My little hiker

On our recent trip to Cumbria we went for a lovely walk above Ullswater in the Lake District. Sam and I really enjoy walking so it would be great if Matilda loves it too. Well, she seemed to enjoy her first Lake District hike - she slept in the sling for the first part, had fun roaming around during lunch, happily went back in the sling while we descended the steepest parts of the route, then strolled the last bit herself, even using Grandad's walking pole for some of it! So far, so good!

Meeting Amy Butler

Here I am sat next to the very glamorous Amy Butler, designer of lovely fabrics, patterns and other creative wonders. She was visiting my local sewing/knitting shop, the Knitting Parlour, as part of a brief tour of some of her UK stockists. The shop invited customers to come along to a 'yarn-tasting evening', to meet Amy over a glass of wine. I went along with a friend (who knits) and we both had a great evening talking to other sewing and knitting enthusiasts. They're a friendly bunch in the Knitting Parlour and they put on a really good event. It would have been a fun evening even without the special guest! But it was also lovely meeting Amy herself - what a friendly and approachable person - I enjoyed talking to her about sewing, quilting, knitting, designing and a lot more besides (including, bizarrely, National Trust properties). It's always good talking to people who are so passionate about what they do - you come away feeling full of enthusiasm.

I've been eyeing Amy's 'Little Stitches' book for a while so I decided to buy it so that I could get it signed. Now I just need to find time to make some of the gorgeous things from it! I was glad that such a rare evening out turned out so well - a couple of glasses of wine, some good company, and surrounded by pretty fabrics and yarns. What more could you ask for?

The Wier

Today we visited the Wier, a National Trust riverside garden near Hereford, for the first time. Both Sam and I had been imagining a bit of muddy woodland by the river so we were suprised to find another world clinging to a steep bank beside a meander in the Wye. Narrow paths, steps, bridges, rockeries, roman ruins, and a beautiful riverside picnic area. Fantastic!

A day out at Croft Castle

Listening to the trees...

King (or should that be queen) of the castle

A pink tree - the artist had wrapped this tree in red cotton fabric - the dye had washed away leaving a pale pink

A quick walk around the Co-op in Leominster

Little drummer girl

We spent a lovely sunny afternoon on Sunday at Croome Park's All Nations Picnic Day. We ate our lunch in our favourite spot under a leafy old tree, looking out across the sweeping grassland to Croome Court, then Matilda and Sam joined in with a world drumming group in the stone greenhouse and we listened to some live Irish music in the lakeside gardens. A barefoot stroll through the parkland and an icecream completed a perfect afternoon.