Project 365 - Week 2

I have had fun this week trying to get various snap shots of what's going on in my life. Some days are easier than others.



Top left: 11/365: Blood Test Tuesday
Top Right: 10/365: Crawley Town beat Derby in the FA Cup!!
Middle Left: 14/365: My scrabble game on the iPod .... been playing ALOT recently!
Middle: 9/365: Charlotte with her face stuck in her iPod, as its been since Christmas day
Middle Right: 12/365: Hayley, eating a dried apricot. A situation we found hilarious at the time!
Bottom Left: 8/365: My parents with the children, they came to see us for the day.
Bottom Right: 13/365: Alfie has been dressing like Buzz Lightyear for a few days now!


Charlotte's school was closed yesterday due to an epidemic of Norovirus. It feels lovely today as I keep thinking its Sunday but actually its only Saturday! LOVE IT when that happens!

No change on the crafty front. Still crochet-ing like crazy to finish Charlotte's blanket but I have 2 rabbits and an elephant on order so will have to put the hook down soon and pick up the needles!

Project 365 - 4, 5, 6 & 7

I have, from my last post, figured out how to upload a blog posting from my phone. This way of doing things is a lot more complicated it has to be said, and the photos I upload come out smaller than when I do things from the computer but its definitely a good way to keep up to date with my Project 365 photos.
Clockwise from top left 6/365: A soggy school run. 4/365: A perfect evening. 5/365: A drawing from Livvy. 7/365: Tea with Hayley.

I don't, however, want the project to take over my blog so am trying to think of a way of striking a happy medium. I think I will upload a collage of photos each week, but as I have already posted 3 I will put the final 4 from this week on and upload another 7 next friday. My normal blog posts will continue as normal.

As you can see from photo no. 2/365 I am working on Charlotte's stripy blanket at the moment and this is a huge project so will take a while to complete. I'm over half way through now, on stripe 53 of 91. I picked up a seperate project the other day and got a definite look of disgust from her ladyship that I wasn't finishing the blanket so I think I must soldier on until its complete!

Project 365 numbers 2&3

I am attempting a blog upload from my phone here, this may not be completely successful. Picture number 2/365 is of Charlotte's crochet blanket, still a work in progress! Picture number 3/365 is of Alfie, collapsed after a long day playing with playmobile.

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New Year and Project 365 no.1

Its been a pretty eventful fortnight, and not in a good way unfortunately. After being in some considerable discomfort for a few days, the pain in my leg became too much to bear and because of my history of deep vein thrombosis and a blood clotting disorder I took myself (my Mum took me, but you know what I mean) down to A&E to get it looked at. I was told by two different people that I'd pulled my back out and my leg was compensating but due to a slight colour difference in my thighs they sent me for a blood test. Long story (and looong day) short, I have another blood clot in the opposite leg to the one I had in 2002. Pain has been excrutiating but thankfully is easing now, but two weeks not being able to walk has meant that my leg muscles and my knee have forgotten how to support me when I stand! I can manage short bursts of walking now, and I think I'll be ok to drive when needs arise but I'm now on lifelong blood thinning medication which isn't ideal. Still, I'm still here, alive and almost kicking!

Christmas kind of passed in a pain killer blur but the children seemed to have a wonderful time which is the point really. Luckily we'd been super organised this year and everything was done beforehand. I've not been out of the house other than to the hospital for blood tests (which is happening very regularly - I've had 6 blood tests in 14 days) but once Charlotte is back at school next week I'll have to start getting myself organised again!

Now, you'd be excused for thinking that due to my bed-bound / sofa-bound couple of weeks I'd have got a lot of knitting done, but sadly this isn't the case. I couldn't really concentrate on anything. However, Charlotte has been asking me for an elephant from a book I have (Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen) for a while so I got to work on that. I finished this morning.

I have also, just a few minutes ago, decided to take part in Project 365 this year. It involves taking a photograph every day throughout the year to keep track on what you've done! Sounds like fun but you'll have to cut me some slack if I forget, cause I think its going to take a while to get in to the habit of remembering to take them!! Anyway, here is photo number 1/365 ..... the empty spot where my Christmas Tree has stood. Maybe photo number 365/365 could be the tree stood in that spot next New Years Eve?

