Finally finished

I'm sure I must get a prize for taking so long to finish this cardigan. I mean, it really is ridiculous. However, I hope I can be forgiven since I do in fact have legitimate reasons for such a lull in productivity, such as moving house... spending a week in London after my father in law was knocked over by a motorbike ( a terrible experience and we are all blessed in that he is recovering well)... spending two weeks in a primary school on work experience to decide whether I want to be a teacher (I do!) and other more minor things. Anyway, without further ado, here is the garment.







It is rather exciting as I really love it and keep wanting to wear it. Its a lot more practical than the last cardigan I knitted, and goes with more of my clothes, which are generally colourful. I'm currently working on Kim Hargreaves Robin hat as a simple project before I start anything major again.


Its a bit further on than this now but I didn't post when I meant to. I'll wait until I finish it for more photos.

I bought Sew Hip magazine the other day. I'd seen it several times on the magazine shelves but wasn't to impressed with the cringe name so hadn't bought it, but succumbed the other day and was pleasantly surprised. A lot of the projects are actually makeable and there was a lovely, if a little short, feature on Janet Clare, who is a general crafter but so talented. Her website is gorgeous, especially the "inspirations" sections. I was certainly inspired, and am planning to make some kind of fabric animal figure for my sister who's birthday is on Friday and she's also moving to a new house, so I thought that would be more meaningful than something bought. The only thing is, my craft room is not in the least bit ready, so i'll have to spread my fabrics on the dining table. At least we've finished the dining room.

Its such a cold day today, so I've lit the wood burner in the undecorated middle room. Heres a gratuitous photo.

Having a woodburner is very special, however, I have realised that the reason we got it - to try and spend less on heating bills - will probably not prove worthwhile in the long run. I read an amusing article in Cotswold Life magazine the other weekend when we stayed at Stanton Guildhouse in the Cotswolds, which, incidentally, is a huge house built in the 50's or 60's to run craft workshops and accommodate people, that one of the appeals of moving to the Cotswolds is to be able to be part of a village where smoke is coming from every chimney and there is the smell of it in the air outside, but it ends up being more for show and cosyness than actually helping the owner to save any money. And speaking of these lovely things reminiscent of olden days, I've just finished reading "The Old Curiosity Shop" by Dickens. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as "David Copperfield", but it didn't take nearly as long to read. I love the characters and descriptions of their clothing and their thoughts and the whole feeling of being transported back in time to when men were polite and held doors open for women, and people acknowledged each other in the street and had time for one another. So with that in mind, I'm going to try and make this 'thing' for my sister.
Have a lovely afternoon x