This year's love

Hello there,

You may remember that I restyled my hall during the hurricane that wasn't last year.  If so, you'll know already that I have a small but growing collection of hearts.

We don't go in much for St. Valentine's Day celebrations in the House of NKK.  Anyone who's been in the States between Christmas and 14 February and watched the commercial machine crank up the volume on Hallmark-style romance will understand why.  That, and an in-built contrariness about being told to love each other NOW.  So the heart collection isn't bought on St. Valentine's Day but at random days of the year, when I see a heart that calls to me.  And so it was, just after Christmas, that the tinkle of this lovely proved too difficult to resist.

So, there you have it.  This year's love.  With bells on.

Tonight, I am off to my first WI meeting.  Yes indeed.

Happy St. Valentine's Day everybody.

C.x

And the winner is...

Hello there,

Last week was a bit crap so I am a bit behind on my blogging (again).  But it is a new week and I have given myself a vigorous shake and am Getting On With It now.

So, to business.  Welcome welcome to my new followers.  How lovely to have you here.  And thank you thank you thank you for all your comments on my blogiversary.   In my last year of primary school, our head nun used to refer to scatty girls as Féileacán (fay-le-cawn), and I sometimes think I should rename my blog accordingly.  I have all these grand ideas about posts that I carry around in my head, but somehow they don't get written except in snatches so looking back on the last year, you might be forgiven for thinking that there is no rhyme or reason to this blog.  But the good news is that you don't seem to mind.  And that makes me very chuffed indeed.  You also seem to like my photographs, which is great because I am always happy with a camera in my hand.  And it pleases me that you like the name because even now, a year on, I love NKK.  So the butterfly can flit off.

Anyway, the thing I hate about giveaways is that not everyone gets a prize.  But according to the random generator (Mr. P.) the lucky number here was 10, so if Annie from Knitsofacto could get in touch with your address, I'll parcel up the book and send it on its way.  I suspect that Annie is more of a knitter, but this book seems like the perfect enticement to get sewing.  Congratulations to Annie.

And in keeping with the randomness, on this bleak and grey day I thought you might like these beauties, seen recently in a nearby former RAF airfield.

Back tomorrow.

C.x

Winter garden

Hello there,

I have a sore throat and earache.  Whoa is me.  I've slept most of the day today.  But the weekend - the weekend was a delight.  Much rummaging and pottering and gossiping and drinking and eating and general merriment.  Which probably led to the grots today, but worth it.  We had a sprinkling of snow on Saturday.  Enough to make it look pretty by the sea without too much disruption.

We walked through the churchyard on the way to the sea and came across this.  Just beautiful.

The snowfall overnight meant the garden was entirely transformed on Sunday.  I haven't shown you the garden yet because it's a complete tip.  But there is nothing like snow to pretty things up.  Here, then, is my garden.  Or at least little bits of it, dressed in white.

Off to dose up on hot toddy now.  

C.x

Glow

Hello everybody,

Brrr.  Hope you're managing to stay warm.  It's sooo cold here, but beautifully sunny so that's okay. And I'm trying to contain my excitement because we have visitors coming for the weekend.  Two whole days of eating and drinking and chatting and general girliness.  And it's finally given us the incentive to sort out the bedroom that we've been using as a dumping ground since we moved in.  So this is how it looks now.

I made the lampshade this morning.  Can I just say that again - I made the lampshade this morning.  Yes indeed.  As my sister will tell you, I am a bit obsessed with lampshades at the moment.  It's so difficult to find nice ones for anything approaching a reasonable price.  And then it occurred to me that I could make my own. 

It was a bit fiddly and I needed to call in Mr. P to help at some point.  I suspect it's the kind of thing that gets easier with practice.  Which is good because I have a second kit and am waiting for some Etsy fabric to cover it with.  

Like it?

Have a lovely weekend.

C.x

Please note: this post should be read picturing me skipping around the house.  

I have made something.  An actual article of clothing.  Yes indeed.  LOOK!

I knit that.  Isn't it cute?  It's for a little girl who is 12 weeks old this week.  So it's a good job I finished it, because foolishly I chose the smallest size (3-6 months).  So it was now or never really.

It's from this lovely book.

You can also find the pattern free here on Ravelry.

