Sewing days

We've been pretty busy here, despite the heat (32 degrees on Tuesday) we've managed to clear out the section a lot and Thomas has been busy in the garage and lean-to as well.  Red bin was full to the brim and so was the green.  They've been emptied now, but the yellow is still full and that doesn't get emptied till Tuesday next week.
Been getting more exercise as a result and on Tuesday I went out for a decent bike ride.   On Monday the kittens got to go outside for the first time, they went absolutely nuts!   My flax plants are now flattened; if you watch this you can see why!

We've had to rescue Ray from up on the conservatory roof too, she's the adventurous one; though right atm both of them are curled up on the beanbag, fast asleep.

Yesterday we went to Willowbank with the boys and had a superfast tour by Ian, he lead, we ran along behind.   Some photo's to show what we saw when he paused.   It was a good day for it, not too hot.

 The voracious eels

 The beautiful peacock

 The only deer that was interested in us, the rest were hiding

 The very bored looking gibbon

 Our favourite Clydesdale horse

 A juvenile pukeko, his red colouring will come in later

 Our boys on the donkeys which they both enjoyed

 A lamb in the Arapawa/Karakul sheep enclosure; he's got a fat tail, so I suspect he's Karakul

 The sulphur crested cockatoo who was refusing to talk

 A tortoise, this is the first time we've seen tortoises here

A wallaby, we also saw one with a joey in her pouch.
The boys really enjoyed themselves and afterwards we bought lunch at Bakers Delight and an iceblock each from the dairy.  All in all a very good day.

That afternoon I got more sewing done.  I finished this skirt a couple of days ago

This is a New Look pattern that I've changed quite a bit; shortened and removed the waistband so I could use a facing instead.  The fabric is a stretch cotton sateen from Fabric Vision
My second skirt is the same pattern, but the fabric is a quilting cotton from Stitch and I've used a velvet ribbon trim

I really like the way this pattern works out after the adjustments and a size reconciliation (according to the back I should be a size 20, however size 16 fits perfectly).  I've been wearing this skirt all day and I'm in love!  I bought another 1.4m of another quilting cotton to make one more, then I'm right for summer skirts; that's a blue with spots on it and I might embellish one or three of the spots when it's done.   I've got to prewash the fabric though, and I need some bike shorts first.
Got the pattern for them today as well as a new trouser pattern for Thomas as the one I've been using is feeling rather sad, that and if he can't shift some weight then I'll need a larger one anyway.   I also got some more invisible zips, love those things when I install them correctly.
The last thing I got was a new shoulder bag, my current one is over 15 years old and starting to fall to pieces. I've dropped it in for repair, but I found one in the same range for $155 which I bought in the meantime.  I think this will get used lots too.

Right, back to knitting while I"m waiting for the weather to improve for my prewashing.   See you later and wishing you a happy crafty new year.

Happy New Year!

1st day of 2011 already!   We've been busy here, but first I want to show you my last project that I finished on New Years Eve.

My husband's business trousers.  Made from a Burda pattern that apparently fits well, or at least the old pair in it do, the new pair are a little tight.   He has 3 weeks to lose some weight or for these trousers to stretch to fit as apparently the old ones have.

Aside from the fact that he's expanded they're a really nice trouser, I could possibly add a little extra room in the seat, but to add any into the waistband means I have to undo a lot of topstitching first.  We're hoping he'll lose the weight; it'd be a lot easier for me.  

I also got the heel turn done on his last sock in the pair, so just 62 rounds to go and that'll be finished too.

My birthday the day before didn't go so well due in the main to a nasty cold which gave me a headache and a middle ache from all the coughing; feeling a bit better now, but it means that I didn't get the sewing, spinning and knitting done that I'd planned as I wasn't feeling up to it.   On the plus side, Thomas took the boys out for an hour or so for a walk so I could play Fallout 3 on the Xbox, that was nice.   He gave me a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy in blue.   Liz (MIL) gave me some hankies, some biscuits in a very nice tin and some Belgian chocolates which are not opened yet as I want to be able to appreciate them.

Today we got to clearing out the lean-to next to the garage so we can store the bikes in there and so I can get to the freezer.  It's looking a lot better, but our rubbish bin is now full.   I also cut out two skirts which I'm hoping I'll get some sewing done on them tomorrow; no time tonight as we're playing Talisman.  I'll post photo's once they're done.

