Trellis Lace Scarf and Downton Abbey

I can't believe we are almost half way through January - time goes by so so fast.  It seems the last few posts I have written have been about recipes so today I'm going to share with you two (three actually) of my favorite things; knitting, Downton Abbey and Lilly my cat!

First off is my precious little cat, Lilly.  My son captured this picture of Lilly.  I think her expression is so sweet. 

So, are you hooked on watching Downton Abbey?  I find that show fascinating and I'm a faithful viewer every Sunday night to see what is going to happen next with the Grantham family. As you probably know, Downton Abbey is filmed at Highclere Castle.  This is the home of the Carnovan family.  Lord Carnovan (5th) was the chief financial backer of Howard Carter who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen in Egypt in 1922.

 I love this book on Lady Almina of Downton Abbey.  She was the wife of Lord Carnovan the 5th and the daughter of a Rothschild.  She's the one who brought the money back into the family.  Almost like Lady Cora bringing her American wealth to the Grantham family.  This book is filled with pictures and historial facts about the real to life family who lives at Highclere Castle, the place where Downton Abbey is filmed.
 

As to my current knitting project, you can see that I have started knitting this trellis lace scarf.  Last spring I wrote about my visit to Churchmouse Yarns and Tea in Bainbridge Island, WA in this post.  Although I can't visit this store often, I am on their mailing list.  They had this pattern for the Trellis Lace Scarf in their Spring 2014 newsletter. I am using Rowan Fine Art fingering weight yarn.

I always try and add a link to the patterns I am making.  I'm not fond of paying for patterns; not because I don't want to support a fellow crafter, but because I'm always hesitant as to whether I can master the pattern without it getting me flustered....Anyway, here is the pattern for the above scarf.  So far, it has been a fun and easy project to work on.

Can you believe that Downton Abbey is into season 5?  I think I have watched it from episode 2 of season 1.  The Victorian era and Edwardian era are my favorite.  I enjoy reading historial novels set in this time period so when Downton Abbey appeared, it was immediately my favorite show.  Have you seen some of the "behind the scenes" specials they have aired?  Food and drink is such a big part of their lifestyle.

My dear daughter bought me this cookbook awhile back.  It's so much fun to "read" and cook from as the recipes are attached to Mrs. Patmore, Lady Grantham, etc.

And, you can't have food without drink......

Again, my daughter, Heidi, bought me this special Bordeaux from France.  It's a lovely wine.

Did you notice the unique knitting needles in the picture above.  They were a Christmas gift from my daughter.  They are made so well and a joy to knit with..... 

 I believe she purchased them on Etsy from this seller.  The size I'm using is size 9 and they are just the right weight - not too heavy and not too light and the points work well for fine yarn.

That's about all the news I have for now.  We have our sunshine back and the hills are a beautiful green color after the bit of rain we received.  I hope wherever you are that you are safe and warm this winter season.  Until next time...

my best to everyone,

Pat

P.S.  I'm linking up today at Planet Penny's Happy Friday
Please stop by and say "hello" to some wonderful, talented crafters!

Undulating Waves Scarf, Vintage Doily and Knitted Pashmina WIP's

Hello everybody.  I'm Lilly (the namesake of this blog) and I'm writing to you today since my Mom has come down with a bad case of WIP's.  Yes, that's correct - she has discovered that she has a few "works in progress" that she has ignored and hidden away in the craft closet.

(Here's a picture of me, in case you forgot how I looked!)

So the first project my Mom pulled out was vintage doily pattern that she wrote about  here.

As you see, it's still not completed.  But look closely at the needlepoint bag with a cat...

The second project, was this undulating waves scarf.  My Mom tells me that this knitting pattern makes her go buggy. She does not enjoy working on this project and maybe that's why it's sitting tucked away in the corner of the closet. (The original link to this pattern no longer works but the pattern can be found  here on Ravelry....sorry for the inconvenience)

I like the pattern with the beads....please take a close look at the bag....

Finally, she has one more WIP.  She bought this yarn in San Francisco's Chinatown.  She knows it has wool but since she can't read Chinese, she doesn't know what other fibers.  She was starting to make a pashmina but alas it's been relegated to the closet...

She has like 10 skeins of this yarn!  I don't know what she will do with all that yarn.

I will leave you with a story of the needlepoint bags pictured above.  My Mom saw the first bag on etsy and fell in love with it since it has a beautiful (like me) cat on it.  She purchased it from the etsy artist who lived in France and made lovely bags out of old needlepoint canvases.  My Mom had bought a piece of needlepoint years and years ago for $1.00.  This needlepoint had been sitting around in the drawer for years.  She sent this needlepoint to this fabric artist in France who then designed the bag shown in the scarf picture.  She loves using these bags; especially since both have a history attached to them.  

Hopefully you have enjoyed hearing from me.  I"m afraid I need to sign off because I either need to take a nap or wait for my next feeding!

Have a wonderful day.
 

Meows from,

Lilly