Merry Christmas, Everybody!

Well, as we are all aware, things are about to get pretty busy for us homemakers and purveyors of Christmas Spirit (and I'm not talking about alcohol!). The food is all now bought, and anything that has been forgotten, we'll have to do without, as time has run out for me to be driving all over the place looking for that elusive ingredient or food item.

Oh my goodness - it's Christmas eve, everyone!! How did that happen?? I had weeks left a moment ago!! Argh! I feel like we're at the very top of a roller coaster, teetering just before the big drop that you can't control and just have to enjoy. And we will enjoy it. The Moomin is now old enough to get excited at the mention of presents and Father Christmas - or, as she calls him, "Vawer Grizmaz".

As I am quite a slow knitter (having a very energetic two year old doesn't help speed the process any!), I am ashamed to say that I didn't manage to complete my Christmas Knit List this year, but the most important things got completed, and are wrapped and under the tree, so that's the main thing! I am knitting Mr Deravelled a stripey blanket in manly shades (blues, browns and creams) that I was hoping to have had finished by now, but, as with everything, life got in the way, and so I'm four panels down (I have completed two). Luckily, that was not his only present, so I don't think he'll be too disappointed tomorrow!! I just need to learn some speed knitting techniques, methinks.

We went food shopping last night, and, as is the tradition, forgot a food item. This year it was the chocolate yule log. Never fear, thought I - I will make one, no problem! It was only when I got home that I realised that I don't have a big rectangular baking tray for baking the pre-rolled log on. Argh!!! So instead, we are having Chocolate Orange Cake, as featured in Nigella Lawson's classic culinary tome, How to be a Domestic Goddess. And for all of you lovely ladies who may be in a similar predicament, or just fancy a good quick standby recipe (because, lets face it, that makes us all feel a little more secure), here is the recipe for you. :)

Chocolate Orange Cake

125g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300g good, thin-cut marmalade
150g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
150g self raising flour

20cm Springform tin, buttered and floured.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/ Gas Mark 4.

Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and put over a low heat to melt. When it's nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate. Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted. Resist temptation to dip finger in.

Now add the marmalade, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with your wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated, beat in the flour bit by bit. Put into your prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer comesout clean.

Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.

Decorate however you wish (a snowy dusting of icing sugar looks nice). Can be eaten warm with a good dollop of creme fraiche (or ice cream), or cold.

Serves 6.

And here is something for the children - you can track Father Christmas live as he flies his sleigh around the world. That should get you in the mood!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!! May your day be filled with joy and goodwill to all, and hardly any bickering!! x x

Happy Yule, everyone!!

Just wanted to say Happy Yule to all those who observe the sacred festival. Although I love winter and everything that goes with it, it is also wonderful to be able to now say that from today, we know that the sun is slowly returning, and it will not be long before we see the evidence of new life appearing, in the form of snowdrops in the countryside, and new baby lambs on the hills. It is a festival of optimism and light in the depths of winter, and reminds us that death (or darkness) is a part of life (or light) and is not to be feared.

We will be spending the evening with friends, celebrating with food and drink like our ancestors always have, and marking the passage of time and the light that remains even in the darkest of days.

Happy Yule, everyone!! :)

Busy busy busy!!

I have been busily washing and cleaning in preparation for a couple of days off from the drudgery of household chores once we hit Christmas eve evening. I am aiming to get on top of the hamper of clothes at the top of the stairs (I have already vanquished the basket in the kitchen - woo hoo!!), but this means I'm pretty much non stop at the moment. I need to hoover the whole house (and remember to empty the hoover first this time!!), wash the windows, clean the bathroom, put away the worryingly teetering tower of clean clothes that were not long ago in that basket in the kitchen, take the rubbish out, get stamps from the post office to post the christmas cards that are STILL on the table in the living room (yes, I KNOW that I've left it really late - but they're cards for Mr Deravelled's friends, and he's not exactly seeing the posting of them as an urgent priority, so it's left to me, again!!), and convince the Moomin that her toys would look much better tidied away in her bedroom rather than scattered liberally around the living room. Phew! Now it's all written down, I don't think I have the energy to do any of it!!

