RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY!

Hello there! It's Monday morning and a whole week of the summer holidays has flown by already. Not a great deal has been achieved so far, apart from starting my Sock Yarn Blankie and catching up with friends, the house and myself.

Last night we met up with friends for the monthly quiz at our local pub. Rounds on Rock and Pop always mean we are heading for disaster, unless they focus on the 60's and 70's and maybe a little bit of 80's too! Nevertheless, we enjoyed some good Real Ale and some great company. It had been a rather pleasant Sunday afternoon and as Mr Snoopydog gathered the ripe blackcurrants that I had been nagging about all week, I managed to finally finish the little Faye Cardi for baby Alice. I began it weeks and weeks ago and somehow lost interest, when more exciting projects were begging to be started! Anyway, the outcome is this sweet little cardi in Rowan Milk Cotton.


I particularly like the little bobble button made from the yarn. It just finishes it off so nicely.



Just remind me next year NOT to pester for the blackcurrants to be picked! Once picked, they need to be used....groan. groan. My good humour has slowly waned today, as the rain has lashed down, the sun has forgotten to shine and I have spent exactly two and a half hours 'topping and tailing' the blackcurrants and making the jam. Yes, I know, the finished product makes it all worth while and I even found a blog post extolling the merits of spending hours deep in your own thoughts as you nip and snip, with deep, luscious juice squirting all over the kitchen and leaving a sticky mess, not far short of some gruesome murder scene. Okay okay, so I'm exaggerating. Just trying to milk a little sympathy from you, dear reader! I found NO merits, save listening to some great, forgotten tunes on my i-pod as I 'snipped' ...... for, let me you remind you just once more, two and a half hours!



Next step, the cooking of the 'topped and tailed' AND the messiness that I hate.... great, gloopy splurts of it everywhere! But oh the smell. Yes, that has to be the best memory to hang on to, when next year, I once more nag Mr Snoopydog to harvest the fruit before it spoils.


Oh, and of course, the making of pretty labels and the showing off of my efforts and the giving away to family or friends and ..... the eating! Think I'll make some strawberry jam the very next rainy day!

Hope the sun shines tomorrow, because I need to catch up on my knitting :D See you soon.

SOCK YARN BLANKIE IS BORN!

Hello there! What dismal weather we are having. It always seems to be, that the last few weeks of the school term are spent roasting alive in a classroom and as soon as the holidays begin, the weather decides to play games! Still, the weather doesn't affect the ability to knit....... just the choice of where to knit. My preferred choice is always outside and stubborn to the end, outside it has been...... with yarn and squares and 2.5 DPNS taking flight in the gusts! Nevertheless, a new 'star' has been born; the colourful, the fabulous, the time-consuming, the completely addictive 'Sock Yarn Blankie'!!!!!! He's (yes, definitely a 'he') been on my 'to do' list for quite a while and it had always been my intention to make a start as soon as the summer holidays began. So, on Tuesday, my good pal josiekitten came over for the day and amidst chat, catching up, lunching, laughing and much tea drinking, Blankie was born.
What do you think so far? Colourful? Fun? No guesses how long it will take to complete though; at least a couple years and lots and lots of pairs of socks. SMILE! It's to be completely made from left-over sock yarn. The pattern is on Shelly Kang's blog page, The Heathen Housewife. If you take a look on Ravelry, there are some very beautiful finished blankets. Here are some pics of mine so far .......



Like it?


Hope so...


Anyway, the pics above show progress so far. A start has been made and my intention is to pick 'Blankie' up and add to whenever there is new sock yarn about or the Blankie Mojo is strong.

The first square was made using the leftover yarn from the first pair of socks I ever made. I think I showed a photo of them in one of my very early blog posts.


Once you have made two squares, you can then pick up stitches on each to make a third and joining square. It's very simple, very clever and EXCEEDINGLY ADDICTIVE! BEWARE!




I love it so far! Josiekitten and I swapped yarn, so now there is extra temptation with the delightful thought of new and exciting colourways and yarn patterns to play with.


I'm also making my first attempt at crotchet; well, first for more years than I care to mention. I can remember making several granny square blankets when I was quite small, but have not touched a crochet hook since. I'm making a really easy summery bag, big enough to hold my holiday knitting plus spares....just in case! The pattern is a free download; thanks Lucy of Attic24. I am using Patons 'Sorbet', which is mainly cotton, and still available in ten pretty colours. I think it has been discontinued, but you can grab a bargain at Kemps where it is being sold for 79p a ball.



I hope you noticed my lovely smooth and colourful 'Knit Pro' crochet hook! Present to myself! Hopefully there will be progress to report on both of these projects in my next post; maybe even a finished bag! Then I'll have to decide whether to line it or not. As I've never lined a bag before I will have to do some careful research. I'll let you know next time.

The weekend is fast approaching and the end of my first week of summer hols. ! Enjoy!

FUSCHIA MOJO SOCKS ARE FAB!!!! SMILE!

Hello there! Another busy week has just flown by and before I know it the summer hols are just around the corner!

I've not had much time during the week to knit, but have made the most of the weekend. Wow! I looooooove these. I bought the yarn especially for the pattern..... Mojo by Donyale Grant. It's a free Ravelry download. The pattern is so easy and such fun to knit ...... even more so with a fun yarn such as this Zauberball by Schoppel Wolle. The only problem though, was that it was very 'splitty' and had numerous unspun lengths. Anyway, I love them! Yet another pair to cram into the drawer ready for the winter. Flip flops rule at the moment!








Yet another couple of knitterly birthday gifts arrived this week too.


My son and his wife sent me the book and a very lovely CD. It's Cara Dillon's 'Hill of Thieves'. You should have a listen, it's good. The Cath Kidson bag (to hold my knitting) and the little pad (to tick of my rows) were from my eldest daughter and her boyfriend. I received a good book to read from them as well. I LOVE the bag!

It's the last week of term coming up. HOORAY! You hear me shout. I can't wait. Long sunny days of knitting....... and other things too, of course. Otherwise it might appear that I have a woolly addiction. Anyway, I have spent all afternoon sitting in the garden finishing these, so that I could show you this evening. It's been a lovely and warm afternoon and my attention has been caught, inbetween stitches, by a pair of blackbirds who have a nest right next to the house. It's well hidden in a white flowering climber. All afternoon the adult pair have flown tirelessly backwards and forwards to the nest, with offerings of small worms and bugs for their offspring. Hopefully the young will fledge without being found out by the two little black cat twins, Daisy and Bella, who live close by.


The photo below was taken a couple of weeks ago, when we first discoverd the nest. You can just see the mother bird's black tail right towards the back of the photo. Such clever birds; although looking quite vulnerable here, she knew that very soon a blanket of beautiful white flowers would cover her home and protect her young.



Another regular made an appearance this afternoon too. His name is Trevor Toad and he lives amongst the summer pots, where he can feed on tasty slugs and snails. For a change of scene he often takes cover in the greenhouse, feeding on bugs and grubs, no doubt. I am certain that Trevor returns annually, and has done for the last 4 years; toads have a life span of up to 50 years you know! Mr Snoopydog, however, is not so convinced and mocks my enthusiasm when Trevor and I reaccquaint for the first time each May. He's such a cutie, don't you think?



The garden is looking good........ well it always seems to in a photograph! So I'll show you ......


Mr Snoopydog has just returned from the allotment with a yummy selection for supper this evening; freshly picked black Tuscan kale, delicious white Swiss chard, new carrots, broad beans and first early potatoes. Sounds like we're growing from around Europe :-)


Oh, the chard is not in the basket............... it's still in the car! Mr Snoopydog is becoming a little forgetful methinks.

Just to finish off and to show you that our green oasis in the heart of a city does also have some colour, here are some shots of the pots, taken as I sat knitting this afternoon. Bliss!



Hope you have a good week .... and make time to knit! SMILE!

PRESSIES, TENNIS BALLS, STRAWBERRIES............MUST BE MY BIRTHDAY!

Hello there! I've had a really lovely day today. First reason being that it is my birthday, second reason being the men's Wimbledon tennis final went to five fabulous sets and was surely one of the best men's finals ever. Yes, it would have been even better if Andy Murray had been there; he did us proud though and I'm sure the trophy will be his in the not too distant future. All credit to Federer, who now enters the record books with his fifteenth grand slam title. Roddick put up a good fight and 'remained defiant behind his rocket serve'. He was so gracious in defeat and I hope his turn will come. Thirdly.......strawberries! My memories of childhood birthdays are always of Wimbledon and strawberries. Then, strawberries were not available all year round and so we made the most of the short, intense feasting season. As much as I love their delicious, sweet flavour I refuse to buy until they are in season and even better until they are produced within a 20 mile radius of our home. They taste so good!

I have been very spoilt and received some lovely presents. I thought I would show you the knitterly gifts that my good friend josiekitten and my youngest daughter bought for me.







What fabulous knitterly gifts they are too!!! Don't you agree? Firstly, my youngest daughter bought me a copy of Cookie's book 'Sock Innovation' and a skein of Laughing Yaffle sock yarn. The colours are intensely gorgeous. And if that wasn't sufficient to feed my addiction for at least a week, my great pal josiekitten supplied the rest................... surely I should feel sated for at least the whole of the summer hols (only two weeks away BIG SMILE). There was a skein of Laughing Yaffle in the suptuous colourway 'merry go round', a skein of Natural Dye Studio merino and bamboo sock yarn in the colourway 'sweet pea' and some mini skeins of Natural Dye Studio sock yarn, ready for my sock blanket project that I hope to start as soon as term ends and the summer hols begin. Next up, was the excellent book 'Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns' that I had been coveting for a while. There are some great patterns inside and really good advice on how to avoid pooling etc. and how to select the best pattern to show off the yarn! A pack of 'Knit Pro' wooden sock needles will ensure my knitting quality is the best it can be!!!! I told Mr Snoopydog that I would like some Knit Pro sock needles and his reply went something like..... ' Haven't you got some needles in that tin on the windowsill?' I tried to explain that there are needles....... and there are NEEDLES! Needless to say there was a distinct manly lack of understanding. Thank goodness for josiekitten! I also received some Clover circular stitch markers ........ just what I needed, as I only have two small and two large. Hmm!

Oh, and better late than never, here are my June socks. I'm sorry to disappoint by using the Circles pattern again, but I cast on at least three other patterns with this yarn and it pooled horribly. I had also left myself very little time to complete a pair of socks in June, as I fed my mojo for baby knitting.


Hope you like them!

Finally, here's a sneaky preview of July's offering.


The pattern is Daydreamer by Vikki Harding. The yarn is my own 'Kool-Aid' hand-dyed (my first attempt!). The yarn is quite fluffy and loosely spun, but I am pleased with how it is knitting up and how the colours are patterning. Hopefully, I will be able to show you more later this week, along with some pics showing how the allotment and the summer pots are coming along.......... and news of Trevor the toad!

At the end of an exciting high summer day, I guess it's about time to regroup my thoughts for school tomorrow and maybe think about bed. Goodnight!