More Socks And Presents

 Now I've got the hang of the 4 needles there's no stopping me from knitting socks, socks and even more socks!!

The yarn in the sock kit I got from Lidl at Christmas was lovely to knit with and I managed to knit the pair in a week doing a bit each evening 

I like my socks to match up so by wasting a tiny bit of yarn this was easily done and I've got about 3/4 of a ball leftover. I'm really fancying knitting the "bee keeper's quilt" with all this left over sock yarn but we'll see as I'm enjoying knitting socks so much.

Such pretty colours and when wore with my ankle boots they match my red and green skirt.

I knit both my Mam and My sister a pair from the tweedy double knit from the previous post, the lighter ones for Mam,

all wrapped up,

and the conker brown one's for my sister.

Both these were knitted from a King Cole pattern with 2 needles instead of 4 so they needed sewing up and to be honest I think I like the 4 needle way best, it was finger's crossed as I come to the toe's though  as I only had two balls of each colour but luckily I was left with a tiny bit so panic over!!

They were delighted with their socks and as a thank you they bought me this Emma Bridgewater " A Year In The Country" mug, the box is little greenhouse and far too nice to throw away 

chickens and eggs

"The best treat for all your hard work.... a fresh soft boiled  egg"

I think I'll keep it for Easter  time and I can drink my tea while eating  my "fresh soft boiled egg"!

Thank you both very much....I love it. x

Lucey X

Hand Knit Socks

A pair of hand knit socks are just what is needed on this cold and frosty morning and there's none  better than the one's you knit yourself!

These are the first pair I knit after the "trial run" sock that didn't  turn out too bad, after Viv had shown me how to cast on with 3 needles I was away and managed to turn the heel myself but I wasn't happy with the finishing of the toe, more practice was  needed.

You can see the top is a bit "messy" and not very neat where the needles meet but I'm getting better the more I knit, in fact there's no stopping me now!!

These are for Mr Lucey and I even managed to match them up,

after being shown the "kitchener" method for the toes I'm a lot happier now and have just started  knitting my 3 rd pair. I've found it a lot easier if I cast on on 2 needles and knit 3 rows and then transfer the stitches onto 3 needles, it's a much neater finish.

Mr Lucey got me this sock kit from Lidl at Christmas, the colours remind me of Spring and the wool is soft and cosy, 

I picked up a couple of balls of wool yesterday and you got a free pattern with them, so that will keep my needles busy for a while.

We got these socks for Christmas the" holly berry" and "blue tit" are mine and are nice and chunky, just right for wearing with boots, and Mr Lucey wears his "pheasants" as slipper socks, they keep your feet as warm as toast.

they come in other colour ways and they're from "Ramshambles" in York, you can also buy the wool to knit them yourself,

and at £1 a ball this wool  had to come home with me.....well, why not!!

Lucey X

Red Birthday Shoes

There are no dull, dreary days in January for me as today is my birthday!  

 I was born way back  in 1957 and today I am 57, how did that happen I was sure I was only in my 40's when I went to bed last night, I wish!  Last year Mr Lucey celebrated his birthday on 11/12/13, I love it when dates like this occur.

I got some lovely red shiny shoes,

gorgeous flowers,

and a cake that smells of creme caramel, oozing with  chocolate sauce  and topped with strawberries and the best bit is there's not a single calorie in sight as it's a candle!

Mr Lucey took me  on a mystery tour to a lovely place called Killburn in Yorkshire where you can see the "white horse of Killburn" in the distance.

We had a mosey round Robert "mousey" Thompson's where all of the oak furniture has a signature "mouse" carved into the wood, this was Robert Thompson's cottage but now it's the showroom for the furniture.

  I counted over 100 mice scrambling up legs,  along dressers and   nibbling on  cheese boards! 

We popped into The Forester's Arms next door where the mice had followed us and were lazing along the tables and stools, enjoying the open fire blazing away. I can recommend the Lamb shank and veg if you happen to be passing that way, oh and the cider is very good too, hick hick!!

Then we had a little wander round the village,
 past the church,

a stream runs  in front of the cottages

and there was a huge  monkey puzzle tree in one of the gardens

further up the lane is a farm where we got a dozen "fresh farm eggs" this cheeky chappie wanted to come home with us

another second and he would have jumper in the car!

Right off to put on my pj's as there's a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge and some M&S nibbles warming in the oven........

Bye Lucey x

Fed, Watered And Ready To Fly

Oh I do love Christmas Eve, listening to carols while drinking champagne and stuffing myself with delicious chocolates, the excitement listening for the scratching of hooves on the roof followed by a visit from the man himself....

"fed, watered and ready to fly"

Thank you all for reading my "ramblings" and leaving lovely comments I do appreciate it,

warmest Christmas wishes,

Lucey 

X

All Hand Made

Back in September I spied some gorgeous blue faced Leicester wool when I was in York, so I bought  a couple of hanks got out the needles and hunted through my patterns to knit a couple of "Christmassy" cushions.

The wool knits up lovely and is ever so warm and cosy, I made one in brown with cream reindeer's, snowflakes,  trees and border

and the other one in  cream with brown.

Next I embroidered a tablecloth with words from
 "the night before Christmas" on it,

"stockings were hung"

"visions of sugarplums"

Do you remember the pillowcase with the tiny "E" on it, well that's now a tray cloth,

"plum  pudding, oranges and cloves, mince pies and cream" ......mmmm all sounds delicious!!

Mr Lucey got me this gorgeous yellow "Robertson's mincemeat" tin, I have quite a few tins now but this one is definitely my favorite

bake, eat and be merry syrup tin, and a handmade wooly christmas tree  that I got from a fair,

more reindeer's, this time crocheted.

The Christmas tree on the landing has hand made stars, Mary, Joseph and Jesus peg dolls,

and festive cards hung on the branches

and this year's Christmas journal

covered in hand printed fabric that I made on a course last Summer,

little tree's ready for the cemetery, one decorated with rusty bells and filled with hyacinth bulbs and the other with a garland of monkey nuts for the birds.....

and finally....

a little display in the hall.

Wishing you all warmest Christmas wishes,

Lucey x

Wreath Making Class

I saw a wreath making class advertised by the "Parks and Cemeteries" with  all materials  included for £7.50 so I thought we'd  give it a go. 

It was held in a massive greenhouse and we started off with a talk on green willow and a demonstration by Dorothy who had a put together a few wreaths for us to get ideas from, then it was time to "get making"

We each chose 10 lengths of willow and wove it into a ring, weaving away until we were happy with the shape,

then we added the foliage of which there was plenty to choose from and wired it all together,

adding  fir cones, berries  and  dried orange slices  

we finished them off with wired ribbon bows and had a cuppa and a mince pie before taking some pictures.

These two did very well for a first attempt  

I've hung one on the  bike in the back garden along with some fairy lights and an old railway lantern and the other on the fence,

very festive......

A nice shade of purple...this is the bruise on my leg after my fall last week.....must be more careful!!

Lucey X