Inspiration

Magazines! I love magazines! As a source of inspiration and food for thought they can't be bettered. I think what I like most about them is that you can just dip in and dip out, take what you like and leave the things that leave you cold. And I like nothing more on a lazy Saturday morning (after breakfast in bed of course) than flicking through the pages of a good magazine. Among my favourites are Mollie Makes, Selvedge and The Simple Things and I love it when I get home from work to find the latest issue waiting for me on the doorstep. You can read them in the bath, you can read them on the train, and the short, snappy, well-written articles with beautiful art and illustrations are just about perfect for when I have a short attention span and can't concentrate on my book!

I love print editions most of all, but I have recently developed a liking for e-zines. The iPad is the perfect format for reading magazines that you can't buy in the UK in print and I absolutely adore the recent emergence of magazines written specifically to be read online. They're clear, interactive and absolutely brilliant - links to where to buy the kit for a special project, video tours of artists' studios and demonstrations of tricky techniques can't be bettered than in a digital format. And I love getting a new wallpaper every week from the particularly gorgeous Gathered. Remind me again - what did we do before the internet?!

Particular favourites are Gathered, Make:Craft, Frankie, Heart Home and I feel like I should give an extra special mention to Pinterest. I'm not entirely sure that Pinterest should really count as it's an app rather than a publication, but I absolutely adore it. It's my second favourite app (after Instagram, of course) and I am pretty much addicted. I can't help checking in two, three, four times a day ... and sometimes I even have to stop myself from browsing late into the night, when I know I should really be getting my beauty sleep! It's just so inspiring and I love sharing things that I've seen on other people's boards. I've cast on a lovely colour-block cardigan that I saw on Pinterest and last week, I made a tortilla pizza that my friend Emily had posted - delicious!

On the needles, I started - and, get me, finished - a lovely little jumper for Toby to go with his baby jeans. I've really enjoyed working on something quick and easy and it's put me in great stead for getting another project crossed off my New Year list. However, this does now mean that I've got to get stuck into some of my bigger more complicated projects. Hmm, good thing I've got a couple of long car journeys ahead of me over the coming week...

Currently reading: I am currently not reading Doctor Zhivago as I have finally managed to finish it. I also re-read a childhood favourite, The Owl Service by Alan Garner and devoured two pretty amazing YA novel from the United States, Wonder by R.J. Palacio and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Both equally brilliant in their own ways but please make sure you have a box of tissues to hand when you read either of them. 

Thanks for the Memories

I was incredibly lucky to be given an amazing new Mac for Christmas, and I am very, very happy with it. Unfortunately as I transferred the contents of my old, very much on its last legs, Mac onto the new beautiful shiny one, I transferred a bit of a glitch that had been in my existing photo library. I'd known  that there had been a problem for a while, but didn't quite understand what it was - much less be able to fix it. so, not wanting there to be anything at all wrong with my lovely new toy, I duly took it along to the local Genius bar, where a very kind and patient genius put my photos (and me) on the road to recovery.

He basically created a brand new library then took every recoverable photo that I had ever stored on the old mac (and the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that) and put them in a folder on the new one. I would then have to sort through over 6,000 photos and put them all in new folders so that I could find particular happenings whenever I want to. Now, I thought that this was going to be a tedious and time-consuming job and I decided that I was going to try and do a couple of months' worth of photos every night until I'd got it done. But no. It turned out to be a real joy! It was such a pleasure looking at my old pictures and reminiscing.

As I've been going along I've been reliving so many happy memories: wonderful holidays, happy family times, fun with friends, weddings, new babies, beauty that I've seen everywhere and lots and lots and lots of craft! What a treat!

On the needles this week, I've finished just about the sweetest project I've ever put together. Blu from Knitty Winter 2005 is an adorable pair of baby jeans made out of Rowan Denim. You can embroider them with fake fly, pocket stitching and even add on a patch for an extra degree of cuteness! 

I've made them for my new godson, Toby and I can't wait to give them to his mum and dad. I've been showing them off to just about everyone I know and they've all been completely charmed by them! Thanks, Cristina Bernardi Shiffman and Kay Gardiner for such a brilliant pattern.

To go with them, I'm going to make a stripy navy and cream jumper - he's going to look every bit the dapper young man! It is the perfect weather for staying in and knitting. As I write this, I am warming up from some hilarious sledging on my trusty Very Hungry Caterpillar tea-tray, while admiring the four inches of snow that are currently hiding the ever-so-slightly unloved state of my back garden! And I've just made some yummy, buttery flapjacks - think I'll put the kettle on and have a cup of tea.

Currently reading: Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger and nearing the end of (the very long and complicated, but fabulous, and wintry) Doctor Zhivago. 

Happy New Year, Happy New Blog

Well, hey there. Welcome to my new blog. Let me tell you a little bit about myself: I'm a book-loving knitter who likes taking pretty pictures and having happy thoughts. I'm never more content than when I've got my nose in a good book or have busy fingers making something lovely, whether it be knitting, sewing, creating in the kitchen or out in the garden.

I'm going to be writing this blog to chronicle the things that I make over the course of the coming year and a few other things that I get up to for good measure. I hope that you'll like what you read - do get in touch and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

Here's a list of things that I'd like to make (or finish) in 2013:

1. Grey Olive Jumper
2. Jumper and Jeans for Toby
3. Heirloom Quilt
4. Words Embroidery
5. ABC Sampler
6. Baby shoes for Ines
7. Grey and Pink Cardigan 
8. Aran Cabled Scarf
9. Home Quilt
10. Stripy Socks
11. Scandinavian Mittens
12. Thing that I thought of but can't now remember!

It's not an exhaustive list and I'm quite sure that I'll get distracted along the way, but if I can cross off an average of one project every month this year, I'll be absolutely delighted. (If a little bit surprised!)

I've gotten off to a pretty good start and this week, I finished a very cute peach pair of baby shoes for Ines Sylvia, wrapped them up and sent them on their way. I've also picked up a few projects which have rather fallen by the wayside and I've knitted every day of the new year so far.  

I've also been reading a fair bit and am enjoying Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore on my journeys to work and a chapter or two of Doctor Zhivago before I go to sleep each night. Not much else to report, other than nine and a half miles run, and the first picnic of the year (yes, really, in January) with my mum, dad and sister in front of the London Eye. May it be the first of many in 2013!

Here's my currently reading list: