Mamas Homemade Love

Icelandic Volcano

2010-04-15T03:13:00.000-07:00

After the Icelandic Volcano eruption, which has grounded every flying object in the UK, I looked out my window this morning to see the most awesome cloud formation. (click on pic to see full-sized) When I first looked out my window at about 0830 there was not another cloud in the sky except from this one long blanket that took up the whole of the horizon to the south. By the time I'd got up got dressed and walked to the park to get past the houses and stuff for a decent pic it had already moved on about 20 or 30 miles and this was all that I could get a pic of. In hindsite I should have just run out in my PJs and baffies and clicked it right there and then :) lol

Balado was grounded too, much to my husbands dismay. It's his day off today and had been looking forward to going flying all week. Oh well Hopefully it'll have all calmed down by the weekend, fingers crossed there aren't any further major eruptions to worry about.

Brilliant Weather, Brilliant Weekend!

2010-04-12T03:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday were glorious. Saturday less so than Sunday but still the sun was out and the rain stayed away, what more could we ask for.

SATURDAY: was warm and sunny and although a bit of a wind it wasn't anything to worry about. DLH had been up flying with a friend who wanted to take a few aerial photos of his campsite and off road driving track.

On the ground people were talking about flying over to Strathallan for a cuppa and a bacon butty. I was sooo up for that so as soon as DLH had landed I was begging him to take me up for the fly-out, I was sooo excited! The lovely Jeannie had already agreed to watch my Beautiful pink and blue splodges so I was good to go. DLH was a tad apprehensive however as the last time I'd been up for more than 10 mins I ended up throwing up on him mid-flight (oops) I had a set of those seasickness wristbands this time though and everyone swore by them so I was sure they'd work (fingerscrossed)

Strathallan was amazing, NO landing fee as long as you buy a cuppa (of course) Awesome action from the skydivers who fluttered out the sky every 5 mins and great food at the canteen too. Such a happy, busy, adrenaline packed place. Everybody was really friendly, ATC were really accomodating and the nicest part was on the way out he radioed to us and thanked us for our visit and he waved at me as I hung out furiously waving down at the ground on departure :)

SUNDAY: The sun was out again, in force! It was scorching and by the time we all got there Brent already had the BBQ on and Wilma was heading out for another BBQ and more rolls. Pink Splodge and I went along for the ride coz Wilmas car had the top down and even the wind at 70mph was roasting :) The Splodges had their bikes with them at the airfield and there was about half a dozen other kids there to play with too so a good day was had by all. The BBQ was washed down with Non Alcoholic Elderberry Wine out of plastic Pint pots - aaah the CLASS - perfect!

The picture above sums up the weekend, no wind, high clouds, loads of sun and beautiful views - WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

Bear Hugs

2010-04-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

Bear Hugs was a pattern I found when I was looking for a simple pattern to make out of my sons woof-woofs (muslin squares). I was initially looking for a doggy pattern but then I fell across this.

The one in the picture was a practice run that I made out of some gorgeous pink patterned flannelette that the pink splodge was always telling me was very pretty. The face is hand embroidered using double thickness sewing thread as I didn't have any embroidery floss to hand.

The website is beautiful and alot of love and good has come from this pattern so if you do make one try making a spare and giving it to someone who will appreciate it :)

I wanted the simple pattern to convert the Blue Splodges Woof-woof into a real teddy but more importantly so he would have a smaller area of muslin that he could suck on as I was starting to get worried about his teeth and dental problems that could arise with him constantly chewing and sucking on nearly half a muslin at a time :( This pattern I thought would be perfect because it's all stuffed except for the ears which are flat so I though that that would be better and it would still allow him to have the feel of the muslin in his hands and to cuddle into.

I'm glad I did the trial run on the pattern as there are a few things I'd like to improve, the size of the ears for one but I'm not sure on what else... I'm sure I'll find other things as I start to play around with it.

Muddy Puddles!

2010-04-06T02:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend was supposed to be the Easter BBQ and Camp-out at the airfield but as you can see from the picture it wasn't weather for either!

We went to have a gab and a catch up as some of the club members had gone for a curry in protest at the weather the night before. We'd hoped to have been able to get some flying but it really wasn't open cock pit climate today so we were huddled into the hanger and were provided with some light entertainment from pink and blue splodge and a muddy puddle!!!

