Sunday 27 August 2017

Summer knitting

Recently I have been knitting away on my 'Little Tern blanket' which is the August part of 'A Year of Techniques' from AC knitwear and although it won't be finished by the end of the month I have really enjoyed the fact that this project has made me revisit my continental knitting style. Although I have regularly used the continental knit stitch technique I have previously found the Norwegian Purl stitch a slow and clunky stitch to work and I think this is due to the fact that previously I had practised this stitch using sock yarn and small needles. This blanket is done in the gorgeous Fyberspates Vivacious DK weight and has a lovely spring to it making it a real pleasure to use the whole continental knitting way throughout the blanket.

Perhaps you can see that the stitch changes are frequent so my traditional English way of knitting was very slow and laborious but sped up considerably when I switched to continental. I am much further along than this picture shows but I am happy to continue at my own pace enjoying the knitting as I go. 

Life here is still trundling along at it's own peculiar pace and is mostly just weeks of similar things happening interspersed with my knitting and crochet, hence I find that it has become more important to stretch myself by learning new things or growing current skills to new levels! My Gran once told me that you are never too old to learn new things and it is important to keep learning your whole life - something I always remembered but recently find myself knowing how important it is to make this happen.

I hope all is well in your corners of blogland and I will be back with more new skills soon!

Friday 2 June 2017

Wedding Fever!

Well not fever really but thought I would quickly fill you in as Dave and I finally tied the knot after 16 years together. We got to say 'I do' in our favourite place by the sea!

Its wasn't apathy that prevented us doing this much earlier but consideration for Lottie. When we first got engaged she asked if she would be able to change her name so that she felt part of it all and after discussion we asked her dad if he would consider her becoming a double barrel name so she didn't loose either identity but was part of it all. He said no! Dave and I decided her feelings were important so we chose to wait. Now she is all grown up and in a home of her own we decided it was time for us to do what we wanted to do all along but with no ones feeling hurt along the way and the added bonus that she was our witness too on the day.

It wasn't a big or flashy wedding as we have both been married before and after all this time it is really just completing the journey we had begun so long ago but never the less it was a celebration of our journey together.



I couldn't have asked for a nicer wedding - it was just the loveliest happiest day ever and the sun shone down on us (it rained the day before and the day after) and we were so lucky to have a truly special day.


Sadly I didn't quite finish my shawl but I put a blue ribbon through the live stitches and wore it anyway, I am finishing it but thankfully at a slower pace now! A note to anyone else making a rectangular shawl - the knitted on edging takes longer than you might think! Despite several early morning knitting sessions 3 weeks was not enough time!



We were joined on the day by a very special couple of friends who took the most amazing pictures for us and made the whole day extra special, thank you both for being super fun!




Sadly we are back to reality now but the memories of that very special day by the sea will be with me always. It was so very precious to me and the love and happiness that we shared that day will stay warm and fuzzy inside me forever.

Monday 3 April 2017

Mittens and blankets!

I have finished Lou's mittens that have been on the needles for quite some time and she was pleased to wear them:

Also finished is the skittles Blanket which is a joy to behold for the cheery colours and pleasure it gave me to crochet it:


 Currently I am working on the Hygge shawl which is a weekly crochet along but I am a little behind, a change of hook and getting over the first bobble week has allowed me to catch up a bit but I'm just plodding along at my own pace with this one.


I am also working on 'a Year of Techniques' and I have finished 2 pairs of Hycainthus mittens - these have flown off my needles as the helical stripes are really addictive knitting!


I am really looking forward to Aprils' instalment of this which should arrive tomorrow and involves a yarn I haven't used before which is 'cumulus' from Fyberspates. Hopefully I will be back soon to report on what it will become! 


Wednesday 1 February 2017

New Year New Glasses

It has been a while since I was here last but life has been moving along at a pace, I seem to have Louise for more and more hours each month and it leaves little time for me to have anything exciting to share. I should have had my eyes tested last January but with everything going on they got forgotten about but got worse and worse as the months rolled by. Eventually they got bad enough to irritate me and I made an appointment ( there was a 2 month delay as they were booked up) and finally I got them checked out. Happily for me it is just age that has changed my prescription and I have now got new specs! I cannot begin to tell you how much better I can see - it is only now that I realise that it was sight preventing me from finishing some of my projects as it was too hard to read the stitches or the charts and instructions and they were put aside for easier things. Now I need to finished all of the things and it is exciting to pick them back up and rediscover the joy that was there all along! I am sharing this as a reminder to us all not to neglect our sight - it is too important!

This is one of the projects that eventually was put to one side because although it is a lovely DK weight yarn and I could easily see the stitches when I got to the border the instructions seemed to be confusing - it was just me and I have picked it back up again and there is no problem! Hopefully as I pick things up again will have more to share.

I hope all is well in your corners of blogland and I will aim to be back again soon!