Gingerbread Girl

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2012-01-31T10:05:00.002Z

Another week has flown by and unfortunately four out of six of us have been struck down by a rather nasty stomach bug. I'm not really one to be pessimistic but so far this year hasn't been so great for me and mine yet. Perhaps the good and healthy times are just around the corner. I really do hope so.

Despite the illness I managed to get my seven squares done and I'm hoping to get the last of the squares done this week and then I can start on the border. I did toy with the idea of making this a little bigger, but I don't think I have enough yarn and I don't really want to have to order more just to finish it. Once again, I am having to apologise for the terrible photo but I just don't have time to try again - I have an ironing pile the size of a small car and some serious children's bedroom tidying needs to be undertaken today!

Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2012-01-24T10:08:00.002Z

Don't Tuesdays come around very quickly? This week I've added another seven squares to my blanket. I'm loving how the addition of more squares changes how it looks and I can't wait to add some more squares this week. I'm really enjoying this pattern.
Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2012-01-17T09:23:00.003Z

It's been quite productive here this week. I think the time away from work has done me lots of good and boosted my creativity. This week I've added nine squares to my blanket. I think the photo I quickly snapped this morning captures the colours perfectly - it really is bright! In case you are wondering most of my ends are sewn in, there's just a few of the outer ends dangling! I also don't think it's as 'twisted' in real life as it looks here....
I'm back to work towards the end of this week but I'm really hoping I can keep up with my creative streak. Thanks to an unexpected visit to my local Accident and Emergency at the weekend, I've heard there have been a few changes in the last couple of weeks so it will be interesting to see how things are when I return. Imogen was unfortunate enough to be involved in a car accident on Saturday - she's fine thankfully and getting over the shock of it all.

More Simple Pleasures.......

2012-01-16T14:49:00.003Z

The road to feeling myself again means finding pleasure in the simple things and what could be more uplifting to the soul than a walk in the park with Pippa and Lucy Labrador. It was a very cold and frosty start to the day here but now the skies are blue and the weak winter sun has melted the frost away. Lucy is eight this year, not that you would know, as far as she is concerned she is still a puppy, but she is as strong as an ox. She does enjoy a run around the park chasing her ball.

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-14T10:17:00.002Z

I have a stash of sock yarn and no desire to make any more socks, so I've been browsing Ravelry for simple sock yarn hats to make with my stash. This week I cast on Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure, with some Strumpf-und Sportgarn yarn. I'm really enjoying the mindless knitting, just going round and round and waiting for the colours to change. Such a simple pleasure.....

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2012-01-10T10:01:00.002Z

Oh, it feels so good to be back! And I am very excited to tell you about the new project I have picked to start the New Year with. I am sure many of you will have seen this project already but just in case you haven't the pattern is a baby blanket from Lucy of Attic24. she gave us a peak at it in her end of year review which you can see here, it's the second blanket and isn't it just a feast for the eyes? I resisted the temptation to buy the yarn Lucy used and instead shopped from my stash. I've got a mixture of Annell Rapido and Stylecraft and possibly some King Cole in there too! I've had to resort to an iPhone photograph as I'm not sure where my other half has put the lead for my camera but you can see my progress so far........
I don't think I've managed to match the colours totally but I'm happy with what I have, it's certainly bright and will suit the person who it is intended for completely.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone else is up to and thank you for all the well wishes too, they really warmed my heart.

Returning to Normal

2012-01-08T11:22:00.002Z

After my last post things all got a little much here and I hadn't planned to be away from Blogland for quite as long as I have. It's hard for me to write exactly what happened but I'm a whole lot better now, thanks to a wonderful doctor who listened to my woes and has got me on the path to feeling myself again.

Christmas was wonderful, quiet but that's how we like it. Work has been especially tough over the last couple of weeks, it's been extremely busy and I have found it soul destroying not being able to look after people the way I want to and should be, because physically I can't give anymore than I already am.

There's been a little bit of hooking and knitting here and there, and I am really looking forward to Tuesday when I am going to be introducing a new One a Day project. I've also noticed that I have quite a few new followers and I can't wait to hit 250 as it means I can have another giveaway!

I know it's a little late but Happy New Year to you all.

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-12-13T16:30:00.002Z

Apologies again for posting so late in the day. It's been a tough few weeks here in the Gingerbread House and I've decided in view of that and the festive season to have a little break from Tuesday's Tallies. So, this will be the last Tuesday's Tallies for this year and I will restart next year on the 2rd January.

I have absolutely nothing to share with you this week, but I am sure lots of lovely peeps will share their productivity below!

Looking Forward

2011-12-07T16:26:00.002Z

Things are not hugely different here today than they were yesterday. The younger girls are still not well and I'm finding it all incredibly draining. I am very much looking forward to when everyone is well again. We seem to have had a very long run of illness here and I really would like things to start getting back to normal. I would like to hear a lot less of the crying that has been filling my ears over the last few days and although I am very much enjoying all the extra snuggling that has been going on I am very ready for them to return to their normal playful selves. I hope that it doesn't come across that I am moaning about my children, I'm not, not at all, I would just really like to see them well again.

For the last few weeks I have been really looking forward to this moment. A little while ago I purchased an amaryllis bulb in a pot. All you needed to do was water it, stand back and then marvel at how quickly it grows. My amaryllis is now almost three feet tall, and oh so top heavy. At the top of the stalk is a collection of huge buds, which have been slowly getting bigger over the last couple of days. Today, the first of the buds opened fully and I am blown away by just how beautiful it is. The light levels today are pretty poor but I've done my best to photograph it so you can see just how beautiful it is. In fact, it's so beautiful and it's given me so much pleasure I'm going to get another one!

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-12-06T18:06:00.003Z

Please accept my sincere apologies for posting today's Tuesday's Tallies so late in the day. The last few days have been very intense with the two youngest girls suffering with awful colds. Katherine is much brighter today, but Pippa is really suffering. So, no photographs of my measly progress on my baby granny square cushion. Instead I thought you could see what's been keeping me from my hooks.

She really is as poorly as she looks, poor thing, I really hope she's better tomorrow as we have the school play to go to.

Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

Time

2011-12-03T10:23:00.004Z

I wish I could find more time in my busy days to blog more, but it's just not happening. My days seem to be endlessly filled with tending to the children, walking backwards and forwards to school several times a day and oh my the laundry in our house really does reach epic proportions at times. Right now, the older three children are playing together upstairs - an elaborate game, involving bags, stuffed toys and chocolate brownie! Pippa is tootling round downstairs, she does a lot of tootling! And me, I'm sitting here in my PJ's writing this before heading off to tackle some ironing. Later, I am hoping to catch a few moments of precious time to make another one of these.......These squares are to send off to the lovely Jill at Stocki who is hosting a fabulous Crochet Competition, please do go and have a look, it's such a brilliant idea.

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-11-29T09:16:00.002Z

Don't Tuesday's come around so quickly? This week I am delighted to have a Ta-Dah! I've finished my snowflake garland! I'm very pleased with it, it looks rather lovely if I do say so myself. Would you like to see?

You can check out all the details on my Ravelry project page, where I have listed all the patterns I have used.

I'm not sure what to do this week, perhaps I should concentrate on my baby granny squares cushion? I have 53 squares left to do, which is a little more than a week's work I think. Yes, I think I will spend the week on my baby grannies. I'm having urges to start something new, but I've decided that I should finish some other things first and perhaps the something new should wait until the New Year?

I really want to do something special with this yarn but I just can't decide? I'm thinking of either a giant granny square or perhaps little granny squares joined as you go? Any thoughts?

Stormy Weather and a Long Lost Visitor

2011-11-25T17:53:00.002Z

What moody weather we are having here today. It's wild and windy out there. It's most definitely a night for staying home, snuggled in front of the fire with a good film on the TV and possibly some hooky happenings too. Some time today, I don't remember when the sky to the north turned very, very dark but the sun was still shining. The light on the trees was amazing. I didn't have my 'big' camera to hand but quickly snapped this photo with my phone.

Do you remember a few months ago now, I told you about Molly and how she had gone missing, only to turn up and disappear again? Well, the times between us seeing her get longer and longer and every time a few weeks goes past without us seeing her I think she's gone for good. Someone else is looking after her, feeding her and keeping her safe but she'll always be my cat, and every so often she comes home for a couple of hours. Today was one of those days. She curled herself up on the dining room table and slept for a few hours before disappearing off again when she woke. I hope who ever is looking after her enjoys her as much as we do and I wonder if they realise she does have another family who love her very much?

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-11-22T09:16:00.002Z

Last week ended up being one of the worst week's I've ever had as a parent. Illness took over the whole week and it's a wonder I got anything done at all! Last week we had a rather special delivery here. Thanks to a scheme at work I a nw the very proud owner of an iPad and and iMac - how lucky am I! This is my first time posting on the iMac so I am hoping it goes without a hitch!

So, snowflakes! Remember last week, my aim was to make a snowflake garland? I'm not quite at the garland stage just yet! I've been experimenting with yarns and really thought I had cracked it with some pretty white yarn with an iridescent thread running through it but it doesn't block so well. I've made a couple with some fine cotton yarn and will try blocking those with spray starch and PVA glue to see which works the best. It's a very, very grey day here again today so please excuse the grainy photo.....

Repairs

2011-11-16T09:19:00.003Z

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day and ended with George, the eldest of my four, coming down with a sickness bug. I don't feel so well myself this morning either, so today has turned into a home day and we shall be lounging around getting better I think. I feel particularly bad about not being able to go back to work but I really can't go with a stomach bug. Hopefully tomorrow we will all be well again.

During yesterday's whirlwind, I did manage to do something I've been meaning to do for a few weeks now. I have two crochet cushions, so far! Both of them were crocheted over the pads and both were looking a little grubby, so I decided the best thing to do was to undo the seams, wash them and re- crochet them over the pads and then put them upstairs out of the reach of the little people who take great delight in dragging the cushions around on the floor. I'm hoping I might get chance to at least start repairing them today but we will see how things go. They do look pretty, if a little out of focus, while they are waiting to become cushions again!

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-11-15T08:17:00.004Z

I will be back to update this post with photos of my progress and my plans for my One a Day Project - it's going Christmassy, so do call back later! Katherine (my three year old) is poorly with yet another urine infection so things are a little chaotic here this morning, but for now........

Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

Phew, it's turned into 'One of those Days' here. Katherine is reasonably well in herself, aslong as she is given Calpol on a regular basis! She's on antibiotics and we are due to visit the hospital next month for further investigations. Thank you for all the well wishes for her x

Firstly, I'll apologise for the photographs, I quickly took them while Pippa is having a nap and I'm having a break inbetween de-cluttering upstairs. I've now completed 48 squares. the finally 16 need joining together to match the other two and once I've done that I am going to pack them away for a little rest while I concentrate on some festive hooky. I still haven't decided how big to make this blanket, maybe four blocks, maybe six, possibly nine! We will see!
So, moving on, my new One a Day project is to make a snowflake garland for our fireplace. I'm using the snowflake tutorial from Attic24 and some very pretty yarn which has a glittery thread running through. It doesn't photograph so well, which is a shame. You can see a blocking template in the picture aswell which I found thanks to the lovely Victoria at Yarn Round Hook. The snowflakes take much less time than my Sunny Spread Squares so I may sneak more than one a day in, but I also want to finish my lovely baby granny cushion, which has had no love this week at all :(
I'm sorry if I sound a little rushed, time is ticking away and in a few moments I will have to go and collect the bigger people from school and then I need to go an collect three sets of bedding from the laundrette. I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to strip ALL of the children's beds in one day! Finally at lunchtime I realised there was no way I would be able to get them all washed and dry to go back on the beds, so I made my first ever visit to a laundrette and the lovely lady there is dealing with them for me instead.

I am very much looking forward to later on this evening and catching up on your progress and please feel free to join in with the festive hooky too xXx

My Desk Again!

