fish and chip baby jacket and books to read

 The small jacket from the first 'fish and chip baby' jumper pattern is finished. Ive shown both sides here because it fascinates me how some wools you buy now, are sort of self fair aisle like!
This is King Coles 'splash' double knitting in case anyone wants to know. I must check back, am sure I was asked what wool type Id used, sorry if I havent replied yet!
Its shade 811, sold in 100g balls and I believe I paid either £3.40 or £2.75. I bought two balls for the jumpers and am sure one was a little cheaper but cant recall which was which now.
Its 100% acrylic/ 320 yards/290 metres.

Ive just finished the Kathryn Stockett book 'The Help' which has been made into a film I understand and it is well worth reading.

Set in the racial times of Mississippi's past ( I hope..) its centred on what life was like for both the white families who had coloured help in their homes and for those men and women of colour who were the hired help.

Its shameful to look back on those times and yet full of love and a great deal of humour. It was hard reading in places but I've really enjoyed it and felt I understood alot that Id known so little about.

Ive started on The Tin Ticket now and am transfixed already by its historical, family history centred approach.

Its about the lives of real women who were banished to Van Demans Land as criminals in an age when stealing food to eat, meant you could be sent to far flung places to start up a new colony for the bloody commercially centred british empire of old.

Little changes you realise really as you read it.

(I cant recall who mentioned it on their blog and set me off looking for it, but thankyou whoever it was! )

Ive gotten nowhere sorting out the Giveaway package Id mentioned in a  previous post but I havent forgotten lol

It will be in the new year now though, at this rate!

This year its hit me harder than ever how silly all this commercial christmas excess really is.

I reckon its hardest of all on the kids too and its unfair of us laying it all on them.

I mean my son and his ex girlfriend had my scrumptious grandson.

So he had 2 'real' nannies, and one set of a 'real' great grandma and granddad.

So gifts, hugs and visits to those direct relatives already right?

This year, hes had his mums and dads new partners, parents as additional grandparents.............and had visits to them, to unwrap all manner of gifts from them too.

Yes thats kind of them and nice for the child youd think.

But one set of 'new grandparents' spent shed loads, making a huge effort to get my grandson to accept them too as grandparents. Thankfully he did seem to show them warmth and am sure it thrilled them. I was kindly invited along for a meal on xmas day and that was lovely of them, so I too would see my grandson on xmas day, at theirs. Where theyd been the year before too mind you.

I guess Im being a bit silly but he has two nannies right?

My 3 year old grandson was beside himself on Boxing day when he got trailed to mine to open gifts left at mine, because hed have so much at his stepmoms parents house on xmas day anyway.

I dont object that folks want to buy him gifts.

I dont really see it as them muscling in on the 'real' nannies places either lol

But the poor guy was completely overwhelmed by Boxing day. More gifts and too little time at anyones home since xmas eve, to really play with what hed been given you know?

What kind of message that is to him, is what worries me really.

Its as if we are all buying him off with gifts and at the point where Id got him happily sat on my lap, reading a book with and to me, counting away, how many mice, butterflies etc........they whisked him up and took him ( back) to stepmoms parents house again.

And he didnt want to go, wanted to stay with this nannie.

I remember feeling obliged to trail my kids here and there up a motorway at xmas and in the end had my own parents come stay with us for xmas for afew days.

Then when hubby took off, the kids would go stay at his girlfriends parents home too on alternate xmasses.

When he died, those alternate xmasses stopped cos girlfriend didnt want them and they didnt want to see her anyway.

None of his family stepped in asking to have them either which I would have allowed, so they had a link to their dad.

Guess I didnt have the extended family/grandparent thing to contend with, so its new for me, seeing this sharing the poor chap round all and sundry.

Dyeing....now Id forgotten that Id made up a dye bath of the mushrooms that had grown out back............but using Deanna's pics on her blog, I had a go with tin cans, like she had done. Thanks Deanna!

Of course had I taken note of which was soya milk, salt, vinegar or alum dipped - the pics hereafter might have been more use to you! Sorry... but a couple were in a cranberry bath too and Im blowed if I can tell the blummin difference tween any of them now!

this one had been folded over and round rusty metal an d was vinegar dipped, I do remember that one...

 The one above was a double layer of white fabric wrapped round a tin, wasnt sure it would work but it does give 2 circles...fancy that!

Oh yes and have you seen Mister Finches blog.......the guy that makes the old textiles butterflies and insects...........well he makes ace foxes and Zorrow masked rabbits and the most lovely 'sleeping' birds....... just amazing!

mynameisfinch.blogspot.com/

do go take a look...........!