The two of them didn't care that it was really throwing down rain or that the clay type mud in the puddle will probably never come out in the wash but they were delightfully occupied in that puddle for the best part of the whole day :)

N.B. the suits they are in are completely waterproof and thermal lined so although wet and freezing outside, they were dry and cozy warm on the inside and the best part was that we were able to strip them of their suits before putting them in the car and it was like they'd never been near a puddle..... almost lol

Sunset Ending!

2010-04-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

I love sunsets, I love flying and I love my Darling Luffly Husband so safe to say that I LOVE this picture :)

I've not been taking photographs long really, I've only had my Canon 350D for about 9 months, but I love taking them just to see what I get. I love that on my 'tiny' 1gb card there might be only one photo that is worth saving and that the rest are so-so but not worth showing off.

This was one of those photos, 200 clicks then THIS!

It was taken at Balado Park Airfield (TinthePark Land) and it's my DLH flying his Flash II Alpha in to land with the last of the dying light. What a days flying we'd had, it was brilliant, It was a cold day, pink and blue splodges were wrapped like fleecy eskimos and everyone was in their flight suits... on the ground... lol... but it'd been one of those days where you didn't stop laughing and the picnic had just enough food into to last the whole day :) This Photo reminds me of a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Moving from Wordpress to Blogger - we made it!!!

2010-04-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

I made the move to blogger, pure and simply, because I didn't like the templates at Wordpress! On Blogger I'll get to design my own so expect it to change regularly as creative motivation hits me :)

The thing that sold me over to Blogger is that now it's in Cahoots with Google and I recently started using Picasa instead of Flikr (200 photos isn't really alot as it turns out) it's all alot easier to make blog posts if I can do it straight from the Picasa Software then maybe I can go back to blogging more often :)

there are a few ways to do the transfer, different programs do it but they all miss something, like publish dates or comments or whole posts but the method I choose I thought quite ingenious and was quite proud of myself for thinking of it.

I exported the WXR / back up /.XML file from Wordpress and then used this web based WXR2ATOM CONVERTER page and then changed it to an ATOM / blogger recognisable .XML file and simply imported that and here we are, DONE!

It worked a treat, took 30 seconds and it's like we've always been here! Publish dates, comments and all WOOHOO!

DIY Onbag

2009-09-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

DIY OnbagOriginally uploaded by BobbinD

First of all I'd like to give all thanks to Sarah at Onbag for allowing her pattern to be used for personal use for those of us that are Sewing Machine inclined :)

I used the same fabric as I did on my DIY-tai and I love that they are all matchy matchy :D

All the hems are rolled, rolled hems are a new technique to me and it almost put me off starting it but after I'd done just the first couple of inches and got round my first corner I was really comfy with doing the rolled hem and even stopped pinning them after a while and just rolled on the stop/start instead (I hate pins anyway so any excuse really) It too me ages inbetween the kids and getting other stuff done but I still reckon I put about 25hours into it and every second was worth it and I'm now planning my next one... I think it might be purple :)

I love bags but I don't really DO bags lol all that having to hold on to something and remembering to pick it up if I put it down somewhere so I don't lose it :( (I've lost loads of stuff by leaving it at my bum :() anyway no probs there with this bag, it's really comfy on the shoulder, it can be a rucksac too if I wanted and the best thing is, I love it so much I could NEVER forget about it YAY!

The red bit is the original, bonafide, the real thing Onbag DIY label available from the lovely Sarah herself :)

This is the bottom of the bag, I put an extra hem that looks like a rolled hem between the bottom of the side pocket and edge of the bag bottom to add some extra structure to the bottom of the bag :)

I made the front flap 3 inches wider and 3 inches longer to give better coverage to the front of the bag but also so I could get more of the lovely dolphins pattern in :D

DIY-tai

2009-09-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

103_2793Originally uploaded by BobbinD

The blue splodge and I have been Babywearing since he was about 6 months old. We started with a Ring Sling that we got from a lovely mama on the Goddess Mums Forum, then at about 16 months old I moved on to wrapping and found a new Natural Parenting Forum, Natural Mamas

I love wearing my Kids as it gives me an amazing chance for bonding and also I get to have two hands to do other things with, not least holding the pink splodges hand and of course that of my Darling Luffly Husband ♥

Anyways, always believing that things are best when DIY'd I set about making myself a Mei-tai in fabrics of my choice and taking all the bits I liked best about all the other carriers I'd seen or tried.

