Rainy Days, Knitting Days..

While Seeds have been set and are pushing their way through in the green house, most days have been dull and wet, with the odd bright skies that do not last long before the rain and sleet fall again..

But we cannot grumble.. for there are those who have lost so much as the floods have been horrendous in various part of the UK with rivers bursting their banks, flooding homes and business’s in many  areas.. This is going to make farmers tasks of sowing seeds for their harvests so much harder.. And we may well be seeing prices rise in shops due to what will no doubt mean crops are in short supply,   So I am very thankful for living where I do, and that we grow our own veggies etc,  and although we often get problems with our hill when it snows, we  are not flooded out like many people have been..  So we are very blessed, and thankful.

So while its been soggy and cold, I have been snug and warm and my knitting needles have been creating sparks. lol.. Yes they are not plastic ones but metal and the have been clicking away.. 🙂 And so I knitted myself a waistcoat with pockets..

The reverse side showing pocket before sewn in place

One side of the collar and rib knitted up for one side. Pocket ribs done and pockets now sewn in place. 

Finished Waistcoat

I have today spent a little time creating a short little video of a  Gwili Steam Railway  which we visited last year. We spent a pleasant afternoon looking around the railway yard and enjoying a long scenic ride along the track and back..   

  I hope you Enjoy. Take care All of you. 

95 thoughts on “Rainy Days, Knitting Days..

  1. Very nice job on the waistcoat. It looks very nice on you.

    We had a horrendous January here as well. Record rainfall and flooding all over the state. Farmers are rightfully concerned about crops and I’m sure that concern will be reflected in future prices. Such is the life of a farmer.

    I don’t knit, so I’ve busied myself with writing. That’s the nice thing about writing: it’s not dependent on the weather. 🙂

    Have a brilliant weekend, my friend, and thanks for the update.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Bill, hope all is well your end, I have yet to catch up with your good self.. The weather certainly is breaking records around the globe.. And yes many fields still submerged under water and its planting time, so crops are not going to get planted .. Big smiles about the knitting!!!… But you weave so well in the story of your words Bill.
      You too have a great weekend and thank you so much for spotting the update here.. I am very hit and miss these days…
      Take care..

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    • Many thanks Robbie, I am very into my knitting craze at the moment and I am half way through the back of another sweater right now, and while following the basic pattern shape, I am putting stripes in it and making it up as I go… 🙂 The music I had to choose another track as the one I had originally You Tube didn’t like! So I had to change it… It came on a list of suitable music not copyrighted.. But I thought it sounded a bit like an engine lol..

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  2. Good day to You My Faraway Friend 🙂
    I see you have been busy in this season of rest and reflect…I love the video, I live by train tracks, I have always liked the trains, but at 3am it can get on my nerves after almost everynight for 5.5 years 🙂 I miss my quiet country life….one day 🙂

    I was watching about the floods in your neck of the woods, I am glad you and yours are okay and I send prayers for the ones who have lost so much…Mother Nature is shaking in fury these days…
    I wonder if humans will ever understand we are Nature as well as the animals and Earth’s trees and water, and more…. so connected yet not recognized , *sigh*
    we have Winter today, it was 27F when I fed the zoo, and walked Dakota… now I sit with second cup of coffee, thinking about how to re-work the pictures on a wal i had to change for my mom…again 🙂

    I hope you are doing well in your neck of the woods…I stay busy, and my thoughts drift into rhyme ever once in awhile, and I wonder on, seeing you in the reader made me smile..i miss you and your thoughts, my fault for not being focused these days to sit and write to you about the busyness that’s going on here.
    I will surprise you one day, sit and write you and probably shock myself…Know I think of you, sending whispers on the wind, hoping you know some of these thoughts that wander through my space here 🙂

    love and hugs from Texas to You My Kindred Sister
    Take Care…You Matter…
    Blessings…always
    just me

    Liked by 2 people

    • Lovely to hear from you Mary, and good to know you are OK.. Yes Nature is kicking Mankind, And I often think of you and send my thoughts your way also Mary… I will have to see if you have written any whispers of late? I have not been in my reader or email box on WP in a while.. Life, like you know often takes us into other realms of reality.. I look forward to that Surprise One day too…
      Take care Mary… Love and Blessings your way my far away friend .. ❤

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  3. That’s lovely, Sue! (I especially admire it, as I cannot knit.) And I like your attitude: find the good in a soggy situation. It’s part of growing up, isn’t it? We learn to count our blessings because it’s an ill-wind indeed if it blows no-one any good.

