Reflection and 'Moving' forward...

It's been awhile, and now we've entered into a New Year, I need to get back into the blogging rhythm despite whatever madness is going on around
I don't need to think at the start of this year, like I usually do, about how to move forward, what changes I want to make, or what I want to achieve, because it's happening now, we are in the midst of it now!

We've talked for awhile about wanting to live by the sea, but talking and making it a reality are usually two different things. Before we knew it an opportunity arose at work and it was actually happening.
So this last month has been non-stop craziness, with the silly season, the busiest time at work and any spare moment at home was spent cleaning, tidying and decorating, a mammoth task at not the easiest time of year!

So we know we will be in a new area, with new places to explore, in a new house (which we must keep clean and tidy, a fresh start!) and hoping to get out and about more to be more active. It's very scary but all exciting too.
The main problem for us to sort is finding somewhere new to live. At the slowest time of year for properties and at a time when there's so many Bank Holidays its made it very difficult, but on Monday we will be taking the trip south to do a full day of viewings and fingers crossed there will be something suitable for us. It'll be a fast and furious and stressful month ahead, but I know for sure in the months going forward it'll be well worth it!

Christmas was a quiet affair for us, just cozied up indoors in front of the tv. We didn't even bother to unpack the decorations but Mum gave us a little decoration for us to light up

We had a lovely roast dinner

We had lots of lovely presents, though it was weird not having a tree to put them under!

We opened them slowly but surely throughout the day

Mum always gives us a fun lucky dip bag to open, and this year it was full of food goodies!

I hadn't picked up a hook in about a month, and it was hard, as that is my relaxant and creative outlet. At Christmas, having some rest days, I grabbed my hook and a ball of multi toned yarn, with no plan or idea or pattern and went ahead and made a flower. I wasn't sure about the way it was looking with the sporadic colour changes, but I went with it and made more flowers, joining them together as I went.

It worked up quickly, and it felt so good to be making again, and the more flowers I added, the more I liked the way it looked

I went out last week with the girlies from work for my leaving meal. We went to Carluccio's as it was one of the new restaurants in town that I hadn't been to. We had a great evening with delicious food.

New Year was yet another quiet affair, just the two of us snuggled up, with a little drinkie to see in the midnight chimes...

So we will see how the next few weeks unfold on our venture towards the coast, and I will do my best to keep you posted along the way.....

Birthday week...

So this week has been my birthday and the celebrations have all revolved around food

Hubby made me a lovely brunch

We had tea and cake in the afternoon

And in the evening we went out to dinner at Zizzi's

Later in the week, I went out for yet another meal, this time with the lovely girlies from work

We went to Bill's Restaurant, which I haven't been to before, but I will definitely be going back!

I had Mac Cheese and Lemon Meringue, and it was so yummy!

I had some amazing presents, 2 new bags and scarves to add to the collection

And a few more crafting items to keep me amused!

There has been precious little time for crafting, and there will be less and less as we near the mad season, but I have made a few more shawl flowers, i'm just struggling to work out how to continuously join, but i'll get there slowly...

Posy Scarf...

"I had a break

I didn't intend to

It was a week

But turned into three

I haven't been lazy

Lots going on

Not much crafting

But changes for me..."

So the 'Posy Scarf ' is complete.

The ends have been tidied away and it was laid out and blocked

For the first time Doris got unwrapped and put to use.

The days have been dark and grey, but Friday when I was home from work, the sun showed it's appearance, and we had some light and brightness.

Firstly we had an indoor shoot near the window with rare natural light.

But I couldn't resist taking her out, into the rays of the sun, with the dark green bushes filled with bright orange berries as a background

Meanwhile, I have still be working away on making lots of pink posies, when I have a field full, then I can then face the task of working out how they can join for the shawl pattern...

So after my prize winning last month, it's like buses, I won another prize! This time it was a Woodland prize pack from a group of amazing crafters

It's been exciting getting different packages through the door, so far I have received these goodies...