The best part was the pattern designing, there are loads of tutes on the net and loads of people have already made they're own and have loads of advice to give. My biggest concern was with the hood, I was looking for something hood shaped and snuggly so I made mine so that it has drawstrings around the curve and some faux fur around the edge so when it's pulled up it forms around the head and is really cozy ♥

I ended up selling all the other carriers I had as now my Dolphin DIY-tai is my goto carrier and I love it so much I made a matching OnBag to go with it.

This is the first one I made just as I had to add an action pic but I don't have any yet of the Dolphin one :)

OMG what a weekend!!!

2009-03-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

woolfish

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

Saturday stands out as one of the best days of the year so far.

A morning filled with the Woolfish Wool Festival at St Abbs where I met Natalie from the Yarn Yard, the Bordertart and many other s that I've only ever heard of or spoke to through Ravelry.

After I bought the cutest little felted Alpaca from Cairndinnis Alpacas and a Diddy Niddy Noddy we left and headed north to The Haddington Spinners Open Day.

I've never seen so many spinning wheels in one room before, the most I've ever seen is erm...? one...! mine! lol :D ScottishFibres were there with their stall and I wanted to buy the new Ashford book of Dyeing plus they had another diddy niddy noddy which I wanted to buy but I didn't have enough pennies on me so I'll have to be patient til the next time I see them.

All in all it was a fibery, yarnish, tactile, squooshy, amazing Saturday that will tide me over til WoolFest in June.... I'm counting the days and keeping my eyes and ears open for other opportunities to get my fibre fix.

Next on the calendar... the Edinburgh Spinners Guild met on the 21st May :D

New Colourways in Shop!

2009-02-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

Shop Update

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

In the picture we have Chocolate Cherries, Pebbles, Refresh and Pink Shadows. These are a few of my favourites that are in my shop just now.

I've set up a members only area, that is quick and easy to register for, that will allow you to have sneak previews at any special colourways or updates on any new fibers that might be coming in. Members will also recieve the occasional newsletters by email and discount codes in the future.

On another side I'm love love love love loving this venture and I'm so glad that Jess at Dragonflair gave me the inspiration to get my bum moving and do something other than just thinking about it.

Many Thanks to all of the lovely ravellers and goddesses who have already signed up for my newsletter. Every time I get the email that says someone has signed up, I get a squishy feeling inside, kind of a combination of hugs and nerves :D huggy because somebody wants my newsletter and nervous because I'm not really sure what I'm gonna say in it yet :D

Anyway, back to the dye pots for me.

~~~ D skips off with glee into the steaminess~~~

I am addicted to Nav Ply!

2009-02-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

pumpkinpie handspun

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

I find it almost meditative, I love the repetitive, smooth nature of it and also the way it allows the colour changes to maintain clarity.

I thought I'd use this picture just to show off one of my favourite colourways at the moment and also some of my more recent spinning, which is of course, Nav Plied!!! :)

Halona Yarns

2009-02-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

halona yarns signatue

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

I have opened my own online shop selling my own hand-dyed and handspun fiber and yarns.

I had been toying with this idea for a good part of last year and it was only while chatting with a friend of mine on MSN that I realised that thinking about it wasn't getting it done!

I have got a few colourways up already and my darling luffly husband and I have been trying to get the website up and running as quickly as possible, there have been a few teething problems and I'm still trying to get it all organised to exactly how I want it but my DLH is a pooter whizz so he's on the case and making it all run smoothly for me which is great as it leaves me more time for Spinning and Dyeing instead of slogging at the pooter :D :)

Please come to HalonaYarns.co.uk and have a look around.

St Valentines Day

2009-02-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

Valentines pressie

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

My Darling Luffly Husband bought me something for Valentines that wasn't flowers or chocolates or wine. It wasn't lacking in thought and it wasn't something I wanted to ask for the receipt for so I could return it.

This Valentines has excelled all other Valentines in our time together, it took real thought and it means he's been paying attention when I've been talking to him about spinning! ;)

My Darling Luffly Husband bought me the one, the only, the Brand New SLIDING HOOK FLYER from Ashford.

I'm such a lucky Girly
:) :) :)

Barber Poles

2009-02-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

3rd skein

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

I've had this sitting as singles for ages on the bobbins as I'd already plied half of it and had never got around to plying the rest. so here it is.

This was 25g of pink and 25g of purple and 50g of white, I space spun the pink and purple onto one bobbin and then spun the white single on another and barberpoled them together, it gives it a self striping effect with a marl of white, pretty funky if I do say so myself :)

I have been emptying my bobbins as I have had to part ways with my lovely Halona. I have upgraded to a Brand New pre-laquered, double treadle, scotch-tension Ashford traveller who I have affectionately called 'Halona Too' in memorium to my first love who will be much missed, but I'm sure Lucy, her new owner will love her as much as I have.

Farewell Halona, teach Lucy well.

Booga Bag KAL

2009-01-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

sunset colours for GM KAL

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

This is the wool I've bought for my first ever Knit A Long (KAL) It's called Icelandic Lopi Roving, it's an unspun yarn perfect for Felting and it's loads of fun to work with. The Pattern for the KAL is the Booga Bag, a FREE pattern by Black Sheep Bags.

The KAL has been organised on GoddessMums by WoolyWumpkins and there are about 6 or 7 of us who are taking part. This is my first KAL and I'm so excited, I can't wait to cast on.

I'm hoping to be able to create a slow blend of the colours all the way up the bag, I'll be working it double stranded so I'm hoping to work x amount of rows in the rust (the dark one) then x amount of rows in Rust and Yellow then x rows in just yellow then in yellow and white then just white, I'm hoping for a smooth transition effect after it's felted.. we'll see how it goes :)

Oooh! Pretty Pink Dresses!

2008-11-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

reversible sundress pink hearts

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

My Darling Luffly Daughter runs around in jeans and T-shirt coz I have NOOOOO fashion sense and I have a staple of Jeans and polo shirts in my wardrob and that is it :)

Recently however my daughter has been running around with anything pink and floaty on her head prancing about and saying 'me a princess, me a princess!'

You don't get much more of a hint from a 2 year old that the jeans just aren't cutting it anymore lol :)

So I ordered the Sew Baby Reversible Sundress Patternand got some really pretty fabric from my favourite fabric shop The Mad Crafter and made her a pretty dress to wear, Ta Daaaaaaa! (as my Luffly Darling Daughter would say lol)

It only took me one night to cut it all out and sew it all together and that included transfering the pattern for her size on to Vilene first. I was SO proud when I finished it (@1am) that I hung it on a hanger and chased upstairs to show it my Darling Luffly Husband (who wasn't feeling well and had been a sleep for hours, oops) He was groggy and said "Ooo yeah it's pretty" then went back to sleep. The funniest thing was he was all surpised at the pretty dress hanging on the wardrobe door in the morning as he remembered little of being woke up in the middle of the night hehe!

