Lots of loose ends that need tying up

I'm finally starting to feel a lot more like my normal self. My poor kids have had a bit of a boring start to their summer. When the doc said that the medicine can cause sensitivity to the sun, he wasn't kidding, so I've been stuck indoors. Crocheting always seems like a good craft for times when I'm feeling under the weather. It's easy to put down at a moment's notice without having to worry about trying to find my place when I return. So I decided that it was about time that I worked out how to do a granny square. nb. The light was a bit dull this morning, but you can get a better idea of the colours of the yarn used here.

.

I originally started with these 2 squares from 101 crochet squares by Jean Leinhauser.

This one didn't seem sturdy enough. I liked this one, but then thought about how many of these squares it would take to make even a small blanket. That's the point that I decided to try the basic granny square, to see if it was any quicker. It was. Even so, these granny square blankets are pretty time consuming. I'm only planning on making a small lap blanket, though, so I think I'm about half way done. Ignore all the loose threads in the pictures - I've been too lazy to weave them in yet. Then there will be joining all the squares together. I think I'm too slow a crocheter to do this very often...

.

My parents will be visiting soon, so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while. This month of illness has put me a tad behind on my to-do list. The first thing should probably be finally planting the plants I bought the day before I became ill. Plastering and painting will have to wait a little longer. I'm still not anywhere near to catching up on what's in my e-mail inbox. I had better check that the camping stuff is all still in good shape. And I had better make it up to my kids for keeping them cooped up indoors for the last couple of weeks...

.

Talking of which, I'm being nagged to get off the computer so that we can get out of the house, so I had better get going. No translation of the day for today, sorry.

School's out for summer

Gulp. No school for 13 weeks.

.

I think that there were just as many mums crying today as there were on the first day of Kindergarten. I stayed true to my British roots and kept a stiff upper lip. Whatever illness I had has left me with some sinus infection, so believe me, no one there would have wanted to see me bawling...

.

My son has had the best ever Kindergarten teacher this last year. I really could not have asked for a better teacher. We went in on the class gift, but I think that even if I hadn't already made something extra, I would have anyway, as she is such a sweetheart. My son had told me that she likes to bake cookies. I don't know how reliable my informant is, but if even someone with my culinary abilities has an apron, I'm hoping that she might like one too, even if she just uses it when cleaning out drains or something. So I made another Emmeline apron. Side 1:

Side 2:

I added an inch or so to the pattern after reading a discussion on the sizing online, figuring that I'm pretty small-framed and I don't think that I would want mine any smaller. I'm not so sure that I needed to, though (maybe I used bigger seam allowances than those recommended when I made mine?). I hope it fits her ok. Still, at least the mirror got dusted. Here's how they look without the weird side lighting:

Ok, the gloomy weather we've been having lately is wonderful, but it is awful for taking pictures. Alright, now I've played around with the colours on the computer, so hopefully this will give you an idea of the actual colours:

I'm not ready for my son to be a first-grader. Does he have to grow up this fast?

.

Thank you for the sympathy for my sewing machine troubles. The needle had stopped moving because some part had come loose under the *wheel thing on the right side*. The big round thing that you turn to move the needle up and down (I'm guessing that there probably are technical terms for these things). I popped it open and tightened the part, so hopefully that will be ok now. As for the tension nuttiness, when I next got the machine out I noticed that there was a small piece of metal on the *metal thing that you put the bobbin in* that was a fraction out of place and caught on an edge. Now I'm wondering how I was even lucky enough to manage to sew that final bloomin' line of topstitching without the thread going nuts.

.

I'm still scared of the sewing machine, but now that I've poked around it a bit, I do feel like I'm starting to get to know it a bit better, even if I can't name the parts...

.

Translation of the day:

UK English: plaster or Elastoplast = adhesive bandage or Band-Aid in US English.

.

I think people here think that I am raising two little hypochondriacs, as my kids keep demanding a plaster after they've taken a tumble. Americans think that they are asking for plaster casts...