New Years Resolutions:

More sewing and knitting of course including more socks and jerseys; also much more sewing to get the mojo back up and running.   I need more workout gear too.
Less eating of sugar and junk
More exercise; this will be easier now my bike is fixed.
Less tv/xbox etc again too.

Merry Christmas!

You wouldn't think it was Christmas Eve, the boys are not going to sleep, which means Santa isn't coming yet.  We can't wrap the presents yet either.   However, they are looking forward to tomorrow, despite already having some of their presents.  They already have the pool, and the kittens!

I'm still working on Thomas' socks; the first is finished, second is only 10 rows into the foot after increases finished, and I realised afterwards I did a different toe on this one.  Nevermind, this means Thomas can decide which he prefers, I'm not frogging.

Just a plain basic sock, but in this yarn that's what we want.  I'm not sure I like the colourway, but Thomas seems happy enough, so we'll keep on knitting.   I'm going to take a break tomorrow for some spinning on Christmas day though, between making a loaf of bread and another pavlova (Dad wants one too)
Last couple of days have been busy, today's been cleaning day.  Yesterday I made the first pavlova

did some gardening

and watched our kittens.  Ray desperately wants to get outside, she's worked out the front screen door so we have to lock it now; she's a shoulder cat given the chance.  Star's not quite so friendly, but still lovely.   Here for your entertainment are some gratuitous kitty photos

Look at us, aren't we lovely?   I am controlling your mind silly human, we are lovely!

Why thank-you for the lovely dangly toys; we are finding them fascinating, do you mind if we steal some to kill later?

Fratello Finished and Interweave Knits Review

This is going to be a fairly busy blog post.   1st of all a photo of the surprise blogtoberfest package I won

As you can see there was a red theme.  2 covered buttons, a small thimble, a trowel and fork pair of buttons, a print ribbon, 1 skein of embroidery floss and some gorgeous fat quarters.   It was well worth the wait!   The Crafty Librarian was the blog I won this from.

Next thing is Fratello is finally finished!  George likes it and so do I.  The cable doesn't show well in photo's  but it looks fine in real life.  I did make one adjustment to the pattern, I added some 2x2 rib to the bottom of the sleeve so it won't curl up

Excuse the funny look on his face, I couldn't get a good photo.

In other news the kittens are gorgeous and growing and wanting out!

as you can see, this is both of them attempting to get to the doorhandle to open it.   Luckily they haven't succeeded yet.  Oh, and Ray it turns out is a girl, so we have 2 wee girls

Interweave Knits Winter 2010


Yes, it's that time again.  It arrived earlier in the week and now I'm going to go through and say what I think of each pattern and what changes need to be made to make them nicer.

This isn't one of their best efforts, if I'd seen it in the shop I probably wouldn't have bought it, but having a sub, I do have it.

The Charvet Pullover:
This has potential, I'm not sure if it's a round neck or V, but it's not too wide.  I think the shoulders are a little too wide on the model they've chosen and I'd lengthen the sleeves and body.  I probably won't knit it even with those ammendments though, it just doesn't have enough 'wow' factor for me.

Zoe Scheffy's Latvian Braid Mitts:
These I like very much, enough texture to be interesting and with a touch of colour.   Might put these in the queue.

Barclay Sweater:
Not really my thing, can't see DH in it, though in black, charcoal and grey he might consider it, there are more suitable patterns out there for him though.  Neckline is a little wide.

Flowering Plum Pullover:
Don't like this much at all, doesn't fit very well under the arms.  I think it might work better in a more subtle colour selection.  The purple and white is a little too stark.

Kinetic Cowl:
Fairly basic looking, but with being bias I'd expect a little more drape, maybe the gauge is a little tight.  I think if it draped more it would be very pretty.

Lollipop Cap:
Looks more like a beret to me, but that's just semantics.  It is a nice hat once again in different colours, maybe navy instead of white.  I would knit it.

Spoked Hat:
I really like this wee hat, it's feminine, classic and sweet all at the same time, this I would knit.   Nicely fitted and should be easy to knit.  Would look good on a guy too I suspect.

