Sunday 30 August 2015

I HAVE...

...had several requests for cot quilts ... and as the easiest way is to get some panels and quilt them... we all know what babies do to EVERYTHING and unless its an heirloom .. well you know what I mean xx.. I went shopping for some more .. they came in these lovely little bags ..


and an extra bit for me came as well....


...makes me VERY happy when that happens x SO .. yesterday I set too to make the first ...I found some lovely quilting cotton ... did a practice with no problem and set off...

ON THE SECOND row ...of course it was a LONG row!!! ... the tension went HAYWIRE....so after a lot of words that would make a sensitive person swoon! I started again!!!

When I finished .. and I was sweating at the end!.. I had this left...


AND a lovely little cot quilt...




I managed one picture outside before the rain came back .. again! It has gone already .. and I got a message this pm that is just what was wanted xx

I decided that I was going to have a go at knitting on circular needles this year... I have done it before but not very well... SO dads Christmas slipover is the practice piece....


...I did think I was going no where in a LONG time .. but then I realised I am nearly up to the armhole decreases ..... so maybe Im not doing so badly after all x...

...after finishing his Christmas cardigan (yes it has a zip now) I have started another jumper for the baby with the left over wool ..


I am improvising the pattern as I go .. its the basic pattern from dads cardigan just on a smaller scale x... (the colour in the picture above is more true)..


Off for a brew .. hope you are having a good time x

Diane x

Saturday 29 August 2015

YOU KNOW WHEN...

.... you have been telling your self for YEARS that you will "get round" to completing a project ... "sorting out the front room!".... sometime  AND THEN.. the motivation .. or something wacky in the air that you inhale or what ever!... comes along LIKE ...your daughter coming home from Australia for the first time in 4 years ....for a month in December and you ....JUST DO IT ?

WELL that is why I sort of feel like a steam roller has landed on my shoulders and knees .. don't even mention other parts of this poor old body! lol x

My front room has NO furniture ... NO books or ornaments .. NO pictures .. or ANYTHING including wallpaper on the walls...


NO carpet ... it had only been down for 27 years ...!!!!


...need I say more? lol When I can lift my arms the curtains will come down too x

NOW .....I am ready to be pampered and fed grapes while I recover .... mm cant see that happening so I will settle for not falling asleep over my knitting/laptop... and doing a little sewing ... and  ..trying to read all the Blogs that you lovely people have been writing this last week x

Have fun

Diane x

Friday 21 August 2015

A LITTLE SEWING.....

... was done today .. a friend of mine has a birthday coming up ... and she LOVES elephants ... during the tidying of the craft room I found a panel .. SO...


a cushion and ..



a little coin purse were the order of the day xx Using up what you have is getting to be a good way of getting ahead ...... and saving some pennies at the same time xx

I also started my dads second Christmas knitting project ...


AH! I am off to a D0-Your-Own-Thing tomorrow where I will be working on the SECRETE project xx

Diane x

Thursday 20 August 2015

MY LITTLE..

... wall hanging for this Christmas is finished...



...two turtle doves are ready to fly xx The fabric is some left over from the SECRETE project.. so those who were speculating ... were wrong! lol x

You may remember the monsters that came about from the Skype conversation I had with my daughter ...


well... following a similar conversation .. there is now ...





...a BABY monster to add to the collection!! lol x Will it ever end I wonder xx

Hope you are having a good time x

Diane x

Tuesday 18 August 2015

REMEMBER HOW.......

..... I did/could not say .. NO.. to my brother ? WELL... seems I cannot say it to my mother either!!

 A couple of years ago my mother started knitting a baby blanket ..  it got put down and picked up quite a few times .. mostly due to health issues ... then she used the wool for something else .. and so it went. THEN recently she decided it MUST be finished ...... so extra wool was purchased and the knitting finished .... THEN of course .. it needed to be sewn together ... I am not sure if I was ASKED or TOLD that I was going to sew it together ....



seems mothers are among those ... WHO MUST BE OBAYED xx

I finished the second part of grandson no 2 Christmas wish list...





.....the purple elephant is now flying to Australia (his mum is hiding the parcels until December xx ).... now I just have the last part of his request to sort out x

Do you remember that last year I made my daughter-in-law a hanging of a partridge in a pear tree...


well now it is the two turtle doves...


...when I looked up the colour of the doves they are a grey/brown ... and I don't have anything like it ... SO as this is.... using up the stash year .. I gave my self permission to be creative x

Now .. to get sewing ... before my mother finds me something else to do xx

Diane x

Sunday 16 August 2015

I HAVE...

... been sewing with this..


fabric this week. HOWEVER you are NOT going to see the result (yet) as it is a SECRETE xx

You may remember that I am aiming to reduce the number of swaps I am doing this year? Weellll .. I am  ...BUT ...the Christmas ones are such good fun .... and they are only for ONE month .....and you have lots of time to make ... and ..

WELL ...you know me xx lol x

I will show you the VERY small amount of wool I had left..


....after making the latest baby jumper .. ( I was knitting faster as it was running out .. as we all know it makes it last longer when you do that!!.. just like sewing faster as your thread is running  out!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 
 

....having used this basic pattern a couple of times I was able to add in some lighter blue to make the darker go a (little) bit further .... AND I finished the knitting on my dads Christmas cardigan..


 

....since his stroke he has reduced /or no sensation in his fingers (depends on the sort of day he is having ) so I am going to put a zip in .. as it is easier than buttons x All the pieces have to be SEWN to-gether .. so it is sewing related xx lol x

Hope you have had a good week too x

Diane x

Monday 10 August 2015

I HAVE A QUESTION...

... for you...... IF you move house and the curtains you REALLY like don't fit any of the windows in your new house ....WHAT do you do?

WELL.. around here it seems you ring your sister and say.... Diiiiaaaannnneeee ... can you..

..and your sister than makes you 2 cushion covers..


and a runner for the end of the bed..


ONE day I will learn what the words...  NO.. and .. sort it out yourself .... mean!! lol xx

Diane x

Saturday 8 August 2015

I MANGED

... to get my August  B-O-T-M block done to-day.. this month is the monkey...


we just have the lion to go and that will be it done .. then it will be putting it all together ... mind you I have done mine as I have gone along..


so it will be layering and quilting ...THEN the fighting between Sally (daughter) and James (grandson no 2) as to WHO is going to get it xx I cannot complain that no-one wants what I make x lol xx

My daughter has a friend who is expecting her first baby early next year .. well you just HAVE to send a gift .. don't you? AND you all know I LOVE making hippos xx lo x SO .. what was I to do?

I started the knitting and the pattern was coming out sooooo cute ..


I just had to make it so that it looks like it is wearing a onesy!!...



I love it ... and am sure she will too x She lives in Liverpool so if I get it in the Post on Monday she should have it by Tuesday xx

Hope you are having a good weekend x

Diane xx0

Monday 3 August 2015

I DID NOT....

... try to do any more sorting of the craft room to-day ..... AND .. having said I was going to work on a neutral project that could photographed to show the true colour ....

I worked on the Brit Bee block ... which is PURPLE !!!!!!! Hey-Ho !!! Unlike the "circle of doom" this was done in no time .. and will be going in the post tomorrow..


.. it involved more work .... was more fun and I would make it again xx

THEN I worked on my Christmas Block Swap ... I made the block..


and was talking to Sally as I made it ... I gave her the address (my partner for this month lives in Queensland ) to see how far it was from where they live ... and read what I HAD WRITTEN... which was that the edges were to be WHITE.. I had used CREAM!!! SO.... another block was made ...


and both will be going in the post tomorrow x

I had a bag to make ...

 

it is for a knitter .. so I thought the sheep were a good match xx I made it from a tea towel that ... YES... I found while cleaning the craft room xx lol x

It was a good day x To-morrow I will be making the Quiet Play B-O-T-M block for August which is a monkey. Hope you had a good day x

Diane x

Sunday 2 August 2015

FRIDAY...

.... was my 2 monthly catch-up with the girls I used to work with .. this time with a difference... as it was combined with the leaving "DO" for 2 girls that used to work with us xx We went to an Italian restaurant ... not my favourite .. but it was OK .. and some one else cooked the meal .. so I am NOT complaining xx lol x

There were 18 of us .... and just after we sat down a party of 9 were shown to their table .. and they were all district nurses on a leaving "DO" .. between us we knew them ALL!! (I knew 4 of them xx) SO.. all in all it was a fun and NOISY night xx LOVED IT xx ... the next one is September .. back to normal with just 5-6 of us xx

When I ventured into the craft room yesterday I managed some sorting and I also dug out a project that I have now finished...

...my daughters best friend got married FIVE YEARS ago .. remember that! .. and at the time I began work on a bed sized quilt for her ... then for some reason (!!) it got put down .. and pushed away and down and down!

I knew it was there .. I just never got it out ..SO ..FIVE YEARS of marinating later ... it only took me a few hours to finish ... I DID NOT make it bed size .. to be honest I don't know where the rest of the fabric is ... possibly used for other projects .. possibly I never had enough ... WHO KNOWS ? ,,, not me that's for sure!

BUT... I do have a runner that will fit on the end of a bed ...AND I saw her dad today and gave it ... and  ..a sort of an explanation .. to him and he has promised to deliver it for me xx

I went ALL OVER the house trying to find somewhere to take a picture that was 1. long enough for you to see the size....


and 2. be able to show the colours and patterns...






hopefully you get an idea of what it is like .

Then ... another project that I went ALL over the house (and outside) with is another Christmas present off the list x This time it was the COLOUR I was trying to get right x

James (grandson in Perth WA) has requested a Koala .. like the alien!! BUT he wants purple .. what is the worst colour to try and take a picture of ....





...the plain is a lovely rich plumb and the variegated is lots of lovely heathery colours xx Im sure you get the idea x

NEXT time I am working on something small and neutral in colour xx

Diane x