Blood, toil, tears and sweat

One line of topstitching had me close to giving up sewing for good.
My daughter's preschool teacher seems to like neutrals, so I decided to make her this tote bag as part of her end of year gift. I figured that reusable bags are useful. I have lots. Most of mine seem to have a WIP (work in progress) stuffed in the bottom, which might be why someone like me believes them to be useful.

(That's the shadow of a plant on the right of the photo, by the way - not grime)

All was going well. I did manage to give myself a cut lip (there's the blood) while turning the handles, but we all know that sewing is fraught with danger. I flipped the bag through the opening and found no glaring errors. All that was left was the line of topstitching around the top.
.
I had to rip that bloomin' topstitching out about 5 bloomin' times. Why the tension was suddenly off, I don't know, but I adjusted the top thread tension, then decided the screw on the bobbin thing was the problem. I didn't notice that I was about to run out of bobbin thread, of course. And then.... my needle stopped moving. And that's the point where I was blinking back the tears.
.
That one line of topstitching took me over an hour. I think I have fixed the machine.
.
Here's the lining. There's a tiny error in that line of topstitching, but hopefully she won't care. I can't bring myself to risk ripping it out and redoing it. I have visions of the machine just deciding to spontaneously combust or something if I go near that topstitching just one more time...
Lately, a lot of my limited computer time (my husband is a gamer) has been spent on my grandmother-in-law's 90th birthday celebration. I've been designing invites and reply cards, scanning hundreds of photos for a slideshow, downloading music and putting together playlists of of 30s and 40s music (it turns out that rather a lot of people have written songs about their 'honey', but I think that I did finally find the one that she remembered...). After seeing all the work that goes into organising flower arrangements and the like, I am so glad that I got married on a clifftop at sunset with just two witnesses present.
.
The party went well, though. I was going to say that my blog should be a little less neglected now, but, considering that I'm ill at present, the end of the school year is fast approaching, my parents will be visiting etc. etc. that's probably a rash thing to say. Still, I'm trying to think up ideas for a giveaway for my upcoming 100th post, even if it might be months before I reach that milestone at the current rate...
.
Translation of the day:
UK English: blooming (usually pronounced bloomin') = darned in US English. Often used as an intensifier or as an exclamation of surprise or anger. It's a minced oath used instead of 'bloody'. Using 'bloody' would have got me a clip around the ear as a kid, though. I think I would have just about got away with using 'blooming'.

I felt the earth move under my feet

Ah, my dear daughter, who can not stand still for 5 seconds. Thank goodness I don't want to put pictures of your face on this blog, as I don't think there was a single picture in the whole batch of you just looking at me (please stop crossing your eyes).

.

I bought the material months ago, but have only just got around to replacing my daughter's outgrown peasant top (less than a year later and her belly shows when she wears it - how is that possible?). And then we had a 4.7 earthquake (definitely felt it this time). The last time I made her a peasant top it was a 5.4 quake. Do I dare put together the one that is cut out and waiting to be sewn? Should I contact Cal Tech's seismology department before I make any peasant tops and let them know that a seismic event may be about to occur?

.

Aside from their earthquake-triggering properties, these tops are great. So quick to sew and they look good in busy (read 'stain-concealing') prints. I was even able to use the template I put together last year, as she's been growing upward not outwards. I've been seeing lots of similar ones on blogs lately, so I think that there's plenty of patterns about.

The next one is in a less practical fabric. I'm just not sure if I should risk another quake.

.

Translation of the Day

UK English: Gordon Bennett! = an exclamation of surprise, anger or disbelief in US English.

It can be used as a more publicly acceptable replacement for several swear words or 'Oh My God!' although the latter seems to be used these days for every little thing here in California, while Gordon Bennett is reserved for the more emotional occasions.

.

For instance, when your house starts shaking around you, it is a good time to say "Gordon Bennett!"

.

I think the phrase "OMG! that is so, like, adorable, you should totally, like, get that" is unlikely to ever be rephrased using Gordon Bennett.

Apple bookmark

Just a quickie:
It's Teacher Appreciation Week this week, so my son is doing little things for his teacher each day. Monday is 'hug your teacher day', Tuesday he's taking in a thank you note, Wednesday a flower, Thursday some English sweets, Friday is 'whatever you would like to do for your teacher day'.
.

