WIP's

The dog thinks I am making him a pillow.

He is wrong.

It's not a cushion at all.

Well, that's the plan anyway.  Watch this space.

Also on the needles:

He doesn't look so impressed with this one, does he?  Think he was getting tired of being a model by this time.

Also, work in progress, is the children's craft cupboard.

There are things in there that they haven't touched since they were learning to count (they are now fourteen and sixteen).

So, boot sale, here we come.  Well, I say 'we'.  The Runner does all the selling here.  I think I'll just bring the thermos and the sandwiches.  I hate selling.

Why is it that games instructions are always missing?

I'll let you in on a secret.  I've got designs on this cupboard.  Well, wouldn't you?

Knitting Update

Hellooooo

A lovely slobbery dog breath kiss to you all!

This is how everyone is greeted at our house now!  He doesn't bite, but will knock you over and lick you to death!

Anyhow, just wanted to update you on what I have been knitting lately.

Just one or two pairs of fingerless gloves.  Some have been commandeered by daughters and some are winging their way over to Switzerland shortly.  See the dog has to get in on the act!  I think he just wants the  cake actually.

Needless to say, with that many teenagers in the house, the cake didn't last long!

Bumbling Along

Well, all week I have been trying to get to this point (posting) and I am finally here at ten to eleven on Sunday!

Lots of knitting has been going on here and I hope to show you a picture soon but in the meantime, here are some buns!

I have a Jubilee Tea to do in a couple of weeks and decided I have better have a bit of a practice.  Unfortunately I couldn't find any dark blue tulip cake cases, only light blue ones; so the red, white and blue effect is not as good as I wanted.

I have also invested in a mini loaf tin and so I made some miniature lemon drizzle cakes as well.

Oh dear, now we have to eat it all!

The dog is settling in well.

It seems like he has been here forever.

And hasn't it been a lovely day?  Oh look, some more rain forecast for tomorrow!  What a surprise!

Better use it as an excuse to do some more knitting!

Preparation is The Key

Aaaaahhhhhh!

Why do we take on so much?  Correction, why do I take on so much?  You're probably all out there in Blogland with your presents handmade and wrapped, with Christmas cards poised for posting and Christmas puddings aromatically maturing in larder cupboards!

I am not.

Nor ever likely to be.

There is no more productive time like 'The Last Minute'.

Anyway, just thought I better drop in and play catch up; at least, prove that I haven't been spending all my time on Pinterest (ahem).

That strange red thing I was making a while ago here was eventually finished, along with a couple of others and they now reside on my bookshelves.

See, it wasn't rude!  Unlike this thing I saw [click here], which please don't look at if you are of a nervous disposition.  But do you think the Runner would like me to knit him a pair?

The two main things I am in a panic about are a cake stall on Saturday (you know what I will be doing from dawn til dusk and later tomorrow don't you?) and a craft stall the following Friday.

Lots of making projects going on at the moment, most of them half-finished!

Wish me luck!

Back to the Grindstone

All too soon it has come to an end.  The carefree indulgences of paddling in warm turquoise seas, pina colada by the pool, air conditioned siestas and nosy-ing on down to the restaurant to see what's for tea.

Ah well, back to washing and vacuuming and clearing up after teenagers and husbands.  Also back to a decent cup of coffee and my own very comfy bed though as well!

You don't realise how much you take for granted how 'green' Devon is.

These are taken from the aeroplane as we came back.

Tis good to be back but I miss the blithe and fanciful wanderings of the mind that you only get when you are absent from your customary routine.

However, socks have been sewn:

and life is returning to normal.

Hopefully this will include a bit more blogging!

If You Are Not Embarrassing Your Children, Then You're Obviously Not Enjoying Yourself!

Yes, Crofters wool again - this time a pair of socks!  Done one and half-way through the second whilst drinking a pina colada and listening to the evening entertainment!  It's a wonder they still sit with me, isn't it?

Quick Update

As it was such a lovely morning, and unusually we had no children, we decided to take a walk.

We went to Branscombe and started at The Masons Arms, where we had the most scrumptious roast beef.  I would thoroughly recommend going there if you're ever in East Devon.  I wish I'd taken a photo of the meal!

We walked along the beach and gazed longingly at the little beach houses in the cliff.

Then I came home and settled on the ever deepening dent in the corner of the couch to carry on with some of my current projects. 

There are some leg warmers for my friend's daughter who has just moved to Edinburgh to study to be A Vet: yes, I am using the Crofters DK again!

And the new Lacy Blanket is coming on, but requires a bit more concentration!

