I have such aspirations to do things like unpack boxes (Gasp! Can you believe I still have boxes hidden away from when we moved in May of last year?), tidy up the house, maybe look at that growing pile of mending/alterations/to-dos that seems to get bigger every week...

... but no. Instead, I make ridiculously lovely things that fill my heart with glee and make me chuckle whenever I see them. Chick Easter Tea Cosy? Oh yes. I need that. Work can wait, surely.

I rather like this knitting pattern. It's quick and easy and very satisfying. The feather pattern knits up quickly and I got to use lots of leftover yarn from the Carousel CAL (which I must admit still needs a border but it is draped so nicely over a chair that I daren't disturb it, really.).

The pattern is from Simply Knitting, issue 157. I didn't fold under the ribbing as instructed because I have a very tall (but very lovely) tea pot and this didn't quite stretch to keep it all cosy.

I maybe might have sort of possibly caught the Easter Craft bug and am zipping through bunny cut outs with Isla and delving into pom pom stashes everywhere to add fluffy tails. That's just how we roll hop.

In other news, the plasterer has been working hard on our front room and it promises to be done tomorrow (tomorrow!!) and I'm so overly smitten with delight that I have to stop myself from skipping around the house. We've been staring at stripped bare, glue-covered walls for too long!

This is Window Cat. LOVE. She's a teeny tiny itty bitty knitty kitty made up from the smallest amount of pink/purple variegated yarn and this pattern for Tiny Window Cat by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. I made her as a gift for a very good friend of mine who loves pink almost as much as she loves cats. Raveled here.

There's a science to building a pillowfort. Who knew? Try telling that to a couple of 2-year-olds and a baby who think that pillows are for hugging and squishing and fake-snoring on. We did more-or-less follow the instructions - opting for a table support when the chairs didn't work, and replacing the zillion pillows with all sorts of puffy poofy things sourced from around the house. There was sheeting and pegs, bunting and pom poms. And fairy lights.

Thank you so much for your messages, emails, and more. Surgery went as well as expected, and I'm very grateful to be home now and recovering. There's not as much resting as I'd like, but I have my two little ones running circles around me as I move through the day.

I'm filled with appreciation after receiving lovely flowers through the post from the furthest corners of the globe from friends afar, cards enthusing get well and thinking of you (and the glitter! Glitter makes everyone feel better, doesn't it?) and even a huggable monster pillow with the biggest googly eyes I've ever seen.

Thank you all, for your thoughts and kindness. I've been keeping myself very busy - with soap, recovery, craft, yarn and exploring Essex (!) and finding all of the lovely things on our new doorstep. I've got a lot to show you. And, it might even be summer soon. Here's hoping. x