Where do you keep yours?

Well I used to keep mine in the living room but it got a bit out of hand :) I had the whole big sideboard, the bureau, a couple of wicker chests and a large decorative leather type box. And of course the basket that lived by my chair. A little unfair of me to keep all that storage to myself wasn't it? So I decided to sort it all out and give up all the storage to the children. The sideboard is now home to the jigsaws, the lego, the meccano, the wooden construction sets and one drawer full of important bits and bobs (purses, phones, keys and that kind of stuff). The bureau is now the children's writing/drawing area, filled with pens, crayons, paper, pencils, stencils and so on. The wicker baskets are home to little girlies teeny toys and the leather kind of box thingy is a nappy/muslin store and sometimes seat.

So where did all my stuff go? I know you know what stuff I'm talking about. My stuff......yarns and fibres and needles and, well, stuff! I'll tell you. It all found a new home on the top landing. 

A whole day spent sorting it out, fitting it into boxes and storing it on these shelves. Aren't I a good girl? All neatly sorted out and yet still so easily accessible. The boxes all contain my yarns, except the bottom two shelves on the right which holds the fibres. If you look closely you can see Owens peg loom, a couple of small weaving frames, and even my lovely spinning wheel (which I really need to get back to now my legs are working again!). The baskets at the bottom is filled with embroidery threads and charts and Aida and all that kind of stuff It all looks a bit boring though doesn't it? I need a good think about how to brighten those boxes up. Ideas anyone?

Oh, maybe I should give you a peek at a little of what is in the boxes:

 

Well except the children of course.Not a good idea to keep them in boxes on a shelf, although sometimes............

As for actually using some of that stuff - well I only just turned the heel on sock one. Not sure I'm even going to finish the first pair  of socks on time for my personal "one pair per month" challenge. Although I do have a sneaky back up plan, shhh! I might have to reveal that in a couple of days ;)

Well they won't get finished if I don't get sleep so I'll wish you all sweet dreams.

-x-

Bringing coals to Newcastle

Or in this case - this to mama:

Knit & stitch weekly collection part one - 99p, part two - 2.50

Helen went shopping a couple of days ago and brought me a present home. Well it was to do with knitting and it had wool! Thats what she said. So I loved it for the fact she bought it but what to do with? Hmmm.....

Well there's a couple of ok patterns 

Helen likes this....I don't!

Would really like to knit John a squishy, warm dog walking jumper (or sweater/pullover depending where you're reading from...)

Cute top, not so sure about the poppered legs- much easier to just pull on and off surely?

Ooh a scarf, a beginners nightmare surely, yards and yards of the same stitch, ESPECIALLY moss(seed) stitch...eek, no thanks!

Ever so slightly scary, maybe good for a very young beginner and the aawwww factor?

See, who needs Ravelry?

The not-so-soft yarn may come in handy for something, and of course I could always do with more hooks and needles.......

And no - not one person picked up the heavy hints at a Knit Pro interchangeable box set over the gifting season :( Oh well, they'll know for my birthday..... :)

To anyone thinking of buying this weekly collection - stop right now. Get yourself a pair of 4mm needles from the local yarn shop, choose a couple of balls of stylecraft or similar DK and go sit in front of youtube for a while. Just search "learn to knit", you'll find exactly the same as on the DVD that accompanied the first issue of this collection. And save yourself 4.50 per week after the initial purchase of yarn and needles! (Did you spot I lost the pound symbol again....?)

Oh and if you're here for the January knitting  update.....the socks are boring progressing. Almost to the heel on the first sock, think I'm going to work two at a time in future. Not sure I want to do this all over again....

Toodle pip everyone, off to do a couple of rows whilst the littlies are playing/eating/snoozing.

-x-

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-