Monday - knitting and crafting, and the next big thing

Gosh I just seem to be sooo busy at the moment.  I'm not sure what I'm doing...I seem to do a lot of housework, yet the house is rarely clean.  I seem to do a lot of knitting, but things are rarely finished.  I seem to be tired quite a lot....today I fell asleep with the baby and am now up at 4am.  Hmm.  Maybe I need to be a bit stricter with myself about at least some of these things.

Anyway, I did at least finish abi's vest

Here is a not-good picture of it flat

It is the sort of thing one wears to sweep carpets

I am very pleased with it, apart from next time I will knit the bottom in rib rather moss stitch, as it has a tendency to ping up every time she crouches (and toddlers crouch quite a lot).  I reckon there will be a next time though, and next time I will know to buy 3 balls, and it will be done super quick.

It worked very well as one of many layers for our first real play in the garden this year

there was plenty of grim neglected-over-winter stuff to fiddle with.  I started getting Dan to help me, but then realised he was much better used to entertain Abi. I spent an hour taking down most of a jasmine bush which, lovely as it was, was also taking down my fence. This is my jasmine bush after about 10 minutes of me hacking at its ludicrously entwined branches

And here it is (was) again an hour later.  I now have an awful lot of twisty branches and twigs and vines all over the lawn, but thats OK because daniel says he is going to weave them into his climbing frame to make a viking dwelling.  Awesome.

Today I had to hang around town for a bank appt, so decided to treat Abi and I to coffee in Whitstable's chicest (I suspect that 'chicest' is not good english, but then 'chic' isn't english at all, so it doesn't matter what I do to it really) little coffee place.  I even bought a guardian.  Only to have a bash at the easy puzzles, you understand.  We had a very nice time people watching out of their big window.  Behind me, one middle aged man was attempting to convert another middle ages man to Buddhism.  It was awfully funny (not buddhsim, just the middle aged crises apparently going on behind me, and the mutual flattering of intellects) and very hard not to look round.  Luckily I was consuming croissant and kakuro, so it was OK.

recently I have started to realise that Abi is no longer a baby, but a toddler.  In fact she has been pointing this out with little changes in her demeanour.  So it occurred to me that I ought perhaps to provide some entertainment slightly more structured than flinging crayons around the room.  I have decided to attempt some valentines day crafts.  Seeing as there is no big reason to celebrate valentines day in this house, the obvious answer is to make it excessively valentinesy, for the children, and to make each other cards etc.  As my ma used to.

Anyway, today we made valentines playdough

Luckily she got bored in time for me to cook it, and was ready to play again when it was cool.  her little face when she realised that what we had been making was now magically transformed into ruby red sparkly playdough was a real delight!

This was the best bit.  Pouring and kneading lots of glitter.  It sort of felt like a waste, and sort of not at all.

And here is a pic of the next thing which has been causing me to prevaricate, stay up to late, and only do half the washing up.

It will be a bumble bee slipper.  It looks a bit crap at the moment, but I am reasonably confident that it will end up being a pretty cool thing.  I wasn't going to post any pics til its done, in case it doesn't work, and because it looks pretty dodgy atm with loose ends, vague short rows, etc.  But that would make having a blog pretty pointless. I will share the pattern if it works out.