When I saw the link to these wire bookmarks on Crafty Crow this morning, I decided that I might add a little wire apple bookmark to Friday's offering. A bit of bending wire and hammering later and here's my apple:

Is it recognisable as an apple?

.

The end of the school year is really sneaking up on me. It's about time that I started making the end of year gifts for the kids' teachers. I wish my son could stay in Kindergarten forever - I could not have asked for a nicer teacher than the one he has now.

Ok, got to run. Take care all.

.

Edit: I used 19 gauge annealed wire, as that was the only wire I had in the house. Pliers were used to bend the stalk and the end of the leaf, but the rest I just shaped by hand. I hammered it on a metal surface, until it was flat. I have no clue if this is the 'proper' method.

ladybird, ladybird fly away home

I didn't think that I would be gone for so long. Our flying visit to Sacramento went well - thank you for your suggestions for things to do. Old Town Sacramento didn't seem to wake up until 11am, so we ended up spending the most time at the Capital building.
.
If anyone was wondering about that little heat wave that hit Southern California a week or so back, that was because the electric company had switched our power off while they were installing a new pole. I was stuck at home with not even a fan to keep me cool, but at least that meant that I did not miss it when hundreds of these ladybirds (ladybugs) stopped by for a brief visit.
Then we were ill. Not the swine 'flu. My husband, of course, was convinced that he might be at death's door. Men.

I finally finished the baby blanket for my friend. Same pattern, same yarn again.

Then another of my babies turned a year older. Yes, someone had nicked 3 chocolate buttons off the cake. The investigation is ongoing, but 2 suspects have been identified and taken in for questioning.

.

Which reminds me:

A lot of people here seem to use cake mixes, which do produce lovely fluffy moist cakes, but I don't have much luck with them and I prefer the taste of cakes made from scratch. Yet, while the cakes that I've made from scratch usually taste ok, they just don't seem to have turned out as well as the ones I used to make back home.

.

I'm not a great cook, so I put that down to my poor culinary skills. Then I finally read an article about how American flours, sugars, baking powder etc. differ slightly from English ones, so the same recipe will turn out much different. Ok, my poor culinary skills might still be a contributing factor, but let's ignore that for a moment.

.

So, as I have the American ingredients at my disposal, the solution must be to find an American recipe to use instead of my British ones. I'm trying to find an American equivalent of the basic sponge cake recipe (the British 6-6-6-3 recipe). I skim read a couple of local cookbooks, but they didn't seem to have something similar. Can anyone help?

.

Translation of the day:

UK English: nick (verb) = to steal in US English

UK English: nick (verb) = to arrest in US English

As in, my offspring risked getting nicked by the fuzz by nicking chocolate buttons off the birthday cake.

Smocked

I got a little nervous after posting that sneak peek on the previous post - and people telling me that they couldn't wait to see the finished item - that I was going to bodge this. As for those asking me what it is called (really, you should know by now that I am the last person to ask about technical terminology), according to the McCall's Needlework Treasury that my grandmother-in-law gave me, it is honeycomb smocking. There's an online tutorial here.

I have had this idea for a top for my daughter for a long while now, but I was a little intimidated by the idea of doing the honeycomb smocking and kept procrastinating (as usual). It turned out that my only problem was with trying to iron it, as I was too lazy to clear the counter top and I didn't have much room to manoeuvre (maneuver). The stitching itself took no time at all.

It's grey with pink stitches on the smocking, but I'm not sure that you can tell that from the photos. Lined with a pink polka dot fabric, in case I needed to persuade my daughter that girls can wear grey (she's starting to get ideas about what she wants to wear these days). Trying to get her to stand still for a picture is proving difficult these days too, for that matter...

.

Translation of the day:

UK English: bodge = botch, to do an inept or inelegant job in US English. Sometimes as a temporary repair.

.

I'm not sure yet when we are heading out of town, but we shouldn't be gone for long. Take care.

