Very briefly!

Hi all,

Christmas is now officially coming and I am still not quite ready - the tree is up, most of the food and presents are bought and Lottie has finished school and mock exams (no they are not after xmas as I thought).

I however still have 3 afternoons to work and shopping left to do, we are down to 1 car as Dave's is in the garage (big bill to arrive soon) and we are supposed to be going away after Christmas.

Not sure how I am aiming to actually get all of this sorted out but I will in the end.

I have a lovely box of Christmas goodies that arrived the other week and promise to blog about it very soon (although some of the items have already disappeared).

Back soon with more to tell!

Christmas is NOT coming.....

YET!

I am sorry but I am just not ready to think about it at the moment, someone pressed the fast forward button on my life and forgot to switch it off!

I have not posted for a while, sorry but my feet have not touched the ground. Am hoping next week will be calmer, until I realise that we have just hit December and then panic will ensue. I have not finished my secret santa gift yet so will have to concentrate on that as they need to go in the post soon!

Must go knitting to do........ back soon!

Home Today!

Today is the day for 'him indoors' to arrive home and I have to say I have missed him! I have been tracking the flights so I know when he arrives but we had to change the plan from airport collection to station collection as he has no mobile phone to let me know where he will be! At least at the station there is somewhere to wait (no matter how long) rather than nowhere to park at the airport. I am taking my knitting with me so at least I will have something to do while I wait. With luck it shouldn't be long anyway. Woohoo, am so pleased to be getting him back again! Will report back again soon!

Want to hear a story?

There once was a man who went to America for his new job (OK so this is about Dave). The condition was that he bring home some lovely wool and I promised not to mind too much! So on Friday he says to the nice chap giving the training, 'hey I don't suppose you know of anywhere that sells wool do you?' The nice chap says 'I know someone who will' and proceeds to phone an even nicer lady who promised to email a list of shops near to the office (and hotel which is just around the corner). She did this along with her thoughts on each shop! Dave then emailed this to me to have a looky at. The nearest and one with the nicest people (according to said lady) was quite close and their web site, although it didn't have stock on just the yarn brands etc, said they were having a trunk show last weekend with giant balls of hand painted yarn (each ball large enough to make a garment or throw) so I quite liked the sound of this and told Dave about it.

On Saturday he set off with the vague address but couldn't find the shop (silly man I would have written it down first) so he begs another nice person in a shopping arcade to look up the address on their laptop - which they generously did! This then makes it easy to find the shop and when he gets there he shows the lady at the counter the bits of yarn I sent with him and she tells him yes they have plenty of sock yarn, he also asks about the trunk show and she explains that the giant balls are all around the shop but feel free to have a good look around (he also notes that there were several ladies knitting in the shop and chatting together). So eventually he chooses a giant ball and the ladies who are knitting stop and chat to him saying that what he has chosen it gorgeous and that I will love it. That done he pays and leaves the shop. What surprised him most was how nice everyone was to him (a man in what he considers a girls shop), I did remind him that most knitters are really nice people and of course they would encourage him to get something nice for me and be supportive if his choice!

Moral of the story, 'knitters are nice - even in foreign lands' and I thank them (even though they will never know) for showing kindness to a strange man and making him feel not so silly for buying me a giant ball of yarn!

I will post pics once I have the ball in my possession but I am quite excited to see what it will be like!

That didn't kill me!

OK so firstly an apology I blogged the wrong date for me starting work (I put the 16th and it was yesterday instead), stupid me but never mind!

I don't know about the rest of you but we woke up here in Cheshire to a thick fog which didn't really lift all day eugh! Despite that I managed to make it to my class who were very happy to see me and gave me coffee and mince pies, yum yum.

After that I hot footed it home and let the dog out, grabbed a cup-a-soup and a roll and got changed for work. I walked down the road for a few minutes and to the office (I really will need to get some boots or shoes with a low heel suitable for work). I only normally wear my 'smart' shoes and boots when I am not walking too far so it doesn't matter but I have discovered that our road (small that it is) is a lot uneven, not too much of a problem on the way to work but on the way home in the dark I am all set for a broken ankle sometime soon!

My first 'day' was fine 2 cups of coffee and a presentation on the products that the company sells plus a bit of heads up on the company 'politics' - not difficult at all really (I can't really call 3 hours a 'day' but it felt more like a long meeting). I checked my phone on the way home (again nearly a broken ankle) to find Lottie had missed the bus due to the biology dissection class overrunning and I needed to collect her from her friends house (thank goodness she could go to her friends house). It was really foggy by this time so the journey was horrid.

After dinner it was then time to prepare the samples for the senior section guides I am showing micro macrame too tonight. Gosh when did my life get so busy? Roll on today!

Where did the weekend go?

It is Monday already and I am officially off to work today! I do have a quick beading class to fit in first but hey ho.

Friday night was hectic - I decided to make the treacle toffee which was fine but I was also trying to make cheese sauce to go on the pasta bake - not too much of a problem you say except I needed bread crumbs from the freezer to sprinkle on top and as Lottie moved the butchers block out of the way to get them out of the freezer the wheel fell off. So now I am making pasta bake and treacle toffee and trying to put the wheel back on my wagon! I removed all hot stuff from the heat and rummaged in the garage for the tools, all ended mostly well but the toffee was a bit harder than I intended it to be.

Saturday was a tidying frenzy as we were having a sleep over to go with the village bonfire and it is a good job I did as I landed up feeding 6 teenagers instead of just 2 plus they all came home again with us afterwards (thankfully only the 1 was actually staying). Then came Sunday morning and the dash to church for remembrance Sunday, Lottie was in the flag parade and her friend sat with me in church (I don't go very often but this service I go to every year). I really like this service as it makes me feel so grateful for what I have.

After a further frenzy of returning said friend to rightful parent we had a nice long walk with the dog and then a bit of a game playing frenzy on the Wii. I have discovered that I can't shake my Maracas in time to the music (on the Samba di Amigo game that is) but I can balance a broom on my hand quite well (Wario smoothmoves).

And here we are at Monday morning! I have a great story to tell you about a huge ball of wool and a certain man in New York but that will have to wait until tomorrow!

2nd Post!

Not quite literally - the box arrived before the letters today! But that is what I am trying to let you know - the box has arrived woohoo! Plus this is my second blog post of the day!

I would love to be able to show you a picture of my goodies but my camera is currently in a woolly hat in New York (I don't have a pouch or bag for it so him indoors improvised)!

I can however say that I chose some lovely sock yarn from the yarn yard, a crochet beaded necklace kit (lets not mention beads again today) and some helpful little flick booklets about western and combination knitting. Thank you to all of you who contributed these goodies.

I will be off to the post office on my way to collect Lottie (it is after school art tonight) and we are then off to the library - I need something to keep me company until Dave gets home!

