Advent is almost over and Christmas is nearly here . The children are getting hyper excited , and have tantrums on a daily basis . The adults are getting ratty and tired , and wanting to hibernate for the rest of winter . Soon it will be the holidays , and we can all relax and enjoy ourselves .
I took part in an Advent Swap with the Waldorf Mamas' group on Ravelry again - its been another lovely swap , good to take time out from the Christmas preparation madness .
My swap partner was a lovely lady from Germay called Ramona , who sent me this lovely Angel , and Walnut decoration . Its exquisite .
She also included an lovely postcard with its gorgeous illustration from In the Land of Elves .
This was my gift to her , a knitted angel , pattern courtsey of Elizabeth Zimmerman (Christmas Fiddle Faddle) , knitted in rare breed Wensleydale from the Isle of Arran and Kidsilk Haze .
I have cut out a lot of Christmas knitting , not enough time and I am too tired . Still to finish MIL jacket , but that will happen soon. (The above is a little something for someone! , lol) .
Tonight is my Knitting group night out - I am looking forward to it , as we have our secret Santa too .
Just hope I don't fall asleep!
I know this is a sad and difficult time for may but I read a piece by Charles Dickens which some may find helpful ..... I find it quite lovely .
.....do not select the merriest of of the three hundred and sixty five days for your doleful recollections, but draw your chair nearer the blazing fire.... . Look upon the merry faces of your children . Dwell not upon the past ... reflect on your blessings - of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes of which every man has some . Fill your glass again , with a merry face and a contented heart!
Christmas Blessings to you all!
Not content with having umpteen projects on the go , I plunged in and bought yarn to knit DS1 a Christmas Sweater . My DH and sons are not known for their love of the handknit garment , but I have made things for them that they do wear from time to time . I'm hoping I'm onto a winner here , as the sweater is stripy , knit in the softest yarn and is the colours of Gryffinfor House from Harry Potter .
He likes Harry Potter , and stripes , and hopefully will love the sweater . Its another Debbie Bliss pattern from her 9 to 5 knitting book of childrens' knits .
Fingers crossed I finish on time and he likes it .
Just now there is lots of organising for the Moorfoot Primary Parent Teacher Association Fund-raising events . The big one is our Christmas Shopping night this Thursday Evening , its very civilised with Bucks Fizz and nibbles , and wine and soft drinks served all evening . There are lots of tables selling gifts from local shops , Once a Sheep has got one too!
Oh , yes , I've also signed up to another OMA KAL (idea for a christmas gift here) , which is colourwork mitts .
Looks like I won't get much sleep for the next few weeks!
After the Debbie Bliss Event , most of us went a little DB daft - buying up patterns and yarns of garments that suited us . It also brought up the C word , Christmas !
The garments I liked the most were knit up in the Riva yarn , a variegated chunky which feels like whipped air it's to soft . I have decided to gift the item I am knitting , and fortunately I don't see the recipient on a daily basis so it should knit up quickly .
I am also steaming ahead with my Karise shawl have completed one of the lace pattern repeats , its a lovely uncomplicated knit , good to take to the knitting group with .
Tonight I have my knitting group which I look forward to as it so much fun , it always ends up being quite .... bawdy ! But its very good for the soul too !
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 !
