And here it is! Jacket Ta-Dah!!!!!

Hello all!

Well yes, at last I'm very proud to present The Jacket!

 It's super~snuggly warm and although it took longer than I expected, I'm loving it.  

Upon reflection, a project will take a long time if you don't actually do it.  Leaving it in the project bag and not getting it out probably isn't the right strategy.  

Anyhoo all done now.

 The rain seems to have stopped for a bit now, what a washout April was!

I got out in the garden yesterday and this time made sure I had the camera to hand, just in case the robin showed up.  He did and I got these pictures.

 He's a lovely companion to have.  A burst of song and then he's pouncing on worms.

Today I've been sitting in the sun working on that sock yarn hat.  As you can see from the reflection in the table top there are a few clouds, but on the whole, it really is lovely.

I thought you might like to see some pictures of The Queen the children have been working on at school.

 There are some good likeness', some look uncannily like Princess Anne!

 We're going Jubilee mad, having spent a lot of time studying the Coronation and using that for a piece of writing.  The children really did well, giving pretty good accounts of what it would have been like to be in the crowd with descriptions of the Golden Coach and how boring it would have been waiting for The Procession.  We then made periscopes (so you can see over the crowd!) 

Well that's about it for now I think. 

 I would like to say Hi! to the newest followers and thanks to everyone for your lovely comments.  

They really do make my day.

Have fun, whatever you get up to, and lets hope the sun carries on for a bit.  

I'm back out in the garden!

Bye....................................Clicky Needles.

A Day out in London

Hello folks!

Me, Mr Clicky and DS spent the day in London yesterday.  

We drove to Theale, just off the M4 and got the train into London.  

DS' ticket was a bargain £1.00!

DS ~ poor deprived thing that he is ~ hadn't been on the Tube for quite some time and he loved it!  He was bowled over by the fact that he could travel anywhere underground in London on his £1.00 ticket. We emerged into daylight to see the Eye.

A short walk up the road and we were at our destination.

The Imperial War Museum.

The guns outside are massive, from two ships.  That's Mr Clicky and DS standing by the shells that they would fire.

We met my cousin and her friend and we had an explore inside.

It's a very impressive entrance.  The planes are full sized.

The spitfire from higher up.

We walked through all ages of wars, saw some amazing and some terrible things. 

  It really makes you think.  It wasn't all doom and gloom however, this poster made me laugh.

When we came out we found somewhere by the Thames to have some lunch.

We crossed The River and looked up to St Pauls.

One of the bridge supports had old skateboard decks and shoes on it, I'm not sure why!

On our way back we had time to stop at St Pancras Station.  It was fantastic.

Two Eurostar trains were in.

Sir John Betjeman's statue.

The Meeting Place Statue in front of the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. 

 This is 9 metres, 30 foot high.

Above them are these Olympic rings, they are 30 metres, nearly 100 foot wide, the first thing you see if you step off the Eurostar.

The roof was beautiful too.

We travelled back to Paddington on the Tube, changing a few times to DS' delight and then train back to Theale.

I needed a good soak in bath when we arrived home, I had really sore feet!

We actually saw some sun today so I've been in the garden, wearing my new gardening gloves.

Aren't they pretty? seems to shame to get them dirty.

I love the bright green leaves of these aquilegias. 

As I dug up the weeds today I was surrounded by chattering sparrows and followed around by a robin eating worms.  Could I get a photo of him? No.

I got this month's Phoenix Friendship Squares off this week.  I'm going to do May's at the start of the month rather than the end!

And the Jacket?  still sewing up, here's a picture just to prove it!

I didn't manage the Scavenger Hunt for April, what with one thing and another, but I won't beat myself up about it.

Well, I hope you all have a lovely week, and if you're in the UK, enjoy your Bank Holiday tomorrow.

Bye for now....................Clicky Needles.

Wonderwool

Hello there!

I'm been a bad blogger, missed my Sunday post.

On Saturday I went to Wonderwool along with my friend Romain and a coach load of others.

You may have read other's blogs about reports of the cold, and I too, can confirm it was freezing, concrete barns were not built for warmth.

Anyhoo there were some lovely wooly sights.

The Alpacas from Toft Alpacas.

Various sheep, I didn't note down what they all were - sorry!

The goodies I bought.  500g of 4ply to dye, a summer cardi perhaps?

Some buttons, I never seem to have enough.

A large button ~ the coaster to give scale, to go on a as yet, unmade felted bag.

Some alpaca/merino mix to dye.  This is soooo soft.

Lastly, a cone of dark purple New Lanark Aran from Woolfish.  You may remember the Woolfish Jacket I made back in November, this is the same yarn.