Avoiding painting the living room

Well, both versions 1 and 2 of the baby blanket got scrapped. My friend that just had the baby has been my friend since we were toddlers and it just didn't seem right to give her a blanket that I was not happy with - and one that did not seem to fit her personality either.
.
There was still the problem of finding some yarn that I did like, though. The above eggs (made using this pattern) are made out of yarn that I have stashed, ready to make a normal blanket with. So, I did pull those out for consideration, but, while I love the colour combo, the yarn just doesn't feel soft enough to go against a baby's soft skin.
.
So when I found the same yarn that I have used before, I went with it. I had hoped to have a change from what seems to be becoming my standard baby blanket pattern, but I know this yarn works and, more importantly, I think she'll like it. I hope so, anyway.
.
I think I will make my daughter a messenger bag out of the ridiculously thick yarn, as we do not know anyone in the Arctic that will need a baby blanket anytime soon...
.
Meanwhile, here's a sneak peek at what I am making next. Hopefully I'll be able to find the sewing machine - it's probably covered in rust, dust and cobwebs by now...
Translation of the day:
UK English: yonks = a long period of time, an age, ages in US English.
.
As in, I haven't sewn anything in yonks. I hope I remember how to thread the bloomin' machine...

Hidden dangers of spring cleaning

Well, I haven't been keeping the curtains shut, leaving the phone off the hook and catching up on things around here.

.

Somehow the spring cleaning led to buying two new bookshelves and moving my daughter out of a toddler bed, which somehow led to plans to rearrange and redecorate two rooms. Ugh, I don't want to do plastering and painting again. I haven't even found a cupboard or finished putting up the shelves etc. in the bathroom yet. Why couldn't I just leave well enough alone??

.

Translation of the day:

UK English: DIY = 'do it yourself' in US English

.

My husband says that Americans do not use the acronym. Not that he would be the one to know - I'm the one that does all the DIY around here. Installing laminate flooring, putting up shelves, putting together furniture etc. etc. is all done by yours truly.

.

Actually, I do like putting together furniture, but it does take a while when you're having to chase curious kids away from the hardware every 5 minutes (my husband was supposed to be entertaining them, but I guess that watching him play computer games wasn't that entertaining...).

.

There hasn't been much spare room / time for crafting. Finding two matching colours of the same yarn in my still half empty yarn stores for a baby blanket has been a challenge. Version #1 felt too thick and fluffy, even for Scottish weather. I started version 2 last night, but I'm not convinced that those colours work. Any ideas for things to make with thick and surprisingly fuzzy yarn?

.

While I'm asking for ideas: We're off to Sacramento for a night or two in a few week's time. Does anyone have any recommendations for things to see / shops worth checking out?

.

(PS. Paperweight made by tying a Monkey's Fist knot around a wooden ball).

Normal posting will resume shortly...

Next week, after I file our taxes, that is. Sorry, it's been a little hectic around here and I simply haven't been on the computer. Aside from searching for crumpled receipts and lost statements (one year I will get around to setting up a better system for organising all this tax stuff), I seem to have found myself doing lots of tasks for other people, while things on the home front have been a little neglected.

.

We did find time to eat a little cake. How is it possible that my little lad is now 6??

We also have a new nephew. That's 10 nephews / nieces now. My money tip for those struggling in today's economy is: marry an only child. Seriously. Christmas can get pretty expensive these days. My husband still has siblings who have yet to start reproducing...

.

When I have found myself at home with a little spare time, I've been spring cleaning. No, that doesn't mean my house is now tidy. It just means that you are less likely to get injured when opening a few certain cupboards. Unfortunately, you are now more likely to get injured tripping over one of the many bags destined for charity that are lying around the place (if you haven't already gone head over heels over one of the many piles of tax paperwork that are littering my bedroom floor, that is...).

.

The last thing that I did make was another set of fingerless gloves. I used this pattern this time.

I'm not sure that I agree with her when she says that this is a good project to start learning how to knit cables with. Cables are a lot easier than they look, but adding yet another set of needle points to all the double-ended needle points sticking out in all directions is a little fiddly. I'd imagine that it's easier to knit cables on normal needles.

It was a nice easy pattern, though. There's a mistake that I didn't fix on the one glove, which is bugging me, even though I don't think it is too noticeable. I'm thinking that I probably have enough gloves now, though, considering that I live in Southern California. I even wore shorts one day last week. Tch, I'm not ready for winter (I use that term loosely) to be over.

