goodbye 2010

having had a really lovely, busy & fun family Christmas, we have had a few lazy days at home, playing lego or play-mobile, watching films, knitting (well maybe just me with the knitting bit!) but today despite the rather grey weather, we made it out for a walk through the woods

armed with a camera, Thermos of tea & our snacks of choice (mine being Christmas cake) we set off for a slow stroll,  

it felt great to get out & we all enjoyed the fresh air & jumping in the puddles (& mud)

i'm looking forward to what is becoming our new years eve celebrations of a curry & a movie, then heading out on new years day to watch the morris men at the village pub, then back for drinks with friends, we also have something extra to celebrate, we have found another house, won't get too excited before it's all down in writing but things are looking good for 2011 - fingers crossed, 

wishing you all a happy new year

'twas the night before christmas

& we're about as ready as we're going to be 

wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

more christmas knitting

lots of knitting, has been keeping my fingers busy, think i'm all done (but do have some fireside knitting lined up for myself over the next few days) all the project details can be found over on my Ravelry page,

& it doesn't show signs of stopping

 i have to be a bit bah humbug here & let you all know i'm kinda getting sick of the snow, for many reasons including being unable to get my car out, which in turn means i can't finish the christmas shopping i had planned, not seeing a postman for days (& still missing a few vital presents) worrying that we might not get over to my folks on boxing day & many other problems i won't bore you all with (frozen pipes aren't helping matters - one thing putting me off living in an old house)

view from my bedroom window, i know the snow makes it all look so pretty but i could have really done with it holding off for a week,

i'm trying very hard to do some things with the children to make their holiday fun, today we have made biscuits, which went very well (but then when they'd had enough of that they moved on to trashing the front room)

this recipe is super easy for the little ones & also very tasty, i kept some back for myself to make & turned them into a sweet little gift!

the snow is still falling, so we are going to stay tucked up inside today but will have to venture out tomorrow, even if we are only able to get around like this

it's a hoot

i found it quite hard to come up with a quick handmade gift idea for big G's school teacher, so after a little web browsing i came up with a mug cosy, because surely all teachers enjoy a cuppa in the staff room

& this one turned out so cute, i'm really pleased with it, it also turned out to be very friendly on the purse, as the mug came from Sainsbury's & the yarn was some Debbie Bliss cashmerino i had left in my stash from another project, the buttons were all from my huge button stash too

it only took about 18g of wool & knitted up in an evening, trouble is i want one now too! i will probably include some nice tea bags with the present when i warp it, (or home-made biscuits if i get the time)

the pattern can be found on ravelry, but i changed it quite a lot from the original, so check out the notes on my projects page if you want to make one the same

sunday stash / new fabric

having read this post over here (sorry Jenny)

i was far too tempted & made the mistake of taking a look, as tempted as i was by the lovely Westfalenstoffe fabrics, there were lots of others to lure me in, the 'little folks' flannel i have wanted so long, (i had actually ordered some of this last winter but it was part of the parcel that went missing at the time) it was also at a great price, so i couldn't resist, i plan to use this to make some bedding for little O, as she will be moving into a bed (as soon as i can face the trip to Ikea!)

i also got some of this Kokka 'sewing thread' fabric & some Heather Bailey fabric (which were on sale)

all from Celtic Fusion fabrics, a great quick service (the parcel made it to me despite all the snow) they even sent me a few little freebie pieces of fabric, which is always a treat,

tis the season to eat (a lot!)

we've been getting in some practice for all the christmas eating we will be doing soon, first up 'millionaires shortbread' these were amazing, although having never made them before i couldn't quite believe how much butter & sugar went into making them! so maybe not something i'll be making too often

i had forgotten how many christmas gifts you get working at a pre-school / nursery, mostly these are tins or boxes of well known chocolates, but one mum had gone to the effort of making each & everyone of the staff (that's nine in total!) a box of 6 cupcakes, each cake a different flavour & was beautifully decorated, 

(almost) too pretty to eat

& keeping up with my in-laws family traditions, my husband made some Piragi

which didn't last long either

christmas sewing

having been so encouraged by how well the advent calendar went, i set about making something with my little tree patchwork squares, (having had no idea what i was going to turn them into whilst i was actually making them), 

a pair of Christmas pillows, 

made using some greenish scraps & some cheapo cream ikea cotton

a tiny amount of hand sewing & backed with some green amy butler fabric

all coming together to make me (& my sofa) very happy

now i'm off to finish my glass of warm winter Pimms & stare lovingly at the Christmas tree

the countdown has begun

i had been planning to make an advent calender for such a long time, it was one of those things i always thought i had lots of time in which to make it, so then never actually got round to making it! 

