Another day, another dollar

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I have been working lots this week including teaching on Saturday so have not had as much time for crafting as I hoped and only made one of the three knitting sessions that I had planned. However it has been a very nice week – I have been out and about observing my students teaching which has been very interesting. I consider myself very lucky to have a lovely job that I enjoy and hopefully it will continue – massive cuts in government funding ahead so who knows!

I have made pretty good progress with the hat – I am making this out of the same James Brett marble chunky that I used for my wristwarmers knitted over Xmas. I thought maybe I wouldn’t get the wear out of it being so late in the year for hats but it has been very much blowing a gale this week so I have been very cold when out and about so will be glad of it. Some parts of the UK have had snow but luckily not us – yet! Though snow at Easter is not unheard of in Yorkshire. The pattern is another freebie from Ravelry called Springtime Sloppy Beret  and has a lacy pattern on the main body of the hat. I might try the same pattern for a scarf and put some fringes on each end as well.

Red chunky hat
The variegated wool looks good on this longer repeat

I have also finished another one of the JBW Xmas Stocking ornies for my tree – this has yet to be made up but I am doing ok so far with my one a month – though this is actually Feb’s ornament as it was started then so will have to get cracking on March’s one. Thinking of doing the Xmas pudding one next. Have also just signed up again for the Seasonal Exchange Blog   Spring exchange (missed the Winter one due to slackness on my part of checking blog) so will have to have a think about what to do for that.

JBW stocking
Look at all the pretty little trees!

I would like to share with you a blog I have just recently found – this is not a crafting blog but a gardening one and belongs to Dave who is the brother of one of my old friends Pete. Pete posted the link on Facebook and I read all of his old posts last night and loved it. He has a brilliant and very funny writing style and the photography is amazing. He is a professional gardener who mainly works at a Tudor Priory in Sussex. The blog is called The Anxious Gardener  so do go and have a read.

Well here’s hoping we all have a nice week ahead,  I have a very nice weekend planned at the end of it – a sewing day on Saturday with the quilt group (might finally get the bunny quilt cut out!) and a sewing day with the girls from the medieval group on Sunday. Am trying to give up housework for Lent so have to find distractions to stop me being tempted!

Thank you very much as always for visiting.

Me and my imaginary friends – why I love blogging

stitchesoftime2 Comments

I have recently started another blog for work that I am doing as a way of keeping in contact with my students while they are away from University on their teaching placements. I had thought about using blogs for work before and have done some short inputs about using blogs but this year I have had a couple of students who have been very keen so we are all doing it. I have also realised that it is a very good way of keeping all my good ideas, links etc. in one place for my students to be able to share and comment on.

Doing all this and explaining what I see as the benefits of blogging have made me realise just how much I get out of having my own blog and how much I really enjoy all the contact with my ‘imaginary friends’ as Thimbleanna  calls them. I am thrilled that so many people visit me – around 4000 a month now – about half of whom are looking for info on re-enactment or historical subjects and love the fact that I am part of this big network of people all sharing things.

The first two blogs I ever read were Mary Kathryn’s  needlework blog and Crazy Aunt Purl’s  knitting and general coping with life blog. These two women have had a big impact on me in so many ways over the last four years which is remarkable as we have never met nor are likely to – though I hope to go and visit their parts of the USA sometime soon.

I have been very impressed by their craft skills, their attitude to coping with life’s little (and big!) ups and downs and have loved the way that they have shared so much of their lives and their passion for all the things they do. Other blogs have been added to my favourites along the way – usually as links from people’s blogrolls or posts and I have been entertained and awed by so many talented people.

It is very difficult to describe what you get from this to non- bloggers as I know people (and my kids!) often look at me a bit strangely when I try and describe how I feel about being connected, inspired, uplifted, amused and generally made very happy by reading everyone’s posts. To me it is like having lots of pen pals – with the added advantages of seeing pictures of so many lovely things all the time Hen House’s  gorgeous vintage quilts, Do You Mind if I Knit’s cute doggies, beach walks and fabulous art, Crazy Mom’s  lovely quilt work, Don’t Look Now’s wonderful original designs to name but a tiny few. You are all wonderful imaginary friends and thank you so much for sharing.