Cards, notebook and print from @bycharlieshand and 3 prints from @erryberrydesign

I'm feeling extremely lucky!

From one little posy...

If you cast your mind back to prior my holiday, you may recall I was working on my posy scarf. Having got past the fiddly stage of working out the join, it just needed completing.

I can happily say it is now finished. Once in the rhythm of the join it flows quite nicely, but still takes a bit of concentration to make sure it's going correctly. It just needs to go on the blocking mat now so that it can be photographed in all its glory!

I had intended to then move on to a new design, and I've been having a little play!

After looking at the scarf and with my new yarn purchases I thought how lovely it would look as a shawl.

So I set about doing some colour swatches.

After eliminating one, I was undecided between the other two, and after posting my picture,the response was split too.

So I listened to my gut instinct and went with the warm soft pinks. I made a few centres, and now have started with the petals.

I'm hoping, as the joining will be the same in theory to the scarf it won't be too hard, but we will see, as we will be working in odd numbers in a row instead of even!

I still kept looking at my other colour swatch, and decided that this more contrasting colourway would lend itself nicely as a cushion. After more glances I thought how nicely a little hexagon would slot into the gaps!

So now from one little posy, we have a scarf, shawl and a cushion...

Knit and Stitch show

It's that time of year again, when the Knitting and Stitch show arrives in London. I had a free day and I was looking forward to going, especially with  the hope of seeing people I follow on social media.

I took in the smaller rooms first, as the the large market place with lots of goodies can be quite exhausting and I wanted to be fresh to be able to enjoy people's inspirational work. The first person I came across was Louise, and her fabulous knitted taxidermy animal heads, great fun and bigger in real life.

I was absolutely delighted to see some works of Sophie Digard a French ladies work I have admired from afar for awhile and something that I never expected to see in person.

The pieces were as outstanding as I expected, as the intricacy and colour palette are unique. Such tiny exquisite stiches in a beautiful blend of colours and array of patterns.

I also spotted Wool and the Gang, Katie's Plaice and Janie Crow

I stopped for a refreshment before starting to tackle the boggling mix of stalls. One that really stood out was Spin City, selling her spindles and roving, but it was her personality and passion that shone through in her demonstrations. She must be repeating herself 100s of times but this doesn't dampen her energy. She made it look so easy and so much fun, a spindle is definitely going on my Christmas list!

Picture courtesy of spincityuk.blogspot.co.uk

Of course I had to pay a visit to the Stylecraft stand. Unsurprisingly it was bustling with eager customers, and the bubbly ladies were eager to help. The stand was a mass of colour not only full of their yarns but the blanket displays of Sue Pinner and Janie Crow. Sue was also there in person, another good reason to stop by.

Of course I couldn't leave empty handed, but at least had come with a vague idea that I needed more of a range of pinks. I chose from colour shades rather than sticking to one style of yarn.

I didn't find it too overwhelmingly busy this year and I was able to walk around and browse with ease, the hardest thing of course is resisting temptation! As you can see from the above picture, I may have picked up a few other balls from other stalls!! 

Whilst I was away on holiday Stylecraft hosted a Blog tour. For 10 days a different blogger would write a post about a piece they'd designed using the new Stylecraft limited edition colours, and each day there was a pack of the yarn to win. Typical, it was to happen whilst I was out of the country. Of course all the posts were there to still be read,(and most of the blogs I follow anyway) and the patterns available to enjoy, but I only had 3 days left to enter the competition.
I couldn't believe my luck, I won!! A whole 10 balls of squishy yarn, in a beautiful range of colours, via Hand Knitted Things. I know it sounds cheesy to say that I never win anything, but I really don't, so this was really exciting news for me, plus of course the prize was yarn, and things don't get much more exciting than that! I can't wait to have a play with the beautiful colours!

Costa...

