Monthly catch up - February 2026

Well,  February got off to a great start.

This is only my second time attending a great knit and natter held near Bristol.

The people I met were all so friendly and welcoming, and it was lovely to meet up with my dear friend Sophie. 

The owners of Birdstreet Yarn Jon and Clare, not only produce incredible dyed yarns, but are both such genuine, kind people. 

 

As you can see the event was well attended, with every seat taken.  As part of the afternoon Jon carried out a really fun quiz which was not only really fun, but a great way for people to then interact with others on there table. 

 

At each of these events Birdstreet yarns bring along their beautiful yarns for avid knitters to purchase.

 

I like so many seasoned knitters, obviously I didn't "need" more yarn, but these colours together are just perfect.

I love the names given too, the one on the right being "Dietrich" and the left "Maple Drive".

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, will know that I am also a fan of Women's Rugby.  Having now been coming along to the game since November 2024 when I first watched Gloucester Hartpury.

It was a great win and had put them top of the The PWR league after round 9.

Well weekend two, as most weekends in my world was another busy one.  Once again Gloucester won their game in round 10 and I shall be heading to watch them play their next game for round 11.

On Saturday I took a trip down to see my Mum and then on to Clevedon for a short walk over Poet's Hill and down to the marina.

It has been a very grey wet for weeks, which many people find soul distroying.  I however try very hard to get out in most weathers and it was no exception even though you could see the cloud rapidly blowing rain up the channel. 

 

 

I love black and white images and it works so well showing the lines of the mudflats and the clouds.

Another joy of the weather was that many people stayed away and I don't think I can remember a time when my walk has been so blissfully quiet.  

I have also never been around the marine lake and spotted the signs along the wall before, or got so close to the water's edge.

After Clevedon I then drove down to Yeovil for a couple of blissful nights stay in a lovely Airbnb, as the Sunday myself and my two good friends were seeing Hamza Yassin tour which had been booked months in advance.

It did not disappoint, learning many fascinating facts about Hamza's work.

I had made another unique gift for Hamza, which sadly I never got to give in person as I had to give them in to the reception of the venue, of some very warm fingerless mitts.

I do hope they found there way to him.  I spotted the following weekend on Countryfile, he had worn the cowl again.

Then I had the absolute pleasure to have the day off work on Monday, so on the drive home stopped off at Slimbridge for some more research pictures for my course and to just take in the sheer beauty of the place and listen to all the birds. 

 

Seeing so many birds in flight is a magical experience that I will never grow bored of.

It was also so lovely to see the blossom on the trees.

I like to try and take time to stop and notice the small details too, like these fungi growing up the tree.

Catkins are such a delicate sign of spring.

I also caught a brief glimpse of the Black Swan.

The Flamingo's are currently all under cover.  I am unsure how many are in the enclosure, but it is fun to watch them.

I did of course also make sure I took my knitting to sit and work on that too.

The third weekend was a very much looked forward to Rugby game, and considering it had been raining for days on end, was so lucky that the match took place in actual sunshine!

 

 As part of the day Kingsholm had the world cup on display, it was stunning!

Also got to see the PWR cup which Gloucester Hartbury have won three times in a row!

For anyone who watches women's Rugby will recognise the stunning Ellie Kildunne, she plays for the London team Harlequins.  Like all the women Rugby players I have had the pleasure to meet after the match she was so friendly and happy to have pictures taken.

 

Another player who plays for Gloucester in the same position on the pitch as Ellie is Emma Sing.  She was not playing in this game, but came to support her team.  

 

Again, she was more than happy to get a picture.  I love how they both have beaming smiles.

 

Sunday I decided to get some fresh air after the wet morning had   

 

I have started a new knitting project, having now finished my last sock project.  This will be a lovely hat pattern that I have knitted twice before and look forward to wearing it.

