Welcome 2012

Driving home yesterday I saw this strange cloud and quickly snapped a picture (I was a passenger by the way).  It was very wispy and sort of whipped upwards as you can see, quite unusual.
Today it is unseasonally mild, about 12C and I saw a tiny lamb in one of the nearby fields.  I also took a little walk in my garden and these pelargoniums are still flowering their heads off although we have had a few frosts.

It is the last day of the year, and some places have already welcomed 2012.  We've had a phone call from BiL in New Zealand to tell us what 2012 is like - wet apparently!  I heard on the news yesterday that Samoa has changed it's time zone and is now on the same side of the International Dateline as Australia; the Samoans missed out on 30th December completely to make this happen. Samoa calendar change
What are your plans for 2012?  I have my wonderful visit to Japan in April and several other things to look forward to plus a long list of quilting projects as ever but mainly I want to spend time with family and friends.  I wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful 2012 that doesn't go too quickly and brings you many blessings.

Christmas 2011

A quiet start to Christmas with the Nativity figures candle-lit.
Then the party got started:

DGS Sam provided the music;

we played the "Game of Life", DS, DDiL and DD all concentrating hard here;

and my sister provided a lovely Christmas lunch, assisted by my nieces;

an arty shot of the Christmas pudding and it's time we all went for a Boxing Day walk:

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas, thank you for all your good wishes.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas 

and a healthy and peaceful New Year.

Image from http://www.reusableart.com

Friday Night Sew-In

It's December's second Friday Night Sew-In this evening.  Sam has gone to bed and we've had a very easy supper and now I shall soon be sitting down and doing a little knitting.  I haven't got much with me here at DD's house so I might also do some planning and list making for new year projects.   Whatever you do this evening I hope it involves neat stitches and plenty of chocolate plus your favourite jimjams, have fun, see you in the morning.

Having a Great Time

I'm having a very special time at the moment, staying at DD's house and looking after the wonderful Sam while his Mummy has a little holiday in Marrakech.  We thought it was easier for me to stay with Sam so that he can still go to nursery school each morning and has all his own things around.  He is being an absolute star, a super shiny star with extra glittery bits!  I am having a great time (but it's shattering!!)
After school we have been going out, into the city or out to the supermarket. 

Today we are going to a big garden centre to enjoy the Christmas displays and have some lunch.  Sam enjoys being out and about.  I have no idea how I managed to cope with my two children on my own, Al and I seem to be short of hands when looking after Sam between us.
We've had a few messages from Saz, she's been swimming and sunbathing.  We had to de-ice the car before taking Sam to school, doesn't seem right does it? 
Sam is missing his Mummy of course but sums it up as "Gone with Lilly" (Lilly is the friend Saz is on holiday with), I think Lilly is going to get the cold shoulder when they get back!  I'm understanding a lot more of what Sam says due to being with him for a long time and I'm also learning from Mr Tumble - who knew children's television could be so interesting?  Today I've learned to sign "shopping trolley" and "pineapple".
Sewing?  I've done a little knitting and Saz has Sky so I've watched a few crafting programmes but that's about it!  It's FNSI again this week so here's hoping!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This weekend saw the start of decorating the house for Christmas.  I put the wreath up on the front door and then this festive runner on the table.  This is special to me as the blocks were sent to me from my friends in Global Piecers in Christmas block swaps.  I haven't used them all, two have been made into special individual place settings for GS1 and GS2, you'll see those another time.  Thank you ladies, I hope you approve of what I've done.
While I was on a festive roll I put the crib up, hung the button wreath that I made last year and then decided to decorate the tree.  Oh how I love those twinkling fairy lights.  It's always such a delight to get the Christmas tree decorations out, those DS and DD made when they were small, some from when I was young, ones bought on various holidays....all with their differing memories and all special.

With enough done for one weekend I curled up on the sofa under my Christmas quilt while DH decided we should open a box of Christmas chocolate biscuits!  Good plan, my man!

