Brace Yourselves

The migraine has finally been completed.

This started life as a little experiment to see if I could manage Lucy’s lovely Summer Garden Granny Squares…

Turns out they were quite straightforward, but I was low on yarn at that point. (Ha!)

    

So I had to put it on hold with a few squares of granny stripe border…

Then it came back out the pile for a burst of hooky-time…

Then there were some squares…

Then there were more stripes…

Then there was a lacey border (adapted from one I found here)…

And then I stood back to admire my work.

 

And bask in my glory…

And have a think if the intended recipient will grow to love it as much as I do…

The Boy is DESPERATE to get this monstrosity out of the house. I, on the other hand, have slowly but surely formed a deep attachment to its blindingly clashing loveliness… The only question is, have I got time to make something else for the intended recipient so I can keep this? And will that cause the end of my marriage?

Triumphs and Disasters

Don't look now but I may be quite good at this lark.

For the last six months, the little lady has been positively enjoyable! She has been growing, laughing, sleeping (hitting a LIFE TIME RECORD OF 2 3/4 hours today MUMMY LOVES YOU MY DARLING LITTLE ONE), playing, signing and generally terrorising the babies and children of our local neighbourhood. It's starting to feel like there may be a moment whereby the months of OH GOOD GOD WHAT WERE WE THINKING will be outnumbered by the CRIKEY WE DON'T SEEM TO HAVE IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGED HER YET months.

I've had a few moments recently of delighting at my enjoying her, and cringing at myself enjoying her. Particularly wonderful episodes include being invited to a lovely dinner with some newly-made-mummied-friends and becoming far too opinionated (or should that read 'inebriated') and thus emphatic on one particular mummy's use of the strapless brassiere.  I also heard a rather obnoxious voice (mine, sadly) attempting to get her child to dance on demand to an assembled group because, 'a minute ago, she was just... go on... oh... she's not doing it now...' I hate myself sometimes. Misguided enthusiasm rapidly decaying into mum-up-man-ship and a desire to cut off ones own head. Ho hum.

But, let's focus on the positive. The long sleep today followed a triumphant session at the local playgroup, where she bla-la-la'd various nursery rhymes,slept (and hopped) with the Little Bunnies, wiped the wipers on The Bus and rocked Miss Polly's Dolly with the best of them. She then munched down her lunch of pasta and tomato sauce, before resting for our yoga. There, she 'helped' me stretch into my various positions (do not attempt downward-facing-dog with a toddler leaning on your elevated posterior) and sat on my face during the final meditation session. Excellent. She then waved at any and all passers-by from her buggy, like some mini-Kate Middleton, before returning home for dinner of potato and aubergine curry (seriously yum, by the way).

Bedtime was a speedy affair of our first 'at the sink brush and wash' while perched on a family heirloom vintage footstool and then settled in bed after a massage, a story and a song.

Within twenty minutes of starting bedtime, she was quietly finishing her milk and getting herself to sleep...

I'm sure there will be 'encounters' in the future.

I'm sure we won't always see eye to eye.

I'm sure she will think that I'm SO UNFAIR and DON'T UNDERSTAND HER and KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER LIFE in a very short amount of time.

All I know now is that whenever she was at a loose end today, she scrabbled over to me on her speedy tip-toes, turned her open mouth to mine for a wet sloppy kiss, and then embraced me with a pat-on-my-back cuddle.

And for now, I think I might just keep her.

My favourite Yarn Shops

On Ravelry, there is an acronym that had me guessing for a little while: LYS… Finally worked it out to be Local Yarn Shop.

And this has to be one of my favourites, albeit not exactly ‘local’ to me, being about 2 hours away from where I live! Luckily, it’s more like ten minutes from the house of a very good friend, so whenever I visit her, I tend to drop by to *ahem* peruse their stock…

Knitwits of Dereham treads the fine line of gorgeous quality fibres sitting happily alongside a good selection of value yarns. Perfect for me to be able to have a look at the pretty yarns that I will *one day* be able to buy, and then satisfy my stash cravings with cheap and cheerful (but not highly flammable) fabulousness. The central picture is their range of Stylecraft Special. And we all know what happens when that comes along…

Lovely Fiona tells me that they’re settling into their new premises (moved last August into an even more central location than ever before) and are hoping to expand into the basement with quilting fabrics and a workshop space by the end of the year. Hopefully this speaks volumes of their taste, their range, their gorgeousness and the crafty future of Norfolk. Onwards and upwards, or rather, with the basement expansion, perhaps that should be downwards.

Highly recommended if you’re within ten hours’ of Norfolk. Happy shopping.

Pretty things in the shop that should have stayed in the US for my own sanity…

Anthropologie, you are a cruel and unusual beast.

But goodness your frocks are fabby.

Tied down dress £98

Silk Chartreuse Shoots Dress £138 

Cotton Spiced Dress £158

Friday Maxi Dress £118

En Plein Air Dress £198

Back View Dress £148

Pretty things on the internet…

HEADS UP – I HAVE MADE NONE OF THE THINGS THAT FOLLOW. SADLY. THOUGH I WISH I HAD DONE.

Beautiful Linen and lace fabric bins from Tuuni 

See this tutorial here for a how-to that you could use to DIY!

Vintage Linen scrappy quilt by Janice Ryan

Clothesline quilt by Old Fransson!

Art Quilt by Rebecca Sower

Pinwheel quilt by MaryMadeMe!

Sailors on Seasides

   

Days in the sunshine, by the seaside, enjoying the unseasonably dry (albeit rather blowy) Spring we’re enjoying here. A day at Wells Next The Sea while away for a few days in Norfolk, and then a daytrip to Whitstable today for a good friend’s birthday. The blanket went down a storm and the next projects are already rolling off my needle.

Though I have asked the Boy to ensure I actually MAKE SOME STOCK this month already so the personal forays into pretty sailor cardigans and heirloom blankets may have to be temporarily put on hold…