.

Ah well, I'd better get going - got a nephew to visit. I just thought that I had better pop my head around the door and let you know that I am still alive and kicking. I can't wait 'til next week. I plan on keeping the curtains shut and leaving the phone off the hook, while I catch up on things around here. I'm scared to even peek at what my e-mail inbox looks like these days.

.

Take care all.

If you want to get ahead, get a hat

Ah, the wonders of the Internet: a little bit of browsing turns up this pattern for a hat from Simple Beans. A bit more Internet searching turns up instructions (with photos) for how to do FPDc and SC2tog. Now I have a hat and feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this crocheting lark.
.
Despite my husband helpfully informing me that I looked like (a) a gangster or (b) a leukemia patient while wearing my hat, I like it. nb. I might have been indoors, wearing a dressing gown and the hat at the time of the second comment - we're stingy with the heating in this house...
.
Translation of the day:
UK English: dressing gown = bathrobe in US English (in case you had forgotten)
UK English: parky = cool, cold, chilly in US English
.
As in, 'the weather might be warm ouside, but it's a wee bit parky in our house of a morning'
.
What to do next: get out all the paperwork and start on the taxes, tidy the house, or make a top for my daughter. Hmmm, that's a tough one...
.
Well, first things first, it's pancakes for lunch today.

Rainy day

Once it was mentioned that an 8 year old boy had given his seal of approval to the melted crayon hearts, we decided that we would use up the rest of our broken crayons and make some more for my son's Kindergarten class, too.
I'll admit it, I wasn't really looking forward to thinking of something else to make, anyway. I don't get very excited about hearts and pink frilly things. The main reason I look forward to Valentine's Day is that as soon as it's over the stores start stocking Cadbury's Creme Eggs ready for Easter. Well, it is the only time of year that I can buy English chocolate here without having to pay import store prices. American chocolate just doesn't compare...We had a rainy time last weekend, so the kids and I spent a nice day huddled indoors. We made cookies (heart shaped as I couldn't find the gingerbread man cookie cutter - they didn't last until Valentine's Day, though...).I faced my fear of commitment and finally got around to putting some paint on a peg doll. It was just a practice version using what paint I had on hand, but I think there will soon be more around here. Can anyone recommend a varnish?
And you're probably wondering if you're experiencing déjà vu, but no, this is just yet another baby blanket using the Catherine Wheel crochet stitch. Yep, I've even used the same yarn as a previous one, but you can blame my 3 local yarn shops for that. Apparently they all had big sales to clear out stock (without telling me...), then didn't bother to restock. All that was left was empty bins and all those weird colours that no one wants to buy, so I was kind of relieved to finally find these yarns in the third store I tried.
It is different from the previous blanket, in that the stripes run in the opposite direction. I'll pretend that that was on purpose and not just the result of my poor counting when casting on...
The main reason that I am mentioning this blanket, though, is that it is the first time that my husband has asked me to make something (it's for a workmate whose wife is expecting - I'm experiencing the usual worry about giving a handmade gift, especially as I do not know them that well). Normally my husband views my making things as just an annoying hobby...
.
Translation of the day:
UK English: crisps = potato chips in US English
UK English: chips = french fries in US English
.
It's not just the chocolate that is a disappointment in the US. Crisps in England come in all sorts of flavours, such as prawn cocktail, Worcester sauce, ketchup, barbecue, roast chicken and stuffing, ready salted, cheese and onion, smoky bacon, bacon and cheddar, mango chili, salt and vinegar..., ok so that's all I can remember off the top of my head, but I know I am missing a few (someone told me that 'squirrel' is a new one, is that true???). Americans, it really is about time that you demanded that prawn cocktail flavour crisps grace the supermarket shelves over here...
.
Take care,

A very belated thank you

I was editing the links in some old posts when I came across this blog post. I can't believe that I never noticed that I had hit 'save as a draft' instead of 'publish'. Sorry to these lovely ladies.

.

