the owls have landed...and other ramblings...

apologies for long absence, this being 40 lark is very tiring. There were parties (well, one) to arrange, new hairdos to dream up* , vintage frocks to dust off...you know the sort of thing. All that, added to very stressful work schedule and the exhaustion that comes with being a woman of such advanced years rendered me incapable of doing anything other than collapsing into bed with the kids on a nightly basis thus making impossible the night-time art of blogging (or indeed crafting - I am starting to have withdrawal symptoms if I am honest) However here I am, Sunday breakfast time, having already shrieked at the children that Mummy has been wanting to do this for over two weeks and she HAS TO DO IT NOW in such a way that they didn't argue, not even once...

So, to my lovely swap partners whose swap parcels I received weeks ago and never reported on, I say a meek sorry

but look, just look, at the lovelies I got in the post...

first up, from the wonderful vonnie# in Scotland...in MeridianAriel's Owl swap


such beautifully wrapped parcels - almost couldn't bring myself to open them they looked so special...but am glad I managed it because look what was inside...

owl stitch markers, can you believe that?!

an owl bag for my knitting, in the most scrumptious shade of orange

owl mitts (incredible eh?)

AND matching beanie hat

there were also some little nesting wooden shapes for me to decorate which one or other smallfry has managed to away with, for now...and some delicious Jaffa Cakes.

I felt thoroughly spoilt. It was lovely!

Vonnie had told me how much she loved the Owl and the Pussycat story

so I made her some soft toys/cushions to remember the tale by



I also sent some yarn, some chocolate and some lush stuff for her bath so I hope she felt she got a somewhat fair swap . The girls were loathe to let the owl and pussycat go, which is always a good sign I think.

In Imagingermonkey's FQ swap I was teamed up with the lovely Amy. I forgot to photograph what I sent her (things have been hectic, didn't I say?) but you can see them here. Amy, obviously telepathic as well as extremely generous, included some gorgeous owl fabric in her parcel.

Along with other great fabric choices, some rather smashing ribbons and a bar of delicious chocolate.



Hmm, did I mention feeling spoilt?

Thank you to my brilliant (and patient) swap partners.

The feeling of being well looked after continued with the plethora of truly wonderful, thoughtful birthday gifts I received during the week, including more yarn, a cath kidston sewing basket, vouchers for my local yarn store, tea related recipe books, a retro pinny, fabulous vintage lamp and vase, gorgeous jewellery etc etc etc. As if all of this wasn't enough, I was also gifted not one but TWO spa days where I get to go and be pampered and lay about in hot rooms a lot with my very best friends. I have one word to say and it is...Hallelujah!

I highly recommend this turning 40 business. Now if only I could get away with doing it again...

*at work they have accused me of being inspired by Star Trek in the hairdo department...it's very Romulan apparantly, I have no idea whether this is good or bad but the boys seem to have enjoyed themselves tittering... hmmph

# just visited vonnies blog and am GUTTED to discover she is running a time for tea swap and I have missed the closing date. So that's what I get for letting work and celebrations of the inexorable march of time take over my blogging time. Lesson learnt!

Editted to add - can't believe I neglected to say THANK YOU for all your lovely happy birthday comments on the last post. What wonderful blogger friends you are. And thanks also to those who have given my blog awards over the past months. I really appreciate them and will do a post about them soon...I promise...

greetings from beyond the hill...

so, I find myself landed on the other side of a significant birthday. The significant number is divisible by 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20 and... ahem...40. Cor blimey, how did this come to pass? I ask myself (and anyone else who'll listen)

beautiful japanese teapot and tea bowls from my sister Catherine...crazy birthday brunch by moi

Not being content with going over the hill metaphorically I headed to the Alps to mark the occasion more literally. It was a wonderful idea, would recommend it to anyone. I played in the snow, drank plenty of tea and ruminated on the state of things (as you do when you reach this sort of age).

Will be back (once the shock has worn off properly) to share details of beautiful owlish swaps and some fat quarters that made their way to me from stateside.