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    • Hi Pendantry, you noticed the train… Yes it changed tracks, to move from the front to the back of the carriages to start the journey again.. I cut out a bit of waiting time on the video as the signals on the tracks had to be changed to move it from one track to another.. Thank you for viewing and your comment 🙂

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  4. What a Lovely waistcoat dear Sue.. you can wear that while you’re on your allotment 🙂 you’ve done a brill job knitting it.. I can just see those sparks flying hahaha 🙂 LOVE your video as well. I’ll be in my greenhouse soon sowing wildflower seeds 🙂 roll on spring 😍

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    • Hi dear CT… Hope you are well, and yes that was the idea of the waistcoat.. I have a few of them, a sweater can get too warm even in cooler weather while working in the garden.. But these keep your body warm while your arms can be freer.. 🙂 I am off tomorrow down the plot to sow some sweetpeas… I bought a few packets as I intend to plant where we had the loganberries which we pulled up last year..
      Roll on Spring, I can not wait for Some SUN and warmth…
      Big hugs and thank you, I hope to be catching up with everyone shortly.. ❤

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  5. You are incredible! Wow! I knit a wool sweater once whilst spending a month in the hills of Athens. I had been carrying a friend’s 65 lb. backpack, and pulled something inside. So I had to rest for a bit. And I did it, too! I think my sister has that sweater to this day. Raw wool was so itchy, I had to give it away. Olive wood buttons. I think it was the last time I picked up knitting needles, and that was in 1974! Maybe at this end of my life, I’ll consider picking them up again! Or maybe not 😉 I’d always rather be out hiking or walking or cycling or something. We’ll see what happens when the snow falls on us, once again. Still here in Hawaii for now though. 😉 xoxo

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  6. Spring is just around the corner with its warmer days then the garden work begins. It was a rainy January here with flooding. It is nice to see your creative sides such as knitting and painting. I wouldn’t know where to start with knitting and painting although I can sketch. Nice meditation hobbies. That sweater looks nice on you and the color is really nice.
    The train engines and boxcars are a hoot. I had a toy train and played with it for hours. Not the same as seeing them live. The end of the weekend will be here soon and I hope you are well and keeping with your creative side. ❤

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    • Yes cannot wait for spring Joseph.. Rain has hit many places, if it had been snow here instead of rain I am sure it would have been another 1947 record of snowfall… We are very fortunate and thankful.. I love the old steam trains, sadly many of our local railways were closed down due to the motorways being built, and tracks were pulled up and made into cycle paths, bridle and walk ways.. Now millions are being spent in restoring old lines and putting new tracks down like the HS2 project linking the South and North.. And love those model railways…
      Many thanks for your comment Joseph and yes, painting, knitting and planting seeds… Keeping me busy…
      Take care my friend 🙂 🙏

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    • Big smiles dear Mark… Yes Aquarius takes on a whole new meaning as you begin to see the cycle of the Earth.. 🙂 Many thanks Mark for your kind comments, I enjoyed my creative time… And happy to still be snug, warm and dry…
      Much love your way 🙂 🙏

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  7. You’ll be snug as a bug in your sage-green waistcoat Sue. Beautifully knitted, great colour, fabulous chunky pattern. ‘Tis perfect to keep the chill at bay when gardening without restricting movement.

