From the heart of my bottom

Most of my friends will know that I've been going through some tough personal times lately, I won't bore my imaginary readers with the ins and outs though. (oooh a mystery!)

Anyway, the point of the thank you post, is to thank the wonderful, funny, inspiring  friends I have. Some in real life, a lot on-line, some I've met lots, some just once, some never.

If you have ever made me laugh, let me cry, inspired me to run (TM I thought I never ever would!) then I love you for that.

I'd like to thank my producers, the wonderful director.... oh shit , sorry, forgot I wasn't Kate Winslet for a minute!

Tomorrow I will blog again with crafty updates and the usual bilge, just wanted to get that out there 

mwah! xx 

p.s. I just grabbed the first sad winslet pic I found on googling - The preview of the

 post tells me my latest colour scheme was MEANT to be! would ya look at that ?! 

Long time no see !

So here we are again,

It's been a loooong break, too long, but there was too much busy going on for this to be a priority and I've missed this sort-of diary of stuff.

The Bilgewater blog has had a small makeover (I will probably change my mind a lot more in the next few days but for now I'm going with a smart grellow)

I will write a 'proper' catch up post later once the small blonde is asleep :-) - C'mon blogger, get with it, even facebook has smilies don't you know ? 

ooh yes, almost forgot - interesting pic as the first I choose is what's thumbnailed on facebook. 

This painting is called 'New Dawn' 

Bzzzzzzzzzz

I am a busy bee!

Normal twaddle to be resumed...ermm... shortly ? (she says with very little conviction)

Great Aunt !

Doesn't that sound OLD and matronly ? 

Maybe at 40 I should embrace the Miss Havisham in me ?

Many many congratulations to my niece and her partner on the birth of baby 

Maisie yesterday ! 

What fun we have had on the Natural Mamas forum this week creating our Enid Blyton fictional names. Take the name of a Great Aunt, add the name of the 

first school you attended. 

I'm Winifred Southwick - a jolly sort, slightly plump and bad at lacrosse but terribly kind to new girls and very generous with her tuck.

The Girasole is dead! Long live the Girasole !

A cautionary tale...

There once was a new knitter who thought she could cope with something big and fancy like she had seen made by her fab knitter friend Becky

She had admired the Girasole pattern by Jared Flood many times and so cast it on.

She decided to change needle size after the first few rounds, and again a few rounds later!

She thought she could just miss out a few rows of the pattern cos it was boring/wasn't going well. 

She then ballsed up the leafy part by rapidly moving ahead with the charts not checking that the stitches were lining up. 

STILL she soldiered  on! She got a better knitter by this stage and thought she would keep the mistakes as a 'cute' reminder of a past time. 

Then she thought she would frog it (rip it back - rippit, rippit) but couldn't face the task. It was going so well by this point! The UFO was shoved in the back of the yarn stash to linger unloved. 

Unfinished but not unravelled either. 

Eventually the time came when it just couldn't be put off any more and the frogging began *sob*

The Girasole is dead! Long live the Girasole !

Today I have cast this on again and am going to do a knit a long with my friend Ally , we hope to inspire and nudge each other along a bit :-)

 See ? that last bit was GOOD !

but those leaves weren't !

 There was no way that massive change in needle size was going to be 

blocked out was there ?

gratuitous rig picture for the fans

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

And now, the end is near - And so I face the final curtain*

(* curtain/border of my shawl)

My friend, I'll say it clear,

I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

(I have loved making this!)

I've lived a life that's full. (ish)

I've traveled each and ev'ry highway
But more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few;

But then again, too few to mention.

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;

Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew.

When I bit off more than I could chew.

But through it all, when there was doubt,

I ate it up and spit it out. (and messaged Sarah)

I faced it all and I stood tall;

And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.

I've had my fill; my share of losing. 

(not really but didn't want to miss a verse)

And now, as tears subside,

I find it all so amusing.(again not really)

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,

"No, oh no not me,

I did it my way".

For what is a (wom)man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.

To say the things he truly feels;

And not the words of one who kneels.

The record shows I took the blows
(or didn't but had to use the last verse)

And did it myyyyyyy waaaaaaay!

