HAPPY PUMPKIN DAY!

Hello again! It's hard to believe that the half-term holiday is almost at an end and it's back to school on Monday. We've had some fun time this week with all of our children home to visit at the same time; quite unusual, now that they are all pursuing their careers in different parts of the country and in the case of Miss Snoopydog 2, the World! It's always good to share some quality time together and catch up on ourselves.

We've been out and about lots. Nowhere very sensational, but when you are all together everywhere feels special! First of all I thought I'd share my 'pumpkin walk' photos with you. They were taken yesterday. We had all gone to our local water park to give Scott a walk and ball chase. Evening was beginning to close in as we arrived and Scott was desperate to get chasing that tennis ball!! It's a very pretty water park; a fantastic local amenity and a favourite spot for dog walkers, dinghy sailors and water birds. Yesterday, it was also the chosen spot for these spooky pumpkins. Don't know how they got there, but we enjoyed them and they added a certain unexpected something to our late afternoon October stroll.



I had to go and visit them again on our way back to the car, just to see them glowing in the eerie blue darkness that was swiftly descending upon them.

Scott loves the water park......... tennis ball to chase, dogs to meet and water to swim in. That eerie early evening light cast it's magic over these views.





Seemed a bit like a blue world! Nevertheless, it was Scotty heaven! Needless to say, he spent the evening fast asleep.............. aahhh!



Earlier in the week we drove into Suffolk, to visit our favourite local coastal 'spot', Aldeburgh. It's a very pretty and unspoilt coastal town. Here's a little taster of our day .....

It's been a lovey half-term, spent with our family; good food, long walks and talks and Scott! :D

I promised you I would show my special little something that arrived from across the sea. It was a 'Pink Ribbon' mini-skein from one of my blogging pals melissa over at the Knitting Sandwich. She is doing a 60 mile walk over 3 days, to raise funds for a cancer fighting charity in the US. I supported her fund raising effort and received this pretty little mini-skein ...... soo exciting to find a little squishy envelope from over the sea! Such a lovely thought Melissa.... hope the walk goes well and you raise lots.


Melissa, here it is already knitted up (well, one square!). Thought you might like to see it. So special to think about the origin of that little square and how it came to be in my blankie.







Thanks Melissa. That little square has a special place in my blankie.

Needless to say, with a houseful for the last week, not too much knitting has been done. I have finished the back and left front of my 'October Afternoon' cardigan, that has sat in the bag for far too long. I won't show you yet, but hopefully it will be finished soon and I'll be able to show you in all its finished glory.

I have already chosen my November Sock Challenge pattern to go with my pre-selected November yarn. The pattern is 'Wildflower Socks' and the yarn is by 'Claudia Hand-painted Yarns'. It was a gift from my best pal josiekitten.



I just love the colours and the feel of this gorgeous yarn. Lets hope I find time to finish them before November is out, as I have rather a lot on the go at the moment. The photo is of a very special place in my memory. Over a pint of ale, we reminisced this week and talked about 'good times' had there when our three children were small. Do you know where the photo was taken? I'll tell you more next time.

Time to go, as the bread has finished cooking and the drying has finished drying and it's nearly time for bed!

Hope you all have a fun filled week ahead. See you soon X

HALF-TERM HAPPINESS....

Hello there! It feels rather decadent, sitting here blogging on a Monday afternoon. I missed what seems to have become my regular Sunday blog, as we were busy winning (by some miracle) the monthly'fun' quiz at our local! Think we won because there were no TV or pop music rounds this time! We always have a very pleasant evening with a couple of pints of beer, and a 'catch-up' with four of our friends, who make up the rest of our team.




It's half-term. HOORAY! Time to catch up on all sorts of odds and ends and to enjoy some relaxing fun time with our family. Scott is coming to stay with his 'olds'! Both our daughters are home too. A full house!

So, whilst I have a little bit of quiet time before that whirlwind of labrador arrives, I thought I'd come and share it with you!

I've just packaged up my little Innocent Smoothie hats ready to wing their way to London. The promotion begins next week; for every behatted smoothie bottle sold, Sainsbury's will donate 35p to 'Help the Aged'. They were such fun to knit. I wish I had found time to make more. Maybe next year!

Miss Snoopydog 1 and I wandered down to our local John Lewis store on Saturday afternoon to check out the yarn. She loves to sew and makes some beautiful bags, but has never really spent time on knitting. She chose some Rowan 'Big Wool' and size 15 mm needles and is busy making a stripey cowl to keep her warm when she's on playground duty. 'Just let me do one more row before we go,' she said..... before we set off for the pub. Hmmm.... I think she's just been converted and may even be already showing the first symptoms of addiction.

These Fetchings were made for her over the weekend, to keep her hands warm whilst she's on playground duty. It's such a great pattern; easy, fast but interesting, and they look great. They really are a much more greeny blue than my camera has captured!



I chose a gorgeous bright pink to knit myself another pair too.



I have just received a very exciting little parcel today (Tuesday), all the way across the sea from America. I Thank you so much Melissa! I will reveal all later in the week, as we are shortly going out for a well deserved curry and I have jobs to do beforehand. Enjoy the rest of your week.

P.S. Yes I know, the date at the top of this post says Monday, but Scott arrived part way through my posting and from then on my Monday evening involved lots of doggy fussing and playing, a trip to the pub and nattering until late!!!!! It's now Tuesday, early evening!

SOCKS, SOCKS, SOCKS.......

I seem to have my sock mojo working very effectively at present, so I'm pressing on with SOCKS whilst it lasts. This afternoon, I've just finished my October sock challenge pair. Although the yarn was gorgeous Jitterbug and I adored the 'Show-off Stranded Socks' pattern, I didn't like the way the yarn pooled on the feet. I'll be quite happy to wear them, but somehow, they just don't look quite right. Take a look and tell me what you think.




