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So my recommendation for today has to be Eliza Doolittle. In particular, the gorgeousness that is Pack Up. Yes, we're bored of singers who use accents to sell their records by now but with a hook like this? Bliss. This is not another Winehouse clone and thank god, it's not another angry cockney. It's a girl, singing about life in a way that just makes you listen and think of great soul songs that remind you of summer.

Today I listened to the rest of the album and found myself feeling sickly sweet on the train platform and having to have a little boogie to myself. Something about this album makes you feel light as a feather and ready to dance on a platform where commuters look at you with fear and slight envy.

I say envy because I would be jealous if I was stood without my ipod while a girl kicks her feet and sings 'tweet tweet, tweet, tweet' while smiling to herself.

One True Love

Meet Charlie.


Charlie belongs to my parents and I belong to Charlie. He is my One.True.Love. Charlie knows a good time when he sees it and always knows just when I am in the mood to scratch his ears and cuddle him. He's a very clever dog in this way. These pictures are of the mad thing gleefully playing on our outing to West Wittering beach. It was gorgeously sunny and ferociously windy- which is just how I like it. Each time I squatted to pick up shells, skim stones or take a pic, Charlie saw this as great fun and thought I was poised to play. Hence lots of pictures of him dashing and prancing and generally looking very puppylike despite approaching old age. Then he found a tennis ball.

Life must be great for Charlie creatures.

Knitting Funk

I'm not quite sure how, but just as I find myself with time off, I've hit a knitting funk. I'm determined this week I will knit and finish something to get some mojo back. I mean it's not like I haven't been trying..... I did Knitnation and everything.


I never did report on that one did I? Well, I had so much fun meeting the yarn makers. I am not a class taker. I think I shall become one but having only been knitting just over a year, I'm learning enough right now from playing that I don't feel a need to go to classes. I'm sure once I launch into the terrifying world of steeking etc. I'll give it a whirl but for this girl, the marketplace was enough. Not that I was quite as thrilled as the Wollmeise groupies. God lord, watching them run to snatch up colours that were replenished just an hour later was quite alarming. I avoided the rush and pootled along later. Apparently, the Wollmeise had been preparing for 6 months to be super sure no one would be disappointed.


I mean, as if we could be with colours like this?
Then there was the lovely Babylonglegs. Her yarns are dreamy, brilliantly priced and she herself is lovely. I was most amused that midtransaction she suddenly had 'a moment' and could only be rescued with tea with 4 spoons of sugar. That's the kind of emergency I approve of.

Then there was also Kratfy Koala- a riot of colour and fun and the subtle but stunningly dyed Juno Fibre Arts. I had the chance to chat to Ysolda who looks as sweet in real life as in her blog. She is so, so lovely. I chatted happily till it occured to me that I was chatting to Y.S.O.L.D.A when someone asked for her autograph....!!! Then I got all stuttery and needed to go away and blush quietly.

All in all, the marketplace was cute and what I enjoyed more than the yarngasm was meeting the lovely yarnies. It makes their yarn even more special- it's made with love and passion for the craft. This yarn shall not remain stash for long, it must be just what I need to cure my knitting funk, surely?

Unfortunately I've done that thing I hate- collected and relegated stunning yarn to stash. Bah! The reason is I'm such a monogomous knitter. I generally have one project for home: something that either can't be easily transported or takes a bit more concentration than a bus would afford me. Then I have a second: a transporter for all occacsions. Both of my projects are currently boring me though. I have a supersecret present I'm making that involves recycled linen that is hurting my hands and a delicious Wollmeise shawl that is now at the kind of stitch count that makes me a little twitchy each time I get to the last 5 stitches and check how many I should have left. (If It's 4, expect lots of frustrated tinking and muttering). The temptation is to flee them both and fall into the warm embrace of some new and exotic fibre but I am a glutton for punishment and I'm determined to finish SOMETHING soon! This could be a long month....... I'll report back is something gets finished.... or started?

Yawn...... and stretch

Breakfast is the best way to start a day. Breakfast can be anything: hot warm, quick, slow, indulgent and best of all? Taken to bed.

The best way to start a playful day is to do the following: in your zombie like state, start the coffee before going back to bed for a minute or two so you’re greeted by the waft of caffeine goodness. Boot up your laptop and cruise other blogs, emails, banter, flickr, last night’s pics. Just wait a while. Sipping the coffee you then pad your slippered feet to conjure up something simple and good (I opted for diary free cheese and marmite on toast and buttered potato farls this morning). Pad back to laptop, knitting bag and the afore mentioned vat of coffee and cruise here until the day has to be started in earnest.

Have a nice day everyone.

I shall call him Arty!

I meant to blog about Knitnation today, I did, I promise. However, I found this little fellow in the house that I am looking after in London and couldn't stop giggling. I mean, house sitting is all about sneak peeks behind the scene but this has to be my favourite moment- opening the kitchen cupboard to rummage for the right sized salad bowl and finding this little chap nodding at me.

I had to share!