An apology to Snowdrop

A while ago I openly laughed at my friend who was using a builders bucket as 

part of her crocheting 'kit'. 

"A bucket?!" I scoffed, hahahahaha how funny !

"I have a beautiful Cath Kidston bag I will be using" I said.

Victoria, I apologise. 

The bucket is in fact the perfect thing to have at my feet, 

3 balls of yarn on the go at once (round balls let loose = ROLL)

Toddler needs me or the phone or the door or god forbid I need to pee in a hurry.

Dump it in the bucket, safe and sound. 

Love ya Snowdrop ! xx

Mine numbreller !

It's amazing how much joy a 2.75 year old can get from £1.20 isn't it ?

                                         

must dash Imaginary Readers ! x

p.s.

Grellow knit-a-long!

Grellow is a great word isn't it ??  I saw it on Ravelry I think..

I've been holding onto a ball of gorgeous blue faced leicester yarn for aaaaaages, not knowing quite what to make with it. Similarly had a hankering for (and bought) some mustard sock yarn. So when my friend Sarah - Crafts from the Cwtch suggested a June knitalong for the Color Affection Shawl I was itching to get my pins out !! I knew from the first moment that the 3rd colour had to be grey to achieve my grellow. 

I had wanted to get something from the lovely Nimu Yarns, but as I'd left it so late there wasn't time for Clare to dye me what we were planning. 

So... browsing t'interwebs for something smooshy and grey I decided upon THIS from Baby Long legs. Ode to Bender, the name alone sold me and I wasn't disappointed 

when it arrived!

I don't have time for this - I really don't. I'm squeezing in the odd row or 6 when I can (lot's of Marigold Green work happening too) My lovely partner had the small blonde a lot over the weekend which was wonderful and meant I got more done 

than I'd first thought I would. 

I'm loving the knit so far, have made a few pattern adjustments  - using KFB instead of M1s and adding a yarn over along the edges to hopefully ease it up a bit. (although having just read Sarah's blog today I'm worried that my twisted sides will have negated this a bit too) 

Anyway here it is up 'til yesterday. I have been playing with my new toy of Instagram a lot and just discovered a cute multi picture app too so bear with my 'arty' pic spammage!

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

Going Meat Free

I've been pondering this for many many many months now. 

It just doesn't feel right to eat meat anymore. 

All the fluffy baby animals we pettted today at The Cotswold Farm Park were the final push I needed to make this choice today (romantic notion I know) 

I feel vegan might be the end result for me but I'm not sure how to do that with success so for now it's meat free only.

Officially Crunchy !

Ok that's it!

I am officially a 'hippy type' . There I said it. I carry my child about in long lengths of expensive bits of cloth, she mostly sleeps with me out of choice (mine as well as hers). I own and wear a pair of Birkenstocks.
The final test ?

I'm cultivating a brew on the kitchen worktop which I fully intend to drink *grin*

Water Kefir Grains 

I suffer with that itchy scratchy bird related condition a lot. This is supposed to help with that and a multitude of other health benefits including a sluggish digestion.

So on the left we have am F1 fermentation (can you see the little globby 'grains' in the bottom there ? This one is being made with unrefined dark sugar hence the pond colour.
On the right is an F2 fermentation - F1 strained of globs - (using white sugar )which will hopefully fizz up and create something elderflower/lemony yummy ?

I'll update in a few days to let you know if it's any good.

This week I've also cast on this shawl but I wont talk too much about it yet 

as I'm not supposed to start 'til tomorrow!

So long Imaginary Readers ! x

p.s. do you like the Jubilee background ?

Aren't people strange ?

Sometimes you just get a 'feeling' about people, don't you? Sometimes they meet your expectations - be they high or low - sometimes they surpass them!

wow that was a bit deep -  Quick ! where's the random pet picture ? 

Ah that's more like it!

