Prom Night!

Prom night last night for no.1.son - always held in nearby Hotel it was very well organised and attended by most of the teachers and all of the year group. This was our first time at this event and some of our son's mates got together and hired a limo for the occasion - they were very excited about the whole thing and luckily the weather was absolutely glorious!

Below you can see them meeting up in the next street to ours and dh & I sat in our car discreetly waiting for the limo to arrive to take zillions of photos! No.1.son is 2nd on the right as you look at the pic.


Here they are all piling in! gives us chance to drive down the few mins to the location, park up and wait their arrival!


HUGE excitement the other end as parents wait for them to arrive with cameras at the ready! (I think we were more excited than some of them!) Everyone was dressed really smartly and some superbly transported groups of young people added to the atmosphere - a particularly loud cheer went to the pink fire engine that arrived with LOTS of noise and filled with lots of VERY noisy young ladies!!

Below is no.1.son and his mates lining up outside their limo for a photo, he is 5th from the left as you look at the pic - you can see they are looking forward to a fun evening!


Parents gathered outside with cameras to mark the occasion and cheer each arriving party which took simply ages! Below shows no.1.son and his mates about to mingle before going inside where they had food laid on, and a disco.


It was a very long evening! he didn't arrive home until 12.40am! and I was getting rather anxious as school had said the event would finish 11-11.30pm - how I'm going to be once he gets another couple of years under his belt and starts "clubbing" I don't know!!

Dh and I sat up and waited and hoped for a conversation about the evening but - typically teenage style - he came in, announced he was thirsty, had blisters on his heels from new shoes and headed straight for the stairs!! Called up to him a rather weak "errm ..? HOW was the evening .. then .. ? .. ?" the reply, a grunt and a "don't forget to wake me EARLY tomorrow!" ..

hmm. so much for talking about it then!!

Today has been exciting too as one of the Colleges he is considering for this Sept and his A Levels had a taster day with lessons in each of the subjects he's expressed interest in and several of his friends arranged to meet up at 8.15am to travel together. Managed to get a few details dragged out of him, but teenagers don't seem to do well in communication particularly where *mum* is concerned and mostly I know that he is NOT so keen on taking A Level maths and physics! "too HARD!" was the reason! (phew! well. I could have told him THAT! just saying it sounds *hard*?)

Officially he has now left secondary school and has one super summer ahead of him of total freedom and NO responsibilities which I hope he will enjoy and appreciate. What a lovely age to be? I wouldn't want to go back to 16yrs, but its good to reflect.

no.2.son bakes chocolate brownies!

one for him, one for them, and the rest for meee ...
No.2.son baked chocolate brownies at school yesterday and as we had some chocolate and choc.chips left, he baked a second batch this afternoon!
Rather yummy and worth upsetting an irritable stomach for!
Plan to further irritate stomach further with a couple of large G+T's as we are going out to the pub tonight - well! if you can't live a little!?

WISH I'd taken my camera!

I'm so cross with myself! I sorted my camera and made sure it was charged, and then forgot to take it in the end!
Yesterday evening I met with my knitty-pal-Sally for a glass of wine and a catch up and took along my sock (see bottom pic for a look) which I cast on to knit while waiting for an appointment earlier in the week. I promised to bring along my sock knitted with one circular (magic loop) and since I have two of these circulars decided to make that my next "appointment" project which brings me to three socks OTN's which isn't ideal but never mind!

Sally brought along her FABULOUS pieced and appliqued quilt top for her dd who is expecting a 2nd baby and thats why I am cross! I'd have loved to have taken a photo and shown it to you! The quilt is going to be super! lovely and bright with super animal faces all expertly appliqued using her Janome 4000. We discussed waddings, and quilting options and I've promised to help with the binding method that I remember bring brilliantly easy-peasy-lemon-squeazy but which I've apparently "forgotten" the detail of! If I can't remember, I know I've got a sew-pal who can help me remember!

We looked through Sally's latest book purchases knitty and quilty and generally decided upon a couple of patterns for my latest yarn bargain too!


Progress is slow but steady, but not with great confidence on my sock Kai-Mei - I need to sit for a couple of hours and just knit the gussett decreases with my eyes shut tight! (and hope I'm right!)
Nearly completed sleeve one on my DB cardigan - enjoying this project! can't wait to finish/wear it!
And, below, you can see a pic of the latest appointment-sock OTN which is just your basic plain sock that can be knitted mindlessly while waiting etc.
In this month's edition of Simply Knitting there are a couple of patterns I like the look of, and have decided upon this one by Amanda Jones on page 44/45 for my bargain Rown KSS yarn - I plan silver beads/buttons.


Tempted with the Sarah Hatton pattern on page 24/25 from Rowan book - Ravenscar - in All Seasons Cotton as its currently on half price sale - however as its sold in bags of 10 and I need 12 balls, it wouldn't be much of a bargain. Easier would be the super pattern in Yarn Forward using Rowan Calmer x 8balls also half price - but am resisting! for now, at least!

Hurah! look what I got! a new toy!

LOOK at what I've got! HURRAH! its brilliant and its MINE! DH bought it for me as a surprise as he knows I've been wanting one for years! (we'll gloss over I waited years to get what I wanted! lol!!)

JUST as I'd leaped into the shower yesterday morning after seeing both lads off to school for the day and exams respectively, the door knocked! I thought it was one of them returning to pick up something they'd forgotten and nearly ignored them thinking, lazy lads! they've got a KEY! Luckily I didn't! it was the postman! (who didn't know where to look as I stood, dripping slightly, just about covered with a rather skimpy towel that I was just clutching at myself rather than the large bath sheet that would have amply covered me on account of I thought I just had to turn the key, let a lad in and scarper back to shower!
DH had told lads that he'd ordered the walkman for me and it was due that day but sworn them to secrecy, they kept the secret all day and didn't let on!
Lovely! to have a surprise gift and lovelier still that its something I wanted!
NOW to find some yummy knitty podcasts to add to the music that no.1.son has already added to my file AND I need a cover! anyone got any suggestions for good pattern for standard walkman?

On Thursday I'm meeting with my knitty-pal, Sally, and she promises to bring with her goodies she purchased from the Ravelry Day in Coventry at the weekend! Looking forward to seeing her, catching up with knitty gossip AND a large glass of wine!

More dismal weather (more sewing!)

I wish I could send Val some of our rain! what am I saying? I wish I could send ALL of it! the cats are thoroughly fed up now and keep following me with the clear expression they expect ME to do something about it!
My no.2.brother has gone to the races and informs us that after a delay in the ferry crossing and with the awful weather he has finally arrived - completely soaked through, but happy to be there!
The wet weather seems to be everywhere at the moment which is disappointing as its meant to be summer! surely?
Today I'm going to sort patterns and fabric! Mind, with the weather as cold as it is wet, I don't feel much inspiration for summer garment sewing in fact last night I got out and fondled my stash of Cocoon and wished I'd started on that! And that, I suppose, is the best way? to sew and knit ahead of season? I wish I could be better organised. I need to sew with a plan!
Hope the weather is better for you.

Dismal Weekend (weather)

well! what a difference! the weather today is totally different to last couple of weekends, we're back to grey skies and copious amounts of rain! the sort that gets you wet and doesn't look like stopping! The cats are fed up - they hate the rain and want me to change it back to sunshine! if only I could! I would! sigh!
Still. on the bright side: I managed to pick up a super bargain midweek! I received in the post a gift voucher for £10 redeemable for House of Fraser and hurrah! LOOK what I found in their sale? A bag of ten balls of Rowan Kidsilk Spray for just £20 - how could I resist? yahooo! I picked up ten balls of yummy yarn for just a tenner to me! hurrah! AND whats more! I have the perfect patterns to choose from for knitting it!

On the knitting front, my cardigan is coming along nicely, I'm 1/3rd way through sleeve 1, on the magic loop sock I'm trying to calm myself down and relax into knitting the gusset decrease/pattern commencement and TRUST that it WILL work - still not quite convinced, but working on that currently in peace and quiet!
Sock on DPN's is progressing slowly but steadily and I've had to cast on an emergency plain sock on my second extra long circular needle for appointments I had last week and forthcoming weeks where I need something to knit that isn't going to make me stressed if someone approaches to ask what am I doing!? (or lose my place when they call my name!)

Had an interesting conversation with someone I was seeking advice from last week; when he collected me I bundled my knitting into bag as we walked to his room and he sat and stared at me for 1 or 2 mins before narrowing his eyes and asking from WHERE did he know me!? I was sort of hoping he didn't know me! and couldn't think from where or how he might have known me, I certainly couldn't recall him - but it turns out his wife is a knitter and we concluded he must have spoken with me in store. This happens a lot. I think I probably have the sort of face that looks like one might "know me". I got caught - again! in the supermarket by a lady in the bread aisle who said "excuse me. DO I know you? .." It can take a while before we establish if we DO know each other : have you got teen children? (we might know each other from the playground? this happens a lot especially now that we no longer meet on the playground to collect our children) the library? (I'm always in there!) WeightWatchers? (I used to be a regular!) how about tennis club? (dh plays/treasurer etc locally) the Doctors! or hospital? (I seem to be a regular and always up there these days and have struck up a conversational friendship with a neighbour who also apparently frequents the surgery as often as me these days! in fact only yesterday she nearly knocked me down after she spotted me walking down my road as she drove up and veered onto the pavement, and called out to me! - I, thinking she was a nutter, had sidestepped out of the cars oncoming path and put a step on it and it was only after she caught up with me and tapped my shoulder that I realised WHO she was! of course we had to walk back to where she'd abandoned her car and I was quite grateful after 15mins of catchup on latest round of unsuccessful appointments and disappointing results that one of my neighbours decided he needed to go somewhere and would my "friend" mind moving her car!). Anyway, we discovered that we did in fact know each other! through a combination of our children and the local tennis club after my dh popped up from the grocery section looking for me! and recognised this lady! apparently several years ago we were in the red group and sat outside from 5.15-6.30 together! phew!

Anyway, after we had this interesting conversation about our knitting, I concluded that perhaps it was a good icebreaker to have that sort of face! (except now, of course, I'm trying to place his wife!)

Our no.1.son has almost finished his GCSE exams and we've got his Prom to look forward to in a couple of weeks time - he has a suit and we just have to hope he doesn't grow anymore!

Sewing wise I've managed to cut the elastic from some summer skirts I'd made last year in order to make them smaller on the waist and yesterday I did a sterling job of reorganising and cleaning my sewing room and hope to switch the machine on this weekend! In doing this I "found" an old quilty project that I had got part way through before losing momentum and interest in a large craft bag and I decided upon retrospect that in fact it IS quite an interesting project and well worth finishing! I hope to be able to get cracking on that next week too!