Life LackaDaisiCal

Faraway Seashore A light and frothy scarf knit in alternating sections of Stocking and Reverse Stocking Stitch......inspired by the waves while on vacation at the English seaside. Scarf size:  approximately 200cm/80in in length, the "body" is approx 30cm/6inches wide (lightly stretched) and the Kidsilk Haze ruffled edge is 8cm/1.75inches Gauge: 15 sts to 10 cm Needles:  4.5mm, 100cm circular needle, or the size you need to achieve gauge Yarns: Yarn A: Rowan Finest, 2 balls shade Cool (067) Yarn B: Rowan Kidsilk Haze Stripe, shade Frost (203) (I used a half a ball leftover from stash) Using Yarn A, CO 300 sts Although there is no right or wrong side on this scarf...it is important that you identify the "right" side to make sense of the stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch sections. Stocking Stitch (SS) - the all knit side is the right side Reverse Stocking Stitch (RSS) - the all purl side is the right side ...

True to my word, I didn't buy any yarn at the annual Kitchener-Waterloo Guild Fair...but I did snap up a few irresistible goodies! Look at these buttons!  Such an industrial feel - the finish is much darker than in this photograph! AND, they are about 2" across! I have NO project in mind...but I am thinking... There is no name on the receipt and I forgot to get a card.....drats! A draw-string project bag! I loved the fabric! There is a pocket inside (not a very big pocket) that you can fold the whole thing up in on itself...not sure why I'd do that....I want to USE THIS! :) Look at the detail....a piece of felt to attach the little loop thingie.....there is no corresponding button anywhere... so I am not sure what this is for...any ideas? This bag and a lot of other styles are created by Alison Ruth Designs Then I saw this booth! Look at those yarn bowls! At one point I had 3 of them in a row....trying to decide... this was the one I chose....

My host here in the UK is a knitter....no surprise there right? On her coffee table I spotted the latest edition of pompom magazine.  With a cup of tea, I enjoyed this mini magazine..... love the size, the weight, the thickness of each page... One design caught my eye...this....how lovely.... not that I'll be needing a baby blanket any time soon :)  but...the yarn...Cashmere! 100% Cashmere! My hostess loves cashmere, so I commented on the lovely yarn in the pompom pattern...had she heard of this cashmere? "Oh yes, Elisabeth lives not far from here. Do you think you'd like to go? I could ring her up and sort something." Well, yes, I'd love to go!  (A girl can always add a little Cashmere to her stash!) Top to bottom, in my bag :) weld -reseda inteola hibiscus tea Walnut And another hibiscus tea Lovely...as a display :) You can find her at select fibre festivals in the UK (Unravelled for example)...but she does have a ...

I thought about blogging about our trip and leaving Kaffe to the end....but frankly, I wanted to get right into these fabulous photos! Oh yes, how did I manage it?  Well, we arrived back in London at 7:30 on a Tuesday night.  Our return flight was the next day.  Usually we are travelling from somewhere distant to Heathrow...and that means up early and in the car for the long drive.  It dawned on me that we would be in London...our flight was at 4:20....the F&TM opens at 11....Hubby insisted we were on our way to the airport by 1:00 at the latest...that's only 2 hours.....ok, we can do this! We grabbed a cab and told him where we wanted to go... The Fashion and Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street, 83 Bermondsey Street! He corrected my pronunciation of the street name....and then told me that he had never heard of the Fashion and Textile Museum! Oh dear... Armed with the exact address, and my knowledge  that it was a large yellow building, ho...

One day in London (I can't believe it has been a month since I was there!), Mrs. Tishell and I decided to have tea at the St. Pancras hotel..... Well, I was starving, so I ordered Fish Cakes!  Seriously! The St. Pancras is quite an impressive hotel - located right where  the King's Cross and Euston Railway Stations are! Mrs. Tishell was busy taking photos when I snapped this one of her! I've been thinking of Fish Cakes ever since - the ones at the St. Pancras were Cod Cakes - so.....while in Longos, I picked up a couple of frozen cod fillets.....I've made fish cakes before , but never with cod. Last time I talked about fish cakes on the blog, Kristie asked for my recipe.  Well, although I don't have a true recipe - here is the way I make fish cakes in general. You'll need - for 6 large or 8 medium fish cakes. (These are meal sized - you can make small appetizer sized ones if you want to!) 500 grams of potatoes (boiled in salty water) 2 eggs - separate one yolk ...

