Baby Mice - free pattern

I love mice - the knitted variety that is - I'm not sure about the real variety, I guess I would get a bit panicky if I met one face to face.  But the knitted ones are wonderful.

I have a growing collection of 4 ply wools - mostly Rowan Fine Tweed - such gorgeous tweedy colours.

The colours always look different - better - when they are knitted up than when they are still in a ball.  So I decided to make some little mice - one in each colour, to act as a sample of each colour.

Swatch mice - that's what they are.  Very useful for comparing and contrasting when planning a Fair Isle project.

So far I have made 10 of the little darlings.  I think I still have about 14 to go - but they are so quick and easy to make, I'll soon have them done.

The mouse factory!

If you would like to make your own little mouse - or mice (they always look better in big numbers, I think) then the pattern is available for free, HERE.

I hope you enjoy this pattern, I'll look forward to seeing your projects on Ravelry.

Blaithin Photos

This hot weather definitely makes me lazy.  Finally I have got round to taking pictures of my latest cardigan.

The pattern is called Blaithin and it's by Kate Davies.  The original cardigan has a circular yoke but I prefer a more fitted style, so I changed the pattern to a set-in sleeve version.

I'm really pleased with the finished result.  The cardi is lovely and warm and I love the nice bright colours.  The buttons add a little bit of jolliness.

It's far too warm to wear the cardigan now - but come the Autumn, I'm ready for anything.

A Perfect Day

Yesterday was my Goldilocks Day - not too hot and not too cold - just perfect.

Ideal for getting plenty of knitting done and watching all the sport on television.

England against Australia in the second Ashes Test Match - Joe Root impressing everyone.

Phil Mickelson winning the Open Golf Tournament - what a lovely smile he always has.

And Chris Froome winning the Tour de France.

As a result of all this I managed to finish my cardigan - apart from the buttons.

Once the buttons have been purchased and attached I'll take some proper photos to share with you.

Another Milestone

One of the joys of being a parent is watching your children reach significant milestones in their life.

Yesterday was Grace's graduation from Liverpool University.  It seems such a short time ago that I held her in my arms for the first time and thought of all the possible futures she may have.  Now, here she is, a graduate engineer, about to start her working life.

What a truly proud day for us all.

The ceremony took place in the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool.  We were lucky enough to be seated in one of the boxes, so we had an excellent view of proceedings.

It was all very colourful.

Not sure about the orange colour for the engineers - did they have in mind high-vis jackets when they allocated them that colour?

Photos outside the Catholic Cathedral afterwards.

Later, we went for a family meal.  All in all it was a wonderful day.  I'm so proud of my girl and all she has achieved - and not only that but she knits and crochets!

Delightful Ways to Spend a Hot, Sunny Day...

Blowing bubbles...

...and eating home-made scones...

...beside the beautiful clematis.

Phew!  It's exhausting work.

Not Really the Weather for it!

Knitting that is.  Far too hot and sticky.  Nevertheless I'm persevering with the cardigan I started a while back.

The original pattern is called Blaithin and it's by Kate Davies.

I am modifying my version very heavily so who knows how it will turn out.

Hopefully by the time I finish it the weather will have resorted to its usual damp and miserable self - much to the delight of us cardigan-wearers.

Italy 2013

It's lovely looking back at the hundreds of holiday photos we took in Italy.  Aren't digital cameras wonderful?  Remember when you maybe took a couple of rolls of film and had to be selective about what pictures you took?  Now we can capture everything!!!

I won't bore you with all of the photos we took, but here are the best of the bunch to give you a flavour of Italy.

Our holiday was to Lake Garda and we stayed in a picturesque town called Malcesine.

The lake is surrounded by many other equally beautiful towns and villages.

Limone

Salo

Salo again

Our holiday also included a trip to Venice.

Arriving by boat

The Bridge of Sighs

Join the queue to get to St Marks Square

Traffic jam

Also a trip to Verona - home to Romeo and Juliet.

Dante

Fighting for a view of Juliet's balcony

What a wonderful holiday, lots of lovely memories and even more photos to remember it by.

Just Got Back

Wow, just got back from a fantastic week in Italy.  Once I've sorted through all the hundreds of photos, I'll post some of them up.  Here's a little taster.

In the meantime, thanks for all your lovely comments received over the past week.  As always, they are very much appreciated.