To finish off, here's a little photo of the Moomin that I took the other night. She hadn't had a nap all day, and it got to 8pm and she just dropped!! How sweet! :)

The Christmas Day Menu

Ok, so after much pondering and flicking through of my recipe books and magazines, here is the planned christmas day menu (obviously dependent on actually being able to get hold of some kind of turkey!!)

Christmas Day 2008
Turkey Crown
Roast Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Yorkshire puddings
Peas
Carrots
Cabbage
Brussel Sprouts
Stuffing balls
Bacon-wrapped chipolatas
Gravy
Cranberry sauce

Yummy yummy yummy!!!

And for dessert, we are having chocolate yule log, hot chocolate sauce and clotted cream ice cream. Mmmmm. I love christmas!!!

And here is a little piccy of some of the decorations adorning our hallway tree. I can't show you a photo of the whole tree, as our hallway isn't big enough for me to get far enough back with my camera!!

Photos of our tree

As requested (and promised!!), here are a few photos of the tree that stands in our living room. It is a collection of vintage, new(ish) and handmade decorations - and we tend to add to it every year. Anyway, enough of me jabbering on! Here are the photos!! :D



My parents brought us back the red velvet ribbon for the top of the tree from one of their frequent trips over to America, a few years back. I really like it because it's not the usual star or fairy.



I made the gingham heart myself. There are currently two on the tree, as well as several in different fabrics dotted around the house (although they are constantly being moved around as the Moomin likes to play with them!!). I bought the brass sun ornament (there are a few of them on the tree) when I worked at Culpeper.



And here is one of the robins made from feathers that we have. It is perched precariously on a branch, as the Moomin has somehow managed to pull it off its thread!! You can also see a brass sun disc (again from Culpeper). They are so deliciously Pagan, and remind us that even though it's cold and dark outside, the warming sun of spring is not too far away. Don't you just love that symbolism?!

The tree!!

The tree is up!! After much searching and head scratching, we finally found our trusty christmas tree, hidden under several hundred boxes of junk in the attic. I was hoping that the Moomin would be eager to help decorate it, but she seemed more interested in taking the baubles back off it, which I thought was very unfestive of her. I even managed to rope Mr Deravelled into putting three or four baubles on it for once (he usually takes a back seat in the annual decking of the halls fiasco). This year our theme is red and gold, with much more emphasis on gold than red, although that is mainly down to us having many more gold decorations than red!!

We also have a mini tree up in the hallway (which is truly an achievement of epic proportions, considering the matchbox dimensions of our hallway) and no one has (yet) tripped over it or knocked it over etc. Its colours are red and gold also, with slightly more emphasis on the red, just to balance things out a bit!! It is also sporting three rather realistic looking robins, which the Moomin thinks is wonderful. However, it has no lights, as we couldn't find them. And come to mention it, the big tree in the living room is without twinkly lights, as one of the bulbs has gone, and in my haste to swap it with a working one that was currently at the back of the tree, I broke it, and so now none of them are working. Grrr. Mr Deravelled brought home a replacement string of lights that his sister has given us, but the thought of having to take all those decorations off to get to the original string of lights and replace them with the new ones, then put all the decorations back on, fills me with dread. Mr Deravelled doesn't understand this, as he usually has little to no involvement with the decorating side of things, and so has no idea what a pain it will be to replace them. That can be his task for the year, then!!!

I will post photos when I can find my camera. :)

So excited!!!

Well, the festive season is imminent, and I am really getting excited now!! I have done nearly all my gift buying, and can now concentrate one the presents I am making. I will post photos of the hand made gifties as and when I finish them. There are a few on the go at the moment - all involving fabric and buttons and thread and stuffing.... You'll have to wait till they're finished to find out what I'm up to!!

