Knitting 'Betty the bunny'

Phew, I'm actually glad it's Friday, it's been a week and a half! I'm shattered and ready for the weekend not unlike the boys. So I'm going to keep this short (she says) and get back to chilling out for the evening.

First couple of lines knitted

Crafting wise I've only done a little bit of the Lake Baikal cross stitch because I've been busy knitting up 'Betty the bunny', a freebie kit that came with the February edition of Let's Knit magazine which I treat myself to last weekend. It's a very cute little toy that I'm sure little miss A will love and there are a couple of additional patterns in the magazine itself for some clothing for the bunny.

The actual pattern is fairly straightforward to knit and I have only come across a couple of little issues which are niggles more than problems. There were one or two abbreviations in the pattern which were only explained in the long list in the magazine itself (and they weren't ones I'd come across before) which is fine, if a little frustrating if like me you don't necessarily carry the magazine around with you. The pattern for the bunny was printed separately to the magazine and so originally I thought that would be all I needed. The second little niggle is definitely a personal one and mainly comes from being out of practice with knitting and is just that, because the pattern is knit on 3mm needles it has given me some cramping in my left hand (I'm right handed).

'Betty' before her legs were attached this afternoon
and her cute little tail 😍

It's a quick knit with that aside though and I could probably have had it fully finished in a day to a day and a half if I'd had more time / my hands weren't aching as much. As it is, I just need to sew up the dress and add a button, knit one more shoe and sew both up and knit up the hair bow all of which I should get finished tomorrow all being well. Then it will just be a case of adding the facial features. In the instructions it uses toy eyes but, as I've mentioned previously, they are not easy to source in my town and as I'm giving it to an under 3 I've decided to embroider on the eyes. If I have a more serious gripe with the freebie it's that there is no thread included for the mouth and nose which are embroidered on but I guess that's because they assume that the average crafter will have some in their stash. Sadly I don't 😔

Next week should see me starting to knit my jumper which I'm knitting in the round and will be using the pattern that I have converted from being knit in sections on 2 needles. I picked up the wool for this last weekend in a gorgeous deep purple. I'm quite excited to see how it turns out and *think* that I have sussed out how to do the neckline which I was panicking about a few weeks ago.

Right, I said I was keeping this short...

Until next week,

M x

Cath Kidston project and self assembly

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It's been a busy week all told, some days I don't know if I'm coming or going and to be honest, yesterday I was running on about 5 hours worth of sleep (not by choice!!) and it was tough to motivate myself to do much of anything.

As my Facebook and Instagram followers have seen, I've been busy this week making the freebie that came with the Cath Kidston Sewing book which I got for my birthday last year. The book comes with everything you need to make the 'Pocket Sewing Kit' and is the front cover star. I'd been putting off making it a little as I was feeling a bit lazy about cutting out the pieces from the fabric and a little scared I'd make a mistake too as the fabric that is included is Cath's Little Bird Print which is so cute (and a little expensive for my budget if I had to repurchase it). Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I finally decided to make a start to find that all the pieces are pre-cut - BONUS!! It meant that I could start sewing straight away.  (There may have been a little *happy dance* thing going on at that point).

The pattern itself was easy to follow and I'm fairly pleased with the overall result, with the exception of the binding. I think it's more user error than an issue with the binding itself, but for me it's a tiny bit too thin in width to allow my clumsy old hands to attach it as neatly as I would have liked. Still, it's on and it looks nice as a contrast to the main fabric.

I did have a mild panic attack when I attached the first piece of binding though.  I had dutifully cut the first piece to the required length and evidently I had not been paying sufficient attention when I did so as I had accidentally cut through TWO pieces resulting in two lengths of binding when I only needed one for that section.  The trouble being that until I had moved a little further in the project I couldn't be sure that I had enough to finish. Luckily whoever decided how much of everything to put into the freebie stash was prepared for silly people like me and there was still more than enough to complete the project. HUGE sigh of relief when I discovered that I can tell you.

