Week 35 of 2025

No finishes this week, but a few works in progress -

A pair of handspun socks that are almost finished (started the ribbing - this is my take-along project).

A new weaving project on the loom - another set of thrum towels (the last ones are so useful).

Knitting sleeves on a sweater - the sleeves have taken me a lot longer to knit than the rest of the sweater (I am knitting the sleeves two-at-a-time so there is a lot more adjusting of stitches and yarn than knitting the body of the sweater). I spun the yarn for this sweater during TdF this year (the green), and I am knitting it with some commercial mohair/silk yarn (the blue/grey).

Photos from Around -

Sunset walk.

Sunrise - we have had so much rain and the grass is green again.

The Mountain Ash tree is so full of berries, and here it is full of birds too.

GingerSnap! resting in the hot sunroom (we have had probably the last hot days of summer this week).

All the best!♥︎

Week 20 of 2025

The only creative thing I finished this week was building some rustic log fences with my husband -

We have so many dead trees in the yard, and I wanted something in the flower beds for the plants to lean against, so my husband and I built a few small sections.

It was also time to divide some perennials, so we put in a new flower bed.

Temperatures at the beginning of the week reached record breaking 37ºC (almost 100ºF), and by the end of the week it was down to almost freezing, plus lots of rain (you can see standing water in the edge of the flower bed), so I was glad to get some yard work done.

I do have a simple long term weaving project on the go (something I can just go and weave on when I have a few minutes).

My handspun striped socks are almost finished.

Photos from Around -

I managed to get a photo of one of the queens when we did hive checks this week.

She is the long bee right in the centre of the photo - everyone gets out of her way.

The Killdeer nest has four eggs.

I hope they survive - with all the rain we had the nest is surrounded by water - she is well camouflaged sitting on her nest.

The two cats went through the cat flap into the garage and Molly waited a long time for them to come out - she didn't realize that the big door was open and they probably escaped that way.

All the best!♥︎

Week 42 of 2024

Just a few works in progress this week - 

I put my other socks on hold and started a simple pair.

Some warmer temperatures this week! I see a few ends I need to weave in.

Photos from Around - 

Poor Miss Molly sadly waiting for her most beloved to come home.

Nine eggs today - such a variety of shells.

Sparkle seems impressed too.

Well deserved treats for the hens.

Miss Maggie keeps an eye on the hens, but from a distance.

GingerSnap has been unwell again and sleeps a lot, and everywhere!

In the mint, in the garden,

In sunbeams,

Even with Miss Molly.

Sunrise

 All the best!♥︎

Week 32 of 2024

This week I finished a pair of socks that had been on the needles for a couple months- 

My fourth pair of handspun socks so far this year. This one from a BFL/Nylon blend I dyed and spun four years ago.

Cooler temperatures this week, but because I am running out of some of the colours I have had to shift the colours/temperatures sequence.

Photos from Around - 

Ginger cat's cone is off - his leg and other parts have healed well.

This is the closest Maggie will get to him, and only because that is where her food is (she still manages to complain lots while eating).

Molly loves going for a ride as long as it is just around the yard.

Maggie resting after a large feast - such a good hunter.

Ginger cat watching some Swallows that have a nest above the window.

We are hoping that he will be a good hunter too, but we think he might have been a house cat in his previous life.

Here are the Swallow babies in the nest.

These chicks are 14 weeks old now, and enjoying feasts from the garden.

Drone photo of the vegetable garden (the section on the right died due to flooding earlier in the summer).

Stopped by a great old barn on an evening bike ride.

Enjoyed the Persius meteor shower this evening, as well as great northern lights.

All the best!♥︎

Week 31 of 2024

This week I finished the pair of socks I started on our road trip-

I knit socks toe-up, two-at-a-time, on one long circular needle, from both ends of the ball of yarn to be able to us up of the yarn, and the small bundle is all I had left - about 1m (1yd).

I knit a regular 64 stitch sock (with a gusset and eye-of-partridge heel flap), but added a simple cross over stitch pattern (4 stitch repeat, over 2 rows), just to make the knitting more interesting.

The socks are from a BFL/Nylon fibre that I dyed. I tried something 'new to me' - small dots of colour with areas left undyed.

When I spun the yarn I divided the bundle into three pieces to make a 3-ply yarn, then divided each section into narrow strips to have small lengths of the different colours.

This created narrow stripes of colour.

Works in Progress - 

This past week was very warm.

Photos from Around - 

The gardens are growing well.

This past week lots of weeding was done.

A Barred Plymouth Rock (Becky), and a Sapphire Gem (Gemma),

and a Cinnamon Queen (Sparkle) - one of each of the types of chickens we have.

13 weeks old.

Last Monday this ginger cat walked up to the door and wanted in. Molly fell in love with him right away.

He came with a swollen injured leg, abrasions on his toe beans on one foot, and another small injury on another foot. We always have lots of stray cats around, but they are usually very skittish, and don't stick around, this one didn't leave. So after a few days and his leg getting worse, we had to take him to the vet. So I guess we now have a new addition to the family!

He is the friendliest cat, and just wants to be close to everyone (she wasn't impressed he took her bed).

Miss Maggie does not like him one bit, we are hoping she will get used to him like she did with Molly. Luckily she is outside most of the time, since the new cat (still deciding on a name) has to stay inside for a while. The vet thinks he is about one and a half years old.

The chickens were very curious about him when he first came - he is hiding in the bushes on the left.

All the best!♥︎