    I feel so sorry for all those affected by floods. It must be devastating and hugely impacting on their lives. Quite rightly their resentment should be directed at our appalling U.K government who have done little to prevent such disasters or support communities in their hour of need. They are an absolute shambles. I too imagine prices for certain food items will increase, and that on top of the disruption caused by Brexit. I read an article in the Guardian Newspaper on Sun 23 Feb 2020 suggesting Government proposals to build a further 11,000+ on land at the’ highest risk of flooding in the regions battered by the worst winter storms in a generation.’ (1) It is yet further evidence, if more were actually needed, that profit and greed supersedes common sense and regard for people.

    It’s wonderful to see you’d put together another video Sue! Great content, superb soundtrack (very dramatic!), and a beautiful sunny day to enhance your experience! It must have been a whole lot of fun: there is something very special about taking a journey by steam train. Very pleased to see a local line maintained and used for the pleasure of one and all. Out of curiosity I had a quick look online at the route you’d taken and found some photographs captured during the train ride. The scenery is superb! Thank you for taking the time to compose the footage and air and share here.

    Enjoy the latter end of the week, have a great weekend. Take care,

    DN

    (1) – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/23/more-than-11000-homes-to-be-built-on-land-at-high-risk-of-flooding

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    • I agree with you Dewin.. far too little has been done in these repeated flood areas, even though promises were made..
      The amount of NEW houses to be built on flood planes is irresponsible… Only in our Town a similar situation arose due to the floods but not because of flood damage, but because houses were built in the bottom of an old disused Sand Quarry, where due to the amount of rain the walls of the quarry had a landslide enveloping the gardens of homes…. Thankfully our MP is on this and work is underway to make it safe, but people had to move out of their homes for a while..
      Given we know our Climate IS changing, you would think measures would be looked into about the environmental issues, because we are in the age of Aquarius after all…. 😉

      Homes need to be built, but in the right places not on flood planes… And we need more starter homes for our younger generation.. All I see being built in new housing estates locally are 4 to 5 bedrooms which no first buyer can ever afford..
      Thank you Dewin for your link, I found it very informative..
      🙂
      Hope the Sun shines on you and Alice today 🙂

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      • I couldn’t agree more Sue. Promises made by the Tories amount to little more than lies and deceits. Old Blighty is blighted by this shambolic government.

        I’ve family members who’ve moved miles away from their home towns because they are unable to afford to buy a property of their own locally, and even then they are mortgaged to the hilt and without any financial flexibility whatsoever. Renting as a short-term alternative is no less affordable either. The whole system is fundamentally wrong.

        Pleased you found the link informative Sue. There are, thankfully, some newspapers that aren’t state-controlled and repeatedly bias in their reporting in favour of the Establishment, but still one must be discerning.

        A little sunshine here today, which was wonderful and a welcome break from the slate grey, wet and wind. However, I see another storm is on its way! Time once again to baton down the hatches. It seems never-ending 😦

        Take care,

        Namaste 🙏

        DN

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        • So understand having to move miles away… We had to move out of our village when we got married, no homes affordable nearby and those for sale taken by holiday homes… And that was back in the early 70’s.
          Nothing much changes Dewin in Government circles only the lining of their own pockets..
          The System… is well overdue for a overhaul… But if you stand back you can see the cracks already.. And our governments globally are crumbling… Because the system is not working, its broken.. And the old has to crumble before the new can be built… It may seem chaotic while we are going through it, like Nature herself, who is showing humans who is boss…
          I doubt I will see the complete changes in my life time Dewin.. But we can be instruments within the orchestra of Change.. And so we do what we do when we can… Be it a thought, and idea, or just sending love….
          We are all here at this time for a purpose… And its about using our time well… and seeing the bigger picture beyond that which we are taught.. And when we truly wake up… Well, people may well be shocked at what they discover about their so called rulers..
          But that’s for another day, 🙂 in a deeper conversation.. 🙂
          Enjoy the SUN Dewin… we have… 🙂
          Take care my friend 🙏

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          • Whilst erosion of tried, tested, and failing systems continues unabated, progressive, global change, in its broadest sense – social, political, economic – cannot come quickly enough Sue. Mother Nature must look on in despair and weep at the reach of our evolution thus far. Little wonder she is venting her upset.

