The Problem with Knitting.

The problem with being heavily involved with a knitting project is that everything else becomes neglected. Crochet patterns forget to be developed, Stanleys lie around waiting to be tagged and having to in the interim, deal with abandonment issues.

Rose petals fall...

Coasters wait for their tails to be tucked in.

And tiaras dream about being worn by something more than a nest.

I have finished the painting though - a good thing considering it needs to be given away tomorrow. I could have worked on it for a lot longer but that's life...

The good news is that the boys are fed, no one has gangrene and we have plenty of clean underwear and socks. There is even a little bit of left over dinner from last night to go in the freezer. Breakfast has been eaten for the day and faces are about to be washed, hair brushed (maybe) and teeth cleaned. Just don't tell Stanley that the boys come first.
Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Sleeves.

I am playing a big trick on you. The photo of my almost finished first sleeve is to lure you in so I can then show you lots and lots of rose pictures... Sorry. Although hopefully I will be showing photos of a completed jumper in the not too distant future, but right now even the thought of it seems a bit far fetched. I am finding that all I knit in an evening is being unravelled by elves when I go to bed. What other explanation could there be for a jumper that is progressing so slowly.

I had a play with my roses today.
They were actually a present for someone, I don't bundle them up like this for myself.
Rose milk.

Can you imagine how it would taste?

Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.

Using the Studio.

The studio is officially opened. The boys and I trooped up this morning ready for action, the boys ready to paint their fireworks night (otherwise known as the best night of their lives) and me to make a picture for a very much loved pre-school teacher who we are preparing to say goodbye to. That's right, Hugo only has a few weeks left at pre-school... my baby.
Archie used acrylic on canvas to represent his bonfire and fireworks then coated the upper section with Mod Podge and glitter.

I also used acrylic but unfortunately am a long way from being finished. The window view is driving me crazy and am seriously thinking of reworking it. But I like the pears now so that is good. Unlike Archie, I did not use glitter.

Hugo used pencil and watercolours to create his masterpiece. He and I are holding hands at the bottom, looking through the dark night sky and up to the fireworks. He adored the evening and at one stage lay on his stomach across a picnic blanket, sucking his fingers and gazing into the fire as though all of the world's mysteries were being unravelled at once.

This is Archie's other triumph for the weekend. He discovered an old Norman recipe in one of his 'Terrible History's' books and decided he needed desperately to cook it. Apparently it was a huge success however, I couldn't try it because it contained gluten. Jonno loved it.

The knife is being stabbed into it because Archie read in the same book that they ate with their daggers.... great.
I hope you have had a lovely weekend, love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Ambling Along.

Today is very much a dig your toes into home kind of day. I have been checking on the new roses flowering for their first time (kind of like Jonno when his cows are calving but I don't have to don gloves). The rose featured above is a David Austin named 'The Prince'. Its fragrance is incredible.
Hugo decided he wanted to earn pocket money and scrubbed the bathroom sink for me... he was thrilled with this arrangement and so was I.

A bit of gluten free bread making has been going on which is so exciting for Hugo and I but not so much for Jonno and Archie (although they love it when it's fresh).

And Archie has been putting lots of Bundle loving time into his schedule.

Last of all I finished the cuttings brought back from the South Island.

Aside from all of these wonderful weekendy things, something even more exciting is coming up... tonight we have been invited to a fireworks party and the children are staying up late. The best part about this is the very long nap we will all have to take this afternoon. Oh dear.

Have a lovely weekend, love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Sleeves and Studios.

First of all - knitting news. I'm now making my way through the first sleeve. The cardigan has turned out to be a bit shorter than I was expecting but who doesn't like showing off their belly button in Winter. Hopefully it will just look deliciously cropped... and not stolen from a six year old's wardrobe.
But on to more exciting things, finished things. Today I finally finished tackling my studio after having it languish well at the bottom of my list for months. I keep stealing up the stairs and find myself gazing upon it as though it were a newborn...

