A mixed bag or sack as it's Christmas

 Christmas 2009 and a cake for M from his sister Tina.

 Christmas 2010 reindeer from the Percy's crackers.

 Christmas 2011 - amazing clouds and

Mrs Grunty who had just seriously assaulted last years wind up reindeer.

This week has flown by without any blogging. But lots of other stuff has been achieved and in amongst it all there has been patchwork, spinning, a wee bit of knitting and some crochet. Also there has been shopping, wrapping, cleaning, socialising, fun and frolics and disturbed sleep.

If you do the Christmas thing - then I hope your day is full of joy and if you don't then have a good Sunday.

See you on the other side.

p.s Am gearing for the 2012 52 books in a year challenge.....can't wait.

Purty has become yarn.

 At the beginning of December I posted this and then earlier this week I posted these well yesterday they became the singles above and earlier today they became the 2 ply below.

 Now it is skeined up (awaiting a soak and a bash - but the skein hangs straight - straight off the niddy noddy which is pretty amazing). The colours are awesome.

Though the photos do not do it justice. I have 100g which gives me 20 wpi and approx 346 m of yarn.

This afternoon.......

 I will be spinning up this and Lottie will be sleeping on my bed.

Fergus is on squirrel watch just for a change.

Weave.

 Started a new project on my little loom today.

I think I like it.

Previous project is wet blocking. This one is using different fibres and a smaller heddle. Took forever to warp it up though.

Christmas Gerbils

Our first married Christmas and our first one at our flat - we had very little money and virtually no decorations. M took our limited funds and went to the Woolworth's in St James's Street and got a wonderful collection of really tacky decorations (don't ask about the rainbow glowing orbs of tree lights - which are still in the attic somewhere). In amongst the tat were these two (who are now very battered being 24 years old) and as we had two Gerbils at the time, Zebe and Haaaaaa, we called them our Christmas Gerbils. They have been on display every year but one since then (neither of us could remember their safe place one year). Even J looks for them. They have been glued, blue tacked and are rather wonky now but it wouldn't be Christmas without them....not bad for 50p.

How to disarm a gruntying pig.........

by Mrs Grunty. Actually that should be how to 'ungrunt' the gruntying pig - but either works.

 The bestest way to do this delicate operashun is to pull its gruntyer out of its mouth and then nibble holes into the gruntying system so it cannot grunt even if a Monkey Fing replaces apawmentioned gruntying system.

Simples!



Next week Mrs Grunty brings you how to decapitate a puppy Kong or two small Kongs for the price of one medium one or two Kongs= double the peanut butter= winner!

20's Snail Titfer.

 Pattern is from the current Knitty and can be found here - Escargot by Veronica Parsons. I wanted a real 20's feel to mine and for hat inspiration went and found some old pictures of my Nana. When she was a young lady she wore a lot of hats and particularly went for the cloche style ones. I played around with needles and tension and decided to deepen the brim and crown.

I used Rowan Cashsoft Aran (because I know it stretches well in blocking and gives a soft shape) on 4.5mm needles in two colours - a kind of brick red edged with charcoal grey.

I think I am in love with it. It fits comfortably and I love the look - it does look like some of the hats Nana wore! Just call me snail head.

Red

I have a love hate relationship with cross stitch it has never really grabbed me but occasionally I see something that inspires and that is was happened with this design. It is a free one on Tom Pudding Designs which is a site from the ever excellent Wibbo and the design is one of hers.

I love it but I only stitch when the spirit moves me (which isn't very often) so progress is very (and I mean very) slow.

There are loads of fabulous and inspiring designs at Tom Pudding so if stitching floats your boat it is a great place to keep an eye on as she regularly puts up new ones.

Work table

My little corner where I do all my stuff and make all my mess. Yesterday afternoon it was bathed in winter sun and at that moment I was working on a gift (in the red bowl) and a personal lace project in the blue one. I love my crafting area, it makes me happy.

p.s the gift - got finished - hurrah!

Lottie is a funny little dog!

She has her own little routine, that she sticks to. After brekkie she likes a long play in the garden,chasing Kongs etc (Fergus does a garden border control...there might still be a hidden toad etc) then she has a biscuit followed by an emptying of her toy box and then an indoor play of fetch, tug and jab the human with a blue fing.......then if she is really lucky.......her favourite 'kill the fairy'.

