Three Walks from Buttermere Day Two: Crummock Water and the Rannerdale Valley. . .

As nice and convenient as the hostels are in the U.K., let's face it - no one ever gets a good night's sleep.  On the second day,  the hard walkers were planning to go up Pillar but the distance, height and pace they were planning to do was a bit beyond my capabilities that Saturday morning.  So I took the map and decided to plan my own easier walk around Crummock Water, taking the time to enjoy the scenery, snap photos and even sneak in a little knitting.

The first stop was to spend a little time drinking in the  morning reflections on Buttermere.  The water was so, so still.

Then I reluctantly turned away and headed for Crummock Water which is not that far.  Here is the bottom tip of it.  There is a nice path that leads around the entire lake.

And then I saw what at first looked like an island but on closer inspection, was attached to the mainland.

It was the perfect spot to stop for a break and some knitting.  I just hung out there for half an hour enjoying the quiet, the water and the surrounding mountains.

Then I continued on.  This is the head of Crummock Water looking back.

And here's the view on the other side.

I then headed for the Rannerdale Valley path.  This is a designated area of Outstanding Beauty and if I'd been a few weeks earlier, there would have been no mistaking why.

Bluebells!

A bit past their prime, but the mountain slopes and valley are full of them.

Can you imagine how gorgeous this would look at the beginning of May?

The valley itself is a lovely walk.  I took the lower path through most of it.

Looking back at Crummock Water.

And once I'd climbed over the hill to my right, I was again looking down at Crummock.

With several stops, my entire walk took about five hours, allowing me lots of time to go into Buttermere, have a latte and a fish and chips lunch and enjoy the rest of the afternoon knitting while waiting for the hardcore walkers to come back.  It was lovely just having a day to myself amidst all this beauty and it completely refreshed me, allowing me to tackle the hard walk the next day.  This is what is so great about the Lake District; there are any number of walks for all levels of fitness and each offers its own rewards.  I definitely want to return to this valley when the bluebells are at their best.

But there was still one more surprise for the day.  The Liverpud and I headed down to the lake after dinner to catch the sunset.  And to have a good look at Fleetwith Pike (the one in the center) which we were tackling the next day. Not a bad view is it?  And we didn't have to climb anything to get it.

I just love all these colours together. Stunning.

Three Walks from Buttermere Day One: To Haystacks and Back. . .

It's taken me at least a day and a half to recover from a fabulous weekend of walking in the Lake District.  Our rambling group booked most of the beds at the YHA hostel in Buttermere (which I'd recommend - can't get a better location). This was our first view of Buttermere as we came up the road.

We arrived around noon on the Friday and did about a four hour circular walk to Haystacks and back.  The walk skirts around the lake which is lovely from all views.  Our route took us along a path on the right hand side, through the woods.

We then made our way towards Scarth Gap.  I was astonished to see a field of bluebells on the hill's open edge. They were past their prime, but still lovely.

Heading up Scarth Gap.

And looking backwards near the top.

Haystacks is a group of craggy hills full of interesting rock formations and tiny tarns. The view of the surrounding mountains is just superb and the paths are good. It really is a must-do walk if you are in the area.

It was Alfred Wainwright's favourite place and his ashes were scattered near Innominate Tarn, shown below.

The descent on the other side was a little tricky and steep, but fortunately it was nice and dry. You just have to pay attention to the loose scree.

This is part-way down looking back at Buttermere with Crummock Water in the background (more on that tomorrow).

And after a hot shower and dinner, we all had a drink in one of the pubs in the village which is conveniently just a short walk down the hill from the hostel. The Herdies are very much at home here and roam the streets quite nonchalantly. I think they by-passed this pub because they'd feel like a sheep out of pasture.

There's also a tiny church which is well worth a look. There's a memorial window to Wainwright, "who loved this valley", and you can see Haystacks from it, which is a nice touch.

It was a great start to the Bank Holiday weekend.

Spinning: The First Draft. . .

To be honest, drop spindling is proving to be a lot harder than I thought. I think it's one of those skills that some people immediately get the knack of, and others struggle.  I'm definitely in the latter camp, but then I remember when I first learned to crochet and how awkward it was to learn to hold the hook correctly.  Now I don't give it another thought. So there is hope.

I keep practicing but am still getting a much thicker yarn than I'd ideally like.  It is slowly, slowly getting thinner, but I'm still having problems with tension, too much or too little twist in the yarn and my fibre joins aren't always very smooth.  But I'm determined to crack this skill, because I love the idea of being able to take fibre and mix it with other colours to create a unique yarn to knit with.

I recently managed to spin a thick and thin ball of Jacob fibre.   I've probably gone from super bulky with my first attempts, to chunky.  A DK or 4ply is what I'm aiming for.  I'm trying not to think about the woman I met at the Wharfe Wool Fair who was spinning laceweight after only two months.

I then spun a similar weight of some of my yellow dyed Shetland mixed with some other grey Shetland fibre I bought at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

Then I plied the two together  (oh, dear, this doesn't look pretty at all).

And got roughly a ball weighing just over 100g.

