We're up for sale!

(this isn't our board by the way!)

I am so pleased that we've got the ball rolling and our house is officially up for sale. It technically went up for sale last Wednesday but the for sale board went up yesterday. Wahoo yaah!

We've had a couple of viewings so far and a few more planned for next week. The first viewing was incredibly positive, the people loved the house and there was no negative feedback but sadly they offered on another house :-(. But, that's a really positive start for only a week on the market.

The next big step in our move is having a clear out. The husband is currently on his was back from the local tip after emptying the workshop, aka manshed, aka manfred-manshed. He filled the car to the brim with bits of wood, backs of sawdust and empty pain cans. Most of the wood came from old reptile tanks and other DIY jobs. It was amazing to see how much we'd accumulated over the past year!

I also emptied the mugs & glasses cupboard of all the one-of-a-kind (but once in a set) mugs that seem to gather dust. There was a whole bag full that went out and now we have some shelf space back!

We've also been busy giving the kitchen a new lick of paint, as well as painting the garden walls. They're now gleaming white and have a real Mediterranean glow about them since the sun has come out.

The next steps now is to work our way through each room, packing unnecessary clutter and chucking out junk. We have A LOT of junk... Although this is the most time consuming part of moving I find it the most therapeutic - throwing out old junk and getting ready for a new life somewhere. It's exciting.

Things seem to slowly be falling in to place. There's a house ready and waiting for us in Wales, we just need to move in. So there's no house hunting to be done just yet. It's not very big and we'll need to find somewhere more permanent and larger further down the line but as a stop-gap it's perfect.

My longing for home is going to come true!

A few weeks ago I posted a soppy-ass post about wanting to go back to my hometown. I've been home and family sick since IQ came along. We moved to a city that we found out we rather dislike, which was a major bummer. Strangely, things took an unexpected turn and now it seems like my dreams are all coming true at once.

I'll explain...

The reason we moved was for my husband's work, he was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we couldn't turn it down. If we hadn't taken that chance I'm sure we would have come to regret it. As far as jobs go it was great to start but became less than satisfactory for him. Amazingly, he did the very brave thing and left last week. It wasn't a hasty decision and a few things happened  in the week before that cemented his desire to leave. Of course we talked through the decision, had the money talk and he decided that it was the right thing to do.

This job was the only reason we were staying where we are, so, with a hip-hip-hooray, we've decided to put our house up for sale. I really couldn't be happier. Our house went up for sale yesterday and we had our first viewing today. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't take long to sell!

There's so much more to write about house-selling and what not but that'll be another post entirely.

So, as you can imagine with sorting the house sale out and going to my best friend's wedding, we've had a busy few weeks!

Here's a few photographs from the wedding, we had a blast! (I'm not going to include any pictures of the bride because I'm sure she'll be doing a big dress reveal when she's back off honeymoon.)

Just two weeks to go...

In 2 weeks time the gorgeous Samboy is getting married and I have the absolute honor of being one of her Bridesmaids. She was, of course, one of my girls at my wedding. I've never been a bridesmaid before and I'm very excited and a little nervous!

Because of the wedding being so soon, we're having a gathering of LadyShapes (her words!) tonight, which means I'm packing myself and IQ in the car and heading back up to Wales for the weekend. I'm a little anxious about the journey as it's the longest trip I'll have made on my own with her. If any of you know the roads in Devon you'll understand that I HATE driving on the A38. Windy roads, patches of fog and usually rain makes the journey difficult on the best of days. I'll be taking it slow that's for sure.

We're heading out to Cardiff and having a meal at Wagamamas. I'm so excited. The nearest one to us is 40 odd miles away so it's going to be a real treat. This is my idea of a hen party. No L plates, tiaras or inflatable penises for us ladies, oh no. That's my idea of hell. I heard a saying once that summed up the aforementioned hen party quite well, 'it always ends with someone in bunny ears crying on the stairs...'.

On Saturday I also have the exciting plan of having a little 'wedding practise' with Samboy and her family. This also means I get to see her dress. I think I'm going to cry when I see it. In a good way of course! That evening I've been invited out for a meal with the ladies of her family and I really hope I can make it, but I don't want my mum to worry about putting IQ to bed two nights in a row. She can still be a little difficult at times. Fingers crossed she'll be an angel for Nannie and I won't have to worry!

It's a busy weekend lined up for me!

I have also been working away at my cardigan this week. The front and back pieces are done (with a little frogging here and there - and the front pieces aren't the same shape!!) and I'm now working on the hood. I think I might put it together and see how it looks without sleeves. Mainly because I can't be bothered working up two sleeves!