In other news, I spied the most gorgeous two tiered cake stand in Morrisons last week, and, after squealing delightedly about it, Mr Deravelled finally got the hint, and has bought it for me for Christmas!! yayay!! Here's a sneaky little pic that I took of it before it was whisked away for wrapping.



It's so vintage and lovely and perfect for prettily iced fairy cakes!!! Mr Deravelled doesn't see the appeal himself, but then, he likes modern styles more than vintage. But we can't have everything, can we girls?? :)

Free Yoga!!

I found this brilliant yoga site whilst perusing the world wide web. It offers free yoga lessons online, that you can follow in your own time. It looks really good, and you can do it next to your desk! I used to do yoga a bit when I was younger, but then, as with everything, life got in the way and I neglected my studies. Maybe I should make a new years resolution...

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Remembrance Day

I am pleased to say that the two minute silence was observed at work today by everyone - except some old men who continued talking!! So at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we remembered the few to which us many owe so much.



Lest we forget.

Butter Biscuits in the warm and dry

Today has seen us with the curtains closed, the lights on, and the heating on all day. What wild weather we're having!! It's been rainy and windy for most of the day, so we felt that we had no choice but to stay in and watch films and play games.

We watched Stardust, which Mr Deravelled picked up for £5 in Morrisons yesterday as a little treat for us, and it's a brilliant film!! Even the Moomin stayed still for some of it! Then Mr Deravelled and the Moomin painted pictures (and got more paint on the floor than on the paper!) and stacked dominos, while I rolled the dough out for butter biscuits that I had prepared last night. Then the Moomin cut them out into different shapes and I put them in the oven. They're definitely moreish, and there aren't many left now. I was intending on icing them, but I dont really see the point now they've nearly all been snaffled already!!



I'm now settling down with my Christmas knitting, and later I think I'll have a nice warm bubble bath (which the Moomin will probably try to steal lol). Maybe I'll just have one more biscuit......

New ovens and sock patterns

Well, the new oven arrived yesterday, and it's lovely. All shiny and fancy looking!! We now know just how past it our old oven was, as this one is so efficient and quiet. Our last one used to heat the whole kitchen up before it cooked the food, and was soooo noisy!!!! This one is whisper quiet - so much so that when I first used it yesterday, I had to open it to check it was working!! I then got a blast of super hot air in my face, which again was a shock, as it wasn't hot at all on the outside. Wow, a proper real oven!!! Time to make more cakes, methinks!!

I am also on a quest to find a simple sock pattern for mens socks. They all seem to have cabling or fancy bits of some description, and I just want a very plain pattern.. Anyone have any suggestions as to where to find one?

Right, off to bed now. It's so late, and I'm exhausted!

Happy Samhain, everyone!!

Or Happy Halloween, if you're more into the trick or treating aspect of this sacred festival.

Well, me and the Moomin will be carving pumpkins tonight. I have the pumpkin carving kit at the ready, and have managed to find some tea lights to go in the finished lanterns. We will also circle round and read stories on the legends of Samhain, and then, once the Moomin is safely tucked up in bed, Mr Deravelled will be forced to watch the finale of Most Haunted Live - possibly in the dark!! He wont like that!! But I'll make some popcorn, so he might not moan too much.

To be honest, the majority of the time, Most Haunted exacerbates me, what with the irresponsible ouija board usage, shouting of insults to supposed resident spirits, and Yvette's persistance in believing that Witchcraft = Evil. Sigh. Mr Deravelled looked at me and laughed the other night when I was watching it, because she started shouted something like "come on you evil witch bitches", and knew I'd be rolling my eyes. Which I was. Considering the job she's doing, she's not very enlightened!!

But I just love to soak up the experience and atmosphere - all those old houses they get to walk around fascinate me. I make notes of the best so that I can drag the family to see them in the day time! I do love my castles and stately homes!!

Anyway, I'm off to do some tidying and washing ready for tonight. It's so exciting that the Moomin will now be old enough to really enjoy this sacred celebration. :)

The oven is broken!

