About Me

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United Kingdom
Hi there & welcome to Annie's Place. A place inspired by and named after my late Grandmother Annie. Somewhere I can be creative, and share my love for all things handmade. I like nothing better than sitting with hook & yarn, crafting something home spun & completely unique, or rustling up some yummy baked goodies. I live in a town with a beautiful embankment, situated on the River Great Ouse. You may know me as CosyKitty on Ravelry. Why not stop a while.....?!!

Monday 9 September 2013

All kinds of everything....

Good day smiley happy people, and a warm welcome to those that are new here at Annie's Place. I'm desperately hanging onto the remnants of warm summer days, but confess to being more than a little excited for the Autumn that's promised. Although with the bonkers British weather being what it is, I wouldn't be surprised if we had another mini heat wave before then. As long as the temperature stays in the late teens for as long as possible, I'm good with that.


August passed by in the blink of an eye. I was a busy bee for most of it, and managed to sneak in an impromptu visit to historic Cambridge. What a wonderful place it is, full of charm and the most spectacular architecture. I'm sure all of my overseas readers have heard of this place, and some of you may have even visited. I felt like a tourist myself, exploring the winding streets, taking in the sights and sounds of all the magnificent colleges of the world famous University.


A stop off at the Cath Kidston shop was a must. I enjoyed browsing through the merchandise, but sadly my pennies wouldn't stretch far enough to purchase the bag I had my beady eye on. There are some items that sit within an affordable budget, but a lot of it is quite expensive. Perhaps if I'm a good girl Santa will bestow something from there upon me this year. 

I also spied the rather lovely wares of The Cambridge Satchel Company. From humble beginnings in the kitchen of inspirational entrepreneur and mum of two Julie Deane, this company has become a global sensation. A lot of you may already be familiar with Julie's story, and have seen her family feature on Google Chrome's 'The web is what you make it' series of adverts. You can hear the story in her own words here. It really is incredible.



The haberdashery department of John Lewis was my final destination before heading home. I couldn't resist having a mooch around, and a good squeeze of the yummy yarn on display. Taking mental notes of all the brands that caught my eye. They mostly stock Rowan, but I did like the look of the Patons Diploma DK and Wendy Supreme DK. Although I'm pretty sure that my next purchase will include some Rowan Handknit Cotton or Pure Wool DK. It's always nice to get a proper look and feel for the yarn, something which is lost on internet shopping.


I've had oodles of crochet colour inspiration this last week from a simple bag of wooden beads, bought for the princely sum of £1 from Tiger. As you may remember I've been messing around with the Edwardian Fancy block, creating a motif that can be joined as you go. I've had sooooooo much fun with it, I think it could be my latest obsession. 



I'd be really interested to know 
where you find your colour inspiration???

Before I go, I must mention something that I saw yesterday on BBC Radio 2's Festival in a Day event in London's Hyde Park. A band of super talented musicians called The Treacherous Orchestra took to the stage and quite literally wowed the audience. I defy anyone to not be tapping their feet and clapping their hands along to this music. They are totally new to me and from what I heard I'll definitely be following them with interest. 

Whilst visiting Sound Cloud to listen to this track, I happened upon another Folk Quartet called Kan who's track One,Two,Three, literally just blew me away. I felt compelled to mention them here today because they certainly made an impact on me. Have a listen if you're so inclined. I'm sure a few of you creative souls will love them! Even if folk isn't your thing, you have to at least appreciate the magnificent musicianship of these fellas. I think this music is in my bones you know?! Must be the Celtic blood.....  

Source

Phew, that's a long post! 
Brownie points to you if you've 
managed to get to the end. 
I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings?!?

Till next time
x x x x x x 

19 comments:

  1. Two brilliant bands, I absolutely love folk music so thank you for sharing this! Ohh I want to be a fiddler when I grow up ;-) My personal musical experience is limited to the sax classes I took as a kid (oh yes, the glorious saxophone, a Belgian invention mind you, one of the very few ;-)) but my dad made me return the instrument because I drove the neighbourhood crazy endlessly repeating the Pink Panther tune... And now my boyfriend gave me a harmonica! Risky business.
    Cambridge is high on my list for a future trip to the UK, must remember to look for John Lewis!
    Have a lovely week xxxx

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  2. Sounds like a nice trip! Would love to visit a Cath K. store someday, but they are a long way from here!
    I love the music too: it always gets me out of any funk:)

    Jenn @ JennsCraftyWorld

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  3. I always enjoy your posts. I am envious that you can visit Cambridge so easily. That is one place I'd love to see. Your crochet blocks are beautiful, and I really like the KAN music. Thanks for sharing your adventures with a blogger from Texas.

