Welcome to my blog. I live, knit, crochet, spin and craft near the Northumbrian Coast (but not too near – the waves won't be splashing my yarn!).There's a story in every stitch, every grain of sand, every blade of grass. I thought I'd blog about it…
It was a bright and breezy day in Northumberland when we set off today, so we decided to start by driving down to Alnmouth Beach to see the sea. it was very choppy with lots of white tops on the waves and spray blowing about, though not much surf.
The Aln estuary main channel has moved north over the winter as storms have shifted the sands. The wind had kept people away and there was only one dog walker in sight. Apologies for the marks on the car window!
We drove down the coast to nearby Warkworth. This historic village, which nestles in a bend in the River Coquet, has ruined castle and some nice pubs, cafes and shops. We decided to try Bertram’s.
The cafe is on the ground floor of a luxury B&B on the main road through the village on the right just after the bridge as you come from the north. It’s lovely inside, all duck-egg blue paintwork which looks perfect against the natural stone and scrubbed pine and it’s quite roomy inside. I loved the art on the walls, especially the pictures of hares. I took this photo of an empty table to show the decor, but it was soon occupied – the place was quite busy. They don’t take bookings. Tables are available on a first come, first served basis and a queuing system operates at busy times. It’s dog friendly too. I had to say hello to the Labrador that arrived shortly after us.
We sat at one end of a long table which was already occupied at the other end, but this wasn’t a problem as it was a very big table! Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea are served and it’s a good menu with plenty of choice. Lunch includes hot and cold sandwiches, soups and quiche, with daily specials and preferred use of local produce. There’s a good range of cakes too…and scones!
The staff were pleasant and friendly and our scones and coffee soon arrived. Each of us was served two small cheese scones. These were at room temperature and came with a small dish of butter that was from the fridge and rather too cold to spread. The scones themselves had a good light texture but little or no cheese flavour apart from the crust. The coffee was good. Compared with other places we’ve visited, this was one of the more expensive ones. It was nicely presented and looking around at other tables all the food looked very appetising.
Bertram’s was buzzing, with plenty of atmosphere and lovely surroundings so we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
On our walk back to the car we called in at The Greenhouse – one of my favourite shops, which is situated in a prominent position on the corner as you turn off the Main Street towards the church. It sells an eclectic mixture of gifts, tableware, ornaments, mirrors and cards. There are some fascinating and beautiful items – it’s well worth a visit.
All in all, we had a thoroughly delightful trip out for Scone of the Week.
I hadn’t intended to post on the blog tonight but I can’t contain myself!
Back in January I set myself a list of knitting resolutions for the New Year. Learning how to do brioche was one of them. I’d seen so many pictures of the most gorgeous brioche knits, – those two colour ones and branching patterns are just to die for!
I’d mentioned it to a friend (who I refer to as a ninja knitter) and she actually showed me one of her brioche projects – a single colour scarf – I’d heard how squishy and cosy brioche stitch work is but when I felt that scarf I knew I’d have to try this and soon! It feels amazing! Tonight I sat down to watch some You Tube Tutorials (there are many).
I started with single colour brioche. First attempt went horribly wrong and I had to pull it out and start again. Second go went much better.
Apart from somehow acquiring a couple of extra stitches at one end, my little swatch came out ok. I love how it feels!.
That done, I thought I’d start another swatch and use two colours. This went even better at first attempt.
I love how it is reversible and it feels just as soft and squishy as the single colour version.
I’m feeling very pleased with myself and I’m so glad I had a go. The next step is to find a pattern I like and make something useful, maybe some fingerless gloves or wrist warmers?
Are there any knitting or other craft techniques that you are dying to try?
One of the most dramatic spring milestones is the arrival of frogs in our garden pond. They are late this year, by a couple of weeks but since yesterday the water has been seething with writhing amphibians seeking a mate. There’s no sign of frog spawn yet (just frog porn!)
In the last few days my little blog has passed a couple of milestones too: over 50 followers and 500 likes. I started blogging in November, but I’ve never written about why I started it.
Since I retired in 2015 I’ve made a point of trying to learn a new skill every year.
