Saturday, March 28, 2009

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again

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Or rather, I dreamt that H and I were sailing around some unspecified Scottish islands in the most beautiful yacht - all teak decks, creamy sails, a gaff rig and a proper ships wheel to steer by. It was perfect - and I may be homesick for my holiday!

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It seems scarcely believable that I've only been back at work a week; if you caught me in an unguarded moment I'd probably tell you I was shattered and I really needed a break!
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Some of our clothes still have that faint whiff of a salty wind and there are still pebbles from the beach stuck in the grooves of our boots so it wasn't all a dream.

I am in very grave danger of turning into an advert for the Scottish Tourist board I know, but it is a really beautiful part of the world.

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The rocks on the jetty had amazing colours of lichen depending on where they were on the tide line

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you know that someone with a penchant for burnt orangy-red was going to love this colour - I'll have to take up yarn dying and make a colourway to match - "Jetty and Seaweed"!
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Or a very pale blue and pinky-red - "Lonely Mussel"

The seaward end of Loch Etive is distinctly different to the mountains of our first trip out; the mountains falling from Glen Etive give way abruptly to rolling hills and scenery very reminiscent of the southern English coastline - at least, a southern English coastline with a mirror on the horizon.

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We went out fishing twice while we were up north, sadly with a negative profit - we caught no fish whatsoever apart from the mackerel strips we were using as bait; and managed to snag and snap four sets of hooks and line, which I think is a family record. The hook lines used for deep fishing are a work of art in themselves - a mix of plastic beads and strips of shiny film tied together to look like a string of the most inviting, luscious prawns ever seen by a big fish at the bottom of the loch:
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The trick is to gently tweak the line up and down to make the plastic prawns look like they're swimming - the lack of fish suppers suggests that (a) I hadn't quite got it and (b) the fish preferred the real prawns that day.

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Sitting out in the boat, drifting with the breeze and the tide in that wonderful sea air and glorious sunshine - well it's amazing we came back at all.



Come back we did, and as you can see I have been knitting as usual, and finishing up what may well be one of my most favourite pairs of socks to date:
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These are my completed Fireside socks and to be honest, I think they are simply wonderful.

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The only change that I made to the written pattern was to go up to 2.5mm needles to make a bigger size, which means that when they are on my feet they don't loose the 3-D texture of flames licking up your feet.

They were easy to knit, they look fab, what's not to love?

So now that I've finished the fire element, should I go for Earth, Water or Wind next?

I'll leave you with the perfect sunset as I go back to dreaming of the distant north:
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3 comments:

  1. Funnily enough when I dye pink and blue I never ever think of calling it "lonely mussel". The socks are a lovely colour, just what is needed with this grim grey weather.

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  2. Thanks for sharing those beautiful pics and the good looking socks.

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  3. Anonymous9:04 pm

    Sounds like a perfect dream that you never want to wake from! Lovely pictures. J and I have often said that we would love to sail the coast of Scotland. Maybe...one day....

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