Is it summertime yet?

Well! it's the first day of British Summertime today and it has been a lovely sunny day for a change. We've has some horrible weather this week so it has been so nice to see the sun shining. It has been warm enough for the Oh! Bearded One to potter about in the garden. We've had the first wasp in the conservatory and the sun has shown up how dirty all the windows are, they will have to stay dirty until I am on annual leave from work during April, I intend to do some serious cleaning and hopefully some decorating if my hands are up to it (which I am doubting at present but we'll see) .

I hope the weather is as nice next weekend as the Oh! Bearded One and I are going to the Lake District with a large group of friends. We are staying in a hotel on the side of Derwent water and probably will do some walking.

I've been sorting laundry, changing the bed and tidying up the study enough to walk across the floor and to be able to use the desk. I've made a card but my heart wasn't in making any more. I am now watching 'Nanny McPhee' and contemplating either sock knitting or hand piecing some more 9 patch blocks (see photo below, the photos are in the wrong order of course, if only Blogger would let me insert photos where I want to put them!).

Here is another gratuatous photo of Molly, on the back of the conservatory sofa which is one of her favorite places.

These are the 9 patch blocks I am currently hand piecing. I've done one more and started another since this photo was taken. Because the patchs are only 1 & a half inchs, these blocks don't take long to stitch. I have still no idea what I am going to do with them , I'm sure I'll think of something eventually.

I've been reading a lot of quilting blogs and am seriously inspired. There are some very seriously talented quilters on both side of the 'pond'

Amyralis & Molly

I have quite delighted with my Amyralis this year. I was given 2 as Christmas presents. I was given one last year but it didn't flower, it appeared to be blind so I really pleased that this year they both flowered. In my usual sloppy way I didn't get them planted until quite late but they have flowered well never the less. The one pictured is the 2nd of the 2, the other one is over, was a very pale pink with a slightly darker pink in the centres of the flowers. The one photoed is lovely, slightly darker red than in the photo.

I now want to try to keep the bulbs and replant them again for next year but I'm hopeless at doing the right thing to keep plants to regrow and flower again. I will need to look up what I need to do.

Last night my parents came over for a meal and here is Molly, joining us at the table. All she needs is a knife and fork!

She is a cheeky girl!!

Yummy! chocolate!

Well! I did it, I managed not to eat chocolate until Easter Sunday, and oh! how I enjoyed chocolate yesterday and I've had more today!!!

I haven't mentioned knitting foe a while! I have been fighting with socks again this week and they have been wining! I've cast on 2-3 socks and not been happy with them and this latest one has given difficulty around the heel. I will not be defeated!!! I am going to try a different heel technique but just not tonight!

I introduced my Mum to the wonders of chosing and ordering yarn on line tonight. She was quite impressed. She wants to knit a Sirdar Silky Look edge to edge cardi so we ordered the yarn on line. She wanted to use Sirdar Calico instead of the Silky Look as it is rather splity so that has want has been ordered, in a lilac colourway. She will be even more impressed when it turns up on Wednesday.

Happy Easter

I wish you all a happy, joyus and peaceful Easter!

Happy knitting!

P.S Still no chocolate but Easter eggs waiting in the wings!

My name

What Ailsa Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

A lot of this is so true, especially when it comes to knitting!!!

Dates!

Just a note about the previous post, even though it has Sunday's date on it, it is today's post! I started a post on Sunday but have only finished today. Sorry for the confusion.

Photo post 4

This is my new knitting bag that a work collegue bought for me from a shop at Cheshire Oaks. It is a Lacoste handbag really but it has made a great knitting bag. There is this seperate purse/makeup case which is attached to the main bag. It is the right size for stitch holders, tape measure etc and I can't lose it! The main bag has a large inside pocket too, good for patterns and notes etc.

Look how far I've got with my quilting! This quilt is going to be a lap quilt for the back of my sofa in the lounge. Unfortunately this photo really doesn't do it justice. The colours are much richer in reality. I think the block used is called the friendship block. The blocks are complete and I've started the sashings and I am hoping to do a bit more to it on Friday. The other really positive thing about this, is that the Oh! Bearded One likes it!