The first one was linked to my choir. Our musical director had brought a friend of hers to one of our sessions to run a beatboxing workshop. Beatboxing is simply making percussion sounds with your mouth. Of course unaccompanied choir music is just that – no instruments (including drums), but if you can add those rhythms vocally it can sound brilliant. If you’ve ever seen the Pitch Perfect films (which feature a lot of beatboxing) you’ll see what I mean. Anyway, I really enjoyed it and ended up doing the beatboxing part on our version of Seven Nation Army. It’s one of my favourite’s in the choir’s repertoire.
Another skill came about when I was approached by a friend for help. I’ve already blogged about my friend’s book Secrets and Guardians. Basically, She’s the creative one, I’m the computer-nerdy one and we worked together to get it published on Kindle. That meant learning all about how to format the text so it’s suitable for online publication and doing the uploading. I can now add online publishing to my new skills.
Skill number three was learning a bit about millinery, specifically how to make fascinators (hat blocking is a skill in itself). I started off doing a one-day course at The Amble Pin Cushion, in which I learnt how to work with sinnamay and made black and cream fascinator.
I decided it would nice to make some with pheasant feathers. These birds are extremely common around here. They aren’t very bright when it comes to traffic and you see as many as roadkill as you see alive…and they can do a great deal of damage to your car if you hit one. I didn’t really fancy picking dead birds off the road though. Then I had a brainwave – I asked a farmer friend (who runs a pheasant shoot on his land) what happened to the feathers after the shoot – he explained that someone comes in and plucks and draws the birds ready to go to the game dealer. I asked if he could save me a few pheasant tails. He suggested that the feathers would be better developed if I waited until the January and he’s get me some then. I’d almost forgotten about it when we saw him a while later. “I’ve got those feathers you asked for,” he said. There were two sacks full!I spent a couple of days preparing all the feathers, cleaning them, sanitising them with laundry disinfectant and drying them. I found the easiest way to dry them was to use those net bags you wash tights and socks in: put the feathers in and tumble dry on the gentlest setting. This is one of the fascinators I made. Not a great photo, but you get the idea.
Number four happened by accident in 20018 , really. When my friends told me that a ukulele class was starting in the next village and they were planning to go – I quite fancied trying that. There were instruments on loan for the first few weeks and it seemed like a great idea to do a taster session without making the commitment of having to buy my own ukulele. I have quite small hands and my wrists aren’t terribly manoeuvrable, which thwarted my attempts to play the guitar when I was in my teens. I really wanted to find out if I could manage a smaller instrument with fewer strings….and the course leader was called Barry White. I was curious!
It all worked out beautifully! I can do it! Some of the chords are rather challenging (and some are downright impossible) but it’s mostly OK. Barry White, is lovely (though not a bit like THE Barry White) and very patient with the us. We’ve now got a huge repertoire, have played a few concerts at local care homes and we always end up taking the instruments to any parties that happen and playing a few tunes. We have a good laugh.
I realised very late in the year (November) that I didn’t have a new skill for 2019 and racked my brains about what I could do quickly. I’d read a lot of blogs and was doing a lot of knitting at the time, so I set out to write primarily (though not exclusively) a knitting blog. I get very attached to the things I make and there’s always some story, whether that’s the reason I’m making that item, or where I bought the yarn. I also love where I live, here in North Northumberland, so that features in the blog a lot too. Since I started, the posts seem to be less and less about knitting, but that’s just the way it has evolved.
I have a couple of regular blog features: “Scone of the Week”, which has become a bit of a collaboration with my fellow scone-eater Mum, and “Knit and Natter Friday”. the other knitters are now quite used to assembling a display of their work for a photo to go in the blog. I was posting daily (sometimes twice a day) at the beginning, but now I’m a lot more relaxed about it and sometimes I might just post a couple of times a week.
I had forgotten just how much I enjoy writing. The brevity needed on social media just didn’t satisfy that need. I used to write articles for and edit community magazines when I was working and it was one of my favourite parts of the job.
The other thing that’s been really nice and unexpected is the feedback. I love reading comments from followers and always try to reply. Everyone is so lovely and that’s such a refreshing change from the bile that’s spouted on Facebook and Twitter. I always put links to blog posts on my social media accounts and get good feedback from that too.
It’s been a rewarding experience and I hope to keep it going throughout 2020…..and learn another new skill, which of course I’ll be able to blog about.
I had a brilliant day yesterday! I went on a course at the Amble Pin Cushion to learn what is a new skill for me: mosaics.
