Shopping

As requested by Charlie, I took pictures of some of the cheeses we bought in Toulouse and made a photo montage. I should have taken a picture of the cheesemonger but it was really busy on Saturday morning.

I did the same with some of the pork meat: ham, saucisson, liver sausage, duck sausage... It should last a few months (Hopefully, till the next supply arrive).
When I was in Montpellier, I went to "la droguerie". I've just realised when linking the shop that they have one in Toulouse as well! Anyway, it is a really great shop, just a shame I had to wait quite a while to get served. I couldn't resist and I bought some buttons. They had a lot more and I would have bought more but I manage to restrain myself...
In Toulouse, I went to Phildar and Bergere de France and got some sock wool. I haven't finished my first sock yet but I am so pleased that Stephane want me to knit him socks that I have anticipated... (The phildar one will be for me though)

Toulouse and Montpellier

We are back from Toulouse where the weather was awful! We had sunshine only on Saturday, the day we were leaving... Stephane didn't mind too much as he was working (conference) and I spent my time shopping and visiting museums.
On Tuesday morning we had a wee wander around the town with Stephane then his conference started in the afternoon so I went to "La Fnac" to buy some books. I bought one about bread making... I also bought some yarn, I'll show you in another post.

On Wednesday and Thursday I was in Montpellier with GG (who really enjoyed himself, as usual). The weather was gorgeous and it was great to spend some time with my friend Odile.

On Friday I went to "basilique Saint-Sernin" and to "musee des augustins" to see a great exhibition about grisaille and trompe l'oeil.
In the evening, we went to the theatre (it was part of a festival, "le printemps du rire", in Toulouse) followed by a Spanish diner.

On Saturday we had a few hours to do some shopping (mainly pork meat and cheese) and enjoy a good meal and the weather before going to the airport.


We stayed at friends on Saturday evening in Edinburgh then, on Sunday we went to my brother to see the newly born twins, Olivia and Matthew, and my parents.

Back at home, GG spend some time explaining to Leon what he has been up to and gave him a wee present he bring back from Toulouse especially for him!
I think I forgot to tell you that, although Leon is a pigeon and has got a valid passport, he does not travel with us because he is afraid of flying! I know, it is sad...

Socks

I've started my first pair of sock ! I bought the March issue of Simply Knitting magazine last month and was very disappointed with it. Then, I came back to it as I remembered there was a well explained pattern for toe-up sock. It is like a "for dummies" version which is exactly what I need for a first time.



It looks a bit big. I might have to reknit it again later....I'll see, I am just learning.
Tomorrow we are flying to Toulouse for a week.

Easter baking challenge

This weekend, I took part in Louise's baking challenge for Easter. I said to her that I don't think I would have the time (and the patience) to make the Colomba Pasquale but would bake a "fougasse" instead. It is a bread originated from the south east of France. I found an Easter version on internet with candied orange peel, pistachio, pine nut and orange blossom water. To be honest it was a disaster. I am crap at making bread, it has that strong yeast taste, the dough was too wet...Even Stephane thought it had a strange taste ! I should ask Louise to run a bread making course for me (her bread is fantastic). It is OK toasted with some butter and marmalade. Sorry Louise, I failed but I will send you the pictures as promised.






So, although I am sure I am the only one to blame, there is no point to give you the recipe. If you have a good bread recipe, just add the ingredients I mentioned above and it should do the trick.
Bread making is a skill I should learn, I'll put it on my to learn list.

Headband

I've knitted a headband (Bamboozled) for my friend Le Minh. It was a very quick knit, I started yesterday evening and finished it this morning. I didn't do the ties, I sew the ends together (I try kitchener's stitch but I don't think I've mastered it. It doesn't look too bad though). I used only half a ball of Debbie Bliss Donegal luxury Tweed for this project! I might knit another then...

Dougie Dog Sweater (the end)

Done ! I finished it on Tuesday evening. I should call it Camil's sweater now.

I've started a new project with the wool from New Lanark but I can't say much for now.
I will start my first pair of sock, I think, as I need a small project while I will be in France next week.

