Not quite ready .......

........ for a guided tour just yet! Although we have done a lot of unpacking, there still seem to be plenty of boxes to be emptied! The spare bedroom looks like this at the moment. I unpacked three boxes of yarn-related things and they are piled up on the bed, waiting for me to buy some more plastic storage boxes. We won't mention the three that were purchased at the weekend and are already full! (If I knew how to insert a blushing face here, I would!)

 

 

The craftroom currently looks like this - I have unpacked loads of books and am gradually filling up the shelves. I have lots of boxes that need to be sorted through properly, and that will take some time, but I am hoping that by the weekend, the room will be usable. Mr JK is chomping at the bit to unpack all his vinyl records and store them in here.

 

 

 

 

I wish that Mary Poppins would come round and click her fingers for me, to magically pack everything away in the right place! We went down to Portsmouth at the weekend to celebrate my aunt's 90th birthday, so had a break from unpacking. It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so we went down to the seafront and wandered around Old Portsmouth. The harbour is always busy, with boats and ferries going in and out, so there is plenty to see.

 

 

This is the Spinnaker Tower, built for the Millennium I believe. It offers great views around the local area. We must go up there when we are visiting again if it's a clear day. One of the floors is made of glass so it appears that you are walking on air! I'm not too sure how much I will like that! You can see the masts of Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory to the left of the Tower. Another attraction I'd like to visit. I haven't been around since I was in primary school and we did a topic on Nelson. Mr JK and I were thinking that we ought to go down for a week and do all the touristy things that we never seem to have time for when we are visiting for the weekend. The Isle of Wight car ferry arrived and departed while we were there. The entrance to the harbour always strikes me as being very small to negotiate these great boats. I wonder how the people living in the flats feel to have a ferry moored up so close?!

 

It was a beautiful, crisp, frosty morning yesterday, so I dashed outside to take a few photos before the sun warmed up. I have hardly had any time to explore the garden yet, but am delighted to see signs of spring bulbs emerging.

 

Now I'd better be off! There are boxes waiting for me! See you soon! xxx

We're in!

I can't believe that we have only been in our new house for a week. It already feels so much like home, despite the large number of boxes still waiting to be unpacked. I am planning on tackling the craft room at half term. In the meantime, Florence has taken refuge in there on a familiar cushion! I will be back again in a week or so to show you around the house! xxx

 

 

Moving on .......

..........Friday!

 

 

Everything happened in a real whoosh this last week. We exchanged contracts on Tuesday and shall be moving house this coming Friday! I can't believe it's finally going to happen after months of being surrounded by boxes! I shall see you again once we have our Broadband connected! Now please excuse me while I go and pack some more boxes! xxx

Cosy days!

Well, would you believe it? Another snow day!! Norfolk got hit with another downfall of snow overnight and we awoke, yet again, to a world blanketed in white! The forecast looks better for the rest of the week, so fingers crossed things will get back to normal tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

I busied myself yesterday knitting a case for my Kindle. I used the BFL handspun left over from the Creel hat, and used the same stitch pattern too! I had to rummage in a couple of boxes to locate my button tin, and am pretty happy with the results! So my Kindle is nice and cosy now!

 

 

 

 

Mr JK has been keeping us cosy with his wonderful goulash soup and dumplings. It was the perfect meal last night and tasted every bit as good as it looked!

 

 

Florence has also been keeping herself nice and cosy. Mr JK barely has a chance to sit down and make himself comfortable before Flo jumps on his lap. I love this photo of them together.

 

 

 

 

We have just had some rather encouraging and exciting news about our house, so have our fingers crossed. You may not see me around for a few days!! I'll be back as soon as I can! xxx

Snowy days!

I can't remember the last time I had a snow day! But two in one week?! Wowzers! We have had snow on and off since last Tuesday. My usual ten minute journey home took over an hour as the roads came to a standstill. We just don't deal very well with snow here.

 

 

The forecast is predicting a weekend of cold, snowy weather, so I don't think that Mr JK and I shall be venturing out. We'll light the fire and batten down the hatches. I have plenty of knitting to keep me occupied too. I received a lovely surprise package from Beki yesterday. We have swapped yarn and fibre in the past, and Beki sent me a skein of Socks that Rock yarn in a perfect colourway for Mr JK. She thought it might cheer me up after reading about the house sale falling through just before Christmas. What a sweetie!

 

 

She sent this badge too, just perfect for Florence and all her yarny antics!

But what does Florence have to say about it?

 

Me? Play with yarn? No way!! Not when it's making such a comfortable bed for me!!

 

 

 

 

Keep warm and see you soon. xxx

Testing, testing!

Hello! My needles have been busy this week. I was test knitting Creel - a hat, cowl and mitts set from Knitspot. The set featured used handspun, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to rifle through my own handspun and pull out a couple of suitable skeins. When you are learning to spin, you produce lots of skeins that don't have a great yardage, but are perfect for small projects such as hats and mitts. The mitts knit up superfast, ideal for a quick, last minute gift. I modelled them yesterday when I met up with my good friend Snoopydog and we tried to get some photos. A certain dog had his eye on my biscuit!!

 

 

You can see the stitch pattern a little more clearly here.

Flo didn't want to be left out of the photos either. This was taken earlier in the week.

It is enormously satisfying to knit up yarn that you have spun yourself.  I felt like a proud Mum, watching the colours appear! The mitts are knit with Twinkle, a mix of 75% superwash merino and 25% trilobal nylon. The hat is knit with Burnish, which is 100% BlueFaced Leicester. Both fibres are from Fluff-n-Stuff. I think Marianne's fibres are gorgeous!!

 

 

If the weather forecast is accurate, I reckon I shall be needing to wear these this week! Have a good week and keep warm!! xxx

Savouring every last minute!

Hello there! I can't believe that Christmas is done and dusted for another year. I have already seen Valentine cards and Easter eggs in the shops!! Shocking, isn't it? School starts back tomorrow so I am making the most of the last day of the holidays. Yesterday I finished joining together the rest of the knitted bunting - this little lot is going to be decorating one of the Infant classrooms very soon. It was such a fun project to do, as it not only involved the children, but also their families.

 

 

I also decided on this term's project - little knitted owls and cats. The pattern is easy as long as I knit the first couple of rows which require knitting into the front and back of each stitch. I think that the kids will love them! Firstly, meet Ollie Owl.
 

 

And here is his friend, Kitty Cat!

I knit an i-cord to make the cat's tail, but the children will be able to do some French knitting using a cotton reel. I wonder which is going to be more popular, the owl or the cat?! Which one would you have wanted to knit when you were little? You can find the pattern here.

 

 

Of course, I had my trusty assistant helping out while I was sorting things out. She just cannot resist a ball of wool (even if it happens to be acrylic!)

 

I think that in this photo she looks quite surprised by all the wool on the floor and is claiming to have no knowledge of it at all! Butter wouldn't melt, eh Flo?!

 

 

 

 

I have been working on a couple of bigger knits - my Shilasdair cardigan and the mink and cashmere cardigan, but there isn't a huge amount of progress on either. I am currently doing a little bit of testknitting for Anne Hanson over at Knitspot - some mittens, a hat and cowl, and should be able to share those with you next week. In the meantime, I will leave you with a success story. Florence has discovered her furry igloo!! Have a good week. xxx