The blanket has obviously been neglected whilst the cardigan takes shape but I'll be getting back on that soon enough!

Have a fab weekend!

Silent Sunday - Cat and Yarn

A herb update

The herbs on my windowsill are doing great, half of them anyway. The coriander and basil are absolutely loving their little pots but the thyme and parsley are no shows. I know that they do take a little longer to germinate than the others so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully the last few sunny days will give them the kick they need.

Elsewhere in the garden rosemary, lavender and thyme are growing fantastically again. There's a lot of fresh growth and they all look really healthy. My chives are also doing great and there are a few of the first buds growing so there will be the appearance of the gorgeous purple flowers really soon.

I love this time of the year. Everything starts to grow again and there are even a few bees buzzing about.

Spring is wonderful!

The granny square blanket grows... and I've started a cardigan.

The huge granny square is coming along OK. I can just about manage a round a night at the moment but as they're taking an AGGGGGEEE to complete, they're limited. I often find that if I'm doing lots of repetitive stitches like on this blanket, which is a gazillion double crochets, I start to get RSI pain in my wrist and hands. I do try and switch up my needle-holding style every few rows but it doesn't seem to help the pain - just slows me down!

I have also started on another project. While rummaging in the acrylic yarn box I came across two part-balls of hayfield bonus aran (worseted to my US readers) and thought, I could make a nice Spring cardi out of that. After a bit of searching on Ravelry with the keyword cardigan and size 9mm hook (yes, I was feeling lazy) I found this GORGEOUS cardigan. It's modelled by the fantastic Erykah Badu (love her!) and is from Vickie Howell's book Pop Goes Crochet. I have seen this book in a local buy-everything-for-cheap shop. I may go back and get it...

Isn't it gorgeous?

The pattern is for a calf length cardigan but as I'm such a short-arse I decided to alter the length and make it mid thigh length. It's crocheted completely in Arcade Stitch which is one I've never worked with before and I have to say I LOVE it. It's a relatively simple stitch once you get the hang of it and it looks fab.

The two colours of aran I had were Olive and Heather so I decided to create a striped version.

I finished the back piece on Monday night and made a start on the left front side piece when the unthinkable happened. I. RAN. OUT. OF. YARN. nooooooo!!!! I had no idea that the arcade stitch would use that amount of yarn. Oh well, good job they're on 3-2 at Hobbycraft at the moment! Hahaha

I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend. What are you crafting at the moment? Anything for a new spring wardrobe?

An unconventional Easter gift

My husband and I aren't all about the cute rabbits and fluffy chicks at Easter. We are of course all about the chocolate though! I wanted to make him something cool for Easter so decided on this. He, like many others, calls Easter Sunday "zombie Jesus day". It's not a slate on the holiday itself, just a bit of jesting I guess! So, in keeping with the theme I made a turn-inside-out zombie chick-in-an-egg!

I made it using some aran yarn in my stash that wouldn't be making it into the monster granny square blanket. I added the necessary brains and hanging-off button eye.

It's a totally daft Easter gift but he loved it. I presented it in an origami birds nest filled with chocolate mini eggs.

Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy the chocolate overload!

I'm creating a monster

I had a rummage through the spare bedroom last night and came across a huge box of half used balls of acrylic. The balls are all in pleasant enough colours so I decided to gather them up and start on a very basic granny-square blanket.

The pattern is a simple 3DC CH1 pattern so works up quickly and is quite therapeutic once you get going.

I managed a 12in square in an hour last night and am setting myself 10 minute slots to get a little more done while IQ naps. After each round I'm going to reward myself with a cuppa or some choccy! I find this reward-for-a-round system works quite well for me and it stops me getting bored of the pattern , resulting with me shoving the WIP to the back of the wardrobe.... Oh that dark, dark place...

Do you reward yourself during crafting? What's the biggest project you've completed?

A week of milestones and creativity

I can see you cat...

This has been a really busy week for the Stitch family. I'm amazed at how much we've packed in! (if you follow me on Instagram sorry for the photo repetitions!)

IQ is constantly amazing us at the moment. She was 8 months last Sunday. Where has the time gone?! Every day she's doing something new and exciting and I love watching her grow and develop. It's been a tough week with regards to feeding as she started to refuse-the-spoon and it made meal times very stressful for me. In the middle of the week I noticed that teeth 7&8 have appeared at the bottom so that will explain the grumpiness and spoon refusal. I can't believe she's got 8 teeth already...

Come ere...

She has also started crawling too which is so exciting for her but made me a little sad because she's got this whole new independence about her. She's not such a baby any more. She scoots right across the living room and everything has now been re-arranged to keep her safe. She loves feeling everything and will run her fingers across / chew everything in sight to find out what it is and how it feels. Because of this, we've bought her a whole new range of toys with buttons and fiddly bits to keep her entertained as her old 'baby' toys just don't keep her attention any more!

She's also finding the fat-cat very funny and will laugh at him when he
walks past. We take her hand and stroke him and this drives her nuts! Real belly laughs! Thank goodness we have a very tolerant lazy cat. She also seeks him out whenever he tries to hide from her and the only place he's safe is on the window seat where she can't get to. It's only a matter of time though Tweak, so start planing your escape routes!

Daddy and IQ on the slide

She can also pull herself to standing on the furniture and it's a little ahead of herself when she tries to climb up. Watching her trying to get her leg up is so funny but her persistence is to be admired. I think it'll be a while longer before she can actually climb anything though.

We went to a local park last Monday and IQ and daddy had so much fun on the swings and slide. I love how playful Daddy is and she had a great time with him.

Narutomaki sushi brooch

I've also made time for crafting too! I'm so pleased to finally have my creative mojo back, it's been too long. I've been using felt a lot this week and created my bird mobile and some super cute sushi pin badges too. I'm so pleased with them. I think I've found a medium that I really enjoy using and will definitely be using felt more often.

I also made IQ a fleece hat on Sunday. Daddy kindly offered me an hour off so I could craft. I bought the fleece fabric back last year and have only now made anything with it! I used the same pattern for the hat I made a few years ago for a friends' little boy. She looks SO CUTE in it. Blue definitely suits my little girl.

IQ is so pleased with her new hat

I've also got an exciting update on my widowsill herb planter I made two weeks ago. The coriander and basil have sprouted! They must love being in the sun all day as they've grown so fast. I'm A-Mazed at the speed they've appeared. It won't be long before I can pick them and use in cooking. Exciting!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and that you didn't have too much snow!

My love for essential oils

My love for essential oils started a few years ago when my darling Samboy kindly gave me this book and some oils for my birthday. It was an amazing gift that sparked my love for them. I had used them before, but the book gave me so many practical uses and great information about all kinds of oils.

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not form a distinctive category for any medical, pharmacological, or culinary purpose. (Wikipedia)

Most essential oils are very affordable, ranging from £1-3 for a reasonable sized bottle. I later came to find out that some oils can be worth hundreds of pounds for 10ml or so! Wowzers! Most general oils, such as Lavender, Chamomile and Ylang Ylang are used in many toiletries and are smells that are very familiar. Aside from medicinal, beauty and fragrance purposes I have found that essential oils are amazing companions around the house.

I have several favourite uses around the home for essential oils, here are a few:

• Air Fresheners - I regularly place a few drops of an oil on a tissue and place it on top of a radiator. When the heating comes on, the oils is warmed and dispersed - filling the room with an amazing fragrance. My favourite oils for this purpose are Lemon, grapefruit and (at Christmas) Nutmeg & Cinnamon.
  
• Clothes freshener - I think everyone is familiar with Lavender pouches & sheets to freshen clothes up. My favourite use for this is to add a few drops to a cotton handkerchief and place in the tumble dryer while drying clothes. They come out smelling so lovely.
  
• Topping up reed diffusers - If you've got a reed diffuser that's run out of oil, simply mix a couple of drops of oil to some distilled water and re-fill that badboy. My favourite oils for this are Rose, Bergamot and Lime.

My 'pregnancy' blends

When I was pregnant, I suffered so bad with tiredness and insomnia. Now, you have to be VERY careful when using essential oils during pregnancy. There are a few that must be avoided at all costs and some that can be used only in the third-trimester. It's important to research thoroughly before you use any oils during pregnancy. I made myself a few bottles of a blend of oils to add to my evening bath. I also added a dispersant so that the oils didn't just sit on top of the water. I have to say that these blends worked like a charm and I'm still using those same bottles today.

Essential oils can also be used for babies and children, though thorough research is needed again to ensure that you're using the correct oils and quantities. When IQ was merely a few days old, I added a few drops of Lavender to a piece of cotton and placed it underneath her moses basket. It may be co-inkidink but I swear she slept more peacefully because of it.

Do any of you use essential oils? Do you use the around the house or just for health & beauty purposes? What's your favourite oil/blend?