chilling out

Making snow art, the process is as pretty as the frozen hanging ornaments (thanks for the reminder here). Checking tomorrow to see if they have frozen....





Indoor art consists mainly of my knitting.



After weeks of not feeling in the mood I suddenly finished one little baby-gift-sweater in a burst of fireside knitting and am two thirds through another. As usual it's a loosely followed and adapted boat neck baby sweater from the Debbie Bliss Baby Book but knit in super chunky merino aran. This meant I actually followed a aran size pattern from the Natural Knits book but just knit the thing how I liked. I changed the sleeve cuffs so they don't roll up like the hem (I like that look on a hem but not a sleeve, weirdly, since actually it'd be more appropriate on a sleeve). I added some chunky ribby bits, just for texture. When will I get bored by this pattern? Dunno. You'll find out when I suddenly put another one on here I guess :)



I am actually knitting Esmé one too right now but it's knit in a fancy looking pattern (made up of course). It goes: knit one purl three (or maybe it's the other way around?) with an alternating line after three rows. Anyway, it looks really nice, but is only half done. It's my gift to her this Christmas (oh you know, the one hand made thing, along with the bought stuff :) ) I am not sweating this at all (the notion of having some far-out totally handmade Christmas that is). I wanna chilllllll this Christmas. That's my aim. Not sit up at 3am on Christmas Eve sewing buttons and cursing the dawn. Having said that, I remembered I made this cute tiny lavender/wheat doll and carry bed for my niece when she was The Beauty's age. She is nearly six now and apparently still loves it to death (isn't that just nice? I mean, half the time I do handmade stuff for kids and wonder if they get tossed to the bottom of the toy bin when I have left... so glad this one was loved). It was terribly easy so I think I'll make another. I'll try and remember to post a how-to because it's nice to remember these things and share ideas. Also want to make some Lazy Day skirts for some little girlies this Christmas. I have some grey flowery cord that would be perfect, just need a pretty ribbon.

The Beauty busy with her ever growing collection of dolls.



The cat has been getting the Esmé treatment in this department too. This consists of being tightly wrapped in a dolly blanket and generally mollycoddled and 'tucked in' until it can stand it no longer. Luckily for The Beauty, George is rather patient and submits to her haphazard and over loving mothering quite well for short bursts of time. I keep seeing him in more and more random places having a kip and hoping to outwit her finding skills.









This is the boy who for a very long time I found it hard not to worry about his lack of reading skills (and interest in). Um, until quite recently actually. But there you go. He is zooming through a book a day and all from his own self interest in the subject of his books. Very magical. I once had a friend how complained that all her son ever did was mooch around reading Harry Potter. I thought this was utterly fabulous. I devour books and get such pleasure from them, to see my son doing so is very very thrilling. I have to keep my thrill in check though and don't ask him a single thing until he bounds from his reading place eager to get the next book and tell me about what happened in the current one. He has no pocket money left, and the library don't have them so I am 'loaning' him for more books. But honestly, if there's one thing I am happy to go into debt for it would be books!





Fe getting his own thrills from his Playmobil play.



I made the Beauty a little Christmas tree to tuck in a chocolate coin each day of advent. I had the green fabric all picked out but she bustled in and directed me towards blue and pink. I like a girl who knows what she wants.







Watching birds and guinea pigs who just want to eat. Always, always there are things to do and watch in the garden.







The house seems filled with baskets of mittens, hats, scarfs, welly socks, waterproofs, coats and then regular clothes, all needing drying at once.



Esmé made a stained glass window as I made my favourite window stars.



There's comfort to be found in a full log basket.



Finally - which pic to send to the relatives; and how come I literally have *no* pics of all three children together?! - well other than these two...... If only Esmé would be slightly consistent and not be pretending to barf or something. Which would you choose? I am leaning towards the goofier one. Also, can you see where she cut her own hair?