Sheep in the snow

We've had snow, even down here in the South East of the UK!  

Of course this has given me a great photo opportunity and I've taken loads which need editing before I show them.  In the meantime here are some lovely photos that Mike took of the sheep the other morning when we had just a light sprinkling of snow.

Stampede!

Where's our food then?

What a pretty face

I haven't been in the brambles, honest guv!

They have such lovely, honest faces and the way their ears stick out at the sides always makes me smile.

Asthma/running update

I'm still struggling with this stupid asthma.  It's interfering with everything - if I'm not out of breath then I'm coughing for no apparent reason and it's getting on my nerves and no doubt annoying all those around me too!  Today I was singing some backing vocals for Mike and we had to abandon it as I couldn't hold the notes long enough and the more I tried, the worse it got and I just ended up getting teary.  

To make matters worse my run today was interrupted by a massive coughing fit which lasted for about 5 minutes.  Obviously I needed that large piece of cake afterwards to console me!

KBO as Mr Churchill used to say (please pardon my language but that's "keep buggering on", in case you didn't know).

Knitting news

Here's a knitted doily, as yet unblocked but I wanted to see how it would look on the little table.

Unblocked doily 

Still unblocked but showing how it fits in with things around it (which reminds me that I must re-cover the footstool - perhaps in Bargello this time?)

My next knitting project awaits - Boreal, by Kate Davies.  I bought the yarn in November but couldn't start it as I had so much Christmas stuff to do.  I wish I'd finished it as it's perfect for snowy weather!  The yarn I'm using is Artesano alpaca aran, the same as for Mike's scarf, in deep purple &  creamy white.

Time to swatch.

Catching up

First scarf of the year

I finished Mike's scarf last night and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  We had a heavy frost last night but I wanted a photo of it taken outside so we started at the back of the house but it was in the shade and the colour didn't show up well enough.

After several attempts I was getting cold and so I nipped into the house to get a cap and we tried at the front in a sunny spot.  Much better.  The colour is just right.

Details:

The Jacki scarf by Nancy Marchant, designed as part of the Craftsy course Explorations in Brioche Knitting which is excellent so far (my next lesson explores 2 colour brioche which looks a bit more complicated!).

Yarn: Artesano Alpaca Aran in Deep Teal. 2.25 skeins used.

Needles: 4mm

Stitch: Brioche

Finished length: 6'6"

Difficulty: Moderate.  A good way to practice basic brioche stitch using simple increases and decreases.

Verdict: Mike's very happy with the finished scarf and will be wearing it tomorrow!  The yarn is beautiful to work with and the scarf is very warm.  Brioche is definitely a good stitch for scarves, hats, mittens and I'm fancying making some leg-warmers for myself.

My next project is some more overlay crochet.

Frosty morning

Brrrrr, it was nippy this morning, but beautiful too and so the camera came out with me when I fed the horses.

A sprinkling of snow on a pottery ball

Frosty panels on the barn

Frost crystals making leaves look all fuzzy

Pink buds of Rhododendrons

Beautiful veins on a prostrate Rubus (look at the lovely hairy red stem)

Tiny crystals on the fence

Even crystals edging my pottery dish and making the sempervivums look so pretty

Swirly patterns in the horses' hoofprints

Over-wintering guests

When I was dusting the bedroom the other day I spotted some more little ladybirds huddled in the corner of the window frame.  They look like Harlequin ladybirds who seem to like to stay in our bedroom for some reason!

 

Running, asthma woes, plus more fungi and moss

This week has been a bad one on the running front.  The spirit is willing but the body is weak and asthma is winning the battle at the moment.  It might be the cold weather that's doing it but I'm having great difficulty breathing on the uphill sections, which is unfortunate as all my routes are hilly!  I recover quickly but at the time it's just so hard to breathe which can be quite scary.

As a result, my 12 miler on Sunday was a real struggle, especially on the hilly bits, of which there were many.  Thankfully I'd taken my camera with me and so I consoled myself with photos of things that caught my eye.

Tree with mossy socks on his toes!

 My obsession with fungi continues and it's been a great season for all manner of beauties:

Frilly petticoats

I think this looks like  a stack of pancakes!

To make myself feel better when I got home, I baked a wholesome sourdough loaf using a mixture of white and spelt flour.  Very tasty and especially good with some homemade tomato and red lentil soup!

My asthma medication has now been re-assessed and I have to take more doses of my Symbicort inhaler.  Hey ho, let's see if that works.  I really hope so as it's getting me down and interfering with my marathon schedule.

Beginnings

First thing this morning

When the early morning mist cleared, the first thing I saw was a flock of several hundred rooks descending on the horses field.  They are most welcome as they aerate the ground with their big strong beaks in their search for grubs and they sift through the horse poo eating all the worm eggs.

The first 4 photos were taken through glass so may appear a bit cloudy.

