Domestic comforts

It's been cold, wet, windy, stormy and the village is full of colds, coughs and general winter bleurgghness to which Jean-Luc and I have succumbed.

 It was a hard autumn with Jean-Luc's father sadly dying after a long hospital stay and frankly neither of us have been at our best either physically or mentally.
So this winter we closed the doors, pulled the curtains, snuggled down and embraced some home comforts.

Friends were met and good company enjoyed.

My sister, brother in law and niece visited en route to spend Christmas in Scotland.
It was lovely to see them however briefly.

I can't believe how much she's grown.

 Blankets have been finished.

 Books bought.

New challenges embraced.

 

 Fires and passive solar heating enjoyed.

 Homemade sashimi devoured.

Art appreciated.

A beautiful oil painting by a local artist - Paddy Campbell

Jean-Luc gave me this picture for Christmas, we'd seen it at a local open art exhibition.  I'd spent weeks raving about it to friends, one of whom sat next to me at the pub and listened to me witter on, entered into a deep discussion on art and artists and the beauty of the palette work in this painting; all the while not giving away one iota that she knew Jean-Luc had purchased the painting.  She really lived up to her nickname of Bletchley!

Winter Light

After another night of very heavy rain that's again flooded local roads (but not the village - hooray!), it's cold outside; the sun is shining but making little headway against the chill wind and plummeting temperatures; a real change from the previously mild weather, definitely gloves and scarf weather.

But the late afternoon light is beautiful.

So I've snuggled down with some crochet....

....and Series Two of Hinterland on BBC iPlayer.

 A detective series set in the heart breakingly beautiful and bleak countryside around Aberystwyth.

Great acting, a very atmospheric soundtrack and astonishing cinematography that gives the feeling of both the vast space of the land and the sense of claustrophobia that living in small rural communities can bring.

Best watched by lamp light with some tea or ginger wine and a warm craft project across your lap.

Ta Dah!

Well here it is! I finally crocheted something for my sister. It's a rucksack.  I got the pattern from Simply Crochet.

The pattern has a lovely texture and looks really complicated but it's not.  The body of the rucksack is worked on the round as a continuation of the base so the only real joining you do is the flap to the body (and all the fastenings of course).  It's recycled cotton yarn denim blue worked on a 4mm hook.  The yarn was lovely to work with; very soft yet robust enough to make a firm base and dense body - no change dropping out of this bag.

I'm really pleased how it's worked out.  I do hope she likes it.

I added some simple flowers to hide where the flap fastener is attached to the flap.

I also added some beads spelling her name as the toggles on the end of the cord.

My sister isn't a girly girly and I'm hoping this isn't a girly rucksack.  I've tried not to embellish it too much.

More importantly it should be large enough to carry a book, a purse and a coffee travel mug; the measure of a good bag in our family.

Happy Birthday lovely sister. xxx

(slightly belated 'cos I didn't want to ruin the surprise :-))

Can you tell what it is yet?

I'm crocheting something for my sister - her birthday is at the end of the month so it might be a bit of a rush (or a bit late).  Obviously I can't say what it is - it's a surprise; but I did want to share it as it's the most complicated thing I've crocheted so far.  I learnt to crochet last August the fantastic Becky teaches classes that transform us poor ignorant beginners to confident crocheters who can read patterns and happily hook away in a very short time indeed.

  The base.  I'm using 100% recycled cotton in a lovely worn denim colour and a 4mm hook.

15 rows up and still going strong.  The shell pattern is a delight to crochet, fairly simple but effective and giving a beautifully textured finish; it does require you to count correctly especially on the first three foundation rows.

Here's a close-up of the stitching.  The firmness of the cotton yarn and the fairly intensive stitches mean that the final item will be quite self supporting and hopefully strong.
only 28 more rows to go....on this part of the pattern.

I do hope my sister likes it.. at least as much as I've enjoyed making it. 
I'll post further updates when it's safely finished and delivered - I'd hate to spoil her surprise.