2011-11-13T12:05:00.004Z

There we go! All tidy again. I did enjoy tidying my little desk up. Reminding myself of all the lovely books I have and my little collection of Cath Kidston Stationary.
The observant folks will notice I am a little behind with my One a Day project, but I'm hoping to have the remaining squares all joined together ready for Tuesday :)
I even made a new jar jacket cover to hold my Clover Hooks, which is deliciously bright and garish!
And you can now see my lovely sheep ornaments :) I used to collect sheep in various forms and there are still various little sheep dotted around the house here and there, but these two are my favourites.

We are having a quiet day here today. There is a ham simmering away in the crockpot for tea. I hope it tastes as good as it smells, it's cooking in cola, mustard, honey and some chilli. I plan to spend the afternoon hooking away on my One a Day project and tonight I will be sitting down to enjoy the Strictly results. Anyone else out there enjoying Strictly? Isn't Russell just hilarious? And am I the only one who would be glad to see Jason go????

And finally from me today..............

My Desk!

2011-11-11T16:04:00.002Z

I have two desks, one in the office at the back of the house which is home to my PC and another desk in the lounge. The desk in the lounge is quite a new addition to our home, it's a 60's bureau with a fold down desk and I love it! The trouble is over the last few weeks it has got rather messy, well actually alot messy and so this weekend I will be tackling the MESS. Do you want to see the mess? Really? Are you sure? It's not pretty! Okay, here you go and I'll talk you through some of what you see...................

See, I told you it wasn't pretty! Starting at the top right you can see my stash bag, which currently has some 4ply yarns in there that are supposed to be crochet hexipuffs. Progress on that little project is very slow! Below you can see the hessian Sainsbury's bag, that is home to my King Cole Bamboo Cotton yarn that I am using for my One a Day project. In front of the hessian bag is another Sainsbury's bag - the bright yellow and orange one - and in there is some new yarn that is destined to become a blanket from Cute and Easy Crochet. Next to that is a wicker basket and in there is alot of acrylic yarn that I chose for Lucy and Heather's Ripple a-long. I've done quite a few rows but I don't think I'll be doing anymore, I just don't love rippling! Resting on top are a few balls of the King Cole that are waiting to be turned into Sunny Spread Squares and my ball winder. Returning to the top of the bureau is a wooden bowl, which currently has some random balls of yarn and a hat I started yesterday. Finally in the middle of the top shelf is a little selection of ornaments, my Cath Kidston button box and containers holding hooks and needles. That's rather alot of stuff for such a small piece of furniture! Behind all of that stuff, there are more exciting things, like books and in the cupboard below you will find more yarn.

So that's this weekend's job, to clear my desk and return it to it's usual pretty state. I will be sure to share some after photographs with you.

Have you got more exciting plans for your weekend than me? I hope you enjoy your weekend and it's not too cold where you are xXx

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-11-08T09:19:00.003Z

Tuesday mornings are a very exciting day here. I get up and do the usual morning stuff, of getting at least three out of the four children dressed, supervising teethbrushing, organising school bags, making packed lunches, brushing hair and finally loading up the pushchair with Pippa and the bags and heading out the door. On the way home I start to think about my Tuesday's Tallies post, where I am going to take my photograph, just how much progress I've made and wondering whether you are all very bored of seeing my colourful circles yet! Once we get home, I quickly snap my photo, make a cup of tea and settle down to write my post.

This week, I haven't as much done as I had hoped. I had a few days last week where no crochet was done at all which knocks me off for the rest of the week. Yesterday, I had planned to catch up so I could share seven squares with you but I decided I simply had to make Pippa a warm hat and so the knitting needles came out and I made her a cute beret. So my progress for this week, four more squares for my Sunny Spread and 23 little squares added to my cushion cover, which is my most favourite project. Working on it makes me giddy with delight. I love the little squares, the colours and the yarn is just so lovely. I simply cannot wait to finish this so I can snuggly up with my baby grannies.
Oh my, Pippa has just walked past and doesn't smell so good so I think it's time to go! I also have some shopping planned for today, I feel the need for a yarny fix!

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

October

2011-11-02T09:14:00.005Z

November started without me really noticing so this month's mosaic was a little rushed! I'm so pleased to finally see a finished ripple photograph there I can tell you! And as always there is lovely new yarn to enjoy. We've had bumps, bruises and illnesses in October and those of you that visited yesterday will also know we've had some unwelcome visitors too!

November sees us starting to get ready for Christmas and a birthday celebration at the end of the month when Imogen turns eight. I'm looking forward to more baking this month and the return of soup, stews and casseroles to our dinner table. As for hooky things, work continues (and will do for quite some time) on the Sunny Spread, I'm excited about my little granny square cushion and I've also got a new project ready to start with some pretty new yarn.

Well, time to do some housework and to squeeze in so time to visit all the peeps who joined in the One a Day link party yesterday. Do have look if you haven't already, there's always lots to see :)

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-11-01T12:22:00.002Z

Phew, it's now almost 2pm and it's my first chance to sit down properly and do my Tuesday's Tallies. Most of the morning has been taken up dealing with an infestation of the headlice variety. Eventually I admitted defeat - wet combing just wasn't going to get rid of them all, there was lots and lots - and went to the chemist to get some treatment for the little blighters. Order has almost been restored to the house I am pleased to say!

So, here's my updates for this week. I now have 41 completed squares on my Sunny Spread. 32 of those are joined and the remaining nine will be joined when I have 16 completed squares.

My little granny squares cushion cover now has 20 little squares completed and will require 100 in total. They are super quick to make and I'm really loving how these are working up. I even have a cushion ready to sew the panel on to :)

So, that's it from me today. Thank you for all the kind comments on my last post. I'm pleased to say there's been a little less in the way of bad behaviour over the last few days and it's back to school tomorrow which always helps!

It's one of those days here! I'll be back to update this post properly with my photos for this week and my square count but for those of you way more organised than me.......

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

Oh Dear!

2011-10-30T09:12:00.004Z

It's been half term from school this week and I really hoped to be posting about how much fun we had had, but it's turned into an absolute disaster (said in my best Craig Revel Horwood voice). Katherine has been very poorly with another urinary tract infection, requiring a trip to the Dr's, antibiotics and vast amounts of Calpol. Despite antibiotics it has taken four days for her to return to her normal self. Today has been the first day she has woken up without crying and complaining of a headache.

We've managed a few trips here and there and Gran has been here too which has certainly helped a little. The end of the week saw myself, Rich and the older two heading to Flamingo Land for a day out. I'd really like to say we had a wonderful time but we didn't. There were highlights - I very much enjoyed the sea lion show and a couple of the rides we managed to go on were fun, but over all the day was written off thanks to Imogen, behaving appallingly. Maybe I expect too much from her at very nearly eight, but she really did spoil the day, with much sulking, whinging and tantruming (is that a word?!). In the end we left early and really wished we hadn't bothered going at all. I didn't even take many photographs which is most unlike me at all!
I hope you are having a much better time than we have this half term. I'm hoping the last few days off are much better here too.

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-10-25T07:58:00.004+01:00

Another week over and yet another week with no blogging inbetween my Tuesday's Tallies. I can get quite alarmed sometimes at how quickly life passes by!

So, this week I've had almost a complete break from my Sunny Spread blanket. I was getting a little fed up of it if I am honest. I was working on my blanket and nothing else, trying to get the squares done and joined up was taking up most of my spare hooky time. So, this week I have no progress to share with you. I did sit down and write out exactly what I need to do to make one of the big blocks of 16 smaller squares and broke it down into daily 'bits' to stop it overtaking my life again!

I've been fiddling and faffing with other things this week. I started a ripple, I've made a mitten, nearly finished my Claudia Scarf and I've also fallen in love with little granny squares. I want to make a cushion cover with them so I'm going to add this project to my One a Day and complete at least one of these cute little squares everyday. Do you want to see?
I'm using Rowan Amy butler Belle Organic DK yarn, which I love and also used for my tiny hexagons. Talking of my hexagons, I'm not sure what to do with them, I'm not happy with the joins in blue so may go back and unpick them all, edge them with cream and start again! Or see if I can figure out a way to join them as I go. I'll keep you posted :)

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

PS - I knew I had seen some other mini granny squares when I was writing this morning's post but couldn't remember where - I remembered - here they are at Cherry Heart

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-10-18T09:15:00.002+01:00

I really thought I had more to show this week, but when I have come to take my photograph for today's post I realised it was almost exactly the same as last week! I have joined the groups of four squares together, and they just need joining into a group of 16 now. I haven't managed to produce a complete square for everyday, instead I have 7 new centre circles all waiting for their outers. I stacked my seven centre circles together and slipped them in amongst our Autumn display......
So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

I do apologise if I didn't get to your blog last week, the combination of a really old monitor and a computer on it's last legs is not conducive to t'internet browsing. Fingers crossed, thanks to a scheme at work I'll have a new computer very soon!

A New Ripple for Rippling Along!

2011-10-14T17:24:00.004+01:00

Have you seen Lucy's new ripple........ Gorgeous isn't it? She's doing a Flickr Ripple Along with Heather from Little Tin Bird. You can find the group here - there's some really gorgeous ripples in the pool already! So, you might have guessed already, but I'm going to join in. I shouldn't really - I have plenty of other things to be occupying my hooky time but I couldn't resist! It won't be a bright rainbow affair like the last one, more subtle and restful, lots of colours but just quieter ones than last time :) So far I've chosen these Stylecraft colours..........
There is Mocha, Camel, Khaki, Walnut, Parchment and Meadow in there and I should have some new colours arriving soon to add to the mix. I'm looking forward to starting but I'm going to be good and finish my Claudia Scarf first!

I must tell you about my very brave little Katherine, who had a nasty fall at nursery this week. In her haste to get to the sandpit she fell against a shelving unit splitting her lip in the process. Her lip swelled and swelled and caused much discomfort but I'm pleased to report it's almost back to normal now.
We had a splendid shopping trip this afternoon, I must tell you sometime about this amazing place we have nearby and some of my finds there but for now I must go and begin our bedtime activities as we have two very tired little girls here tonight.

Have a wonderful weekend xXx

ETA - can you believe about five minutes after I posted this George came home from playing with his friends with a split lip and Pippa fell over putting her tooth through her upper lip and tearing her frenulum!!!! So now three out of my four children have swollen lips!!!!

One a Day Project - Tuesday'sTallies

2011-10-11T08:39:00.003+01:00

It's Tuesday and time for another update on the one a day project. I haven't made much progress this week, mainly because I picked up the ripple blanket on Friday and didn't put it down until I had finished it. You can see my Ta-Dah post here I've also been having a think about my One a Day blanket and I have decided that I would prefer something a little calmer for our bedroom, so I'm going to make this a little smaller and maybe one of the girls might like it for their bed.

So would you like to see how much I've done so far?

And now I've got the ripple done, hopefully I can focus on this a bit more and have much more progress to share with you next time!

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

The Ripple Ta-Dah.........Finally!

2011-10-09T09:37:00.002+01:00

All other hooky work has stopped in the last 48 hours and I've worked the last few rows of colour on the ripple and I've done it. It's FiNiShEd!!!! I'm so pleased with how it's turned out and so pleased to get it finished as there was lots of wobbles along the way! Do you want to see?
It's a real feast of colour isn't it? The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK and the colours are the famous Lucy selection. There are four rows of each colour per stripe. I had planned to put a border on it, but now it's done I don't think it needs one :)

I hope that brightened up your Sunday, it certainly brightened up this little lady's day!

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-10-05T10:31:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I've joined in with WIPW, but I thought it might help me to crack on with some of my WIP that are sitting feeling rather unloved!

Firstly some progress reports but no photos I'm afraid. The ripple blanket is about 19 rows from being finished and then it's needs a border. I really want to get this finished soon, but I just can't seem to get my act together with it :( I also have a Claudia Scarf on the go with some wonderful autumn coloured yarn. It works up really quickly and the pattern is easy to remember. It's a perfect 'during the day' project as the a row takes about 5 minutes, so it's easy to pick up and put down, especially with children!

And finally, this is a new WIP - crochet Hexapuffs. I've been fiddling and faffing with these little puffs for a while now, experimenting with yarns and stuffing and I'm now happy with them! I'm using lots of different 4ply yarns, leaving them unstuffed and the long term plan is to make a quilt for our settee. The pattern is on Ravelry here. And in my very humble opinion it's the better of the crochet puff patterns.

