And Week 2....

So it's time for a catch up on my July goals.

My Bois shawl is finished and blocked and I love it. Red is such a great colour and one of my favourites, along with purple so I can't lose with this shawl.





You can't really make out the little purple pearly beads but they are there in the edging.

One goal was to try on my Tempting as I thought it would be too small. But because of the rib it isn't and stretches to fit my now larger stomach. Even so I've still frogged it because it was very figure hugging as you'd expect with a rib jumper. I need to find another project for the yarn as again it's red, what can I say, red suits me!



This is what 1000 metres of frogged yarn looks like!! Very satisfying it was too.

I have also cast on my N socks and I decided to go with the No Purl Monkey socks. Easy knitting so I can get them finished quickly, well that's the plan anyway. We'll see!

Progress so far:



I'm not too sure about the pooling on these socks. I wanted it to be more variegated and not in solid blocks like this though the blocks of colour are starting to spiral round down the leg. This may have to go into time out while I decide. It is a very very easy quick knit but I think I'd prefer a different yarn.

Its going well at the moment, let's hope I can keep it up.

xxxxxx

Weekend Shenanigans

Now I had some plans for last weekend because as usual DS was off sailing, this time at Carsington in Derbyshire, he does get around!
So if the weather was dry DD and I were going to go on a family friendly walk round some of the countryside. I had found on our local council website a list and maps of several walks in the area and had chosen the shorter walk round Bosworth Battlefield, Sutton Cheney Wharf and an old railway line to Shenton Station. Don't you just love the picture of the cow in the field, it made me chuckle.
But it didn't happen!!
Now I expected to say that the weather foiled us but no it was a lovely sunny, dry day and the perfect weather to go and stop for a picnic on the way round. No it was getting there.
My car failed its MOT!!! Aargh!!!
So as OH and DS were swanning off round a reservoir DD and I were stuck at home. Not that it was that great a hardship but still I was looking forward to a brisk walk and simple summer picnic by the water.
So we consoled ourselves with a bus ride into the city, a novelty in itself as we never go by bus and some crafty shopping.
I have being buying the new magazine Mollie Makes which is right up my street, such inspiration, ideas, designs and pictures to ooh and aah at. Have you seen it, it's definitely worth a browse if you're into crafting especially sewing.





There are some great makes in here so while we were consoling ourselves we took a trip to Leicester Market, more specifically Stuart's Fabrics. We were looking for felt as this really comes in handy. Especially when you see these:-



How cute are they!!!
I didn't realise how expensive (in my opinion anyway) felt is, even polyester felt not the good old wool felt which I'd prefer to use. So we opted for the cheaper fleece instead to make soft squishy critters. We bought 1/2 a metre each of 6 colours and they are so scrummy - lilac, pale blue, cream, red, lime green and dark grey.

We finally managed to get home with our rather large bag full of fleece. The magazine was pulled out straight away and the templates sorted. Now this magazine has the templates in the back and the majority have to be enlarged by 200% which really annoys me. Don't they realise projects have to be started straight away and no faffing about trying to get the templates enlarged! Well actually they do, the bonus is you can download the templates from the website the right size and they fit on an A4 sheet of paper....Perfect!

DD decided she wanted to make the elephant, want to see how far she got:



Yep the cutting out, she got bored after this and didn't fancy the sewing up. Oh well, its there for another day.
Especially as they have broken up for school holidays now.
Woohoo for no routine and getting up early but what to do for 7 whole weeks. I'd better get my thinking cap on.

xxxxxxx

Goallllllll

There hasn't been much activity in these parts for the last week or so, no trips out, except mundane shopping, no walking, admiring, exclaiming or excitement. Not that I mind as I get to work on my hobbies and I still get to do things I love. So there has been quite a lot of knitting instead.

I set myself 10 goals for July and one is now finished and the other just has the cast off and blocking to do.

The first one to be completed was my C socks for the A-Z challenge. I was glad to get these off the needles as they've been lingering since February as other shinies caught my attention.



I had to alter the size of these as the pattern was for size medium only so I increased the stitch count to 72 for my large feet. They have grown on me as I wasn't enamoured with them to start with but another stash yarn bites the dust!

The project nearly finished is my Bois Shawl. The cast off on this is taking quite a while as it is an icord bind off with beads, very time consuming. But I'm loving the result. The thing is with shawls I love love to knit them but I don't wear them. Some people can carry them off, such as the Duchess of Cambridge, but not me they make me look old and frumpy!

I think I'll finish a couple of the quick goals tomorrow. I need to put my Tempting onto yarn as it currently sits on needles and then try it on. I have put some weight on since I started this many moons ago and it is a tight fitting rib sweater so I can see this being frogged!!



Look see how small it is, it just looks like a rib tube at the moment though I have added the sleeves since this picture was taken.
Then I'll cast on my N socks, I still haven't decided on a pattern so I'll need to do that first, and knit the first sock cuff. To tie in with the challenge it does need casting on before the 15th July so better get a move on.

Right it's time to get on with that bind off as it won't finish itself....

xxxxxx

Business as Usual!

This past weekend DS was off sailing at Derwent Reservoir in Co Durham. The area looks lovely and according to the boys it is. Sigh! I miss all the lovely places they go to as DD and I have to stay at home with the dog, Stan, and because of DD's training. To go away on a Friday evening for a weekend means she misses 3 of her 5 weekly sessions!
So we dutifully stayed at home and pottered around as we always do.
There was a bit of retail therapy on Saturday, nothing exciting just clothes for DD. The item she was most excited about was a bracelet. She's wanted a Pandora bracelet for a while but being an 11 year old they are too expensive for her to buy so she bought one from Dorothy Perkins. So much cheaper. She opted for a bracelet with blue beads already on that was nearly half price and then chose 3 beads so she could chop and change.
Well after all that shopping it was time to go and sit in our usual haunt, Costa Coffee, I should have shares in that coffee shop!!

The afternoon was taken with crafting. I was knitting while DD made a mosaic dolphin. Its now on our kitchen window and looks beautiful!



We bought the original kit from Woodlands Garden Centre a while ago but as DD was bored she dug it out again and sat patiently for most of the afternoon sticking the small gel tiles to the backing. Now if anyone knows DD they know she doesn't do sitting still, she even watches the TV upside down while doing a handstand on the sofa, so this was quite an achievement. We do have another somewhere but we have no idea where, perhaps its time to do a bit of spring cleaning, especially DD's boxes!!

My time was taken with knitting on my Bois shawl that I am test knitting for the lovely ButterflyKnit. I've tested 4 of her shawls and I love love love them. They are so easy to knit and the end result is fantastic. Here is a progress picture I took earlier.



I had originally threaded some size 8 AB clear beads but after a few rows they just didn't look right so a-bead hunting I went. I ended up with some size 8 red beads but these got lost in the yarn so the final decision was some 3mm purple pearly type beads. They are quite small so you can just get a glimpse of them in the picture. I'm going to stick with these now and if when its finished I don't like them then it'll be time for a bit of destruction, I'll break each bead off with pliers!!

Right its time now to go make lunch. DS is off school at the moment. He came back from Derwent with an awful sore throat and high temp so he needs looking after.

xxxxxx

And Now For Something Completely Different!

My name is Andrea and I am a knitting addict, see I've admitted it. I knit everyday whether for 30 minutes or for several hours but whatever the day brings I will make time to sit and knit. My current obsessions are socks and shawls. Small items but not necessarily quick and easy!

So I am going to post my knitting goals for the month of July. I like lists it tends to keep me focused instead of running round like a headless chicken, not a pretty sight!

Here goes:-

1. Finish my Bois test knit shawl. I have threaded the beads and just need to knit the edging.

2. Finish my C socks for the A-Z socks. I am at the heel of the second sock.

3. Finish my F socks. First sock done, need to start the second one.

4. Finish the eighth repeat of the Yucca chart on my Aeolian.

5. Finish the first All The Water mitten.

6. Start my N socks. I've not decided on a pattern yet but preferably something quick and easy.

7. Start my O socks. Again no pattern chosen.

8. Start the Iris Mystery Shawl and finish clue 1. The yarn needs to be picked and wound.

9. Dig out my Tempting UFO and see if it's still going to fit. If not frog.

10. Cast on another project. It could be another test knit shawl or maybe even a sweater that I keep promising myself I'll knit one day.

Right now let's see how this month goes!

This Little Piggy Went to Market

I don't know about you but I love markets, especially when they are on set days of the week and not permanently set up as the goodies available change constantly. So I headed off to the University town of Loughborough. I love Loughborough Market, it has a craft stall, fruit and veg, plants, clothing, wool, fabrics, you name it, it has it!

I spent a happy couple of hours meandering through the stalls looking at what was on offer and ended up buying a couple of bargains.



The hyacinths were 3 for £1, how cheap is that! They didn't come with the ceramic pots I already had these from last year when they housed tete-a-tete's from Tesco's. They'll look great on my bathroom windowsill. The fabric was from the reduced bin and was £2 for a metre. I couldn't resist adding it to my fabric stash, its so cheerful and I adore flowers.
I also ended up buying some gorgeous sweet strawberries and pomegranates. I remember as a very young child watching my Grandad eat pomegranates, picking up each seed with a pin, it used to fascinate me the time and effort to eat this lovely red fruit. It's funny isn't it, the small things we remember!
As is usual while shopping I stop and have a quick latte in my favourite haunt, Costa Coffee. I don't know why but I HAVE to stop for a coffee whatever is going on, perhaps its habit, perhaps its addiction, whatever it is I love it.

Afternoon Crafting

My one big passion is knitting and to a lesser degree crocheting, it goes everywhere with me. The standing joke is I should have knitting needles surgically implanted into my hands!!

After a morning of walking and shopping DD and I decided it would be lovely to sit outside in the sunshine and make things.  That morning a new book had arrived for DD called "Made By Me" by Jane Bull. So we gathered together the necessary items, felt, threads, fabric, stuffing and she set to work. Her first choice was a cupcake, don't they look scrummy in the book:



While DD was busy beavering away I got out my knitting. I am on a huge sock kick at the moment, partly due to the fact I am taking part in an A-Z sock challenge in the UK Sock Knitters Group on Ravelry. Basically every 2 weeks we cast on the next letter of the alphabet and we have until the end of January 2012 (I think!) to finish each pair we have cast on. Now when I originally decided to join I thought I would just dip in and out and knit the odd pair here and there but once started I have cast on every letter so far and we are up to H. So I sat and finished my G socks, these are not just any pair of socks they are the jazziest pair of socks - hot neon pink, black and grey stripes and I LOVE them.

Want to see:



I would show a picture of me wearing them but my legs are so pale and fluffy I think you'd rather not see!

After all the effort of knitting and making cupcakes it was time to indulge in one of our purchases from Woodlands Nurseries. Woodlands has a great food section with lots of scrummy cakes, sweets, biscuits, pickles, conserves, sausages, soups, etc all homemade. One of our family favourites are the pork, stilton and leek sausages, but these are a real treat as they are quite expensive but oh so worth it.
The other thing we all love are the cakes.....food is a big thing in our house......as you'll find out. So DD and I settled down to butterfly cakes and coffee for me.



A couple of them did get squished on the way home, are you hungry yet!!

DD had a whale of time making a couple of cupcakes and I think she made a great job of them. Now in the first pages of the "Made By Me" book it shows the kit that you need and one of the items that caught DD's eye was a jamjar with a pincushion on the top with pom pom trim. It didn't have the instructions how to make it but DD decided she make it up as she went along. She found some pink and brown heart fabric I'd bought a while ago on Leicester Market , some brown ribbon (we have a rather large ribbon stash here), stuffing, PVA glue, a jamjar and a large plastic tub.

It was a rather messy job!!

She started by cutting a piece of stiff card the size of the lid and placed a large wad of stuffing on it. Then placed the fabric over the top and glued it down to the underneath of the cardboard circle. Once dry she attached it to the lid and wrapped ribbon round to tidy it up and voila a neat storage space for her bits and bobs.
She enjoyed it so much she made a matching one from a jamjar and put some of our button stash in it.





We had a great relaxing day before we had to catch a team coach to Leamington Spa where DD was in a swim meet in the evening. Exactly how we like it.

Bye for now xxxxxxxxx