A little trip to the theatre

 

I took Violet to see Dinosaur Zoo, at Birmingham Town Hall earlier today.

 

It was very well done, and there was plenty of child participation. If you know a small person, who loves dinos, I'm sure they'd thoroughly enjoy this show.

 

When the show had finished, I thought I'd done really well, sneakily manoeuvring Violet passed the merchandise stand, only to bump into a balloon seller outside.  Darn it!!!!

 

 

It's nearly as big as she is.

 

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Oh, and by the way, did you check out the pretty Hello Kitty blouse Violet's wearing?  Made by my own fair hand, don't ya know!

 

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Family outing to Warwick Castle

On Saturday we spent a fabulous time with friends visiting Warwick Castle.  It's only 30 minutes away from where we live, but we don't visit very often as it's quite expensive.

Violet had a go at archery for the first time.  Out of the six arrows she shot, she managed to hit the target three times.  Seems like we've got a little Robin Hood in the family.

My favourite part of the day was watching the bird of prey demonstrations.  It was absolutely fascinating learning all about some fabulous birds.

There was even a headless horseman.

What did you get up to?

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Autumn cheer

 

Yesterday, the postman brought me a little parcel.

 

Inside were some beautiful prizes, which I'd won over on my blog friend, Vivienne's, wonderful blog.  Vivienne had held a surprise giveaway, and I was the lucky winner :0)

 

 

Just look at all the goodies she sent me.  A wooden leaf, a pretty little owl tea-light holder, and one of Vivienne's beautifully crocheted brooches, which I proudly wore on the school run today.  Yellow is such a happy colour, and can really lift my mood.

 

As does the blue, blue sky, which has graced the skies today.  After the terrible wet, windy, grey weather we've been having recently, the clear sky, and the blazing sun this morning, was a welcome relief.

 

This is the Holly tree in our garden.  I hate picking up it's fallen leaves, which are lethally sharp, but I love it at the start of Autumn when it's bright red berries appear.  Though they won't last long - the birds devour the entire crop within a couple of days.  It'll probably be bare this time next week.

 

Hope you have blue skies where you are.

 

Happy Thursday.

 

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Fox Cowl

The weather is so miserable here at the moment, that all I want to do is snuggle up on the sofa with chocolate and my knitting.

 

I've got a few projects on the go at the moment (haven't we all), but managed to finish this very quick knit yesterday afternoon.

 

 

It's called The Failynn Fox Cowl designed by Heidi May.

 

 

Violet chose it.

 

 

It's blummin cute.  Don't you think?

 

 

 

 

You'll have to excuse the crappy photos - it's been so dark here, there was hardly any light.  Perhaps when the weather's a little better, I'll be able to take some outside in some natural light.

 

This was such a quick knit.  Only a couple of evenings, then finishing up yesterday with the crochet edging - yes, I actually did a bit of crochet, but only the easy peasy stuff.  Nothing too complicated.

 

The pattern calls for super bulky yarn, so I used Rowan Big Wool in Burnt Orange to obtain the foxy colour.  It's quite expensive, about £8.95 a ball.  I think I used just over 2 balls, which was a pain, because now I have nearly a full ball of it left.  Perhaps I should use remainder to knit a pumpkin!

 

For the black and white sections around the neck and ears, I used Sirdar Big Softie Super Chunky in Meringue and Kitten.  Thankfully, these are relatively cheap to buy at only a few pounds each.

 

All it needs now is a couple of buttons.  I'm a little picky when it comes to buttons, so it might take me a while to find the perfect ones.  Though Violet couldn't wait for the buttons, and wanted to wear it to school today.  I wonder if she's actually taken it off!

 

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Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.

 

Do you love Pinterest?  I do.

 

I could spend hours on there,  ooooing, and ahhhhhhing, and going wow a lot.

 

I come across so many pretty things, mostly out of my price range, but they still get pinned on to one of my many fanciful 'boards'. 

 

However, a few months a go I spotted this beauty, and knew that it had to be mine.

 

(photo blatantly copied from Adored Vintage website)

 

Can you see why I just had to have it?

 

They're Violets.

 

So I ordered it, and after much (much) waiting, it arrived this morning.

 

 

I love it.

 

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Sunday family outing to 'The People's Palace'

 

Aka, The Library of Birmingham.

 

 

What do you think to the architecture?  I actually really love it.

 

It was designed by Francine Houben.

 



 

The Yellow section you can see above, is part of the Children's Library.  A place where you can grab a bean bag or some cushions and just relax, or read.  Of course, Violet loved the fact that it was Yellow, her favourite colour.

