miss marie's miscellany

Hexagons and flowers

I thought I'd show my ever-growing collection of  hexagons today. I'm still experimenting with the colours I like, but these seem to work together...... they're very 'me' colours!

I'm certainly using up a lot of my stash which is good, as I seem to have accumulated rather a lot of wool recently. Now the pattern is familiar it only takes 20 minutes to make 1, so they're good for a quick crochet fix when there's not much time.

I've been enjoying looking at other peoples hexagons at Flickr...... there are some beautiful images and a lot of inspiration to be found there.

The garden is looking lovely now;  it's rained a lot this week, but we had sunshine yesterday and today so everything's blooming. i particularly like these drumstick alliums

This blue hydrangea

And these cheery mesembryanthemums

The ever-changing weather

The weather has me and everyone else guessing every day at the moment. This was the view from the window yesterday;

Definitely a stay at home day.....and this is today;

Definitelyl a get out in the sun while it lasts kind of day. 

TV crochet

Back at home in Glasgow now, and am enjoying some quiet time; pottering in the garden (trying to control the weeds which seem to have GROWN while I was away), reading, meeting friends, going to the cinema(new Harry Potter film which was OK). Basically chilling out! It's such a luxury to be able to do this, and I'm loving every minute. In addition, there has been some crocheting whilst watching TV, property-related programmes which I enjoy, seem to be a-plenty, and don't require the undivided attention that a good film or documentary needs, so I can keep one eye on Sarah Beeny, Kirstie and Phil and Kevin McCloud while I enjoy some hooking.

I'd like to make a blanket;  I was going to say ready for the winter, but the rain is pouring today and it's not that warm, so it may be used sooner than that!  I made these granny squares

But I'm not sure I like them; I think a whole blanket of these is a little too flowery for my taste. I also made these hexagons, and find these more pleasing, quick to make and the colour combinations are endless. 

I can envisage them in a finished project, unlike the above squares,which I think I'm going to unpick. I found the pattern for these at Attic 24, courtesy of Lucy. I have a consignment of wool on its way from here, some contrasting and brighter shades to compliment the above, so I'm sorted and looking forward to seeing how it turns out!  I'll keep you posted on my progress. 

Last days of summer

 Some good times from the end of the holiday, spent in Liverpool. A Sunday visit to another beach in Formby, just a couple of miles north of the statues from the last post. This beach is next to some gorgeous pinewoods, which normally we'd have had a stroll in; but we didn't want to miss the sunshine!  The day was just perfect for sitting on the beach feeling the sand between your toes

Watching a windsurfer

Looking at the clouds-very unusual stripy cloud formation

Flying a kite

Also, a Monday trip into Liverpool to the Albert dock and the Tate gallery to see the Colour Chart exhibition on just now, which was good to see; I feel more enlightened about the concepts which go into making pieces of art using media I wouldn't always expect to be used in an 'art' exhibition. This was a girls' outing so we had to include a trip to the posh cafe for a naughty but nice cream tea!

Whilst we girls were being culture vultures, the boys went off for something exciting. It was my nephew E's 11th birthday, so as a treat they went for a cruise on an amphibious vehicle called the Yellow Duckmarine,  Here it is approaching

And it's out of the water

It's safe to say they were very excited and enjoyed it immensely! 

Pizza and birthday cake afterwards!

 

Men on the beach

If my title has enticed you here in the hope of seeing bronzed adonises sunning themselves, then you will be a bit disappointed! The men on the beach I'm referring to are a group of sculptures by the artist Antony Gormley entitled 'Another Place' and which live on the stretch of beach near my dad's house. They are made in cast iron and are a copy of the artist's own body. They have been there for about 4 years now, and last year after much debate, it was decided that they will remain there permanently. 

The statues are submerged or revealed with the ebb and flow of the tides, and some seem to have sunk a little as this one has, as a result of those tides.

Being exposed to the elements and the salt water has eroded and rusted the cast iron

I love the way they all stare at the horizon, as if into infinity. 

The beach is fairly busy regularly, with walkers and dogs, runners, families out for the day, even the odd windsurfer and now visitors who come specifically to see the statues. There were quite a few folk there when I was, but somehow nearly all the pictures I took have only statues in them. That wasn't deliberate on my part, but it seems to emphasize the air of solitude and peace that the statues create. 

