Little projects

Although I'm technically still making a blanket (which is definitely not a little project) it's become side lined with all the little things I've been making instead ♥

My mum kindly took these photos for me of the present I made her for mothers day.  The pattern is
Amigurumi Potted Plant by Lion Brand, which according to Ravelry I saved three years ago!  It always helps to save things for later x

You can sneakily peak my parents garden in the background, it's absolutely lush and they've spent a lot of time on it, especially in the last couple of years.  We had a BBQ at the weekend, after an initial technical hitch because we didn't have fire lighters we threw on a whole bag of kindling (overkill?) and I've got to say we did pretty well!  My Dad was the most relieved because his last BBQ took about 4 hours and I think the food ended up being oven cooked because the coals didn't get hot!

J & I went to London last weekend and spotted on the Underground that the Olympic park is now open (and free) so we decided to have a visit.

I really like what they've done with the landscaping because it's not at all formal and there are lots of wild flowers to encourage wildlife





The park was absolutely packed so although it was a bit too busy it's nice to see the area being used.  I'm pretty sure that before 2012 (and before construction began) it was a bit of a wasteland here so to be able to enjoy it now is quite lovely.

I'm still disappointed that this isn't actually a roller coaster.

I think the helter skelter was £6 to go on, which if you ask me is a complete rip off.  I went on one two years ago at Tatton Park flower show for about a pound!  Grrrr

Despite the pricey food (bring a picnic) there is loads of cool stuff for kids like a climbing wall, fountains and play areas

Back at home my Dad helped me to put together a charm bracelet.  I only asked him for some pliers or something to help pull apart the jump rings and he came back with about 5 different tools, a stand to hold the chain with a magnifying glass and solder.  Result!

This is my first attempt at jewellery making and while it was incredibly frustrating at first, and I stabbed myself with some pliers between the eyes (luckily not in the eyes) I quite enjoyed it.  Actually no I didn't, I liked it when it was finished!!

Sadly it was not made for me and has been given to F for her birthday.  She's a music teacher and her girlfriend is really into tennis so I was lucky to find the most appropriate charms!

I had to make the little rings above the flowers on the end (this is how I stabbed myself) but look how neat!!  Not bad for a first go?

They're all soldered into place to keep them from falling off, no corners were cut here where my Dad was concerned!

Alas I think weekend chores are calling :-(  We had a good old tidy a few weeks ago to be slightly more presentable when the first of our friends came to visit, but now it's state again!

x x x x

P.S I met little O at the weekend and my friends really loved his presents! ♥

DIY part 1

Warning!  This post is all about DIY, which I know isn't very interesting to a lot of people especially if you read my blog because you're a knitter, crocheter or you just like saying hello, so I don't mind if you skip past this one.

DIY is a BIG part of what I'm upto these days so it would be a bit odd not to talk about it.  When we bought the house it didn't look like anything needed to be done, other than cosmetic stuff, but I guess once you move in you start to properly notice all the little things.  Our main bedroom was a pale blue which we wanted to change for something a bit warmer.  I also wasn't mad on the wall paper.

We noticed a small crack running between the two windows but we weren't too worried.  It looked like the top layer of plaster wasn't bonded to the wall very well, bits of it came off when we pulled off the paper, but no biggie; this could be re-skimmed.

And it was okay that when we pulled the dado rail off the plaster came off as well...

But it was not okay when we pulled away the wall paper here.  Er yes, this is brick.  Brick with absolutely NO plaster on it whatsoever.  Hello House!

So the first piece of advice I have for you, if you buy an old house do not pull the wallpaper off unless you're absolutely certain that you wouldn't rather put a picture over it because there's a good chance it's gluing the house together.

Luckily my Dad is a dab hand at DIY.  He built a climbing frame for me and my brother when we were kids, our garage, a conservatory and an extension to our house, but he never did put up my clock (thanks Mum!)

We decided to gut the room completely...  This was all the day after we moved in so I was pretty shattered but OH it was so much fun!  ♥ tool of the moment was the crowbar.

We found some beautiful wallpaper, which judging by how thin it was I think was pretty old.

My Dad got to work building a frame which we'd fill with insulation and cover in plasterboard.

Bye bye brick!

There's some green plastic in the wall to keep out moisture

Starting to look like a padded cell now...

