Knit Your Square to Give Your Share - PART 4

mioliere

Hi everyone. I didn't get a chance to come on here yesterday because I was helping up at the farm. There's still a lot to do and not very much time in which to do it, because it's open to the public on Saturday for the Christmas Fayre, Farmers' Market and cafe - everyone's wishing there was another week to spare! DH is up there today finishing off the woodburner and hearth, and doing other bits and pieces, and I will go back up tomorrow and probably Friday evening to put the Christmas decorations up. It's hard work but a lot of fun - we are well fed at lunch time with home made pork goodies and plenty of hot drinks to keep us going, and it's so rewarding to be a part of something we think has every chance of being a roaring success. I know one thing - we'll all be taking it easy on Sunday!

F1 - yes, I've posted the wrong updates for some reason. I meant to put it right yesterday but I ended up being out all day (see above paragraph)! I'll take a look at it when I've finished this post. I hope you feel better soon, and that you are settling in well.

Crochet-wise, not a lot has been done. I'm making some little handbags for some nieces for Christmas but I'm keeping them simple enough to pick up and put down without having to think too much! I spend more time looking longingly at my wool and hooks than actually using them which is a bit frustrating but then, the whole year seems to have been like that, what with renovating the house and so on.

Jean - thank you so much for the update from Laura about Maytaurus. Hasn't she been through it? I really hope she is on the mend now. Please tell Laura to give her a big hug from me. Your photos are great, by the way! Believe me, I know what gift-shopping is like here - very difficult and it just doesn't feel Christmassy enough here. Last year, they put loads of lights up in the streets here but I never saw them switched on - it made me really cross. Even on gloomy days not one was switched on. What on earth is the point of putting them up in the first place? They may have turned them on at night for all I know, but that means the children don't get to see them, especially as there's no late-night shopping here. We've decided that this is definitely the last Christmas we are doing in France! Luckily, I added to my stash of cards and paper when we were last in the UK, along with a load of birthday cards and wrapping paper, too. If you do find it here, it's so expensive, isn't it?

I'm on an anti-France rant, I'm afraid. My heart lies in Hampshire, where the family is and they know how to 'do' Christmas. I know everyone says Christmas is too commercial in the UK but I've never bought into that; it is easily possible to have a great time and give lovely gifts without having to spend a fortune or get caught up in the mad rush. The atmosphere at that time of year is just wonderful and it's one of the things I've truly missed.

Anyway, sorry about that! The sun is shining here today, as it did yesterday. It's been a foggy start but now that it's lifted, it's beautiful out there after a couple of weeks of rain and grey skies. I hope it's good for everyone else.

Have a good day, all of you!

KathyXX

mioliere

Hi all - me again!

With Jean's expert guidance the correct up-to-date update is now on my blog! I apologise to all those that I have confused!

KathyXX

chalky_75

http://hubpages.com/hub/Attack-of-the-Red-Palm-Weevil

What a quiet day -- Hope everyone is Ok or at least coping -- I bet everyone is trying to get up tos speed with C******!!
Well it was lovely to be gardening again in the sunshine but sadly here there has been an invasion of the Red Beetle which attacks palm trees and sadly the damage by the weevil is not apparent until the fronds collapse and by then its too late!:mad:
One thing I have always loved in this area are the majestic palms which almost give it a tropical feel -- So a bit sad about that. We spent the whole morning trimming the palms in the garden back so that treatment can reach the heart of the palm.
Well I am working on a prototype --- Be ready Jean as it could either lead to a serious obsession or a disaster -- Pics to follow in an bit

roamin_in_the_gloamin

OOo can't wait another addiction in the offing, bring it on. I am currently and have been for some time knitting an aran jumper - because I had aran wool, also thought it would be a great idea to knit the biggest on the pattern sheet WRONG, well I never learned that lesson previously and yet again I am now regretting it. Will do it tho, then I am onto the 2ply baby shawl that I keep promising to do and again it gets pushed to the back of the queue (winter project queue). Spent the day doing lots of wrapping of pressies and then card making, I believe I am about one third of the way through the whole process. No rush I have just less than two weeks to complete the task. As well as find even more shops with suitable goodies in gggrrrr. I would like to think I can hit the sewing machines again tomorrow, so will keep my fingers crossed that I can just blithely walk off and leave PILES OF STUFF lying around on the dining room table, while I swan off and do something I enjoy........we shall see, if you don't hear from me for a week or so it will mean that I lost that one and DH has me buried under the patio (that we don't have). Have a great day tomorrow, love and cuddles to everybody.

In_Search_Of_Me

Evening from one VERY tired ISOM! Spent much of the day helping clean a flat and then babysat till 9 (who had a tantrum when he realised it really WAs bedtime and no messing!!) and simular day tomorrow so roll on wend - have a nice lunch on Sat with friends so that to look forward to! No hooky stuff today or tomorrow as its home group tomorrow!
Sounds as if youre busy roaming! Do you stay over there for Christmas or return to uk?
Huggles for you miol...Christmas is a tough time of year for many and being away from loved ones is hard so you have my sympathies...
F1 hope the new house is going ok but sorry to hear that cold is making you feel poorly bad
chalky sad about the trees...you can understand why new zealand are so thorough with imports...japanise knotwood is prevalent here and a complete nightmare to get rid of and it stranges everything around it which is horrible! Do you find being in a routine helps with the unselling feeling you get living in two places?!
hello and huggles to those lurking, feel sad or poorly...socky and may special huggles to you both

hunnybeanz

Hi guys!
Am slowly making my way through reading this thread, but in the meantime, may I join in?

