Simple pleasures

** Enjoying my first cuppa after recovering from a horrible sickness bug **

** Bringing a touch of spring into my kitchen with a bunch of daffodils **

** Making a cushion cover with my friend Julia as a birthday present for another friend **

** Enjoying the Attic24 Sweet Pea blanket CAL**

** Lots of sofa time and snuggles with Flo **

** Receiving a New Year parcel from my knitting friend Bobbie in Alaska **

** Enjoying hot chocolate and carrot cake to celebrate my friend Laura's birthday **

** Seeing my glass stars catch the winter sun **

** Spotting Mr JK's daffodil peeping above the soil again **

I hope that you have lots of simple pleasures in your life this week. xxx

Tying up loose ends and unravelling new ones

You may remember that I set myself a couple of Advent challenges - to crochet the Attic24 Hydrangea blanket and to knit the Madewell cardigan using mini balls of Opal sock yarn from previous years' Advent calendars. Things didn't go quite to plan, although I did finish the blanket before the start of 2019! I love the soft colours of the yarn and decided to make a wider border. The crochet linen stitch is very effective. Prepare to feast your eyes on a lot of hooky loveliness!

As you can see, Flo has made herself at home on it. Someone on Instagram commented that she was a bit like the Princess and the Pea! I thought that I'd spotted a cat-shaped dent in it a couple of days earlier, but caught her red-pawed one morning! I'm happy to share my blankets with her. 

I'm stuck on sleeve island with my Madewell cardigan. The ribbing around the bottom took me ages and I haven't picked it up since then. But it's in my pile of things to be finished before starting any more knits, so it will be done sooner rather than later. I'm going to try and make the sleeves match up as best I can, by knitting half of each mini ball for each one. At least the colours will match, even if they are showing different sections of the pattern. 

 A friend asked if I could make a couple of baby things for her to give a baby due any day now. I don't normally say yes to knitting requests, as I have quite enough things of my own to keep me busy, but baby knits are pretty quick. So I knit a Puerperium cardigan and a simple hat using a ball of Stylecraft Merry go Round yarn. The colour is Dark Rainbow and I thought it would work for either a boy or girl.

I am working on a late Christmas present for a friend - a crochet poncho. The yarn is new to me - Bernat Pop! and I really like the colour changes. It's hooking up fairly fast so hopefully I will get it finished in the next week or so, as long as not too many more yarny distractions come along!!

Speaking of yarny distractions, I have opened all of my miniballs from my ThreeBagsFull Advent yarn swap. The bright turquoise blue ball is sat in the middle because I wasn't quite sure where it might fit in my gradient. I'm wondering if I have the patience to knit another jumper in 4 ply yarn! 

I also treated myself to a Twelve Days of Christmas yarn calendar from Pixie Yarn. I gifted one to my dear friend Snoopydog and I wanted to share the fun too. It was an absolute delight to open a bag each day and see what micro skein had been dyed up. There were plenty of thoughtful gifts along the way too and if you take a look on my Instagram page, you'll be able to see each one. There's a link in the sidebar of this blog. I think that they will become a pair of socks in due course. What do you think?

Oh yes, more yarny distractions alert!  I have started another crochet blanket! The Attic24 Sweet Pea CAL started last Friday and as I love sweet peas, I knew I would have to join in! I resisted the temptation to start hooking until the baby knits were done and I'd made some headway on the poncho. But I can tell that this blanket is going to fly off the hook. It's very simple and intuitive and just full of gorgeous colours. I can almost smell the scent of the blooms just looking at the yarn!

It's always exciting starting new projects off. I can't wait to see how they grow over the coming days. xxx

Highs and Lows

I hoped you've all had a good Christmas and had a lovely time; eating lots of yummy food, catching up with family and friends, relaxing at home or whatever else has made you smile. My Christmas and New Year were good but quiet. Being sociable requires a lot of energy which I don't have at the moment, but knitting needles and fingers crossed that will improve as the year goes on!

I had another read of my New Year blogpost last year and was very relieved to see that I didn't set myself too many goals. Just as well given how 2018 turned out! But one of my goals was to raise some more money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of Mr JK, and thanks to the generosity of very many lovely yarny folk and YOU, I managed to raise over £8000 in my Great Yarn Giveaway. That was definitely a high point in my year and I feel very proud that I was able to raise so much money. I'd like to do some more fundraising in the future so will need to think of another crazy idea! 

I didn't manage to come up with a design a month using Stylecraft yarns, although I have several ideas in the pipeline. However, I did have a sock pattern, Tiptoe, published by Stylecraft and also released several other free patterns on Ravelry. 

My running goals and challenges never got off the ground unfortunately as my health issues developed. I still have the idea that Mr JK and I discussed way back on our favourite beach in Kos bubbling away in the background, and that is going to be something that I really try to work on this year. If it ever comes to anything, you can be sure that I will be shouting about it from the rooftops! I did go back to Greece too and spent a week soaking up the sunshine and remembering all the wonderful holidays that Mr JK and I spent there. 

My health issues took over my life as the year went on. Looking back, I probably started to feel unwell way back at the beginning of 2018, but it all happened so gradually that feeling like that became the norm. Once I went to see my GP in June and the first blood tests were taken, things moved along pretty speedily. I cannot speak highly enough about the NHS - every single person I have encountered has been so, so kind and nothing is too much trouble. We are so lucky to have the NHS and I will never take it for granted. I've now had 25 hospital appointments and am on so many different drugs that I must rattle! I certainly didn't expect to be having to carry around all these cards. Until 2018, I've always considered myself to be pretty healthy. Although cancer has been ruled out for now, the oncology team are keeping a close eye on me as there is high probability of it rearing its head at some point. So I'm very thankful to have such a great team of doctors and nurses taking such good care of me.

