Camping Van life

It's been a while since I last went out away in my van.

So when my Son invited me on a trip to Cornwall, even though it was the worst reported traffic on the M5 (which I can vouch for), it took me 5.5 hrs to do 186 miles instead of 2.5 hrs. It was so worth it!

We stayed at. by far the best campsite I have stayed at. It is so quiet, well layed out, clean and adult only.

My Son didn't arrive till 9pm so set up was in the dark, but he's used to it having been away many times.

It rained during the night so I thought let's see what nice pictures I can get. They came out so well.

Bank Holiday adventures

First stop https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/killerton

Stunning gardens

The grounds are huge and if I get the chance will definitely be back to explore more.

But the small are I did walk was so peaceful and beautiful.

There were loads of trees of so many varieties, this one was huge.

57th year on the planet

So today is the mark of me being 57.

Some people stress about getting older. I’m just happy be here sharing life with those dear to me, enjoying adventures and planning many more.

In years gone by I’ve often been away on my birthday, but today I was home, relaxing in the morning and then took my precious girl out to a beautiful local village twenty minutes from me and meet a dear friend and had a walk around the village and along the canal.

It was a picture perfect day on the canal.

A great signpost.

The perfect planter for a canal boat!

My precious cargo enjoying her walk.

The village has a mix of lovely houses.

The entrance to the church is so lovely, the whole village reminds me so much of Midsomer Murders.

The knitted carrot in the window finished off the trip perfectly.

Cancer and the future

This picture just looks like a tin with a tablet.

However it is so much more.

This is my last tablet for Cancer treatment that I started five years ago.

I was truly blessed to have the surgeon Asmaa Al-Allak to perform the surgery. So I have been sewn up by the 2023 winner of The Great British Sewing Bee!

Asmma was an amazing lady in so many ways and I’m very blessed to have met her.

Life events over the last five years have meant I’ve never really acknowledged I even had Cancer! For many people it is a life changing experience, for me it was a blur. 

However this last tablet is a symbol to me of what happened, but more importantly what I have to look forward to.

Life has given me an incredible opportunity to meet new friends, explore life in my brilliant camper, spend precious time with my incredible Son and his equally brilliant Girlfriend.

But most importantly the chance to finally focus on my passion for designing knitwear.

Helta Skelta Cowl Part One

For me part of the joy of knitting and designing is being able to take my projects with me, so the item then has memories associated with it to include where I have knitted it.

So here are so of the main places I knitted my latest design the Helta Skelta Cowl.

The pattern will be coming out later this year.  It uses up lots of mini skeins so a great stash buster.

Saltburn by the Sea

Hardwick Hall National Trust, Nottingham

Snowshill Manor National Trust, Broadway

Hay on Wye book festival with Hamza Yassin!

The Weir National Trust, Hereford

RSPB Bowling Green Marsh, Topsham

Clevedon

Local Gardening Club

Cleeve Hill, Cheltenham 

Pershore riverbank

Stratford Park, Stroud

The Wilson Cafe, Cheltenham 

The cowl can be worn in a variety of ways and I am excited to share the design soon.

Rhosilli and Burry Port

One of the many reasons I love The Gower is the large expanses of beaches, which unlike Devon and Cornwall are so much quieter and just huge.  Also the walks along the Coastal path is quite frankly just sheer bliss to me.

This is Rhosilli beach. The little white house you can rent I would imagine an amazing place to stay. 

The land at the end is oddly named Worms Head and is owned by the National Trust. 

So many pretty flowers. 

I sat here for an hour just watching the sea. 

I was lucky enough to stay in a lovely Airbnb in Burry Port where each day I walked to the coast to see if the tide was in or out. 

One of the many pleasures and fascinations I have is Geology and seeing the different rocks of which there were such variety here. 

This huge huge expanse of sky and clouds and beach is just my happy place. 

This is Burry Port with a busy harbour of boats coming and going with the tide.