I have knitted one of the tiny super stretchy hats from thread one, so that's my total ATM.

Also, could someone please point me in the direction of the items that you're all currently knitting and for whom / where? Is it all still the same as the 1st thread?
I'd hate to be knitting hundreds of stretchy hats only to find out they have no home LOL, they're closing our SCBU unit so no home there, and the next baby that comes in my house better be a grandchild in 20 years or so, or I will be hot footing it out the back door LOL!!!

My daughter was very prem, and we definately struggled for clothes, the doll's nappies were too big on her, and clothes were a nightmare to find.

Nice to meet you all

x

dpixie

hello everyone, hope you dont mind the long absence, but i am back. summer was full of guests and relatives (who seemed to stay a long time, and although it was fun, its difficult when you feel that you have to entertain every day and produced 3 wonderful meals each and every day). following that it was a trip back to the uk to see some rellies and then a trip to south africa for my brother wedding, then back to the UK to see some friends and then back home.

sadly one of my OHs aunts had just had a great big fall and broken her arm - about a week after we left the uk for the first time, then she got some mysterious disease in one of her eyes and lost the sight in that eye. to make matters worse, a few weeks after that, she had a very bad stroke and seems to have recovered physically, but mentally she has put herself in a better place (about 60 years ago when she was much happier). our phone bills have been enormous as we have been phoning her doctors, social worker, home warden etc from all over to get updates on her condition as well as calling her to reassure her. its all been rather traumatic.

other than that, i tried to find the time to personally take the little jumpers i made to the knit-a-square people in johannesburg when i was there, however, as it happens, the people in charge were in the uk for a 90th birthday for most of the time that i was in jo'burg. the only day that was available was a couple of days before the wedding, and at that time i was running about like a headless chicken. anyway, the jumpers have been delivered and positive comments received, so more are in the making.

i do hope that everyone is okay (if not well) and that there has been loads of knitting and crocheting going on. i will make my way through some of this thread, but i believe that i have about 60 pages to catch up on, scary.

missed you all and hope to catch up on all your news very soon.

kathy - sad that you are not enjoying the french christmas style. i think the reason that the lights in your village are not on is because our local area is using all of the electricity. the houses around here will be lit up from the beginning of december to the end of january and beware if you dont have shutters as you will never sleep. they look like mini runways or something - there are millions of lights and animals and stars and stuff, i will try to take a picture to demonstrate, its quite something else!

have a fab day everyone, i am going to do some french language study (on CD) whilst crocheting - hopefully i will absorb all i hear!

dpixie

Kinsey

Hi dpixie - phew, your post made me breathless just reading it. No pics of bro's wedding? Would love to see the christmas lights. Poor old Auntie, it's heartbreaking. Hope things improve for her.

Welcome hunnybeanz, have a look here http://www.lovinghands.org.uk/ and here file:///C:/Users/diane/AppData/Local/Temp/home.html
should give you plenty to start with.

Chalky I'll be checking back all day now to see what you've been up to. Shame about the palms.

ISOM my DH was on a landfill site a few months ago and they were burying a load of japanese knotweed ?????

mioliere hope the cafe project is going well.

Love to everyone, xxx

Kinsey

The second link is the wong one, try this http://ukpreemies.blogspot.com/

roamin_in_the_gloamin

welcome honeybeanz, couple of links for you below, don't stress out trying to do it all - just pick something you fancy and have a go at that we are onto part 4 now I think so you could be forever hunting out information!
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=19076075&postcount=964
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=25685267&postcount=143
Dpixie lovely to have you back in the fold, hope you are all set for the winter knitting/crocheting projects when the rotten weather really hits in.
ISOM - Stay in France for Christmas....One of us usually does a week trip prior to end of November or early December, drop off for the pressies to the UK - its a really fast whizz and it's DH's turn this year, which means he adds his two sisters to the equation (I usually miss them and stay an extra day in Scotland). I think because we have moved all over the shop during the years we have been married, we just accept that where we are is where we are staying. We used to haul ourselves to London to spend Christmas with his parents then onto Scotland for the New Year celibrations but as parents have now gone to that happy hunting ground - no reall need for the trip. My dear wee sister is always begging us to come and stay. After the parents died, I used to have the last Uncle and my sis' family at christmas but no more I just enjoy DH, DS, oh perhaps DFD and her mob of monsters, easy to entertain that lot! I have spent many a festive season on my own (and enjoyed myself), we have also had Christmas in JULY and September oh and once in February......could never tell when DH and DS were going to be available. Works for us but I can also understand Moiliere wishing to be in the UK for it! Back a bit later. PO is holding a parcel for DH in the UK and want confirmation of WHO HE IS - I will only be sorting this out for him as it just might be a pressie for me!