HALF-TERM HAPPINESS.....

Hello there! Good to see you again. Yes, it's the sun I'm talking about, as well as you dear reader! I took the photo above from our bedroom window quite early this morning. It felt so good to wake up to sunshine after a week of pretty dismal rain and high winds. I've made the most of it and have been sitting in the garden with my knitting and Kindle for most of the day.

How quickly a week passes when you are relaxing and spending time doing things that you enjoy. A day just seems to drift past and before you know it, it's another day closer to the end of the holiday. However, things have also been achieved, apart from relaxing. My school reports are complete, the summer pots are all planted out, my hair has been cut and my teeth have been checked, cleaned and an old filling replaced.

I've made myself get on and finish Sophie's little cardi. It's a super easy pattern and the yarn is lovely Debbie Bliss 'ecobaby'. I'm not a great fan of working with cotton or of moss stitch, so I'm not sure why I embarked on this project, except that the pattern is really cute. The sleeves are three-quarter, which is why they look slightly out of proportion to the body of the piece. Although I don't consider myself to be an exprt crocheter, I have to say, the edging is incredibly easy and really finishes the garment off beautifully. I'm really plesed with it and hope Sophie will be too.

I've started a couple of new projects too. I know, I already have enough on the needles to last me the rest of the year, but the April and May patterns from Anne Hanson's BarenakedKnitspot Club were just crying out to be brought to life. So, first up are the lovely 'Vanilla Creams'. I'm using some Misti Alpaca Tonos Carnaval, in colourway Surf Blue. It's a delicious mix of 50% alpaca, 30% merino wool, 10% silk and 10% nylon for sock strength.

I couldn't resist casting on the lovely organic undyed cotton with 3% soft copper that I showed you last week. This one is going to be along job, needing full, uninterrupted concentration. Not the best thing to be casting on just as school is about to resume, but never mind. I couldn't resist the urge to at least get all the 587 stitches safely cast on to the needles. 

Yes, you read correctly................ 587 stitches. I'm not sure how long it took me, but it was a pretty long time. I placed a marker at every 100, just in case!

Here we go and we're off. I've completed two rows, with a marker now placed between each pattern repeat. It's such a lovely pattern and the yarn is beautifully fine and surprisingly soft. I do love a lace challenge every so often.

So, after all the excitement of unveiling not one but two new projects, I'll love you and leave you. I have a fair bit of school planning still to do ;-). I'll leave you with a photo taken yesterday evening of our crazy Oscar dog. He usually is 100% addicted to chasing his tennis ball when he is out and about at the water park. The last ten days or so have seen a change in his usual behaviour. He has developed an unhealthy addiction to rather large branches, that he drags from the water. He then spends several minutes running up and down, parading his trophy, whilst trying to keep it perfectly balanced in his mouth. Crazy dog!

See you next week!