So there we go, my WIP update, why don't you head over to Tami's blog and see what everyone else is working on.

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-10-04T09:43:00.004+01:00

Can you believe it's Tuesday again already? I'm a little behind again this week on my One a Day blocks. I have five complete blocks and two centres awaiting their edges. I was hoping to have another block of 16 done by this week but work and a demanding household have seriously eaten into my hooky time. I'm going to try really hard to get into more of a routine with my blocks this week - they take me less than an hour so I'm not really sure why it's so hard some days to find the time to sit down and get it done! How long does it take you to do your block/row?
So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

September

2011-10-01T08:44:00.003+01:00

So, September has been and gone in a flash. It's been a month of adjusting to the return to school after the summer holidays and the most bizarre weather, from the tail end of a hurricane, to a tropical heatwave. The creative juices are most certainly flowing which has resulted in lots of new projects started but little in the way of progress on many of them.

September also saw the start of the One a Day project. Oh my, have I been blown away by the response and the enthusiasm of all who have joined. I so look forward to Tuesdays and catching up on everyone's progress - or not as the case may be!

I'm hoping October will see less in the way of starting new projects and more in the way of progress on those I have already started! I'm not going state 'no new projects' as that is a sure fire way to get me hooking something new but I really must knuckle down get that darn ripple finished at least!

Late Summer Sun

2011-09-29T07:07:00.002+01:00

Isn't the weather in the UK lovely? I'm sure I mentioned it didn't look like we were going to get an indian summer but it seems I was wrong. The weather is glorious and we are making the very most of it and spending lots of time outdooors.
We are also eagerly awaiting the laying of this lady's babies. She's an amber coloured garden spider who has taken up home in the ferns. She's big, beautiful and judging by the size of her abdomen she's nearly ready to pop!
I hope you have a happy, sunny day where you are!

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-09-27T09:14:00.003+01:00

I feel like I've made lots of progress this week on my Sunny Spread, but really all I have done is another seven squares and I've joined the first 16 squares together. I think I needed to join that first block together to get a feeling for how the finished blanket will look and also to give me an idea of how many of the 'blocks' I need to do. Originally I estimated nine but I think 16 might be the magic number. I also wanted to see how far one ball of the off white yarn would go and one ball does one complete block of 16 with a little bit left over.
I'm looking forward to seeing all your progress today and I hope everyone is still feeling motivated. We now have 302 members on the Ravelry group and if you haven't joined yet, please do!

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

FO Friday!

2011-09-23T09:32:00.003+01:00

What a busy, tiring few days it's been. The two little ones came down with colds on Tuesday, which led to not much sleeping on Tuesday night, followed by a nightshift on Wednesday night. I needed something fun and quick to do yesterday to help keep me awake :) so out came the needles and I made a little bunny, using this pattern from Rebecca Danger. He's tiny, teeny tiny! I used brads for his eyes and nose - not ideal but they work and Imogen, my eldest daughter, has adopted him!
The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug and I used 2.5mm needles.

Please do go and have a look at some more FO Friday posts, which you can find on Tami's Blog :)

New Yarn

2011-09-21T11:58:00.003+01:00

I am seriously addicted to buying new yarn. I have loads of it tucked away in various cupboards and baskets and yet still the lure of new yarn is always strong. This week's new yarn is Annell Rapido from the wonderful Yvestown. I ordered 20 balls and a few were relagated to the 'not quite so keen on the colur in real life' pile and this was what was left from the 20.
I have absolutely no idea what this little selection will be used for - maybe another granny stripe or perhaps a round ripple? If you have any ideas I would love to know :)

The postman has just been with another little parcel of mini skeins but I shall share those with you another time...........

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-09-20T09:26:00.002+01:00

It's Tuesday again! And I'm rather embarrassed that I haven't blogged since last Tuesday. It's been a funny week here. Settling back into the school routine is taking longer than I thought and three school runs a day and working has really eaten into my hooky time this week.

I fell behind with my One a Day squares last week, but managed to catch up by the end of the week and now thanks to work and tiredness I have fallen a little behind again. I had 11 squares done last week, so really I should have 18 to share today, instead I have 16. So my plans for today are to catch up with the squares and also to join together the first 16 into one big square.

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-09-13T08:20:00.004+01:00

Another week has flown by and it's time for Tuesday's Tallies again! Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone of you who took part. I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed (in a very lovely way) by the enthusiasm of you all. For a little moment, I was worried I would be here on my own and I'm so glad I wasn't. I had great fun whizzing around every one's links - I hope you did too.

I'm keeping it short and sweet today. 11 blocks done, many more to go!
So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

Decisions and Babies

2011-09-11T12:47:00.003+01:00

I've been pondering over this post for a few days now, trying to decide where to go with the Year of Projects. I'm not really sure that 'committing' myself to set projects for a whole year suits the way that I am. I quite like to dip my toes in and out of projects and I'm finding 'The List' is playing on my mind a little more than I would like it too. So, I think the best thing for me to do is carry on as I was before 'The List' and relieve myself of the stress it's causing me. Phew, there I've done it - and already I feel so much better :)

On a similar note, I've also tidied up my Ravelry Projects Page and removed a few things here and there. It's all feeling very cathartic here I tell you!

The One a Day Project is going well, early days I know, but so far I've produced one block a day and I'm still enjoying the pattern which is good! I treated myself yesterday and as I had completed my block AND another stripe on the Ripple, I cast on a Honey Cowl. I'm using Debbie Bliss Andes and so far, so good, no eye flair up. BUT, here's the exciting bit. I have finally found a hexagon pattern I love. I've tried the Hexagon Tutorial from Attic24 and I tried The Apairy Puff but neither really got me all excited. You, know, that all consuming must do more excitement you get when you have found the right project, surely it's not just me that gets that? So here are my Baby Hexagons......

Oh they are so cute! So quick too - 10 minutes from start to end, including sewing in the ends. Perfect. The pattern is from Bunny Mummy and you can find her little tutorial here. I'm using Rowan Belle Organic DK, which is just the most lovely yarn and a 4mm hook. I'm going to be whip stitching them together and I'll just keep going until I've used up all seven balls.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope we don't all get blown away!

FO Friday! My Saroyan Ta-Dah!

2011-09-09T08:03:00.004+01:00

So, here it is, my Saroyan Ta-Dah! I've loved working this pattern, so simple yet so effective with the leaves at one edge. The yarn, well, what can I say - it's beautiful, the colour is divine with it's gentle and subtle hues, it's soft and an absolute dream to knit with - but oh boy has it caused me no end of trouble. After much thought and discussion, I think I can safely say I am sensitive to lanolin.

So would you like to see? I thought you might! Here it is in a scenic garden shot! I say that tongue in cheek, due to the lopsided lamp, the chicken coop and the parasol in the background of the shot! I didn't plan that one very well did I? Try to ignore the distractions and you can see Saroyan in all it's glory, end to end......
Now, I did try very hard to get an action shot, but the current eye troubles mean I'm not a pretty sight and make up is banned until they return to normal so the best I can provide is this......
I would just like to take a moment to sing the praises of blocking. When I finished this it was a curly wurly heap of yarn, yes it was pretty, but oh so curly wurly. Blocking has relaxed the curly wurly fibres and left me with smooth silky stocking stitch and leaves that are just crisp enough in the definition. I know most people know the benefits of blocking but seriously if you haven't done it before, don't be frightened of it, just do it.

For those of you that visited yesterday and were slightly bemused by the Patons sign. Shall I explain a little. The Patons bollard is part of a collection of little art works all relating to the town where we live. For years the Patons factory was here in Darlington, I think from 1947 to 1978, hence the 'tribute' in my local park. It is ripe for yarn bombing isn't it?

ETA - I've had a couple of questions about my Saroyan, firstly the yarn is Madelinetosh Sock in shade 'Isadora' and I did 10 increase/decrease repeats and 15 straight repeats on 3.25mm needles. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can wear it without the eye flair up. xXx

Look what I found..........

2011-09-08T09:46:00.004+01:00

You can't begin to imagine how excited I was when I spotted this on the way to school!!!! It's a bollard that appeared over the summer holidays in our very local park...........

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

2011-09-06T08:30:00.007+01:00

So, here we go, the first blog post for the One a Day Project. I'll be blogging about the One a Day Project every Tuesday and hosting a 'Mr Linky' so that anyone else joining in with the project and blogging about it too can join in the fun! I am keeping my fingers very tightly crossed that it works!

The original idea of the One a Day Project was to pick a larger project and work just one element of it everyday until it's finished. There was such a lot of interest in the idea of 'One a Day' that I started a Ravelry group which you can find here. I'm loving that because it's not a tradition KAL/CAL people are using the group to work on all kinds of projects and it's so much fun seeing what everyone is choosing to use the group for. I'm really delighted that we have 220 members is just over a week too. Please come and join in if you haven't already!

So onto my project, I'm sure you all know what my project is but as this is the first of the 'Tuesday's Tallies' I thought I would just give you all the details again. The project I have chosen is Sunny Spread and my goal is to make a blanket large enough for our king size bed. From today I will work one of the individual squares everyday. Once I have four squares, I will join them together so I have groups of four. I'm using King Cole bamboo cotton yarn in lots of different colours to make the circles and then using off white to edge them all.
I have one more ball to add to this selection, which should be here soon. The very pale one on the left is actually a really nice shade of pale blue, which obviously doesn't photograph so well!

I know my 'official' start date is today, but I've been busy working up one group of four so I could see how it looked. Would you like to see?
It's square in real life I promise! I've joined the squares together with a slip stitch join and then done a row of double crochet around all four blocks. I've blocked it very lightly, by pinning it so it's square and popping a damp cloth on the top.

So time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

Sometimes.......

2011-09-04T18:52:00.001+01:00

Being three and a few months is very hardwork and sometimes it's impossible not to grab a blanket from the settee, lie on the floor and go to sleep.

New Things

2011-09-03T09:35:00.004+01:00

I mentioned on my last post that I was taking all of the children shopping for new shoes, it wasn't as bad as I thought. The children were well behaved and there were no real tantrums over the choices, although Imogen was very close when George almost got a pair with toys in the heels! The older two got boring but practical black school shoes but I couldn't resist these red ones for the younger two. Pippa has grown lots since her last pair and this gorgeous red pair are her first with proper soles. Obviously she won't be walking outside much at the moment as she is still so little but it's always such a milestone when they get their first pair of 'proper' shoes. Katherine went to bed in her shoes! I was at work and Rich said he went up not once but twice to remove them and when I came home in the morning she greeted me in her PJ's and her shoes!

My eyes are still bothering me, so I think I can probably exclude the Madelintosh yarn as being the cause of my troubles as I haven't been working on it much recently. I visited the chemist the other day for some eye drops or some cream or something to help ease them but he refused to help and said I needed to go to the opticians and the Dr's. I went to the opticians yesterday and I am now waiting for the lens for my new specs. They are only for driving and watching the TV so I got the cheapest pair I could and fortunately they had smaller frames as I have such a tiny face/head glasses often make me look like a bug of some kind! IF I can get a photograph of me wearing them that I am comfortable with sharing with the world, I will let you see them 'in action' when they arrive!

So the next stop is the Dr's, which I will do sometime next week. I'm feeling generally 'yuck' at the moment anyway so I guess I can discuss that too. I was anaemic during my last pregnancy and I've also had problems with my thyroid levels before so I think they both need checking out again.

Finally, before I go I tried my hand at The Apiary Puff, which is the crochet version of the Hexapuff for the Beekeepers Quilt. It took me at least two hours to make so I've named it The Forever Puffle, because it's going to take me forever to make a quilt with them!

Have a happy weekend xXx

August

2011-09-01T07:44:00.002+01:00

August has whizzed by in a flash and here we are in September already. I haven't done as much crochet or knitting as I thought I would get done and I still have lots of WIP to finish. We've had lots of fun this month, with trips to Harrogate for the Sky Family Fun day and Lightwater Valley for rides on the roller coasters. And yes for once, I've included a photograph of me in my monthly mosaic. That's me on the bottom right after having my face painted, I promise I don't look like that on a day to day basis!!!