I do like the lovely rich colours! Actually, they don't look quite so bad now I'm taking a closer look at the photo of them :D

As soon as I had finished these, I cast on a pair of Jaywalkers for a good friend of mine, who has wanted me to knit her a pair of socks for quite a while now. I bought the yarn some time ago, as she loves autumnal colours and it seemed like the perfect choice. I'm using the good old free Jaywalkers pattern, as it gives a range of sizes and I think it will suit the gently striping colourway of the Fortissima Colori 'Socka Color' yarn. It's colour 2419 and I bought it from one of my favourite online stores p2tog. The service is always excellent! Here they are so far....



It's half-term next week ..... HOORAY! We are expecting a full house, but I'm sure I'll find time to knit. My aim will be to complete these socks and also my October Afternoon jumper, that has been on the needles for far too long!

Thanks for stopping by. Here's wishing you a happy and successful week!

SUCH IS LIFE.........

Hello there! Got to rush tonight! Spent sooo long immersed in Michael Rosen poems, preparing for teaching poetry this week at school, that it's now rather late. If you haven't read his poems , you should, whatever age you are. He's just brilliant! I had my week planned ...... got more excited than I have done for a long time, when I found the man himself performing his poems 'LIVE' on YouTube. We are going to perform our poems LIVE to parents next week, so who better to act as role model but Michael Rosen himself. Then, before I could finish laughing at his rendition of 'Down Among the Dustbins', doom, gloom and despondency descend when I remember that the 'safe site' filter at school, safely filters out YouTube!!! AAARRRGGGHHH! Such a shame, as it would have been the next best thing to having the man himself in the classroom. Such is life!

Yes, such is life! Let me direct you back to the picture above, showing some really lush yarn (although slightly out of focus) and then I'll tell you a story... inspired by Michael Rosen! I shall entitle my poem .....

SUCH IS LIFE!

Down in our cool John Lewis store
I bought Rowan Colourscape .... cherry!
Got the last two skeins, though unbeknown....
Was feeling rather merry!

Heard from great pal josiekitten,
Off to buy....Rowan Colourscape...cherry!!!!!!!!
AAARRRGGGHHH!
Found cherries all gone
Felt rather glum...
I felt guilty.....................................verrrrrry!

SORRY JOSIEKITTEN! Our great minds thought alike... :D SUCH IS LIFE!

Hmm! I have begun a scarf using the Autumn colourway of the same, aforementioned, Rowan Colourscape. It's a free Rowan pattern, Cora. The yarn is gorgeous, easy to work with and beautifully coloured. It feels much softer after steam blocking. Here it is so far..



The pattern is easy to remember and just amounts to a simple cable. On 7mm needles it grows very quickly.

I've finished my Seascape scarf, at long last. Don't get me wrong, I loved the pattern and LOVED the Manos del Uruguay, 'Silk Blend' yarn, but other projects got in the way, because it wasn't time for wearing scarves. You can find details of the pattern and yarn here.



I don't think much knitting will be get done this week as it's Parent's Evenings on Wednesday and Thursday and I have sooo much work to do!

So, enjoy!

Have a fun week! :D

IT'S OCTOBER...... SOCKS AND 'SPECIALS'....

Welcome back! Here we are again; another Sunday evening, ending another hectic and 'no time to spare!' week. Thank goodness for weekends! What on earth would it be like to work seven days out of seven? It's not worth even beginning to contemplate. How lovely it was, to have yet another sunny, if rather windy, weekend. This morning was absolutely glorious. I snapped the above shot as Mr Snoopydog and I strolled into the city for a Sunday morning coffee. I just love autumnal days like this when the early morning chill has lifted and the azure blue sky allows the sun's warmth to gently touch the richly coloured autumn leaves. It feels GOOD!

Yesterday though, was SO windy, that I decided it really wasn't worth venturing out and managed to begin and complete this sweet little baby cardigan in a day (in between loading and emptying the washing machine and completing other mundane housey jobs)! It's a 'very special' cardi. You'll know what I mean if you've read my last post. If you haven't ........... here it is! Some very 'special' information for you, dear reader.




The pattern is from Erika Knight's book 'Simple Knits for Cherished Babies'. It's very, very easy and made in one piece, so not too much sewing up. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino; it's so soft and wonderful to work with. As for the buttons...... the teddies I showed you last time really didn't look right and so another trip to John Lewis was made and these plain and simple little natural buttons chosen. They look much better!

I had to crack on very speedily with my September socks, managing to get them finished just in time. I love this Opal handpainted yarn; such perfect autumnal colours! I gave you details of the pattern last time. What do you think?





The pattern is perfect for variegated yarns and very easy to commit to memory. I love them! I've just begun my October socks too; can't think when I've found the time to do all this knitting amidst Staff meetings, Senior Leadership Team meetings, Key Stage team meetings and Governor's meetings, planning and swimming and washing and cooking and ........! I think the answer is too many quite late nights ...... enforced by needing to knit 'just one more row'! I've called them my 'October Leaves' socks, after the stunning colours of the Colinette 'Jitterbug' yarn. The pattern is a free Ravelry download, called 'Show-off Stranded Socks' by Anne Campbell. Again, I tried to search out a pattern that would highlight a variegated yarn. So far, I am feeling quite pleased with my choice.



The colours remind me of these winter pansies, just outside our front door. I snapped them as we left the house this morning for our coffee shop stop. So pretty!



I hope the sun continues to shine for at least another week or so. It makes this time of year so beautiful. Wishing you all a happy and productive week. Have fun! :D