K is for Knitting

A – Z challenge for today is “K”

Hmm this has been another hard one for me. I have come up with knitting.

My Mum was a very good knitter. A very prolific knitter too. She always had something on the go and knitted all our jumpers and cardigans when we were small.

She also got much joy out of knitting for her Grandchildren too. It was very sad when she finally stopped. It was some while before the Alzheimers really set in but I think in part it was because she found it harder to follow a pattern and that may well have been because of the disease.

My sister is also an extremely good knitter. She has produced some beautiful things. She is currently knitting for her new Grandson. I don't actually remember, but I assume that it was Mum who taught her.

I can remember Mum trying to teach me. She wasn't that patient with me! Thinking about it, I guess I get my lack of patience from her. Anyway, it didn't go that well. I did manage to knit a small red teddy bear in plain garter stitch to get my Brownie badge.

Over my late teenage years I did also knit a much larger teddy who I still have and when I first knew Simon I knitted him a jumper and a cardigan. If I remember the jumper turned out very large and he only ever wore it a couple of times. The cardigan was a belted affair and I think it came out OK but it wasn’t really him. He wore it about twice!

I had another go when I was expecting Sam and knitted some bootees. Then when I was expecting Saskia (my 4^th) I knitted a couple of matinee jackets and some bonnets that were fairly successful.

Then it came to a stop. Until around a year back when I decided that I wanted to try a different craft each month. I decided to try knitting first as I would so much like to be able to master this.

Over the year I have knitted a few things. I started out with simple garter stitch squares which have since been sewn up to make a blanket which Beanie now has. It isn't very good but he likes it! Sewing up is even harder than the knitting!

Then I made a garter stitch, cross over, 50's style, neck scarf. It was OK, but would have been way better if I had used the correct wool. I was just using up oddments that I had from somewhere.

Then I appealed to some Etsy friends for easy starter patterns. My friend Spinning kindly sent me a kit so that I could test it for her. It was for fingerless gloves.

My friend Liz has a brilliant pattern for beginners, one which you can find here: Mad Mum Knits  I purchased it from her and I made myself the whole set which I was very pleased with. Excuse me with my eyes closed!

I have also made Simon 2 cowls and the gloves and I made all the girls gloves for their Snowman present at Christmas. Please note, two of them have them on the wrong hands so you can see the seams!!  Silly girls. Doesn't matter much though as I know one of them will never have worn them anyway!

I am quite good at this pattern now!

Unfortunately that is as far as I have progressed. I like using the chunky wool as it grows quite quickly. I need to find an easy pattern for something that isn't a scarf or gloves as I think we have enough now!

Do you knit? Who taught you? What is the best thing you have done?

Jilly

"D" is for Dog.

Day 4 of the A- Z challenge means that today it is “D”  I am going to continue with the theme of blessings. 

“D” is for Dogs. Dogs are my passion. I have loved dogs my entire life. My Mum used to say that even as a tiny tot in my pushchair I would reach out for any that were nearby.

I was never allowed a dog as a child as my parents weren't really doggie people, although my Dad did come to love Alfie and Loulou in the last few years of his life.

My Mum used to say “when you have your own home you can have as many dogs as you like”. We have had 6 so far. At one time we had 4 together. Currently we just have one.

In the last 3 years I have been able to take my passion one step further by doing volunteer work for Three Counties Dog Rescue. I now regard myself as having over 70 dogs. Every one, of our small band of volunteers at Three Counties, treat the dogs just as we do our own. We love every single one of them. I just wish they could all find loving homes. Sadly as one goes out to a home another little soul comes in.

Here are some photos of the 6 doggie blessings that I have been privileged to have in my life.

Buick.

Sandy.

Rosie.

Alfie.

Loulou.

Beanie.

Jilly

B i s for Blessings and Beaine Boy.

I must be on a blogging roll. I managed 2 yesterday and now here I am ready to do day 2 of the A-Z challenge.

I think mainly it is because today is an easy one, it is the letter B. Now when I restarted my blog last week I was doing some posts on blessings which begins with a B. There is another that begins with B and that is Beanie.

Beanie is our newly adopted dog. He first came into our lives back in December 2014 when he came into the care of the Three Counties Dog Rescue where both Simon and I do volunteer work.

He was a very sad boy. He came from a very poor background. A family who did not love him or care for him and in fact kept him in a state of dreadful neglect and illness. He lived permanently outside in a concrete yard in all weathers.

It is a long story of how he came to be handed over to Three Counties and one that serves no purpose to be shared here. He was in such a dreadful state that he went straight into the hospital unit at our Vets where Michelle the head Vet diagnosed demodectic mange and severe malnutrition. He spent 6 weeks in the hospital under the care of the wonderful Vets and nurses and they got him back on his feet so he could come to the kennels.

Simon loved him straight away. Here are some photos form that first day.

 

 

 

As many of you will know already we lost our beloved Loulou in January on the same day as the dreadful fire at the kennels. It was an awful time for us.

We always knew that we would take another dog into our home very quickly as we can't bare being without a doggy companion. Not to mention that we have a home and love to give and there are all those dogs just waiting for someone to come along for them.

We had also promised ourselves that when the time came we would take either one of the oldies or one of the long termers. For all kinds of reasons it didn’t work out like that and Beanie was neither. However it has helped to heal our consciences to know that he almost certainly would have become a long termer as he is a Staffy cross and he is white. People don’t want Staffies and they don’t like white dogs. Sounds funny that, doesn’t it? Trust me it's true.

So on the 23^rd of January 2015 Beanie came home with us. As I said previously he is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross, the Vet believes he is crossed with an English Bull Terrier but without DNA testing we won't ever really know. It doesn’t matter.

He was around a year old when he came to us in January but sadly we do not know his actual date of birth so his birthday will be celebrated each year on the day he came home.

Here are some photos from that first day at home.

 

 

 

 

 

We have now had him for 10 weeks and it seems like he has always been here. He is truly a blessing. He has made it a little easier to bare the loss of our Loulou although I still miss her every single day as I do our others that went before her. Buick, Sandy, Rosie and Alfie were all true blessings.

Beanie is adorable, he loves to play and his favourite toy is a very chewed up rugby ball.

 

He loves every single person that he meets but sadly he is very nervous around other dogs. We are working on that but given his background he may always be that way.

We are so grateful to Burghley Vets for getting him back to health and to Three Counties for allowing us to adopt him. We are truly blessed.

More photos:

 

 

 

Assuming I am able to keep up my blogging habit you can expect to see many more photos of Beanie over the coming weeks!

Jilly