Where do you keep yours

JosieKitten is taking part in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and doing a great job, I'm very impressed. I wasn't aware of this event or I might not have joined in but there again I am prone to idleness so this counts as my contribution. I loved JK's stash revelations, admired her storage and accessories and she got me thinking how different my own arrangements are. I'm not one for exposing my stash, mostly it's hidden away until I take all the yarn out for a bit of adoration and project fantasy but I do like to make a feature of some items. So my needles live in a vase, that I think I found in Sainsbury'sand I display some choice yarns on top of an old laundry hamper that is of course full of wool. More stash in the box in the hall and finally a rather chaotic department at the bottom of the airing cupboard. I did see an interesting post about someone who kept their craft supplies in a set of old suitcases, practical and portable.I have these two vintage pieces of luggage, I particularly like the tweed Antler case that I fancy would make excellent stash storage, but then again do I want to encourage myself to buy even more yarn.

Expiry Date

I don't take a blind bit of notice of expiry dates. I use my common sense and don't eat things that are obviously on the turn but if I have something that is well past its best by date I have been known to simply peel off that bit of the label and continue as normal. I remember hearing John Humphrys on Radio 4's Breakfast programme one day discussing this subject and saying that yoghurt was no good till it was weeks past it's expiry date and just about blowing the lid of the carton. I agree.

So I was amused to see in the local diy/garden centre this week that some perennials (and there is possibly a clue in the name) had been reduced from £2.99 to 50p because they had reached their best before date. How can plants about to spring into action and looking perfectly healthy possibly have a limited shelf life. Naturally I snapped them up and they are doing fine in the greenhouse. I have however seen a few signs that winter has now reached it's expiry date. We've had real spring weather that has done me the world of good and I can report that my favourite sheep are back in the field behind our houseI have a word with them most days. My favourite hellebore is flowering again, gorgeousand my favourite husband (so far still within his shelf life) has had his first bonfire of the season.

Scream if you want to go faster

It's a gloriously sunny day, there are just a few patches of snow remaining on the hills, washing is on the line, spring is definitely coming but somehow it just isn't exciting me as it should. It's always a long wait for us here, everyone else sees the arrival of spring bulbs well before we do, I usually don't mind but this year it just doesn't seem right.

I have lovely bulbs flowering inside and out, my orchids are putting on a wonderful display, the little cyclamen I've had for years is doing it's best, but nothing quite hits the spot.

I've started sowing seeds, my sweet peas are up and some tomatoes, I have potting to do and a small bed near the front door to renovate.

I'm wearing new socks and have another pair on the needles, which match very well with the lacy scarf I didn't knit and my knitting bag.

Plenty of things to keep me occupied, lots to admire but the usual anticipation just isn't there, I'm not sure if it isn't all the sadness in the world at present that's impacting on me. So many people going through such terrible times and I have much to be grateful for, lots of plans, a birthday party, possibly a visit from a friend overseas, another market stall and best of all a trip to Italy when the Giro passes through our village. That's it, I'm off to give myself a good talking to, then get some soil under my finger nails. Have a lovely spring weekend, I plan to.

Grizzly weather

At the end of last year we received a lovely calender from our friends in Canada. Mr FF and I both agreed we were looking forward to March, gorgeous black bears in a blizzard. I didn't expect when I turned to this month that we'd soon be having our own version of the British Columbia weather.Yes more snow. Pam and Andrew are coming for dinner tonight but instead to attending to the duck I've been clearing the drive, bound to give me an appetite.

The forecast for the weekend is more snow, Mr FF is of course planning a trip up to Perthshire on Sunday with his walking chums and an early flight on Monday. We've been there before haven't we, I shall be knitting my much needed new socks in front of the stove.
Enjoy your weekend, with or without snow, with or without bears.