Isobel Skirt:
There is potential here, but it needs to be longer, just too short  for me.

Prism Pullover:
Where's the full sized photo of the front?   Mind you the photo of the back puts me off completely.  Too low in the back, shapeless and from what you can see on the tiny front photo in the instructions it's just as bad from the front.

Evergreen Vest:
I like this, slightly rustic looking.  I think I'd ditch the pockets as they just spoil the line of the front, but aside from that it's practical and would be fantastic on the farm or doing outdoor work in winter.

Tuckernuck Cardigan:
This is gorgeous, if I had a little girl she'd be getting this in a heartbeat, in fact I'd drop what I was knitting now for it.  However I don't so if anyone asks me for a cute girl cardigan I'll point them to the magazine.

Crocus Cardigan:
I'd knit this for me, but longer n the body and sleeves.  Aside from that love the shape and the front panel pattern.

Slouchy Cable Pullover:
Once again shapeless, sleeves too short and neck too low.  Yuck.

Galvanised Cardigan:
I quite like this, it's a basic cardigan with a little embroidery to highlight the rib details on the collar, cuffs and hem.  Simple, but effective and with a raglan sleeve.

Ginevra's Pullover:
I like the idea of this, but something's not quite right with the real thing.  I think it's the level that the laceweight goes down to, it's not low enough to be an empire, but too low for a flattering standard neckline it's also too wide at the shoulder.  Would have worked better with just a couple of inches less width.

Oslo Walk Shawl:
This is more of a scarf than a shawl to me due to the width, however it's still very pretty and I think will be on the list for a later knit.

Winter Wren Cardigan:
Parts of this I like, others I hate.  Love the colours and fair-isle style, however it doesn't work with the ruffles. Make it longer in body and sleeves, deruffle it and change the fastening and I'd knit it.

Thandie Funnel Neck:
This I love as is, no changes required.  Love the combination of yarns, love the neck, length; everything.

Pinked Socks:
I like these well enough, but I'm confident enough in colourwork that it's a bit simplistic now.  Would look fantastic in black and white though

Art Deco Argyle Stockings:
I'd use different colours, probably more traditional ones, but I do like these.  I do think they made them a touch too long for the model though.

Stranded Boot Stockings:
Traditional Norweigan style knee socks, I hate the colour they've used, but love the pattern.  Unfortunately they're not exactly unique.

Alpha Stockings:
I like these a lot, I like twisted stitches and they look really good in a knee high.  Will definitely keep these in mind.

Pavo Slipper Socks:
I like that they have sizes for children and adults, but probably won't knit them as I prefer longer socks.

Houndstooth and a Half Jacket:
What on earth were they thinking?  It's the wrong colours, the yarn's too heavy, pattern too large and.....
I think this one needs redesigning from scratch.

Gloucester Coat:
I like the look of it, but would like a picture with the hood up.  From what I can see my interest is piqued and I'll be watching it on Ravelry for pictures of other people's creations.  I love the cables.

Ginza Sport Coat:
No man I know would be caught dead in this.  DH thinks it's hideous, and I have to agree.  Yuk, looks like something that Grandpa put in the shed for doing his gardening in cos Nana wouldn't let it in the house.

Burnham Wood Capelet:
This I like, nice shaping, a little tight on the model, but that's easily rectified.  I like the closures too.

Ok, that's it for this.  On a related note though, does anyone know where I put the scarf I finished a couple of weekends back?   I can't find it and I need to find it tonight!

Fratello Finished and Interweave Knits Review

This is going to be a fairly busy blog post.   1st of all a photo of the surprise blogtoberfest package I won

As you can see there was a red theme.  2 covered buttons, a small thimble, a trowel and fork pair of buttons, a print ribbon, 1 skein of embroidery floss and some gorgeous fat quarters.   It was well worth the wait!   The Crafty Librarian was the blog I won this from.

Next thing is Fratello is finally finished!  George likes it and so do I.  The cable doesn't show well in photo's  but it looks fine in real life.  I did make one adjustment to the pattern, I added some 2x2 rib to the bottom of the sleeve so it won't curl up

Excuse the funny look on his face, I couldn't get a good photo.

In other news the kittens are gorgeous and growing and wanting out!

as you can see, this is both of them attempting to get to the doorhandle to open it.   Luckily they haven't succeeded yet.  Oh, and Ray it turns out is a girl, so we have 2 wee girls

Interweave Knits Winter 2010


Yes, it's that time again.  It arrived earlier in the week and now I'm going to go through and say what I think of each pattern and what changes need to be made to make them nicer.  

This isn't one of their best efforts, if I'd seen it in the shop I probably wouldn't have bought it, but having a sub, I do have it.

The Charvet Pullover:
This has potential, I'm not sure if it's a round neck or V, but it's not too wide.  I think the shoulders are a little too wide on the model they've chosen and I'd lengthen the sleeves and body.  I probably won't knit it even with those ammendments though, it just doesn't have enough 'wow' factor for me.

Zoe Scheffy's Latvian Braid Mitts:
These I like very much, enough texture to be interesting and with a touch of colour.   Might put these in the queue.

Barclay Sweater:
Not really my thing, can't see DH in it, though in black, charcoal and grey he might consider it, there are more suitable patterns out there for him though.  Neckline is a little wide.

Flowering Plum Pullover:
Don't like this much at all, doesn't fit very well under the arms.  I think it might work better in a more subtle colour selection.  The purple and white is a little too stark.

Kinetic Cowl:
Fairly basic looking, but with being bias I'd expect a little more drape, maybe the gauge is a little tight.  I think if it draped more it would be very pretty.

Lollipop Cap:
Looks more like a beret to me, but that's just semantics.  It is a nice hat once again in different colours, maybe navy instead of white.  I would knit it.

Spoked Hat:
I really like this wee hat, it's feminine, classic and sweet all at the same time, this I would knit.   Nicely fitted and should be easy to knit.  Would look good on a guy too I suspect.

Isobel Skirt:
There is potential here, but it needs to be longer, just too short  for me.

$100 Holiday Gift from Novica

$100 Holiday Gift from Novica

Yesterday and other things

 I think this is Star, she's usually moving fast, so's Ray and in this photo it's hard to see her markings.  Both kittens are doing well, they get their first shots on Wednesday, so another month or so and then they can go outside.   Star wants outside now!   Unfortunately for her we're not prepared to let her do that till she's fairly safe from cat flu etc.

This arrived probably a couple of weeks ago now, it's a fibre sampler from Ewe Beaute fibres.    There's a couple of yarns in there and a stitch marker, but I requested the fibre heavy version and that's what I got.  Now I can add the fibre in this to my scrappy yarn fibre bag.  There's some yummy stuff in here including a couple of part-batts.   Will be fun to use this.

Now, the reason for this post was what I did yesterday.   Joanne, Paula and I were invited to fill some spots on a mystery bus tour.  It cost $15 for the bus as we don't belong to Fran's guild (Wigram Spinners), but that was still a completely reasonable cost for a full day out.  
We got to park our cars in a secure carpark, we had to take money for lunch and possible purchases (I needed more).  We started doing a competition where we had to write down all the things we could see from the bus that started with the letter P.  I won the first prize, a peanut slab which I gave to Thomas when I got home as I dont' like peanuts.

1st stop was Helen Heddell's farm where we got to see some Moorit Merino's; they wouldn't let us get close, so I had to use zoom to get these photo's.

One of them had the cutest black and white lamb; you can see him in this photo.  Helen had a couple of very nice Merino fleeces available, but I already have lots of white Merino and a couple of half fleeces of grey/black Merino's too, so I didn't need any more of that.

Next stop was at an Angora goat farm, these guys weren't shy!  Lovely animals, really enjoyed the time with them, and I had to buy some fibre as I only have a little mohair atm.  I got a kilo of kid mohair, medium grade as high grade wasn't too affordable.  $30 got me a lovely bag of soft yumminess though.

 Fibre

 Angora female goat

Part of the herd

Next stop was at Cust where I spent nothing, but did see a couple of bags I really like.   I"m going to have to save up for one to replace my current shoulder bag.  It's looking rather the worse for wear and a lot of the stitching has gone.

After that we went to Oxford where we stopped off at Jo Seager's restaurant for lunch.  This is what I had

Waffles with banana's, bacon and maple syrup; I was a little overfull after that so didn't get a dessert, to be honest I thing a dessert on top of that would have killed me!  I also got a rather nice hot chocolate too.

After lunch I had a wander around the art gallery, took a look at the old jail (2 rooms) and also looked through a little shop that had less stuff than the one in Cust, but also less atmosphere.  I didn't buy anything from there, or from Jo Seager's kitchen shop.   I'm afraid $59 for a cake form is a little too high for me.

Our next stop was Heavenly Wools where I'm afraid I blew the rest of my spending money.   I got 7 bags of dyed Merino top; 4 different colours.  I also received the mystery gift from the trip which in my case was some navy Merino top and some dyed mohair locks; yummy!

 a little peak at my fibre purchases here

my gift, you can't see the locks, but they're in lots of pastelly shades so should work well with the navy

Here's the place that they live, it's a converted church.  Not enough space for me, but very nice

You can see our bus on the left.  Some of the outside was covered in plastic siding by the previous owners, the current ones are not sure about this concept, a bit like they're not sure about the hot water cylinder that's currently on display in the kitchen end of the church.      I didn't get a photo of that, but I took one from that end of the house looking up towards the nave of the church

Isn't it pretty?   The bedroom is upstairs above my head when I took this photo, it's a mezzanine floor but quite private.

I did get quite a bit of knitting done on the trip, haven't a photo of it at the point I got to yesterday, but here's Fratello before it hit the bus

This wool doesn't photograph well, but it looks fantastic in person.  The jersey is for George and is being knit top-down with a centre-front cable.   I'm hoping to finish the body tonight.

That's it for a bit, got lots happening in the next couple of weeks, the NZ Creative Fibre group is putting on a gathering for Christchurch guild members next Saturday due to the earthquake, Sunday next week is our Christmas celebration with my family as some of them won't be in town on the day.  The following Saturday is another guild Christmas lunch.   This Monday is the Judo Christmas thing, not really looking forward to that, I have nothing in common with most of the parents there, or at least that's how it feels and Ian finds those things a little overwhelming too.

Warm fuzzies

One finished item today, very pleased with this, it's not fussy but still soft and warm.  I've called it Cinnamon Surprise.  It's not for me, but I did get to model it.

and then there's these guys

On the left we have Ray and on the right Star.  They're from the same litter and although they look black they're not solid black.  Ray has a jaguar pattern of darker and lighter black, while Star is more of a cheetah print.  They're gorgeous, but having some adapting to do to our house as they were in a small room at the Cats Protection League; there's a lot more space here.  They're staying in the laundry at night with their food and litterbox.  During the day they have the living area to roam in and in a day or so they'll get to meet the rest of the house.   No going outside for them for a bit, not vaccinated yet and CPL want us to keep them inside till they're fixed which won't be for another month or so.
There were 2 other cats we really wanted, but we could only have 2 and we though siblings would be a good idea for eachother and our children too.   There was a Mummy cat called Asher who was lovely and another kitten called Honey, but she might have FIV and there's no way of knowing till she's 6 months old.  I really loved Asher, Thomas really loved Honey but there's no way we could keep a kitten inside till she's 6 months old or even till she dies if she was infected.

Swimsuit for me

is finished.   The fabric was from my stash, I've lined it with a cotton lycra that was also from my stash.  I know the cotton won't last that well, but I swim infrequently so that shouldn't really be an issue.  I've used Lastin for the elastic and added a shelf bra to the top.  I graded up a boy-leg pattern I had and used a singlet pattern for the top.  I think I'll test it in the bath before I wear it for the first time in the pool, this is important as its first outing will be at George's end of year school trip, going down the hydroslide.  Not really looking forward to it, I don't overly like swimming, but it wouldn't be fair if he didn't get to go down the slide.

What do you think of it?

I had to make it, wasn't prepared to fork out over $80 for a shop-bought one and my current one is 2 sizes too small.   I do need to do something about that and will be once I'm feeling well enough again, still a wee bit chesty atm.

My next sewing thing is to hem the most hideous jacket in the world for a friend of Mikes' (BIL).  Someone had hacked the original hem off, not evenly either so that needs some work and I think I'll have to see if I've got any black bias binding to make the hem as shallow as I can.
Then Thomas's business trousers as one of his current pairs is really past its best.

In the meantime I'm still knitting the shawlette and will be working on my Fratello for George as soon as that's finished.  I'm over halfway through the shawlette.

ADHD?

Had an appointment for George to see a child psychiatrist this morning at Whakatata House after the various assessments that have been done so far.  School think he's Aspergers/ASD, the psychiatrist says he definitely has some indicators, but he's leaning in the ADHD direction.  Ritalin was mentioned, but will be relooked at next year by them to see if a different teacher makes a difference in George's concentration issues.   His current teacher, while a lovely lady is not a good mesh with George.  He needs someone who will put their foot down in the right way for him.
Thomas and I don't think Ritalin is the way to go, George isn't overactive, just a bit silly.  He also needs to learn how to concentrate on stuff he doesn't like without drugs, drugs just mask the problem, they don't teach how to deal with it.  The silly thing is if he's interested in something he's got fantastic concentration!
I'm going to have to do some research on all this, but at the end of the day we're not putting drugs into a developing body.  We are reducing junk food, there are no more oven fries in this house, no more coco puffs for breakfast.  Eventually I'd like to work towards a more natural way of life, but that will take some time and some work as Ian in particular is a fussy eater.
More baking though, problem with that is I tend to eat it.

Oh, and our swimming pool (plastic with metal frame) is dying, seams are splitting and the frame is not well either.  Keeping an eye open for something similar that's cheap.  Wish me luck!

A quick kitty post

We've been and looked at kittens.  2 wee lovelies will be coming home with us in 3 weeks once they're old enough to leave their mum.  1 black girl, she has a white star on her chest so Thomas has named her "Star".  The other is a wee ginger tabby girl; we're not sure on name yet but the options we've thought of so far are Honey, Spice or Toffee.   A little foody perhaps, but her colouring is a soft ginger.  She though Thomas was great!  Really hoping they fit in well with our family.
There were 5 litters at the foster house.  1 very young with a mum who obviously hadn't been looked after; she was very thin and they were being very careful with her.  2 others with litters about the same age and then in purpose built cages out back the slightly older litters.  1 lot was all spoken for, and we chose 2 from the second one.
We still have to get the cat food, I'll probably do that tomorrow; although we have some Science Diet kitten food left over they're used to Royal Canin so we'll get some of that and mix the Science Diet in slowly to get them used to it.  We already have some cat litter and a tray so that just leaves us with a bed to make for them in the laundry until they're old enough to sleep on our bed without accidents.  The cat door will remain locked until they're old enough to be outside sometimes.
We dropped off at The Warehouse afterwards and picked up a new cat carrier using a voucher I had, also a couple of other things for the boys and an Xbox game for Thomas and myself.
Thomas has now come down with George's cold, so while George is mostly better, Thomas and I are feeling less than our best.  

Canterbury A&P Show

For those of you who are not New Zealanders "A&P" stands for Agricultural and Pastoral; basically it's a huge farming show which has grown to include lots of other stuff.   It's held on show week in Christchurch and typically the public holiday on the Friday is fine and hot.
Today was no exception, it hit 26 degrees with no cloud cover at all.  We went to the show as early as we thought we could; we arrived at 8.05am and there were already about 5 double banks of cars parked up!  We joined in and headed into the show.   We already had our tickets ($52.00) so just trotted on in.

The first section was a home show sort of thing, I picked up a set of wrist bracelets that are one-use which you pop on your child's wrists with your cellphone number.  It cost $5 for the set and with Ian sometimes disappearing without warning we thought it was a good idea; they provided a complimentary set for both boys for the day.  We also entered a competition there for a jar of jelly beans.  Ian made a guess which Thomas then added a little to (Ian chose 22, Thomas added a 5 in front), they got the closest guess so Ian won the big jar of jellybeans!   I didn't get a photo of him receiving his prize when they dropped it off for him tonight, but I got one of it on the table at dinnertime (no he didn't eat them for dinner).

It's a really big jar, but I think I might hide it tonight and just get it out occasionally.

