Monday, July 28, 2008

Why I do what I do



I found this on You Tube and it moved me and made me remember why I get up at 5am on a Sunday morning to go running for 4 hours come rain or come shine.

Next year's fund-raising will be even harder as the credit crunch and rising prices really start to bite so I'm trying to work out what my challenge will be. The Ridgeway 85 miler keeps beckoning............It needs to be something tough so that people pay attention and ask why on earth I'm doing it.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Odds and ends

I took this photo of the bridge in Bodiam whilst out on my run on Sunday. The river floods each year and this year it was as high as the top of the arches!








There was a 'Classic Car' show and fair there too so we popped along for a look. Lots of cars from the 60s and 70s that we remembered from growing up. There were also lots of veteran cars too and this one had to be photographed; not because it was the most remarkable or beautiful car there, but because it has a lovely sassy lady sitting in it. The car was a Hudson from around 1930 and a man looked longingly at it and remarked "beautiful!" to which the lady replied "yes, and the car's not bad either!" She was an elderly lady but she still had a lovely twinkle in her eyes.
There are always lots of stalls and attractions at these sort of things and there was a birds of prey stand with lots of owls and a falcon. This little chap was eager to have his photo taken. He's a Barn Owl, one of our native owls.






Inbetween weaving in the squillions of ends on Autumn Rose I have been having fun with my Crazy Daisy maker and this is what I've produced. I'm going to join them all together to make a scarf. I've just been using up leftover bits of yarn in my stash and managed to find some good matching colours.

Now I've got to crochet round them all to join them.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

It's all over bar the blocking




At last, Jamiesons delivered the long-awaited yarn and I could finish off the neckband. Obviously I couldn't wait to weave in the ends and block it etc before I tried it on!

Initial reaction is good. When I'd tried it on before doing the neckband I had felt that it was way too wide across the shoulders. Indeed, several people had commented that theirs kept slipping off their shoulders. So I boxed clever and did some small decreases at each raglan point and that seems to have made the difference. I'll take close-up photos when I've blocked etc.

There is a bit of bagginess above the bust along the raglan line and I think that perhaps the decreases didn't taper quite enough for my shape. Maybe that will even out in the blocking anyway. We shall see.

My only other comment at this stage is that perhaps bust darts could have helped under the bust rather than relying on the stretch and cling of the fabric for the fit. Just a thought, but I suppose that might have been overly complicated given the already complex patterning.

Here's what I made with the leaven I've been preparing for the past few days. It's a French Sourdough loaf and it smells divine. I wish it would hurry up and cool down so we could try a bit!

Quackers




Mrs Duck has done it again. Last year she managed to hatch 9 little 'uns but this year she surpassed herself and produced 11. Awwwwh!

I knew she'd been sitting on eggs as she's been coming up for feeds at odd times of the day and coming to look for me so I can feed her. This morning she came bustling up from the pond with them following in a neat line, all fluffy and sweet.


I put some mixed corn out for them by the barn. It always amazes me that they instinctively know what to do with it and they all got stuck in straight away.

Mrs Duck allows me to come within about 4 feet of them when they are so tiny but as they grow they become bolder and follow me into the barn and even take grain from my hand.

She makes quiet quacking noises to keep them all together as she needs to keep a watchful eye out for crows and magpies. I hope she manages to keep them all safe until they are old enough to fend for themselves. As I type this I can hear her out on the driveway with them, no doubt familiarising them with their surroundings.