Until then...
another gorgeous teapot, birthday gift from my lovely friend Nich (he of teacosy fame - discern a subtle theme?)...can a girl (ooops, sorry, woman of a certain age) ever have too many tea making accoutrements? I sincerely doubt it...

beautiful italian yarn, another lovely birthday gift courtesy of my colleague Mia with whom I have recently set up the (two strong) "work knitting club". I feel some tea cosies coming on, or maybe a bobble hat...

ps new all time favourite tea - Genmaicha - mmmmmm...mmm. Thanks Cath!

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london at a standstill...a kimono for Martha...some slippers for some feet

we had some snow...it brought the country to its knees...apparantly 6 million people couldn't get to work yesterday...that's some "duvet day"! those of you used to snow must be hysterical with laughter...

a street junction just up from my house...

the bird house in our back garden...

poor birds must be having a rotten time...mind you we ran out of bird food so they got to enjoy some of my organic super omega wonder food seed mix (at a cost of approximately 10 pence per seed I reckon)...I hope they enjoyed it

there were people snowboarding and skiing (yes, really) in the central London park down the road from where we live (while my kids descended the hill on a small tin tray which they had to fight over...poor sods)

I had my laptop at home so was able to work from there...this is my favourite bit about working from home...mmmm, proper breakfast...


other news... my good friends (fellow campers and dinner circle founder members) Anna and Fraser had themselves a bonny baby girl...as is my wont I had to indulge my love of knitting baby kimono cardis with this result...


NORO Cash Iroha yarn - silk, cashmere and merino - yum yum yum

(I made a change to the pattern this time and only put one button - I like it)

(that little Martha is fairly scrummy too I can tell you - was nearly tempted until I remembered I'll be 40 next week and more nappies might just hasten my end...) (can't believe I just shared that particular piece of info)

(what's with all the brackets?)

(must be imminent senility)

and finally, a visual update on the now felted slippers...


sweet huh?

knitting 101...

Ms Reva's first attempt - she is 6 now, I thought it time she learned. Very even and neat I reckon. Though it may take a while to make a scarf, even if it's just for a teddy bear...
She chose the wool herself at our local yarn store. She is such a great kid, she always surprises me with her choices. Moss green. Beautiful.

Meanwhile, plundering the archives somewhat, here is my own first attempt, from back when I was six myself. Taught by the nuns at school and my mum at home I managed to concoct this, ahem, fine pencil case.

(spot the original 70s trebor sweet wrapper peeping out through the zipper - now you know what I really carried to school each day)

My knitting, far less even than Ms Reva's though it was, actually garnered me a prize : something similar to this (believe it or not). I still remember walking up to the top of the classroom to the presiding nun and being presented with it. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Still don't really.

My mum kept that pencil case in her knitting bag all these years and my sister found it in her attic last year - mothers, aren't they a marvel?!

Meanwhile, this is what's on my needles at the moment:

What the heck is that I hear you shriek. Why slippers of course (well, one slipper at least) for Ms Reva. To be felted. Lime green ones to follow for her sister. Once I find my needles again that is...(what IS it with me and needles?)

PS I've volunteered to run an after school art club at the girls school. We are meeting to discuss the plans tomorrow. If you have any great ideas for activities to inspire a group of kids aged 6-11 over a 6 week block period let me know. For some reason (am suffering a god awful lurgy to be precise) my inspiration is somewhat dry today...

wishing you a sweet and happy new year...

a colleague of mine introduced me to the Jewish tradition of apples dipped in honey at Rosh Hashanah in order to symbolically invite sweet things for the year to come. Being a bit of a magpie when it comes to appealing customs and rituals I brought this one home and shared it with the kids and Mr G way back then (October, was it?). When it came to the recent New Year's Eve Ms Reva, she of the amazing memory and attention to detail not to mention adoration of all things ritualistic (now, where could she get that from I wonder?) asked when we would be doing the apple and honey thang. With yours truly around she didn't need to ask twice.

There being no reason not to we adopted it in for our (non-Jewish New Year) New Year's Day brunch. We wished for sweet things for 2009 and that's my wish for you too. Have a great 2009, wherever you are. Honey coated or not.

(The brunch was great too...apples and honey, home made pancakes, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, bagels, cream cheese, croissants, bonne maman jam, lashings of tea and copious amounts of coffee from Mr G's xmas pressie espresso maker. Mmmm, now that's a custom that has taken firm root chez milkwood...)

I've been absent a lot of late. Real life has got me in its grips and is squeezing me tight. Work is busier than ever, the kids are growing and seem to need more rather than less of me. It's ok, it's just taken me a bit by surprise. Ms Bester starts nursery at BIG SCHOOL next week and I can feel her quiet trepidation. Ms Reva is back to school tomorrow after an illness blighted Xmas and I can hear her not-so-quiet feelings on the subject!

I did quite a bit of knitting coming up to December 25th though, some of which has been passed to its recipients and can be shown.

My dad had some health issues last year, which he has met head on (as he does everything in life, amazing chap my dad) and now walks an hour or so early each morning. I walked his daily route with him on my last visit, riverside in Co. Cork. Every day I think of him taking his constitutional and so this Xmas when faced with the dilemma of what to get the man who needs nothing and wants less I decided to knit him a scarf to wear while walking. A multi-directional diagonal scarf to be precise. There were a couple of nerve wracking days waiting for the sumptuous Noro Silk Garden to arrive but arrive it did and soon those needles were clicking and clacking on the bus, in the doctors waiting room, at Ms Reva's Xmas carol concert, on my bike (oh no, actually I didn't go quite that far) and he received his parcel a little after the big day (I blame the Irish Post!).



That Noro Silk Garden is a lovely yarn, and I like these manly colours, very suitable for my dear dad. They match exactly the colours he likes to wear. I hope he has many many hours of warm walking and feels the love in every stitch. (Shame I don't have a photo of dad wearing it on his walk, maybe he'll send me one...hint, hint)

The aforementioned colleague (with the apples and honey) has recently taken to knitting after a 26 year hiatus. A rekindled passion responsibility for which she lays squarely at my door. I am happy with this and am quietly hoping to recruit more workmates to the dark art. They are mostly male software engineers more interested in World of Warcraft and techno-gadgetry but I hold out a glimmer of hope. Mia knit lots of hats for Xmas and helping her find a pattern on ravelry we came across this particularly fetching ribbed beanie which I surreptitiously managed to knit up for Mr G for his stocking.
The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and it's lovely. Amazingly I knit most of it while sitting watching TV with him and he was still overcome with surprise when he unwrapped it. All I can assume is that he thought I was knitting yet another tea cosy.

Speaking of tea cosies, there were a few of those on the needles too. One for Jane which I forgot to take a photo of but which I hope will keep her tea toasty warm while she is recovering from her leg operation on Wednesday and not wanting to have to make the trip to the kettle too often. And one for an undisclosable recipient who hasn't yet received it. Ooooh, nothing like leaving on a note of mystery eh?...

nice knitting...knitting with alliteration...

My darling Ms Reva fights sleep every night. I lie there beside her, wondering why the heck* this should be so, why should a tiny 6 year old who is quite clearly exhausted beyond belief both physically and mentally not fall to slumber with grace and ease. My wondering has thus far yielded no results. We have some of our oddest and most intimate conversations at this time of day. As well as some blooming irritating ones where she is obviously just racking her brains for anything to say to keep herself awake and I am like a broken record with my refrain (in increasingly stressed tone) of "no more talking now dear" (I don't really say the "dear" bit - I just put that in to make me sound nicer than I really am at that time of night after a long long day. I normally stop, sternly, after the word "now"). Anyway, I digress. One night last week it emerged that Ms Reva now knows all about alliteration, she's learned it at school. She delighted in repeating examples of said grammatical feature while I wondered about sleep deprivation and its long term effects on the under tens. And their mothers. It emerged she also knows all about similes now too. (Tautologies? no, I reckon I am safe... for now). Don't they grow up fast now though? I seem to remember learning this kind of stuff in secondary school at about twice her tender age.

