Archive for the 'family' Category

fjord

This is the jumper that I made for Alex last Christmas. It was a particularly busy time last December, and I thought that, if I simply didn’t mention it, my boys might just forget that they normally get something knitted from my at Christmas. I thought it  might just be possible to avoid one of our family Christmas traditions: the one that involves me finishing off a sock or a glove at 3am on Christmas morning while Steve finishes wrapping the presents.

Well, that plan backfired on me rather spectacularly. Somewhere in the middle of last December, Alex asked me if I had started making anything for him for Christmas, and that if I hadn’t, could he have a jumper? At which point Will chimed in saying how much he’d like a jumper too, and could his one be a Fair Isle tank top? Also by Christmas? I didn’t quite manage that, but they both had their jumpers by the middle of February.

Here are the details of this sweater:

Pattern: Fjord, by Marie Wallin, published in Rowan 42.

Yarn: Berocco Peruvia Quick. Gorgeous yarn, just completely lovely. It doesn’t show in the photos, but each colour contains flecks of the other colours in the range.

Notes: Although the jumper turned out pretty well, this is not a pattern I’d recommend. I altered it quite significantly (although unfortunately I can’t remember all the changes). I think it is a salutary lesson, if you are browsing for patterns on Ravelry, to look at the number of people who have already chosen to make that pattern. Anyway, this version is Ravelled here.

This year? This year my boys will both be getting socks. And I’ll start knitting them soon – before they come up with any more ideas of their own!

Published on September 18, 2011. 7 Comments Tags: , , , .

Eras

This gorgeous young man, our son Will,  is about to begin a new era of his life. Having completed his ‘A’ levels in spectacular fashion, he leaves us this week to start his university studies.

He is sporting a sweater that I made for him last Christmas, one that is based on an original from a very different era.

This portrait of Edward, Duke of Windsor was painted in 1925. When Will asked me to make him a Fair Isle tank top I used this painting, in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, as the inspiration for Will’s version. You can see more details of the sweater on Ravelry.

Of course, starting new eras necessarily involves ending old ones. Our beautiful baby boy, with the broadest grin and the loudest laugh, has left his childhood behind and grown into an amazing, talented, considerate, handsome, witty and and endlessly interesting young man. I am bursting with pride as I watch him make this this transition and cannot wait to cheer him on as he embraces life as an adult.

But some things never change. Will, this is for you:

“So they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.”

AA Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Published on September 12, 2011. 19 Comments Tags: , , .

images of 2009

2009 was a knitting-lite, event-heavy year for me.

First, the knitting. I made mostly small projects this year: socks, scarves and small shawls, quite a few of which were gifts. It was fun looking over them, and thinking about what I’d like to make more of next year.

This is what they are (links go to Ravelry project pages): 1. Dark Ice Cowl, 2. Vintage Floral Tea Cosy, 3. Druidess Beret, 4. Laminaria, 5. Om Shanti Bed Socks, 6. Hemlock Ring Blanket, 7. Anemoi Mittens, 8. Over the Garden Wall Socks, 9. Hedera Socks, 10. Kate’s Ishbel, 11. Cath’s Ishbel, 12. Another Laminaria, 13. Wedding Shrug, 14. Tess, 15. Ruby’s Layette, 16. Haven

And the events?

Well, on the family and friend front, we visited relatives in Germany, and had family and friends come and stay with us.  Our dear friends Kersti and James got married, and baby Ruby was born in November.

I ran my first 5k in May, and Alice and I ran our first 10k in September.

My year was punctuated by the month-long intensive yoga training course into which I immersed myself in August. It was the first time I have been away from my family since, well, since I have had a family. The yoga training has changed me. I am now  calmer, more detached in stressful situations, and quicker to bounce back from things that might have affected me more deeply in the past. All of which is another way of saying that I am more happy, more often. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to make this change, especially to Steve and my boys for so happily sending me off and fending for themselves in those weeks!

The second half of the year marked changes for several members of my family. In September, my boys both started new schools and I started a new job, as well as starting to teach a yoga class. Life felt very hectic for a while as we all adjusted to our new environments. My new job has taken up much of my time and energy over the last few months. Next year, I hope to regain a better balance: to have more time to spend with friends and family, and more time and energy for myself.

Whatever you are hoping for in 2010, I wish you all the best, and hope that it comes to pass. Happy New Year!

1. Our holiday in Amalfi, 2. Running my first Race for Life, 3. Visiting family in Germany, 4. Cousins sharing afternoon tea, 5. My boys performing together for the last time at their old school, 6. A wonderful week with Anthea and her daughters, 7. Training as a yoga teacher, 8. Alice and me running our first 10k race, 9. Kersti and James’s wedding, 10. Baby Ruby is born

Published on December 31, 2009. 15 Comments

alice’s amazing chocolate cake

We had a  lovely, but very busy, half term last week. Most of the time we were in our cottage in Dorset with Steve’s sister and her family (although Steve and I had to go back to London to work for a couple of days in the middle). Then at the weekend we went to Germany for a huge party to celebrate my aunt Gilla’s 70th birthday.

Anyway, in Dorset my niece Alice (standing) decided to make afternoon tea for us all one day, so she just whipped up the most amazing chocolate cake. I love the intense faces of my boys and their cousins as they wait for her cake to be sliced!

Honestly, this girl has a serious talent for baking – this was an extraordinarily moist and airy cake. Much better than any of my efforts!

And it tasted just as good as it looked…

Published on June 3, 2009. 18 Comments Tags: .

amalfi: what we did on our holidays (i)

We stayed in a small, family-run hotel that clung to the cliff face hanging directly over the sea. We slept to the sound of the sea gently slapping against the rocks beneath our windows.

The hotel was, in parts, literally hewn out of the rock face. It was quite a surprise to walk  down the stairs and come across this:

It was as though carving the last bit of rock away was just too much trouble!

We spent a lot of the week pottering up and down the coast to various small, beautiful fishing villages, where we drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of seafood and pasta.

One day we hired a speedboat. The skipper took us along the coast from Amalfi to Naples, exploring the dramatic coastline with its little coves and grottos. We disembarked on Capri, where we walked the coast path and had lunch before leaving the island in style and being taken back along the coast. Rather than loading this post up with photos, I put together a slideshow of this day. Click on the arrow below to start the slideshow.

Next time, I’ll share photos of our day in the extraordinary ancient cities of Pompei and Herculaneum.

Published on April 17, 2009. 20 Comments Tags: , .