Flash back to Easter

I love this picture. Everything about it makes my heart feel happy. I love the colours. I adore the flowers. Ranunculus are gorgeous, each bulb springs forth about ten flowers. They just keep coming.

The knitting, a scarf called Princess Margaret was a true joy to knit. It's a very simple pattern but so effective.

It is not a quick item to make, it takes about nine fifty gram balls, but boy oh boy it is tremendous. I'm looking foward to making another in cream his Autumn. I have all the yarn ready and waiting. I intend to do a Ta Dah blog post for it soon, but er, you know how long stuff takes me these days, so don't hold yer breath

I started knitting my scarf on the way down to Salcombe at Easter this year. I was looking forward to our holiday there so very much because we had Mr C's family coming to visit and also 

THE MATES!!!

Hard core crafting, man! In Dick and Wills after lunch

For me, although I have been to Salcombe so many times over the last five years, it now feels strange to me if The Mates aren't there with us. The Mates are Fee, of Chipper Nelly fame and her husbando, Cleggy and their three boys. We all enjoy ourselves so much that we have decided to make a jaunt to Salcombe an Easter tradition and we are slowly weaving in other traditions like breakfast at the diner and chip supper followed by crepes and The Winking Prawn restaurant the night before we leave for home. I think I blogged about Easter 2012 but I'm not sure if I just got a draft post together, or just thought about blogging about it.....

Laughing her head off, pimms in hand, crochet hook between her legs. Too Funny

We had bank August bank holiday together too last year and again this year. Another tradition it seems.

They brought with them a giant Easter egg. It was well heavy.

Geordie Boy reminds me of Monica in Friends when she wore the thanks giving turkey on her head and did a wiggly dance.

Cousin Weese was taking the pic. L to R - Poppa, Big, Uncle Dorv, Granny, Little, Mr C, Great Aunt Laura, me, Alfie, Geordie Boy, Boo. In the front Mini and Kenzie

Here's the rabble. I don't know where Fee and Cleggy were. I think we had stolen their boys for the afternoon. Is it bonkers that I can't remember? I honestly cannot recall. To be truthful these gaps in my recall worry me. They happen all too often.

Love the graffitti ceiling in the
Island Street Diner

Delish posh fish and chips to
be had here

The Island Street Diner is quite eclectic and cool.
I like it there. I like the waffles.

Fee and I sneaked off together for coffee, chatter and cake. I'm dribbling at this photograph. We have just returned from a week in Salcombe and I had half an hour on my own in this lovely cafe, Bibi and Mac. I sat at the same table and ate bakewell tart and waited for the ringing in my ears to stop. Nine weeks holiday my boys have had and my oh my the boys are so LOUD! Loud and very, very energetic. Luckily there is plenty do do at the seaside to allow them to let off steam.

The boat yard is boy paradise

Just down the road is the fire station.
These are our holiday home neighbours boys.

The South Sands tractor ferry is always a ride eagerly anticipated

Our pad is very close to the church. I enjoy hearing the bells from my bed. I adore church bells. I particularly love wedding bells. One thing I feel a bit sad about is that I never had wedding bells because we didn't get married in a church. I wanted my Dad to walk me down the aisle and I knew he wouldn't set foot in a church (atheist) so I never even considered a church wedding. Mr C wasn't bothered either way and I couldn't face the conversation about it with my Dad. I knew he would do it if I made him but I'd have had to persuade him and I knew I'd feel like he didn't want to walk me down the aisle, which of course wasn't have been the case, but getting married is an emotional thing and I only wanted happy memories attatched to the planning and the day itself.

I do love our little Seaside House. It has a wonderful feeling about it. The atmosphere is as though the walls have seen much happiness

I made a bit of bunting....

...quite a bit

I've finished this Springtime Throw now. Ever so happy with it. That's another post for another day. It was 18 months in the making and I loved having it waiting in the wings to dip in and out of whilst I made other things. I did quite a few squares whilst in Salcombe that Easter. I stayed up after everyone had gone to bed. I like quiet time to myself. It's the only child in me.

I enjoy end weaving, it's all thereaputic hand stitching to me.

xxx

*Please don't think badly of my Dad. He had not long had brain surgery and that, coupled with his medication, altered his character. It seemed to amplify the more difficult elements of his nature. He was always a stubborn man but at that time he was unmovable. Ten years down the line and he is finding his way back to his old self. It's great to see. It's really lovely to see the man of my childhood return. No one could have asked for a better Dad throughout my teens in particular. He was ace. (Don't worry Mum, you've always been ace!)

It's an opportunity...

....not a problem.

