Quilt while you're ahead

* 1 *

here's to a year full of wonder

 

let's sweep the dusty cobwebs from the corner of our minds.

(Alternatively let's just clean the corner of houses a bit more often)

Either way it's a good thing.

and now...

the end is here...

 

(my brother's Christmas hat)

(my sister's Christmas beret)

(mum's Christmas quilt - the only photo I took... doh)

...

and now I wish you all a happy new year, may 2010 be filled with wishes come true and wonderful surprises too.  Be well, my friends.

what day is it?

so... where am I?

You see... we kind of missed Christmas this year...

Christmas eve started off fine; we baked sugar biscuits and then had a massive decorating session

there were lots of biscuits

lots and lots of biscuits

pretty angels

and very scary angels

Then we went to the cinema.  Had a great time.

So far so good, right?

Idyllic family day, don't you agree?

Wrong.

Because at this point our luck turned... and we started dropping like flies...

First No2.... he barfed, he ralphed, he vomited, he puked, he spewed.

Then me... I barfed, I ralphed, I vomited, I puked, I spewed.

Then No 1... he barfed, he ralphed, he vomited, he puked, he spewed.

Mr M was the hero, he cleaned and he mopped and he consoled, he distribuite buckets and changed sheets and blankets.  But his fate was sealed.  Like all heroes... he came to a sticky (literary...) end.

By 10.00pm... he too barfed, ralphed, vomited, puked, spewed.

Did you get the picture?

Christmas was a bit hazy and a non-day.  Infact I feel like it didn't happen at all, even if I have photographic proof:

(please note the 'family bucket'.  More of a necessity than a prop.)

Buon Natale to you all

 the tree is up (and it's a magical tree this year...every time I walk into the room the decoration have moved and it looks completely different... the boys just can't help themselves and the dog has eaten all the ginger bread ones)

the nativity is set up (albeit with lego houses, out of shot, and horses ?! and who knows what else will it be filled with in the next few days)

.  
and I made vegetable soup (steamy hot, with tons of parmesan cheese... mmhh)

If I don't see you again before the big day... have a good one, a happy one, a fun one, a hot one, a cold one, whatever your heart desire.

Be good, and don't forget the carrots for the raindeers.

Buon Natale, my friends.
 

what???!!! a bbq???!!!

 
A few days ago it was my nephews birthday and he had this brilliant idea of a massive outdoor family gathering in the woods.  They'd be food and games and a little stream to play with.

Great.

And then it hit me.  It's December. December in the Northern Hemisphere.  A cold month, with icy mornings and snotty noses, not a balmy and sunny Antipodean one.

Sigh.

We woke up to -6C.  You might laugh... but that to me is ridiculously cold.  A sort of 'go-back-to-bed-in-denial cold.

My car wouldn't start, refusing to move in the chilly (frosty) air... but when we eventually got there and struggled out of it in our 37,654 layers of clothes...

 

colourful flags (tibetans, long story) coloured the air,  the cousins welcomed each other and imagined snow

the adults gathered around the small fire

for warm drinks (and a ridiculous amount of food, but hey, it's almost Christmas after all)

It was declared the 'bestest' party ever by all my children... and now that I've regained the use of my fingers and there's some degree of sensitivity in my small toes I have to agree too.

Cold, schmold.

better

The fog of my mind is lifting.

The spawns are getting along better too; if you don't consider the brawl over whose turn it was to 'lick the bowl' I'd say we've had quite a good day. 

And before you ran screaming for the police I do feed my children, I was talking about the bowl I used to make dessert for tonight

raspberry semifreddo (from a recipe by Donna Hay)

because ... well... the weather is just perfect for it

Don't you think?
 
 
 

crashed

 

First day of the holidays.

Is it?

The above photo is not altered in any ways, it is not a black and white photo either... it is THAT grey outside my window.

It seems that the rest of the country is full of snow, but all I have is rain and three children who are excited about being home from school but not used to each other again.  I'm going to start wearing a black and white striped shirt and a whistle around my neck.  I'm not a mother, I'm a referee most of the time anyway, I might as well look the part.

I've finished the Christmas shopping but lost the Christmas spirit.

I've stopped vacuuming half way through the corridor.  I can't remember why.

In fact just about the most useful thing I've done in the last two days is re-reading Moonlight and New Moon.  Yeah, THAT useful, eh? (well a part from the half-clean hallway, that is)

I might as well go and grap the third book but then the fourth one is still with my brother and I know I'm going to get really cheesed if I then want to re read that as well.

Has any of you read 'The Host'?

I went shopping for a dinner party tomorrow night and forgot one thing.  The only ingredient I can't fudge or do without and therefore I have to take the above three children to the supermarket again.  Children who were the reason I forgot the blasted thing in the first place.

Oh this is going to be fun.  Are you enjoying it as much as I am?

(There's some sort of 'floor-hockey' match being played outside my door as I type.  I'm kind of scared to investigate further.)

Is it bed time yet?

technicolour Syd

  This rabbit has had a gestational period longer than a baby elephant, but now I'm proud to announce the birth of Psychedelic Syd...

Syd is a scrap rabbit - her genetic make up is 100% cotton, but in her DNA you can spot strands of handbags and potholders and a few brooches too.  She likes that.  It gives her an edge and an inner strength not commonly found amongst purer breeds.

She's extremely proud of her stripey legs

and although she's considering a lighter lipstick and eye surgery to reduce the bulging of her pupils, she's very confident in her appearance.

Go Syd, go.

(pattern found in 'Vintage Crochet' by Susan Cropper, errata on the Loop website)

(like any bona fide UFO Syd balanced legless on my shelf for a good three months;  her final stage of development only took two more evenings.  Doh.)
 
  

scarves

My boys are very lucky.  They all have exceptional teachers who are completely dedicated, who make teaching fun and who have understood who they are and how they tick.  Priceless stuff.

So I 'made' them a present. I wanted spend 'time' on them, not just money.  A token of my gratitude.

No 1's teacher: a Boteh scarf (from an old issue of Interweave magazine).  3.5mm hook, baby alpaca in charcoal grey

No 2's teacher (a saint): a ripple lace scarf from a pattern in a japanese book. 5mm hook, double stranded baby alpaca in brown

N 3's teacher: the 'stone' scarf (again from an old issue of Interweave Crochet magazine) which I had crochet this past summer.  3mm hook, Noro sock yarn

All of them wrapped in envelopes made with old, children's books found in charity shops:

Phew.  Another one off the list.
 

new old cardigan

My mum is visiting this week.

It's great having her over, but it means that normal routines are completely out of the window.  Today, after four crazy days we're staying home and I tell you, even cleaning feels restful!

Anyway, the mistery wip from last post is finished and I'm very happy about it.  So happy that I've got lots of other ideas for other items of clothing and this 'fever' I got could spell disaster in so many ways. 

I could end up looking like one of those crazy old ladies out there who make coats out of granny squares, and wear them with crochet hats and crochet handbags...  "Hey here comes the crochet lady".  Not good.

It could be embarassing for my children. 

They might spend their adult life in therapy. 

Mr M might lock my in the house.

So for now let's stick to one project... I hereby introduce to you my new old cardigan!!!

I was transfixed by all the crochet beauty during my visit to the new Anthropologie shop in London and knew that I HAD to try it out.

And then Mr M gave me that inspiring crochet book... and that was IT.

Surely it was 'destiny' calling me, shouting at me to do something.

Nobody had ever mentioned this cardigan before, but since 'the update' I've had two people asking me where I'd bought it!  (which sounds very vain but if it's ever happened to you... you know how that feels!!)

There has been a fair amount of other crochet relating activity 'round here, so come back soon.

For now I'm having to climb out into a  'lying down rocket' (a stool and five pillows) which is taking off soon for the moon and back (phew).  No 3 coughed all night, but between me and you he looks better than me right now...

Why is it that children feel better the moment it becomes too late to take them to school?

WIP Friday

hey babe...

take a walk on the wild side

and the coloured pins say

 doo do doo do doo do do dooooo

(156 pins, 13 crochet motifs... Ali I bet you can guess why...)
 

a perfect lunch

whole wheat 'penne' with ricotta cheese for maincourse

 

a new book* for dessert

 

Buon appetito!

(* a present from New York by the handsome Mr M)

some days

 
Some days I have more energy than others.

I invite friends for dinner, as if three children weren't enough.

I get dinner ready in the morning.  I make jelly. 

I bake chocolate muffins,

 

And vacuum the downstairs, and clean the bathroom.

I finish the last twelve rows of a pair of sock that have languished in the UFO piles for months. (Seriously, months.)

 

I can even crochet a little brooch to match my scarf.  Just because.

and make a pink one as a present. Because I'm nice.

But I know it's only matter of time before it all comes crashing down.  It never lasts.

And there are cracks appearing already; yesterday I got the boys to open tin no 1 of our advent calendar... yes, I know, yesterday was still November.  I know that NOW.

It's going to be ugly. 
 

it's in the little things

An easy Sunday.

Mr M is in New York on business.  When we visited together we bought this painting

(Jaberwocki, by Peter Ostuni)

I love the patchwork of colours and the mistery creature hiding inside.

The boys are in the kitchen.  Behind the tapping of my computer keys I can hear No 1 slaying enemies on the computer - he's a child of our time through and through; I can hear the other two discussing the fate of a cardboard box and miles of sticky tape being ripped from the dispenser - I daren't think what might be created, but I've been banned from the kitchen for a while.  I might regret agreeing to this.

I came into my studio with great intentions of tidying up but I got distracted...

by the pattern and colours of a vinyl coat hanger 

for which I have no use but I couldn't resist.

By this potholder I just finished

 

which reminds me of the ones my mum had when I was younger.  Strange how certain small things can stick to your conscious mind for so long.

It's raining, we've got a cinema trip booked for later. With popcorn.

I's in the small stuff, people.  Have a good Sunday.
 

Advent calendar

I don't know about you but I have a strong dislike for those 'chocolate' (I use the word in its loosest meaning) advent calendars that supermarket have had on display since October.

And it's not because I'm against giving my children a tiny morsel of chocolate after breakfast... that stuff it's not even chocolate!!!

It's more to do with how ghastly they look (what's Ben10 got to do with Christmas???) and with what to do with them for three weeks... it's clutter! 

There's nothing wrong with counting down to Christmas... hey that's the fun part... but I resent being told how to do it by the marketing team of Disney and the like.

So this year, I got organised and did my own calendar.

I collected 24 tins from kind and bewildered friends.  I painted them - the tins, not the friends.

I then hired Mr M and the boys, armed them with scissors and old magazines and told them to find lots of big numbers. (They're used to strange requests by now so got on with the job quite admirably).

I filled the lot in secret with sweets and little toys and stickers and chocolate and coins...

 

closed them with coloured tissue paper tied with white string

 

and now the boys can't wait to start.  They speculate on the content, argue about who's opening which number, try to shake the tins behind my back...

Surely that beats some cardboard and pretend chocolate shapes!
 

a-door-ned

... no? don't you like the title?... oh.  I thought it was so clever...

Anyway, growing in the garden in front of my house there's a holly bush/tree that's grown so fast and so much in this past year it virtually forces people to step into the middle of the road to walk past our house.  Action was required.

Action was taken in earnest when large quantities of berries were noticed on aforementioned long branches.

Action caused another action and a Christmas-y wreath was created in no time at all!

No 3 said the hessian was too scraggy (which I thought was a good word for a 4yrs old with a slight slisp so I forgave him).

No 2 said it was too skinny (I disagreed and ignored him).

I asked No 1 if he'd noticed it anything new on the front door, he said 'yes' then got himself something to eat. 

Whatever. 

I didn't expect a medal or anything... just a little bit of enthusiasm... geesh.

It's almost Christmas, people!!

Oh acually HAPPY THANKGIVING to you all across the water... love the time with your family.

Christmas table runner

I hate having to mention the 'C' word again, but it's kind of the focus of all the activity around here.  We're going to spend it very quietly this year and I'm really really looking forward to it.  Ironically, given that not many people are going to see it, I'm really in the mood for decorating the house top to bottom... so watch this space.

This table runner was made as a 'teaching tool' for the beginners quilting course I've just finished teaching.  It was a six week course (2hrs each time) run at the gorgeous studio of my lovely friend Kirsty of Five Valleys Design.  By the way, note for your diary, Kirsty will get delivery of every single new Amy Butler fabric in January... don't forget to check it out.

It was my first time teaching and I loved it!  In January I'll run a day workshop on foundation piecing so if you're interested (and you live in/around Gloucestershire) drop me a line and I'll tell you all about it.

We covered the basics and had fun.  How to cut fabric, matching seams and corners, half square triangles and quarter squares, simple nine patch, log cabin, pinwheel and Ohio Star...  We all worked from the same fabric and it was really interesting to see how the resulting runners were all different from each other...

Don't you just love quilting??

Now I need some sort of centre piece... I want candles and pine cones... but in a modern style... any idea?

yesterday...

  all my troubles seemed so far away...

- take an early start, and a fabulous friend.

- take some Christmas decorations to get you in the mood

- take a bear with paper fur

- and a wise old hare

- take a deer with huge antler tangled in yarn

- take a skirt of broken blue china (... Alice? are you there? this is for you...)

- a chandelier of recycled plastic

 

-  take a divine crochet blanket

and then another one (not too mention the chunky knit one... sigh)

- take a stuffed cloth tree

- and an amazing yo-yo blanket

- take a gorgeous chair

- and a beautiful lampshade

- take lots of laughters, great food, an obscene amount of shopping...

Shake it all up and pour it onto an ordinary Saturday and you get the most fantastic day.  You should try it.  It's a good recipe.

Thank you, Ali.

hats

 
The boys demanded hats.  Warm hats.  With stripes.  "... but not itchy..." hats.

We spent hours in the yarn shop talking about colours - sparkly? perhaps not.  Fluorescent red acrylic? went to the whole static problem with them blah blah blah and then they discovered baby alpaca... and that was it...

Out of the window went all the ideas of rainbow hats/spotty hats/green pom pom hats.  The softness of the wool won them over and we left the shop with a much lighter wallet but a few balls of heaven.

No 2's hat:

No 3's hat:

No 1 decline. He never wear hats. 

I used the 'Kim's hat' pattern in 'Last minute knitted gifts' and they were very quick to do, a few hours each and I'm a slow while-in-front-of-the-tv knitter.

Baby Alpaca (king cole), 5mm needles

so very very soft.
 

 
 

glimpse 3

... and another one...

Rowan Little Big Wool, olive green, 2 skeins. 5mm needles.

Something is doomed to happen... this level of organisation is out of character, highly unusual and cannot be sustained. 

I'm scaring myself.