I know I am not mentioning small round things again but just in case Claire is panicking that she will have a huge van of beads arriving - fear not I have not added any to the box this time - I may bead bomb you all instead.

Ha Ha Beads are small!

"Beads are small" says Allison, yes they are unless you are buying them in 250g or 500g bags! plus little plastic boxes to package them all in! At one point I was teaching 3 -4 classes a week and I had a huge stock of beads so that I could do this as there was not very much locally available but I still have quite a large stock left and I only teach classes occasionally but when I do I have to haul out the boxes and baskets that hide in the office cupboard and it usually leaves a huge mess behind! Plus the dining room is filled with my own selection of beads and samples and works in progress and my fairly small but growing stash of yarn!

Any suggestions on how to deal with all of this? I wish I could vacuum pack the beads but I don't think it would work somehow. On reflection I think I should just set up a web site and sell them that way - I am just not sure I have the skill to do this yet.

Actually I could just put them in a box and send them out as a secret Santa - anyone fancy that?

Not so grumpy today!

It is true, I am not so grumpy today - sorry about yesterday it was a bit nerve wracking as I knew there was no way for Dave to contact me until he arrived at his new office today (he will not get a new mobile phone with this lot and the last one went with the job), we didn't have time to sort out one before he went away and usually he would at least use it to email me. Good news he has arrived and has a dinky new net book that he can at least email from when he is the office. I hope I will sleep a bit better tonight.

The holiday was great, the weather was warm and the sea was splashy - we managed a good walk every day and even had a trip to Holt (I got a new Joules gillet in my favourite bright pink). I have just got to get to grips with the office now - rather too many beads for his liking I think. Anybody need any beads????? Or a futon maybe?

It wasn't supposed to be like this!

Hi all - I missed you!

You might be wondering about my title today - well the story so far is this.....

After announcing my new job, him indoors was a little bit miffed that I might have beaten him to the post so while we were away he finished negotiating the contract for his new job and has flown off to the USA this afternoon (he is in the air as I type) so that he can have 2 weeks training and then come home and get on with it! As a result of this hasty work we arrived home from our 'week' away on Saturday and I then had to start organising his 'stuff' for the next 2 weeks away. Plus I now have to tidy out his office all by myself (not part of the plan) and attend bonfire night and Remembrance Sunday all by myself (Lottie will be part of the last 2 things though) as will a group of her friends - I will be allowed to tag along with them as I am apparently a 'cool' parent!

I should be grateful for our change in fortunes but another week to get myself organised and come to terms with it all would have been appreciated - that is not how it works though is it! Plus I don't know about everyone else but it seems that it has got a lot more dark and dingy all of a sudden - I walked the dog in the dark today (how did that happen it wasn't this dark so early in the day last week).
OK so there you have all of my grumbles for the day, am going to bed now (I know it is only 10pm but I didn't sleep very well last night - too much on my mind). I guess that might account for some of my grumpiness - sorry you got the brunt of it, will try and be much better tomorrow.

Wow - they want me!

Last week I saw an ad pop up on our village website (www.audlem.org) about a part time job just a few minutes walk from my house. Bearing in mind that we live 8 miles from anywhere and the village has quite a few shops and pubs but not many other employers other than farms and a school I had a look as it was for an admin person (something I did about 15 years ago). Also it was for 15 hours a week - how hard can that be?

Having checked them out on the web and found out what they did I emailed them and was asked to go for interview the next day - not so tough I hear you say but given that I have only ever had a total of 3 interviews including this one it was a bit nerve wracking until I got into it. I think you may have guessed the out come by now and so 2 out of 3 interviews resulting in jobs is not too bad a record I feel (given that the first interview I ever had, I had been in a car crash the night before and was badly concussed). I have had a few part time jobs since I had Lottie but none of them required interviews for various reasons.

I don't start until the 16th of November so I have plenty of time to think about things but to take my mind of it I treated myself to some lace weight yarn that nobody had snapped up at the posh sale (I checked before I went to bed on Sunday and it was waiting for me to buy it). I hope it arrives before all of the post goes mad!

Oh dear me!

I have just got back from Embroiderers' Guild and I have to say 'oh dear me' as the whole group did not enjoy the speaker today! At least it was not me who booked her but as the treasurer always reminds me - 'The buck stops with me!' Fortunately it is not always like this, last week we did a fantastic workshop on Calico Gardens, this is as far as I have got with mine:

And this is what it should look similar to when I have finished!

A way to go yet then!

Where are you all?

I look at the blog site everyday and I notice that you are all missing - what are you all up to that you haven't put posts up in ages?

I have been putting more bobbles on the 'Ibble Obble' socks and have only got 1 more round of bobbles to do, then it will be rib and heel time - these are sounding more and more edible by the day!

I am guessing that the box could be arriving with me sometime in the near future as I think I must be nearly the last on the list this time so I am quite excited!

Him indoors has had 3 phone interviews (with the same company) in the last couple of weeks so hopefully he should be gainfully employed again soon. Not before we spend halfterm in Norfolk though - how I am missing my favourite seaside place and can't wait to get back and walk along the beach, although I suspect it will need hats wellies and coats this time around. What fun!

Ibble Obble Chocolate Bobble!

This old rhyme keeps popping into my head as I knit these! The construction is quite different to any other toe up socks I have done before and the grey yarn you can see is the waste yarn that you put in so you can add an after thought heel (again another new one to me) but the sock has grown really quickly as the yarn is DK weight - I am using a cotton type which is lovely to feel but a bit splitty (I nearly didn't use it but after having bought it I felt I should at least give it a go). The bobbles are really easy to do after you get the hang of them and I am using the knitting backwards technique as well so I don't need to keep turning them around.

The bobbles remind me of a favourite jumper I had when I was a teenager it was a lavender coloured fluffy type and had bobbles all over it - it was my favourite for years. I guess the bobbles were made in exactly the same way as these and I remember being in awe of who ever knitted it as I knew back then how much work would have gone into making the whole thing!

How life has moved on since those days (I wouldn't want to go back though)!

A fresh new week!

How interesting I think to myself! I mentioned to 'him indoors' that whilst he is not going to work he might like to paint the lounge (the ceiling was re plastered about 2 years ago and is still bare plaster) and we have some paint that would do the job perfectly well in the garage. I have never seen him get his CV out there so fast and set up some interviews as quick in my life! He has already had 1 phone interview, he has another today and one more on Wednesday. We also managed a few episodes of Murder she wrote, Monk and Count Down and believe me that lady needs to find dresses that do not make her look like she should be on Boots corner!

The other thing we have also been able to do is the weekend length dog walk on most days so extra exercise is great, am hoping to have lost a few pounds soon!

LOST!

I survived the AGM and the lunch that followed, I survived the Friday morning 'this is it' call for him indoors' job and the hastily put together class for my beading ladies.

