I'm back!!!!

Hello there everybody!!! I'm back!!!

I've been away for what seems like an age due to my useless old computer and just general life getting in the way but my wonderful Mum bought us a new laptop for Christmas so now that everything is transferred over I can get back into the blogging.

Well, what have we been up to?........

Alfie is loving school and doing really well, Oscar is getting really grown up (:cry:) and we had a wonderful quiet family Christmas.

There has been a lot of knitting happening and I have done quite a few of my YOP projects and a couple of things on my list have changed..... there's a surprise!!

So for a quick catchup here goes.....

There was Tom's Huron Jumper...

which he has only worn once because it just hasn't been cold enough!!!

My Guernsey wrap which I wear almost every day and I can't believe that I don't have a finished photograph of it!!!!

A jumper for Alfie which ended up being Oscar's, then a second identical-but-slightly-larger-one which actually fits Alf!!

A cable scarf for a friend of Tom's

Some Remembrance Day Poppies..

A colourwork Selbu hat

A red Kim Hargreaves Teal cardigan - which I also don't appear to have any pictures of!!

A Xmas jumper for me :-)

Some fingerless gloves for Sarah (which actually ended up with different ribbon in them)

And a tiny felted cauldron..

As for the ones on my needles now...... well that can wait for another post!!!

Happy Birthday Dad, We Miss You x

As some of you will know, sadly my Dad lost his brave battle with Prostate and Lung Cancer in June. Today would have been his 81st birthday and we all miss him so very much, especially the boys.

How very apt it was when I opened my curtains this morning to find that my Little Sunflower (that I very nearly gave up hope on last week and pulled up) had finally flowered and produced this tiny but perfect little bloom.

Tonight my Mum, brother Dan and Sarah are all coming to stay, just like they did last year and we will be going to Pewsey Carnival tomorrow evening just as we did last year.

Happy Birhday Dad, we love amd miss you so very much xxxxx

Year of Projects Update - 11th September 2011

Hello there!! Once again its been a couple of weeks since my last post, and once again they've been busy weeks!

My biggest boy turned 5....

and then 3 days later started school.....

I also got lots of knitting done, not all of it for my YoP projects, so without further ado....
I present Owls for Sarah...

When she saw the one that I knitted myself back in June she said how much she loved it, so unbeknown to her, later that day my brother slipped me the money to buy the wool to make her one as a surprise. I managed to get if finished just in time for them to be coming to visit next weekend.

Next up is Different Lines

Not the best of pictures I admit but I only cast off this evening and I wanted to show you all in this post. The colours are pretty true to life, if a bit dark and it is sooooo unbelievably soft in the merino. It still needs to be blocked out but was a really fast knit, I only began it on Monday and have finished it today (Saturday night) and I love the interesting shape. I think I'll still do a Stripe Study Shawl but that will have to wait because I cast on....

Huron for Tom! Now I know that in the original list I was supposed to be knitting him this Hiker Jumper but he kept telling me that he wanted this hideous creation. I knew that he'd wear it once and then never wear it again, and I really couldn't justify putting in all that work for one wear. So I trawled the books at my LYS and Ravelry and finally we both agreed on Huron as a happy medium that satisfies his 'Xmas Jumper' needs and is wearable throughout the winter. Once I've got a bit more than a cable with 175 stitches on it to show you I will! I might even change the boys' jumpers to mini versions of this..... we'll see!

Also not on my YoP list I've managed to knit two hats, each in one day. I knit Tom a Turn a Square Hat on Bank Holiday Monday whilst in the car with Tom driving around Wiltshire looking at caravans and big old stone circles.....

Then tonight in the grand total of 1.5 hours I knitted a Holly hat for myself. I have to say that the Winter Warmers Rowan book that this is from is amazing!

Finally I would like to thank a real life friend for giving me an award in the virtual world! Kate from Good Purl Gone Bad gave me a Versatile Blogger award for which I am really humbled and I will come back to this in its own post but wanted to mention it here just in case I forget!

So, after the madness of the last few weeks I'm hoping that things quieten down a bit  and that I'll be doing rather more leisurely knitting for a while! The only thing that I'd like to complete pretty soon is the other 'Small Boy Hat' because its bound to be needed if I don't!

