Perfect Autumn Day

My friend and I have been walking to get fit. We went to the deer park today. It's been there for hundreds of years and seems timeless. The trees are starting to turn, the slight mist was burning off and the day was turning crisp and clear. Then we turned a corner and saw the very big deer with the enormous, multi branched antlers staring at us, and we remembered rutting season was about to start. They are big, intimidating and incredibly beautiful and I have never seen as many in the park before. Literally hundreds. There are Red Deer and Fallow deer, and they are all absolutely free and wild. The fallow deer are the bambi type, and have such pretty markings. The Red deer are the big, Monarch of the Glen types and we saw lots of very impressive males - the females are not as spectacular or generally as pretty as the fallow deer, but they are lovely in motion.

In the top part of the park, we were lucky enough to see lots of white deer too - at least a dozen, ranging from white bellied with pale fawn backs to pure snow white. Just stunning. And me without my camera! I will try to get photos another day.


On one of our walks last week, part of the route took us along the canal.  There used to be a rail bridge that went across the canal and across the Severn, and this is one of the supports that are left. Not a bad view to start the day!

Last weekend's niece fest

I had a lovely day last Sunday. Went to London to see my sister and my two nieces. Mum was there too, and my Dad & Stepmum popped in for lunch so it ticked lots of boxes! Both E & G were adorable. G shown above at 1 week old. E is 23 months. It's a joy to be able to sit and snuggle a new baby. They are so soft and utterly trusting. Lovely! I gave them a haul of presents, some made, some bought. For Ravellers, you can see the baby blanket and cardy here, along with the cot toy.

For E, I made the owl hairpin - modelled above by sis - that I blogged about before (10 minutes and it's done!) and the megahit of the day, Teddy. She slept with Teddy and we played ball with Teddy and Teddy kept getting lost. Luckily in the same place so E kept on rescuing Teddy. Phew!

Aren't the girls lovely? So nice to be able to give girly things too. A change from my boy-dominated life!

colourful food!

S6300024,
originally uploaded by curvyjax.

I'm on a diet - need to kick my bad eating habits up the arse again. Although when a salad looks this pretty, it's not so bad. I grated some fresh beetroot from the allotment into this brown rice and raw veg salad, and it's made the rice a very pretty pink. A feast for the eyes, even if it isn't as satisying as chocolate!

Glam rock leotards!

So I finally bit the bullet yesterday and decided to tackle the competition leotards for B & J. They have to have a high neck, zip back and short sleeves. There are obviously no patterns available for this! So I found a pattern for boys plain leotards (so the sizing is right) and a mens swimwear pattern thathad a high necked rash vest type of top with raglan sleeves and contrast stripe down the side. So then I had to blend the two. And it looks like I got it almost right first time! The boys chose the fabrics - their routine is to "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson, and is a guitar track. There are air guitar style moves in the routine, and they have definitely gone for glam rock looking materials - wet look and red/glittery! By the way, the neck does fit perfectly - the top picture was taken before it was fully zipped up. There are a couple of changes to make for the next one, but I'm pretty pleased. I ROCK at leotards!!!

Teaching the wrong lesson

One of the more annoying constants in my life at the moment is that M finds extreme reactions irresistably funny. So much so that he lurks around corners, then leaps out and roars in people's faces and giggles himself silly at their surprised reaction. This morning he kept on surprising B&J and as always they kept on reacting in exactly the way that M wants. I got so fed up with this that I stomped up the stairs to tell B&J that they have got to stop reacting to M otherwise he will NEVER stop, and it's really annoying. Unfortunately, although I had made plenty of noise going up the stairs they hadn't heard me. So as I turned the corner to M's room and said "Right, if you two don't......" they both leapt about a foot in the air, B nearly fell over, and J threw the toy he was carrying half way across the room to land on M's bed. M nearly wet himself laughing "Good one, Mum".

Yet another example of how not to do it!

Big school visits!

Today has been my first trip to look at schools for M to go to in 2 years, when he leaves primary school. I have to do this a year earlier than other parents as he has a statement (of special educational needs) so he gets priority when we choose a school, and the school need time to put resources in place. So I started with my nearest school. It doesn't have a great reputation, the buildings are tatty, but the people I spoke to knew what they were talking about. It's also the smallest senior school around (only 280 pupils, lots of SEN kids), and it's given me LOTS to think about. I'm not sure I'm qualified to make this decision!

On the plus side, as the old sofas have finally given in to the onslaught of hyper boys jumping on them for the last nearly 10 years, so I ordered a new sofa today. Yay! Of course, I ordered it on the internet, which could be risky, but it will fit the rather awkward space we have. Lets hope it's good.

Tomorrow I plan to get down to the poor allotment and continue the battle to reclaim it after the summer of terminal neglect! And obviously, more knitting. My secret project is getting there, and it will be done in time, but I keep wanting to cast on new and exciting projects!

Autumn is coming

So somehow, months have gone past since I last blogged. The kids are back at school, the mornings and evening are getting colder, and I think I should try to blog more often. But shorter!

My sister had a baby 3 days ago - another niece. I will get over to see them next weekend I hope. And will take the thinkgs I have made. The purple knitted teddy for Ella, and the cream cabled cardigan for Georgie. Plus the stuff I bought. And I think I might make one of these cute little owl hairpins for Ella too, another sweet design by Ysolda. Her second collection of patterns is out - a new pattern each week at the moment, and so far, I have to make them all.....

Busy life

It was my birthday this week. I'm 37 now. Of course, I've thought for the last 6 months that I was already 37 and was going to be 38, so "staying" 37 was a bit of a bonus!

It's been a busy week, and I will write more fully later. I'm developing a new friend which is nice, and my brain is coming out of hibernation and getting ideas again, which is a good thing.

Went looking at chickens and may have talked myself into a varied little part time job - but won't write more until I know it is happening!

The allotment has suddenly burst into life. M is being adorable and B&J are hopefully coming out of a really horrible stage, so things are looking up. It's spring. How can you be fed up when there are daffodils?

Kiri shawl - finished and blocked

kiri,
originally uploaded by curvyjax.

Ok, I am so impressed with myself! Will do a proper post soon to let you know about the pretty manic and eventful time the past few weeks have been, but in the meantime - look! It's so pretty! It's a shame you can't feel photos - so soft. I'm not at all sensitive to mohair - my husband loves the look but doesn't want to touch this! Any way, I'm thrilled, and have already been asked to make another one.

Incidentally, from this pic it looks as if the diet I've been on for the past few weeks is working - my waist is definitely there again! Cool - it's not often that I like a back view of myself!

The other project I'm spending time on at the moment si a pair of socks for my friend who is going through a difficult time at the moment - her husband left and 3 weeks later, she had a nasty car crash. So I'm making her some socks in Opal Harry Potter yarn - tonks colourway. Will post pic's when I'm done.

More leotard testing

S6300480,
originally uploaded by curvyjax.

Though it only fair to post a picture of J too. Nice handstand He was a bit too quick for me to get one of him in mid air.

Leotard making....

S6300500,
originally uploaded by curvyjax.

As it's insanely expensive to buy leotards, I decided to try and make them - here's B giving it a thorough test!

Couldn't get a boy pattern so I made my own using tips from www.patternschool.com and it turned out pretty well. Fitted great, just alittle stretched from hemming at the neckline. Will be able to sort that soon. Compared to a cost of at least £20 for a bought one, I bough a metre of fabric for £7.49 which is enough for about 4 or 5 leotards! Pretty pleased actually. Yay me!

Where did January go?

Wow! What happened? So I planned to post weekly - hah! - but apparently that hasn't happened!

It's been a busy month, not least on the knitting front. The freezing weather has led to lots of hat requests. I am SO pleased that I made the Bellas Mittens (link in previous post). How did I not know that mittens are so much warmer than gloves? And perfect for making snowballs with! If you live in the UK, you'll know about the snow. We don't get much snow in England now - until this year! It kind of goes with the floods that Gloucestershire has had over the past couple of "summers". The first day with the kids off school was nice -until they started fighting. Fighting is a BIG feature of the boys recently, along with defiance.

Being Mum has been a tough job this month. First of all, the changes set M off. Change is tricky for anyone on the autistic spectrum, and he had to deal with the end of christmas holidays, going back to school, P starting a new job and going back to being away from home during the week, me stopping temping, the classroom changing, new school books.... I suppose it's no wonder that he lost it. We had two solid weeks of being called in after school because he had refused to work, or had spent most of the day outside the head's office. If you look after a child with an ASD, you know that this also means constant alert. You cannot leave them unsupervised for any amount of time, or they get up to creative mayhem! After 2 weeks, he settled down. Then B&J started - because they had been more or less ignored. It has certainly challenged my disciplinary ideas. They are all too big to pick up and cart to their rooms now. So I am trying new things. If I find one that consistently works I'll let you know!!

So on a brighter note, I have finished loads of things this month, and have started way more!

I finished 2 hats for P, hats for B&J, fingerless gloves for me, and my first socks from the Violet Green sock club. I made sock blockers out of wire coat hangers. They have been machine washed for the first time today, and they look fine - are blocking to dry. I loved the Feb yarn and pattern so much that I skipped straight to them and started them a couple of days ago.

Most of my current WIP's are big, so my finishing rate will drop! I am knitting a baby blanket for P's new boss's first baby which is due in a few months. I then have more to do. I also thought of a funky baby blanket idea, which I will maybe work up into a pattern - but I have to do a baby shawl first. I am getting on with the Kiri shawl and am about a third though. It's so soft!

I'm really loving the knitting community - it's letting me make new friends, and feel part of something that is not centered around my kids. That's good for me. I have decided to just not worry about finding what I'm going to do with my life, and just let things percolate for a while. Something will turn up, as long as I stay open to opportunities. In the mean time, I'll keep on knitting!

New Year thoughts

I think I know why people make New Year resolutions. In common with lots of people on their blogs, or their podcasts, winter makes me more comtemplative and I am trying to find my direction. I think it's the long nights and cold days. In the summer (or whatever the cold monsoon season that we have had for the past 2 years is called - seriously, if you don't live in the UK, just google Gloucestershire floods) I am more contect to just be myself and am not prone to any sort of introspection. I like this sort of shallowness, I'm comfortable with it!

The back end of last year was fairly tough. Mentally more than physically. P was made redundant at the end of October, which was hard for him. I went into survival mode, tightened the pursestrings dramatically, started temping, and decided that, other than for the kids, we would make Christmas presents. Of course that means I would make presents!

When P was offered a job, on Dec 19th, all the tension that I hadn't really realised I was holding onto was released. It made me an emotional basketcase for the next couple of weeks. And oh yes, that does mean over Christmas. I'm not going to bore you with details, but it was a hard one for me. The levels of control that I can usually hold on to just vanished. Crying is not a good look for me - I don't do the pretty movie star crying but the bright red face and snot version. Ah well, things are coming back into equilibrium now, especially now P has started his job and we are back to only seeing him on weekends. I think when I have to do everything I find it easier to cope. Control freak,moi??

The thing that I keep coming back to is not having a career. Before the twins arrived, I was an equal earner, and that gave me a sense of self and equality that I have struggled to regain. One of these days, I will work out what I'm going to do when I grow up.

Craft-wise this has been a very busy time, and it hasn't slowed down post-christmas. P bought me a 3month membership to the Violet Green sock club, and I am working on the December socks at the moment. The yarn feels lovely and the colours are great, so thanks honey! I am not getting on as fast as I would like witht he socke though. The unusually cold weather that we are getting now has meant that the hats and gloves that I didn't get round to for me, P and the kids have become an urgent priority! Most recently, I have made myself a Felicity hat which is great. It's really easy to wear, can be pulled over my ears when it's cold, and is warm and pretty. I finished Paul's Dashing fingerless gloves and made him a Turn a square hat. I am now working on Bella's Mittens for me. I saw the Twilight movie, and Bella, the main character, had a pair of long horseshoe cabled mittens that I saw and thought "I wonder if there's a pattern on Ravelry" and sure enough, this gorgeous pattern is there and free. I worked the first mitt quickly but despite checking gauge, it came out tighter than it should, so I moved up to 6mm needles for thesecond, which looks great. I have hat requests from the twins, and as I'm not completely happy with P's hat, I will try another pattern. I got all of these, by the way, from the wonderful, entertaining and informative Ravelry website. If you're not already there, WHY NOT??

I had a lovely shopping trip to Kirsty's workshop and got some bargain wools. Some bargain bucket single skeins, and 2 sweater's worth of wool. Can't wait to get started on them.

So I think that my main resolution this year is to not worry too much about what other people think or expect of me, and to keep on drawing out this creative side of me. It satisfies me, gives me a sense of achievement that is noticeably absent in my pathetic housekeeping efforts. So even if it does not count as a career or add any financial value (rather the opposite), it enhances my life. Keep on knitting!