Woof woof!

This weeks FO is doggy mittens for Jacob. Finished them yesterday at knitting (yes I finally made it there). This morning they had their first outing. He spent a while saying 'woff woff' and waving them around. I'd write some details but the yarn was something random from my stash without a ball band. The ears are in some BFL handspun of mine.

Here is Jacob also sporting his new big boys shoes.

May the hat be with you

Time for a crafty post. Here is a hat I recently knitted for my nephew Jamie for his 7th birthday. Happy birthday Jamie. I was a bit worried about the size but apparently it fits perfectly. It's a little stretched on my head so the colourwork doesn't look so good.

I've recently been making a few things to sell at craft fairs. These keyrings were made out of left over sock yarn. Anne kindly aggreed to stock these at The Knit Studio and suggested I package them in a more professional way. I'm really happy with the way they look and have started making more.

Christmas is 76 days away (so the man who runs the village post office told me) so I thought I'd try something seasonal. I've used various crochet patterns, crochet cotton and a 2.5mm hook to make these snowflakes. I tried stiffening them with starch, but I found that the larger ones needed something stronger, so I had to resort to PVA glue. Should be fine as long as they don't get wet. I thought they'd make good christmas decorations.

A visit to Robin Hood country

Last week we had a little holiday in Sherwood Forest, at this small holiday park (not Centre Parcs). It was a bit of last minute booking. We thought we should take advantage of the week between the end of resit exams and the start of term. G won't be able to take any more holiday till Christmas now. Despite the cold weather we had a really nice time. The cabin wasn't the most luxurious, but it was fine for what we wanted and had central heating, which we definitely needed. The park also had a little pool, a play area and some animals (sheep, chickens, rabbits etc.).

We had a day in Lincoln, visiting the cathedral and castle, a visit to Sherwood Forest visitors centre and the Major Oak, and a trip to a Sherwood Forest Farm Park which Jacob loved.

We also went round Rufford Abbey, which was a short walk from where we were staying. All in all a fun holiday. It all reminded me of various school trips and childhood family visits as it was an easy distance from my parents house.

On the way back north we stopped at my parents for a couple of nights and Jacob got to have his birthday all over again. He's really getting into the presents now, getting excited when he sees them. He's still not sure whether he's allowed to rip the paper off or not.

I love my Duplo!

Jacob's 1st Birthday

The last year has felt like both the longest and shortest of my life. We now have a little boy who walks and talks (sort of) and is generally happy and good fun. We love him to bits. Yesterday was Jacob's birthday. Here he is ready for his party, which was lots of fun.

And playing with his new duplo.

The Very Hungry Jacob

The Very Hungry Caterpiller was visiting Seven Stories yesterday and Jen very kindly invited us along to see him. I didn't envy the member of staff who's job it was to climb inside the costume and then be stroked and patted by 20 excited toddlers. Here's Jacob afterwards in the Puffin exhibition.

Rick

In knitting news, here are the Rick socks (pattern by Cookie A) that I knitted for my M-i-L's birthday. I used Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. I first cast these on just before J was born and knitted about 10 rows. They then sat dormant for 7 months. Nice to finish something off.

My tricycle has no bell.....

When you purchase these in Toys R Us there's no warning label telling you that you will end up walking up and down the street pushing it at 8am in the morning. Neither does it mention the endless circuits of the house and garden that you will have to make. We do have one very happy son though.

Holiday

I've been neglecting my blog recently and one of the reasons is that we went away for 10 days to France. We flew to Paris, rented a car and drove to St Valery sur Somme on the Brittany coast. Our sister-in-law's parents kindly lent us their holiday home there. We had beautiful weather and there was lots to do. Jacob particularly enjoyed the Somme Valley steam railway. He spent most of the journey bobbing up and down and jumping about. We were both had aching arms by the end of it.

