Holiday Reading

Hello Lovelies,
when I was a child we always holidayed in Britain. Either under canvas or preferably ( for me ) in our little touring caravan.
One year, when I was about fourteen or fifteen I guess , I found a novel to read in our caravan that really captured my imagination.I got lost in another world while reading it that holiday.
 Of course it's a lot of years since I read that special story and I could not recall much about it.Not even it's title.
 I had just about forgotten all about it till I found some old books in the loft ( it was not among them but they  jolted my memory a little). I could remember it was set in a castle and there was an incident with some creme de menthe.
Thanks to google just entering these details was enough to throw up a books name...I Capture the Castle.

How wonderful .
 I didn't hold out much hope of finding it but miraculously, on the second page of links, there it was !
 Of course I could not resist doing a bit more research. I read lots of reviews from people who loved this story too and ordered a copy from Amazon the same day. It was so lovely to realize it was special to a lot of people .....and they were adults of all ages.

 I was really looking forward to re-reading this long forgotten story on holiday..........

I'm not a big reader of fiction but now the boys are getting older I'm realizing I can enjoy it a little on holiday like I used to before I had children.

I won't tell you  about the plot as I think it's nice to  discover it all yourself. There are some good reviews and information  HERE .   But really DON'T look at the Wikipedia page ......it tells too much, including the ending......I really wished I had not looked at it .

But despite that mishap I REALLY enjoyed the story again .....thirty years later

I guess books are like music....very personal, but I love this book and wanted to share it with you .

J.K. Rowling said  "When I read I Capture the Castle it quickly became one of my favourite books of all time, and I was very annoyed nobody had told me about it before. "    Source

It was perfect to enjoy as a  teenager, but it is still special for adults too. It turns out it was also made into a film in 2003 . Now I just need to decide whether to watch it or keep the wonderful  images I have in my minds eye...tricky.I wonder what you would do ? and if any of you lovelies have  read this classic or seen the film.

Jacquie x

A run at sunrise

Hello Lovelies,

as well as taking my crochet project on holiday to Lanzarote, I also packed my running shoes ....it's another thing I hate to do without for too long. I like the chance to run in a different place and THIS run I did in Devon this summer is one of my favourite runs of 2012.

In a hot country I could not face running in the heat of the day ( though many others did ) so I went out at first light ........... 

And headed for the beach..........

The street lights were still shining as I ran along the lovely, traffic free promenade........

This is our favourite beach taken from the same viewpoint as the picture in my previous post, How different it looks........

You can just see a couple of hardy souls enjoying an early morning swim.

I carry on around the headland , heading towards the largest beach. I didn't think it was as pretty as our little bay but the volcanoes behind are impressive.........

Ahhhhhh, sunrise over the sea .......wonderful!.....

Time to head back for breakfast. The nice thing about sunrise in October is it's not that early . This last picture was taken at Eight fifteen. 

It's another run I will look back on fondly and it's great to able to share again with you lovelies.

Jacquie x

A Week of Sunshine

Hello Lovelies ,
its' good to be back. We have been away on a long anticipated , special treat.......a week of hot sunshine in October.  We really enjoy our summer holidays in Britain and have only taken the boys on an aeroplane once previously ( to Majorca 5 years ago ) but this relaxing half term week in the warm sunshine  was bliss.

We left home in thick fog and after four hours in the air touched down in sunny Lanzarote. The boys and their cousins were keen to find the beach so we wandered down to the sea in the early evening. The light was really beautiful at this time of day and knowing that it would already be cold and dark at home made this first dip in the Atlantic Ocean extra special..........

The landscape on this volcanic island , less that eighty miles off the coast of Africa, is so very different from home ............

No grass to be seen but stunning cacti and palms. And thankfully lots of beautiful flowers......

Wonderful Hibiscus .

Bougainvillea , which reminded me of my first Mediterranean holidays in my teens and early twenties...........

We were happy to potter about the resort of Costa Teguise  and every day we visited one of it's  beaches.....this one was our favourite ..........

