Is anyone still out there?

I'm a  bad blogger!  I used to be really good but now I am failing terribly.  But I love reading people's blogs about everyday life and really like looking back over the early years of my blog as it is really a precious diary of things that were important to me.  So, I am going to try again!  I don't think I'll be blogging several times a week but I will try to post more often than once every month or two.

I can't catch up on all that has happened since my last post - so I'm just going to start afresh from today........

Monkeys

 I'm always impressed when people tell me they are going to tackle their WIPs instead of casting on something new and exciting and I invariably tell them to forget about it and indulge in the new treat!  But lately I have actually been catching up on some of my own abandoned projects - although I can hear new temptations calling me at the same time (so it's a good job it is too cold for me to venture out to the sewing room and start this project that seems to be sweeping across blogland!)

Round House Socks

So, armed with a new desire to finish a few things off coupled with a renewed enthusiasm for knitting after all the crochet flowers I'd made to sell,  I picked up a pair of Monkeys that had been lurking on the needles and completed them on New Year's Eve.  Then I moved on to a very neglected pair of socks - ones that I had actually started in July 2010 on our family history trip to an Iron Age hillfort (hence their name of "Round House socks").  I had really enjoyed the pattern and the yarn (a lovely soft merino blend from Loop) but for some reason I'd only  knitted one sock - which had duly been worn for a couple of years along with other odd socks.  But this year I started - and finished - its partner, and I love them so I'm very happy.

No Purl  Monkey

When I was looking for some more dpns I found another half started pair of No Purl Monkeys but I can't remember when I started them.  Sock one is now finished and sock two has been cast on then set aside - you can't have too much of a good thing now can you?

Not very mysterious mystery cowl

Another project I found on my needle hunt/tidy up was a mystery cowl - no ravelry project page for it so once again I have no idea when I started it but fortunately it is totally simple and easy to see the rough pattern so I'm just going to do a bit at a time (it is very boring) until I run out of wool.

Then this weekend Julie blogged about her new crochet blanket project which reminded me that I really should be getting on with my very old blanket so I have been trebling away happily playing with colours again.

Meanwhile the younger Lockets are doing their best to improve on their mother's standards.  Dot is becoming a really accomplished knitter and made scarves for me, Mr Locket, Grandpa Dog and Fred for Christmas and birthdays, followed by a fabulous cabled cowl for me (just because she loves me) and these wonderful cabled mittens that she made for Daisy for Christmas (she was knitting them in bed at 6am on Christmas morning after we had opened our stockings!).

Dot's cabled mitts for Daisy

I wear my cowl all day, everyday and I'm far prouder of it than anything I have ever made myself.  She has now embarked on a project to knit a blanket using different techniques for the squares using this book and has so far tackled lace, cables, intarsia and other textural knits - she is way ahead of me at her age.

Dot's gorgeous cowl for me

Daisy has also started knitting and is working on a really long cowl in Big Softie - I just love seeing my girls sitting knitting on the sofa - I would show you a photo but I don't think they would appreciate it now!

Daisy's cowl

Like most of the country we have had quite a bit of snow and more was forecast for the North East but as we are on the coast it seems to be falling as sleet rather than heavy snow so the children were very disappointed not to be getting a day off school.  I'd quite like a bit more snow too - it's better than the slushy mess we have at the moment - but hopefully it will all go away before too long so I can get back to my running.

Fortunately the cold weather hasn't put the chickens off (although they spend the entire day sitting on their perch) and one of the lovely ladies has started laying eggs!  We lost a couple when she laid them on the concrete patio and they must have cracked so the hens ended up eating them but finally we have five and I plan on frying them for the Lockets this evening.

Hopefully now I have written this post I will be inspired to blog more often - if anyone is still out there reading??

Until next time! Lucy xxx