Wet fun in a hilltop town

Minx, Monster and I set off in a state of high excitement today for a summer holiday meet up with the Hilltop Folk in their natural habitat. A day at the beach had been ruled out - thanks to the, unfortunately accurate, weather forecast.

The dismal weather didn't stop us having fun.

There was a game of musical dance round the old-man-dog.....who joined in with great enthusiasm :)

There was a lovely healthy lunch, complete with expertly soft boiled eggs and candycorn ;p

We then donned wellies and raincoats and collected various dogs for a walking tour of the sights of the beautiful Hilltop. Even in the rain this is a gorgeous town and we've vowed to return on a sunny.....or even dry!..... day.

Then it was back to Trash Towers for a movie, nestled in every bit of bed linen the beasties could lay their hands on, and Trash and I were able to talk knitting, quilting, families and blogging - while the dogs snoozed around us :)

If you look closely you'll see the gorgeous quilts made for the Trashlets by their Gran - the photo just doesn't do them justice. In fact, the combination of these quilts and Trash's fabric stash may just have sparked a little sewing urge.......fingers crossed!

Our hostess did us proud - she's obviously had expert training!

Thanks for a fab day Trashy - it was sooo great to see you all again and we will definately be back for more - I'll bring the couscous ;)

xxxx

Playing catch up

I'm not quite sure what's happened to this poor little blog just recently. It's suffering neglect as I've ignored it in order to just chill and enjoy my summer break from work and school.

My crafting has suffered too. I just can't bear having piles of sewing mess about, adding to the ever growing piles of mess created by my two little beasties.

Fortunately, my need for stitchy gorgeousness was very much satisfied by a rather yummy parcel from my lovely Seaside Swap partner, Beth.




Everything in the parcel is so summery and cheerful. I love the little button magnets - now adorning the fridge - and the handsewn pincushion is adorable, especially as I know Beth stitched it whilst sitting on the beach :)

Best of all, though, is the most gorgeous mini quilt, with my very favourite seasidey thing of all - beach huts.



A very special addition to my hallway wall of bloggy goodness.


Thank you so much for my lovely goodies Beth :)

In case you want to see what I made for Beth follow this link.


Sooooo.....just what have I been doing I hear you ask?

There's been a whole lot of sockage going on.

Clockwise from to top left: a pair for me in Regia's Kaffe Fassett yarn; the first of a pair for Minx - it's partner cast on this morning; the second attempt at a pair of lace patterned socks - couldn't even get the first attempt over my heel so now on bigger dpns; teaching myself to knit toe up on two circular needles - a new and much easier than I feared obsession.


We've also just got back from a lovely week in Cornwall.....

.....Minx relaxing after two solid hours of bodyboarding......



........Monster undertaking a major civil engineering project to hold back the tide.....

.....sadly flooded twenty minutes later ;)

.....exploring beautiful Boscastle....

......with it's famous (and very loud) blowhole....

......pretty fishermen's cottages.....

......and beautiful views....

.....and plenty of time on the beach. This is my favourite - Sandymouth beach, a few miles north of Bude. Fortunately we were there at low tide, giving us a huge expanse of sandy beach to lose ourselves in.

As lovely as it was, it's great to be home. Especially as we came home to fresh eggs, tomatoes, runner beans and salad potatoes from the garden :)

Now, I'm not going to promise to catch up on all the blog reading I've missed - especially with three pairs of socks still to finish - but we're home for the rest of the holidays and I'm looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to.

xxxx

Recharging

Oh my ...it seems like an age since I was here last. In fact, the longer I left it the less I felt like blogging!

The school holidays seem to be whizzing by but I'm finally starting to feel as if my batteries are recharging. I think I was ready for the break from work and the school routine. Very little craftiness has occurred - other than a little sock knitting.

The summer reading campaign is going well. I've read these ones so far (most of them your great recommendations):

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - recommended by Sainsbury's magazine! I'd never read this classic but once I got into it, I really enjoyed it. A very funny book, with great characters, and a main character who loves nothing more than organising other people's lives.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - recommended by Rachel. I loved this book - the quirkiness of the characters, the beautifully described settings - fab!

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson. My first taste of Persephone books and a lucky find at the library. Another one I loved - the main character Guinnevere Pettigrew normally lives a poor and very staid spinster's life but finds herself thrown into a world of oppulence, glamour and loose morals - a great snapshot of 1930's London society.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory - recommended by Trashy and very possibly my favourite read so far. I rarely choose historical novels but this one is well worth reading. The intrigue, ruthless ambition and back stabbing of the Tudor court had me gripped! I didn't want this book to finish.

PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern - recommended by Mrs Locket. I'm a latecomer to Cecelia Ahern's books and have intended to read this for some time. A great read - very sad, funny and poignant as the main character struggles to come to terms with the loss of her husband.

The Hat Shop on the Corner by Marita Conlon-McKenna - given to me by Maria :) A perfect light hearted romantic book that was a huge relief to read after The Other Boleyn Girl! A good story of little people triumphing over the corporate giants too.

Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson - sent to me by Jo :) Again, I would not normally have chosen to read this book but I'm so glad I did. It was a great story with a wicked little twist at the end. Great tortured characters all trying to come to terms with their own personal tragedies and trying to put dark secrets behind them.

I've just started Chocolat by Joanne Harris - I know the whole world has read this but as usual I'm late to the party! Loving it so far.

I was going to put in links to all those books but have just realised I'm too darned lazy - you can Google them, right? :)

A good deal of that reading was done over the past week. We went over the sea to the Isle of Wight - our first time there since we moved down south 12 years ago!

The weather was kind - thank goodness, as we were camping! The children had the best time, with loads of freedom, making lots of friends and fun days out, followed by falling into bed after dark with rosy cheeks and dirty feet :)

We did the touristy thing and visited Alum Bay and the Needles. The coloured sands of the crumbling cliffs at Alum Bay were a sight to behold.

A walk along the cliff to The Old Needles Battery .......

.....and the chance to see the iconic chalk outcrops of the Needles, was my favourite day out.

For the children, it was the theme park fun at Black Gang Chine :)

I'm now ploughing through a mountain of laundry and getting ready to send my little boy off to his first ever Cubs Camp.

I'm hoping for plenty more evening skies like this for the next three weeks at least!

xxx