Monday 4 November 2013

November already?!`

So it seems that October passed me by in a blogless blur!

My absence was totally unintentional, and it wasn’t for any interesting reason at all, quite simply, a lack of that precious thing called time.

I seldom get five minutes to myself at the moment, and during any time I do have, my mind wanders to anything and everything other than writing and, more importantly, completing a blog post. 

I have a couple of posts that are half written, things which I want to record on this little space of mine, the 1940’s event of the North Norfolk Railway to name but one, so in the next few weeks, I hope to find pictures to accompany my ramblings, but my posts will be a little jumbled, from a date perspective.

So, what have I been up to?  Well, aside from the normal home educating, cooking, cleaning etc, etc, etc, (I’m sure you know how it is) I’ve actually been a very busy bee! 

If you follow me on Instagram, I apologise in advance, because most of the following pictures come from there.  A sort of round up of what I have been up to these last 6 weeks. 

Where to start then?  Well, let’s start with my first crafting love, the knitting!  I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that while my fingers may not have been taping away at a keyboard, they have been clicking the knitting needles in a vain attempt to finish what I’ve started!

Currently on my needles, and something I’m really struggling to find the motivation to knit, is this wavy affair.


Although the pattern is one I’m familiar with and is really very simple, I’m struggling with the stripes!  I think it’s because they don’t run in a regular sequence and aren’t of equal width.  I love the colour combination and will finish it, I’m just not sure when! 

Keeping with the knitting theme, I’m desperately trying to find a way to sort, catalogue and safely store my ever growing collection of knitting patterns.  I started out by grouping my patterns according to type, so jumpers together, and cardigans together, and so on.  I then got to thinking that maybe I should group the patterns according to manufacturer, i.e. Weldon’s, Bestway etc.  That confuddled my brain even more though, because then the patterns for men, women and children were all muddled up together!  Help!  Any storage/cataloguing suggestions greatly appreciated :o) See what a mammoth task I have ahead of me??


Ooh, and a quick little sneaky peek of a knitting pattern that arrived today.  It’s really rather fabulous, but it’s only a shot of the front cover because, well, it was bought for my birthday, which isn’t until the end of December, but it arrived while Mr Y was at work today so I had to just undo it and check that it had survived the journey :o)  I have carefully popped it back in it’s envelope until the big day!


Next up, Etsy; and what a little hive of activity that has been!  From October 1st until November 11th (well, until today actually, because I have totally sold out of poppies) from every poppy sold, I donated £3.00 to Royal British Legion Poppy appeal.  I happily sent off a payment of £72.00 to them – quite an achievement I think!!


When the weather was bright, and the days warmer, we made the most of the late summer sun and scratched ankles and prickled fingers, foraging for a rather beautiful bounty of ripe blackberries, all of which have already been turned into bramble jelly, and squirreled away for a Christmas present for my dad.

  
Although I may not have been blogging, I’ve still been in email contact with some fellow blogging buddies!  I like this blogging lark and the likeminded people I have been able to “meet”. 

There are some incredibly talented folk out there, and I’m truly in awe of some of their crafting skills.  I’m a great believer in promoting the skills of others, I mean why not?  Why, if you like what you have bought, would you not want to tell other people where you got it from?  So, with that in mind, just take a look at this sweet pair! 


Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand the gigantic scavenging pasty stealing kind that you get on the north Cornwall coast, but I do love a seagulls cry and it’s one of the sounds that reminds me of my Mr’s home county.  This pair, affectionately named Cyril and Cedric, is currently hiding out on the top of my wardrobe, well away from little eyes. 

I ordered them from Julie, who blogs over at ???.  They are beautifully finished and came neatly wrapped and very well packed. 

At the bottom of the box was a totally unexpected gift of two beautifully made candy stripe bags.  Each had been thoughtfully embroidered with the girl’s names, a sure fire way to prevent the inevitable squabble of whose bag is whose!  The pattern they were made from is a 1940’s one, and the girls will love carrying them round. 


Julies work is neat and precise and well, she’s just lovely.  Her Etsy shop can be found here and her blog here.

Well, I think that is me just about done.  Not about amount of waffling for my first post in a long while.  I’ll try not to leave it so long next time :o)

6 comments:

  1. Well Cyril and Cedric have found a good home and are standing well after there long journey. Thank you for the kind mention. Please may I say the seagull pattern can be found at http://folksy.com/shops/LittleShopOnTheCorner . I use both Etsy and Folksy.
    I would file the patterns in according to manufacturer, but then sort them into ladies, gents, childrens etc, try and stand them up on the sides or ends and slip a piece of card between with whatever they are sorted into written on the top like a filing system.........
    Julie xxxxxxxx

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  2. That's an amazing achievement re the poppies! They are so very beautiful - as is that wavy knitting. So clever!

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  3. Can see why you're struggling to finish that pretty purple and aqua jumper is it? it must take a lot of concentration, no sitting watching television at the same time with that! Wish I had remembered to look at your lovely felt poppy brooches on etsy, that's such a thoughtful thing to have done.

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  4. I agree with Julie... Divide according to manufacturer. Then subdivide into ladies, gents and kids. If you file them in binders, you can separate with a tab. If in boxes, you could colour code... Three patons boxes, red for ladies, blue for men and green for kids for example!

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  5. Wow! Such a good blog. Defiantly going to follow and will definitely be back for more inspiration!!

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  6. Ohh well done on selling all those poppies, I will say I have been wearing mine with pride, it is so gorgeous! I love your seagulls, I bought Julies pattern a little while ago and I'm just waiting to find a moment to start knitting one, much less intimidating than the real thing!

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