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-08-31T08:13:00.003+01:00

A very quick WIPW post from me today, I'm so full of busy right now! I've been working alot over the last few days, so lots of my spare time has been devoting to catching up on sleep and yesterday (after working a nightshift) we headed to Lightwater Valley for a day of rides and wet bottoms, but more about that another time :)

So the last week has been devoted to the Sarayon and it's almost there. I had thought I would need 20 repeats but I think 16 is going to be more than enough. So 2 straight sections left to do and then I will be on to the decreases. I tried to photograph this pinned out on our bed this morning so you could see how much progress I've made but the photographs were so bad I couldn't bring myself to upload them! So instead we have a 'scenic garden shot'........
When I was photographing this I realised that this is now 99% Madelintosh Sock yarn and 1% Lucy Labrador fur!!!! I can't be the only one who suffers with this 'blending' of natural fibres surely?

Please head over to Tami's blog to check out lots of other WIPW blogs :)

Oh and while you are here, please come and have a look at my new Ravelry group called One a Day. The idea is to pick a large project and work on one part of it everyday until it's finished. Maybe a stripe or a square a day! The lovely Alice from Crochet with Raymond and Cindy from Baxtersrest are helping me to run the group and we would love to see you there. I'll be starting my project next Tuesday and will start the blog links then too if you would like to join in with that too!

We are off shoe shopping for all four of the children today - wish me luck!

One a Day Update

2011-08-29T08:48:00.004+01:00

I just thought I would post a little update to say I have started the Ravelry Group for anyone interested in joining in on my One a Day project. You can find the group here. I'm all on my lonesome over there right now, so please come and keep me company!

I'm going to be starting my project on the 6th of September, which is when the older children return to school and nursery freeing up some of my day :) You don't have to start on that day, feel free to start anytime you like. The project I've decided on after spending the last few days trying out lots of different patterns is Sunny Spread and I'm using King Cole Bamboo Cotton yarn in lots and lots of colours. Here's the sample I did using a 3.75mm hook. I might change hook size once I start, but the yarn and pattern work really well together so far! I really wanted to do a project I could join as you go but I'll probably join this with a whipstitch join or a crochet slip stitch.
I'm going to host a Mr Linky on my blog once a week for anyone who wants to join in blogging about their progress, so please join in with that too won't you.

I'm really excited to see what everyone else is going to pick for their One a Day Projects - please do let me know if you have decided already :)

Bees

2011-08-28T07:44:00.000+01:00

I stumbled on this lovely blog the other day after searching for coaster patterns and this post in particular caught my eye. I showed my lovely other half and of course, I pinned one of the images to my Pinterest page (I've only just started Pinning so there's not a huge amount of Pins there yet!) I thought it would be a great project to do next year, when fingers crossed the garden will be tamer than it is at the moment. But, Rich had other plans and he spent a happy hour drilling away in the garden. We now have this little collection of solitary bee houses.........
Rather than random holes he's tried to make the holes in patterns, including our initials, how fabulous do they look? At some point we need to make a frame for them and decide whereabouts we are going to place them in the garden. Hopefully, the bees will take advantage and if they don't I am sure there are plenty of other creatures who will enjoy them. This year's creatures, that we are seeing lots and lots of are earwigs (yuck) and hoverflys.

Now Pippa is walking like a little pro, we've been letting her play in the garden more. We barricade her on the patio (to keep her off the grass and away from the stinging nettles and steps) and she amuses herself with some of our outdoor toys. This week her favourite has been one of our Tonka Toys, she did think at one point she could climb into the truck but in the end she realised that perhaps that wasn't one of her best ideas!
I'm busy trying to get as much of my Saroyan done as I can this weekend. I'm getting a little bored of it now but there's only a few more straight leaves to do before I start the decreases. I had thought I would need 20 straight leaves but I think 16 will be plenty.

Thank you for all the interest in joining me with my One a Day project. I have a busy few days to get out of the way, but hopefully next week I will start a Ravelry group for those who would like to participate. I'll also do a weekly Mr Linky post for those blogging about their projects too. I'm very excited about starting, especially as I have settled on the pattern I am going to use :) I was going to start mine at the beginning of September, but feel free to start at anytime if you are itching to get going!

Have a lovely Sunday xXx

One a Day?

2011-08-25T08:10:00.002+01:00

I've been toying with an idea for a while. It's not my idea, it's totally and utterly pinched from Little Cotton Rabbits. The idea is to pick a blanket made up from smaller shapes and just do one a day until eventually your blanket is a big as you want.

I've kind of tried this idea before using the same pattern as Julie - Flowers in the Snow - but me and the yarn just didn't get along and so the project is in hibernation. BUT I still find my self yearning to do a One a Day project. And today I've made the decision that I will do a One a Day blanket and I was wondering if any of you out there would like to join me? The blanket could be any pattern you wish, any size you like - the idea is just to do One a Day.

I have a rather large mountain of King Cole Bamboo Cotton, that needs to be used (but I will admit I am finding it very hard to resist buying some Rowan Belle the same as Julie) and I'm trying to decide which pattern to use. Here are some of my contenders..........

Flowers in the Snow
Hexagon How To
Grandala Square
Sunny Spread

So what do you think? Would you like to join me?

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-08-24T07:57:00.002+01:00

I haven't much in the way of progress to share with you all this week. Mainly because two of the projects I shared with you last week are now FO! You can see them both here I put the second photograph on Flickr and it's had a good response from people over there - not so much for the cushion but for the actual photograph - I didn't think the photograph was that great, but judging from the response over there it shows how little I know about photography!

So, now that those two projects are done and I've decided to to focus on my Saroyan Shawl, which is coming along slowly. I've managed to add another four leaf repeats since you saw it last week. I've done 10 increase repeats and my plan is to do 18 straight repeats before finishing with 10 decrease repeats, so I still have quite a way to go. I've put an arrow on the photograph so you can see how much I have done since last time! I also noticed when I took the photographs that this has some pollen stains from the most beautiful lilies I had near my desk last week. I've managed to pull most of them out with cellotape, but what a stupid thing to do, keeping lilies near my WIP - I guess I won't be doing that again!

I love the yarn, I like the sock much better than the merino light, but I think I have found a nice project for the merino light. BUT I am being very good right now and I won't be starting any new projects until Saroyan, the ripple and the vintage vertical stripe are finished (although I am secretly tempted to swap the VVS for this gorgeous round ripple).

So that's it from me today, like I said not much progress this week, but hopefully by this time next week I should be very close to finishing. Please stop by Tami's blog to see lots of other WIP Wednesday posts and thank you for taking the time to visit and comment here too xXx

Blooming Flower Cushion Ta-Dah!

2011-08-22T07:50:00.002+01:00

I'm so pleased to have a Ta-Dah to share this morning. I finished this yesterday so you may well have seen these photos on Ravelry already. So here it is, my Blooming Flower Cushion........
It's pretty isn't it? The yarn is Stylecraft Cotton Classique and it's by far, the nicest cotton yarn I have worked with, it's the perfect weight, it doesn't split the way Rico does but it just doesn't come in a huge range of colours. It looks rather pretty with my Starburst Throw on my little rocking chair.
For those of you interested the pattern is from Attic24 and you can find Lucy's tutorial here. I'm itching to make another one of these already but I'm going to be very good and finish a couple of other projects first. I have some bamboo yarn lined up to make another one but having seen this cushion made with Kool Kotton I may do a second one with my bag full of Kool Kotton and Calico. I've had very little success with these two yarns, but I'm thinking this pattern might be the one to use some of this yarn.

I tried so hard yesterday to get a photograph of Pippa wearing her Granny Top but she just wasn't in the mood for posing nicely - eventually she picked up the cushion, put it in her little pram and very clearly declared the photo shoot was over! This was the best shot out of the many taken, it's very cute, just not really showing the top off very well!
Have a lovely day won't you, it's promising to be sunny and reasonably warm here, but autumn is most definitely on it's way don't you think?

Giveaway Winner!

2011-08-20T19:38:00.002+01:00

Thank you to everyone who took part in my little giveaway and welcome to some new followers too :)

I received 71 comments on my giveaway post and I used a random number generator to pick a winner. The lucky number was 32 and the winner is............

GirlAnachronismE

Congratulations! I'll pop along to let you know you've won and get your package off to you as soon as possible.

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-08-17T08:46:00.003+01:00

As usual, I've been doing a little of this and a little of that since last week. Maybe I should stick to one project for the rest of the week and get some real progress done on one of my WIP? Are you a 'one at a time' or 'the more the merrier' when it comes to your projects?

I've done two more rounds on my blooming flower cushion front and started the back.
I started my Fall for the Shawl, which is coming along nicely, but I have a sneaky suspicion I am allergic to the yarn as an old problem with my eyes flared up when I started it. I haven't worked on it for two days now and my eyes are settling down again. I'll probably do some more of this at the weekend and see what happens. The pattern is Saroyan and the yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Isadora.
I couldn't resist making one of these Granny Square Tops for Pippa, which I am hoping to get finished today.
Although, looking at that photograph, I think I need to re-do the sleeves!!

Please head over to Tami's blog and check out some more lovely blogs featuring their WIP Wednesday posts.

And finally, in case you hadn't seen, I'm having a little giveaway on my blog, with a cute little prize, please come and take part :)

Monday Moments

2011-08-15T15:25:00.005+01:00

Just a random selection of moments from our weekend riverside walk.............

Loving Katherine's smile while we were sheltering from the rain under a tree.
Did I tell you Pippa is walking now? She's a teeny tiny little thing, barely into 6-9 month clothing and she's toddling like a pro!
Dam building by the older two.
Lucy swimming in the frothy water.
The river is brown as it's full of peat. We had very heavy rainfall last weekend and the river was very full.
Katherine enjoying rolled up trousers and bare feet.
There are lots of ladybirds this year (and hoverflies and earwigs for some reason)
Look at the size of this clover leaf, shame it didn't have four leaves - that would have been a whole lot of luck.
I'm not sure what these flowers are but they are very pretty and the bees love them.

A Year of Projects Update

2011-08-14T09:17:00.004+01:00

I thought today might be a good day to review my Year of Projects list. Here's my original list, with updates and ramblings next to each project!

Knitting Projects

Catherine's Shawl This is also my project for Shawl for the Fall - update - Changed my mind after doing several repeats of the pattern. I'm now working on Sorayan in Madelinetosh Sock instead.
Stitch Sampler Shawl This is a gift for my Mum so needs to be done before Christmas - update - not started yet, will cast this on once I have finished Sorayan.
Ocean City Shawlette - update - not started yet.
Koigu Beaded Beret except I won't be doing the beads! - update - not started yet.

Crochet Projects

Hexagon Blanket from The Hexagon How-to Tutorial I have already started this but it's been on the back burner for a long time and I really would like to get going on this again. - update - restarted this with a bigger hook and joined with a whipstich whcih I prefer but have only three hexagons done :(
George's Ripple from the Neat Ripple Pattern - update - won't be doing another ripple and I'm not 100% sure what to replace it with, possibly another granny stripe.
Summer Garden Granny Square For a blanket mostly inspired by this gorgeous one on Ravelry - update - done but used the Starburst Flower pattern instead - you can see my Ta-Dah here
Advent Stars Garland using this pattern from inspired by Lucy's Garland here - update - three stars done, 21 to go!

I've still got projects to finish that I started months ago and I have new projects which I've started since I did my list and at times I get a little overwhelmed with everything but I'm getting there slowly.

Now, today's task is to try and remember what size hook I used for my squares blanket - how I wish I had written the details down or popped them on my Ravelry page!

ETA - nearly forgot to mention I'm having a giveaway - details are here - please come and have a look and all you need to do to enter is leave a comment :)

My First Giveaway!

2011-08-13T08:21:00.003+01:00

I've been thinking about having a giveaway for a little while and once my followers hit 100 last week I decided what a perfect way to celebrate.

Here is my little prize package.........