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  4. Hi Sharron,WOW!!!What a lovely day you had!!!It's really beautiful!!!I have never seen such a very big yarn store!!!I must be heavenly to walk through there and like you I also have to feel everything!!!Have a great week!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  5. Oh John Lewis is definitely one of those places to indulge yourself in lovely pricey wool :) A bit pricey for some things but they have such a nice collection

    I didn't realise those bags were from Cambridge, I see them all the time! Somehow I've missed the Chrome ads so thanks for posting it, what a cool story! I bet she uses Internet Explorer though haha :p

    I love all the bright colours you have going on, somehow you never seem to over do it even though they're zingy like crazy! :)

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  6. Looks like you had a wonderful time :-) Thanks for sharing the pics.
    Your blanket is looking terrific. Love the bright colors.
    Blessings :-)

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  7. Oh, wow! I love your pictures. They are terrific! And I love all that yarn!!! :)
    ___
    Lee Ann

    Crochet...Gotta Love It! Blog

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  8. Beautiful pics of Cambridge Sharron! I love Cath Kidston bags too and often manage to buy them in the sale when they are around half the usual price.
    Love the coloured satchels....will have to visit the website and have a good look around later...the shop looks so lovely!
    The colours in your crochet are beautiful...I get my colour inspiration from everywhere...(usually nothing to do with yarn!)...magazine pics, paintings, a pretty fabric...
    Happy Tuesday!
    Susan x

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  9. A very interesting post Sharron, thanks for sharing all that with us. I think your beads are such a wonderful source of inspiration and your crochet blanket is looking wonderful. I enjoyed the track on soundcloud, so thanks for sharing that with us. I am off now to go and read a little more about he Satchel company xoxo

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  10. What can I say except everything is just so amazing! The pictures of Cambridge is the closet I will probably ever get since I live in the state of Louisiana! Those pics are just so beautiful, never seen anything like it!
    I am also a big fan of anything Cath Kidston, it's all so inspiring!
    Hope you are having a wonderful week!
    'smiling back at you'
    Shari!

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  11. Cambridge... lovely! I haven't been there for so long (even though I work in Cambridgeshire) and it looks wonderful in the sunshine. I love your squares. I am looking for a winter project and it feels as though it will be a blanket to keep my knees warm. Have a wonderful week. Chel x

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  12. Such a pretty pattern for the squares. Thanx for all your nice compliments on my blog. It's well appreciated (especially coming from you...) XO Jenn

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  13. Hi Sharron. I found you on Pinterest and have been lurking for a little while. I just wanted to say what a wonderful inspiration your blog is. I have just started making Peggy squares after a long break, and am totally hooked.
    I can't wait to finish the one I started on and start another (pink... or lilac...)
    I also love seeing some of the country with you.

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  14. I've never been to Cambridge but you've made me really want to go...nice shops! Those squares are just delightful. The colours pop but don't overwhelm and they remind me of a jar of sweets. I like the way you found inspiration in the beads - I think I often refer to mid-century patterns for colour inspirations. Or nature. x

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  15. I love John Lewis for crafty stuff. It all looks so beautiful! xx

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  16. Love this, it's great to read about your adventures in the locality. I plan to do some Christmas shopping in Cambridge, I only live 40 minutes away but sadly my visits to Cambridge are always to Addenbrookes hospital! So very soon I plan to have a positive visit as I want to browse all of the lovely shops. Loving the Edwardian fancy, you have a great eye for colours xxx

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  17. Hey Sharron, Your blog is so lovely and colorful and I'm impressed by how much it seems to grow each time I visit it. Thanx for the explanation on the word 'type case'. Sometimes it's quite difficult to find the right translation. Have a lovely day!

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  18. Mi nombre es Sandra, soy Argentina y me gustaría ver terminada la colcha. Gracias !! saludos.

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  19. what a beautiful place....Love all the yarn, wow, a beautiful explosion of colors..

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Thank you for visiting me here at Annie's Place, and for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate each and every word x x x

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