The Big Shawl

As I'm sure you are all aware I find a great deal of comfort in my crafting. The repetative and gentle rhythm of spinning and knitting help's sooth my figgetty self and helps me sit with difficult and sad thoughts and feelings.

My family have recently experienced an unexpected and tragic bereavement which has made, amongst many other things, blogging rather difficult.

But this is something that shouldn't go unmentioned.

The Big Shawl is finished. For some reason blogger won't let me upload my photos so here's the link.

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs091.snc3/15859_187968630862_717345862_3533154_5740891_n.jpg

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54584&id=717345862&saved#/photo.php?pid=3533155&id=717345862&fbid=187968640862

It actually came out a lot better than I expected and for once I'm really taken with it. not like poor old Hey Teach which is still dumped on the sofa awaiting blocking and buttons.

Maybe soon. Until next time, Bye for now x

To Rip or Not to Rip?

Ok so what do you do when you invest a fair amount of time into something only to fall out of love with it (and no I'm not talking about children!)..............

I started knitting a Beret from a Debbie Bliss pattern book out of some lovely handspum alpaca but it went it a bit wrong, I kept losing count and my cables were wandering. It has now got to a point where I'll have to get a calculator out to figure out where I am....... I've really fallen out of love with.

So do I rip it all out and start again, or do I frog it and end up with something I'm not that pleased with. I would hate to waste a lovely yarn.

Here's the progress so far....



So I've put it to one side while I try to decide, but I would welcome some opinions.

In the meantime I've been distracting myself with spinning and I feel like I've matured a bit! When I first started spinning I plied everything as my yarn was so lumpy and bumpy that it would just snap in places, but now my singles are pretty good, fairly smooth and even so my mum has encouraged me to leave it as singles.





This lot will become a dress for my neice. It also means it takes half the time to produce knittable yarn (I'll have to check with the family whether thats a good thing or not as they have to navigate skeins of wool hanging off every available hook or frame)

I've also been getting into colour again so whilst still working through the sacks of alpaca I blended the black with some recycled sari silk to look like this...............


Come back for on an update on how that spins up.

Now I must do some work to catch up on the stuff I should have been doing when I was playing with fluff.

TTFN x

The Harvest Loaf.

Today I spent the morning in The Youngest's class making our schools Harvest Loaf.


Back in the day when we didn't have supermarkets and bread didn't come in plastic bags it was made by The Baker, and every year at Harvest time Bakers far and wide would compete to make the biggest, and most impressive loaf, to show who was the best.

I love this activity. Its one of those wonderful things that looks complicated but in actual fact, is rather simple.

Our loaf was made from 5lbs of dough. We had a base shape which we then added thin strips for stalks and ears of wheat made from a little sausage shape snipped with scissors. It was finished with a plaited band and a Harvest mouse. We had enough dough left over for the children to make their own loaf. To finish coat everything in a couple of layers of beaten egg.

Go on have a go............although you will need an industrial cleaner if you do it with 22
5 and 6 yr olds!

Don't Teachers need to Know a lot!!

So the Teacher Training has begun with one week under my belt. So far it has entailed watching a lot of power point presentations and digesting an awful lot of information, some of which we don't need to worry about just yet (reassuring!).

I have to say the most intesting lecture so far was by the Maths guy (his name being one of the peices of information my brain wasn't able to retain). He appreciated the Maths of my knitting so much he allowed me to knit through his lecture (top man)!!

Actually it gave me the idea of getting hold of a knitting machine to teach the maths of repeating patterns and sequences, (I wonder if all my lesson ideas will focus on some fibre related activity!?).

So with all the reading, concentrating and thinking I've been doing there seems to be less and less time for those fibre related activities. I am currently on a manic sock making mission as the eldest is off hiking with the school in the lake district (lucky thing!), and if making hand spun hand knitted walking socks in the softest alpaca doesn't say 'I Love You' then nothing will (surely?).

As a bit of light releif though i spent a lovely morning yesterday running a Felt Making workshop. As i have only ever done this with kids I was a little nervous but it went really well and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.





















