New This Week

So a quick update of what has been accomplished this week on the home front as well as the craft front!

 Pillow made by Alexis for her Art Teacher who is going on maternity leave on Monday.  She has done this all by herself.  She did Great!  My stash of material is slowly being eaten away be her desire to do many projects, soon I might need to go shopping for more inspirational pieces of lush material to work with.

Close up of the blanket stitch to add detail to this receiving blanket.

My contribution to the Art Teacher's upcoming small bundle of joy!  My favourite thing for small babies is a flannel receiving blanket to wrap them up in and just have around all the time.  In the past I have crocheted a beautiful edging on a single layer of flannel, but did not have the time to do this so used this quick mitred corner quilt with two layers of flannel.  It measures 40X30 printed and 40X50 for the solid colour.  It took me just over an hour do complete from start to finish.  Not bad for a lovely gift for a new baby.

My impulse buy at the yarn shop last week as ended up
being a scarf.  

 

Note to other crocheting out there.  English instructions are not the same as American instruction.  The above was written in English and I did the American equivalent!  Turning this scarf into twice the length it was meant to be, but it is still lovely to wear and the feel is great!  Maybe I will do another one using the correct definition of the stitch.  English dc is American sc!

And now the House:

The TV end of the room painted in the final colour and you can even see the ceiling colour too.  A slight pink tint to it.











The other end with my accent wall painted "Cat Black" It has a brown-eggplant tint to it, not true black, but it matches the ironwork on the old stable door into the living room.  The window sill will be painted the same colour as the wall to make it a feature as well.  Then slate or marble on the window ledges and glass shelves to go into the window recess.  The room is finally almost done.  We now estimate it being completed next week.  Lights to go up on Wednesday.  Radiator to be delivered on Friday.  Then on Monday Radiators to be installed including new ones for the hall upstairs, the girls rooms, and the new one for the laundry room.  Tuesday will be floor insulation, the electrical coil for the underfloor heating.  Wednesday will be the wood floor on top and the skirting boards.  Then for the room is complete and ready for me to start moving the dinning room furniture into it so we can start the demolition work between the kitchen and current dinning room.  Unlike Grandma, I have not had to resort to taking a sledgehammer to the wall I want removed.  However, I have threatened it many times and if I had followed in her lovely shoes I would have had a large country style kitchen-dinning room a lot sooner!

Just as a reminder of all the snow we got last week, well it is all gone and we are back to traditional rain, rain, and yes more rain.  Temperatures are back up to about 9*C (46*F).

That's all for this post.  Have a great week and remember to take one step closer to completing some of your unfinished projects.  One step a week and they will be done in no time.

SNOW DAY!!

What is a SNOW DAY you might ask.  Well, when it snows in England the whole country comes to a standstill and it only takes about 2" of snow to do it.  So today after receiving about 4" of snow overnight:  schools are closed, husbands work from home, builders walk the 1/2 mile up the lane to continue work on our house, and the kids go out to play in the snow!

What does English snow look like you might ask?  Look no further as I have supplied you with pictures to ease your troubled minds.

Front of house

Front Garden

Middle Garden

Back of house

 KIDS AT PLAY IN OUR YARD AS WELL AS OUT IN THE COW FIELD.

Never to be outdone, Sam has built a ramp and managed to get a lot more air than this during his time on the sled.

So why are kids home, snow and snow and more snow.  It has snowed most of the day today.  The weather expects it to continue for the weekend.  Hopefully by Monday school will be back on!

Lest we forget, we must walk that 1/2 mile one way to the store and carry what little supplies they still have in as today I was planning on going to the shops!  Pantry meals for us for a couple of days.  No bread, milk, eggs, lunch meat, or ice cream left in the shops.  I did manage to get some yeast and so will be making our bread for the rest of the week.  Luckily I got eggs and milk on my way home last night from the school run!

Happy Snow Day to one and all!!  Go out there and enjoy the snow with your kids!

New Purchases

Ok so I am starting to get to my must finish or start list for 2013!

Join in with a knit-along.  The Starbucks knitters have agreed to let me join their little group even though I am her in England and they are in Utah!  So off to the store I went to purchase the wool for the Tunic I suggest we knit and Mary agreed to do it with me.  Here it is:

While at the shop I had to check my gauge so sat on the comfy sofas provided and began to knit.  Luckily for me it was correct and then off to purchase the 9 balls needed for the tunic.  Along the way I fell in love with a scarf that was so soft I decided I would need it as well.  Made with three balls of this RIOT wool and a very large crochet hook.  Did not have a crochet hook that large and so I treated myself to this gorgeous multicoloured one, it is taking a little time to get used to it, but I have my scarf 4" done in just one hour (I had to undo it 3 times because I lost the plot!)  This might be done in the next couple of days for you to see. 

A treat with my daughter while the other members of the family went off to see "The Hobbit"
Churros with chocolate sauce.  Yum Yum!  Like beniegts only spanish instead of French.

 



This is the only Christmas Present I received this year.  A Christmas cake made and decorated by Judith.  Thank you Judith it is amazing as always and great

Room under construction!

Ok so over the last 12 months our house (not a home until it is complete) has gone through a lot of changes.  We are currently working on a room the previous owners used as a kitchen/laundry room.  We used it as a laundry room/storage room/Xbox play room.  It will become when finished, hopefully in a couple of weeks, the family room/sewing room.  Holding my sewing machine, create wall, and quilting supplies in one half of the room.  While the other half will hold a TV, game console, and book storage area.  We have way too many books in our house, but we do not seem to be able to get rid of them.  The trial of a reading family;  where to put all those books!  Here are a few pictures of the progress of the room over the last few months.  We have added french doors to the outside, and new windows.  Removed a boiler and re-plumbed the house; creating a new Laundry room in a hallway.  On Thursday and Friday I painted the walls with the white undercoat to save the builders some time.  Four months with builders in your home is a long time and the job is not done yet.  When they finish this room they still have the kitchen/dinning room to do!

Enjoy the preview:

The room after the wallpaper was removed and the slabs of wood to reveal the original walls along with the drain. 

After a coat of white under paint.  Only to choose the colour now!

New Laundry-room!

Background

Just a bit bout us.  We are a mixed family with Australian and American backgrounds living in England.
 

Our House

I aim to update this blog once a week to get me started as this is my first attempt at blogging.  Thanks to my sister-in-law Jenny for the encouragement.  Over the next couple of weeks you will get to see the building works progress and also see the projects in knitting, stitching, crocheting, hardanger, dressmaking, quilting, and patchwork which I am working on and completing this year!  Hopefully you will enjoy the site and let me know how I can make it more enjoyable for you to follow.