Busy

 I'm not sure what I have to say today, this is in part just a photo dump & also I feel I should post something as it's been a couple of weeks. 

I am hyper aware that Christmas is approaching and while I had hoped to be extremely productive over October and November making wonderful Christmas presents for people, in fact the opposite has been true. I started on a jumper for each of the girls, but half way in my confidence faltered, and eventually I just showed them to the girls as I wasn't convinced they would like them and didn't want to give them something I wasn't sure about for Christmas. In the event they said they did like them, and I have carried on making them, but am having another crisis now and am not pleased with them and have no interest in carrying on. I need to talk to the girls about it, but it's not the top of my list. 

They are further along than this now, actually I think one is completed and waiting to be tucked in. 

I picked up this little sewing machine for the girls from a charity shop a couple of weeks ago. It is very basic, and not adequate as a sewing machine if it were your only one, but I thought it might be good for the girls to learn on as it is small and slow. We have had a couple of little goes, and Ivy had the day off school with a cough yesterday, so we completed a few small projects from a book together, between this little machine and my larger one. I want so much for the girls to feel powerful and that they can do things. The world we have brought them into doesn't make you feel like either of these things are true. 

As I threatened to, I spent a couple of days going through our house plants and put doesn't outside our house for free. They disappeared very quickly, and I hope that brought people some joy. It has brought me joy to have a bit more light and space in my house. 

Last week was half term and we visited my Mum. She is ill, and sometimes I am so sad about it I can hardly think. There is a second hand bookshop in her village and I was pleased to find this crochet book, even if it has some lunatic advice in it such as 'If mistakes occur there is only one solution and that is to unpick work back to the error and correct it'. Pah!
There is a pattern for a shawl in here, which I am keen to make as my first project post Christmas. 

For Halloween we went to a friend's party and then trick or treating. We dressed as a family of bedsheet ghosts. 

And I made revolting cakes. 

Last night I began work on a cardigan for each of the girls, which I will make sure to save as a Christmas present. I still need to work out the stitch count for the body and sleeves but once that is done I'll be away and will be able to finish them on autopilot. 

And finally, my silly swimmers jumper did get finished. I am generally please. Indeed, I actually really like the plain pattern for the jumper and am likely to make it again in future, minus the swimmers. 

It seems to have put the kiss of death on my wild swimming though as I haven't been in two weeks now. The water will be very cold when I finally get back in. 

I have begun running again though and have been going several times a week. It is making me feel better.