Happy knitting (and hooking) everyone!

Year of Projects Update - 28th August 2011

Oooh, it is good to be home!



I've got lots done during the last week, two FO's and another well and truly on the way there.... So without further delay.... Drumroll please............................

Introducing Erik!!!! He's finally done!!! I managed to finish the knitting on Tuesday, ten when we got home on Tuesday night the zip was waiting for me, what fantastic service! So on Wednesday the zip was machine sewn in and he's blocking as I type ( I haven't managed to do it before because of those pesky kids), here are the unblocked pics....

Its looking much better blocked, and far less wonky, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get a shot of my brother wearing it, hangover depending! (It's Midnight on Saturday and he's just got back from Wembley after watching our team Wigan Warriors beat Leeds Rhinos in the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final) I really love the contrast of the bright orange zip against the natural wool, and most importantly Dan loves it too.

My second FO of the week was finished on Friday after only being started on Wednesday and is the first of two Modern Rib Hats for the boys. Here it is modelled by Alfie whilst watching the aforementioned match on the telly earlier today....

It was a lovely, easy knit which I didn't have to really think about, I'll probably cast on the other one this week so then they're out of the way ready for when the weather turns!

Last but not least I cast on the Owls jumper for Sarah, Daniel's girlfriend. She knows nothing about this so I want to get it finished by the next time they visit (they live 200 miles away near to where I grew up) in 3 weeks for Pewsey Carnival, that shouldn't be a problem! I cast this on on Tuesday before we left my Mum's so that I could knit in the car and managed 7 inches of the body in the dark on the motorway while hubby very kindly drove. I'm now knitting both sleeves at the same time in the round Magic Loop style which does take a fair amount of concentration so is strictly reserved for when the children are in bed!
This is as far as I've got......

I'll soon be done with the sleeve increases so they'll go much more quickly once I don't have to remember how many rows I've done!

I'll probably cast on a baby cardigan for my neighbour who gave birth to a beautiful little girly while we were away (Yes, I know I've got one on the needles on my list but that will be too big!) and I'll hopefully have a jumper to show you next week!

Happy knitting xx

Year of Projects Update - 21 August 2011

Hi guys!!!! Just a quick update this week, I've been on holiday camping in North Wales so don't have all of my usual banners etc to hand but wanted to let you know that Erik is coming along nicely!!!! After having to rip it out completely I'm now flying through it and have the body completed and 2/3 of the first sleeve, I just need to measure Dan's arms for the sleeve length and order the zip, hopefully it'll be all done ready to show you by next week :-)

Also this week I've ot a bit of my Mojo sock completed and it really has restored my mojo, those colours are amazing!!

Unfortunately being on my mum's laptop I have no pics to show you so next week's update will be very pic heavy!

Happy knitting!

Year of Projects Update - 14th August 2011

Well its been a busy few weeks here so its been a while since I updated. I've been working steadily on my Twenty-Ten Cardigan and Erik, although only one of those is a success story......

Ta-dah! Twenty-Ten is finished!! I really, really love it and can't wait to wear it properly!!! Here is a not so great pic of it....

You can't see the colour very well, or the lovely wooden buttons from my LYS so here is a better one, closer up....

....and one of the sleeves....

You may notice that there is a button missing at the bottom. The lovely Fiona only had 10 in stock with more on order so because I just couldn't wait I left that one off until her order comes in.

Then there was Erik...... Whilst I was at Knit & Natter on Tuesday evening one of the ladies realised that the back for a cardigan that she was knitting was enormous compared to what it should have been, despite having knitted a tension square, and it was going to have to be frogged. It suddenly dawned on me that when I started Erik I hadn't done a tension sqaure at all and then that awful sickly feeling began to spread over me until I got home and checked my tension..... I was using the recommended needle size and the right wool but  I was getting 18 stitches to 4" rather than the 15 stitches required. I very nearly cried. It is too far out to even just rip back to the arms and continue increasing for the larger size so is being completely frogged and I am going to swatch, swatch and swatch some more until I get the perfect gauge!!!
Here he is feeling sorry for himself and I will keep this picture to remind me what happens when you don't check your gauge!

{this moment} - 29 July 2011

{this moment}, a Friday ritual.

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

To find more moments, and add your own visit Soulemama.