Progress on my goals for 2018 – two months in.

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Goal Setting11 Comments

Since March has already been and gone, I thought I’d better get on and review my March progress on this year’s goals.

March has been exceedingly busy, but not with crafting I’ve completely ignored my goals to:

  • Make a gift a least once a month on average
  • Give random gifts (gifts not attached to birthdays, house moves, Christmas etc) at least 6 times this year
  • Write up my outstanding knitting patterns then write them up within two weeks of object/garment completion – sorry Lynn
  • Become and remain UFO free all year.
  • Spin for 15 minutes a day when possible
  • Finish the quilt I started in 2017

I have achieved my goal to always have some knitting using yarn from my stash on my needles, but only because I haven’t touched it all month!

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However, there are two goals I have made progress on:

1. Make the Dartmoor Yarn Company a more ecofriendly business

Last month I announced the arrival of Naked Kits in the web shop. I’m hoping the virtuousness of this move makes up for failing to work on so many of my other goals last month.

2. Experiment/play/learn once a week

Two ticks here:

  1. I’m still working very slowly on my new kit – but it’s still frustrating me, so I haven’t picked it up as often as I should have. It really should be finished and out in the shops by now!
  2. I’ve knitted the shawl collar for my Pineapple Cardigan four times now and ripped it out three times. I am finally happy with it and am sewing it up!

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Although I’m planning on getting more crafting done in April, the garden is absolutely desperate, so if the weather finally becomes more spring-like, I’m not sure I will.

How did your crafting fare in March, whether you set goals or not?

Thanks for dropping by! 🙂

Bekki

Sunday Sevens – 1st April

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Sunday Sevens23 Comments

Joining in again this week with Sunday Sevens – started by Nathalie at Threads and Bobbins – sharing seven (or so) pictures of  the week beyond the blog.

Last Sunday was a complete contrast to the snowy Sunday before. The sun shone and I got out in the garden to work on a much neglected patch of weeds flower bed.

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Still a bit go.

It was good to see the daffodils that had bloomed before it snowed had survived the blizzard…

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The primroses were still happy too…

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… and, it was so nice on Sunday, we had our lunch in the garden…

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Monday wasn’t such a good day, not just because it was raining, but because the accelerator pedal in my car fell apart. It seemed an unusual thing to happen – has anyone else ever had this?  I can only think hubby has extra heavy feet.

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My new accelerator pedal

Tuesday was cloudy, but dry. With the weather forecast to be wet for the rest of the week, we made the most of it and took a trip to Mawgan Porth beach…

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… followed by lunch at the Catch cafe…

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On Wednesday we had the best sort of house guest when Fergus, from next door, came to stay for most of the day, while his owner was having an operation.

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We really are on a roll with the pub quiz this year. We won again on Wednesday. That’s four times this year!

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On Saturday we visited the Easter art exhibition in our village hall. Almost all the exhibitors live in the village – it’s amazing to have so many talented people in such a small community. If you’re local, it’s on until Monday, so go take a look! There really is some wonderful work.

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This week I also finished reading The Help. I’d had it by my bedside meaning to read it for years, when some of you guys prompted me to get it out and get started. Thank you very much to those of you who did. I loved it! Great characters, great humour and not a single paragraph that didn’t keep my attention. If I have got a criticism, it’s that the end/consequences feel too rose tinted and not realistic – but I’m not complaining, I love a happy ending.

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Hope you’ve had a great week!

Thanks for dropping by.

Bekki

Sunday Sevens – 25th March

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Sunday Sevens27 Comments

Joining in again this week with Sunday Sevens – started by Nathalie at Threads and Bobbins – sharing seven (or so) pictures of  the week beyond the blog.

The week started with us waking to a smattering of snow on Sunday.

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The snow and wind built up through the morning and by 3 o’clock it was blowing a blizzard.

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Even the windows became covered with snow.

