Stuff

I've assembled the new bookcases, humphed the existing furniture around to fit them in and have already just about filled them with stuff, including...

... the beginnings of a fabric stash; browns & reds...

... pinks, purples & blues.

They are cotton clothes that the children have outgrown and are for future applique & patchwork projects (hmmm!).

However, my next planned project is to use...

...the plain purple felted jumper to make a dog for A using this pattern...


It was my birthday recently and I was lucky enough to receive a generous amount of Amazon vouchers which I am using to stock up my already vast collection of craft/cooking/just nice books. These are my latest additions...

The boxed set of Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass is for A, the books are illustrated by Helen Oxenbury and are both beautiful editions. I bought them via Amazon Marketplace and they were ridiculously cheap - I pretty much paid just for postage.

Of the others, after an initial flick through "Homemade" looks the most attractive. I'm saving them for later though, I've plenty to be getting on with for now...

...I'm still in the process of making a knitted teddy for N. I'm using cotton yarn this time which seems to be less forgiving of my uneven stitching. I'm sure it'll look fine once it's done though.

Finally, a brief wander round the garden yesterday evening (en route to the shed to search out rawl plugs for yet more shelves) revealed orange to be a featuring colour...

busy lizzies


crocosmia



rowan berries


cherry tree leaves against a fatsia japonica leaf

Bike ride & introducing Choonin

It was such a lovely morning I set off for my bike ride for the first time without a fleece!



Off in a new direction today, this cyclepath has some sculptures along the way...


The path used to be a railway line


The Roman soldiers must have just been painted in the last couple of days as I could still smell the paint. I was a little disappointed as I liked how they used to look in all their faded rusty glory.


View from near the soldiers.


Then on to the road for the trip back home. I planned my route so I'd pass a viewpoint towards the end but it was very hazy today so the view wasn't worth taking a photo of. One to return to on a clearer, crisper day.

And when I got home...

there were banana muffins for breakfast!

I also took some photos of this little chap that I finished off last night...


I'm told his middle name is Choonin (we can't remember his first name apparently!)



I am sooo chuffed with how he turned out! I'm new to knitting and this is my first completed project. It's a very simple pattern modified from a couple of similar ones I'd seen in books. He'll be getting a hat very soon. I made him for A who clearly specified that the scarf was to be blue and the hat green and that HE was NOT a SHE! I had intended making up pink accessories and attaching some crochet flowers so just as well I checked in advance then! I'm going to tweak the pattern further when I make one for N, if it works out as I hope then I'll be sharing the pattern...