Yarndale escapades of two numptys

It was our second year visiting Yanrdale and again we made a long weekend of it. 

In normal conditions it would take around 3 hours to drive to Skipton but the weather on Friday was just horrendous, the traffic on the motorway was not heavy but because of the torrential rain it was just crawling along.

Joanne was driving, I took these photos while we were on the motorway, around lunchtime, so you can see just how bad the weather was!

When we set off Joanne asked me for the postcode because she didn't have the paperwork for where we were staying at hand, I googled it and because I didn't have my glasses on showed her my phone, she put in the postcode and off we went.

About an hour into the journey Joanne questioned our arrival time and the postcode, it was then realization dawned, we had been travelling for an hour in the WRONG direction!!

You just couldn't make this up could you, lol  Luckily when we discovered our stupid mistake we were able to get off the motorway we were on and right onto a motorway that was heading in the right direction.  

It still didn't alter the fact that we had added unnecessary time to our journey, which, (taking into account food and toilet breaks) took us around 7 hours!!

What a pair of numptys 

The stupidity didn't end there though,  yours truly did not pack a towel, deodorant or face wash!

Luckily Joanne had packed two towels and the other things I could buy.  

Thankfully the rest of the weekend went without a hitch :-)

I think it must have rained all Friday night and Saturday morning the rain was horizontal, honestly, I've never seen so much rain!, It looked like getting wet!  

I said to Joanne, "oh look Noah is coming across the field to collect us"

It seems that one of us had still got our numpty head on, because she came to the window and looked🤣🤣

So dramas aside we had a good weekend, the weather could have been better, although the biblical rain on Saturday morning had passed by the time we got there and the day ended up sunny and bright.  The rain did return on Sunday however and it more or less rained all day, I think it put some people off  visiting as the Sunday was really quiet, nice to walk round and look though.  I did feel sorry for some of the stall holders though as some of the overnight rain had seeped in, one stall in particular had very soggy samples. 

Last year I got a bit carried away with buying things, this year I went with purpose and thought about what I was buying, I don't want to end up with lots of pretty yarn sitting there not being used, I haven't got the space for it, and to be honest It overwhelms me when there is lots of 'stuff'.  

So, I bought just three skeins of yarn this year :-)

One from West Green Loft Yarns and two skeins of  un-dyed yarn, unfortunately I've misplaced the card with the name of which stall I got the two un-dyed skeins from at the moment.

I keep being drawn to un-dyed yarn at the moment, this one will be hats for Bonnie and Arthur and at £5 a skein it was a bargain buy.  It's a Falkland yarn with merino so it's beautifully soft.

I did buy some other things of course, a couple of  Christmas presents for Joanne, and Joanne might have bought me a couple of Christmas presents on behalf of Stevie and Jenny too :-) .  I bought some needles in sizes I hadn't got but the other things that came home with me were in kit form, so I will share what those are as I get round to making them.

I'll leave you will a couple of photos from the day, although I didn't take many because I kept forgetting!

The obligatory Yarndale bunting photo :-)

Teddies knitted for the Mercy Ships, this years charity

Bonnie lost in amongst the teddies, doing a really dodgy smile, lol

See you soon

-X-

Celebrate the seasons

I like all the seasons for different reasons but Autumn is my favourite.  I love when you can feel that change in the air, when it starts to get a little cooler, when the nights start to draw in and it gets dark earlier and you can pull down the blinds and get cosy.  I like that things start to slow down and I feel like I have more time to do the things I want to do, when the nights are lighter I keep finding jobs to do, which means less time relaxing, so I welcome Autumn. 

As much as I love planting things for Summer in the garden I don't mind pulling them up and putting in things for Autumn and Winter either, when it comes to this time of year i'm ready for a change.  

Each season has something good about it and time flys by fast enough without us wishing it to be Spring or Summer again, they will come round soon enough.

The last two weekends the weather has been really more summer-like though,

 and I enlisted Marks help in the garden, we added some top soil to the border by the path that we never got round to doing last year and we also planted tulip bulbs, lots of tulip bulbs.  If they all come good both sides of the path should look very colourful come the Spring.

He also got my seasonal box down from the loft, I couldn't wait to get pumpkins out  🎃.
Not scary ones though, just the pretty ones :-)

This was a new purchase this year from Home Sense, it has lights inside, although I keep forgetting to put them on!

I haven't done as well as I'd planned this year with making seasonal ornaments, but you might remember that I stitched this one back in February.

PUMPKIN SPICE FARM 
by Hands on Design

I got round to making it into a little pillow last week and  I LOVE how it turned out!

I used the recommended orange chenille for the edging and the backing is some brown wool fabric I bought at one of the stitching shows we went to earlier in the year

 I do struggle when it comes to making up stitched ornaments, it' s like when you have spent all those hours knitting something and then you are faced with sewing it together, it can be very daunting. 
I'm not very adventurous with the finishing but I am getting better at putting them together, the key is to take my time I think, I tend to want to rush and see it all finished but I now know that, for me, it's better if I do one stage at a time so that I don't loose focus and start rushing and I'm more than happy with how this one came out :-)

A week from today we we be in Skipton for Yarndale, we didn't think we would be able to get accommodation this year, but we eventually found an apartment just outside Skipton.  We are driving up on the Friday and coming back the following Monday and have tickets for visiting both days.

