William's cabled sweater

Yesterday evening I finished sewing up William's sweater, so I was able to take some photos today.

I made it using Sirdar Snuggly DK in a twisted blue shade, which unfortunately made the yarn a bit splitty, but gave it a nice look. It's in a size 6-12 mths but fits Leah, well apart from being a little short in the body. i think that's because it's for a chest size 51cm and Leah is approx 52 cm, so of course it fits!

I really enjoyed doing the cables and the collar looks really good too. This has really boosted my confidence with cables, so I may take on a larger project involving them.

Me and my hat....

As the weather was lovely here in Sunny Southend yesterday I managed to get out into the garden for Richard to take a few photos of me in my hat.

The camera never really does the hat (or me) justice, so I've selected the best few from various angles. At least the colour looks better outside!

From an odd angle - so you can see the back more....

...and another strange one! Oh well, you get the idea (and can just make out my washing on the line too.....)

My latest FO

This is my photo of the finished hat (from the top) and I am really pleased with the final product. I'll have to get Richard to take a photo of me modelling it as it looks even better on (well it does in my opinion!)

The Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran was so lovely to work with and being 100% merino wool it is just so soft to touch and wear.

Its being modelled by a bowl (!) here in a kind of attempt to block it - not really working as Leah keeps pinching it!

Blog award!

There have been plenty of these awards doing the rounds at the moment, and as Jackie over at Button Tree Crafts was kind enough to award me, I thought it only polite to return the favour.

I have to tell you 5 things I am addicted to and pass it on to 5 more lovely blogs.

Here are my 5 things - and congratulations to Cotton and Cloud, The Knitting Den, Frazzy Dazzles, JoJo-Caramel and Rachael Rabbit.

so, the 5 things I am addicted to are:-

1. My daughter - I just can't get enough! I love to kiss and cuddle her and when she gives me a kiss of her own accord I just melt :o)

2. Horse riding and horses - although I can still get nervous there is nothing better than feeling the wind in my face during a canter or gallop.

3. Knitting and yarn- say no more; especially with the size of my stash growing, and growing and growing.....

4. a good cuppa, I can't get by without one!

5. A good crime drama, nothing better than a bit of excitement on the box!

Some more finished sockies

I finished off the socks last night and am really pleased with how they turned out. There should be just enough yarn left over to make Leah a little pair of socks too.

I made a start on my Cecile hat, but discovered that the 4.5mm circular needle I had was in fact only 4mm. It serves me right for buying from a charity shop! So I headed for ebay and have ordered the correct size - it just means that i can't get on with my hat until at least TUESDAY :o(
Oh well, it just means that I will have to get on with William's cabled jumper. I have almost done the back so I'm well on the way.

My next socks are all lined up and I will post a picture of the yarn and pattern details at a later date. Just going to have a little break from socks for a few days (well I believe that when it happens LOL!)

New yarn and new project

As the weather is still cold and we have had more snow (it didn't last till this morning though) I thought I'd treat myself to a hand knitted hat in a gorgeous colour.

I chose this Debbie Bliss Ralto Aran as it is 100% Merino wool and feels lovely and soft. I sometimes find wool itchy but this is not going to be a problem :o)


I have found a lovely pattern in issue 10 of Yarn Forward magazine and the pattern is called Cecile. The pattern in the magazine isn't correct but the errata can be found on the link I've provided. Good Old Ravelry!

I'm hoping that it won't actually need as much as two balls of wool, so I will be able to make another for someone else!

More socks

This is my latest pair of socks to come off the needle. They are made in regia color yarn and I used the Express Lane socks pattern free from ravelry and I liked doing a toe up magic loop method for a change. The yarn is lovely and soft but I don't really like the colouring which is a shame. I was looking forward to using this yarn!

Another horsey picture

I rode another horse at the weekend, his name is Jacob and he can be a handful! He's only young and is still learning, so you have to be kind to him whilst riding.

He was forward going and didn't trip too much, so that was a bonus for me. My legs still ached though as he is quite a wide boy!

Leah and the chicken ladies......

Whilst Dad had Leah for me on Wednesday, he took some darling pictures of her in the garden with the chooks. She always looks so engrossed in them!

She also had a mooch around the brussels - luckily most of them have been picked :o)

Look what I got in the post......

I sold a few items from my stash, so decided to treat myself to a few nice items instead of saving the money :o)

I bought some lovely supersock merino from Cherry tree hill which feels so silky soft and will be a delight to knit with. The colourway is 'Monet'


I also got a lovely skein of yarn from Malabrigo which again is beautifully soft, just a shame my camera doesn't give the colour any justice, it is just divine!

I also took part in a group swap via the Fuzzy Mitten group in Ravely and received this great swap from Bluesocks.

As well as the darling puppy she knitted for me she included some RYC cashsoft in pink to make the puppy a jumper and also some Colinette cadenza to knit my little pup something else. She kindly included a little pressie for leah - in the way of a Winnie the Pooh book and also a piece of kendall Mint cake (famous in the Lake District where she comes from). What a great swap!

Isn't this pup so adorable? She even knitted her a blanket to keep her warm on her journey South to me :o)

Our kitchen is FINALLY finished!

Yesterday the workmen finished our kitchen - yippeee!! Here are a few views of it from different angles....

..the view under the window...

..to the left of the sink....

... and to the right! Sorry the quality of the photos isn't great, I think I need a better camera! At least we can get back to normal now that everything is in its place (which we did this morning in our pajamas :o)

I'm dreaming of a white.....February?!?

As with the rest of the country, we had some snow on Monday, and as I look back at our photos, a bit more than I remember. It always amazes me how everything comes to a halt when we get snow - but I suppose unlike countries that get it all the time its not worth the time and effort for the small amount that falls. Saying that i still like it and wish we had more!

Leah loved the snow and couldn't wait to go outside :o)


I think she enjoyed being in the garden, as it's the first proper snow she's seen and been able to enjoy. As she watched it fall all she could say was 'WOW!' repeatedly! When we got back inside she even wanted to go back out in her slippers, now that's dedication :o)





We tried to make a snowman, but as I didn't have my gloves on (stupid me!) we didn't get that far and Leah was too interested in trying to demolish it anyway. I managed to take a picture before she knocked it's head off!

(see the above said snowman pre beheading!) I can't actually remember the last time I made a snowman properly...