Thursday 18 July 2013

Yarn along

This week I am joining in with the Yarn Along with Ginny over at Small Things.

We've been spending a lot of time outdoors over the last week or so, the heatwave is still in full-flow and it's pretty warm around here! It's lovely to have such nice weather but boy is it it hot! I used to be able to lie out in the sun reading my book for Hours on end before I had Rose and Arthur but now... well, when you're rushing about sorting the kids out all of the time, it's easy to just end up feeling a bit hot and bothered!


I'm knitting a Milo vest for my friends baby that is due in September. Originally I started using the same yarn to knit a vest for Arthur but it was turning out to be only Just big enough for him... and it's a bit warm at the moment to be wearing knitted vests! I just finished it off yesterday, so I will block it and take a couple of photo's for you to see.


Arthur is now on the move! He's finally and 7.5 months figured out how to roll over! He kept getting his arm stuck underneath him for a couple of day's but is now rolling back and forth, then also wriggling around in a sort of circle. It's like he just wanted to take it easy for that little bit longer before getting mobile!


xxx

Friday 12 July 2013

Granny's favourite.

We managed to take some photo's of Rose wearing her new cardigan this afternoon. I had the cardigan blocking on the floor just outside of the back door and she kept going to check if it was dry yet or not, she'd been desperate to have it on to wear ever since she saw me pinning it out early this morning.

 

In the end she actually only wore in for 10 minutes before saying "Mummy, too hot!" I did warn her it was too warm today to be wearing a cardigan but she wouldn't listen.. she is a very stubborn little girl!


The pattern is available to buy here on Ravelry and the yarn I used was Rooster almerino dk in colour 213 (cherry). I bought the yarn when I was back in Dorset from Bridport Yarn which is a gorgeous shop. I originally planned to knit a jumper for Arthur with the yarn but then I realised the colour was much more suited to Rose and I had other idea's for items I wanted to knit for him anyway. It was Amazing to knit with, glided over my needles and is so super soft now it's knitted up.
 

I've really got my knitting mojo back now...  I can't believe that there were Months when I was pregnant with Arthur that I didn't knit a single stitch! All of that time that I wasted where I could have gotten lovely things made.. ahh well, I must have felt Really tired if it meant that I couldn't face my knitting needles!


xxx

Yarn and a summer salad

I've been hurrying along on a couple of my current knitting WIP's, as I desperately want to join in with Sarah's knitalong over at craftsfromthecwtch but I cannot have So many things on the go. I find I actually start to feel stressed over the amount of unfinished projects I have half-knitted, which is silly really as it's supposed to just be a very enjoyable hobby!


I've chosen and printed out the pattern for the Cloud Illusions shawl which looks so beautiful... hopefully I can manage all of that lace! The yarn that I've chosen to use is a 100g skein from The Yarn Gallery which I hope will look good with that pattern. 


I finished Rose's cardigan this morning before 7am, as all of the little people in the house decided to be awake nice and early! It was good to get it washed and and blocked out at that time though because it meant it has dried very quickly in the sunshine today! I will take some photo's and put them in a post soon for you to see.


I'm still trying hard with the healthy eating... it's been hard on a couple of days when we have been visiting family and things. It's always easier for me to eat the right things when I'm at home and have the option of something healthy. 


xxx

Saturday 6 July 2013

Heatwave!

We've had the most wonderful day here today. This morning Ray went for a bike ride with Rose in her bike seat down to the canal where they fed the ducks and watched the boats going up and down the canal. He sent me a video of Rose watching a boat going by whilst they were calling over 'Good morning!' and she looked completely fascinated by it all. It also meant that I had a good hour where the house was a little quieter with just Arthur and I in. Fortunately I managed to get him down for his morning nap quite quickly which meant that after getting dressed, I actually had a little luxury Saturday morning knitting time! Always a bonus!


We went down to a Fun day fair thing that was happening just out of Chichester but returned pretty quickly as it was heaving with people and Rose, who would have enjoyed it much more than us was actually sleeping in the buggy. So after a quick wander around, we returned home (stopping off at the shop for a few picnic goodies) and got everything together to head down to a really beautiful gardens that is a short walk from our house. Unfortunately there was a huge gust of wind through the house as we were about to head out the door and our hallway door slammed on a couple of Rose's fingers. The look on her face was just awful, it must have been so so painful. Luckily there wasn't too much damage and she's just scraped a little skin from above her fingernails on two fingers. But this meant that the walk round to the gardens was a bit stressful with me pulling Rose along on her scooter while she wailed away to herself. No amount of cuddles seemed to make her feel any better, so I ended up singing a Very long version of 'Old MacDonald' to her which she just couldn't resist telling me which animals to sing about next, it didn't stop her crying but we had a little pause between the wails at least!


I'd actually choose to have a simple afternoon in a park any day over a big busy event like the one we went to first of all. It was so lovely to spent some quality time together, just us. Rose was soon distracted from her sore fingers by running around the gardens chasing her ball with either myself or Ray (a little chocolate cake may have also helped here!). It was also peaceful enough that Arthur had a huge nap in the buggy and woke up a very happy chap. I could sit and knit a few rows of Rose's cardigan and have some lovely conversations with Ray.







Apparently the weather is supposed to be beautiful and even warmer tomorrow, so I plan to spend most of my time outdoors if possible!

xxx




Friday 5 July 2013

How 7 months has flown by...


Arthur is already 7 months old and I can't quite believe how quickly it has all gone, Rose's first year seemed to go by quite slowly looking back but with Arthur is feels like only yesterday that I gave birth to him. He's a very chunky boy now and sometimes I almost forget about what a tiny poorly baby he was, back when he was only a couple of weeks old. He's very laid-back compared to what Rose was when it comes to rolling...sitting...crawling... he's quite happy to just, lay there really! Rose will roll him onto his front and he's happy as anything giggling away with her but he hasn't quite managed to go over by himself yet. Rose goes and gives him a toy when he's upset, so I think he knows he can get away with being a bit lazy!


I seem to have finally found some motivation now when it comes to trying to lose my baby-weight. According to the scales I've lost a couple of pounds this week which is a good start, I just need to stay away from those sweet treats! I don't have a huge amount to lose... but it's so frustrating not being able to wear any of the nicer clothes in my wardrobe that I feel like putting on. I already have a limited choice of what I can wear due to breastfeeding, so it would be nice to be able to wear a few different things that I've not worn since before I was pregnant with Arthur.


The garden has gone completely wild. Everything seems to have doubled in size within the space of a couple weeks and I'm so behind on keeping on top of it all. I find it a really hard thing to get done at the moment, Rose is okay playing with me out in the garden but as we have a courtyard garden, there isn't a soft lawn to be able to lay Arthur down on and if I pop him in the Bumbo seat, he always seems to be able to reach over and grab things that I don't particularly want him putting in his mouth. My Nan is coming to stay for a few day's nearer the end of the month and she always helps me out a Lot in the garden, so I'm really looking forward to getting a bit of advice from her and finding out how to control the huge giant plants that have grown out there.


I've cast on Another knitting project... (I know, so unlike me!) and it's the Granny's Favourite cardigan from Ravelry. It's a lovely pattern, now that I've got the hang of the pattern. There is a LOT of writing to get your head around and with the huge range of sizing options, it can get a little confusing as to which numbers to actually concentrate on. I'm sure it doesn't need to be a whole Ten pages long...


A heatwave has been predicted in this part of the world over the next week, which would be a Very nice contrast to the wet weather we've had for most of the last few months. Hopefully we'll get down the beach again while the weather is nice, as Rose absolutely adores it down there... the sand does just get Everywhere though! 


xxx

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