too hot to snuggle?...

i just had to post a gratuitous shot of my giant granny square now it's finished even though some of you may have already seen it on ravelry or flickr...

i'm so in love with it and i have to say i'm totally converted to knit and crochet blankets... even though it's super hot here at the moment theres still nothing nicer to snuggle up in when it gets a little cooler in the evenings... after years of knitting garments with very mixed results! and i have to say many disappointing moments (hang on a minute, why don't i look like the model in the book when i've got it on!) blankets are well worth the time you put in..

what's not to love.. you get all the gorgeous yarn to choose and play with and then you end up with something that looks and feels divine, makes your home look lovely and it's actually useful!! so fab :) i'm in the midst of my next two already (one knit and one crochet) and have plans for many more!

it's not all about needles and hooks here, i have actually been trying to do a little work too (i have a big event coming up on friday) so heres a couple of shots to give you a taster of some of my latest pieces.. i'm off to photo more now so will try and keep you posted :)

i hope your all loving these sunny days as much as me :) linda x 

 

etsy love...

it's a long while since i've bought anything from etsy but i just couldn't resist this gorgeous bag when i saw it on the front page

i've been after a new knitting bag for a while... after all what knit girl can manage with just the one! my bag winged its way to me all the way from the other side of the world, it was beautifully packaged with a hand written note and i was so excited to get it! i fell in love with the adorable fabric as soon as i saw it but i love it even more now i have it in my hands and can see how beautifully the bag is designed and made and how perfect it is for my two latest projects... i've been taking it with me everywhere for the last week just to show it off!

my bag is from australian designer bobishi and her shop is really worth a visit, as well as more lovely bags there is also some amazing resin work in some scrumptious colours

the perfect size and shape to fit lots of balls of yarn and a couple of pattern books, and just look at that cute fabric and gorgeous lace detailing

just look at the lining... it has little gingerbread men on it, so sweet! attention to detail is fab, it even has a zipped inside pocket for those annoying little bits and pieces that usually get lost at the bottom of your bag!

just in case you were wondering, in my bag is some scrummy stormy grey rowan kidsilk haze, i'm planning on making 'jetsam' from studio book 15... and some pea green araucania ranco, i've just started a cute little cardi from drops design with this... also peeking out is ysolda teagues fab little book whimsical little knits 

anyway enough mooning over my bag for now! i hope your all enjoying the sun just like me, happy sunday everyone :) linda x

i love this sun! bliss for me is sitting in my garden in the sun, knitting in my hands :) and yes of course occasionally joined by a large glass of wine and a good supply of chocolate!

it's been a wonderful week with the girls off school, all so relaxed and lots of time spent with family and friends... my crochet giant granny is becoming a bit of an obsession and is looking fab... i have promised myself i will stop though after the next four balls! after all i have got my eye on another crochet blanket on ravelry that i'm dying to have a go at... i've also started my first lace knitting project (pictured above) which is proving a bit of a challenge for my concentration levels but i think i could be hooked on lace now too ;) it's from the most gorgeous little book by the clever and talented scottish designer ysolda teague available here

those of you who know me well know that i'm an avid fan of all things sock monkey and have made more than my fair share over the last few years! but above you can see my first foray into other creatures... this cute little sock dog/hippo??!! has been ems half term craft project and i think he's adorable, she did all the stuffing for me which i was most impressed with as it's the bit i always hate when making monkeys... so guess who'll be doing that for me from now on! 

anyway i'm off to the garden again for a few more rows... if you have the sun where you are i hope your making the most of it too, talk soon... linda xx :)

finally!

yes, at last i've got a camera again... so no excuses now for not keeping up with my blogging! i've missed having a camera so much and i'm soooo excited to have a replacement :)

first up is an update on my granny a day challenge... i've been flitting between two projects as i run out of yarn and wait for more supplies but i'm really pleased with my progress so far on both... i've completed 21 squares for my seventies retro blanket, shown here in a lovely squishy stack... only another 123 to go!!! and don't even mention all the sewing in of ends and joining together of squares that this project will eventually involve! but my star of the day really has to be the noro giant granny i'm working on.. i absolutely love it! it's getting pretty big as you can see from the photos above but i'd love to do it about twice the size... sadly i think i'll have to stop well before that to stop me going bankrupt!! ;) i love the way i'm getting so many unexpected colour combinations that all just seem to work and its super snuggly too

promise i'll be back soon with more stripey monkey news... especially for those of you who love vintage buttons and live in the bedfordshire area! ;) linda xx

fibre binge!

okay so i've not so much fallen off the wagon as leaped off it into a gorgeously soft and sumptuous pile of yarn! yes, more scrummy yarn purchases have been made! i just couldn't resist... firstly i had a bit of a binge on the wonderfully tempting fyberspates website, the british merino dream sock yarn (pictured in purple/black and pansy) certainly lives up to its name and i'm positive it will knit up as good as it looks and feels in the skein and the superwash merino sock in choca moch (the chocolatey coloured one) is gorgeous too and i'm hoping to use it for the infamous whisper from interweave thats been all over ravelry for the last few weeks... there are so many inspiring versions i've seen that i can't wait to get started :)

the second pic down shows more shameless purchases... this is noro silk garden lite, this is for the second project i'm doing for my granny a day challenge... the picture below shows my progress so far! i'm really pleased with the way this is going and i love the way that you never quite know with noro what colour the yarn is going to go next... i just picked up random balls that i liked the look of but they all have colour surprises hidden inside! i'm not sure how big i'll go with my giant granny but i feel this won't be the last of this yarn i'll be buying ;)

for any of you who are reeling at my extravagence take heed from this wonderful passage from the book i am reading at the moment...

"I think of my willingness to use the best materials available as a way to value my talent and my time... I have allowed myself in knitting every liberty, evey indulgence, every aspect that would make it an activity of pure pleasure and enjoyment..."

wise words indeed! taken from knitting heaven and earth by the late susan gordon lydon

enjoy and love all your knitting, crochet and other crafts girls! talk soon, linda :) x

so soft... so pretty...

monday must be my lucky day for getting treasuries!

a calming selection of all that is soft and pretty :) enjoy, linda x

a week of grannys!

i'm loving doing my granny a day! it's definately worked to get me back into crochet - i must admit i had to relearn how to do the granny square again but it didn't take me long to pick up this time! for those that don't know i've wanted to create a granny blanket for years and learnt how to do the granny square last summer - i decided to do a sort of 70s retro style blanket in classic orange, brown, yellow and purple... after about 10 squares (some more more successful than others!!) it got put into a bag and possibly would never have resurfaced again had it not been for the fab 'granny a day' group on flickr started by pip of meetmeatmikes

the only downside is of course seeing all the colours that others have used making me bored of my own colour scheme - after all i've got the prospect of 144 of these squares to do to complete my blanket! i have now solved this dilema by starting another project ;) it was really because i'd run out of yarn and i didn't want to fail in my 'one a day' challenge but it has the added bonus of satisfying my lust for more colours :)

if you love granny squares do take a look at the pictures here.. there are some gorgeous examples and colour schemes.... happy crocheting everyone, linda :) x

a granny a day!

i know i'm a couple of days late in starting this but i'm going to try to keep up from now on!

this is an idea from pip, posted on her gorgeous and inspiring blog meet me at mikes... it's a granny a day till the end of may! above is my first offering - okay, so i know it's not actually finished yet but i promise faithfully it will be by the end of the day, just two more rounds to go :) i probably won't get round to photographing my squares every day but i will be doing them and will post a pic of my progress when i can... why don't you join in too, i can't wait to see everyone elses squares :) if you want to join in click on the granny a day image on the left to link to pips flickr group... i'm hoping this will spur me on to finish the blanket i started last summer but only ever got a few squares finished!

other than making my first granny in a while i've been packing up more buttons today, i still haven't got anywhere near enough done but it's rainy outside so i've got no excuses this afternoon! linda :) x

and i grabbed myself a treasury :) for once i was in the right place at the right time!

surround yourself in all things soft and squishy....

mmmmmm....

i've eaten too many of these! have you? :)

a happy easter to all my blogging friends, i hope you have all spent time with your friends and family... we're having a quiet weekend here and despite the rain we've still managed to have fun with an easter egg hunt :)

i've been keeping mself busy completing a few custom orders, packing up some buttons and of course mostly just relaxing, knitting and eating chocolate!

