The levels

On Friday I had to take my son to Taunton to pick up a computer. This involved us driving over the Somerset levels so I thought we would take some photos. As you can see it was another overcast day. This area of Somerset is drained so that it can be farmed and inhabited. Apparently, it is the reason Somerset got its name because people could only live there in the summer - summer settlement, which then became Somerset. I don't know if this is true but it sounds plausible. Hope you enjoy the photos.

A grand day out

The Bishops Palace

My son had an appointment with the orthodontist yesterday in Wells. I hadn't realised that it was also market day there so I took a few photos too. Wells is one of the smallest cities in the UK (it may be the smallest). It has a large cathedral. Wells is also the place that was used for the town in the film "Hot Fuzz". It is a very picturesque place. It also has the Bishop's Palace where the swans ring a bell to be fed. How clever! My children do exactly the same. The photos where taken on my phone by my son. What a budding photographer.

View towards the Cathedral from the Market Square

View of the Market

A different view of the market but brighter

The front of the Cathedral

The front of the Cathedral again

The Bishop's Palace again

As you can see, it was a fairly overcast day with some rain showers. We also had a trip to the LYS there but I will post more about our adventures there later.

Unravelled

In my bid to understand Ravelry I have been dipping in for short periods of time. I have joined a few groups, I have put on a project (although I have yet to upload a photo) and I have put a pattern in my basket. Yay.

Can anyone please tell me what the etiquette is for friends? My Ravelry account looks a bit lonely with no friends. Do I just add people or am I destined to be a 'billy no mates' forever? Any hints would be appreciated.

Cherry baby

Cherry Cake Yum Yum

I made a cherry and coconut cake yesterday. I got the recipe from the blog of A Homely Heroine. It looked so delicious that I had to try it. I had commented on the blog that you could keep the cherries evenly distributed by coating them in flour. As you can see, this didn't work. The cherries seemed to just congregate at the bottom. It also took a lot longer to cook in my oven than the suggested hour although I did turn the oven down by twenty degrees because it tends to run a bit hot. Maybe I will just follow the instructions next time! The cake was absolutely scrummy and I will definitely try to get more recipes from there.

Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do.

Daisy on the lawn

Daisy on the drive

Here is a photo of the long awaited Daisy cardigan. It is a Kim Hargreaves pattern in her Breeze book. I have never attempted a Kim Hargreaves pattern before and it took me a little while to get used to the way she writes the pattern but it was a lot easier than I had expected.

I decided on lilac with a green edge on the sleeves and inside the pockets. I really wanted some green pearlised buttons to pick out the colour but could not find them. I never realised that there were so many shades of green. I had to settle for some lilac flowers instead. If anyone has a good online supply of buttons that they know about I would love to hear about them.

I knitted it in a DK cotton by Sirdar which I bought cheaply from Kemps.

I was a little disappointed with the cardigan because the tension was all wrong. I hadn't done a tension square and I have realised I am a very loose knitter. It has actually come out about two inches bigger than it should have done. When I compared the way I knit to the other knitters I know I realised that I do not have any tension on the yarn as I knit. It just flops about in my fingers. I am trying to find a way of putting more tension on it but it is like learning to knit again. It has really slowed me done. Still, better to be done properly.

I have spent the last couple of days working on tension squares for various patterns and in different yarns. I will keep up the good work and stay calm!

A day at the beach (or an hour in the cold)

We braved it at the beach today. Despite the fact that we had a frost this morning, the sun had come out and I thought it was worth a try. I wore a big fleece and wondered whether I would be too hot. No need to worry. It was freezing. The wind was absolutely howling. I paid for three hours in the car park but we were there only one. I took my sock knitting which kept me warm but it was a chilly experience. My son actually braved the sea. He went right up to his waist. What a hero. We then went down the road and got some fish and chips. Purely to warm ourselves up you understand.

My knitting sunning itself on the beach.

As you can see, the beach was packed.

My hero.

I have actually got to the sewing up stage of my Daisy cardigan. Yippee. Tonight I am going to sew in the sleeves so will hopefully be able to post a photo tomorrow.

I am quite pleased with it but not sure about the colours. I am quite sad that blog week is over. I thoroughly enjoyed reading everyones stories about knitting. Thank you so much to Eskimimi for organising it.