Our trainer, Hazel, is a self-confessed mosaic addict. “if it stays still long enough, I’ll mosaic it” she says. Hazel was first inspired by the ancient mosaics she saw while on holiday in Cyprus. She found the souvenir copies on sale to tourists less inspiring and decided to have a go herself. She began by making door plaques and house numbers for family and friends and now makes all sorts of pieces and kits for sale, as well as teaching, giving talks and demonstrations.
The morning session involved making coasters using pre-cut mosaic tile squares in two sizes. We had a huge colour selection to choose from, including glittery and iridescent tiles so deciding which ones to use was probably the hardest task of the day!. We drew round plain coasters and arranged the tiles on the paper outline until we were happy with our design, making sure to incorporate gaps to allow for the grouting. We then transferred the tiles to the coaster base, glueing them in position. We used a PVA glue, not too fast drying, to allow any adjustments to tile position. We left the grouting until the end of the day to allow the glue to dry.
I managed two coasters before we broke for lunch (which was included in the price of the full day course – some participants attended for half a day only).
My coasters before grouting.
After lunch we worked on “intermediate” projects, involving more complex shapes and cutting the tiles. It took a little while to get the cutting technique right but before long I was getting the shapes I wanted. We used safety glasses for this stage – the tile fragments can fly in all directions if you don’t hold them securely- they can be quite sharp too so care is needed. I worked on a photo frame in shades of blue and white
We finished the day by mixing up some grout and using it to fill in the spaces and create a neat edge. Hazel describes the perfect grout consistency as being like butter icing. We used our fingers to apply the grout, pushing it into all the spaces and running a finger along the edges of each piece of work to get a neat edge. The grouting dries quite quickly so the next stage was to use a piece of wet sponge to wipe away the excess grout, wetting it frequently and dabbing it away to reveal the mosaic, not forgetting to clean the cork backing of the coasters.
Completed Coasters
Grouting really makes the colours pop. We used plain white, but you can use acrylic paint to tint the mix. I’m really pleased with the result. As time was running out I brought some grout powder home and completed my photo frame today, removing the glass from the frame first and ensuring that there was no grout left in the corners to stop the glass going back in later. There was enough mixture left to fill in a couple of tiny gaps I noticed in one of the coasters too.
I’m really happy with what I’ve made and have lots of ideas other projects that I can’t wait to try.
Have you learnt any new crafts or other skills recently?
We loved looking at this big colourful haul of gorgeous knits from the Knit and Natter Group, who meet at Alnwick Medical Group on Friday afternoons. At the top of the picture are baby jackets, mostly premature size. I love the contrasting edges on the ones at the top right. We also have some beautiful blankets and premature baby clothes from a lady who loves knitting but doesn’t come to the group. The multicoloured blankets left and front are knitted in beautifully soft chenille yarn. The pink/purple baby clothes and blanket were all made out of one big ball of ombre wool. The blanket is knitted in a design of alternating stocking stitch and moss stitch with a moss stitch edge. Isn’t it effective?
We were joined by a couple of members of staff from the practice today. Of course, we can’t let anyone visit us without doing any knitting so we found them some wool and needles and got them started. One had knitted before and soon picked it up again. The other was a complete beginner and after a bit of tuition she was doing brilliantly.
They were there to gather information for Social Prescribing Day (next Thursday, 12th March. Our knitting group was set up as part of the medical practice’s social prescribing work. At the end of the session we took part in a video interview and answered questions about the knit and natter group and what we get out of it. It was interesting to reflect on why we enjoy doing what we do. From my point of view……
It’s good to interact with a friendly, supportive group of people with a shared interest. We enjoy each other’s company.
We can share skills and learn from each other. There must be several centuries of knitting experience in the group!
There’s a shared sense of achievement in completing a project or learning a new skill.
Knitting for charity is a worthwhile use of our knitting skills to help others.
Communal knitting is fun!
One question that really made me think was about the importance of holding a knitting group in a doctors surgery. I think it legitimises knitting as a worthwhile activity that’s good for physical and mental wellbeing. I know that those of us that knit have known this for years, but there are still people out there that consider it to be a boring solitary hobby, primarily for elderly women! Nonsense!