I'm not usually a winner. I rarely have any luck in competitions, so it was a big surprise to me to find out that I had won not one, not two, but three giveaways. It completely makes up for all those years of holding the losing raffle ticket... Look at all these goodies (and excuse the poor pictures):

.

from The Sometimes Crafter:

from the Sewing Sistas:

from Sew What:

And last, but not least, look what Mr Monkeysuit sent me as a thank you for just a peasant blouse template: all this (those are cute little wooden magnets in the poorly photographed red packet) and a pattern for this sweet dolly. Thank you all so very much!

Melting hearts

When I was growing up, Valentine's Day was pretty low key at my primary (elementary) school. I don't remember anyone getting a Valentine card. After all, Valentine cards were only given to someone that you wanted to be your Valentine and most of us were too busy playing British Bulldog to worry about that sort of thing. It probably didn't help that I had short hair (mum said I was less likely to get nits that way) and was occasionally mistaken for a boy...

.

Things are different for my two kids. The American way seems to be that everyone gives everyone else in their class a Valentine. So that's about 32 Valentines this year. So I'm getting an earlier start than last year.

.

Project #1: crayon hearts for my daughter's preschool class (instructions can be found here). I found the silicone heart baking tray on clearance at Michaels. Crayons came from the big bag of broken crayon pieces that is around here somewhere. I cut the pieces up further into more equal parts, but I don't know if that helped.

Pop in the oven, melt, cool and voilà:

I've still got lots of broken crayon bits left over. Maybe my son's kindergarten class might get some, too. Looks like I also need to give my kids lessons on not pressing so bloomin' hard when colouring with crayons...

.

No translation of the day today. I'd better clean up a bit around here if I want to stand a chance of getting a Valentine from my husband. That, and my mum has started reading my blog and, just like that, I can't think of any nice clean English slang off the top of my head... Hi mum.

.

PS. Both times my hard drive crashed I lost a bunch of my links. If you are wondering why you haven't heard from me in ages, please drop me a new comment: there's loads of blogs that I can not remember the addresses for and would like to read again. Thanks.

Lengthwise knitted scarf for beginners

Well, it's a good job that this is not usually a knitting only blog, as you're probably getting a good idea of how slow my knitting pace is now. Here's a scarf that I knitted for my son, as it was about time I made something for him (the blanket isn't going to be finished any time soon...).

Every time I knit a scarf, I tend to spend a couple of evenings just knitting / crocheting several inches, not liking it, unravelling it, knitting / crocheting another pattern, unravelling it and so on. So I thought I'd share with you what I have learnt while experimenting endlessly on which stitch I wanted to use for a scarf:

.

Knitting is far easier to unravel than crochet.

.

And that's about the extent of my knitting / crochet wisdom.

.

My problem is that I like scarves to be soft yet not roll at the edges too much - especially if they are for a lad. I also like scarves to be pretty solid (not holey) if they are for a lad, too. Solid crochet and plain garter stitch don't roll, but they also feel a bit too solid and unyielding. The stockinette and ribbed style scarves feel much softer around the neck - but roll a lot and end up looking a tad too narrow for a bloke.

.

So after a couple of evenings of unravelling experiments, I finally had an unoriginal idea, which about 10 minutes of Internet searching would have probably produced (with far less swearing involved), but still... The solution to my problem was to knit in garter stitch lengthwise on circular needles. Genius! Or it would be if no one else had ever thought of such an obvious and simple thing before.

Still, if you're like me, and haven't thought to look up scarf patterns on the 'net, here's how to do it:

.

The yarn I used was classified as 5: bulky and two 3oz (85g) balls of 135yds (123m) were needed to knit this 60 inch long 5 inch wide scarf. I used size 10 (6mm) circular needles.

.

1. Knit a swatch of about 50 stitches using your chosen yarn, for a few rows (disclaimer: I didn't do this. Yes, you know that someone who will sit knitting, then unravelling, then knitting and unravelling again for a couple of evenings would never actually do something as sensible as knit a swatch. But you can still learn from my first failed attempt at guessing how many stitches to cast on...).

.

2. Decide how long you wish your scarf to be. I chose approximately 60 inches. Measure the width of your swatch of 50 stitches. Divide 50 by the width, then multiply that number by the length you wish your scarf to be. The resulting figure will tell you approximately how many stitches you will need to cast on to achieve a scarf of that length.

