Sunset and the start of the mohair shawl

Thought I would try and get some sunset pictures last night while babysitting. The sky started to cloud towards sunset despite being clear all day, typical:) However they weren't too bad I don't think.

We were in the middle of the countryside and it is quite flat on the Fylde so it helped.
Being outside taking these you could feel the chill in the air and the smell of autumn. When we were on the prom earlier in the day it looked as if the back mountains in the lakes were showing snow and it felt like it.

Hard not to get power lines in.
starting to fade
maybe not just yet
the view the opposite way over the pennines and trough of bowland
Here is the start of the hand dyed mohair shawl. I'm calling it sea drift:)
I love how the colours are coming out.

forgot the arty shot of the shawls

for some reason this picture didn't show on my previous post, so here you go the 2 shawls floating in the buddleia bush:)

Shawls in the sunshine

I have 2 finished objects for you today and surprisingly they aren't socks:) So without further ado I present les shawls.

Shawl #1 a mix of colinette silky chic, mohair and athena I think? plus unknown eyelash
shawl #2 colinette silky chic and mohair boucle.

I've started the hand dyed kid mohair shawl and wow it is so soft and delicate. I'm using 8mm harmony options and it looks good. I think that this will be like wearing swansdown. The colour is coming up well. Pictures maybe tomorrow as I'm at my daughters babysitting and this computer is a little slow.

Autumn in the Arboretum, Merlin revisited

We chose a great way to celebrate the Autumn equinox, a walk in a local arboretum. time to get close to nature's wonderful colours and textures. The colours will brighten over the next few weeks as the maples start to change but this is the beginning. The change in the land has come suddenly. Summer has flown. Even though there have been some warm days the temperature drops as dusk arrives. Each morning now the car is covered in a heavy dew. As we walked in the arboretum the grass was soaking and it was near noon.

This is just a small selection of the colours and textures we saw.
This reminds me of a giant hairy caterpillar.


These are almost spring like
Look at the contrast of the bright flowers against the dusky foliage.

One of the heritage apple trees. Sadly all the apples are left to drop and not used, despite the cafe there using imported fruit. I've written to the college to ask why the fruit isn't used or given away.
Evening primrose from bud to bloom.
Sunflower heads always please me either in bloom or going to seed. You can just imagine the birds lining up to eat them.
You can see what I mean about the rotting fruit.
Don't these look like fans?
A path into another world?

So many conifers and fir trees to be seen.
All those eyes watching us.
This I loved for the contrast between the new shiny leaves and the older faded glory
Chestnut leaves on the turn

This trunk had ridges all along it.

Birches gleaming silver in the shade.
keys to somewhere magical.
Even the young trees have their share of the limelight.




Golden Oak leaves.
Look at the moss and lichens on this trunk.
Crab apples waiting to be made into jelly.
The bark on this beauty peels naturally.
Merlin on the BBC. For those outside the UK can you access the BBC.co.uk website? If you can there is BBC Iplayer which allows you to watch all the previous weeks programmes.

Joy very kindly awarded me this award. Thank you:)
The rules are:-


1. Post this award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate at least 4 other bloggers, and add their links as well.
4. Leave a comment at the new recipients' blogs, so they know they got an award.

I'm awarding it to the following because I love reading their blogs.

Laal Bear
Tricot Treat
Caught knitting
A sheep in wools clothing

I read and enjoy lots of blogs but these are amongst my favourites:)

Merlin

Anyone watch the start of the new BBC show Merlin last night?
I loved it. I enjoy most fantasy both reading and watching it, but especially the Arthurian legends and tales. It may not be the most accurate, but then what is? It kept me glued to the seat anyway. I do like Anthony Head, I enjoyed his last series The Invisibles . Playing Uther may not be similar to his role as Maurice in the Invisibles but it was still fantasy. And of course who could forget Giles in Buffy?
The BBC website link above has a few interactive links,including Merlins spell book.

Mabon greetings

It is Mabon, also known as Autumn Equinox. A time of equal day and night, when we are on the brink of change.When the wheel turns from the outward creative and active half of the year towards the meditative inward half. The dark half of the year.
This for me ,as with many pagans, is a time to reflect on what has happened and what I've done this year. Also time to think of what I want in my life and from that what I want to let go of to make room for the new.
This is a time for reconnecting to our inner self.
Autumn equinox is a time when we are cutting back the dead growth in the gardens, pruning and making room for the new to come in the spring. Just like in life:)
I wish you joy of the season and strength for the letting go and letting in.
Never easy but worth doing.
Count the above pictures as my Mabon card to you. Enjoy

Rainbow socks done and a visit with a Laal Bear

Rainbow socks are finished, they look just like the colours around us today with the sun shining and all.
Sock yarn hand dyed by me
We had visitors today, The Laal Bear and Mr Laal Bear came to see us. It is always good to meet up with like minded people and we enjoyed ourselves greatly. After lunch we went up to the prom where the lifeboats were out and the rescue helicopter doing practices. The prom was heaving and very few spaces to park. Good for the town though. We enjoyed the day very much and left the Laal Bears taking pictures, going for fish and chip tea and awaiting the sun going down for some sunset photos. I came home to rest. I've felt spacey and yuck most of the day and pills did no good at all. Some of it was the bad night(again) but some is just my body doing its usual. It certainly helped to have visitors though.

Fruit on the trees, sandstone socks

Firstly lets have some work in progress pictures shall we? Second sock now on the heel flap. Yarn is the one I dyed.
This beauty is the yarn Vicky dyed for the Harvest Moon. It is so gorgeous and remind me of sandstone striations. I enjoyed knitting this very much and have the second sock on its way also. The first sock took just 2 nights knitting, not bad is it?
I've decided NOT to give up on the noro yarn. I will go back to knitting the socks because I don't like to be beat. Also this yarn was very kindly gifted for the Hospice appeal and I'm sure they would prefer it knit up as socks rather than donated as a ball of yarn, don't you?
Then we went for a little stroll along the promenade today and I got Mr Mog to photograph these beauties to see if anyone can identify please? They have flowered all summer and smell very much like sandalwood or frankincense. Both the leaves and the flowers. Anyone name it?
Then as we are coming up to Autumn Equinox it seemed apt to photograph some of natures fruitfulness.
brambles anyone?


The above 2 photographs remind me of strings of tomatoes:) It is pretty wonderful though when you think all these were taken right by the very windy beach.