Knit, Knit, Knit, Knit, Knitting!!

I haven't done any real knitting for ages, please bear in mind that I only do little projects anyway as I like to finish and move on, instant gratification and all that. Last night I knocked out this funky girlie beanie hat for me (well, it has to be for me as I made a small mistake in the pattern and although I have been reassured by everyone in the house that it's not visible, I know it's there and couldn't be bothered to frog). It does look good though and is rather cosie;

There must be a way to take good pictures of yourself, tips anyone?!

In my new knitty mood, am sure it's the colder and darker evenings that drive me to it, I got out all the boxes of yarn that are stashed upstairs looking for inspiration, I found some beautiful and silky feeling yarn I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show last year. It was a big twisted skien and looked so amazing and professional until I wound it, badly, into this uninspiring 'ball';

But then I turned it into this;

Ooooooh, it's pretty and is available (with free postage and packing) in my shop!

I'm not the only one knitting in the Davies' househlod this weekend, a crippled Elizabeth (she tripped last night and hurt her toe, I told her to not be so silly and get some sleep and it would be better in the morning, actually by this morning it was huge and purple, it is the worst bruise I have ever seen!), slippers for school tomorrow! While she's been laying around feeling sorry for herself she has started on her finger knitting christmas gift list;

Don't you just love her old lady slippers!? Am hoping that the children will get me some for christmas.

Daisie xxx

Knitting And Squealing Show!!

I was up at 5.30am sipping my lemsip and blowing my nose in preparation for such an exciting trip.

I collected Gil and we made good time, jumped the queues as we already had tickets and started a mammoth knitting fest! I managed not to meet anyone from blogland, sadly, but was spotted by many of folks as I ran from one stall to the next squealing "Ooh, look at that!!" It was so brilliant!!

I spotted a knitted boat but feel very bad as I think it was a project from Leeds University but I'm not sure if that's right or if it's something I read somewhere else or just made up (baby brain again), sorry, but it was truely fabulous;


It had it's own knitted ship's cat;

A knitted anchor;

There were many knitted sea creatures; crabs, fish, octopusses but my favourite has to be this seal and her pup;

I bought some of my favourite flowers for a project just for me;

And some yummy yarn just for me too;

I also bought some clothes patterns as I have to make a costume to end all costumes as Elizabeth is The Snow Queen in the Christmas production . She is very excited as she usually ends up with a crappy part. In year one she came home and cried as she had been given the part of a reindeer and, I quote; "It's not fair 'cos I am the best reader". I have huge amounts of flowing white fabric, gems, glitter and not much time but am sure she won't be disappointed with whatever I manage to create for her.

I got lots more little things, things to make gifts with, things to give as gifts and things to admire and stroke in a non-sinister way!

One of the nicest things about the day was watching lots of older, posh looking ladies sitting around on dirty carpets in corridors eating packed lunches like students, it was fabulous, wish I'd had more balls and asked if I could have photographed them!

How was your Sunday?

Daisie xxx

Harrogate Anyone?

Is no one off for jolly oohing and ahhhing and stash buying in Harrogate?!

Anyhoo, just popped in to show you my hat with it's rosette (yes, Daisie Heights really is that dull at the moment);

Bad pictures again but this time in the kitchen. I've managed to take a picture with no chin, how is that possible?!

I have started knitting another hat for Francesca with some beautiful Juniper yarn today on some lovely new bamboo needles I treated myself to. So smooth and nice to handle and an absolute baragin too.

And just to prove that I am not the only person in our house unable to take their own picture;

Although I think Nathaniel looks quite cheeky in this shot!

Daisie xxx

My New Hat!

The girls are much better and have returned to school. They are still coughing on and off but are a million times better than they were this time last week. Nathaniel on the other hand has got worse. Today he seems a little more like himself but for the last three days he has been so hot you could fry eggs on his back and he has been so miserable, falling in and out of fitful sleep. Today he has asked for crackers with cheese and has drunk more than he has been doing so maybe things are on the mend.

Sebastian too is miserable, he has a sticky eye, a snotty nose, and is un-put-downable. Yesterday as Simon was at work, Nathaniel on the sofa crying I had to have him in the sling so I could do the veg for tea and clean the kitchen and just move and use my arms;


I did manage to knit myself a hat because I loved Elizabeth's so much;

Proof, if proof were needed that you just cannot take your own photograph! Please excuse the washing hanging behind me to dry and the loft hatch and the general bad 'styling'!