A Cath Kidston notebook
'Learn to Crochet' by Sally Harding (maybe if you don't need this you could pass this on to someone)
A hanging heart
A keyring made by my lovely other half
An Addi Swing crochet hook
and finally selection of colourful buttons

So how do you enter? Simple, just leave me a comment and I will add you to the prize draw. I will be announcing the winner on Saturday the 20th and I am more than happy to post international. It would be lovely if you could post a link to my giveaway and if you aren't already a follower of my little blog why don't you join while you are here?

Have a happy day and I'll be back tomorrow with my Year of Projects update xXx

FO Friday

2011-08-12T14:46:00.003+01:00

I don't think I've ever been patient enough to wait and post a Ta-Dah for FO Friday - but it's Friday today and I have a little Ta-Dah to share, so here goes.

On Tuesday I had a trip to town and spent a happy half an hour browsing in my lovely LYS, A Fine Yarn. I wanted to get some DPN's and obviously the temptation of walls full of lovely yarn is too much to resist. I had picked out some pretty 4 ply yarn to have a go at this scarf but then I spotted some new yarn from Sirdar. Once Chris had shown me a sample knitted in this new yarn I had to have some. It's called Softspun and it is beautiful. The colour is a soft grey and it has some subtle hints of pink and blue. It's like mother of pearl and my camera just doesn't captured just how lovely it is. And did I tell you just soft it is? It's soft, really soft and so lightweight, the balls are only 25 grams but the yardage is good for the weight. So onto my FO. I decided the yarn would make a lovely scarf and as it's my Mum's birthday at the end of the month I decided to make her the One Skein Scarf from the Happy Hooker. I made five rows of treble in the centre rather than the three the pattern calls for and the result is a slim but elegant scarf. It didn't take very long at all - I started on the Tuesday evening and was finished by the Wednesday lunchtime.
If you can please have a look at this yarn. I still have almost a full skein left and I'm hoping to make something for me with what's left just so I can smoosh it. I really love the pattern too and will definitely be using it again.

So there you go my first FO Friday, complete with a little yarn review! Please check out Tami's blog and the links there for so more FO posts from around the globe.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and if you can please come back tomorrow as I'm having a little giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers. xXx

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-08-10T15:25:00.003+01:00

So, it's Wednesday afternoon here and it's an awful day. It's cold, wet and windy, which means getting photographs has been fun. I never get good photographs inside,so I'm often to be found in the garden arranging my work somewhere pretty! That wasn't going to happen today so I've resorted to pinning my WIP to Pippa's old cot mattress and propping that in front of the window. It sort of worked!

I'm working on so many things at the moment it's making my head spin a little. The ripple blanket is still a WIP, I have added a few more stripes since I last shared it with you but I haven't taken a new photograph and probably won't now until it's finished. I also started on Catherine's shawl but progress on that has stopped for quite a few days now and I'm starting to browse alternative patterns as I don't really like the way this is knitting up - more on that on Sunday as part of A Year of Projects.

So here's what I have been working on - my Blooming Flower Cushion is coming along nicely, only a few more rounds to do I think.
And next, a new project, one that is going to take a while to do and my plan is to do one of these blocks a week. Originally, the plan was for it to be for our bed, but I think it may be a little dark for our bedroom, it would work beautifully on our settee though. I'm not following a pattern as such, it's just simple squares made with variegated yarn, finished off with the brown.
If it ends up on our bed, then I think I will need 25 of these blocks but if it ends up for the settee I'll probably do a block of nine.

That's it from me this week. Please go and check out Tami's blog where you will find lots of links to lots of other bloggers who also take part in WIPW.

Monday Chatter

2011-08-08T18:18:00.002+01:00

I don't like to leave too long between posting on my blog especially now I have 100 followers (how did that happen!), but there's just not a huge amount of crafty stuff to tell you about. I've been working alot over the last week which seriously eats into my crafty time, either because I'm physically at work, or I'm too tired or I'm busy catching up with day to day stuff. I'm also flitting from project to project which means there is very little progress on anything to share. I'm looking forward to a couple of days off and I'm hoping to introduce 'the BIG project' on WIP Wednesday. I'm also working on a giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers but as I have never done a giveaway before I'm trying to work out the best way of doing it. If you have done a giveaway before how did you do it? How did you get in touch with the winner especially if they don't have a blog? And what's the best way of letting people know you are having a giveaway?

I just have to share this photograph with you. Here's Pippa showing off her ponytail! I don't normally tie my babies hair up but I just could resist having a go - how cute does she look?

And finally before I go, have you seen this project on Ravelry? How amazing is it? I really love the idea of just knitting little hexapuffs as and when, throwing them into a basket and making a beautiful heirloom quilt from them. I really need to commit to another big project like a hole in the head but I just don't think I can resist! Are you tempted too?

Happy Birthday Pippa!

2011-08-05T08:56:00.002+01:00

My beautiful Pippa is one today. I wish I could share a little of her cheerful cuteness with everyone. She is the most charming little thing and I'm just the luckiest Mum to have her as my baby. Everyday she makes us laugh and smile just by being her. Here are some of my favourite photographs of her from the very first moments of her life to her now.
She's beautiful isn't she? Okay, so I know I am biased but she really is beautiful.

Have a lovely happy day where ever you are, I know we will.

xXx

Ramblings

2011-08-04T09:15:00.003+01:00

I've called this post ramblings because there's a little bit of this and a little bit of that today!

Yesterday morning was brewing into 'one of those days' - you know the kind when you have children! There was lots of tantrums, lots of shouting, lots of telling tales and lots of sighing from me. So I put Pippa in the pushchair, fastened the buggy board on and off we went for a walk into our local town. We bought some sausage rolls and drinks and sat in the sunshine enjoying our lunch and then headed to the big Poundland. We came out with water pistols, water bombs and bubbles to be enjoyed once we got home. Next was a bit of 'Mummy' shopping at Boots and an ice cream to be enjoyed on the walk home. In total we were out for over four hours and we arrived home with a healthy fresh air glow and laden with bags full of goodies.

I've been gardening a little here and there over the last couple of weeks. We are really lucky to have a huge garden but it's very overgrown and very neglected. We are hoping that before the end of the year we can get the garden cleared, re turfed and have a large area of decking put in near the house so apart from mowing some of the grass we have we don't want to put too much effort into what eventually will be removed. So instead I've been planting up pots with some flowers. Here's a little selection of what I have growing........
My hooks have been cast aside a little this week in favour of my new needles which arrived on Tuesday. I've cast on Catherine's Shawl, ripped it out, cast it on, ripped it out and cast it on again. The increases are done along one edge and the edge is tight causing it to curve but I've decided to keep going and hopefully the curve will not be so obvious once it's all finished. I'm also concerned about the size. I've done eight repeats so far, so that's a quarter of it done and it looks small. I'm going to do the 16 the pattern calls for before the decreases and reassess I think, but I think I will end up adding a few extra repeats to make it bigger. And no I didn't check my gauge so I have no idea whether it's my gauge that's the problem or whether it is just a small shawl. This photograph is terrible but here you are........

The air today feels like autumn, it's damp and misty outside and it's warm, really warm. I think it's going to be a rainy day today, maybe even thundery. Last night the skies were really pretty - I don't think my camera really caught the orangey pinky glow on the underneath of the clouds.
So, that's my ramblings for now. I'm off to take some more painkillers, I'm trying very hard to ignore the hot ache in my wrist as I really don't want to admit that knitting causes me problems, but I think I might have to resign myself to the fact it does :(

Flower Ring

2011-08-01T17:03:00.002+01:00

I've got a tiring few days ahead this week, with two nightshifts looming (one tonight, one later in the week) and Rich at work so I thought I would pop on and share this with you today. I have a feeling I won't be able to string sentences together at various points this week so it made sense to post today while I'm not struggling with the tiredness. It's Mary go Round Crochet Flower Ring from Issue Four of Mollie Makes. I used a cheap plastic bag handle for the ring and used some of my leftover Vanna's choice yarn. It's supposed to be used as a frame but I quite like it as it is. I'm hoping to get into town this week and might see if I can find some cheap plastic bangles to make some smaller ones too.
Molly, our elderly cat has gone missing again. It's been a few days now and I'm hoping she'll turn up again like she did the last time. Poor thing, I've often wondered if cats or animals in general suffer with the same elderly illnesses we humans do and whether she has cat dementia - maybe she forgets where she lives? Or maybe she did just come to say goodbye?

A Year of Projects Update

2011-07-31T11:22:00.001+01:00

So, this is my third Year of Projects update now and I am so pleased to finally have a finished project to share with you. Originally I had planned to use this yarn for a Summer Garden Granny Square blanket but instead I used Starburst Flower Crochet Blanket and this is my finished blanket...................
So, here are all the details - the yarn is Vanna's Choice and the colours are Little Boy Blue, Cheery Cherry, Aqua, Sweet Pea, Fern, Pink and White. I used a 5mm hook and completed 30 squares in total. The border is one row of granny clusters, three rows of trebles and finally a row of 'shells'. I quite like it and the pattern was fun to use as it had puff and clusters stitches which I have never done before.

So tomorrow is the 1st of August and the start of Shawl for the Fall. This morning I wound one of my delicious skeins of Madelinetosh Merino Light into a cake. I love this yarn, the colour is just gorgeous, with subtle variations of colour and the texture is very different to anything I have ever used before. I simply cannot wait to start knitting with this yarn. Only I am going to have to wait - I don't have the size needles I need to start the body of the shawl and although I have the size I need for the ruffle they are way to short to take the number of stitches. I've ordered them now and hopefully they should be here early next week so I can cast on this beautiful yarn.
Today, also sees me toying with changing some more of my original list too, in particular the two crochet blankets remaining on my list. I'm still undecided on patterns but hopefully I will make a decision soon. So that's it for now, I'll be back to post another Year of Projects update in a couple of weeks xXx

July

2011-07-31T08:12:00.001+01:00

July whizzed by rather quickly didn't it? It's been a month of a little bit of this and a little bit of that and once again I'm am suffering with 'startitis' when I could really do with a dose of 'finishitis'. I had really hoped to get the ripple finished this month but it's still a WIP - I will get it finished this month if only to stop Imogen from asking me 'When are you going to finish my blanket?'

August is going to see me picking up the needles and casting on 'Catherine's Shawl' as part of the Shawl for the Fall KAL. We've also got alot of birthdays coming up too and hopefully the weather will stay nice for some trips here and there with the children.

I'll be back later today with a Year of Projects update but for now I must go and crack on with my day - see you later xXx

Starburst Throw Ta-Dah!

2011-07-27T19:35:00.000+01:00

A very quick post from me but I couldn't not post a Ta-Dah for my Starburst Throw........
I will post all the details on Sunday as part of my Year of Projects update but I thought you would like to see the finished throw before then :)

Busy Times

2011-07-24T07:53:00.000+01:00

Gosh, I can't believe it's been a week since my last post here, apart from my little update on Molly. I'm pleased to say that Molly is fine and back to her normal self. The first few days she was reluctant to come in the house and as soon as she saw either of our other two cats she would race back outside. She's much more settled now and I still can't believe she's back. She's certainly living upto the theory that cats have many lives. Years ago (when George was just a tiny baby) she was shot in the head with an air rifle. Fortunately for her, the pellet skimmed over her skull and although she had to visit the vets to have it removed she was fine. Fast forward a few more years and her next 'accident' was a little more serious. I swear to you this is what happened...... She was bitten on the back end by a dog that lived next door and in her fright ran straight up one of the huge conifers at the side of our garden. At this point we didn't know that she had been bitten but were obviously very concerned that she was stuck up the tree. We tried and tried to get her down but failed and eventually, some hours later she fell from the tree. It was late at night by this point and the plan was to keep her comfortable overnight and visit the vets first thing in the morning. We had spoken to them over the telephone and they were on standby in case she deteriorated overnight. We decided the best place for her was in our bedroom so she was nearby and as she couldn't really walk so well at this point we weren't too worried about her getting out of the bedroom. Morning came and Molly was gone. We searched the house and couldn't find her at all. Eventually we realised the window in our bedroom was open and somehow she had managed to jump onto the window sill and out of the window. On the roof outside had claw marks from the top to the bottom so the poor thing had obviously fallen from the window down onto the extension and then onto the drive below. We eventually found her curled up in a neighbours garden and rushed her to the vets. Unbelievably, after all that she was fine - no broken bones, just four small puncture wounds from the original dog bite. So you see, Molly really has used up quite a few of her nine lives!