Rooks

Our next visitors were two beautiful cock pheasants.   They have the most amazing colours in their feathers.  It's still the open season for shooting them so they have taken refuge on our land where they are safe from men with guns but not necessarily safe from a hungry fox.

A brace of pheasants

This young moorhen was very brave and came right up onto the patio while I was sitting reading the paper!

Ooooo, I wonder what's in there?

On my way back from feeding the horses this beautiful lichen caught my eye.  I love the contrast of the frilly grey/green one against the furry gold/ochre.  Seeing something so beautiful makes me want to capture it in embroidery so I've started scribbling in my notebook.

The beginning of my Brioche project

This is my progress on the Jacki scarf.  I think I've got the pattern in my head now so it can be my TV project.   This Artesano alpaca yarn is wonderfully soft to work with and I love this deep teal colourway.

The start of my long runs

This morning I ran 12.5 miles which was my first run over 10 miles for a few weeks.  I was very wheezy on the hills thanks to my asthma and felt incredibly tired afterwards - not superhuman after all then!  Hopefully I'll buck up a bit in the coming weeks.

And she's off!

This year is going to be all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone and trying things I haven't done before.

So here are my starter projects:

Knitting project ready to start - the one-colour Jacki scarf in brioche stitch, by Nancy Marchant.  This is going to take quite a bit of concentration so definitely not a project for TV viewing, at least not until I've got the increases and decreases in my head.  The yarn arrived today and I will be casting on tomorrow.

Crochet - the overlay crochet cushion that I wrote about back in October but didn't start as I had lots of Christmas projects to get through.  That will be my lunchtime project as it uses fine thread and so I need good light to do it.

Embroidery - I'm about to start a batch of little samples to mount on one of those box canvases with deep sides.  The samples will be of anything that catches my eye and will be embroidered as and when I find something suitable.

Patchwork - I've sorted out lots of fabrics to play with for a 'crazy patchwork' cushion cover.  I won't be starting this just yet but I want the fabrics ready and waiting.

Painting - Mike's got me doing paint effects on some of the plain frames he's bought for his paintings.  I love doing this!

Running - I'm getting right into my latest training schedule and it's a tough one.  If this doesn't make me faster then nothing will!  I do, however, still seem to be having a few problems with my breathing so it's off to see the asthma nurse again.  Today was 7 miles at marathon pace which is not easily done on my hilly routes.

Gardening - at last the rain has abated so I can get out there and do some tidying.

Mike and I went mooching around a secondhand bookshop yesterday and I pounced upon this wonderful book of knitted lace.  The fly-cover may be tatty but the patterns are lovely.  The author, Marianne Kinzel, was born in Austria but she left her home country in wartime to settle with her husband in England.

Inside, there is this beautiful dedication.  I do hope that our country still provides a haven for those in need.

Flicking through the book reminded me that I must show a photo of a knitted doily thingy I made for a Christmas present but that will have to wait until another time. 

Today I went to church to dismantle my tree.  It still looked so pretty and even when I added it to the pile of trees in the churchyard waiting to be recycled, the little confetti snowflakes and their glitter still glinted and gleamed.  My crocheted snowflakes have been packed away carefully for future use.

As there were only a few of us pottering around in the church I took the opportunity to take some photos of designs that caught my eye.

Terracotta and blue tiles

The tiny stained glass windows above the main feature window

The flowers are different in each set which I hadn't noticed before

One of several proud lambs around the chandelier

Ethereal faces

Glorious brocade fabric

1 January 2013

Happy New Year everyone!

The weather today has been wonderful with a beautiful blue sky highlighting the bare branches of the trees.  I often take my camera with me on my runs and today I thought I'd upload some of the images that caught my eye.  I ran 5.5 miles at a good pace although I huffed and puffed up the hills - it was then that I remembered that I hadn't used my asthma inhaler; oops!

This first lane has dried up considerably since I ran along it on Christmas Day when it was just a sheet of water pouring down the whole lane.  Today there were just a couple of rivulets on either side.  I love the way the sunlight shines on the wet tarmac.

Blue sky showing the bare branches of trees and hedges in stark contrast

I had to take a photo of this tree as when I ran past the other day there was a tiny kitten curled up asleep in the hole.  It must have been one of the many feral cats that farmers keep around to fend off the mice and rats.  It was like a scene from Tolkien but sadly I didn't have the camera with me then.

Gully full of leaves with water run-off from the fields

View from up high

Rolling fields and trees

Big bales of hay wrapped up in plastic jackets!

A tangle of coppiced chestnut stools

Ploughed fields and copses

Rolling hills with a young vineyard in the lower right of the foreground

I am incredibly lucky to have such countryside to run through.  I'd really like to go for a run off-road but everywhere is saturated, if not flooded, so I shall have to wait until it dries out a bit before I venture through the fields.