Hooray! Some knitting pics at long last!

As you know, I have been knitting the Debbie Abrahams mystery blanket, of that I am hoping to take some pics tomorrow, but for now, here are my 2 knitting companions..



As you can see, it's a relaxed environment!!

So, over the last few weeks, I have knitted 2 neck warmers. Firstly, for me, the Caera Cowl which I found over on Zebraknits. I knitted it in some lovely Malabrigo silky which Stacey kindly sent me, and I put it on as soon as it was off the needles, without even sewing in the ends...ssshhhhhh! (which I have now done!)


Then I knitted Lily one in worsted weight malabrigo, from Exercise Before Knitting design pages here.
It's Ridged Lace Cowl. I am naming mine Purple Haze. The yarn, again, was a gift from Stacey, and praise indeed that Lily will wear it as she is sooo sensitive to anything even REMOTELY related to itchy, but she loves this. The first picture show the pattern better and the second picture shows a truer colour.





It has even gone to Paris with her!

I have also knitted Tiennie's Scrappy Flap Hat, but mine is called Scrappy Flappy Hat.
What a cool design...go over to Tiennie Knits to check out the variations!
Here's mine blocking



Let me first impress you with the neat inside...


Then after sewing on the bobbles, which Lily made




And finally, being modelled by it's owner (it's also gone to Paris!)




Excuse the teenage bedroom scenery!

We love it! Thank you, Tiennie for the pattern.
Rob already has an order in for his!

Finally, I'll leave you with a photo of me and my 17 year old baby on her birthday. Can I just say in my defence, I had had a minor op that morning and it was snowing heavily, but we still made it out 20 miles away to the best Chinese restaurant around.
Where there's a will, there's a way!!!!

Fearless Knitting

Although I have been a rubbish blogger, I can at least try to impress you and excuse my absence with my knitting news!

I have finished something, a hat I found over at Tiennie's blog, and which she has kindly made a free download and I love it.

Here's the one she made


Lily is off to Paris for a few days on Wednesday and she wants to take it with her. We are in the process of making pom poms for it and I shall show it off when it's truly finished. I don't have a pom pom maker (unlike some, Stacey!!) and so we have had to revert to the cereal box method, of olden days!!

I also joined the Debbie Abraham's Mystery Blanket in January and am now on the second set of squares. At first I wasn't too impressed, but I am starting to love them, and am on number 6. They are a good way of stretching my knitting ability, rather than staying in a safe zone, as I have done cabling, swiss darning and beading, to name but a few techniques. I promise to show you soon.

My Babette is horrible, I don't like the colours in the way they are in the pattern, and so have decided to restart that, and make the colours work as I go along. I trust my eye for it more that the pattern I think, so I am hoping it will work.

Lily was 17 last week, and sadly for her it has been so snowy that she hasn't been able to get out driving, but hopefully she will be able to when she comes back from France.

Valentine's Day was yesterday and we had a lovely day and then tried to go and see Slumdog Millionaire, but it was full :( So we rented In Bruges instead and had a cosy night in with some popcorn.......!

No much else to report, really. I am also making a quilt which I am loving. I will try to take some photos this week so you can see my efforts!

Hope you are all managing to stay warm!

Still here, still knitting!

OMG, January is just flying past! I can't believe it will be February this time next week, and my little baby will soon be 17, and out on the roads driving!! WATCH OUT!!!!!

As I was warned, January working for Weight Watchers is truly manic, and it certainly has been. Running three groups a week has meant kiss goodbye to three days a week, as all the paperwork is doubled and the preparation time is trebled!! I still love it, though, but I'll be glad when it calms down again!

Of course my house has gone to rack and ruin, we are all wearing unironed clothes and I have managed but a speck of knitting. I joined the Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket Club and have done 4 of the 5 squares for this month. I'm not LOVING them yet, and they are in Roman cotton glace, which isn't in my top 10 yarns, but I'm giving it a chance.

I also finished my neckwarmer. I literally loved it so much I cast off and put it around my neck, loose ends and all. It is beautiful and the Malabrigo Silky is just heaven, thank you Stacey!!!

I have also done a little sewing. I had a cool idea for a quilt, and have cut some of the pieces out today.

I'll try and take some photos of all my projects so at least you can all know what I'm talking about!

Lily is at a party tonight, so Rob and I plan to go over to Cambridge and have a wander til we find somewhere nice to eat.

Have a great weekend!

Have You Ever..........

I saw this over on Robin's blog and thought it looked like a fun thing to play along with!

The things I've done are in bold.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (well guitar hero with Rob and Lily in my lounge)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoor)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

How funny! There are some I'd like to do....save someone's life, publish a book, and some I just wouldn't....kill and eat an animal, visit a concentration camp.

Do it...you'll be surprised!!

Dreaming of Sylvi....

I accidentally found this on Ravelry, and now I'm smitten. Isn't it beautiful? It's knitted in chunky, so if anyone has a suggestion of how to make it on the cheap, I'd love to hear. I'm on an economy drive this year as I'm off to look at new kitchens this afternoon and I will need to cut back on the knitting front in order to pay for it. Having said that, I have joined the Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket club 2009. You get the yarn and the pattern sent to you each month and, I think, about 4 squares to knit per month. Well,I thought, I love Debbie Abrahams and I love knitting blankets, so it's a good combination for me. Expensive, though, but I'm ignoring that bit.

I have started on a cowl in the lovely Malabrigo silky that Stacey sent me last year, and am hoping to have a FO this weekend!!!!!

I'll leave you with a picture of our new year's day walk. That's my baby in the red jumper........

Pinch, punch, first day of the month....

My mum always said this to us on the 1st day, and did give us a big pinch too!!!

Happy 2009 to you all. I hope that everything you wish for and want to achieve this year will happen for you and that it will be a happy and healthy year too.

I am planning to review last year's resolutions and make some more, so watch this space. So far 2009 has not been a great year for activity within my brain, but I'm hoping that will improve with time.....let's certainly hope so!!

We had a great night last night with my sister and brother in law and went on a lovely walk with a load of friends today, ending up in the village pub for cheesy chips (fries to you lot across the sea!) and tonight we lit a fire and I have at long last found some time to do some knitting!!!!

2009 is pretty perfect for me so far. Long may it last for us all! x

Belated Christmas Greetings and a Happy New Year!

Oh my goodness, the time over Christmas just flew by and now it is the last day of 2008, and I can't believe it!

I had the hideous cold/flu thing over the holidays, which has really knocked me for six and I still don't feel 100%. We had a lot of family around at Christmas and while it was lovely, I am craving getting back to normal a bit now, eating normal food (God knows how much weight I've put on!) and just being in my own space. I had Lily work out how many weeks until our holiday in May, and it's 22. I can't wait!!!! Just laying by a pool in the sun reading books sounds like a dream to me right now!!!

Sorry to moan. I know plenty of people spend Christmas alone, and I wouldn't swap mine for the world.

New Year's Eve tonight. As a non alcohol drinker, it's not that big a deal to me. I'd happily don my pjs and sit and eat a take away in front of the fire. But Rob is a drinker and so we compromise. Each year some old friends of ours come over for dinner and we play games and eat delish food. My sister and brother in law are coming too, with their girls, so it should be a great evening.

Before I go, let me show you my Babette progress.


The reason I've been slow at doing this, you'll see, is because the colours just aren't doing it for me. I don't like the beige one, or the mulberry one and I'm not too keen on the orange, although it might look nice without the other 2. They're just too 60s for me. Too murky and dull. I want bright and fresh, and so I have decided to start again and design my own colour scheme a bit. The little squares I like, but not the big one. That's going.