Spring sunshine and new neighbours °l°(,,,,);

As the mist lifted early this afternoon mid-Wales was bathed in soft spring sunshine, which seemed to please the new neighbours...

Macro Monday

Renovating in February

Renovation of the Breton cottage continues! The plan for this trip was for E to finish lime rendering the kitchen and the gable end wall/chimney breast in the bedroom. My plans were slightly more flexible as I needed to fit in a few social visits, some canal/woodland walks, firewood gathering, knitting and reading ;-)

Back of cottage and barn (on right)

Front and barn on left

View of woodland 

Lime rendering in process..

E managed to finish off most of the rendering before the bale of hemp; needed to mix with the lime, ran out. Advances in LED mean that we were able to source low voltage bulbs with a soft but bright light (as opposed to the usual harsh white) for the kitchen; being off-grid for electric means that minimising usage is a priority.

We had a meeting with the heating engineer who installed the log-burner and hot-water tank/radiators (gravity fed from a back boiler) so he'll be testing and installing a small wood-burning Rayburn (rescued from a friends garage) in the kitchen and a solar water panel low on the wall outside with a small photovoltaic panel to pump.

The living room's starting to look quite cosy..

Although we're still camping out by the fire :)

Main structural work on the barn has been done; roofing, walls, floor, mezzanine..

So we'll leave it now until the house is finished and then introduce a more contemporary feel with a modern log burner etc to contrast with the traditional cottage.

The weather was beautifully warm and sunny for February so walking a kilometre along the canal to the village centre was a daily pleasure..

Where the Nantes-Brest canal joins the River Blavet 

Part of the Napoleonic centre of the village

I like the sliver of moon and the bird silhouettes in this photo of the village church spire 

Hey Ewe!

Fairly recently, as I was whiling away my time on Twitter, I stumbled upon a worthy cause; Saving Rare Breeds struck a chord with me as my brother was passionate about organic farming and rare breed livestock. Coupled with this is the obvious fact that I own a yarn shop which lends a certain affinity, and no uncertain obligation, towards our fleecy friends! °l°(,,,,); °l°(,,,,); °l°(,,,,);

As I currently live in a cottage with a small garden (albeit surrounded by fields of Welsh sheep!) it's unlikely that I'll be rescuing any rare breeds personally any time soon. However, with the help of @sheepsaving I am now the proud sponsor of a North Ronaldsay ewe called Izzy. Okay, I know this is hardly a flock but it is a start and she is extremely cute!

Izzy

I'm on the lookout for sock weight yarn from native rare breeds; I currently stock Opal's Schafpate2 which is from a German rare breed but haven't come across any wholesale equivalent in the UK...

Giveaway Winner :)

Zauberball Tropical Fish

Thank you to everybody who entered the Giveaway.. I always enjoy reading your comments and chatting on Facebook and Twitter!

Congratulations to Floortje who chose Zauberball in Tropical Fish  :-)  ><> ><> ><>

                                                                                                       ><> ><> ><>

                                                                                                     ><> ><> ><>

Yarn Giveaway :)

To celebrate the completion of my Tax Return I'm hosting a Giveaway :-) The winner will receive their choice of 100g of yarn from The Sock Yarn Shop.

To enter please leave a comment stating your preferred yarn and shade along with a way for me to contact you.

To receive extra entries:

Follow and RT @SockYarnShop Giveaway on Twitter

Like The Sock Yarn Shop on Facebook and Share the Giveaway post 

One extra entry will be given for each.

International participants welcome :)

The winner will be randomly chosen on Saturday 29th January 2012 at 12 noon... Good Luck!

Simple Cable Hair Tube Pattern

This is good as a close-fitting cowl to pull up over your nose in cold and windy weather or as a hair tube if, like me, you have longish hair and like to pull it back while keeping your head warm.

I used:
100g of Manos Silk Blend in Pisces
4.5mm 40cm circular needle
cable needle
stitch marker

Cast on 110 sts. and mark start with stitch-marker

Row 1: *P4 K6  *repeat to end
Row 2: *P4 C6B *repeat to end
Rows 3, 4, 5 and 6: Repeat Row 1

Repeat pattern 11 times then on the 12th repeat cast off after Row 3.

Note:

C6B - Slip 3 sts onto a cable needle and hold behind work. Knit 3 sts from main needle, then 3 sts off the cable needle.

Giveaway Winner!

Fyberspates Scrumptious 4 ply

Thank you to everybody who entered the Giveaway.. I have really enjoyed reading all your comments and connecting on Facebook and Twitter!

Congratulations to Yvonne Philippa who chose a skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious 4 ply in Teal :-)

Wishing you all a very happy 2012!

Pip x