Tuesday 25 October 2011

Stash-busting

This last couple of weeks has been so busy, I've barely had time to think. I am on deadline and my H2B had last week off so general daytime happenings have been restricted to work and preparing for D's birthday. I have managed to squeeze in some stash-busting, though! After a few nights of no sleep (thanks, Albie) I spent one lazy Sunday on the sofa, with hook in hand and Wizard of Oz on the DVD player. Bliss! My man bought me tea and snacks- I was just so exhausted. In one afternoon I made a cafetiere cosy...
 Just hooked up using leftover yarns, in double crochet...
 I added some gingham vintage buttons that I got at a vintage fair when I was pregnant...
It matches the tea cosy!

I am also working on a scarf for my man. It was supposed to be a birthday scarf but I couldn't knit it in secret, and I ran out of time. So it's an autumn scarf...
knitted up in garter stitch, with lovely chunky wooden needles. The yarn is a combination of three I got at the knit and stitch show.

I have also been rippling, again for a birthday present...

I used the ripple instruction from Jan Eaton's book A Compendium of Crochet Techniques, which was simple but somehow I kept going wrong. I wasn't concentrating I think. So when I attempt my ripple bedspread, I will be using Lucy at Attic24's technique, her results are stunning.
Last Monday we went to the beautiful village of Little Baddow. We visited the vicar and the village hall and booked our wedding! For next June. Lots of vintage fabric to collect for tablecloths, jam jars to pretty up and wild flowers to grow! It is the weekend after the Queen's diamond jubilee, so we're very much having a British street party theme, with bunting galore, Pimms and bangers and mash for dinner. I am very excited. I am sourcing outfit items, but I'm REALLY excited about decorating the venue. The village hall is a lovely big space, so we can go mad with fairy lights and flowers.

After booking the church and village hall we took a walk along the canal, had some tea and cake at the Paper Mill Lock tea room, then wandered up along the canal and gathered some sloes- there will be bottles of sloe gin on each table at the wedding! I will also be making lemon curd and jam for favours, though I got a wonderful package from Tiptree jam (just up the road from us) with 12 mini jars of posh jam and marmalade! The canal was beautiful, I loved the colours on the barges and long boats...


On Friday it was D's birthday, so we went to Colchester Zoo. It was brilliant! Standing face-to-face with an Amur (Siberian) tiger, watching a family of three chimps eat their vegetables, seeing the Elephants being fed by small children...it was all wonderful. We ate ice cream while the Lions had their enrichment day and I bought D a toy bear in the gift shop. Albie was a bit out of sorts, and kept getting frightened by everything except the animals. He even said 'tiger' and pointed at the leopard and said 'cat'! He made monkey noises when we saw the monkeys and absolutely loved the penguins and chimps.

 


In between Monday and Friday was work, baking, more birthdays and even more work. I can't wait until this deadline is done and I can enjoy H2B's week off (again) next week, with my birthday at the end of it.

Happy hooking!

3 comments:

  1. I love Colchester zoo. Feeding the penguins/elephants and giraffes are our fave things to do there.
    The cottage was through the Padstow cottage company. They have lots of lovely cottages. We booked quite late and there were only a couple available. Ours was pinmill cottage which sleeps 4. I would definately use the company again xx

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  2. Thank you! Loved it, I will check it out for a summer break, maybe even our honeymoon!

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  3. Oh I LOVE that cafetiere cosy, how very beautiful! Hx

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