Slow Stitching and Knitting

Well, we certainly can't complain about the weather today.  It was warm and sunny enough to get the washing dry outside.  And pleasant enough for me to sit outside on the patio, under our Arch-gola.  It's hard to believe it's almost the end of May, and it makes me wonder just what Winter will have in store for us all.  Just have to wait and see, I guess.

So, this afternoon, I took my New Zealand panel outside for a couple of hours to do some more big stitch quilting.  Today, I was working on a heron, slowly stitching away with a cuppa and biscuit to help me along.  This is such a soothing a meditative pastime.  and I thought about this and that.  Gemma was curled up inside on a dining chair, with the sunshine coming in the window.  You know what cats are like, sleeping is their number one hobby!

Hello heron

I need some more colours of Perle no. 5, in particular a couple of shades of teal/turquiose and some blues.  Although my favourite quilt shop has a good range of colours available, I couldn't get everything I needed last time.  Guess another trip is in order to see if they have restocked again.

This is the state of the bag I keep my threads in.  I tend to rummage around, looking for something in particular, and I suppose that is why it is so messy.  Oh dear, I think it could do with a good tidy up.  I'm sure most of you wouldn't put up with this!  I cut and plait my threads, that was always a job Robin helped with.  He would happily hold them for me while I got busy plaiting.  

It's a bit of a mess

After been put into time-out for a while, I retrieved my cotton summer top which I'm knitting.  I'm up to the front neck and had to figure out what to do, as the actual pattern is a cardigan, not a jumper.  With the help of a notebook and a pen, I made a few notes and luckily my calculations worked out fine.  I'm pleased about that, as it had been worrying me for a while.  So that is the back and the front now finished.

The front is finished at last

So now I'm ready to cast on the short sleeves, I'll knit both of them at the same time.  

Sleeves are next

I've just finished reading another book.  This one was about the secretive Bletchley Park and the important work taking place there.  It tells the story of three young women from quite different backgrounds who were recruited because of their knowledge of the German language, decoding intercepted Luftwaffe messages.   This novel was quite a different read for me, and I really enjoyed it.