Monday morning was chimney sweeping time so I had to make sure all yarn was removed from the lounge (in case it got a sooty smell) plus other debris that collects in that room (like dust and bits of paper!). After that Dave and I did some food shopping (it is nice to have some company and someone to help carry the bags) plus an extra long dog walk.

Today we are doing some tidying up of loose ends so thought I would just do a quick post so you don't think I am ignoring you (still no pics to show yet!)

It is odd not to have tons of pressure to get things done as has been the case for the last few weeks and I am feeling slightly lost - will go and do the samples for Fridays class so I can feel busy again, now what time does Murder she wrote start?

AGM Loomes!

Sorry I have been awol for a while but the AGM is on Thursday and it seems that everything left to do falls on me! Yesterday I went out on the hunt for gifts for the retiring committee (you can't get much for £5 it seems) so I spent a bit more and got some fabulous 'Oliver Twist' - one of a kind packs!

Also yesterday we heard that Dave's contract will be terminated (friday we will hear the plans to do this) so I have also been brushing up his CV!

On the plus side I have finished Lottie mittens and her 'no drop Clop' (basically a clapotis but without the dropped stitches) so will try and get some piccies up later.

Glad to hear the boxes are on the move again but sad that this will the last time for Clara, I must admit that I feel glad to have met you all even though it was through a shared bad experience.

When did life get busy again?

Without really knowing why life has all of a sudden shot past me again! We have been home just over a week and in that time I still have a pile of shoes / crocs / trainers in the hall waiting for a space back under the stairs! I have diverted one family crisis (attempted burglary, not at my house I might add) and found myself in the midst of another (him indoors may not be actually going outdoors to work after next week) or at least until he gets another job anyway. Lottie is now in the final year for GCSE's and has attended a guide centenary day in congleton and I have to do an open day in Nantwich for Embroiderers guild at the weekend plus arrange a committee meeting before our AGM next week. Now where did last week and this one go........?

Hope everyone else is having a quieter time although it sounds like lots of school related stuff is going on for you all. Will be back soon once the whirlwind has subsided!

Rain eugh!

Just to try and cheer the day up (it has been raining again today) I thought I would share with you a couple of photos. Firstly my happy dog:

He was enjoying a lovely day on Brancaster beach - one of our favourite beaches in this area as when the tide is in it is so close but when it is out it is miles away with loads of lovely beach to play on or even fly your kite on:

Just look at that fabulous blue sky! There I feel better already. I have noticed though that there are no pics of me on holiday - I was there and I did have a fab time but it would seem that I was only a spectator and not worthy of a picture! I did however manage to finish the lavender pod I was knitting and fill it with the lavender that the mother-in-law brought for me and knit up to the arm holes on my Hanna jumper and cast on for a sleeve for this jumper. I also knitted most of a fingerless glove in Harry Potter 'tonks' yarn. So I was quite busy really - besides all the usual holiday type stuff!

Back to the washing again as some of my yesterdays load got soaked in the rain!

Back to School blues

This is always a horrid time of year for me, I hate it when Lottie goes back to school and normal routine is returned! After weeks of holiday shopping, rushing around and birthdays plus 2 weeks away we all come home and I am alone again. Lets face it a few large piles of washing and loads of cleaning are not my idea of a good time - no wonder this is my worst time of year!

PS I can't get on to Ravelry is anyone else having trouble?

Hectic!

Hopefully we will be going away today, that is after I pack and tidy the house, clean out next doors fish, take and retrieve him indoors from the station and return car to garage to have the door mended (broken catch which has been waiting for the part to arrive). Doesn't sound like much but it is a huge set of tasks to complete by mid afternoon. Wish me luck!

Birthday fun!

Yesterday was my birthday and as it turned out I really enjoyed it. Him indoors was off to a meeting in London so we had to get up at 5.30am to get ready and then drop him off at the station. This meant that all presents were hurriedly opened and then put to one side as we rushed to make the early train. One of my presents was a new set of scales as I broke the last set (I miss them they were kind) but the new set are just plain mean! I do not buy the fact that I have put on about 4 pounds since I broke the last set so that means somewhere along the line something was amiss, although the new set are really difficult to read despite having a magnifying bit on the top - in fact I think they are hard to read because of this! I am going to weigh something I know the weight of and see how it goes from there.



The rest of the day was so busy, Lottie and I went over to the threshing barn in Leek to get some wool for a project I want to do and while we were there not only did I get coffee I was also given cake and scones - how lovely was that! I was talking to Janet and another customer about knitting and spinning and I showed them my Tilia (they were kind enough to admire it) and the subject of lace spinning came up. They other customer was buying a lace flyer for her wheel but I thought it was too much money to justify me getting one. So then we mentioned birthdays and I happened to say it was mine today and so out came the cake and scones and lots more chatting took place! Needless to say I also did a lot more shopping as well. My one large treat was a new flyer for my spinning wheel (not a lace one) but a more reasonably priced one with gears (my old one only has one you see) and a set of sliders so you don't get the bumps on the bobbin as you spin! Needless to say by 5.30pm I had replaced the flyer on my wheel and got the new one up and running.



Along the way I bought some sausages from the threshing barn (we had those for dinner yum, yum) and a free range chicken from a little place in our village where we can see them growing week by week as we go by walking the dog. Also collected food for the dog and him indoors from the station. What a lovely and busy day! Today I am off on a machine embroidery course (Lottie has to say behind and tidy her room) so hopefully I will have more exciting things to tell you about soon. Happy holidays!

Strange week!

This week has gone by in a flash and so by Friday I have actually completed some of the Monday to do list! You know the ones:
MOT car (it failed - garage can't get part so won't be back until Monday!)
Book 'him indoors' car in for service and air con repair so we can go on holiday and not boil!
Take dog to vets for booster injections and worming tablets - they weighed him while we were there and checked him over - he has a clean bill of health! woohoo!
Sort out car insurance - this one rolled over to next weeks to do list!

Not much knitting has actually been done in between these items as I have also been and bought Lottie's school uniform for next year and some bits for her birthday plus I needed to go to Chester and get a walking foot for my sewing machine (can now finish the blinds when we go away) and several trips to the station and I even managed to do a bit of tidying up so am off to put in a few rows of Tilia now as it is 7.45am and no one else is awake yet (apart from the dog who has just had breakfast).

And the scales went .......

Clunk!

Yes that is correct they are now officially broken! I will not be able to weigh in today as I have no other scales but it looks like the winner for July is Allison so we should all send her a small parcel as her prize. The August diet-a-long begins now so keep up the good work girls and lets try to be better this month. I don't think over all there is any less of me now than when I began and that is not good as I won't fit into my clothes when we go away! Lets hope for miracles in the next 2 weeks.