            ‘But we can be instruments within the orchestra of Change..’ What a wonderful phrase Sue, and so descriptive of the part each of us can play to encourage positive thought, positive ideas, and perspectives beyond the conventional to be aired, shared and heard. When we do wake and see beyond the veil, perhaps then we’ll understand, ‘all that glitters is not gold’.

            Thank you Sue, another brighter day here to be enjoyed. It’s almost as though Spring is nigh! 😀

            Have a wonderful week. Take care 🙏

            DN

            Liked by 1 person

            • Thank you Dewin, sometimes I look back at my words and ponder who is giving them me, 🤣😆 but I thank each thought 😄 with gratitude, that my grey matter is still Sharp 😏 Ish 🤔🙄 😄
              My morning has been very pleasant, and time for a littleore WP catching up I think.
              Enjoy your week also Dewin. 🙏

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            • Sharp as a new pin Sue and twice as shiny. 😀

              I guess the question of ‘who is giving’ words to you’ is actually irrelevant. That they are is good enough to accept and sate your curiosity!

              Thanks Sue, I’ll hope for a fruitful, rewarding week.

              Take care 🙏

              DN

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  8. yes its raining again today and another storm about to hit us but hey so long as we are safe and warm the summer will come, i can the fashion houses on saville row trembling sue, leader of fashion..

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  9. Oh, Sue, what a beautiful waistcoat and how beautiful it looks on you! My-o-my how did you do those ribs?!!!! …and how perfectly they continue from pocket to main part! Indeed I see sparks coming out from your needles ….sparks of creativity! xoxoxoxo

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  10. What a lovely waistcoat, Sue, and it looks very nice on you. We’ve had a lot of rain in our area and some surrounding areas have flooding. We’re on higher ground, which keeps us dry. Sending hugs and sunshine. 🌞

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    • Many thanks Eugenia. and for the compliments my friend.. Sorry to hear you too have had floods, and yes we are both blessed by living on higher ground… Thank you for your sunshine wishes.. Its actually not long since come out to shine after the rain has moved along with the wind… More heavy clouds on the horizon though with another storm to hit tomorrow.. So we are very thankful for our snug home…
      Many thanks Eugenia… Much love your way ❤

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  11. Beautiful waistcoat, Sue, with such intricate stitching. I love that you are doing this while your seedlings slumber. Yes, Mother Nature is calling for urgent attention. Great video of Gwili Steam Railway, especially the music. My Dad has made model steam engines since he was twelve and they are beautiful. We have all grown up with steam and been to many railways. My Mum has been to them all, with holidays planned around various tracks! A lovely post, thank you. Happy Knitting, my lovely. I am so with you on this. Hugs to you both. ❤ Xxxxx ❤

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    • Its keeping me focused for sure Jane.. and I am delighted to learn your Dad enjoyed model stream railways since a child.. And a big smile as to holidays around railway tracks.. I bet they also did the Settle Carlisle Railway, another enjoyable train journey… 🙂 Have you any projects on the go at the moment Jane?
      Take care over the weekend with more stormy weather…
      Much love your way Jane from us both.. ❤

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      • Hello my lovely, I have only just picked this up. It has certainly been blustery as anything hasn’t it? I worked this weekend as I was determined to add another module to my business. Creative project wise, I am having a great time in the evenings. I have knitted a cabled and Irish moss stitch ‘thank you’ jumper for a lovely friend who solved all the technical issues with my book launch. I am just finishing a long cardi with variegated wool and a scalloped top for a friend’s birthday. I have five pairs of Birthday socks on the go. 😉 I am also using up odd balls to craft a crocheted bedspread that looks like the sea. I have some wonderful rainbow yarn for a cardi for my little great niece’s birthday. I am trying (and currently succeeding) in not getting any more yarn for anything else, until I have caught up a bit. I just know you are chuckling…. 🙂 ❤ I hope you both had a good weekend? Hugest hugs and much love to you both, from mr, your loving friend by The Mersey, whose optimism exceeds available time!! ❤ ❤ xXXx ❤

