Churchmouse Yarns & Teas in Bainbridge Island

It's always nice to go home again and last month I was able to go back for a visit to my beautiful home state of Washington.  I went to celebrate my brother's 70th birthday.  It was so nice to see family and friends.

So, today I will share with you some photos of that visit.  As usual, the wonderful spring rain greeted me when I arrived in Seattle.  There were "sun breaks" so that I could see the Cascade mountains and also the Olympic mountains.  When the mountains appear, they are beautiful.  A friend of mine said they had never heard of "sun breaks" in the weather forecast until they moved to the Seattle area!

I arrived at the perfect time since trees were getting their new coat of lovely leaves and the flowering shrubs were in full bloom.

Monday was such a picture perfect day that my friends and I drove to Bainbridge Island.  Bainbridge Island is part of the peninsula and is a short ferry ride away from Seattle.  However, since we were in the south part of the Puget Sound, we drove across the Narrows Bridge and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way.

 Above is a photo of my beloved Narrows Bridge.  I used to live on the high bank directly to the right of the bridge.  That side of the bridge is Gig Harbor and the picture is taken from the Tacoma side.

Here's another picture of the sound taken from Tacoma and looking across to Gig Harbor.  In the background you can see the Olympic Mountains.

On the plane ride up to Seattle I sat next to a lady who was a knitter like me.  She was going to Bainbridge Island and I told her about a wonderful yarn shop there.  It's my all time favorite yarn shop.  I think I first found out about it from a magazine article that I googled.  I have gone there many  times over the years.  So, when it was such a beautiful day, I and my friends drove to Bainbrige to visit Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.

Isn't it a quaint looking shop?  And when you walk inside there's all kinds of yarn and pattern samples that you can chose from.  I love to go and see what I can make with the yarn and if you purchase the yarn, they give the pattern to you for free!  Here's the link to their website.

And, best of all, there is a wonderful display of fine teas and accoutrements in a part of the shop.  I bought this fancy tin of South African tea from Ireland (my cupboard is full of tea from my England trip!)  Just what I needed.....

 The shop is located on a cute little street called Madrone Lane.  Here's a photo for you:

We ended our visit with a delicious lunch at the corner Blackbird Bakery.  They have amazing homemade soups and bread.

I had such a great time.  To reconnect with my family and friends and also to visit my beautiful Washington state.  I love the weather down here in Southern California and I like the palm trees and red tile roofs but I will ways be a Washingtonian at heart!

I hope each of you are doing well.  I have been having so much fun making my stripey blanket.  Hopefully I will share the finished product with you soon.

Please drop by Handmade Monday and see what other crafts you can discover.

Until next time, 

Pat

Round Ripple Afghan

It's good to be home again.  I was away last weekend attending my brother's 70th birthday party.  It was a fun time to see family and friends.  But, it's always good to get home :)

I finished my round ripple afghan.  I had run out of yarn and the yarn finally arrived and I finished it in a couple of hours.  Here's a photo of my round ripple afghan:

It was a fun project and it was very fast to make.  I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn which I ordered from Herrschners.  This is the same company that my Grandma used to order yarn from way back in the early 1960's!  Your local craft store probably carries Red Heart but Herrschners has an amazing range of colors to choose from.

Here's the pattern link which I found online from a very talented fiber arts artist named Doris.  Her designs on truly amazing.  As you can see, I changed the schemetics of the colors.  I did two rows of each color, followed by three rows of each color, followed by four rows of each color and ending with three rows of dark green (the white was added as needed for highlight).

I

I made a rose motif for the center of the pattern.  It is a six petal rose motif. After making the motif, I started with row three of the pattern.  

I also made 12 smaller rose motifs (five petals) and attached them to the points as I was crocheting the last three rows.

The final design turned out fine but I wish my yarn colors were more subdued.  They look a little too bright (and old style).  I used the following Red Heart Super Saver skeins: 1 skein light raspberry, 1 skein baby pink, 1 skein light sage, 2 skeins dark sage, 2 skeins soft white.