I was then at least able to knit up a square of about 8.5 inches with a 7.5mm needle.  I thought it might make a useful trivet. I do like how it looks in stockinette but I probably used too small a needle; it was hard on my hands pulling that wool through, especially the thicker bits. 

So I then ripped it out and made a big granny square.  I like the look in crochet - it's thick and substantial and feels lovely to walk on. A number of these would make a lovely rug. 

Over on Erica Eckles' blog, is a wonderful post about all the essentials you need for quilting and among other ideas, she had me thinking about using wool roving as quilt batting.  So if this spinning thing doesn't work out, I at least know what to do with my extra fleece. At the next wool show I attend, I'll be on the lookout for a hand carder, I think.  And a lot more advice from experienced spinners.

Until then, I'm still spinning a little each day.  Trying some Zwartbles fleece now; I love its deep, dark brown shades, and any small bits of colour I add to it really pop against it.

Sew Relaxing. . .

With the Great British Sewing Bee back on the telly,  I've been motivated to get out my fabric stash and do some hand sewing.  A few years ago, I bought two charm packs of Liberty fabrics.  The deep floral prints are reminding me of all the colours in my back yard at the moment.

I'm just sewing up simple nine block squares, using some Moda solid colours in the middle of each.  I like the pop of colour and it makes a very traditional patchwork look a little more modern.  I don't have enough for a full quilt, so it will become a large, comfy cushion cover. 

I'm a very casual quilter.  My seams aren't always going to meet at the corners. I don't always press the seams open before sewing edges.  My quilting isn't terribly even.

But it doesn't matter because I find the whole process enormously relaxing and fulfilling.  I started quilting this at the end of last week, now I just need to find some backing material, a long zipper and a large cushion insert.

When it's finished, it will be really nice to have a little bit of the garden inside as well. 

Some Knitting Going On. . .

It's been quite warm in Liverpool over the last two weeks and for once I've not really felt like knitting. But there are a few projects in the works.

One of the ones I'm most excited about is a simple short-sleeved top that I've cast on with my Countess Ablaze yarn.  The colours are knitting up wonderfully and it just screams summer to me.  I only have the one skein, so I wanted a top-down pattern.  The top bit will be in these bright colours and possible the short sleeves if I have enough yarn. Then I'll find some neutrals in my stash for the body.  I'm heavily modifying the Timeless Henley pattern by Joji Locatelli and am not sure yet if it will work, but I love the look so far. It's quite an interesting construction too.

I've halted progress on my Kerchief by Kiernan Foley, knit with my Daughter of a Shepherd hebridean wool, some Shetland from Blacker Yarns and some Howgill Tweed from Laura's Looms. I'm not that fond of the spiky lace points of the original pattern and want to find a more gentle edging.  I think this will be a lovely shawlette for the autumn months but it seems too heavy and dark to be working on in spring.

I do need to get this baby cardigan finished though; my colleague is on maternity leave very soon.  I've forgotten how fiddly these small garments are, but I just have to seam the sleeves, knit the neckline and add the buttons, so hopefully it will be finished in time.

I have finished my Sea Wall socks and I love this pattern although it is time-consuming.  They fit quite well and now it's time to see how they fare with walking and wearing.  This was knit as part of  the Joeli Creates No Nylon Socks KAL and I used Elen sock yarn, 100% BFL from Triskelion Yarns. Socks do seem the perfect project to work on during the warmer weather, so I imagine I'll be casting on another pair soon.  Next time I want to try toe-up socks. 

And I managed to finish another square in my British Breeds swatch blanket.  This is knit out of Wensleydale DK from Blacker Yarns and I used a simple textured trinity stitch to try and catch the lustre.

I love how lacy it looks from the reverse side.

This needs a strong blocking and then I'll give it the wear test, wash it again and make notes on its properties.  That will be eight blanket squares done - I'm hoping for twelve by the end of the year to turn into a nice warm blanket.

It feels pretty good to have some smaller projects on the go. I do a few rows here and there each day but really all I want is to go out and enjoy the sunshine.

Flower Power. . .

The weekend was very productive, all about getting lots of mundane tasks done around the house. But there was also time to really embrace spring and enjoy all its colourful vibrancy.

As a reward for a morning of housework, the Liverpud and I went for a walk Saturday afternoon to our favourite park, Calderstones.  We had some lemon sorbet from the ice cream parlour and then went to the Japanese Gardens.  I have wandered through it many times, but never at this time of year and I was pleasantly shocked to see how gloriously red and pink it was.

Just stunning!

My own modest little container garden is also blooming.  I love the delicate shades of deep raspberry and peach on these beautiful flowers.  This was the first weekend we really spent sitting out on the patio and enjoying our garden.  

Sunday we were off to the garden center to add to our little family of flowers, and it was really hard to choose from among so many gorgeous blooms.  I absolutely fell in love with these deep purple - almost black -  petunias in the top photo of this collage.  I bought three small pots with blooms still to come.  Can't wait to see them in all their gothic glory soon.

And I purchased a pot of intense blue grasses, just because I love the texture.  My green grasses survived the winter and so they needed a friend.   I now want yarn in both of these colours.

It's such a technicolour time of the year. How can your spirits not be raised by all the loveliness?