Well, it has happened. I have turned 40.

And do I feel depressed? No! Not at all! Actually, I’ve been quite looking forward to it and I have some good vibes about my forties being my best years and all that. Sure I’d like a few less wrinkles, to be less ‘flappy’, to tackle my list of ’self-improvements’ (to be a better person) but on the whole I am fairly happy with where I’m at at the moment.

This month has been frenetic. Work has been exciting, challenging and rewarding but on the whole exhausting. I am dealing with the prospect of maternity leave (and who will do my cover) and that is not entirely pleasant but I know my priorities will shift a bit once the baby comes along (I plan to take 6 - 7.5 months off - not very long I know but I need to work and luckily that is only 3 days a week at the moment which is a nice balance).

With once thing and another, this month has also been a bit of an emotional roller coaster.  So knitting has been a much needed anodyne. And I have been doing quite a bit, though - in my usual way - flitting from one thing to another, therefore nothing at present is finished. But, no worries, it all will get done at some point! I have the same approach to house stuff - I float around chipping away at this and that and starting something then getting distracted (luckily I am not so like this at work, but I do believe in catching the right mood for different tasks!) but in the  end when given a deadline it normally all gets sorted.

So … these are some of my current projects (the patchwork blanket and socks too but not much progress there of late):

Kiri - been meaning to do one of these for ages. You get used to working the fine Kidsilk Haze on 4mm … after a while. However, if it goes wrong I don’t have a clue how to fix it.

Clapotis - by Kate Gilbert and another ‘me’ project I’ve been putting off for ages.  I’m knitting it on bamboo circulars with Noro Silk Garden colourway 265. Ahhhhh. Why, at 6 months pregnant, I’ve suddenly decided to devote more knitting to myself (a rare event) is a bit strange … some sort of denial?

Hearts and Stars blanket in Baby Bamboo yarn. I think I’m knitting it a bit looser than the pattern wanted but I love the drape and it’ll be a nice big blanket and I’ll be buggered if I’m going to start again anyhoo!

Baby Romper in traditional arran style. Yarn is Schoeller and Stahl Limbo superwashable and it’s beautiful stuff. I’m not so keen on the hearts design here (a bit fussy) and missed it out on the back panel but it’s a super warm baby knit and feels very luxurious. Only one arm and the collar to go.

Perhaps when I next blog something will be finished!

This hoodie I made for Bun is from this wonderful book by Debbie Bliss - The Baby Knits Book.

It is (of course) too big, but not too big too wear. I like it so much I might make another one in wool rather than polywhatever (I had some cheap yarn to use up and this will be a good washable play jumper).

I’ve returned to a project I started a year ago - The Classic Romper from a little Vogue Baby Knits book. I’m knitting it with lovely Stahl & Limbo (washable too!) and although I originally had a bit of a headache with the pattern it is going well now, so maybe I’ve picked up a thing or two in the past year! And hopefully I’ve now tapped into a source of expert advice - because me and my friend from Cartside finally made it along to a Stitch & Bitch in town. Very interesting to meet other knitters and inspirational too.

I finished We Need to Talk About Kevin btw. Very powerful, disturbing, thought provoking. I hated the presence of the author the first time I tried to read it but the second time round didn’t have a problem and I’m so intrigued by the writing I want to try another of Shriver’s novels. For now I’m making my way through The Shipping News which is so very different from the film that the fact I watched it doesn’t really have a bearing.

P has felt the baby kick this week, and I’m certainly feeling much more activity the past couple of weeks. She seems to be a real night girl, particularly favouring the ‘let’s jump on mummy’s bladder’ dance which means about three bathroom stops per night. But I’m getting very excited about the baby. We were in E’burgh for a night this week (I was at the Lloyds TSB Foundation Forum and heard the very charismatic Mick Jackson from Wildhearts speak on social enterprise) and Bun got to spend some quality time with her 7 month old cousin. I’m so glad she is happy to play and entertain with him - they both were so pleased with one another This surely bodes well for future wee ones on the scene no?

We stopped off in Moffat on our way back from the Lake District on Sunday. We had promised ice cream, so we had to deliver. We found a cafe that was just shutting (just on the high street across from the Spa) and the lady made us these ice creams - one for me and one for Bun (Daddy just got raspberry sauce). Also, the wafer cone was stuffed with ice cream all the way down. Maybe she was glad it was the end of a long summer day on her feet, maybe they indulge all their customers with such treats. Only another visit will tell.

Today I not only did Useful Things but did some crafting as well - or at least some preparation for a project. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about quilting, and after seeing a most excellent little project on Flossie Knits, decided to purchase some strips of Amy Butler fabric for a quilt that will be about the size of a single duvet.

So, after I’d made enough progress on the Sorting Wardrobes project I’ve been procrastinating about for ages, I set about cutting all that lovely fabric into squares and laying out on the bed into the arrangement I wanted.

This was the result.

Next step tomorrow: lots of sewing.

I thought I’d post a few photos of some gloves - or rather ‘hand warmers’ - I did over the Xmas period. These ones are all done in Rowan so make quite nice little family set. However, I’ve still to do the other glove for P but since I didn’t manage to finish for Xmas the project kind of got de-prioritised so I need to put it back on the lsit.  Poor old thing - I really must finish something for him one of these days!

1. I’m just back from a glorious few days in Wales visiting bun’s grandparents. They have a house on the edge of Snowdonia park (well, two houses actually - a bungalow part owned by P, inherited from his grandad, which we may try let out as a holiday home; and a big old house which M&D are extending/renovating which is a huge exciting project.) They are ‘camping’ out in the bungalow while all the work goes on next door, but they have made the place comfortable and welcoming. The house is on a hill, with a front view of the sea and over to Llandudno’s Great Orm, and a back view of the hills. Bun had a fantastic time, and we made great efforts to use up her boundless energy - walking round Conwy’s town wall, up the ‘mountain’ at the back, down to see the horses and the lambs, and various other walks around the village. She loved helping Granny in the garden, and I was allowed some time on my own, sitting on a bench in the sunshine listening to the lazy hum of the bumble bees and knitting. On Easter Sunday, focusing on celebrating the start of Spring, new born animals and flowering plants etc. we put on an egg hunt, painted old duck eggs, and presented her with various chocolate animals (imagine eyes like saucers, ‘if I’m good, maybe I get to eat something with ears!’) The chocofest was tempered with Granny’s wonderful home cooking - salmon, hake, sea trout, bean soup, fresh vegetables, salads and mezze. Porridge, fruit and home made jam for breakfast. Yum.

2. I got to finish Bun’s hoodie and although on the roomy side is on the whole a success. The material was not great (it’s not wool) but it was cheap and washable and will keep her warm. Photo to follow.

3. The last pair of Araucania socks I knitted, I completely f***ed up. I wore them a few times and they were, sigh, lovely. But, mistaking them for other hand knitted socks, they got put in the washing machine in a thoughtless moment and I’ve completely FELTED them (what did you think I meant?) They fit Bun now, so perhaps may do as slippers.  Anyway, I’ve started a new pair with some more Araucania I got from K1 Knitting Boutique in the West End. I’m using a 5 stitch pattern called Laburnum and so far, so good.

I’m following a pattern by Charlene Schurch from her sock book, and this design is a toe up one - my first time doing upwards and I’m liking it. Both the toe and the heel are done using the short row (wrapping stitches) method, which makes the heel a lot less complicated than my previous sock knits. I’m a bit worried the heel won’t be very hard wearing, so I might reinforce it a bit. We’ll see. I have to say though, I do love knitting socks! My little brittany birch needles are perfect for the job and once you get your head round the sock ‘anotomy’ you can fair zip along

4. My neighbour brought me biscuits and marmalade. This was not only lovely but quite amazing too (she has a two week old baby daughter - I think at that stage with Bun I’d be lucky if I managed to butter my own toast).

5. Not only did the grandparents give us a break in Wales by generally spoiling all three of us, we have left our daughter in their care until Sunday so we can do some house sorting and also get some peace. I love the little whirlwind of chaos and humour and energy that is my wee poppet, but to get some quality alone time with P and by myself is fantastic. Today I slept in, pottered round the house, crafted and read and I enjoyed the peace so much I didn’t even want the radio on. Ahhhh - grown up time. Tomorrow I really must be slightly more useful though: I plan to tackle the spare room where all my paper detritus gets shoved in a wardrobe and there are about a dozen bags with craft projects in that need sorting.