I've been very lucky to have the support of friends during this time, and one friend, Julia, has come with me to every single appointment, taking notes of what's been said and keeping me smiling and positive. I am hoping that the medication starts to have an effect soon and that I will be able to start to recover and return to work. In the meantime, all my knitting, crochet and sewing help to give my days some structure. 2019 is going to be a year of nurture and I shall try to be the best that I can be and continue to make Mr JK proud of me. Thank you to you, as always, for keeping me company over the last twelve months. Please come along with me on my journey through 2019. Happy New Year to you and I hope that 2019 is happy, healthy and peaceful for you and your loved ones. xxx

Celebrations

It was my birthday this week and my friends made sure that I felt special. Julia made me the most amazing lemon drizzle cake which tasted every bit as good as it looked. I was bowled over with all the detail - the balls of yarn, the cotton reel and needle, the buttons and the tape measure. It must have taken her hours to make it - I'm very lucky to have such good friends. 

On my actual birthday, Julia treated me to a fused glass taster workshop and we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours each making a coaster. I dabbled in stained glass a long, long time ago, but still have a couple of boxes of bits and pieces of glass tucked away in the garage. So now of course, I'm wondering if it would be possible to fit a small kiln in there too!

The rest of my week has been very lazy, and I've been working on my Attic24 Hydrangea blanket and my Opal Advent calendar Madewell cardigan. I'm pretty much up to date with them and all being well, they should both be finished on Christmas Eve!

Flo has been very pleased that I've been taking things easy, although not that impressed about having to share my lap with a big blanket! She has swiped me several times to show her disapproval! 

I've still got some gifts to finish too - sewing, knitting and crochet! Nothing like leaving things to the last minute! I'm enjoying unwrapping my miniballs of yarn from the ThreeBagsFull Advent yarn swap too. I'm wondering about the possibility of knitting a stripy jumper with them, although I guess I will wait and see how the colours progress. I'm loving how they look so far. What would you make with them? xxx

Advent Challenges

Goodness, in two weeks it will be Christmas Day! How did that happen? I'm not feeling terribly festive at the moment. I think it's partly because I'm unwell and also because I've missed the build up to it with all the Christmassy activities I usually do with the children at school. My house has no decorations up as they are all stored in the loft and it's too hard for me to access at the moment. But I am lighting tealights fragranced with cinnamon and spiced apple so that will have to do for now!

I have been working hard on a couple of Advent projects - one crochet and the other knitting. I'm making another Attic24 blanket. This one is the Hydrangea blanket and it's looking lovely. I'm trying to hook four colour stripes each day, which should leave me with two days to get the border done. I'm being a good girl and dealing with the ends as I go too!

The knitted project is a cardigan designed by Joji Locatelli, called Madewell. I'm using the mini balls from last year's Opal Advent calendar, as well as a few left over from the previous year. I'm trying to knit one ball a day and to pick out the next ball of yarn so it has at least one colour in common with the previous one, to try to get some sense of blending. I'll probably be left with all odd ones at the end and my plan will go totally to pot! I do really like how it's looking so far, it's very bright and cheery, which is just what's needed right now!

I still have some gift knitting and crochet to finish too, so I shall love you and leave you for now so  I can get on with it! Keep warm and make sure you have some yarny relaxation. xxx

Another week of wellbeing

Another week of being kind to myself and enjoying the simple pleasures in life.

*** Monday ***

I sewed an Advent calendar for my friend Julia using a pre-printed panel. I love the little animals, it's a really sweet design. I filled each pocket with sweet treats. I think Benny is hoping that I've put a doggy treat in for him too! (I haven't!!)

*** Tuesday ***

I finished my Marie Curie socks and posted them to Sarah; she is a doctor working at a Marie Curie hospice and her goal was to have enough socks to be able to give a pair to each patient. I knit lots of positive thoughts into every stitch.

*** Wednesday ***

A lazy sofa day with a cup of tea, chocolate, my Kindle and candles. 

*** Thursday ***

I won another competition on Instagram and my prize arrived. Two mugs and two tea towels from a new homeware range of one of my favourite authors, Katie Fforde. Oh, and a signed bookmark too, dedicated to me! I discovered Katie's books way back in 1994 and have enjoyed them ever since. 

*** Friday ***

Helping my friend Julia to sew cosmetics bags as Christmas presents. It's so much fun being able to share a love of creativity with someone and to be able to pass on skills. She's done a fabulous job!

*** Saturday ***

Setting myself two challenges for Advent - another Attic24 blanket, this time Hydrangea, as well as a cardigan designed by Joji Locatelli - Madewell - using mini balls of yarn from last year's Opal Advent calendar. I still have a bit of gift knitting to do too, so it's probably a totally bonkers idea to have, but all these things add some structure to my day.

*** Sunday ***

My darling cat Flo is never far from my side. Either curled up on my lap, or snoozing on the back of the sofa, she discovered a new sleeping spot today. I ordered a pack of yarn ready for the Attic24 Sweet Pea blanket CAL which starts in January. Flo is taking possession already by sleeping on the yarn!! So I have no hope - fingers crossed she will share it with me!

I hope you've had a good week too. Let me know what little things have warmed your heart. xxx