And particularly this spot on the right of this sheltered bay, you could find us here most days enjoying the soft warm sand .......

And snorkeling with the little fishes........

Ohhhhhhh I wish I had an underwater camera to capture this world amongst the fish that we all loved.

It's so quiet and effortless floating in the buoyant seawater once you put your face below the surface . I was enchanted by the other-worldliness of the pretty fish and the dancing patterns made by sunlight shining through the waves.

The fish were very brave and would eat bread from your hand as well, the children loved that..........

Yes the beach life was great but above all it was the luxurious  feeling of beautiful sunny weather at a time of year when cold dark days are beginning that was so wonderful. Just to wander about in light summer clothes ( and factor 50 sun cream .........I don't tan well and hate getting burnt ) when our summer is really over felt so lovely and special. Especially after the poor summer we have had in the U.K. this year.

There was not much time for crochet ( as I didn't want to take it to the beach....see above comment on sun cream :0)  ) , just a little time on our sunny balcony before our evening meal ( which I didn't have to cook  , yay ! )..........

Watching the moon rise in the brilliant blue sky and listening to the birds in this tree.......I know you can't see them but there were loads of little finches hopping about and chirping away.........

Here's where my blanket is up to now........sixty four well traveled squares .......

Yes , we had a wonderful holiday that I hope the boys will remember for a long time. I feel so fortunate we were able to go  also very lucky to have this space to record my feelings and share moments with you lovelies. I'll stop now but I hope you will join me for another holiday post or two soon.
Jacquie x

Back to Square One

Hello lovelies , 

When I near the end of a crochet project my mind often starts planning the next one .  I wonder if any of you do the same ?

A couple of weeks ago my middle son asked me to make him a crochet blanket which rather surprised me as up till now he  has been rather adverse to anything fluffy or yarny.  

My eldest loves his granny stripe.........

made in 2010

 and my youngest has a giant granny square on his bed ....

made in 2009, pre blog

though it's rather young for him now I think. 

2012 seems to have been a year of baby blankets for me so I was happy to embark on my first full sized blanket this year.....but which design should I choose?

 I thought about doing a ripple but I have to admit that they still require a lot of concentration to avoid going wrong and frustrating pulling back. Not too bad on a baby blanket but pretty depressing for a larger project. No, Granny squares or stripes are a safer option for me and there are loads of possibilities with these.. and so much inspiration out in blog land.

At the moment there are lots of gorgeous "Patchwork Square" blankets about. Heather inspired this blanket I made back in March with this wonderful creation she made back in February. Then Sandra shared this stunning blanket ......Just beautiful .......in July. Next there was Lucy's version ....can't wait to see this finished but I also love seeing progress shots.Watching a project progress is one of the things I love about crochet blogs.

So here is the  very beginning of my latest blanket.......

The birth of what will hopefully be another successful, enjoyable project. A simple three round granny square, made last week.
Soon there were others to joint it . It's not easy to photograph long thin crochet :0)

The colours are those I used in my seaside ripple , with the unknown neutral left out and two greens added ( Meadow and Teal ) .........

Here are most of the colours in my bag. I still love this palette ,

 it's very similar to my granny stripe colours and still says seaside to me......

Here is where I'm up to right now..........forty squares..........it's already making me smile so I'm hopeful I will stick with this large project. It's 16 squares wide .........big enough for a single bed.
I think it will need to be at least twenty rows in length so there is a long way to go ..........but that's O.K. with me , no rush and no complicated pattern, just granny squares in random colours.........

 I hope you enjoy seeing my seaside patches blanket progressing as much as I love to share it with you :0)


I'll leave you with a couple of outdoor shots from earlier this week.........October has been pretty good so far with lots of sunny days, which make me happy .........

and sunny days often end with gorgeous sunsets ........

Have a lovely weekend .
Jacquie x

Autumn Sunshine

Hello Lovelies , 

On Sunday morning we had a trip to a favourite place of mine, the country park.  It was a perfect day to capture a few  pictures of nature in the soft  Autumnal light.....

There had been a slight frost in the night but by late morning there was some heat in the sun, though it was still pretty chilly in the shadows. I love the  ripples on the lake made by the ducks..........

 wonderful fiery leaves.......

Bright reflected sun.......

Seed heads of wild carrot..........

Lots of wild birds , including these very noisy gulls........

Wonderful reflected blue sky .......

There were lots of families out enjoying the surroundings on such a lovely morning but in this large park it's easy to find a quiet spot to relax . I've posted this view before but it's one of my favourites and  it looked so perfect on Sunday that I had to share it again .

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments on my latest project.....you are too kind ♥♥♥
Jacquie x

Seaside Ripple Ta-dah

Hello Lovelies,

well, my latest baby blanket is complete. It's taken me quite a long time for this size of project but I got there in the end .

I love the colours of this sweet little blanket, chosen to reflect the shades of sea,sky and sand back in July when I was dreaming of our seaside holiday. Isn't it lovely  to look at a colour scheme in all the tail ends left after weaving in ..........  

 Anyway ....I expect you would like to see the finished object really.......


here  


it



is


Ta-dah.........

Ooooooooooh I just love it :0) I'm really pleased with the effect made by using alternate one and two row colour changes. And of course I LOVE the ripples , there is something so satisfying about this pattern. I'ts soothing and soft with it's gentle waves...especially in these quiet colours. And as an extra bonus , this pattern makes a beautifully soft blanket.

 I could look at this picture for ages and I've just noticed my winter slippers ( dug out due to chilly mornings this week ) have a similar pattern :0) 

I only added a simple border as I didn't think a wide border would look right with this pattern. 

I used a light  blue to make the first row of the border .....the one that evens out the ripples by using stitches of different heights to fill in the valleys. Then I used turquoise ( because I love that colour ) to do a round of single crochet U.S. followed by a very simple chain loop border..........

Yesterday the sun was shining so I took it outside for my traditional washing line shot........

This image is taken from the other side with the sun shining through the crochet . I love the different effect it gives.......

For those who would like to know the details here they are.........

Stylecraft special Double Knitting Yarn ( Acrylic ) in :-
Fondant
White
Cream
Aster
Turquoise
Silver
Denim
Camel
Aspen
Plus one unknown neutral " sandy" colour  from my stash

The ripple I chose is Lucy's Neat Ripple because it's lovely and her tutorials are so easy to follow :0)

Finished size 27" x 32" .

And finally , a low angle shot looking along the waves........ummmmmmm I think this is my favourite way to view  a ripple........

Hope you all have a great weekend with time to relax and create.
Jacquie x

Weekend Close ups

Hello Lovelies , just thought I would share a few pictures I took over the weekend. No views this time, they all seem to be close ups.

Firstly more simple baking , again involving oats and golden syrup :0)

These beauties are Sues Oaty Ginger biscuits and they were a BIG hit . I'll certainly be making more of these........

My mixture seemed a bit dry so I added an extra tablespoon of golden syrup and they were yummy ! All gone now.

Secondly crochet.......in the still warmish  afternoon sun it was lovely to sit in the garden with my seaside ripple..........

The sun may have been shining but these mushrooms in the grass reminded me that there will not be many more alfresco crochet days left this year.........

Thirdly a gorgeous pansy flower. My summer annuals are past their best so I planted up a pot of pansies to go next to the front door . This flower go knocked off but I could not throw it out so I popped it in a little glass on the kitchen windowsill.........

What a wonderful red/pink flower....I love red and pink together at the moment.

On Sunday we woke to a very Autumnal misty morning........I grabbed my camera and went into the garden........the dewy drops of water made the many cobwebs look wonderful......

I love the way  macro photography  shows up tiny beauty that the naked eye can't easily see......

After a fruitful crochet weekend ( haven't had one of those in ages ) I'm  onto the border of my ripple ....yipee...... I feel a ta-dah post approaching very soon ........

Can't wait :0)
Thank you for all your continued lovely comments ....they really do make my day .
Jacquie x