the cowl of happiness

i really wanted to use the yarn my sister brought back from NYC on something special, something i loved & would get a lot of use from, after a little thought i knew i wanted to make a cowl, so set about looking for a pattern, i found loads & found it tricky to choose, i knew how i wanted it to be, but wasn't quite sure how to get what i wanted (if you know what i mean!)

so first up i knitted this pattern, i had high hopes for this one, i loved the cable pattern as i was knitting it, but once finished it was way bigger than i wanted it to be & felt the cables kind of got lost, so not having wasted too much time on it, i frogged it & set about making up my own pattern, having learnt more about what i wanted by this time

i knitted it with a simple rib & then moss stitch pattern for the main part, about half way through i knew this was going to be way to big, so i decreased a few stitches, stopped knitting in the round, & added some button holes, in the hope that it would just tighten the top enough to achieve what i wanted, sadly it didn't & by now i was so determined to get this just right! so inspired by this project, i frogged the yarn again & set about knitting a third pattern

happy days! i'm so pleased i pushed on to get something i was truly happy with & didn't just make do, this turned out just how i wanted, it has a great texture, which works really well with this yarn, it's soft, warm & fits just so, i just pop it on & wrap in round again, i can pull it up over my nose when needs be & it stays there, perfect for the cold winter's weather that has been lingering, now i won't mind so much is spring holds off for a week or two! you can check out the details over on ravelry if you're interested

there a also few more pic's of the cowls that didn't quite make the grade over on flickr

on your potty!

my littlest O really is not that little now, she seems to have the potty business all sorted out & in record time, with minimal accidents to boot! (perfect timing for our house move as well) unfortunately her dolls haven't followed her lead, she has become more obsessive about changing their nappies than ever, never one to miss an opportunity to make something, the dolls got some new nappies

a great quick project! made using small amount of fabric from the scraps bag

i used this as a starting point, but found i had to change the shape quite a bit for the smaller doll (she was also lucky enough to get two nappies)

i also only had red velcro, i would have preferred to use white but luckily little O is not too fussed

maybe they need some new clothes now too

happy

a great kick off to half term (apart from the rain) new fabrics from a little swap set up with Rachel

& a punch & judy show

now that's the way to do it! (sorry, couldn't resist)

can't get enough

we're still loved up round here

gingerbread baking session with little O today

finished off a birthday present for a 'girl'friend of G's

 we also exchanged on the new house today, so we now have the fun of packing up & moving again, but at least we'll be stopping there for while, so it will all be worth it

14.02.2011

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

big G had great fun making his 'school sweetheart' a valentines, the original idea came from here, but he had ideas of his own, so sweet, i hoped she liked it!

a change of plan

i used a small amount of my (only) two & half hours of child free time this week by popping to the local haberdashers, i had a list of various things i needed for the many projects i have on the go (or being planned in my head)   

whilst browsing their small selection of fabric i spotted they had a few more brushed cottons in stock than they have had previously, i saw this pale lilac & thought it would just be the perfect backing for the pin-wheel quilt (leaving the 'good folks' fabric free for me to maybe make something for myself?)

i used brushed cotton as the backing for the first ever quilt i made, a baby quilt for little O, (just look at those yummy chubby baby legs!)

& whilst i'm not a huge fan of the plainness of this one, brushed cotton is perfect for little people as it makes the quilt so much warmer & cuddlier ( i'm saving the little folks brushed cotton for something else) i'm sure i can come up with something to make the back a little more interesting

it was only when i got home did i find out that someone else also thought i needed a re-think on the backing fabric! - maybe you have more of an eye for matching fabric than you think Charley

today i have

been washing new fabric (from here, on sale, i'm thinking the blue may become the backing for the pin-wheel quilt )

, 

hanging said washing out to line dry (washing done & all dry before school pick up!)

loosing the battle against the bug doing the rounds (pesky children & their germ sharing tendencies!)

sitting on the back step, drinking lemsip, soaking up some sun,  watching little O & her friend do some digging (generally involving getting a little muddy!)

searching out the new shoots & spring flowers