I don't know why this blog hasn't been listed in my blog list....because Veronique and I have actually met...yes, Veronique recognized me from my blog....we were both at an Alice Starmore presentation at the I Knit London knit event a few years ago.....that was the first time I went....anyway, I digress.... Veronique has a gorgeous blog....she knits, she crochets, she embroiders, she well is the master of all things fibre..... Isn't this a gorgeous header!  Click on it to go directly to her blog. She has a handy one click translation to English...for all of us that don't speak French! In particular, this post caught my eye..... Keep Calm and Go To London! Thanks Veronique!  I may need this list in a couple of weeks!

To VERMONT! Yes, Lackie and Daisy are now international travelling Doggies!  We drove to Vermont - crossing the border in Cornwall, Ontario - then we were in New York State, heading for Vermont! Yes, last week we were actually on a mini-break in Vermont.  (My definition of a mini-break is something longer than a weekend, but less than a week!) We stayed in the Trapp Family Lodge , an Austrian style lodge in Stowe, Vermont - yes, owned by that family, the Von Trapps of "Sound of Music" fame. It's a lovely resort, and it has pet friendly rooms - so Lackie and Daisy went with us!  Our room was in the back wing, on the 4th floor, but because the resort is built on the side of a mountain, our room opened out onto a small patio on the side of the mountain - very handy when you have dogs! Our room also overlooked one of the cross-country ski trails - it was great watching the skiiers come streaking around the corner and down the hill.  Lackie and Daisy were quite intrigued!...

Thinking of my self-imposed yarn diet in 2012, I did do a little yarn indulgence while in Norway. Our first Husfliden shop, in Bergen, the shop owner was wearing this.... I loved the idea of a stranded tunic! from this book! of course I will knit it in - cream, light and dark brown! The Sandness Garn web site lists 508 stores that sell their yarn - 508! all in Norway! In a country with a population of 4.8 million, well, that's a store for every 9,500 people! Obviously Norwegians like to knit! One thing I did notice in Norway - stores that sell yarn, sell other things too.....like fabric sometimes, or clothing, or kitchen goods....they don't just sell yarn......I think this is something that small yarn stores here in North America could emulate. Something else I picked up on the trip - a Knitpics Needle Case - for interchangeable needle tips - the little pouches are to keep your cables separate. See how all of the needle tips have their own little slot?  and it has room for ot...

Although there was a great expectation of seeing the Northern Lights on this trip......after all..... "Hunting the Light" is their catch phrase at this time of the year on the Hurtigruten Ships.  When you go to sleep at night, you can set your telephone to intercom - if the Aurora appears at night - they announce it and you can get up and see it.  Every night I had the intercom button on, the volume turned up, and went to sleep in hopes that the Aurora would appear. It wasn't to be unfortunately.......it was early in "the season" and the weather was uncommonly mild for this time of year...... So while we didn't see the Northern Lights, we did see some spectacular sights... While I totally understand that this trip wouldn't be for everyone.... WE LOVED IT!  It was just our cup of tea and we're glad we went, even though we didn't see the Northern Lights.....maybe next time!

After saying a fond farewell to the Nordnorge, we boarded the "Russian Border" bus.... for a tour of Kirkenes and a trip to the border itself. Everyone wanted a photo with the Border crossing sign - including Debbie! Alan and I did our self-portrait with the sign in the background. Two versions of Kate Davies Peerie Flooers - Juliet used yarn from her stash (she was on a yarn diet this year - only a few weeks to go Juliet!) and I did mine in Jamieson's Spinning Shetland Spindrift. Then it was off to the Gabba Restaurant, home of the famous Kirkenes Snowhotel , where they have a Reindeer Park -here I am  feeding them what looked to me like spagnum moss. Inside the Gabba Restaurant - where we had a lovely soup for lunch. This is a panorama shot taken when our bus let us out and had to turn around due to road conditions. (I wish I had figured out this setting earlier in this trip - shaking my head LOL) All in all a great time, met some wonderful people, and created memori...

Day 6 - At Honningsvag you have the opportunity of booking an excursion to Cape North ....we couldn't resist as we have this thing about getting as far north as possible (like getting up to Muckle Flugga while in Shetland) To accommodate those who want to do the Cape North excursion, lunch is early on the ship and we set off on the bus at 12:30 - because the boat leaves at 4 - so we have to get on the road!  What a road! Honningsvag - see the snow fencing above the Town? Taken through the bus window - this shows you how remote it is - this road takes you to Cape North - you must have a special license to drive it. Although Norway hasn't had it's normal snow fall this year....this road has already been closed twice. This is the tourist centre - what you see on top is actually 3 levels deep into the rock - two levels down is a wrap-around screen theatre, three levels down is a restaurant and chapels for those who want to say thanks.  Here's where we are headed - the Cape ...