WIP Confessional

I promised that I would confess all of my WIP's in this post and I always keep my promises. For those who don't know a WIP is an abbreviation of the words "Work In Progress"I have been taking pictures of them all this morning and have even more than I thought I had!!! Want to see them all??

The Vegan Baby Set - commissioned by Ollie's Mum for her trainer whose baby is due in December. 

Crofter Granny Square Blanket. I plan on making 2 girl shade ones to go with the boy shade ones I've already made. 

My Giant Stripe blanket, this is crocheted using the Deramores Lucy Pack. This has been on the go for a while.

A Super Soft Blanket Bob for Juno made with cupcake yarn.

A Beyond Puerperium Cardigan for Juno made with Patons Smoothie DK 

A Snuggly Kisses Ripple Blanket

The Autumn Leaves Scarf

A sock weight Slough Hat 

My very own Little Cotton Rabbits bunny 

Ollies Creeper Blanket - this was supposed to be a Christmas present last year, looks like he wont get it this Christmas either!

The Patriotic Colours Blanket for Juno's Cousin Oliver 

And finally my 2nd never ending scrappy granny blanket. 

I have been a good girl and finished 2 of these since I took the pictures. Which 2 do you think I completed? I'll share pictures with you soon. 

A letter to my Pops.

I cant believe that you are 80 today! You act like it! You have told me in the past that you maybe old on the outside but have the mind of a 18 year old and I have seen that first hand. I am so blessed to have him in my life and have so many wonderful memories that come from you.

I remember sitting in the car whilst on holiday down in Wales with you as a little kid and you singing funny songs to us, songs like "she was a sweet little Dickie Bird" "the Moon shines Bright On Charlie Chaplin" "Daisy Daisy" "Sweet Molly Malone" and even now I can still remember all the words. Being driven to the beach in the old orange VW Camper Van that was know as the Boosy Bus, Catching crabs on the beach, building sand castles, playing bowls, flying kites and the stories of George the Spider who lived in the shed.

Living with you and Nan was one of the best times of my life and I will be forever grateful to both of you for loving me so much. As I've gotten older I have learnt a lot from you and been able to spend some wonderful times in your company. You are funny, smart, loving, selfless, childish (the way you crack up watching Tom and Jerry cartoons) a bit of a drink connoisseur and a shark when it comes to playing kalooki! As we both get older I treasure every minute I get to spend with you but deeply wish those times were more frequent.

I just want to tell you that I love him dearly. You have taught me that love is timeless, bottomless and the most important thing that you can give someone.I hope that I can give as much to Ollie in our life as you have given to Nan. You are the most wonderful man I have ever known.

Happy Birthday.

Miffy xxx

I love your new Birthday Jammies!!!! x

More Yarny Things

Ive been bitten by the crafty bug lately and have a few more projects I want to share with you. I have startitus and cant help it! I have to have more than one project on the go at once. To be fair I normally have about 6 on the go at once! I love the ability to chop and change when I get bored of things. Here are the latest things that are finished:

This is my warm rainbow set. Its a pair of fingerless mitts and a cowl in crochet that I actually made up myself. I havent really improvised on a pattern before but Im very proud of these. 

I got given an 2nd hand kindle a few weeks ago and I love it - I confess that I didn't like the idea of having one because I love the look, smell and feel of actually having a book but alas I am in love with it! I didn't want it to get scratched in my bag so I improvised this kindle cosy for it. I'm not 100% happy with it as I think I should have worked a few more rows before starting the decrease but it will tide me over for the time being. 

As I uploaded these pictures I realised that there are now quite a few WIP's in my life. I think my next post will be my current WIP confessional!

*edited to add - I'm really sorry about the quality of these pics its very dark when I get home and the light in my house is pants 

Blankets Galore!

Ive been busy hooking up some blankets lately. Would you like to see them?? Okies I will share:

This is my Mega Blanket. Its made with Mega Chunky yarn on a huge Crochet hook (12mm) This blanket is only Moses basket size but is super thick and super squidgy. It worked up really fast and I got it finished in a few hours. The hook was very hard to get used to and needless to say my wrists ached by the end of it. I have a lot on Mega Chunky in a minky colour so will make up another huge granny. 

These are my Crofter Moses blankets. I love crofter as its super soft and the colour ways are beautiful. I edged them in a wonderfully soft Sirdar yarn. I'm currently working on one in pink:

I have was also asked to make a purple granny square blanket for the Mum of a lady I work with. Her Mum is very frail so wanted something very warm to wrap around her legs during the winter. Here's what I made:

Its made from Sirdar Special DK and is 100% Arcylic. I really really love this blanket and am very proud of it. Its so neat, I love the colours and its very very warm. The only thing I would change would be my hook size. I crochet very tight should should have used a 4.5mm hook instead of a 4, but then again it wouldn't be as neat. 

Cooking and Baking

Its so nice to have a kitchen all to myself! Our kitchen is very small but just right for me to potter about it. I treated myself to a slow cooker when we moved in and its been a god send! Since Ollie is now finishing at 10 and getting home at 10.30 it means that he can have a hot dinner when he gets in instead of heating up something I cooked earlier. 

