July! How did that happen?!?

I am still desperately in search of an extra 48 hours in a day.  Or maybe just an hour to do "me" stuff that doesn't requite me to sneak out of bed at 3am!  

Life has been hectically busy, as usual.  I've been frantically trying to get a host of DIY bits done around the house and after finally having new kitchen and bathroom floors laid I have spent a few sweaty, horrible days scrubbing years of previous tenants grime from every surface of the kitchen.  Vast amounts of chemicals and elbow grease, some new cupboard handles, blinds and lights and I'm finally loving the kitchen (and can almost override my desire to rip out the hideous tiled worktops!) 

Whilst we were ripping up disgusting carpet from the kitchen, the hallway got the same treatment to reveal the lovely original tiles which just need a good clean up.

I'm also midway through overhauling the front room which currently serves as a dining room, study and playroom.  My old rickety desk has been ditched in favour of a more compact desk for the kids PC and I have new wooden venetian blinds for the bay window still to go up to replace to the awful plastic curtain rail and kitten-clawed curtains!  A new coat of white paint should finish it all off nicely although I'm still tempted to go with a feature colour on the chimney wall.

The garden is still very much a work in progress with the bramble jungle growing hugely in the recent wet weather!!  At least it's now usable and a lovely place to enjoy a cuppa in between being shot with water pistols and run over by scooters...

Kid wise, we've had our home ed group sports day last week and Sunday was Vaughan's 5th birthday with his Mario plush collection increasing substantially!

Not surprisingly my crafting has been very much on the back burner and my three WIP's (Koi Garden Shawlette, Plum Island Big Baby Blanket and Helix Socks) are sadly very neglected.  Off to find those extra 48 hours a day...

4KCBWDAY3 Infographic

4KCBWDAY3  Infographic

"Make your own infogaphic (no fancy imaging software needed, you can draw it on paper and photograph it if you want) to convey any element of your craft(s). It can be just for fun or a thoroughly researched presentation of an idea/finding"

Ooo heck!  The only thing I could think of sums up pretty much my life at the moment...

You can substitute crafting with pretty much everything <sigh>!! 

4KCBWDAY2 Monkey Mascot

The first thing I thought as I read this was "but I don't want to make a monkey !" hehe.  I figured I'd find a pattern with Monkey in the name that I liked the look of, since this is pretty much how I choose all my projects and/or stash - anything that catches my eye, whether it be a colour, pattern or technique I like.  

The first pattern that immediately sprang to mind was Monkey socks by Cookie A.

 

They encompass everything I like in a pattern, not too plain, lace, gorgeous design.  Sadly though, whilst one of my current WIP's is a pair of socks, I don't actually wear socks and honestly don't think I'll knit (or finish, for that matter) a pair!!

But oooo, the same pattern converted to Fingerless Mitts by Michelle Johnson - yes please!  I adore fingerless mitts and am always on the lookout for more to make! 

These may not embrace the Monkey House by way of a new challenge or technique but they aren't a scary sock monkey knit so I'm happy!!

4KCBWDAY1 Just Monkeying Around!

The start of the 4th Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week is marked by house selection. Of the four houses available I'd most definitely add myself to The House of Monkey!

 

 

"The House of Monkey: Intelligent and with a fun loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting"

 

Since I started knitting again in 2009 I have consistently stretched my skills (generally with much swearing!) My first couple of WIP's from only knowing basic garter stitch were a hat knit in the round followed by a lace shawl for a Craft Fairy.

 

 

 

From trying new challenges, from simple lace and cables to taking a continental knitting course earlier this year, colourwork and two at a time toe-up socks, I have expanded both my knowledge and my love for not just knitting, but the tools and techniques involved.

 

But most of all, I love that the learning never stops; there is always a new technique or style or pattern begging to tried, with this years challenges set at entrelac, double knitting and crochet!