My boys....and my beloved Grandpa

We've been up to Cumbria to visit my family, and have the most wonderful memories of a visit with my Grandpa (we don't go up very often, once or twice a year at most)....my boys were fantastic with him, and made me completely proud :)

He's 89, very hard of hearing, and quite fragile physically.....still sharp as a pin in his mind though ;)

Joel, my youngest, seemed to know when to speak loudly, and they interacted perfectly, theres a real special relationship there....just before this photo was taken, Joel had planted a big kiss on his head.....you can just see the happiness on my Grandpa's face....

....such respect was shown to this lovely old lad.....from two little lads.....

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New year.....

All my love and best wishes for a happy and fulfilled 2008

Lots and lots of love, from me.....to you :)

Its not just the grown ups........

......who flake out after Christmas dinner you know......in fact he nearly flaked out INTO his Christmas dinner.... hehehehe

Have had quite an odd kind of Christmas...a brilliant "being together as a family" time, but also disappointing, in that at least 2 of the toys (not cheap ones either) have broken already :( Build quality these days is appalling...you pay through the nose, most often, for things your children want, and then find them to be flimsy on the day, and then 1/2 price in the sales on Boxing Day.

Some sad news also, my Great Aunt died on Christmas night :( I wasn't particularly close to her, but I am very sad for the members of my family who were. It was very sudden, and for it to happen on Christmas night has caused a lot of shock.

But....she was 91 yrs old, had had a fantastic day at my parents house on Christmas Day...so at least she spent her final hours in the bosom of love and togetherness.

Rest in Peace, Auntie Vi....

Peacock

Made from a single of black merino, and a single of hand dyed BFL.....in shades of green, teal and turquoise. There is 115g of it, the length is 213 yds and I reckon its DK gauge, or not far off :)

How exciting....I am a winner!!!

Fellow blogger and uber talented woolly knitter, Lizet, ran a little competition to celebrate her 100th weblog post....and I won!!!

It is a little spooky, because if you remember, I ran a competition in November to celebrate my weblogs 2nd Birthday, and Lizet was my winner....

*Has visions of our children secretly conspiring to make their Mummy a winner*

Thankyou Lizet.....and thankyou to Dory too....

*blows kisses in the direction of the NW of England"

Autumnal colours......

Here we have 200g of heavy DK/light Aran handspun.....one single made from the pictured hand dyed roving, and the other single made from black merino........

I am so pleased with it...I just wish I could work out the bloomin' yardage.....LOL...maths is not my strong point......

ETA.......I've worked out the yardage per skein...woohoo....

Its 174 yds per 100g

Fabulous Friend :)

My friends cam over on Thursday....and we'd all made up stockings for each other....
I was MiffyRabbit's recipient :)
She REALLY spoiled me.......

Some fabulous fibre....and some festive food colouring :)

Some really scrummy handmade soaps...the bottom one has a loofah in it!!! The top one smells gorgeous...a orange and cinnamon cake slice.....hmmmmmmm!!!

And loads of chocolately goodness...and a grow your own sheep!!!

Thankyou Miffy my darling......I love it all!!!!!

WoollyWormhead's book "Going Straight" is ready......

BUY IT HERE

My copy is already bought and paid for.....oh goodness me, HOW excited am I???

Woolly's hats are so innovative, and easy to knit, even for a novice knitter....the book contains 24 modern designs for straight needles, using short rows and grafting for a professional, fitted finish. All patterns are sized for 3 different head sizes. Full colour tutorials for techniques included, of which 8 are for Kitchener Stitch....

I am already stalking my postman......watch this space for the first one I have in mind, "Rainbow Warrior".....its a pixie chullo....and I have got my own handspun yarn ready and waiting..... *does a madly happy dance*

Am I over-reacting???

I went into my kids' school today, into Lower school (reception to yr 3, 5 to 8 yr olds) and as I went through the corridors, by the big double exit doors I saw..........

............An advertising board, just like the ones you get on bus shelters, but not as bulky....advertising nintendo DS games.....

I was appalled....!!!!