These 2 little blocks are as a result of me messing about with hand piecing as I fancied a go at this. I am going to have a go at some more as I have found the hand piecing soothing. I've no idea what I'll do with them but I'm sure I'll have an idea eventually.

On Sunday DD & I are going to Birmingham to the NEC for the Sewing for Pleasure exhibition. I am really looking forward to it! Whilst I am there I want to look at fabric for SofM. I want to make him a quilt to take to university later in the year. I was quite surprised when I suggested it to him he was positive about it.

P.S still no chocolate - 10 days to go until chocolate for breakfast!

Photo post 3

This pattern book is a Rowan Classic book published for this spring, I bought it at John Lewis's at The Trafford Centre.

The yarn I am using is Rowan Cashsoft DK, colour way 525 Kingfisher, again a lovely soft yarn

The design is called 'Fizzle' I love the design but I hate knitting Moss (seed) stitch so I am just do a few rows here and there but not at the moment due to the sore hands.

P.S Still no chocolate although I have got a box of chocs, a bag of chocs and an Easter egg waiting for me to devour as soon as it is Easter Sunday. That will be one day when I eat chocolate for breakfast.

Photo post 2

This is the 2nd of of the 3 items I have recently cast on. This Noro Designer Mini Knits booklet is new out this spring and I am knitting 'Design 23'


I can't wear really thick, chunky woollies due to generally being too warm because of the dreaded hormones and 'that time of my life' - the awful menopause. So I have lots of (bought) little short sleeved, short bodied woollies, so of which are beginning to have seen better days which is why I'am knitting some new ones, although yesterday I decided it might be useful to have one thick, chunky woollie to wear over my little woolies when I don't want to wear a coat (I am not keen on coats)


This design should be knitted in Noro Cash Iroho but I am doing it in Noro Silk Garden, colourway 211. I love the way it is knitting up but I am finding quite hard on my hands. Since I spend 10 hours driving on Wednesday going to Surrey Uni with SofM my hands are really bad so I am not touching it at present and am working on the item I posted about yesterday. I probably won't wear it until the back end of the year anyway as I will find it too warm !

Photo post 1

The pattern below is one of 3 things I am knitting at present. I frogged the green Jaeger matchmaker yarn that I was knitting, I decided I wouldn't like the finished fit of the pattern I had chosen.
This is a new Sirdar 'Just Soya' pattern that has come out for Spring 2008. I am knitting this pattern in the 'Just Soya' yarn in 'Hot Pepper' The yarn is lovely & soft and I don't think I'll be frogging this. So far I am about half way up the back. I bought the yarn from my LYS in Northwich.

18th Birthday!

Here's the card I made for SofM's 18th Birthday. I couldn't buy a card I liked that had both 'son' and '18th birthday' on it so I made one. SofM is about a year old on this photo. He was a really happy, contented small child and he hasn't changed much as he has got older. He is very laid back (sometimes too much so) and as a teenager hasn't been prone to temper tantrums or bad behaviour.

He is taking his 'A' level exams this year so we are looking at universities. Yesterday we went to look at the University of Surrey near Guildford, Surrey. It is a nice university on a very green site. I can see SofM studing there. He looks at Bangor University in Wales on Monday and we go to look Heriot Watt in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 9th of April.

Really, as 18th birthdays go he has had a very quiet birthday. We have had a meal at home with my Mum & Dad. We are going out for a meal on the 27th of March, that's the next time we can get together without either me or DD being on shift. He will buy his first legal drink tomorrow when he goes to someone else's 18th birthday party.

Special Birthday!

No photos as promised on my last post, I've not been around in daylight to photograph all the things I want to show.

Tomorrow it is SofM's 18th birthday! I can't believe he is 18. I am having a bit of a hard time getting my head round that I am no longer legally responsible for any children and that SofM is off to university in the back end. I have really enjoyed being a Mother and I know that Mothering (my Mum says it doesn't matter how old the child is, you don't stop worrying) won't stop because he's gone to Uni but it isn't quite the same as when you've little ones about. When both kids have left home I really will suffer with 'empty nest' syndrome.

Still no chocolate!!!