Staying in, catching up

Yesterday was a brief respite from the rain, but today we're back to grey skies, dripping trees, rain -soaked garden and drive and disappearing views to the misty hills.

Last week was busy. Daughter and Grand-daughter and cat came to stay for four days as Daddy was away, so we were fully occupied providing laps and shoulders for miss to sleep on and getting down on the floor - a challenge to our aged knees - to wiggle bright toys and tickle little toes.  We are now rewarded with beaming smiles and frantic arm and leg waving as she starts to recognize our voices and faces.  The weather was bitterly cold and foggy but we chanced a trip to the cafe where she was cooed over and admired while we sipped good cappucino.  We didn't have any broken nights - much to Great-granny's secret annoyance as there was no excuse to complain. 

This week has been one for catching up - I have been forced to go out a bit in the awful wet weather and I've been very wary as although we are quite a way up the hills, run off does collect on the roads and a lot of tree work has brought road works and queues on all the local roads.  Yesterday was a beautiful day, fortunately, as I was playing taxi for Daughter, but there were still large pools of standing water on minor roads and it's raining hard again now.

Taking advantage of staying in, I at last finished the little rug which has been sitting in the WIP pile for months -

It looks a bit wonky in the photo, but that's the photographer's fault!  It's very warm and cosy.  All the yarn came from the stash and it's a real mixture from merino with cashmere to just plain acrylic.  In theory it needs a further border, but I felt it would be better in use than sitting waiting for more work.  

Feeling more inspired, having ticked off one UFO, I made a set of cot bumpers for GD's swinging crib,  and finished some more Xmas cardigans.  I'm now knitting a small hoodie in Purelife Eco wool  -  I bought a whole lot about two years ago in a House of Fraser sale and it's really lovely to use, light and 'lofty'.  A rug made from this would be incredibly light and warm.

In a rare burst of energy, I actually made a Christmas and then a fruit cake - I've used an old Good Housekeeping recipe for years and it's incredibly quick as everything is put into the bowl at once.  Kept for several weeks in a tin and 'fed' with booze it makes a great Christmas cake, but eaten the next day after cooking you get a very moist fruit cake which is quite light in texture.  M hates this cake as she likes fruit cake to be like occasional raisins etc. stuck in dry sand, so we don't waste it on her!  Similarly, home-made mince-pies are scorned for not having pastry like plaster - when I met H he wouldn't eat pastry as he associated it with M's over-worked effort which was teeth-breakingly hard. My mother's sweet soft shortcrust was a revelation to him, though he still won't eat a savoury pie!   The fridge was over-stocked with veggies so soup has been created in quantity and several stews, though again, separate meals have to be created to suit M's taste. 

Next week will be busy again, so I'm hoping the bad weather will abate.  Have a cosy weekend!

Work in Progress

These lovely misty mornings are back and with them some lovely daytime weather.  We've been stuck at home rather a lot (well, nothing new there then) with various M related problems so quite a lot of projects have received a bit of a boost. (Knitting gets most attention because it can be done anywhere. I'd like to sew more, but I can't hear M from the basement.)  None of these are quite finished - buttons needed here, more squares needing borders, more edging on a rug, but nearly. 

 I've six or so more squares done, but I've run out of cream for borders - they're nice and easy to knit in front of the TV and make satisfying dents in the stash, though I nearly always have to buy something to tie the colours together.

 The latest new arrival is another boy - born to nephew and wife in the Middle East.  (I liked this little kimono pattern - though I had to get the crochet hook out for the loops and border which I never enjoy.)  I'm hoping this will fit when they come back in the summer, though I'll also have to knit something for his big brother now.

 This is the first EZ surprise jacket I've knitted for about 20 years but it's quite fun the way it turns itself from a shapeless piece of knitting - or rather an oddly shaped piece of knitting into a neat little jacket - hope a girl is going to arrive next or I shall have surplus pink jackets.  I shall soon have enough rugs and jackets to sell a few, or donate them to the charity shop to sell.  So much of my stash came from my sister and isn't to my personal taste, so using it to knit into gifts and donations works quite well. I think I must have a clearout of stuff I'm never going to use - yet another trip to the charity shops needed.  I've already got a boot full of books that M's rejected.  Perhaps I'll open an internet shop and sell only baby things and rugs as that's what I mainly make.....  The border on this rug is tedious to do but I must grit my teeth and get on with it.

For fun, I bought this book - sometimes doodling and colouring is ideal when you want to give your brain a rest.  Husband thinks I'm regressing to childhood!

 I've certainly got enough coloured pencils and crayons needing using! 

There's always knitting....

At last,  a bright enough day to try photographing the knitting as I promised - though my camera and the computer are still conspiring to make all my photos rather too dark.  I fear the computer is failing  - one of the reasons I'm not blogging much .

This was the little mitred blanket I was halfway through when I broke my arm.  Each square is knitted separately from 23 stitches down to one, then picking up the next 23.  I used ends from the stash and I think it's rather nice - the pattern makes it quite warm but light.

This little hat and poncho is for baby E - now a toddler of 21 months, who is coming to see us next week.  I remember having a little poncho for my daughter at that age,  it was very useful as you could pop it quickly over a sweater or a coat for an extra layer without struggling with sleeves.  I particularly like the hat which should have tassels but I think they'd be too tickly on the cheeks!  The yarn is Sirdar Crofter and the 2-3yrs size took about 3 balls. 

Various babies are expected over the next few months so I've started doing the odd pair of bootees etc. as I don't know yet whether they will be boys or girls - hopefully, these pieces will finish up looking like those in the pattern photo!

Blogger absolutely refuses to turn this the right way round although it was taken at the same time as the other photos.

I've got this mitred blanket on the go in between other things - it's slightly larger than the first one and the yarn is from my sister's stash, so I hope I have enough to make a square 12 x12.  I can always use something else for the border.  It looks very blue in the photos but is actually a lavender grey colour.

Finally, I knitted daughter one of these (- no she's not the model!).  Although it's only knitted on 7 stitches it nearly drove me mad unravelling the gauze. Anyway, she's pleased with it and it didn't take long, but I'm not taking orders!  The yarn is Katia Ondas and there's a free pattern and instructions with the yarn if you fancy one - it's fairly widely available and one ball costs £6.75 on average and makes one scarf.

You'll realise from the amount of knitting that I haven't been out much - though the weather today cries out for a walk on the hills. It's been very busy here with endless adjustments to M's routine  and I'm now more or less on duty from early morning until she's showered and dressed - this involves actually being in the shower so I then have to go and shower or bath again afterwards, making the whole process rather lengthy. It's put paid to various plans daughter and I had for a few nights away, though I still hope to get away with my friend (postponed from September) when things settle a bit, as daughter will do the early morning for me.  H does  quite a lot of the day unless he has an organ lesson or some other committment, and we did actually go to Birmingham together this week leaving daughter to hold the fort.  M is revelling in her new-found power and each new concession to her needs opens up a new line of complaint.  We'd all be happier if she'd just stay in bed for half an hour longer but that's a vain hope!

I'm half way through making the squares for a quilt - some sewn together, about 2/3rds of the cutting done.  I'm using a pattern from Fat Quarterley No 6 called Summer Garden, as I had a layer cake of fabric ready to use.  I don't think mine will be quite as large.  It shouldn't really take very long but interruptions every hour or so to follow M's inflexible schedule ruins my concentration, so I waste time.  Photos to come......

Looking on the bright side

 Some pictures from the week just gone - to major on all the good things:

Evesham asparagus and locally grown tomatoes - I haven't polished them they came like that and taste as good as they look.

Cress grown on the kitchen window sill (a reminder of primary school), just crying out for an egg sandwich.

A surprise lot of tulips as I was sure I'd planted pink ones - anyone know the name of this purply black one? It's gorgeous.

Proof that I do actually plant things in our very small garden and they even sometimes grow and flower......

An elderly visitor from next door seeking a shady spot. (She has half an ear and no tail so I'm not sure how many of her nine lives she has left, but she is very friendly)

A finished project waiting for buttons,

a half finished WIP waiting for some more yarn (and possibly cooler weather),

and a new project - a cardigan for baby E, which needs to be finished before 6th May when we shall have the pleasure of her company.     All uploaded in record time thanks to a friendly BT man who has at last solved the mystery of our constantly disappearing broadband.

I also received a parcel from lovely Elaine at Ted and Bunny  and a cute Easter present from Daughter, but they will have to wait to my next post.  I'm off now to eat Fat Rascals from Betty's By Post - not quite as good as being in Harrogate, but a nice substitute - we also have some Bury Simmnels and a Simmnel cake, thanks to an Easter parcel from a friend who thought we needed a treat.  Hope you're all having a lovely Easter break, the sunshine is such a bonus.

Jx

EDIT:  The lovely satiny purple tulips are 'Queen of the night' variety.  The Eden Project have them for sale here (delivery Sept /Oct).  I shall certainly have soem for next year they are spectacular.

This and that

As promised, photos of the rest of my stash busting activities - my total output for the year so far!  First a really snuggly lap blanket knitted in Sirdar Squiggle super chunky - a very fast knit on size 10 needles.

A new great-nephew arrived a week ago - he was born in the Middle East where his parents are teachers (fortunately, not in area of unrest).  I shall keep this in hand until they visit in the summer when he'll probably need a few woollies!  I've now got some thin cotton yarn to knit a little slipover more suitable for their weather.

And last but by no means least, baby E for whom I made a lot of clothes last year, has just celebrated her first birthday and this doggy person is waiting to be packed and sent.

He's knitted in Sirdar Snowflake and is very soft and cuddly - I wonder what she'll call him, we've named him Woof!

It's been a busy week - another trip to Opthamology but now M doesn't have to go back until November,  a trip to Cardiff with daughter (no photos, but we had a great day catching up with a city where we lived for 15 years in the eighties and nineties), and at last I've started transforming my little office shelving and cupboards from this:

To this:

Something I've been wanting to do for about two years.  I'm using Annie Sloan paint on the woodwork and it's realy nice to use.  I like the green wall but I can't match it so I'm probably going to paint the walls blue - I'll keep you up to date, it's going to take me a few days and two coats on everything.

Three people have asked me about the pattern for the logcabin throw.  There are several patterns online, but I'll do a tutorial and post it as soon as I can.   I'm also hoping to knit a few throws for sale as I've also had enquiries about that and some baby items both knitted and sewn.   I'm still working on some sewn quilts and throws - I find it more difficult to get a good session on those but I keep trying!

Had the details today for the postcard swap I've joined - sounds really exciting.  Must get the room sorted so I've got somewhere to work on it.  Must stop now as I'm late with the lunch - big problem......

All square

one

two

four

many*

Here's the first of my stash busting knitting projects completed in the internetless weeks of February. (or the broadbean wilderness as we are now calling it, thanks to Jayne's comment on my last post!)

You may remember if you've been visiting here for a while that I knitted a lot of baby clothes last year, and I also inherited  all my late sister's stash.  This left me with lots of single balls and part balls and insufficient quantity to make any garment - lots of different creams for a start and a lot of mauve which my sister loved.  When I saw this log cabin pattern it was immediately familiar - my mother used to knit similar squares when I was a child, and it seemed ideal as the centre square is only 15 stitches and 30 rows, so you can use up   quite small quantities of yarn  It's very easy to knit (all in garter stitch) so a good thing to take to hospital appointments as you can't lose track of the pattern and even on the last rectangle you only have 90 stitches to deal with.

The photos don't really do it justice as the light wasn't brilliant.  The turquoise - a bamboo wool mix with a lovely sheen, lifts it.  There are sixteen squares and each took a couple of evenings knitting - the whole thing took two evenings to sew in the ends and another to piece together.  It's double knit on size 4 needles but would work just as well in thinner or thicker yarn.  It's very heavy and as nearly all the yarns are part wool with cashmere, microfibre or bamboo, it's very warm.  The finished size is roughly 5ft square.

I've got three other things to sew up, so more to come.   Hope it's warmer where you are, it's bitterly cold here. Another hospital trip tomorrow ......

*in deference to Terry Pratchett - the way trolls count, apparently.