I'm a cobbler's kid

Actually I'm not you probably know I'm a farmer's daughter but I am quite badly shod* at the moment. My FF has a very nice selection of hand knit socks in his drawer but I'm down to just two pairs of my own knits having worn out quite a lot of pairs recently. But apart from a bit of half hearted darning am I remedying this, no I've just finished these a plain knit pair in Opal for my April market that I might claim if they don't sell,

and these Diagonal Cross-rib socks another pattern from Favourite Socks by Interweave. They came out quite small, probably a man's 7 or 8 but I didn't have any more Regia Stretch to make them bigger. That's two great patterns this book has provided and there are lots more I want to try.
I collected two of my library reservations today, really lovely books that cost me 50p each to reserve. I particularly like the Knitted Gifts, it has some great ideas like felted oven gloves but before embarking on anything like that I should stock up on socks, just basic plain everyday socks, I can create the perfect pair later.

*"The cobbler's bairns are aye the worst shod" : this Scots saying (the cobbler's kids have the worst shoes) means that someone with a particular skill or trade is often the worst at applying it at home.

I've always been a borrower

I truly fell in love with books soon after I started school. Our teacher used to read to us every afternoon, I remember Little Grey Rabbit and Beatrix Potter's tales but Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is the one that got me completely hooked. Books became requested at birthdays and Christmas with the Famous Five and the Secret Seven featuring largely.
In the 1960s there was no public library in our area, my senior school had a collection of very old books that was never added to and in our village the vicar's wife kindly allowed locals to borrow her books simply by calling round on a Friday teatime to make a selection, mainly from a large number of historical novels.

I remember my delight as a teenager when a purpose built library opened in my local town, I signed up straight away and as I've moved around I've always had library membership. Working in Edinburgh I had access to an amazing choice of local authority lending, from the cavernous central library within walking distance of my office to a wonderful little neighbourhood library just round the corner that I visited several times a week. When I finished work it really wasn't feasible to keep borrowing and taking books back without a lengthy car journey so eventually I stopped. I have lots of books in the house, cookery, gardening, knitting of course and I had before I retired built up a selection of paperbacks mainly sourced from charity shops. I read and return these but I've noticed this year that all the prices seem to have increased. Where I could find 50p novels they are now probably £1.50 or more and some shops are pricing their books individually, based on who knows what. Personally I think this is a bad idea, I know I can afford to pay the asking price for a book but at 50p each I'd happily take a handful risking authors I didn't recognise and often finding some real treasures.
So with all the talk of library closures due to local authority budget cuts and despite there not being (currently) any threatened library loss in our area I decided I needed to show my support by using a library again. Our nearest one is part of a new leisure complex and about 25 minutes drive away but I can combine visits with a big shop. I went in to sign up earlier this week and even though I don't live in the Council area I was welcomed and quickly enrolled so that I could withdraw books immediately. I'm pleased to report that the place was buzzing, not just borrowers but lots of people using the computers and a children's after school reading session taking place. Back home and pleased with my selection I went on line to browse the catalogue and have reserved three knitting books that will come from other branches, excellent.

I hope you love and use your local library and that it isn't under threat, I know there are huge and varied demands on limited public spending at the moment but the provision of access to knowledge and literature surely should never be considered as dispensable.

Other people's knitting

After a couple of good days in the garden last week generally tidying and willing the snowdrops to start flowering, I woke up to this on Saturday morning.
What is a girl to do but knit. Pam started this little cardigan in Patons 4 ply cotton. The colour is grape and the pattern is Mimi from Pipsqueaks by Kim Hargraves. Halfway up the back Pam decided she didn't like knitting 4 ply, I think its probably my favourite so I was happy to take over. The safety pins up the front are to mark the positions for the buttons which I don't have, there is no separate front or neck band. So back to sock knitting for a while, though I do enjoy making things for the little ones so I might start something woolly for Amelia soon, especially if the weather stays like this. While I'm waiting for my own bulbs to begin their display I treated myself to a bunch of British grown daffs, I just couldn't wait any longer.