Sock Zebra

A busy afternoon was had by all yesterday as we all pitched in to make this beauty.

Sock Zebra

Sock Zebra

Sock Zebra

Sock Zebra

This was a kit sent up by Nanny Daphodill a month or so back that has been sat on our pile of stuff do to.  Well since it is the summer hols here and we have the extra helping hands of Nanny Daphodill herself for a few weeks we set to work.  Both the kids thoroughly enjoyed stuffing the various parts and are now out to buy some new socks to make my little madam a sock unicorn ( there will be pictures to follow )  

We have kept the instructions as really all you need is a pair of socks and some buttons as I always have an abundance of needles and thread.

If wanted I will happily do a tutorial for this if people out there want it.

Thank You

Due to a bad bout of “we-don’t-know-what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-you-and-causing-all-this-pain-itus” I have not really been myself, however thanks are due as I have officially ran out of vases which is enough to cheer any girl up.

Pass

In the midst of moving to the other side of the country I have been studying with the OU for the second year recently towards (hopefully) a degree in Psychology.   Exploring Psychology (DSE212) is the first level 2 course on my agenda and although it has been very interesting it is a lot harder than anything I have done before and after a very unnerving exam a few months ago ..... I passed! Wahoo! Good luck to any other DSE212'ers out there with the results and with the rest of your studies.

Next on the needles

After finishing an actual item of clothing I have realised that knitting is rather addictive. So I have been looking for a nice pattern for my little man.  My lovely hubby bought me this wool on a trip to HobbyCraft:

Chunky

and yesterday I found this lovely pattern:

This looks really nice and easy as it is knitted entirely in garter stitch.  The only thing that looks even remotely complicated is the hood but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.  I started this last night after doing the tension swatch and I have already done 20cm of the back piece. 

Update: My Practice Blanket

I have been AWOL recently due to a mysterious illness which left me in hospital for a week and doctors quite confused. However as I have been mostly sofa bound I have got an update on my "practice blanket".  This is what I have been knitting for a while, more than anything to practice knitting on small blocks.  Well it is now big enough to have on your lap and I am going to continue adding blocks as I can, this is very much an ongoing process as I can always add more blocks.

Latest block

My Practice Blanket

North Country Quilting Part 2

This Saturday was the second day of our North Country Quilting course.  After finishing our homework of designing our quilt tops we were to put the layers together and learn the quilting stitch used to sew our designs through all three layers.  

Image courtesy of http://pendlestitches.wordpress.com/

The really lovely thing about this session was how we worked together.  We worked one quilt at a time, layering the bottom fabric, wadding and top fabric, ensuring that all layers were smooth and flat and then working from the centre we all took a corner to tack.  This also meant that we all got to have a look at what each other had designed. Interestingly although we all were given similar ideas and all had the same guidance we had all created something completely different to each other.

After a lovely picnic lunch we learnt what can only be described as the "rocking" stitch.  I must admit that I'm not entirely sure that I have this right, but with practice my stitches are becoming smaller and more even, so hopefully I am doing something right.

My Centrepiece so far 

Thank You very much to my wonderful Grandma who booked this course for me as a "Welcome to the North" gift!

Last Day

Today is my daughter's last day at pre-school!
They are having a fancy dress party and then after the summer holidays she will be in "big school".
Where does the time go? Not long ago she was a tiny bundle that I bought home from the hospital.  She is very ready though, and very excited, I'm just not entirely sure that she is aware of how long six weeks is......

'Peppa Pig' Costume