Christmas Knitting

I was worried we were going to lose Charlotte in the snow ... if it had snowed again while she lay there she'd have been covered over!

I have been feeling rather under the weather for 2 weeks now, and it's starting to get me down. Its one of those times where 60% of the time you're fully functioning, but late afternoon every day you just feel completely drained and ache all over. On top of that, due to Alfie being ill 3 weeks ago and then this niggly virus and the snow I've had I've not been to the gym for 3 weeks, and so all my muscles are starting to cease up, I've pulled my back in two places - upper right (just by my shoulder blade) and lower left (by my hip). Basically, I need to be put down, but until the vet will see me I'm stuck here complaining!

The silver lining is the extra knitting time. I've managed to complete the three bears I was making for my friends children and they're bagged up and ready for Santa to deliver. They were all up in my crafty brain waiting to come out, and I'm really pleased with them. Ever the perfectionist I can see bits I'd want to improve but I just don't have the time now, and I'm fairly sure no one but me will notice anything wrong - I'm certainly not going to point them out!!

I've also been working on a clutch purse, the pattern was a freebie with Simply Knitting magazine, and the frame came free too so I started it last week. The pattern was so ridiculously complicated as each line was different so there were no pattern repeats to memorise, but it was totally worth all the effort cause its gorgeous! I need a little practise sewing the bag to the frame as the stitches are visible inside, but I'm very pleased with my new little purse!

Lastly, I'll leave you with a picture of Alfie as an angel in his first nativity play.

Back to Bunny

I've not knitted anything since finishing Mum's cardigan, and although it was only 2 weeks ago I really missed having something on the needles, so I thought I'd use up some stash yarn and get back to a little bunny knitting. She's very colourful, and is going to have a white dress to calm the colour situation down. I'm thinking of donating her to Alfie's nursery for their raffle (they had one last year, so presumably they'll have one this year too .... we'll see).

The fireworks were excellent, I love how magical they seem, even though I'm an adult! Alfie hadn't been to a display before, last year it was raining and the years before that he was just too young really. He's always oooooh'd and aaaaaaaah'd at them out the window so we thought we'd give it a go this year. He was fascinated with the bonfire, and we were right at the front of the crowd so when the fireworks started going off we were in the midst of the action, he wasn't all that keen, so Matt stayed with Charlotte at the front and Alfie and I moved further back, we could still see everything but from a more comfortable distance and he much preferred that. He was telling me what each one sounded like; some were like seagulls; some sounded like ripping paper (his description, and totally spot on!). All in all, a successful evening. We even managed to remember to buy sparklers (or sprinklers as Charlotte kept calling them).

I have caved slightly on the Christmas Card front. I'm not going to actually make the cards, but I'm still going to put one of the little decorations inside for people to hang on their tree, I feel much less stressed about the whole situation now, no need to continue worrying about having enough time to do it all. We went shopping on Friday and managed to buy 80% of our Christmas presents so now I can sit back, wait for December and get into the festive spirit. I love Christmas, but I love it AT Christmas, none of this "decorations up in November" rubbish ... and to be honest with you, come Boxing Day I'm generally fighting the urge to clear it all away, but from December 1st to December 25th I'm very festive!

It's raining outside, it's all gloomy, it's going to get dark again before it gets light.

Christmas Cards and Fireworks!

I have spent today getting down to my Christmas Card making. I went to Hobbycraft after dropping Charlotte at school, my favourite thing to do, Alfie and I were waiting at the doors when they opened. I have been so busy with cardigan knitting that I fell waaaay behind with my snowflakes, consequently I don't think I have time to make 50 of them now. So I have pulled the sewing machine out and embarked on an idea which still uses the "put this on your tree" philosophy, but I've managed to make 23 today, a much faster turn around than the snowflakes, so now I only need to make 25ish of them, and I've already done 10.

Tonight we're all off to a bonfire and firework display. We've got sparklers at the ready and I'm looking forward to wrapping up warm, in my new mittens!