Dougie dog sweater

I have started a new project last Sunday as I needed something easy to do while I was in Glasgow: Dougie dog sweater from Lucinda Guy (Her books are a really good investment), "handknits and things". I did half of the front when I realised it was going to be far too small so I had to start again (I am undoing a lot of things at the moment). I didn't buy any wool for that project, I decided to use what I had in my stash. So this morning, after finishing the body, I weight it on a scale and I did the same with the wool I had left and calculated the number of stitches per g of wool. I can knit 157.4 stitches/g wool. Then, I calculated the number of stitches per sleeves (I can't help me with the pattern as I use a totally different wool, much thicker, so I have to recalculate everything for that as well). So each sleeves are in theory no more than 5000 stitches and I have 65g of wool left which should be enough. However, theory and practice are two very different things (and I need some wool for the sewing as well), so, to be on the safe side (I don't want to knit the sleeves twice again), I am going to do the cuff part of the sleeves with another color, and I'll use this color for the pocket. It will hopefully turn out OK.
Le Minh, I hope you like it so far because it is suppose to be for Camil :0)

I am still working on my lace project but at a much slower pace... I did the pattern 14 times, and I need to make it 40 ! You see the strand of blue yarn near the top, this is how much I knitted of it since last Sunday...

Enough for now, I am going back to my knitting before going out tonight.

Creative stitches and hobbycraft

Last weekend I was at the SECC in Glasgow for the creative stitches and hobbycraft fair. I was at the UK hand knitting association stand where I volunteered for teaching people to knit. It was great, I had a lot of fun. On the Saturday we were very busy teaching kids and on Sunday it was quieter. We had bags containing a ball of 100g of acrylic yarn, a pair of needles and explanations that we were giving away to everybody who stopped and took a bit of time to learn needle or finger knitting. We also had some free patterns for people who wanted to contribute to "Shaun the sheep and the great British PicKnit" (Info on the UK handknit association). Oops, I forgot to take a picture of the stand but I took a picture of the knitted gingerbread man house.

The fair was great (much better than the October one I've been told) and there were several stands for knitters. The one I was interested in was the New Lanark Heritage Center one. They have really good value for money wool: wool 80%/silk 20% , 10x50g balls for £9. I bought 20 balls of a brownie plum color.
I also got some sock yarn (I will make my own socks one of these days) and some DK (not on the picture, it change color from grey to pink).

I also discovered an amazing yarn made with possum fur. It is incredibly soft. I am quite proud of myself as I managed not to be tempted and didn't buy any. If you want to know more about it go there.
Other all, I really had a good weekend, met nice people and I will certainly do it again.

Maeva's jumper

I finally finished Maeva's jumper on Friday evening. I didn't do the red crochet border around the neck but chose to knit 2 rows in blue. Sophie, I hope you like it (and Maeva as well), I'll bring it at the end of March.

Otto

This weekend, I've finished the owl I started last Sunday. This is a pattern from lucinda Guy book, "and so to bed". I like it very much. It will now fly to Vietnam to its owner who should be born in a few months.

Last week, on Ravelry, I've made an interesting yarn swap with someone in Florida. I swap some Araucania quellon (that particular colour I had was out of stock everywhere and I didn't had any plan with it) for that amazing Great Adirondack yarn, trillium. It is worth $45 and I just need a great idea for it. The picture does not make it justice, it is a shame because it is a truly amazing yarn.

An update on Maeva's jumper: on Saturday, Sophie gave me the ball of wool I was desperate for to finish that project. I knitted the second sleeves that evening and on Sunday was very happy with myself, finishing the embroideries and I was hoping to finish it. But when I wanted to sew the sleeves I realised they were far too small. I was really angry against myself because I never thought of checking the first sleeve (although I did follow the pattern)! How stupid is that !!!! I now have to re-knit both sleeves. Grrrhhh...!

Next weekend I won't be able to do much knitting for myself and I will miss the Newburgh knitting group as I will be at the SECC in Glasgow for the International craft and hobby fair- stitch and hobbycraft. I volunteer for that event to show and teach people how to knit. I am going on both Saturday and Sunday.