Well, as the title to this post says, our oven is broken. It lights up, the fan goes, but it just will not heat up. I learnt this on Tuesday evening when I came home from work and attempted to cook a pizza for the three of us. When after half an hour the cheese hadn't melted, I started to get suspicious. Cue Mr Deravelled doing the manly fiddle with it thing, before coming to the same conclusion that I had already reached - "yep" he said, "it's buggered". (What would us little ladies do without men?) ;)

We have a new oven being delivered next Thursday. :)

Me the Domestic Goddess!!

Well, the last few days have been baking days for me and the Moomin. Yesterday it was wholemeal bread rolls (so that Mr Deravelled would have some to take for lunch today), and today it was fairy cakes. Millions of them. I haven't even managed to ice half of them yet, there's that many. I have given up for the evening now, and they're all packed neatly away in a cake tin, ready for when I'm feeling more awake and creative tomorrow! I personally prefer my fairy cakes au natural, but for the Moomin and Mr Deravelled, I ice them. Some are hot pink (were meant to be pale pink, but the colouring kind of got away from me a bit, and now I also have a hot pink thumb!!), and some are the most gorgeous pale primrose yellow that really deserve some pretty purple sugar flowers on top to finish them off, but I don't have any in the cupboard, and so they've had to settle for tiny crystallised orange and lemon slices instead. It's not the same, though, and I may have to go in search of some purple cake decorations of some description tomorrow with the Moomin.

Now, I am nestled back into our comfy schmooshy sofa, puter on my lap, a fairy cake on a plate next to me, and a steaming mug of hot chocolate next to that. The Moomin is asleep in her cot, tired out after the day's activities, Mr Deravelled is upstairs in his office finishing off some work, Most Haunted is on the TV, and life is pretty good. :)

De-clutter, chuck and throw away!!

Today is turning out to be a decluttering day. Who knew just how much junk there could be in a relatively small space - like on top of the microwave, for example? That has all now been removed and sorted, and in its place are a few of my favouritest recipe books, all stacked neatly, ready to be perused for new culinary ideas.

Ok, my list of knitted treats for loved ones for Christmas stands as follows:

* For my little Sister (with a very stressful job as a Financial Analyst for an international bank based in Canada Square in Canary Wharf) - a Snood (circular scarf that you can pull up around your face and ears) made with some scrummy oatmeal coloured 30% wool Wendy Pampas Mega Chunky; and hopefully, if I have time (ha ha!) a pair of wrist warmers. I will probably knit her OH, a lovely Parisian man who moved over here to live with her and make a beautiful home together, some fingerless gloves - and maybe a snood, too, as he loves his scarves.

* For my Mum (also with a very stressful job in sales, where they constantly get at her to stop building up rapport with customers and just sell them stuff they don't really need - BAD company - you'd be surprised [or maybe not] if I were to name and shame!!) - an evening bag in a gorgeous creamy blue, knitted in RYC Luxe merino yarn (bought for half price in the HobbyCraft sale!!). As my mum is a super-knitter herself, I really don't know what else to knit for her - if anything. I bought her some knitty novels for her birthday, which she loved, so maybe more of the same will be in order!! And a good bottle of red, methinks. :)


* For my darling Mr Deravelled, I am currently knitting him socks (my first attempt at knitting on dpns) - well, a sock, anyway. At first he couldn't understand why I was knitting them, but now he is always asking me when they'll be finished!! lol

* The Moomin is a tricky one - she has an abundance of hats, so I may end up knitting her a snood, too. And maybe some cute little wrist warmers. But that would mean having to buy some pink yarn of some description. Hmmmmm........

* I may knit my Dad a scarf, as he has lots of jumpers that my mum has knitted him over the years. I'd knit him socks, but I find them so labour intensive that I shudder at the thought of getting them done in time!! Maybe next year!

A month away and nothing done!!

