Yarn along

Getting back into things and joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Book - Still with me by Thierry Cohen

Knitting - NapTime baby blanket

So I took this photo last night and wouldn't you know - I went and finished the book straight after. Actually it feels a bit weird to say book when there was no paper in sight! Still, it was a good read, mixing themes of suicide, eternal damnation, religion, and a good old love story but not at all smooshy. I don't do smooshy. It begins with a suicide attempt and unrequited love. A year later the main character wakes up and slowly begins to realise that he has lived an unknown life for a year, suffering total amnesia since his attempt to take his life. The story relates his subsequent awakenings and how he comes to realise what kind of person he is, and the life he brings to others. His awakenings happen at increasingly infrequent periods during which he tries to plot the downfall of his vicious uncaring other self, the self that is around for years at a time. The ultimate theme is the battle between the good and bad in ones self and is played out well. A well recommended read.

The knitting, well that's going well. I've finished the first skein of the Manos Silk, if you read my previous post you'll know that was my January target. Go me. I've realised that there isn't enough to make the blanket to the size expected but never mind, it will still be a decent size. Still loving the yarn, it's so soft and warm. The colour is rubbish on the photo, it's actually cream with pink not the peachy colour it seems! I'm going to put it to one side now though and go back to the socks - the other January target!

-x-

Well hello and happy new year.....

It's been a while hasn't it?

I did think I'd start the new year with a new enthusiasm for crafting and a sparkly new and exciting blog. Well, that was in my mind....in reality we have had a crisis ridden few weeks here. First the laptop died, then aboy got sick, then he recovered and a mama got very sick (the kind of sick where she couldn't hold her baby for 3 days never mind a knitting needle!!). Then a dog got held to ransom by an overenthusiastic dog warden and cost 2 days of worry and an 85 quid ransom fee. Then another boy got sick then, the baby got sick, and still is. Oh and we had a radiator die and need replacing, then two windows replaced, so afreezing house for two days. No, it wasn't the best of starts to the year...........

So anyway, things are getting better and I'm going ahead with my crafty plans for the year :)

2013 is going to be the year of being organized. 

And the year of the sock!

Every month I'm hoping to finish one pair of socks, one gift knit, and work on one larger item. If I can fit anything else in then all good, but these are my main targets. 

I was going to say I wouldn't buy any yarn until I'd used all the stash too, but thats boring isn't it? And besides I've already bought 3 skeins of Manos Silk and a lovely hand dyed sparkle sock yarn from the lovely Sarah.

So a peek into my craft bag:

Do you remember that bag? It's been hidden away in the bedroom for ages but I found it when hiding the yule gifts and knew it had to come out. It's such a happy, smiley bag isn't it? So now it's my project bag, and just the right size too:)

A closer look at the contents:

This months socks, starting with an easy basic pair, and probably destined to be the gift knit too due to losing so much of the month to all the above....I know, cheating already, ahh well..... Yarn from stash though so there's a plus there.

The larger item: 

Well thats for a baby we're going to be meeting late April. Yes, I'm going to be a Grandma for the second time, Jen is expecting a baby girl. Woohoo, isn't that exciting? Another of our girls all grown up and starting a family of her own.So the knitting? A baby blanket knitted with the super soft, squishy Manos I mentioned earlier. Soo enjoying knitting this, and thinking of that new little baby all bundled up in it's softness..... The plan is to try and knit through one skein per month for three months and so have a blanket all finished up by time Jen is 36 weeks. I'm thinking this way I won't get bored, and I won't be caught out at the last minute. What do you reckon?

And if you peek closely you'll just see that skein of sparkly sock I mentioned earlier. I already know what that's going to be, but I'm not ready to share yet. Hopefully if it will be this months gift knit, but if I don't get round to it then I will be looking forward to next month.

So there we go, my crafty, yarny plans for 2013. I wonder how long I'll keep to them?

Oh and it goes without saying - more blog updates, less webtime, yadayadayada..... (lot's more watching all my House box sets though whilst knitting - the broadcast tv is gone again and hopefully not coming back and I do love House....).

Ooops baby awake and big girl wanting her laptop, gotta go. See you soon :)

-x-

Smiley things

Way, way back, an eternity ago, before this little babe arrived into our arms I bought a wonderful kitchen larder cupboard off eBay. As I was very, very pregnant at the time (just a few days pre-birth), I didn't view the cupboard as I couldn't face the car journey. I spoke briefly with the seller on the phone and sent John and our neighbour off to pick up the cupboard. Now John is one of those people who talks to anyone, helps everyone and is generally just all round nice. So he chatted with the seller, admired her home, told about our excitement at soon meeting our new baby, and how I loved to sew, and knit, and all things crafty. He came home telling me what a lovely woman she was and how I would have enjoyed meeting her. He also had a bag of goodies that she was including in the sale, just because she thought I would like them. And such goodies they were. Would you like a peek?

There was a bag stuffed with pieces of fabric:

I shook them out and discovered that the two floral pieces on the bottom right were very pretty, but old, half pinnies, and the square motif fabric was a pair of vintage barkcloth curtains. The baby pink is a length of quilted fabric destined to soon become a quit for Heather's baby and the other fabric pieces were all at least a metre length each and so pretty I'm sure they'll be used, just no idea what for just yet....