We saw lots of sheep, horses, chooks, vintage machines etc and happy boys, with occasional meltdowns when we wouldn't let them go on expensive rides, most of which had huge queues.
Here are some of what we saw

 George on a harvester

Corriedale fleece still on the ram

 Border Leicester

 Happy boys

 Perendale

 Ian on tractor

 Corriedale fleece

The Corriedale sheep

Vintage machinery

Now that the day is over we're exhausted.  I did a little work, just enough to get my 20 hours for the week.   Finished part 2 of the Fratello knit for George, can't post a photo atm as part of the conditions of the KAL.  It's being knit in a taupe shade and is looking really nice.
One knit I can show you is the shawl I've just cast on; Pimpelliese is a gift for someone, won't say who as they may read this

Doesn't look like much yet, but it's going to be very pretty; better get back to knitting it!.

Did finish some spinning earlier in the week, but can't post a photo of that yet as it's part of our fleece study at the guild; will try to post a photo tomorrow of that.

English Leicester

It's what I'm currently spinning, I need to have it finished by Saturday next week as it's our "focus on fleece" for this month.   I've done one single using the fleece we were sold and will be doing another in the other direction.   This may seem odd, but I'm planning a boucle yarn with the boucle part being a dyed English Leicester.
So I'll be plying the coloured single with the original one and then using the single spun the other way as a binder; I'll be overplying the first ones.

This is the fibre I'm using, I'm flick carding it before spinning fairly fine.   It could probably spin finer, but this is the first time I've spun English Leicester like this and I don't want rope.
I'll be working on this tomorrow hopefully as well as the Fratello mystery KAL for George.  Work as well of course.

I did get one thing finished today though, a WWII Watch Cap.  It's knitted in one of my earlier handspun yarns, a superwash Merino and it's rather nice.   It fits my big noggin, but is meant for a smaller one.   I only have a photo of it on me though, so here it is.  Not the best photo of me, so please just look at the hat.

I'm not really that colour, but late night flash is not flattering, especially when self photographing.

In other news....
George is at Judo camp with his Dad and it sounds like it's going well, he was dry last night which was great!  He's also not been overly silly which is also good; I'm looking forward to hearing all about it when they get home tomorrow.

Ian went to a birthday party today; Grandma dropped him off and I picked him up 2 hours later.  He behaved himself well, no meltdowns or anything and had a fantastic time; he was on a sugar high afterwards.   Wasn't as bad as I expected to get to bed though; he'll get some Xbox tomorrow as a reward, he's earned it!

1st November already!

Christmas has suddenly started galloping up, rather scary that.  Luckily thanks to Joanne I now know what we're getting the 2 younger nephews, Bradley is easy as DH already knows what he wants to get him.  I'll be ringing the SPCA on Wednesday to see if our boys presents have arrived yet, which just leaves getting something for eachother and also something for my Mum (she's given me her wishlist) and my brother (also have a wishlist).  Just got to get around to getting what we need to.  I'd rather do it sooner than later simply to avoid the Christmas rush.

Today, hmmm.  Felt grumpy for a fair part of it cos I had an appointment in the middle of the day which meant that there wasn't time to settle to anything before or after.  I went into town to visit Kutwell fabrics, but they don't open till 10am.  While I was waiting I visited Whitcoulls and spent some of my money on a maths book for George, Bernina to get an invisible zip and then Kutwells were open so I went in and got 2m of polycotton drill for $6 and 3m of 80% wool twill for $27.  The wool is already washed; I got it to make a skirt for me.  They're closing down and will be gone by Christmas so this is probably my last chance.  It's a lovely weight for a straight or A-line skirt and I can embellish too.
Had my appointment with a lady from "Socially Speaking" about Ian and his socialization issues.  I've emailed GSE (Ministry of Ed team that work with Ian) to ask for certain reports, which it looks like they haven't done yet.  Once those are done then we can decide what to do, Ian needs work on this, but Socially Speaking is expensive and I'm not sure if we can afford it; especially as his carer support isn't supposed to be used for most of it, just the group sessions.  I think we'll have to come up with some strategies of our own to work this out.
After the appointment I decided to drop into Mainland Uniforms to see how much school tops and shorts were, unfortunately our school doesn't let them make their logo, so I couldn't get anything.  I did however get a thing of socks as the ones they had are the same as a lot I had a couple of years ago that are still going strong on the boys.
Tonight I got one row done on the hat and nothing on anything else.  Planning on cleaning out the sewing room tomorrow, so probably not much knitting then either.  However once that's done then I can get some sewing done.