We managed to escape this year, for a much needed break, and Spain was our destination of choice. We had a very early flight, so our first day was just spent browsing the local area by foot, in a dazed tired state, but we still appreciated the warmth of the sun, and surrounding beauty.

For first full day, we had pre planned to take the Benalmedena sightseeing bus, and got ourselves a great 2 day deal.

Our first stop-off was at the cable cars. Hubby was a little trepidacious, as it went up the side of Calamorro mountain, but it was fun and could see all along the Costa del Sol coastline.

We made it up just in time to see the falconry display at the Valley of Eagles

Some beautiful birds, with huge wing spans. One did fly off for a bit of a tour, I hope he made it back ok!

We climbed the rest of the way up to the top, to see the outstanding views layed out before us

After our ride back down, it was back on the bus for bit more of a view of the town.

We got off early, so we could take a stroll down the promenade.

With shops and restaurants to our left and the sea and beaches to our right we had plenty to look at on the stroll back

But all along the way were great art works on the paths to distract us from the long, hot walk back

Day two, and it was back on the tourist bus, this time we went to the Dolphinarium, which we only  went to as it was part of the package. Again our timing was impeccable and we arrived just in time to see the dolphin show. These adorable creatures showed off their skills, leaping and acting on command.

There were plenty of animals to take a look at after the display. The penguin enclosure with its mix of breeds, swimming and waddling were beautiful.

After our packed lunch, we headed to Paloma park, another pre planned destination. This park totally lived up to its reputation. Initially our views were lush greenery, palm trees, and chickens!! Winding our way round the pathways, we then spotted some stunning peacocks, with extremely long plumage.

We've heard plenty of squawks coming from the tops of palm trees on previous days, but this time we were able to spot what was making the raucous noise. Bright green parakeets.

Best for me, later in the afternoon, was spotting the lovely bunnies. Shading themselves under bushes and out on the lawns nibbling.

There was just one incident that dampened the mood briefly, when we were approached by 2 gypsies trying to sell us flowers, invading our space. On their departure hubby knew something wasn't right, and found he had been pick-pocketed, but he went straight after them, and got our money back. We decided we needed a strong coffee and cake after that!

It was then round to the top end of the park, to the Cactus area. There were a huge variety in all shapes and sizes, tall and fat, fluffy and spiky. 

This park had everything lakes, trees, flowers, birds, animals, sculptures, exercise areas, green space and cafes

I can honestly say this is the best park i've ever been to!!

Day three, was a rest day, lazing by the pool and soaking up the sun rays, just moving on occasion to fill ourselves with a bit more food!

Day four, and we took the public bus up the mountainous roads to an Andalusian village called Mijas

                            

With the traditional white houses, and tiled roofs

There were plenty of steps up, but worth it for the views

They still had the traditional 4 legged taxis

The 17th century shrine at the cliff side

And an array of colourful fountains

We stopped for refreshments and ended up with the hugest slice of cake!

Day five and we hopped on the public bus to Fuengirola as there was a massive weekly market, the stalls seemed to go on forever, but we managed to pick up a few gifts

After we ate our pack lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon  relaxing on the beach

Day five, We stayed local, walking along the promenade looking around the shops for more gifts, and took more time to relax on the beach

Each night, after dinner we enjoyed an evening stroll, whether along the beach or the promenade. It was still lovely and warm , and relaxing to hear the sound of the waves

For our last day, we took another stroll around the marina

and a last look around the shops. I found the best shop and could have spent a fortune, with clothes and bagis in a rainbow of different colours!

It was the hottest day and our flight wasnt till the evening so we made the most of the sun rays and sat on the local beach

I enjoyed paddling and foraging amongst the shells and found my first piece of sea glasss

Of course throughout our time I took plenty of pictures of flowers! A whole bright, colourful bunch of petals for future inspiration

We were sad to leave sunny Spain and head back to England to face a long stretch of  Winter, but we have some lovely memories...