Busy week of Ta-dahs

After yarndale i felt super inspired and so began a week of new hats and finishing off bits and bobs.

Firstly i finished off Mollys new cardigan, i loved the simple pattern that i had made for some baby cardigans however the only size was 0-3 months so with the help of numerous patterns as a gauge to sizes and number of stitches, i managed to figure it out as a bigger size and also to put into it a lace pattern that i have used before and really love. I used stylecraft merry go round as i love the softness and the way it knits up. The buttons were £1 for 12 from the works and they are wooden and all painted differently and so far they seem to be working out great and i love them. For this cardigan i decided to try joining it on my sewing machine and its alot straighter it has covered up the stitches that i like to see around the raglan sleeve so i will do it again but perhaps make the stitch further in rather than one stitch from the edge.

I used some of the left over yarn to make some booties and a little hat

I then started on some Halloween hats for the kids 

Little Pumpkin

Little Devil

Little Ghost Hat!

Ewan wanted Pokemon and has been asking me for ages so...

I was asked to make a specific Bobble hat, this was my tryout

The pattern eas so easy so i decided to alter it and make some using two strands in diffrent colours

I made my first flower fairy hat order since before the summer ( last winter i made tons of these!)

Cheeky Monkey bottle cosy

An Owl Bag for Molly

Cot Bedding for Alex made out of the same quilt cover Molly has as they share a room and i wanted them to match

And i think that is about all i have finished in the last 2 weeks! 

I now have a Owl blanket and a Aran jumper for Alex on the go now!

bye xxx

Yarndale

Last weekend along with practically everyone else who blogs about knitting and crochet or has a facebook page i went to Yarndale. I had been so excited as i had not been able to go  last year and i wasn't disappointed, it wasn't what i expected it exceeded my expectations and inspired me soooo much and has started me off on some new hobbies. In fact this week i have been more productive than i have in a while. Whilst that's partly to do with Fred starting nursery a couple of mornings a week, i have also finished decorating the upstairs and just have a few crafty bits and bobs to do. My craft space has been re-organised and i now feel like i can relax and head into a crafty wooly autumn

 A few of the balls with knitting needle had fallen off the trees and i had a job convincing Molly to leave them to be put back on as she can knit now and wanted to take them home

 Last years Attic 24 project was on display and it was great to see them in real life.

 There was a competition to create egg cups cosys and i fell in love with this one, but alas it ad already been sold.

 This years Attic 24 project was a wow!

 Looking at yarn few hours was too much for the kids who collapsed as soon as we go outside!!!!

 After was a walk round Skipton, it was too late for the castle, and we had tea.

 My Purchases including my new hobby Spinning, which i started as soon as i got home

 This was after half an hour.

So to sum up it was a fab day and i  love of hand dyed yarn has evolved, maybe even a go at dying yarn one day who knows.

Bye for now xxx

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