Thursday 20 February 2014

Half term

I feel like I have been hibernating, just trying to catch up with everyday domestic things like having my hair cut, going to the dentist (2 hour appt this morning!), taking Alice shopping for clothes (trying not to be an embarrassing mum in Topshop!), going to the post office to send a multiple of things that have been piling up, reading my book for #theyearinbooks (review coming soon) and just relaxing amongst everyday domesticity. I sometimes wonder how on earth I manage to work and live when I have time off, the days just whizz by and I don't feel like I have achieved anything in particular. Do you get these feelings too?

Anyway, some crafty stuff has been going on here, I have managed to join all my comfort granny squares together and have been hooking round and round to make a border. I am on my last round now and can show you soon.


I did mange to start a little knitting project, the little beanie hat I said I was going to make for my newly born nephew Fyfe. I used this pattern found for free on Ravelry and it only took a couple of hours at the most to knit up. I used some rather soft and squishy baby Alpaca yarn which I hope will be ok for his little head.
Yesterday I took Alice and a friend of hers to Brighton to go shopping for the day.... Fortunately they are old enough to leave for a couple of hours so they can do their thing and I can do mine i.e. Sit in Starbucks with a cuppa, free wifi and my needles to cast on a new simple shawl.

I did enjoy pooling around the North Lanes which are more interesting and bohemian in their eclectic mixture of independent shops and fun cafés etc.

Everything is Tickety Boo

Some crochet grocery bag inspiration, I really want to make a jute shopping bag for when I go to the green grocers

Scary cost of CK Crochet blanket

(Can I be honest here? I really have gone off all her stuff, I feel a little nauseous when I go into one of her shops, it feels like there is nothing original anymore. Sorry to those of you who still enjoy her ranges, it's just what has happened to me over the years, I'm not sure why I went in, just curiosity maybe?)

I love the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, when we lived there as a local we were allowed to visit for free and it was a place I often whiled many rainy grey day hours away imagining what it was like when it was first built.

There are too many tempting fun shops not to want to go into in Brighton

Geometric inspiration love

Cheap and easy lunch sitting on a bench watching the world go by. If you are ever in Brighton do make a visit to Infinity Food shop, it's a heavenly place and you will not want to leave without sampling some of their food and/or bread.

A little present purchased for a dear friend who will love this

Wish my Optician had an entrance like this!

A lovely look around a reclamation yard

Last, but not least a wonder around some beautiful florist shops for satisfying my craving for Spring to come whilst amidst the centre of a city.

I do hope your week has been a good and kind one. Welcome to new followers, thank you for all your comments and visiting. Always loved and appreciated x

Happy week ending and see you with my blanket very soon

xox

20 comments:

  1. The reclamation place looks interesting, I love poking around in those places and seeing what you can find tucked away in a corner, usually something fascinating, even if you don't really want to take it home! xx

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  2. Looks like you had a fab time in Brighton, I love the colours for your new shawl.Have a good week x

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  3. Hi P,
    I am so with you on the ck thing.......just sold off my cups on ebay...not my cuppa anymore either.
    I am amazed that half term is almost over and could not tell you what we did with it.....best D x

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  4. Brighton is somewhere I've never been, and I think I would feel quite at home there. Your photo tour was inspiring x

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  5. Hi Lovely Penny, sorry I have been absent for a few days, it has been one busy week! My goodness your photographs from Brighton are just stunning, it is a place I would love to live. I agree with you about CK - I was a real fan for quite a while but now I see her as old hat really and way overpriced. My lovely students bought my one of her umbrellas and I have to say that they were robbed which really annoys me as they do not have much money. It has never really worked and it is such poor quality. I love your blog Penny .Have a lovely weekend, sending you big hugs and loves
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxx

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  6. Your time in Brigh5on looked fabulous....Its lovely to see the big lights occasionally I should think, we live in the sticks so don't often get the opportunity, our local town is not even got any individual shops really, nothing I hanker to walk around, mind there's no such thing as browsing with three boys in tow! I find my whole life passing in a whirl, I find it hard to equate my days as a kid with days now.....I have a week before my hubby returns and my plans for the first two have gone mostly undone, ah well, none of it was important really. This week is our half term so hopefully we will squeeze some treats in, maybe a cinema visit, which would be lovely. Maybe a swim....so many things I'd like to do, so I will have to try and make them happen! Happy weekend!x

