Sunday 26 January 2014

Treasures

A little treasure hunting in a vintage shop.  I didn't buy anything, but it was such an Aladdin's Cave of delights.  This was part of the downstairs room, which was crammed with everything imaginable, including the saddest looking spaniel that the littlest boy completely fell in love with.  It had big brown red-rimmed eyes, and the littlest boy was convinced it was crying.  If it had been for sale I'd have brought it home.


On Thursday some treasure of a different kind arrived, all the way from the other side of the ocean.  The lovely Ellen of The Ellen Report sent me this beautiful yarn that I won in her very generous giveaway.  It's Tussah silk no less, which is extra exciting for me as I can't wear most wool, it makes me itch.  But silk, I'm fine with silk.



To be honest I'm a bit scared of using it.  I'm not a very good knitter, and I have a horror of not doing it justice.  It's very fine, lacy in fact.  I'm thinking maybe this, but I don't know if it's beyond me.  We shall see. It seems to have a sort of frill on it in a contrasting yarn.  I'm thinking I might use the same yarn for the frill as well as the main part. Any tips or suggestions gratefully received.


You might remember the middle boy had a little project last week, while he was off school sick.  He painted an oystercatcher and wrote a letter to the amazing Sir David Attenborough.  We're huge fans of Sir David here, and we've been watching Life of Birds recently, as well as looking at some of his books.  Middle boy wrote to say how much he enjoyed everything he'd seen and told Sir David a little about himself.  And just a few days later... a letter dropped on the doormat.  A handwritten envelope and a handwritten letter no less, from the great man himself.  I am absolutely blown away that he would take the time to write back to a little fan.  I'd heard that he's a generally good egg - carries his own bags on location and sleeps in the crew tent - no airs and graces, that kind of thing, but for him to take the time to write makes me think even more highly of him, if that's possible.


Around here the little people have been trying their hands at origami.  I give you a Roman helmet, a spinning top and a fortune teller.  Honestly, they've spent hours making various little things, it's been great.  And all from a library book.


This morning was a bit of a trial.  Torrential rain, wild winds (note the flag) and mud, oh the mud.  The biggest boy had a football match, which meant a couple of hours of standing outside.  It's taken me the rest of the day to warm up.


I managed to sneak five minutes (and only five minutes) on the sofa this afternoon to look at this fantastic book.


I'm starting to dream of spring planting.  This is Alys's garden.  Beautiful, no?  I'm so in love with it.  But I fear as it has no space for kicking balls around it wouldn't do at all for the little people.



I really like the way she's grown her garden, making production of food for her kitchen into an art.  I've been watching the programme that goes alongside on Youtube and remembering how much I enjoyed it when I watched it first time round.   I might try mixing my edible things with a few more flowers this year.

Eventually the sky cleared today.  Too late to be any use to me, I had already finished all of my going out.  But I did snap a couple of shots from the top room.  It looks nice, but I guarantee that it's squelchy underfoot down there.  At the football this morning I had to keep shifting to stop my boots sinking in the quagmire.  Tomorrow is my day for removing any last traces of mud from the house.  Actually, most of it's gone already, but I do like to restore order on a Monday.



So here we go again.  A new week.  I do hope it's a good one for all.

33 comments:

  1. What beautiful yarn and just perfect for the little shawlette. Fancy getting a letter from a famous well known person - how lovely and what an inspiration to your son. I too love Alys Fowler's garden and her enthusiasm for using the produce she grows but as you say her garden wouldn't last long with sons playing football in it!! Lovely pics of the sunshine - it's just as well it keeps bobbing out to remind us of its presence isn't it? Oh for a decent spell of dry sunny weather eh?!

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  2. This is a rich post! The yarn you have received is superb. The model you have chosen look promising. I don't know Sir David Attenborough, but imagining a TV personality taking the time to write a little note makes this man very sympathetic. We have had a bit of sun over the weekend, but it has been raining now for the last hours... I wish a wonderful week.

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  3. The shawl you chose is beautiful. I don't think it is beyond your skill. Just take it one stitch at a time and don't overthink it. You can do it!

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  4. That yarn is gorgeous. The colour of a winter sea. Good luck with the shawl. You can do it..
    The letter from David Attenborough is just fantastic, I am such a fan of his too.

