Socks at Last!

I'm in the middle of a kind of personal crisis at the moment. I had quite a shock recently and it's left me at a sort of a crossroads. I'm not sure if it's something to be blogging about really so I'll leave it alone for the moment. However, I've been in dire need of a distraction from it (as if a house, a garden, a husband, a pre-teen, a toddler, a cat, two guinea pigs, a visit from the parents and a few days away haven't been distraction enough - but I'm sure you know what I mean!).

For a long time I've wanted to knit socks. I don't know why, I just have. I had an elderly great aunt who was a great help to the family. She had no children of her own but was like a second mother to my mum and aunties and uncles. Apparently she was an avid sock knitter and the sister of my grandma who taught me to knit. So perhaps that's where it's come from.

I've also recently come across Raining Sheep. I just love this blog. I find it interesting, inspiring and sort of soothing, and that's what I need right now. She also makes beautiful socks. So her blog and my 'crossroads crisis' have motivated me to get on and knit some socks of my own!

At least this time I had a valid reason to buy wool (rather than the norm of seeing it and loving it but having no idea what to do with it once I owned it), and the shop gave me a free (easy?) sock pattern. When I asked for double ended needles they said did I mean 'shorts'. As it happened they didn't have any 'shorts' in the right size so I ended up with long 'shorts' (approx 12") since I was too impatient to wait. This is what I came home with:

It's a Regia sock yarn with a Jaquard pattern and it's on 2.5mm needles. I've managed to cast on and do a few rows but I'm struggling with the long needles as I keep sticking myself in the stomach! I've ordered some 'shorts' (neither of the 2 stores in town had any in the right size) so I should hopefully get on a bit better very soon.

This is an exciting prospect for me - finally attempting a lifelong desire - I just wonder why it took so long, and a crisis, to get to this moment??

Edit: For the finished article see this post.

Socks at Last!

A Lovely Few Days Away

We had a lovely few days away in rural Suffolk. The weather was very kind to us and it only rained while we were asleep or doing 'indoors' things.

This was the view from the patio of our rented cottage (a small converted barn):


We went here:


And saw this:
Then had a day here:

Nipper getting into the spirit of things:


Miss Muffett is mad for a bit of body-boarding:


Nipper had his eye on this fabulous fortress built by some other children:


I don't think they would have appreciated the 'help' of an enthusiastic 2 year old!

We had a great few days. I'm left with a stark reminder of what it would be like to move house again since this is what was needed for a mere 5 days away!


P.S. Check out the difference in the size of the suitcases - mine is the large blue one and Mr Earplugs had the miniscule one buried under the body-board. No such thing as travelling light in my book - lol!

A Lovely Few Days Away

Without Incident!

Well, my folks set off for home this morning and their visit passed without incident, which isn't always the case! This time we just had a mad rush to find Mother's reading glasses. I think this is a happening for women of a certain age, rather than just my mother, as my ex-husband's mother was exactly the same, and having said that, I once had to 'special delivery' my father's glasses!

Mother is one of those people who is happiest when she's busy. As a result she's been a whirlwind through the house and went through Miss Muffett's bedroom like a dose of salts. I narrowly saved half a dozen bags of 'rubbish' from the wheelie bin to find that the majority of it could go to the charity shop. She's very hot on 'recycling' but sometimes can't see the 're-using' possibilities.

The weather has been pretty awful so we concentrated on family time at home, having fun with Nipper and Miss Muffett who they do'nt get to see very often, and just one foray into town for a bit of a pootle when it stopped raining. We did lots of cooking together and Miss Muffett made a lovely loaf of bread which we had with 'chuck-it-all-in-soup' - this version being potato, leek and watercress. It's basically any veg which you have left over and you think will go well together. Just chop it all up, chuck it in a pan of water (about 1" above the veg) and add a chicken stock-cube. We left it on the hob for a while on a low heat and then blitzed it with the hand blender. I added a couple of spoonfuls of creme fraiche at the end as I happened to have some in the fridge.
Yum Yum!
We're off for a short break tomorrow so I hope the weather gets a bit better!