The exhibitor list looks impressive this year and I'm looking forward to squishing lots of yarn, although I'm going with a list this time to try and avoid impulse buys.  I'll let you know how that works out, lol

See you soon
-X-

Christmas Stitching

I started stitching Reed's Stocking by Shepherd's Bush for Arthur in the last week of July, If I had been monogamous in my crafting it would probably have been finished by now, but as I'm a crafting butterfly I'm still working on it :-)

It's close, so I'm aiming for the end of September now, still plenty of time to get it made up before December 1st.

How it should look

My progress

Once you get going on these stockings they do stitch up quite quickly.  The beads and buttons etc will be the last things to add before making it up into a stocking.

It's been a beautiful sunny day here today, although cooler, I'm loving the nip in the air when you go out in the morning and the cooler nights too.  This time of year is much more to my liking than hot sticky nights when you can't sleep.

I'm managing to keep on top of collecting the acorns which litter our garden at this time of year, it's a case of going out and sweeping the path almost every day and mowing over the grass two or three times a week but it's the easiest way to pick them up and it doesn't take long, as long as it's dry.

I've been planting some bulbs and picked up some Violas from the garden centre last week too, and planted this little pot to keep on the patio table.

Their little faces are so sweet, don't you think?

I've planted up a couple of pots with yellow ones too, they look so cheerful and brighten the garden so much when the sun shines :-)

We had a spare trough going now the courgettes have finished so I planted it up with a few herbs, Rosemary, Parsley, Spearmint and Chives.  I only planted what I thought I would use for now.   

I've already been using the Spearmint in my infuser bottle and it makes a nice refreshing drink :-)

Well that's it for my Sunday catch-up.  I wish you all a lovely week and I'll see you soon.

-X-

Hello Walter

I have swapped a day at work so have today off and will be working all day tomorrow instead so I thought I do a quick post.

Meet Walter Bear 🧸

I came across this free pattern on Ravelry some time ago and I got all but one arm and his ears made up, his eyes were in and the stuffing of the finished body parts was done, then it got put in a bag and I forgot all about it.  I have no idea why I abandoned it when it was so close to being finished, more than likely something else grabbed my attention.

Every so often Oliver would ask me if I's finished it so a few days before we went to London I dug it out and over two evening I finished it off.

The hardest thing about this little bear was the nose, I think I stitched it on about three times before I thought I looked ok,

I think I pulled a little too much when shaping his face, you can see on the photo that it look pulled, but in real life it doesn't look that bad, must be the angle of the photo.

I thought he looked a little naked so knitted him a cardigan too, I couldn't find a free pattern for a little jumper, if anyone know of one please let me know.

I put Walter in a gift bag and gave him to Oliver when we were on the train, he loved him and said that he loved his nose, lol the one thing I struggled with!

Forgot to say, the pattern is by Janine Holmes on Ravelry, and I used Drops cotton, in case you are interested :-)

See you soon

-X-

Lovely Lively Brighton

I had a few misgivings as we arrived in Brighton.  First impressions were of  a rundown seaside town well past it's hey day, a little bit scruffy and lots of graffiti.  But we both changed our mind once we had got a chance to have a wonder around.  

There are absolutely loads of shops in an area called The Lanes, just a short walk from the front, lovely independent shops selling everything from jewellery and clothes to records and plants.

  

You are spoilt for choice for places to eat too, Chinese, Indian, Greek, Turkish, Thai, Japanese as well as the usual pub grub and of course fish and chips.  We tried one of the Greek restaurants on Tuesday night and it was wonderful.

The weather was kind to us too, although from these photos you would think otherwise!

It was late afternoon when I went a little walk down to take a look at the Bandstand and the sea, It was quite warm but very very windy, that's whats whipping up those waves.  

I love watching the sea but I wouldn't like to have been as close as these kids!

Our hotel was right opposite this beautiful Victorian Bandstand, built in 1884 it is said to be one of the finest examples of Victorian Bandstands surviving in England today. 

It is rather lovely, don't you think?

Another building from the Victoria era is the Grand Hotel, It was built in 1864 and still looks very impressive 

It was at the Grand Hotel In 1984 during the Conservative Party Conference an assassination attempt was made on the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, she of course survived but the bomb killed five other people.

The Upside Down House on the beach, It looks rather quirky but we didn't go in.

Brighton has a pebble beach, so this pool is a great idea for the kids

Looking back from the Pier

The i360 viewing tower is on the seafront, and despite the fact that I not like heights you should all know by now that I have to go on the highest things, lol

The pod takes you up 450ft, you don't even realise you are moving.

