WIP Wednesday

Not really shared much about my WIP's recently so I thought I'd do a little round up of what is currently on my needles (or hook!). First off is Mr Soaring Sheep's sweater:



As you can see I'm ever so close to finishing that second sleeve, I think it's about 4 rows of knit stitches plus 12 of ribbing and then all that's left is the collar. I'm rather dragging my heels over it at the moment, I think I'm a little daunted by the collar which is daft.



I've added a few more rows to this crochet project. I've been trying hard to vary the colour combinations but this is getting much trickier now. Hopefully I can keep it looking fairly balanced. It's a nice project to dip in and out of as I'm in no rush to finish it. Plus being mostly dc stitches using a 3.5mm hook it's not exactly speedy!

Lastly we have my Rye socks



These are coming up to needing to do the heel so I've not been knitting much on these either. There's a lesson there somewhere... I think I just need to make some time to sit down and concentrate on getting things done.

I'm itching to cast on a new shawl now the weather is a little cooler. I've got the yarn wound and the beads all ready, I just need to decide which pattern I'm going to use. Oh and finish the sweater because I need those needles!

Hope everyone is having a good week and is having a more productive crafting time than I am lol. I'm going to finish off that sleeve now :-)

Linking up with Keep Calm Craft On and Yarn Along

An Afternoon at Grimsthorpe

We had quite a busy weekend. Saturday was chores and visiting the puppies. They're two weeks old now, their eyes are open and they're getting noisier. They still sleep a lot though, especially when someone is giving them a cuddle



One of the breeders snapped this photo of my eldest boy being a "Puppy Whisperer" :-)

We're not seeing them again for another two weeks by which point they'll be much more active and playful. Can't wait :-)


On Sunday we visited my in-laws for a BBQ and afterwards they suggested we visited Grimsthorpe castle for a walk round the lake. Despite living in Lincolnshire for 8 years I'd never actually been and as it was such a lovely day we jumped at the chance for an explore.







Such an amazing view^^







This week is the first week in months that Mr Soaring Sheep is working locally and coming home at a sensible time every evening rather than being away Monday-Thursday. I think finding a new routine is going to be strange but it's so good to have him home again :-)

And he loved his Birthday socks :-D

FO - Stormy Seas Rainbow Socks

It's Mr Soaring Sheep's birthday tomorrow so naturally he had to have a new pair of socks. It's tradition right?  Pattern-wise they're nothing particularly special, just plain vanilla with a fish lips kiss heel but what they lack in stitch patterns they more than make up for in colour



Aren't they fab :-D He chose the yarn out of several stash options I suggested and has seen them as a WIP so he knows mostly what they'll look like but I did the last few inches while he was away so he's not seen them finished



He's very knitworthy and has been wearing his knitted socks all year so I know these ones will be loved too :-)





Even the chickens thought they were interesting ;-) Still no eggs from any of them, hope they start laying soon otherwise it might not happen until after the Winter which would be irritating. Then again if eggs were that important we wouldn't have got pekins who aren't known for their egg production...
 


I got some fluffy post this morning, some toys for the puppy :-D Probably not going to get much more for him/her at the moment as we'll wait and see what type of toy they enjoy. Figured this was a good starting mix and lots of things to chew on during teething. Still another 6 weeks before they're old enough to leave their Mum so I'm trying not to buy too much just yet. It might be a different story in a month's time, I have A List!

Koru and Sockhead Hats

I finished another hat yesterday so thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine and Mr Soaring Sheep being around to take some photos in the garden. My littlest girl wanted to join in too :-)



(yes I do infact have a rainbow windmill toy growing out of my head, all the cool people are wearing them this Autumn!)





I think this lace pattern is absolutely gorgeous and it was what attracted me to the design. You may also be able to see the alternating bands of twisted stitches and normal stockinette around the hat



As little miss is a much better knitwear model than I am we swapped hats







Crazy child :-)

The hat pattern I used was Koru by Libby of Truly Myrtle. It was really good fun to knit, very clear instructions and she's done tutorials for all the complicated sounding decreases on her blog incase you get stuck. The twisted stitches really make the design pop :-)

I'm not really one for wearing hats normally, but I thought I'd better get a couple made up as I'm anticipating lots of being outside in the cold this Winter. Why is that? Well because we're getting a puppy! One of these to be precise:



This photo was taken when they were newborn. They are now 8 days old and we got to visit them for the first time today





The next 7 weeks are going to fly by I'm sure ♥

Feeling Blue

It's cold and dark today, Summer feels a long time ago and yet it's not yet cold enough to have the heating on. I'd like to go for a walk to warm up a bit but there is heavy rain promised and I don't particularly fancy being caught out in it. I think instead I'll snuggle under a blanket and knit, that's got to be similarly good for the soul right?



I finished my Sockhead hat. I don't have anyone around to take a picture for me so I tried to do a selfie. Hmm my kitchen looks a bit messy, and I've cut the top off my head. Let's try again:



Oh well, close enough lol. It's a lovely cosy hat and considering it's an oversized beanie knitted with sock yarn it actually knit up quite quickly. I definitely think I'd knit one of these again, it's a great way of showing off a pretty skein of yarn that would be wasted as socks. I wish you could see the silver sparkle in the yarn, so pretty :-)



Even my projects are blue today! Mr Soaring Sheep's socks seem never ending. I've probably got a couple of inches left to do but they're so BORING and SLOW. Ahem. So I did the only thing possible, I cast on another project ;-) Can you tell what it's going to be yet?