6. Whilst in Wales Marney showed me her considerable fabric stash. I’d already benefitted from some ‘vintage’ Laura Ashley material she gave me last year (I made bunting with it for Bun’s birthday party but still have some left) and again she was very generous and I came away with a bag full of silk, Laura Ashley, some bits of lace, and a whole collection of cotton reels that got passed down from Auntie Edna. She has also lent me an excellent book on patchwork, and we looked at some of her unfinished patchwork projects. One of the projects I plan to start in the next couple of days is a patchwork quilt for Bun’s bed, but I’m also going to use all this Laura Ashley fabric for another quilt, maybe one for the new baby.

7. Baby number 2 - we are calling her ‘bunny’ for now - is kicking around inside and generally making her presence felt. Although skin tags, hormone rashes, symphisis pubis, sore breasts (slight chill? think needles in nipples - ouch) and fatigue aren’t exactly things to be cheerful about, all the signs are that I’m carrying a healthy baby so I’m ‘happy’ (ish) to put up with all the side effects. At least I can make it through the day now, and although not exactly blooming, at least I have enough energy to get through the working day (not this week as I’m on holiday - yippee!), do some crafty things, and make token efforts at house keeping. What more can you ask for?

It’s easy to get out of the habit of blogging, and then before you know it you can’t be bothered to put all the stuff in your head down on the page. I’ve been feeling very unmotivated the past few months. The only thing I’ve done a lot of is reading, which I could do flaked out on the bed. I read The Book Thief, Oryx and Crake, Murder in the Dark (short stories by Atwood), Revelation, Dissolution, The Kite Runner, The Interpretation of Murder, Kafka on the Shore, The Girl who Played Go … and a few others.

The crafting has taken a bit of a back seat amongst all this horizontal leisure time, but I do have an excuse, of sorts … I’m four and a half pregnant! For the first 3 months I felt less than 50% I would say, with headaches and overwhelming tiredness. A few weeks ago things picked up, things being my mood, my energy levels and my knitting. I now have so many projects either on the go or in the planning stage that I’m positively buzzing and can’t make up my mind what to pick up next.

However, I did get a fair few projects finished of late, mainly in the run up to Christmas. Here are a few of them. (I’ve missed out a jumper, and various pairs of gloves, which I may or may not get photos of depending on how hard I hassle my siblings.)

A cardigan for Bun to match her wet spun linen dress. The buttons are from Sri Lanka and made of coconut wood. The yarn is organic cotton.

Bun’s Ballerina Wrap, in Kidsilk Aura. Anyone know how to make the end of ribbons non-frayable?

Oli’s waistcoat in Noro. I just love how the colours came out on the back. I had to break into a second skein of yarn, but never mind - with all those colours you can’t tell! I just need a very small project for the yarn that’s left. A hat maybe.

Marney gave me her mother’s old Singer sewing machine. The first small project was a skirt for Bun’s doll Luca. Then, by request, I did a matching jumper. In Alpaca none the less.

These warm ‘Robin Hood’ slippers are adopted from a couple of ideas I got off Ravelry. The soles are done separately and sewn on. They were knit up in Rowan big wool on small needles so the fabric is really dense and durable if a bit slippy on wooden floorboards.

I’m just finishing a ribbed/cabled hoodie affair for Bun, in something unremarkable, and then it’s on to the baby stuff. I’ve started a blanket and a cabled all in one already. I have seen 2 other blankets I want to give a go - one from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac, and the other on Anknel and Burblets blog. I have a baby knits book by Debbie Bliss, and if I didn’t work, had a housekeeper, and a nanny, would probably knit everything in it. However, I’ll stick to a couple of little jumpers, maybe a kimono, and some blankets. For now. Let the knittingfest commence, is what I say.

The great little hand held video cam / phone that I inherited from K. has gone phut. The battery wasn’t charging properly, then the display screen went off. K has given me another phone - he works in the mobile phone business [there are always numerous phones bleeping and buzzing in this flat; when my mother was staying it drove her mad and one day we came in to find her swiping at the smoke alarm with a broom only to have to tell her it was one of K’s phones! laughed? we nearly peed ourselves!] - but I’m a bit resentful of this small black new phone with it’s teenie buttons and little joy stick.