So I'm off to plough through the mounting pile of books and handouts and maybe sneak in a quick bit of spinning whilst 'Processing the Information'.

Have fun all x

The Bad Blogger is Back!

Oh dear I've been a very bad blogger.....I almost thought of giving it up altogether but I have now got my September head on so we're back on track.

So we all made it through the Summer Holidays. I'm not sure if it lived up to the high expectations we had at the very beginning (i.e seeing a bit of sunshine at least!) but we had our fair share of fun and laughter. We've all grown up a bit and are now ready to buckle down and get on with some work (if i say it enough times it might happen).

Oh, I hope my new interest in blogging isn't in fact a cunning plan by my brain to avoid getting on with some reading!

Anyway new term, new course. I am now on the path to becoming an Early Years Teacher (eventually I concede I will have to stop doing courses and actually get a proper job, last one I promise!).

On the crafty front I have been slowly working my way through the bags of alpaca and shetland/icelandic cross. I have been knitting a few little bits and bobs which will eventually become christmas pressie's (see how that september head is working!) but the Candle flame shawl is coming along
and Hey Teach is almost there......
I've had a really mental block with this, I still need to block, add buttons and weave in the ends. I bet i'll never wear it if i do ever finish it. Maybe it will take until the end of the course to do!

My apologies for the lack of interesting links and stuff but I've not blogged for so long I've forgotten how to do most of that stuff, bear with me and I'm sure it will come back.

TTFN x

New Additions to the Stash...

(aren't Alpaca's just the funniest animals you've ever seen?!)

(I've no idea why this pic is upside down but its most infuriating and its taken me 20 minutes trying to get it the right way up......i give up)

Curtesy of Bottle Top Bill and his best friend Corky who reside at Great Thornham Farm.

Due to a number of factors such as the school year being about two weeks too long, an absent Head Teacher for a whole year and now huge amounts of pressure to perform in the end of year School Production (and in my view to try and prove that the school hasn't gone down the pan during HT absence) I have a 9yr old that won't sleep.

But thanks to Bottle Top Bill and Corky (and of course their owner my Super Big Sis!) I was able to sooth the stresses of a (what felt like) a sleepless week by spending the day carding and spinning this wonderful fluff.

I think I'll try plying it then dyeing half of the skein to make a self striping yarn.

Anyway, Roll on Summer Hols, we've all had enough already!

Things I've been working on.....

Here's a pictorial update of some the things I've been working on.

For some reason I've started a shawl out of some of the Icelandic/Shetland. I'm using the CANDLE FLAME pattern. I just might finish it by winter, when I might get some use out of it. Of course Heatwave is not a good time for knitting, so I have been ........

Making Jam!

Raspberry using PYO fruit and some Strawberry jam using fruit from our very own allotment (which I might add it looking totally fantastic and giving us regular crops of salad, carrots and beautiful new potatoes etc etc).

And also, whats this? A boring old charity shop dress??

Not any more!!!

I've rather enjoyed sewing these pretty little flowers round the edge. When it's finished I may even post a pic of me wearing it!

Untill then, enjoy the sun. I won't be, it gives me a headache.

Bring on the Thunder Storms, I say!

Ta Ta x

Bunting and a Soltice Surprise.....

So it would appear that my blogging activites have somewhat ground to a halt over the last couple of weeks.

That may be down to my Art therapy course coming to an end so there is less of an impetus to record my creative exploits and partly down to the last couple of weeks being quite difficult. I don't mind sharing the workings of my mind when its churning out happy thoughts, less so when I'm feeling bogged down and a bit miserable (thank goodness I hear you sigh!)

Another reason is that I have been rather busy. Last weekend my sister and husband hosted a country day at their farm. I had a little stall and also did a practice run through for my Larmer Tree Workshop. My stall consisted of little knitted flowers and bags, some patchwork kits and some of the wool I have been spinning from the Icelandic/Shetland haul.

The day was a mixed bag. The workshop was very popular and worked really well and more importantly I have some idea of what to expect when I do it at the festival, but I have come to realise that I am no good at selling. Any potential shoppers would have had to fight their way through a crowd of children and tangled wool to view my wares!

Needless to say I hardly sold a thing and I did feel a little deflated. But on the up side I now have lots a lovely wool spun and ready to knit, and I'm thinking a nice snuggly wrap is in order.

(Queue hours of trawling through Knitty and Ravelry pattern suggestions).

Talking of Ravelry I meet a fellow Raveler the other night at our neighbours Soltice party. I was flabbergasted and nearly fell off my log in surprise. I don't know what was more surprising meeting someone who understands the need to trawl through patterns on the internet or the fact that HE was a nice young MAN!!!

My other 'Good Idea' that I'm working on is Bunting!! (well it is school fete season!)

I picked up a pack of patchwork peices from a recent museum trip. After much thought I decided it was pointless starting another big project so instead I bought some bias binding and I'm just sewing them in line a la Prayer Flag style. Even the girls have had a go (a family effort).

So todays top tip is to pop down your local material shop, get some fabric sample books and make some bunting.

We've got a new camera and it has taken me ALL DAY to figure out how to get two photo's off the camera and onto the comp, which means I have no time to blather on about other wonderful crafty ideas I've had lately.

So until next time, happy sewing x



p.s. I got Hey Teach out the other day and sewed a couple of seams .....

Malfunction!

Oh dear, it happens every year, yet I'm never really prepared.

Yes I'm talking Summer Shut Down.

Post Easter Holidays and I'm fit for nothing except wafting about in floaty skirts and putting butterflies in my hair (clips not real ones....although if I could just catch some......)

I'm ashamed to say that Hey Teach looks like this.............. and I'm not sure where the sleeves are :-(

and the wall hanging looks like this......

Not only that but I've got behind on my Art Therapy work and that only meant writing a journal.

I've also started a scarf and a sock, so not trouble starting stuff ...... a complete block when it comes to completing anything.

Of course there is no cure for this affliction but regular attendance of festivals and hanging out in a cool campervan can alleviate symptoms.

Normal duty should (hopefully) resume in September.

Stay cool now x

A reminder....

Yes I know, Two posts in one day, crazy isn't it!!

I just wanted to remind you all its Elderflower season (well in the UK!).

So, get out there picking and make some Elderflower cordial or some

Elderflower 'Champagne'

Cheerio x

For one week only.....SUN!

Well I don't know if any of you have noticed but someone has put this big bright yellow thing in the sky making it virtually impossible to do anything other than get outside.



We took this what seems like a once a year opportunity to bring our beloved Bessy Van out of hibernation and back on the road. Yes, we are a family of campers and I think we are getting rather good at it now.



We set off on Friday night, down the M4 and 'Over the Bridge', heading for Llanthony in the middle of the Brecon Beacons. We camped in what my girls correctly identified as 'Just a Field', but on closer inspection it turned out to be Just a Field WITH a Rope Swing and that made all the difference. I thought the eldest quite insightful with her comment that its amazing how easy it is to make friends when a rope swing is involved!



We met up with family and did some great walking then packed away for a trip across the mountains heading for the Sea. After a bit of procrastination we ended up at The Gower (along with everyone else from Swansea!). We camped at Port Eynon which is as close to a beach a campsite can get (no rope swing but it did have showers!) and the Girls spent two days in the sea, whilst I got frazzled on the Beach. I cleverly took a bit of knitting so I didn't mind just sitting and watching them enjoy themselves.



All in all I have to say our first trip of the year was hugely sucessful, so sucessful in fact that we missed a day off school! To make up for it I did bang on a bit about diversity of marine life, rock formations and the importance of sand dunes, (not that anyone took much notice).



You may have noticed the lack of photographic evidence of this trip. In our haste to get away we forgot the camera so once again I shall fob you off with some shots of wool.



On our return I dropped off the thank you socks which were so well received I was invited to help myself to another sack of wool, yippee!



