Sunday 3 April 2011

Knitting needles at the ready!

Hello everyone, I have to say that normally my post consists mainly of bills and takeaway menus... but yesterday I was very chuffed indeed to receive something much more exciting through the letterbox - my giveaway prize from the lovely Verity through her brilliant blog Miss Ginger Makes..... a brand new copy of the 'Knit your own Royal Wedding' - thank you very much Verity!


This book is an absolute classic....


You can even knit the corgis!


Here is the lovely Kate in a beautiful knitted wedding dress


And the rest of the family... Her Majesty is seen to be wiping a tear from her eye in this scene...brillant.

Even their faces really do look like the royal family don't you think?
Ooh, I can't wait for the Royal Wedding... all that time off work too hooray!

I would love to knit these... I was taught to knit when I was little by my lovely Nan, however the most complicated thing I have ever finished is a simple pink scarf, so I am not very confident with all the increasing/decreasing etc, although there is a section in this book which shows you how to do this so I plan to give it a good go and start with a Corgi.

On the subject of knitting - last year I posted about my trying to learn crochet project and I am pleased to report I have made a tiny bit of progress...

Here is the dog/fox creature that I really wanted to make from my magazine...


And here is my attempt at dog/fox creature so far...

(A head and a leg)


As you can see he is missing a few vital limbs, but he is slowly getting there I think... I am having a couple of issues with it though - firstly, I am finding quite hard to keep track of the pattern and remember how many single/2 double crochets I have done when I am either decreasing or increasing - so when I pick it up after not having done anything for a day or two, I can't remember for the life of me where I got up to, and I'm not sure how to tell just by looking at the stitches I have done so far... even mid crochet I loose count!

Also... when I made the dog/fox head, for the last  5 or 6 rows I had to decrease (dc2tog), on every stitch, however I am left with lots of big (ish) holes which are quite significant next to the other stitches which are much tighter... if anyone could offer any advice on this it would be very much appreciated!! :)

It's sooo nice that the weather is getting warmer! Spring is in the air for sure...

I just love the white pansies with the purple bit in the middle... (I'm so easily pleased)


My lavender bush is starting to show green shoots...


 And courgette seeds are starting to grow - these things grow at a rate of knots! (unlike
 my chilli plant seeds which were not worth a photo as the little blighters refuse to show themselves)


And here are my sweet peas... hopefully I get flowers on these this year as my sweet peas last year were flower-less! Not sure why...  second time lucky, eh.


And some Oregano which I thought would be quite useful for putting on pizzas and things...


I hope that you are all having lovely weekends, and Happy Mother's Day!

I treated my Mum to this beautiful handbag mirror from the brilliant Jenny Arnott, and she loved it (thanks Jenny!)


Ooh yes, there is still time to enter my Spring giveaway here if you would like too :)

Cheerio everyone...!


Sarah
x

15 comments:

  1. Heehee, I just love that book, can I put my name down for a Prince Harry please? Well done on the win, I'm writing a post on my comping exploits at the moment.

    Your crochet is looking amazing - if a bit dismembered - considering you haven't got anyone helping you. Keep going it's really coming on.

    I must get out in the garden, am sure I have some seeds that can be planted in April.

    We should bootsale again soon now it's a bit drier!

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  2. Sarah,

    That is so funny, I actually have a post saved on this exact book knit your own royal family by Fiona Goble:) Great minds think alike. I saw it on Country Living website. I will wait and post it later in the week now though :) Your plants look lovely too :)

    All things nice...

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  3. I saw this book in Bath the other day when I was in Cath Kidston, thought it looked fab, but sadly, I cannot knit! Tempted to buy it just in case I ever learn, but I know it would most likey just end up sitting on the shelf! Can't wait to see how you get on though, your crochet is amazing considering you're teaching yourself, I would not even have the faintest idea where to begin! Ooh, thanks for posting about the mirror, glad your mum liked it :) Hope you had a great day, Jenny xx

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  4. Lovely cheery post - I am in sweet pea envy - my seeds were planted ages ago and not the tiniest shoot :-( not sure what I have done wrong?? lolxx

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  5. Hi Sarah,

    Wow what a lovely post im loving your crochet dog i couldn't do that in a million years well done your doing fab ;-)) its looking cute already i suppose you could keep a note book by your side and write down where you stopped in the pattern that may help. What a great book to they really do look the same in the face as the royal family. Look at all your seeds there coming up real well, spring is lovely and this milder weather just makes you want to get outside. Have a lovely week, dee xx

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  6. Lovely post, well done on winning this book and on your crochet - another thing I need to learn to do along with knitting! Scarlett x

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  7. Looks like fun and a real challenge!!! Good Luck. Love the dogs! xoRobin❤

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  8. Hi Sarah thanks for your comment :0)
    Your dog looks great so far. I think you always get a bit of a gap with decrease stitches ...well I do anyway. I'm posting pictures of how I do mine with my tutorial so do pop back later in the week,might be helpful :0)
    Jacquie x

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  9. Hi, just dropped by and noticed that your sweet peas are looking leggy, you need to pinch the tops off, just above the last set of leaves...it will make them bush out and give you a chance of more flowers. They would also benefit from going outside in the daytime so they don't get even leggier! Good luck and hope you get some flowers this year. Jaq

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  10. Hilarious book !! Brilliant!!
    Love the little cutie your crocheting.
    You're doing really well with all your seedlings, well done.The courgettes are well away, and you'll have lots of oregano - i had that in my old garden and it spreads rather a lot after a year or too, so allow it plenty of space!But its so lovely to be able to pick generous handfuls from your own garden to cook with.
    My peppers havent shown yet either, but my tomatoes are finally starting to peeep out.
    Lovely mirror for your Mum - bet she loved it!
    Gill xx

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  11. Your crocheted work is coming along great!!! The knitted royal wedding is a riot! I love it!!!! My plants are starting to pop out of the ground now too. Spring is such a wonderful time of year! ~Val

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  12. That is such a brilliant book! I saw it about a month ago and it made me chuckle. Good luck with knitting your corgi, I've never knitted or crocheted a character as such but look forward to seeing more limbs etc appearing on yours xox Isn't this weather we are having just perfect for gardening ! Enjoy !

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  13. Lots of lovely things in this post! The wedding book looks really funny...Your little crochet dog/fox beginnings looks very sweet and cute! I bought the same gorgeous handbag mirror from Jenny Arnott for my mum too, and as I liked it so much one of my daughters bought it for me!! It's so pretty. Hope you have a sunny week and your seeds are doing well.
    Helen x

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  14. The book looks gorgeous! I am a true lover for the Royal Weddings (counting the days already!) even we do not have royals here in Finland (or maybe that's the reason?). Your little foxy-dog ;) looks fantastic too already!

    Happy weekend!

    Yours,
    Mia

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Thank you for visiting my blog, I would love to hear from you! Sarah :)

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