Without Incident!

Repurposing

Whilst my parents have been visiting I've had two extra pairs of eyes to keep a check on what Nipper's up to. So, I've had a chance to have a few moments to myself and to do a little 'repurposing'.

Miss Muffett had a couple of embellished tops which she had grown out of but which I thought were a bit too grubby to go to the charity shop. They were very nice and I really didn't want to throw them in the bin. With a little bit of 'musing' on what to do with them I came up with the idea of cushion covers as Miss Muffett does love having cushions on her bed. Hey Presto - this is what I ended up with:




Miss Muffett thinks it's her birthday and I'm rather pleased with them myself!

Repurposing

My Parents Are Visiting This Week

My parents live over 200 miles away, neither of them drive, and they don't have a car. They live in a 'two up, two down' house and I don't know how we all fitted in there when we were growing up (I have 2 brothers)! There isn't enough room for us and the kids to stay over and so we have to book into a 'not-so-local' hotel, which are few and far between. Hence we get to see them a couple of times a year usually. Here they are some considerable number of years ago:

They are at the stage where they are starting to drive me a bit batty, or perhaps it's that I've reached that stage rather than them! It always makes for 'interesting' visits! Perhaps it's as well that we don't see them too often (I'm joking, honest!).

My Parents Are Visiting This Week

My First.... My Last.... My Everything.....

.... as Barry White once said. This was my first 'proper' knitted item:


Prior to this there had been random squares, knitted with Grandma, and a scarf. I guess I wasn't sure that I could manage a full blown grown up item and I hadn't yet discovered knitted toys and the like. And think of all the wasted wool if it didn't work out! Having kids gives you a reason to have a go at something small and, hopefully, achievable. So I was really pleased that I managed to knit this. The pattern was just a matter of decreasing and winding the wool around the needle to increase again so I was ok with it.

Now, this item was a different matter and means everything to me:


It was a true labour of love made for Miss Muffet when she was about 6 months old. It's become an 'heirloom' as I can't bear to part with it. I liked it because it looked like cable-work but wasn't. The back and front was worked as one piece so no seams to sew - I'm rubbish at that. But each row was a complicated repeat (for a beginner) and took real concentration and 12 minutes to complete! It may well be my last such item as I'm not sure I could cope with 12 minute rows again!

Still, we're getting our money's worth from the first item - still going strong in the toybox!

My First.... My Last.... My Everything.....

My Introduction to Crafting.....

was through my maternal grandmother who died, at a reasonably good age, nearly 20 years ago. I have several photo's of her from the 1950's and 1960's but sadly nothing more recent. I guess she was camera shy? Here she is in 1960:

She was absolutely fabulous. She lived by the seaside and was endlessly patient in whatever we were doing. She was an avid knitter and I remember her making me a fantastic red and white poncho amongst other things. She taught me to knit when I was about 7 or 8 years old and things have developed from there. Though I like to do several different crafts now I still have a fascination with wool and will buy it even when I dont have a specific project in mind or know how much I might need! Crazy huh?!

My Introduction to Crafting.....

Building Work.....

and gardens don't mix. When we moved here we knew we would need to do some work on the house and so we postponed doing anything in the garden. This was a very good idea as during the renovations this is what happened to the front garden:



And this is what happened to the back:


I think sorting it out is going to be a challenge!

Building Work.....

I'm having a bit of a mare......

with the laptop. It could be lack of memory. Or the wireless connection. Or the router. Or the filters. Or the broadband service. Hmmm..... I know all the lingo. Just don't know how to sort it!

I'm having a bit of a mare......

Weekend Meme

Being new to blogging I'd never heard of a Meme. Wikipedia soon put me straight! I picked up this posting idea from Julochka. One word answers only (I'm cheating slightly - hence no spaces in my answers!).

