Sometimes Life Gets In The Way

 You know the feeling,

You want to say something, but work..stuff  .. happens..

So, some photos..

 Cretan musician, Psarantonis, What a character! We've seen him twice now...

 Now is the time to come to Crete if you are interested in flora and fauna

The countryside is awash with colour.

 A new arrival....

Our third granddaughter Cora arrived in February..

Isn't she gorgeous?

 I found a month old abandoned puppy in the olive groves,

we fostered him whilst he grew, then he was adopted by someone in Brighton, UK..

Hope he's having a good life..

 I have been making....

above is Southbay Shawlette, except I doubled the amount of yarn..

I used Noro Taiyo, a blend of cotton and silk, it's blocking at this very minute and I can't wait to see how it turns out...

This is my Settler Shawl, designed by Truly Myrtle Designs;

..

We've had the wettest and coldest winter in Crete for years....

Do like the odd crochet pebble...soothing to make and so simple.

I've still been spinning, bought some gorgeous fluff back from the UK..

But it's a slow old game..

The view from where I work... I know, hard isn't!!

I little something for Cora

Cora wearing her Gidday Baby cardigan, designed by Georgie Hallam of Tikkiknits.

So, that's a taster, a catch up...

Now for the other news, I off again on Friday..

Granddaughter number 4!!! arrives in June..

Birthday Celebrations In Muscat, Oman.

 I felt, after taking 300 + photographs, 

you may like to see just a few...

So, with very few words...this was our holiday with  my daughter/son in law, son/daughter in law,

and of course, the lovely granddaughters.. 

.

Congratulations if you managed to get to here.....

as you can see we had a wonderful time. It was lovely to spend time with my family in such diverse surroundings and to see how well Lirys and Seren have settled. 

You never know...I might post some more, after all, I have loads!!!!

A Local Heroine......

 In the near-by village of Kritsa, there are several beautiful sculptures depicting the short life of a young girl in the 19th century. Her name was Rodanthe, the daughter of the chief priest of the village.

One morning, aged 17, she was singing whilst working at her loom, the door was open.

 The local Aga was passing through the village with his men and fell in love with the beauty of her singing.

He vowed to marry her.

That night he sent his henchmen back to the village, her mother was murdered and Rodanthe was kidnapped..

She was taken to the Aga's house in Houmeriako where the wedding preparations were quickly arranged.

Later when alone in the house with him, Rodanthe tricks him into discarding his weapons and clothes and wait for her in the marital bed..

She snatches his sword and stabs him to death, then dresses in his clothes and fled to the mountains.

Desperate, finding herself in the tiny church in the hamlet of Zenia, Rodanthe cuts off her hair and dedicates

it to the Virgin Mary.

Dressed as a man, she joins the Cretan rebels, who called her (him) The Beardless Manolis.

(He) proved to be the fiercest fighter in the group.

January 1823, there was a 2 day battle on the outskirts of Kritsa where the Cretan fighters were trying to hold back a much larger Turkish army.

Rodanthe fought bravely, she found and killed the Turk who had slaughtered her mother. But was gravely wounded and taken to the doctor in Kritsa.

By coincidence, her father, had also been wounded and was being treated by the same doctor.

When the doctor came to cut away her shirt, the truth was discovered and Rodanthe managed, with her dying breath to explain to her father what had happened and that she was still 'pure'.

Both her and her father died of their wounds and were honoured by the folk of Kritsa.

There are many plaques and statues in and around Kritsa in memory of this brave girl.

Descendants of her family are planning a book and converting the family house into a museum.

The first sculpture of this post are of no paticular girl, they portray how young girls of Rodanthe's time would have spent their time.
A friend of ours, Nigel Ratcliffe  is the sculptor and kindly gave me permission to use these images. He also carved the engraving of the dying Rodanthe and her father,

Spinning, Plying.....FO. WIP, and, umm, Something Else....

It's been a bit warm to spin with my drop spindle over the last few months..but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about it.
I'd just like to show you my progress.
Above, is my first completed attempt...hmm....

Above, is the next attempt that was completed, you can see I'm having trouble with my plying....
(anybody got suggestions of where I'm going wrong?)

Above is my very latest attempt...I admit, I'm much happier with this.

The latest attempts of spinning are much neater and consistant, I'll have to wait and see what it looks like when plyed etc..
I've read books, watched videos and practiced and I'm hoping if anybody has any suggestions about plying please leave me a comment.
How do you ply?

Right, on to some knittery
below, is a completed scarf.
The pattern is here
The stitch was easy and, I think is very effective. It produced a lovely dense, woven feel.

The yarn was bought back from New Zealand by my son a couple of years ago....it has 75% Merino,15% Alpaca and 10% Possum and feels incredibly warm. The maker is Karamea.

Now.....
my work in progress...
the wonderful Viajante....
I'm just about to start my third (and last)100gram ball of Regia Lace.
It's so long and very difficult to photograph.
I'm enjoying this easy knit and am looking forward to wearing it soon (hopefully!!)

And lastly....
Brock
my cardigan...
don't ask...
Hope you've enjoyed this catch-up
Have you any words of wisdom about drop spindle spinning?
Or plying?
Have you got any projects tucked away that you can't face??
Tell me, tell me!!
Take care
I’m linking up with Sarah’s Spinning Show & Tell.