Hair, parents, dress, footie & a bit of knitty stuff.

Cripes, where did that week go?? Actually I have been pretty busy.

Last Monday I had my twice yearly(!!) haircut. This is what I look like now, much tidier but the more I look at it, the more it looks like a child's haircut. I really can't make my mind up if I like it or not! It was supposed to look a bit like Michelle on Corrie but longer, but obviously she wears a lot of make-up and is very glam, and has stylists doing hers all day so yours never looks like that does it?


The picture was taken while my parents were up here visiting from Southampton. Here they are.................


We went for a bit of a walk along the river and took our sandwiches. While they were here we also went to Cheshire Oaks outlet village, where my step-dad bought a pair of walking shoes, and then we also got him a set of headphones for his laptop. I must say he is doing very well with the computer seeing as 5 months ago he'd never touched one in his life. Both of them had an hour of Reiki, and were very enthusiastic about it.

Before they arrived on Thursday morning, we had Paul from two doors up round for the Champion's League Final on Wednesday evening. He is a season ticket holder at Anfield, and has this thing that we are his lucky mascots for Champions League games because he watched them here when they won 2 years ago. Unfortunately we didn't help this time round.

While we were at Cheshire Oaks I saw some boots that Colin might like, (he wasn't with us cos he had to work), so yesterday the 2 of us went back up to have a look at them. He didn't get them but I ended up coming home with this..................


which I will wear to a "do" I am going to in July. Just have to get some shoes, which I hate cos I have pixie feet (UK 2.5!!!!!!) and can't get any to fit.

I got the new Simply Knitting mag on Thursday, and confirmed that I hadn't won the sock knitting competition. I wasn't that impressed with the winners, but appreciate the effort that went into them. However, on page 69.............


were my sheep!!!

A couple of weeks ago I joined the Crafty Threads n Yarns forum, and I have joined up for the Surprise Summer birthday swap. I have been given a partner to send something to on their birthday, so I just have to put a package together. I have done these things before on the bookcrossing uk group, and it can be quite fun. You never know what you are going to get.

Great news for Chris who I met on the Burton Manor knitting day. She has been offered two slots at the college to run two courses. Hopefully we are meeting up on Friday so she can tell me all about it. At least there will now be a course I want to spend my voucher on.

I'm still suffering with my thumb, and am not promising anyone anything for Christmas, it all depends on if it improves. I am just going to try to finish what I have OTN and see what happens next.

Felted ruffle bag

Before and after felting pics of a little pink ruffle bag I made yesterday. It is for my neighbour's little girl. Her birthday isn't until July but I thought I would get it done in plenty of time. As it was, it only took me a few hours while the FA Cup was on yesterday. The pattern is here

http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/bagfeltnororuffle.htm

and I used the Splash Aran yarn that I got from Stash a few weeks ago. I stuck a milk bottle in it when it came out of the machine, and it was the perfect size. I was wondering whether to knit a little flower to go on it? Any thoughts? Or just leave it as it is.

Bag, Europants & hair.

I'm back in the land of the living!! Had a yucky couple of days, then the internet connection went off, so I'm trying to catch up.

I managed to get my mum's bag done anyway. I have found that I can knit for a while, then I stop and my thumb really hurts for about ten minutes, and then it calms down again. So I am doing bursts of knitting once a day. Anyway, here is the bag, I just have to sew the button on.




I didn't know what size it was going to come out as, but it is actually just the right size to get a magazine in and other stuff too. Which is just what my mum wanted. I had to put it through the wash twice to get it nice and thick.


So, a bit of catching up.............Last Saturday we went over to Macclesfield to visit some friends. We took the dog because otherwise he would have been on his own for a long time by the time we got home. They also have a dog who is much younger than Podge and wants attention from him all the time. We left them outside while we chatted and suddenly I heard a splosh. When I looked out, I could see Podge, back legs in the pond, front legs out of the pond, ears flat and looking most sorry for himself. Because of his poor old legs (he's fifteen and a half) he couldn't get out so Colin had to lift him. I don't think he fell in, I think Max pushed him in!! No, they were probably playing and maybe Podge stepped back to get away from Mad Max, and in he went!!

Later on we watched Eurovision!! Because there were 6 of us, there was a lot of chatting and the sound wasn't very loud on the TV so we didn't get the full experience. And the voting. Oh come on!! I was disgusted that only Malta nad Ireland voted for us, but obviously the rest of Europe either doesn't have a sense of humour or as Verity said they all hate us because of Iraq. Hmmph, I may not watch it next year!!


