Happy pancake Tuesday

Yay!!! It's pancake Tuesday!!!

Mmmmm..Pancakes

 A great excuse to eat pancakes all day...not that I need an excuse. What are your favorite toppings? I am very partial to pancakes with nutella and bananas, strawberries and peaches for breakfast and the fabulous pannekoek schip replicas I made for Valentine's day as a savory treat for later in the day!!

Unfortunately I may not get my pancakes today...I am heading the cinema to see Rango straight after work...

..so I have a scrumptious lunch packed instead...with my homemade carrot cake for dessert...I am hoping it will make up for the lack of pancakes!!

 As well as baking carrot cake over the weekend, I cooked a yummy roast pork dinner for myself and Gareth and his parents (It was there 35th wedding anniversary). It was amazing..if I do say so myself. Bless the cook! =P The leftovers on Monday were just as amazing...just look at the picture below!

Roast dinner leftovers..yum!

 And as well as all that cooking and baking, I cleaned my house from top to bottom and did all the washing and ironing and best of all...still had time for my favorite past time....KNITTING!! I am a domestic goddess!! I think that I should change the name of this blog to......

I once had a friend ask me if I ever sit down and watch TV....of course I do...I am just multitasking it with something else...

Watch TV and knit/sew/craft of some sort
Watch TV and do my ironing
Watch TV and clean the house
Watch TV and update my blog
Watch TV and browse the net
Watch TV and read a magazine..haha...yes I have done this..

I love my TV don't get me wrong..and I am an avid fan of shows such as Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Home and Away, Bones, Criminal minds and House. I just can't focus on watching them solely as I get bored easily...I must have a second activity to keep me occupied!! I often fall asleep otherwise! =O

So I guess those of you interested more in my knitting than my ability to do two things at once would like an update on the status of my clown...

Stuffed body standing up

Stuffed Body lying down

Body (not stuffed)

Her body is complete!! Shes now a faceless, footless, armless blob...but cuddly and cute already!! A stitch marker can be seen just above the neck..this is to mark the centre of the face for when I start her facial features...which will be very soon I hope!!! =D

Unstuffed shoes (bottom shoe is folded)

Above are her shoes (not sewn)...My next task is to sew them up and attach them to her body. The pattern states to use a cardboard cutout sole to stiffen the base of the shoe in order for her to stand. I am actually using interior car panel which I got of my fiance as this is stiffer and means that I can later wash Young Sweetie without the risk of her shoes going soggy!!

Completed Gloves

I also finally took a photo of the finished gloves...and it looks like I might have an excuse to wear them sooner than I think if the wind that is blowing today continues...seems its too early to put away the winter woolies just yet!!!

I hope everyone likes my blog makeover. Please share the love and leave some comments. I have changed my settings so now anyone can leave a comment even if they are not signed up to Blogspot!

Happy Knitting and Crafting

Helena =D

Colourful Clowns!

So as I mentioned in yesterday's blog post I am knitting a jean green howe clown at the moment. This is the first time I am making a clown for myself..before this I always made them for other people as gifts. I made my first clown when I was in my teens...

Godfrey Gadabout (picture from jean greenhowe)

It was a holiday themed clown called Godfrey Gadabout.Godfrey Gadabout just can't resist going on holidays, with shorts and scarf, sunglasses and umbrella, suitcase and map - he is definately equipped for every eventuality. And he wouldn't set off on his adventures without his extra special camera. I made Godfrey for my mother as she is always going on holidays as well although she never atkes a camera and only ever visits places where the sun shines all year round and an umbrella or scarf will never be needed! He now sits proudly on my parent's bed in Galway, Ireland!

Mr.Fortywinks

The second clown I made was Mr.Fortywinks. Theres nothing Mr.Fortywinks likes better than a good snooze. Thenafter a hard days snoozing, theres nothing he likes better than going to bed for a good night's sleep. Of course he always cleans his teeth before retiring, but it looks like he squeezed the tube too hard this time. I made Mr.Fortywinks for a friend of mine living in New Zealand. His new name is JellyJayBean the 2nd and he now resides in New Zealand. Quite a distance for one little clown to travel! Especially one who sleeps so much!!

