this'n'that...

things have been hectic in the overmilkwood homestead this week...plenty of winter ailments that you'd rather not hear the finer details of and now smallfry#2 has come down with tonsillitis...she is a pathetic little sight (very cuddley though, now that she is forced to stop for breath)

I've been busying myself with random crafting activities, as you do when ailments strike. It's been rather pleasant actually!

some knitting got started...and completed...


(it's a tudora scarflet in case you were wondering, a lovely couple'o'nights knit and very snug. Oh, and the green is much greener in RL, which pleases me)

the Le Slouch got blocked over a dinner plate and now looks much more, erm, beret like (now I know the beanie style had some professed fans, but I think you were all just being polite)

it got augmented by a pretty little flower made from a felted sweater...



which in turn led to the creation of a rather terrifying looking corsage...

(I promise I won't wear both at once)

I finished making my swap object for Lucy's Valentine Swap which will shortly be winging its way off to Jo In Tas (who has camped near some VERY strange critters indeed!)

Have chosen 5 images to print and decide between to send off to my partner in scentofwater's photoswap...hey, maybe I'll post those next time and you guys can help me decide which to send

and started to think about what the hell I'm going to do for ElsieMarley's Mobile Swap (beginning to think I was MAD, quite MAD to sign up for this one actually)

meanwhile the arts and craft brigade on my tip top parenting forum [that'll be the one that has kept me halfway sane over the past 5 years] are setting up a swap so I need to think about that too...

good lord, I think I need a lie down (preceded by a nice cup of tea of course, wouldn't like to be TOO rash)

need a sock? or was it a granny you were after?

thanks to GreenJello I came across this link, which must surely be classifiable as the most marvellous link in the history of the internet

I found myself thinking "oh doesn't she look young to be a granny" and wishing some of them were a bit more grannyish somehow - I imagined wearing socks made by the cross looking ones and got a bit frightened. Interesting how some take so much longer than others to knit the socks too - does that mean they are less bored and lonely and manage to get out and about that bit more, or are they just crap knitters (would you risk a sock by one?)...

I'm a bit suspicious of the animated socks - I think they would be very tiring to wear (though maybe good for bedtime, might keep the old tootsies warmer with all that movement I suppose, and you could avoid looking at them by keeping the covers tightly pulled)

I'll be back tomorrow with some of my own creations, but for now "may the grannies be with you"

love it!

reasons to be cheerful, parts 1, 2, 3...

reasons to be cheerful, part 1:: I've been nominated for this award


by Helen over at Angharad (thanks Helen!). I am delighted (and amazed that people I don't know actually read my witterings) Now I have to list 7 weird things about myself (hmm, where to start?)

Ok, here goes...

1. I have no musical memory and can listen to the same CD all night long, each time being surprised and excited afresh by the tracks I like...(I only need a collection of about 3 CDs to ensure all my tastes are covered and I am never bored!)
2. I love to see people eating apples. It makes me happy. I love to think about people eating apples. That makes me happy too. I do quite like to eat apples myself. They make me happy.
3. I never really realised point 2 above until now (I mean I knew I liked apples but...)
4. I have no half moons on any of my finger nails. This doesn't make me so happy but I try not to dwell on it.
5. When I was small I once woke up in our holiday home in Ireland with my arms covered in slugs which must have crept (eh, slithered - ugh!) in the window while I slept. I made the mistake of sharing this story with Ms. Beva once upon a time (you know how it goes... "eat up your dinner and I'll tell you about my idyllic childhood...") and now I am accosted wherever I go by 5 year olds clamouring for a retelling and asking ever more detailed (and impertinent!) questions - I do believe the child is famous in her year group as a result of my slug hell.
6. I have tiny ear lobes and there is something very particular about the left one that I am not yet prepared to disclose in a public forum.
7. I like to eat the inside of raw broccoli stalks. Peel off all the hard green stuff and the interior is really sweet and tasty. You should try it - if you like it too maybe I am not so weird.