 

 

In the weekday evenings I have been cosying up under this gorgeous blanket i've had on the needles for far too long.  It is lovely to have a blanket on the needles I find, even though I have two other double bed sized crocheted blankets, and I don't really need anymore I feel sure I will no doubt cast on another at some point when this is done!

For the last weekend of February I took myself off to one of my favourite local towns of Winchcombe which is just twenty mintues from home.

The town is full of a really mix of styles of houses as the town has grown in since.

It is so lovely to see that spring is definitely here now, after what seemed like such a long winter, with the colourful Crocuses popping up in the churchyard. 

As part of the course I am studying I researched churches that had been built from the financial gain through the trading of sheep and wool.  Winchcombe has a very impressive Church which is in the grounds of what was an Abbey.  I had never been in it before, but goodness the window at the end is so impressive and I just love the ceiling.

As you can see from this plaque the history of this town goes back a very long way! I do love the name of the cottage too!

I had a lovely walk passed the castle and albeit muddy was worth the views, I shall definitely be back to explore it more.

On the way home I stopped off at the local garden centre, had a lovely cuppa and a spot of knitting.

Got some more things for the garden.

I now have four solar lights scattered around the garden, it is always a joy seeing them light up at dusk, which as the light is drawing out is getting later each day.

 

I also finished the quick knit hat project I was working on.  I'm not 100% sure the hat suits me, and if I knitted it again would make it a lot smaller.  But we are coming into not needing hats soon so it won't matter.

 

So until next month, I hope you all have a lovely March. 

Monthly catch up - January 2026

So January has got off to a decidedly nippy start.  I am very grateful for the fact that I have many knitted layers, be it socks, scarves, hats, mitts or garments that I can lay my hands on. 

 

Over the years, I have no idea how many times I have visited Tewkesbury.  But due to the fact that it is only 15 minutes drive from home and it combines both an eclectic mix of shops and some nice walks, it is a place I am happy to return to again and again. 

 Tewkesbury is however susemptible to flooding and the bank was very thick with sticky mud.

 In all the years I have visited, though I have never seen the perfect reflection of the bridge in the water.

I decided to do a longer walk than normal up to Mythe Bridge and never realised how big the Severn Trent Water treatment works are.

 

 

There are, as with many towns, now a big selection of charity shops, but there are also a few bookshops.  My favourite is a shop where in the alleyway they have a whole collection of the books I am currently reading, based in the Cotswolds of MC Beaton and Rebecca Tope Cotswold murder mystery books.

 

I was very happy to find another MC Beaton and now only have two more to find to complete my thirty two books in the series. 

Unlike Gloucester Cathedral, which I went to during my time off, Tewkesbury Abbey does not charge an entrance fee.

It may not be as large a building, but in my opinion, it is still an incredible piece of architecture and a place to go where you can just sit quietly. 

Whenever I go into any religious builiding I always light a candle in remembrance of my Dad.

Having now completed the first module for my course, I am moving on to the second, which involves researching yarn.  This is such an exciting area to look into that I had never given a huge amount of thought to.

I am very lucky in the location that I live, as Cotswold Farm Park is a scenic thirty minute drive from home.  Although I had not realised being within the dip of Cheltenham that it had even snowed, until I got up onto the top of the Cotswolds, so the drive there was rather scary as I do not enjoy driving on ice!

The trip however long it took, was worth it, though as the range and history of the sheep, which are so close and due to the weather the park was not super crowded, which meant I could get lots of pictures.

I never realised how many breeds of sheep there are and I can not wait to dive in and do more research. 

Today was my last of a glorious eleven days straight of no office job!  It has been so lovely not having to have an alarm clock go off, being able to sit and read and I have actually read fifty percent of my first of 2026 book, which I have never done before.

I also finished my craft/reading room and I could not be more proud and happy with how it has turned out and will spend many many happy hours with my and the cat here. 

The weekend before returning to the office job I took the opportunity to head to Cotswold Farm Park. It was a slow drive there as the farm it high up on top of the Cotswolds, with incredible views, but also a layering of snow and a lot of black ice.