When we got back there was a message from Colin's sister in Ireland to say that his dad was in hospital. He is home now, but had a small stroke. He has had all kinds of tests and they can't find anything wrong or what might have caused it. But as far as we can tell he is back to his usual self thank goodness. And he has had a thorough MOT. There were a couple of days where we were ready to drop everything and go over but that wasn't needed in the end.


Colin has just been in London on a course for a couple of days so I was mooching around on my own. And I couldn't even go on the internet cos that packed up! I did pop into the office on Thursday but had yesterday off. I'm not in much next week either, cos my parents are coming up on Wednesday from Southampton for a few days and Monday I'm getting my hair sorted out. I only go twice a year and it needs a damn good chopping!!

Ill, fish fingers, and birthday

Just a short post today, I have been a bit under the weather. I had a bit of a stomach "episode" on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am in the office for an hour or two today because Colin is in London, but I haven't got a great deal of energy. I am going to treat myself to fish fingers, new potatoes and peas tonight!!

I have had a bit of a read of everyone's blogs and I will get around to the memes that I have been tagged with, honest.

I did pop up to knitting club on Monday afternoon, and finished off the second front of the FLIC, and cast on for the first sleeve. No knitting since though, I may have a bit of a go on mum's bag this afternoon. My parent's are coming to visit next week and I would like to get it done if I can.

It was my step-dad's birthday yesterday. I sent him his card but he is going to have his gift when he gets here on Wednesday. Happy Birthday Bill for yesterday.

Please also send get well vibes to my father-in-law who has been in hospital for a week in Ireland. He is doing okay now and hopefully will be going home at the weekend.

Light at the end of the tunnel, fishing bag & sandwiches

Thanks for all the suggestions about my thumb, I think it may have met its match - Arnica! It is not better, but is a lot less stiff and I have been able to knit. Tomorrow I am going to get something called Swedish Bitters from the health food shop. It is actually a supplement of some sort - never heard of it myself - but someone has suggested soaking a cloth in it and wrapping up the thumb in it along with the arnica cream. I'll give it a go anyway. I may get some lovely sexy support gloves too!

We went to the zoo at the weekend, and the orangutans were up to their usual mischief with their sacking wrapped around them. Suddenly Colin said "Would you like one of my pies!" a la Mighty Boosh. I fell about giggling, I'll never look at the orangs the same way again. Their fantastic new enclosure opens in a couple of weeks, it is 3 times as big as the one they have now, they won't know themselves.

So yes I have done a little bit of knitting, I made a start on my mum's bag which I'm making up as I go along. I started at the flap and when I thought that was big enough I cast on the same amount of stitiches again and joined up to knit in the round. When it is big enough I'll add the strap and felt it. I'm using 3 strands of the 4ply Yorkshire Tweed I got from Janette held together. I may need to felt it a couple of times cos the little swatch I did didn't shrink that much. It needs to be big enough to get magazines in for when my mum goes fishing with my step-dad. She doesn't fish, she sits in her chair having a good read!!

Hooray, today is Sandwich Shop sandwich Friday. Since I started working here I have made it the law that we have a sandwich shop sandwich every Friday, but bring our own the rest of the week. That way it stays a treat. Why are sandwich shop sandwiches so much nicer than the ones you make at home?

Tomorrow we are going to Macclesfield to see some friends. However, I didn't realise until a few days ago that it was EUROVISION night!!! I hope they watch it, I think its a scream, and funnier every year. Let's all wish a big tongue-in-cheek GOOD LUCK to SCOOCH!!!

I finished the Patricia Cornwell book last night. If you haven't read any of the Scarpetta novels before, don't start with this one as it relates back to the previous 2 or maybe 3 books in the series. Cases that seemed to be done and dusted in those books are dug up and reviewed, so you do need a bit of knowledge of what has gone before. I am now reading the new book by one of my favourite authors. No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong. I've loved all her previous books, involving werewolves, vampires, ghosts etc. This one is about a necromancer, Jamie Vegas, who has had bit parts in some of the other books and now gets one all to herself. If you have read any others you will be pleased to hear that werewolf pack alpha, Jeremy Danvers, is in this one too.

Oh forgot to mention, I had a lovely get well card from T yesterday. Thank you! It was one of her purchases from piglotties charity cards. Maybe that's why my thumb is feeling better, all the vibes!!

Torture

I just about lasted a week, but there's stuff I need to make, so this morning I have started on the bag for my mum. The thumb wasn't too bad while I was knitting, but now I have stopped, Oh Boy!! Can't bend the thumb at all. Have slathered on some pain-killing gel, Voltarol emulgel, this one seems to work the best of all the things I tried. Last night I was wandering around with a huge therapeutic magnet stuck to my thumb. Did it work, no! Is this the end of my knitting career?? We'll see. Typical! I find something I really enjoy and start having visions of having found "my thing" and this happens to scupper it all.

