30th September 2023

 I set my alarm today even though it is a Saturday.   I wanted to get to Asda early,  get what i needed and be home before the crowds of shoppers.   I was back home by 10 am and packed it all away and settled with a cuppa.  I bought some milk free treats to send to my grand children and here's what i bought. 

Asda do a much better option for free from products and they are not cheap.  

I also wanted to try a Bacon and egg pie tasty my son made is when we were there.   Its easy to do and here is the result. 

Such a big pie that we have saved half for tomorrow's dinner. 

On the crafting front today i have done some of my scrappy Tunisian blanket.   

Oh well,  sorry its not much.  Still feeling quite low. 

29th September 2023

 Back home from our little holiday and have got the blues. Chilton in Durham is so quiet,  no sirens,  loud noise,  not many people around and no rubbish or graffiti.   The end of our road was all countryside with farms and the smell of horse 💩 or ploughed fields.  Lots of blue sky and there are no blocks of flats built. 

Im hoping to win lotto to move there cause I've realised it's where i want to be, away from all of this noise.

I hardly did much knitting, i was playing with grandkids most of time and when they went to bed it was just us adults putting the world to rights and enjoying good food.

I will leave you with the photo at Hardwick Park of the swans and their big babies. 

26th September 2023

 We got to our destination without fuss.  Such a lovely house and the area is so quiet.  No sirens, loud music or heavy traffic. 

We just got back from Hardwick Park.. its so beautiful.  Full of old trees and lots of birds, mole hills and a great play area for kids.

This turret has been repaired and could not find out about its history.

This is only one little part of the lake..

We are back home and knackered.. ready to have a cup of Yorkshire Tea.

25th September 2023

 Ooh guess where I am...

Kings Cross Station.. never been here before.   On my way to a little holiday and currently waiting due the fast train. 

There is a piano for anyone to play which is quite pleasant.  Lots of food places whichever makes your wallet jump out of shock. 

I have started knitting a pair of socks for my partner.  It's Opal neon 4ply sock yarn..

Right I'm going to do some knitting.   Will blog bit more when on the train. 

20th September 2023

 A lovely cool Wednesday with the wind blowing so fresh and cooling. Its 7 am and on the bus for another work day.  I have been working on my tunisian scrap blanket using a 5mm hook and double knit yarn scraps.  I've also put 4 ply sock scraps held together.  

It's growing quite well and all I'm doing is simple stitch and purl stitch.   There's no planning or designing at all.. its just fun using up my scraps. 

I also watched a podcast this morning about slow stitch journal and i started one ages ago so i must get on with that.  I just need to get a better supply of lace,  fabric scraps etc to give me a bit more choice. 

Oh well,  I've got to get off the bus and c get the next one.  Have a good day everyone. 

17th September 2033

 

It is a lovely cool Sunday here in Essex and we are due some heavy rain and possibly some thunder which I am looking forward to.  I often open the kitchen door to get the fresh breeze flowing through the house.  

As promised from yesterday, I have a couple of pictures to show you of my latest projects which I have been working on.

This first picture is of my 3/4 inch hexagons which have been basted the old fashioned way, without the glue, over papers and all sewn together by hand.  

I have taken the basting stitches out and the papers and decided to iron on the back some vilene just to secure it a bit till I can decide what I can do with it.

I was thinking of making a book cover for my project book that I like to keep notes in or I could make a little case or project bag.

I am not really sure yet so I thought if I at least have it ready, I can then decide later and it will be all good to go.

I got the fabric from Amazon which were charm packs, small ones and I bought the papers from Amazon too.

This next photo I have been working on for quite a long time. I hate throwing away scraps and I decided to get the sewing machine out and just randomly sew scraps onto a piece of wadding with a cotton backing.  It took a fair while to do.  On some of the folds you can see dress making pins which is where I made a 'boo boo' and could not get the fabric to either fit or have enough to fold.  

I have been having a go at some basic embroidering stitches like running stitch, hem stitch and chain stitch and quite enjoy that motion of slow stitching.  

Again, I really do not know what it will be so at the moment I am just going to enjoy it.  I am hoping I might find inspiration from the many podcasts I watch on Youtube and be enabled to make something.  We will see how it goes.

The next photo is of a beautiful Peacock butterfly that my partner took whilst at Duncan Terrace in Islington.  Isn't it gorgeous.

The next two photos were taken at New River Walk which I have blogged about before.  It has had work improvements to the river itself, the pump system and some of the shrubs.  If you had seen it last year, it was quite unkempt because the council didn't want the staff to get in the river to clear away the duck weed.  

However, lately it has been removed and looks so much better with the new pump. 

The next photo is of the foot bridge that was replaced last year as well.  Sadly, with all the works going on in New River, the gates were closed to the public and it took a long time for it all to be done.  Also, when the contractors drained the river a lot of the birds had left.  

It was so sad to see it all like that and hoping in time it will all come back to normal and get nesting birds next year in the spring.  

It is quite a nice surprise when you walk around Islington and then find the river.  It has quite a lot of history and if you get time go and google New River Walk, Islington and you will find out a lot about it's history.  

Well, that is it for now.  I am going to go and rest and hopefully do a bit of crafting.

16th September 2023

 At work all i think about is my family and my hobbies.  I have particularly thought about what i can start next and should it be colourful or bland.  My son has asked me to knit a blanket that is to do with Lord of the rings so i am going to research it first on Ravelry.

I got my slow stitching out and sorted my sewing threads.  Mt partner took this photo..

It's quite a good photo. 

Im about to go to bed now so I'll post some photos tomorrow of what i have finished.