Up for grabs...

This is a desperate attempt to rid myself of some stuff. As you may have gathered, I have rather a lot of stuff, and with most of the house still in a state of chaos this fact has been weighing rather heavily on my mind. Do you know that feeling that you can't think because somehow the clutter around you is getting into your head and you can't find your own thoughts anymore? Yeah, like that.

Anyway, I was thinking that I might offer some of these things up on the blog. I don't want any money for them, just the price of postage, so if you want any of them, just leave a comment or send me an email and I'll mail them to you, OK?

Right, here we go, one fibre item and two non-fibre shoes:


First on the list - a bin liner full of unwashed fleece. I bought this off ebay ages ago and it was sold to me as Bluefaced Leicester, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. The fibre is of very varying quality, some super-soft (and that could convince me that there is at least some Bluefaced Leicester content), and some quite coarse. It obviously needs washing, etc., and also sorting through to separate the very coarse bits from the good stuff. If I had the time right now I'd do this and I had already started to with a small amount, but let's be realistic - it's not going to happen in the next 5 years, so it's got to go. I have no idea what postage would be for this but if you are interested I'll walk it over to the Post Office and find out for you.

Second on the list:


A pair of very retro, very red shoes. I bought these a few years ago in the vain hope that what didn't fit me then would suddenly, miraculously, fit later. The picture is not very good, the shoes do not look quite so gaudy and (I think) more retro than kinky! ;-) They are size 5 / 38, made by Schuh, and as good as new. Again, I only want the price of postage for them.

Third and last (for now) on the list:


Another pair of shoes. These are a more worn, in particular around the buckle, but otherwise the story is very similar to that of the red pair above. What can I say - I have an issue with shoes that I like but that do not fit. These are size 6, made by Saxone, and way too large for me! I love the classic shape of them.

We'll see how this goes - there may be more in future.

Little treats...

I still don' t have much to show for regarding the baby cardigan, although I can report progress - the back is finished and tonight I have cast on for the first of the sleeves, so there is hope. I may even take a picture tomorrow because I am quite enamoured with the scallop trim...

Last Wednesday I finished some work, so I've been taking it a bit easy - I spent some time in the garden yesterday and planted some beans and tomatoes, and today we went to the local farmer's market and took a stroll around town. As I am typing we are watching the Eurovision Song Contest, which is always good for a laugh. Life is good. :-)

I've also been meaning to show a few little things that have arrived in the post since my last blog entry. First of all, I've treated myself to a book that I'd been coveting for I don't know how long:


I am so pleased with this - so far I've only had a quick look through it and there are already at least 3 things I want to knit.

The next thing is the Diaper Bag pattern I bought from Craft Apple. I saw the bag she made a while ago in her blog and I couldn't believe my luck when I realised a few weeks ago that she has now published the pattern for it:


I've been very happy with my Amy Butler Diaper Bag, but I'd love another one - for variety and also because occasionally it can be a bit annoying that the bag doesn't close. It would be good to have one that closes so that, if I overfill the bag (as I usually do) the contents don't spill out.

And lastly, a few weeks ago I received an email from a small start-up company who produces yarn harvested from British farms. It's called Farm Yarn, and they asked me if I'd be interested in reviewing their yarn. I agreed and a few days ago they sent me a small box with some yarn samples:


The yarn is lovely. Obviously it wasn't enough to knit anything, so I can't really say much about how the different types knit up, but they feel wonderfully soft and the natural colours are beautiful. There was natural Alpaca yarn in different weights and colours and also some organic sheep yarn - Llanwenog and Jacob, which isn't quite so soft but has a nice crisp texture to it. I've added a link to their website on my sidebar, so have a look!

May is upon us...

... and isn't it lovely to see everything grow?

I was in Germany for a week, to let the relatives have a cuddle with the bean, and when I came back I was greeted with this spectacular growth in the veg patch:

Just because it's so lush and yummy-looking, here it is again:

Isn't it spectacular? I was only gone for a week and everything has grown so much! The potatoes, which you can just about make out in the back, have grown at least 15cm!

There is even some growth on other things - baby cardigans for example. I don't have a picture because really there isn't that much to show for, but I have finished both front panels now. Maybe there is a chance that I can finish this item before my friend's little girl ha finished school after all...

* The bluebells on the top picture have come up amidst the weeds by wall next to the kitchen door - it's quite exciting to see what this garden hides, now that most of the brambles are gone.

Gimme Your Stuff

... I've caved and have signed up for Gimme Your Stuff. I've resisted for some time (found the blog a few months back), but it seems like such a cool idea that it was only a matter of time until I gave in. Could be fun, right?

What I can swap:
* yarn
* fabric
* anything crafts related as long as I can get it here
* something handmade by me
* sweets, etc
* anything typically British that you always wanted to get your hands on
* Postcards
* Recipes
* Magazines
* clothes and accessories
* vintage stuff (I love car-boot sales ;-) )
* virtually anything you are looking for, as long as it isn't too heavy

What I am looking for:
* all of the above really, with the exception of sweets (although I like the occasional chocolate bar I'm not much for candy...)
* crafts books and magazines from any country
* fabric
* Japanese crafts books and mags
* Yarn or fibre that is typical for your country
* anything handsewn
* Clothing that I might like (T-shirts, skirts, etc)
* handbags (handmade or bought)
* anything vintage or funky or quirky that you think I might like

There, it's done. I'm clearly doomed to never get any work done...

What does a girl do...

... when she doesn't like knitting socks because knitting on small needles takes far too long for her liking?

She starts knitting a baby cardigan on toothpicks of course!

I'm so hopeless. Honestly, much as I adore sock-weight yarn and much as I adore handknit socks, I am rubbish at finishing sock-related knitting projects. Knitting a pair of socks takes me on average 2 years. So what am I doing, trying to knit a baby cardigan in 4-ply yarn? For a deadline that could be any day now (my best friend is due TODAY but fortunately her little girl is not in a hurry to leave her cozy little nest and face the grey and rainly April weather)?

Obviously I fell in love with this project BEFORE I checked on the required yarn and needle size and when I did it was already too late, in particular as I'd been waiting for quite a while for a suitable girl baby to knit this particular item for. And now I'm stuck, evening after evening, after settling the bean down for the night (he thinks knitting needles are utterly fascinating, so no knitting with him around!!), squinting at my minuscule progress on said cardigan. Even D commented a few days ago - 'god, you've been knitting this for ages. It's tiny!!' Grrrr!

I do like the result, though. I think once it's done (should be around the time the little girl leaves home to go to university...) it will be very cute.

Happiness is...

... a Sunday afternoon in the garden while the sun is out.


... admiring the fragile flowers on the fruit trees.


... working on the vegetable patch and spotting the first few shoots coming up (these are my mangetout pea seedlings)


... just sitting back with a cold beer and watching the cat (who thinks the new vegetable garden is a fabulous huge cat latrine -blegh!)


... the first BBQ of the season (although it was rather tricky to light sodden charcoal, but the grilled chicken was divine!)

It's good to do nothing in particular sometimes.

~ * ~

My blog seems to be on some kind of hiatus. Not that I want it to be, but somehow I am managing to start most days with thinking "today I am going to update the blog" only to realise when I go to bed that once again I've forgotten to do just that. I have a new resolution, though - from now on, I will update the blog at least once a week and I will only skip the update if I am away. We'll see how I go with that.

Things are good here, the bean is starting to enjoy some solid food, we have finally made a start on painting the walls in his room, and the recently lovely and warm weather has meant that I have also started my very own vegetable patch! And there has even been some crafting and knitting. We are content. Life is good. I think it was this that gave me the idea of starting this little series of posts about what makes me happy.

Look Ma, actual crafts content!

It's been a while... again. The bean had his third set of vaccinations and the poor little mite had a rough few days because of them, so that meant no computer-playing time for me, and before that we were in the Midlands for a few days because I finally graduated! Yes, I'm officially at the end of my studies now, and can now enter the frightening world of the job-less. Obviously I am hoping that this is not a permanent state of existence so I am keeping my eyes open for job opportunities, but for now I am trying to enjoy my time at home with the little bean.

One nice thing recently has been going fr walks at lunchtime on those days when D is working from home. We wolf down some food, stick the bean in his carrier, and use the rest of the lunch hour to explore the footpaths around the village. It's really helped me to get to know this part of the world better, and when initially it looked pretty drab, I am slowly coming to appreciate the big open skies you get up here.


And there is always a little surprise, a small discovery - this time it was a horse in a hidden little paddock in the middle of the village.


Crafting has been very slow going. Somehow, knitting and sewing is really not the same when you try to balance a baby on your lap at the same time. Though maybe with a bit of practice...

One thing I finally managed to finish, though, is my first quilt. I used all sorts of off-cuts, mainly very old pieces of fabric that were still from my mother and that I remember from various sorts of projects - kitchen curtains, table cloths, some trousers she made, etc., and I added a few of my own that I had acquired over the years or that were left over from other projects. The result is... eclectic:


It's far from perfect - the quilting is completely wonky and the spacing is uneven, and so is the seam, and sometimes the backing is a little bunched up, where I hadn't pinned the layers together properly - but I really don't care. It's rustic-looking and I think it should be fairly hard-wearing. I used denim fabric as a backing, because it seemed to work best in terms of the colours, but also because I am planning on using this quite a bit in the summer, when the bean can practice his crawling in the garden. For now it works well on the sofa and to cuddle up in on those cold winter evenings.

Yarn Abroad!

Guess what arrived in the post today?

The Ferdinand Magellan Yarn Abroad box, full with fiber goodness, straight from Brooklyn, NY, sent by the fabulous Tawana of Rooted in Knit-Reality.

I immediately dug into the box, and look at all the fantastic things she sent me:


Honestly, I am overwhelmed! There is some beautiful Crown Mountain Farms Superwash Merino in the colourway 'Brown Eyed Girl' (it's me! it's me!), some Soy Silk and Cashmere fibre and some pure Cashmere (pure Cashmere!!), both undyed. There were also some sweets, half of which didn't even make it onto the picture because they were eaten immediately, and she even packed a little something for the Bean - some cute little stripey socks and a cool baby vest which I can't wait to dress him in!!

Thank you so much Tawana, this is a fantastic parcel!

Plans

This morning I have been browsing blogs. This has become a rare treat for me, ever since the little bean came into our lives, because nowadays relaxing time at the computer or anywhere else and in any form that means I have both my hands free to do some typing, knitting, sewing, or even cleaning, is a rarity. I am not complaining, mind, because the little bean is continuing to be a little miracle to me and I am spending many hours each day gazing at hime and cataloging all the little things that he learns every day in my mind. I never knew parenthood would be this way, would be so much like being in love, would mean that I could spend hours just looking at and caring for this little bebe without wanting anything else. It's not something that can be imagined, I think, when you don't yet have children. Still, it all means that I don't get much done nowadays that requires the use of both of my hands - typing comments for example, or knitting.
What I noticed, though, when I spent some time browsing this morning, is that everyone seems to have those fantastic New Year's Resolutions. I don't have any.

It made me think, though, and I do have resolutions and plans. For example, I would like to de-stash a little this year. I have bags and bags full of yarn, and still I keep buying more. So I guess my resolution is that I will use up some of that stash. Iwill still have to buy some yarn, for example when I am making things for the bean, but I should be able to get a good few cardigans and sweaters out of the yarn that I have stashed away everywhere.

2) I want to finally sew up my first quilt. I managed to get all the pieces layed out a few weeks back when we were at MIL's place and I had some space to play, but I still haven't managed to sew anything together.

3) I want to finally put all the things I have been saving for that purpose on ebay - there are clothes, and some yarn, and some other stuff, and I just never seem to get round to doing this. I am now bribing myself with Amy Butler fabric from the money I am hoping to make.