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  5. How amazing that letter popped onto your doorstep, a Atreus for sure. I love the yarn Ellen sent and I have a bit of yarn envy, which is not very nice. I think you picked out a perfect project for it and I too would use the same yarn for the edging, it will be amazing.
    Hugs to you and have a great week,
    Meredith

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  6. This is a lovely post, indeed full of treasures. I would have loved visiting that shop, so much to see there. The yarn is gorgeous and I know you will make something lovely with it. That letter from the great man is very impressive, what a lucky boy. And what a terrific man to take the time to write a letter to a little boy. That is really wonderful. I hope you have a lovely week, CJ.

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  7. The fact that your son received a letter from Sir David Attenborough is just outstanding! I bet he was just so thrilled! And that garden looks like heaven! We leave grass for kicking as well, and just plant around the perimeter...but boy would it be nice to have meandering paths like that! A lovely shop and stunning photos of your beautiful landscape friend! A happy week you!! Nicole

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  8. Congratulations on winning that beautiful yarn! Wool makes me itch, too, so this silk sounds lovely. I'm not a good knitter, so unfortunately I don't have any advice, but I'm excited to see what you create! I love going to antique stores that are filled to the brim with treasures. This one looks like there would be much to peruse. Standing out in the rain sounds miserable, but at least the sun came out and you have that lovely book to enjoy. Hope your week is off to a wonderful start!

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  9. Love that yarn! I have always been a big fan of David Attenborough, but I love him even more for that letter. I really like Alys Fowler and have a couple of her books, including the one you have and am also going to try and grow more veg in amongst flowers this year. We'll have to compare! Julie x

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  10. Your new yarn is beautiful, I hope that you enjoy working with I. I look forward to seeing what you make. How utterly wonderful to receive a letter from Sir David Attenborough!! That will be a lifelong memory for your son, it is so lovely to hear that people are as nice, or even nicer in this case than they seem. Such a great start to the year for your family. I hope that it gets even better for you. xx

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  11. The first photo must be Auntie Wainwrights! (Last of the Summer Wine). I do remember making those fortune tellers when I was at school.
    I'm sure David Attenborough is a very nice man but I'm afraid his voice sends me to sleep. Try as I may I just can't manage an entire programme without snoozing. MY husband is the same and we both love wildlife.

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  12. The yarn is beautiful, I am no where near that level of knitting yet. What a lovely letter to receive. Lastly The Edible Garden is one of my favourite gardening books, I received a copy for Christmas & I loved it.

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  13. What lovely yarn. I like the look of the project you've chosen, I'd say it doesn't look that complicated - mostly stocking stitch with a bit of shaping - so go for it! I'm very impressed that David Attenborough took time to write back, just imagine the number of letters he must get.

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  14. My kids would be hopping mad with excitement about a letter from David Attenborough! Wow, how amazing. But then, the oystercatcher drawing was pretty amazing, too.
    We love origami in this house, Sam, my oldest can fold anything imaginable. This is a lovely post CJ, full of warmth and family happiness. Cx

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  15. CJ,

    We are huge Sir David fans here too. How wonderful to receive a letter. He is a gem. Sam had a letter from Tony Blair once (when we all thought he was a good egg) which was very cool at the time. Olly loves watching his nature programmes on Netflix - the best thing for a miserable Sunday. As for Alys Fowler; I adore her. Did you see her segment on The Great British Gardening Revival? The whole series was great, but her piece about kitchen gardens was my joint favourite (The Stumpery one was great too). I watched The Edible Garden. I dream of a garden like hers. She has turned a long thin terrace garden into an oasis of beauty and plenty. I can't say I've missed standing in the cold watching Alfie play rugby this season. I would imagine most matches have been cancelled here, because the games are played on first team pitches, and most groundsmen won't allow youth games to spoil the turf for the adult game (it's all about the money etc). Oh and the Aladdin's cave - don't you just love brwosing places like that? Just picking up and putting back is usually enough for me. I love the smell of places like that.

    Leanne xx


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  16. Simply a delightful post, thank you for sharing. David Attenborough completely rocks!

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  17. A most enjoyable post, and terrific photos. That letter will be something for your son to long cherish. I used to work with someone who was a dab hand at origami, and she made the most amazing animals.
    Have a good, and hopefully not too muddy, week. Flighty xx

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  18. A post filled with treasures indeed. How wonderful for your son to receive a handwritten letter from Sir David, that's something to treasure in the years to come. The yarn looks beautiful, so soft, I think the pattern you've chosen is perfect. I really enjoyed The Edible Garden series, I wish they'd do a second series, it was very popular at the time.