So, in the spirit of alliteration, I share with you:

some fingerless mittens for Maaya (my lovely Japanese friend) who recently turned an age with a 0 on the end and threw a wonderful party


these are Evangeline (you need to be a ravelry member to access the free pattern I am afraid - another great reason to join eh?) knit in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran on size 5.0




and a capelet for Katy (I checked, as long as the sound is the same it counts, apparently) who is far too young and needs to celebrate a 0 laden birthday before I can possibly take her seriously^. Katy has been having a rather unpleasant time of it with a wicked teacher who ignores the needs of young children when it come to the notion of Father Christmas and so it was nice to (hopefully) cheer her up.


in Rowan Cocoon in kiwi on size 8.0

Great patterns both


I have plans for another capelet in a kind of purple, as well as some mittens for myself for those days I want to knit in the park, however I am in the throes of frantic secret gift knitting at the moment so those will have to wait...

I hope you are all bearing up well in this season of insanity (if truth be told I'm getting more manic by the day...)

*"why the heck" being Ms Bester's favourite phrase of exclamation which she reckons is just the right side of proper swearing to earn her no more than an indulgent tutting - I LOVE it!
^joke

a robot...an oversized urchin...and some frogs

oops, that was a bit of a long and unintentional break. Real life seems to be interrupting my crafting'n'blogging existence more than I would like of late. It's the day job, and the kids, and the need to sometimes go out and do other stuff...it all mounts up and gets in the way. Apologies to everyone whose blog I haven't visited in a while. I miss you all! Am hoping to get back into blogger/crafter mode properly again soon. Or maybe it just has to be like this for a while. Hmm, anyway, I'll be popping by again as soon as I possibly can.

I've been reading a bit more than usual of late, and so knitting less on the bus. I seem to bring myself to kind of crisis point with too many knitting projects on the go at one time and then need to take a break and read myself back to some semblance of sanity. I have completed two knits recently though, one of which I'll show you here and one which has yet to be received by its recipient and so won't be unveiled just yet. I've also just ordered some rather lovely Noro Silk Garden Chunky for my next project (never mind the 4 WIPs that are currently hugging various sets of needles, just ignore those)

But before all that...feast your eyes on this...

incredible isn't it?

my swap received from Jan in the DQS5 swap. I mentioned that I liked robots and Jan is obviously psychic and just knew I love stars and put them all together to create this stunning mini quilt

it has gorgeous hand quilting too, which I hope you can make out

I LOVE it. Thanks so much Jan. I now have to tidy my craft room so it can look beautiful on the wall.

Other news...I visited my new nephew Isaac in Geneva recently

we (well, me'n'my sis, not the babe, obviously) drank lots of hot drinks by the lake, and did those sisterly things (like wandering around looking in craft shops and at christmas ornaments and interesting teabags for hours on end) that I miss so much (oh come to London Kate, you'd love it!)


I brought lil Isaac along a froggy baby quilt - this was a lot of fun to make, such joyful fabrics.

My two girls got involved in fabric and pattern choices and Isaac's mum seemed to like it.

unbound

Baby quilts really are lovely to make, especially when you get to work with frogs and polkadots!

bound
(forgive the awful colours in this photo - not sure what happened)

However on the way to Gatwick airport I managed to leave my Le Slouch from last year on the train (my sister says I must never travel on trains with anything connected with handknitting again, as I always suffer a loss. I say I should just start taking a bit more responsibility for my belongings and stop daydreaming so much!)

Anyway, this latest knitting/train fiasco lead me to make this little number



it's an urchin, intentionally oversized (so as to slouch) in Rowan Cocoon Bilberry.

It is soft and warm and I love the colour. I just need to make a felted corsage with which to adorn it next. I may even make a non-oversized urchin too, just for the heck of it!

Hope you are all well and enjoying the lead up to the festive season. Take it easy and have plenty of cups of tea. It's cold out there