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