x


P.S. Still not sure about the larger pics - what do you think? x

A Snuffle or Two.

Blogland is full of spring pictures and it is so lovely to see. We all know it isn't here yet, but there's nothing wrong in looking for the signs is there?

Personally, I am so full of the grottiest cold I have had for years that I am desperate for anything that penetrates the fug in my head, including bright zingy citrus fruit for delicious hot toddies.

It is actually very rarely that I get colds and this one is reminding me just how lucky I am. My head feels like Phil Collins is off on one - you know, that bit just before 'I can feel it coming in the air' starts ringing out.

My nose resembles a tap and I ache like I have been steam rollered.

Truly, I feel dreadful.

Aren't you glad you stopped by?

Still, work carries on and bunting waits for no Pip. At least I am finally back working in my sewing room which is so light and, though in need of a sort out not to mention a lick of paint, makes me cheery just to be there.

A trip with the girls to Customs House Quay cleared my head a little, the boats sitting quiet on the still waters of the high tide.

It was so gentle: everything from the scent in the air to the breeze and the chatter, all so gentle and hushed with only the clear, soaring tones of a young girl singing as she sipped her drink on the bench by the quayside breaking into the quiet ... perfect.

As is the sight of the wools in my basket. This one is a mix of moss green, soft mauves and cream. It reminds me of the heathers and mosses found on the Cornish moors or the colours of seaweed on stone.

Ah well, I'm off to take my hideously grotty self off to make the dinner for the troops, pop the washing on and generally try to wreak some order when really I just want to go to bed.

Can't wait...sigh.

See you soon x

Just Popping By.

I am missing my blog and want to get back here, but I am rather in the midst of some cheery bunting - 40 metres of the stuff to be precise. Quite a large order. Wonder what it is for? Hmm, maybe I'll ask.

I want to get back to sorting the blog out as it is mid change at the moment but oh, doesn't it eat time away once you start playing with new things? Thank you to my dear friend Diana who helped me find my 'global settings' problem (no, I didn't know I had one either!) and also gifted me some gorgeous sock weight yarn. New things to show then...

...when I get a mo. Be good to see some new pics too wouldn't it? The tulips are up but obviously not out as the image suggests. Another photograph of Coombe to keep things going. Well done to those of you who guessed the last boat picture was of Penryn River.

To be continued x

The Hooded Man.

I'll be brief: it's finished. The blasted hooded pullover is knitted, sewn but sadly not blocked properly to relax the stitching as Dave wanted to get on and wear it. Who am I too complain? After all, he only waited over a year for it, bless.



And so here it is, in all its wobbly-stitched, uneven entirety and I must say I am rather pleased with it. Admittedly, the photographs have managed to make Davey look far wider than he actually is and I would like to also point out that the colour of the wool is a beautiful flecked denim blue which I love (Sirday Click for those who need to know such things - great to knit with).



Today is cold in Cornwall, a dull day with low light levels, a day to make the mood sink a little. Dave has had some hard weeks at work with much on his plate. He had more to do today as the next phase of his Masters needed completing, one task too many when all you want to do is to relax and enjoy the weekend.



He finished his work just as I finished sewing up. The pullover was hastily pulled over and a smiling Mr Davey emerged from its snuggly depths, the dense weave of the stitches light enough to feel comfortable, yet close enough to bring warmth, a little like a cuddle perhaps.



Much love worked into every stitch, a cuddle given, a beaming smile received in return. Success then.

Happy Sunday x

The Working of Origami & Socks.

I am back once more and the grumps have left me. Thank you so much for your kind understanding in the face of such a misery post! So, what have we been up to? No marmalade was made in my absence - hurrah! Maybe this weekend will see the jars filling the shelves once more. Instead Davey and the children made chocolate and banana muffins with thick chunks of chocolate studded in each mouthful.



They also had a Chinese themed day in honour of the Chinese New Year. Events included making lanterns using origami techniques



A piano and er, an animal I think



and a seal (!!!)



They also made sweet and sour pork and a castle, though not necessarily in that order. The table and floor were covered in a myriad of glitter which I feel is always the sign of fun being had.



I was ensconced in a room with views over Watergate Bay where a group of us watched the surfers and jade green waves drifting toward us, the scene belying teh icyness of the weather which had turned the salt water streams winding towards the sea to frozen images of themselves. Even the cliffs had icicles and typically I had forgotten my camera.



Is it not very beautiful?


And as for me, I am desperate to show you this little intricate piece of knitting.



It is the beginnings of a sock and though my photographs do it no justice making the yarn look chunky when it is in fact fine, and harshly coloured where it is a beautiful, subtle blend of hand painted colours, jewel greens blended with soft lilacs and hints of sulphur yellow, I hope you can nonetheless see the intricacy of the stitching just a little.



The pattern is called the Marie Antoinette Sock and has a lacework patterning of tiny 'bees' around the top and a bee-like design working its way along the calf. It is designed by knitwear designer Ann Hanson and will take me quite a long time between other projects to work on. I am so enjoying working something that requires this level of concentration again as many years have passed since I knitted lacework coverlets and matinee jackets for my babies it seems.



Yes, this will be a challenge, the chart needing me to free my mind in a way that most other knitting I tackle these days does not require. I shall work on this when I need to be distracted and simpler things when I need to let the thoughts drift aimlessly with the moving of the needles. Something for any mood...perfect. And of course, I shall share the progress, though I suspect updates may be slow! In the meantime I am most excited as I have finally completed the knitting of Mr Davey's Hammerhead pullover and am beginning the making up...finally...fourteen balls of wool later...sigh.



Pictures hopefully later this week. I just hope it fits!



Well, I must get on with my work while thinking thoughts of Davey who has gone for lunch at Clarence House with Camilla. Yes, honestly!

Bye for now x