Five motifs done, only 15 to go!

Well, that's all I have time for now.  I'll try and pop back soon as I have some plans for a giveaway hopefully to brighten these short days!

Wrist Warmers

Just a quick photo of the wrist warmers I made for Starfish.  They weren't quite finished for Christmas but she seems to like them.

Now Scary wants some as well!

Bits and Pieces

Fancy a bun?

Not sure where this week has gone but spring has definitely sprung!

Poor Scary went to the Orthodontist this week and has to have four teeth out AND a brace to get her teeth straight!  I've heard that once they get the braces, it is quite 'cool' but at the moment she is very slowly coming to terms with it.  I think she is wondering what The Boyfriend will think about it.

What did you think of the new Dr Who then?  We thought he was excellent!  Mad Child really liked the comment "Get a girlfriend Geoff!"  Of course, we also had Ashes to Ashes and Jonathan Creek over the weekend so for us it was top notch televisual entertainment.  About time something decent was on though.

Anyway, still haven't shown you my birthday presents but it's getting a bit late now so will try and do that tomorrow.

Many thanks for all your lovely comments and I'm still working on the scarf so that hopefully it will be ready to post next Monday (have had to start it again, bah!).

See you soon.  Gotta finish my birthday chocolate before the gannets get home!  Go on, have another bun!

Sneaky Peak

Knit, knit, knit

Scarf #2

Yay!  Managed to finish the fluffy scarf!

I managed to mostly rip out the yarn from the previous attempt, with one little lump at the end that I couldn't unravel.  I looked for some help on the Internet and it told me that I should be using it double.  No way was I going to rewind that blessed stuff into two balls (I was beginning to be sick of the sight of it) so I decided to mix it with something else.  I had some undefined black wool (4 ply I think) so I had a go with that.

It worked really well and although not easy to knit, it was certainly 100 times easier with the 4 ply.

I'm afraid the pictures do not do the yarn justice.  In the turquoise there are also patches of purple, sea green and grey and it is so soft and not at all itchy.

Anyway, I couldn't find a pattern online that I liked, and I didn't just want to do garter stitch as I thought that would take too long, so I just made it up.  (Well, actually I started following a simple lace stitch in one of my books but I was watching True Blood at the time and forgot to do row 3 of the pattern!)

I had one skein of Colinette SilkyChic in colour Jay.
One ball (approx 100g but I only used maybe just over half) black 4 ply.

Cast on 24 stitches loosely on 10mm needles, with both yarns.

Knit one row.

Row 1:  K.1, (yrn, K.2 tog) repeat instructions in brackets until last stitch, K.1.
Row 2:  Purl.

Repeat these two rows until desired length; I did about 60 inches and then knit another row at the end.

Cast off loosely.

Please remind me not to buy fluffy wool again!

Show-Off Sunday

Just a quick post today, to show you this really quick scarf I knitted this week.  I treated myself to some rather posh wool; a blend of merino and silk from Uruguay.  Let's not burden Marathon Runner with how much it cost.  (Shh, I don't think I have ever spent so much on one skein of wool!)

It knitted up so quickly, that I thought I would knit another one for a friend whose birthday is on Tuesday.  I had some fluffy wool, bought years ago for heavens knows what, but after two attempts and LOTS of knots, I think I am going to give up.  Not only is it very hard to see the pattern, it is absolutely impossible to back-track if you make a mistake and very easy to knit bits of fluff instead of the actual stitch.  So she won't be getting a scarf for her birthday.

Back to the drawing board but with only just over 24 hours to go!

Anyway, this is turning into a longer post than anticipated but just have to show you this:

Can you see the bee?  Today I cut the grass for the first time this year.  I can't believe that it is nearly Easter already!  Chocolate here I come ...

What I've Been Up To

Well, where have the last five days gone?  There's been a little bit of this:

Followed by a bit of this:

Some cutting out, some baking, some cleaning (!), some working and some viewing:

I'm not overly into vampires, but I stumbled upon this a few episodes into the series and got hooked.  When I ascertained that no-one was rushing around getting me a Mother's Day present, I decided to buy it for myself!  Oh err, not one for the children, however, much as they are into the undead!

Spring has definitely sprung and the weather has been lovely, although we have had a little rain tonight.  It's quite nice to be able to go out in a light coat.

Many thanks to you all for the lovely comments lately and, please keep reading, because I'm coming up to my 100th post and also my birthday, so who knows what will happen then?

This fellow has been hovering around a lot lately:

Do you think they have come to take me away, ha ha?