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        • Wow Jane… You do sound busy and your knitting projects sound beautiful… Love the sound of the cabled and Irish moss stitch, It;s texture is distinctive and your crocheted bedspread that looks like the sea… I hope at some point you share your creative crafts…
          Big smiles and chuckles… Hubby dragged me away from the wool stall this morning, reminding me I had half a wardrobe yet to knit up lol… 🙂 chuckle….
          We had a restful weekend thank Jane… And Thank you so much for your hugs and friendship Jane… And mega hugs back from us both.. ❤

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          • You are lovely, Sue and I chuckled at hubbie gently reminding you about your yarn stash. ❤ As you gently remind me to share what I create. ❤ I noticed how much time you must have put in to getting your pockets stitch pattern to flow seamlessly with the main body pattern on your waistcoat. 'Needles clicking' in recognition of your skill. ❤ Huge hugs to you both. ❤ xXx ❤

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            • He’s often tugging my sleeve lol haha, thank you Jane and yes you must share your creations I would love to see them . Apologies for the late reply, my second blog often is a bit hit and miss at me seeing replies here. 🤗💚🙏
              Much love your way 💕

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      • I had a thought in the night, Sue, from my long knitting ‘essay like’ reply to you yesterday. I am truly content when knitting… huge hugs to you both. ❤ ❤

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        • Jane I too am very contented while the needles are clicking 🙂 the jumper I’m on now is striped, as I use up some ofy other colours and the sage left over from the waist coat.
          I’m using the basic shape pattern from my Aran sweater, but adding different stitches here and there …… It’s Different! That’s for sure lol, but I’m having fun. 😄😆💚
          Have a wonderful day. 💓

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          • I love your inventiveness, Sue. What was that old saying ‘Waste not, want not’….something like that. Stripes are fun, especially using things from our yarn stash. ❤ In our hearts we meet to knit and say 'Ohh' and 'Ahhh' at our shared creativity. ❤ ❤

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            • Thanks Jane… and thank you also for your patience too, seems like I am not getting alerted to some comments here on my Garden blog.. I have been slower on this knitting project.. making sure I have enough to match front and back.. and working out what more colours I have to use more of etc… But only one and a half more sleeves to knit … ❤ Hope you are well my friend.. Love and hugs your way.. ❤ …. ❤

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            • Take all the time you need, my love. Some projects do take more time don’t they? I am planning a crocheted basket for my sister in law, but I keep forgetting to choose the colours in daylight! I must write a post-it note… I have finished my ‘sea’ bedspread and am just tackling the turning of a heel on my first ever sock. Now that is taking time… I hope you are both well? Huge, soft hugs and much love to you both, always. ❤ xXx ❤

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            • Wow you’ve been busy Jane. Now I’ve knitted fingerless gloves and mittens with a thumb in before, but never socks, you will have to let me know how you got on. 😁
              Hubby says hi back, much love to you Jane and thank YOU. 💚🙏

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            • I will write about sock knitting, because it taught me something profound last night. Hugest hugs to you both and I know we will flow those in person one day. I just know it. ❤ xXx ❤ Xxx ❤

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            • Loved your blog post upon this subject, and you found me an excellent knitting guide to boot… lol…. which socks go into lol 🙂 haha..
              Happy knitting Jane…. I am finishing up here with perhaps a small little post that I will close comments on.. Which I hope is showing people we have a choice of emotions at this testing time.. ❤ Big hugs my friend ❤

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  12. Lovely knitting Sue, I have become somewhat an expert on the subject with many of Ana’s achievements, she recently completed a shawl, arm warmers and cap all with Remembrance Poppy flowers, she is donating it to our local RSL for a raffle. Would like to show you but don’t know how to add a picture. Best wishes to you both.

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