Hello friends! I hope all is well in your world. I know that it isn't, for many of us. Second and third waves of the dreaded C-word are sweeping through so many parts of the world. I hope you staying safe and well. All I can really offer are some words about other things! I hope this blog post can be a happy distraction for 5 minutes or so.
The first week of the Soul Craft Festival Online (mentioned in my previous post) has now been completed - there are 3 more to go. What a treat this first section was! I really enjoyed sitting here at the kitchen table with my laptop, knitting and a cup of tea to hand, listening to the discussions and workshops. Yesterday my embroidery tutorial was scheduled to go live and while a bit nerve-wracking (for me) it was great to see some of the participants digging out their embroidery threads and hoops and having a go. The tutorial focused on embroidery flower clusters like the ones you see in the first photo above. I turned the finished work into a project bag and am offering it as a giveaway to someone in the festival comment thread. I hope you'll be inspired to have a go, if you are part of SCFO!
I also felt like posting a photo of the beautiful magnolias I saw growing at my parents' place back in October. A month late, but they're too pretty to ignore.
The other day I had an amazing score at the op shop - a set of cello records, including my childhood favourite recording: the Elgar Cello Concerto played by Jacqueline du Pre. Thank you, second-hand shop goddesses! This is the JDP recording, in case you fancy a listen. It's an absolute classic.
I have been working on a pair of socks for my Dad - these are knitted in Regia Pairfect yarn at a tight gauge, so feel like they're taking forever to knit! The work-in-progress is living in a beautiful blue patchwork bag that was a gift from my friend Lizzie. It's a lovely thing to have in my work bag each day, for a few quick rows here and there (usually on the bus on the way home).
I also finished a little knitted jacket which I will give to my baby nephew with his Christmas present. For this, I used some soft grey cotton/wool blend yarn and a hardcopy pattern I bought from Broomfields in Nelson (the design is called Maddison Cardy and Jacket). My Ravelry notes are here.
I've been in a making mood lately and some more projects to show you! I'll be back again soon with those.
Thanks, as always, for visiting me here.
M XX