Lovely Stuff

The little ones are back at school, and I've been having a look through the pictures from our two weeks off.  Oh my goodness, I've enjoyed this holiday though ~ having little C home off school with us, my sister coming to visit and a little jaunt down to South Wales...you can safely say we packed that fortnight full to the brim of Lovely Stuff.

We set off south to Wales last Wednesday to go and see the other half's part of the family for a few days.  Wales brought gusty winds and dark squally skies along with the odd bit of torrential rain, thunder and lightening (oh - and hail stones like golf balls).  Look at that storm, ploughing across the sky behind the BBC buildings down Cardiff Bay!!!

But we also had some gorgeous sunny blue moments too, in fact it was warm enough to trot off to the Gower and install ourselves on a beach for a few hours!! Oh the joy of some unexpected Beach Time!!!!!!!!!!

This delicious place is Langland Bay, just beyond the Mumbles.  It's a pretty little crescent moon of a beach backed by a line of beach huts.  There's a couple of places to get a nice cuppa and a bite to eat and it's a cosy suntrap  where you could happily doze for a while if it took your fancy.  


I really do like South Wales.  I love the vibrancy of Cardiff, and the fact that it's so close to the water.  There are those lovely old arcades to wander down, full of splendidly unique little shops and the Bay area for a nice place to wander, dine and catch a concert.
Just a few miles down the M4 and you're headed towards some of the most beautiful scenery and beaches you could ever hope to cast your eyes upon.  Inland, you have the sweeping hills and dramatic peaks of the Brecon Beacons, it really is a great place and I'm very fond of it.

When I was in Cardiff, I happened to pop into John Lewis for a special little purchase.  As you know, I'm currently making a crocheted bag from Nicki Trench's book.  That book is crammed to bursting with really lovely patterns and a while ago I decided I'd like to have a go at this, my sofa needed a round stripy cushion, and the more I thought about it the more necessary it became:

Being a person who has NEVER been able to finish one project before embarking on another, I got myself the goodies...

...deliciously bright, zingy rainbow shades from the Amy Butler Organic DK range.
I've never used this wool before, but the colours really sang at me from the shelves.  They're eye poppingly, gloriously, happy colours.  I played about with a few colour ways for a while before deciding that really, it had to flow like a rainbow.  It was the only colour way that made me deliriously excited when I looked at it.

It's a very pleasureable thing to make rainbow rings...

...round and round I go...very therapeutic, dreamy even.  I lost myself in those happy colours, they literally do drench the soul with lovely feelings.  The wool is pretty nice to work with too, it does split occasionally but I can overlook that very small detail because it feels nice and looks amazing :D


I don't think it's going to take me that long to finish, it's a quick and easy sort of pattern and crochets up in no time.  


I'll be back soon to show you the finished article, then it's back to my bag...or my shawl...or my granny stripe blanket...!!!


Have a lovely week,
Julia xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx