Heirloom Christening Blanket

I finally finished Alex's christening blanket. I started it a week before his christening thinking that would be plenty of time. We had only booked the christening a week before and thought that would be plenty of time. However we cancelled it as not many people could attend with it being short notice. Anyway there is no way the blanket would be ready as i had completely underestimated how long it would take.

I got the pattern from Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/heirloom-baby-blanket, I have a to do list on there that i will never get through in a million years and am constantly adding to.
 The Yarn i selected was Jarol Baby Teardrops in a lovely Cream that has a slight sparkly thread running through it. I have used this before in party cardigans and shrugs for Molly and find that it doesn't seem to bobble or go fluffy, and as i would like to think of this blanket being passed down for the next generation, i needed it to have longevity.

Like i said i started it the week before and at first i seemed to be ploughing through quite quickly. After buying Four 100g balls and thinking this would be plenty i realised that i would need more so off i went to the wool stall, only to discover that they had none left. After rooting around in the back however they managed to come up with one more ball, brilliant i thought i can finish it with that. No, that quickly ran out as well so i had to go online and search, luckily i found some and had the foresight to order a couple of balls and after i got back from holiday was able to complete it. We will book his christening in for later in the year and he can use it.

 I am so happy with how its turned out and think i will be making a few more of these.

In other news i was delighted when i spotted these whilst i was cutting the grass.

Passion Fruits!!! I have a passion flower plant, if that's what they are called but i never had fruits on it. I let the kids eat them. They were very soft and all that was inside was like a raspberry, but the kids enjoyed them.

I am amazed at the progress on the field opposite, its been really interesting to see how they have managed to level it to make the new football pitches.

Back to the decorating now xxx

Hooray, hooray its a Haven Holiday!

No i am not being paid to advertise Haven, but we have just come back after a truly wonderful holiday despite the fact we came home the evening before we were due to leave as we were so exhausted and Alex had a cold and the rest of us were starting to come down with one.

So i am sat here in the peace and quite after the kids are back at school ans Fred is with Nana, so its just me whose head is really foggy and my body aches with the affects of the cold and baby Alex who is free to wriggle about on the play mat for a change without Fred trying to kiss/bite him. It feels really strange after the all the busy days of the summer holidays just to sit and relax. Crochet in hand,  i am just finishing the edging on my heirloom christening blanket (ta-dah to follow soon!).

I have to say that for me getting ready to go anywhere is stressful, but getting ready to go away is even worse. I usually spend the week before packing, washing, ironing and cleaning, why the house has to be perfect is a mystery but like Peter Kay say its for the burglars. So i was glad when we finally got underway.

We went to Primrose Valley in Filey North Yorkshire. The caravan we stayed was quite old but to be honest really clean and cosy apart from at night when it was freezing but that seems to be the case with caravan holidays, so it was a good job i took us each one of my crocheted blankets.

Before we left we had perused the entertainment and activity's guide and purchased the vouchers required so the kids were raring to go as soon as we arrived.

Molly's first activity was aqua paddlers ( i think that's what they are called) She was lucky as she was the only person booked on that sesion.

 Fred enjoyed the soft play

Ewan managed to get all the way to the top of the climbing wall with ease so they let him tackle the high ropes.

 Pauls sandcastle but was it better than the dad further up the beach? I think it was a little unspoken competition.

 Typical seaside shot

 Scarborough Castle. we have now got an English heritage pass for  months so expect to see more castles

 Bridlington. The sea is so blue on the Yorkshire coast its idyllic compared to the mucky brown sea we have here, which i am assured is brown because its so shallow.

 We were supposed to stay for nights but after a few days we extended it to 7 nights as there was so much to do and see, the weather was good and we were having a great time together.

bye xxx  

Summer Holidays Part 2

The second part of the hols went just as quick as the first and with just as much to do.

Blackberry picking is a favorite for us and being opposite a field there is an abundant supply in the hedgerows around it.

 We made blackberry muffins

 Mini blackberry pies

 and a plum and ginger cake as we had loads of plums too!

We had a family day out to Blackpool Tower, unfortunately it was a really windy day so we couldn't go up the tower which is a shame as despite living near it since he was 5, Paul has never been up it! It always surprises me the amount of people who have lived near attractions all there lives but have never been to them. I am very lucky i visited lots of places as a child and  i must have gone to the tower at least once a year and when i was teenager i was in the tower circus and the tower ballet so got to spent weeks at a time in there. The kids loves the circus even Fred & Alex sat still and awake all the way through!

 Alex's first taste of the ball pool in jungle jims



Another day out with the Childrens Centre was to Rossall Point which is a peaceful strip of beach in Fleetwood. They build a few years ago an observation tower which houses the coast guard on the middle floor, an observation deck on the top floor and a information center on the ground floor. Ewan enjoyed controlling the cameras outside via a screen and control point indoors. It enables you to zoom in on whatever you wish.

Fred of course enjoyed the activity's provided and mostly loved digging in the sand

 On the way home we walked past the old boating lakes. They are still used today, one for model boats and one for windsurfing and a few people fishing. I go past these all the time but o have never really stopped to look. But this day i did and it made me feel slightly sad as you can see the bridge and some of the buildings which were once, way before my time, quite grand. I have seen the photographs of a time gone by with men in suits and lady's in long dresses walking round on a Sunday afternoon, when these places seemed a hive of activity and fun. It feels quite abandoned now with only a minimum of effort put in to its keep, no well kept flowerbeds and the businesses that now occupy the buildings are just cheap tacky ice cream and sovenier shops. Its a shame but thats the way a lot of places are now.

Finally one of the favorite pastimes for summer 2014 is

LOOM BANDS!!

I love that the kids are crafting but i am sick of  picking them up and my hoover is full of them.

Thats as much as i have pics for so bye for now xxx