4x4 and Mitts!

Ahh sunshine  :o)

Is the sun shining where you are? I do hope so.

It's feeling like Spring at last and the garden is full of colour

Amazing how much better a bit of sun makes you feel!

It has been half term week and I have been busy baking for my brood of locusts. I swear they have hollow legs. Cup cakes tray, bakes and fruit loaf have just disappeared as quickly as I could make them. But Mr TB had a surprise to give me, some Me time. Quality me time........

He had booked me on a Land Rover Experience Day at Eastnor Castle in the beautiful Malverns. Off we went bright and early(7am) on a beautiful sunny Thursday to make someone elses Landy as dirty as my own!

The instructor did try taking me on the girly route to begin with saying "Some women find Land Rovers a little too big so shall we go on the main roads first so you can try it out?" To which my answer was "Listen mate I feel it's only fair to let you know that that Landy over there is my car and I drive it everyday up and down the 3mile single track road to my house. I have also driven it the length and breadth of Britain. Can we go get yours REALLY muddy now please?"

It was fandabeedosee!!!!!!! I went through muddy puddles over the wheel arches and over the bonnet. I went over rocks so rocky I was on two wheels. Down muddy hills where all I could see was the ground below me. Up muddy hills where all I could see was bonnet and sky. Over tree roots and stumps. Totally exhilarating. I couldn't believe how game for it I would be until I was underway. Maybe it was the fact if I damaged the car it wasn't mine lol.

I bet he regretted saying park it anywhere you like ;o)

So what else has been happening in the TB household this week?

I knitted myself these beauties......

They were a lovely quick knit and I love the picot edging.

 Here's a linky to the pattern called Susie's reading Mitts.I knitted them out if some beautiful cashmere I bought on eBay from Japan and it's sooooo lovely, soft and warm. The building I work in was bulit in 1705 an is always blooming freezing so it should help keep my hands warm ala Bob Cratchit. 2 of my colleagues have asked for a pair now but I just want to get on with ............................

Yip another pair of socks!! Couldn't resist this yarn when I went to my LYS. It spoke to me. Knit me! Knit me! Knit me now! You know you want to!

I couldn't help myself and soon the saucy little minx was rewound and casting on my circulars.

That's all my wooly news for now.

Next time (if I can get him to keep still enough to get a photograph) I shall introduce you to our latest edition to our family. Fred the Hamster. It has taken smallest littlie a long time to get over the death of his gorgeous little Hamster Rhino in November and now feels strong enough to welcome a new friend to or home.

Oooooh and one last thing for you people who like retro and vintage things

I bought this tin sign in Cheltenham to hang in my bathroom. Isn't it fab? makes me laugh especially the No Smoking bit! Did anyone really need to be told NOT to smoke in a swimming pool? I mean even if you wanted to where would you put them? What about your matches?

So lovely people have a great week and I hope the sun shines for you!

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TA- DAH!!!!!!

:: Hello Lovelies::

Ok so lets cut to the chase today. I am in heaven and it's stripey!!!

Yes it's time for my sock Ta-Dah and I am soooooooo excited.

Happy Dance Happy Dance.

Sqqqquuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

TA- DAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I cannot tell you how totaly happy I am to have finished these bad boys!

At times I could have cried with frustration including when I cast off(traditional cast off stylie) and discovered they were too tight and had to unpick the cast off and read up on what to do to make the cuff more blood circulation friendly and viola the socks were made!

I can't wait to get to my LYS now and get some more sock yarn to get going on another pair with hopefully less mistakes in them.

 Thank you Lucy my LYS owner who kept me knitting and not frogging through out this project. Thank you to my family for being there when tea was late and covering their ears to my profanities. Thank you to...............

Sorry I am doing a Gwyneth Paltrow now aren't I?????

Ok I want to keep this post brief or I am in danger of ramming it down your throats of exactly how happy a pair of socks have made my life (I do know how sad that statement makes me sound!)

So time for one last thing that has made me happy.............

For my Birthday last year my friend J gave me some mini-daffs. I am no green fingered, planty type person but I dried out the bulbs, re potted them this year and hoped they may sprout. I didn't expect them to and I forgot all about them really but look! I have managed not to kill them :o) and they have even flowered.

Happy Dance.

On that note I'll quit while I am ahead and say TTFN and I hope you all have a Happy Dance week of your own.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

New Obsession!

:: Welcome!::

How are you lovely people? Have you had a good week?

It's been a mixed bag of a week for me. I had a bit of a shock when Smallest Littlie brought home a letter from school saying that the SENCo

 (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) would be testing him the following day. We had no idea what he was being tested for or indeed that there was any problem! We went in for a meeting with his teacher and the SENCo and were told that he is Dyslexic. In they same meeting we were also told he has an

IQ of 140 which means he is also "gifted" and that's why it was picked up (no idea how he got a brain that big! Can't be genetic ;o). His reading and writing are not on the same level as his intellegence. Now we know he can be helped and I am glad this has been picked up at the age of 8 and not later when it will be harder to help him. Biggest Littlie was off school ill for two days this week which is so unlike her. It was a good excuse to stay home, snuggle under blankets with her (even though she's 12) and do lovely things like bake and hook away the day inbetween being Florence Nightingale.

So to the wooly part of the week.............

Crochet Club at my LYS was on this week (it's fortnightly) so off I pootled. I bought wool but I also came home with something else!!!!!

Please excuse the dodgey photo (and the rogue black sock on the radiator)

A hammock! Just what you expect to buy at you LYS isn't it??? Oh I love it! I have always wanted one and I can't wait for the better weather to try it out. The fabric is beautiful......

All for the bargain price of £12.50!!!

Ok so my new obssesion....................

I am in LOVE total LOVE with making shawls. First on was last week when I made N's Birthday pressie. Which looked lovely, especially when it was blocked

It was hard to give it away really so that could only mean one thing. I had to make one for ME!

I bought gorgeous sock wool when I was at Crochet Club on Wednesday and got hooking right away. I finished it on Friday night and blocked it yesterday before I went to work.

The light is so bad today I can't get a decent full photo but I had to share this. The yarns colours are just beautiful I can't wait to wear it and I shall try to take some more photos when I do. It's another Elise Shawl done on a size 5mm (US H) hook. The yarn is Four Seasons Grundl, Hot Socks Circus. It is lovely to work with. I get so excited as one colour changes to the next and always love when I get to the magenta. I am easily pleased :o) 
ETA new photos

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I am off to have a rifle through Ravelry to find some more shawl patterns!

Have a great week everyone.

xxxxxxx

:: Magical Mystery Tour ::

Happy Sunday to you all.

 I know I am a day late in posting but that is with good reason. I wanted to wait until I knew what was happening to me last night before posting.

Let me bring you up to speed!

My super lovely friend C has taken upon herself to be a one woman cheer up Gilly mission. Before my Birthday she asked me to keep 5th February free and make sure Mr TB was around to have the littlies. The only thing she would tell me was that she would pick me up at 4pm and return me home around midnight! I have been so excited for weeks. So yesterday was THE Day......

I had a wardrobe crisis worrying about what to wear on a night where you have no idea where you are going but by 4pm

I was " smart but casual" and raring to go!!!

C turned up looking lovely as always in her "smart but casual " look and off we went on our Magical Mystery Tour. Sqqquuuueeeeee!

Happy Dance Happy Dance.

First stop was at C's lovely sisters house where J and K had made a lovely meal. A lovely meal later and (a few glasses of wine too) a lot of teasing like

 "hope you like strippers! Your cool with that aren't you!" 

we were back in C's car and off into Bristol...................................

destination

Calender Girls at The Bristol Hippadrome!!

What a fabulous night. For anybody out there who hasn't heard of Calender Girls it is the true story of friends who are all part of the W.I. (womans institute) in a Yorkshire village and decide to raise money for a new sofa for the family room in the hospital after one if their husbands dies of cancer. They raise money (and a few eyebrows) by doing a nude calender. They wanted to raise £580.00 when they did the Calender but have now raised over £3,000,000!  There is a film version which is brilliant watch if you haven't seen it (it has Helen Mirren and Julie Walters in it). This version as any UK ladies can see from the picture above was full of brilliant actresses from TV and films in the UK.

It was absolutely bloody marvelous!!!!!

Definately worth the suspense. We had some more wine back at K and J's then home and tucked up in bed at 1.00am. I had sooooooooo much fun.

::

Ok so wooly time. I know I said I would do a socky Ta-Dah this week but no surprise there really they're not ready yet! :o( I had my attentions turned by another saucy little minx! I will give you a little peek

this is a present for my friend N's Birthday on 8th Feb.

It's an Elise Shawl. Such a lovely pattern.My first shawl. I am only showing you a peek incase N happens to pop by my blog. I am blocking it at the moment (first time I have ever blocked anything). It wasn't all plain sailin'! I had a tiny bit left to go when the crochet/knitting curse hit..............

I ran out of yarn!!!! Grrrrrrrrrr! Mr TB saved the day within 24hours by popping into the shop I got the yarn in and bought me some more. What a shame I had to get a whole 100g ball to finish 10cm but I'm sure I will find a use for it one of these days.

 I will definately be buying more yarn this week to make one of these for myself and I will show N's to you in all it's glory when I have given it to her.

I realised that I had never posted a photo of N's Christmas pressie........

It's a fantastic pattern from the incredibly talented 

Alice at Crochet with Raymond

This is the Ravelry link Granny Tea cosy on Ravelry

I love it's jolly rainbowtastic cheeriness. I was over the moon when Alice complimented it on Ravelry.

::

So I guess I best go wash the school uniforms and ballet school uniforms for another week to begin. Weekends pass so quickly!

Have a good week everyone I hope it's a fab one. xxxxxxxxxxxx