 



 

This place is huge - Nine floors of books, more books, a few more books, meeting rooms, exhibition spaces, coffee shops, study areas, and places to just sit.......

 



 

There are also two very pretty roof gardens.  I'm sure these will be packed with people in the warmer months.

 



 

Right at the very, very top, was this room.  It's called the Shakespeare Memorial room, and is housed within the golden cylinder , which you can see from the outside of building.

 

It was originally part of the Victorian library, and was created in 1882 by John Henry Chamberlain.

 

Isn't it beautiful?

 

Apart from being massive, we found the new library to be a very welcoming place.  I like the fact that it's open 7 days a week, and I can see lots of people using it as a relaxing place to meet up with friends. 

 

 It's so much more than just a library. 

 

Plus, there was no shushing to be heard!

 

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The Innocent Big Knit

 

 

Do any of you fabulous knitters and crocheters out there fancy knocking up one, or more, little hats to don the lids of some Innocent Smoothie bottles?

 

You may, or may not, know that Innocent drinks donate 25p to Age UK for every behatted bottle of Innocent Smoothie that they sell.  Isn't that wonderful?

 

If you fancy offering your help, you have until 31st October 2013 to send your hat(s) to the wonderful folk at Innocent drinks.

 

You can find out more, including patterns (both knitting and crochet) here.

 

The good folk on Ravelry are also offering up some free patterns. Like this Christmas pudding by Oliver Boliver.

 

 

Or this Frog (which is also available as a crochet pattern), also by Oliver Boliver.

 

Hope you'll join in if you can.

I've already made a start. 

They only took an hour to make.  Do they need pom poms???

They were super quick & super easy to make.  I wonder which smoothies they'll adorn.
 

I'm sure I'll be able to rustle up a few more between now and the end of the month.

 

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Like mother, like daughter

Some little person's caught the stitching bug.

 

 

Violet's always wanting to 'help' me knit, or sew, or stitch.  So at the weekend I bought her a tapestry kit of a horse.

 

She absolutely loves it, and can't put it down. 

 

Isn't it lovely to see?

 

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.... and the winner is

 

 

Number 1, which was Green Rabbit Designs

 

Congratulations to the lovely Vivienne.

 

Well done.

 

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I had real problems getting the Random Number Generator thingamajiga onto my blog, so ended up having to take a photograph of my computer screen.  I knew that I should have stuck to the old 'put names in a hat' routine!

 

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Hot off my needles

 

Violet's, new cardie.

 

 

The pattern is called Lady Emmeline by Holli Yeoh.

 

I used SweetGeorgia Touch Love Sock Yarn in colours Boysenberry and Saffron.

 

It was the first time I've knit with SweetGeorgia, and it's wonderful stuff.  The colour, and the feel of the yarn are beautiful.

 

The pattern sizing only went up to age 4, so I had to make a few adjustments, by added a few inches here and there.

 

You may remember that I ordered my yarn all the way from Canada, which ended up costing me a fortune in Tax Duty.  That's why I'm thrilled that my local yarn shop has become the first bricks & mortar shop in the UK to sell it. 

 

I'm still undecided as to what to cast on for next. Though I'm seriously considering making a start on the Xmas presents I've got planned.  I've got quite a few ideas running through my head, but I'd better make a start otherwise Christmas will be upon us and I will have ran out of time.

 

You've still got a couple of days to enter my giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post for your chance to win.  Good luck.

 

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Jambo (Hello)

 

Violet and her classmates have been learning all about Africa, and today they were asked to go to school dressed up as African animals.

 

Violet wanted to be a Cheetah, but I found it hard to get anything with a Cheetah print on it.  She's ended up with a lot of Leopard-style print, and a homemade tail.

 

I hope she doesn't scare anyone!

 

 

It's not too late to enter my giveaway.  Just leave a comment on yesterday's post to be in with a chance of winning.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

 

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Autumn Giveaway

 

A very good morning to you all.

 

As we welcome the new season, I thought it would be nice to hold a giveaway.

 

 

I'm giving away 4 fat quarters with an Autumnal theme.

 

 

Leaves in Ivory from the 'Matilda' collection by Alice Kennedy.

 

 

100% Kona Cotton in Tangerine.

 

Running Stitch from the 'Lush' collection by Patty Young.

 

Branches from the 'In the Forest' collection by Steffie Brocoli.

 

None of these fabrics are off cuts from projects that I've started/finished  I've ordered them from M is for Make, specifically for this giveaway.

 

To be in with a chance to win just leave a comment on today's post telling me what your favourite thing about Autumn is.  Also, I'd be interested to know what you think you might make with these fabrics if you won.

 

Closing date is 9th October 2013.

 

Good luck.

 

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