I can't believe I haven't posted on here in over a month! It has been a hectic month, what with me passing my driving test (finally!!) towards the end of September, then searching for and buying a cute little car to run me and the Moomin about in. Mr Deravelled has started a new job which involves a two hour commute up the motorway every day (which he says is already becoming a bore), and the Moomin is coming on leaps and bounds with her talking - she is now talking in simple sentences, and we can almost always understand her nowadays, which is wonderful. We have even started potty training her, but as she is only just two, it is a nice, casual affair, and so far she loves the praise she gets when she asks to use her potty and then actually uses it!! We're a while off the switch from nappies yet, but at least she is happy and we're happy with her working through it in her own time, so it's all good!!

Knitting-wise, not much has been happening since I finished the red beret, unfortunately. I had got quite far with a project I am knitting on behalf of my Mum for my sister for Christmas, but yesterday I found the Moomin had pulled it off the needles (I couldn't shout at her - I had told her earlier that I was going to catch up on my knitting later, and she was just trying to pull the needles out of the knitting bag for me - bless her!) and the whole thing was too far gone to salvage. So unfortunately it had to all be ripped out, and I have just started it again now. However, when you'd got so far on a piece, and all of a sudden you're looking at having to start it again from scratch, it gets quite depressing!! Ah well, I shall soldier on!!





Me and the Moomin have been going to the park a lot recently - perhaps trying to make the most of the last of the warmish weather and soak up as much of the remaining sunshine as possible before we all snuggle down for a winter full of hot chocolate, home made gingerbread, Yankee candles and long hot bubble baths. Mmmmmm, maybe winter's not so bad after all!! And we finally get to wear all the lovely layers of handknits that have been worked on throughout the year. Bliss!

And yes, that is a handknit being modelled by the Moomin - knitted by my very talented mother. I keep trying to convince her that she should quit her awful job that depresses her and open a wool shop. I'd work there!!

That's all for now. Have to go - the Moomin is vying for my attention and going a bit crazy!!

The beret is finished!

Well, the beret is now finished. It looks really good, if I do say so myself. However, the pattern called for two balls of Twilleys Freedom Spirit wool, but I actually only used one (damn my tension!) so it has ended up quite small. It does fit on my head, but it's not a big floppy beret you could pull down over your ears - more a delicate little percher that sits unobtrusively at the crown. But I like it - I can imagine that I am a young French madamoiselle, walking across one of the bridges that spans the Seine, walking a little white dog called Fi Fi, smoking a Cafe Creme cigarello and reading a dog-eared paperback copy of an eighteenth century racy novel. I imagine I would be wearing a tightly belted shiny black mac and maybe have a spotty scarf tied around my neck, and wear bright red lipstick and stockings. Ha ha - all that from a beret!! I don't even smoke, so I don't know where the cigarello came from! I should write a book!!

The Moomin has just eaten half a toasted cinnamon and raisin bagel, and has now done a huge burp. She said pardon me though, so that's ok! Well, she actually says "puh meeeeee", but we know what she means!!! lol

It's too hot and the Moomin is poorly

Well, what have I been up to since I last posted? Well, last Sunday we took the Moomin to a re-enactment event not too far from us. It was really good, with re-enactors from all different eras, such as Roman, Viking, Medieval, American Civil War and First and Second World Wars. I particularly enjoyed it, as I used to do Medieval re-enactment when I was still a student, so it was nice to see it all again. Moomin wasn't too keen on the canons firing, though!!! On Bank Holiday Monday, we went to Bridlington for the day. We had a great day, and the weather stayed nice for us - if a little overcast.



Then this week I've been working and attempting to knit a beret for myself. I've frogged it three times now, and am getting a little bit mad with it. But today my Twilleys Freedom Spirit wool arrived from McA Direct, so I have now started it again in that. I ordered two balls in shade Fire, and can't wait to get it finished now.

Me and the Moomin stayed over at my parents last night. She was poorly in the night, and was sick a few times. So today we got her some medicine, as she seems to have a cold, poor thing. All she wanted was her daddy, so she's been cuddling up with Mr Deravelled all evening since we got back home.