So, what else has been going on here - not a huge amount of crochet to be honest. I've been tyng myself in knots worrying about all the blankets and how I am ever going to get them all finished. The it dawned on me that I'm not working to a deadline on them and they will get finished when they get finished. I got as far as I could with the Starburst blanket - the 30 squares used up the two balls of white I had - and although I had plenty of the other colours remaining I wanted to do the first row of the border in white. My package from Banyan Tree arrived on Friday and inbetween housework, work and being a Mum I've managed to get started on the border. I really want to wait until it's finished before showing you how it looks but would you like a sneaky peak?
On Friday night just before I left for work I read this post from Attic24 and knew I just had to make one of those cushions. I started yesterday afternoon using my Stylecraft cotton and oh I love this pattern. It's so satisfying and I think it's going make a lovely cushion. This one will be for me but I think one of these in shades of blue would be a lovely gift for my Mum. I have yarn bursting from the cupboards at the moment so I am planning to dip into my stash of Sirdar Calico to do one for my Mum. I've altered the pattern very slightly - I'm using invisable joins and altering where I start the rounds so my petals are staggered more than the original pattern. I'm hoping to find a little time to get another round of petals done today as it's just so much fun!

Have any of you started a blooming flower cushion? Please let me know so I can see!

Bye for now xXx

She's Back!!!!

2011-07-18T09:13:00.000+01:00

A very quick post to let you all know Molly came home this morning. I'm so pleased, she's a little shakey and very nervous around the other cats but other than that she seems fine. She's been gone for a week - I wonder if she's been locked in a shed or a garage while someone's been on holiday?

What a wonderful start to the week :)

A Year of Projects Update

2011-07-17T13:16:00.000+01:00

I'm very tired today, so apologies if I don't make sense or this post is full of typos! So here's my second update for my Year of Projects. Originally I had planned to do a Summer Garden Granny Square Blanket with the Vanna's Choice yarn I ordered from Banyan Tree Yarns, but once it arrived I decided I wanted to do something a little bit different. I remembered a throw in one of my Mollie Makes magazines and decided it was perfect. I currently have four complete squares and the other 26 'squares' are waiting for their final round of white. I'm not sure whether I prefer them stacked neatly..........
or laid out randomly.........
I'm doing 30 squares altogether and I'm planning on doing a fairly deep border which should give me a reasonable size blanket once I'm all done. I have a feeling I will have to ordered more yarn to finish it though as the squares themselves munch away at the balls. Hopefully next time you see it, it will be a Ta-Dah instead of a WIP.

I've also decided to change another pattern from my original list. I had a Ripple planned for my oldest son, George, but the one I am making for one of my daughters has turned into more of a chore than a pleasure so I've decided on Skipping Stones instead.

I'm hoping my husband will return home soon - I have a feeling he will be a little damp as it's never stopped raining all day but once he's home I can get some much needed sleep :)

For those of you that follow my blog regularly, there has been no sign of Molly. I think she's gone and I just hope she tucked herself away nice and safe wherever it was she decided to go :(

Today I've been mostly..........

2011-07-14T17:02:00.001+01:00

Making the centres for my blanket.........
And sitting on the field at school watching two sports days. I can't share any photographs of the older children in their races because there are too many other children in the shots but Pippa had fun crawling around the field........
Tonight I'll be mostly doing the next rounds on my centre circles and tomorrow who knows, maybe I'll add some more to the ripple. Thank you for all the encouragement to get if finished - I will get there eventually!

I've been really naughty today and ordered a load of yarn to do a blanket for our bed. I really wanted the hexagon blanket for our bed but I just know that won't happen as the hex's are too small and boredom is sure to set in long before it's big enough, so I've found another pattern that hopefully will fit the bill.

I'm ending on a sad note today. One of our cats has gone missing. She's was very old - at least 15 - and we are fairly sure she has took herself off to die. I know that sounds awful, but cats do do this, so I'm told. I wish she had stayed closer to home so at least we would know for sure what's happened to her - not knowing is really hard.

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-07-13T16:08:00.000+01:00

Not much to report this week - I worked really hard on the blanket last week and I have added another seven stripes with 13 left to go. I'd had enough of the ripples by the weekend and I've been working on some of my Year of Project projects but I'm hoping to add a few more of the colours over the next few days. I have a love/hate relationship with this blanket. I love how it looks but I'm really not enjoying working on it.

I was working last night and have spent most of the day sleeping. I forgot to take a photo of the ripple yesterday so had to snap a quick shot this afternoon when I got up. As you can see I had a model............

Please check out Tami's blog for lots of other WIPW posts - there's always lots to see :)

Too Many!

2011-07-11T14:19:00.000+01:00

I think I have a serious case of 'startitis'. I now have four blankets on the go and I'm planning another one! I rippled myself out last week and couldn't take anymore, so started something new with the Vanna's Choice yarn that arrived last week. Then last night I really wanted to try a new pattern for a blanket for George. I had planned to do him a ripple too but as I'm not really enjoying the one I'm doing now it seems pointless starting another one. So would you like to see what's keeping me busy?

Granny Love

2011-07-07T09:46:00.000+01:00

I finished Baby Pip's Granny Stripe way back in March and it's still much loved today. It lives in her cot and normally she snuggles into it on a night to help her drift off to sleep. Last night I had to sneak into our room to get a few things and I found her like this...........
I quickly grabbed my phone, which was one of the things I had gone to get out of the room and snapped her in her sleepy slumber. She very rarely sleeps on her back - she's just like me, she prefers to sleep on her tummy.

I'm feeling much better today, I got a little nap yesterday afternoon and I took myself off to bed nice and early. Thank you for all the comments on the blankets yesterday. I've decided to have a real push and try and get the ripple done so I can start something new. Truthfully I'm getting a little bored with it now, especially as some lovely new yarn arrived this week.

Well, best dash, Pippa's is awake and I must catch up on some laundry (yes, again!)

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-07-06T09:34:00.001+01:00

A very short post for my Work in Progress Wednesday update today - nightshifts are exhausting, which is not great when you are trying to write an interesting blog post and it also means there hasn't been a huge amount of progress here. I've added two more rows of colour to Imogen's Bold Ripple and now have only three more colours to go before I reach the middle. I've also done a few more rows to Katherine's Vintage Stripes - the colours are very slightly different on this one and so far I am liking the effect.
Please pop along to Tami's blog to find lots of other links to lots of other WIPW posts.

I shall do my best to visit and comment on as many WIPW post as I can today but the tiredness might get a little overwhelming as the day goes on, so please don't think me rude if I don't have much to say today.

A Year of Projects Update

2011-07-03T12:05:00.000+01:00

A very brief first update from me today as it's a beautiful sunny day and we are spending the day paddling in the pool and enjoying the sunshine. I've made three stars for my advent garland.......
And I've redone my hexagons with a larger hook and whipstitched them together instead of joining as you go. I'm much happier with them now :)
Have a lovely day and enjoy the sunshine if you have it xXx

A Year of Projects - The List!

2011-07-01T08:01:00.000+01:00

So it's the 1st of July and Come-Blog-Along has started! I originally posted a provisional list here but this is now the day for the official list so here goes - be prepared for lots of links to the patterns on Ravelry as I'm not working from a book just my own list from my favourites :) I've slimmed my list down alot to leave myself time and energy to work on other projects as the mood takes me too.

I've also decided I won't be updating every Sunday as I already participate in Work in Progress Wednesday hosted by Tami so I'm going to do a post every two weeks just for my list projects. I'm going to tag them as Year of Projects to make it easier for you to look at my previous posts.

So onto the exciting part, here is my final list!

Knitting Projects

Catherine's Shawl This is also my project for Shawl for the Fall
Stitch Sampler Shawl This is a gift for my Mum so needs to be done before Christmas
Ocean City Shawlette
Koigu Beaded Beret except I won't be doing the beads!

Crochet Projects

Hexagon Blanket from The Hexagon How-to Tutorial I have already started this but it's been on the back burner for a long time and I really would like to get going on this again.
George's Ripple from the Neat Ripple Pattern
Summer Garden Granny Square For a blanket mostly inspired by this gorgeous one on Ravelry
Advent Stars Garland using this pattern from inspired by Lucy's Garland here

I'll be using my much loved Stylecraft for George's Ripple and Vanna's Choice for the Summer Garden and for the advent stars I'll be digging into my stash of Rico Creative Cotton.

So there you go there is my list! I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone else's list and seeing how we all get on over the year. And finally, here is a selection of some of the yarn for the projects...........

June

2011-06-30T09:46:00.000+01:00

June's been and gone so quickly. I was surprised when I was making my mosaic for June that I had finished so many 'big' projects. The weather has been crazy - it was very hot at the start of June with talk on the news of droughts and then we had lots and lots of rain followed by another mini heatwave. July sees the start of A Year of Projects, and also the enjoyment of the school holidays where everyone is just a little more relaxed. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that then end of July brings us some exciting news and changes but that's all I can say for now.

I love seeing other people's monthly mosaics, if you have one for June please let me know so I can come and see :)

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-06-29T10:55:00.001+01:00

I'm afraid to say there has been very little progress from me this week. I spent all weekend working on a new project to end up deciding I hated the yarn I was using. I started the project again on Monday with different yarn and I'm pleased to say the result is much, much better. This is the second project I've started with the same selection of yarn that has ended up being a disaster so I'm not going to start anymore projects with it. The yarn is a mix of Kool Kotton and Sirdar Calico and there must be over twenty balls there, some of which are brand new. I'd love for someone to take it off my hands and do something lovely with it.

I've added a couple of new colours to Imogen's Bold Ripple since last week. I keep missing increases and have now frogged this back three times. I don't know why I'm finding it so difficult - it's such an easy pattern - and all you really have to do is count to four but I just keep messing it up! Anyway here's a photo of it as it is today..........

Please pop over to Tami's Blog for lots of other people's WIP Wednesday posts and thanks for stopping by xXx

Oh nearly forgot - I've made a decision on my shawl - I'm going to do Catherine's Shawl with my yummy Madelinetosh Merino Light. I've also joined a new group of Ravelry called Shawl for the Fall - why don't you join in too?

Bye for now!

Weather

2011-06-26T21:07:00.000+01:00

It's been a really interesting weather day here today - one minute crisp blue skies dotted with fluffy clouds, the next minute dark storm clouds. It's been very, very warm and very humid and now the air is very still as night rolls in.
What's the weather been like with you today?

New Yarn

2011-06-25T15:38:00.001+01:00

The doorbell rang this morning while I was eating my lunch and I literally ran from the back of the house to the front door chanting 'please be my yarn, please be my yarn'. The postie handed me a parcel and my little heart did a jump as I spotted the words EatSleepKnit on the label. I was restrained for as long as it took to finish eating my lunch (salmon, chilli and ginger fishcakes - a treat for me as no-one else eats fish in this house!) and then the parcel opening commenced........

I've had nice yarn before and I've had LOTS of yarn packages before but NEVER have I done that really sharp intake of breath when opening a yarn package before. Oh my this yarn is delicious, the colour is just beautiful and it's just perfectly me. This is for me, this yarn, for a shawl and I really can't wait!

So I guess you want to see do you? It's Madelinetosh Merino Light in Posy.........
It's turning into a great weekend.

Unwelcome Visitors and Plans

2011-06-24T09:57:00.001+01:00

An unwelcome visitor came yesterday, some time during the day. We are not sure whether it was a very brave fox or a small dog that has squeezed under the fence at the top of our garden but whatever it was, it has taken Petulia. We've searched the garden and apart from lots and lots of feathers we can't find her - we even searched the park behind our house but could only find a couple of feathers. Poor Petulia :( We know there are urban foxes living in the park but I'm still quite shocked that a fox would come into the garden during the day and also that I never heard a thing. We are keeping Francine and Dorothy in their coop today just in case they decide to return.
And plans......... I love the thrill of deciding on 'the next project'. I was going to do a shawl for myself but I've decided I simply have to make this Vintage Stripe Blanket and I'm going to use these selection of yarn. It's mostly Kool Kotton and Sirdar Calico and I think the colours work really nicely together. (The orange has really 'popped' for some reason on my screen, it's not as bright as that IRL)
I've been asked to go into work tonight so tomorrow my MIL (who did all my ironing yesterday!) is taking the older three children off out for the day leaving me at home with Pippa. I'll hopefully be catching a nap with her at some point but I think I know what I will be doing for the rest of the time.............

