one good apple

I always think this term is going to be easy.  The nights are getting lighter, the kids know by now who’s boss (erm, yep - me) and hell, it’s only four and a half weeks from half term to Easter this year.  But every year it catches me from behind and creeps up on me until I’m at the point where lists of things to do are swirling round my head at all times.  And there’s always something to do isn’t there?

On Friday evening we took about fifty kids to the theatre and afterwards, in celebration of nobody hurting themselves or showing us up, we went out for drinks and dancing.  It wasn’t until Saturday morning, when it felt like Jimmy Saville was chasing rats around my head, that I remembered why I tend not to drink a lot any more.  So that was Saturday wasted, watching stupid telly and moaning quietly to myelf all day.

Anyhoo, today being Mother’s Day I thought I’d show you what I made for Carole,

I used the Kurt Halsey patterns from Sublime Stiching to make this pillow for her newly decorated room.  She also got an embroidered badge,

and a couple of other little things.  I made more badges while I was making hers,

and also started work on what I think will be another little pillow with a free pattern from Bad Birds who gives away the sweetest free patterns once a month.

The reason I’ve been doing so much embroidery and so little knitting at the moment is that I told myself I wasn’t allowed to start any new projects until I’d finished the ones I’m working on.  I don’t work well with rules, even the ones I set myself so I’ve turned my back on knitting for the time being in a kind of self-imposed sulk.  Very mature.  I have made a scarflet for a swap I’m involved with at the moment but I’ll post pictures when it’s actually been received.

I’ve updated my etsy shoptoday with some of my embroidered hankies and some of my first Gocco postcards.  I need to get more involved with etsy really, get into some discussions and stuff, but I can find it a little overwhelming at times, there’s just so much there…  Ah well, when I have a bit more time I’ll go for it.

I’m off into town with John in bit for breakfast and to buy some presents for my birthday in two weeks time.  I’ll be 28.   I’m trying not to think about it too much.

God, it feels like forever since I’ve been here…  The most exciting event of the last week was the arrival of my Gocco on Friday.  And the fact that I’ve barely stopped since has meant that I didn’t actually get to play with until late yesterday afternoon.  I hate weekends like that.  Where you have things to do.  Things that you can’t put off.

Like I got out of work at three on Friday (early finish on a Friday - yipee!) to find four missed calls from John, three from his sister and a mountain of text messages about a rabbit that a friend of John’s rescued from a house where it was being mistreated.  Could I go and pick it up and find somewhere for it to live?  Well, why not eh?  So the rest of Friday was a barrage of yet more frantic calls and texts to everyone I know and some I don’t to try and find a home for the poor thing.  And she is gorgeous.  A brown lionhead who is incredibly sweet tempered considering her experiences with us humans.  Long story short, she’s now with the RSPCA.  We couldn’t keep her because of Donald and Enid but I was stupidly upset to see her go.  So if you’re interested in adopting and adorable indoors rabbit who will keep your plants under control, let me know…

I digress though, here are the results of my first Gocco session yesterday afternoon,

If you don’t know this already, let me tell you, Gocco is amazing.  I am in love.  I’m going to package some of these up to sell in the shop at the start of next week, I’ll let you know when they’re up if you’re interested in some cute bunnies to let people know, well, whatever…

There’s loads more to tell you about like my trip home where I went to York with my sister forgetting that it was the Viking festival that weekend,

There was a huge queue behind this particular Viking, but to be fair, a cash machine is new technology to them.  We also went to the yarn shop in the Shambles and marvelled at the many things on sale.  Miraculously I only cam e away with some four-ply to make these. 

But for now I have to go, I’ve got Mother’s Day presents to make as well as sorting out swap parcels that I need to send off next weekend.  Happy Sunday x

I set up an etsy shop this weekend!  Ooooh look at me!  Pride of place are these fingerless glove/hand warmer type things,

in a couple of different yarns.  I’m actually really nervous about whether anything’ll sell but I figure if I don’t try I’ll never know.  There are some of my bunny softies in there too, hopping along waiting to be adopted.

Other than that I’ve been plodding along quietly and making the most of my last few days of holidays.  I finished off my lino prints and I’m quite pleased with how they’ve turned out

I like the idea that you could write something in the speech bubble, like the owl is hooting some kind of message to you.  I also made my first sock monkey,

although he has no facial features yet.  That was meant to be a job for this weekend but I got caught up in the vintage vertical stripe afghan knitalongweekend challenge on ravelry and the poor faceless thing got pushed to one side.  That’s not to say that I’ve achieved anything remotely near what I was supposed to with the afghan.  I’m going to slope off in a minute to try and do a few more rows before bed time.  Sock monkeys are great though aren’t they?  I mean, he looked rubbish before I sewed his little snout on - like, well, a pair of socks -  and then a few stitches and woosh! instant personality.  And that’s before he even has a mouth or eyes and stuff (see how he’s a ‘he’ already?).

Okay, I can hear my afghan calling, might as well make the most of my freedom before tomorrow starts again x