The building of the Royal Pavilion started in 1787 it was built in three stages and was a seaside retreat of King George IV.  The rooms all have Chinese or Indian themes, I was taken with the dining room and the staircase which was wood but painted to look like wicker, very clever, and must have taken an age to do.

There is a no photographs inside the rooms, rule but I did manage to take a sneaky one of the dining room before I was told off by a rather stern guide :-0

That chandelier is HUGE, there is a dragon at the top which is carved from wood and is 10ft long.

There is more information HERE if you are interested.

We also took a trip on one of the tour buses which was quite interesting, funny thing happened though, the tour was advertised as £14 each, ( but you do get three tours), we got on and paid by card, we were charged £20 for the two of us.  When I mentioned it to Mark and he looked at the ticket we had been charged the pensioners price😮😮😮 Cheek!! 

I've got another two years before that privilege, we had the last laugh though because it saved us £8😁😁😁 

We didn't go straight home on Wednesday, Mark had to go to his office to pick up drawings, (the firm he works for is based in Portsmouth), and from there we decided to stop in Marlborough, Wiltshire, we stopped off there a few years back when we visited Stonehenge, it's only a little town but has some nice shops and pubs.  

Mark has the rest of the week off too so I put him to work in the garden yesterday morning moving some plants and emptying the window boxes, cleaning windows and putting weedkiller around the drive, while I gave the house a good clean, we were all done by early afternoon so I was able to sit and do some stitching on Arthur's Christmas stocking, (I will get around to taking a photo this weekend).  Today we have emptied the shed and evicted the spiders and put everything back nice and tidy, I have also given my little blue house a good clean and washed the curtains and the rug, It was too hot to sit in there this afternoon though, but it's all clean now for me to do that tomorrow.

I offered a book on my last post, there was only Tina (no blog) who said she would like to read it so Tina, it's yours.  I will message you later but if you are coming to stitching on Wednesday I will bring it with me.

Another long post, I seem to have an inability to keep things short, lol

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend if you are in the UK, it looks like August will go out with a heatwave so being British we will all be making the most of it 😎😎 because it could all change in an instance!

See you soon

-X-

A visit to one of my most favourite places

Oliver will be in year 2 when he goes back to school in a few weeks time and they are going to be learning about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, Jenny said it would be good if he could actually see where things happened so we planned a day trip on Saturday as a surprise for him.  

He loves history programmes and is into reading the Horrible History books, so where better to go than London.  We had a great day, just the three of us, we can get the train straight though to Marylebone from our local station, it takes a little over 2 hours, but it seems like no time at all when you are on a train.

Apart from the sights, he loved the Lego shop (of course!!) and the M&M shop, Jenny had booked us a table at the Rainforest Cafe for tea, which is a fun experience, it's decked out as you would imagine, like a rainforest, complete with sounds and animated animals.  I thought the food and drinks were on the expensive side, (£4.50 for a small bottle of coke!!) and the cheapest adult meal was £20.  

But having said that, the food was good and the portions quite large and I suppose you are paying for the atmosphere.  Oliver loved it, so that's what counts.

Our first stop had been Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the Guard, but after waiting for around half an hour security came and put a board out saying that there was no changing of the guard ceremony that day (boo).  I did feel sorry for an American couple who were getting on a boat this morning so wouldn't get to see it, they said that the people at home wouldn't believe they had come all this way and not got to see it!

There were things we didn't get to do, the London Eye didn't have tickets available for any times we could do that day and we didn't have time to climb the Monument, we have already talked about taking him down again soon and we will get tickets in advance next time.

It was a long day, we got on the train at 7.20am and did't get home until 11pm, needless to say I needed a lie-in this morning!

I have managed to get into the garden for an hour this afternoon just to give the grass a quick mow and tidy up.  Lots of things are now passed their best, but the roses are still giving flowers.  We have had quite windy weather and it's blown my Sweet Peas over, I keep twisting them back but they keep getting blown again!

My one Dahlia that didn't get eaten my the slimies

I had to pop to Lidl this morning and came back with a blueberry plant.

I've no idea how big they grow, Mark planted it up in this pot, it's quite a large pot so should be ok for a while

We've both got next week off work, we are going to Brighton for a few days (until Wednesday), I don't know what we will do for the rest of the week, I would like to have at least one day at home doing nothing but stitching, I haven't picked anything up all week and I really need to crack on with Arthur's Christmas stocking.  It's Bank Holiday a week tomorrow, so it will be a nice long weekend to tag onto our week off, then it will be September, you can already feel a change in the air in the mornings.  

Anyway, this post is already longer than I planned, (will my posts ever be short, lol)

I'm off to have a nice long soak in the bath and start a new book, oh before I forget, I have just finished See You in September, by Charity Norman, I bought the book at a book sale and I will put it in the charity bag to pass on, unless someone would like it?  I really enjoyed it so if you think it's one you would enjoy please leave a comment saying so and I will send it to you.  

(If you look on Amazon or Goodreads you can see if it's something that appeals to you)

If more than one person wants it I will put the names in a 'hat' next Sunday.

Right, i'm really going now, lol

See you soon

-X-