Glorious Grannies

You would not believe how quickly time goes by in this house. I've been meaning to post here for days now and finally I've found some time in between family life to share some news with you. Last week I spotted some new yarn from James C Brett which is a replacement for the now discontinued Kool Kotton. This yarn is called Cotton On and I really do prefer this to the Kool Kotton. It's a mix of cotton and acrylic and the colours are beautifully vibrant. I've come to the conclusion over the last couple of months that projects made of small squares are just not my thing and seem destined to end up in the UFO pile so for this yarn I picked a project I've been meaning to do for a long time. A simple Giant Granny! And so far it's coming along a treat. 24 rounds so far and the colours are working so nicely together. I guess you would like a look......
I've also been working away on my large Granny Stripe. I'm using King Cole Bamboo Cotton for this one. It's big, so each row/stripe takes a good while. I have 20 colours of the yarn and I'm hoping I can get four stripes of each colour to make a good sized blanket for the settee. The colours on this yarn are really lovely too, very saturated and it's beautifully soft.
I've also realised in my absence I haven't shared the new addition to our household with you. Oh yes, as if my life wasn't busy enough with four children, one dog and two cats, we now have a new puppy! His name is Deeks and I would love to see if anyone knows where the name comes from! He is a Border Collie and is growing right before our eyes. He is now a very lively 16 weeks and making his presence very well felt in our house I can tell you. No slipper, shoe, cuddly toy is safe anymore! Isn't he adorable with all his spots?
Well, I better go and return to my domestic duties, washing to hang out in the sunshine - I'm so glad the crazy weather has returned to sunshine again! And then four children are desperate for a bit of fresh air and some lunch!

I'm Back!

I know it's been a while since I last posted but I'm back! I don't really want to dwell too much on why I've been gone but instead I want to share a new exciting project that marks my return to feeling back to my normal self! As many of you may know I start lots of things, especially blankets, and don't appear to have a good track record for finishing. My first crochet blanket was a granny stripe and I worked it up in a matter of weeks. So I decided to do another one. This one is a lot bigger, so it will take longer than a few weeks I expect but I am so excited by it I just want to crochet away all day (which hasn't happened for a while I can tell you). Here, enjoy a sneaky peak of my first few rows and I'll be back to share more details with you another day.

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

Another week has flown by and unfortunately four out of six of us have been struck down by a rather nasty stomach bug. I'm not really one to be pessimistic but so far this year hasn't been so great for me and mine yet. Perhaps the good and healthy times are just around the corner. I really do hope so.

Despite the illness I managed to get my seven squares done and I'm hoping to get the last of the squares done this week and then I can start on the border. I did toy with the idea of making this a little bigger, but I don't think I have enough yarn and I don't really want to have to order more just to finish it. Once again, I am having to apologise for the terrible photo but I just don't have time to try again - I have an ironing pile the size of a small car and some serious children's bedroom tidying needs to be undertaken today!

Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

Don't Tuesdays come around very quickly? This week I've added another seven squares to my blanket. I'm loving how the addition of more squares changes how it looks and I can't wait to add some more squares this week. I'm really enjoying this pattern.
Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

One a Day Project - Tuesday's Tallies

It's been quite productive here this week. I think the time away from work has done me lots of good and boosted my creativity. This week I've added nine squares to my blanket. I think the photo I quickly snapped this morning captures the colours perfectly - it really is bright! In case you are wondering most of my ends are sewn in, there's just a few of the outer ends dangling! I also don't think it's as 'twisted' in real life as it looks here....
I'm back to work towards the end of this week but I'm really hoping I can keep up with my creative streak. Thanks to an unexpected visit to my local Accident and Emergency at the weekend, I've heard there have been a few changes in the last couple of weeks so it will be interesting to see how things are when I return. Imogen was unfortunate enough to be involved in a car accident on Saturday - she's fine thankfully and getting over the shock of it all.

Time for the fun bit! If you would like to participate in 'Tuesday's Tallies' please add your details below, remembering to use your the link for your post rather than your blog. You don't have to leave a comment (although it's very lovely when you do!) and it would be great if you could visit some of the links too. If you are participating please could you link back to this post :)

More Simple Pleasures.......

The road to feeling myself again means finding pleasure in the simple things and what could be more uplifting to the soul than a walk in the park with Pippa and Lucy Labrador. It was a very cold and frosty start to the day here but now the skies are blue and the weak winter sun has melted the frost away. Lucy is eight this year, not that you would know, as far as she is concerned she is still a puppy, but she is as strong as an ox. She does enjoy a run around the park chasing her ball.

Simple Pleasures

I have a stash of sock yarn and no desire to make any more socks, so I've been browsing Ravelry for simple sock yarn hats to make with my stash. This week I cast on Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure, with some Strumpf-und Sportgarn yarn. I'm really enjoying the mindless knitting, just going round and round and waiting for the colours to change. Such a simple pleasure.....