You knitwit!

Crochet - hmmm - my first love. I fell into it's wonderful ways and together we were wonderfully creative. I was able to make things I had only seen others do. Now - here I was doing it too - bliss.

Knitting - hmmm. A prickly relationship. I would like to be friends with the knitting needle but it (they- forgot they come in pairs....) they see me as part of the 'great unwashed' and treat me as so. Thwarting my every step (stitch) as I attempt to learn new things.

My great plan this last holiday was to use every minute in the car, or sitting on the beach or in the evenings, to get out the needles and a ball of yarn and play around. 

During the evenings after our days out we would sit in our cosy warm caravan and this would happen.....

Look at pattern.

Feel inspired.

Cast on correct number of stitches.

Get interrupted.

Count stitches.

Add or rip back to correct number.

Look at pattern book for reassurance. 

Pause....deep breath....continue casting on (start thinking about putting the kettle on)

Get to end of foundation row - count again (Add or rip back to correct number)

Deep breath again (promising self a definite kettle-going-on-action at end of first true row)

Start pattern....K1 P3 K18 P3 K1.

Ok, can do this thing (said in a rousing self-help-sort-of-way)

Get to end - really - I did it? Woo hoo (now turn around and start again)

K4 P18 K4 (what was I worried about - I can do this !)

K1 P3 (CB3) 3 times P3 K1.

You what?

K1 P3 (CB3) 3 times P3 K1.

Umm. Kettle action sounding good.

Look at pattern...try to decipher the instructions.

Find the decoding and stare blankly at knitting needles.

Put knitting down.

Put kettle on.

Frown.

Make tea for all four of us, get biscuits/scones/cake and distribute between ravenous boys and try not to get involved in their game/discussion/painting/reading/origami as need to concentrate on my own torture.

K1 P3 (CB3) 3 times P3 K1.

Attempt my understanding of the above gobbledegook.

Rip back.

Try again.

Rip back.

Yarn looking a little frayed.

I am feeling a little frayed.

Look at husband - who takes one look at K1 P3 (CB3) 3 times P3 K1, snorts and grins and retreats behind his book/newspaper/map whilst planning tomorrows walk.

Hmmm

Try again.

Try to resist the urge to rip back.

Persist onto next row.

And next. (ok - getting on)

And next. (gently feeling a little less perplexed)

Then reach the part of the pattern that says

K1 P3 K3 (CF3) 2 times K3  P3 K1.

Throw knitting aside - reach for mug of tea (see that it is empty)

Sulk.

This sort of repeated itself for several days and I felt defeated, dejected and demoralised. So gave up the knitting and picked up the paint brush/book/map/biscuit/origami and started to enjoy my holiday instead!

Then, on the way home - it was an 8 hour drive - I tried again. And finally succeeded!

And now?

Well, I am knitting again - only this time, something a little less.....challenging :)

In-car entertainment - we went out in our 2cv this weekend - probably the last warm enough day to play out in our funny little car.

And my knitting love-hate relationship? Status quo.

Oh and another thing....

I am procrastinating.
If I have to do it, if it needs doing, it remains undone as I am distracted by things frivolous and unimportant.

It is damp and grey outside and I need to get the washing done.... so I light the fire to warm the house and to warm me,  but still avoid collecting up the washing.

Instead I hold the cat, look out of the window, stand by a crackling fire, blog.

If those were on my have-to-do list, I'd probably avoid them too.   Mind you, the cat is in the mood for being held and would just climb up my leg and settle herself on my shoulder regardless of what I was doing.

I am distracted by the thought that this year is almost through and I feel to have achieved very little.

I must check my list but walk determinedly passed it as I know for every one thing I cross off with a flourish, two or three more items need to be added.


So I cheer myself up with the thought of a mug of tea and fondly look at some holiday photos.

Ooh ho! Better already -besides it's Friday today and that means the weekend is almost here! Woo hoo :)

And you?

What's on your list you are actively avoiding?
The housework?
Homework?
Dusting?
Writing a letter or email?
Spill the beans, feel guilty and then go and do it!!
Have a lovely weekend

blessings  hawthorn xxxxxxxx

What was that?

Blink.

Sorry? What was that? Well that was summer -our summer and in that moment we managed to squeeze in three weeks of delicious family holiday.

We wild swam in Northumbrian rivers, body-boarded in the seas, celebrated birthdays on the beach, watched the sun go down over the Cheviot hills and over Jura.

We visited ancient stones and castles, Played in the rain and in the sun, beach combed and rock pool dabbled. What a brilliant time - holidays are like a brief romance - intense exciting and fantasy.

Excuse me while I wash out the salt from my hair

For a few short blissful weeks I turned feral.