In turn I nominate JuanitaTortilla, MeridianAriel, DomesticAli and Imagingermonkey for amazing services rendered to the blogosphere. Take it away ladies...

rtbc, part 2:: I arrived home from a fairly exhausting morning with Ms Bester at a cold and manic toddler group session to find the following goodies had arrived in the post..

part 2 (a)
from the aforementioned JuanitaTortilla, some gorgeous earrings I had ordered from her etsy shop earlier in the week


accompanied by a matching bracelet about which I had no prior knowledge



(thank you again you lovely creature!)

part 2 (b)
from MeridianAriel, a very beautiful bracelet from her etsy shop



which came in a handmade pouch with mother of pearl button and was accompanied by a colourful range of teas


a gift which is both topical (for me) and very thoughtful (thank you I can't wait to try them - in fact I am putting the kettle on right now)

part 2 (c)
from a large and not particularly wonderful British high street store, some shoes I had ordered


in which I doubt I'll be able to walk but will do very nicely thank you for a special occasion I have planned which will also feature (along with the pretty jewels I am gathering), this little number...

can't wait!

(now don't tell me the shoes don't go, it'll be dark and I'll be hobbling - that'll be the last thing on my mind and everyone else will be so surprised to see me in a slinky dress and heels that they won't notice any such minor details!)

rtbc, part 3:: while getting into various unholy contortions attempting to take photographs of myself in the now finished Cloud Slouching (based on Ms Bernard'sLe Slouch- now see, that's what it is supposed to look like - I've given up and am now calling mine Cloud Stretching and wearing it about the town)


without having the patience to work out how the self timer on the new camera works I managed to shoot some random images which I really like.... I think i will give up looking through the viewfinder from now on...




(and finally, Ms Bester, eating an apple (now I know why I love that girl!) and wondering what the hell her unhinged mother is up to now with that tiny hat and the big black camera)


(ps another rtbc (part 4) - all those great tea suggestions that came after yesterday's post - I am looking forward to trying each and every one - thank you!)

a post about tea, mostly...

I love tea. However it has recently occurred to me that I should extend my tea-horizons a little. I currently drink what is commonly known in the UK as Builder's Tea. Which is basically strong black tea with milk (of which I add lots, probably more than the regulation amount) and sugar (which I forego, although real builders, I believe, take approximately 4 teaspoons of the stuff per cup). On Monday as I was wandering along Neal Street in Covent Garden I passed The Tea House, a place I used to regularly frequent in my crazy wild youth. I ambled in (initially thinking of a certain someone who often needs more tea - not me) and was as always amazed by the sheer variety of the beverage on offer. I stocked up on a couple of packages for she who must not be named for fear she realises tea is on its way and, taken by a wild fancy, bought myself some darjeeling...
Later that day, back at the office to which I am bound by the [shudder] day job, I brewed myself a cup. Disregarding the "may be taken without milk" as going just that little bit too far, I added some. Believe it or not I was even tempted to put the milk in a jug to take back to my desk but we don't appear to have any delicate vintage bone china in the office kitchen for some reason, what an appalling oversight! Back at my desk I risked a mouthful, and quickly another...there was something about it...something very pleasant indeed...there was a certain delicacy to which I am not accustomed...indeed I may have to have another cup someday...

Today I was back on the Builder's but I feel a slight shift may be on the way...

If you can help in this bid to extend my horizons I would greatly appreciate any tea related suggestions...

we did the (now fairly regular) pyjama crafting at the weekend (what lazy good for nothing parents we are, kids not dressed til gone lunchtime, again)

with this fairly random result...

don't you love the bowtie? Where the hell did that come from?!

Good thing I have signed us up for this swap, the kids will love it (obviously I'll just get involved to keep them from chopping off their fingers...and it'll give us an excuse to stay in our pjs again - result)

Thank you all for the lovely comments on my last couple of posts. I really do love to receive comments and am just sorry I can't reply to them all. For some reason Blogger doesn't give me return email addresses for them all, but I do visit all the linked to blogs and enjoy drooling over what you are all up to...

I'll be back soon with some crafted items, and news of some more swaps...

Back in town this season...

After a restorative break "taking the air by the coast" (psst... major reconstructive surgery) I am pleased to announce that Ms AnnieMcC is back in London for the winter season. She assures the Overmilkwood team that the spell away did her the world of good and she looks forward to putting her best foot forward in 2008 (and beyond).
Ms McC (who for reasons best known to herself now chooses to be known as Elizabeth Darling*) has kindly agreed to allow pictures of her previous state to be circulated in an attempt to alert other, younger, more impressionable souls of the risks associated with the perilous (and lonely) path to self-destruction she once trod (stuck as she was right at the back of the wardrobe).