The that day she wore it to go to nursery. I'd said to the ladies there that she was going to grannies afterward to show off Mummys handywork, (modest ain't I lol) But when her Dad went to pick her up (that's a whole different post BTW) she didn't have the dress on anymore !?! Just aswell she had the T-shirt and Jeans on underneath, the dress had been a tad on the short side (my Daughter is tall for her age) and I didn't have any tights for her and it was cold outside lol :) Turns out the nursery staff were afraid of her getting paint on it!!! lmao

Pumpkin in The Dark!!!

2008-11-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

pumpkin in the Dark 2008

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

This is gonna be a short blog, I dunno whats wrong, started 3 times and found nothing more to say than - here is my Pumpkin, I was well proud of it, my daughter was amazed by it and all the kids that came to Trick or Treat thought that it was ace.

So there it is... A Cheeky Jack O Lantern for my Daughters First Halloween.

Fall Back!

2008-10-26T16:09:00.000-07:00

I forgot, I was told a fornight ago, I was told yesterday and I forgot.

Yesterday I forgot more than falling back in time. I was at the carboot and I saw something for my Son Christmas, it was quite big and I'd just arrived so I paid for it and asked the woman to keep it for me and i'd come back to get on my way out.... you guessed it, I forgot! It wasn't the money, although it was that too, but I really thought my son would have really enjoyed it for Christmas. Oh well maybe she'll be there next week.

Well after getting up early, the kids wanting to go to bed at 6 and having the longest hour of trying to keep them up til bedtime showed on the newly adjusted clock. Poor cherubs didnt' understand what was taking so long for bedtime to come, but they are all tucked up in their beds now and hopefully tomorrow will bring normality and theywill get up at their normal time and bedtime won't take so long to come around.

Frugal Bugal!!!

2008-10-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am becoming more and more aware of how my pennies are being crushed by my Pounds.

Everytime I turn on the news I her about indexs falling and people getting scared because they might loose millions! Pah, if they've got it they can loose it in my mind.

My fears are simpler than that. What if I can't afford to buy Chicken anymore, I love chicken but it's expensive as it is, eversince that guy with the name I can't remeber coz it's too long stuck his neb into it. Two chickens for a fiver was just up my street thank you very much! Now you can't get enough breast to feed the family for under a fiver unless it's on offer!

Right now I couldn't care less for the underpaid seamstresses - warm jersey for my Daughter = £1- Thank you very much, I'll have 2! No light for 40days then they die chickens - Feeds my family for four days + a pot of soup - Thank you very much, I'll have 2 for £5.

Why does everything have to be soooo PC. In times of economic meltdown the only person I'm gonna be caring about are me and mine. Charity donations are at an all time low - no bloody wonder - Charity Begins at home in this house I'm afraid.

Another thing I can't stand is people moaning one week about how skint they are and then the next week they are flashing off another new pair of trainers while sparking up a fag!!!!

I'll stop ranting now, can you tell that something ticked me off. :)

Comment if you want, just remember I'm not preaching it's just My Blog and My Opinion, you don't have to agree with it!

Chicken: SMASH!!!

2008-10-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Chicken Smash (8) crop

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

This is what we had for dinner tonight. It wasn't as pretty looking as it was on the cookery telly programme I got the recipe from Last night but I'll bet it was just as tasty!!!

Jamie Oliver called it Chicken Paramsan but my Darlin Luffly Husband affectionatly named it Chicken SMASH! :) The recipe is on his website and it's in a short video which means you get to see it all happening.

Well Jamie quotes £2.80 per head for this recipe!?! I about dropped off my seat when he said that and then added the "not too bad really!"

Well I used stuff that was in my freezer already, instead of RSPCA Organic Chicken I used ASDA Smartprice

Chicken, instead of Parma Ham we had good old fashioned Bacon and as the only Parmasan Cheese I had came dried in a tub I opted for freshly grated Chedder. I reckon that the whole meal which included mash and sweetcorn came in at about £5 and would have fed four but as my youngest isn't quite into chewing on stuff yet my Daughter, my Darling Luffly Husband and I kinda pigged out on it. Hehe!

After you layer it up, the Chicken, then the Cheese, then the Bacon on top, it'll look like a really cute parcel. But You have to cover it over with the Clingfilm and then SMASH! it with something big and heavy, like say a big heavy assed copperbottomed frying pan for example. Then after a couple of SMASH!s you'll feel much less stressed and the cute little parcel will look more like road kill which means it'll cook in under 6 mins and will get to the table quicker.

My DLH is wanting this for tomorrows dinner again and it's so quick and tasty I think it will take a permanant place on the list of things to cook for DLH when I want something new or expensive. :)

5 Minute Bread

2008-10-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

5 minute Bread

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