During my no knitting week, I was at the office doodling out a design for the pyjamas, when one of the guys who rents a room from us, Mike, asked what it was. So I told him it was knitted pyjamas. He asked wouldn't that be a bit hot and I replied, no because I was making them out of bamboo. He looked at me a bit strange. So I explained that there is a new yarn around made of bamboo, so he has asked to see some. I shall take it in tomorrow. He then told me about when he was in Hong Kong and watched some scaffolders putting up a bamboo scaffold. Because the bamboo is so light they would literally throw the poles up to each other and catch it one handed. After that he told me about a fast growing bamboo that was used as a torture method. The victim would be tied up above a bed of this fast growing bamboo, and as it grew, it pierced right through the person's body. Nice!!

£20, thumb & books

Wahey, this is my 100th blog post!!!

I have had a reply from Burton Manor, where I went on the knitting day. They said they had had a number of negative comments about the course, and sent me a £20 voucher. Of course that is very clever of them because it means I will have to go on another course there to benefit from the £20. They're not daft are they? I'm not sure what Chris wrote in her complaint but they want to discuss her taking a course for them.

I'm struggling a bit with the self enforced no knitting. I have been reading instead and read The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter in a couple of days. It is not what I would normally read but it is a bookcrossing book which I have had for over a year so I thought it was time to read it and get it moving again. I am now 100-odd pages into The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell.

Thanks for the laceweight pattern suggestions. I have decided to have a go at the Spring Things Shawl and have downlaoded the pattern. I think this will be a long time in the making though. Somehow I managed to get involved in another knitalong in the garnstudio forums, and I also have my Fab Lace cardi and 2 bags to do when I get back into it. I don't think there has been any improvement in my thumb so far though, so I may have to go longer than a week!!!

Casting off for a no knitting week!! WHAT?????

I have just this minute cast off my Karisma/Scottish Tweed socks. I think they look fine in the two different yarns. (Edited 3.5.07 to add photo)


I am now going to do the unthinkable and NOT KNIT FOR A WEEK. Hopefully this will give my poor hands a rest as I am having problems with my thumb joint on my left hand. I think it is some kind of RSI. It does improve overnight so the rest should do it good. I am trying all kinds of things on it - glucosamine gel, ibuprofen gel, emu oil - all to no avail so a rest is definitely the answer. I hope I can last without getting withdrawal symptoms!!

Yarn, competition and wine friend.

Over the last few days I have acquired a few more yarns for my stash!!


First, on the left, is Rowan 4ply Yorkshire tweed in Barley from Janette, 10 x 25g balls for a tenner. I am going to use these to make a felted bag for my mum.
Next, at the top, is one ball of Rowan Scottish Tweed which I bought to finish off the socks for the mystery recipient. The Karisma I bought from garnstudio wasn't enough so each sock will have a yorkshire tweed top to it, I'll post the picture when they are finished. The colour match is pretty good so it doesn't look too odd. Only problem is that the Karisma is machine washable and the tweed isn't so now they can't go in the machine. Never mind, the recipient will have to wash them by hand.
At the bottom is a swatch I did from the Wendy Melody. I am going to use this for the pyjamas as an accent to the Bamboo tape I got last week. I've been playing with gauge and can get the same gauge in both yarns on different needle sizes so I'll see how I get on with that little project.

And finally, on the left is some laceweight Harmony from ebay seller jojosquare
Here are a couple of close-ups. It is 100% wool and lovely and soft, in subtle pastel colours of pink, green & blue. Very pretty. I shall attempt to make my first lace weight project with this but no ideas so far, any suggestions?



I emailed Simply Knitting about the sock competition and apparently they are getting round to posting the entries back out and the winners will be announced in the next issue. I haven't heard anything from Burton Manor about my complaint as yet.

My Yarn Forward magazine arrived on Saturday, hmmm, not sure about this one. Unfortunately because it took so long to actually get published it was a winter issue and it is spring now. It also seems to have quite a lot about socks in it, (not that I mind, I like making socks) and there were two very similar articles about knitting and the internet. I do think that the actual printing had improved since the last issue though.

Last night we popped out for a drink with a friend who has been living in France for the last 3 months. Colin did some life coaching with her and she ended up chucking in her job and going off to France. She has been doing a language course and when she goes back she will be living with a French family and working in their wine shop in a little village in Burgundy. She has quite a lot of wine qualifications, so should be fine. It was good to see her and I hope she does well.

