Nearly There

Well, I'm afraid a tummy bug has kept me from the computer, and knitting , and quilting among other things.But, today I am feeling a bit better. Here I have pictures of my nearly completed quilt, all that is left is batting, backing and binding.

I also have a picture of the cutest thing, Cathi made me this fantastic little knitting needle holder, which she knitted in about ten minutes flat and then felted even quicker.Its so handy, I just love it.

Trust me...........its a train!!!

Well, we had a lovely day at the firsy holy communion on Sunday last. Hit a minor snag in the morning. Daniel decided he didnt want to wear his new tank top or 'jumpa' as he likes to call it. It took around fifteen minutes and one very slight tantrum ( Daniel isnt as seasoned a tantrum thrower as his sister) and a story about how his new jumper is the same colour as thomas the tank engine, eventaully he conceded and put on the jumper. He looked very cute , even if I do say so myself. He loved it so much he wanted to wear it this morning. Alas, it now lies in the laundry basket, with a tiny tomato sauce stain which I will tackle tomorrow.

Great news about the quilt, I finally have the boarder and binding cut and ready to sew, thanks to Cathi, of course forgot to take my camera to her house , so I will post the photo tomorrow, I am really excited about it, its nearly there. I thinkIi am going to have to wear it for a couple of days. All right so thats nuts, I am a little tired. I promise I will make more sense tomorrow. Watch out for the photos!!!!.

Its finished....

Here it is , Daniels tank top is finished. I am really happy with it. Hopefully on Sunday this will be teamed with his pinstripe slacks and white and blue linen shirt. He is a fussy little boy though, our Dan, so I may have to sew a Thomas the tank engine motif to it just in case he wont wear it, which could happen , as I have no say in what my kids want to wear on a daily basis, I suggest, I cajole, I make up stories and on occasion I have been known to offer a bribe in order to get a particular party dress on a small stubborn girl or a certain pair of shoes on an obstinate young man.As my husband says, they didnt get that from the wind. So , fingers crossed for Sunday morning.My next project....what to do.....what to do.

Daniels Tank Top

Here is where I am at with Daniels tank top.I was unsure about the fit so I used less stitches as i thought it may come up too wide for him and so far it looks ok.I just love this pattern , it is so easy to follow and I think I may get some more debbie Bliss cotton aran and knit another one in a different colour.

I had a little trip to Lenas in Limerick yesterday and I couldnt resist some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino in red, just have to work out what I want to knit with it.

What a weekend

The weekend was so hectic, I am only getting around to an update now. We arrived in Kerry at lunch time on Saturday, within an hour poor Hannah had an asthma attack and so we spent the night at the hospital, luckily it was nothing serious and she was discharged the next day.Nana accompanied us back to Killaloe on Monday and today, Hannah finally recieved a coveted pair of Lelli Kelly shoes. For anyone living on another planet Lelli Kelly's are the latest craze for little girls and so Hannah is a very happy little girl tonight. I wouldnt mind a pair myself and they do come in size 4!!!!....

Off to the Kingdom

Well, here I am just home from Hannah's swimming lesson, lots of small kids with goggles and arm bands bigger than themselves. We have decided to head off to county Kerry to my parents house as its the bank holiday weekend and my mother aka Nana is excited about the arrival of Hannah and Daniel for the weekend.

I am still knitting the tank top and hope to make some progress over the weekend.Here are some pics of knitted toys and a baby jacket I did some weeks back.The weather is supposed to break so it is shaping up to be a knitty weekend.See you all on Monday.

What a day........

Did you ever have one of those days.... the weather is really warm which is not a complaint as such, except when you are feeling a little under the weather and I wont go on, just trust me on it , it hasnt been the greatest day I have had.

The one really productive thing I did get on was to purchase the batting and the boarder fabric for my quilt....wahoooo..... Cathi accompanied me with kids in toe to the Limerick Quilt centre and as well as purchasing the beautiful red fabric for my quilt , I bought a cutting mat and a measuring square ( there is probably a quilting term for the implement and I will be corrected later) .

Watch this space for my very first completed quilt

Trickey Knitty

Here is my latest knitting project. Its a tank top for my son Daniel, we have a family first holy communion coming up on May 19th and I thought this would be nice on Dan the Man. Its a lovely Debbie Bliss pattern. The yarn however is a hayfield cotton Aran which I found in my mothers stash. I am hoping I will have enough to finish it. The pattern says it takes 150g and I think thats around how much I have.

I have had to adjust a bit because its a bit heavier than the suggested yarn, after three starts I think I have the number of stitches and needle size ok.......( if any one has any suggestions for patterns adjustments i.e yarn differences and needle size, all advice gladly received as I am really flying by the seat of my pants on this one).

I have been running around after Daniel for most of the day trying to measure the length of the back and position of armholes and he has not been impressed.

Jeez I hope I will have enough yarn to finish it or I will ahve to rip it back, wouldnt that just be the icing on the cake. anyway I will keep going and hope for the best.

Happy Birthday Hannah

This is just a quick little post to get the day started.Let me introduce you to my daughter Hannah. She is four years old today. We were lying in bed this morning, as she doesnt have Montessori on Wednesdays, I asked her if she felt any different now that she is four, she did a little stretch and replied 'Not really, but I may need to eat more food to feel different'. She has been a joy in our lives for the last four years. She was born on the Friday of the May bank holiday weekend at exactly 13.33pm in 2003. It rained softly for most of the morning, but sun started to stream through the windows just as she arrived. I remember that distinctly because I had identified the window as a possible escape route if the allready 20 hour labour was going to go on any longer, somehow I thought if i left the room, the pain would stop............and 14 months later I was back in that same home birthing suite of the maternity hospital in Limerick going through the same for Daniels arrival, he arrived at 13.35pm on a Wednesday!.Here is a photo of the birthday girl who will be getting lots of ice cream today. She keeps us on our toes as well as loving and laughing. Love you lots Hannah Banana

So far so good.....

Here is the progress I made with the quilt yesterday. I laid all the squares out on the bed and then, I gathered the squares for one row at a time, ran down stairs and sewed them together on the machine which is stationed in the kitchen at the moment. I dont have enough space in my house for a seperate work area, so I have to plan my sewing very carefully around my two kids and all of their accessories. While I was sewing yesterday, there was a Thomas the tank engine train set in the sitting room which I had to stop and repair every now and again, the washing machine needed feeding with the laundry and then had to be burped about 45 minutes later when its buzzer sounded, however I ploughed on . I am amazed at how focused I became on the squares and the need to sew them together in order to see what they look like when they are sewn together.

All thats left is to make my way to the patchwork shop in Limerick to get the batting and the boarder fabric, this is sooo exciting.