I've been caught up and swept along in a craze. It's a bit late in getting to me as the book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, that started the tide rolling was published about a year back. The recipe I followed, Simple Crusty Bread was an adaptaion from the book which gives loads of variations for the basic dough recipe.

What appealed to me most about this 5 minute bread is that it doesn't need any kneading. I HATE kneading bread and it's put me off having homemade bread in the house everyday beacuse it's just to time consuming with the kneading and the proving and the rising and the re-rising etc etc but this recipe takes all of that away!!!

It's just four ingredients, Flour, yeast, Salt and Water, mix it in a bowl, set it aside to rise, shove it in the fridge till your ready to use it, pull some out, shape into a tin and let it warm up then shove it in the oven. I didn't believe that it would be so soft and nice and tasty with out Kneading it but I was pleasantly surprised.

If you have ago, leave a comment and let me know how you got on with it.

Good Luck!

BagLove

2008-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Handspun CPB bag

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

This is what my First Handspun on Halona, my Ashford Traveller became.

The pattern is called BagLove and it's perfect for holding a full centre pull ball in so it doesn't get tangled at the bottom of your project bag. The pattern is really easy, great for a beginner like me and brill coz it knits up into no time ( about 3 nights in my case but I'm a really slow knitter) and you get something really useful at the end of all your hard work.

I love mine and I love that it's made with my own handspun.

This spinning and knitting thing is more addictive than I could have ever have believed! I'm sooooo inl ove with my little bag coz I spun, knit and now I can use it and I did all myself.

WOOHOO!

More Handspun!

2008-09-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

First yarn on Ashford Traveller

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

Here is what Halona can produce! She did it all by herself I'm sure. It's a lot smoother and easier to spin on that my first Wheel and this 100g or so of carded Icelandic wool seemed to go on to the bobbin so quickly, and then another bobbin went the same way so I plied them together and that was all done in one night (ish) I think I may have plied it the following morning but it all went to fast I forgot. lol :)

I'm well chuffed with it, it's not perfect but I can definitly see an improvement! I've got 200g of Corriadale that I'm gonna try next I hope I can do it justice :/

Introducing Halona!

2008-09-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

Halona

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

I'd like you all to meet Halona. I've called her this as the meaning of the name is well suited to the circumstance she came to us under.

I blogged recently that I had gotten an old Spinning Wheel out of my Classifieds for £25 but what I didn’t then know was that if you run it Anti-clockwise to ply you ended up with the Bobbin, Flyer, and whorl all unscrewing themselves! lolSO it was time for a new plan!!!

I’ve been procrastinating with listing some stuff on Ebay but when my Spinning wheel broke the listings went up super quick as I NEEDED a new Spinning wheel.

Well Karma/Spinning Gods/ my Grandad looking down from above/call it what you will, was shining down on me today coz my Darling Luffly husband picked up another bargain at the carboot!!!

So, Here is Halona, She is my new Ashford Traveller with 9 Bobbins in almost-new-but-been-neglected-just-needing-some-loving condition. We got her for a heaven sent price of only £50 (honest) and she spins like an angel (shame I don't but I'm sure pratice is all I need)

P.S. Halona means: Of Good Fortune.

Tribble Trouble

2008-09-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

First Tribble with First Yarn

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

This is what I made with my First Yarn - It's a Tribble - a knitting pattern inspired by some fluffy round thing in a sci-fi movie. The pattern called for cotton so at least you'd be able to wash the dishes with it. But what I wanted this pattern for was because it used a tiny yardage and meant that the 48 yards I'd spun would be enough to complete it :)

So here it is, my 48 yards of handspun is now a Tribble that if I tried to wash the dishes would decrease 50% in size and therefore become even less useful :(

I love it though, it's my first handspun project and I think it's a work of art!

My First Handspun Yarn

2008-09-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

First Yarn on First Spinning wheel

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

This is the first handspun yarn I've done on my £25 spinning wheel I got from Gumtree. I used Carded Icelandic wool From the Twist Fiber Craft Studio.

It's really over spun and it's really uneven in width and texture but I don't care! I've really chuffed with it :) even although it does feel like horsehair twine :(

The only Problem I had with doing this is that my Cheap Old spinning wheel is fine going clockwise do to the singles, However, when it came to running Anti Clockwise to do the plying the Whorl, Flyer and Bobbin all unscrewed from each other and made Plying very frustrating indeed as I had to stop every two mins to tighten everything back up. As you can see from the pick though... I got there in the end.

I present my first Skein to the world! :) :) :) :)

All Spun Out!

2008-08-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

SpinningWheel

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

