So things don't go according to plan...

and this is something I know by this point in my life. We went camping, we got blown away. Big huge tent is now a broken tent. So we cobbled together an old tent and went someplace else. And had a nice time. But didn't get any knitting done.

So then the computer broke, and now it is fixed....again. And today is R's birthday - she is 16. And I love watching these kids grow up, but am feeling sorry for myself because we have so little spare money and I can't get her nice pressies. :-(  We need money for her to go to college, since she is doing a photography course. We need to pay for film and developing paper, field trips (£150 in the first term for one trip!) and of course, buy a DSLR. As if. And S needs money for uni. And we are still supposed to be fundraising for C to go to Sweden, as if that is going to happen. And M wants to do an art course that costs £100. And they all need shoes and clothes first. blah. Just ignore me. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself soon, and enjoy the day.

Today is also the performance day for the Lowry summer school, Docker's Opera, which I cannot wait to see, as C and M and some of their friends are in it. So things to look forward to.

It's all about perception...

So I woke up this morning, and came down to use the computer while the other 6 people in the house were all still asleep, and there's an apple core on the desk, and one of the shelf. They are yucky and brown and should be in the compost. So my first reaction of the day, and it is anger. And then I thought, "Yay! the kids are eating fruit!"

Tie dying day!

Yeah! We haven't tie-dyed for years, but we can't have a baby without dying something. So we did this to the kitchen ;

And while the pots were doing this;

C and M were playing Monopoly;

Strange combination of capitalist indoctrination and hippy activity. :-)

We ended up with washing that looked like this;

 

And a baby that looks like this;

Felting and dying

Well the felted bag experiment went a bit awry. The navy yarns have felted, but the lilac coloured one didn't. It has had only one wash, so I will try again soon, and see if there is any improvement. I do still like it, I just may have to sew in a liner before I can use it.

On a brighter note, M and I did some more dying of the yarn that Martine gave us. M choose red, purple, and pink, and just squirted her little heart out, covering the yarn in colours.



It is lovely, but who knows when I will get a chance to knit with it. I now have my Violet Green sock wool that I am making a pair of socks for Al with, and my Get knitted sock club yarn that I am still working on my gloves with, a pair of socks for me, and several babies around for whom I have to knit baby socks, plus an urge to do more felting.

And all when life seems to be getting too busy to get anything done!!!!!

The Hat

C is very proud of himself. He has finished his baby hat. We found some more of the navy so we could pompoms, which he likes big and floppy. Now he wants to make more stuff. :-)

Kitchen Table Science

Since we are a home educating family, I reckon there will be a few posts here about our endeavours. Couldn't pass up the opportunity of sharing the current science that A is doing with the kids.
For the record, A works in a laboratory in a clinical setting, so the materials we are discussing were not produced at home!

The kids have been seeing sperm in the microscope. So I suppose I have to confess that the microscope is on the kitchen table. Oh well, we aren't proud.


We are hoping to get a camera that fits onto the microscope so in future we will be able to add photos of what we are actually seeing.

Won't that be fun?!

Peace
Julie

Ninja Knitting (Actually it is crochet, but couldn't think of an appropriate alliterative title.)

C has decided that he wants to crochet as well. Apparently it is contagious.

Here he is, all 12 years old of him, working on a baby hat with some scraps he found. If I had known he was actually going to stick with it, I could have gotten him some nicer yarn, but at least he is enjoying himself. He's even done a stripe. It is going to be a baby hat, crocheted in a rectangle, stitched up the side and top, so the head will fit in the bottom and the top will have two corners to either side, with pom poms on. I just hope we have enough yarn!!!

So here is a photo of him, in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pyjamas, crocheting a baby hat. :-)

Crocheting Child

Here are some photos of R's crochet. She has made a little hat for the baby next door, which we didn't' take a photo of but which is terribly cute with a little pom pom on top. She made this blanket for another baby who is now 1 year old. I am really impressed with her work. Firstly, because this is quite a project for somebody new to crochet, and secondly because her stitches are so even. She has good tension, and by the end was quite confident, noticing things, and being able to recognize different stitches, etc. She was a bit wobbley with the edges at first, adding a stitch or losing one here and there, but she got much better, and did a nice border to cover any wavy bits that weren't meant to be there.

We have been to the wool shop this week as well as she has other projects in mind. I am glad that she is wanting to make things. It is something that we have in common and enjoy. But...it means I have to buy wool for her now...instead of adding to my own stash! (As if I didn't have enough projects on the go!)

Must head off and go for a walk, and do some exercise. The problem with my hobbies is that they are stationary, and I need to be a bit active so that my back and hips don't freeze up. I wonder if I could get a treadmill, and knit while I walk....

Peace
Julie