Inspiration

My lovely neighbour bought me these flowers.........
I rediscovered a vintage top for Keira to wear. I wore that as a child in the 70s.

Makes me think of flowers and spring projects. Hmmm, what to cast on??? Some of the considerations from my Ravelry queue:

Cabled Rangoli Hat

Fairytale Dress

Prickly Girl Tank

Rambling Rose

Eden scarf

Guess what

I have a pile of WIPs to finish, both knitting and non-knitting, but I decided to start a new project instead. I really like the look of the Reaglan Jacket from the newest Vogue Knitting and decided to cast on for it. I'm not entirely sure that it'll suit me but here goes anyway. I have lots of Rowan Big Wool in the stash and decided why not just cast on. One evening later, I'm pretty much done on the the lace section. I will have to shorten the jacket because if I followed the instructions, the jacket will be past my knees. Not a good look for a shorty like me. I also think I need to lose a bit of fat around the tummy to carry off the jacket. Oh well.......

It's all about hats

The kids have been on half term. I have had no time to myself. thankfully, they are back in school tomorrow. I have managed to knit a few hats. The 2 for me are because I'm growing out my hair and it looks pretty grm until I can get to the hairdressers.

F is for ....

Focus, Finishing and Frenzy and Fabulous. Well, only one of the projects is fabulous. The other one, I just don't want to talk about it!

First up, Dumpling from Rowan Babies. I made one pink for Keira about 3 years ago, but I accidently felted it. So I decided to make another one for Zoe. I don't often reknit things, so it would have been helpful if I kept some notes from the last time. I forgot the sleeves didn't fit into the armholes. 3 attempts later, I got that to work. The yarn is Rowan Big Wool in Mulberry which I had leftover from my project, Tess. I didn't have quite enough to finish the project, so the cuffs and the tops of the sleeves are in Sugar Spun.

Anyway, here is Zoe working her charm!

Finally, I finished my Embossed Leaves socks. I started them in August 2008 and finished sock one. Cast on sock two, and forgot about them. I was desperate to use my 2.75mm needles, so I thought I might as well finish them rather than putting them on holders. 3 nights of knitting later, I finish them. Can you guess what's wrong with them???? I accidently added half a repeat to the leg pattern, so 1 sock is slightly longer than the other. Doh!! I'm just going to live with this mistake. Moving on.....

Socktopus House Quiz

SOCK(topus)CLUB House Sorting Quiz My Result: Yarnacre Cottage socktopus Welcome to Yarnacre!  A Yarnacre loves life, enjoys the good times and rolls with the bad. You're easy going, love love yarn, and don't mind taking a risk now and then (ever finish a knit with 4 cm of yarn left? Oh yeah, you're definitely one of us!).  Adventure! Daring! Lots and lots of yarn!  Yarnacre Cottage's mascot is a monkey.  The House colours are cinnamon and granite. Quiz School Take this quiz & get your result

SOCK(topus)CLUB House Sorting Quiz » Quiz Maker

Snow, snow and more snow

Today, London has had the most amount of snowfall in the last 18 years. Schools were shut. Public transport ground to a halt. Shops and offices didn't open. The theatre had shows cancelled. The economy suffered. And the kids rejoiced.

We spent our day having snowball fights.............
Building a snowman(or at least attempting to build one - sorry kids, your momma grew up in the tropics and has no idea on the proper construction of snowman, snowball or anything to do with snow!)
Posing with snowman (obviously, not built by me!).....................
Feeling stranded in the snow......................
This was what it was like when I drove home from knit night on Sunday.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

It's that time of year again where I get the kids all dressed up in their Chinese outfits to wish everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai or Happy New Year. I really don't mean to exclude Zoe but she's just refusing to play ball during the photoshoot. There's 1 photo with all 3 kids but Zoe had tears streaming down her face and she was screaming like a banshee. We won't use that photo....

She was in a much better mood the next day and I even managed to get her to model not 1 outfit but 3 outfits. 1 outfit fits her, 1 is too big (it's for Keira) and 1 is too small (so it's going to her cousin). I'm very amazed with myself, I got 3 dresses made in a 4 week period. Yay!!! More details on my Rav page. here

This is her dress.
This dress is for Celeste (it's kinda tight around her belly!)
This dress is for Keira. I need to block it so that it grows a bit. It's kinda tight on Keira. And the worst thing is - I swatched and I measured her and I still managed to get it wrong. Oh well, live and learn.

Finally, here is my Socktopus Sock club package. The yarn is Chameleon Colourworks Evolution in Peppermint Cheer. It is perfect for a cold, dark, wintry knit. Now that I've finished my dresses, I can start my socks. Here's to more sock knitting in 2009.
Happy New Year and may the Year of the Ox bring you lots of health, wealth and happiness.

Progress on the dresses

There's been much knitting at Casa Ling. I'm on a bit of a deadline!! Chinese New Year is a week away and I have to finish 2 lil dresses. Must knit faster.

This is the new dress for Zoe. Top down construction with a little mandarin collar. I want to make an ornate button for it (we'll see if I have the time!) I think I'm going to have a lacy edging for the bottom of the dress. Which one - who knows!This is Keira's dress, knitted in Rowan Kid Classic. This might end up being a tunic rather than a dress as it depends on how much yarn I have. It has a twisted rib yoke, in the style of Shalom cardigan. I have a bit more knitting on this one.

Wish me luck, I have a bit more knitting to do!

Cold, cold, cold

It's been cold, cold cold and blooming freezing for the last few weeks, and maybe even months. My fingers are too cold to even knit (that may be an exaggeration!) This wintry weather is certainly making me want to knit up some warm and chunky knits, toasty socks and hats and mitts and great big huge blankets. I might just have to follow Mary (at Dim sum knitting) and cast on with abandon. Watch this space.
And today, it started snowing in London.
And finally to some knitting content, I had intended to make this for Zoe, but I miscalculated and it came out a bit too small. So it's going to go to my niece in HK. The pattern is Little sister dress and I knitted it in Jaeger Siena 4 ply (doubled). Apologies for the bad photo, it's the greyness of London that is to blame. What's great about this knit, it took 3 or 4 evenings of knitting. There are some seams to sew and buttons to put on, but I consider it done!!! Keep looking out for few more red knits coming up. It'll be Chinese New Year soon and I'm on a mission to make some red dresses for little girls.

My year in FO's

There's not very much to show, but here is the sum total of my finished projects in 2008. I'm sure I started quite a few more, frogged yet a few more and haven't finished yet some more.


1. allete 1, 2. Buster 3, 3. monsters, 4. dumpling, 5. DSC03679, 6. tess 3, 7. DSC03623, 8. IMG_6410, 9. IMG_6213, 10. dress 2, 11. P1030191, 12. Viv 2, 13. wave j 2, 14. IMG_2426, 15. Rusted root, 16. IMG_2428, 17. flicca 3, 18. iceland 2, 19. Lola 3, 20. earflap hat

I'm not making any resolutions this year and I'll see how I do.

Hope everyone has a great 2009!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.Decorations as provided by Keira (age 4.5) this year - The angel at the top of the tree and the wreath on our front door.

A forest

The trees have grown into a forest....................

Swap package and more

And if you thought I wasn't busy enough running around after 3 kids and knitting, I've been embarking on some sewing projects as well. Madness, I know. I really want to share these cute Chrstmas trees that I've been making. the pattern is from
here ( little bird handmade). I haven't put much decoration on as I've used Christmas fabrics. I've got a whole forest worth, which hubby and kids want to give away to colleagues, teachers and friends. Thank goodness they take no time to whip up.


I took part the the Socktopus Secret Santa Swap (SoSeSaSw). My first swap!! look what came in the post for me. Isn't this fab!! Sock yarn on the left from Old Maiden Aunt in a lovely Rust colourway. And some handspun from my Secret Santa ( Yoshimi on ravelry).
And the full package. Thank you so much, Sarah.
I forgot to take photos of the goodies that I sent out to my swap giftee. But I wanted to show you the little pouch which I made for her. The fabric is from Liberty. It has knitting on it!! I followed a tutorial on the Purl Bee. I think it turned out pretty well. I had to resort to hand sewing because I couldn't get the sewing machine to sew a perfect circle! Perfect for 1 skein of sock yarn.

Struck down by flu

Why is it that if I catch the kids germs I get the full blown effect? They get coughs and colds and I get the full blown "can't get out of bed" flu. My symptoms from the last 2 days - shivers, fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, ear ache, body ache, headache and more ache. I must have slept for about 20 hours yesterday. I still feel like cr*p, but at least I feel vaguely alive today.

But enough about the complaining. Here's my latest project. With Christmas concert round the corner, I've spent the last few nights knitting angel wings for Keira. The pattern is Allete from Knitty summer 06. I showed hubby the finished article, all he could say was that it needed some gold edging to make the wings stand out. So I added a single crochet around the wing tips in some Rowan Lurex Shimmer in Gold. As you can see, she loves her outfit!!

100 things

I'm nicking this meme from Emma. The things I've done are in Bold.

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars - a long time ago, as I’m much more accustomed to the Creature Comforts
3. Played in a band - again, a long time ago and I played the keyboard badly!!
4. Visited Hawaii - I really want to do this
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo - this’ll never happen, I have a crap singing voice.
11. Bungee jumped - Nope, nope and nope!!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning -More times than I care to count.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill . Who hasn't?
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run - on the Wii
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person - On my honeymoon!
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language. I can't speak French to save my life but I can read it and I can understand a lot of spoken French.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. I always think winning the Big One on the Lottery would be great, but I don’t think I’ve been dissatisfied with what I have.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance - although,not for m. It was for hubby when he was in a motorbike accident. Scary!
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - Not because I haven't tried!
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit. Had to sue my landlady, who refused to return my deposit for no good reason, when I was a poor improvished student.
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

55 out of 100.

Buster

Hellooo! Life has been super busy these last few weeks. We have had illnesses in the last 4 weeks. Chest infections, tummy bugs, coughs and colds and unexplained high fevers. Oh, the joys of winter. I'm sure we'll have more as well.

Anyway, let's not dwell on it. I have been busy crafting and knitting these last few weeks. If I get my act together, I do have a cute advent calender for the kids. But the first o december is coming up relly quickly.

I have finished a new project recently. This is Buster from Rowan Babies. Knitted in Rowan Wool Cotton. I made this for a friends new baby. I made it in the 6 - 12 month size (just in case I was bit slowin the finishing up!) I'm happy to say that I did start and finish within 4 weeks and the cardigan is a bit big for the baby so hopefully, he'll have a bit wear this winter. Here's Zoe modelling the finished article. (Note she's 15 months and the cardigan fits her. She's so tiny!)

Birthdays

Here's my baby boy except he's no baby anymore. He turned 6 on Saturday. I know Keira looks bigger standing next to him, but she's on her tippy toes.

I'll post more soon. I haven't had much time as I've been on my own with the kids for the last week. Back soon for more.

Socktopus shop opening

On Sunday, I attended the Grand opening of Socktopus!!! I met up with loads of knitters, ate lots of cake and cupcake, fondled lots of yarn (I may have bought a skein or two, shhh.....) and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Here is Alice, shop owner extraordinaire.

And here is the evil temptation...............................

halloween

It was a cold, dark foggy night in freezing London, when we went trick or treating on Halloween. Did I mention it was cold and freezing?! I practically froze my a** off. The kids had an amazing time and terrorised the whole neighbourhood!
We went to a friend's place for the pre trick or treat party. Here's our "scary" contribution. Ghost cupcakes as decorated by the children.



This was the amazing pumpkin display by my friend. Wow!!