This week has not been especially fun as the weather has been awful, just as you think it is safe to hang out the washing along comes another great down pour, plus Lottie has been away at her fathers all week which is no fun at all! On the flip side however I have managed to get up to the second set of charts on Tilia so will keep going on that. I must admit I have not been knitting on anything else since the Tilia kits arrived and I have enjoyed the challenge of the lace knitting so much. I do prefer to do the knupps though and it has taken me a little while to get into the knack of adding the beads quickly but the look of them is quite different.

I have 3 pairs of socks which are sadly neglected but will pick them up again once 'cindarella' is done. I always seem to put the socks down during the summer and do shawls or lacy scarves - I am not sure why I do this but it does make a change. Hopefully I will be able to get some more scales this week so until then I am off to make the most of the small amount of sunshine we have at the moment!

Sunshine!

At last a nice few hours in which to try and take some photo's. As promised here is Tilia in 'Meander' !

And here in forest canopy in 'June Wedding'.

Sucess!

At last I have lost a pound! Not much I grant you but a pound is a pound and I am happy. Unfortunately I have a lot more to go but at least I have begun.

The Rosemary Conley lady had a big pound block of lard and she used to make us hold it if we said 'oh only a pound' on weigh in day and it actually seemed like a lot in your hand so I am picturing it now!

I will leave you with that thought for now and be back tomorrow with Tilia photos if the weather stays dry for long enough!

Just quickly!

I have my last class before the summer hols today so just a very quick note to say that Tilia is done! I cast off yesterday and then blocked it as well. That was a job and a half especially as I thought it would be good to do it outside and then had to bring it in as it rained.

I found it tricky to get the shawl to look right and re pinned it several times until I finally got the hang of it, will put up pictures tomorrow when I have more time. I thought 3 weeks and 4 days was not bad going for me. Am now casting on Lotties 'cindarella' version which has drop beads instead of knupps (I don't mind doing the knupps but we thought it would be nice to do the prom shawl a bit more funky).

More soon ........

Oh dear!

I have just stepped on the scales this morning and I have not budged a scrap - next week should be easier as Lottie has broken up from school and there is lots to do so I should be really busy. Perhaps that will help with the weight loss? I think this week is partly down to the fact that 2 nights we couldn't go out walking as it was far too wet. Lets hope next week is better!

Look forward to catching up with you all soon girls!

Oh so blue!

It is Tuesday night and I am all alone yet again (apart from Ted)! Lottie is at senior section, they should have been having a cook out but 15 minutes before it was due to start down came the rain and ruined every ones plans! We were out walking Ted so got a bit wet and then rushed off to deliver afore mentioned child along with marshmallows and emergency DVD games.

'Him indoors' is down south yet again (can you tell I am not over the moon about that?) and my lovely plans for mowing the lawn and cutting down a mangy bush have been scuppered. So what will I do with myself now you ask? I am off to put the kettle on and do some more knitting on Tilia - ah now there is the bright side! Bye for now!

The one that got away!

So how did this happen? Yesterday when I got up I had a quick look at the scales and joy of joy one of my pounds had disappeared. Today when I did my official weigh in it was back? Where did it go and why is it back? I am not impressed at all!

So my official weigh in says stayed the same, hope you had better luck than me girls. I will be trying really hard next week to sort this out as 'him indoors' has lost 3 pounds this week and I am so fed up as he has continued to drink his wine!

Am moving along slowly with Tilia, almost finished the first set of the leaves repeat (2 more to go). I have not looked at my socks since I started on Tilia and they are sadly neglected for now.

Happy weigh in day, let me know how you all get on!

So far so okay!

I would like to say so far so good but I have not managed to give up my glass of wine yet! Last week it was no problem I didn't have any because it was too hot and I was sitting out with my knitting and feeling a bit lonely (him indoors was away and Lottie was in and out being busy). This week however all are home and it is nice to sit on the sofa with everyone home and relax and chat about all that has gone on.

On the food front I have been quite good, yesterday I managed beans on toast for lunch and the quorn sausage and veg for dinner - that's not too bad really but I don't think that I drank enough water so will have to try harder with that today. Plus we manged our walk once Lottie had been retrieved from work experience (she is loving it and has had her drawings submitted as part of a planning application so is very proud).

I have finished the first chart on Tilia and am working on the second set, there are a few less stitches now so it is slightly quicker! Top down shawls seem to get to a point where the rows take ages and it grows so slowly this one is quite the reverse it grows really slowly to begin with especially as you are only decreasing by 2 stitches each row. We shall see how quickly it grows soon I hope.

Keep up with the good work girls it is only half a week until weigh in! Plus it is Wednesday so your posh pink packages should arrive today (can't wait to see your goodies). Did the box reach home yet Claire?

Just a quick one!

Hey Diet Girls,

Hope today goes well for us all, yesterday was a bit of a none starter for me - buffet lunch at the party (wasn't standing there counting calories was I) plus needed to try a very small sample of each pud (didn't add extra cream). Think they might have been OK as more than 1 person went back for more! I did however manage a long walk later on but did have 2 glasses of wine - see I can't even manage that bit. But as Alison points out yesterday was only weigh in day so we can start again today!

I don't think lack of breakfast is a problem really, you could try having a snack mid morning instead if that works. What is important is having enough calories as if you don't eat enough the body stores everything instead! I know it sounds silly but the body thinks that there could be a famine and so saves every bit it can and so you won't loose weight no matter what you do. That is why yo can only do 2 weeks on 12oo cals and then have to eat more after that.

I had a look at the comments bit and I have had this problem before. I have to log in to blogger and then go to the blog post to comment that way it doesn't need the log in bit on the post page (hope that makes sense).

Am sad you are not getting on with the knupps I have managed to get into a bit of a rhythm with them but I have to be careful when I purl them all together. Ah light bulb moment here, when it comes to the purl together part I am very careful and I count each wrap bit onto the needle taking care that they are not crossed over each other, if they cross as you purl them then that could account for why you are getting 'messy' looking knupps. If you are passing near me this week we could meet up and I could show you if that would be of any use?

Allison well done on getting the Tilia you wanted! I am glad you will be joining us. Can't wait to see how everyone gets on.

Must dash now as I have a beading class this morning and I haven't seen them in ages so I have loads of stuff to get ready! At least I can't eat if I am busy.

Weigh in!

So I did a first weigh in today (7am) and it seems that I am 11stone bang on! Oh dear that is not good news and 'him indoors' is most upset that I have put so much weight back on after I did so well a couple of years ago!

I have a small problem today in that we are going to a birthday party later for which I have made 3 puddings, fresh strawberries (the healthy option), summer pudding (a fairly healthy option) and chocolate truffle torte (heart attack on a plate) all of which can be served with or without cream. The problem though is this I really want to try them as I haven't made the pudding and torte in so long that I feel I must taste them just to be sure that I did them right. If I only taste them do you think it will be OK? If not then too bad 'cause I need to check I got it right - market research etc........ Will do a long walk to make up for it later instead.

PS Anything I can do to help with the nupp problem BeeJay?

4 to go!

You will be pleased to hear that there will be 4 of us on the diet - along and it starts on Sunday! Scales at the ready and calorie guides in hand girls. Here are a few diet myths that we won't be using!

If someone gives it to you it doesn't count! (yes it does or you won't get very far)

If it is frozen it doesn't count - according to my Mums friend frozen chocolates have no calories?!? (they do and that is why she doesn't loose weight at slimming world).

If it matches the colour of the plate it doesn't have calories! (where do people get these from of course it does).

And a couple of 'helpful hints' as well :-

Drink lots of water ( I think 2 litres is the goal), it will make you go to the loo lots at first but then that settles down in a few days. This really does help the pounds to go. Last time I did this I found that on the bad weeks where I didn't loose anything it was because I hadn't drunk enough.

Do a bit more exercise than you normally would, don't go mad or you will hurt yourself but walking is one of the best things. Build up slowly and then pick up the pace a bit.

Rosemary Conley has a 2 week no alcohol or treats 1200 calorie kick start and after that you can have a glass of wine a high fat treat and a few more calories so tonight will be my last glass for a couple of weeks ! At least I will be able to plod on with the lace!

Make a note to self of your start weight and also set yourself a goal of how much you want to loose (usually they only let you put down a stone at a time) but I want to loose a stone and a half.

LET THE DIET BEGIN!

PS I am up to row 21 on Tilia.

Do or Diet!

For those of you wanting to loose a few pounds the 'diet along' starts on Sunday(unless you have a better suggestion for weigh in day in which case just shout up).

This week all you have to do is choose the diet you are going to follow and then weigh yourself. It doesn't matter what time of day you do it - as long as it is the same each week.

All we need to know is how many pounds you have lost each week and at the end of the month the winner will be sent a small goodie by everyone else - does that sound like fun? You will also need to share you address with the group (send it out by email please).

How is the unofficial lace along doing? My Tilia shawl is going quite well although I did have to undo a few rows as I missed a YO and clearly I can't count to 14 anymore! Normally missing YO's are easy to correct on the purl row but if you don't spot it and carry on regardless then unpicking seems to be the only way to fix it. I thought I would really hate working from a chart but it seems easier than I thought (and yes the pattern is starting to look like it should). The lace seems to be a good project in this heat - a good excuse to sit still anyway!

Cast off cast on again!

Saturday morning brought a swift knock at the door from the post lady followed by 2 sets of feet tearing down the stairs! You guessed it the lovely pink posh parcel has arrived. Lottie and I are chuffed with our Tilia kits and had to inspect them thoroughly before putting them aside and getting on with the rest of Saturday.

I spent the afternoon and evening finishing my forest canopy shawl in 'June wedding' whilst him indoors and Lottie watched 'Terminator'. I was not popular for not 'watching' the film but I am not really into all of that shoot 'em up stuff. Plus I finished the shawl (it only took 3 weeks).

Sunday morning I was awake so early I got up and wound my 'meander' yarn into a ball using the lovely step ladder and tin foil tube - it only took 1 1/2hours to do. But then I cast on. I firstly cast on 57sts and then put a marker in and put another every 50 sts. It made it easy to work out where I was up to. After that once the real work began I removed those markers and put a ring marker in for every pattern repeat and a special on in for the middle stitches. I found that this means I only have to work out where I am on each repeat and not have to keep counting stitches. I must confess I have never worked from a chart but I am finding it a lot easier than I thought it would be. I have completed 7 rows from the pattern so far and am loving it.

Will put some pics up later but have to go and sort Lottie out now as it is the start of her 2 weeks work experience and she is very nervous!

Tilia Shawl

I didn't set out on Wednesday to actually buy 2 kits, I thought that might not leave enough for everyone else who was desperate to buy one! So I logged on at 8pm and managed to buy meander (soft green and silver - according to the description). A bit of distraction was used by my daughter so that 'him indoors' didn't notice and there it was in my basket! At that point I paid for my purchase, did an excited dance and went back to watching River cottage. When I got up on Thursday I checked out the posh website only to find that they still had some left (bit of a surprise given normal sales history!) so I was telling my daughter as she had her breakfast and her eyes lit up when I said this! 'Which colour did you want?' I asked and off we went to shopping land again. So a Cinderella is also coming to live with us (it is prom year next year so I will have plenty of time to complete this project, won't I?). I also had to do a quick shop on ebay for the 3.75mm harmony tips and a long cable (all my cables are in use and I don't have that size tips) otherwise I won't be able to make these at all.

Not sure when any of these purchases will arrive but you can be sure it will be when they will get me into the most trouble! Can't wait.

PS I wound the camel yarn into balls yesterday (swap box goodie) and it would seem that a certain company who we all know through bad experience is truly rubbish at making skeins that will wind into balls easily! I had trouble with both skeins of yarn I bought from them and thought at first it was me but reading your posts and also using skeins from other sources I have found it is not me at all, even with my step ladder and feet methods of winding I have not had nearly as much trouble with other yarns. Sorry just needed to share that with you all.

It is Here!

There was a knock on my door at lunch time (it is aways slower out here in the sticks) and there was the post man with a box for me!

And this is what I chose:

Most importantly a message from Ted: THANK YOU ALLISON!

Needless to say I had to bribe him to take this!

So off to the post office in a bit (it is half day closing here in Audlem so will go to Crewe and post it there when I go to pick him indoors up in about an hour).

Where to next - well a small clue might be that there are only 2 more envelopes left to open now and one of those is a return to sender so if you are patiently waiting then it shouldn't be long now!

Help and Support!

So catching up on a few blogs this morning I have a few bits and bobs to say!

My lovely cardboard tube is from a kitchen foil role or cling flim roll, I have used the tube from kitchen roll but these are much thicker and can be used over and over. Plus you can't squash the end as you hold it (sometimes too tightly) if you are feeling fraught! I really could use a swift but as they are quite pricey I must save up a little. Any way I thought the steps idea was one of my best - don't use them very often and much more convenient than my feet!

The Posh yarn sale - usually it is on a Sunday night at 7pm but this week they are having an extra sale for the Tilia kit. It is on Wednesday at 8pm. If you want to buy something you MUST be there on time. It helps to have worked out what it is you want before hand. Several choices are handy. At the allotted time the buy it buttons appear (you may need to refresh your screen) and you click on the button to add item to basket. If it doesn't say out of stock on the form that appears then hit pay now or it might disappear from your basket if you are shopping for more stuff. You then fill out the form and go through to paypal. You can go back and buy more (second items are not charged for postage you need to hit the postage button on the order form). Hope all of that doesn't sound too complicated - please add any tips that you have Beejay and Allison.

Be warned it is very busy and over very quickly - I know lots of people have been waiting for this sale. Dee at posh yarn is really lovely and I know this will be popular.

