Actually finished the Twinkle dress last night...well, nearly. Still got to weave in the ends but it was finished enough that I could put it on. It's actually much cuter than I thought it was going to be. It's been so long since I knit anything on such big needles that I'd forgotten just how quick you can whack through something. Instant gratification. It also was a fascinating process for my 2 new wee pals who declared that they wanted to learn to knit. Not bad coming from a pair of 7 year old boys. We shall see if they still want to do it in a few weeks time though last night they were declaring to my DB that they wanted to knit jumpers from themselves. Ambitious...perhaps...but who are we to thwart ambition!

Other stuff on the needles at the moment include the Tree Jacket from Zephyr Style (I so love their stuff - think there's only 2 of their patterns I haven't bought...Rusted Root I've already made twice!), a cabled cardi from the Sirdar Eco Wool book (though I'm doing mine in some Jaeger Baby Merino that's bright orange :-)), and a 1940's jumper in some Kaalund that has been hanging about as a UFO for over a year now. About to cast on for a Clanger for my baby twin's birthday in March (he'll be 1...I get to be 4!) and for a pair of gloves out of my new mittens book that arrived from Amazon yesterday. Ravelry is forcing me to get my shit together so that I know what knitterly stuff I have and what else I want to do. Me likey loads :-)

I did have the experience this weekend of spending time with DB and his boys in a whole process of "this is Daddy's GF...time to get used to her and see what you think...and I really hope you like her because it will make life so much easier for everybody". That's right - absolutely no pressure there then was there! As you can imagine this is a fairly recent situation for me but then I did know that when I split from my ex and took up with anyone else then the likelihood of them having " a past" (brooding music and evil cackles abound) was pretty much going to be part of the deal. Especially when I have a soft spot for blokes in their mid-40's anyway - first crush was Harrison Ford and stayed with that age group ever since. Really didn't want to go down the toyboy route - early 20's or even 30's just doesn't do it for me. Like my men to be big, manly, hairy dudes...not those who still don't have enough facial hair to begin shaving and will be using "beer" as their means of filling out rather than having a good batch of muscle that just needs topping up :-( If you come across a bloke in his mid-late 40's who hasn't got at least one marriage under his belt and some kids then you do start to wonder what's wrong with them...especially if they still live with their mother...and she tucks him in at night...and bathes him...!

Getting acquainted with the older two hasn't been an issue, especially as myself and DD seem to frequent an awful lot of the same gigs and have an overlapping taste in music. Haven't had so much to do with DS as yet but that'll come with time. As far as those two are concerned they're happy as long as their Dad is happy which makes life a lot easier for me. It doesn't seem to be too hard to make their Dad happy - I have skills...he he he! Getting aquainted with the other two is harder as 7 year old boys are harder to crack. You can't be fake with them at that age as they can spot it a mile off. Luckily I have a secret weapon - it's called a David aka my peedie brother. The thought of me having a little brother just a few months younger than them has gone down really well so that gave me a head start. Being able to spin a baton, kickbox and knit also appears to have helped. It's the little things that amuse little boys...pretty much the same as what amuses bigger boys really...except bigger boys toys tend to cost more...and make more noise!