The other thing I've achieved this week is the putting together of some cube shelving.  I'm aware that

Storage before...                                    ...and after

for some this is a straight forward task and for others it's actually flat pack hell and they'd rather run for the hills; I don't mind it really and when it's something that's purely for functionality rather than beauty as well I'm happy enough to give it a go. I spotted a 3x2 cube unit on sale when I did my weekly food shop and (after a quick text conversation with the other half as, lets face it, January is a loooooong month financially speaking) I picked it up and brought it home. Once little miss was safely down for her nap and I'd run round like a headless chicken tidying up, I sat down and put it together and am proud to say it took me 20 minutes at best. Who needs men eh? 😉 It's to store the toddler's toys in the living room in such a way that she can easily see and access them in the hopes of encouraging some more self-led play. Her bedroom is set up like this now (I rearranged stuff just after Christmas) and she does seem to play better in there on the odd occasions she's in there for more than 2 minutes. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Finally, the Lake Baikal cross stitch is still going on in the background and I usually manage a good hour each night on that so it should hopefully be finished this year unless I get properly distracted by other exciting projects. The kitchen is coming along, albeit very slowly. The pantry area still needs to be painted but the wall it sits in/on has been stripped of wallpaper and we've got the fridge and shelving in so it's functioning as it should be. February half term will no doubt see a fair bit of progress as the hubby is on annual leave so fingers crossed there may be some more exciting progress at that point.

Until next time,

M x

Dealing with loss

Disclaimer: this blog post has nothing to do with crafting.

I had some incredibly sad news this week - an old student of mine took his own life a few months ago. He was only 25 years old and was such a genuine, funny and thoughtful young man. I'm not sure what went wrong for him as I only have the barest of details, but I can only hope that his pain has now ended. What makes his death even more poignant for me is that he not only leaves behind his parents for whom this must be such a difficult time and I cannot even begin to imagine what they are feeling, but he also leaves behind a young son. It is heartbreaking to think that as he grows up he won't have any real memories of his dad.

It's not the first time that we have lost a past student like this and it doesn't get any easier to hear of young people feeling that they have nowhere to turn or no other option but to end it. One assumes when you hear of things like this that it is likely to be down to mental ill health. This is an area where there is a distinct lack of funding in my opinion which results in very limited resources being available to people. The way things are in this country at the moment, economically and politically, there are an awful lot of people who are struggling and this will undoubtedly be impacting on their mental health. No one is immune to finding things hard at some point in their life, myself included and the dark days can be really hard to get through without the right support. I'm lucky, I have an amazing family to support me, food on the table and a roof over my head; there are far too many people across the world who don't have that.

When we lost Cal it rocked us all completely. If you looked at his history and saw him only through those eyes it would be easy to say that it was always going to happen, that it was just the route he would take. What you won't have seen though is the incredibly funny, fiercely loyal and thoughtful young man that he was. I watched him grow from this cheeky little 'scally' into this amazing young man who we were all so proud of, I just wish he knew that. Whenever I think of him I wish I had seen him on his last day, to give him a sympathetic ear, to listen and be there for him... I wish he was still here, I wish they both were.

It's hard losing anyone. A family member, a friend, young or old, they take a piece of your heart. For me, it's good to think about them, talk about them when I need to and yes I quite often have a good cry about them too. You don't forget about them and the pain is always there, but it does get easier to get through each day as time goes on. You get up and go through the motions and gradually you think about the shock of loss a little less and remember the days where you couldn't breathe for laughing so hard at something that they said or did or the time that you heart could have literally burst with pride at the person they had become knowing that even if it was tiny, you had a small part to play in that.

M x

Converting a pattern

Well this week has had some amazing highs and a very saddening low which I will cover in a seperate blog post allowing those who do not wish to read about it to not feel forced to. It started off with a lovely visit to my in laws smallholding and the kids receiving some great Christmas presents from them, one of which was this super cute puddle suit for the youngest.  How adorable?! Who wouldn't love a unicorn puddle suit?

As ever it was great to catch up with the family and the boys weren't seen for dust as they went to help out with the animals. It's a fantastic experience for them and as they trotted off to feed the horse, donkey and pigs their breakfast in the early winter morning darkness you realise how having a bit of responsibility with an animal can be really good for them. We have a couple of cats, but they are an 'easy' pet to be fair and it usually falls to me or the hubby to feed them so being able to experience a more hands on animal does the kids the world of good.

On another positive note, my beautiful cousin let me know that her and her partner are expecting their first baby this year. I'm so excited for them and am already planning what I can make for the new addition. It's such an exciting time expecting a baby (even with the extreme tiredness, morning sickness and insomnia that comes along with it). I absolutely love making little cardigans, blankets and hats. It helps that I can get them done fairly quickly too 😉.

Found at: https://www.pinterest.co.
uk/pin/91831279879049654/

So, crafting wise (as I know that's why most of you are here) I've been busy converting a knitting pattern I've had for quite a few years from being knit on two needles to being knit in the round. It's a basic stocking stitch pattern with 3 inches of rib at the cuffs and bottom hem as well as a ribbed collar so in theory it should be fairly easy to convert... Having never done something like this before though my main issues have been trying to keep the pattern easy to read and how to work the neck shaping. I'm going to have to do a bit more research on the collar shaping as I can't quite get my head around it at the moment.

