Photo testing

 I am testing how to upload photos to my blog as I already have dozens to share I would rather use my iPad to update my blog but it's not very photo friendly!

What a long time!?

I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged!  This time last year we were celebrating our eldest sons' graduation and in Australia!  And what have I done in the meantime?  Not much?  Well there had been some serious knitting and stashing and if you check out my projects page on ravelry you can see!
I shall try and remember to take photographs on my camera and share them!
My sons are still studying hard, dh is still unretired and working and I'm still managing to cling onto two days a week laughably called going out to work!
Knitting wise I have knitted the lovely Owligan and am knitting owls too by Kate Davies and have other projects OTNs eg Dune from latest Kim Hargreaves book - Echoes.
I will try and keep the blog going and keep you updated with knitting progress a bit more frequently!

Happy Birthdays and winter knitting projects

Well no.2.son had his birthday at the end of July and we enjoyed a lovely meal out in town after an afternoon in the new library and cake and coffee in nearby Brindley Place.  It was my birthday this week and we had another meal to celebrate so thats all our family occasions finished with now!  next one is dh in January!!

I have my knitting projects for the winter all sorted, the yarns are sitting nicely in carrier bags and I just need to sort needles, prepare project pages on Ravelry and get started!  In the meantime I am working on my truesilk cardigan as I've let my knitting slip a bit this summer I'm getting behind.  I have knitted the heel flap on sock.2 of no.2.son's pair and finished the leg on mine (or it might be the other way around!  in other words I'm progressing if a little slowly).

We are looking forward to a holiday soon, we are going by ourselves and it will be the first time since we've had the children that this has happened so it should be an experience.  DH keeps trying to persuade no.1.son to come out with us, but he is being sensible and saving his money;  he will need it - he plans to return to Uni to take his Masters. 

The weather has been lovely lately and I have spent many hours outside catching the sun, what with my side effect from meds as being sensitive to sunlight I've managed to get a TAN!  at last!  I'm now not "white" like I normally am - people keep commenting on it and asking if I've been away yet.

No.2.son and I are watching Great British Bake Off and enjoying it and the whole family are watching Fringe from the beginning from a box set we bought no.1.son last Christmas - we've watched it but our no.2.son hadn't and we are all enjoying it and hoping to finish before they all scatter to return to uni!

Today I am going out on a grand day out with my knit-night pals - we are visiting a couple of local yarn shops and then having a celebratory meal for the occasion of our "anniversary" of getting together and becoming friends.  I love my weekly knit nights - its so nice to have non-football conversations!

We will find it strange this year.  no.1.son returns to Colchester Uni and no.2.son is moving out to a house share nearer to his Uni so it will be just the two of us (plus the cats of course!) - should be cheaper too!!  no more biscuits, crisps and pop!!

I will try and take some photographs of my winter knitting projects and upload them to ravelry and blog them as I progress in the coming weeks.

no.1.son's graduation - congratulations and a proud mum!

A very proud moment as we saw our no.1.son collect his degree and enjoy the ceremony marking his Graduation - the weather was fantastic almost too hot especially for Andrew wearing a heavy gown and cap!
We went down the night before and enjoyed a meal in a local hotel and had to be up early as our son had to collect tickets and gown by 9.30am and the ceremony was the first one of the day at 10.00am.
I don't know why the photo's of myself and my husband have turned sideways - apologies for that! I tried to fix it but somehow they insist on coming out anyway!!
It was a long day and very tiring with the 4hr drive home and we ended the night with a curry at the local Indian restaurant and I was up and in work the next day so I plan an easy week to recover!

Our son has had the good news that he has been accepted to return to Uni and take his Masters which we are also proud for and he is currently enjoying the summer off studying at home in readiness for the next year of hard work.
Not forgetting no.2.son of course - he came with us and it was good to see how the day went in preparation for his graduation - there is an awful lot of standing around and queuing to be done so comfy shoes next time!!

Staying Positive

The lovely Windsor is coming along nicely and I've reached the point where I'm finishing the left front side and as its only got short sleeves I can feel it finishing very nearly soon!
Today I am starting a diet in readiness for the summer holiday and I am determined to keep positive thoughts and feelings in order to stick to the diet and enjoy my knitting.
I've been feeling in a very low mood recently and this is the first time that I've started to feel more motivated and I hope to channel this to good use - if anyone has any tips on how to stay positive and be more productive please do comment!!

We are nervously awaiting our no.1.son's final exam result and also looking forward to his graduation next month - we can hardly believe he's been away for three years it feels like only last week when we took him for the first time!  he's grown up so much since then and has turned into a lovely young man (well I would say that wouldn't I? but so too do other people so its not just that I'm biased).
No.2.son has his final exam of his first year this week and we are anxiously waiting to hear how he has done as his first year draws to a close.

On the work front I've had my hours cut by nearly half and its going to be a struggle but I expect we'll manage we usually do and of course one never knows whats around the corner - right?

Knitting Update

It has been a while since I blogged my knitting progress but there has been SOME knitting in between lots of sitting outside enjoying lovely G&T's in the sunny weather.
My main project at the moment is Windsor - a lovely short sleeved top that is coming along nicely but I have too many other projects on the go to feel completely satisfied with my knitting progress.

When talking to a knit-pal recently we identified a common problem we have with feeling "stress" from having so much on the go and on the needles in particular and I'm sure that there are lots of heads nodding too!  With this in mind I am going to try really hard to stick to just one project and get it done and I have done a really brave thing - pulled OFF the needles several items - phew! - I feel loads better not having them sat there "looking at me".  I don't want to feel stress or guilt about my projects so am working hard at resolving this.
if anyone has any tips please do share!

Holiday to Sydney Australia pics