School is supposed to be for learning, and fun etc.....not to have "stuff" thrown at you, albeit a little subliminally, which is even worse.....on the wall near the doors in and out...just to remind the children they might "need" this item

Our children are bombarded by must have items etc, all year round on the TV and various other places (...not to mention the fact it steps up a gear at Christmas...)

I went straight to the school office, after talking to a few other Mums about it....and the Head of Lower School has a message on his desk to call me about it.Ok, I accept they might get some revenue from having it there, but surely they could raise funds in a more ethical manner???

Grrrrr...... will let you know how I get on.....

Busy Weekend :)

Some hand dyed Handspun, 50% BFL - 50% Corriedale, about 170g, and 80 yds...I've called it "Saturday Night", as thats when I did it, trying to escape from the X Factor Final... he he he

And this is some sock wool, the first I have ever done actually.....for VikingKnits as part of a swap :) I now have even more mucho respect for all you sock yarn dyers out there, MUCHO...reskeining this took AGES.... ;)

The Leicester contingent of Ravelry had a meet up on Sunday...in a coffee bar in the city. There were 4 of us, MiffyRabbit, Yoshimi and InteriorLulu A very pleasant time was had, and we created quite a stir.....he he he

On the home front, we put our Christmas decorations up last night....so am feeling marginally more Christmassy....

Kids break up from school on Wednesday....woohoo!!!

More handspun.......hand dyed this time :)

This is 50% Corriedale - 50% BFL, hand dyed into "Goth" colours for my friend Miffy to knit into a WollyWormhead hat for her DS2....
Soon to be stashed on Ravelry..........Woohoo!!!!

I mentioned in a post further down about the base colours of the fibre promising to dye up well, and they did...the lighter BFL has taken the dye lighter than the Corriedale....makes it look great :)

Dyed some roving on Saturday....

Used this fantastic tutorial....instead of just winging it like I did last time....hahaha
And I made use of my ebay bargain Fish kettle as well.....perfect for the little clingfilmed-up bundles!!!
Turned out great...and it's spinning well too...... woohoo!

I made some Alpaca/BFL handspun too......

This is one single of Alpaca, given to be by Isabella and a single of undyed Bluefaced Leicester....I have slightly over plied it in places.....nevermind, eh!!!! Not so sure about spinning Alpaca...its very slippery.....shall get some more I am sure, maybe dye it up and have another go..... :)

Pretty Yarn!!!

Remember this???

Well it made this!!!!!

This is spun from the first lot of rovings I dyed up, and some gorgeous block coloured merino in yellow and another in teal, given to me by Yoshimi....

I am so pleased with it..... and am saving it for a hat.....from WollyWormheads forthcoming book!!! Its gonna make such a stunning Chullo!!!!

Joel's Ribbed Beanie :)

Made from lots of leftover Merino and BFL oddments from various woollies I have made :) Joel chose the colours and I put them all together.......

He loves it, and I wish it fitted me :)

A weekend for WoollyWormhead Hats!!!

Took me 3 hours to knit this...its her Tri-Peak Hat...and my Daniel absoloutely loves it.....!!!

I did a Ribbed Beanie for Joel, but I havn't got a decent picture of it.....will do that one tomorrow......

An update on Sarah's world

Things are calming down in some respects, we've pretty much settled into the new house...still in box chaos, but its not as bad as it was. We've acclimatised to all the noises the house makes, and it smells like my house now too *grins*

In other ways, life is just mad......so much to do with the run up to Christmas, and lots of other stuff going on with friends too.

Some days I am not entirely sure if I can cope.....other days I feel like I can...

Luckily for me, I have a few good friends who are a constant support to me, and I also have a wonderfully understanding and supportive husband...

On a lighter note, we've inherited a jacuzzi bath at this house, and the children LOVE it.....

The following picture is a stark warning to anyone who thinks giving an 8 year old full responsibility of the bubble bath whilst in a jacuzzi is a GOOD idea.... *chortle*

Some hand-spun.....

This is some Corriedale-Bluefaced Leicester undyed handspun, just a little heavier overall than aran.... 'bout 350g overall :)

i am really pleased with the base colours of the fibres...they are going to dye up beautifully :)

Winter Warmer.....knitted up :)