1. Your cell phone? Pink
2. Your significant other? MrEarplugs
3. Your hair? Chocolate(accordingtothelabel!)
4. Your mother? Dotty
5. Your father? Smokes
6. Your favorite thing? Seaside
7. Your dream last night? HouseOnFire!
8. The room you're in? Green(yuk!)
9. Your fear? PublicSpeaking
10. What you're not? DomesticGoddess
11. The last thing you did before logging on? Coffee
12. Where did you grow up? Lancashire,England
13. Favourite drink? StClements
14. What are you wearing? TShirt&Sweats
15. Your TV? Sony
16. Your pet? Tykes,Sophie,Scooter
17. Your computer? DellInspiron
18. Favourite place? Wales
19. Your mood right now? Stressed!(DellProblems)
20. Missing someone? Yup,MissMuffet
21. Something you're not wearing? Ear-rings
22. Love someone? Absolutely
23. Your favorite color? Black
24. Kids? Nipper&MissMuffet
25. Your life? Not2Bad

Weekend Meme

Today Started Off Rather Badly

Due to my inability to sleep (and not drinking enough water according to Mr Earplugs) I woke up with a bad headache. One worthy of a night on the tiles (chance would be a fine thing!) This was compounded by the delivery of a lorry load of pre-mixed concrete next door. At 8:30am on a Saturday, groan. Mr Earplugs had set off at the crack of dawn to get the car to the garage for an exhaust repair but then rang to say they couldn't do it so the car's going to sound like a tractor for a while longer. Nipper was desperately trying to get his stroller through the stairgate and having a major strop over it. I figured I'd give him a hand so I could get a bit of peace, and I was curious as to why? Our final destination? The kitchen.... where he promptly climbed into the stroller and stood up to get access to the counter top!

Rather ingenious but also rather dangerous and I sooooo wasn't going to let him do it. Cue meltdown! And all before I'd had a cup of tea!

Today Started Off Rather Badly

I've been having real trouble......

...sleeping recently. And for why? Because I'm too cold. I ask you??
The sun is cracking the pavements.
Mr Earplugs is sleeping on top of the covers.
Nipper has to have a fan in his room.
Miss Muffett is off in Spain so no doubt she's hot too.

And I'm freezing to death. Doh??

I've been having real trouble......

It's been 'Yellow Week'......

....over at Prickly Pear Bloom. I'm a bit late on this one and not a huge fan of yellow but I thought it would be interesting to see what I could find in a quick scoot around the house:

I obviously need a dose of sunshine to help me with the kitchen chores:

Some yummy cupboard stuff: Nipper has quite a lot of yellow:

Tykes gets in on the action:

I'm not much of a morning person so Mr Earplugs needs this crockery to get a dose of morning cheeriness:

I even found some yellow reading:And last but not least some lovely yellow flowers in the garden - they're actually weeds in the lawn but who cares when they look so happy!

And there I was thinking I didn't like yellow!!

It's been 'Yellow Week'......

I'm So Annoyed With Myself This Morning!

I was having a lovely lie-in. Mr Earplugs had gone off to work without waking me and Nipper was sleeping for England. Miss Muffett is on holiday with her Dad and, with it being the school holidays, any semblance of routine has disappeared till September.
I woke suddenly to a strange 'rumbling' sound. I pondered on this whilst visiting the 'powder room' and suddenly realised that...oh no...it was recycling day! The noise was the council recycling lorry. I had completely forgotten that it was Friday.
Now normally it wouldn't matter as, unlike the waste bin where you're only allowed one bin full, they will take away as much recycling as you can throw at them. But today is also green waste day and, due to a killer session in the jungle which is my back garden, the green bin is chokka. I've been working really hard to clear the garden - so much ivy everywhere - and it's so difficult getting rid of the waste (my compost bins are full - now there's another problem!)
I dashed to the window and sure enough the lorry was already rumbling along my section of the street. I figured I might just be able to throw on some clothes, grab some shoes, find the back door and the side gate keys and get the bin across the garden, down the side alley, across the front garden, down the drive and onto the pavement. Two hopes! Got to the shoe rack and......no shoes! And all was lost anyway as very few people had green bins out today so the lorry was at my house before I even got to the back door!
Bummer!

I'm So Annoyed With Myself This Morning!