I have made Mac & Cheese in it as well as lots of yummy stews. My first stew was a bit if a cheat one - I just bunged in some Ikea meatballs!!! 

Meatball Stew

I was very proud of myself this week as I made a beef stew and I actually made the gravy from scratch using a rue and beef stock! Came out lovely. 

I have also been able to bake again! I have been whipping up batches of brownies here and there because they are Ollie's favs, he loves the gooey chewy type ones. I have also made muffins and sugar cookies. I got a mixer for Christmas last year from Ollie that I hadn't had a chance to use before we moved. It is now out on the side pride of place on the side and I make use of it all the time.

Chocolate Dipped Sugar Cookies

Blackberry Cobbler

I also had some fun with my eggs this weekend and made use of some cookie cutters: 

Kitty Eggs!! 

The Killer Commute!

As you all know by now (from my last post) Ollie and I are settling well into our new home. The only issue at the moment is my commute! Here is a breakdown of my journey! 

I get up at 6.35am and leave at 7.00am on the dot. I take a stroll on up to Marlow train station and get on board the 7.17am train to Bourne End (1 stop away) 

Once I get to Bourne end, I get off the train and walk around the end of the platform to get onto another train. 

That train then goes to Slough where I get off at about 7.50am. 

I then exit the station and make my way to the bus garage (3 minute walk) 

I then climb aboard the 81 bus - the big red bus at the front of the upper picture, that is exactly where I board it, you can just see the train station in the background (the big tall building in the back is just behind the last platform) that departs at 7.55 am. 

The bus then heads through slough and down the A4 to the Bath Road where I get off, according to google maps its 6 miles from the bus garage to my stop. The quickest it takes to travel those 6 miles is 40 minutes, the worst it has been so far is 1 hour and 15 minutes. I arrive at my office between 8.35am and 8.55am on a good day and on my worst day I have gotten in at 9.10am 

Then on the way home I leave the office at 5 and am getting home around 6.50pm if there is no issues with the bus/trains. If the bus is late and I miss the 6.05pm train to Bourne end I need to then need to catch the 6.30pm train to Maidenhead: 

I then swap platforms and wait for the 6.47pm train to Bourne end where I then have to change platforms again and go one stop to Marlow! I have now completed week 3 of the commute and thankfully I have only missed the 6.05pm train 4 times!!!! Needless to say this journey is going to grow old really fast! 

Finally Together!!

Its finally happened!! Ollie and I are now living together! We moved into our 1st house on August 31st. We have a lovely little 2 bed flat in Marlow. I'm so happy that we are finally settled and together.

Its weird though because I have to get up earlier than him and leave the house whilst he is still sleeping. When he stayed with me We would get up together or if I stayed with him and he had to work he would leave me sleeping. The first time doing leaving him was strange but I'm slowly getting used to it.

Not only do we now have our own place but Ollie has a new shift pattern at work. He is officially a team leader and is working a 2pm - 10pm shift. This is great news for his career but not so great for me as I need to be in bed by 10.30 so I will hardly see him during the week. It only started yesterday so hasnt affected us too much yet.

The other thing that is a bit of a bummer is my commute. It takes me nearly 2 hours in the morning and in the evening. All in all it is adding an additional 4 hour on my day. Im getting up at 6.35 and leaving the house at 7. Im leaving the office at 5 and not getting home until 7! Its a long day and also draining when there are traffic and train problems.

I was treated to a beautiful site on my first official day as a Marlovian:

I think this has to be one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I was waiting outside Ollie's work waiting for him to finish work and as you can see it started with some amazing colour and finished with this breathtaking display! Really put a smile on my face and the nicest welcome I could have asked for.

My Weekend

I had a weekend without Ollie because he was working. So there was no rushing around, driving to his place, laying in late, viewing places (ill blog this later) etc. Just me and myself to catch up with all the things I needed to do. So 3 loads of washing got done, 2 lots of cakes got baked, 1 Knitting WIP got finished, 1 new project got started and finished and another is half way through. I also finished a crafty project for Juno and tried something new: 

Here is my Bara Brith (Welsh Tea bread) my aunty gave me this recipe and I love it! Its my fall back for cake. It lasts ages and the longer you keep it for the better it tastes.

I didn't manage a picture of my second batch of cakes but they were yummy mixed fruit muffins. 

Here is my something new! I found a cute bow template on line and thought I would give them a go. Needles to say I am crazy in love with them. They are made from felt and are no sew! My kind of quick and cute project. I intend to buy more clips and make lots more. 

This is my finished WIP. I have had this on the needles for a while now and had almost finished. Its a modified version of the Hara Dress on Ravelry. I tried to follow the pattern but my woven stitch came out too tight and I wasn't happy with it so thought I would try a 1 x 1 rib which would give it some stretch too. I'm really happy with the result and love the look of the sock yarn knitted up in big wide stripes. The yarn is Rico Design Superba Mexico

Here is my finished Crafty project. Cute letters for Juno's nursery. I had a lot of fun with this but it was a long process as I had to paint 4 layers on each of the letters and then letting each one dry before continuing. I also burnt my thumb on my hot glue gun but I think the end result is great! 

I think I will make a few more of these for other people!