Anyway, off to bed now. :)

The Teeny Titchy Preemie Hat is finally complete!!

I have now finally finished the teeny titchy preemie hat that I'd had to put on the stitch saver a few days ago. I have completed it using the 2.75mm Aero metal needles that I got from the charity shop yesterday. It really is tiny. Looking at my baby head size chart, it will fit a 1-2lb preemie baby. That really is teeny!!! I have taken a photo of it next to an iPod Nano 3G to give you an idea of scale.

I like this hat because it looks like an acorn cup. How cute!! :)

More Stash!!

Yesterday, The Moomin, Mum and I took a trip into the local town so the Moomin could have her feet measured, as we thought they had grown. Turns out they had, and she's now a 7E!! So she got new pink shoes from Clarks, which she is very pleased with.

I picked up some bargains whilst in town. In Woolworths, they were selling Patons Fab! 100g balls for £1 each, so I picked up 2 balls of black, 2 of white, and 2 of cream. We then went to the market, where I picked up 2 balls of James C Brett Denim DK in a denim colour, one ball of elmo red, and one of cookie monster blue. Surprise surprise I'm going to use the blue and red yarns to make the Moomin a cookie monster and an Elmo, as she loves those characters!! From another stall I managed to get a small silver jingly bell for the Moomin's cat that I'm making now.

I also picked up a pair of 2.75mm metal needles in the PDSA charity shop (35p!!!), and a pair of 2.5mm metal needles in Dunelm. When we got home, my Mum gave me her copy of Nursery Knits, by Zoe Mellor, which is a gorgeous book full of yummy patterns for clothes and toys etc. She also gave me some of her yarn remnants for me to knit more preemie hats. I might even have a go at a pair of booties!! All in all, a great bargain stash day!! :D

Nooo!!! My Pony Pearls!!! Nooo!!!!!!

Well, last night I was happily clicking away knitting the teeny titchy preemie hat I was telling you about the other day, and guess what?! One of my 2.75mm Pony Pearls went and split at the end, making it impossible to continue knitting. Luckily I was just at the end of a row, so managed to at least get it to a state where I can pick it up again when I get some new needles. For now it is on a stitch saver, looking very sorry for itself.

However, this has now given me the opportunity to get started on a new project - a little knitted kitty. You can find the original pattern for it here. Please be aware that there is a certain amount of bad language on this page!!! I have cast on to my 3.75mm METAL (lol) needles using James C Brett's Top Value 100% Acrylic yarn in a lovely shade of dove grey.



We had a lovely day on Tuesday, celebrating the Moomin's second birthday. Mr Deravelled managed to prise himself away from the office and clients for a day (well, almost!) and we spent a lovely day at Eureka! near Huddersfield. It was very rainy, but luckily it was all inside, so we didn't get too wet!! The Moomin loved it! The photo is from last Sunday - her Nana (as seen in the photo) made the cake. It has yellow icing - as required by the Moomin, who is appearing to develop a penchant for yellow food!!

Argh!! The hat is too small for the Moomin!!

Well, I finished the hat for the Moomin whilst at my parents' on Sunday, and guess what?! It's too small! I've checked the measurements against my chart of head sizes to ages etc, and it turns out that this hat will fit a 3 - 6 month old, which is poo, seeing as the Moomin turns two in less than eight hours!!

Ah well, back to the needles I suppose. I will have to get some circular needles to knit a bigger size for her, as the hat really looks lovely now it's all made up. Luckily, we have been invited to some of Mr Deravelled's friends' baby girl's blessing ceremony, so we may include the hat as a gift for her.

Now on the needles is another preemie hat. This time it's going to be tiny. Before I used a pair of 3.75mm needles, this time I'm using a pair of 2.75 needles. Already it looks loads smaller. I will take photos tomorrow or wednesday, when I'm not being so lazy!! :)

Yet another hat!!