Remember her now?
(poor dear)

Well, let me present to you........

Ms Elizabeth Darling

and our darling she truly is once more

[Followers of fashion please note the organic vegetables being toted (in preference to other, possibly darker, substances Ms Darling had been suspected of sustaining herself upon previously - dust, predominantly) - we here at Overmilkwood are predicting this new fashion-health hybrid accessory will be huge in Spring 08. It's a trend likely to spread rapidly throughout London's most fashionable circles, possibly even globally, once the press has captured Elizabeth Darling out on the town (remember readers, you saw it here first)]

No more dark wardrobes for Ms Elizabeth. It is our guess she will be tripping the light fantastic about the living space and in various boudoirs around and about...

(Hey Mum, I think you'd approve of her transformation)

* Elizabeth was Mum's name and suggested by my two sweet girls as an appropriate name for the newly transformed gal, without any prompting from me I might add. Much springing of tears to eyes ensued...

important dates, that WIP and some project365s...

Realising I needed a new diary a week or so into the new year I went on a quest. Nothing could I find in my price range (post kicking my heels up in Switzerland induced poverty!) apart from this little horror...

makes your heart shudder, huh? ...but beggars can't be choosers

so, after a bit of humming and aahing, some cutting and stitching (and a number of nice cups of tea, at least the household budget can always run to that) , the unpleasant little brute has been transformed into this...

now I'll be the first to admit the stitching isn't all perfect, and I hadn't really thought it out properly before I made it so there are some rough edges but you'd have to say it's a darn sight better than that mock-leather-monstrosity...
(next time I cover a notebook in fabric, and I think there will be a next time as I do like it, I may just read a pattern or two first!)

meanwhile, the le slouch was progressing nicely until I tried it on last night. Hmm, I think it had somehow slipped my mind that I have a rather large, nay, an enormous head...

(see my head poking up through the top there? that's a mere two rows from the end my friends)

so it looks more like a beanie on my noggin...a very pretty moss stitch beanie but not the desired effect AT ALL. So I'll be ripping that one back tonight (unless I can come up with a foolproof way to shrink my head!)

Meanwhile I've been busy project365'ing* and here are some (personal) highlights from the weekend...

Saturday - a trip to Tate Modern to see the Louise Borgeois exhibition (it closes on January 20th and I urge anyone in London who hasn't seen it yet to go, it's simply incredible, and thought provoking and and and...)

this made me laugh, step - what step? you step over that little baby and you are on the tracks!

nice curves huh?

paint, windowsill, what more can I say


"London's famous St Paul's Cathedral"


Millenium Bridge

beautiful trees oustide Tate, remind me of this painting
(bad reproduction, sorry)

great to see two women artist's names up there on the TATE where we are so used to seeing men...you'll often find a solitary female artist's name in amongst the men's but it sent shivers of pleasure up my spine to see this...it's a first!

Sunday, at home

* I know it's supposed to be one a day but I'm enthusiastic ok?!

Xmas goodies, slouching clouds etc...

Before I get embarassingly out of step with real time (and before I forget, again) here are the crafting goodies that came from under the tree for me...(all but one from my lovely sister)

plus, some very pretty stitch markers, one of which you can see in this little WIP I started up last night...(solo knitting in a pub while waiting for a friend - wasn't I brave though?!)


want to look closer?


I got a red one too. And a blue one. Believe it or not there was a yellow in there as well. Very pleased I am with those.

The WIP is a Le Slouch which I am trying in Rowan Pure Wool Aran in a pretty grey they call cloud. I'm calling it "cloud slouching"...

Recent Project365's


the two of the tree are kind of cheating as I took them on the same day, just before I went and bought the cloud yarn, looking at them now it's pretty obvious that tree totally influenced my choice of colour...

