Haven't been much of a good blogger lately , meant to post every day , oh dear!
Boys are much better now , and we've been busy .
The weekend was taken up with drama classes , a trip to the local Model Railway Exhibition in Greenock Town Hall , and a coffee morning after church to raise funds for our Sunday School Christmas Party .
I also managed to finish two loopy scarfs which will be Christmas gifts for my former teachers' twin sisters .
I also managed to get some more of the stocking stitch section done on my Karise Shawl , and am about to start the lace section now - woohoo! The Old Maiden Aunt merino/cashmere mix yarn is gorgeous to work with , and the Gothic colourway is one of my favourite .
I cast on last Wednesday when the boys were on the mend . They had cabin fever , so I took them out to our favourite cafe for Hot Chocolate and cake , and got started .
This is the most recent picture , taken this afternoon , there is very little natural light , so its difficult to get a true picture of the colour .
You could tell the boys were getting better , one was impersonating a cyberman , as well as annoying his brother !
The other was reading and doing his best to ignore said annoying brother , and everyone else for that matter .
One event I didn't get photo's at was the Debbie Bliss morning at Once a Sheep yarn store in Gourock . Debbie arrived at 10am , and the place was queued out! There were LOTS of garments to try on , and boy did we get a surprise . Garments that a knitter may have written off as being unsuitable , were beautiful when tried on , and suited all sizes and shapes . Many did suit the curvier lady , and my good pal Sandy became a model for the morning! I bossed her into it , and it was the icing on the cake when Debbie took her photo to include in her facebook page!
Lots of kind people had donated baking , so we drank and stuffed our faces too , and got our books signed by Debbie - she was really lovely and very unassuming too . Poor Karen , the owner , was quite exhausted at the end of it all , but thoroughly enjoyed as we all did .
I think the shop may have to restock lots of the yarns and books , as they were flying off the shelves (oops how did that happen!) .
It was such a lovely morning , and we were sad to see Debbie go , hopefully she may make a return visit sometime .
And now back to the knitting!
.... my Karise Shawl . The yarn feels divine .
Hopefully I will have more time when the boys are back at school ....
tomorrow! Hehehe!
Here is my pattern and yarn for the Old Maiden Aunt Small Shawl Knitalong !
The yarn is a merino/cashmere blend in Gothic Colourway from OMA , feels so soft and I love the purlple/red shades in it . The pattern is Karise by Karina Westermann , which I bought when it first came out , and now have the opportunity to use .
This KAL starts today and finishes on the 30th November , when hopefully the shawl will be cast off and blocked . Lilith is putting up prize draws throughout the month , just to give the KAL a wee bit more excitement .
Hopefully I'll cast on tomorrow , the boys are under the weather with colds , and so am I . I need my sleep so and early night tonight .
Tomorrow's photo should be a bit more interesting!
Finally , its Halloween . I still haven't decorated , and the pumpkin needs carving but it will get done on time .
Its been a busy October , the holidays saw us take the train to London and Legoland (which had fabulous fireworks) . My cousins new wee baby was born too , and she is gorgeous . Having Downs Syndrome though means that she is finding feeding and breathing a bit challenging just now , but that should pass and every day she just gets better !
DS1 has his Scout Halloween party tonight in the Scout Hall , last Wednesday was the School Halloween Disco in the School Hall , as well as one today for DS2 and his class. DS2 also had his Anchor Boys Party last week , so we are almost all "Halloween'd out" .
DS2 is sporting a bandage just now , due to the fact he caught his finger in the car door before going into Karate on Friday . A trip to A and E revealed he had chipped the top part of this finger bone - OUCH! Although his disappointment over not getting to karate almost outweighed the pain of his finger .
On the knitting front , my Mum got her Rowan Drift jacket only 2 days after her birthday - the back has an accidental design modification that she is happy with , and it looks lovely on . Its a gorgeous red with hints of purple shade , really pretty . I'm having a short rest from knitting , well, until tomorrow when I start my Old Maiden Aunt Shawl KAL ! I am using Gothic Cashmere blend OMA yarn and knitting the Karise Shawl . Can't wait . Preparing tonight .
I am also going to try and write a blog post every day for November , to get back into the habit . My good pal Rosie does a "blipphoto" everyday , along with a short paragraph about it , they are lovely "snapshots" into her daily life , which is what I wanted to achieve with the blog too .
Well I am off now to carve a pumpkin - Happy Galoshins ! as we say in Scotland !
I am taking part in a swap organised by one of my Ravelry groups . For those of you not familiar with (Craft ) swaps , here is how they work - : a theme is chosen and posted on the Ravelry group , people put their name down and provide the necessary info for the swap (hate blue acrylic , love brown alpaca , that sort of thing) , the moderator of the swap puts a dollar/pound value limit . Dates are set , swap partners and addresses given and off you go . Sometimes however , even though there is a monetary limit , someone receives a huge package full of goodies , of a much higher value than given . This can put some folk off participating , as you don't want to appear the green meanie . I have taken part in various swaps , some amusing (Dr Who Jelly Baby swap) , some mentally challenging (Fibonacci Hat swap) , and some just for the fun of it .
