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 !
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 .