Advent

Golly, it's December, where has 2011 gone?  Today I have hung our new Advent calendar, our countdown to Christmas.  Advent Sunday was last week, when churches light the first candle, for Hope, on the Advent crown, but throughout December we mark each day in a small way.  As a child I had a traditional paper Advent calendar with a little door to open each day to reveal a small picture, a star, a crib, maybe a donkey or my favourite, an angel.  Calendars then started to contain chocolate in each window and a wide variety of fabric calendars, wooden chest of drawers calendars, Advent candles.....appeared.  And who could forget the wonderful Blue Peter Advent crown, a wonder of tinsel, wire coat hangers and almost safe candles?  This year I made this calendar with a printed panel and we are going to use it to make a charity donation. 

Each day we will put money in the appropriate pocket according to how good the day has been (a variation on the "well-fed" jar we have where we add a few coins if we have eaten well that day and the money collected helps those who don't eat well daily).  Today, the 1st December, we are going to the historic city of Lincoln, meeting up with DD and my scrumptious Sam, having lunch out and maybe doing a little shopping - that's going to be worth quite a few coins to kickstart our collecting.
At the weekend I will start to decorate the house, before that I have a little production line going:

 

not seasonal colours and thankfully not needed for Christmas...

Embroidery Challenge for 2012

Deanna at Eclectic Meanderings has alerted me to a stitching challenge that starts in January and looks very exciting. 
It's called Take a Stitch Tuesday and is being organised by Sharon B at Pintangle and what's more, it's free!  I'm going to sign up and try to keep up as I'm getting more interested in embroidery to embellish my work and know there is more to it than cross stitches, French knots and some long straight stitches that gather my work up!  I might not be able to manage every challenge but I'm going to give it a go. 
Why not pop over and have a look for yourself?  All the details are here.  See you at TAST 2012?

Stir Up Sunday

Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect for the Sunday before Advent has given rise to the tradition of  ‘Stir up Sunday’ the day on which we make our Christmas pudding.  I have adapted it slightly to suit our preferences and it is now the day (or a day very nearby) that I make the Christmas cake and everybody stirs the mixture and makes a wish.  Absentee members of the family get a stir done for them and DGS and DD were the first to stir as they were here on Friday - it's lovely the way that we can stretch these Christian traditions to make them our own.

My cake sat in the oven for most of yesterday, sending warm, spicy, Christmassy smells throughout the house.  I now have to decide how to decorate it.  I usually top it with glossy nuts and dried fruits but think I might go for a traditional snow scene this year.  What are your favourite Christmas traditions?

Friday Night Sew-In: Saturday Morning Report, November 2011

I did something a little different last night, knitting instead of sewing.  I've been working on these little slippers for a week or so.  I had to unpick the first one and then sort the pattern out which I wasn't too happy about.  I suppose I should have realised sooner that there was a problem but I've never knitted slippers before so I wasn't sure how it was all going to work - answer, it wasn't!!

The pattern was originally for using Bernat Sox wool and you can see it here:  http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=3815&cps=21191

Two things.  Firstly, it's not a UK pattern and so the shoe sizes are different.  I wear a size 5 and knitted a 7/8 which fits well and a 2.5mm needle is a size 12 in old money!  Secondly, the pattern should read:

Cast on 5 sts.
Beg at heel, work in garter st (knit every row), inc 1 st each end of needle on 4th and every following 6th row 3 times. 13 sts. 

Cast on 17 sts beg next 2 rows. 47 sts.

Cont even for 2 ins [5 cm] in total, ending with a WS row.

Anyway, I'm pleased with my little slippers now and will be knitting a few more pairs soon.  

I then decided to get on with some Christmas projects 

but was soon distracted by Children in Need on television, absolutely amazing generosity from the public in these horrid economic times and amazing stories of children and the people who help them.
Thanks to Heidi and Bobbi as ever, I hope you all had a great FNSI, today I am baking my Christmas cake (more about that tomorrow) and working on the Advent calendar shown above, have a good weekend whatever you're doing.