then what with last weekend being taken up by more pressing matters, i had two days to just get on & get it made, 

it turns out i didn't make the version i had been carrying around in my head all that time, what i did make was a rather scrappier, happier version

a brief 'how to'

i just pieced together four rows of five squares & one rectangle, hand sewing a number onto each, i then backed each of these strips with some muslin (sewing right sides together, leaving a small gap for turning,  then turning right sides out, pressing & sewing up the small turning hole)

then sewed each strip onto a larger piece of fabric, going down, along & up three sides of each square, so as to make them into 24 pockets, i did this in one continuous line for each strip, backed it, having made a few strips to pop into the top, with which to hang the whole thing up, i have been popping a treat into the pocket each evening, as it is hanging at child level, so i know if i had filled it all it would have been emptied on December  1st! i am so happy with how it turned out, as at one point i really thought i wouldn't & was already thinking about how i'd make another one for next year, but happily it all came together & the children think it's just perfect

oh dear

there is a little more out there today than yesterday, after venturing out this morning, i can now report i am safely snug on the sofa, having made another batch of jam tarts & some millionaires shortbread to keep us all going

with both pre-school & school closed & the roads round here too bad for driving on, we are all having a lovely family day, although i've left the sledging to the boys this afternoon!

finding a little time to knit whilst little O naps on the sofa next to me

two steps forward

it was lovely to wake up this morning to find there had been a light dusting of snow overnight, making our attic view even more breathtaking 

thank you so much for all your comments on my last post, G is well on the mend now, i have spent today making up for my lost weekend, finishing off the children's advent calendar (which i will save for another post), some christmas knitting (rather frustrating, as i knitted one glove only to find i won't have enough to finish the second but never fear, i have a plan)

 indulging little O in some free reign with the glue & glitter & indulging myself with some home-made jam tarts

- now i'm back to starting that first glove again!

then the worse

i had thought i would be able to post about some lovely things i had been making but in-between phone calls / trips to the doctors & hospital there has not been any-time to finish making anything, let alone post about it! 

poor G has been rather affected by a nasty infection, he has been surprisingly okay throughout (he rather liked the children's ward & was happy about getting to see his chest x-ray, if only we could have kept it for show & tell at school!) fingers crossed he is on the mend & i can relax a little now

what i can do is share with you the hat i made for Colette, as she was the winner of my hat give-away, this was the third attempt at making this hat & it was third time lucky as it knitted up a treat, you can see details of the pattern over on my ravelry page, it was far easier than it looked, i only made it more difficult for myself by using a different weight yarn from that suggested!

i couldn't resist trying it on, you know, just to check to would fit okay,

but you don't need to take my word for it, pop over & see Colette, it looks just lovely on her, 

the good & the bad

okay, i'll start with the bad, the house we were buying has now well & truly fallen through, i'd be lying if i  said i wasn't rather gutted by the whole thing, but i'm really trying not to dwell & besides i've got plenty to keep myself from getting too glum about it all

Christmas!

having just finished Colette's hat (which i will post about it when i know it has arrived safely with her) i have moved on to making a few christmas things,

speaking of which i'd better get back to the sewing machine whilst i've got the chance

a quick & rewarding knit

things have not really been a great bundle of laughs round here lately! sick bugs have been replaced with cough & cold bugs, & it's been a grey & rainy day, so of course, instead of finishing the knitting projects i have on the go (Colette, i promise 3rd times a charm & your hat is well over half way done) i started (& finished) another one!

little O & i have spent most of the day under a quilt on the sofa (in-front of cbeebies, but best keep that bit quiet - although i think the state of the kitchen might be a give-away)* & i knitted a hat, a very quick & happy hat

so quick in fact she even got to wear it on the afternoon school run! i used 'click' chunky with wool & knit it on 6.5mm needles, the pattern details can be found over on ravelry, it's a great mindless pattern & i love it knitted up in this yarn, i had to add a little of some other random left over yarn to make the pompom,

*if you're reading this dear husband, don't worry as there is a sausage bake cooking in the oven as i type*

otherwise occupied

it's been a tough week round here, starting with a broken boiler,

& ending with little O going down with a tummy bug! so not much fun round these parts, so very little progress on the sewing / knitting front to report, i've higher hopes for next week, 

feeling lucky

i have been enjoying the weekend & feel like i squeezed quite a lot in, i've pressed the blocks i had stared for my next quilt project

 found out i had won a little give-away over on kate's blog, she popped them in the post so quickly that they arrived on saturday!

didn't manage to see too many fireworks from the attic window but did catch a rainbow

enjoyed the sunshine on a family day-trip down to portsmouth

& visit to the aquarium (& then watching 'finding nemo' on our return home)

having cooked, eaten (a yummy butter-nut squash recipe) & tided up as much as is necessary, i'm now looking forward to a spot of knitting in front of the telly, after the little people are tucked up in their beds, 

(& defiantly not thinking about the fact it is monday tomorrow & we're already into the second week of november!!!!!)