Sadly the dratted house fairies have messed up the house AGAIN and left loads of washing so I shall have to get on with that before I can tackle this............

Have fun in the sun (while its here!)

Ta Ta x

You know you've got a good man when.........

........ you can convince him to climb a very precariously placed ladder to return to a nest some little fledgling birds that you found cold and abandoned in the back garden. And which you managed to rescue from the very brink of death with a hot water bottle and a bit of mashed up bread and milk, (especially when he's not that good with heights!).

Unfortunately due to the spontanious nature of this dramatic tree top rescue I didn't have time to grab the camera so here's some random photo's of some wool to keep you all happy :-)

Second attempt at the Thankyou sock (much better)

As we have had some fantastic weather I have been Plying and Dyeing in the garden

Normal duty has resumed!

I'm sure you are all deeply concered about my poorly status of the last post so I thought I had better update you on my current health.

It would appear that I have slightly over-reacted somewhat. The delibitating illness I was experiencing turned out to be just a little one day cold and now I am practically recovered.

I think it was at the point when The Man in my Life made an un-solicited offer to take children to school that I realised I had laid it on a bit thick and felt a bit guilty.

So I am back to firing on all cylinders. I have taken exercise (two days running) and I shall spend the afternoon working on th school allotment.

I also undid all the sock knitting as I it was ridiculously too big and started again..........

unfortunately unlike me the camera has just died so pics will have have to wait.

Happy knitting, spinning, growing etc etc x

Sniffle, whimper, moan.......

I have noticed a worrying trend of late of not being able to cope very well with illness. Gone are the days when I could stride through a cold, ignoring the aches and pains, with cry's of

"I don't have time to be ill!"

Now I am resorting to shuffling about making odd little squeaks of discomfort and unhappiness, bemoaning the fact that no-one cares about me.

I have been pondering this situation and I have come to the conclusion it must be down to a general dislike of housework. My main ocupation at the moment is to feed and water the family and stop us all from drowning in a see of tat, wool and paper, therefore I'm finding its quite difficult to ignore those minor discomforts (I fear I'm sufering from a serious case of man-cold (sorry men!))

Instead I tell myself I need to take it easy, sit on the sofa, take care of myself.......oh and while I'm sat there I might as well do things like this........

and this......

And I have finished the main part of the Hey Teach top. All I have to do now (without too much procrastinating) is sew it all together. My incentive to get it off the needles was so that I could start on the Thankyou Socks. They are coming out a bit big but I could felt them slightly in the wash.

The wool is divine, so lovely in fact that even though I'm only half way through the sack, I'm already getting anxious abut running out!

Right, I'm off to drink hot lemon drinks, sniff and dribble into tissues, and take it easy while I can. I hope I can get a bit more resilient when I'm doing my teacher training :-(

New Love.

For the last year I've had my eye on a flock of sheep near by and I finally plucked up the courage to approach the owner the other day. It must have been a synchronistic event as she had just had her flock shorn that very day! She let me go back the next day and have a rumage through the fleeces, and my god I was in woolly heaven. I came back with this........

This is possibly the most lushious stuff I have ever had the good fortune to pick up. It's a Shetland Icelandic cross flock and in beautiful shades of light and dark browns and greys. It is so soft and fine and dripping in lanolin that it spins straight from the bag (every spinners dream I'm sure). I just pull handfulls out of the bag and in no time at all I can do this......and this...........

We agreed payment for this woolly gold would be a pair of hand knitted socks, and I can't wait to get this stuff on the needles.

Talking of bartering, the adults of this household have been scaring ourselves a bit lately by watching this.....

YouTube - Zeitgeist - The Movie - 1 of 13 (Introduction)

The parts on religion are absolutely fascinating, the parts on banking and The Federal Reserve are down right terrifying.

Can we live without money? There's only so many things a pair of hand knitted socks can get you!

Oh well, here's hoping anyhow.

I apologise for bumming anyone out, but the most important thing I got from this film is the importance of living in harmony with the natural world, and if that makes me a sad old hippy so so be it!

p.s I shall sooth myself with thinking of all the things I can knit with this lushious wool, I urge you all to do something similar x

Got any Stuff?

I had a really good day at college yesterday. Lately we've been looking at the power of the object. I'm sure we all do it, imbue items with special meaning, power and memories. I'm sure it was my Pants of Confidence that got me through my teacher training interview!

So after looking at how I we all relate to eachother during my counselling training, now I am looking at how we all relate to our Stuff.

I have to admit, I'm a hoarder. I'm always looking at things and thinking 'that'll come in handy' or 'I can make something with that' (just the other day I found myself collecting the lids from tins - I saw them conected together hanging on a wall somewhere).

Hence I've been thinking about my Stuff

Does our stuff represent our homes, our memories, our selves?

Are we are stuff? If we are, what about the Stuff We Can't See. Old kiddy stuff in the attic, the boxes squished into the cupboard under the stairs. I wonder why I can't let go of this stuff? My relationship with my children won't change just because I recycled old school books.

I think part of the problem is we mix up the important stuff with the un-important. To sort through would take time, so we put in a box, shove it somewhere out the way for later.

If you think hard enough it could be a metaphor for something, couldn't it!?

Anyway here's my Art -

I feel a little uneasy about those unseen boxes but I'm not sure why. I feel that I have a bit too much stuff.

Of course its not going to help bringing home three Balwen fleeces from Wales last weekend. I almost had to leave a child behind just to get it into the car!

I think I need to think this through a bit more while I go and sort through some stuff and put some other stuff away.

Ta ta x

A Quickie

Here's just a quick photo update of the dyeing I did the other week.

It was a hit and miss affair, and I made rather a lot of mess........

But, it was fun, I shall ply these balls. The wool is pretty harsh, I won't be able to make anything wearable (maybe I could make some socks for someone whose wronged me, a silent protest!) but they will probably go into the Wall Hanging.

Now sadly I must do some housework. We've been away for the weekend and I swear someone/thing has come in and mussed up my home!!

I bet it was those pesky rabbits .

This final shot is one of the best things about my village, its very brief and when they fall I like to pretend I'm in a fairy land!

T T F N x

As every mother knows.......

......... its incredibly difficult to do ANYTHING with children around.

I had a child off school yesterday with a rather nasty cough. She managed to get past my cast iron defence against sicky days (I admit the lashing rain we woke up to helped her cause!).

Subsequently I spent pretty much the whole day mushing about not achieving anything (although we did watch Mamma Mia another couple of times, just to really get those songs embedded deep into our psyche!).

I was wondering why I didn't get on with anything productive/creative. We are out of the phase where just as you get into something someone trys to eat something they shouldn't, get stuck in the catflap or has a major poo emergency (well mostly!).

No, we have entered a new phase of 'interupting the flow' with those dreaded words

"Can I help!"

The words are a contradiction in themselves, they are very rarely helpful.

Of course it was with those immortal words that I have many of the skills I possess today (thanks mum!) , of which I am very grateful. With that said I generously step aside and let the kids have a go. Watching tentatively as they get the carder jammed and get very carried away with the spinning wheel. Luckly the short attention span meant it didn't last too long and they soon wandered off to make potions or terrorise some boys.

So with normality returned and everyone at school and work, (there was a brief attempt for a stay at home from the eldest, but I felt her excuse that Hedgehogs kept me awake all night was little weak),

I am off to Hand paint the 3 skeins of wool the children 'Helped' me card and spin!

Pics to follow shortly (promise).

Cheerio x

Is this the answer to the housing shortage?

BBC NEWS England Kent Knitted village put up for sale

Its got to be eco friendly right? and surely it will be warm? Could you live in a house like this?

I think i'd better get knitting!

Also here's a link to some wonderful sheep art I was discussing at college the other day.

YouTube - Extreme Sheep LED Art

My creative projects are in a bit of a dull moment. I have spent some time washing, carding and spinning some plain white fleece (trying to make a small dent to the massive stock pile of Hampshire wool I have in my parents garage). I will probably play around with dyeing the wool when its spun.

