Yarndale

On Saturday we had a day at Yarndale.  

Me, my Sister, Mum and Niece went (no Little L she was with her Daddy thank goodness as it would have been a nightmare with a pram) to Skipton.  It was a lovely sunny day and we were there early.  There was lots to see, some very talented people displaying there makes.  I saw a lovely stall Knitwits (don't think they have a website) but they sell beautiful cardigans, jumpers and hats for babies to toddlers.  Little L has a cardigan from them with butterflies on which we bought at the Westmorland Show.  If I had known what we were expecting I would have bought a cardigan for baby.  They do the neatest fairisle colourwork I have ever seen and they wash well.  If we have a baby girl she will certainly be wearing Little L's butterfly cardigan when it fits.  Another lady (Gwennol designer hand knits) was selling beautiful hand made baby blankets, I was tempted but again would need to be unisex!  

We had a lovely morning at the show and then down into Skipton for the afternoon on the free bus.  I didn't buy anything at the show, my pockets aren't that deep, and I like my yarn ready to go, I don't wind hanks into balls, I don't spin wool and I like to be able to buy enough for a project without breaking the bank.  But there was certainly some nice things to see and if it runs next year I will make the trip.   

Snuggly for carrycot

I did this a few weeks ago but only just got around to posting it.  I bought the carrycot to go in the new pram and well it was pretty plain.  And the design is a bit stupid because it won't go in the washing machine (unless I'm missing something which is possible).  So the lining is a black cotton which won't stand up to baby sick that well I don't think!

So I had a hunt and came up with some fleece and calico

Then I simply measured and cut and sewed the two sides together and ta dah a little snuggly fleece mattress for the carrycot.    

Much more appealing for a newborn plus it will go in the washing machine

Holiday in Wales

Just got back from our week away.  It went so fast but we had a great time.  We had a 8am hospital eye clinic on the Monday morning to check Little L's eye and it was fine so we set off on holiday straight from the hospital.  We managed to call a few places near where we used to live on our way.  Firstly Cheshire Oaks, we had a good look around.  Tried to get Little L some new shoes from the Clarks outlet but there wasn't anything I liked, much too summery.  I will just have to go to normal Clarks otherwise she will soon be wearing wellies or slippers.

We also visited my favourite fabric/wool/craft shop - the Abakhan in Mostyn - if you haven't been it is definitely worth a trip if you are in the area.  They have a wool shop, a craft shop, a discount shop (though this is closed at the moment for work), and a fabric shop.  They are currently renovating the old water wheel and there will be a new cafe in that building.  I picked up a few things for new roman blinds that I am making (when I have some time that is) and I got some red aran wool for a pram blanket for baby.  Plus a few other things.  I don't really have any sewing projects on at the moment (well apart from the blinds) so I didn't get any material though there was some lovely stuff.  A really nice toadstool print very similar to the Cath Kidston latest print but at £12 a metre I couldn't justify 2m to make a apron.

Anyway onto the holiday we couldn't stay at Abakhan all day!!  We had a lovely week, we stayed on a caravan site next to the sea, it had great pool facilities and play parks.  We don't go in for the amusements/club etc but if that's your thing then they had them too.  But we went for walks on the beach every night and played on the park.  We had some days out in nearby towns and on some of our favourite beaches (we used to live quite close to North Wales so know the area well).  The weather was pretty good considering.  We got wet on a couple of afternoons and one night it rained pretty hard but not bad.

This was just next to where we were staying

Little L loved it, she could of and tried to stay on the beach all day and had to be tempted away with food?? and even then there were tears.  It was so nice to enjoy the simple things with her, no need to spend lots of money just days collecting shells and stones, running around and swimming. 

We went on the Great Orme Tram in Llandudno

On the beach 

Looking over Llandudno bay, I couldn't walk up the Great Orme but I did managed to walk down.

Another beach

We were sad to leave partly because it means summer is over but mainly because it will be our last holiday with Little L on her own, next time there will be four of us.  Only 3 months to go until our lives are turned upside down!    

I need a holiday

So this week has been pretty full on -

• Running around after Little L
• Swimming
• Taking the kitchen out and redoing the floor
• Speaking at the local Planning Committee meeting against a proposal to build houses on our local park
• More kitchen stuff
• Last swimming lesson disaster as I had a flat tyre on the way there and so missed lesson
• Problems with other half's work meaning he had to work more
• Cutting through the hedge trimmer wire whilst trying to cut the hedge
• Little L spraying de-icer in her eye, casualty on Sunday afternoon and eye clinic appointment for Monday morning at the hospital
• And trying to get ready for our holidays which we are setting off tomorrow at 7.30am with a visit to the hospital en route.

Yes I really do need a holiday, if we can just get packed and sorted we will be setting off to Wales tomorrow for a week of seaside fun.  That's assuming we don't have any more disasters before then!!!

A New Pram

Well a couple of months ago we went on a little spending spree and bought ourselves a new pram like this one!!  Wow ??? maybe not that exciting in itself but look closely ..... whats that..... yes two seats. 

Come December all being well we will be bringing home a new baby!!  So excited.  We haven't found out whether it will be a boy or girl as we want a surprise like last time (I was tempted because neutral knitting is really difficult), the pram is in storage and I have a To Do list as long as my arm of things to get done before baby arrives.

DIY SOS - The kitchen floor

We all have these jobs/issues in our homes that linger, fester, keep you awake some nights, get steadily worse and just seem so potentially catastrophic that you put them off.  Well ours has been the kitchen floor.....last summer I noticed that the gap between the top of the washing machine and the work top seemed to have gotten bigger ?? no can't be.  But some delving around with torch and pulling plinths from the bottom of the cupboards revealed that there was a small (1cm) gap below the bottom of the skirting board and the actual floor along the wall underneath our kitchen sink.   Had it been like that since we moved in??? not sure so decided to keep an eye on it.

Well steadily over the last year the gap had become about an inch and a half, the washing machine had to be put on a board to bridge the hole in the floor underneath it and the units were beginning to drop.  So with thought it was decided it would have to be tackled.

So my other half had a day off work yesterday and my Mum and Dad (with the best nothing can't be fixed type of attitude) came down and we began.

You can see the gap

Sink disconnected, units taken out and very expensive lino carefully rolled back.

So looks rotten ......yes it is completely rotten and the floor joist at the back had actually broken

Floor ripped out 

Several hours later, joists replaced/strengthened, new flooring laid.

Floor down and yes I thought I'd just paint behind the washer whilst I had the chance

Finished, no leaks, no breakages or damage and a nice strong floor.  All in two days and thanks to my mum and dad we probably saved ourselves £500-£1000 by doing it ourselves

I can sleep soundly now knowing I wont fall through the floor.  Yes a lot of DIY of late and yes there is a reason for the sudden sense of urgency.....

Painting, diy and more painting

With the great weather we have been having of late we have been doing some general maintenance outside, boring you might say but as the most expensive thing we own we need to look after our house and I do love DIY. 

So far we have re-flagged a small section at the front of the house (with some help), dug and planted a new border in front of the flags, painted the front door, the window surrounds, the window sills, resealed and painted the patio door frame, patched up the garage door frame (this is very rotten but as our carpentry skills are not up to making a new frame it has been filled and filled and glossed a lot, hopefully it will last a few more years), painted the garage door, fixed up fence panels (again quite a few of these are rotten and need replacing but we hope to get a few more years out of them), painted fences (still doing this as it takes ages), and heavily pruned some trees.  Think that is it outside so far.  We still want to cut back the greengage plum tree but will wait till the fruit is ready for picking.  

Sorry no before photos and these after shots were pretty hastily taken (excuse the hydrangea it looks parched I will remember to water it).

It looks a lot better and bonus we don't need to step over a trench to get out of the front door.

With all the work outside my knitting has taken a backseat.  I have just finished a baby cardigan (which I will try to photo soon) and have attempted to cast on several hats but haven't landed on the right pattern for the wool I am using (or for my skill level)