Photoless

I'm finding it very hard to motivate myself to blog when I can't put photos on my posts. My camera is still on the blink. When I press the button it just turns itself off with the lens open. This is exactly the same thing that happened with my previous camera. I'm going to try to take it back with my extended warantee and see what happens. If I don't get a replacement no more Fujis for me.

On Saturday we went for a 6.5 mile walk from Bolam Lake, up to Shaftoe Crags. G had bought a pack of Shepherd's Walks which, despite the dubious maps that G doesn't like, are all fairly local and quite interesting. The weather was so good I had my jacket off at one point. This photo is from the Shepherd Walks website.

I finished the first of my ugly Monkey socks and have been trying to find motivation for my larger long-term projects but the urge to cast on something else is overpowering.

I gave my seedlings some attention at the weekend and was planning to do some weeding etc in the garden but Sunday ended up being a wash-out. True to form it is bright sunshine this morning. Time to go to school.

Mitford Castle

Yesterday we decided to make the most of a rain-free day by going for a walk. We drove a couple of miles north to the village of Mitford where there is an old ruined castle. Apparently it is the only 5-sided castle in the country, though this wasn't easy to tell. Unlike other castle I have visited there was no English Heritage or National Trust and no fee to pay. The castle is in a field full of sheep and has a couple of public rights of way running next to it. It is free of signs and barriers and unbothered by the restrictions of modern health and safety. Definitely worth a visit for the nosey.

The surrounding footpaths aren't that well marked and are easily confused with sheep trails. We ended up having more of a meander than a walk but it was nice to get out into the sunshine.

The bag felting was successful but it is still very wet, despite 48 hours on a radiator. I also finished my Pomatomus socks. There are no photos as my camera seems to be going bonkers at the moment and just turns off when I press the button (no low battery sign).

Last night I started a pair of monkey socks for myself, in the seemingly harmless looking sock yarn below. The socks look absolutely foul (again no photo due to camera issues). I like the feeling of the fabric but I was tempted just to frog them because of the colourway. The only reason I haven't is because I feel sort of sorry for the yarn and it is knitting up quickly. We'll see.

Project Audit

I thought I'd review what I've got on and recently off the needles.I've been making an effort to finish two long term projects that I have neglected.

Linda Cardigan
One is this hemp cardigan from the House of Hemp Linda pattern. I started it in September last year. I've now finished the back and both fronts but still have to do the sleeves.

Glade Jumper
The other is the Glade Jumper from Rowan Knitting Magazine, Issue 40. I started this Jumper in December 2006, thinking it would make an interesting project to knit over the Christmas period, but then found it incredibly inpractical as it requires 6 different balls of yarn knitted in a lace pattern. Not only did I find myself a bit too distracted to concentrate but I also had trouble distinguishing one shade of kidsilk haze from another in the dim winter light. I finished the back and did an inch of the front and it's been in hibernation for about a year. I've just about finished the front now and need to start the sleeves.

Handspun Scarf and Gloves
I decided that if I was going to spin I was going to have to try and use up my handspun so that I didn't end up totally snowed under. So I knitted this scarf in feather and fan with the merino I spun at the knitting retreat. I also started a pair of mittens but have just about run out of yarn at the fingers. So these are now in hibernation until I figure out what to do with them.

Plain Kidsilk Scarf
In search of something plane to knit one evening I picked up a ball of kidsilk night and knitted this scarf in garter stitch with one 12mm needle and one 6mm needle. It doesn't look that great right now though. It needs a good blocking.

Pomatomus Socks
I wanted something small to take to St. Petersberg so I started these Pomatomussocks in the natural dye studio sock yarn that Pinkphish bought me for my birthday. Despite the fact that a lot of blue has come off the yarn onto my hands and needles I really like the feel of the yarn and the way the socks look. I'm just about at the toe of both socks so I just need to make a small effort this weekend to finish them off.

Driving Socks
When we go on long jounerys I like to have something to knit that doesn't require too much attention. If I don't look forward for the majority of the time I start to feel ill. So I started these plain socks in Regia Uno Black, with an afterthought heel and toe in my handyed, BFL sock yarn. I can pretty much knit them without looking and did the heal when I got home.

Messenger Bag
And last but not least, because when most of your projects are lace you yearn for something chunky to knit and in celebration of getting my SnB books back after lending the to someone for the better part of a year, I started and have nearly finished the Candy Stripers Messenger Bag from Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation. I'm using some chunky merino that I bought from Wingham Wool Work when I was there in January. True to form I didn't have quite enough so I'm knitting the top in Rowan Big Wool I bought yesterday from Ring-a-Rosie at Monkseaton. I will finish the top later and have a go at felting. Most things I've felted before have turned out to be over felted so I'm going to have a go at controlling the process a little more, though this is always difficult in a British front-loading washing machine.

Alan Titchmarsh eat your heart out

One of the best things about spring is seeing the garden come back to life again. All those bulbs I planted with my mum on my birthday are now showing their faces. The trees are starting to get leaves.

The living room window is full of seedlings and germinating seeds of vegetables and bedding plants.

I also planted some seeds outside (carrots, parsnips, lettuce, spinach and rocket), possibly a little close together but I don't have that much space and begars can't be choosers. The plant at the end of the bed is rhubarb, which my mother-in-law unexpectedly posted to me in a padded envelope. It is thriving, despite our initial scepticism.

Travels

Apologies for the blog silence. Having arrived at the end of term with very much relief and very few blog posts, I headed straight out the next morning for 5 days in St Petersberg, followed by 3 days visiting family around the country.

St. Petersberg was warm for this time of year (about 10 degrees). Graeme was attending an Archeology conference for work, which was taking place in the Hermitage (museum, formally the Tsar's winter palace) so I went with him and managed to have a good look around. The place if a maze with room after room of artefacts and artworks stretching right back from Neolithic times to the modern day. I can't claim to know much about art but I did enjoy seeing the impressionist paintings and the building in general.

I also managed to get to the fortress and to a couple of cathedrals.

There was a conference trip to Novgorod. It was an archeology meeting so the trip included a tour of the archeology museum and an excavation site. It all meant very little to me but the others seemed to enjoy it ("Oh look, more pottery"). Our guide seemed to be fixated on showing us churches. Some of them were interesting but at the end of the day when you don't know much Russian history it's all a bit out of context.

The thing I found most interesting was seeing the river where sheets of ice were flowing, next to a sandy beach complete with umbrellas.

Graeme and I were adventurous and made our own way, by metro and dodgy private minibus to one to the summer palaces, the Katherine Palace. The palace is nausiatingly opulent, with gilt everywhere and a room decorated entirely in amber (no photos allowed), that it begins to be less and less surprising that the royal family's days were numbered. Especially when compared with the houses of people in rural villages.

After reterning to Heathrow we visited Graeme's brothers and their families and had a fab day out at Marwell Zoo. It's been a few years since I was last at a zoo. We even managed to have a picnic outside when the sun came out for half an hour.

I have some knitting and gardening news to add but I'll save that for tomorrow. Watch this space.