Little Cotton Rabbits

my little helper

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the wonderfully wise comments on the previous post. I suppose I was looking for a little reassurance that my parental compass wasn't completely out of whack! It is incredibly reassuring and heartening that so many people feel the same way about raising children. I loved reading all of the comments especially since they were from such a diverse group of women and yet echo the same strong maternal instincts to protect and nurture. Thank you again x

Amy's enjoying stretching her wings gently and has been out for a bike ride with friends over the weekend - it's good to give her freedom to do fun stuff with her friends that doesn't involve wearing too much make-up!

Over the weekend the temperatures here have soared and since this comes hot-on-the-heels of a rainy week, everything is growing well in the garden. I expect the first harvest of french beans in a week or so and we've been enjoying fresh picked lettuce for a few weeks now. The strawberries are also at their best and I've been picking a delicious bowlful every few days.

 

Thankfully I've got a little helper living in the strawberry patch who has been keeping the slugs in check for me.

 

Isn't he a sweetie?

coloured pencils

Thanks for the kind comments about the latest batch of knitted animals and about my little sitty-knitty corner on the last but one post. A couple of people asked what I use my collection of coloured pencils for. To be honest, not so much these days - they had most of their use nearly 20 years ago when I was at college and then when I worked (briefly) as an illustrator / graphic designer. I used to paint in gouache and then work over the surface in the caran d'ache watercolour pencils. Things like this...

 

 

 

(If you wanted to see more of my paintings there are a few more on flickr.)

These days the pencils mostly come out for shrinkle making with Amy, though I do sketch out ideas for clothing for the knitted animals from time to time. I did a few paintings for the children's rooms when they were little, but the last time I painted properly was when Amy first started school and I made this Little Red Riding Hood costume for a fancy dress competition.

 

These days it's mostly knitting rather than painting that fills my free time - it's easier to pick up and put down and so fits in much better with having the children around. But thanks for asking about the pencils and giving me the chance to drag out my paintings again and remember how cute Amy was at five!

happy father's day

Happy father's day to all Dads out there, most especially my own.

 

Thanks for keeping the felt glasses case that I sewed for you when I was seven - despite the fact that it was never fit for purpose, thanks for putting up with my teenage years, for keeping me on the right path in life and for always being there when I need you.

Love you Dad x

in the basket

I have a host of knitted animals in my 'in progress basket' at the moment.



They're all waiting for little bits and pieces; a dress or jumper, a few french knots here, a button or a tail there.

 

 

The little bear at the back is shortly going to be a raffle prize over at Saving Rare Breeds. He's made from organic rare breed yarn (Manx Loghtan) and has an organic wool aran jumper. If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning him or if you'd like to see the lovely selection of other raffle prizes that they have please follow this link. They do so much good work for dying breeds and they'd really appreciate your support.

 

This is where I've been spending most of the last week, with my bottom parked in that wicker chair, my little radio turned to chill and my fingers working hard.

 

I like to have my collection of needles near by, ready to dip into when the need to start a new project strikes, but for now I'm trying to focus on the animals in the basket and not get distracted from finishing them off soon!

cushions revisited

Around a year ago I decided it was high time I learnt to crochet and thanks to Attic 24's lovely free patterns I dipped my toe in the hooky water so to speak. I have come to love crochet - it has a different pace to knitting and whilst my crochet standard isn't up to that of my knitting, I'm pleased with my efforts so far.

 

 

I started making this set of cushions last May and after making three my enthusiasm kind of petered out and the last one got stuffed in a bag half finished. At the end of last week I decided to unearth it again and try to get it finished. I've still got about 6 rounds to go but so far it's working out well I think - a bit of a mishmash but then I'm still learning and getting better as I go. I like the simple repetition of this project and it's nice to be using my great-grandmother's bone crochet hook.

 

 

These are completely cheaty cushions by the way, I'm only making one side which I'm stitching onto some old cream fabric cushions that I already had - a quick way of having some nice new cushions without having to make the backsides!

I'm still working on my one a day blanket too and there's lots of knitting going on - an update of that next I think!

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PS: Thanks so much for the kind words on the previous post. As a parent, going with your instincts is the best way to go. I think I lost my way because recently there have been so many people involved with our family and Toby and all of that well-meant advice (some of it conflicting) just ended up overwhelming and confusing me! Toby himself didn't help because as soon as I thought I was understanding a trigger to his behaviour or an obsession, he'd change.

Still, co-sleeping is clearly helping at this moment in time and this whole episode has helped me remember that flexibility is the answer to staying sane - hope I remember that when Toby changes tack again!