It was pretty straightforward for the beginner knitter that I am.  I only needed help at the very end.  But I found someone at the crafty group I've joined who showed me what to do.  Such a satisfying feeling.

And I think it really can't be beaten for cuteness.

I've already got plans for my next knitting project.

Will keep you posted.  And thanks everyone for your lovely comments on my growing blanket collection.    I wouldn't be doing any of this without you and I'm chuffed to bits that you take the time to comment on what I get up to.

C.x

Making Winter - A tale of three blankets

As no doubt you already know, Silverpebble and Thrifty Household have come up with the wonderful idea of sharing what we like about winter to banish any signs of gloom in the months of short days and long nights.  For me, winter is all about cosiness.  And cosiness requires blankets.

I have lots of catching up to do with all the posts I have in my head.  For ages, I've been wanting to show you this loveliness.

My Mum found this blanket in a charity shop and gave it to me just before Christmas.  Isn't it just beautiful?  It's in pristine condition and made of cotton, so we bunged it into the washing machine to get rid of the old lady whiff and it came out fresh and spotless. It makes me smile every time I go into that room.  And it's got a lovely weightiness to it that you need sometimes in a blanket.

You may remember that I wrote about coveting a blanket from The White Company here.  Well, they had a sale awhile back, just at the point when the House by the Sea was at its most chaotic.  Now, I had no business at all buying a blanket at that point when we were still at the stage of choosing taps, but sometimes a thing calls to you and you just have to answer the call.  This is the opposite of the white blanket; all gossamer lightness but deliciously warm for all that.  It's on our bed at the moment and keeps our feet toasty when the temperature drops in the small hours.

And then there is my blanket.  It's really not there yet.  In fact it's still a fairly random collection of squares.  But if I squint my eyes and ignore all the threads forget about how many hundreds more grannies I need to do to get it to the size I want, then I can almost see that it will be a blanket some day.

I'm trying to be good and do a granny a day, encouraged by the lovely Annie and Laura of Nimble Fingers and Steady Eyebrows.  And I've been pretty good so far and reckon on about 5 a week.  But we'll see.  

I'm also trying not to be too daunted by how big the bed is compared to each little square!  Maybe it'll be done by next winter.

C.x

Liberty Book of Home Sewing - Giveaway

Last weekend, I realised I'd been blogging a whole year.  Wowee.  I had no idea when I started whether I'd have anything to say.  Or if I'd even maintain my interest in learning how to do things I'd never done before.  But I have loved everything about the whole process.  I've loved learning how to do new things.  I've loved reading about you lovely people that I'd never otherwise come into contact with.  And most of all, I have loved knowing that you are out there cheering me on in my still small creative endeavours.

I know it's traditional on the anniversary of a blog to have a giveaway of a lovely thing made by the blogger.  But I thought you deserved a bit more than that (maybe next year).  So, it hit me that I could give away a book to celebrate.  (Any excuse for a legitimate break in the book diet.) It needed to be a special book.  And a crafty book.  One that would make you oooh and aaah, but that you might not splash out on yourself.  So, I thought this might be just the ticket.

I got a copy with a subscription to Mollie Makes.  And now I want everyone to have one.  This book is beautiful.

If you don't sew, I guarantee that it will make you want to.  If you do sew (and you don't already own the book), you will definitely want to make everything in it.  Immediately.  If you can sew a bit, it will make you want to have a go.  It has beautifully illustrated step-by-step instructions.

And a touch of quirkiness which appeals to me.

And it's clothbound, in hardback, and printed on good thick paper.

I do hope you like it.  If you'd like the chance to own the book, all you need to do is leave me a comment.  It would be nice if you could follow me but you don't have to.  If you'd like to blog about the giveaway, come back and let me know that you have and I'll add your name twice.  I'd love to know what you think works most about NKK and what you'd like to see more of.  If you remember to include that in your comments that would be fab but I won't exclude you if you don't.  In short, I'd love to hear from you.  Oh yes, and I'll choose a winner on  Saturday 11 February so you can leave a comment on this post any time up until then.

Thank you for all your support over the last year.  Not to put too fine a point on it, the last twelve months has been a challenge in ways that I don't write about here, but it had been delightful to have a place to escape to.  That you choose to read what I have to say and comment on my blog is truly amazing to me.

C.x