My absolutely favourite kind of knitting - ever!

I love knitting - that is probably the biggest understatement I could ever make, but it is true. I am passionate about yarn, patterns, works in progress, finished items, stashes of wool, little rolled up balls of leftover yarn, books about knitting, blogs about knitting, wool shops, blogs by little wool shops, online wool shops, boxes around the house stuffed with half made items, patterns and yarns ready to start new items, log cabin blankets in progress, baskets of items I should finish but have to just begin something else......and one something else I just started, and finished is a little Cowichantype jacket for Noah.

I love chunky jackets for kids. Probably because that is how I was dressed by my grandmother as a child - and I still have the jackets! A couple of years ago I made myself two Cowichans and have worn them until they now look a bit on the shabby side. I wanted to make something similar for Noah and found a suitable pattern which just needed a little bit of adaptation - buttons for a zip mainly. I had a first attempt at the pattern in the smallest size and Noah's little cousin now seems to enjoy wearing this one and now I have made one for Noah and I am thrilled with the result. The dark grey was a yarn I bought to make something for myself but never did and the red I bought on a whim one day when I was in Cardiff. The other colours were end of balls. I want to knit more of the same but know very few children of the right age and I'm not sure Noah will want a selection! Charity maybe but I really want to see these jackets worn - they remind me of a simpler life.

Another baby blanket

This has been sitting in a "work in progress" bag for nearly 2 years. The squares were done but not joined together. I wasn't particularly happy with the yarn - cotton nor with the size - knitted on 3.25 mm needles instead of the usual 4mm.

This week I am knitting a chunky baby blanket with cables but I got a bit bored with it and don't like knitting on large needles really. So I retrieved these squares - 20 of them.

I decided on a baby cot sized blanket using just 12.

Now I have to decide what to do with the other 8 - maybe a cushion cover or to knit another share and make a 9 square blanket?

Ducks

When we moved here, nearly 6 months ago, we inherited the cockerel, a few hens and a duck. The duck is an Aylsebury who, inevitably, was named Jemima. She used to have a mate, apparently but he was taken by a fox some time ago and she was a lonely duck when we first met her.

Jemima didn't do a lot during the day. She came out of her house in the morning and waddled along to the pond. Later in the day she could be seen searching out slugs from the vegetable garden. Occasionally she ventured onto the smaller pond but at the end of the day was always waiting by her house to be let in for the night and fed. If we were late she would come towards the house quacking indignantly and if we had been out in the car for the day and only reappearing at her bedtime she could be waddling up the driveway complaining loudly.

A few weeks ago we bought 3 new ducks. They are Miniature Appleyards and very pretty - one drake, two lady friends for him. We imagined, erroneously, that they would follow Jemima around. Oh no! Jemima has become a teenager again. The new ducks are only about 6 months old and full of life. They are not keen on leaving their pond at night - persuading them into their house is a long drawn out affair ad Jemima just joins in. No longer is she there, waiting, at night, to be let in to the house. No, she has joined the young ones in their runaround attempts to get me to fall into the duck pond. As soon as they see me coming they swim to the far end of the pond - way beyond my reach. Our neighbour - the duck supplier, provided us with the equipment to help - a long piece of white plastic tubing. This, it seems, or he says, will persuade them to come out of the pond and go to bed. Maybe it does - for him! Actually, eventually, they are getting out of the pond. It is not an easy task. Great patience is needed and Jemima is just as bad as the rest of them - she has a new lease of life.

All is worth it though for the morning opening up of the duck house. These three little ducks come flying out as soon as the flap is opened and dash to the pond. They throw themselves in and swim around like lunatics. Jemima waddles frantically after them. They are such fun.

Baby blankets

A pattern I have knitted before in double knitting but I think I prefer the one below - in 4 ply.

New knitting for babies

Overheard

Before we moved to the countryside we lived in a suburb of a large city. The city centre was just over a mile away, life was busy, noisy and fairly typical, I would think, of city living.

Here there is a different pace of life. No one hurries. There is time for conversation and people actually chat to you in shops, on the street, on the bus.

I have been amused by conversations I simply would never have had nor overheard in the city:

" the wild boar are such a nuisance in the garden"

" I need pellets for my air rifle"

" you need a polytunnel. It is useless trying to grow anything in the garden with the deer"

" there was a snake sunbathing on my patio"

" the price of oil has gone down so much. I wish I could fit more than 500 litres in my tank"

" do you have your candles and paraffin ready for the power cuts"

" you can borrow my chainsaw"

" I'll bring you a bale round"

" do you want to barter"

" it is such a pain, the Forestry Commission closing paths for felling, I have to ride for miles"

I never thought I would:

Wear a high visibility vest to go out at night.

Wear crocs as standard footwear - and wellies.

Live in jeans and fleeces.

Chop wood.

Wonder what kind of livestock to have to add to our hens and ducks.

Bake my own bread out of necessity not choice.

Freeze milk.

Buy a spare freezer for home grown produce.

Join the WI.

I love it here!