The A road above the village became blocked and by bedtime we learned the A30, ten minutes above us, was closed and full of drivers spending the night in their cars or at a local school hall. By morning there was lots of snow.

So another snow day, but we did leave the house for a walk and lovely husband made some bread.

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I also popped round to friend’s house and discovered she’d knitted a clanger. Isn’t it cute?

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On Monday, a friend’s dog had escaped the house and vanished. She was still missing on Wednesday, so, now able to leave our village, I spent the day helping put up posters…

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On Thursday Lovely Husband part cycled part climbed over snow to reach Okehampton Station.

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Percy the station cat was so fast asleep, he wouldn’t even open his eyes for a photo…

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While lovely husband had a huge breakfast, I had a calorie free cup of fruit tea.

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On the way home hubby made a snow angel…

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On Saturday we headed up country for a flying visit to Lovely Littlest, so time for some car knitting…

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On the way home, we dropped into the American diner on the A303. I was a very good girl and chose a salad…

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But the best part of the week was on Saturday morning when I received a text telling me Poppy was home. She had turned up on her owner’s doorstep about 11pm, covered in goodness knows what and stinking of badgers. The vet gave her the once over and declared her perfectly well. And, after her 108 hour adventure, all Poppy wanted to do was sleep.

 

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Hope you’ve had a great week.

Dog Lost

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Dogs41 Comments

On Monday morning a dear friend’s dog managed to get out and ran away from home. They’ve been frantically searching for her since, but to no avail. Like most dog owners,  I know how bad it feels to have lost you dog for just a minute. An hour, of course, is far worse, and I hate to think how it feels when multiplied by 48 or more.

If you live locally, I’ve added details of the dog below, so please keep an eye out for her.

If you don’t live locally, even if you DON’T own a dog, there’s still something I wanted to highlight.

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Through this ongoing experience, I’ve discovered doglost.co.uk. You may already know about it, and I’m sure somewhere in my head I knew that it would exist. And it does! Dog Lost Dog is a volunteer organisation that publicises lost dogs throughout the UK. It offers useful tools to owners if they lose their dog and provides publicity and advice – all for FREE. You can even preregister your dog in case you lose it. Click here to find out more.

Dog Lost also allows people to sign up to receive alerts of lost and found dogs in their area. I’m sure if you own a dog, you’ve had the same experience I’ve had many times, of finding an ownerless dog while out walking yours. Sometimes the dog won’t even come near you. However, even if it won’t, you can still report your sighting.

Of course you don’t have to be a dog owner to find a lost dog. So even if you don’t have a dog, you might want to sign up.

Anyway, here’s the details of my friend’s dog, who is still missing as I post this..

POPPY

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Female Border Collie Tri-Colour (Black, Brown And A Little White) (Age: Older Adult)

Missing from Hatherleigh, EX20 area, South West on Monday, 19th March 2018

She escaped out a house door on Moorview (housing Estate) in Hatherleigh and ran down the road past RGB building supplies towards the roundabout. She used to leave near Exbourne, so may be trying to make her way back there.

CONTACT: 07812987790 or 07969129116

 

Thanks even more than usual for reading.

Bekki

 

 

 

Sunday Sevens – 18th March

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Sunday Sevens27 Comments

Joining in again this week with Sunday Sevens – started by Nathalie at Threads and Bobbins – sharing seven (or so) pictures of  the week beyond the blog.

Sunday last week was Mothers’ Day in the UK. We were planning to see Lovely Littlest, but a last minute change in circumstances – nothing to do with her – meant I couldn’t see her 😦 Still I received some Lovely flowers from her and from Lovely Eldest.

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In the afternoon we went for a walk around Mr Hick’s favourite woods. This was one of his favourite paddling spots…

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A walk on the moor on Monday, but we couldn’t see much…

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Complete change in the Weather Tuesday – our first day this year that really felt like spring. I spent the afternoon in the garden, clearing the rockery of the overgrowth that happened when I abandoned it last year…

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Almost before
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After

On Wednesday we won the pub quiz again. I don’t know what’s happening, we only won once all year last year!

