I am starting to discover advantages of being ‘between jobs’.  Having time to myself during the week is enabling me to do the things and see the people I haven’t had much time to spend on or with when work gets in the way.

Friday was just such a day when I went to see Kathy for come crochet and catching up.  About 2 years ago Kathy and I were both knitters and trying to find someone to teach us the basics of crochet, but didn’t succeed.  We then, separately, discovered and took the day course at Fibre and Clay and have both spent a lot of time crocheting since then.

Kathy is a fiend for going to auctions and ‘finding’ things and has some lovely and interesting old sewing boxes full of goodies:

We were wondering if our sewing boxes will be discovered and drooled over in years to come when sewing and handicrafts have another renaissance!  I can’t imagine so but I guess the women who had these boxes originally would have said the same.

We took Kathy’s fostered (yes, really fostered) dog, Monty, for a walk round her allotments which was really an eye-opener!  I have never been on an allotment before and now I want want want!  As I live in a flat I have no garden and an allotment seems like a great idea.  However, maybe that’s just a dream because I have time at the moment. 

Brussels sprouts, leeks and onions all getting big and tasty underground:

Back home we had yummy tea and toast and set about the inaugural meeting of our newly formed crochet group.  There are many knitting groups locally but none that just focus on crochet. Between us we know a whole 5 people who crochet and decided it would be great if we could get together from time to time to share ideas, skills, projects etc.  Maybe this will grow and along the way we will discover other people to join us.  Do you live in South Manchester and fancy getting together with other crocheteers?  If so drop me a line.  We don’t have any definite plans yet but if we do develop I’ll set up a Ravelry Group and take it from there!

So our first meeting was two members and a dog called Monty.  Great things from small acorns grow!

I want to finish with showing you just one of the lovely things that Kathy has in her home.  A little tawashi (Japanese dish scrubber) in the shape of an apple slice.  Unused of course, because it’s just too darn cute to get dirty!!!

Courtesey of Zawtowers

This evening I have been hob-nobbing with the artsy crowd at the opening of a new exhibition because my very clever chap has an exhibit in it.  Now before you get excited, we aren’t going to live out our lives on the profits of his creativity, unfortunately.  He isn’t, by his own admission, the most artistic person in the world.  But he does try, the love!!

Have you heard of the late, great Bard of Timperley, Frank Sidebottom?  He maybe wasn’t an international superstar, but he was very well known locally and to some extent around the UK.  Well, Timperley is only about 1 mile from where I live and many of my friends were great fans of Frank, who passed away earlier this year.

Frank was often seen on local television and radio and had a famous ‘Magical Timperley Tour’.  He was a massive fan of football and made tribute records to many famous Mancunian musicians.  He also had a sidekick called Little Frank, who was just made of cardboard.

As a tribute to Frank, Caveman threw together his version of his papier mache head and posted it on his Flickr as part of Project 52.  It seems that the curator of Frankophilia at the University of Salford, spotted this image and asked if he still had the ‘head’ and could it be included as an exhibit.  He has been rather sheepish about it, believing it doesn’t compare with some of the ‘proper’ (his word) works of art on display. I think Frank would have been very happy with all of the items on display, which ranged from beautifully drawn paintings, embroidery, films and even a carved pumpkin, which I fear won’t last the whole exhibition!  Oh, and the cardboard box with Frank’s face on it, as first seen on Flickr:

It was good to be back at the University again, as I studied there part time for 3 years.  Unlike Caveman, I don’t hanker after the past and I am glad not to be a student still.

The image below is one of my favourites from the exhibition and was painted on a wall in the gallery.

Here’s to you Frank, it was great, it really was!

Exhibition in Chapman Building, University of Salford, Wednesdays – Saturdays, 12noon – 5.00pm, until 18th december 2010

Picture from: The Telegraph 11 November 2010

I love owls!  I love pussycats!  I can really understand why an owl and a pussycat would get married.  But more of that in a minute!

The above owl and kitten have become best friends after a litter of abandoned kittens was taken to a bird sanctuary in Hampshire, UK.  This kitten has become inseparable from Nigel, a white faced scop owl.

I’ve always loved cats.  I grew up with them.  However, I didn’t discover owls until around 10 years ago when I was in Cornwall and visited an owl sanctuary.  While there I saw some little baby owls (owlets?) which were sitting on a bar right next to the walls of the cage, where I was able to touch them.  Now it may not have seemed like the most sensible thing to do, to stick my fingers through the gaps in a cage so that a wild bird could get them, but it was a wonderful experience.  You know the way when you rub a cat on its chin and under its ears it rubs against you?  Well that’s exactly what these little owls did!  And their eyes were so like cat’s eyes.  I was enthralled and in love from that moment.

So since that time the idea of an owl and a cat getting married, as they do in the poem ‘The Owl and the Pussycat, seemed completely logical.  They are so alike.

And to make this poem even more special, I read it at the wedding of very good friends a couple of years ago.  It did raise a few giggles as I said ‘ Oh lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are… What a beautiful Pussy you are’!  But I didn’t care.  Sometimes I just have no shame.

Here for your enjoyment, or a a reminder of its loveliness, is the whole poem:

The Owl and the Pussy-cat By Edward Lear

I’ll be honest!  I’m not dancing a jig.  In fact, I’m quite sad and I left a little bit of my heart in Yorkshire this morning.

We did most of the packing and organising last night so this morning it was easier to just get up, have breakfast and enjoy our last few hours in the cottage.

I think even the sheep were sad to see us go as they didn’t even come near to say bon voyage!

So, home now!  I always have a monent of nerves before getting back home but everything was fine, thankfully.  We’ve just had a lazy afternoon and a snooze since getting home, not even put any washing on yet.

However, I thought some crochet would help cheer me up (doesn’t it always?).  I had an idea for a change to my new favourite circles scarf.  The way the pattern works you crochet one half of each circle in a row then the other half.  I thought of changing yarn for that second half, and here is the result!  I think it looks great and I plan to make it up overall of all different colours for each half of each row.

What do you think?

the old man isn’t snoring, because he’s wide awake and sitting next to me!

But is it a dark and wet day here in Yorkshire.  Dreich as one would say in Scotland!

It’s the last full day of our holiday today and although we didn’t have an actual plan, the weather really would have put us off doing anything outdoors or driving too far.  Instead we had a drive out to some pretty villages, coming home via the supermarket to pick up some cake, something for dinner and to put petrol in the car for tomorrow’s drive home!  Boo hoo!

Here we are once again cosy indoors with tea, cake and a log fire while the wind howls around outside.  We even pushed the boat out and made a pot of tea – now we don’t often do that at home!  One of my lasting memories of our holiday will be this scene, pretty much as it was last year too:

I put this time to good use and finished the pot holder I mentioned in my last post.  I love these colours!  The yarn is the Stylecraft Special DK that I used for my Granny Stripe Blanket so I have lots of colours already and the point I am at in the blanket means I have a tiny amount left on each ball before I start a new ball so I am using up the little balls for bits and bobs like this.  Now here’s a confessio!  I’m not sure if a potholder is meant as a pot stand, ie a trivet, or for lifting a pot, like an oven glove.  However, I am pretty paranoid about burning myself on the oven and hot dishes so I think I will continue to use my purpose made heavy duty oven gloves, and use this as a mat.  The thing I particularly like about it is Alice’s little shell pattern around the edge:

Sheep and crows to show you today.  The crows here seem move together in great waves, like a black speckled cloud!

Oh things this week are happy, so happy stats ahoy!!  In fact these happy things are from today alone!

Being away from home and work!

The circles scarf being complete.  I couldn’t wait to wear it, even though it does need to be blocked because the circles don’t quite lie flat.  I love these colours:

This view from the table while I ate my breakfast:

This appearing in the sky when I was having breakfast:

A gorgeous drive out to Pateley Bridge, a lovely lunch and a mooch around

Visiting the LYS in Ripon and getting myself just a few balls of yarn.  They have a really wide range of King Colewhich I love for its value and usability.

Sheep for neighbours: