Countdown.............

....So, are you getting prepared? Are you saying to yourself 'This year, I will be organised'? Have you made lists and then listed the lists you made? Are you getting crafty with Kirstie's suggestions for festive fun? Or maybe you're salivating over Nigella's simply divine little recipes (providing you have everything you require in your storecupboards and don't have to run out to any expensive shops for anything). Well, you know what? I haven't been doing any of those things and I'm really quite relaxed about all things Xmas-related (mainly because I have had other 'things' to deal with!). I simply haven't had the time and if time runs out before the Big Day, so be it.  Probably, like many of you out there in the stratosphere, the inclination to 'deck the halls', etc. has depleted somewhat with all that is going on in this crazy world we find ourselves living in. I'm hoping for a very big influx of hope to come from somewhere. Right now, it's eluding me. 

In the meantime, I've been listlessly leafing through magazines and gift catalogues ad infinitum and all that I could find that I really liked was this natty pom-pom garland and because it came with a hefty pricetag, I though I'd give it a go and make my own! So, armed with the obligatory pom-pom makers and some yarn which had been donated to me, off I went. I quite like the end result.....

....and I saved quite a few pennies, into the bargain.

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I'd always admired those rag wreaths I kept seeing on Pinterest so I found an old linen blouse which was surplus to requirements (lots of other clothes, boots and shoes which were surplus to requirements have gone to the local Refugee Aid Bank) and started cutting it up into strips. I searched and searched until I found an old wire coathanger because that's what you need to make the circle shape of the wreath and I quickly got started tying the strips around and around the wire.

..not looking like much at the moment...you have to make more stuff to add to it...

 like a couple of felt stars.....

....not the neatest of blanket stitches but they do the job....

....and a few hearts to embellish with buttons and extra stitches....

....and that's it more or less done and dusted!

......one Xmas decoration down, many more to go, if I can be bothered to go up to the attic and drag them all down again this year! We'll have to see about that.

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Are you getting cracking for Christmas?

How far along are you with the preps?

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Thanks to everyone for dropping-in last time. 

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Thankful......

.....that I can knit because I saw these gloves on a favourite website but I can't afford to buy them at that price (not that I think they're not worth it, I do, it's just that my car has just had it's Winter service and now I'm relatively poor until next payday!), so I found the striped gloves pattern in this book and set about knitting myself something similar.....

...ok, so they're not top-notch like the lovely Fair Isle ones from Eribe but they're warm and cosy and unique in their own little way, well not so little but then, I have BIG hands!.....and I used leftover yarn from my Spice of Life Blanket so win-win!

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I'm reading this book but no-one told me it was about vampires so not exactly relaxing bedtime reading!

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Happy Thanksgiving to all my American sisters. 

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Thanks for all lovely comments last time round. Big Love to you all!

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Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along

This n'That

I went to see this and enjoyed it immensely though I thought it a bit unfair that Meryl Streep should get anywhere near star billing since she only appears in the film for all of 5 minutes total! Anyway, if you get a chance, you should go and see it but remember to take your hankies!
I also saw this which was hilariously funny with brilliant performances from all the youngsters who starred in it and their singing was supreme too, mostly to the music of ELO (Electric Light Orchestra), so foot-tapping along was compulsory!
I'd like to see this too. Miss Winslet looks amazing in the trailer for the film and Judy Davies, the Australian actress, plays her Mother.  Seems like this post is all about things to see so here's another one to add to the list. The book was a great read so I hope the film will live up to its reputation. Well, Julie Walters is in it so that's a start! Then, finally, Maggie Smith at her best. The film adaptation of Alan Bennett's play and it looks like it will be a hoot! Well, I'm hoping so, anyway.

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I'm joining in with Jennifer's Winter Project Link Party (well, I hope I can if I haven't left it too late again this month!). My first Winter Project is done -

 The ubiquitous Spice of Life Crochet Along finally came to an end the other week and I enjoyed every minute of participation. There are now over 6,000 members on the FB Group page, with new members joining everyday. A roaring success for it's designer, Sandra Paul at Cherryheart and Black Sheep Wools who also hosted the CAL on their website too. Can't wait for Spice of Life Part II, should there ever be one but I think Sandra would like a little breather first!

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So most things which are next on the Winter Project list will mainly be for gift-giving, such as

a new hat for one of my daughters-in-law to replace the one I knitted for her last year, which she wore continuously all through the winter.

and a crocheted hat for my other daughter-in-law as part of her Xmas parcel. 

And to bridge the gap until the next 'big' project jumps into my lap, a warm and cosy cowl, all done in mindless garter stitch, which is very relaxing with all its to-ing and fro-ing. Minimum input, maximum results. That'll do for me!

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It's very dreary weather here at the moment and it's blowing a 'hoolie' (Scottish for hurricane!)tonight and is set to last all week. How are you coping with the short days and dark nights in the Northern Hemisphere? I'm finding copious amounts of chocolate is helping a great deal!

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See you all soon.

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*Linking up with Jennifer's Winter Project Link Party - details on my sidebar.

Catching Up.....

 I missed my turn last week for the Yarn Along over at Ginny's..... and I've also missed the boat for taking part in  Jennifer's Winter Project posts for October but hopefully, I'll be able to join in come November (which won't be long in coming around!). So nothing much exciting to report 'yarn-related' except my progress with the recent Spice of Life CAL which is slow but sure. Nearly at the endgame now, with only 3 weeks to go before the finish line. I'm enjoying watching the blanket grow and the yarn is lovely to work with. In fact this is the best stage because the blanket is big enough now to keep the old knees warm while I'm working on it of an evening. I only seem to have time to crochet in the evenings! When you have the opportunity, when is your best time for crafting?

 

While I was awaiting the instructions for Part 5 of the blanket to be released, I thought I'd try my hand at a poncho since I've seen one or two around on t'internet which look really nice and cosy to wear but I have to admit, I was never a great fan of them back in the day, preferring to let others with panache wear them, e.g. Clint Eastwood! Anyhoot, I found a really old pattern among my collection so armed with some wool from my stash, I ventured forth.

 Cool, or what??!! I'm making mine much smaller and fringe-less and I may add a polo neck if I have enough yarn left over. Big hook, chunky yarn, what's not to like?

As for books, I'm currently reading this book by Jonathan Franzen. It really is the great American Novel and it demands total concentration so I keep it for bedtime reading. Depending on how mangled my brain is by that time, I may only get to read 2 or 3 pages per night! It's epic, that's for sure. It might take me a while to get to the last page. 

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TV land seems rather empty now that 'Bake Off' and 'Dr Foster' have finished but I am so loving 'Strictly Come Dancing' on Saturday nights. It really is the best family entertainment on telly right now and Jay and Aliona's Jive on Saturday was just remarkable. I'm sure Jay is a contender for the Glitter Ball Trophy.

see if you agree

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'Til next time. Thanks for stopping by.

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Lost in Translation

Pinch, Punch, First of the Month! Hello October!

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Blimey, how hard can it be to give your blog a new look?  Let me explain. I thought I would be very clever the other night and give my blog a little makeover now that Autumn is well and truly here. So I searched online for some free templates and found one that I really liked. I proceeded to follow the instructions for adding the html code and in my enthusiasm, did as instructed and deleted my existing code, thinking that it would only be the main body of my blog which would change. Oh but that would be too simple! When I clicked to update the template, after a quick, involuntary detour around the 'Google Drive' app, everything on my sidebar had completely disappeared!! Well, I tried to retrieve the old code from my recycle bin and everything but it was well and truly despatched into cyberspace, never to be seen again. So, it was back to the drawing board and what you see is the best I could come up with while I look for pretty little buttons to add to my sidebar.

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I'm too late to join in Ginny's Yarnalong but this would have been my entry had I not been struggling with things I should know to leave well alone by now.........

..it's going to be a (hopefully) neat little cardi for No 2 Grandbaby and I'm using a lovely yarn, kindly sent to me ages ago by my bloggy friend, Shaz The Shabby Chic Bohemian, with a smidgeon of cashmere in it - that's the pale pink one in the pic. I'm adding stripes with the darker shade, which I bought also ages ago, to 'pad' it out so I'll have enough to finish. The pattern is from the Debbie Bliss book 'Blankets, Bears and Bootees', which I borrowed from the library. Isn't the back of the cardi pretty too?

 I've also been continuing with the Spice of Life CAL and I'm really humbled by the amount of lovely comments I've had over on the group's FB page about my colour choices. They've proved to be very popular. Have a look....

There are over 4,000 crafty people doing this CAL and it's one of the loveliest groups you could hope to find. Everyone's so kind and helpful to one another.  A testament to Sandra, the Designer's talent and popularity. I think she's quite overwhelmed by it all! and it's not too late to jump in, there's always room for a few more!

(pic attributable to Sandra Paul)

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While I was waiting for Part 3 of the blanket to be published, I started on my Christmas Crochet (well, preparation is everything!) and I found a lovely Snowflake Pattern over at another one of my fav designer's blogs, Susan Pinner. I love her colourful world too.

 

It's quite a big snowflake!

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Anyhoot, that's it for now but I hope you all have a lovely, sunny and eventful weekend. The weather here has been unusually kind to us this week. I think I was rather premature in putting away my Summer gear. Who knew you could still wear 'Birkenstocks' on the 1st October?!!

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Ciao for now.

xxxXXXxxx

Yarnalong, Crochet Along and Getting Along

I finished another little hoodie this week. This time for my youngest Grandbaby (I love that definition). I'm trying to downsize my ever-increasing stash of yarn so I collected together some shades of pink and one cream and did the pattern with four strands together. I got the pattern from a book which I'd borrowed from the library but had to give back because someone had ordered it (how terribly inconsiderate of them before I'd finished with it!) so I just happened to have a look for it on Amazon and it turned up for 1p! yes, I got it for only 1p, not including postage and packing, of course, which meant that I got the whole book for under £3. Mind you, I did feel a bit guilty about buying it for that price but I soon got over myself. Anyhoot, where was I? Oh yes, the finished object, here it is......

....I mucked up the hood a bit and I also ran out of the purple shade but I didn't think that would matter terribly to a 14-month old. Guess what though, my Mother spotted the difference. In fact her comment was 'run out of wool, did you?', which I chose to ignore! 

I liked the way the hood was constructed and it fits her really well. 

The raglans made an interesting feature too and Miss Pixie-Trixie-Belle sat still long enough for the photo shoot!It does meet in the middle on her btw!

On to the CAL. So far so good. It's taken me two nights to get this far, mainly because I unravelled my first attempt. The 4mm hook just wasn't working for me, although I obtained gauge with it but I didn't like the 'open weave' texture it was producing so I downsized to a 3.5mm and now it looks a lot better. Some people had actually finished the first part within a few hours. I'm taking a more leisurely approach!

....and finally, getting along with the help of her babywalker thingy. Soon she will be tottering around on her own....then the fun really starts!

Hope you're all having a splendid week.

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I'm not going to go on and on about how much I appreciate your company ....I think you all know it by now! 

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Joining in with Ginny's Yarnalong

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ps I nearly forgot to mention the books I'm currently reading. Bedtime book is 'I'll take You There' by Joyce Carole Oates. I'm enjoying it immensely, Her writing is sublime. Then for a little light reading, I dip in and out of the unofficial biography of Barbra Streisand, called 'Hello Gorgeous'. I particularly love looking at the pics in the book.

Lift Off, Minus 12 hours...

.......you know the recent Spice of Life CAL I was telling you about recently, well as it turns out, it has completely taken off into the stratosphere with nearly 3,000 crafty people joining the FB Group in a matter of less than a week and some of them are very excited indeed! That's the power of the internet. It's quite overwhelming in a way, isn't it. Anyhoot, my yarn pack duly arrived......want a peek?.....

...I decided to go with the more muted colourway since I had a bash at making some Spicy Apple and Plum Chutney the other day and thought the colours looked similar (stay with me, it's all relative!)......well, ok, maybe not that similar....

 .....and even less like them when the chutney started to boil.....

.........but hey, the end result looked just fine and dandy to me and the smell was divine. Now I just have to resist temptation to open the jar before the 6 weeks maturation period is up! In the meantime, here's a picture of some sheep to be going on with. They live and munch grass in the field I look on to as I hang up the washing at work. They're really nice sheep, with fluffy fleeces. Oh, to have a spinning wheel!! Ok, back to the topic of conversation...which was my colour scheme for the CAL and here is a swatch  I did yesterday.....

I haven't used all of the 13 colours I have in the pack, just enough to get gauge, so I'm unsure at this point which order I shall use them in. Watch this space. This is my first CAL so I'm quite excited to get started. The first part of the pattern will be 'unlocked' tomorrow and to say that the collective enthusiasm has reached fever pitch would be an understatement. It will be interesting to see how everyone interprets their colourways and there are one or two people just doing a self-coloured blanket so those will be a buck from the trend to do stripes. 

It's not too late to join in with the fun if you want to. Just go to the link on my sidebar and find all the details there.

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What's getting you excited this Autumn? There was a man on tv this morning (I had the day off today due to the September Weekend Break in UK) advising you how to get organised for Christmas!!! I ask you, was he being serious?? Let's not mention that word again until at least the end of November!!Deal? 

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Ah'll Be Back, as Arnie would say, with a Finished Piece of Knitting for Ginny's Yarnalong on Wednesday. See you then.

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I bow to You all who have left comments lately. Sometimes I wonder who will read my ramblings and if it's worth it to keep on telling my parochial little tales and then You Very Special People turn up and make me happy. 

Thank You Truly, Madly, Deeply!

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ps, I'm watching an old episode of CSI at the moment and Grissom is in it. I miss Grissom!

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Fields of Gold, Yarnalong and a Couple of Goodbyes.....

Harvest time is in full swing around here and the fields are full of busy machinery and perfectly structured roundels of hay...........

The tanker looks like it's floating atop the cornfield but it's actually sailing up the Firth of Forth towards the oil refinery further up the estuary (this is my view as I'm driving back from Tesco!).

...and this is my youngest boy's little blue tractor (well, not so little close up) waiting for the combine to catch up.

....and now on to the Yarnalong which I've joined in with, as mentioned last time and details of which can be found in the link on my sidebar. Anyhoot, this week I offered to test-knit a cute little hoodie for one of my fav designers on Ravelry, Elizabeth Felgate. I've test-knitted a couple of other things for Liz and I like her contemporary approach to knitting, not to mention that it's never too late to teach an old dog some new tricks! I've learned a couple of new techniques with this test-knit and it's also the first time that I've ever knitted anything top-down (you start by casting on a few stitches for the hood and work your way down from there).The construction was really interesting and I'm sure I'll turn to this pattern again, I loved it so much and especially since there were no seams to sew up. Result! The hoodie is for my Niece's new baby, due in January (have I told you that already, apologies if I have?). I've just got to decide on some fastenings for the project, which will probably by toggles of some description, once I go and buy some - how interesting that out of what must amount to nearly a gazillion buttons in my collection, there is not ONE which would do for this little cardi! Does that happen to you too?

....and I almost forgot to mention the book I just started this week, Missing Julia, which so far I'm enjoying though I hope it won't take too long to get to the 'mystery' surrounding Julia!

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.......and at the weekend, I said a few goodbyes to this lot........

.....goodbye favourite linen skirt and very old Monsoon dress which I probably will never get into next Summer unless I stop eating chocolate NOW!

......and goodbye brand new linen trousers which I didn't even get a chance to wear.... 

.....and au revoir white and cream cut-offs....

.....and tatty old Birkenstocks - you were a joy to slip-on every morning.....

....and Ciao Bella - to my snazzy new sandals which gave me a spring in my step.....
                                          All packed away for the Winter to be replaced with the usual suspects, normally in brown, black or grey!
                                          See you all next year, hopefully.

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And it was so nice to see you all here last time. Thank You all so much for coming by.
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Yours Very Sincerely

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