Craft - my new favourite shop

Today was one of those unplanned days where I managed to seize an unexpected opportunity. I was in London for a work event in Mile End. I was unsure what time I'd be getting home and had made sure all childcare was taken care of, so when it finished just after 3pm I decided to walk from Mile End to Islington along Regents Canal as I'd spotted a sign saying it was 3.5 miles along the towpath. It was a lovely walk through some very varied areas of London, skirting round Victoria Park which looks worthy of a visit on another day, passing this amazing bookshop, seeing all sorts of people using the towpath for their daily journeys.

Eventually (after an hour) I ended up in Islington. I had a quick peer through the window of Loop but decided to visit another day as I really don't need any more yarn right now.  I really don't need any more sewing stuff either but I couldn't resist finding the amazing Ray-stitch which I'd seen mentioned in lots of places.  And oh, it was worth the visit.  The shelves are stacked high with the most gorgeous fabrics, there are notions and trims galore and the staff are lovely. I bought a few items (which I won't divulge just yet as I'm sure they'll be making an appearance in the blog soon) but I could have bought loads more.

  I was too timid to take a photo in the shop, but sneaked a quick shot outside - the windows are too reflective to see properly, but there are lovely dresses on display plus loads of sample items of clothing inside so you can see how the fabrics work with different patterns.  It really is worth a visit - or multiple visits!

Run - another walk

I'm not sure whether I'm misrepresenting my activities by keeping the 'run' titles but it feels like walking is definitely a running substitute at the moment. Last day of our walking and crafting short break today - over 5 days 24 miles have been walked, several batches of flapjack baked, 9 circles crocheted and somewhere in the region of 50 pom poms made - some are now garlands and owls, many are still awaiting a purpose. A lovely break, and the loveliest part of all was seeing how much my children and my friend's children enjoyed both the walking and the crafting (and the eating!).

Today's walk was the shortest of all, 4 1/4 miles of easy terrain with a perfectly placed cafe stop for ice cream and duck food. These lovely buildings with their shiny woodwork were also en route - I love this shade of red.

Normal activities should resume in the next few days so I promise some more accurate blog titles will be on the way. 

Run - walk don't run

I was going to try and do a shortish run after we got back from our walk today, but walking further and longer than we'd planned (nearly 8 miles on very undulating terrain) followed by a very lovely cream tea made me reassess my plan. I decided spending a decent amount of time on my feet meant I didn't really need to go for a run after all so today will count as cross-training.

This is the valley that made up the last section of our walk. It was definitely worth missing a run today to walk through this amazing countryside in glorious weather with a lovely group of family and friends.