4) I want to start spinning again. I have really missed this, but again, spinning with the bean has been a bit tricky... Maybe I can figure out a way of balancing him on my lap while spinning at the same time!

5) I want to finally attend the knitting group in this area. It's so close by, yet I have not managed to get there yet.

6) I want to go to a meeting of the Spinner's Guild in York. It sounds fabulous and it would be great to meet other spinners. Again, I haven't had time for this so far.

7) I want to be better at keeping in touch with friends. I am notoriously bad at phoning or writing to friends, or even at returning phonecalls. It's odd, really - I think about my friends all the time and I love meeting up, but returning calls? Soooo difficult! Part of this is probably that I'm not mad keen on talking on the phone, but partly it's just bad time management. So, here's hoping that there is room for improvement!

Right, the bean is stirring, so I will have to end my list of resolutions. We'll see how it goes...

Back in action...

I trust all of you have survived xmas and New Year in one piece?!

We went to Germany so my relatives could worship the bean and we really had a good time. I was particularly excited about the fact that my dad had volunteered to cook the goose. This freed me up enormously and I have to say that he really did a good job, the meal was delicious!

Other than that, life continues to be both slow and hectic - it may not make much sense, but this is what it feels like for me. On the one hand, everything has slowed down since the arrival of the bean, and on the other hand things have got, if that is at all possible, even more chaotic... I have so many plans and yet so little time to spend on any of my numerous projects. At the same time the fact that I am not working means that I have far too much time on my hands to hatch crazy plans.

My newest pet-plan is a little cafe in the tiny cottage next door... I already know that it most likely will not happen, mainly because I also want to go back to work at a university at some point in the next few months, but still, how much fun this could be! I could even sell some wool and fibre and maybe some fabric on the side... I even have fairly clear ideas what I would want the place to look like - I would buy mismatching antique chairs from car boot sales and auctions around here and put some rugs on the floor. The walls could be painted cream and there would be some cute curtains, possibly made from some Amy Butler fabric... Candles on every table, possibly mismatching tablecloths. I could offer a selection of homemade cakes (my fantasies about a working kitchen are coming through here!) and simple meals. In the summer we could set up some tables and chairs in the garden. But alas, I will not have the time to do any of it!

Sometimes too much education can really hold you up... but I feel I have to - and want to - use this title I can put in front of my name now, and to do that I will have to return to academia. This in turn means that my job will eat up each and every minute that I don't wrestle away from it to spend it with the ever-delightful bean and our little family, so plans for cafes and the like will have to remain on ice for the foreseeable future.

But enough of this - I thought I'd show you something that arrived in the post the other day:


Incredibly cute, no? This arrived directly from Japan, where friends of ours are living right now. It's a traditional Japanese dress. The bean hasn't worn it yet, but I can't wait to find an occasion to dress him in it!

Also, Jane tagged me for a meme:

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1) As a child I used to hate cheese but thought it would be the coolest thing ever to eat a slice of bread with slices of hard cheese on it. To pretend I would cut chilled butter into thick slices and eat it on crisp bread.

2) When I was seven or eight I did (and passed) a bicycle road-worthiness test but now I can’t even take one hand off the handlebar to indicate.

3) I can’t click my fingers.

4) When I think of something that I have done that I find embarrassing and don’t like to think about, I immediately start singing. I have no idea why I do this, and it’s completely involuntary, but it happens every time.

5) I own over 30 90-minute tapes of music from the 1980s, compiled by a friend of mine with whom I lost contact years ago. I love them all.

6) I used to sleepwalk for years, and I still frequently talk in my sleep or sit up in bed suddenly. D tells me about this in the morning but I very rarely have any recollection of it.

I rather liked this one as it made me think about all the little oddities we have, so I am going to tag a few people as well: Craftylilly, Kids & Knits, Opportunity Knits, Mog's Blog, Clothesknit, Fair Isle Fibres. Obviously no worries if you don't have time to do this (I'm not usually a very meme-y person either), so don't feel hassled! ;-)