Hey Teach cardigan - Summer 2008 - Knitty is coming along nicely, I've nearly finished the back, its an absolute pleasure to knit, the softness of the bamboo and tencel just glides through the fingers.

I must go now and annoy the youngest by singing along very loudly to Mamma Mia!!

(payback for all those sleepness nights!!)

Enjoy x

Rhythm and a permission....

Whether it's down to the insight gained from my counselling training or my age (more than 21.....a little bit less than 40!!), I don't know, but I am finally getting the hang of the rhythm's of life. Whether they be the cycles of the seasons or the lunar phases, everything has a rhythm and I'm finding it a lot easier to get on with life if I just Go With The Flow.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today, a number of reasons why, but a main one being nocturnal wanderings of a child. So in going with the flow I shan't be feverishly hoovering the living room and straightening the rugs (even though I have crafty ladies coming), I don't even think I'll bother putting any washing on.

No, today is about doing want HAS to be done and the rest of the time will be spent doing soothing activities like scouring some fleece, maybe a little dyeing. I might even (shock, gasp) watch a bit of tele and do some knitting (in the afternoon I hear you cry, thats just not done!)

Yes, sitting down in the afternoon, it is allowed (of course I have the luxury of not having to watch cbeebies to do it now)

Therefore, this post is an invitation and total permission to go and Have a little sit down if you want one!

Enjoy x


p.s I'm too tired to post pics so I'll take some of my soothing activites and post them during the Up Swing thats bound to follow soon.

Ahhhhhhhh.........

Well the Easter Hols are over and everyone has, somewhat reluctantly, gone back to school and work. If the intended purpose of school holidays is to have a restful time then we've failed. All 3 girls looked pretty worn out this morning, but I was thinking that may be a benefit. Tired children can just sit quietly and soak up the information can't they? Going back to school should give them a bit of a rest!!

Of course, going back to school marks the beginning of the last term. The summer term is for doing as much learning outside as possible, sports day (urrgh) and planning the summer entertainments. I'm on the school PTA so I will be gunning for a Sponsored Walk this year.

So far we're booked in for the Larmer Tree Festival Fun For Kids . I'm doing a Wonders of Wool workshop and can't wait. Lots of prep work though which I will probably typically leave to the last minute. Come and say Hi if you're going.

Other items on the agenda is my alternative route to Recession Busting. Instead of following the advice to shop our way out of recession (borrring) I shall be Knitting, Growing and Baking my way out who needs money anyway :-) .

I've found it almost impossible to be grumpy when on the allotment. I shall also be pumping a bit of time and energy into getting a plot going at our local school. To do something similar check out Landshare and RHS - Campaign for School Gardening - Home . Of course when I say 'pumping time and energy into' what I mean is nag/encourage/bribe the Man of the House to go up to school and help me make a plot!

And in the oven today is bread and a Lemon Drizzle cake.

After much pondering and computor gazing I found this pattern

Hey Teach cardigan - Summer 2008 - Knitty , so I've started knitting it (see left & right) and I'm imagining its going to be my protective garment, my suit of armour! Its going to be my Magic Teacher Top!

Now the weather is typically gorgeous so I really must be outside. I can feel a dyeing session coming on (that's wool people, please don't be alarmed) , which I might attempt outside on a fire and there's Art Therapy at the end of the week (almost forgotten about that didn't you! yes!) so there should be some interesting pictures soon.

Thanks for droping by.

Ta Ta x

All Change...

The children have all returned and I have a house full of noisy girls again......just how it should be!!

And not surprisingly I felt pretty knackered by the time bedtime rolled round, so it was an evening on the sofa with knitting and tele for company (the man was listening to the football upstairs). Sadly, I think I'm getting sucked into The Apprentice after I told myself I wouldn't!

I have finished Noah's trousers and they have been sent off with Nana to be delivered, as usual in my haste to get them to the recipient I didn't take any photo's of them finished but I'm hoping my lovely sis will send me a photo of Noah wearing them so that I can add them as the first Finished Object for the blog.

