New Arrival!

 A new baby to knit for  : ))

Welcome to little Pardis and congratulations to the proud parents.

(Now, where's my pink yarn?.....)

October clubs - The Day Dream

I'm a real fan of the Pre-Raphaelites and Dante Gabriel Rossetti is definitely in my top three. This month's inspiration was from one of my personal favourite works, The Day Dream. Painted in 1880 and said to be inspired by William Morris' wife, Jane, she is langorous, seductive yet somehow unattainable (which is just as well if she was based on someone else's wife!).

I softened the tones for the Falkland roving as the colour will intensify on spinning.

And for richness and texture, Fibre Adventure Club added silk noil and the curly sheen of soft grey Gotland x Shropshire fleece.

Sock club was a layer-dyed semi-solid on a superwash Bluefaced Leicester yarn.

What happened to October?

Whistlestop tour of highlights from October.....

29th October was the first gig of a friend's new band, Navigation Road. (For those of you not au fait with the area, Navigation Road is probably most famous as a stop on the Met to Altrincham!). It was a great night with a good turnout from Will's teachers (the guitarist is a science teacher at Will's school). Looking forward to the next gig at Flaming Galah in Alty on 10 December - see you there!



30th October - Marigolds akimbo with a day spent cleaning the bathrooms, then into Domestic Goddess mode with a spot of baking. Just pass me the polish for that halo!


31st October - The totally awesome Robert Plant and Band of Joy at the Palace. We could only get seats in the circle so the view wasn't great but The Man was amazing and well worth the crushed legs and overpriced canned beer : )).  Reworked versions of some of my favourite Led Zep classics were spellbinding and the new work, if a little on the country side for me at times, was still great.He might be over 60 but he still rocks (and I still would).

ps. "I Spy" books

Good old Google. After my last post I was curious to find out what happened to I Spy books so I did a quick search and I'm amazed to say that they have been relaunched! The covers have changed (I'm not sure about the big Michelin Man on the front, but hey ho). This is the one I remember best from my childhood. I wonder if you can still send off your finished book to Big Chief I Spy? Ah, fond memories....

(pps. I don't think there actually was an I Spy book of hospitals, just in case you were a bit concerned from the last post).

Tassimo - best bargain find ever!

Anyone remember "I Spy" books? Well, the last few years have seen me collect more stamps in my "I-Spy Book of Hospitals" than I care to think about. That said, there is an upside to all the hospital appointments (apart from all the benefits that come from having the NHS in general, that is).

The first is trips to Fuel cafe bar in Withington. Awesome breakfasts and veggie food, great coffee and a great atmosphere. This is our post-hospital treat, a chance to wind down after what have been some fraught and some less fraught, appointments/scans/tests etc.

The second was a bit of a one-off. Fuel, being in a student area, doesn't open until 11am. We were a bit early so decided to wander round the charity shops as we like to look for old bits of furniture, books etc. As we wandered round the Age UK shop, I spotted a Tassimo coffee maker. I have wanted one of these for just ages but couldn't quite justify the price tag when I have a perfectly serviceable cafetiere. BUT, this one was a bargain price and the cash would go to a great cause, too, so needless to say, I snapped it up. It is now cleaned up and has pride of place in my kitchen. (And it makes great coffee in less than a minute - amazing!). Hopefully this will save me from my Starbucks withdrawal symptoms since I gave up working in town : )