Now how many chains shall I start with for a Katherine sized blanket?

I hope you have a wonderful weekend xXx

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-06-22T16:28:00.001+01:00

I finished my Boneyard Shawl at the weekend so I can now return my attentions to my hooks and I'm working on the Bold Ripple again. I was having wobbles about this but Imogen and I put our heads together and came up with a solution, so on with the ripples I go! So far it looks like this......
And these are the next colours I am going to use - I've been having fun with my ball winder, can you tell?
I'm struggling to get into a rhythm with it at the moment and this afternoon I had to frog most of the yellow because I spotted a missed increase. My aim was to get one colour stripe done a day but I'm already falling behind. I'm struggling to squeeze in much hooky time during the day for some reason but as from tomorrow I am determined to spend the couple of hours while Katherine is at nursery working on this. I'm waiting for a parcel from the US with some gorgeous yarn ready for a shawl but I really want to get this finished first. I know the postie has delivered a parcel to next door and while I am secretly hoping it's my yarn because I can't wait to see it I am also hoping it's not as I fear the temptation may be too great not to throw this blanket aside and start something new!

So that's my WIP Wednesday - I'm hoping there will be much more progress on the blanket for next week, do come back and see won't you :) Please head over to Tami's Blog and check out what lots of other WIP Wednesdayer's are upto, there's always lots to see and inspire.

Boneyard "Hooting Bones" Ta-Dah!

2011-06-20T14:23:00.000+01:00

All done, ends sewn in and blocked! I've enjoyed doing this but I'm still annoyed/disappointed that I made a mistake somewhere right back at the start. That said I like it and I'm pleased with how it came out. Rich seems to like it too and that's what counts as I've made it for him. So here's some photos for you........

And here's the details! The yarn is Old Maiden Aunt Alpaca/Silk Sport/DK and the shade is Midnight Owl. I used a 4mm needle and mods to the pattern are that I did a row of eyelets inbetween two rows of garter stitch. I did 10 rows of eyelets before doing a few rows for the garter stitch egde. To bind off I used Elizabeth Zimmerman's sewn bind off which took forever but looks great. I used about a skein and a half of the yarn which made a nice sized shawl.

So there we go! I'm really looking forward to doing some crochet now this is finished - my hooks are feeling all neglected!

Mistakes and Mishaps

2011-06-17T09:54:00.000+01:00

I'm so close to finishing Rich's manly shawl. I started the ninth row of eyelets last night and as I was doing them I realised something was wrong. Way back at the beginning I've made a mistake (probably on the first row of eyelets) and my stitch count either side of the spine is uneven :( Had I not been so close to finishing I would have ripped the whole thing out and started again - the perfectionist in me still wants to but Rich insists it's fine and I guess he is right when he says no-one would ever notice.
I remembered today that I had forgotten to post about Albert being in the bad books. A couple of weeks ago now George was making Albert cosy on his bed and Albert decided to let George know that he didn't want him to do it. I'm not totally sure what happened but it seems Albert lashed out with his paw and unfortunately managed to claw George in the eye. As you can imagine George was rather hysterical with the pain and shock and it resulted in a trip to the ED. George had a large corneal abrasion requiring a trip to the eye clinic and antibiotic cream for a week. Fortunately the abrasion was to the white of his eyeball otherwise it could have been a whole lot worse. He's all better now and was very brave throughout the whole thing but I think Albert remains in his bad books for now.

Finally for today, I thought I'd show you this photo of one of the many poppies we have in the garden. We sprinkled the seeds from last years poppies all over the garden and they have grown in the most fabulous places! This one is coming up between the slabs on the patio furthest from the house and it's beautiful. I'm glad there are so many of them as they last a day or two at most. I'm hoping to save so of the seed heads this year as they are just as beautiful as the flowers.
Nearly forgot! The house that I told you about in my last post is now boarded back up again and has been fenced off, I think to try and stop people getting in and doing more damage. I hope someone buys it soon.

Enjoy your day!

Early Morning Excitment

2011-06-14T09:49:00.000+01:00

Not of the yarny or crafty variety though! There is a house in our street that has been empty for years. The rumours are the old lady who lived in the house was a bit of a hoarder and eventually she was moved into care and the house was boarded up not long after we moved here. The house went up for sale last week - probably at a bargain price because it is derelict and needs rebuilding. This morning it seems somehow a fire has been started in the house and just before we went to school this was happening in our street. It's still on fire now.........and the firefighters are still trying to put the fire out - I was delighted to see a female firefighter there, she went up in the crane to tackle the blaze from above - how cool is that?

Hopefully it will be out soon and thankfully the house is empty. I have a feeling it wasn't an accident though.........

I love..........

2011-06-13T16:22:00.000+01:00

My bargain ball winder! I got this on EBay a few weeks ago for just a couple of pounds and it's entertained the residents of the Gingerbread House for hours! It's an old Toyota ball winder and even came with the original box and instructions. It was originally purchased from somewhere called Franklins for the sum of £5.13p which is just a little less than I paid :) I've never owned a ball winder before and I had only ever bought one skein of yarn, which I wound into a ball by hand, but now I've got a taste for more expensive yarn I can see this little gadget coming in very handy! It makes the most perfect centre pull balls (or are they cakes?) of yarn - the yarn in the photo has the original ball band wrapped around the outside with a clear hair elastic to hold it in place :)
Thank you for all the comments of my shawl making decision - Sugared Violets seems to be the popular choice! Now this is tragic, but NONE of the yarn I have is really suitable, which means I will need to get something especially special to knit it with! I've got my eye on some yarn already but I need to wait for payday first. That gives me a little over two weeks to finish Rich's Boneyard Shawl and to work on Imogen's blanket.

I've noticed there have been lots of new visitors today (I think Alice might have sent you!) - I hope you like my little corner of blogland and that you might come back and see me again :)

Shawl Progress and Decision Making

2011-06-12T08:12:00.000+01:00

I've made loads of progress on Rich's Hooting Bones Boneyard Shawl. I knit quite slowly but it's growing really quickly - not the best photograph but here's my progress so far.......
I'm hoping to get a bit more done today inbetween washing and ironing mountains of the mountains of laundry that seem to dominate our daily life. I treated myself to some Addi Lace needles last week and it's made knitting it so much easier. I was originally using a fixed Addi that I bought years ago but the ends are very blunt and I was finding it tricky doing the increases and K2tog for the eyelets was rather stressful. The lace Addi's are so much easier to use. All the time I'm am working on this I can't help but think about the next project - I'm being really good and I'm not going to cast anything else on until I have finished this. I really want to knit a shawl for me next but I just can't make a decision - I'd love it if you could help? I've got some pretty sock yarn and also some nice DK so here are a few from my queue/favs on Ravelry

Any thoughts on any of those?

I've also been thinking alot about Imogen's Bold Ripple Blanket. I really wanted to do three repeats of the 17 Lucy colours, but I'm not sure that the blanket is wide enough for three repeats. I don't know whether to rip it back and start again with only two rows in each colour, carry on and see how long it is with two repeats of the colours or start again with a longer chain. What do you think?
Well, I must be good and do some housework. Enjoy your Sunday and I'm looking forward to seeing which shawl you think I should start next :)

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-06-08T09:54:00.001+01:00

I can't believe it's Wednesday again - don't the days just fly by as you get older!

So, remember last week I was moaning about my Epic Bag - well it's finished! You can see my Ta-Dah post here if you would like to see it.

I still have my two blankets to finish but instead of tackling them I cast a Boneyard Shawl on the needles last night. The yarn is lovely - it's alpaca and silk DK from Old Maiden Aunt and I have three scrummy skeins to use. I was originally going to do a Boneyard for me and The Age of Brass and Steam for my other half but I got really confused with the YO's when changing from knit to purl so decided to put some eyelet row into the Boneyard instead. It's not perfect - the first eyelet row I ended up with 3 knit stitches in the centre and the second row had only one. I absolutely hate frogging back and I'm useless at picking up stitches so I'm going to leave it and hope that it will form a pattern all of it's own! Does that actually make any sense at all?!

Knitting this is taking me out of my comfort zone a little as I normally use smaller needles and produce really firm knitting, but this is all soft and floppy and I quite like it!

Please head over to Tami's Blog to see what everyone else is getting upto on Work in Progress Wednesday!

My Epic Bag Ta-Dah!

2011-06-07T09:37:00.000+01:00

It's finished! I love it! It's perfect! My epic stash bag is finally finished and I'm so excited to share the photographs with you all. I won't make you wait, here it is.........

Making this bag has been an eventful journey, it took way longer than I thought it would and lining the bag was a challenge to say the least but now it's done I'm am thrilled with the result. So some details for you........

It's based on the Lucy Bag from Attic24 and I've used Drops Safran cotton yarn, held double throughout with a 3.5mm hook. I did 20 rounds for the bottom of the bag but did have to do a couple of rounds with no increases as it had started to ruffle. I did 38 rounds for the sides of the bag before stopping to add some plastic canvas to the base and the lining. The lining is Cath Kidston Cotton Duck fabric in Picnic Flowers. Once the lining was sewn in I did a round decreasing every other stitch to pull in the top of the bag. I followed this with 5 rounds before adding the wooden handles. I think that's it - if there's anything I've missed or you want to know more then please ask.

I'm using this for my Hex Blanket. It looks perfect in there don't you think?

Please Ignore!

2011-06-06T18:33:00.000+01:00

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Is anyone else joining in with Come Blog-a-Long?

2011-06-06T13:54:00.000+01:00

Have you heard about Come Blog-a-Long on Ravelry? The idea is you pick a group of patterns you want to make, starting on the 1st of July and you blog about them on a Sunday, along with lots of other folks doing the same! You could chose a book to work through, aim to finish all your WIP, work through your Ravelry queue - the choice is yours.

I'm going to aim to do a Come Blog-a-Long blog post here once a month and here's my 'book' of patterns that I would like to complete by the 30th June 2012. I'm hoping I've got the amount right - not too many to be overwhelming and enough keep me interested.

Knitting

2 pairs of socks
Stitch Sampler Shawl
Boneyard Shawl
The Age of Brass and Steam
Lacy Baktus
Slouch Sock Yarn Hat (I have one of these started already so might finish that one or start a new one with prettier yarn)

Crochet

Hexagon Blanket (already a WIP)
Imogen's Bold Ripple (already a WIP)
A cover for my stool
A blanket for George (not sure on the pattern yet)
A blanket for Katherine (again not sure on the pattern)
Light as a Feather Scarf
Cath Kidston Granny Square Blanket

So that's my list! I have yarn for all of them too :) so I could put myself on a yarn diet really but that might be taking it too far!

I'd love to know what you have planned..........

PS - Thank you for all your comments about my bag, I'm hoping to get it finished today.

Epic Bag Update

2011-06-05T16:46:00.000+01:00

A very quick post from me today as I'm in the middle of preparing tea (marinated pork chops and lots of vegetable - yummy!) and then I have to get ready for another shift at work. I worked a day shift on Friday and by the end of my 12 hour shift I could have stood and cried. It's hardwork, both physically and emotionally but the shifts work for us as a family. (for those of you that don't know I'm an Emergency Department Nurse)

I wanted to share some progress on my epic bag. I said on Wednesday how it was starting to feel like the end was never going to be in sight for this bag, well, I have most definitely turned the corner on this now. The fabric for the lining arrived on Saturday, so I set to and got it done. It was hardwork - there was lots of measuring, lots of pining and basting and finally some sewing. It's far, far from perfect - the bottom didn't quite line up properly so I ended up putting a little pleat in, the stitching went all funny when I was doing the top seam and I should have sewn the lining to the bag much better than I did - but now it's done those little niggles are all forgotten. I've decreased every other stitch around the top and I'm now on doing a few more rounds before I'm ready to attach the handles. I'm so close to finishing and I'm so excited! So, do you want to see? Okay then........

