tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6185372627247630302024-03-17T23:03:24.665-04:00Knot My Day JobWicked crafty adventuresSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.comBlogger935125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-10936389975412784802015-06-10T08:11:00.000-04:002015-06-10T08:11:05.070-04:00FO: Fish Lips Kiss Heel Sock
Last month, news reached me of an unfortunate Amtrak accident near Philadelphia.
"Gosh, I hope I didn't know anyone on the train", everyone thinks.
Knowing lots of people who work in Sales and travel the East Coast corridor almost constantly didn't help my chances and I did end up knowing someone who was gravely injured on that train.
Third hand news of a long-term ICU Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-59253217881855968202015-06-04T08:00:00.000-04:002015-06-04T08:00:12.518-04:00fo: Plain jane socks
I've changed gears and started making socks again. I love the usefulness of jumpers, but I have much sock yarn in my stash that needs to be turned into socks, and those socks make for wonderful gifts. Maybe someone particularity cold-hearted might turn down a pair, but what ice queen wouldn't want a pair of these?
Quick, plain jane socks. The yarn is Online Supersock 4-plySarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-47927227041626417262015-06-03T07:49:00.000-04:002015-06-03T07:49:31.567-04:00FO: Buchanan Tee
I finished a fantastic little summery top a couple weeks ago.
It's the Buchanan sweater from Kate Davie's wonderful little book appropriately titled "Yokes". The last sweater I made of hers was the whimsical Owls pullover. Sadly, I left it in storage and I want it back (along with that denim pencil skirt, ugh, sometimes I just miss my stuff).
There are several winners in the Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-78753425378784225682015-05-19T04:40:00.001-04:002015-05-19T04:40:58.178-04:00Sad Trombone
A couple weeks ago, I was dutifully scooping up clothes off the floor and throwing everything in the wash. A 50 minute 30c cycle later, I hauled everything out and started hanging it out on the clothes line outside, when I came across something balled up in the middle of the laundry bolus that puzzled me greatly.
What on earth was it? It looks like flat bread or a nacho or Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-63930876269846221422015-05-18T06:54:00.000-04:002015-05-18T06:54:08.336-04:00FO: Circle SocksIt's been a while since I've made a pair of socks. This is an odd thing since most of my yarn stash is sock yarn. I should probably make more socks.
They are still my go-to for travel projects. If I have a long train journey in store and I'll be hiking around a bit then I always have a pair on the needles. It's much easier than having a adult-sized sweater shoved in my Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-189415915484951262015-05-16T02:09:00.000-04:002015-05-16T02:09:00.056-04:00Osterley Park Bluebells
The bluebells have been really fantastic this year. I've been seeking them out- on a sunny late afternoon (or morning, if you are up with the larks) the light filters through the forest just right and the forest floor becomes awash with the stunning purple blooms.
After a rather intelligent google search (bluebells near london) I settled on a trip out to Osterley Park, a NationalSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com2Osterley Park, Jersey Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 4RB, UK51.4895368 -0.3454924000000119151.479649800000004 -0.36566240000001193 51.4994238 -0.32532240000001189tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-12491121812697000992015-05-15T09:02:00.000-04:002015-05-15T09:02:00.578-04:00Pennine Way
When I first started looking into hiking in the Peak District, my first thought was to do the first leg of the 268 mile Pennine Way. The high-level foorpath starts in Edale at the base of Kinderscout, goes through Yorkshire Moors, Northumberland before terminating just over the border in Scotland along the backbone of the Pennine hills. It can be broken into pieces with the help of Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Kinder Scout, Peak District National Park, High Peak, Derbyshire SK22, UK53.384877 -1.873405000000047932.937306000000007 -43.181999000000047 73.832448 39.435188999999951tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-80084577561537061142015-05-14T05:28:00.002-04:002015-05-14T05:28:42.016-04:00Lantern Pike
The next morning greeted us with torrential rains and howling winds. After a breakfast and a chat with fellow walkers, we headed back upstairs and drank tea in bed and read books and chatted until the sun suddenly came out around 11. That's probably the laziest morning we've ever had on the trail.
We decided to do a short hike into Hayfield via Lantern Pike, and decide from there Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-79532190936528959842015-05-12T09:03:00.000-04:002015-05-12T09:03:54.677-04:00A long walk in the Peak District- Castleton to Hayfield
I had one of those long weekend walks through the Peak District that made me happy that I made all the right choices in life that led me to be there.
A mere two hour train ride north of London, sandwiched between the bustling metropolises of Manchester and Sheffield with a load of other populous cities in the midlands within an hour of the boundaries, The Peak District is the first Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Castleton, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33, UK53.343999999999987 -1.774999999999977353.334519999999983 -1.7951699999999773 53.35347999999999 -1.7548299999999772tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-78391955690930783192015-05-07T08:22:00.000-04:002015-05-07T08:22:00.463-04:00Crystal Palace
Spring has been about as glorious as it gets.
I took a quick train ride out to Crystal Palace. The name is misleading- there used to be the OG Crystal Palace there. The 1851 World's Fair took place (the very first!) in Hyde Park, and this innovation of cast iron and glass was considered a wonder in its own right. How genius- in the days before electric light, creating glass Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Crystal Palace, London SE19, UK51.4198825 -0.07854150000002846430.9723185 -41.387135500000028 71.8674465 41.230052499999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-21739119803753984452015-05-06T05:09:00.000-04:002015-05-06T05:09:19.759-04:00FO: OliveOh, ugh, I am so disappointed with this little pullover. It just looked so adorable and casual and wearable on the model, I jumped right on it with needles and yarn.
I mean, it made the model look like this:
(c Helen Isager)
But me? It had quite a different effect on me:
Ugh, really?? I even added waist shaping to try to pull in the sack a bit. This just doesn't Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-61674278060260745422015-04-27T05:27:00.002-04:002015-04-27T05:27:44.238-04:00Balcombe Circuit
I went for a walk last weekend that is freshly titled at my "new favorite" outside of London. I loved it so much, I'm thinking about doing it again very soon. Care to join me?
On your way south out of London, tucked between the paralel hills of the North Downs and the towering South Downs, there is a valley called the Weald. If you've ever flown in or out of Gatwick, you Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Balcombe, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH17, UK51.058563000000007 -0.1279399999999668651.038603000000009 -0.16828049999996686 51.078523000000004 -0.087599499999966857tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-80993511749368561872015-04-25T01:01:00.000-04:002015-04-25T01:01:00.140-04:00Rye Meads
The weather in Southern England had been unusually pleasant. I don't even know the last time it's rained, and day after day of blue sky is starting to get disconcerting, and the fact we had a day near 38 last week in which all of London emptied out to occupy the lawns and parks in a sprawl of skin.
Rye House, a former grand residence
Not a mud puddle to be found.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0RSPB Rye Meads, Rye Road, Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire SG12 8JS, UK51.7747227 0.007030399999962355751.7648977 -0.013139600000037645 51.7845477 0.027200399999962356tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-59380383439269889482015-04-24T01:35:00.000-04:002015-04-24T01:35:00.086-04:00FO: Mandala Rug
Bear with me. This was a bit of an impulse project.
We are floor-sitters in my house. Ever since I was a kid, I would sit on the floor. For fun, for study, for movies. I love Japanese and Korean restaurants where you take off your shoes and sit on the floor. I feel like it's better for your back and posture to sit up unaided, and you can sit in lotus or half Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-77914289733119346102015-04-23T02:52:00.000-04:002015-04-23T02:52:00.671-04:00FO: Hitchhiker, take twoI made another hitchiker scarf. The first one I had gifted. I quite liked making it. It's fairy mindless, it's garter stitch, and it shows of wildly handpainted yarns quite nicely.
Like this skein of Wollmeise that I got in a swap.
The color was "Aspen Tree". I loved it because it was COLORFUL, but couldn't really think of too much to do with it as I felt it was a Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-12811726323747924202015-04-22T04:19:00.000-04:002015-04-22T04:19:00.551-04:00Jurassic Coast Day 4: Abbotsbury to Weymouth
We awoke to a sunny, nearly hot morning. Nothing small and stuffed had murdered us in our sleep. Time to hit the trail for a final stretch- walking along the coast to the town of Weymouth, where a train would haul two dirty tired hikers back to the Big Smoke.
The best part about this walk was to watch springtime happen before us. The weather went from cool and cloudy Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Weymouth, Dorset, UK50.6144279 -2.457621000000017450.5338444 -2.6189825000000173 50.695011400000006 -2.2962595000000174tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-89482104918622042872015-04-21T05:58:00.000-04:002015-04-21T05:58:26.601-04:00Jurassic Coast Day 3: Lyme Regis to Abbotsbury
This was the day on this walk that I'm not especially proud of.
Leaving Lyme Regis. The town is beautiful, and we followed the stream down to the waterfront, and I even spotted a clever piece by Banksy:
So here is where my day turned to shit.