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  19. Love those sorts of totally crazy vintage shops. We were once in an antiques shop in Vienna which had room upon room crammed floor to ceiling with chairs. I'm sure some of them were quite lovely but you'd probably die trying to retrieve one. Also, what a lovely response from David Attenborough - your boy must be so thrilled! xx

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  20. That is some very lovely yarn, and I think the shawlette is the perfect pattern for it. You could certainly use the same yarn for the ruffle - and it would save you the agony of trying to find a second yarn to do justice to the first! :)

    How exciting for your son to get a letter from the amazing Sir David, and what an encouraging thrill that "excellent" must have given him (your son I mean).

    We are dreaming of gardens too, but it will be a few months yet.... I don't have a lot of planting space, but what I do have I use mostly for food plants and herbs.

    P.S. We used to make fortune tellers all the time when I was a kid. :)

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  21. That is so great that your son received a response to his letter. And that is was a paper LETTER, not an email, is the best part of it! The folded paper fortune teller made me laugh - brought back silly memories of elementary school. Isn't is funny how kids are still doing some of the same things, 30 years later? The yarn is beautiful! I have several skeins that I bought just because I loved how they looked and felt (I am a natural dyed wool fan). Since I am just a beginner knitter and also don't know what to make with them that will do them justice, they just sit. However, I am changing my mentality. Life is too short to keep really nice things in a closet or dusty shelf just to look at or for very special occasions. If you love them - use them on a daily basis and appreciate them! So find a project and dive right in!

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  22. There were so many delights in this post! The vintage shop looks wonderful and the shawlette looks a good way of using that silk yarn. Your son must have been so proud receiving that letter, there was some advantage of being off school! Aly's garden looks so lovely I will have to look at her programmes on You Tube. Sarah x

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  23. The shawl from Ravelry looks beautiful. I'd love to learn to knit something like that someday. I'm excited to see what you come up with. It's really nice to hear Sir David wrote back to your son. And nice that your son took the time to write to him as well. It sounds like you are raising wonderful boys. I hope you've warmed up by now. The pictures are lovely! I like to take Monday to tidy up too :)

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  24. Now that's my kind of Aladdin's cave! How lovely with the letter - I remember when my son wrote to Top Gear - it took a while, but he did receive a response...I felt so chuffed for him.

    Nina x

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  25. Oh.. I wish you'd snapped a photo of the sad dog! I think that shawl would be the perfect thing to use the silk for. I'm preparing to start a new shawl.. in blood red alpaca/silk. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  26. I love shops packed to the brim with quirky things. They're the best kinds of shops. I can get lost for hours in them. I can't wait to see what you do with that yarn. I know what you mean about being scared to use it ! I would too :)
    http://myfroley.blogspot.com/

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  27. A lovely post. I love hunting around in vintage shops as well. Even if I don't buy (and I generally don't) it's always fun having a good look at all the items.
    The yarn is lovely and the shawlette looks beautiful. I hope you give it go!
    That is very exciting for middle boy receiving a letter from Sir David Attenborough. I'm a fan, too!

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  28. oh what a lovely letter, it really was a beautiful picture x

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  29. That yarn is beautiful! I'm the opposite to you, fine with wool, but silk makes me smell funny. Can just about manage it in a scarf though. If you are nervous about lacy knitting, I highly recommend this pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/simmer-dim. Very good and straightforward instructions (no short rows).

    And how exciting is that letter!

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  30. The letter your son received from SDA is one of the coolest things ever. I think the pattern you chose is lovely, but even if you did a plain scarf, I think the yarn will be forgiving. I'm seriously convinced it rains for every football match in England. (see Merseyside Derby today)

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  31. Your yarn prize is totally fabulous - I love the subtle shades of grey. It will be lovely in the shawlette you have selected but I have a couple of suggestions, I hope you don't mind. The shawl you have chosen is mostly garter stitch, this is good if you are a nervous knitter but the border is lace and may be a little more tricky. Although I agree it will be fine working the border in the same colour as the main part as you suggest. Also ( and I think this is the more important point) the shawl is quite small, I guess it won't use up more than half your skein, it would be a shame to have so much of that lovely silk unused. I wonder if you might consider knitting something a little larger like Knitty.com 's Citron http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/citron . The knitting is plain stocking stitch, the pretty shape comes from all the increases. The band around the skein should tell you what yardage you have there and most ravelry patterns give yardage as well as weight of yarn required

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  32. Gorgeous yarn and I'll second Ali's recommendation of Simmerdim :)

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  33. That yarn! Not only is it a beautiful colour but it has a really nice name and label; I do appreciate nice packaging. Enjoy whatever you decide to knit with it. How wonderful for your son to receive a letter from David Attenborough. That is something to treasure forever. x

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