For the rest of the pattern I've been planning it to be knit from the bottom up starting with knitting up the body as one 'tube' and the two arms as individual 'tubes' up to the armhole shaping. Instead of casting off stitches to create the armhole the stitches are slipped onto a safety pin and will be grafted together once the jumper is complete. Once the body and arms are completed up to that armhole shaping they will be joined together so that you're knitting all three together in one big round and shaping the armholes all at the same time.

That maybe all sounds more complicated than it actually is or perhaps it's clearer in my head than I can explain! Once I've got the yarn and have knitted it up it will more than likely be even clearer in my head. I'm one of those people who needs to research and physically do for things to click fully in my head. Fingers crossed with the aid of the internet I should be able to work out how to do the neck shaping in the round and then I'm hoping to put the pattern on the blog (once I've checked it's right by knitting it up).

The Lake Baikal cross stitch is coming along nicely and I think by the end of next week I should be very close to having finished a quarter of the chart. I've also made a start on the free project that came with the Cath Kidston book that I got for my birthday - I'll go into more detail on that next week.

I'll leave it there and catch up with you soon.

Until next time,

M x

Happy New Year - pantry refurbishment

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and that your new year has got off to a good start. As ever we had a fairly quiet one (as quiet as it can be with three kids haha) but life is so hectic in general it’s quite nice to catch up with ourselves and spend some time together without the pull of work, school and other activities that happen each week.

I’ve been reading some blogs and watching a few YouTube videos over the last few days and thinking about New Years resolutions and whether or not to make some. I tend to find that they get pushed to the wayside by the end of February (if I’m lucky enough to last that long) and then when I look back I get a bit disheartened that I haven’t achieved them. So I’ve decided to look at setting myself some goals to work towards this year in the hope that I make some progress towards them as they'll be a little more specific.

The first of these is something I have wanted to get done for twelve and a half years. When we bought this house in 2006 it was structurally sound but the decor left something to be desired - think vomit yellow walls and diarrhoea coloured carpet in the dining room! 🤢 There were pelmets at the windows and a very sizeable construction in the garden for the rabbits that the previous house owners bred. In short, it was far from the family home that we envisioned and slowly but surely we have worked our way round the house to put our stamp on it. Everywhere but the kitchen...

Dumping ground to blank canvas (complete
with still drying plaster!)

The kitchen is not the biggest room in the house and by any standards it’s fairly small. It’s poorly laid out and there is a distinct lack of storage. I have hated it since we moved in but struggled along with it as there has always been something else more pressing to deal with. This year that is going to change and we will finally have a kitchen that I am happy with and feel more like cooking in. How does this fit in with Makepeace Made? Well, barring the removal of a concrete shelf and some plastering (and the plumbing in of the gas cooker) which will be done by professional tradesmen, Mr Makepeace and I will be doing the work. I’m hopeful that this won’t mean it goes on for months, but it will mean that the costs are kept lower... and we’ve already started. On the 2nd January I had a fab local builder in who has converted my pantry from this dumping ground where we quite literally shoved stuff in and hoped for the best to this blank canvas.

The plan is that my fridge freezer will go in the cubby hole along with some shelving for the tins, fruit, veg, cereals and other dried goods. When we get to that point I’ll add another photo. Needless to say my house is a bit upside down at the moment but I'm still managing to
get in some stitchy time and I feel like I'm made some good progress on the Lake Baikal cross stitch. There's still a fair way to go though. It's been an interesting stitch with blending different colours as well as stitching with one, two and three strands of wool/cotton. Given that it's just whole stitches, French knots and backstitch there is a fair bit of depth to the overall finish.

Other goals for the year are to see more of family (I've actually been planning ahead and pencilling in some dates to aim for) and to get in some more crafting with a view to finishing a project each month. I’m planning to knit a new jumper for myself as I seem to be struggling with being cold at the moment but I’ll be designing it myself and knitting it in the round as I absolutely detest sewing up knitted items. I don't know why as I enjoy sewing with other fabrics, I think I just find it a bit tedious and want whatever it is I'm making to be finished. I did film a 'stitch with me' video for YouTube but haven't got round to the whole editing thing and to be honest, I'm not sure I'm overly happy with it anyway 😞 so there may or may not be some more filming going on in the future.

I'll leave it there this week. The boys are back to school next week (hurrah!!) so we'll be back into our routine.

Until next time,

M x