Squares in progress

Here they are, my squares so far, an explosion of colours that will hopefully all come together when put together with its black edging. My tension varies quite a lot, and there are some definite mistakes, but they are improving and getting more regular and I love them.

I've started!

Here it is, the start of my very first ever granny square!

 And here is the latest lot of yarn oddments for making them with.

I am really excited about finally doing this!

Goodbye Christmas, Hello new year

It has been a lovely but difficult Christmas here and it is lovely to now be in the new year. We have managed to avoid the dreaded Norovirus but we have been in a house of temperatures, coughs, sore throats and very grumpy very snotty boys. No one was too bad on Christmas day and we have just muddled through the rest of the holiday and it is nice to be into the new year and through the worst of it all.

We have been fortunate to not have any flooding in this part on the country but it has been one very very wet Christmas to end a wet yet. We are all hoping for the frosty days to come back, and the boys would love some snow, although it doesn't look like we are due any anytime soon.

Anyway back to Christmas. By far and away the best present I got this Christmas was a new nephew. He is beautiful, he finally made an appearance on the 23rd, and he was here for Christmas dinner with my brother, elder nephew and sil on Christmas day which was absolutely wonderful. Newborn babies are just so soft and precious. Aside from that I got a lovely knitting book from a different sil, a pretty brolley from dh, a lovely bracelet, and lots of yummy chocolates.

I have started a project for me. It is this scarf but I have made it much wider so it will be a wrap/shawl. It is a yarn I bought at a craft event and it is a lovely sparkly grey laceweight.

Normally I don't do new years resolutions but one of my aims for this year is to try and actually do some crochet. I have done a beginners course a couple of years ago but that is it. So I want to start a granny square blanket. It will be a long term project but one I hope to start at some point in the year. I like this one but using Colinette Jitterbug as I have quite a bit and more on the way.

Other then that my big projects for this year are all for me. I have this to do at some point, and my next project is this waistcoat for me. I love the cabling up the back and I have bought this bargainous yarn from my lys for it. You can't see the slight sparkle it has but it really lifts the grey.

So that is me for now, far too many projects, far too little crafting time.

Christmas crafty bits

Now Christmas has been and gone I can share a few of my crafty bits with you. I was so hurried I didn't get pictures of half of them put in pleased I managed to get so much done.

For my lovely friend I made the summerflies shawl. It was her birthday just before Christmas and I really liked knitting this pattern.

Here is dh's jumper, he seems to like it and says it is really warm and comfy. It is about the only jumper he has that is really big enough for him.

A hat for my mum that isn't actually quite finished. I made cabled wrist warmers in the same yarn that she has had, but she will have to wait a couple of days extra for the hat. The picture doesn't show the depth of the red.

A purse that i improvised for a secret santa gift. I dont think she reads this blog but if you know who i mean please don't tell!

And I also made a deep purple silky lacy scarf for my grandma and a plain scarf with some white king cole galaxy for my neice. I haven't got photos of either unfortunately.

Finally some yummy fudge. I have only made no cook fudge before, not real stuff so I was really pleased with how this turned out.

So now I can move on to something for myself, I think I already have about 5 projects lined up!

2 years

Today was the party for my littlest man. He was 2 on tuesday and today we celebrated with family.

It is lovely to see the person he is becoming. He is much feistier then his older brother but also less stubborn. His talking has come on an amazing amount in 6 month, from 2 words in June to thousands now. He is getting really sociable and he loves singing more then I can tell you. Why say something if you can sing it? He loves all things train, tractor and digger related, and he loves eating strawberries, olives and cake. He has never slept through the night but is so much more settled with bed then the big boy has ever been. He still loves his mummy milk and I'm very pleased to have reached 2 still feeding. I don't know how long we will nurse for but he loves it and it has health benefits for both of us so no plans to stop just yet. He is getting really good at using the potty now. I'm sure with a push he could be fully toilet trained very soon but we are just following his lead at the moment. Because of which all birthday pictures are pantless so not internet friendly. Aside from that some are also rather dark as we had a power cut so presents were opened in the dark by candle light.

Happy birthday to my special lovely wonderful little boy.

The 'real' meaning of Christmas.

It is often easy to get caught up with everything going on at Christmas and forget to slow down and think about what Christmas really means. Now the boys are getting to an age they understand a little I want to try and instill a little in them about Christmas not just being about stuff and presents. Which has led to me thinking about my own view of Christmas.

In nearly every shop we go in people ask the big boy what he is getting for Christmas, the litle one if he is excited (he hasn't got a clue), whether they have been good for Father Christmas and so on. There are lots of gorgeous Christmas trees as well as the over the top full on tacky flashing houses. A local church is having a Christmas party with a giant Kangaroo rather then Santa?! (Why has a Kangaroo got any more to do with the birth of Jesus then a big man in a red suit?)

But is Christmas about the birth of Jesus? The bible doesn't tell us to celebrate Jesus birth, but it does tell us to remember his death and resurrection. Christmas is in large, a take over of pagan celebrations of Yule and the solstice, and the roman celebration of  saturnalia which involved gift giving and is thought to be where the tradition of cards comes from too.

I don't think we shouldn't celebrate Christmas because of that though. I don't feel the need to throw out my tree or not give gifts. I think that the navity is a great focus at Christmas and looking to the birth of Jesus is a good moment to reflect on what we believe.

For me I think Christmas is a time to be thankful to God for my family, a celebration with friends for the good things he has given us, as well a being thankful he came to earth. As to the 'real' meaning of Christmas, I think that is a bit more complicated, and a question I'm not sure of the answer to.

Reasons I love the school run

I love crisp winter mornings, and I love walking. I am very fortunate to have a lovely school run.

It often is a run too, as we are late leaving the house trying to get wrapped up in wellies, rainsuits, hats, scarves and the works. It is a beautiful route though, and a lovely little school at the end of it. The boys love seeing the ducks, chickens, horses and occasionally goats too. We often see tractors too which is a huge bonus when you are nearly 2 and 3 years old.

I love winter, we are on Christmas countdown now, the leaves are crunchy, there has even been the odd spot of snow in the air. The boys have loved the change in weather too, and the bright cold days means more playing out time which is always good for all of us.

My time is being spent frantically Christmas crafting, so after Christmas I should be able to update with loads of pictures. Presuming things get finished! I can't wait until new year to be able to start one of the shiney new projects I have lined up just for me.