There are real benefits to mental and physical wellbeing
The repetitive action of knitting has a calming effect, lowering heart rate and blood pressure (like stroking a pet or doodling)
It’s a mindful activity. By concentrating on the activity of knitting you can slow down, focus on what you are doing and reduce stress and anxiety.
It keeps your hands moving, good for the blood supply and muscle tone in the fingers.
There’s always something new to learn. Learning new skills encourages the development of new neural pathways, great for maintaining a healthy brain and improving memory.
Knitting groups are a great way of combatting social isolation and its effects of mental and physical health.
Now that this is being endorsed by healthcare professionals maybe more people will take up knitting!
What a beautiful day it was today. The sky was brilliant blue and you could just about feel the sun’s warmth on your skin. We decided to head up the coast and arrived in Beadnell, where we found the Salt Water Cafe on a corner in the heart of the village. With outside seating on both sides, this will be a lovely place to visit in warm weather as it is sheltered from the sea, overlooking Beadnell House on one side and St Ebba’s Church on the other.
Beadnell HouseSt Ebba’s Church
The Cafe is open all day from 8.30am, serving breakfast, snacks, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner from 6pm. (the dinner specials board looked great, and included pigeon, halibut, chicken and a vegetarian option). I could see a good selection of cakes, desserts and pastries on the counter and in the chiller cabinet as we walked in, as well as a well-stocked bar.
We chose our usual cheese scones, and were asked if we wanted them warmed. They soon arrived, with three foil wrapped pats of butter (more generous than the usual two), and this was at room temperature, easy to spread.
The scones were really tasty and full of flavour. They were alarmingly yellow! I did ask about this and was told it could be from the mustard used in the recipe, though there was not a lot of mustard heat in them – I wondered if they contained turmeric. They had a good crumbly texture and a nice cheesy crust. Absolutely delicious!
Our coffees came with a little shortbread biscuit on the side and the milk was served in tiny churns.
I was quite fascinated by all the mirrors. There are gilt framed ones of various shapes throughout the cafe which look rather stylish grouped together. There are two amazing mosaic framed ones in the bathroom, which really attracted my attention. I’m feeling quite inspired to make one myself!
It was a lovely relaxed place to stop for our snack and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit snack. it’s dog-friendly during daytime service too. Saltwater Cafe definitely an asset to the village. I’m very tempted to return to try breakfast or dinner!
What’s the most interesting piece of decor that you’ve seen in a bar or restaurant?
We had an interesting time on Saturday. Once a year I get glammed up in a long dress and K gets his dinner suit out. It’s a ball: canapés and champagne on arrival, dinner and dancing until the small hours, all held in a marquee in the grounds of a big house.
Now this event had already been postponed when Storm Dennis passed through. Though it wasn’t as severe round here as other places, the marquee hire company vetoed it. As it happened that suited me perfectly – it meant I could attend a leaving do for our friends who are moving away. We breathed a sigh of relief when we saw the marquee going up earlier last week. The forecast did not look good, but we were all excited. Daughter had a new frock and I was recycling one from a few years ago (well, if it’s good enough for the Oscars dress code…..). The taxi arrived and off we went.
The marquee looked wonderful, complete with a dance floor and chandeliers. The table settings were perfect, decorated with arrangements of red roses and heart-shaped helium balloons. The guests arrived and everyone looked wonderful (some gorgeous outfits). I did notice that the marquee lining was rippling, the balloons were bobbing and the chandeliers were swinging to and fro as the wind gusted stronger and stronger.
We chatted with friends, and sampled delicious canapés. There were tiny smoked salmon blinis and hoisin duck wraps, chorizo and prawn skewers, miniature tartlets and all sorts of other delicacies, all accompanied by the bubbly. Two of the guests on our table had very thoughtfully brought hip flasks containing damson and sloe gin, which they generously passed round. It really enhances a glass of fizz!
As we took our seats for dinner it seemed that the wind had abated a little. Joints of roast beef were brought to each table, and one of the guests on our table carved ours…it was perfectly cooked and there were plenty of roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and gravy to go around. We ended our meal with generous portions of sticky toffee pudding, served with copious amounts of custard. All very tasty.
