Back from a break...and yet more colour

After all the late night knitting to get 'Make Do and Mend' finished and posted to deadline, a huge amount of washing so that for once we didn't go on holiday with bags full of damp clothes to be dried once we arrive and usual craziness of getting our little family on the road, we had a more-or-less blissful week in Lyme Regis with beloved parents/grandparents and my sister.

The sun shone (mostly), the views were like a children's story book, much sand was dug, much ice-cream eaten and a good time was had by all.

I did manage to find a fossil on Charmouth beach, a tiny ammonite which I packed somewhere safe that I now can't recall (no, I haven't got around to unpacking everything yet!) and as always found that profound sense of peace and happiness that comes from being on the shore. It never ceases to amaze me how nature puts together colours in a way that we can never really reproduce, like these beautifully smooth stones.


However, all those natural colours haven't completely won me over and my quest for colour continues. I know I should have brought back something local, but a shop called 'Siciliana' in Lyme Regis caught my eye- I wonder why?! The owner sources and imports ceramics from a number of family producers in Sicily and his shop is a mouthwatering feast of colour. This little jug and bowl are destined to be a toothbrush holder and soapdish in the colour-saturated bathroom I'm planning. We can't afford a complete re-do, so I'm thinking that the absence of cool, sophisticated newness is a good excuse for crazy, mismatched loveliness. Just add that project to the endless list...

Long journeys (including the trip back, all seven hours of it, in the cab of the transporter with our car on the back, said car having conked out on day 2, eek!) and leisurely evenings as our salt-crusted children slept off their days of running about on the sand meant that I really got cracking on some knitting. After all the itty-bitty work with DK the other week, it was lovely to get back to Artesano Aran and Manos Del Uraguay Wool Clasica, chunkier needles and quicker growth. I finished the vibrant blue/purple Artesano project and, despite patchy reception for recieving emails on my phone, recieved yet more exciting news about the design. Once again, watch this space. Big Queen Bess, the Manos project, is going really well too. Not only am I onto sleeves, but I've tried it on once or twice (and had to be helped out of it by willing, and laughing, volunteers so that I didn't drop all the stitches from the circular needle that was still in it) and I'm pleased with how it looks. Best of all, given my previous record, I actually think I've ordered enough wool to finish the project! I almost don't dare say it, but I think I'll be able to finish it without desperate shout outs on Ravelry for the last few metres to finish a sleeve. Wonders will never cease. Hopefully pics will follow soon.