To wish you...

...A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Columns in St Andrew's Cathedral, Bordeaux

Hoping you are all able to forget the troubles of the world for at least a short time and to celebrate the holiday with those you love.

Wishing Joy to the World in 2017 - however unlikely that looks from this end of 2016 ...

...and finally, a little tease - some of you know where this picture is, more will be revealed in my first post of next year ...

Another trip to France, another shawl...

...another river cruise, in fact, courtesy of Great Rail again. A relaxing week sitting on a riverboat looking at the scenery floating past and eating lovely food. Comfortable trains there and back - what more could one ask for?

Bordeaux from the river

View from the top of the citadel at Blaye

During the week I all but finished the shawl I started a couple of months ago. Did the last few rows on the way home and cast off on Sunday, when we were back. 

Knitting on the boat

The finished 'Silverleaf' shawl

So it's had its soak in Eucalan and is now happily sitting under a towel to dry. This was taken before the top set of towels went on, but the contrast isn't great because I've put a pale grey shawl on top of a white towel.

Back from Bristol

Time for another post - I really don't know where the months go!

I'm just back from the wonderful Topsy Turvy Bristol Conference on children's literature. Everyone else seems to have taken lots of photos, but I only have one, that was emailed to me - you'll see why in a minute.

My talk was the first - 9.45 on Saturday morning, so it was good to get that out of the way and be able to enjoy the rest of the time ... but that wasn't the real beginning of the weekend, which started as Mr Bufo and I walked round to the station on Friday morning for me to catch the 10.54 Great Malvern train. I'd already got my ticket - an advance one at the ridiculously low price of £9.90 return, so I couldn't use any other than the train shown on the ticket. And I had a reserved seat - or so I thought. 

The train was late - by about 10 minutes when it got to Romsey, but picked up a little bit as it went on. My seat was occupied by a lady who also had a ticket with that seat number on, and as the card in the back of that seat had the details of her journey, I found another - facing the direction of travel, which I prefer anyway, that had no reserved ticket, and so we progressed.


I did a bit of knitting - the scarf I had nearly finished, which did get completed over the weekend, though I only have a photo of it half-done:

During the journey I had texts from Gill and Alison, whom I was due to meet at Temple Meads, on their own progress towards that destination, and when I tried to respond, found I was out of signal for a long stretch between Bradford-on-Avon and Bath, but was finally able to update them that I was almost there. 

Came out from the station to find them on the forecourt, and we progressed to the bus stop. Only a minute or so later hte bus arrived, and we were en route to the River Cottage Canteen.

A group of us from all over had arranged to have a late lunch there, which was great, then our cases took the seats of those who had been cooped up in cars all morning, and more than half a dozen of us walked from the restaurant across Durham Down to Wills Hall, where it was all about to happen.

The weekend was as well-organised and interesting as it always is, and the penultimate speaker was Jen, who is 'JS' on a certain forum. She and I had promised to include Cestina and Elder from that forum in a hug, so, thanks to Emma who took the pic on Jen's phone - here we are, wishing the other two could have been with us as well. Maybe next time? The dates for 2018 are 27-30 July if you want to mark your diaries now!

So time moves on ...

...and the shawl is finished, and has been blocked since this photo, but I haven't got a picture of it in the latest state yet;

and another one - of a different nature - started. This will be more of a wide lace scarf.









We have rearranged the spare room anent visitors, and had another week in a different part of France! - though the hotel we went to is also part of the Autograph group.

Easter Greetings

...and good news!
At last we have grant of probate, and hope to complete on Mum's bungalow on Wednesday ... 

We spent a few days at our favourite hotel in Lille, where I was able to get on with more of the 'lanterns' for my shawl

I have completed 54 of the 66 lanterns now - shown here in a plastic bag next to the Christmas Present I received  from eldest granddaughter ... who has just got engaged!

And now it's Easter - where did that time go?

Marching on ...

Just a quick update - still no probate but signs that it won't be much longer; hoping buyers are happy to wait another couple of weeks. 

In the meantime, I haven't touched the yarn I showed in the February post, because I've been seduced by Mystical Lanterns and show some of my motifs below: 

These were the first three and so each of the twelve colours has been used once. Then all the balls go back into a bag and get picked 'blind' to give a different selection for the next three 'lanterns'













And here are all twelve colours, plus the thirteenth, joining colour - the pale peachy one at top right

Also finished a pair of socks (as always, 2-at-a-time and toe-up) from this pattern - sock yarn bought in Lille last summer.

February falals

So as 2016 has well and truly begun, the 'Christmas card' post needs replacing...

Mum's bungalow is finally cleared, and we hope will soon be sold. The work on reprints continues, and so does the knitting and crochet - a recent trip to meet friends in Salisbury yielded a rather good value pack of different colours of yarn, so another blanket is in the offing:

Have done a test square - though not yet sure of the exact pattern I'll use - with some stash yarn...