They say that don't they? Wise people. Yes, Wise People say a problem looked at differently is not a problem but an opportunity. 

I'm not so great at it though. Actually, that's fib. I'm pretty good at trying to solve problems for others. Quite tenaciously. I keep thinking and thinking and fathoming till I get a solution. (Yes Kerry love, I'm STILL thinking about your picture hanging dilemma ((basement flat, damp proofed = no nails allowed to be hammered in)) and I will annoy you further with my ideas when I see you. Ha!) When it comes to problem solving for myself it's as though a sticky drizzle seeps into my brain and bungs up the cogs.

I've not been blogging much lately. Life has become busy and I am preferring to knit or crochet rather than blog about my knitting and crochet. Also it has been quite nice to be out and about and enjoy the day without thinking "I must take photographs and remember details so I can blog about it later"

One of the reasons I've not blogged much is that my laptop is a bit sick, it's getting sorted, but it still has the hump and I can't upload any photographs. I'm not keen on a blog post with no pics hence no posts from me for a good while.

Tonight, while erecting shelves in the utility room at The Seaside House it occurred to me that this period of time where I can't upload new photo's could be the time when I can catch up with the posts I have mentally written and have the photographs waiting in the wings.

Why didn't I think of this before? I'm almost certain that if a friend had this problem I'd have instantly suggested to them to play catch up. Honestly, what a wally. As I write this it is dawning on me that I have had this thought several times in the past but never done anything about it...in fact I may even have thought out loud here in my blog.....hmmmmmm, it wouldn't surprise me. My memory does very peculiar things sometimes.

So now I shall have a hasty flick though my pics and fling out a blog post just to dip my toe in...

A few months ago Mr C and I left the childerbeasts with my Mum and hopped on a train to London for Great Uncle Dorv's (The Christmas fire breather scroll to the bottom) 60th birthday afternoon tea at The Goring Hotel. We were slightly early so I sat and had a glass of sparkles and started knitting a pair of Edwin Cream Wrist warmers like these ones but in pink.

I continued knitting them on the train home with one eye closed because I had drank a tad too much

Mini Cuckoo broke the arm of my specs

I loved the first pair I made but I fancied something less tricksy to concentrate on for the middle part as I had lots of social play dates lined up for the boys. I decided to just do a pattern of purl stitches in the stocking stitch.  I wish I hadn't now as they aren't so nice.

I spy Suzie Johnson! She wrote the pattern

They did turn out pretty good over all except for the bit where I went off pist AND for the fact that I made the cuffs longer and so ran out of yarn. I bought another ball but it was the wrong dye lot and it's everso noticable. Suzie thinks it is tres tres tres mal, I can live with it though. Only God is perfect and even he buggers up sometimes.

One night, shortly after I'd finished the wrist warmers I started making a tea cozy on a total whim. It was one of those occasions I have day dreamed about where I have in my stash (lovingly built up over time in a frenzy of yarn obsessed cash splashing) the perfect yarn in the perfect colours.

I'm not sure if my memory serves me correctly but I started it one evening and continued in the morning. I think I finished it three cups of tea later. I cant be certain but it was a super quick thing to make.

I made it by making two granny stripe rectangles and sewed them together leaving enough space for the spout and the handle to poke out. I then scrunched the top up and tied it up and added a couple of pompoms.

I love it! I love that it neatly fits two of my tea pots. By some feat of trickery and magic it fits both my three cup pot and my four cup pot. 

Totally set up pic. There was no tea in the pot, no milk in the jug.
Nuffin.
The cup had dust in it too

Oooooooo look! I have written a blog post! Well, blow me down! (I use exclamation marks too much, they make me sound like an idiot but I worry I'll sound bigheaded without them. I'd rather be considered simple than big headed)

xxx

ps. Linda Gilbert, please email me your address xxx

Easter 2012

We went to Salcombe to The Seaside House for the Easter holidays and it were gert lush!

Oh flipping hell. I have written and rewritten this paragraph but I am finding it hard to get my words out.  I thinks it a combination of having written this post in my head a dozen times, the desire to be humorous and having left it quite a long time between posts. So I'll just natter away and see what twoddle falls out of my head and into the computer.

I love Salcombe. It's a funny little town but there is something for everyone there. Water, sailing, beaches, shops, walks...  and arguably the best sweet shop in the South West. Now I'll say this but please don't judge me, the only thing I'm not keen on is the abundance of the "Rah Rah" set during peak season. Now don't get me wrong it's not so much about them, it's more about me. I find them a little intimidating on mass. It is like another world!

