Finally Finished! :: Stash Busting Hex

 I finally have a FO to show you! The Stash Busting Hex is finally finally finished!

Started in Coventry and finished in Bournemouth. It took 5 months to complete, what seemed like a gazillion balls of white yarn and the need for me to drop my perfectionism and just go with it. (Ssssh I got the pattern completely wrong!)

However it's done and I love it. I wanted the colours to kind of radiate out from the yellow in the middle. I'm not sure I really got that effect because of the multi coloured centres. But it did use up all of my little pesky balls of stash though - which was the whole object of the stash buster! 

I must admit it's huge. Waaay bigger than I ever intended it to be. But with winter in full force here, it's coming in handy. Along with this....

I know! Another FO?! What's gotten into me! This is a garter knit scarf. Yes I've gone back to basics with the old knitting. I may have been a little over confident jumping straight in with DPN's and Noro. But this yarn is gorgeous - I believe it's called Twisted by King Cole (although I've lost the label) and it's kind of rainbow jewel tones twisted with brown. Which made the old garter stitch a little more interesting. Lovely.

Anyway I hope your January has been lovely so far - I can't believe we're almost into Feb already! I don't feel like I've recovered from Christmas yet!

xxxxxx

A week of smiles...

• Only 30 hex's to make and join before the border on the stash buster. 30 sounds a lot but I've been making these for months. 30 now seems like a doddle believe me.

• Discovering Just Me. This girl is crafty and witty. A winning combination in my book.

• Free kindle books. Now that it's dark before 5pm I'm stocking up on my reading material. The fact that I can get whole books for free never ceases to amaze me. And it makes my purse smile. 

• Shreddies and warm milk. I know. Not sophisticated at all. But I live off this stuff when it's cold and love it. 

• Brocantehome and Positively Present. Reminding me that life is too short to live in the past or save up happiness for the future. 

• Pinterest. How can something so simple be so addictive? 

• Coming to terms with the fact that there simply isn't enough money to have the kind of Christmas that we are used to here and being fine with it. Because Christmas isn't about the mountains of plastic tat that my children have become accustomed to is it?

• Taking a break from both Facebook and the news and feeling better for it. I'm starting to wonder if I really need to be constantly updated on what the world is doing.

• Stumbling upon PeonyAndParakeet on Etsy. I LOVE the texture and colour in her art. After Christmas I shall be treating myself to a wee postcard =]

Wishing you a cosy and festive week m'dears because it really isn't long until the big day now is it!

xxxxxxxxx

It Grows...

In hooky news....it grows! I can not get decent lighting on the floor in this flat and there's no way I can fit it all in the picture without balancing precariously on the sofa arm....but it grows. I'm still whipping up hex's at every opportunity, I'm thinking I'll do another 4 or 5 rounds before a border and then ta-da! I am going to have to buy some more white which kind of defeats the object of stash busting but I can use the white for snowflakes closer to Christmas.

In other news....I must admit I'm not a big Halloween fan (Not exactly news!). I know I must sound all Bar Humbug but it just doesn't float my boat for a number of reasons. Guy Fawkes night is another story though! As I'm sure you know the 5th November is the night when us British don our hats and gloves and partake in a little blowing fireworks up and setting huge bonfires. I love this tradition and have very fond memories of 'bonfire night' as a child. The smell of burning wood, the sound of fireworks exploding, people laughing and chattering along and of course the sights. When I was a child the fair was always in town to coincide with bonfire night. We would wander into town to watch the fireworks display and would be greeted with the lights and music of the fair...all very exciting when you are a child. We would watch the display and then wander home where my dad would have lit a bonfire in the garden. There we would bake jacket potatoes in the fire and drink hot chocolate before retiring to bed - me and my brother would then peek out my bedroom window and watch what seemed like the world alight in the sky. Like I said the whole night brings fond memories.

After eating my ahem, burnt stew (why is it the first time I cook for my mum I burn it!?) we all donned hats and gloves and went to Poole Harbour to watch their firework display which was a lovely experience. Apart from in Disney World I have never seen  fireworks over water and it was really very pretty. The atmosphere there was brilliant, with street entertainers and the bubbling anticipation of the display. I must admit my pictures are rubbish - I've never got to grips with taking pictures in the dark! But you get the idea. After the fireworks we came back to mine and had hot chocolate with cream and marshmellows....a perfect ending to perfect evening. I really love living near my mum again and being able to do these things with her.

Right, washing to do, Asda to visit and dinner to cook......I best get on! xxx

ETA There's a linkfest going on at.....



                                                    

Daily Delights

Crunchy leaves on the school run - Autumn is here! <3

You may remember me telling you about the Lion hunt we participated in when we were staying down here during the holidays. There were 50 and I think we found about 13. Most of them have been removed now, but I have spotted a few still around in local shops and restaurants. During a trip to the library yesterday I found possibly my favourite yet.

Look at the cute little butterfly!

And finally having enough floor room to lay out the scrap buster to see it in all its glory. Only I wish I'd cleared a space with decent lighting!

xxxxxxx 

We did it!

I am coming to you from my rather cosy little flat in Bournemouth! It's been a monster few weeks, full of change, unpacking and a little (ahem) beach time. Everything seemed to move supersonic quick in the end and it was stressful.Very, very stressful. But we are here now and I must admit I like it. My first impressions of 'every day' Bournemouth is that it's rather arty and creative, everyone seems to have a positive attitude (that I've met!) and it all feels more relaxed compared to busy buzzy Coventry.

So even though the move was stressful, every day life since has taken on a more relaxed pace. The week we moved down here, England's late summer heat wave began! So as you can imagine, we've made good use of the beach. After living in the middle of the country for 10 years, the beach is quite a novelty to us! And what a gorgeous beach it is.

Our move also coincided with Bournemouth's art festival. Although we have by no means attended it all, we did pop in to bits and pieces.

 This 'electronic rain forest' for want of a better word, was amazing. To my children's amusment, I was sooooo impressed! They had neon flashing lights at the top and sensor activated rain forset sounds. Okay so my description does not do them justice! We had lots of fun with these.

Neon Caravan - Westbeach

The neon caravan. I have to admit ....I was expecting a caravan covered, top to bottom, in neon lights. It wasn't. However the ladies from the art's college down there were lovely!

  We also went Vampire hunting and sewing ghouls on Boscombe beach. I have no photo's from actually down on the beach as my phone died. However I was given a pretty little business card during our visit yesterday....so I can tell you exactly who the lovely lady organising it was - Jill Adams from Nursey Bang Bang . The kids really enjoyed being let loose with googly eyes and luminous paint and I would happily take them down to her workshop again.

 Finally, this is what I've been up to in between unpacking and hopping around Bournemouth. When I was packing I realised just how bad my little stash had become. Not only have I a bad case of WIPitous, I also have a million little balls of yarn that NEED to be used up. Yes they need to be used up otherwise they turn into a big tangled mess. I AM NOT starting anything else or buying any more yarn until this is finished! I have promised myself. So this is my one and only project at the minute and I am determined to finish it. There I've said it, now I just need to stick to it!

Anyway I hope you are all well....Now I am back online I have some serious blog hopping to do!

xxxxx