Although I can see from the photos that it doesn't look hugely exciting. Studios aren't meant to be neat with everything put away. They are supposed to be messy with projects and thoughts and colours. So I apologise that you can't see all of the cool stuff that has been sorted away into their various new homes. But rest assured that all of my wools, paints, papers, fabrics, tools, etc, etc, etc are very happy and cosy, learning what life is all about in an organised house.

These are new (to me anyway) drawers that have come from Jonno's parents house and used to make up part of his grandparent's kitchen. The three upright cupboards are for storing potatoes and pull our from the handles, making them perfect for recycling paper and fabric scraps.

One part of the bench top is missing and you can see into the cutlery drawers. The little bit of wood that is peeping out looks very much like rimu to me so at a very later date it may be worth investigating stripping it. For the moment however, it can remain dressed in its current coat of paint.

And an Archie drawing to make it really, really look like a place of unleashed creativity.

Have a lovely weekend, Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

Crochet and would you believe... more roses.

I have just spent a lovely couple of days in Christchurch with my brother, making the most of him before he moves back to Australia with his family. He has been living in Lyttleton which is almost like a little village although really, it as a big port on the edge of a city. This is the view from his kitchen window which you may remember from our trip around the south island at the beginning of the year. I had a little time to crochet - the bird pattern is one taken from Bridget Reid's book 'Super, super cute crochet'. A Christmas decoration for my new niece Lulu (isn't that the best name).

This morning I wandered around my brother's garden taking cuttings and digging up lily of the valley plants from large patches that took up luxurious amounts of bed space - my version of heaven. Lily of the valleys have such a dense perfume and they are the prettiest flowers in the world. They have always reminded me of strings of pearls.

So these are the bundles of flowers I carried through the airport and stowed in the various overhead lockers I encountered as I winged my way across the country. Jonno told me that as he was standing, waiting for the plane to arrive he suddenly felt as though he should have bought some flowers for me... and of course was then very relieved to see me hop off the plane with two enormous bouquets.

And into the laundry to start separating flowers and foliage before I start getting all of the cuttings underway. I felt so grown-up doing flowery things in the laundry.

They are just beautiful aren't they. I don't think it is a great time of year to be taking cuttings but it is still worth a go. I promise I will stop talking about gardening soon but it is Spring and therefore very hard not to get carried away with all of its bloominess.
However, after travelling countless kilometres today and traversing between two islands, I am now officially spent and need to go and watch t.v. with my knitting and a tiny bit of ice cream.

Love Kate xxooxxooxx.

A little House Tour.

I am assuming that everyone out in the bloggy world is a little bit like me, intensely curious about where their bloggy friends live. I thought I would post a few photos of what we have been up to around the house and show you all of the bits of colour I have managed to sneak in. In the picture above is our new laundry - after years of having a very dark corner of the shed to wash copious amounts of dairy farming clothes, I can tell you now it is almost a joy to switch on the washing machine.
Sorry, another photo of my roses starting to bloom - I am obsessed, particularly as a brand new rose comes into flower, I keep running out to see if the petals have unfurled.

I felt I should include the new living room as it begins to settle into the family. Usually the floor is covered centimetres deep with lego.

Past the green stairs and into the dining/kitchen area.

And towards the bathroom and fireplace. I have now run out of tidy areas, as the house becomes more tame I will show other areas too... but for now they shall wallow in their own mess.

Now as to what I have been up to, Jonno and I have been away for a couple of days without the boys. We travelled in the motor home to Hahei Beach which was paradise on earth. We ate too much, read too much and crocheted too much (well me anyway).

When we returned home I found my Claude Monet rose had flowered. I am envisioning huge vases full of stripy roses. Can you imagine!!!

Tomorrow I am leaving all three boys for another couple of days. I am flying down to Christchurch to spend a little bit of time with my big brother before he moves back to Australia. It will be so precious and I will have to make the most of every minute. I hope he doesn't mind if I bring my knitting every where we go though... I would love to work some more on my cardigan while there. Perhaps I could get him to help... maybe not.

Lots of love, Kate xxooxxooxx.