 

We spent the first week of the holiday with Granny and Poppa AND with The Chipper Nelly Gang! Yes you read right. They were there at the same time, it was just a stroll through the boat park and up the estuary to see them. It was quite surreal and magical. I loved our time together en famille. My boys adored Fee and Cleggy's boys. They called them 'The Mates' and wanted to be with them as much as possible. Now I could gush shamelessly but I wont because I don't want to appear odd but I will say The Mates have made me feel excited about my boys inevitable growing up. I feared that as they became proper boys rather than little children I would feel a bit disjointed from them. I worried that I wouldn't quite get them. I was always a girls girl and so have no experience with boys. Now, having spent some time with these three wonderful kids, I feel optimistic about the future in a way I hadn't quite before. I loved chatting to these big lads. I loved their magic tricks, loved their crazy dancing, loved how much they ate! They were great fun and wonderful company. That really is no surprise since Fee and Cleggy are just superb creatures themselves. (By the way Fee, today one of my mates who reads your blog said she thinks Clegg is very handsome. Then Big, out of the blue, said in the car on the way to beavers. "Cleggy is Clever Cleggy. Bery Clever Cleggy" Does that make up for the Wubbish Dad thing?)

Here are a few pics. I was Wubbish at taking photo's when we were there. I took my nice camera but it stayed in the bag and I used my mobile, not very often either. Do go over to Fee's to see her post about their holiday as she has some wonderful pictures of South Devon to peruse.

The boys and I made up a silly High Five hand shake with in about half an hour of meeting.
I always got it wrong!

I love this photo. Happy smiley faces.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!

This is not a typical shot of these two. Geordie Boy is usually blurry because he is so busy and this must be the only time he wasn't grinning from ear to ear and back again. Alfie, despite being a preteen was utterly charming, not to mention cool, and spent very little time on the DS.

Kenzie's awesome card tricks.

One of my favourite memories from the holiday was Geordie Boy hurtling down the hill in our cheap stroller with Cleggy racing after him. He may or may not have been shouting "Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw" but Fee was definately incapacitated with mirth! Poor Cleggy, every time he said "No" in his Newcastle-ish accent Mr C and I would bellow "Naaaaaaaaaaaaaw" in the style of the teacher from Postman Pat. We thought it was hilarious. I'm sure it wasn't. Sorry chap. 

On Easter Friday my belle souer arrived for the weekend which eased the leaving of The Mates for my boys. We had the usual lovely time all together but the highlight was definately all becoming entranced with the app Draw Free. My Mother in Law was just hilarious, her embellished drawing of pee will go down in family folklore. Along with Uncle Dorv turning fire breather. (Scroll to the end of that very long post)

The second week all the in laws went home and Mr C went back to work. But I wasn't alone as Kmmms and her girls came to stay for a couple of nights.

Kmmms and the sunshine baby

It was so lovely to spend some time together. We chatted, we laughed, drank a little wine in the afternoon in a beer garden, went crabbing, ate ice cream, laughed at Cassette Boy's The Apprentice mash up and did some yarny stuff too. Please do a crochet up date post, Kmmms, so we can see your super Granny Squares.

Kmmms went home on the Wednesday a few hours after Clairey arrived. It was lovely to have that all too brief over lap. It was a bit bonkers in the small cottage with three over excited women, six kids 6 years old and under and one pre toddler, as you can imagine, but memories are made of this.

We took the ferry over to the beach on one of the days. It was a right old palaver. One of my kids kicked off and I was heard shrieking in a PMT style "You better have fun on the beach as you have no idea what an effort it is to get there with this buggy!" Poor kid. 

When we alighted from the boat the rain started falling but it soon cleared and the sky was, again, amazing, the clouds just mesmerizing.

All the children had a fantastic time. Especially Mini Cuckoo who as you can see crawled with speed across the beach and later planted himself in a rock pool before scaling the mountain of rocks to be with his brothers. It was unbelievable, one minute he was at the bottom, the next he was up the top and then he was back down again. We have bred another mountain goat!

Above is a picture of Clairey's blanket. The colours are delish. If you want to see what Kmmms was crocheting then pop over to her blog. Hopefully soon she'll have a moments peace to blog about her lovely granny blanket in the making. I realise I have just repeated myself.

Here's what I was knitting, Alice Caterpillar wrist warmers, the pattern will be in Suzie Johnson's new book which I helped her with by 'modelling' her clever knits. I say modelling but that is a generous description of my efforts. Fortunately Becca Roundhill is a superb photographer and made Suzie's stuff look as amazing on film as they are in real life. These wrist warmers are available to download from Ravelry now too.

And finally I'll leave you with this picture of a boat that tickled me!

xxx