As I drank my coffee I noticed that the chandeliers were swinging again as the wind came back with a vengeance. Daughter decided she couldn’t wait any longer to hit the dance floor, so off she went, only to return a few minutes later with bad news. The storm was worsening and it had been agreed (after consultation with the marquee company and insurers) that the event had to be abandoned for the safety of all present. We were advised to contact our transport providers and arrange to be picked up as soon as possible. What a shame! There’s so much planning goes into something like this and I really feel for the organisers, especially after it had been rearranged once already, but their decision hadn’t been made lightly and it was the right thing to do. What a disappointment for all of us that had been looking forward to it…some had made rather more effort that me (new dresses, hairdos, professional makeup and spray tan….). We can control a lot of things, but sadly not the weather!
I got on straight on the phone to our lovely taxi driver and he was brilliant. Fortunately, he wasn’t far away and was able to take us home before his next booking. We fought our way through the partygoers who were clustering round the bar waiting for their own transport, having been moved away from the stage and dance floor (I think that was deemed to be the most vulnerable part of the marquee). As soon as we got outside it was easy to see why the event had been abandoned. I found it difficult to walk in the wind: it was so strong, definitely the type of storm that brings trees down. A promised, our driver picked us up promptly and got us safely home.
We’d still had a wonderful evening. I’m so grateful to Alnwick Wizard Taxis for rescuing us from the teeth of the storm.
Have you ever been to an event that’s been stopped because of adverse weather or other unexpected circumstances?
Here are this week’s completed pieces and work in progress at Alnwick Medical Group‘s Knit and Natter Group. From the left: my sock (the dark coloured item); a blanket square in shades of blue; a couple of tiny baby hats in lemon; peach-coloured premature baby top; white/mix baby cardigan; bright baby top with long sleeves and on the right a hat in self striping yarn. It’s such a pretty yarn, pastel shades with deeper pink and green splashes on the white section. It looks almost like a floral design has been knitted into it.
The Group, which was set up as part of the practice’s Social Prescribing work, meets every Friday afternoon, 2.30-4pm. Tea/coffee/biscuits are provided and all are welcome. Participants either work on charity knits like the premature baby clothes in the photograph, or continue with their own projects, There is a mix of experienced and novice knitters and crocheters in the group, and there is always help and tuition available to those who need it. We also have a supply of yarn, which has been kindly donated to the group to be used on the charity knits.
Yesterday’s jaunt took us to Amble. It was a bright, breezy day and a run down the coast was definitely in order. We ended up for our snack at Radcliffe’s Cafe Bar. Close to the harbour and the new apartment development, this place was inspired by the cafe bars that the owner visited while touring Europe on a motorcycle.
I’ve had lunch at Radcliffe’s several times and the food is great, but I hadn’t realised that they serve scones until I was there last week. The menu includes a variety of open sandwiches, soup and lots lots more. Last time I had a goats cheese, beetroot and caramelised onion chutney open sandwich and it was delicious. The bar stocks a good range of continental beers and craft gins.
There were both cheese and fruit scones available (so we chose our favourite cheese ones). Our lovely server offered to warm our scones and they each arrived with a generous pat of butter in a little dish. The butter was hard from the fridge but this soon softened on the warm scones…and what wonderful scones they were: nice and cheesy, light, with just the right amount of crust – probably as good as a cheese scone gets! When I said how much we enjoyed them I was told they were freshly baked on the premises that morning.Our coffees were served with a tiny cookie on the side – a nice finishing touch.
Radcliffe’s is also dog friendly, with water bowl and treats available. Buddy the Labrador always enjoys visiting. There is plenty of seating outside, though that always seems optimistic in February when the cold wind is whistling through the masts and rattling the rigging at the nearby boatyard. I have been in the summer, when the beer garden is buzzing – there’s a great atmosphere inside too.
This afternoon was the weekly meeting of The Knit and Natter Group at Alnwick Medical Group, which is held every Friday from 2.30-4pm in the Lower Building Meeting Room.
This week’s completed charity knits include a hat, and some baby clothes, along with my twiddle mitts. We’ve also been working on some of our own projects, including socks, a baby cardigan for a group member’s first grandchild, due in May. One of the practice staff popped in for some advice on a top-down baby jacket they are about to start, also for an eagerly awaited first grandchild. There’s always some advice available and the little pink and turquoise top in the picture is a top-down construction too, so we had an example to show her!
I’d love to hear about any knit and natter or craft groups you are involved with.
Stitches by the Sea 