We foolishly (I cannot emphasise this enough) thought it would be a good idea to take the ceiling down.  The original ceiling was quite springy and my Dad was having trouble finding the joists in the loft to drill the plasterboard into.

This my second piece of advice if you buy an old house.  Do not take the ceiling down because you and everything you own will quickly become covered in a layer of 100 year old dust, dirt and soot.  As soon as we realised it was getting everywhere (I mean everywhere) we stopped and decided to try again with finding the joists...  I looked like a chimney sweep and I had to visit B&Q like that for more screws.

Upon abandoning out quest we started to get cracking.  My Mum did an amazing job helping get the plasterboard onto the ceiling with my Dad, the car jack and a wooden contraption that my Dad built.

Over Christmas we couldn't really do much work until the room was plastered.  My Cousin who is a decorator / plasterer offered to come and do the whole thing for us, which was amazing and saved us a fortune.

They came up bright and early (8.30am!) from London one Saturday morning and did the whole thing, with a bit of help from coffee, Red Bull and Radio 1.  My neighbour who is amazing said she didn't hear a thing but I don't believe her :-(



And then we let it dry!



My Mum and Dad put up the coving while I was at work.



I cut some skirting board and it was the straightest cut you'd ever seen, no word of a lie!



Although it was the only cut I did ;-)  I was recovering from a teeny tiny operation, which is all good and I'm fine but lots of rest was in order, particularly annoying as there was so much left to do.



J and I painted the rest of the room and got covered in it.  You have to do a watered down mix onto plaster so it soaks in (otherwise it just flakes off) and believe me it's messy!



I got to work stripping the poor door frame, which I think was covered in about 20 layers of paint so had barely any shape left to it.  This is another project of it's own!  ♥ tool of the moment was a shave hook

I finally got to put on the new skirting.  We toyed with keeping the old stuff and stripping it but after the doorframe I couldn't face it.  We've kept it though so it may do another room.  While I slightly regret not using it here, I know it would have been too much work.

A glimpse of our lovely floorboards and stone flooring where the original fireplace would have been.  We want carpetas it's a bedroom but it seems such a shame to hide these beauties.

And that's it for now!  We are very lucky that my Mum and Dad are coming back next week, because we cleverly kept their tools and they need them back ;-)  We should get the new dado rail cut and then we can start painting properly.  It's going to be well worth it but it's been a lot of work for one room and we're both hoping to get in there soon!

x x x x

And a happy new year

It's been a while hasn't it?  Better start with Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :-)

 I just wanted to say I'm still here but I've been a bit busy buying something rather big...

We did it! We bought a house!

This last month has been absolutely exhausting and I was so ready for the Christmas break I could have fallen asleep on my desk at work several times!  I've been very much away from blogland unfortunately but I've started to catch up (a little, over 100 posts to read in Feedly!) It's been one long journey but it feels lovely, and where I was worried that I miss my flat I haven't thought about it at all, although we did have a pretty amazing view ♥

This time last year I couldn't possibly have imagined owning our home, our circumstances made it seem like a bad idea right now, but then when we realised how much less we'd be paying (plus our landlord put up our rent by a lot) it just made sense.

Anyone reading this who had bought a house will know it's not easy. We both fell in love with a lovely Victorian terrace, which sadly wasn't meant to be and even worse for me was every other house we viewed had to live up it.  I negotiated a price on our second choice at Glastonbury Festival, which wasn't easy and then it all fell through because the seller was a complete bum hole.

Then FINALLY our home appeared on the market.  Perfectly timed because we'd viewed or ruled out everything in our price range and preferred area.  I won't say that the sale was a breeze because we ended up choosing an incompetent solicitor and our mortgage lender could never find our paperwork, but the vendors were lovely and the good news is the solicitor was so incompetent they've yet to bill us.

Check out my awesome kitchen!!  ♥ Ikea

I hope not to be too much of a stranger to blogging this year, seeing as I've a lot of DIY to write about, but more importantly lots of knitting & crochet projects!

Much love x x x x

Today

At the start of the weekend I had various plans (including going to Yarndale), which all completely changed!

I decided to give Yarndale a miss for a couple of reasons.  No one in our WI craft club could make it & while I wouldn't have minded going on my own, I didn't really need to buy any wool (although it would have been nice!) & the workshops I would have been interested were sold out.

Maybe I was just talking myself out of it but I may go next year if I get myself organised ;-)

It would have been lovely to be part of it, & I'm enjoying reading everyones posts, although I think it must have been a very surreal experience as if jumping into someone (Lucy's) blog!

J & I had a call to arms to assist with baby sitting, so we spent a shattering 4 hours in the park with our nephews who were very well behaved, & we had a rather nice picnic!

♥

I've been crocheting up squares in some new colours too...  I completely caved in (September's not bad!) & splashed out on some Stylecraft, after Deramores emailed with a 20% discount.  How could I not?

I took muchos inspiration from this project of Heathers in choosing some new colours, & I've gone for raspberry, pale rose, grey & camel & then violet because I don't have it & it will fit in lovely, & pomegranate, wisteria, clematis & lavender to top up the colours I'd run out of. SO much for de-stashing!  Unfortunately Deramores were out of stock of meadow & grape :-(

Today I'd planned to go on the TUC march in town (the Tory Conference is here!) but my friend was a bit unorganised so I decided to stay put.  I'm quite glad I did really as I'm about to tuck into some lemon drizzle baked earlier today

♥

J & I also went on a long walk not far from where we live.  I'd love to live in the countryside, although I don't think we're quite ready for it yet, but I always forget about what's on my doorstep

We might live in a city but we've got some lovely places to walk.  I still remember my first wander along the canal saying to myself "I live here??"  I'l be sad to leave if we end up moving, but happy at the same time; it will be nice to move onto new places & find new things.

Time for a well deserved glass of wine ;-)

x x x x

Bits n Bobs

We spent the weekend over in Sheffield, a lovely drive over the Snake Pass (my favourite road ever!) & stayed with my Aunt & Uncle.  My Mum & Dad had come up from London too so it was nice to see everyone & to see them again :)

♥

I just wanted to share a couple of things I couldn't resist in Matalan, just incase J & I end up with a lovely house one day!

Completely unnecessary but totally lovely for the sum of £6 :)

x x x x

Hello Twenty Thirteen

Happy New Year my lovelies :D It's good to be back but I can't tell you how much I wish it were still the holidays, even though I know it wouldn't be as special if it lasted forever. We spent a very long week down at my folks in London, although a week didn't seem long enough in the end!

Christmas Day was very chilled out and merry. I was up early to see my brother before he had to work (!!) which meant opening presents, followed by more presents when J got up (fair-isle slippers!), followed by party food for lunch, mulled wine, dinner making, a nap, plying my parents with alcohol while they were being busy, my brother coming home still in good spirits, more presents, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Crackers, Trivial Pursuit (my Dad lost) Christmas Pudding and then bed.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, or if that's not your thing a peaceful end to the year :)

I can't quite believe where the year has gone but looking back at my projects for the year sort of puts things into an order I can make sense of! I really enjoyed making little mosaics at the beginning of last year so I've done the same now, only this time I've discovered Pic Monkey which is a brilliant website for making collages, mosaics and editing photos - a huge time saver.

There are four projects from last year that I've finished which was one of my 2012 resolutions, but I've also started this year with more unfinished WIPs. Oh well!

1. Hexagon blanket - completed :)
2. A stockinette stitch cushion cover. I've cast on too many stitches for the cushion inner I have so I may start this again...
3. Spring Garden Granny Squares. These haven't worked out so well when joined, I'm wondering whether to make more squares in different colours and make a small lap blanket...!

4. Nanny throw. I don't think this is a project I've blogged about yet so more about this later!
5. Bubble Gum Ripple Blanket
6. Pomegrante snood.

7. Little Woolie Inspired Cushion. I should finish this soon, I've only got a few more rows to do!
8. Ribbed Phone Cover
9. Stripy Snood


1. Crochet hook handle, made from Fimo
2. Moss Stitch Scarf
3. Crochet owl

4. Crochet Father Christmas
5. Knitted bunting
6. Knitted cable hat

7. Bunting
8. Knitted cat mouse hat
9. Polka dot skirt


1. First pomegranate snood
2. Turquoise cable hat
3. Lingonberry biscuits :)

4. Winter striped scarf
5. Snowflake Christmas card
6. Chunky mustard snood

7. Pink fluffy scarf
8. Grass cable snood
9. Giveaway cactus

I've got loadssss of other things to show you that I started over the holidays too, lets cross our fingers for some good weather this weekend and I'll try to get some half decent photos to share :)

x x x x