oh i do like to be beside the seaside

as many of you already know I have moved down to the lovely Margate for my summer midwifery placement at QEQM hospital... and i have been exploring...
its actually not the Margate I remembered in the rainy summer holidays in the arcades and the sickly sweet smell of fresh doughnuts at BenBom's.... Margate is on the up and the old town seems particularly trendy! I have already found some lovely places to eat and drink and of course there is the Turner Gallery if you are feeling particularly cultured....

First up, GB Pizza, scrubbed wooden floors, trendy lighting and a very interesting loo.. pizza is delicious, very thin base and around £8-10 each, love the fact you pour your own wine from a barrell.... You should definitely try it out...

The Lifeboat is a tiny little pub nestled in Margate's old town and great for a speciality ale... apparently they have an open mic night every Tuesday, definitely going along to that at some point!

Gelato at Melt is a gorgeous ice-cream parlour and part of the very glamorous Sands Hotel, I had the salted caramel and biscotti flavours, AMAZING!!! and it was nearly as big as my head!! The first Thursday of every month the sands hotel hosts a jazz & dinner night, 3 courses and live entertainment for £35, Im thinking of taking my dad for fathers day! I am slightly obsessed with the Sands Hotel and also took my friends for Afternoon tea on Thursday, it was delicious....

Last week i also visited the Turner Contemporary Gallery for the first time and had a wander around the Grayson Perry exhibition.... what an eye opener!!!

Last up a photo of the gorgeous beach.... would think I was in LA... Next month i am planning on visiting the infamous shell grotto, The Greedy Cow for some lunch, The Glass Jar for a sneaky cocktail and their amazing looking fish & chips... and of course a trip to the newly opened revamped Dreamland!

knitting maniac: baby cardigans

with the very imminent arrival of my future niece/nephew I have been knitting away..... I have only just managed to master the art of knitting, so I am sticking to this one pattern and just changing the colour of the wool, blue - done, pink - done, now onto green...... I will include the pattern at the end...

use 3.25mm needles - up to 3 months in age

Main part

begin at lower edge of back. Cast on 56 stitches and work in garter stitch (plain knit) until work measures 14cm.

Sleeve shaping

Cast on 30 stitches at beginning of next 2 rows. Continue on these 116 stitches until work measures 20cm.

Neck Shaping

First row, knit 55 and leave these on a spare needle, cast off next 6 stitches, knit to the end, and then knit back to the neck edge. **Cast off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next row and the next alternate row and 1 stitch on the next 3 alternate rows. Continue on remaining 48 stitches until work measures 23cm, ending at side edge. You are now at the shoulder edge, knit 5 rows, ending at neck edge and then cast on 21 stitches at the beginning of the next row. Continue on the 69 stitches till the work measures 32cm, ending at side edge. Cast off 30 stitches at the beginning of the next row, then continue on the remaining 39 stitches for a further 14cm. Cast off.

rejoin yarn to stitches on needel and complete the other side starting from **.

Neckband

With right sides of work facing, using a circular needle, pick up and knit 20 stitches across the left back, 28 round the front and 20 along the right back. Begin with a knit row, then work 4 rows in rev st & then cast off loosely. 

Make up

Join side and underarm seams.