Daffodils and doves

There have been some good times over the half term holiday during 3 days off!    Dan wasn't home but I've made the effort to do somethings on my own.

A couple of bits of good luck too!  I won £50 in a local hospice lottery and found £25 in an old jacket.  So armed with some useful cash I went to a big antique Fair at the Reebok stadium which was much enjoyed, although surprisingly exhausting looking at so many stalls to try and make sure you don't miss a gem!  Perhaps Bargain Hunt is more difficult than it looks!  Anyway among my lovely purchases were another transfer cream pot and a jolly jam jar ..

3 vintage broaches, a lovely cup and a really nice collection of victorian and deco greetings cards.  These cost from 50p to £3.00, less than you would spend on a new card and so much nicer.  I actually prefer them when they are written on as there is a history there. 

 

 

I particularly like the  art deco poirot and columbine in the centre.

 

Here's a clue to another visit

 

.... a host of golden daffodils (well narcissi anyway).  Yes, a visit to Dove Cottage near Grasmere, Wordsworth's house for 8 years.

No inside photos allowed I'm afraid.  It is a very unpreposing, quite dark place but interesting to look round especially some of the items on display; lovely needlecase, opium scales with a phial of Kendal Black (bought from the pharmacy).  It certainly isn't somewhere where you could feel the creative inspiration but orginally it would have had an uninterrupted view of the lake.

As you can see from the photos we have finally had some lovely sun to enjoy walking in.  Spring is definitely in the air.  On my walks I listen to audio books and I've finished 2 this year already.  The Paris Wife, which was about Ernest Hemminway's first wife.  Quite good, but I found the reader's accent a little annoying and also the characters were very egocentric and unsympathetic (6 out of 10)!  More interesting was the Red House by Mark Haddon.  This is quite a small story being about a week's holiday,  but Mark Haddon (The Curious Incident of the dog in the night) is brilliant at conveying the strange worlds which go on in our minds and the very varied ways we have of perceiving things - his writing gives me food for thought!  (7 out of 10).

I've been knitting quite a bit ... and this looks like I'm knitting very long scarves for little animals ...

 

... but no, this isn't me knitting for the dogs.  You have to knit 3 of the pieces and then plait them together to make a collar.  This was quite fiddly getting it the right length but I have sort of managed it and here is the finished jumper.

 

This is quite a plain, straightforward pattern, but as mentioned before I haven't been able to capture how lovely the wool is, so I've pinched a photo from the internet to give a better idea.

 

 

  The pattern is Forge by Rowan and I do quite like it.  I love the long sleeves, and its a lovely soft, non-itchy jumper to wear.  It knitted up very loose for me (must be my tension) and this is the small size.

 

Still working on my epic cross-stitch so an update soon and I hope to be having a go at making some clothes.  So many projects and so little time.  Back to work now but at least it is still light when I come home!  Hope you have lots of sun to enjoy this week.  Many thanks for any comments which are truly lovely to receive.