Sidney Slapstick

The third clown I made and by far my favorite was Sidney Slapstick. Sidney slapstick is obviously a dedicated tradesman, dedicated that is to messing up just about anything and everything in sight. In fact Sidney appears to have more paint on his overalls than on the walls! I knitted Sidney for my Uncle as a christmas gift because after seeing my other clowns..he really wanted one of his own! His father, my grandad, was a painter and so I thought this was the perfect clown for him. He now sits happily in his home office in the beautiful town of Ennistymon, Co.Clare.

Bertie Bloomer

The fourth clown I knitted was Bertie Bloomer. Bertie Bloomer loves gardening, but watering his mushrooms can be quite a problem because it always makes his hat go soggy. Never mind Bertie, its a good excuse to dry off in the sunshine and get down to the serious business of making daisy chains. I knitted Bertie for my 80+ year old Aunt, who is also my godmother, as a christmas gift about 4 years ago. In her younger days she was an avid gardener so I knew she would really appreciate this gift.

So as you can see I put alot of work into making these clowns for other people but never made one for myself...so I have decided..IT'S ABOUT TIME.

All of the above clowns are what Jean Greenhowe calls the red nose gang. The clown I have decide to make..is one of her young alf's pals patterns. I am knitting young sweetie.

Young sweetie

I like young sweetie because she is a little smaller than the other clowns and of course...A GIRL! lol! A girl clown just for me!! Young sweetie is decked out with the most yummy sweets especially for me with my massive sweet tooth. Even her buttons are made of liquorice allsorts and those pin wheel lollipops are easy to make! She already has a very important job to do when she is complete...but I will explain that in time!

Until again,

Happy knitting and crafting

Helena =D

My first pair of gloves!!

Hello all!!

I still can't believe it is March 3rd already!! As of March 1st I became a student again officially!! So...I haven't got too much knitting or crafting done recently with all the excitement. Usually I get some done at the weekend but last weekend I was in Galway to celebrate my brother's birthday and stayed with my parents in law to be. So I was too busy drinking tea, eating soda bread and chatting to do anything creative! =D My fiance was sleeping off a horrible (man) hangover all day from the birthday celebrations the night before...I would blame those he was keeping company with but it was my fiance drank all that toxic beer by himself, not the rest of us..). It was a most enjoyable day bonding with my future mammy and daddy in-law. It was very relaxed and nice not to be stuck in front of the TV at home with a dying fiance moaning beside me! =D
I have been trying to get some done in the evenings as well but its getting more and more difficult as I have not really established a routine with work yet. Hopefully by the end of next week the latest I will be a little more settled.

I have however managed a small project in the last two weeks..I made my first pair of gloves!! I followed a pattern  which you can find here for cable news gloves. The pattern uses 4ply wool however I used Wendy double knitting merino bliss wool which made them a little bulkier and warmer (IMHO). The thumb and fingers are knitted individually but not separately therefore there is no sewing except for the side seam when breaking and tying the wool on the final finger. I decided to make these because I love the cable detail on each finger and because I just adore vintage patterns!

Each finger is knitted individually

R.H. Glove thumb & 2 fingers complete

 They fit extremely well  and are the Cinderella slipper of gloves which fit me the best!! I am really pleased with my new gloves and maybe just a little annoyed that the weather has gotten so nice that I no longer require them! I have decided to put them away for next year! I have found a few patterns for hats so maybe when the time comes for them again I will also have a matching hat =D I apologise for not having photos of the two gloves together..will post some in the next blog!

Finished right hand glove

R.H. glove on my hand.lovely cables!

So because my schedule is a little all over the place I wanted to pick a project that would take a while but could be done in a series a small pieces so that I could pick them up every now and then and not have to try remember any complicated pattern....so I went back to what I am best at and what I have been making since I was 15....Jean Greenhowe clowns!! I had made four so far in my lifetime...of which I possess 0..they were all given away as presents......but that's another blog post!!

Happy knitting and crafting


Helena =D