WINDING UP JANUARY!

A new year, same old challenges. ..

January has been a month full of challenges. We have had floods and heavy snowfall as well as being locked down.

COVID-19 has been rampant so other than work and a bit of walking life has been spent indoors. A great excuse to attack the stash some might say? But my time has been spent finishing off Christmas presents and doing bits and pieces.

Not the first place you’d look for a fox!

I have been making little woodland creatures from a kit supplied by Let’s Knit.

And I have been dabbling in storeage:

Cabled cosies covering jam and pickle jars

Pattern taken from Let’s Knit issue 166.

Moss stitch little and large baskets

The larger basket is made with double moss stitch and the small one is made in moss stitch. They are both made from one cake of Aldi yarn originally bought to make a cowl.

New month looking for new inspiration with the stash 🤔

Woolly wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

THE SCHOOLS CAN’T OPEN SOON ENOUGH?

Instagram lessons? ??

Not really in the mood to get stuck into anything major at the moment so I made this little hedgehog from one of the many kits littering my house🐗

And I feel I have to let people know that as it was Burns Night on Monday we had haggis for tea on Tuesday (I was at work on Monday). Now I am sure most of you know it was Burn’s night and no one is really interested in what we had for tea but here comes the point of the story.

As we were finishing the haggis B announced he hadn’t realised that the haggis was actually an animal! N and I looked at him aghast! When we had recovered the power of speech we explained that it was made from offal and barley and that in the past it was wrapped up in a sheep’s stomach etc. But apparently B had read on instagram that it was an animal 😲

My hedgehog pretending to be a haggis running around in the heather! !!

Since then I can’t get ideas of what a haggis might look like in the wild?

Exasperated woolly wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

MOSTLY ABOUT OWLS🐲

Idle musings…

On one of my walks around Jubilee Gardens last week I found this:

I don’t know how many times I have walked past this without noticing the owl. Time for a close up:

What a handsome chap. I think he may be a barn owl?

Meanwhile at home I have made this little owl from one of the kits in my stash.

I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess as to what type of owl he is? Kamikaze Owl !!! I am going to give him to my mum who used to be a Brown Owl, not the feathered kind that hunts small rodents but a Brownie Guide pack leader.

Woolly wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

AND LOOK WHAT WE WOKE UP TO…

Tackling floods and snow ☃☔

We brought everything up from the bottom of the garden because of the flooding.

Pictures taken from my lounge window. I have walked to the petrol station this morning to get a loaf of bread, not what we would normally eat but Bewdley bridge is currently closed to traffic and pedestrians. Beggars can’t be choosers!!!

Frosty wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

AND HERE WE GO AGAIN!

The Severn is in the garden again!

I sat on that bench to drink coffee last Saturday!

Bewdley bridge built by Thomas Telford back in the day is closed to traffic for obvious reasons!

The flood defences are being defended!

And look at my garden!

The river is due to peak here in Bewdley late tomorrow night or early Sunday morning. And they are currently saying that the river will be higher than it was last February 😣

Time to dig out the wellies again.

Soggy wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

STASH-BUSTING in 2021 #2

Every day is a school day…

Temptation got the better of me last night. I really needed a change so I thought I would have a go at some storage cosies, see Let’s Knit issue 166. My thought being something small and quick using bits from my stash.

The cabled cosy was the intermediate level cosy and it is covering a jam jar to make a decorative pot to store crochet hooks and small scissors. And I am quite pleased with it, so pleased in fact I thought I would have a go at the beginner’s cosy. Now I have been pulling my hair out with this one!!! It is a mock cable and quite frankly I am struggling! All that dropping and making stitches, what a faff much easier to do the cabling😉

Hoping that your projects are less frustrating.

Woolly wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

STASH-BUSTING 2021

Posted yesterday, received today so I can show and tell…

The chunky cardi is off my needles and away 😃 I have actually made 2 of these for N’s daughters. Sadly one of the girls had a bit of a wait for her’s but I finished it on Saturday, blocked Sunday and posted yesterday🎁

I bought some better hangers for Show and Tell purposes but N and B have squirreled them away for their own outfits – BOYS! So I had to make do with one that the dry-cleaning came back on 😣 It doesn’t hang that well🤔

The pattern came from Let’s Knit and is made using Stylecraft chunky, parchment. The pattern is worked over 10 rows:

Rows 1-3 Knit, rows 4, 6, 8, 10 k2, p5, rows 5, 7, 9 Knit

The nice thing about chunky knits is they knit up quickly although as I was nearing the end not quickly enough. And then there was the issue of buttons!!! Happily I bought enough when my local wool shop was open between lockdown 2 and 3!!!

Celebration time, all ready for packing up and posting 🎈🎈🎈

A couple more items to finish and then the Christmas knitting is all done and then I can fill my head with something new 😄 But my knitting basket looks almost empty now the chunky cardi has gone😉

Woolly wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡

A BLUE SKY IN JANUARY

another winter walk…

Not a serious walk today. Just an amble round Bewdley and a coffee by the river. So good to get some fresh air and feel sunshine on my face.

Look at the blue blue sky reflected in the lily pond in Jubilee Gardens. A day when it feels good to be alive.

Woolly wishes,

Jane ❤️❤️❤️

JANUARY 12th

Another winter walk and a surprise gift 😊

The paths were very muddy this morning when I went on my walk. The cows and rather cute calves had had their breakfast and had moved further into the field to graze. Not sure where the sheep were hiding. No herons or kestrels today. Even the gulls were noticeable by their absence. However, the sky was blue and the air was fresh and I feel so much better for getting out.

And on my return look what the postie had dropped off

It was my birthday at the weekend and this was a gift from my sister. A great bag to pack knitting clutter in (N says it’s not big enough!!!) and a new mug for my favourite brew😉

Not sure about “crazy knitting lady” though 🤔

And on the knitting front I am on the final sleeve – the end is in sight! A bit of show and tell soon!

Woolly wishes,

Jane ♡♡♡