Happy new year

Happy New Year one and all, just a quick note before I start getting ready to go out.

I hope the new year brings you all love, affection, joy and happyness.

Tomorrow the new year resolutions start and also new knitting projects to share.

christmas has been and gone

Well Christmas has been and gone, Santa has visited and today I've taken down my Christmas decorations.

Instead of feeling deflated I'm looking at the positives;

1. My back problems are a lot better, I may get on my knitting machine before new year.


2. I'm going out with my parents and husband tonight to watch a bit of karaoke, I won't be singing but I'm going with people who are so it'll be a lot of fun.


3. I got the loop pretty knits book for Christmas off my brother, his lovely girlfriend and their puppy tiff so I'm all inspired to create.


4. I also received the nigella express cook book and the green and blacks chocolate cook book of which I'm currently finishing off the chocolate biscuit cake. (there wasn't much left... honest)


5. I finished knitting both my Christmas jumpers before Christmas day, this maybe due to the fact I was bed ridden for two weeks before Christmas but I'd like to think I'd of finished them anyway...


6. I've lovely new clear storage box's that I bought in the sales to fill with yarn this afternoon.


7. Finally, I'm loved by my adorable stubborn husband and family and we'll be in Morocco celebrating next Christmas.

Now I'll leave you with finished projects and new projects I'm currently working on

Green mohair cardigan my own design to be worn with silver/grey long sleeved tunic

Green/blue jumper modified from the Rowan kid silk dream collection, pixie

Green and Blacks chocolate biscuit cake modified with milk and white chocolate, just finished while writing this blog post.

Wash cloth one of a set of three I'll be selling at craft fairs this year, a new venture for me.

christmas is coming and I'm not feeling christmassy anymore

I finished my Christmas shopping last Thursday every thing was bought. Even my Dads presents that I leave every year to the last minute, due to the fact he doesn't want for anything.

Then on Friday I woke with back ache,by Saturday morning I was getting stiff, by Sunday night I was in such pain I had to leave Sunday dinner at my brothers early. By Monday morning I couldn't move so I went to the doctors who gave me pain killers, by Tuesday I was bed ridden. Thursday my mum visited and cleaned my house... I love her so much thanks mum. Thursday I've been signed off work for two weeks and been given some very strong pain killers and now today I'm off to the chiropractors.

This back pain comes from working at a residential home while I was at university and lifting heavy old people without lifting equipment. Well you learn by your mistakes.

But I have found I can still knit and sew up seams while lying on my back and I've finished my sea green cardie and I love it I'll be wearing it Christmas day while drinking sherry and snowballs.

I was going to show you the finished item but my damn camera isn't downloading and it hurts too much to sit still and play today but I will post again soon with knitting news I've almost finished the front of pixie then I've just got to make the capped sleeves and I'm done. It'll be finished by next week.

Christmas Ideas and books

I've been meaning to share with you a while a book I purchased before I went on my holidays its The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brockett. You can by it at amazon by following this link http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0340950986

Its not really a craft book but more of an inspiration book its the kind of book I'd like to write one day, every page is a source of inspiration. It does contain a few recipes but mostly its quilting with a bit of knitting. It has even persuaded me to make a quilt in the new year, some thing I never thought I'd do, but I now want to make a quilt as beautiful as Jane's.

You can also read about what she's doing now at http://yarnstorm.blogs.com/knitblog/ where she makes fabulous cakes and takes inspiring pictures.

The other thing I said I share with you today is the pictures of my fire places which have turned out better today than they did on Sunday, but not much better. I'm going to have to sort my digital camera out at Christmas.

I've still not got my Christmas tree up but I'm hoping if I don't get it up today it'll be up by Thursday afternoon when my Mum and best friend are coming round for afternoon tea. I'll be making Christmas shortbread's, ginger muffins and Florentines and lots of good Venetian coffee,as well as a bit of earl grey for me. (I've had tea at the Ritz don't you know, I took my Mum for her 60th)

By Thursday I also hope to have the second half of my new cardigan finished so I can then work out a pattern for the sleeves which I've already knitted once but now have to change as the design has changed so much since I started knitting it... I was going to show and tell but my camera has now decided to stop downloading onto the computer so I'll save pictures for next time when hopefully I can show you an almost finished warm cocoon of a cardigan.

December is here

I've opened the first two squares on my advent calender and started decorating. I've not yet got my tree up a tree base has disappeared into the black pit that is my cellar and I've also lost box of Christmas Decorations, presumably they're in the same place as my Christmas tree base.

I've managed however to get both my fireplaces decorated. Pictures will have to wait till Tuesday morning as they didn't turn out very well today.

I also managed to get my window and door decorated with Snow ball pom poms and Snow flakes.

I've managed to tidy up my dresser and recycle the pile of Junk mail that had accumulated (where does it all come from?). Then I decorated it with my pom-pom garlands and seasonal smelly bits and lots of Christmas fruit as some times you need a change from mince pies, biscuits and chocolate.

All I need now is snow and a truck of presents and I'm ready.

I can't wait to get my tree up I've just got to wait for Mr LCD to get home from work and we'll have and evening of popcorn and tree decorating.

Well this afternoon will now be spent in front of the fire nesting and knitting. I want to get both the jumpers I've started finished for Christmas.