So I haven’t taken any photos for a while, nor blogged much. But on the knitting front there is much news! I’ve finished bun’s balerina wrap, and half way through an organic cotton cardigan for her. Last night I also decided to make her some slippers, and I’m still experimenting with that but think I will have it cracked tonight. My friend S (from Cartside) and I took the girls for a trip to the West End the other week and a visit to the lovely (but expensive - all the hand dyed and hand wove and 100% wool yarns that Marjory’s in Battlefield doesn’t stock because, say Marjory, no-one would buy it) K1 Knitting Boutique. I bought some more Araucania sock yarn. Because I love it and I’m worth it OK??!! And a couple of gorgeous hanks of Noro - I’ve just picked up a second hand edition of Debbie Bliss’ Bright Knits for Kids from Amazon and want to knit bun and her cousin little waistcoats. The list of stuff I want to knit is getting longer, especially since I discovered Ravelry!

We’ve been getting lots of pictures of little O in his set I knitted for him. The Elizabeth Zimmermann Baby Surprise Jacket was a huge success. It’s fits so well, and is so warm, that I think this will now be the standard issue baby present! And my neighbour just told me she is expecting so, oh dear, I’m going to have to go out and buy some more cashmerino. Good job that nice Mr Brown is keeping interest rates nice and low (pah and humbug! we got a letter from our mortgage lenders Abbey letting us know their change in rates was benefitting us by … wow, just over ONE pound! what complete and utter buggers!)

Yeah, anyway, watch this space as they say as I’m going to be uploading lots of new pics within the week. I also want to redesign the awful header.

Later, alligator.

The clocks have gone back and it has turned freezing here in Glasgow. I had tonsillitus and a bad cold, and only stayed on top of things (just) by going to bed at about 8.30 for a week or so.

Things have been busy this month: I started working 3 days instead of 2, I did a training course (which was excellent), Bun was ill (a very bad cold for at least a week) and K was away in Sri Lanka for over a week … When it rains it pours blah blah.

I have fitted in some knitting. And some Tom Foolery.  Here is the silly bit first.

Thanks to K for ‘helping’ me with this one If you want to know more about fighting the good fight then go see Franklin

I finished the socks in Araucania yarn. Yum. Actually, these were finished weeks ago … and I STILL haven’t blocked and posted to Marichen. Sorry M!

This month saw a couple of good charity finds. This dress I got from the charity shop round the corner which I frequently pop into to see if there is anything of interest. I found this quite strange but wonderful dress (size 10, so forget it). It’s basic structure was a kind of denim pinafore, I guess, but with crocheted wool flowers on the front and the back skirt made of all sort of stripey, glitzy yarn (nothing I would buy but kind of intriguing in the mix). The front also had a bottom tier of this striped knitted confection.

I thought it would make great bag material. So we shall see …. maybe I will get round to doing something with this.

At the same time, in the same shop, I came across this Ralph Lauren 1980’s posing as 1920’s affair:

I bought it for K, and he seemed to like it (I think it reminded him of his boater-wearing days). The instructions say to dry clean only, but I think it’s definately been put through the wash. Anyway, if K doesn’t wear it I’m stripping it down for yarn!

And lastly, I was walking past one of the shops the charity I work for, and it was pissing down with rain, and outside the shop (which was shut for a holiday) was an old but quite good M&S lamp - so I rescued it as it would have been ruined if left out all night. It’s actually quite nice, tho needs a new fitting/switch thingy. I let the manager of one of the shops know, and have promised to pass on a donation!

Before leaving J&J’s country-ok-in-the-city-but-could-be-the-country-if-just-looking-out-the-back-window garden (the ‘green womb’) me and Marney did a quick dash out in the rain to collect some of the lovely ripe brambles (in England more commonly called black berries). They only last a few weeks and J&J have their hands somewhat full at the moment.

Organic brambles (minus a few which got ‘lost’ along the way!); organic beasties included (for free!)

I love jam, but the cupboard and fridge is ridiculously full of jams (we are nearly done with ‘Lesley Jam’ - so thanks Lel!), and especially so after these yummy additions from Marney.

So our brambles became bramble and apple crumble with oats to make it a true Scottish pud.

Grumble Crumble (not my pronunciation)

some apples in pieces (just chuck in what you want depending on size of pot)
some brambles (ditto)
few tablespoons of water (I didn’t add sugar to the base, just to the topping)
For the Crumble:
few handfuls Scots oats
120g plain flour
120g butter or margarine (I used flora light as that was all I had - that was fine if a bit clumpy)
120g brown sugar

For the topping, rub together all except the sugar which you can mix in to dry stuff before cooking, with a wee bit on top for extra crunch. Cook in oven at about 180 C for about 40 minutes.