Eeeek! Look at the time! Best go, bye!

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-06-01T08:42:00.001+01:00

I've completed two projects since last Wednesday - my Hitchhiker Ta-Dah is here and I finished my Rainbow Socks last night. I haven't done a Ta-Dah for them yet but you can see them on Ravelry if you like. This means there is very little to share with you this week. I've added a few more rounds to my Epic Stash Bag, but it's really not worthy of another photograph just yet. I grossly underestimated how may rounds I would need to complete for the sides. Initially, I thought 20 would be enough but it's looking like I need to do 40. I have seven more rounds to go! Once I've finished the sides I need to sew in some plastic canvas to the base to help with the saggy bottom and then I can line it. Once I've done that the experimenting can start with how to finish off the top and then I need to work out how to attach the handles! It's turned into one of those projects where it feels like the end is never in sight, mind you it doesn't help that I keep getting distracted by other projects!

Talking of other projects, I began experimenting last night. Inspired by the colourful and very talented Elizabeth Cat and in particular her Apple Blossom Weightless Scarf I treated myself to a ball of Rowan Kidsilk Haze and did this.........
The pattern is Lucy's Summer Garden Granny Square done with a 3.5mm hook. I've never worked with Mohair before and it's the most bizarre stuff ever! It's totally weightless and the short threads intertwine with each other making it almost impossible to frog! I really love it, it's totally different to anything else I have ever done before and I'm hoping I can turn this project into a scarf.

So that's what I've been upto this week, if you want to see what lots of other talented crafters are getting upto head over to Tami's Blog - but be warned it's very enabling!

May

2011-05-31T09:02:00.001+01:00

May's been a funny month - the weather has been awful but the skies are bright blue again today thankfully. It's been a itty bitty month as far as crochet goes. Lots of WIP and very little FO's. Hopefully June will see a glut of FO as a couple of projects are heading for completion very soon.

June also sees me heading back to work and Katherine starts nursery, leaving me and Pippa at home in peace for a couple of hours a day!

Enjoy your last day of May!

Albert!

2011-05-29T19:20:00.000+01:00

I'd quite like to be a cat. I'd especially like to be Albert. He's big and beautiful and full of charm. He eats when he wants, comes and goes as the mood takes him, but mostly he sleeps. His favourite spot, at the moment, is on the bed in the spare bedroom which is at the back of the house. It gets alot of sunshine and it's his favourite sunny sleeping spot. This is him this evening, curled around one of the washing baskets looking every so sweet..........
And this is him letting me just how tired he is.........

Hitchhiker Ta-Dah!

2011-05-28T08:28:00.000+01:00

I tried so hard to get this finished in time for FO Friday but it just didn't happen. Well it was off the needles late last night but it needed blocking and by the time I had pinned it, it was very late.

So, the details! The pattern is Hitchhiker by Martina Behm and I used Pure Alchemy 100% pure merino yarn from Yarnsmith.co.uk I used 3.25mm needles but I wish I had used bigger ones now it's finished as it's not draping as well as I had hoped and it could have done with being slightly longer. I used just under one skein of yarn as I had made a teeny baby hat from this last year. So here it is...........
I will try and persuade Rich to take some action shots of it when he comes home from work! Overall I am pleased with it and it's been really nice to finish something as all my other projects seem to be big ones!

I received some lovely new yarn yesterday, ready to cast on a manly shawl for Rich but I am determined to get my bag finished before I start. I'm going to order the fabric today, I've decided to get a metre of one of the samples that came because I just can't find anything else I like and I know that the cotton duck is strong/thick enough to help support the bag. I'm also going to have a browse around my local department store to see if I can come up with a solution to keeping the bottom firm. I've seen cotton canvas used, so that's an option but I also was to have a look at the stiffeners.

Well, I'm off to town today so best go and get organised, I hope you all have a lovely weekend xXx

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-05-25T08:00:00.001+01:00

Honestly, I don't know what's got into me this week. I'm sure I have been doing lots of knitting and crochet but I don't feel like I have got much to share with you all. After last week's WIPW I felt inspired to knit and started a Hitchhiker. The first few 'teeth' developed really quickly but as the stitch count got longer the teeth making got slower and slower. I don't have enough yarn to do the full number of teeth but I'm hoping to get to 30. The yarn is one of those magic balls of yarn - I sat and knitted 12 rows last night (I'm a very, very slow knitter) and I swear the ball did not decrease in size one bit.
Work on the epic bag continues - the fabric samples arrived and I didn't fall in love with either of them so it was back to searching the web for something else. I think I have found it now but I'm pondering my choice for a few days just to be absolutely sure!

Thanks for dropping by and why not head off to Tami's blog to see what all the other WIPWer's are getting upto too!

Introducing...........

2011-05-23T17:58:00.001+01:00

Swirly Snake! Isn't he cute? I needed a quick crochet fix and he fitted the bill perfectly. He's made with Patons Fairytale DK and a 3 mm hook and the pattern is here
I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last few days but I think I've turned the corner today. I could do with a good long sleep tonight and I'm sure I will be right as rain tomorrow.

I've been shopping and have lots of goodies to share with you but I'm going to save that for another day! There are bargains galore and a few yarny treats too.

Ooops!

2011-05-19T16:23:00.000+01:00

Does anyone else find that WIPW gets your creative juices flowing a little? I love scooting about the web seeing what everyone else is getting upto and how much progress people have made on their projects but the inevitable happened yesterday and someone shared a WIP which I love. I just couldn't help myself and before I knew it I had started a Hitchhiker. I really can't remember who it was that posted theirs but I sahll try and remember! I started my Hitchhiker with some bamboo sock yarn I bought a while ago but it was too fine and too slippy and I kept dropping my needle on the floor when trying to do the increases. So I dithered about what yarn to use - some sock yarn that I am not mad about, so garish 4ply or some pretty DK that was for something else? Eventually I settled on some Yarnsmith Pure Alchemy that I bought to knit a baby hat with for Pippa. I don't know that I will get the full number of 'teeth' down the side but aslong as it's long enough to go round my neck I don't mind.

It's a great pattern - I finally memorised the repeat and although the stitch count gets longer all the time I can still get a few repeats done during the day.

So here it is - 15 'teeth' done so far....
The colourway is Sugared Almond and it gently flows from the palest pink to off white. See, while I love colour I don't wear colour or patterns so this subtle yarn is perfect for me. It feels a bit naughty though as I still have four other projects that are 'WIP' and I just can't stop returning to this!

I remembered - it was Miffy!

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-05-18T11:21:00.001+01:00

Firstly, apologies for the photographs this week, I had two 'helpers' today!

Work continues on my bag, but it's way bigger than I had planned and despite my best intentions progress is slow. I keep meaning to do a stitch count and to measure it to give you an idea of just how huge this bag is but I keep forgetting so instead I decided to photograph the bag with something to give you an idea of scale! This is where one of my 'helpers' came into their own. Pippa is nine months now and fits in the bag beautifully don't you think?

This photograph shows the shape better though, it's getting there, slowly..........
Finally, I know it's something everybody knows but I've been caught out on this one. Dye lots! The turquoise I've used is very bright and I have another ball of the same 'colour' but a different dye lot and the difference between the two is very apparent - not so much in the photo but in real life they look like completely different colours.
I'm still waiting for my fabric samples to arrive, so there is no way this will be finished this week as planned, fingers crossed for next week though!

Please head over to Tami's Blog to see what everyone else is upto and thanks for stopping by!

Brightness

2011-05-14T16:11:00.000+01:00

You would think having four children that potty training would be a doddle really but Katherine is proving hardwork on this score. To say I am feeling a little exasperated would be an understatement and what's even harder is not to show her that exasperation. I know she'll get there but when you are up to your eyeballs in wet clothes it can be a little tricky to keep the end goal in sight.

Moving on to more interesting and exciting things, I've decided to use wooden handles for my bag. This bag is epic, I tell you! It's huge, which is fine, as a huge stash bag is not a bad thing but it's taking alot of time. I'm not sure what my stitch count is right now but it takes me half an hour to do a round. I have a couple of fabric samples heading this way for the lining and I'm hoping to get that ordered next week as I really think I could have this completed this time next week.
My beautiful twig display has been looking very sorry for itself this week and today I finally gave in and removed my two little hearts and laid the twigs to rest. I'm not really sure what to do with this little hearts now, maybe they will just end up on my pinboard along with all the other bits and pieces I don't know what to do with!
A few weeks ago I mentioned things had been a little topsy turvy in the Gingerbread House. Well, one of the things that was causing the topsy turviness was decided whether to sell this house and move somewhere else. We moved here in 2004 and if I'm really honest it's never really felt like home. We've done bits and pieces to the place but never really spent the time and energy to really make it ours. There are some things we can't change, like the downstairs layout and we can't change the fact the area we live is not that nice but we can make this place a little sanctuary. We've decided to put the decision making on moving on hold for a little while and instead concentrate our energies into making our home more homely. The bathroom is the first room to get a makeover and I'm am sure to share you some photographs when it's done.

Well, Pippa is chomping on my leg - literally so I think it's time for me to go! But before I do please enjoy this photograph of one of the Gerbera's I bought today. I wasn't feeling the love for my new camera a few days ago but after lots of button pressing and manual reading I think I might just be getting the hang of it!

Freedom!

2011-05-13T19:31:00.000+01:00

So, what happens when you take one 35 year old and one 40 year old and set them free without their brood of children for a couple of hours? Did we dress up in our gladrags and hit the town, consume large quantities of alcohol and dance the night away? About 10 years ago we probably would have but our life is alot more sedate now and our few hours of freedom saw us whizzing at high speed to our local retail centre for a browse around the shops and some rather silly behaviour...............

There was much giggling while we were doing this I can tell you! I hope it put a smile on someone's face - it certainly made us smile and giggle and snort and chortle!

We did end the evening in a local pub and we enjoyed a lovely meal, no washing up, no children, just us for a change - I just really hope it's not another few years before we can do it all again.........

Work in Progress Wednesday

2011-05-11T08:25:00.000+01:00

I missed last week's WIPW as I had been at work the night before and I was just too tired. Any spare moments of my day, in between looking after the younger children were spent resting. I crawled my way to bed at 8.30pm and slept like a log until the next morning.

This week I have lots of projects to share but also I've made a decision and I have decided I am struggling having so many projects on the go at once. I currently have four and while that's not alot compared to some people I think it is just a little too many for me to concentrate on.

So here's my projects..........

Imogen's Bold Ripple
I got lots done the week before but nothing for a good few days now.
Yarn - Stylecraft Special DK Lucy Pack
Hook - 4mm
Pattern - Neat Ripple Pattern from Attic24

Rainbow Socks
Got loads done on these but then started my bag so progress has stopped!
Yarn - Opal Surprise
Needle - 2.5mm DPN's
Pattern - Silver's Sock Class

Hexagon Blanket
Love this project but again it's been neglected while I work on my bag.
Yarn - Stylecraft Cotton Classique
Hook - 3.5mm
Pattern - Hexagon How to from Attic24

Stash Bag Mark 2
This is turning into a bag of epic proportions! I using the 'invisible join' method and changing where I start each round which means I have managed to get rid of the obvious starting point I had on the previous two bags I have done. I have taken lots of photographs of this bag but this one below finally captures the colours as they really are.
Yarn - Drops Safran held double
Hook - 3.5mm
Pattern - Crochet Bag from Attic24

So now you have seen (and enjoyed hopefully) my projects maybe you might like to hop over to Tami's Blog to see what everyone else is upto! Thanks for visiting and taking the time to see what I am upto, please feel free to pop back!

ETA - Friday the 13th!
I'm sure most people are aware that Blogger has been having a bad day and it seems 10 comments some lovely visitors had left me have disappeared. I'm hoping they come back but just so you know I had read them. I really appreciate people taking the time to comment on my blog and I would hate for anyone to think I had removed a comment they had left for me. I hope everyone else out there who has lost content on their blog gets it returned soon, I know some people have lost whole posts which must be very frustrating. Carole xx