There was a paper bag with a piece of white fabric poking out. As I tipped it gently out I discovered it was a heavy linen tablecloth partly embroidered, with a huge collection of embroidery threads hidden beneath it:

One day the love and care put into this piece will be continued, maybe by me, maybe by someone else, but it will be beautiful.

And then another bag to empty, this time containing a mishmash of sewing goodness:

Press studs, and needles, and threads, and bias bindings, and hooks ad eyes, and elastic, and needle cases, and darning yarn, a huge bundle of fixings and trims. And some still carrying their pre-decimal price tags!

Yet another lovely thought was in how this lady had wrapped the glass shelves from the cupboard - in heavy vintage cotton embroidered bedsheets! So lovely, and just what I like, crisp and white and beautifully trimmed. Unfortunately no photos of these as they are living in the back of the wardrobe for now until such time as I have a bed to just my man and myself, rather than two little girls, an occasional boy and an assortment of cuddly toys, odd socks and crumbs....

The final gift from this kind, sweet lady was these:

A riot of colour and fragrance picked in her garden and sent with John to become the first thing displayed in our lovely new unit.

A reminder of the old saying - A stranger is a friend we haven't yet met.

-x-

Photo flop!

I feel my crafty mojo creeping back after many months in hibernation. Even the thought of teeny baby knits couldn't lure it out of hiding. I guess that was for the best really as teeny baby knits wouldn't have lasted very long for this chunk of a girl. She's already outgrowing her 3-6 month clothes and she is the grand old age of 9 weeks! The few baby knits I made especially for her lasted roughly 2 weeks before they were too tiny.

So anyway, back to the rediscovered yarn love. Like I said, it's creeping back slowly. After the six week job of creating a little soft bunny, I gathered all the unfinished bits and decided to crack on with them. First up was this:

 Started when I was around seven months pregnant (even then I must have had an idea this baby was going to be a real biggie and so not to continue with the teeny knits), I just wanted to get cracking on winter cosiness. Oh, and use stash too :)

So I found a knitting magazine supplement that used a similar yarn weight and knitted up this hoodie for Cain. In the pattern it was stripey but that was a step too far for my tired, fuddled pregnancy brain. 

The photo's are pretty rubbish, but all I could grab between feeding, cuddling, and playing. It needs a button too for the collar, have to go search the stash for one later. Looks nice and warm though doesn't it? The only problem I had, besides the rubbish photography, was the arm length. Now I'm pretty certain Cain has average size arms, he's certainly not of gorilla upper body proportions, but when I knitted to the pattern the sleeves only came partway down his lower arms! Luckily they were knit top down so I unpicked and added another 13 rows, roughly 5cms, and they are now fine.  Just have to watch he doesn't fray the cuffs dragging his knuckles along the floor ;)

Another UFO on the needles right now, this time one that's been hanging around for maybe two years or more. Might even be able to share it within a couple of days.........

-x-

The hare and the tortoise

This is the hare.......well actually it's a knitted bunny - the first little toy for our lovely little girl:

Actually she's not so small, she loves her mama milk, which explains why it took me 6 weeks to knit this one thing. So the tortoise? Well that's me and my crafting of course :) Remember when I blogged the one Helen knitted up for Heather's birthday? Well that one took her 2 days. TWO days for a relative knitting novice. I thought this would take me roughly the same when fitted round cuddles and feeds and general other stuff. I never thought I would take six WEEKS to knit a toy bunny!!

Little bunny knitted in soft and cuddly Sirdar baby crofter on 4mm needles, using just under 50g for the whole thing.

Want to see the whole shot?

Aaaawwwwww! I know you're thinking it :)

-x-

The long project

For anyone who doesn't read the other blog.......

The 9 month make is finally ready to reveal:

Ivy Marian, 18-08-2012.

Did you guess?

All that tiredness and lack of motivation?

Broken only by a teeny knit or two.

I'm sure you won't mind if I stay a non-committed blogger for a while longer, although I do have a few things to share from the past few months. 

When I can tear myself away from the newest addition I'll try a proper catch up :)

-x-

Popping in.......

So's you know I'm still around :)

So much going on around here at the moment which means I haven't enough time to either craft, or blog about crafting! There has been some making going on but not sure it's that interesting to the world in general lol. We have been having a major sort out and shift around of our downstairs space which has meant lot's of painting, decorating, upcycling of furniture, sewing of curtains etc. We have lived here for eight years now and at last I know how our kitchen space works to the best, so lots of re-arranging in there, ready for it's final touch-ups when I get the energy. Maybe I'll share then?

I have crocheted some more little dishcloths in colours that are around and about the room:

Can you tell I wasn't paying much attention when I made the stripey one - haha, hiding it under the nice one is the best idea :)

 I love crocheted dishcloths, they last for ages. The ones I made 2 years ago are just about ready to move from the kitchen to the garden so about time I made some more.

There's another pretty big project that's been taking up a lot of my time and energy, but again that is not quite ready for a big reveal. Hopefully soon :)

So yes, still here, still reading all your lovely blogs, still gathering inspiration, just finding it really hard to find time to actually do anything!

Oh there was something I  wanted to share:

Isn't that so lovely? A cute handpainted darning mushroom that was one of my birthday presents. So what if I had to buy it for myself ;)

Catch you all soon with some big ta-dah's.

-x-