What a difference a week makes

Unfortunately the snow didn't last beyond the weekend and the next weekend was glorious. Dry and sunny although the sun was a bit cold. Drove over to the Mawddach estuary and walked down the old railway line which has been restored as a walk and cycleway. The path runs from Dolgellau all the way down the estuary, round the wooded penisula that can be seen at the end and it's possible to cross the estuary to Barmouth via the railway bridge which crosses at the very bottom.
This is a view across the estuary down from Bontddu.

Walking along this section of the track was taken by the way this rock stuck up and the colour of the marsh grass mirrored the lichen.

Saw this bird in the distance - it obviously wasn't a heron but we'd stupidly left the binoculars at home. I was lucky to receive some money for my birthday and as much as I love my little Canon Powershot A80 camera, my eyesight is so bad need to be able to use a viewfinder to get decent shots. As I couldn't afford a proper SLR got the Canon PowerShot S3 which seems to work pretty well. This walk was a useful opportunity to try it out. As it's got a 10X Zoom was able to just point and shoot depsite the fact the bird was so far away. When I got home and I was able to zoom the pic up was absolutely delighted to find that this is actually a Little Egret. A relatively common sighting in areas such as South Wales but not so common locally and certainly a first for us.
Last February took part in the Knitting Olympics and knit this Clapotis in Noro Silk Garden. I was really pleased with it but M hates it and teases me that it will take on a life of it's own as in one films of the M R James ghost stories. I was surprised what an easy but boring knit it was but would like to knit another but with a yarn that has some silk in it to give it some drape and sheen.

This February I commited myself to the Knitty Sock Swap. It didn't go as straightforwardly as the Olympic knit. I couldn't get the yarn I wanted and when I did find suitable yarn and pattern it kept going wrong. So picked something else from my stash and managed to knit up a pair of socks just in time. Due to the fact I needed to get the package in the post so quickly didn't get an opportunity to photograph them before they went. They've made their way to the wonderful Vknits and hopefully will be OK. Just a little worried that I really should have done an extra 2 repeats to give them some additional length.

Had a rather nasty shock on Fri - at work we're being re-organised within our region. Perhaps I was rather naive in believing I'd be slotted across into the new team. However it now appears like others I'm having to have my competencies assessed and scored and my post is no longer save. A formal letter announcing that my job is at risk arrived yesterday but the blow was considerably softened by the arrival of a package from Vknits.
This was a pretty pick box and as you see the goodies are beautifully tissue wrapped and just love the little snowflake sprinkles.

These are socks V knit for me and they couldn't be more perfect. One of the things that I love about Knitty swaps is the opportunity to obtain yarn or in this case socks made from yarn that I wouldn't normally have access to. In this case these are knit from Dream in Colour which is washable 100% merino. V picked up on the fact that it's a real treat to change into my hand knit socks when I get home from work and this yarn is relatively thick but also very soft.
This photo more accurately captures the colour. They truly are what M and I call St Ives blue ie the colour of the sea when it's sunny at St Ives in Cornwall. It's a rather special place for us and we got married nearby so these socks are just the most perfect colour for me. I'm also incredibly impressed by the pattern!! This is a skein of yarn that V has dyed herself - it's a bit more lilac in colour than is shown here but again an inspired choice as it's earmarked for a pair of socks which will have a fair isle border which will incorporate a small amount of purple yarn that I need to use up.

Many thanks V and bless you for well and truly cheering up my weekend.