We had a super time squishing, chatting to the stall holders and just being surrounded by wooly goodness.  It was all very tiring, and I need a quick nap on the coach on the way home.  Romain confirmed however, that I didn't dribble, snore or talk, so all was well.

Despite my bold prediction last week, the cable jacket isn't yet finished.  I'm on the collar so nearly, but not quite.

Well, I hope you have a nice weekend, this nasty cold rain stops and we get some sun!

Bye for now..............Clicky Needles.

Quiet Week

Hello all.

It's been a very quiet normal week for me.  Back to school and lots of smiley faces.  

After last week's fairly long post with lots of pictures I find myself with very little to say today.

(Those who actually know me may find this hard to believe.)

I went to watch DS play rugby this morning, something I don't do that often, as it is usually raining/snowing/frosty/cold and always miserable.   Anyhoo Mr Clicky persuaded me to go today, and as the sun was out I agreed.  I received much stick from the other parents I hadn't seen for quite some time.    True to form, after a bit it rained a lot and we got soaked.  Typical April weather, sunshine and showers, which is of course, how it should be in April.  When I checked back to this time last year, it was very hot and I got sunburnt!

DS has asked me to tell you that his team won.

The pitch was at the foot of the Malvern Hills.

Around the pitch I found some lovely Hawthorn blossom.

 On the knitting front I really need to pull my finger out and get my jacket finished.  I've only the last bit of one arm to do and then I should be sewing up, I'm boldly going to say it'll be done for next week!

I also cast on for a hat using sock yarn from the stash, another lovely bold colour.

Well that's about it for now I think I told you it was short.  I considered taking part in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week run by Eskimimi but decided not to.  I'll be watching other blogs with interest though.

As always have a fun week.

Bye for now..................Clicky Needles.

Back to the Grindstone

Hello folks.

We've had a lovely Easter in the Clicky Needles' household.

After finishing Mr Clicky's (very boring) socks I dug out of my stash some very bright sock yarn to make a smaller and much more interesting pair for me.  I cast on and couldn't put them down.  I'd forgotten how satisfying it can be knitting socks when they are lovely colours.

The yarn is Regia Stretch Crazycolour.  They are very comfy.

The other finished 'thing' is a little monster I made for DS.  This yarn was left over from a pair of his socks.  As with the socks he knitted some as well as me.  It was knit in the  round, I sewed up the bottom stuffed with some haricot beans for weight and then filled with toy stuffing.  The horns are i-cords with a pipe cleaner in each.  I then kitchenered up the top trapping in the horns.

Raah!

Mr Clicky has had a week off too so we've been pottering around together.  Of course, this being Easter I made several lots of nest cakes ~ you're never too old for these!

 Talking of nests, remember I told you that our nest box was being inhabited?  I stood for quite some time to get these pictures of the blue tit and this was the best I managed.

Just arriving with a beak full of nest material.

About to go in.

After those Goldfinches took all the clematis fluff the other week, I threw some roving into the garden to help the other birds out.  Upon reflection I should have separated it it a bit.

This female blackbird wasn't going to give any of this bit up it was nearly as big as her.

She struggled for quite some time with it and then disappeared into this Mahonia, right in front of the kitchen window.

We'll be able to watch her but not disturb her, how great!

On our various travels this week, Mr Clicky and me found ourselves outside an Asda Home Store and happened across this rather bright patio set.  We've been looking for a set for several years, until now we've been making do with our camping chairs and table.  Nothing wrong with that but 'proper' ones would be nice.  

The set needed to pass several points.

1.  No wood at all ~ easier to care for.

2.  Comfy chairs.

3.  Easy to clean.

4. Stackable chairs ~ easy to store in the winter.

When Mr Clicky approached this set and said 'I like that' you could have knocked me over with a feather!   I agreed before he could change his mind and had it in the car in a flash.

What do you think?

I love it and look forward to lots of outdoor meals from now on.

The last thing to show you this week is the unit in our kitchen.  It is supposed to be for display but as you can see it becomes a dumping ground.

Urgh.

I took everything off, gave the china and glass a good wash and had a re-arrange.   The bottom three shelves had lots of cookery books and are full of old knitting magazines.  I went through all the magazines, took out the patterns I needed and the rest have gone in the recycling.

You can see I've also re-arranged and moved that yarn. 

 Mr Clicky and DS both said it was their favourite bit ~ I think they might be nearly fully trained in yarn appreciation. 

Here's a close-up for you.

Obviously I've loads more yarn in other places(!!!!!!)

So that's about it I think ~ just to let you know I had a blood test last week and I'm now well in the road to recovery so back to school tomorrow.

As always have fun...........Clicky Needles.