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Our winnings

At Knit and Sip on Thursday I worked on the shawl collar of the pineapple cardigan. I’m making it up as I go along. Unfortunately I made up it wrong and had to rip it out and start again…20180317_143748

On Saturday we popped into Robertson’s for lunch…

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On the way home it started to snow, but not for long…

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Hope you’ve had a great week!

Thanks for dropping by,

Bekki

Naked Kits and 10% Discount at The Dartmoor Yarn Company!

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Dartmoor wool, Dartmoor Yarn Company, gifts from Dartmoor, Knitting Kits20 Comments

One of the goals I set myself this year was to make the Dartmoor Yarn Company a more environmentally friendly business.  I started the business selling kits – which, of course, need packaging to keep them together. However,  when you’re selling in shops, the packaging also needs to speak to your buyer.

Unfortunately a plain paper or recycled bag doesn’t say, quality, natural, eco-friendly wool, fun, quirky, rustic, Dartmoor, British made… or any of the other words that might apply. I’m also not a total killjoy and I know many of my kits are bought as gifts and nice packaging is part and parcel of that.

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However at festivals and craft fairs, I’ve sold naked kits, with no packaging, to people who want to knit the product themselves. I’ve also taken the needles out of kits for people who have needles already. But the one place I hadn’t though about doing this was on internet sales.

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So my first step to becoming a more eco-friendly business is to offer cheaper Naked kits on the website. That way people who want the kit for themselves, want to gift wrap it themselves, or want to buy one of my project bags or needles bags to put it in, can purchase at a cheaper price without excess packaging and/or needles they don’t want.

I’m offering options of:

  • No ‘gift’ packaging i.e. Only wrapping the kit in the necessary packaging (which is usually recycled) to see it through the post.
  • No gift packaging and no needles  – as above, but without needles.
  • No needles – for those who want to give a gift to a knitter who already has needles.

Of course gift packaged kits with everything you need to create your finished item are still available to internet browsers who want them.

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These options not reduce excess packaging, but allow me to offer kits at a cheaper price. And, on top of that saving, I’m celebrating this positive step by offering a 10% discount on everything on the website for the whole of March – including Naked Kits.

If you’re looking to treat yourself – or someone else – for Easter, take a look at our kits, gifts for knitters and Dartmoor wool felted products.

The code for the 10% discount is: Naked10

And the shop is here

Thanks for dropping by!

Bekki

 

 

 

Sunday Sevens – 11th March

On By Dartmoor YarnsIn Sunday Sevens22 Comments

Joining in again this week with Sunday Sevens – started by Nathalie at Threads and Bobbins – sharing seven (or so) pictures of  the week beyond the blog.

Last Sunday Lovely Husband fixed the log shed that has been blown over by the Siberian wind…

 

 

He also conceded that he really did need to clear the snowdrift on the drive.

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On Monday I cadged a lift up country with him and, after his first meeting, we headed for a dear friend’s house in Nottinghamshire. She cooked us a delicious vegetarian chilli and my not-so-dry March continued…

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On Tuesday my friend and I went for a lovely long walk…

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…and managed to just about burn off a bottle of wine’s worth of calories each…

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After spending another night with our friends, we headed off to visit the in laws, who took us out for a pub lunch…

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On the way home we met up with some friends in Warwickshire for tea in their local…

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Although there’d been a lot of rain while we were away, there was still plenty of snow around on Thursday morning…

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There’s still snow left today, where large accumulations occurred, but the final remnants were gone from our garden on Saturday  morning. The temperature rose to ten degrees and I finally got out in the garden. I started digging weeds from this well neglected flower bed…

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But quickly got distracted cutting ivy off a couple of our trees and digging up some plants that I’m not keen on.

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Hope you’ve had a great week.