befogged

This weekend, I was here:

That being a picture of a rather damp Sudbury Hall, to which I ventured with a friend on Saturday. We were slightly perturbed to discover a rather sodden wedding party hanging around outside when we got there, but were assured that the hall would open in half an hour and in the meantime the tea shop was open for lunch, so that was ok. Perhaps not so much for the bedraggled bridal party, though!

The hall itself I really enjoyed - considering it’s such a grand-looking place, it actually felt quite intimate inside. None of the rooms were huge, and most of them seemed rather familyish and quite cosy, albeit with decidedly impressive views of landscaped gardens and lake and rather posh furniture! It was nice to have a nosey below stairs at the kitchen, too, though it was the 1920s/1930s version - for some reason, quite a few stately homes only seem to let you look around the bits in which the posh people lived, and I always want to see where everyone else was put. You’re only seeing half the story, otherwise. The hall has also been used in a few productions of Austen novels, and has costumes from Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice dotted around the place, which was quite interesting. And made made me wonder afresh what on earth all the fuss was about Kate Winslet’s weight - I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d told me these were original Regency gowns, they were all so little!

Then when we got back, we drank some of this:

If you can’t read the hastily scribbled label, that would be Al’s Simple Mead. Is very nice. A good time had by all, and all that.

Before all that, though, I finally finished the sewing up for this:

Having a cropped shorter sleeved cotton cardi to hand has not really been a clothing priority lately, but it’s finally finished off anyway!

It’s the Eyelet Cardigan by Blue Sky Alpacas, done in their Dyed cotton in Aloe. I’m not completely sold on it, but it was quick and easy and will no doubt get plenty of wear. The yarn is extremely soft for cotton, although it does disintegrate into cotton-wool puffs if you try separating the plies. I have yet to experience a desire to play he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not whilst perched on a bench, though