Another landslip meant we had to work our way far around the coast path again. This added six miles onto our hike on Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Abbotsbury, Weymouth, Dorset DT3, UK50.666483 -2.600574999999935230.2189205 -43.909168999999935 71.1140455 38.708019000000064tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-80164564245358148552015-04-16T02:41:00.000-04:002015-04-16T02:41:00.052-04:00SWC path Day 2: Branscombe to Lyme Regis
Day 2! Boots on reluctant feet, huge amounts of carbs consumed for breakfast, and up the first hill. Today would be shorter in distance, but no less lovely.
Leaving Branscombe, I didn't have to climb to the top of the first big hill (the SWC trail goes lower!) but I felt like I should.
The top of the cliff was pretty amazing. This whole area Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-72980845221874634472015-04-15T05:39:00.000-04:002015-04-15T05:39:53.179-04:00Walking the Jurassic Coast
Having a long weekend is a good excuse for a stretch of the legs. Luck was with us- aside from a little rain in the forecast, we had brilliant early spring weather.
We chose a section of the Jurassic Coast on the South West Coast Path. Our walk started in Exmouth and finished at the train station almost 70 miles away in Weymouth. Ambitious, yes, but a good distance Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Exmouth, Devon, UK50.619957 -3.413702000000057550.579669 -3.4943830000000577 50.660244999999996 -3.3330210000000573tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-41795164578424330362015-04-10T06:08:00.000-04:002015-04-10T06:08:14.281-04:00Thank you, Hawk
Fair warning: a bit of gore ahead.
Last weekend was a bank holiday, meaning in the EU and UK we got a 4 day weekend to encompass Good Friday and Easter Monday. My standard response "every Friday is a good Friday" never flies. Just like this pigeon!
We took the opportunity of the free days to head out for a walk along the Jurassic Coast, a stretch of Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com0Exmouth, Devon, UK50.619957 -3.413702000000057550.579669 -3.4943830000000577 50.660244999999996 -3.3330210000000573tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-5249046324986941582015-03-31T04:27:00.000-04:002015-03-31T04:27:00.731-04:00Quilt
Well now. I made a patchy-work quilt! It's not a traditional one, with fantastically precise geometry, but kind of a wildly modern one of mismatched and layered patches. Gee's Bend is not where I live, obviously.
In the process, I've learned quite a lot.
Firstly, I love fabric. I love pattern. I love color. Really, I do! No Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-55377173891076008682015-03-30T06:19:00.000-04:002015-03-30T06:19:47.082-04:00FO: VarMy obsession with all thing Icelandic continues. While I won't be stocking deliciously fragrant Hakarl any time soon, I am loving lopapeysa sweaters. Casual, functional, warm colorwork pullovers and cardigans were my go-to this winter. Now that it is springtime, I still wanted to wear one, so I decided to fight my fear of zippers once again and make a jacket that is still warm Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-42571969131493991642015-03-20T11:15:00.001-04:002015-03-20T11:15:53.381-04:00Let Down by London Skies
One of my most vivid childhood memories was that of a solar eclipse. They made a big deal of it in school and tricked everyone out with welding glasses and pinhole cameras and warned us up and down not to actually look at the thing. I remember it being spring, and the entire school was allowed to run wild on the lawn for the occasion.
It was quite the eerie event. Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com1London, UK51.5073509 -0.1277582999999822351.1912379 -0.77320529999998222 51.8234639 0.51768870000001777tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-44711476959103921852015-03-17T14:11:00.000-04:002015-03-17T14:11:47.071-04:00The earliest yawn of springtime
Springtime is just the most glorious time, isn't it?
The newness of it all, the novelty of the early flowers. Winter wasn't even all that much of a hardship here in southern England. The thing I had the most problem with was the darkness- if you didn't make a point of getting out, you could easily go days without getting a little daylight. But now spring is here, and Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com2Rochester, Medway, UK51.388000000000012 0.5067209999999704551.308716000000011 0.34535949999997045 51.467284000000014 0.66808249999997038tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-618537262724763030.post-83335868186978093932015-03-16T11:23:00.001-04:002015-03-16T11:23:18.242-04:00FO: Babette Blanket
Like so many knitters, I had accumulated a really large amount of scraps since I've started knitting. Hopefully, you end a project and still have a bit left and don't have to put a funky contrasting stripe in. Ahem. What to do, with all those odd balls and leftovers? A bit of color-work here and there fits the bill nicely, but it still won't put a dent in my scrappy stashSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04319779140985107444noreply@blogger.com4