Things that are making me smile today......

My collection of flowers and plants on my window sill in the kitchen because they look so pretty and despite the fact the weather is horrible, dark, wet and generally yuck it helps me to remember that Spring is not that far away really. I am so looking forward to warmer weather, blue skies and sunshine now, I'm trying to ignore the fact that more cold weather has been forecast.
Progress on the bag is slow to moderate. I'm tired, really tired. Pippa is hungry - it's either a growth spurt or a hormonal drop in my milk but she's definitely hungry and she's tanking herself up at night, which is all well and good but makes for a tired Mummy. Anyway, back to the bag, I've done 10 rounds on the sides now. I did buy some other colours yesterday but once I got home I changed my mind so I may take them back and see if I can swap them for the original colours instead.
And no, no deliveries of Attic24 yarn have graced my door yet. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed because the two sites I order from gave me the impression they would be sending them out soon. Oh well, by the time they arrive I might have finished my bag and I'll have somewhere to store it!

Round and Round I Go!

I tried not to be too disappointed by the lack of parcels yesterday. I was really hoping for a delivery of rainbow yarn but none came but at least it gives me something to look forward to this week.

The last few weekends we've stayed at home, it's the easy option with Rich at work. The older two immerse themselves in the land of digital games, Katherine potters and Pippa feeds, naps and plays in her sweet baby way and me, I clean, I browse and I get fed up. This weekend was better, I took the kids to town where we indulged in some crafty goodies, sweets and a wander round the market to see the fishmongers stall and his live lobsters. We came home and the older two dug for treasure and painted, Katherine slept and I started hooking an Attic24 bag with some new yarn.
It matches my tablecloth perfectly, it's just a shame the tablecloth is ready to be replaced after being glued and painted on for the last 18 months.

Today I am tired, too many late nights, too many night wakings to feed little Pippa, too many early mornings with Katherine, so today was a lazy day. Katherine has been particularly trying today and I was glad of her afternoon nap in Pippa's babynest as it gave my ears and my soul a rest for an hour.
Tomorrow will be a sad day. A good friend and colleague died just over a week ago now after a very, very short battle with cancer. I'm very sorry that I never got chance to say goodbye to her and I know that work will never be the same with her gone. I can't go to the funeral but I will be thinking about her and all my colleagues tomorrow when she is laid to rest. RIP Hun x

A New Passion

I've been good on the knitting front and I finished Pippa's tank top. I had about 2 foot of yarn left in the end. It fits, but it won't for long.



I've also knitted her hat, which if I'm honest is awful! It's too big, too bulky and the colours are a bit vivid! I also knitted Rich a slouchy hat from another Sirdar pattern, which is much better than Pippa's.



I also started a gift for my Mum, just a simple shawl/scarf affair using some bamboo sock yarn. It's simple, mindless, infront of the TV knitting but when it is finished it should be beautiful and a very welcome gift.

However, here lies the problem. I've discovered Attic24 the other day. I've heard of Attic24 before, but didn't really take much notice. It was crochet, something I can't do. I've tried before and couldn't get past the chain stitch. But then I visited the Attic24 blog and wow, what can I say? I was inspired, totally and utterly inspired. This blog is colourful, homely, honest and simple and if I could capture just a little bit of that here, in our home I'd be delighted. So I dug around in one of my knitting supplies boxes, because I knew I had a crochet hook. I think I bought for picking up stitches or something. And I sat at my desk with hook in one hand, scrappy balls of yarn scattered all over the desk and Attic24 on my browser and I did it. Her instructions are easy to follow and I produced a Granny Square, followed shortly by ripples and finally a bird.

I'm frustrated though, I have a dismal selection of yarn to pick from, some of it's cotton, some acrylic, there's 4ply, DK and aran but the colours are dull. I want the bright vivid rainbow colours, I want the sunshine that Lucy has in her home, even on the cloudiest days. So I caved and ordered to separate sets of Attic24 yarns and I'm sitting here on a gloomy Saturday morning hoping at least one of them arrives today. I don't think they will but I'm still excited and hopeful.

I'm brimming with ideas, way beyond my time constraints and skill but to feel so inspired is enough for now.

Happy New Year and all that!

So, it's the New Year. We had a lovely New Year's Eve, the younger girls went to bed and myself, Rich, George and Imogen played Twister and Scrabble until it was time to watch the fireworks on the TV, which were amazing. New Year's Day was a bit of a disaster, I had this idea that we would go to South Park and grab a couple of Geocaches and take the scooters so the kids could rid themselves of some of the cabin fever. Well, we couldn't find the caches, the kids were bored and it was freezing - so cold that even the pond at South Park is still frozen apart from one samll area. We came home, had some lunch and started clearing the office - 2011 will be the year we rid ourselves of our excess junk that daily life seems to consist of.

I have started a new knitting project - not a hat - and I'm really hoping I can do this with one ball as that's all I have.



I've also started 365project and at the same time I upload my photo of the day to there I am uploading to Photobox and at the end of the year I will print out a photobook of a year in our lives. The photos will be of our day to day lives, lots of the children I expect, a few of the pets and maybe, maybe a couple of me!