Yorkshire ramblings

This is the latest I have been in terms of blogging and in part it is because we returned on Monday from 3 nights in Yorkshire at Brinham Rocks; a late decision to tardily celebrate Dan's 21st and to have some fun before Dan and Gemma's return to Uni next weekend (sob,sob).

We had a lovely time.  Some great weather though very windy!!

We stayed at Brinham Rocks Cottages which were really sweet and had an outside hot-tub (and yes we sat at night in the cold wind in the warm waters!) and a lovely swimming pool.  Will definitely go again.  There is so much to do in Yorkshire as you can see!  We enjoyed Brinham Rocks

At Pately Bridge we found a lovely sweet shop

Though not all the sweeties were appreciated!

We visited Harewood House

... and enjoyed some late colour in the garden

Had tea at Bettys (not for the faint hearted in terms of cost!).

The odd desert!

.. and the marzipan fruits in the window, gorgeous

We visited Fountains Abbey, 

Rosie imitated a statue (can you spot Dan hidden behind gently encouraging her to stay)

Ripon cathedral, Harrogate and finally big kids that we are the Forbidden corner which is about finding your way around and spotting clues (would be great for 7-13 year olds). 

Phew!  I have returned a little exhausted but I do love Yorkshire.  I'm a Yorkshire lass and the rugged beauty does pull at my heartstrings and I love the moors.

As we left Yorkshire the rain was pouring and the moors were pretty wild.

So I've returned to a very busy week at work and a bit of a desire to run back to Yorkshire.  Fraid I've nothing really to show on the crafting front.  I will make up for it this weekend though with plenty of updates and new fabrics.

rippling along

As promised here is my finished ripple blanket, orginally started at Christmas.  It probably wasn't wise to pick such a big project as my first attempt at crochet, partly because of the change in my tension over time, but also how long it has taken me.  Still I am pretty pleased with the result and looking forward to a bit of a snuggle as the weather gets colder and as I have used Debbie Bliss Baby cashmero it meant I could collect the wool over time without knowing what you have actually spent.  And I've learnt to crochet - great to learn a new skill.

As mentioned before I learnt mostly from Lucy's website.  I learnt how to "fill in" the "hills and valleys" to get an (almost) straight edge from Shanti's instructions and then just double crocheted a row in duck-egg blue.

I didn't know what to do with the edging so I've just settled for a row of double crochet and then an edge in green.  More rows would probably have looked better, but it was almost a ball of wool and an evening's work each time!

I blocked  the blanket on my bedroom floor using my floor steamer!  A bit unconventional but it worked quite well. 

So here are a few views to show off ....

.... a here in its new spot demonstrated by my furry friends.  It looks pretty good with my Kiss cushion.

Thought I'd also give a quick up-date on my current knitting.  This is a raglan sweater and knitted in just 2 pieces, so more in a few weeks.

We had a rather nice Sunday in Morecambe.   First the weather was great and it was a vintage day!  There were fantastic sandcastles ...

Lots of old cars ....

.... plenty of camper love

..... and vintage icecream vans.

The Platform was filled with stalls and we bought lots of vintage teacups which we are collecting to be the favours at the wedding next year.  And one just for me ....

We admired the wedding cakes

... and of course a pop-up vintage tearoom with just a few small cakes and scones!

Later I am afraid there were further cakes from the yummy cupcake  shop. Why don't mine look like that!

A good weekend all round.  Sun, vintage, cake, puppy-fun, some knitting, material shopping, a couple of films and family still at home! Wish it had lasted longer.

September sunshine

Quite an epic week as my lovely Dan turned 21 on Wednesday 29th.  Where does the time go?  Birthdays are a memory jogger for us mums.  The lovely cottage hospital (Helme Chase) where he was born, the tea in a china cup and slice of toast brought after, and of course, too many memories to write here of Dan himself growing up.  I am very, very proud of Dan - he definitely is the sunshine of my life!

We had a pretty low key celebration; hidden presents with clues to find them; Gemma decorated the house while we were at work; then a nice meal with just us three at the Brewery in Kendal. 

And of course some rather sticky fudge birthday cake ....

Mary Berry's recipe.  It looks a bit messy, but tasted pretty good, especially warm with ice crea.

I have desperately trying to finish my ripple blanket this weekend.  I started in December, having been inspired by Lucy at Attic 24 and followed her pattern.  This was my first attempt at crochet and a blanket was probably a bit much to start with.  It's very interesting to compare my tension on the first stripe with the last; much less loose now!  Hopefully this won't show too much but you can see it in this photo.

Anyway despite my efforts which have resulted in aching hands I didn't manage to finish and so will reveal the final blanket next weekend.  

As you can see from the title we actually had sunshine on Sunday and had a lovely walk near Arnside by the sea.  Just look at the scenery 

This is a rather confusing shot as it is still the sea-shore, but we have lots of encroachment round the estuary.

 
After watching children's films last weekend we went to the other extreme on Saturday and gave the new Total Recall a watch and have to admit we all liked it.  If you like the Dystopia genre definitely worth a go. 

Finally welcome to my new readers and thanks for the lovely comments.  I will promise more crafty mentions next weekend.  Hope the sun shines on you this week.