Centrique

Time for knitting. There has been a lot of knitting while I've been away from blogland, but it's all there on my Ravelry Projects Page should anyone feel the irresistable urge to look ;-)

I bought the yarn and pattern at Knit Nation - yes, last-in-first-out with the yarn again but it was such lovely yarn I just had to cast on. This is Centrique, and I used around 1.5 skeins of Fyberspates Scrumptious DK to knit it and I love it. It was mostly knitted on holiday, and was an ideal holiday project in that pattern was interesting without being complex.

It's beautifully soft and very very warm and I absolutely love it.

Consider the Cobwebs Blown

Oh dear, lapsing again! Here am I back from holiday for almost 2 weeks and I haven't blogged about the rest of my holiday. Well as you can see the wind died down and we had the most perfect of weather. Just look at that fabulous sea a day later, as calm as a millpond.

Some souls even braved the water! Sooner them than me.

We went on a boat trip and saw this wonderful lighthouse. It's Longstone Lighthouse, from where Grace Darling and her father braved the sea and made their heroic rescue.

We also saw plenty of these. It's a privilege to be able to be so close. Sadly we were too late for the nesting birds, but not to worry, that's good reason to go back again ;-)

We visited Alnwick Castle where Harry Potter was filmed. The gardens there are lovely.




You couldn't say you weren't warned!

This is a cannibis plant. The sign reads "Please Keep Off The Grass" I like it!!

Here is Lindisfarne Abbey

And Lindisfarne Castle


I loved the walk from Craster to Dunstanborough Castle and have a friend to thank for making the suggestion.

And yet another castle, this one is Banborough.

Stunning views. I have really fallen in love with this beautiful part of the world.

I really can't think of a better place to have gone. Northumbria is a stunning area, and I am sure we saw just a small proportion of it's splendour. We all needed a break, somewhere to wind down and relax after the stresses and strains of recent weeks and months, and when times get difficult in the coming months I'll be able to draw strength from this week.

Blowing the Cobwebs Away

There's nothing quite like a visit to the sea-side and those wonderful sea breezes to concentrate the mind.

I think you can see that there were a lot of white horses around yesterday, although the photos don't manage to convey just how breezy it was. I felt very sorry for the numerous campers in the area.

We were very lucky yesterday, and managed to dodge the squally showers and enjoy a wonderful walk in and around Beadnell Bay. I am hoping to find my sense of perspective this week, I'm sure it must be out there somewhere ;-)

DS in a vain attempt at stone skimming.

The wind was blowing so much I could barely stand still enough to take this photo, the masts and rigging were rattling away like cow bells in the Swiss Alps yet the water in the harbour is a still and calm as anything.

It's just beginning to get light here, and the sky is looking cloudy but they are light clouds not yesterday's heavy stormclouds. The birds are just waking up, and I might just as well be at home, I still can't seem to get a night's sleep. Hopefully another day out in the fresh Northumberland air will do the trick.

Something for Mum, Something for Baby

A friend of mine had a beautiful little boy a few weeks ago. It's taken me much longer than it should have done to knit this for her.

I used just under three skeins of Rowan Pure Wool 4ply in total. I used 5mm needles for the FCS, it has one extra pattern repeat and six border rows. The hat and mitts can be found here and the little bootees are Magic Slippers.

Moving On

Thank you all very much for your kind words in my previous post. Tuesday's service was of great comfort, and I'm finding new strength every day. I hope this doesn't sound too morbid, but mum is in the most peaceful of places with a wonderful outlook and reunited with dad and my brother. The last year has been such a hard one for her, and there was a lot of pain, I'm pleased that her pain has gone, and she will never leave me, so how can I be sad?

My family have been magnificent in their support. My two boys were bearers on Tuesday and I am so proud of them

There were so many people! People from the town I grew up in and had not seen for years, but it seemed like only yesterday as the years rolled back. My mother's family, aunts, uncles, cousins. My father's family, my stepfather's family, so many people, some of whom travelled a long way to be there, how kind of them, and how comforting.

Tuesday was not without it's share of drama. A friend of my brother collapsed just as we all left the church and an ambulance was called. My brother travelled with him to hospital, fortunately he recovered sufficiently to be allowed home later in the evening. Although it was all very stressful at the time - I spoke to, thanked and said goodbye personally to upwards of seventy people which was exhausting, I am pleased that things were not as serious as at first thought.

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed a change in blog title. I feel it's time for a change, and it's confusing to be Aknita in blogland and Thimblina on Ravelry, especially when most people just call me Joy anyway. I think Thimblina will have to remain my Ravelry name, just about every variation of Joy is taken but I'm working on it.

I've missed blogging, and hope to update more regularly from now on.

It's Been a Long Time...........

........since I blogged.

The last time I was here, mum was in hospital, wasn't she. She spent some five months there in total, before moving across to Malven to live in a wonderful nursing home - which really did become her home - for which I will be forever grateful.

Some of you may remember this blog post.

The last eleven months have been the hardest of my life. However, knowing that mum has been so well cared for and loved in her final few months has been of great comfort. And I've been able to see her almost every single day which has been just wonderful. It's not been easy for her, she had yet another heart attack followed by more episodes of chest pain and emergency admissions, and her health gradually declined until she became so very tired.

She was still mum though. She may not have known quite who I was (I was most often referred to as Betsy) but she knew that she knew me, and that was enough.

Mum finally passed away, very peacefully, on July 31st, aged 92. Her funeral is tomorrow. I haven't even begun to think about how much I am going to miss her.

I've missed just one day at work. People ask how I am and I say "I'm fine, thank you", when all I really want to do is curl up somewhere and shut out the world.

I have absolutely no idea how I am going to get through tomorrow.