The scrap blanket, I have decided, is now to become a Scrap Cushion (possibly for my brother as he recently requested one). It wasn't really inspiring me, the squares I did in stocking stitch didn't lay right and I much prefered the squares I knitted in garter stitch (they hold their shape so much better). Being a bit of a perfectionist I'm going to start a new Mitred Square Blanket doing all the patches in garter st. I might even try and convince a child or two to knit some patches.

Its funny that I end up doing more creative things when the girls are around than when I am alone. I think its because I know there's not much point doing any housework as they will only make the house untidy again. Generally they get on pretty well and will often immerse themselves in a very involved game, so I tend to stay out of the way, providing food and water as required, leaving me to 'do my thing!'

On the spinning front, I have 5 skeins of the choco rasp drying which means an awful lot of time is spent going through patterns contemplating what it wants to be. I'm thinking wrap/stole vs garment.

A garment would be more interesting but then I always get anxious about not having enough wool to finish something so frog it then hate it! I do quite fancy a lovely woolly blankie type thing as well,

oh well, time will tell.

Now I have to decide whether its worth putting the washing out!

Temporarily Redundant Mother.....

We are half way through the Easter break and it has (so far) been pretty relaxed. I think I earned some 'Good Mum' points for doing horsey things and allowing a sleepover and then the Big Girls went off to their Dad's leaving just three of us. The youngest kindly becomes twice as loud and twice as demanding to fill the void (ah bless)!

Luckily I bought in A Cousin for company and they played 'Piling Cushions' while I did a bit of sneeky spinning.

The Easter Bank holiday co-incided with The In-Laws 50th Wedding Anniversary, where I'm (a little) ashamed to say ate far too many Easter Eggs (I do it for the Kids of course, save their little teeth!) and drank more than I know is good for me :-( But we all had jolly good fun and the Weather Fairy came up trumps.

So, circumstances have given me a day off! (Yes another one, I feel like I'm cheating!!)

The Youngest and Dad have embarked on a big family outing to Weymouth on The Train. I couldn't go as I have a hair appointment booked *imagine hurt and disappointed voice here* Yes I know, its a shame, but it'll be a nice bonding time for Father and Daughter.

To balance out all this child free time I've gained I dedicated some of the morning to tidying The Girls rooms for their return (instead of spinning) because I am off to the hairdressers in a bit (her remit is something Striking!)

The other creative projects are plodding along. A couple more skeins of the Choco Rasp (can't wait to get knitting it), Noahs Trousers are quite literally on the last leg and a little attention was paid to the scrap blanket.

With most of the last few days involving family gatherings I've been spending more time eating than I have been knitting!

I'm off to do a bit more tidying just to show them all I love them and have been thinking of them.

Ta Ta x

A Puzzle...

So, what do you do when the kids are in Kiddie Heaven (A.K.A Nana and Grandad's), doing what kids should be doing in the Easter Hols when its not raining, i.e running about in a gang of cousins, getting dirty and making lots of noise.

Well, I could slob about in a dressing gown and watch Daytime TV.............the novelty of that wore off after Homes Under the Hammer!

I could clean the house from top to bottom..................mmmmm, maybe not.

I could beetle over to Kiddie Heaven and get involved, sooth hurts and break up fights (spending the whole time thinking of all the stuff I could be doing at home!)......

No, there's only one logical answer really, when you have an unexpected day off you really should 'do that thing you've been meaning to for ages and never do because there's too much other stuff that needs doing'.......in my case......

Cover a Cushion!

A close up of the detail.

I did grapple with my dusty sewing machine for about 5 minutes but as I was only getting frustrated I decided to hand sew this piece of material I bought for £5 a few years ago (with the intention of wearing it as a wrap around skirt but it didn't really hang right).

I re-discovered it recently as I'd put it in a bag for a clothes swap. I decided to keep hold of it and turn it into something....and now I have. We like soft furnishings in our house.

I suppose I had better tidy the sitting room now to display my handi work in!