Wibbo's Words

Yellow & orange

Tonight's sunset.

Blues

This morning's sky colourway.

Damn weather

It's really windy here (Met Office has overnight severe weather warnings of heavy rain and gales for the south coast). One of the downsides of living in a block of flats when it's windy is hearing garden furniture shuffling up and down on other people's balconies. Bring your furniture inside for the winter, people!

Staying at home

The weather's pretty rubbish today; not particularly cold but horribly windy. I can hear the wind whistling outside my windows and plants on the balcony are getting a serious battering. I don't mind cold weather, rain or even snow but I absolutely hate windy weather and you get an awful lot of it down here on the south coast. Grumble.

So I think it's a day at home for me today. I'm waiting for the next installment of Huldran due out later this afternoon and listening to this which is slightly disappointing and has the distinct whiff of a potboiler. 

One thousand and eighty

That's the number of photos I've posted on Hove Daily Photo so far - one a day since December 2nd 2008. I originally thought I'd keep HDP going for a year (along the lines of Project 365) but it's gradually become part of daily life and I'm still wandering round Brighton & Hove taking photos.

There are hundreds of other City Daily Photo blogs round the world; you can check out thumbnails of the latest photos at City Daily Photo Portal.

I haz colour on my balcony...

...and three tiny solar-powered lights that sparkle at night.

My knitting and crochet time

Write about your typical crafting time. When is it that you are likely to craft - alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys?

I'm happily retired and these days can do as much or as little knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing as I fancy. After over thirty years designing and making things for clients and publishers, it's a joy to be able to make exactly what I want.

I ease into a typical day with a mug of tea and an hour or so's knitting or crochet.

I'm usually supervised by Fearsome Miss Flossie who sits by my feet waiting patiently for her breakfast. 

I haven't had a television since 2001 and much of my crafting is accompanied by audio books, radio programmes or music, with the occasional film DVD when I'm knitting something that doesn't need concentration.

I live round the corner from an excellent library (name-checking Hove Library) which has a really good, constantly changing audio book selection (above is yesterday's haul) and I also have a subscription to Audible. Music-wise, I listen to classical music, opera, rock, folk, jazz and I'm a big fan of Radio 5 live's football coverage.

I try and balance hours spent crafting by myself with regular company in the shape of a couple of knitting groups (Brighton Knitters and Knit & Natter at Cocoon) and with regular exercise walking by the sea. 

This is the last of this year's Knitting and Crochet Blog Week's posts - thanks for the comments and see you again next year :o)

Sunday sunset

Would make an interesting yarn colourway...

All aboard the Woolly Bus

From January to August 2011 Cocoon Knits in Hove are running an appeal to raise money for the Martlets Hospice by yarnbombing an open top double decker bus. This involves covering the bus entirely with knitted squares, and we need about 4,000 of them.

Cocoon are calling on experienced, beginners or just curious knitters from all over the country - even the world - to pick up their needles and help. Each participant will collect sponsors and knit a minimum of three 15cm x 15cm squares. The minimum sponsorship amount is £25 per entry but we’re aiming to raise as much as possible.

To celebrate the end of the project the bus will be driven along Brighton seafront on the 20th August with contributors and guests aboard. After the event all blankets will be broken down and sent to Africa with the help of Knit a Square charity to help keep AIDS orphans warm.

We aim to raise over £40,000 for the Martlets Hospice.

For a sponsorship pack please either collect a form from any Martlets shop or Cocoon, 10 George Street, Hove or email your name, address and email to: hayley@cocoonknits.co.uk Please state whether you’d like an e version for you to print at home or a physical version sent out to you in the post.

Fog, fog, fog

Frost and bright sunshine over Christmas has turned into fog and nasty damp greyness. I've been skulking at home to avoid the weather; reading, knitting and listening to music is much more appealing than going outside. Hope it cheers up tomorrow...

Colours of a winter sunset

Yesterday, 3.43pm.

Snow. What snow?

We've had hail and sleet this morning; now bright sunshine. Have to admit that I'm getting slightly obsessed with uksnowmap.

And another thing

The concept of clearing away snow from the front of your premises seems to be a foreign concept down here in Hove, in spite of the council's severe weather advice that "It is now more important than ever that residents play their part and ‘shovel, salt, sweep’ outside their homes and premises". Maybe I'm more of a misplaced/displaced northerner than I realise...

White

Today's weather forecast doesn't look too much fun either; persistent snow...

Weather watch

Friday morning 8.24am, brilliant sunshine, bright blue sky, freezing cold.

Lazy Sunday

Knitting; listening to Jesper Bodilsen, Ketil Bjornstad, Keith Jarrett; lunch in the oven; washing up done; rain drizzling down outside. Pretty well perfect.

Staying at home

Weather = atrocious. Planned outdoor activities = nil.

Avoidance

 

I have a list of Things Which Must Be Done This Week, but it's so much nicer to sit on the beach knitting a sock. Perfect weather for knitting outdoors too.

Days like this...

 
...help me forget the cold, windy, wet, dark winter that seemed to go on forever.

Spring has sprung

It's still cold by the sea, but the brilliant blue skies and bright sunshine of the last few days have been very welcome

as have these cheery crocuses spotted in a nearby garden. Gorgeous colours!