Look at my pretty Spinning Wheel that I got for the bargain, knock down price of...... only £25!

My Darling Luffly Husband is always on Gumtree see if there are any bargains to be had, he's after anything from computer games to campervans and the latest find... land in the highlands (Me thinks I better start knitting thicker Jumpers :) )

It was on one of his many trawls through Gumtree that he saw my soon to be new Spinning Wheel. I'd wanted one but the price was a bit off putting. I'm well known for spending loads on something (e.g. Lateral Thigh Trainer) and lasting a week at it then never using it again. I'd been looking at drop spindles but hadn't gotten one as i just knew somehow that wouldn't be the same, lol, a touch of Fiber Snobbery never hurt anyone, right?

So anyway, It needed a bit of work as the person selling it had never used it and it was a dry as a dinosaur bone. I gave it a new drive band of green twine (all I had at the time, but it's doing the job) I also had to squeeze about half a tin of oil into it to get it go round smoothly, I'm still having to heavily oil it every time i getit out so as not to pull a hamstring while treadling lol. So Far I've had fun with yarn barf, shabby singles and now I'm on the slow path to something that is starting to look a tad like it might ply up into something knittable.... watch this space!

ADSL, We are GO!

2008-08-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Tiscali

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

We registered with a new internet company recently and we had our phone and net line all changed over. The phone kicked in about a week ago and today the new router arrived. :)

I looked at the box and for a fleeting moment I set it aside for my Darling Luffly Husband to do when he got in from work. In the same second I changed my mind and thought "I can do this!"

AND I DID!

I am now writing to you all on my newly connected Internet that I did all by myself!

Altogether now - "Well Done, What a Clever Girl!"

lol:)

Centre-pull ball

2008-08-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Centre-pull ball

Originally uploaded by BobbinD

Ooooh how I love eBay.

I got a hardly used Knitmaster Wool Winder for a Bargain and I it arrived in about 36 hours which was sooooo fabby!.

I’ve been winding various bits and bobs of wool with it and I’m so impressed! Little balls of perfectness each one of them and no more wool getting tangled and dirty on the floor. WOOHOO!

All I need now is to save up and get me a Swift to go with my ball winder and I can start buying some of all that pretty yarn I see on ebay all the time that comes in the funny twisty hanks.

Man in Charge of the Kitchen?!?

2008-07-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well last night was knit and Natter night again and I'd made Meatloaf coz I knew Darling Luffly Husband and my Daughter would enjoy it, it was quick and easy to prepare and it meant that I woudn't have to serve it up before I left and it gave me an hour of 'free' time to get ready and get other stuff sorted before I left.

As I left I did have a wonder about the success of my plan of leaving a man in charge of my kitchen. I had left full instructions on what to do when the timer went off and left him a tin of Baked Beans out as subtle stearing away from Meatloaf sandwiches :) My Darling Luffly Husband is an intelligent human being but ultimatly a man all the same so my wondering was valid I thought.

When I got home I was starving. I was expecting to go in to dried up meatloaf and a full can of beans but what I got was a pleasant surprise. My Darling Luffly Husband had covered the remaining Meatloaf and had left me a portion of beans so all I had to do was slice and microwave and sit down and enjoy.

So I reckon that leaving My Man in charge of the Kitchen wasn't the disaster that may have been in many other kitchens up and down the country. It's all in the training girls!!!

P.S. I love you Darling, don't ever change.

Meatloaf:

400g mince, a HUGE onion finely diced, Salt and Pepper (more than you think), 4 stale bread rolls wizzed in the blender mixed with a egg and some milk til it's squishy.

Put everythig in a big bowl and mix with your hands till it's all combined then add a big squirt of ketchup (a la Roseanne Barr) and mix it again.

Stuff it all into a greased 2lb loaf tin then bake for about a hour at 180 degrees.

Carboots & Festivals :)

2008-07-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

The local 4 day festival is going on round here just now and the usual weekend carboot I go to was awful as a result. The fesitval is supposed to bring loads of visiters to the area and be great for the economy etc etc but... because of fear of the traffic jams and hoards of tourists the locals... stay at home hehe! :)

The result was though that although the carboot was smaller than usual :( and there were less people there to buy... I got a greater number of bargains yay! :)

If the weather holds out I'll be going to another carboot tomorrow morning so I've got my fingers crossed the rain doesn't come. so if it's sunny, check in for another bargain udate tomorrow.

Knit n Natter

2008-07-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

I went to my first ever 'Stitch n Bitch' tonight and it was FABBY!

I was soooooo excited to go, I thought it was on TUESDAY but it wasn't so after a day or twos delay I got all excited all over again today, on THURSDAY, the right day for the knit and natter at my Local Yarn Store.