This only occurs (in the morning) if it is sunny and I decide to do the ironing. She growls at the ironing board, selects a toy to shake and then waits for the iron plate to make reflections as I iron....these are 'fairies' (they do occur at other times...name tag reflections from Fergus's collar, reflections from watches etc) but ironing 'fairies' are the bestest in the world, ever! She digs the floor, shakes her toy, growls and generally bounces all around the room chasing them. The game ends when the ironing board is put away again - after a severe growly telling off from Mrs Grunty.

Then she normally settles down for a doze until walkie time. She cracks me up,every day - she really is the funniest little dog.

Yesterday.....

I blew my nose and made both ears pop and was deaf for 30 minutes - scary.

I listened to very loud rock music on my iPod (my hearing had returned by then) and still couldn't drown out the boys watching last Friday's 'The Walking Dead'.

I got Fergus's twinnie in the post. This was made for us by the wonderful Fiona - mad woman of the North. Fergus gave him a good snuffling but Lottie hates him - she has growled at him and bitten him. He has yet to be named....I think we should call him 'Frogus' in homage to Fergus's summer passion.

I got another parcel with a lovely Xmas card and a present........for the terriers from Archiebear and Nellybean. I have saved it so they can open it on the day. (Yes I do know they are dogs!)

I knit one whole 32 row repeat of my new lace project - without making a mistake....fanfare please. I also knit two pattern repeats on my sweater as well....well go me.

I sold my Majacraft Little Gem wheel - woot-woot.

Was a good day.

(I didn't include any of the boring stuff - grooming the rats, housework, ironing etc - cos it is soooooo very dull - but I did loads of that shit too.)

Secret Santa goodness.

Yesterday was our knitting group Christmas lunch - we always do a Secret Santa - no-one knows who is giving to who (except for the excellent Ben who picks out the names - he's one of our knitters husband and does a fab job for us) but after the presents are opened it is time, if you want to, to own up.

This year I got a gift from the wonderful Wibbo who is an extremely talented textile artist and who has a wonderful eye for colour. She gifted me two skeins of KnitPicks (which isn't readily available in the UK) Gloss Lace in Fiesta - the yarn is a merino/silk blend - and it sings to me of a knitted lace scarf. So much so in fact, that when I got in the pattern I have been coveting on Ravelry, Anne Hanson's Fernfrost, was downloaded and the first skein was balled up. I have only cast on, my head was still too woolly from my cold to do more than that yesterday but it's there....waiting for me to finish all I have to accomplish today....my head is a lot clearer......it's been a while since I've been so excited by a new project.......dashing off now to get on with stuff........need to start to knitting...............

p.s The meal was fab.U.lous and so was the company - M and I had a wonderful time.....M got lovely sock yarn called Exotic Clay from his Secret Santa.

Drop spindling

Slow progress but progress none the less. The spindle (which is a wee Bosworth) and the bobbin show what has been spun so far (only taken 2 and half years of sporadic spinning) and the fibre shows one complete half a braid (behind the bobbin) and the rest is remains of the first half. The fibre was gifted to me from the very talented Jo who is Limegreen Jelly - she's on maternity break at the moment (can't wait for her to maybe get back to dying fibre, her colours are the best) - it's 70/30 merino/silk and the colour is called 'Hot Stuff' the braid was a 100g one.
Perhaps in another couple of years I'll be finished.

I feel so lucky

I know a lot of peeps knock Facebook but I have met some wonderful people on there. People who are funny, supportive, mad, clever and generous and some who are all of the aforementioned. Yesterday the postie delivered a lovely parcel from one of my FB buddies which had this wonderful 100% Ronaldsay wool in it - the colours are glorious and totally what I would have chosen for myself, they also sent a lovely postcard and some Orkney fudge (which was saved till last night and shared with J and M), my goodness that was some lovely fudge.
This is my 2nd RAK in recent months....I am really am very lucky.

I has a purty.

In the last few days this has found its way into my life.....is purty? Beautiful deep rich colours and a lovely blend of merino/alpaca/cam/silk. I can't wait to start spinning it.