.

eg. a swatch 50 stitches wide of my yarn is about 13.5inches wide. 50/13.5=3.7

I want my scarf to be about 60 inches long so 3.7 x 60=222

So I cast on 220 stitches, as that was near enough.

.

3. This would be a perfect scarf for a beginner, as all you do is cast on the number of stitches found in step 2 (220 in my case) onto your circular needles (those knitting needles that are joined by a cable to each other). Knit garter stitch (ie. knit every row) until your scarf is the desired width. Cast off loosely. Done.

Very unoriginal. Don't forget you can make stripes by changing yarn colours as you go (just tell me when you want me to stop stating the obvious...).

I've been doing some other knitting, too, but I'm not sure what this will be yet. I want to felt it, but first I have to try and identify where all the ink that ended up on my last load of laundry came from. Yep, a whole load of clothes ruined and I can't find the culprit (a pen?) anywhere. For once the kids might have learned a few naughty words from me instead of their dad - I wasn't a happy bunny. There goes my chances of winning Homemaker of the Year award AND Mother of the Year award, all in one fell swoop...

.

Ok, translation of the day:

UK English: bloke = a fellow, a man in US English.

UK English: bird = a chick, a woman in US English. As in, a lad would refer to an attractive woman in a bar as a 'bird', maybe call his girlfriend 'a bird', but would be unlikely to call his old maiden aunt a 'bird'.

.

I can't think of the female equivalent to 'bloke' - pretty much all terms for a member of the female sex seem to refer either to a girl's attractiveness or feistiness. There doesn't seem to be a slang term for just a random member of the female sex. Probably the nearest I can think of is the Australian term 'Sheila' - or maybe 'lass', although that's usually used for younger women. hmm.

.

Hopefully it won't be as long before I blog next. My husband was off work last week and hogging the computer... Take care, all.

Out of sorts

The poor trees just don't know what to do. After just a couple of weeks of cool and damp weather (finally!) the temperature around here is back up to 87 degrees. Some of trees had only just decided to drop their leaves, yet others are out in blossom already. If it wasn't for the odd glimpse of snow on the mountains in the distance, winter would apparently be forgotten.

.

I'm blaming the temperature increase on these:

I finished a pair of fingerless mittens (Those Mitts pattern found here). Admittedly, California's lack of a winter means that they will not be seeing much daylight, but I still wanted a pair - for knitting and crocheting indoors. Our house is usually a darn sight cooler than the outdoors and my body is under the impression that I am in my 80s, so I even get swollen knuckles and aching joints here in this warmth.

I used the sewn bind off, to make it a wee bit stretchier around the fingers. I think I put the increases for the thumb in the wrong place. We've already established that I'm a slow knitter, so you know that I didn't finish a pair in an evening, like others always seem to, but at least I've finally finished something this year.

.

I've been feeling really listless. It's not that I'm lacking inspiration, as I have lots of ideas running through my mind. And yes, I have been busy trying to catch up on things, like getting the computer back up and running, the hundreds of e-mails in my inbox, and also clearing out cupboards etc. And my husband has finally got a shift that gives him evenings off, which has some advantages, but has robbed me of the time I previously set aside for crafting: the evenings that I was alone after the kids went to bed. But even so, I need to stop moping and get motivated again.

.

Translation of the day:

UK English: Sod all = slang term for 'nothing' in US English. As in, I feel like I have accomplished sod all since New Year's.

Round up

The twelve days of Christmas are not quite up yet, even if we're into 2009 already. So, now that I've finally found the disk with the photo uploading software on, here's some pictures of a few more of the presents that I made (as I don't have much else to show you...). Half of the photos (ok, pretty much all of the photos) were taken in a rush on Christmas Eve...
.
Fabric dollhouse made for my friend to give to her daughter (as I have to bribe people to be friends with me...). She picked this sweet gingham fabric:
Procrastination meant that the teacher gifts ended up being the same idea as last year - the clutch from Bend the Rules Sewing (by Amy Karol), with a wee box of English sweets (candies) tucked inside.
Here's the linings: Some pencil rolls for my American nieces, to go with their presents. Made the same way as the lazy crayon rolls, with a few adjustments for size (the pockets were 3/4" wide). Blanket #3, for the nephew to be born in March. I'll unpick the blue / brown border if it turns out that the ultrasound was wrong...