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  7. What a great post, I wish I could've tootled around Brighton with you, what a wonderful day! Love your photos of the interesting and quirky places you visited...and I shared similar sentiments about CK recently (honestly, she started to lose my love when she shipped her manufacturing out of the Uzk. I mean, really. That was part of the draw for me, that it was all *home*made. But one strives for global dominantion...). Anyway, I love and admire your knitting so much - the little hat is just perfect, I love the yarn you used. And I'm already swooning over the shawl, even though it wouldn't even fit Mrs Tittlemouse yet! Enjoy the rest of your half term, Chrissie x

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  8. Hello Lovely Penny! Sorry I've not been on here a while....I'd love a bit of that vegan pizza....I really miss pizza now I'm dairy free! Love your wrist warmers, have a great weekend :) x

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  9. Oh I'd love a day around Brighton ... you seem to have had a lovely half term ... Bee xx

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  10. I'd say it sounds like a beautiful day, with some much deserved alone time to putter around shops and enjoy a good cup of something yummy. I am not a big CK fan, nor have I been, it seems to bright for my personal taste, pretty in photo shoots but not really for me.
    hugs,
    Meredith

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  11. Thanks for the lovely little pootle around Brighton - it's years since I was last there, but have fond memories of The Lanes and all the fab little shoppies! I do still love some of the CK homeware things, but agree that everything is way overpriced, not that original anymore and often not great quality either. I bought one of their dotty duvet covers and the first time I washed it at 60C, the poppers practically melted! Btw, just saw your comment over on Hannapat's blog - are you an SA expat too? Your little pic with the map & the little heart at CT did make me wonder too. Hope you're having a lovely weekend, love Gilly xx

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  12. I feel like I have just been to Brighton (but never have). Great pictures Penny, I also took a little peek at the baby, so sweet and Yes you do forget how small they are! Thanks for joining the swap. Jo x

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  13. How strange, Penny, Sue at Crafts@home blogged about her day out at Brighton, and I was saying to her how I always wanted to go - mainly to see the Lanes, though I suspected they were not as they used to be - but you say the North Lanes still retain their Bohemian character? I must go. I must! Thanks for these great photographs, they really show what is to be seen. And can I echo your comment on CK? I have said a couple of times on my blog how we have popped in, walked quickly round and walked swiftly out again. I really do not enjoy her any more. And yes, I know plenty of people do, but hey, we grow up! Lxx

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  14. Hello lovely friend, it was so lovely to have a little stroll along some of Brighton with you and how I wish I could have joined you, especially to trawl through all the quirky shops and also to enjoy a slice of that delicious looking GF vegan pizza, right down my street. It certainly looks like you picked out the best and as for CK, I can't say I have ever been a massive fan, in fact most of my CK goods were given to me as pressies and at the time I even contemplated returning it, but now we are happily using it. I have however made my first ever purchase in January and I do like what I bought, but I definitely don't like the large majority of her stuff and I am with you all the way, everything looks the same, its time to move on. I am pleased that you enjoyed a relaxing half term and yes how did we managed to live before kids, what did we do with our time??? How we would all long for a few extra hours now. I love the sweet hat you knitted, I so wish I could knit at that level. I picked up mine again this week, but I am only practicing, so nothing big. I am looking forward to seeing your blanket, shall we do a ta-dah on the same day as I am ready when you are?? It could be fun. Sending you much love xoxo

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  15. I've always fancied a trip to Brighton - now even more so!
    That baby hat is very cute indeed. Must visit Ravelry (another 'to do' for the list)... Seems you've sparked a bit of a CK conversation too! I used to be a fan but I think it's far nicer to find your own little treasures at car boot sales, flea markets and in charity shops... I'd far prefer an original (even if it's chipped or faded) that's a little more unique. Finding something a bit different is way more rewarding than buying one of many from a display...
    S x

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  16. sounds like a lovely day out. Shops, cafes and the seaside is always a good idea. I'm so happy you are still allowed to go in Topshop, but the lady holding the purse is always welcome! Nice hat, it looks warm and soft. have a good week, Heather X

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  17. I've never been able to get excited about Cath Kidston. And if I do buy something that pricey, I like to try and buy British made things. Brighton looks lovely, it's ages since I was there, I'd love to visit again.

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  18. It looks like a lovely half term, especially your day trip to Brighton. I feel the same about CK - years ago, her stuff was so original and gorgeous but recently it's all so cutesy and overly feminine, as though everything is marketed at teenage girls. I love those jute bags - I have a pattern for one and was just thinking earlier on tonight in fact that I should buy some twine and get going on it, it would be a lovely spring project. xx

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