My Darling Luffly Husband was looking after our two kids for the evening so I was running round trying to do some last minute tyding up, putting jammies on the kids, getting supper ready so everything was kinda already done ;) Then I checked my watch and found out I was late.

By The time I'd got ten mins out the village I realised that all the running around had made me work up quite a sweat and I had.....BO!

ICK just what you want when you're meeting a bunch of new people for the first time hehe... sorry girls, I'll be more relaxed and leave time to shower next time .

There were so many lovely projects on the go, can't wait for the next one to see the progress. It's only 14 sleeps, hehe. I'm like a kid waiting for christmas to come around again.

STOP! It's the Holidays...

2008-07-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Everything stops at Holiday time round here.

Both my Kids are under school age and I am totally unaware of the dates of school terms so it seems that everytime we get settled into a routine of toddler groups, nursery days and mamma-meets it all comes to a grinding halt coz... the schools are holiday!!! Grrrr. For Seven... SEVEN weeks, those of us without kids at school are left in a kinda lonely Limbo. My Husband is still working regular shifts, we ain't going anywhere on holiday and if I go out with the kids it's just me and the kids. It's not all the other kids in the village to play together and all the other Mums to chat with. :(

May the next seven weeks pass as quickly as they did when I was a kid at school, hehe! I wait eagarly for the recommencment of all the toddler groups, nursery days and mamma-meets. :)

All In a Ravel

2008-07-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hiya, I ain't been blogging in a while coz I got all caught up at Ravelry.com

For anybody who doesn't already know, Raverly is a knitting and crochet community for all the lovely crochet and knitters out there looking to chat with and be inspired by other crochet and Knitters.

When you sign up first they send you an invite to your email address and then when you answer the invite you get to enter the world of everything that is Raverly.

My Username is BobbinD look me up when you get there :) Have fun, Hope to see you there soon.

The Elusive Crochet Pattern

2008-06-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

I recieved this blanket as a gift from an elderly friend of mine when my first daughter was born. I asked for the pattern but I never got it so after we moved I started to look for it on the internet. I found out that it was an old pattern called 'The reversible shell afghan' from Lee Wards who went out of business in the 1990s, :( I also discovered that I wasn't the only person after the pattern.)

My Daughter is 2 years old now and I also have a 6 months old son and I was getting desparate to track down the pattern so I could do a blue one for him. The funny thing was when I gave up looking and started to look for another project for him I stumbled across the pattern on Freepatterns.com. Although the pattern calls for crochet cotton and a tiny hook size but I'm working in DK on a 4mm hook. I think it looks pretty much exactly the same. :)

I can't wait till it's finished and hugging my son at night.

Please leave comment if you find this pattern link helpful.

Lazy Sunday!?!

2008-06-23T03:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning was Fabby. I got a lie in til about half nine then I was awoken with Breakfast in bed by my Luffly Darling Husband and my Beautiful Daughter, this, however was the end of my Lazy Sunday!
After Getting up my Luffly Darling Husband crashed on the couch and then decided it was his turn for a lie in so when he took my Son up for his nap at half ten he turned in for one aswell. I sat down with my Daughter and we watched a bit of telly while I tried to get some crochet done, that didn’t work. I went into the kitchen and decided to start a messy job.

I created this mess with flour, egg and breadcrumbs with garlic on turkey pieces:

to Create this for lunch, Homemade Chicken Nuggets:

but by the time the oven was preheated it looked like this and lunch was smelling fabby.

So after Lunch was done and tummies were all full the phone went and the Mother-in-law AND the Sister-in-law were coming to visit. Thinking they were only 10 mins away at a local farm shop/cafe I jumped up off the sofa and started scooting round the house tidying and washing and hoovering and dusting, dressing the kids, doing my hair, changing my top sticking my ear out for the door chapping… An hour later they still weren’t here!?! When they do arrive it turns out my visit was being tacked onto the end of a shopping trip, they hadn’t said that on the first phone call
Well, goodnight for now, maybe tomorrow will be on a slower pace… here’s hoping.

Ooh It's Exciting!

2008-06-21T13:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first post on my first weblog.

I hope to use this as a personal journal, a daily diary of daily things. A note of all things Kids, cooking, crochet and a like.

I'll try to keep it interesting if only for my own sanity so if I'm ever to re read it all I dodn't feel my own life is boring and uninteresting.

I'm not saying it will be fascinating or checkback-worthy. I won't claim it will be updated everyday or even every week but only when I remember and if I've got time.

It is going to be honest and to the point, If it happened the post will be without bells on and if it made me happy, angry, sad, tired, manic or bored I'll say that too.

Happy Reading and Please post comments. I want your own honesty too. Tell me how you feel reading my blog and as long as you are polite about it I won't delete anything.