One of the places I really enjoyed was the Herbarium in the Old Town. It was originally the garden kept by the nuns that ran the hospital. They grew medicinal herbs and other plants and that was the theme of the garden. It was also a beautiful garden. It was gratifying to see that some specimens weren't as good as my plants at home. Testement to the dry weather there rather than my skill though.

Going on holiday with a 9 month old wasn't the most relaxing thing ever, but it was a welcome break from work and home, particularly following the exams. We still managed to have some lovely food and drink.

For the sheep-enthusiasts among you here is the flock of sheep that graze on the salt marsh. I took this picture from the promenade in St Valery. They were just across the river. They taste pretty nice when cooked too, especially with the local speciality, samphire.

Curries for Sheep

"Forget low-energy lightbulbs and solar-powered homes – curry spices could hold the key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Research carried out at Newcastle University has found that coriander and turmeric – spices traditionally used to flavour curries – can reduce the amount of methane produced by bacteria in a sheep’s stomach by up to 40pc."

Rest of article.

On the move

And cheeky as anything...

Useful Bag

More FOs and some UFOs

I've been a bit rubbish about posting my knitting. Here's some things I finished recently:

A toolset for Jacob from Amigurumi Two. I'm a bit dissapointed with it as you can see the stuffing through. I should have probably used a smaller hook. Still cute though.

A mushroom, also from Amigurumi Two.

I saw Meriel's Eden Scarf at the Centurion knitting group and took a shine to it. I didn't have the pattern so I made something up that seemed similar. I'm happy with how it turned out, although I think it would have looked better in a varigated colourway with a larger repeat, but I just used what I had in my stash at the time.

I'm in the middle of a couple of things too. This sock uses the pattern Rick from Cookie A's recent sock book, 'Sock Innovation'. It's done in Cherry Tree Hill 4 ply.

This is the Echoes of Northumberland Throw, which is made from a kit I bought from Ingrid Wagner at her studio in Northumberland. It is extremely large, which you can't tell from the picture. I did enjoy knitting it but I got a bit distracted from it. It's a bit antisocial as you can't sit next to anyone for fear of knocking them out with the large needles. Will look good in the living room when it's done.

And here's a photo of Jacob.

FOs

Two things for my friend Leanne's 30th Birthday:

A baby Koala from Amigurumi Two by Ana Paula Rimoli.

A pair of Froot Loop socks, in a silk-wool blend from Knitting4Fun (purchased at WoolFest many years ago).

First Time in Big Bath

This was so exciting that Jacob didn't stop flapping his arms for a good 30 minutes afterward.

Jacob Update

Getting big. Starting nursery on Monday. Don't know where the last six months has gone.

The only reason...

...I can think of for owning a Land Rover when you live in a city. Sometimes there just aren't any spaces left.

You know you're a geek when......

Getting out (well a bit)

Last week I had my first night out in a while. I went with Pinkphish to see my friend Christophe performing at Heaton Perk Cafe. I realised when I was chatting to Phinkphish that I have actually known Chris for 12 years now. He was taking Music A level when I met him (and Maths, which is how we met)and ended up reading Music at Durham. He lived with Snaterkat and I for a few months in the middle. Since then he's lived in Barcelona and now in Ireland, making music all the while.

While we were in 6 form Chris used to play in our friend's rather noisy, and lets face it, fairly crap rock bands (wearing earplugs). He's now into the more folky side of things, playing with Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies. He's one of the wellies. They've recently had an album out and they're travelling round the country. Have a listen and if you feel inclined you could pop along to one of their gigs (I now with I'd written this sooner) or buy their album. I can certainly recommend it. We had a great time.

It was lovely to get out and have some time for just myself. It's just good to be able to give all your attention to the conversation. It totally wiped me out though and poor Jacob was not happy until I was home and had given him a cuddle and some milk. I don't think we're quite there yet.

Finally Some Knitting

Jacob's Christmas Stocking:

It's enormous. He could get in it.

2 degrees this morning. Hurrah! The thaw has begun.

In the best icicle on the street competition the winner is Number 14: