FINISHED

                              Yey!!!! I have completed my crocheted granny square knee rug.

 

As it is only a small knee rug I thought that 2 small borders would be enough. I really enjoyed learning how to crochet all the squares together.

 

I have finished another book this month. Whatever happened to the days when I used to read 4 or 5 books a month! It is by an Australian author based on a true female spy from WW11. I found it to be a very light enjoyable read.

 

 

So, back to London now.

 

On the 28th June, 2015 we awoke to a drizzly day but it was 21 degrees C . We had planned to visit Harrods and a couple of other sites around London . I loved their rail system, almost a station on every block. We caught 2 trains which took us right to Harrods doorstep. Oh what a store! We spent the afternoon there looking at everything. 

 

 

The ceiling in the fruit and vegie department where we had lunch.

 

 

Elegant elevator doors. Rather nice inside too.

 

 

The toy department was amazing and my daughter was being chased by a Minion. She couldn't shake him off until we spied the human culprit operating the Minion from a desk . We had a lovely afternoon tea at the Disney café there.

 

 

At some stage we went to visit the opposition.

 

 

 

Only 3 days left in London after this.So, I shall save these for another time.

 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.

 

Angel Blessings..

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MUNCHKIN, CROCHET AND STITCHING

 I was so excited to have my little munchkin stay with me for a few hours today. It was the first time he had been left anywhere without my daughter or son in law.  He was such a joy and never shed a single tear. I am over the moon to know that he loved staying with us.

 

This morning a parcel arrived from the U.K containing that ball of yarn I desperately needed to complete my crocheted colourwash blanket. As I was paying a fair bit of postage I decided to make it more viable by ordering 3 new crochet hooks that are designed to make it easier on the hands .

 

 

Last week my lovely colourful balls of yarn arrived from the UK to crochet a gorgeous blanket which may prove to be a bit of a challenge for me. Unfortunately, the pattern book didn't come with the kit so I couldn't start it as soon as I wanted to. However, after sending an email and receiving a very prompt reply the actual pattern book is winging its way here, infact it has most likely already landed in the country. I can't fault Black Sheep Wools service whatsoever. They were truly amazing.

 

 

I was eagerly awaiting Jenny's latest free BOM and have prepared it ready for stitching. I love the combination of applique and stitching.

 

 

Voila! All my Little Lucy rows are now pieced together. I just need to add some side fillers and then she is ready for borders.

 

 

I hope you are all enjoying some stitching time.

 

Angel Blessings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DARN YARN!

 I thought everything was humming along nicely using leftover yarns to crochet my granny squares and I put aside a ball to specifically use for crocheting all the squares together. It looked like it was almost an entire 100g ball which I presumed would be quite enough for the job. WRONG! With only one and a half rows to go I ran out! Yep, that'd be right. Having never tried crocheting squares together before I just "guestimated" that it would be enough. All the yarn was from the UK and I only need that one ball. To make matters worse I had already placed an order to the UK for another crochet kit . Ah well, I just placed an order for that one particular colour and decided to order some new crochet hooks too. So, now I am expecting 2 parcels from the UK. You can't see it yet but I have placed the squares like a colour wash .

 

 

Remember Little Lucy? I put her away for a while after spitting the dummy when I realised that I had stitched 2 blocks the wrong way around. I had swapped  blocks 4 and 5 by mistake. Not a happy gal that day! I couldn't unpick the blocks because the whipstitching is so tight and small that the fabric started to fray.  Anyhoo, I decided to punch through my disappointment and carry on regardless. I now just have to add the top row and then I can fill in the edges.

 

 

 

I have read another book. This book is very similar to Philipa Gregory's style especially when writing about the Tudors. I am looking forward to reading the next one about Anne Boleyn.

 

 

 

Speaking about the Tudors, it reminds me of my visit to Hampton Court Palace  in 2015. So, I shall continue with a bit of my travelogue now. 

 

I can't remember where I exactly left off last time so I shall start on the the 24th June, 2015 when we returned the car to Cardiff and caught a taxi to the train station. One would think that catching a train to London from Cardiff would be easy. Not so! We were told at the station to catch a train to Nottingham and to change for Queens Way. However, when we were on our way  the ticket inspector told us we should have caught a train to Bristol then to change for Paddington. He gave us new tickets and made sure we got off at the right station. How's that for service!  To cut a long story short we eventually arrived at our hotel around 8pm . What a disappointment! When we opened the door we practically fell down 3 steps almost landing on one of the beds. It was sooooo small we could barely fit our luggage anywhere in the room. It was pokey, felt like a sauna, the window looked out onto walls so one couldn't even see the sky and the bathroom door wouldn't close.. The first thing we did after breakfast the next morning was request a room change which was thankfully granted. It was slightly larger.  Yep, this is the larger room.

 

 

We then went to pick up our London Passes before heading off to meet a friend at Victoria Station.

( Not sure if this is Paddington Station or Victoria Station. )

 

 

 

The next day we went to Cambden Market but I can't seem to find any photos on the computer except for this one which I can't seem to turn around.

 

 

 

 

 

On the 27th June we decided to relax and wandered across the road to Hyde Park.  It was a beautiful warm and sunny day. There was a classic Carousel , or Merry Go Round as we used to call them, so we had a ride on it. I have always wanted to do this There were those beautiful white swans on the lake and I managed to take this pic. Clever huh?

 

 

As we were walking we stumbled across Kensington Palace!!  We had no idea that it was situated right there in Hyde Park, although I now realise that part is actually called Kensington Gardens. Dah!!!

 

 

Agghhhh another sideways pic!

 

 

 

 

 

Having a London Pass was fantastic as we could get in to most tourist attractions quickly without having to pay anything. This is The King's Staircase leading to the King's State Apartments.

 

One of the halls.

The ceiling of the King's Drawing Room.

 

This dress is known as a "mantua" and only grand palace doorways have the width to accommodate the hooped skirts. The whalebone hoops forced ladies to take teeny steps which created the illusion of rolling along on wheels.

 

Men's shoes.

 

 



After our visit to the Palace we went back to the hotel to freshen up and catch a taxi to Hard Rock Café for an early dinner with my daughter's friend. We had then planned to catch a cab to the theatre to see Phantom of the Opera but we chose the worst night to find a cab. Apparently Taylor Swift had a big concert that night so the taxis could only travel so far before coming to road blocks.So, we caught a train and walked ( and walked and walked and walked) to the theatre. Afterwards we couldn't even flag down a taxi anywhere so we decided to catch a train to no avail as they were overcrowded. We hung around for a while and I think it was about 1.00 am that we eventually found a taxi to get back to our hotel. The London Underground was the busiest I have ever seen or expected in the early hours of the morning.

Needless to say we were totally exhausted but it was well worth the effort. After all, how many times does one get to the West End of London?

Thanks for hopping on board my tour. Next time we see some more wonderful sites of London.. Hopefully I will be able to work out why I can't rotate the photos.

Angel Blessings.