Blossom, in print, Mint Royale

3 BTs

1. Around the corner from my house there is a tree with the most lovely blossom. Every year I wait for it to come out, and it is currently in full bloom. It is my favourite tree of the neighbourhood.

2. Seeing my name in print in Simply Knitting magazine.

3. Driving to work with Blue Song by Mint Royale on the CD. Check out the YouTube video in my "Have a Look" section on the left.

Yarn Forward

Just wondering if anyone who subscribes to this mag has had their Issue 2 yet? I'm still waiting for mine.

Fame, bag & jimjams.

Well, this morning I took the morning off so I could go into town and do my Excel exam, and afterwards go to WH Smith to get my copy of Simply Knitting (none of my local shops stock it). I went into the learndirect centre and took the exam, and passed with 83%. So on to databases next.

I then went to Smith's and got my mag. I popped upstairs to Costa and got a cappucino and sat to check out the mag. Well, Stash sent off a couple of sets of my markers to Simply Knitting and it seems they picked the non-sheep version to feature!!! These..............


I suppose it is still 15 minutes of fame, and hopefully the sheep will be in the next issue with the bigger feature of Stash as "shop of the month". Of course I had made loads of sheep for them and none of these, so I had to go and get supplies to make more of these. They are a much quicker make though, so they can have them on Saturday. I delivered some coloured sheep in to Stash anyway and while I was there I got this.........


to make a felted bag for M (see link on the left in WIPs and Plans). It's not her birthday until July but if I get it done now, it is out of the way. She will be 6 and LOVES pink. This is called Splash Aran and has coloured flecks in it. They had a felted bag made with it in the shop and it looks lovely.

On the way to the bus stop I popped into the market and had a rummage in their bargain bin, and picked up a few balls of this for £1 each...............


I thought it might do for the pyjamas?

Ooooooh, aaahhhhh!!

The postie redeemed himself this morning, he brought me this..............

Posh Yarn Eva 4 ply cashmere/silk in Dapple. I can't describe how soft & silky it is. I want to carry it around in my pocket so I can keep putting my hands in and feeling it!!! Ooooo. This is my first Posh Yarn purchase, but I get the feeling it won't be my last.

I wrote a letter to Burton Manor this morning to let them know I was disappointed with the course on Sunday. Seems Chris has done the same thing so they ought to take notice.

The Missing Postman

My postman has gone awol!! He didn't come today and I have got stuff on its way that I WANT!!! When Colin worked from home, we had loads of post every day, but now he has moved to the offices, his post all goes there so some days, like today, we don't get any.

Apologies for my rant yesterday, but I had to let it out, hee hee.

I am having a day off today and catching up on much neglected things I need to do. This morning I have been sheeping, for Wendy and Chris. Chris also wanted four of "anything else" so I have rustled up these for her. Hope they are okay.


This is the batch I took into Stash on Saturday, need to do a coloured batch next.


And this is the bamboo tape that I swapped with Wendy on Sunday. I think I came off with a pretty good deal there, they are £4.75 a ball in Stash and there's 4 and a bit there.


Then I need to make a birthday card for a friend, do some Excel revision and then tackle the ironing pile while catching up on the things I've recorded on telly and haven't watched yet. Oooo, busy, busy, busy bee!!!

I've added a link to my flickr page where I've put all my finished projects. I'll add to it as I get more things finished.

My day at the Manor

(Sorry, bit long.......)

Yesterday I went off to Burton Manor on the Wirral for a day course called "Designer Fashion Hand Knitting". Ok, so they got 2 out of 4 words of the description correct - hand & knitting - good effort.

Here is the description from the brochure:
"For experienced knitters looking at how to transfer a design idea into knitted reality. Using fashion photographs or your own sketched ideas, we examine adaptations for size and shape, and wool and needle size calculations. After experimenting with different wools, colours and textures you will be able to write up knitting instructions for your own individual garment/s. The emphasis will be on sharing ideas."

What would you expect from that description? I took it to be learning how to design a garment to fit with shaping and fitting, and working out sizing from gauge, stuff like that. It seems most of the others in the group thought similarly. Here's how it went:

There were 8 of us in the group and we all sat in a semicircle with our bags of yarn and needles that we'd been told to bring. The first alarm bells regarding the word "fashion" should have sounded when the teacher arrived wearing what I can only describe as a man's jumper. Mid-thigh length, straight up and down with a huge rib gathered around the bottom and cuffs, in brown horizontal stripes, crew neck, probably an aran weight. This was paired with a pair of Simon Cowell waistline (ie belted under the armpits) polyester navy "slacks" and very sensible shoes. I don't want to be critical, she was a lady of a certain age and we'll all get there at some point, but NOTHING about her screamed "fashion". Moving on..................