Knupps are not that bad (sharp needles are the key really I use harmony and they are ok if you make the yarn overs loose).

Diet is a dirty word but someone has to use it! I was thinking that maybe we could all do a diet along as well as all our other 'alongs'. It has helped keep us on track with projects so why not weight loss as well? I need to loose a stone (and a half) perhaps we could do some kind of reward thing - whoever looses the most in a month gets sent small gifts or some thing? Let me know what you think!

Did I miss anything out?

I broke the car!

I went to get into the car the other day and found that I had petrol leaking out from a pipe underneath, I booked it into the garage for today and when they looked at it there was a whole list of other things that needed to be done! Even so fixing it is still cheaper than buying another. Once again I am grounded and forced into house type activity (we watched Stepford wives yesterday - argh!). So in an effort to not do house things I have been watching the posh yarn ravelry site and they are having a sale on Wednesday this week for the Tilia shawl kit (I should keep this under my hat so that I improved my chances of getting one) - but I am so excited I wanted to share!

Think I may need to add a swift and ball winder to my birthday list this year as it takes me hours to wind my skeins at the moment. Currently I have a skein of posh lace weight dangling off my step ladders - it is the only thing I could find that it fitted on. I have been winding this off and

on since Saturday, must try harder!

Just thought you might like to see how crazy I really am.

Thoughts on Lace

It seems that some of us are thinking about lace knitting at the moment, I have a couple of things on the go at the moment and so thought I would share some of my own experience around a bit (please add any other thoughts to these if you would like). Lace does knit up a bit wrinkled and scrappy looking but if you hold it out or pin it out then you can get an idea of the finished pattern.

It is knitted on larger needles than you would normally use for something so fine - this gives the holey or lacy look that you are aiming for (don't be disheartened).

Take great care when winding the skein into a ball, it takes a long time as there is so much yardage in one skein and if like me you do not have a swift please don't be tempted to use your feet (as I often do with sock yarn). I found that it took several sessions to wind into a ball and that made for uncomfortable winding and also a few tangles along the way - try VERY hard not to get tangles in this weight of yarn they are the worst to unravel and it is easy to break the yarn!

The final thought for now is this question - remember last year when we all signed up for the project club and our first one was a lace shawl who actually did the project? I managed to finished in the 2 months that were alotted for it! Did anyone else finish theirs?

The heel has turned!

This is it so far! (Did you have holes like this Allison?) I like the heel now it is done but what a lot of juggling if you follow the instructions! I have done short row heels before and I love them but this method used extra needles and seemed to take forever to do. If anyone is wondering the pattern was in 'The Knitter' issue 4 or the Lucy Neatby 'cool socks warm feet' book although it looks so different in the book you may not recognise it at first glance. Hopefully this should go a bit quicker now but will keep you posted.

Mermaid socks!

So last time I showed you the promising start I had made and I went on to graft the 2 ends of the garter stitch rib no problem! I then picked up the stitches and proceeded with the rest of the sock (here is the problem) I followed the instructions but did not pick up enough stitches to make the sock fit so about 12 rows into the fishtail pattern I tried on the 'sock' and found it was too tight. I frogged the sock back to the garter stitch and I have to be honest I probably would have left it there had it not been for the fact that Allison put up a picture on her blog of how far she had got. So encouraged by her progress I picked up a lot more stitches and began again. This time however it does fit and although I like my socks a bit longer than Allison I am now up to the heel. Fingers crossed I can get that right (must follow instructions carefully). I just wanted to let everyone know that the sock-along idea worked as I felt committed enough to move past the mistake and get going again so thank you Allison for keeping me focused!

Cast off, cast on!

Its been a strange week really, Tuesday we had our stitches and feeding tube out, but as we still have a large hole in our side the cone must stay! I have begun to notice a few paint chips on the corner of the wall beside the dog bed (note to self must cover those up before him indoors notices). The only downside is I have to look out for the other end of the feeding tube to come out as well - mm that's fun!

So I have managed to finish my monkey socks, grafted the toe yesterday and have now cast on for the top of my mermaid socks.

They don't look that exciting yet do they? Have a bit of special grafting to do and then I can start in the round - its a grand prix day today so I should be able to do that whilst we watch.
The plan with the socks was to cast on last night, glass of wine in the garden (Allison and I are having a sock along) but not to be. It was a horrid day and after a quick dash to Nantwich (birthday pressie and outfit for a party - Lottie not me), I then had to drop said teenager off to party and come home again. The weather was not fit to take the dog out for his first short walk in a long time so we watched a film (him indoors, the dog and I) and I cast on for the top of my sock. I had to stop and retrieve Lottie who by now was soaked as they 'had a water fight' - what is it with kids and water fights, we have come home with so many wet clothes recently I am starting to think I should carry emergency clothes and towels at all times. Any way I finished the top of the sock last night whilst watching 'Mr & Mrs' and not sitting in the garden as it was too cold and too wet! I did have a couple of glasses of wine though! How far did you get Allison and did you manage the garden part?
The box should by now be crossing the 'pond' again wonder where it will land this time?

New Book

Cookie A is on her way! My fantastic daughter dragged her father into Hatchards on Picadilly to get her for me - oh the hardship. We were looking at waterstones web site earlier on in the week and saw that the aformentioned shop had the book as nowhere local seemed to have it and as Lottie was going to London anyway she said I will ask if we can go there and get it. At this point I should mention that there was probably no dragging required because as a family (even a broken apart family) we all love books so it was probably just another chance to go and buy more anyway. Hopefully not too many more as there are some quite steep stairs at the station and I only just managed to get the wheely case down them on Thursday - let alone get it back up again today! So there will be double excitement when I go to collect her this afternoon.

Plus must try for posh sale later (Allison maybe dinner could be 7.30 as all the good stuff would be gone by then anyway - even 7.15 would do it or perhaps you should start earlier, it often seems to fall wrong for me too!).

Dilema!

As you have seen I bought 3 bats from posh yarn a few weeks ago, and I was checking out this weeks sale (as you know it is major stash enhancement time as I have some catching up to do) and the announcement in the blog is that this week is the last ever bats so I need to make sure I stock up. Actually I have tried to get several along the way but the ones I like always sell first and it seems I have not been quick enough. So I have my eye on some but last time I bought some I then missed out on the yarn I wanted - get yarn or bats first? hmm. Well it has to be the bats doesn't it as they won't be available again and there will be another yarn sale again next week. But I really like some of the lace weight (it is lace knitting time again isn't it) so I will just have to try and be quick and go for both. Looks like it could be beans on toast for a very long time!

Shopping!

I have been keeping up with your blogs girls and I know that some of you have teenage kids - mine is 14 nearly 15 and maybe its because she is an only one or maybe its because she is too much like me but she has really started to get into knitting! We went out on Tuesday to get some things before the dog got back and we couldn't leave him for too long and landed up firstly in Aberkahn in Hanley where I did buy 3 bags of 'fancy yarn' and a large ball of chunky (yes I know that is 31 balls of stash enhancement) but I am knitting a rug on huge 'rocket launcher needles' (as Lottie calls them) - does it count as stash enhancement if you cast on right away?

After that we started to head for home and Lottie said do you want to go to the wool shop in Wolstanton (knowing I did really) as she knows they have fab sock yarn so off we went. Well I couldn't resist some Regia in the easter colourway and another skein of Araucania Ranco. But Lottie bought a whole bag of Rowan all seasons cotton that was on sale (she thought she wanted to do scarves with it but might be persuaded to try something bigger if I can find a pattern she likes). How surprised was I when she said ooh can I get this with my babysitting money? I suppose it helps that her Senior section guide unit all think it is cool to knit as I got them started in September on the Innocent hats project - small enough to finish but fun to do. We shall see if it continues but it is nice to have someone to help lead me astray in the shopping department.

Has the box arrived yet anyone? Keep us posted!

My baby is home!

Just wanted you all to see that after all the ups and downs of the last month and the huge op last week my furry friend is home! Here he is lying in his favourite place (I put him something soft to lie on) but as you can maybe just see this is right in front of my rayburn guaranteed to be smack in the middle of where I need to be! Don't you just love it! I have missed him so much I will just have to work around him! (business as usual then). You can just see his feeding tube sticking out - he isn't using it but it needs to stay in a while. In fact he has lost so much weight he has to have a whole extra meal a day, I don't think he will complain - do you? Just wanted to share with you all!
PS Happy holiday Beejay - don't think you will be bored;)

Knitting

Its been a while since I actually said what I am knitting so thought I would confess my lastest startitis and other on going projects! So I already have on the needles : a coinlace clapotis (started last year but sadly abandoned for no reason other than the straight needles were in trouble for poking him indoors whilst I was working on it), a plain clop (clapotis without the dropped stitches) for Lottie - started after the Feb half term and almost finished but had to go back and loose some rows of the body as I didn't quite have enough yarn! And 4 sets of socks!

set 1 is the maine island socks I started a couple of years ago but the foot came out too large and I have had to undo it and knit the foot part on smaller needles so put that one down.

set 2 is the circle sock in regia red stripes - I love the pattern but don't like the colour of the wool and I am also doing the magic loop method and I still have a love / hate relationship with that.

set 3 is the baby beanstalk and I am on the second sock foot part - no real reason to put this one down except that I had an attack of startitis and some yarn I bought at the aintree show a few weeks ago was calling to me.

so set 4 was cast on in a fit of distraction on Wednesday. I am going to blame him indoors for going to the office and staying overnight (it is a long way to Egham and back) and I was feeling fed up so I did my usual trick of ball winding and then just having to cast it on. I have never done monkey socks before (anyone out there done them) but Cookie A has a new book out and I would really love it so I thought if I tried this pattern I could determine if I was up to the job or not. So far I have done the rib (I made it a bit longer than she said as I like a good top to the sock) and have done 2 full pattern reps and am 1/2 way through the third. What do you think?

I did put it down last night because I can't knit a pattern (unless it is really simple) once I get to the second glass of wine! Thought I would wish you all a happy bank holiday weekend and for those of us on half term - lots of time to knit!

Just a quickie!

Hi all,

Just wanted to post a bit about the dog in case you were wondering. Unfortunately he hasn't started to eat yet and so the vet put a feeding tube in yesterday - he should get his first bits of food today! Am going to check up again later and see where he is up to. More later.....

Fingers crossed for a full recovery!

The vet has just rung to say he has finished surgery and all seems to have gone well. Just wanted to share that with you as I am more than a little happy! Am optimistic for a good outcome but am still aware of the possible problems. Will let you know more when I have news.

Today's the day!

Thank you to all who have sent me kind wishes and thoughts today! So in the true art of distraction I have scrubbed the kitchen rug and the patio. I have hoovered (nearly) all of the dog hairs up from the kitchen - those who have ever had a Labrador will know what I mean! I have eaten half a family size (extra, extra large) bag of Maltesers - sorry Lottie I know you had your eye on those. I have made goodness knows how many cups of tea and coffee (him indoors is working in his office upstairs today) and I plan to actually hoover the stairs! Yes the stairs! The job guaranteed to upset my back but at least I will feel useful. Any thoughts on other really rubbish jobs I can do today? Ooh maybe I should clean the dining room - or is that a step too far?

I have also taken the photo below to show you the spinning that I have been up to. The finished yarn is the first 'proper' wool that I have spun (I have practised a lot though) but need to practice more. The pink / red bat is a work in progress and I have spun about 40% of that bat. The green is still to do. Will report more later the kettle is calling again!

Bats and Boxes!

I am sorry I didn't manage to get the pictures of my bats up last week (they arrived on Wednesday) and I started spinning straight away. The reason being that this allowed me to be in the kitchen with the dog, keeping an eye on him without me just sitting watching him. He seemed to enjoy this and several times he came and sat with his head on my knee. So I have finished spinning and plying one bat and have just begun on the second. I will need more practice to get the lace weight and sock yarns that I would like to spin but I have enjoyed just trying at the moment - plus it doesn't require much thought so that is good for me at the moment.

So tomorrow is the big day and doggie goes for his heart surgery - if it works then he will be away for several days. Thought I would put up a couple of pics that we took over the weekend just as a record of him.

In case you were wondering we are starting a new box swap - it was the first swap that prompted me to start this blog in the first place and as a result found some lovely people who also happen to enjoy knitting.

Happy and Sad!

Hey there! If you wondered where I was well I have been sitting on the edge of a cliff (metaphorically speaking). My poor doggie is sick and will most likely need heart surgery to fix him. This should make him completely better but we are waiting for the surgeon to come back from his holidays - hope to hear today. It has been a horrible 2 weeks watching him constantly. Am hoping this week is a beter week.

On a brighter note I managed to get not 1 or 2 but 3 bats of posh fiber last night and am quite excited! Hope it arrives soon. Doggie and I like spinning he is quite happy to be near me just sleeping or watching my wheel go round so it should give me an excuse to sit outside with him! I am sorry that you thought I was trying to out do you Allison I have had my wheel for years now - I had it for ages and it was missing some vital parts (I bought it in an auction) and then I found a local lady who showed me how to use it and had the extra stuff that I needed to get going.

The wheel was played with for a summer and then I got fed up with the carding of the fleece as it was a bit messy to do inside and it went back into the garage until you got me excited about spinning again. I am hoping the the posh bats are alot less messy and I can enjoy doing it again. And yes I did get over excited and buy too many bats but they are so lovely! I am not very good with a drop spindle as I try to spin too fine and it breaks and drops the spindle and then I get cross with it! I can't wait to see the yarn come out from all of our efforts.

Bat pictures as soon as they arrive - I promise in the mean time hope all is well for you!

Oops!

Ok so I saw your roving Alison and thought mmmm! I then thought I must get my wheel out and have another go! Yesterday along with washing, lawn mowing and weeding plus a station run I managed to spin a bobbin full of the roving that I had in the gargage (it looks like a Jacob, someone gave me some pre carded to play with ages ago). Sitting on my new patio with the dog and spinning was the best thing ever (well for a while now anyway). I think I have the courage to get some of the 'posh' bats I have had my eye on for ages.



Its not that I really need it I have a whole Jacob fleece and an almost whole white fleece but this looks so much more fun (bright colours and no carding to do). All I need to do know is figure out how to spin for sock weight and my life could change forever!



That sounds a bit sad doesn't it - I really must get out more!



Oh and by the way 5hrs to get to the gusset on a sock sounds pretty impressive to me (knitting on the road always slows my needles down). It made me think - we spend at least 4 hours driving when we go to Norfolk, what on earth have I been doing with myself all this time?????


Its just me by myself today so lets see what else I can manage to get done!


PS which pattern have you used on Harry and how has it come out?

Catching up!

Here are my three little egg cosies that I made for easter (2 of them went away as body parts and came home assembled!) just wanted to show them to the world as I did actually have them done for Easter morning.

Also finished in at Easter were 1 of my beanstalk socks (see below) and a blind for the bedroom window (at last).

Startitis has attacked again and now have added to the wip pile a circle sock (in red yarn - am not likeing the colour but love the pattern) and a lace weight scarf / shawl. I just need to control these urges to cast on but no it seems impossible.

Him in doors is away tonight and tommorrow night so lets see what I can manage to get working on while he is away. More later ........

Open day success!

Well I am back from Norfolk and from open day arranging! After many sleep interupted nights of worrying we managed a huge 235 visitors - for a tiny village like ours that was pretty good I feel.

In all of the chaos of the day I still managed to buy myself a set of peace fleece needles, some lime green and fushia sock yarn and a new book I have wanted for a while 'Sock knitting with hand painted Yarn'. I have also promised myself a visit to the Threshing Barn near Leek as there were so many other lovely things on the stall and I was just too busy to buy them all!

I have also cast on my circle socks which I have been promising to do for a while but as all if my dpn's are full I am using my harmony circular and the magic loop (one at a time though).

I will put up some pics soon, but wanted to say Hi I am back again now.

PS Allison where are you - nothing from you for a while now, I hope you are just busy.

Happy Easter!

So yesterday was all about holiday and housework avoidence but I had a fab day. I had to just finish off the shoe assembly last night as I couldn't leave it without the shapes stuck down but all I have left to do is the stiching and binding.

I wanted to put this picture up for you to see as I am off on holiday for a week and then when I get back it is the Embroiderers' Guild open day so I will be flat out for a bit and there might not be time to blog!

Have a Happy Easter and get lots of new projects started!

Patchwork!

Am so excited today as I am off to make a small patchwork quilt featuring baby shoes!

Patchwork I hear you cry - well it can't always be knitting can it?

Any way will try and post some pictures later just so you can see what I have been doing all day instead of Housework and packing for our holiday next week (we leave on Sat). We should have been going on Friday but him indoors had to go to the office for an important meeting so was very appologetic that we couldn't go until the next day - hooray I was thinking that gives me an extra day to get sorted! Plus the Embroiderers' Guild I am currently Chairman of, is having an open day the week after next and I have got stuff to do with them on Friday too. So lets hope I can fit about 4 days worth of stuff into the next two!

Back later ..........

Hoppity Hop!

Hi there it is me again. I have been busy this week being naughty again! Yep I was checking out the blog of WMWK (working mom who knits) and she had several links that I followed and found myself buying a pattern from 'Little Cotton Rabbits' for a bunny egg cosy - you have got to take a look at her work it is fab! So of course then I had to cast on, the first one is finished but I have 2 more to do. I have used some left over sock yarn for the body and because I didn't have the correct size needles I just used an empty circular sock needle and knit the body in the round (I actually used the magic loop method - yeah!) I then did the ears and arms flat as the pattern suggests but both arms were knitted at the same time time and the ears then the same - much quicker I thought! So now I have cast on 2 more bodies and am trying the 2 at a time method for these. Who knows this might actually help me to get the whole 2 at a time concept properly and then I will have to cast on more socks aaaagh! See what you think any way. PS Don't blame me if you just have to go and buy this pattern as it is just instinct with this one, I know I am not alone in this. And you can justify it as it does not cost alot but is great for using up odds and ends of sock yarn!

St Patricks Day!

Well hey there, I guess the only person who reads this blog is you Miss Hippo! It would seem that I am leading you astray ha ha. So on that note I will wish you a Happy St Patricks day and advise you to drink plenty - and you can blame the hang over on me!

I have finished my Harry Potter gloves in Harry and Ron, just as the weather is warming up and I don't need them!

I have also cast on more socks but not the ones I mentioned last time! I have some lovely merino and tencel in a cyclamin colour way (photo to follow) and am using the Violet green baby beanstalk pattern. The socks are coming along nicely which is more than I can say for him indoors just now. Given that he has been away for part of each week since before xmas and this week he is home all week he is now complaining that I knit too much (me never!). I know that whenever I have to collect him at the station along come the needles (if I forget them the train is always late) and most evenings I do some while the TV is on (I get bored otherwise) but I think he should be grateful really don't you? At least he is not sat in an empty hotel room and he is waited on hand and foot at home, I don't think a bit of knitting is that bad really.

I guess I am biased but if it stops me going insane then who is anyone to complain???

Any way have had my quick rant now so must go and get some shopping - guides senior section require 1980's inspired food hmmm sounds fun!

Oh and just to egg you on my little friend - have you tried down loading some knitting podcasts they are great for listening to in the car whilst you are driving kids / husbands to and from the various locations (although I only listen to mine once I have dropped off or am going to pick up - too many complaints otherwise).

Happy knitting this week!

At Last!

I finally finished Sue's Socks but can't show you a picture because I gave them away! I also managed to finish one of my Harry Potter gloves, finishitis is the word of the week!

I have undone the heel of my Maine Island socks and am using a smaller needle as the foot was far too baggy for me to wear. Am now more than half way down the heel!

Lotties clop is at a stand still but I will pick it up again this weekend, although I have a new sock pattern and some red regia sock yarn calling me to cast on so who knows which will win out - will let you know.

I also have a new sock convert - the same Sue who was the recipient of the afore mentioned socks, I love it when more people join the cause.

I have also been teaching people how to wind centre pull balls from a skein and encouraging another friend to dig out here collinette yarn that has sat in the cupboard for the last few years and cast on!

I love it when the sun comes out! Must dash now as I am hogging the broadband and him indoors is trying to work!