turtleknits

Yeah!!! My cocoa swap parcel arrived yesterday. I was so delighted. Was not at home when it arrived so had a note to say that the postman had called and that a parcel could be collected at the local postal sorting office. My cocoa swap partner is Felicia from http://www.feliciaknits.blogspot.com/ . These are the contents, mostly wrapped in tissue. Beautiful sock yarn from Crystal Palace yarns. Its made from bamboo, wool and nylon and its so so soft. Some really yummy 'Archer Farms' Milk chocolate mix. Its really delicious and also tastes very good shaken on a cappuccino! Three sachets of Cocoa classics from 'Land Lakes' which I will taste later. Delicious nutty butterscotch - gone, and a yummy bar of Lindt orange chocolate - also gone! Lovely stitch markers which match the colour of the sock yarn - exactly. And last but certainly not least, my lovely 'blah buddy' to cheer up this month. Its a lovely felted owl, beautifully made! I've named her 'Butto...

This shawl was knitted in Kid Silk Haze. I had trouble with it from the word go, as I've blogged before. It started out as Birch from a Rowan pattern but after two mistakes and ripping, I managed to find a pattern from the Lana Grossa site and it was quite easy once I got going. The edge I crocheted after. These are pictures of the 'blah buddy' I knitted for my cocoa swap partner at www.cyclingknitter.blogspot.com . She has named her 'Missy', which I think really suits her.The pattern was my own, out of my head, and was knitted in some left over sock yarn. I can't remember which one, but I think it had cotton in the mix. I was quite pleased with her.

My swap partner, Angie, at www.cyclingknitter.blogspot.com , received her gifts at the weekend and I think she really likes them. I really enjoyed getting the gifts together for her. As it was her birthday on Monday last, why not pop over and send her a wish. Looking forward to receiving my parcel now. Happy Valentines Day to all my blog readers.

The vacation that sticks in my mind is quite a recent one when myself and DH went to the South of France on a business trip. We had been to France before but that was to Brittany. The Mediterranean was everything I pictured it to be, azure blue and completely clear. The coastline near to Nice and Monaco is rugged and has many levels of (corniches)roadways and even from the highest level if you look down you can see to the bottom of the sea. The hotel we stayed in was beautiful, and the view from the bedroom amazing, overlooking the sea and the sound of the water gently lapping below was so soothing. Oh dear I wish I was there now! My earliest childhood memory is of visitors of my parents from New Zealand, who stayed in my house and how they were having their breakfast served in the dining room, which must have been unusual at the time. However my Mom thinks I was only about 1 year old and was astonished lately when I could describe certain things about that time to her, which were righ...

Now that we're in the thick of Winter............has your knitting changed to match the season? Are you moving on from dishcloths, and tank tops to afghans, hats and mittens? Has your yarn changed from silk or cotton, to wool super wash or heavy cottons? Well I suppose I have been knitting wintery things lately. Lots of scarves,hats, some socks and mobile phone 'socks'. These were mostly for Christmas presents. Currently I am working on a shawl for myself and I hope to knit a cardi soon. I have used wool or wool/silk mixes for the gifts, and I hope to knit my own cardi from some Noro which is in my stash since last year. I love cottons and silks also and have made some washcloths lately which I love. They are really good for the face and I would suggest they make good 'exfoliators' instead of expensive products. My skin feels really clean after use. (Gosh I'm off on a tangent, how did I get here!)

Last year I found two skeins of Noro Silk Garden in the oddments box at my LYS, but only got to using it recently. First, I knit the lovely cable beanie from a Rowan Pattern in their 'Coast' book. However, when I tried it on it did not suit me at all, but looked really gorgeous on both my daughters, so that's who's wearing it. But there was enough to get a second hat for myself with the use of a little wool/alpaca in grey for the brim, so am pleased with that This is a little lavender heart I knit for my mother for Christmas, which I think she liked. I knit it from sock yarn and the colours looked great. The pattern was from Interweave, on line and free. It was a bit complicated at first, and i would not class it as a quick knit, but I would definitely knit it again. This New year brought some knitting disasters for me, and so I have not had many photos to upload. Firstly was the linen cotton yarn with which I was attempting a cardi, but the whole segment of knitting w...

1 Whose favourite animal is an otter? Anne K 2 Name someone who prefers whipped cream with their cocoa. Geraldine P 3 Find 3 people who live outside of the US Alex E, Geraldine P, Clarissa R 4 Name a fan of Harry Potter Devin H 5 Name someone who crochets Felicia R 6 Name someone who DOES NOT have a healthy supply of notions Sarah R 7 Name someone who has not put their questionnaire up yet Rhonda C Jan 9th 00.15 8 Who likes to have Kahlua, Baileys, or Peppermint Schnapps in their cocoa Rachel C 9 Name someone who knits fingerless gloves as a 'quick knit' Tanya M 10 Name someone who is looking forward to gardening this spring Geraldine P 11 Whose favourite way to drink cocoa is with a gorgeous Frenchman while overlooking the Eiffel Tower from a French cafe? Kris L 12 Name someone whose favourite animal is NOT a dog or house cat Angela T 13 Name someone whose favourite treat is NOT chocolate Tricia R 14Who plays Candyland Criquette 1...

Well on another and brighter note, I've just signed up for another swap. A hot cocoa swap, the idea of which is to brighten up the month of February which can be quite a dull month, neither winter nor spring and with Christmas past. So I am looking forward to meeting other like-minded bloggers. Questionnaire 1 What is you favourite way to drink cocoa? Prepared with milk? water? from homemade recipe or store bought? In a tea cup or a big mug? I usually have store bought 'Cadburys' cocoa or drinking chocolate prepared with skimmed milk. And I prefer a mug. 2 Marshmallows or whipped cream? Preferably whipped cream. Yarn/knitting/crochet 1 What is your favourite type of yarn? In which colours? I like natural yarns, non scratchy. I love cotton, bamboo, silk and soft wools, and mixes of same. I love creams,beiges, pinks,blues, pale grey and mostly pastels 2 Do you knit, crochet or both? Primarily I knit. I can do just a few basic crochet stitches. 3 What are your favourite type o...