A bit more proof;

And a bit more;

I can never get the angle right, my nose always looks huge, it is too big for my face (especially my mouth) but not as huge as it appears in these pics. I think I was going for an enigmatic smile but ended up looking wierd. The hat looks good though! Just look at the hat. I am just knitting a rosette to go on the front and then maybe I can find someone to take the picture for me....

Daisie xxx

PS; I will be at the knitting and stitching show in Harrogate on sunday and wondered if anyone from blogland fancied meeting up later in the day and comparing purchases. Juicyfig is meeting up with me and if I like the look of her in real life she may even get a sneaky snuggle with Sebastian! I am very excited and really looking forward to it and very sorry that Jenny won't be able to make it this year :( Let me know if you'll be there, would be lovely to say hi. I will be easy to spot - I'll be the strange looking woman with the big nose wearing a baby and a purple hat!! xxx

Day Four Thousand And Six In The Big Poorly House

Well, only day four but seems much much longer! Everyone slept better last night so that has helped, Francesca mightily cheerful when she got up this morning, or she was until she had to go and be sick. She always manages to get it in the toilet. What a trooper. Ten out of ten for aim!! The coughing seems to have gotten much worse but the temps (of all the three big ones) have been much more managable today and the peaks and troughs that go with paracetamol working and then wearing off have been less traumatic for all concerned.

I have finally managed to knit a successful hat;


I seem to be very bad at hats or else I have just never found a very good pattern. I knitted one for Sebastian before he was bron that looked lovely but it's too short (think I mentioned in an earlier post), I then knitted a bigger size for Nathaniel that came out so big it fits Elizabeth although she doesn't like it so it's waiting to be frogged at some point. I managed to get not a bad one for Francesca but that too is on the short side. I don't think it's just me though as the lovely cotton hat that Jenny knitted for Sebastian is too short too. Maybe I just make children with long heads? Nah........

This beret was so quick to knit and looks amazing and best of all it is made with some super chunky yarn that Elizabeth picked out for herself at the scrap store when we went during half term. She wants some flowers knitting to go over one eye and a scarf to match. She may have to wait a short while though as the Christmas knitting is going very very slowly at the moment.

Nathaniel's tower building skills have improved today;


A double tower. Give the boy a box of bricks and he will be happy for hours on end unless this happens.

When I was a little girl (and now I'm not so little) I wanted to live in a symetrical house, you know, door in the middle, windows either side, white picket fence, roses round the door etc. Well, I live in an end of terrace that is far from symetrical, the door is to the left of a rather nice stained glass window and the upsatirs is double glazed and down isn't and it is lovely our house but not symetrical. While my children on the other hand..... I have managed to have two girls and two boys. I have a brown eyed girl (Elizabeth) and a blue eyed girl (Francesca) and Nathaniel's eyes are the brightest blue and Sebastian's seem to be the darkest brown. So a little bit of symetry there me thinks. See;

Chocolatey brown eyes like his biggest sister and his Mummy. And look at his six week old chops, how I want to bite them!!!

Daisie xxx

Actual Knitting!

Terrible photos again but real life, finished knitting!!

Francesca's hat;


With love-heart shaped doo-dah on the top;

This pattern is quick and simple but seems to knit up a little short. She could do with another inch to tuck her ears in! Sebastian seems to have the same trouble and isn't very happy about it;

There is more Christmas knitting on the go after a recent trrip to SAMS (scrap store) and some gifty type things on there way into the shop. Just need to find a few more hours from somewhere......

Daisie xxx

Francesca's Pink Horse

Well, her french knitting is improving but I thought it may take years for her to assemble all the pieces required to make the pink horse she so wanted so I knitted her one;

It's perhaps not the most accurate of creatures and I think it looks a little 'square' but over all am quite pleased with my efforts. It looks so much better now it has hair, the ears I'm not happy with, not sure if they're just too big or if the are too triangular but before the adding of the hair it did look very dog like?!

Anyway, none of this really matters, my little lady loves it so!

Nathaniel now wants a yellow horse, lets see what happens.......

Daisie xxx

Broken

Before I tell you of the catastrophe that struck me today let me tell you about the most wonderful day I had yesterday. Much as I love a day at the park/seaside/museum it is so lovely to have a day at home. And my day was divided in two with two of the most wonderful girls in the world.

Elizabeth had been invited out to a birthday tea so we spent the morning carefully bathing and doing hair and choosing just the right set of clothes together. Then we spent ages looking through papers and embellishments and making a wonderful card and book mark for her friend's birthday. Off she went.....

