In my quest to work through some of my wool stash I have committed to knit up or crochet at least 2 x 100gm balls a week until xmas.  This started off really well and the above hat was completed last night. The pattern came from 'Knit One Embellish Too' by  Cosette Cornelius-Bates a great book with the onslaught of winter with patterns for hats, mittens & scarves.

I have decided to have a go at making my own buttons using Fimo.  The initial results were used on the hat.  Not too bad but still a long way to go as far as finesse!!.

I made this cardigan which was adapted from a very simple pattern using one of my  current favourite books 'Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots' - Zoe Mellor. So all in all I have met my challenge this week.

The down side was a visit on ebay last night and I purchased 2 lots of bargain wool amassing a further 14 balls to my stash.  There are rumblings in the camp and threats of banning me from ebay so this next lot will have to come in via the back door!!

Purple Princess

I recently finished knitting a bolero for my grandaughter using Peter Pan velvet touch.  What a lovely wool to knit with.  It knitts up so soft and reminds me of the texture of a candelwick bedspead. Willow has chosen and dressed herself since a very early age and has (as you can see) no inhabitions regarding colour mixing.

la dolce vita

So just returned from another break. This time we spent 5 days in Rome.  What an experience.  Katie (my number 4) decided she wanted to do something different for her 21st.  The weather was kind to us, though a little too hot at times.  We met some great people and visited some amazing buildings and archaeological sites.  So here's just a few pictures.....

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                                                    Katie and Boo outside the Coliseum

Piazza Novano Typical.  Hubby was asked to take a picture of myself and mother-in-law in front of the water feature.  if you look closely you can just see the tops of our hats.  Intentional me thinks!!

                    Trevi Fountain - Beautiful and it was like a magnet to all the visitors both day and night

No holiday to Cornwall would be complete without a trip up St. Michaels Mount. Though I must admit as the years roll by I take a little longer each time to get to the top!!

But what a view, well worth the huffing and puffing!!
Last time we visited they were repairing the roof areas. This now looks really good and as well as the roof/floor the stone work has been cleaned and re-pointed. It all looks so good. And how many other historic buildings are there with a church on the top terrace/roof? It is small by quite cosy.

Some spectacular seed heads

I just loved the texture of this moss covered bark. The tree was very old and gnarled.

The above were taken in the National trust gardens at Trellisik on our recent trip to Cornwall. What a great time we had, beautiful weather and we just beat the hustle and bustle of the summer school holidays.

Balmy Booting Day

It was such a nice day we decided to have a ramble around our local car boot. It is very much a social occasion for both sellers and buyers alike. We always manage to stop and catch up with friends and neighbours.
Today I purchased some books for the grandkids at 25p each quite a snip. My eagle eyed daughter managed to buy several sewing and knitting magazines so ample reading for us as well. My favourite buy this week though was this box/canister. It is made primarily of ply The seller advised it is quite old (I think around early 70's which makes me feel old now) and confirmed she bought it in France. I really like it and thought it would be ideal to store my crochet hooks so it now has pride of place on the top of my study shelves.

Study or Store Room !!

Last weekend was spent chasing around for some new shelves to match existing ones in the study. Fortunately a 60 mile round trip and 5 minutes before the store closed we located some.. So for a few days, at least I have a few empty shelves... rarely known in a house of hoarders!! This also gave me the opportunity to re-arrange my wool stash which is now displayed and waiting to be transformed.

Emergency Surgery

Meet Pandy. He has been my soul mate since 1957. I have had guilt feelings about his inability to see the world as we do for quite a while, but time has been against us. Last weekend I decided enough was enough and after a visit to ebay to get a new shinny set of eyes I decided to go all out and perform open head surgery. I think the result was reasonably good and although I am not an expert Pandy can now enjoy television and simply watching the world go by........