Finally, the apron, that I mentioned, for my niece. Same fabrics as the last one, but with different straps.It almost looks like I've been productive when you put them all together like that.
.

Christmas went well. I always get homesick at this time of year, so if I can't go home to England, the next best thing is having English visitors at Christmas. For one, I don't have to eat the Christmas cake all by myself, although that is a sacrifice I'm willing to make... My parents actively work with me to keep my old traditions alive, though, while my husband's attitude veers closer to, well, a general tolerance but I think he's rolling his eyes when I'm not looking.

.

Having said that, we ended up in the ER from 2am to 8am on Christmas morning (nothing serious, luckily), which scuppered our Christmas Day plans, somewhat. Still, we got home in time for the kids to open their presents, then disappeared so my parents could get some sleep. Christmas dinner, while a tad late, was absolutely scrumptious (yes, mum was in charge). The family party was pushed back to Boxing Day, but went well.

.

What with the news about Diego, I guess you could say that Christmas this year was the definition of bittersweet. I have a lot to be thankful for in my life.

.

Translation of the day:

UK English: (verb) scupper = to prevent from happening / succeeding, to ruin or wreck (it's from nautical terminology) in US English

.

If you were wondering about Boxing Day, that's just the day after Christmas, which is a holiday in the UK.

.

Take care. I hope that 2009 is a great year for you all.

Sad news

From Diego's website on Christmas Eve:
"We had plans to bring Diego home today but God had other plans. Diego went to be with our heavenly Father at 3:07 PM today. He fought so hard till the bitter end".
.
Thank you for the prayers and concern that you have shown for this lovely family.

Bloomin' computer

It turns out that it might not have been paranoia. Our hard drive crashed. I'm hunting high and low for all our software disks and will hopefully be back online soon, but my parents are visiting, so keep your expectations low... If you could see the state of the cupboard that I think the disks might be in, your expectations would be very low indeed...
.
Merry Christmas!

2 down, 1 to go and a superhero mask

Baby blanket #2 of 3 is finished. Why does it always take at least an extra week for me to get around to tying up loose ends after finishing any knitted or crocheted projects? As for baby blanket #3 (for the baby boy due in March), it just needs a border.

I don't know which to give to which sister-in-law yet. The colour choices are so different and I keep changing my mind about it.
nb. This blanket started off as brown and aqua, as the yarn shop didn't have any girly colours at all in stock. Then a friend told me that, despite the girly pattern, it still looked like a boy's blanket, so I went back to the yarn shop and found hot pink. Hot pink is never going to figure on my favourite colours list, but I decided that if I only did a few rows with the hot pink I would be able to look at the blanket without wearing sunglasses or feeling slightly nauseous.

.

I've also made another apron, but strictly speaking that's for a December birthday, not Christmas, and my little boy is not around to model it (same fabrics as last time), so you'll have to wait to see that one.

.

Here is some more quick Christmas crafting, though:

My kids are big fans of dress-up (although my little scrapper of a daughter is rarely to be found in a princess dress), so I made a couple of superhero masks for them as wee stocking stuffers. I used the same template as I did for her Robin mask (which is now missing).

(even superheroes get tired)

.

Here's a badly drawn template if you want to make one:

Right click on the image to save it, then re-size it and print it off at the size you want (measure so that the eyes will be centre of the eye holes). Cut two of the mask shape out of some felt and then pin them together. Pin a strip of elastic cord between the felt on either side, then sew the two pieces of felt together following the edges of the mask / eye holes, catching the ends of the elastic when you sew the outer edges. I sewed the lines approximately 2mm or 1/16th of an inch in from the edges. Then trim any uneven bits of felt off with some sharp scissors.

.

No time for a translation of the day today, I'm afraid: my husband's just got home and is about to find out that I've spent my time on the computer instead of catching up with my Christmas to-do list and the laundry. I guess my morning of procrastination has come to an end. Take care all.