Then Francesca and I spent a very long time indeed making the most amazing gift for Elizabeth's up and coming birthday, can't tell you what it is yet but I have been taking pics as we go, soon all will be revealed. We painted and stuck and found lovely photographs and had lots and lots of snuggles!

Then my two small Masterchefs decided we were going to have princess pizza for our tea. I chopped everything they would need and left them to it;



Francesca's princess looked stunning (and was rather tasty too) while Nathaniel's had a slightly more Picasso theme running through it but was still very delish;



A lovely, lovely day!!

Now, today, I found this yummy pattern and adapted it to make it slightly more manly;




I completed the first one quite well to say I haven't done any 'proper' knitting for quite some time. Then half way through the sole of the second boot disaster struck;

Not sure how it happened, it may have been my arse, or a stray leaning arm but to be honest when you are as huge as I am at the moment it could have been anything! Tears in my eyes :-(

It is only a little project and I don't need the whole needle length so I am gong to soldier on regardless......

Oh, and start the mammoth task of listing all my goodies in my shops, no more fairs for me until Christmas time(ish).

Daisie xxx

PS: I have just had another look at the picture I took of my shadow and would like to point out to you all that although my belly looks huge (and it is believe me) I have not sprouted a penis!! I think it's the tie thingie on those linen trousers, honest!!

Happy Easter!!

Probably won't have any computer time tomorrow as we are off to visit the in-laws at their little cottage in the woods in Shropshire. Family Sunday lunch awaits us! So I am wishing you all a happy weekend now!

I don't like the children eating lots of chocolate and even after years of telling people they still get sugary eggs from well meaning people :-( Books from more like minded people, this year I have bought them each a new item of clothing (not expensive might I add) to wear to visit posh Granny in the woods and have knitted them each a chick that will be handed over in a little plastic coloured egg. Blue for Elizabeth, yellow for Nathaniel, pink for Francesca (who else?!) and another yellow one for my MIL as a little thank you for offering to feed us all;

The chick's heads and bodies are just my knitted beads on a slightly larger scale. Not wanting the children to suspect what I was making but not wanting to wait to do it all until they went to bed I knitted a pile of coloured balls and was very vague when asked what they were for. Nathaniel knows some colours, one of those being yellow so he spent ages asking me (quite nicely) if he could 'catch' (throw) a 'ello ball' I assmebled the chick for Granny before he went to bed and Nathaniel announced, amazed, 'a is chin-kin!' So I think he will be pleased in the morning!

Enjoy your weekend!

Daisie xxx

A Productive Day

After Tumble Tots and some lunch, Nathaniel and I managed to sew together three taggy blankets;


These should have been done last night really but I accidently fell asleep when putting Nathaniel to bed, it is becoming a very bad habit of mine at the minute.

Better late than never, I always say!

And I love the randomness of the ribbons on these ones. Eliabeth helped me cut them last night before she went to bed. I am very regimented and methodical when chopping up my ribbon stash and even though I gave her the ruler they are all different lengths! Think it maybe adds to their charm?!



I also knitted half a pair of bootees;

The other half may get knitted this evening but them again, maybe not......

We made a yummy lemon sponge for after tea;

Whilst all that was going on the sweet sticky thick tomato and chilli sauce was simmering away getting more delicious throughout the afternoon ready for the meatballs;

And then to make the day even better, when I collected the girls from school we hot footed it down to the sorting office to fetch this wonderful little boxy parcel;

I shall show you what was in it tomorrow!

Daisie xxx

A New Year, A New Skill

Happy New Year!!!!

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog these last few days but festivities (and a killer migraine) have stopped me getting to the computer. Oh, and the fact that Simon bought me some beautiful bamboo needles! Charlotte bought me some yummy yarn and the rest, as they say, is history!!

Elizabeth has learnt a fabulous new skill. I have been trying to teach her to knit with needles but she finds it so hard and being a bit of a mad perfectionist (don't know where she gets it from) is always disappointed to tears by her efforts. Then I found this and she loved it straight away. She followed the instructions all by herself. Firstly I made her do it with one strand of quite fine yarn without fluff so she could see what she was doing. She has turned this practice piece into a necklace with some ribbon embellishments.

Then she attacked my stash and found a deep purple 'bumpy' yarn and a pink eyelash and knitted them together;



Elizabeth did however stop for a quick snuggle with baby Noah who came to say hi. Am all broody again!!



