Sledging

Hi there!

Lots to tell you today and some finished objects!

I'd quite forgotten how much fun sledging can be.

I joined the neighbours in the snow.  The kids all had a good laugh at me hurling myself head first down the road on the sledge and rolling off at the bottom in a big heap time after time.

From our bedroom window you can see the local sledging hill behind the tree line.  It's really steep and you can build up good speed there.  

I asked DS if was going, but he decided not to.  Partly because 'I've been before so I know what it's like' and partly because on Thursday evening he had some of his toenail removed.   Don't panic!!!  I'm not going to show you a picture but suffice it to say it's not that nice.  

He was very brave and didn't make any fuss even when three injections were put in.  The nail has come off in the past and grown back in a funny way so the best option was to remove part and hopefully this will sort it.

With the sledging over I found some icicles on a shed...

and then came in and made cake which was started straight away!

 Of course, I've been knitting and with the ethereal light, even got some halfway decent pictures.

I've very much enjoyed making these mittens from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders.  (I'm not sure why Amazon says it's £27, I certainly didn't pay that much.)  

I used a single ball of Rowan Felted Tweed dk, as I said before a lovely combination of wool and alpaca.  I changed the pattern slightly, didn't do the twisted rib, just the cable and reversed the cable on the second mitten so they went opposite ways.  I then did a 'sock toe' at the top rather than knit 2 together for a few rows as the pattern said so the top ~  to my mind ~ is a better fit.

I had this much left, so the perfect one skein project!

 All in all, a lovely pleasurable knit and I was so flattered that my colleague asked me to make them for her.

 With this snow ~ sorry to mention it again ~ I got a decent picture of my Beach Stripe Surf Blanket in the front garden...

 ...and in the back.......my Abalone waistcoat ~ although not the brightest of pictures as it was starting to get dark.

Yes, I dragged it out of the naughty corner and finished it off.

 Why was it in the naughty corner I hear you ask?  Well, the the main bit of knitting was a breeze but when I picked up the front border things went wrong.  The first attempt where I picked up one stitch per row was too loose and the second ok on the straight bit but too tight on the curves so in true fairy story style the third was just right.   It is British Breeds Jacob and the border British Breeds Grey Suffolk, really dense and warm, I can see this being a favourite.

 And lastly a bunch of 60p freesias I spotted whilst shopping the other night.  They smell fabby and have a special family meaning as both my Mum and me had freesias in our wedding bouquets. 

I hope you're keeping warm wherever you are, Mr Clicky is supposed to be flying into Heathrow from his Chicago business trip in the small hours of Monday so we'll see how that goes. 

Have fun.....Clicky Needles.

Snow

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Yes, we've got it at last.

We've lit the fire and hunkered down.

It's snowed all day and is still going.

A Bit Of A Chop

Hello Folks!

The first week back at work has been fine, fun to see the children again and hear about their Christmases although the lurgy has struck again and some are off already!

I was up at 6.00am this morning with Mr Clicky, he was being picked up by taxi and bound for Chicago on a business trip.  He phoned from Heathrow a few hours later, very pleased with himself, they'd been upgraded to Business Class. 

As I was up early ~ for a Sunday ~ and it was been a beautiful crisp day here today I decided to get outside and do some gardening.

It was sunny but chilly.

I chopped back the dead clematis on the front of the house, the postie has to sidestep to get past it.

I also tidied up some of the grasses on 'the beach' using my new Christmas Present kneeler my Mum and Dad gave me.  Oh heaven!  I would strongly recommend one.

I had a good hour of chopping and tidying and all the time planes overhead were producing some lovely vapour trails.

Mr Clicky's flight perhaps?

After I finished the front I had a mooch around the back garden to see what was shooting.

Primroses.

Somebody's been eating my flowers.

Hellebores. 

Some interesting moss on the drive.

 So, what knitting have I been up to? 

Well, a colleague of mine requested some mittens last week, she gets cold hands in gloves, so I suggested some Rowan Felted Tweed with it's lovely mix of wool and alpaca.  She chose this shade ~ Bilberry ~ and I am enjoying making them sooooo much.  The yarn is fabby to work with, I've finished one and I'm halfway up the other, you'll have to wait for the final result. 

 I've been carrying on with The Blanket I'm Not Allowed to Make, I've joined some squares and sewed loads of ends in when we took the children swimming with school last week, making good use of sitting around time.  It's all looking a bit blue at the moment, I must try and change that.

 That's about it I think, a quiet week without Mr Clicky around, but at least I'll have full control of the TV remote.

As always have a great week and keep smiling.

Bye for now.................Clicky Needles.

P.S.  We've got fingers crossed for snow, it's pretty cold now, so who knows?

All Packed Away.

Hi There.

Firstly, I need to say thanks you for all your lovely comments on my last post, I've found some more super blogs to read.

We've been taking down the decorations and packing them away.  It's a job I enjoy almost as much as getting them out.  

 The delicate things get wrapped in tissue paper and I pack them in shoe and perfume boxes

and finally into two large boxes and into the attic.

Mr Clicky and I took Christmas Tree to the recycling skip provided by the council.  I'm always sad to the decorations go away, Mr Clicky less so, he likes being able to move around without falling over Christmas Trees.  

We've all been having a house clean today, DD has had a really good go at her bedroom, Mr Clicky has been window cleaning and numerous loads of washing have been done.

Knitty wise I've sent off some more squares and those Granny Squares have been increasing too.

So back to school tomorrow, no ironing to do tonight, I did it a few days ago, I'm off to work on my green Olivia jumper.

As always have fun...........Clicky Needles.

My Knitty Year

As I've looked back through my pictures for 2012, I realised that I haven't made as much as I thought. This was due in some part to the fact that when I had anaemia I was mostly asleep and when I was awake I wanted to be asleep.  All this sleeping meant I missed valuable knitty time.

Anyhoo, here's what I completed.

Kindle Cosy.

♥ Summer Granny Blanket. ♥

Socks for Mr Clicky Needles.

Monster for DS.

Socks for Me.

Cable Jacket for Me.

Jubilee Bunting for my Classroom.

Felted Flap Bag.

Another Felted Bag.

Asymmetrical Jumper.

Whale Watching Hat.

Swap Bunting.

Socks for Me.

Reversible Sock Yarn Hat.

Lucy Bag (not yet lined!)

Reversible Lace Scarf.

Elves Clock Cosy for Reception Class.

Granny Dolly Blanket.

Cable Hat.

Beach Stripe Surf Blanket.

So, not much at all really.  I have two things in the naughty corner, which I will soon be pulling out and finishing off and I'm going to make more effort in 2013!  

After all, we don't need to eat, wear ironed clothes and live a reasonably clean house do we?

Bye for now.......Clicky Needles.

It's 2013!

Well hello there.

I hope you've had a lovely Christmas.

We had a great time.  On Christmas Day we went to visit Mr Clicky's Mum and Sister and then it was just the four of us at home; Boxing Day at my parents.  My Mum cooked a fabulous lunch for nine of us.

I did well for presents.  As well as all the usual candles/body lotion/sweets from the children in my class my Mum and Dad gave me a garden kneeler and a pair of edging sheers.  The kneeler is somewhat of a revelation, it has memory foam in the centre.  Kneeling on it is like being in marshmallows ~ I can't wait for the weather to cheer up so I can use it.

The weather has been very dingy and it's rained most days so I've been unable to get photos of my latest FINISHED project ~ it seems like ages since I've actually completed anything.  Today was crisp and sunny for the first time of what seemed like weeks, so here we go.

TA~DAH!!!!!!!!!!

I proudly present my Beach Stripe Surf Blanket.

I love this end of the blanket ~ lime green and purple *sigh*

and the whilst the other end doesn't make me sigh quite as much

I'm very, very happy with the end result.

Sorry, no 'big' picture, I could only get a small bit at a time in the sunlight!

Mr Clicky has been off work all Christmas so we've been drinking cups of tea together in bed rather than rushing out to work.  He reads the papers on his iphone and I've been carrying on with those large Granny Squares.  He glanced over at me yesterday and asked "Why are you making squares, you've just finished a blanket and we don't need another one."

Curses, I've been rumbled.  I knew he'd catch on.  Oh well, these are the ones I've finished so far.

So what will I try and do in 2013?

A few bloggy things:-

I've joined another Photo Scavenger Hunt over at Made With Love which I'm very excited about.  

To Blog every week and not fall behind.

Get back on track with Monthly Mosaics.

Knitting wise:-

Finish one thing before starting another ~ this is a perennial aim, only sometimes achieved.

Finish off a couple (!) of things in that naughty corner.

I need to loose some weight and get fitter and I've also decided I'm not going to be ill in 2013.

I'll be back with a review of my knitty year soon.

As always have fun.

Bye for now...............Clicky Needles.