Woollie Wonders

I got a knitted sheep for Christmas - most knitters seem to like all things sheep. This one is fun and even better you can buy a kit to knit your own...

My Baboo Sheep

Been enjoying the proliferation of all things Lady Gaga - ok well, all things that are takes on Lady Gaga - from scientists to librarians. Perhaps the Zheng Lab from Baylor Medical College"s "Bad Project" version of "Bad*Romance" that has had almost 1000000 views in 5 days, will only be funny if you know scientists, but if anyone can make the line "Blot, Blot Western Baby, Figure 1 will be amazing" funny then they have it in my book. But the lyrics are very clever and all my scientists friends say they can relate to the sentiments.

Or check out the librarians from Washington University's version of Poker Face - that too has some pretty cool lyrics.

London 2010

I just realised that I never returned to post on my trip to London in November. I arrived on a Thursday evening and on the Friday Karen and I took the underground into the city centre and had a wander around Soho. I wanted to visit Cloth House on Berwick Street to buy some wool felt. There are a number of amazing fabric shops in the area, established years ago to support the costume design industry for local theatres - so believe me when I say - some of the fabrics were definitely "out there". But Cloth House, in 2 locations on Berwick Street has some beautiful fabrics - linens, cord, felt and is beautifully laid out, particularly the store at No. 47. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

Cloth House

Converted Hat Factory, Soho

Soho Square

Then it was on to the British Museum to see their exhibition about the Egyptian Book of the Dead - the books buried with mummies to provide them with guidance in the afterlife. It was an interesting exhibition but hard to remember as you gazed at the scrolls that many were over 3000 years old - they seemed too perfectly preserved to be that old.

British Museum Atrium

The British Museum

The British Museum really is the most amazing place and I love how they have glassed over the courtyard surrounding the Reading Room, to create a beautiful atrium, covering 2 acres and creating the largest covered public space in Europe. Next visit I will spend more time seeing the general collections.

After lunch at Wagamama (an all time favourite) we went to the Sir John Soane Museum - an eclectic collection in the house of architect Sir John Soane, a house that he designed and built on Lincoln Inns Field, one of the finest squares in London. The museum houses Soane's own collection, which he wished to ensure "amateurs and students" had access to. His collection of antiquities is impressive and his house an interesting place to visit. Soane himself is famous for designing the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the dining rooms of Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street.

Sir John Soane Museum

We walked along the banks of the Thames on our way home, and as ever, the night time views of the river were spectacular.

London Eye, Big Ben

Saturday we headed to Highgate and took a tour of Highgate Cemetery, a private cemetery opened in 1839 to provide space to bury people in the city. It contains the graves of many famous and interesting people in the Victorian section, many in gothic tombs. The oldest section is only accessible on a tour - so we took a tour. Whilst the newer section, which is still used for burials, is more generally accessible and houses the graves of people such as Karl Marx, Douglas Adams (author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) and author George Eliot.

Highgate Cemetery

Sunday I headed off to meet my friends and their twins - beautiful 16 month olds - had a lovely day with them all!

Monday I had a meeting at the V&A in London - we're looking to have our own V&A in Dundee (more in a later post) and this was a work related meeting. The V&A is the greatest collection (over 2.7M items) of decorative arts in the world and is another must see in London - the Renaissance Galleries, amazing collections of fashion, furniture, ceramics, glass, Asian artifacts etc. Really there is just too much to see in London!!

V&A in London

I can't wait till my next visit!

Sum Total of my Christmas Crafting

This is it. The craft I managed to achieve during the Christmas holidays (and since)....... I was inspired by this.........

I decided to create a snow globe baby blankie! Slow progress, must have been held up by all the ice! Not quite sure what else to include....

Craft in 2010

Hmm....I don't think I was the most productive in 2010. It was quite a struggle to find 12 things to post to show off craft in Woollie in 2010. I still enjoyed working with felt and failed miserably to do much knitting - although I did learn how to use the magic loop method for knitting in the round which I have enjoyed.

Must do better in 2011.

1. Pre-felt Wool Baby Toys, 2. Donna Wilson Knitted Raccoon, 3. Bracelets, 4. Russian Doll Brooches, 5. Totoro Mitten, 6. Red Riding Hood Blankie, 7. Kokeshi With Attitude, 8. Soldiers, 9. Poppy Brooch, 10. Bunny Hat, 11. Menagerie of Christmas Decorations, 12. Decorated Book Bag

2010 Travel

2010 was, for me, a relatively quiet year for travel (I guess buying a house will do that to you). I managed a couple of trips to London to visit friends, a girls weekend in the Yorkshire Dales, a fabulous week with 9 National Trust friends on Orkney, a work trip to Odense in Denmark, lovely days in Venice and Milan and a few days in Kirkcudbright in SW Scotland with my parents - all in all a good year. I had friends visit from Switzerland (and get stuck due to an volcanic ash cloud) and London which led to a number of days out and about in Scotland.

1. Milan Duomo , 2. Odense , Denmark, 3. Sunset, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries & Galloway, 4. British Museum, 5. Rialto at Night, 6. Craigievar Castle, 7. Skara Brae, Orkney, 8. Stone Barn, Yorkshire Dales, 9. Italian Chapel, Orkney, 10. On the beach, Orkney, 11. Gondolas, 12. Posts, Pittenweem

Travel in 2011 may also be influenced by the location of friends (I guess fitting a kitchen will do that to you) - so perhaps I'll be in London again, perhaps Fermo in Italy, perhaps Lausanne in Switzerland and to see a friend in Amsterdam when she comes for a conference. I may also take a trip to Lille or the South of France (Provence area).

Happy 2011!

2010 be gone.....

2011 be welcome.....

I hope everyone had a great Festive period. I did. It was good to be able to be home for 2 weeks to help out when my parents needed it most. To support the people that have supported me all my life and to make sure they relaxed, got healthy and enjoyed Christmas. But it was also great to catch up with friends from near and far (farthest was Costa Rica). The weather was mighty cold - temperatures of -15 over a number of days.......brr.....beautiful but brr....

I was in charge of Christmas dinner this year. The menu:

1. Homemade smoked mackerel pate and smoked salmon with oatcakes and soft cheese

2. Jamie Oliver's Spinach and red lentil soup (my favourite)

3. Lidl's Venison in port and red wine, with cabbage compote and roast potatoes - delicious

4. Delia Smith's Carmelised orange trifle

I could highly recommend all the recipes - easy and tasty!

New Year I was at friends in Edinburgh, at their new house...there were 14 of us, food, drink and fireworks. New Year's Day we had a massive cooked breakfast and a walk up Corstorphine Hill. Saw a few funny things whilst we were out......

And why is it that boys can never avoid walking on the ice......

To a happy and healthy 2011 for all! I know that I will be running again, learning to use my new sewing machine, hoping that my kitchen will be finished (oh I must be growing up - I bought a fridge freezer and washing machine today), having a house warming party, seeing friends and being better at staying in touch with those further afield and hopefully doing a little travelling!