SKY SCARF NOVEMBER UPDATE

This is a very quick update on my sky scarf!

Firstly, it's extremely long!!!

Secondly, fairly grey!

It now also  has a little friend. This much smaller scarf was knitted up using Colinette yarn,  made in a couple of evenings -  light wedding therapy relief.

I wouldn't say that, with just over 2 weeks to go, Kate and I are stressed  BUT I just wish that whoever dished out the hours for each day had looked on us more favourably. I could certainly do with a few extra.

SEW, STILL A WAY TO GO!

For a woman that states that she cannot sew, I do believe I've had a crash course this weekend.

Firstly I must say a very big thank you to my friend Diane who spent a considerable time on Friday helping me with the hair and eyes for the 4 bridesmaid dolls that I've knitted. Though they're not quite finished this one here is Grace, hair made by me but sewn by Diane. She's now ready to go to the dressmaker tomorrow for a dress fitting.

(The dressmaker who is making the bridesmaid dresses is also making identical little dresses for the dolls) 

My mum very kindly has given me her folding cutting out board which has been really helpful.
Yesterday I was able to lay out my blanket on the dining room table and spent the afternoon sewing yet again.
Today I have 6 squares of the last panel to sew in and thankfully today the sun is shining through the windows, that will be a great help.

The sun today will also bring a welcome change in my sky scarf, it's been looking very grey recently!

JUST ONE MORE SQUARE!

Oh, so slowly but finally my blanket is getting near to completion. I have the last square on my knitting needles and today I managed to sew the fourth panel in place.

I do realise that once it's all sewn together I will have quite a task ahead when I attempt knitting the border. I have 2 sets of circular needles ready and waiting.

Life in my house is is now virtually 100% in wedding mode, just over a month to go now until the event.  I do believe that my ideal of all christmas shopping, purchased and wrapped by Nov 30th will actually fail to happen. However, I am still  hopeful that christmas cards will be written by the end of this coming week. Kate is wrapping all her presents tonight and guess where they're going to reside until christmas day. In the next couple of days my spare room will look like a bridal shop and a christmas shop all rolled into one.

Deep breathes, keep calm and just keep my needles clicking on with my last square!

MY DAD CELEBRATES HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY

When I was in my teenage years and my maternal grandmother turned 90 to me, she was a very old lady. A woman who never went out without a hat, never left the house alone and actually was never left in the house alone. 

If I think back to when I was a little girl, she was even old then. She would spend hours teaching me to play cards and board games and always arrived on the doorstep when I was sick to keep me company and read me books but, I can't ever remember seeing her work in the garden, or do the housework, washing and ironing.

She was my grandma.

Last week my dad turned 90. Both he and mum are still very independent and they do a very good job of keeping each other on their toes. Despite this I do sometimes wonder if, like me when I was little, Charlotte and Jessica think Grandpa is a very old man!
 On Sunday the most horrendous wet weather didn't dampen our spirits and a family gathering of 37 met at the Lion Inn , where we had a lovely lunch and spent the afternoon celebrating his birthday. Dad and mum thoroughly enjoyed themselves as I know we all did.

Happy birthday Dad!

BLANKET STITCHING!

What a challenge for a bleak Sunday afternoon in October. I'm trying to piece together and pin  in another panel of my blanket.

As you can probably tell, I've already walked away to have a think, that's why I'm sitting here tapping away on this post.

Hopefully, I'll go back and everything will seem clearer and not such a muddle.                                          

On a positive note this is the first time since I have been writing my blog that I've managed to place a photo on the left and write by the side of it. Even though I still have no idea how I've managed it, I'm pleased with myself. 

I have at long last found my mother of the bride outfit for Kate's wedding. In the end  I've actually ended up buying it online. I am a person who likes to support small independent shops but after countless visits to different shops and towns, it just became so frustrating to find clothes that I liked but couldn't try in my size and those that were in my size, not really what I was looking for.
Ordering online was so easy. I ordered on Thursday, the parcel arrived on Friday, I tried on everything I ordered yesterday and will be sending back what I don't want on Monday. How simple is that?

I've just popped back down to the kitchen and unfortunately the blanket hasn't miraculously sewn itself together so I'm going to have to leave my blog posting for another day and give my blanket the attention it deserves. Apart from that as it's such a dismal day I've probably only got a couple of daylight hours left.

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

As I mentioned in my last post, on Wednesday I had my first real look at outfits for "Mother of the Bride".

"I've got plenty of time", I said to the assistant in the shop.

"When's the wedding?" she asked.

"Not 'till 22nd December!" I exclaimed quite confidently.

She sighed, "that is NOT a lot of time."

I still beg to differ, I have to - I haven't found anything yet!

Anyway, first day, first shop and I chose a variety of beautiful and stunning outfits that I wanted to try, to try on. I felt I was being quite open minded and didn't want to judge anything until I'd tried it!

Standing in the tiny cubicle, my friend was ensconced outside ready to give moral support and guidance.

Remember that I said before that I wanted to try to try on. I therefore now ask the question, who do they actually make these dresses for?

I tried on a great deal but nothing wooed me and then on my last and final attempt I tried on a dress and jacket that not only came with inbuilt breast enhancers but an horrendous price tag that would undoubtedly send my husband teetering right over the edge!

" How are you getting on?" the shop assistant asked.

" I'm not very keen on this one" I replied from within the dress. At that very moment, stalemate! The dress wouldn't go on, nor would it come off. How could I tell the shop assistant that! My face was completely cocooned by the breast enhancers and it felt that the cubicle was getting smaller and warmer.

I breathed in and breathed in and breathed in and then o.m.g. I prayed. My luck was fortunately in, I managed to get it off without  it tearing into two parts. 

I exited the cubicle with an air of utter relief. Next stop on my list, the coffee shop!

I'm not giving up, well let's face it, I can't give up. Next Wednesday, we have another couple of dress shops on our list to  benefit from the pleasure of our company. Same time, but a different town!

Talking of the wedding, the four little dolls are coming along well. All the parts are knitted up now, just stuffing, sewing together, faces and hair to do. We've asked the dressmaker who's making the little bridesmaids dresses to make the dresses for the dolls. I think they'll look really good when the'yre finished, as long as I get the faces right!

We have had such a lovely weekend here, the weather has been perfect. Yesterday my husband and son took the new boat down to the river to see how it performed. Hard work they both said, but they hope with practice it will keep them fit.
It certainly looked very good in the water.
I love the next photo, paricularly the sky with the clouds and the reflection on the water. Michael is out there rowing, right in the middle of the picture.
(He's worried, unless I tell you he's there, you won't notice him.)

SKY SCARF PROGRESS

So now we're entering the month of October and the sky scarf continues to grow. The month of January is hanging over the back of the door, September is down towards my knitting basket. It certainly shows we've had a lot of grey days!

The wretched cold that I mentioned in my last post is rather like a boomerang. Three days I was completely clear of it and then back it came for the weekend. My poor mother is suffering with it  as well and exactly the same, some days much better and others not so good. Consequently today is one of the days where I've woken up full of snuffles and a head that feels like it contains cotton wool and not much else. This is not ideal when you're planning a shopping trip this afternoon to look for an outfit for Kate's wedding!

Some good news, Michael's new rowing boat arrived on Monday, all looking good. We're just hoping for some decent weather this coming weekend so he can give it a trail run.  This is definitely a single seater affair so I've no need to worry about getting my feet wet. I can just watch from the sea wall, take pictures and wave!