 

This is the view looking towards the docks and Liverpool.......still no people.......perhaps they all were camera-shy!?

I really like the way the beach has changed since these residents arrived; before that, it was a little unloved; now it seems invigourated and fresh, full of life. Whatever one's view of public art is, I think when the result is something as striking and beautiful as these silent sentinels, then it's something worth appreciating and applauding.

Yorkshire days 5

A trip out into the beautiful countryside and the village of Malham. About a mile from this pretty village is Malham Cove, an amazing curved limestone crag carved out of the hillside. 

A bit nearer.

Nearer still

Almost there

Finally there!

 

When we reached the cove, we could see climbers scaling the sheer rock face, which was more than a little scary! 

So that's the end of my Yorkshire tales and a lovely holiday! 

Yorkshire days 4

A visit to Newby Hall and Gardens near Ripon. There's so much to see here I hardly know where to start!

Wonderful gardens, the centrepiece and star attraction being the long borders in front of the house

The gardens are set out in 'rooms', set to each side of the main border

Here is Sylvia's Garden, a peaceful haven, named after the current owner's grandmother, and the Rose garden

                                                                                            

Other lovely sections of the garden included a rock garden, autumn garden, white garden, tropical garden, 2 lakes and a lily pond.

Delightful to walk around discovering yet more variety and beauty.

There were many lovely flowers, but this sumptuous gladioli was the winner of the day for me

A lake with weeping willows and black swans

An adventure playground with swings and slides, boats and bridges and this funky fountain to dodge under

and a miniature railway

A sculpture park in the woodland outside the gardens

Another visiting sculpture exhibition of work by Zimbabwean sculptors

All of the sculptures were for sale; much as I loved some of the works, my wallet just isn't full enough to purchase something so monumental; admiration is all I can manage.

The coffee and home baking in the cafe was delicious, and I'm told by the 3 little ice-cream connoisseurs I was with that the ice cream was great too!

This was my favourite place by miles visited on this holiday; we were the last people to leave, so it's safe to say we had a great time.

.....something for everyone and much to enchant and delight.

Yorkshire days 3

An awful weather forecast unfortunately necessitated a day indoors. We headed to Bradford to the National Media Museum, for a good look round.

 The museum has exhibitions of film, photography and TV, as well as a shop and an IMAX cinema. We started with an exhibition of the history of photography, with cameras galore  from its beginnings to the present day.

I particularly liked these 'ladies' cameras from the 1920's, made in lovely colours which Kodak Eastman hoped would be an enticement to get more women interested in photography.

On to TV Heaven, with lots of models used to make lots of old favourites

There was a mock-up of a TV studio where you could read the news and do all kinds of amazing things in front of a blue screen.......here you can see my nephew T surfing and my dad in the background about to do his Huw Edwards impersonation!

Some groovy old television sets

And TV cameras

There was also a great exhibition of animation with wonderful drawings and models from late 19th century to the latest 3D examples. My favourites were these models used in 'Jason and the Argonauts'

The set from 'The Wrong Trousers'

and Wallace and Gromit themselves!

 On to the photography; 2 excellent shows, a wonderful exhibition of the photographs of Don McCullin, so powerful and thought provoking and another exhibition entitled 'Animalism', exploring the place of animals in modern media; my favourite in this was a wall of portraits of different primates; the human characteristics were very striking and strangely beautiful (sadly, but understandably, no taking of photos allowed at either of these).  Some of these photos are available to view online, as well as archives of many of the museum's photographs.

We spent the whole afternoon here easily, there was so much to see and enjoy; in the words of Wallace and Gromit, it was a grand day out!

Yorkshire days 2

A visit to RHS Harlow Carr near Harrogate. I think I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

Well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity!

Yorkshire days

On holiday in Yorkshire, and having a great time. We're spending the week in a lovely old farmhouse, complete with hens in the garden

who provide us with lovely fresh eggs

So far we have been on a trip on the Embsay Steam railway; here's the engine changing ends

And the train waiting at the beautifully kept station at Embsay.

We visited the Bolton Abbey estate; what a fantastic place, so much beautiful countryside to walk around and enjoy

We took a canal cruise 

Whilst we were on the barge, lots of ducks came alongside wanting food. Amongst all the birds, we saw this swan and her cygnets.

Rainy days ahead....... more on that tomorrow.