As well as all the craft love and the free patterns and the like I also love the ‘extras’ that blogging brings to my life. One of these has been the chance to read a really good book as I have been participating in Crazy Aunt Purl’s  latest book club. It has been a very last-minute participate as my copy only arrived on Friday and we are going to post about the book tomorrow so I have spent most of the weekend reading. The book chosen is When We Were Strangers’  by Pamela Schoenewaldt  based on one of my favourite subjects, that of emigration to the USA – in this case an Italian seamstress in the late 1880s. It is really good, I am intending to finish it tonight and would recommend it to anyone . I will be passing it on to my Mum when I next go to Spain as I am sure she will love it.

It has been a very literary week one way and another – I have not done much in the way of crafting this week, have been very tired so have been going to bed early with lots of good reads , a friend from knitting, Cath,  lent me two of the Benni Harper quilt murder mysteries  by Earlene Fowler and I have really enjoyed those. I have always loved a good murder mystery, being a lifelong Agatha Christie fan, and have recently read Agatha’s biography and autobiography ‘Come Tell me Where You Live’  which was very interesting. The Benni Harper books are particularly good in terms of the way the characters are written, I really identify with the main character and can’t wait to read more of the series.

This week there was of course World Book Day  which I have always promoted as part of my job and the new World Book Night where a million books were given away by people who had registered with the scheme. My friend Barbara from knitting who has a wonderful blog  about knitting had registered to get copies of Nigel Slater’s autobiography Toast  so I went along to my friend Lydia’s wool shop, Spun, yesterday to collect the book and have a little knit and natter. As soon as I have finished the book club novel and the other couple I have one the go – another Laura Ingalls Wilder biography and a history of the National Trust Ellie gave me for Christmas I will start on that one then pass it on to my sister-in-law Amanda who is a very keen cook.

I love reading and am a huge fan of print books – I have seen and admired other people’s Kindle’s and i Pads but I think I will be sticking to my old-fashioned books for a long while yet – I love buying books and spend far too much on them (aided by the lovely Amazon wish list!) but just think it would not be the same to have a download rather than a thud on the doormat when another lovely tome is delivered.

To conclude I will leave you with a pic of what little crafting has gone on this week – I am still at cast on stage with the new hat as the other pattern I was having trouble with got even more troublesome so I abandoned it and am about three – quarters of the way through the latest JBW Xmas stocking. So the only thing I have to show you is the pair of Moss Stitch wristwarmers in Aqua Sublime (which are not even sewn up yet!) and some lovely Artesano Hummingbird yarn that I bought yesterday. These are both presents for  family member (not Ellie in case she reads this and gets excited!)

Aqua handwarmers and wool
Lovely colours and look there is sun - in my dining room, in Yorkshire - hurrah!

I have a lovely week ahead, as well as all the reading there are three knitting groups this week so I should get a bit more done on the hat and then a dinner party at the weekend that I am holding for my brother and sister-in-law. I hope that you have a lovely week as well and thanks as always for visiting – to paraphrase Fleetwood Mac -‘you make blogging fun!’

A few pretty pictures

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I have just returned from Spain and as well as some knitting and stitching (no finishes to show yet!) I have been indulging in two of my other favourite pastimes, mountain biking and photography. I am hugely amateur at both of these but do love to do them and have spent a lot of time over the past week enjoying myself. I had the luxury of a week on my own (no children!) so as well of lots of sitting on my terrace in the sun reading and crafting it meant lots of cycling off-road and staring at the mountains and taking (hopefully) arty photos of the landscape.

Here are a couple of my bike ride locations.

Spain bike ride
Off towards the mountains!
Spain bike ride 2
On the scrubland between La Marina and the coast

I had great fun and this time managed not to injure myself (apart from a few minor scratches when I got a bit lost in the pine forest one day!) which is better than the last two times when I have come back hurt. It did me the world of good and now am raring to go (at least for the next six weeks till I go back at Easter!)

I don’t have a very good camera – mainly due to the fact that I keep breaking them so have never been able to justify spending a lot of money on one but I took what I thought were some nice landscape shots.

Spain beach 1
Walkway down to one of the local beaches
Spain landscape 1
Looking across from one of the verdes to the mountains
Spain landscape
Cacti on the verde
Spain landscape
More cacti in the morning sun
Spain - flowers
The flowers on my terrace

The sunsets in La Marina are amazing and I keep trying to get good pics but most of mine end up fuzzy or with houses (or telegraph poles) in the way. This one I took from my Mum’s back terrace one evening – the sky goes such lovely pinky orange colours.

Spain sunset
Sunset over the mountains

We also went to visit an exhibition of costumes from 25 years of fiestas in the local town of Torrevieja which was very good – these are just a couple of pics from there –

Fiesta 1
Carnival Queen's costume
Fiesta 2
One of the many beautiful beaded headresses

As well as all the lovely me time there was lots of time with family and I got to meet the newest member of the family in person (this is one of the little girls I have knitted cardis for). Here is Avive, who is now 9 months old, with her lovely Mummy, my cousin Joanne, and her great – grandmother my Nana – who will be 99 this July! Avive is Nana’s 7th great-grandchild and her fourth great- grandaughter. Ellen was her first which means that there is 19 years between them all.

Spain Avive and Nana
Avive showing Nana how to clap

I have just finished a pair of aqua wristwarmers in the same moss stitch as the pink ones I made a while ago – have got to sew them up still and am half way through another one of the little JBW Xmas stockings. I have also cast on for a hat for me but am having a little trouble with the pattern (purely due to my incompetence!) so may have to start again with that.

I finished the black version of the beret for Ellie so that will be on the way to her this week. I did take some pics of that but they came out awfully (told you I was  a very amateur photographer!) so will have to get her to take a pic of her modelling it.

Hope you have enjoyed my pics and thanks again for visiting – off to cut out more quilt pieces next!

The right tools for the job

stitchesoftime4 Comments

Hello there hope that you are having a nice weekend. I am despite the pouring rain! I am nice and snug and warm – have been having boiler fettling again today due to a radiator issue and a broken fan but all is well now (fingers crossed!) so I have been enjoying being inside doing a little bit of crafting. Only a little bit as most of this weekend has been taken up with work but that is ok as it has been fun stuff.

Just after Xmas I treated myself to some proper cutting tools for quilting. I had already bought a rotary cutter which is fab but now have a large A2 cutting mat and two rulers, an 18 inch long one and a 6 inch square which make life a lot easier. I have been cutting out the pieces for this project –

Bunny quilt
A cute little cot quilt

Sorry the pic is a bit pale – that is a photo of the pattern, I have had it in my file for long time and actually bought the fabric last year but I am only just getting around to it now.It is called Bunny Hugs and I got it as a freebie download from the Free Quilting website .

I am making it with a selection of lovely paisley fabrics in pink and turquoise. The pattern has lots of different sized pieces so I have come up with a nifty idea to keep check of what I am cutting out. I have made a list and as I cut each one I tick it off and label it on the reverse with a little peel off sticker.

Bunny quilt 1
My new tools and lovely fabrics!

 

Bunny Quilt 2
My labelling idea

It will be a while till I get chance to sew it all together as I have another packed week and then I am off to sunny Spain but I am pleased with the cutting out so far – the proper rulers make all the difference and mean I don’t risk cutting my hands!

I had a very lovely evening yesterday – we were invited to go and watch a presentation by the Project Nepal 2 team who went to do their build last Oct. You may be aware that I went to Nepal two years ago to do a similar thing – check out my pages on Project Nepal and My Time in Nepal if you want more details of my adventures.

It was lovely to meet up with old freinds – many who went out to Nepal again this trip and they had a very interesting time. It made me really nostalgic for the time I spent there, I absolutely loved it and really want to go again (just checked out prices for flights and it’s not that expensive – but can’t go for a few years yet!)

The pictures they showed of the mountains were again amazing – they went after the build in the village to stay at Pokhara in a beautiful hotel on an island – check out these views.

fishtail lodge gardens
The view from Fishtail Lodge gardens
View from Fishtail Lodge Pohkara
The view of Machapuchare - Fishtail Mountain - from Pokhara

Heaven, heaven, heaven. I think Pokhara is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I am very priviliged to have been there. A wonderful evening and it made me quite emotional.

Anyway on to other very, very exciting news! Fingers crossed and all being well I am going to teach in China later on this year! I am really thrilled as I have wanted to go out to work in China for a long time – the University runs lots of joint courses with a Polytechnic there and there are always offers of work but they have always been longer term and I have not been able to go. Well this is for just over 2 weeks and I will be going in September and hopefully then again in March 2012. We are going to be doing workshops on teaching creatively with groups of Chinese teacher trainers and using a translator as most of them don’t speak English so that will be a very interesting experience for me.

The place I will be going to is called Guangzhou and it looks incredible – it is the third largest city in China and I got some pics from Google to show you what it looks like.

guangzhou 1
The city was host to the 16th Asian games last year
guangzhou 2
Guangzhou
guangzhou 3
I really want to go and visit this tower

Incredible isn’t it – I am very lucky! We will get about 5 days off while we are there so time for a bit of sightseeing, and there may well be textiles! I wonder what the luggage allowance is and whether I can persuade any of my colleagues to share their space with me?

I do hope you have all had a lovely week – I will not be posting next week as will not be in the country so shall update you all on my return. Am planning a black hat finish and at least one Xmas ornie completion while in Spain – just wish they would let me stitch on the plane!

Thanks again for visiting.

More talented friends and relatives

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You may remember some time ago I wrote about my talented friend Bucket and his 18th century embroidered waistcoat. Well here is a pic of it in its finished state – I hope Bucket does not mind me sharing this pic from his partner’s Facebook album. Look at the amazingness of this!

Bucket's waistcoat finished
A master embroiderer indeed!

My wonderfully talented daughter Ellie has also been very busy – she had a very cute patchwork cushion kit from Madeline Millington  for Xmas and her friend Gemma has given her a sewing machine so she has produced this very lovely cushion.

Ellie's patchwork cushion
Ellie's patchwork cushion

Here it is on her bed.

Ellie's patchwork cushion 2
Being looked after by her collection of frogs!

I have not got much to report myself this week – so it is a good job Facebook came to the rescue for me as I am still only halfway through Ellie’s hat – since it is knitted in black and the weather has been awful I don’t think I could have got a decent pic for you anyway. Would have made more progress but have had another very busy week. Did have a long train journey this week and took the knitting but sadly it was a crowded train and I didn’t want to poke the guy next to me with my needles so got little done – must learn to knit on circulars so I can knit more on trains!

I was hoping to do a bit of garden tidying this weekend – we had a couple of days with a bit of blue sky and I got all optimistic but then I remembered that I live in Yorkshire and it is only the first week of Feb! The poor garden looks so tatty – I am longing to be able to get out and restore it to prettiness – roll on summer!

The very, very good news is that full boiler function was restored on Weds – ohh the warmth – it is so fantastic and it did not mean having to have  a new boiler thank goodness so we are all very happy and toasty once again.

I have just ordered a new book from Amazon as I am going to be participating in Crazy Aunt Purl’s book club on her blog. I have meant to join in before but have missed deadlines but this book looks particularly good as it is about immigration to the USA which is a subject I am really interested in. The book is called When We Were Strangers  and looks like a very nice read. It may well be my holiday book as I am off in two weeks for a little bit of ‘blue skies and bougainvillea’  therapy in Spain again. Have also treated myself to another Laura Ingalls Wilder book as I love reading things from her life.

Well I hope that you are all having a lovely crafty weekend and are nice and warm and toasty – just listening to the rain lashing down makes me very glad to be inside – off to stir my beef stew now!

Thanks for visiting.

Cold everything but still a warm heart!

stitchesoftime6 Comments

Well in household news today the big story is the fact that my boiler has broken! Hopefully it should be fixed on Weds as the engineer came yesterday and will be back with a new part. Please keep your fingers crossed for me as it is a very old boiler and I am dreading having to replace it! It broke on Friday so I came home after a day out visiting students with very cold toes to no heating or hot water 😦

Luckily we have a spare heater that usually lives in the garage and a gas fire in the lounge so we have been wrapping up warm (hurrah for fleeces and wristwarmers)  and sitting in sleeping bags. It is a good job we are used to being outdoors and are hardy types but it takes me back to a few years ago when the kids were little and we didn’t have central heating ….. I have really got used to being able to come home and get up to a warm house!  It makes me really appreciate warmth. Thankfully Jake’s shower room has an electric shower in so we won’t smell!

I have actually been very cosy the last couple of evenings sitting in my thickest sleeping bag knitting away and have finished another pair of wristwamers, the moss sitch ones that I cast on last week from Creative Yarns . Here they are in all of their lovely pinkness!

Pink wristwarmers
Knitted in Sublime yarn again

Managed to get to my new Tuesday evening knitting group again this week (hurrah) and met even more lovely people and also managed to get into town to pop in to a new yarn shop in Huddersfield that my friend Lydia has opened up. The shop is called Spun  and as well as wool has fabric! I was bemoaning the lack of pretty fabric  for quilting the other day but look what she had. Lydia is also running workshops on all kinds of textile subjects – check out her website for details.

Spun fabric
I have forgotten the name of the brand but it is very pretty!

I did also buy some wool from her – the black is for a hat for Ellie that I cast on yesterday -she wants one like the lilac one I have just knitted for her friend ( I am resizing it this time as the last one was quite loose) and the lovely green is a treat for me – very luxurious Manos yarn that I am intending to make a hat and wristwarmers with.

Spun shop wool
The hat for me is a bit of a priority as I appear to have lost my Noro beret!

I am not doing very well with keeping hold of my accessories as I lost my lovely thick gloves before Xmas and have yet to find a suitable replacement pair – roll on Summer then I won’t need all these things.

My friend Judy (she of the egg cosies!) came round yesterday for a bit of a knit and natter – or in her case rag rug and natter. She went to one of Lydia’s recent workshops and is making this lovely cushion using the rag rugging technique with wool instead of rags.

Judy's hen
Isn't he cute!

The lack of heating has altered my plans for the weekend as it is too cold to be cutting out quilt fabric in the conservatory so I have decided to treat myself to an afternoon of catching up on blog visiting – that won’t be too much of a hardship!

I have quite a busy week ahead but am really looking forward to another weekend with no marking at the end of it ! Things are slowing down a bit at work so am looking forward to stepping up the craft time again!

I do hope you all have a lovely week and thanks again for visiting and for all your comments, that really does give me a very warm heart.

The art of boiling an egg – warning this post contains pictures of breakfast!

stitchesoftime7 Comments

One of the things I like best about the weekend is Sunday mornings – I like to get up late and have brunch which often does involve eggs. I have posted before about the joys of brunch inspired by a website  365 days of breakfast but today I decided that I would have a boiled egg – inspired by an Xmas pressie from my lovely friend Judy which I will show you a pic of later.

 And you know how they say about people who can’t cook ‘she can’t even boil an egg’ well I can cook, I think pretty well, but I had real trouble will the egg so will have to work on the egg boiling skills. It was still edible but had exploded (think I need to add salt to the water next time) and it was not cooked for long enough. So in the pic below there is a stand in egg model used as my real breakfast would not fit in the egg cup!

egg cosy
My Xmas pressie from Judy - an egg cosy

Interestingly the kids did not know what this was when I opened the pressie – I don’t think that we have ever had egg cosies though we have had boiled eggs. I remember having them as a kid and the egg cup that I am using is a genuine vintage one given to me by my mother as an Easter gift (it had chocolate egg in it) circa 1972. I have a pair (I think the other one belonged to my sister originally).

egg cup
How cute!

I don’t really have much vintage china but someone who really does like collecting it is Hen House – she has loads of vintage things in her houses.Go and have a visit!

I am having a very nice weekend – I have been doing quite a lot of work still as I have a lot of marking but have been also been doing some more  knitting and have cast on for another set of handwarmers. I have finished a set of the lilac ones for me – I haven’t taken a pic as they are identical to the last set. The pair I am knitting at the moment are called Moss Stitch Handwarmers – a freebie from Creative Yarns on Ravelry.

This is the progress so far –

Moss Stitch handwarmers
Knitted in Sublime again

The main body of this is knitted in Double Moss Stitch which I have not tried before but I really like. It gives a really good effect especially in the Sublime which is a joy to knit with as it has such great stich definition.

Moss stitch handwarmers 2
Double Moss Stitch - how pretty!

And not only was there lovely knitting last night but lovely knitting while watching the new series of the Tudors! How fab. Despite all the inaccuracies (Jonathon Rhys Meyers is still looking rather dashing and not at all obese ,gouty and plagued by problems with his abscess as he would have been at this stage in his life) I just enjoy it for the costumes and the atmosphere. My only complaint is I have yet to ever find any info about an exhibition of costumes used in the series and would love to go and see some close up – if anyone ever finds out about one please let me know.

If you have not seen it here is the trailer to tempt you – look at all the fab textiles in this! I have just learnt how to embed video into my posts which is very useful!

Well I am off to do a bit more work now then hopefully more knitting this evening – what a nice way to spend a day!

Thanks for visiting.

Snowflakes!

stitchesoftime5 Comments
Snowflake ornie front
A little snowy scene

No this time not real ones thankfully – we having lots of wet rather than snow at the moment. I have just finished the first of my winter ornies for my ‘decorate my house collection’. I have adapted the JBW stocking design that I did in red for the Xmas tree and made it into a little hanging pillow to complement the snowflake stickers on the conservatory doors.

Snowflake ornie back
Nice sparkly fabric to go with the sparkly Aida on the front

I chose to stitch it in two different Silk Mill blues to go with some very lovely fabric that I have had in my stash for a couple of  years. I am pleased with the way it turned out though could have made it a little bigger as it is not that obvious that it is a stocking shape as the edges got hidden once I stuffed it. However I do love the way it co-ordinates with the ribbon (that again has been in the stash for a while).

Snowflake ornie side
Pretty little ribbon!

I have also finished the set of Lilac Sublime Wristwarmers and am half way through a pair for me. This was the second attempt at these. They are from Ravelry – a free pattern called Blonde Wristwarmers. The original pattern had garter stitch for the main part and I changed that to stocking stitch but when I  had finished the first one it was too loose around the wrist so I re-did it on smaller needles and added a 6 stitch garter stitch band at the wrist edge – because the whole thing is knitted sideways it acts like a rib. I also shortened them. My finished pair was knitted with 30 stitches on 3.5 mm needles with the last 6 stitches on alternate rows as knit rather than purl if you want to adapt the pattern as I have done.

lilac handwarmers 1
The real colour is much prettier - this looks a bit dull

 

lilac handwarmers 2
A side view – I like the garter stitch rib as it goes well with the lace pattern at the fingers

 

I am very pleased that I managed to adapt the pattern so much and to re-do it. I have got a lot more confident with my knitting and now understand more of the technical side which makes it easier to visualise what a pattern will look like. I particularly like the points or waves at the wrist on these and think I will be knitting a few more of these.

When I get time that is – term has started again and I have been ridiculously busy – I have been working all weekend (which I really try not to do but I have a large pile of marking to get done!) I did make my evening knitting group this month but only for 3/4 hour due to having to work late and have not made any of my other groups for ages 😦  Thankfully I really enjoy my job and have a great time doing it but do wish it left more time for crafting. My new quilt cutting mat and ruler arrived on Thurs but I have not had time to play with them yet – maybe next weekend.

Well I do hope you have all had a good week and thanks for visiting.

Cold hands, warm heart

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Hello everyone and welcome.

Hope you are all wrapped up warm and cosy, I am busy knitting woolies at the moment, luckily my LYS opened again yesterday after the hols so I was able to cast on for the last of my knitted gifts – pics of those later when finished. I am making a pair of wristwarmers. That being the item of choice round here at the moment. I have just finished a pair for me yesterday in the nick of time as look what happened again this morning!

Rib wristwarmers 1
Modelled against a backdrop of my snowy garden

I was not expecting snow again – was only thinking the other day ‘oh this was the really bad weekend for snow last year when me and Jake only just got home as they had closed lots of airports’ and lo and behold it is here again. The wristwarmers will come in very useful, we have a conservatory on the back of the house and it provides a lovely view of the garden while I am sitting working (or blogging!) at my computer but it does get a bit cold in winter and I do have very cold hands a lot of the time.

I was looking on Ravelry for some more patterns the other day and found this very lovely site  CreativeYarn  with lots of wristwarmers among other things so do go and visit – all patterns are free. This very talented lady (sorry don’t know her name ) lives in Rome – fab city, went once a few years ago and would love to go back. Here is a peek at one of the patterns I am planning to do for me soon.

emerald_handwarmer2
Moss Stich handwarmers - pic by Creative Yarn

 I have recently been reading  ThimbleAnna’s  brilliant blog (am still going through all the archives which has been a lovely antidote to the marking I have been doing!) Be warned before you visit her – not only is her blog wonderful but she has links to so many other fab people as well , this could take up serious amounts of your time – well I suppose one of my resolutions was to spend more time on fun stuff on less on housework so I can justify ThimbleAnna as a form of therapy!

Well hope that you are keeping warm and happy – thanks again for visiting!

New Year Knitting and resolutions

stitchesoftime3 Comments

Hello again

I am luxuriating in the last day of holidays still sitting in my PJs and enjoying the luxury of a day to do what I want (though I have done a couple of hours work this morning). I do love the week after Xmas – we had a lovely time with all the family here but it has also been very nice just to do nothing (well nothing much that is tedious – lots of crafting of course!).

I have finished the first of my Xmas cast ons – these should have all been done well before Xmas so Ellie could give them out to her friends at Uni but there was no way I could finish them by the last posting date due to lack of time. Well actually I did allocate lots of time but failed to factor in that one of the scarves would take 6 weeks altogether. You may remember this WIP –

Spain - knitting
Started in Spain in Oct - finished early Dec!

Well it took a long, long time to do, a very complex pattern not helped by the back injury that meant I was very fuzzy for a few weeks and could not do more than a few lines at a time. It was finally finished in early Dec which did not leave enough time for the other items. A lovely pattern but not one I will be repeating any time soon!

Finished lace rib scarf
My longest knitting project yet!

Anyway I have now completed the lilac hat in Sublime which goes with the lace fan and feather scarf knitted earlier in the year. This is one of my fave wools, it is so soft to knit with and the stitch definition is great. The pattern was a freebie from Ravelry,  the Lace Edged Women’s Hat by Julie Hentz and it did not turn out quite like the illustration but I really like it – it is a lot looser but I love the way the decreases give a swirly pattern at the back. Another one I may knit again for me.

Lilac hat 1
Lilac hat showing the lace pattern on the edges
Lilac hat 2
The back of the hat with the lovely decreases
Lilac hat 3
Side view showing lace pattern again

I have been looking for some more wristwarmer patterns as I need to complete the lilac set and have found some lovely ones so as soon as the wool shop opens again (tomorrow!) and I can get some more Sublime I will be casting on for those. Am also going to knit myself a few pairs as I get very cold hands when using the laptop in the winter. I have made a start on a ribbed pair using some lovely wool that I picked up from my LYS Woolly Minded and Beady Eyed before Xmas, it is called James Brett Marble Chunky in a gorgeous mottled blue and purple shade. I have also bought the brown/burgundy colourway to make myself a new hat and scarf set. It was very good value at only £4.99 for 200 g and I also bought some for Ellie and my friend Judy as Xmas presents.

Blue chunky wristwarmers
Isn't that pretty wool!

I thought I would also have a quick look at what I had accomplished in 2010 craft wise and make some resolutions for 2011. My general New Year resolution is the same as always – more fun and crafting, less work and housework which I am achieving slowly (amazing what a difference having grown up kids who can clean their own rooms has on my time!)

Looking back through all my archives for 2010 I made the following items –

Knitting – 3 hats, 2 pairs of wristwarmers, 2 scarves, I teddy with clothes and bag, 4 little flowers, 2 baby cardigans, 1 set of baby bootees, I baby blanket

Stitching – 4 exchange pieces (1 Valentine, 1 Spring and 2 Autumn), 2 scissor keeps, I scissor pillow, 2 reindeer ornies, 2 stocking ornies

Quilting – 20 patchwork trees, 1 tree skirt, 1 Xmas hanging

Xmas ornies – 5 gift bags, 6 Xmas stockings, various pine cones and baubles (didn’t keep count and sold most)

Costume – 4 pairs braies, 1 pair of hose, 2 coifs, 1 dress

Not bad but wish I had time for more! In 2011 I plan to work on my quilting skills and want to make 3 play quilts and cushions for the youngest members of the family and make a start on a double bed quilt for Ellie. I aim to make 11 more stitched ornies for my tree (1 is already done) and will do assorted exchanges and birthday gifts as required. Knitting wise 3 pairs of wristwarmers, a new hat and scarf for me. Costume I know I have 3 dresses planned and whatever new clothes Jake needs! And of course lots more Xmas things for sale at craft fairs.

That should keep me busy – will review at the end of the year to see how I did!  

Hope you enjoy making your own to do list and thanks once again for visiting.