Holidays

Excuse the grainy phone pictures, but look what a holiday can do! I am quickly running out of black so I'm hoping I have enough yarn to complete my stained glass blanket. I have the feeling I may run out 95% of the way round. The giant granny is growing quickly, and I got a very small amount of knitting done too.

Other things the holiday brought was the chance to read a book, I got 3/4 of the way through a book in a week! In the past that would have been very slow but nowadays its a rare chance I get to sit and read a book, and when I get time knitting takes precedent. The book I'm reading is 1356 by Bernard Cornwell and it's great. I have read all the previous books in the series so when I saw this in the library I didn't want to pass it over. I also went swimming by myself, not once but twice, and got to do actual swimming. Me and my friend spent half an hour sat in the jacuzzi chatting while the children were asleep and it was fantastic.

We also did loads with the kids but at the same time very little. For February in Britain you could not have asked for better weather. We spent a lot of time pottering around the farm we were staying at, watching the cows being milked, playing on the toy tractors and diggers, swimming and playing in the games room or at the little park area.

The beach was just a couple of miles away and beautiful. Unfortunately the boys weren't a huge fan after the big one accidentally fell in the sea after being chased by the waves. I think the little one just didn't like the noise! He isn't a fan of thing being too loud and the waves were crashing.

One thing they are both a fan of though is defintely ice cream. Especially if it is pink! Criccieth castle is Free to visit mid week in winter. It has stunning views, and best of all, it has an Ice cream shop at the bottom of the hill.

So that's about it for now. We are home with a bump, back to nursery, husband back to work, and me curled up on the sofa wishing the sun would come back!

A new project.

I never bring enough knitting on holiday. So here is a new crochet project to keep my hands busy. My other blanket is well on it's way to being completed but the rest of the yarn I need is at home so here is my start on a cheap and cheerful. The picture doesn't show how lovely the petrol/teal colour really is.

 

Blissful solitude

 

Running barefoot on the beach at 7am isn't a good idea when it is -3 outside, but the peace was wonderful.

Blankets and underpants.

 We are currently on day 5 of underpants with the little one. There have been a few accidents but generally he is doing so well, the timing probably isn't the best but he has been ready for a while so we are taking the plunge. So far so good. I don't really post that much about them at the moment but we are all bimbling along fine. The big one is enjoying preschool, and he did his first unaided swim at the pool yesterday. The first I realised was when I turned around and he was swimming towards me! He currently wants a pick up truck and to marry his friend Liberty. The little one is saying such a huge amount of things, he sings everything still, and his love is mainly directed towards trains.

We are still nursing, bed sharing, and slinging but I feel like my 2 little boys are getting bigger all the time. These are precious days that I have with them and I'm enjoying all the cuddles while I can.

My free time is currently filled with my knitting and crochet. The blanket is fast coming on, I can't wait to use it, and the big one has already placed an order for a blanket of his own. The wool is on order but I will post about that when it gets here.

The squares for my own blanket are all complete but there are still a few ends to sew in. In future I will sew in ends as I go along! I have just started putting them all together using the join as you go method. I am really loving how it is looking, and the black pulls it all together. There are a lot of errors in some of my first few squares that I thought about redoing, but they were part of the learning and I think putting them in will show my crochet journey. My next blanket will be a bit more of a perfectionist project though. So still a way to go but hopefully I will have a finish to show you soon.

A bit more of the white stuff.

 It has been a tough few days with very little sleep, a nasty cough and the husband away. However there have been some lovely moments inbetween the crying for my bed. I must admit to being one of those adults that still loves snow and yesterday we got a bit more. So while it was briefly here I made the most of it and went for a bit of a wander. I love walking, everything alway feels much better when I'm outside in the fresh air. We are very fortunate to live on the edge of lots of countryside and it is relaxing and refreshing to be there in it. This morning most of the snow had been washed away, just a few spots remain, but it was lovely while it lasted.

Drowning in squares

Inbetween knitting a quick lacy scarf, starting a jumper for me, and ripping back half my grey lacy wrap, I have managed to complete 67 squares! This is the most recent picture but there has been lots more since. Not bad going given I only learnt 3 weeks ago!