Oh my Giddy Aunt!

::Evening all!::

Good evening out there. Hope you had a good weekend.

Let me start by saying I have had mahooosive problems with Blogger this week so if I haven't commented on your blog it's NOT me honest it's piggin Blogger. I have tried to comment but it takes me straight back to log on. I believe from Ravelry messages, others have had the same problems with commenting on my blog.

Here in the UK it has been a Bank Holiday weekend which means we all get Monday off! It has been shockingly bad weather so the Tickety-boo family had to cancel our planned weekend away to The Gower in Wales by the sea. I am so glad we did though because it's been" blowin a hooley!" , persisting it down and bloody freezing. It was brighter this evening so we went for a walk before the Littlies got their pjs on a I am glad we did. The smell of damp grass was lovely.

 You can just see the roof of my cottage through the trees. Now I know why there was sheep poo on my drive this morning!

I still can't show you some of my projects because the charming postie of my swap partner, kindly took her parcel back to the sorting office instead of delivering it to her so she cannot get her parcel until Tuesday!

Boo to you postie!!!!!! But what I can show you is the parcel the amazing Craftroom2010 sent me.

I was sooooooooooooooooo excited when I got home on Wednesday after a pretty crappy time at work to see my parcel waiting at my door. Woo-hoo!

Oh My Giddy Aunt look what was inside!

 

I was spoiled beyond belief! As were the Littlies with personalised notebooks, pencils and card games.

That Regia is to die for. Can't you see a new pair of socks on my chubby little porkers as we speak?????

I was mega tempted to have them cast on by now but in my recent bout of startitis I promised myself The Perfect Cardi (more of that in a mo) before they go on the pointy sticks of doom! There was beautiful hand made cards, gorgeous stitch markers, a lovely hand made book, handmade bag, lavender heart, vintage buttons and did I mention scrummy Regia yarn? Oh I did!

Well it's so good I'll say it twice. What a lucky girl I am. I am totaly delighted and couldn't ask for more.

I have released The Perfect Cardi from the naughty bag and cast the devil back on! So far so good. It seems to be behaving thus far. I have got 41 rows and third ball of yarn in

and I am pleased with the results although I think moss stitch is going to get quite tedious soon but..............but it's going to be worth it!!!!!! (this time I am employing the use of a lifeline so I won't have to frog so far if all goes wrong!)

So lovely bloglanders have a great week and I hope it's a sunny one :o)

Love Tickety-boo

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Kiln Joy.

:: Happy Weekend to you all::

How have you been?

I am a bit jaded today................well to be honest I'm hungover! I had my lovely friends N and C round last night for a Knit n Natter but there was very little productivity of the yarny kind, but lots of productivity on reducing my wine wrack stash. They didn't leave until 1am and I had to be up a 7am.

My own fault really!

Anyhoo I have been hooking away on items for my swap partner this week so I can't share those until the parcel has been received by her so  instead I thought I'd share some of the fused glass I have been making.

I have a real fondness for hares, especially a particular medieval design that seems to appear around the South West of England which is three hares who share one ear. Sounds odd but you'll see what I mean in a mo. I have wanted to make a glass bowl for a while that incorporates this design. So last week at Stained Glass Class I broke out the traditional lead paint which comes in powder form. It's a tricky medium to work in, first you have to mix it with water to the correct consistency, then you have to apply to quickly and evenly to the glass before it dries, then dry it out and remove the paint using the tools to create the image you want without knocking off bits that you do want there!!!!

So I chose the glass, made my design, painted on the paint, removed the paint with much concentration(you know the sort I mean? The concentration that you hold your breath and your tongue sticks out the corner of you mouth)

cut another piece of clear glass the same size to sandwich the design, gave it to my amazing friend and tutor Caroline for the kiln. First it had to be fired to fuse the glass together and allow the paint to burn into the glass and then it had to be slumped into the mold to get the dish shape ................and this is what I got back

My very own Sushi dish.

I LOVE IT!!!!!

Also back from the magic kiln do you remember my buttons? The ones I wanted to make for The Perfect Cardi?

I Love these too!

I have made some other bits but that's a secret at the mo, which I'll share with you another time.

So I'm going to go take something to stop the oompa band that are wearing golf shoes marching across my head at the moment and hope that I may join the rest of the human race at some point today (probably after a power kip)!

Hope you all have a sunny fun filled week.

Love Tickety-boo

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New look and SSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!! There's a swap on.

Afternoon all you lovely bloggy people.

How's your week been?
What do you think of the new look blog?
I felt I had to make it a bit more..... well....my own.

The weather has turned this week and I have been very glad of my sock stash and felted slippers.

There was one nice afternoon where I managed to get a little hooky time in the sunshine but that was it.

I can't show you yet what I have been up to in yarny terms  because I have been making goodies to put in my Ravelry swap parcel and I know my swap partner has been reading my blog to get to know me better. So this is a very odd post of nothing much but bits and bobs.

Like this.......

The most mahooooosive egg I have ever seen!!! The lovely old lady who is our nearest neighbour keeps chickens and gives us eggs, as and when we need them. I have seen some strange eggs because they are not shop bought but I have never seen one this big. (the one on the left is an average sized egg) 

All I could think was ouch poor chicken!

Today we went for a walk and picnic at our favourite camping site, it's not far from home but once you are there and having coco round the campfire the worries of normal life just melt away and you could be a thousand miles away. We really went to book our annual camp out which involves us and at least 6 other families having a fantastic weekend together the first weekend of September. We started it as a surprise for Mr TB's 40th and it was so much fun it has become a yearly trip.

It is an environmentally friendly site with compostable loos (with the best view you have ever seen) and solar showers. It's so clean, tidy and friendly and best of all it allows open fires! A lovely safe place where the kids can have Famous Five style adventures (well all 16 of them!) with rope swings and den building and all sorts of games that end up with a BIG black ring around the bath on the Sunday night when we get home! The adults get some great catch up time and many many laughs and memories are made.

Today it was just us and the littlies for a walk not a camp. We took a picnic.

and cuddled 1 week old baby goats !!!!

This is Billy The Kid!

And that's about all I can blog about without giving away swap secrets!!

I will share the hooky stuff when the parcel has been opened by it's recipient.

So for now lovely people...........TTFN!

Have a great week.

Love

Tickety-boo

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Felting Slippers

::Hello in blogland::

Welcome to my new followers and thank you to all of you who as always leave lovely comments. I love reading them and I love reading your blogs too, I do try to comment on them as often as I can.

So a big thankyou for dropping by and all your encouraging words!

Ok so on Saturday I did a Felted slippers workshop with Lucy from my LYS. I have never tried felting before and wasn't keen to do so without the aid of a safety net (yip Lucy that safety net was you). I wasn't sure what to expect so armed with enthusiasim, size 5mm needles and a packed lunch, oooo and enough home made Madeira Cake to floor a Rhino, to share with the others I trundled off.

I did have the added bonus of dragging along my faithful friend C and knowing most of the ladies there apart from two, who are fellow Ravelers.

What a nice bunch :o)

Lucy gave us our patterns and we all picked our yarns.

It was wierd using those pointy sticks of doom again after hooks and circular needles.

52 stitches cast on and still don't have the a scooby-doo what I'm doing!

But I had faith and in true British style Keep Calm and Carry Yarn!!!

but it still was looking well......nothing like a slipper

mmmmmmm I know she was a wooly wonder brain our Lucy but I don't get it........... that's why she was the tutor and me the student!

Pattern followed (sort of, I freestyled a little but through error not judgement)

cast off and sewn up! At last it was looking more like a slipper, albeit a slipper for a 4 year old. I know my porkers are only a UK size 3 but these buggers are teeny!

Keep the faith.....Keep the faith

Off we ventured to the kitchens of the 1705 Georgian Mansion we were working in and into the washing machine all 7 pairs went on 90 degree wash.

You could cut the tension with a knife! Especially when the lathered turned pink!!! You know who you are ;o) just read TextureKnits blog not naming any names or anything lol!

Out they came. It was the most unusual thing in the world to plunge my feet in sopping wet wool (I hate wet wool and save my handwashing 'til I see my Mum so she can do it!) eeeeeeuuuuukkkkkkkk! The smell was not too great either.

But they fitted.

Wooooooo-hooooooo

and now with my own embelishments I have a pair of felted slippers of my very own!

Squuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I think in future I will have more faith in Lucy the Wooly Wonder brain she really is Dali Darner !

Have a great week all of you.

I hope it's a good one.

love

Tickety-boo

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Ta-Dah III (with a little disappointment)

:: May Day Bank Holiday ::

That's the first day of May rather than a distress call!

How are you all? Hope you have had a good week. The sun has been make a lot of appearences over the last few weeks which makes me VERY happy. We have had BBQ's already and the garden is lush and green.

Can't quite believe it's only the 2nd May. Even the strawberry plants have flowered!

I tidied up the garden and tried to give the cottage door a more welcoming feel.

So I painted a new sign and planted a few plants. What do you think?

The Littlies and I painted the heart stone Middle Littlie found when we were on holiday.

It brightens up a dark little corner of the garden no end.

and so to the Ta-Dah III and the disappointment. I bought some hand dyed yarn from a fellow blogger and Raveler Clicky Needles. She has just started an online shop for her lovely hand dyed yarns. It arrived very quickly and I was delighted with it. I picked up my Socks from The Toe Up book and flicked through and found a fantastic pattern called Serpentine Socks. Totaly lovely!

I cast them on whilst on holiday after making a very speedy pair of ribbed socks for smallest littlie which I'll post about another time. I loved knitting this pattern it was interesting enough without being too challenging. Last night I finished them Yipeeeeeeeeeeeee! But not quite squeeeeeeeeeee.

Why not squeeeeeeee? Because the bloody things are too blinking small!!!

They fitted until I turned the heel and now I can't get my porkers in them. Hence the disappointment part.

Far be it from Biggest Littlie to hide her light under a bushell, she jumped right on in there and in Cinderella stylie declared "they fit, they fit, they fit!" So I guess they are now hers. But here the are anyway

 modelled by Biggest Littlie............

I guess that's them gone then eh?

Anyway this isn't getting the picnic packed and the kids are chomping at the bit so I will leave it there for now.

Have a great week evrybody!

Love Tickety-boo xxxxxxxxx