This week I've been stabbing woolly things  - A LOT -  I've decided to take a slight break whilst I ponder how to create the next challenge I've been asked to make and cast on something for me too. The June knitalong with Sarah @ craftsfromthecwtch.
I don't have time to do this at all, so have cheated a little and cast on three days early to get me a head start.
I think it will be nice to have something relaxing to make in between the stabby stuff that is work these days (although still loving it!).

brief post today - busy busy !

until next time Imaginary Readers x

Oh! I do like to be...

..beside the seaside !

My parents have a holiday home at Clevedon on the North Somerset coast. We went for a day there yesterday to make the most of the sunshine (cos this 'summer' will only last the week - we all know that!).
Clevedon for anyone who's not been, is a lovely old fashioned 'proper' seaside town, the beach is not much , just some pebbly bits really, there are a few lovely cafe's and shops too.
There are no fast food places on the seafront and no amusement arcades - we LOVE it !

Clevedon's glory is its wonderful pier. 

see all those little brass plaques on the benches and floor ? There are thousands of them, to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, birth or death or just for fun. People donate to the pier fund to get the plaques made and put in place - It's fun reading them as you walk along.

small girl and her bampy

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

One day like this. .

Cheering on the Olympic Flame!

I was thinking what  to call today's blog post. Inspired by my friend Anne on facebook a earlier today I sought out this song on youtube.

It's a modern classic that probably a lot of people got bored with hearing but this version is wonderful - thanks mum!

Yesterday I took Verity to see the Olympic Flame relay in Bradford-on-Avon.

What a wonderful event the townsfolk 

(I've been watching too much Larkrise to Candleford) put on!  

Bunting galore -  all the local shops had taken on a 'country for the week' 

and were all decked out in flags and finery. 

On The Green were musicians and a choir from the Wiltshire School of Music.

It really really was a fantastic day out, 

everyone was in great spirits and a party mood.

I must mention the Currys delivery driver who somehow got his 

van mid way between the 15-20 police motorbikes.. 

I don't think he could quite believe the cheers and applause 

and joined in with a suitably 'Hollywood' wave to the crowds.

I bet he was late wherever he was going anyway.

Verity had a lovely time eating ice-cream and chatting to lots of people.

She was actually terrified of the loud hailers and crowd 

noise as the Flame got nearer - poor thing!

So it finally arrived !

You can see a tiny glimpse of the torch bearer just left of centre in my picture.

There were a total of 8 torch bearers for this one tiny town, the organisers did a wonderful job as the 5,000+ people in the crowd proved.

I was proud to be there, proud of my County and my Country.

I can't wait to enjoy the Jubilee celebrations next month !!

bye for today, Imaginary Readers x

We all need to just BOUNCE more !

We do! We need to get on a trampoline and have fun!

No doubt the daily crap will still be there once we get off and for those times I highly recommend stabbing barbed needles in things.

This post has been brought to you today by the inspiring Crafts from the Cwtch 

(Who wants to kill people but knits instead)

and the shameless plugging of my new facebook shop Marigold Green !

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

The rubbish stuff will still be there once we stop bouncing

Have you made a ginger merkin ?

A tale of dyeing

So my niece told me there were some fleeces up for grabs..

We collected them from Bath Cats and Dogs Home - SO sad seeing all the rescue pets! They had been donated them and didn't know what to do with them, so I gave them a donation whilst imagining the wonderful yarn I would hand dye, hand spin and knit into wonderful things..

So, the FILTHY sheep went for a bath..

and was washed and rinsed x about 15 times until..

it took over Verity's room for about a week to dry in all its fluffy glory!

Not quite sure what to do next and waiting to visit my friend Paula who knows about such things, I decided to 'research' natural dyes at home (by research I mean browse via Google then decide I have none of the kit and go ahead and make up my own rules)

There was a pretty golden yellow - turmeric and paprika - yummy !

(that washed out totally with rinsing)

So it got thrown into some darjeeling I found lurking at the back of a cupboard and boiled up a bit.

the boiling hot 'dye' was a mistake as it felted the fleece.. 

(I knew that would happen, I KNEW that *slaps own forehead)

tada! The ginger merkin! 

Although if you are reading this Mrs. Moth I am still wondering about the length of merkin you have/choose..

More dyeing adventures soon - with less filth.

auf Wiedersehen Imaginary Readers ! x