yum yum :) linda x

it's been a slow week this week... i seem to be finding it difficult at the moment to get anything on my uber-long to do list done! maybe it's the weather (i want spring proper to turn up!) or maybe it's other things on my mind... my girls are in their last week of part time school and after easter they will be going all day, every day - eek!! i feel in a bit of a limbo at the moment...kind of just waiting for it all to happen so we can move on to this next phase of life! it's all going far too quickly for my liking and i'd really just like to rewind a bit to those fabulous days of me and them just mooching about all day every day with nothing to do but what we felt like!!

also my lovely camera has got broken :( so my blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground! i did manage to take this picture on my friends camera of the ring i made her for her birthday a couple of months ago... i never managed to get a picture before i gave it to her and was really pleased with the way it turned out so i'm glad i have one now... Helen is one of those best friends everybody needs and she deserved something special that shows just how much i love her... the ring has a little 18ct gold heart and is gently oxidised... it's photographed nestled up to one of my three kisses rings......

i've spent most of the last few days just knitting and sitting, something i always turn to when i need to zone out and not think about things too much! i've got a few wips finished at last and also made the cutest pair of frilly topped socks for em... i have to also confess to having completely fallen off the wagon as far as 'not buying any new yarn and only using my stash' goes ;) the evidence of this can be seen on my ravelry page (complete with dodgy pictures taken on my phone!) in a gorgeous new project knitted in the most divine, softest and scrummiest noro kocheron yarn... mmmmm, think i'll go and do a bit more now! have a happy week :) linda x

i hope all you mummys, mums, mams, mas and moms all had a wonderful day yesterday! of course i want to say a big 'i love you' to my own mum and thank you too for putting up with me for all these years!!

above is a little picture em did for me... i love these sort of things the best, it's just done on a tiny scrap of paper but i think it's so cute - this morning i've put it in a little antique frame so i can keep it forever :)

i also would love to say thank you to emma lamb for giving me my first blog award!!!

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY--nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. The kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"

emma started off as a customer in my etsy shop and we have encouraged each other in our blogging endeavours... now we have come full circle and i am a customer of her wonderful etsy shop! the most important thing though is that although i have never met emma in person i now count her as one of my friends... it's amazing and wonderful how a real sense of community can be created on line

i hope to make many more friends through blogging... i think working from home can become quite isolating and to have a network of friends and other creative people on line can go someway to filling that gap... before i had the girls i used to work in a busy studio and adjusting to working on my own has been a bit of a culture shock!

as well as emma who i will of course throw this award straight back to, i also have a couple of other people i would like to pass it on to:

emmie who writes extracts from my creative journal always seems to make me laugh... and emmie and i have bonded over our mutual love for vintage buttons!

viv from hens teeth... i have only recently discovered her blog but viv as well as being amazingly talented and producing a gorgeous looking blog always takes the time to read and respond to comments and i feel really lives by the spirit of this award

i can't help but mention a knitters blog too of course... courtney and her little knitting nook is a wonderful part of the online knitting community and alwys worth a visit for friendly words and luscious yarn

there are so many great blogs out there i know, i've only mentioned a few but i so look forward to discovering more and making more lovely blogging friends, linda :) x

more etsy love...

it's been an absolute age since i last did an etsy treasury... i never seem to be in the right place at the right time! i was lucky enough to grab one yesterday though and had great fun assembling all these beautiful soft and snowy goodies.. i think the little hints of blue and red make it all the more scrummy, hope you like it too :)

and talking of etsy an exciting package arrived at my door this morning containing the two gorgeous cards i had asked the lovely emma lamb to create for me... soooo beautiful, the one with the darker background will be wending it's way to wales this week for my mum.... i know she'll just love it :)

emma also very kindly included a couple of her equally gorgeous knitting patterns that she has recently published on ravelry... do check her etsy shop and her blog (you can link to the patterns from there), you will find many lovely things!

have a wonderful few days, till next time :) linda x

a wall has...

"a wall has always been the best place to publish your work... some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place" banksy

i'm a big fan of banksy... i took all these pics in the back lane behind our house.. i think we have a budding banksy in the neighbourhood! i love the little spaceman who's popping up in lots of unexpected places at the moment... i'm far too old and out of shape to join in myself nowadays(couldn't run away from the aforementioned cops!!) - besides i'd have to drag two five year olds around with me to carry my spray cans - but i'ts great to see some graffiti with a bit of imagination in our local area

to see more of banksy from the comfort of your home read wall and piece published by century or check out www.banksy.co.uk