Happy Halloween

Carved my pumpkin this morning and its not one of my best.  It was supposed to have three teeth but I was a little heavy handed with the knife and so it just has one!

 

Just about to cast on a cardigan (Provence baby cardigan) for little L.  At the rate I knit it should be finished for chistmas!

Bye for now x 

Halloween Pumpkin Hat

Happy Halloween for next week people.  In preparation for Halloween (which I confess I don't really like especially the cheeky children who live streets away and are intent on getting as much stuff as possible) anyway I cast on a spooky hat for litttle L a couple of weeks ago. 

 

It was a basic pattern which I have knit several times before (baby hat)  and I used some tan coloured wool.  When I started doing the k2tog to shape the hat I added in some green.  I just made it up to create the top of the pumpkin.  I have never followed any colour patterns or fairisle type things so I was really pleased with myself.  The back wool (on the inside) is a bit messy and my wool was too tight at the back hence the green bit is a bit pointy.  But overall it looks good.

 

 

I had to give her a set off keys whilst I took the photo to keep her still.  So there you have it that is her full Halloween costume.  We will be going to one of our local farms this weekend to get us a pumpkin to carve (well that's just for me really) and we will get some sweets just in case we get any visitors.

Hope you all have a good weekend.  Bye for now X

Vintage Crochet

This last week little L has not been sleeping well at all, well she has slept once tucked up in Mummy's bed whilst poor Mr P has slept on the sofa.  I think it is her teeth as she is getting the big ones at the back.  Friday night she slept in her own bed (after 2 1/2 hours of crying etc) and the Saturday night she slept like an angel 7 - 7 bliss.  Anyway my Mum suggested that she might have been waking up cold so Mum said she would dig out some blankets for her.  And I just had to show you one of the blankets she found.  It so explains where I get my love of crochet.

 

This blanket was made by my Grandma (Dads mum) when my Mum was expecting my eldest sister so that makes it about 41 years old (omg my sister is so old).  Don't know where this was cos I don't remember ever seeing it at home.  But just look at the colours I just love it bright hexagons all edged in cream.  

 

And you'd never guess it was so old, its not bobbly or anything.

 

Sadly I don't remember my Grandma very much as she died when I was 7.  I always knew she was very crafty and made all sorts of things but I didn't know she crocheted.  It just shows how we inherit so much of what and who we are.  I hope one day little L will want to make things.

Bye for now

New stove

After much hunting and research we found the stove we wanted weeks ago.  The only problem was the £700 price tag which we really didn't want to pay.  So I searched and searched for a second hand one on Ebay or a similar one even but even the second hand ones were going for about 500 which still I didn't really want to pay.  But my hunt paid off as I found one on Ebay almost identical to the one I wanted.    We picked it up at weekend from North Wales and we also collected a bargain fireguard.  Another Ebay purchase.  The stove is in great condition and has been looked after well. (This is the stove, ours is just like it but it was so dark in the garage that I couldn't get a decent photo)

 

I left little L in the kitchen whilst I was cleaning the new stove in the garage and when I peeped around the door she was busy doing a stock take of the potatoes!

 

Need to move and do some tidying up whilst little L is asleep. 

Bye for now

I hate putting shelves up

Sunday evening was spent drilling and measuring and cursing.  I decided to quickly put some shelves up after tea like you do.  But the brackets didn't line up so well and my ladders weren't long enough and I didn't have the right screws and the tops kept threading, I could go on but I am losing the will to live myself!

Anyway here is the finished article we now have lots of shelves in the garage, so no excuse for it being a tip anymore.

 

We do have another full wall of shelves in there but they were so messy I couldn't show you.  We really need to get rid of the old fire and mantel as that is taking up lots of space in the garage but nobody on Ebay seems to want it.  Maybe we will end up sawing it up and burning on our new stove.  More progress soon to come.

Bye for now

 

Getting there

A bit more progress has been made.  Sides rendered yesterday and then today we had the gas isolator tap taken out.  This proved a bigger job as a floor board had to be taken up but this did mean I got to have a sneaky look under the floor into the cavity (the saga of the damp and dropping floor is another can of worms we have yet to tackle!).

 

Next step more rendering and plastering.  Then onto getting the flags cut and laid.  I can't wait.  It has felt colder this week and we are waking up to windows fully condensed.  I hate winter (I know its hardly even autumn yet).  Given the chance I think I would sleep through winter and just emerge for Christmas. 

 

Hope you are all having a good week. 

Pop back at weekend because all being well we are off on a jaunt on Sunday to part with some hard earned cash!

Fireplace progress

A bit more progress was made today.  We have a steel plate in situ at the bottom of the chimney, the lintel is cemented in place and the hearth has been built up.

 

Next we need to render and plaster over the lintel and down the insides of the hole.  And we need to lay the stone flags for the hearth.  Still no stove yet I am struggling with parting with the cash (story of my life).  I just need to find a second hand one on ebay.  

Bye for now 

 

 

Look what we did today

Today my Mum and Dad came down to visit but no not a mere jolly they were on a mission.  Me, Mum and Little L headed off for a walk down the canal and left Dad and Mr P with hammers chisels and a grinder arghh!

 

We saw an unusual floating shed on the canal.  The man who has it is going to open it up as a floating health food shop.

We also saw some nice ivy flowers and red berries, very autumnal

 

 

 

We came back a few hours later to a houseful of red brick dust.  It was a bigger job than first thought perhaps and it turns out our house is very solidly built, always a good thing.  So an afternoon of further banging, grinding etc (which little L slept through yes she is a star) and we have a bigger hole with a lintel resting in place.

 

So next stage will be fitting a custom made steel plate over the bottom of the chimney and setting the lintel in place.  I can't wait, there is the small problem that we haven't got a stove yet but I am on the case.

 

Bye for now hope you had a good day x

 

Feature wall?

Sunday morning, before the rain set in, me and little L headed out for a little walk down the canal.  We left Mr P at home with a big hammer and a chisel to start knocking out the fire.

 

So this is the fire last week

 

This was the fire this morning

 

And then when we got back from our little jaunt, Daddy had been busy

 

 

It is a lot bigger but still a way to go! Next we will be cutting the fire place with the grinder hhhmm .... dusty.

 

Whilst he was knocking out the fire and little L was asleep I did a bit of planting as on our jaunt we popped into the supermarket and the cyclamens (my absolute favourite winter plant) were half price just £2 for 6 bargain.  And Ta-dah I have some on my kitchen and dining room window ledges and some at the front door.

 

Hope you all had a fun Sunday.