As to to the "two" skeins of dark sage and soft white, I had to buy these extra skeins although I needed only a little bit of each of the second skein.

Anyway, I would love to hear your comments.  And, I would love to hear what you have been working on.  I will leave you with this picture of Lilly (who sends her love to each of you), sitting next to my stripey blanket I am currently working on.

 

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Happy crafting,

Pat

P.S.  If you have time, stop by Handmade Harbour where you will finds lots of lovely things!

Meet Peter and Pauline Bunny

It's been a fun week here at Lilly My Cat.  Peter and Pauline Bunny have come over to say "hello" since it's that time of year again when they make their annual appearance.

Peter is on the left with his sporty striped sweater.  Little Pauline is on the right decked out in a spring green dress with flowers.

Bunnies wouldn't be bunnies without their fluffy white tails:

Pauline's dress was so much fun to make.  I knitted her dress without a pattern, making up the shape as I went along.  I crocheted some tiny flowers for embellishment:

Here they are decked out in their finest Easter outfits in their respective Easter baskets:

I had such a fun time making these little knitted bunnies.  When I was in London last fall I picked up this book from Hatchards bookship in Piccadilly.  It's filled with these bunnies and wonderful Easter eggs you can knit.

I bought one skein of Dale of Norway yarn for Peter but I used some leftover DK weight yarn for Pauline and it worked great.  Their ears are lined with pink, fuzzy angora wool and their tales are white angora.  Who knows, maybe they will make another apperance next year dressed in a different outfit!

On another note, yesterday my mailman delivered my colorful yarn for the stripey blanket I am going to make.  

I received 17 100 gram skeins at less than $2.50 each.  And, the shipping from the UK to California was just over $6.00!  I can't believe the bargain I found.

For those of you in the UK, I wish you a Happy Mother's Day.  Please try to stop by Handmade Harbour

where you will find lots of creative ideas.

My best to each of you until next time,

Pat

Crochet Easter Basket

Hello.  I've been absent from this post for a couple of weeks and I have missed everyone.  I thought I would be able to share with you my new afghan I have been crocheting.  But, unfortunately, I ran out of yarn and had to buy more :(

So, instead, here's what I created this week out of leftover yarns.  It's an Easter basket.  I used worsted weight yarn and made up (most) of the pattern myself.  I used a plastic container I found in my kitchen as the basket liner.

 I started crocheting a pinwheel doily pattern for the bottom.  You can find the pattern here.
**Note** I crocheted a "two chain" space instead of "four chain" in pinwheel pattern.

I followed the doily pattern through round 7 and then did a row of single crochet all around.  I then began building the basket using double crochet stitches.

 

After doing a few rows around, I put in the plastic container to make sure it will fit snug.  I decreased a few stitches so that it would fit properly.  

I finished off the edge with a popcorn stitch which made as follows: 1) work 4 double crochets in same stitch. 2) drop current stitch from hook. 3) insert hook into 1st double crochet you made. 4) put dropped stitch back onto needle and pull through double crochet stitch you have on needle.  I did a single crochet between each popcorn stitch.

I've had so much fun knitting bunnies and eggs so this basket will be filled with lots of goodies.

As usual, I'm a little behind times but recently I discovered this wonderful pattern for a beautiful crocheted blanket.  It originally was a "crochet along" and I discovered the idea over at  Love, Lucie.

It was the brainchild of Hannah Davis over at Not Your Average Crochet.  Here's a photo of her blanket:

 

 

Doesn't it look like a fun project?  Every row is a different pattern.  Thank you Hannah for sharing this fun, exciting pattern.  

And for the yarn selection, the yarns are already pre-packaged  at Deramores.  The pattern calls for 11 skeins but you can use more depending upon the size you want.  This pre-pack at Deramores consists of 17 skeins of yarn and it's a great bargain.  (Search for coupon codes and it will discount your order so that it's an even better bargain!)

