December has finally arrived; days are shorter, nights longer and we're feeling the need to hibernate in front of a warm fire!  I've been really busy with my crochet projects and have been overwhelmed that people have actually requested some of my items to buy and give as Christmas gifts! I've had a lot of requests for hats and scarves and I've had to do a lot of experimenting with yarns/hooks to get different sizes and for the first time in my life I've found a use for Pi!

Amongst all this we are preparing for Christmas so I've been trying to find lots of things to do to get us in the mood for the festive period.  Ice skating seems such a perfectly 'wintry' thing to do so we headed off wrapped up early one morning to a garden centre close by with an outdoor rink for the holidays...

I meant to post this much earlier but things got so busy it got missed but I think It's worth posting about because it was the first item of clothing I ever crocheted (and it was so simple). I really wanted to make a little poncho for Lulu, she's fairly small so I felt it would be a manageable project for a newbie crocheter!

Halloween was approaching and I thought it would be great to make something she could wear over her flimsly Halloween costume as I always worry about the children running around in those costumes (they refuse to wear jumpers/coats.) We don't 'trick or treat' but I do like to have a little Halloween 'tea' for the children and their friends of which their favourite part is always running around the garden in the dark with their torches! Anyway onto the pattern...

So we had many days to fill in the Summer and as the holidays moved on I started to look for interesting days out that weren't too far from home and that I could manage alone with the children! It's always really hard taking young children to museums/stately homes especially ones where there are no opportunities for younger children to touch, explore and have a run about.  I think many Museums are getting the hang of this now and it can actually make for a really fun experience.  So I decided to take the plunge and pay a visit to the American Museum in Britain, somewhere I remember visiting myself as a child!

The American Museum is tucked out of the way on route to Bath, situated in the beautiful Claverton House. It is one of the few places in the UK you can visit to really appreciate how people lived in America from the earliest English settlers to the Civil War and focuses on the development of American Decorative Arts.  It is set (and this was the deciding factor with the children) in 120 acres of beautiful grounds with some of the most stunning local views...plus in all honestly I was DESPERATE to see the Marilyn Monroe exhibition...

After a very hectic couple of weeks we decided to escape to the beach on Saturday, simply to have a walk and some fish & chips by the sea. We ended up on the gorgeous Jurassic coast at Lyme Regis, Dorset. This beautiful coastline has been granted World Heritage Site status because of its geological interest.  We've been many times before and it's the perfect place for a walk, exploring rock pools and the obvious activity, fossil hunting...

Just a quick post to share with you this quick crochet project.  My friend and I were discussing ideas for Christmas gifts and I suggested ear warmers! I've seen lots of pictures of crochet headbands on the internet so on Sunday with some time to spare I set about trying to create something...