Spring!

Hence the change in template! Hope you like it!

Out of the frog pond!

I struggled, I really did. I started 'cherry leaf' shoulder shawl in Rowenspun tweed 4 ply & it got frogged so much it should be waterproof! I knew that I had knitted all of the stitches before so I was beginning to get really frustrated, then I realised that I didn't really understand what the stitches collectively were supposed to be doing. I recalled a book that I have called 'Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain'. In essence, people who say 'I can't draw' tend to be left brain dominated & the logical left brain sees the bits & jumps into action.... yup its a vase, I know what a vase looks like..... & switches off the right side of your brain & the bits that look at the 'big picture' & draws a not very good picture of what it thinks it has seen. Turn the object upside down, left brain can't recognise it, right side of brain gets to work.... this line is here, this shadow is here..... Picture when turned upside down is of a .....vase. My left brain recognised the stitches & took off. So to switch it off I first scanned the pattern, studied it.... this is actually a garter stitch border..... got out the coloured pencils & coloured in the border stitches in one colour..... then the centre is basically worked in stocking stitch, so colour that in, annotate the pattern. Label the rows that have an extra increase & see the BIG PICTURE. Didn't frog it again! I could see what should be happening & if I made a mistake I could feel that it wasn't right & stop to sort it out. The photo of the knitting includes my coloured in & annotated 'help' sheet! A big learning curve & one I related to Year 9 yesterday is a 'SATS build up' assembly -message... if it aint going in one way...try another... work to your strengths. I KNOW I am a visual, big picture type of girl, so what was I doing letting the itsy bitsy left side of my brain getting in the way anyway?????? I have had a look at the border pattern.... mmm we will see! The pattern is actually easy. I can knit it in the car, which as we have a 9 hour journey down through France on Tuesday, is not a bad thing! We are all really looking forward to the holiday. School is out, thank goodness. Its been a rough old term really. Russell (the owner of the apartment in Bourg St Maurice) rang this morning from Bourg. Masses of fresh snow & sunshine this morning!!! That will do nicely!

Here in North Yorkshire there are signs of spring despite the cold north-east wind that has been blowing for the last couple of days. The dog & I took the camera out on our walk at tea time earlier this week to capture some of the images of spring.

Actually Moss isn't bothered about buds and flowers, just chasing sticks!

Yorkshire Champions!

Harrogate Grammar School U 18's are the winners of the Duke of Wellington Shield and Yorkshire Schools U18 Champions of Rugby! Mr J the younger played at outside centre & one of 6 playing 'a year young' i.e. Lower Sixth. This is the second time his age group have been champions, the first time was in 2005 when they were year 10. A great day. All of the boys played out of their skins. Son & heir is having a bit of a nap but I think there is some celebration planned for later!

They played Roundhay High School from Leeds, having beaten Prince Henry's Grammar School from Otley in the semi-final.

On a fibre footnote my copy of Yorkshire Lace arrived this morning. Its awesome and a little bit daunting. The yarn for my first project also arrived -an ebay bargain! Rowanspun 4 ply tweed in 'sludge', which I think will make a great winter wrap if my skills are up to it. Sludge is greeny, browny....tweedy...... sludge colour! It was a potential sweater but its a bit fine in retrospect, 3mm needles would be needed! My beautiful gifted Cherry Hill lace yarn will be kept until my lace knitting is proven to be worthy of it!

Not the snow forecast for North Yorkshire!

Les Arcs Snow Forecast I was checking out the forecast for Les Arcs & thought I might post it here. It was definitely spring in Nidderdale this afternoon but its winter again tonight. We do not care! The Rayburn is well again & all are cosy. A new 'steam generator' iron - a ***** expensive bit of kit to do the ****** ironing is awaiting collection at Comet tomorrow. I was seduced by the 'cut ironing time by 70%' comments & I do know people who have one & support the view ( and they have 3 boys!). I have opted for a mid range option. For the price of the most expensive ones I would want the ironing done for me! I have also noted the location of the Phildar yarn shop in Bourg St Maurice, which is the valley town where we actually stay1 I think that my French can cope with requests that involve ....wool...socks.... 100gms.... that sort of thing!

More socks- Its a northerly Jim!

The yarn is an Opal sock yarn, just a quick knit in stocking stitch with a heart worked into it in kind of an embossed pattern (from my new book!)The colours in the yarn are great, real blackberries and cream......

I still have not decided about my 'big project', hopefully 'Victorian Lace Knitting Today' will be here soon.

As a geographer I had to have a map for my blogs & I (and my students) have been fascinated to see the little red dots spread across the globe as folk read the blogs.My A level students were especially interested to see links to 'Geography Room' and 'Geographylost'on geography teachers blogs in other countries. Yet again, the power of the blog!

The weather in Yorkshire continues to be characterised by arctic blasts.
The Metcheck map showing the position of the jet stream explains why! These upper atmosphere winds are pulling down the polar air over Britain & the rest of Europe.

Sounds reasonable?

New knitting books & some stuff

Whilst shopping in Leeds yesterday (a rare event but son & heir needed to take my credit card for some exercise!) we paid our ritual visit to Starbucks which is located INSIDE Borders bookshop & represents an American innovation that is to be wholly applauded. After coffee I had a wander to the basement & found this.......

It is a lovely book, so full of wonderful colour photos of stitches & techniques that it had to come home with me. Much is probably on the net but there is a time, I think, when nothing but a book will do. Based on the same principal, this book is also on its way from The Book Depositary:

The inspiration to buy it came from the very many references to it that I have found in lots of the blogs that I lurk around though! I have decided that I need another larger project as well as a steady stream of socks. I am also studying my copy of ' Knitting without Tears' because I do need a sweater & I HATE sewing up knitting!

A meteorological note: Its snowing on and off up here in North Yorkshire, the wind is out of the west & is very strong!

A domestic note: The engineer has replaced the 'bit' on the Rayburn and .....its still tripping out! ...... and the iron has died!!!!! When will it stop? The washer seems to be OK though!!!! fingers crossed!!!!

Oh, and Auntie loved her socks!