Proud mother boasting ....

Big Girl rang me in the week for a chat and in passing she mentioned that she would be captaining a university sports team next year.  My heart swelled with pride although logically I was a little confused - like her mother, she's never been one for physical exertion.  So I enquired further and it turns out that my daughter will be leading the University of Lancaster Ladies Darts Team to glory from September onwards .... ah, well.

On to crafting;  I have booked myself a stall at a new fair for Sunday, 11th March so do come along and visit.  It would be lovely to see you .....
 
 

Cath Kidston does Am Bothan

I am quite overcome with pride.  Youngest Child went to Winchester today and rang me in a frenzy to tell me that she was in the Cath Kidston store and there, on a cake stand, were some of my knitted cup cakes.  'Never' I said, so she sent me this photo to prove it ....

They are very squashed and have obviously been handled by lots of customers.  How exciting is that for a Cath fan such as myself?

 I haven't blogged for a while through lack of anything to show you.  I've been struggling with the Muir and Osborne cat patterns in my new book.  I've tried three so far and none has been satisfactory but I shall have another go some time.

Hope to be back at the weekend with some photos of current projects but, in the meantime, enjoy your extra day tomorrow.  Do we get paid for the extra day in a leap year or do we just do 366 days work for 365 days pay?

Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile. Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da ...

... so I finished off a few outstanding projects ...

which gave me a huge feeling of satisfaction or possibly, just relieved the guilt of delaying so long.  As you can see, I had a go at a crinoline lady ....

... something I've been meaning to try to some time.

Muir and Osborne are bringing out a paperback edition of Best in Show:  Knit Your Own Cat on 8th Februrary.  It's called  Knit Your Own Cat:  Easy-to-Follow Patterns for 16 Frisky Felines.
 I didn't buy the original book as I had a pile of unfinished projects (see above!) waiting.  But, I am now unable to resist and have pre-ordered myself a copy.  While I'm waiting impatiently for it to arrive I've revisited the wonderful Knit your Own Dog book .....

 The patterns are wonderful but not as simple as the blurb suggests.  I think I'm a fairly experienced knitter but I had to try the Westie's head three times before I got it right.  Mind you, I was watching the BBC's very enjoyable version of the  Mystery of Edwin Drood at the time so that may explain the mistakes!



On the subject of knitting, this year's Ravelry is being held at Farnham Maltings on 25th and 26th February.  Unfortunately, this clashes with the next Shepton Flea so I won't be able to go, but I'd recommend it to any knitters within reach of Farnham on that date.

Have I had a Sleeping Beauty moment? .....

I find myself wondering whether I have fallen asleep, woken up in March and missed the end of the Winter.  I took Big Girl back to Lancaster this weekend and was taken aback to find Hot Cross Buns in Marks and Spencer and Cadbury's Creme Eggs in the petrol station.   Much as I love both of these seasonal delicacies, I don't want to see them for at least another month!

Last week I had another birthday and I am now (as my grandmother used to say) as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.  This is what Northern Man bought for me ...

Clever man: what more could a girl want?

I've been doing more knitting and have the next knitted bird to show you - an owl this time.  Here he is with some friends. 

A quick welcome to Little Nell, a new follower, who has two blogs ( hangingonmyword.blogspot.com and pickingupthethreads.blogspot.com)  for you to look at during the dark January evenings. 

Happy New Year!

I hope you have made your resolutions.  Mine are:-

1. Not to buy anything at a flea market, antique fair or car boot sale that does not fit into a shopping bag

2.  To buy nothing at all, of any size or shape, that is painted with gloss paint (yes, I know you've heard me say that before)

3. To make a real effort to use up some of the infamous yarn stash that is threatening to completely fill one corner of the garage. 

 So, three resolutions which should, you would have thought, be manageable.  I went to a car boot sale today.  It was small, muddy and cold and I bought (yes, you guessed it) yarn. 

Not a lot of yarn, just a little bit of vintage cream for doing doves, but that's the third resolution gone and it is only 2nd January.

I have had lots of time to indulge myself this break and I've been knitting bunches of flowers.  The rose pattern is from Lesley Stanfield's 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet but the other patterns are my own.  Here are some of the results ....

 As you can see, I decided that it would be a good idea to knit jugs to put the bunches of flowers in.  Unfortunately, the stiffening process went a little wrong and they look like factory seconds.  Never mind, at least I've got that particular bit of silliness out of my system now.