day 29

a short while ago my mum was after a quick knitting project, this pattern immediately sprang to mind -not for its quickness, although it appears to be a straight forward pattern, but because it had been on my to knit list for a while & i had the yarn ready & waiting, it seems to have been a straight forward pattern & the outcome is a very sweet dress for little O, she knit the age 4 size, using DK yarn, but on the smaller needles, the dress fits fine but is a little long, so O can do some growing! the yarns used was the sublime soya cotton i'd had for a while, you can see the rest of the notes over on my ravelry page

& teamed with the hat i think she looks just like a little gnome!

day 28

thank you so much to the Aldersons for the fab kids christmas presents,  i did let them colour in a few pages, {even though i was very tempted to keep them for myself!}

day 23

finding peace - escaping the madness with the soothing repetition of hand sewing the binding on my pin-wheel quilt {& enjoying keeping cosy underneath it whilst doing so}

day 20

christmas is creeping closer, we've been keeping ourselves very busy, christmas parties {i honestly had not coordinated her top & hat combo} theatre trips {to see the firework makers daughter - do go if you're in london & have a child of at least five} last minute quilting, snuggling on the sofa to watch the snowman, scoffing christmas chocolates, as i type the children have turned the front room into a huge den, i was hoping to get them making some hama bead snowflakes {still i'm quite happy to get with these on my own} looking forward to lighting the wood burner & making some mulled wine later - hope you're all keeping cosy

day 6

nearly one week into the month & i'm getting organised, two hats finished at the weekend {one a christmas pressie, the other for little O}most of the presents brought, decorations found, advent calendars on the go, nativity dress rehearsals under way, parties being prepared for, i just need to remember to find time to stop & take it all in

hat patterns can be found on my ravelry page

hibernating

we seem to have had all the cough & cold bugs thrown our way in the last few weeks, we've all be fighting them off with varying degrees of success! little O & i seem to have been hit hardest & have been spending the last couple of days hibernating at home {i'm very lucky to have some great neighbours happy to help me out with the school run}

but don't think i've been snuggled up on the sofa watching dora for the umpteenth time! i've been trying to get on with sewing the mountain of nativity costumes that need to be ready for next week, along with ploughing my way through some of the christmas knitting on my needles, indulging in a little on-line christmas shopping, as i can't actually make it out to the shops {far far better this way but it does mean i miss out on an excuse to have a gingerbread latte}oh & having a practice run on the 'christmas morning muffins'

Storyboek baby quilt

a while back i won a giveaway over at 'm is for make', some of the sweet storyboek fabric from birch fabrics, i set it aside not quite sure what to use it for at the time, then when a friend very recently had a little baby boy i knew i wanted to make him something using these fabrics, they are just perfect for a mini baby quilt, 

i set about making this quilt in my usual way, having a vague idea of how i wanted it to turn out, then letting it evolve along the way, i added some blue striped fabric i had in my stash & used some blue checked fabric for the backing, i very luckily had some wadding in just the right size, the so they whole thing came together quite quickly, the binding was made from some natural linen left over from a past project {i also discovered that i really need to get myself a bias making tool - something else to add to the christmas list!}

best laid plans

the bonfire we had planned to go to tonight was cancelled, so to avoid disappointing two little folks we found our own way to celebrate, sparklers out in the garden, toasting marshmallows & watching everyone else's fireworks out the bedroom window, it's all good!

mini make

i'm juggling a few projects right now, knitting & sewing, & there are a whole heap of ideas i want to get started on if i can find the time & motivation, the weekend was far to busy to get much done, friends visiting, girls night out, then an emergency trip to the vets for a cut on Barney's leg {which resulted in stitches, a sulking dog & a very light purse}

i did finish this last week though, a quick little commission for a car crazy toddler, i hear it went down very well with the recipient!

  

the dots are Amy Butler, teamed with some brown gingham & i really can't remember what the car print is called but think it's from 'prints charming', i know it came from fabric rehab quite a while ago, 

doubt i'm going to get much done with this sorrowful dog following me round, but at least he'll get some peace as the kids go back to school today!

keeping snug

what with all this dreary weather it's been so lovely to get the wood-burner going, it's made me feel all snug, cosy & very warm, it has also prompted me into action to order a load of logs for the winter, we have been having a relatively slow & quiet half term*, a visit to my folks last weekend 

where the children returned with hand knitted pumpkins from my mum, these are very sweet, although the kids have had heated discussions about whether they are in fact apples or tomatoes! i think she used this pattern

whatever their decision is they go very well alongside the felted acorns little O made at pre-school recently, an activity i did with the children which worked far better than i had anticipated,
better get back to supervising the hama beading going on right now, barney has eaten far too many to be good for him but i have discovered that at least i can see the glow in the dark ones whilst trying to fish them out of his mouth!

*{although having to drop G off at football school for 9am the last couple of mornings has not felt like much of a holiday!}

just in time

new slouchy hat for me finished - just in time for the colder weathers arrival, tested on this mornings walk to school, yep nice & toasty! more details over on ravelry

in the dog house

barney has been in big trouble this week, firstly he ate through the power lead for my netbook, so now i'm eeking out what is left of the battery until a new one is delivered {please please let it arrive on monday}then later the same day he got hold of one of my knitting bags, i found it strewn around the garden, this time he left the yarn alone but has managed to chew/eat/lose a pair of my wooden knitpro interchangeable needles - aaaarrhhh {whose idea was it to get a dog anyway- oh yeah mine} 

luckily i had finished a little birthday knitting for a friend of mine before he'd got his cheeky paws on the knitting bag, as i now know its arrived safely i can also share it here too!

at cute quick hat pattern, which when i'd finished it i loved so much that i cast on for another one straight away {clearly still avoiding starting the big christmas knit for the mr!} for this one i used some light grey pompero, which i wasn't too keen on in the ball but it looked & felt lovely knitted up, so i might have to order a few more balls from kemps, my ravelry details are here

will be back as soon as Mr Amazon delivers my new lead

autumn boneyard

i'm just about to embark on a big knitting project as a christmas present for the man in my life, i'm finding this thought quite daunting, so i needed a quick little something i could get done for myself before the colder weather sets in {after having been spoilt with the recent heatwave} the yarn is from kemps {where else do i buy my wool from these days} it's rowan pure life 100% organic wool, in the 'alder buckthorn' colour-way, i knitted it up into my second boneyard shawl, this wool is a real joy to knit with, so soft & warm, i'm sure it will get lots of use once the weather does turn!

ravelry details over here

wonderful wedding

who would have thought it, what perfect weather for a london wedding, at the weekend the hubs & i spent a rare child-free twenty four hours in the city & it was just wonderful

september

for us has been tough getting back into the routine of school & work, but i always love the change of this season & the opportunity to prepare for the coming winter, i watched as my hubs has dug over & re-turfed the lawn, i've done some clearing & tidying in the garden {& brought a little of what's left of summer into the house to be enjoyed} G did his bit by planting 25 bulbs as part of his 'beaver' challenge, so {fingers crossed} we will be looking forward to a beautiful tulip display come spring,  i've made 'lots' of jam, all using fruit gifted from our neighbours, which in turn will be gifted back to neighbours & friends, we've eaten a lot of apple related puddings {& discovered i make a mean 'apple puff'} i've got some autumn knitting on my needles, which i'm so looking forward to wearing, embracing autumn all the way!