She continued to knit after tea last night but Nathaniel and I went to bed before six as my head was pounding and the nausea was just too much for me and he was tired not having had a sleep during the day.

Simon was unable to advise on casting off so she resumed this morning;




She did a last few rows to finish the ball of fluffy yarn (didn't see much point in keeping 2 metres) and finished it off!

Ta-Dah;

She has already been back into my knitting bag and is eyeing up some more yarn for another original Elizabeth creation. I fear I have created a monster! A big thank you to Lucy Jackson!!

Have fun whatever you are doing on this very first day of 2009!!

Daisie xxx

Finished!!!

Hurrah!!

I managed to finish hand sewing the letters and sequins onto these hotties and sew the main bodies together on the machine and deliver them;



Am really loving the one I made for Thomas, the brief was for a blue hottie with his name on that wasn't too 'babified' Think I managed to make it quite manly (or manly enough for an eight year old) with the deep grey fleece, mid blue band and denim letters, they should fray a little with time and give it a 'rugged' look! The brief for Hannah's was pink and sparkly and with Francecsa's guidance how could I fail!? The picture is not good because of the flash but there are lots of little seqjuin flower clusters all over the front. It has a blanket stitch finish to the fold on the back in yet another shade of pink!!

And I managed to knit this little yellow fellow for small friend in time for Christmas;




Making a shopping list and menu plan for next week, only plan on doing one food shop on Monday and then whatever we don't have we'll do without!

We have cake, what else is there?!!

Daisie xxx

Advice

Hello, just a quick one today as I have a banging head and Nathaniel still poorly and very grumpy with it!

The sun is not sunny and it is too wet to (play so we sit in the house and did nothing all day) take outside photos! Poo! Wanted to take some good ones for a competition I want to enter but more on that when it's not so dark and damp!

I have spent a little while this morning packaging the hair clips and ties I made ready for the fair on Saturday (not so nervous about this one and am really looking forward to it);

I am still in a quandary over price. They didn't cost me a huge amount to make but some time and a bit of artistic (ooh, get me) flair has gone into them and this is what people pay for, right? I always have the thought in my head of 'what would I pay for it?' and in this instance it doesn't work as I would see them and think 'ooh, I'll go home and make some...'

I have asked a couple of other crafters and some Mum's at school and my littlest sister and her friends and the answers range from £2 to £5, quite a difference me thinks! I was thinking along the lines of £2 or £2.50. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. What would you pay for some of these for your daughter/niece/granddaughter? Or yourself even! There will be the option of a gift box (see earlier post) for them too.

A little knitting and a cup of peppermint tea is in order now while Nathaniel sleeps (but who knows for how long).

The cards for Julie have started coming, thank you everyone!!
Thanks, Daisie xxx

Introducing........

Little Brown;

Little Blue's new friend;



Little Brown is knitted in a heavier yarn so is slightly bigger, we rather love him! I am thinking that maybe he is small enough to fit in a pocket on a hottie.....?

You can see Little Brown over on craftjuice where I have put lots of new pics :-)

Daisie xxx

Lots Of Makes

Well Francesca made our tea today. She chopped mushrooms;


She made pizza dough;


Nathaniel did try and help chopping the mushrooms with a large ladle but he didn't manage to do very many;


We made our own pizza sauce with tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil all reduced down so it was rich and sticky. Francesca layered everything up and it looked like this;

It was the yummiest pizza I have ever eaten!!

I started knitting this little fellow last night;

And managed to finish him off this morning. He is knitted all in one piece so it's really quick and easy. I was worried that he'd look a bit naff but I think the simpleness just adds to his charm!? The girls are smitten and there is another one on my needles already! I think I may need a little more practise in doing teddy's faces, he looks a bit befuddled to me.

And I have spent ages playing with my new found knowledge of reusing plastic bags. I don't have many (but don't worry I will be raiding many kitchens in the next few days) so I had to use what was there. Because supermarkets like everyone to know where you shop it's hard to disguise the text. If you look closely you can identify the origin of all these bits of plastic;

I am really rather pleased with them but they are only small, gift bag size. When I have more in my stash all ironed up I'm going to make a big flowered one for my mother-in-law and maybe another chicken one for someone we know?

I need to go finish a ted and need some sleep. Nathaniel still very unwell and sleeping badly and when he is asleep I can't sleep as I'm listening to him breathe, or struggling to do so :-(

Daisie xxx