It was the last weekend of opening before a temporary shut for lambing season and due to the weather it was quiet in terms of visitors who didn't venture out!  

I loved seeing the big variety of rare breeds, especially the sheep.  But I have to admit I was surprised how they are so used to being fed as they sold food on entry, which was good for pictures as they kept coming up expecting food.

The site has got alot bigger since I last visited a couple of years ago.  There is now a big indoor cafe and huge shop selling some very nice gifts and I did treat myself to a new cotton scarf, and did like the mitts that were very soft. 

The next day I checked on my little pond I made in the garden and broke the ice, just in case there are any tiny creatures in there, which sadly I have not seen yet.  I do hope something finds its way to the pond sometime. 

I don't spend anywhere near as much time in the garden as I should, especially in the warmer months and keep vowing that I will.

It is lovely to see that even in the depths of winter there is colour though. 

The patterns formed by ice are just magical I think, this was on the conservatory glass. 

Seeing the moon I always find fascinating, this was taken at 8.50am! Incredible how clear it is, one day I really hope when camping to find a perfect uninterrupted night sky with the stars shining brightly.

Have now been back at work for a week and having had feedback from my course with recommendations off I go back to Slimbridge for some more inspiration.

It was a fresh day, but a perfect day for pictures with the glorious winter light. 

I love to hear birds in flight and it is even more of a thrill to capture them flying. 

It was amazing just how still the water was viewed from one of the hides and you could see the thin layer of ice on the top that some of the ducks tentatively walked over. 

Before heading home I had a nice cuppa and a little sit and knit in the cafe and looked out at the wildlife.

We are now into the third weekend of the month and today's adventures took me across country on a very scenic drive through sun and big open spaces, low cloud and very grey skies.

To arrive at the pretty Chipping Norton.  

As part of the course I am studying the next module I am working on is about the history of yarn.  So I decided what better place to study, than the area I live in which is steeped in history, as the wool industry had such a huge impact in times gone buy in terms of the wealth it brought to the area.

This church, like a few in the area is known as a "wool church", but on the profits made by the wool industry.  It is incredibly impressive considering the size of the town it is based in when you go inside to see just how huge it actually is. 

I last visited The Fibreworks many years ago.  The shop has been trading for fourteen years, which in a world where so many people buy through the internet now is just so great to hear.

The shop runs a mix of classes and stocks a great range of yarns, not least the vast arrea of natural fibre.

The more I learn about yarn, the more amazed I am about just how many breeds of sheep there actually are. 

After I had finished having a wander around the town, I then headed to Cotswold Woollen Weavers.

Again, if it had not been for my course I would never have thought to visit here.  If you are in the area, I highly recommend it.  The museum is free, there is a cafe and shop to have a look around and the drive is lovely to get there.

When I go somewhere I really like to look at Google maps, look for little single track roads and see where it takes me.  This walk was an absolute gem with lovely countryside and the best free bookshop I have found to date!

Eat Pray Love is a great film and I am very much looking forward to reading the book.

For reference, I always either drop my finished books back to one of these or give to charity, unless I am collecting a series of them. 

My final weekend of January again involved another walk, this time from home and ended up being a lovely 7.5 mile round trip.

It is so lovely to see the spring flowers popping up and for me who is not a fan of hot weather the temperatures of the low teen's is perfect. 

The road to the garden centre, which is the halfway point was lovely and quiet on a Sunday morning.  In late summer the bushes last year were absolutely full of blackberries, so I am hoping they will be this year too.

For my birthday back in August, when my Son said "what would you like for your birthday?".  I said a voucher for here.  So far I have got some lovely solar lights in the shape of bees.

But I came across the perfect mat for when I go off travelling in my van to just pop outside the door.

Isn't it so cute! 

So until next month, I hope you all have a great new month and I shall catch you on my February update.