I can hardly wait until my yarn arrives from the UK!  Talking about yarn, the afghan I ran out of yarn on, is crocheted with Red Heart Super Saver Yarn.  This was the yarn that my Grandma always used and it's still a standard out there.  I haven't knitted or crocheted with this yarn for many, many years.  I know my local craft stores carry it but they don't have the full range of colors that are available.  When I ran out this week I went to my local craft store thinking I could easily pick up one skein and guess what?  None in that color was available!  So, I turned to my other favorite site, Amazon and found what I needed there.  I love Amazon.  They have great prices, too!

That's about all I have to share this week.  I'm excited to hear what each of you have been up to.  Please feel free to say "hello".  I love hearing from you guys!

take care,

Pat

 P.S.  Lilly sends her greetings! And, says" don't forget to stop by Handmade Monday to see some great craft ideas"!

A Visit to Coughton Court, a National Trust Property

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything, so today I will share with you my visit to Coughton Court in Alcester, Warwickshire, England.  I visited this lovely National Trust property last fall. 

This historic property has been home to the Throckmorton family for over 600 years.  The entry to the grounds is through the original stables area which now is a bookshop and gift shop.

The Throckmorton family faced persection for their Catholic faith.  This occurred following King Henry VIII's reformation.  They were branded as traitors in their own country because of their Catholic faith.

Above is a wing of the estate where the current Throckmorton family lives.  I thought it was fascinating that the family still occupies this property after these hundreds of years.

This is the main entry to the home.  It was so much fun to tour the home on a self-guided tour with docents in every room to answer any questions you may have.  The furnishings are all original.  My favorite display was a cape embroidered by Queen Catherine of Aragon (Henry VIII's first wife).

Coughton Court was the setting for the Gunpowder Plot which took place in 1604.  The main players in the plot rejected the Church of England and were kinsmen of the Throckmortons of Coughton Court and other old Catholic families.  They had to practice their Catholic faith in secret.   Guy Fawkes was one of these people who took part in this plot.  The picture above is taken from the turret on the roof of the building.

Here you can see the lovely English countryside from the roof of the building. Isn't that green landscape beautiful?  (Maybe because they are blessed with all that rain!)

The grounds of Coughton Court have lovely gardens that you can stroll through.  In the background of this picture you can see the spire of one of two churches that are on the estate.

The Throckmorton family have restored the gardens and here is a lovely tree lined walkway.

It was a lovely way to spent an afternoon.  I have visited many old homes but this home in unique in that it not only has beautiful old furnishings but also holds a place in the history of England.  I forgot to mention that there is a wonderful little cafe on the grounds where you can enjoy a lovely lunch and tea. 

Too bad I don't live in England because if I did, I think I would spend all my time visiting National Trust properties.  I hope you have enjoyed this little slice of history.  Please remember to stop by Handmade Harbour where you will meet some wonderful craft people and get lots of great ideas!

Until next time, blessings,

Pat

P.S.  I want to add a little tidbit in regard to the name of Throckmorton.  I visited Ft. Worth, Texas numerous times these past couple of years and Throckmorton is a prominent name in that city.  From what I read, it seems that the Texas Throckmortons descended from these Coughton Court Throckmortons!

S. S. Stavangerfjord ".....a little bit of Scandinavian history...."

Hello everyone.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  It's been a busy weekend around here.  Yesterday, I attended my monthly meeting of the Daughters of Norway.  Our lodge meets once a month and since I'm the secretary, I attend each meeting.  It's a lovely group of ladies that enjoy hearing about our Scandinavian culture besides eating and drinking coffee!  On a more serious note, we do raise funds for numerous scholarships and give back to the community where it is needed most.

Our guest speaker yesterday was our longtime member Astrid.  She shared with us her family's journey from Norway to America.  It was so interesting and when she said that her family had sailed across the Atlantic on the Norwegian American Line ship the  S. S. Stavangerfjord I jumped in my seat.  My family too had sailed on the Stavangerfjord back in 1955.  Although I was under two years old and can't remember anything, my family has always told me the stories associated with this voyage.

Astrid told us a story of celebrating her birthday on the ship and having a ribbon on her hat that read: S.S. Stavangerfjord.  Well, here's a photo of those same ribbons from the voyage my family took:

 Above is an old postcard photo of the Stavangerfjord.  We boarded this ship in New York City.  Back then they still had different classes of passage; first, cabin and tourist.   Below is some technical information about this grand old ship.

And, here's the front page of the Passenger list from the sailing that my family took:

I can't forget about the great food the Scandinavians enjoy, so here is a copy of one of the dinner menus on the sailing:

 

Above is a photo of the egg cups from the Norwegian America Line ships.  They were made in Norway by Porsgrund, a Norwegian porcelain company.

My beloved Danish grandparents immigrated to Washington state from Denmark in the 1900's.  Here's a photo of them taken around the same time as this trip:

When I decided to write this post I knew I had all the keepsakes put away some where.  I looked high and low for these items and finally found them tucked away with my cookbooks.  While looking for them, I came across this knife of my father's:

 

If you look real close, you will see the words Stavangerfjord on the bow of the ship.  During these past few years, I have met two people who have sailed on the Stavangerfjord; Astrid and another Norwegian lady who was a musician on the ship back in the 1950's. 

This ship and many like her sailed many miles across the sea, carrying its passengers back to the homeland or to their new home.  From what I have read, the S. S. Stavangerfjord was retired in 1963 and I believe sold for scrap metal.  I'm sure there are many many passengers who have fond memories of sailing on this grand old ship. 

If you are of Scandinavian descent, please click on the link above for Daughters of Norway and see if there's a lodge near you.  It's a wonderful way to meet new friends and learn about your Scandinavian heritage.

I wish each of you a wonderful fun filled week.

Pat

Lilly reminded me (between her cap naps) that you should pop over to Handmade Monday to see some great ideas!

VALENTINE CROCHET HEART BUNTING with PATTERN

Hello.  I missed posting last week since I had out of town guests.  They were here for Super Bowl and it was great to see the Seahawks win.  I'm not a big football fan (I really don't understand the game) but since I'm from Washington, I had to cheer on the Seahawks.  Last time they went to the Super Bowl, I was living in Gig Harbor right next to the Narrows Bridge.  They hung blue and green lights on the bridge span and it was so fun.

I have been busy with lots of projects but I will share with you what I have finished.  Last year I bought some lovely cotton yarn from Planet Penny.  I crocheted a few items and finished them.  But, then I came up with a pattern of hexagon granny squares; you put them together to make a bag.  Well, after numerous times of trying of put them together, I gave up.  Last week I came up with a new idea of using spray starch to block the finished item.  It worked!!  But, as you can see, I didn't make a bag but a large doily/runner for my table.

I felt so good getting this project finished.  I think I have two unfinished projects now to work on......

Here's another item that I made this past month:

 

As you can see, it's a Valentine heart bunting.  I found the crocheted heart pattern here.  I added one extra row around each heart by starting with a single crochet and doing a half double crochet on either side of the top of the heart.  I then crocheted a cord, adding the hearts as I went along.  I threaded red ribbon through the cord.

As for blocking, I used my spray starch.  I placed a towel on my ironing board, put the hearts on the towel and sprayed each one. Use plenty of spray and use your hands to smooth out the heart.  There's no need to pin it since it will keep its shape.  I let one side almost try and then turned the hearts over and sprayed the other side.  I love using spray starch for blocking!!

That's about all I have to share with you this week.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and keep warm if you are in wintry weather!

blessings,

Pat

Lilly just reminded me that you should check out Handmade Monday to see some wonderful craft ideas!!