Yarn Along - A Hat-trick

Not only did this knit up super quick, was an easy pattern to follow (and adaptable for different size heads) but he is actually wearing it!!  Even had to point out to him that people don't generally wear hats with PJ's!!
There is another, hot on the needles, for little bro.  I picked up this green Patagonia all-in-one ski suit at the school jumble sale a few weeks ago for 10€, and I think his hat will look rather dandy with it!

Also made this Pumpkin Hat during the week for a little friend of Tino who was celebrating her 5th birthday.

Still reading Simplicity Parenting and had an experience in 'simplifying' my own affairs this week.   For the past ten days or so my yahoo email account has been causing havoc on my computer.  Each time I signed in it systematically shut down my internet connection, and flashed up a security alert.  However everything else on the computer worked just fine.  I tried opening another yahoo account with a new user name and pass word but the same 'shut down' happened.  I have now opened a gmail account and things are working as they should be, it's just that I don't have any of my old contacts or folders and I can't remember all of the blogs that I followed by internet subscription -  I pretty much agree with all that Simplicity Parenting has to say about 'less is more', but in this case 'less is definitely not more'!
AND just this afternoon, I discovered that my paypal password is not working.  Is it possible to get some kind of virus that attaches itself to one person on a shared computer?   Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along.

a fine wood stacking hat!

Yarn Along - Fire Truck

Finished blocking Tino's Fire Truck Sweater last night and this morning he wore it to school.

He told me he's going to wear it everyday!! I love that he loves it, and will speed wash it so he can wear it 'daily', as in a few months it's going to be too small.  I think it fits just right/bordering on snug!!
This was my first time working with the Intarsia method of color work, where each color change has it's own separate 'bobbin' of yarn...

necessity being the mother of invention I used elastic bands as bobbins (no yarn shop for miles and fed up paying postage when buying online).  Intarsia works great for big blocks of color but it's mighty fiddly on small color changes like the runs of the ladder.  I can't keep things from you good yarn along ladies, so I'll own up - I cheated on the fiddly parts and used the Fair Isle technique.  Phew, I feel much better now that I've come clean!
Still rippling away and have just cast-on a grey and yellow stripped beanie for Rémi (to match his ski jkt no less)

Reading Simplicity Parenting on my kindle into the wee small hours (don't need the lights on so hubby doesn't whine about being kept awake!).  This is a fantastic book and follows on perfectly from Last Child In The Woods which I just recently finished.
Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along.  It's our tenth wedding anniversary today and we shall be spending the evening watching Rémi play ice hockey, but I'm sure we'll find a moment to pop in the bar for a glass of bubbly (two perhaps if his team wins!).

What are you knitting, reading or celebrating today?

Slow Living Essentials - September

Linking up with Christine for Slow Living Essentials - September

"Join me as I reflect over the past month and various achievements I have made along the way as I strive to lead a more conscious, slower life.  As always, you are very welcome to join in - just leave a link to your own blog post at the bottom of this page and enjoy sharing your reflections with like minded people. Have a great October out there, everyone!"

{Nourish}
Trying to make as many of the after school snacks as I can.   I like muffins, they are so quick and easy, and it's so simple to vary the flavors.

Blueberry

{Prepare}

The temperatures have dropped here so I'm enjoying cooking up big pots of stews and soups.  My old and faithful pot has taken retirement as her one remaining handle looks set to break at any time she's full of hot liquid and I've treated myself to a lovely new cast-iron one, in red!

Moroccan Couscous

There has also been some serious jamming going on around here - red & black currant, apricot & vanilla and rhubarb & ginger...

... and of the savory kind - mint & almond pesto

{Reduce}
I've made the decision to take apart my 'shalom'!  I think I've only ever worn it twice since making it as it's just not comfortable.  I payed quite a bit for the Noro yarn so it seems a waste to have it sitting in the closet. I'm planning on making this with it.

so long shalom!!  you just don't fit right!

{Green}
Found a great borax free washing powder recipe over on My Healthy Green Family and have been using it for the past month without complaint.  Previously I had make laundry detergent with borax which I had to buy online.  The postage was the same price as the borax, making the whole enterprise more expensive than organic store bought detergent. I have also been soaking lemons rinds in white vinegar for 3 weeks then cutting the infused mix half and half with pure white vinegar and a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil, as an all purpose cleaner.
{Grow}

For the first time since we built the house ten years ago, a tree just beside the chicken coop, produced fruit.
The hens (which we got this spring) often scratch and peck (and I guess poo) around the base of it, could there be a link?  I was a bit wary as to wether the fruits were edible at first but the kids told me not to worry they'd been eating them for days!!!
Our other plum trees produced delicious fruit also

{Create}
Making good progress on Tino's Fire Truck Sweater, using for the first time, the Intarsia technique for the color work.