I am now knitting another hat, this time it is actually intended for the Moomin. I am using James C Brett Marble DK yarn, in lovely shades of cream and pink, with speckles of grey. It's coming along nicely, and is looking good! Only thing is, I'm a bit worried that it wont be big enough for her head, so I suppose I will have to wait and see when it is finished. Fingers crossed it will be ok, because it is taking AGES to knit!!

My next project I have lined up is to have a go at knitting a pair of socks, as I've just got some DPNs. I've never used DPNs before, so this should be interesting!

Going to visit my parents tomorrow with Mr Deravelled and the Moomin, so hoping for some sunshine for once. I think we had our summer for two weeks in May, and that it's only going to get worse now. Mind you, it's still really hot and muggy - just not dry for long enough for us to enjoy it properly.

It fits on an apple!

Here is my second attempt at the aforementioned preemie hat. And I think it looks pretty good!! The tension is really even, and it would appear that all my tweaking and adding to the pattern I used last time has resulted in a wearable hat for a teeny tiny preemie baby!! Yay!!

I have modelled iton an apple, btw, incase you were wondering what that was peeking out of the hat!!

Holey preemie hat, Batman!!

Well, my first attempt at a preemie hat went a little bit wrong, as you can see from the photo above. Not only did I slip a fairly obvious stitch, but it is also big enough to fit on my almost-two year old daughter's head!! Well, it definitely was after she rammed it onto her head, claiming it in the name of Moomin. Sigh.

Knit knit knit!!

It was Mr Deravelled's birthday on Thursday, and the three of us spent a lovely (if rainy) day at the local Butterfly house, finishing off the evening with a meal with friends at an American style grill restaurant.

Then yesterday and today was spent with the Moomin at my parents' house, relaxing and playing with the Moomin. My Mum took me to her LYS, and I picked out some yummy (and really cheap!!) new yarns to try out, including a ball of cream 4-ply, which is now being used to knit my first preemie hat. So far it is going well, and when I figure out how, I will post a photo to show you. Only problem is, I slipped a stitch as I was coming out of the ribbing, and so now I'm going to have to work a bit of magic with a sewing needle to get rid of the hole!! Other than that I am really pleased with how it's going so far - I am managing to keep my tension pretty even, and the stitches look really neat. (This is after three false starts, when I had to rip out what I'd done as my tension was FAR too tight, and was eventually too tight to knit any more!!)

I'm hoping to have the preemie hat finished by tomorrow. It is for the Three Little Birds group, that have a forum on Ravelry, and I am also going to knit some hats for my local hospital's Special Baby Care unit, where my daughter stayed when she was born prematurely. The Nurses and Doctors do a wonderful job there, and I cannot praise them enough. When I was there I thanked them with chocolate cake (a BIG one!!), now I plan to thank them with tiny knitted hats for the babies in their care!!

It's toooo hot!!

Wow! How hot was it last night?? The Moomin kept waking up through the night, so Mr Deravelled had to eventually take her downstairs to sleep, where it's cooler.

I've ordered the Twilleys Freedom Spirit 455 catalogue, which was dispatched on Saturday, so should be here any day now!! I'm so excited! Even though I'm no way skilled enough to attempt pretty much any pattern in it, it will be lovely to look through it and plan future projects - know what i mean? :)

Well, off to get ready for work now. Speak later! :D

I'm sat watching Family Guy with Mr Deravelled, laughing and trying to concentrate on knitting a few more rows of my latest project in yarn, Marisa Turmaine's Tanamana bag. I can't remember which yarn I'm using, as I've lost the paper label!!! But it's DK and green, and knits quite smoothly. Although it does have a tendancy to sever into two when you're trying to knit with it! It looks like moth damage or something. Hmmm mysterious.....

Anyway, back to knitting and Family Guy now!! :)

Good morning and hi!

Just a super quick note before I have to get ready for work. Welcome to my blog!! It's all about me and my crafty interests! I will be posting some photos on here pretty soon of my projects finished, ongoing and upcoming. But for now, just wanted to say hi!! :)