almost a washout of a week

i will be rather pleased to leave February behind & welcome in March tomorrow, weather wise this week has been such a washout too, a little more sunshine would be much appreciated!

still i did have a little good news to brighten my week, i won a giveaway over on saltwater kids blog (as part of 'the boy' month which dana & rae have been hosting) the goodies arrived on Saturday!

the most fantastically made reusable 'snack pack' set, which will be just perfect for big G to use for his daily school packed lunch, 

it's just so sweet! 

having still avoided taking my lace knitting out it's bag, i set about casting on for some much needed mindless knitting, you know, the easy kind you can pick up & put down, & pretty much on with, with your eyes closed! 

the result - a very quick, warm & cosy hat, i made the pattern up as i knit, & used up some of the yarn from my stash (colinette one zero in dusk) i've still not felt ready to attempt the lace right now, so have been grannying along when i find the time! (& nearly completed the 3rd row)

we spent a lovely weekend with my family, & a day trip into Brighton (including a visit to the sea life centre), despite the cold we ate our lunch on the beach, 

i have such a soft spot for Brighton, it holds so many many memories for me, 

but sadly i will be back there tomorrow for my grandma's funeral, trying not to dwell on the sadness but remembering the happier times (she was 94!), 

i also made the most of the time i had whilst the little ones were getting to play with their grandparents, & i got the socks finished, (about time you might say)

& i have to say my man seems very happy with them (well who wouldn't be)

details of socks can be found here if you're interested, i haven't dared  look at the lace scarf yet, & shall be busy baking this afternoon, & making this for tea with the little folk, then i may just sit under the wonderland quilt whilst i work on the binding, back soon

the wonderful quilt

i'm so getting there with this, & i LOVE it, 

nap time was good to me today, & i got the quilting finished too! (simple lines following the zig zags)

so with the binding made, it should get finished real soon, 

this was made using two moda charm packs from the wonderland fabric range by momo & some 'snow white' (i think) solid,  i had originally planned to make a half triangle pattern, kind of like this one, but as usual i changed my mind half way through the project & this is what i ended up with,  this quilt was very neglected for a long long time, but with the end in sight, i gain a (almost crazy) burst of energy to jump the final hurdle.

doing this quilt has made me realise how bad i am at quilting, i need way more practice, but i'm learning as i go, this was the first time i'd done a pieced back for a quilt, & i know it won't be the last, in fact i think my favourite little part of the quilt is on the back, 

i saved this little rabbit to put on the back, so he wouldn't get lost on the front, & squashed a little of the selvedge in there too for good measure, (cut from some of the wonderland yardage i used to make the back)

i'll be back next week, with some finished socks (i promise hunnie) & hopefully a little lace KAL update, however that project has been some what sabotaged by little O, seeing as she pulled the needle off the stitches!!!!!!!!, i did an immediate rescue mission, but haven't faced looking again, 'deep breath & count to 10'

the bad wife

i hope you all had a lovely valentines day, having had the best of intentions to get the socks finished for my man, it didn't happen, the first reason being that i decided to make a last minute present for another (little) man, whose naming ceremony we were attending on Saturday, i made him up a lovely little drawstring bag, with his name on it, (forgetting to take a picture of said bag!), i then felt i needed something to put in this lovely little bag, so i crocheted up a quick pair of booties, using this pattern,

i've no idea what the yarn was, (i think it came free with a knitting magazine ages ago), 

i then planned to spend the journey to the naming ceremony knitting up the socks, unfortunately i didn't get very far with them.

but my sweet man didn't seem too upset by merely getting the promise of a soon to be finished pair of socks as his valentines gift, in fact so sweet was he, that i even got away with not only finishing my wonderland quilt top, but i also making the binding & piecing the back for it on valentines afternoon, whilst he kept the little folks entertained, i should get some pictures taken today (if the light gets better).

i was also so fed up of waiting for the fabric i ordered from etsy, which is now unlikely to ever arrive, that i ordered myself a little fabric fix from here, which promptly arrived to cheer me up, 

some lovely Alexander Henry 2D zoo in the blue colour way

& some prints charming fabric i'd wanted for an age! something bright to cheer up these damp, dull & rainy days of February!

nothing new

still rather lacking on the creative front, (as i have been trying to get the socks finished in time to be gifted on Sunday) both heels have been done, so over half way there.

however today, in-between the snow showers & sunshine, working at pre-school this morning & school runs & swimming lessons this afternoon, i just about found the time to take a few pictures of the second row i've added to the granny a day blanket, just so i could share them with you,

& now i've added it, it's made me want to keep going, ooh i'm really loving this little wip,

sometimes as i finish a square, i worry that the colour combination is not quite right, but then once they're all together, i'm reassured by their loveliness & just want to make more!

the lost weekend

after having had such a productive few days at the end of last week, the weekend was somewhat of a washout as far as craft related progress goes! (it of course was not helped by the fact i had a few too many glasses of red wine at our local pre-school fund-raising quiz night)

we did get out on Saturday, in between a trip to the carpet shop to look at samples & a house viewing (yes we are on the brink of embarking on the nightmare that is moving), we managed to pop into here for a cupcake,

you'll have to excuse the terrible lighting, as we got a spot in front of the fire in the 'snug' out back, it really is a lovely 'cupcakery', where all the cup cakes are named with the most fabulous of names, big G picked the 'dolly parton' & i went for the margot fontaine,

complete with vintage crockery & granny blankets

anyhoo, back to what i did get made last week, i finished the bag i had been commissioned to make for a birthday present & was really pleased with how this turned out

 

only despite no matter how many times i pressed it, it still looked creased! i just hope the little lady likes it.

i was on such a roll, that i made one up for a friend of G's, for her birthday next week, just have to come up with something to pop in it now.

whilst i was getting on with this, little O had a grand old time playing with this little lot, luckily she is happy just pottering, & kept herself very busy

wrapping up each wooden letter in turn & then feeding them to me!

i have been very slow on the knitting front & have barely managed to knit more than a few rounds on the socks, still looks like there is going to be more snow on the way, so snuggling up & doing some knitting sounds just perfect.

a little smug

well i did find my recipe, having spent a lot of time going through all the recipes i cut out from magazines, or get from waitrose (it was from a favourite cook book of mine - how did i forget that, my memory really is not what it used to be)

but i have been crafting, i finished a rows worth of middle circles for my granny blanket, so now i just need to do the final round & join as i go, i started another commissioned sewing project i've been asked to do, another little named bag, which i hoping to get finished today, 

G & i had fun with the Hama beads, & i'm looking forward to making some more with them (having just found out they do glow in the dark & glitter beads)

i've also been keeping up with my one pattern repeat on my lace scarf & i fitted in a little knitting on the socks, i also cooked the kids some homemade mackerel fish-cakes for their tea & they both gobbled them up - hooray, so i felt rather smug yesterday - lets see if today turns out quite so well!

busy doing nothing

well not really nothing, but nothing much really, both the little ones are getting over colds & so we've generally been pottering along, getting January out the way & moving into February, i feel i've been a little fuzzy lately, for example, today i have a very strong feeling that i've forgotten to be somewhere, or do something, most strange, & i've also very frustratingly misplaced the recipe i was planning to cook for tonight's dinner (a rather delicious looking goats cheese & spinach tart) no doubt i'll have to turn the kitchen upside to look for it this afternoon, 

anyways, enough of my mutterings, i cast on for the adventures in lace KAL, which Kate has organised, & very pleased i am so far, i'm going to try & knit a pattern repeat a day (have yet to start today's though!)

I'm knitting the lace leaf shawl, in the lovely Alpaca yarn i brought way back here, the socks are also coming along nicely, although having had a change of heart, they will now be for the mister (the next ones will have to be for me) it was just lucky enough i hadn't knit too far, so i could make them a little bigger

during my other potterings, i made a trip to my nearest hobbycraft, to stock up on crafty bits for the littlies (oh how i miss woolworths), aside from the usual card & paper supplies, we came home with some of these Hama beads!

mostly because i was rather keen to give these a go myself, will let you know how i (oops i mean G) gets on!

& as a little weekend treat, we found time for one of these

there is always time for a cream tea in my book, 

right, i'm off now to search for this blinking recipe!