{Discover}
In my last Slow Living Essentials post I extolled the virtues of my new toy - Kindle, but it has also revealed a 'dark' side of myself which i didn't think existed - Impulse Buying!!! Normally I procrastinate for weeks before actually purchasing something and nine times out of ten I talk myself out of wanting it altogether.  But this instant download thing, got me hook line and sinker.  I now have 17 books on my Kindle, bought in the space of three months!
{Enhance}
Maybe this should come under {Prepare} but wood stacking seems so much more than just preparing for the winter.  I took my camera for a stroll around the village last week just to take pictures of wood piles!! I love the care and attention that people put into staking their wood, it's feels like some kind of last, ultimate reverence to this precious gift before burning it.

{Enjoy}
The little people went back to school at the beginning of the month so I've been enjoying some slightly more challenging hikes with Richard.  We did quite a few easy hikes with the boys this summer, and we were glad to see they enjoyed the activity as much as we do.  This is something we plan on doing a lot more of together in the future.

Col du Brevent

Plan de l'Aiguille

Looking forward to reading what you've been up to in September.

Yarn Along - a bit off colour

My embroidery needs a bit of practice (Richi couldn't even tell it was meant to be a smirking mouth) but other than that I'm very happy about how The Eyes Have It Beanie turned out.  Granted it's not the correct shade of yellow, but until my neice's boyfriend pointed this out, no-one had noticed!!

Tino loves it...

My christmas knitting has now become my take-along project as my ripple blanket has gotten too big.  It enjoyed it's first hike on sunday...

someone very kindly left this knitting cubby in the woods

but it had such noisy neighbors!

Tino - "is this blueberry land?"
any guesses what we've been reading this week?

On the grown up front I'm enjoying the latest edition of Taproot.  

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along

What are you knitting and reading?

Yarn Along - Puppy Love

As of last week I have twin boys in my care two days a week.  On their very first day with me I took them for a walk to discover the village.  Unnoticed by me, one of them dropped his 'blankie' en route and I only realized  when we arrived home.  We backtracked and asked everyone we met but 'doudou' had vanished!!!  Gee I felt bad!!  So to try and make amends I made them one each of these Puppy Dog Lovely Blankets.  I couldn't find the necessary tool to make the holes around the edge to crochet a border so I just left that bit out.  

Tino has now requested one, pillow case size. I think I can do that!

My christmas knitting has taken a bit of back seat of late but it's still advancing, slowly! 

Nothing new to show on Tino's fire truck sweater.  I'm hoping to start the Intarsia work tonight so I'll have something a bit more colorful to share next week.

Still reading Last Child In The Woods.  Great book so far.

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along

You Should See The Other Guy!!!

Just kiddin.  He hasn't been in the ring, but at the skate park, where if you peddle your bike at the right speed and hit the rubbish bin at the right angle, it flips it's lid.  However, miscalculate one of the above variables, you mess your face up!!

Yarn Along - Hitchhiker

I finished my Hitchhiker a few days ago and am rather pleased with the way it turned out.  I'm sure it's going to get lots of use this winter.

I knit it on 4 mm needles with thicker yarn than the pattern suggested and ended up with only 37 'teeth' due to running out of yarn, but it's still plenty big enough.  Great thing about a scarf is that it doesn't really have to fit, as such.  Which is more than can be said for sweaters.

I cast on Tino's  Fire Truck Sweater according to the pattern for age 6 but it came out very very wide.  So I downsized by .5 mm but it still looked too big.  So now I'm making an age 4 (he'll be 5 in October) and still using .5 mm smaller needles.  I think it will fit him just right now.  If it comes out too big he won't wear it and I figured there's no point it sitting in a draw waiting for him to grow into it, chances are his fire truck obsession will have worn off by then!

On my Kindle I'm reading Last Child In The Woods.  I'm only on chapter 1 and what an eye opener it is.  As expected  computers, television, mobile phones etc are given as  reasons why children are spending less and less time outside, but another reason, that fortunately we don't experience here, is  that children are not being 'permitted' to play out side.  It's not so much the parents who sanction kids play but it's groups such as 'home owners associations' who are increasingly regulating outside play to the extent that it no longer resembles play.  Climbing trees, spontanious ball games and other such classic forms of 'unstructued' entertainment are NO NO in a growing number of places!!  Well I didn't see that one coming.  I'm eager to find out what the rest of the reasons are.
My wee lads have also been getting creative these past few days.  My mother-in-law turned 70 on saturday and with a little help from us big people, they made her this little keep sake

Here they are hard at work.  I'm so proud of them, not only for making this but for keeping 'mum' about the surprise party we organized for her with all her brothers and sister, children and grand children.

Linking up with Ginny today for Yarn Along