Another week passes

And yet again I have been missing in action from the blog. However, all is well; I'm back and here is the news.

Exciting thing number 1:

Baby N was born on 14 October. He is very cute and new-born - babies are so sweet when someone else has to clean them! I have duly dispatched the blanket and booties and hopefully they will have arrived by now (fingers crossed) with apologies to M and J for spelling their son's name wrong - blame his Granny and Great-Uncle and the grapevine!!

Exciting thing number 2:

Christmas is shaping up nicely - I finished project Christmas 2 yesterday (yes Zee - it's yours) and project 3 is on the needles and being carefully hidden from all and sundry. I've not got too many more Christmas projects this year (after last year's sock bonanza) so I'm ticking along nicely.

Exciting thing number 3:

Foxglove is flowering. Not much progress made from last week - I've done about a third of the last sleeve and no more leaves but the end is in sight and I think it will look rather pretty. It is a coral/pink/orange type colour that photographs very pink and so is hard to show you. I think it will need a vest underneath to stop it being too revealing a top and I'm currently trying to decide which colour will show it off to it's best advantage - I'm thinking green because then I will have coral flowers on a green background.

Exciting thing number 4:

Casting on/swatching. I have swatched again for my tangled yoke cardigan. 3.75mm needles came out a stitch too big and 3.5mm a fraction to half a stitch too small. I'm going to go with the 3.5mm because (a) I have a wider range of cord lengths in 3.5mm circs and (b) I like the fabric better. I was going to start as soon as I could and the startitis urge is still there but as I know it would be all too easy to put Foxglove in a bag and forget about her until next summer I am trying to hold out for an FO - time will tell.

I also needed something new for the morning commute so I have chased, caught up with, and scrambled onto the last inch of the Monkey bandwagon and cast on in some purple/pink/orange/grey Koigu. I've popped a picot edge on the top for variation and so far (the edging) they look good. I would have done more this morning but I spent the journey curled up under H's coat feeling sorry for myself because I simply can't get warm. I'm writing this from work still wearing my suit jacket and my scarf (all hail the warming powers of Argosy) and with a fan heater full blast at my feet and if I move an inch out of the heater's range I feel all chilly - the temperature has obviously dropped and the office has been cold over the weekend so it takes a while to climb back up again!

Exciting thing number 5:

Yesterday H and I met up with my parents at the very beautiful Westonbirt Arboretum which is midway between us (well slightly closer to us). The arboretum has a collection of Acers and Japanese Maple trees that are stunning colours at this time of year as well as a 2000 year old Lime tree (it looks like a thicket but it's all one tree) and lots of interesting berries and other pretties.

Piccies to come in due course but for the moment imagine all your favourite muted reds, oranges, yellows and greens together and you've got the picture of a day spent walking in the trees, eating pasties in the sunshine and catching up on all the family gossip - perfect!

Now having spent my lunchtime blogging I had better go and justify my existence to the paying establishment - as they say in Brummie-land "ta-ra for now!"