Yarn Along and Keep Calm Craft On

Making Monday

This is my first day at home on my own. My youngest daughter did two days at school last week but Mr Soaring Sheep was off work so we went off to do some shopping one day and had a walk the other. She was super excited to start school and walked in like she'd been doing it all her life. This morning she was a little quieter but happily went to sit with her teacher





She's such a ham :)















I've started suggesting to the chooks they might want to have a go at laying some eggs. Earn their keep etc. Instead they just give me this look:



Oh well, as long as they lay eventually lol



My sockhead hat is continuing to grow. I've still got a few more inches to knit before I can start the decreases for the crown. It's good tv knitting at least :-)



I finally got my act together and had Mr Soaring Sheep try his sweater on so I could see how the sleeve was doing. I had to add a little more length then did the cuff and cast off. This morning I made a start on the second sleeve so I'm hoping to get some more of that done this week. After that it's just coming up with the shawl collar and weaving in the ends.


Hope you have a good week everyone. I'm enjoying having a tidy house to myself for a bit. Such bliss!

Keep Calm Craft On

It's been nice getting back into the school routine again. I like the rhythm it gives to the day, even if the house does feel quieter with the children gone. I've still got my littlest for two more days though :-)



I'm flitting through my projects at the moment, not really concentrating on anything. I wanted to get the first sleeve of Mr Soaring Sheep's sweater finished at the weekend but we had other things to deal with when one of the cats was ill (yesterday's post explains more)



As you can see she's looking much better. She was very poorly on Saturday morning whereas now, apart from some bald patches where she was shaved, she looks the same as normal. She's having a check up at the vets on Thursday so hopefully they'll be pleased with her progress.



Today I'm planning on doing some more work on these socks for Mr Soaring Sheep. I find TAAT socks frustratingly slow to show progress but at least once I cast off they'll both be finished so no "Second Sock Syndrome".

I'm rather in the mood to cast on another hat. I'd better get a move on with my other projects first though. Startitis does seem to be developing lol

Linking up with Nicole's Keep Calm Craft On

Dramaz and Hat Knitting

Those of you who follow me on instagram may have seen that we had a bit of a crisis this weekend with our girl cat. She was rushed to the vets on Saturday morning and was very poorly. She's had to have air drained off her chest and at the start none of us thought she was going to make it. Luckily she seems to have pulled through and is now home and feeling grumpy at being confined to a single room to avoid putting too much strain on her bruised lungs :-(

I was planning on sharing this project with you over the weekend but obviously it wasn't a high priority at the time so I'm sharing now. It's using the Flamboyance yarn I blogged about on thursday in the Sky High colourway



I'm using the Sockhead hat pattern which is basically 4 inches of ribbing followed by miles and miles of stockinette. Very good project for knitting on when you're worried and can't concentrate very much



The colours are knitting up really nicely although it's not quite as blue as it looks in this photo. I'm looking forward to having this hat to wear when the weather is colder



Today was my big girl's first day at Middle School. She looks alarmingly grown up and smart. My boys went back to school today as well but my youngest girl doesn't start until Thursday. It's going to be so quiet having the house to myself! I've got lots of projects planned to keep me busy though :-)

Have a good week everyone

Fluffy Post

I had a little splurge last week and got some more sock yarn. As several people have informed me that sock yarn doesn't count as stash I don't feel in the slightest bit guilty that I've still got lots of other skeins waiting to be knit up ;-)



As you can probably see, both these yarns came from The Laughing Yaffle which is one of my favourite sock yarn dyers. Both yarns are in her "Starling Sock" base which is 75% merino, 20% nylon and 5% stellina. I'm not planning for either of them to become socks :-)



This one is "Fire Opal" and is probably my favourite of the two, but only just. It's got pinks, turquoises, greens and purples. Lovely.



The other one is called "Sky High" and is a mixture of blues, teals and purples.

Now as gorgeous as these yarns would be knitted into socks I'm fancying something else. I'm not sure quite what yet whether it's some sort of scarf/shawl/cowl or wrist warmers or even a hat. I'm looking forward to having a look on ravelry when the children are back at school and I've finished one of my other projects.

Does anyone have any favourite hat patterns for sock yarn? I tend to prefer baggier beret style ones rather than beanies but I'm open to suggestions :-)

Keep Calm Craft On

September 1st marks the first day of Autumn for those of us in the Northern hemisphere. Unless you count it from the Autumn equinox or another date. I'm calling it from today :-p I've probably said before that I never used to like Autumn that much but as I've got older I've grown to love it more and more. This morning I went out in the garden, it was cool and the smell of a neighbour's bonfire last night lingered in the air. It made me think of those lovely Autumn walks in the woods scuffing your feet though piles of dead leaves and enjoying the peace and quiet. Can't wait :-)







It's the last week of the Summer holidays for my children. I know some are going back this week but mine don't start until Monday. My youngest who is starting school this year begins on the Thursday after that so I'll have her to myself for 3 days when the others go back. We'll meet up with friends, go for walks and probably do some baking together too :-)



We've had a busy weekend decorating two more rooms. The children have had some late nights as a result of us needing to move furniture back and reassemble bunk beds etc. so they're a bit grumpy. I'll show you some photos later on this week hopefully, of the rooms that is, not the grumpy children!



For now I'd better go make some lunch and hopefully I can squeeze in a bit of sock knitting later. Have a good week everyone

Keep Calm Craft On