...exhibitions etc

I appear to be in a period of hibernation on the crafting side. Too tired after all the christmas handmade extravaganza (although I do have some plans up my sleeves so I won't despair, yet)

Today I ambled out of work to grab a sandwich before my next meeting and as I left Pret A Manger I noticed something. A place I always knew was there, a place I used to frequent regularly in the olden days when I was an artsy gal about town (pre kids and mortgages and real jobs in other words), a place I hadn't darkened the door of in years. And today, even with a Very Important Meeting about to start within the next ten minutes (and a crayfish and rocket sarnie to be gobbled beforehand), I went in. I went in and I walked about and I looked. I just looked. For ten minutes. And it felt so good.

the place was this

and the things I looked at were this and this

and over the weekend I plan to go to this or I will have missed it, and that would not do at all

I couldn't do a post without some pictures so here you go

[yes those are silver stars on the hyacinths...don't ask]

the only new year's resolution I will publicly admit is to somehow learn to use my lovely camera on something other than auto mode...

to this end I'll be taking photojojo's advice (the photos above are a rather tentative start to my project365 - now I have to work out what I am supposed to do with them next, if anything...)

...little women's christmas...stamping...musing...

sixth night of January...

In Ireland this last official day/night of the Christmas season is called "Little Women's Christmas" and is traditionally the time for the mother of the household to hang up her apron/oven gloves combo and be looked after by someone else. In these modern times lots of my mother's generation of women meet up and go out for dinner/drinks together...I don't know if my "younger" (ho hum!) generation women do it as I haven't lived there for quite some time now but I must find out. It's a good end to the season for the gals.

Today is of course also traditionally the day all decorations are taken down (which I know will shock some statesiders as I believe things generally move on more quickly over that side of the pond) but I managed to let Reva Girl twist my arm into letting them stay up for "just one more day". Which probably means until next weekend as I doubt we'll have time during the week to take them down en famille. Still, I suppose it gives us time to finish off the Christmas decoration storage box we've been working on (gotta recycle those cards somehow!)

(I will move on from things festive shortly, I promise)

Today we got out Ms. Reva's wonderful stamping set, a very thoughtful present from some friends which I anticipate giving us both hours and hours of entertainment...


we made a start on the Thank You cards (she puts so much detail in that we only managed two in as many hours!) and I sneakily manufactured myself a tag for my cookie cutters...


(having pilfered the little Xmas bag I made for Ms. Bester as storage - hey, she's too young too notice!)

Back soon with some belated New Year Resolutions...and details of some crafty Xmas gifts I received. I know, I know, I am out of synch with the rest of the blogosphere who all did this a week or more ago but I claim special dispensation due to my relative newness to this particular dimension of the space time continuum (you should also bear in mind that as I was wittering on about Easter about a month ago there is very probably very little hope indeed of me ever getting in tune with anything approaching real time)...

...as promised...those lights...

...at 7.20am this morning. On my way to work I arrived to find half of them dismantled...cue much dismay until I realised one hall of the market still had them mostly intact...the security guard thought I had lost my marbles ...

pretty though, eh?

Happy 2008.......

December 24th, La Saleve, France

we drove up through the dense clouds to do some sledding in glorious sunshine at the top

December 25th, Geneva, Switzerland

Ms. Reva got stuck into the crafting gift while still in her pyjamas...

















I was amazed by the beautiful peacock she drew...



Meanwhile, the grown ups concentrated on fresh oysters

















and prawn cocktail, noughties style...









My sister loved the Hot Rice and Lavender Bag I made for her... (I could try to do a tutorial on this if anyone is interested, I found a great way of sorting out a washable outer)

December 26th, Lac Divonne, France

Look what we found when we went for a restorative walk on Boxing Day...


The Reva Girl and I tend to count the nests we can see walking through the park from school, they are always high in the trees so imagine our delight when we spotted one we could get close enough to inspect properly. I love the colours in this photo...

I don't have photos of us falling about in the alpine snow over New Year, as I knew enough about my lack of skiing ability to refuse to take my good camera up the slopes, suffice it to say we had a lot of fun and sustained a respectable number of bruises but no broken bones...Ms. Reva earned herself the nickname "Snow-Bot" as she zoomed about...

now, some long overdue thank yous...

to Shirley for the beautiful crocheted brooch - don't know quite how she knew it would go so perfectly with my festive cardi...


and to Katy for the lovely collection of linens. Unfortunately due to delays with Royal Mail just before Christmas they arrived too late for the project I had in mind, but will be put to good use soon I hope...


Hope you all had lovely holidays and are ready to face into 2008 with spirits renewed...