I lived alongside a rocky highland shore where there were more seals than sunbathers.
It was cathartic.
It was healing and it was wonderful.

I spent quality time with my boys - I watched two of them grow and mature into sun-kissed, tousle haired young men with freckles on their noses. Himself and I both calmed down and left our work-stresses behind, found time to talk and more importantly - time to just sit in companionable silence.

We both breathed.

Deeply.

Now we have returned. The holiday washing is - how can I put it...... bordering on solar eclipse level. Not that we were that grubby I hasten to add! No, it's salt crusty jeans and sandy socks. It is bracken scented jerseys and river wet towels and swimming costumes. Wet suits hang out dripping, bodyboards are stacked up waiting to be put away till next year (oh what a depressing thought) and beach-combed treasures lie in bags awaiting rediscovery and placing somewhere special.

Despite all our yearnings to return to our island feral dreams we have returned to normality and our cats. Who are delighted to see us and as I type, Pan is sitting on my knee and purring her little heart out and kneading with pinsharp claws - bless.

I am back.

I will return.

But I need to hang the washing out first............

Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again

I am not in a good place at the moment, I need to get my self sorted and address my work and my life balance - so until I have sorted things out, I will be a bit quiet on the blog front.

Merry part and sometime soon  - merry meet again, be happy - xx

Tuesday thoughts - bullet pointed....

• Did you see that woman knitting at Wimbledon? Well done her - more power to her knitting needles!

• This must have been the greyest, wettest, dullest most disappointing start to a summer E*V*E*R!. 
• Weather like this quashes all creativity.
• Need something cheerful to brighten my day and get my crafting groove back on......

• Fancy trying these out? I do.

Audrey Wilson at The Design Studio 

• Found this pattern (a free download on Ravelry), think I can feel a bit'o knittin' coming on!

1. Work stressful?
2. Kids impersonating a whirlwind?
3. Weather getting you down?
4. Vacuum cleaner on a sabbatical and carpet looking like it has done three rounds with Mike Tyson?

• If you have answered yes to 1, 2, 3 and/or 4 - this is the antidote you need :)

• Follow this link HERE  

•  So, going to join me? If you do, let me know and we can link up. 

• Ah, feeling better already.....just need to do something about the serious shortage of sunshine !

Bread, biscuits and walking

Did anyone else notice the rain? Oh, so it wasn't just me then......

Fed up with being cooped up again over the weekend due to the rather moist weather conditions, we set about baking.

I made bread - not as virtuous as it sounds! I have had a serious case of the wanties for a bread maker for ages and this year, for my birthday I received a rather tasty one.  Over the weekend our house had a delicious warm bready-scent tickling our taste buds.

Youngest fancied making scones but a quick foray into the baking cupboard revealed a grave deficiency of baking powder. We reached for a baking cook book and found ourselves a very tasty quick and easy biscuit  recipe. Youngest was soon at work, much dusting with flour and decorating of biscuits occurring.

He is taking after his mom (me!!) coz half way through the recipe he 'tweaked it' as he knows his dad and elder bro love raisins and sultanas in their biscuits so he hurled a huge handful in for them.
The were super yum!
So yummy that I have included the recipe below:
All butter cookies**

275g/10oz plain flour
90g/3 1/3oz caster sugar
10ml/2 tsp vanilla essence
200gm/7oz butter

• Mix flour and butter until looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
• Add sugar and vanilla and process until it forms a dough.
• At this point the recipe calls for the dough being rolled into a thick sausage and chilling for half an hour - trying telling that to an 11 year old......
• So we rolled little lumps into balls and flattened, then 'stamped' to make decorated biscuits.
• Bake at 200deg c/400deg f/gas mark 6. for 8 - 10 mins.
• Try to cool on a baking tray alternatively slap backs of hands as they sneak over to pinch still steaming hot biscuits.
• Scoff with copious amounts of tea as you watch the clouds clear and decide that now would be a good time to go for a quick walk.
• Don boots and grab camera and go!

Last few instructions are not necessary to make the biscuits - they were our optional extras!

We are lucky where we live, not far from our door is this wonderful spot. Not that you can see with all this lush growth but on the right of the spout is a cave, my two boys and a dog! Told you, you couldn't see them, you'd have to wait till winter before anything would be revealed.

The meadows were full of wild flowers and in the breeze the grass waved and undulated like huge sheets of water - it was cathartic to be able to get out - I think I was beginning to suffer cabin fever!

And suddenly it's Monday again- how does that happen?
How was your weekend?
Good?
Wet?
Productive?

Have yourselves a lovely day and may the sun shine where ever you are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

oops nearly forgot ** All Butter cookies came from this book and it was on page 400.