This swap is for fun and is organised by a lovely Irish lady on the Waldorf group . Now I am not a "Waldorf/Steiner" educated person myself , nor are my children , but I do like some of their ethos . Growing up in 1970's UK , some of what is called "Waldorf" was actually part of mainstream education back then , mainly craft and nature . (Obviously the blatant sexism and racism of the 1970's isn't Waldorf , but that wasn't really part of the education system per se .)
This swap was to reflect the season and what would be put out on the "Nature Table" , and since autumnal leaves and seeds don't travel well , it meant something handmade , along with a verse or story .
Here is Mrs Tiggy-Winkle , along with my lovely Autumn felted basket full of knitted leaves and acorns . Mrs Tiggy-winkle will be flying out to New England soon to my lovely swap partner who sent me my Autumnal felted basket .
The pattern is from Ysoldas' Whimsical Knits 2 , and is a sweet and enjoyable knit .
For some reason Hedgehogs are quite scarce now - when I was young there were lots of them in the woods behind our house where we used to play (we called it "the glen") . Our dog would sniff them out to play with them and catch lots of fleas from them as he rolled them about with his nose!
Hedgehogs also eat the garden nasties like slugs , so are a gardeners friend .
I hop my swap partner likes Mrs Tiggy-Winkle , and forgives my bad sewing technique for the eyes and nose . I will miss her and may need to knit another .
I have a severe case of startitis just now - its all for a good cause but its becoming a bit overwhelming.
There is the pair of socks for my Dads' birthday (yesterday) which I am knitting the OMA Merino/Bamboo in Midnight Owl . Then there is the cropped jacket for my Mums' birthday (next month) which is knitted in Rowan Big Wool/Drift , and should be quick if I focus on it! And don't even talk about the Aeolian or Arisaig (or Rose jacket for that matter) .
However , this is also the time of year I like to knit up some hats and mittens for the Shoebox Appeal run by an organisation calledBlythswood , who deliver Shoeboxes full of good and useful items to Eastern Europe and Pakistan . They also issue out a paper telling you about who the shoeboxes go to ....... it is a very humbling read .
A Very Kind Person has given me some yarn (in a box funnily enough) , and some of this will be perfect for mittens and hats , especially for small people as well as big people!
The multi-coloured pinks and purples will be perfect for little girls and the blues and browns for wee boys . Should get some done for the grown-ups too from my box of plenty .
The charity are also looking for cash donations , this helps with the delivery costs of the shoeboxes . If you could donate any that would be magnificent .
The boxes are sent out at the end of October , to make sure they arrive in time for Christmas - better get cracking then!
Autumn is finally here , the leaves are changing colour and the storms keep blowing up . The temperature has definitely become cooler , it is time for the woollen knits to come out .
There are several birthdays soon , DS1 is almost 11 and my Dad is well over 11 !
Its difficult to know what to get for Parents these days . Not much is actually "needed" , and the "nice to have" they have in the plenty .
What he doesn't have is hand-made socks! Or rather handmade socks with gorgeous OMA yarn - Midnight Owl Merino with Bamboo (good for mens' feet as antibacterial)
Bought this yarn today - my good pal Rosie and I made our way to West Kilbride to Liliths' studio to visit our friend Ange who was shopsitting . Just lovely being surrounded by all that gorgeous yarn and fibre , the colours , the texture, the shiny and sparkly yarns , the soft and squishy fibre . There were a few folk who popped their heads round the door and a few other pals who popped by too , Jane and Gwen . It was lovely to see them in their home town.
And just down the street from the studio is the " Wee Deli " , which we visited for lunch . It does a fabulous Soup and Sandwich deal priced very reasonably , and it was delicious . If you are ever in West Kilbride I recommend you visit it too .
Back at the we had tea and cakes as we knitted and chatted , so relaxing and fun , a perfect day .
This is my latest knit , its for a Waldorf swap , and it will go West soon too. To the USA. Can you guess what it is ? Hopefully it will look like a Hedgehog soon as it's the wee Hedgehog from Ysoldas' Whimsical Little Knits 2 , and I am loving knitting it .
The body is knit on dpns , increasing every alternative row , the spines are knitted separately then knitted together with the body , such a clever construction . The body is Rico Merino aran , divine to knit with , and the spines are Debbie Bliss Glen yarn , an alpaca / merino mix . It feels very soft and cuddly. Hopefully the recipient will love it . I may need knit another one to keep as it is so cute .
Best get a move on so I can start the socks , these birthdays come too quick!