Our first task was to knit a swatch - what she called a template. But not a plain swatch. She showed us an example of a "fashionable jumper" with intarsia clouds all over it. and we had to draw a cloud on graph paper and transfer that to our swatch. We all duly did this, and went off for a tea break. When we got back, there was no mention of what to do with the swatch but we then had to move on to something more "advanced" - a swatch with a leaf on it. A few looks passed around the group. Some people did it, I did a leaf in relief in one colour and the girl next to me just did her own thing. The next advanced step was to do another swatch with a flower. At this point there were mutterings, people including myself saying it wasn't really the kind of thing we would knit. One lady had arrived wearing a lovely intarsia cardigan that she had made and obviously didn't need to be doing swatches at all. Another lady hadn't actually knit in more than one colour before so the teacher spent some individual time with her while the rest of us got chatting.

Lunch was lovely. Roast pork or beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy, following by some gorgeous puddings which I won't even start to describe. I had a little bit of fruit salad. I got chatting to the lady with the intarsia cardigan, Wendy, who was very nice, and I told her about my sheep. When we got back to class she asked to see them and then another classmate Christina, had a look, and I ended up with orders from them. As it was, Wendy had some Rowan bamboo tape that she decided wasn't her colour so we did a swap, yarn for sheep.

Well, the afternoon session started with where to find ideas. The teacher showed us some photos of "fashions" which could be adapted, most from magazines she had obviously had since the 70s in some dusty attic room. And some examples of - what can I call them? Pub carpets!! At this point 2 people left, saying that it was not what they thought they were coming for. While the teacher spent some time giving a bit of individual tuition again, the rest of us were chatting again, and it turned out that Christina and I had read a lot of the same books, visited a lot of the same websites, and she also writes a blog. We are also about the same age. Some of the ladies had never used circular needles, knit on the round or made socks so the 2 of us ended up showing them how to do new things. I said to her "you could run a course like this, but much better," and she said "WE could do this, but much better".

The icing on the cake for me, was when a lady was talking about getting the lengths of sleeves right. She asked the teacher if you could knit from the top down instead and she said - wait for it - NO! She said, if you had done all your calculations using your swatch/template, you should get a perfectly sized garment and what would be the point of wanting to knit the other way? I am usually quite shy, and don't speak up for myself but I couldn't help myself. I spoke up!! I said, "actually I have just knit a top-down sweater and its the best fitting sweater I have." I brandished my copy of "Fitted Knits" and told them every jumper in the book was top down. There was no way I was going to let that lady go home thinking that the only way to knit a jumper was in 4 pieces from the bottom up.

Actually I think between the two of us, Christina and I managed to p*** the teacher off with our far superior knowledge. Hee hee. Anyway, it was good to spend the day with other knitters and Christina and I exchanged blog addresses and will hopefully be in touch. I was polite when I left and thanked the teacher for her time, but said what I thought on the feedback sheet. And that was my day out at the Manor.

Last night I finally succumbed to the lure of the Posh Yarn sale, and have ordered 2 skeins of Eva 4ply, cashmere/silk in Dapple. Can't wait to get it. There are a few skeins of things left if you are quick!

It looks like Yarn Forward magazine issue 2 is finally on its way. Looking forward to that. I'm not sure what is happening on the forum side of things at the moment but can't say too much.

Oh, and it is my Wedding anniversary today, 13 years, unlucky for some, but not us!!!

Alpaca socks finished

Here are the finished Natural Dye Studio alpaca/silk toe-up socks. Just before I finished the second one I tried the first one on and found that I had cast off too tightly and it wouldn't go over my heel. So I did 2 less rib rows on the 2nd sock and then frogged back the first sock and re-did the rib cos I couldn't work out how to frog and pick up rib stitches. So I did 2 less rows again so I would have enough ysrn to cast off loosely. And it worked so they are both fine now. I'm really pleased with the gussett and heel, I usually get holes if I do them top down.



I only have 3 projects on the needles now, better cast on something quick!!

I agreed to be an administrator for the SKD forum but things are changing anyway so I'm not sure what the state of play is at the moment.

Countdown - 6 days to sheep in Simply Knitting!!

Happy Birthday!

I didn't post yesterday, but it was Colin's birthday, so.......

Forums, jammies & Castaway

I have a decision to make. Bruce from Scandinavian Knitting Design (the UK distributors for garnstudio) has asked me if I would like to be an administrator for their forum. I am thinking about it. I don't really have a clue what an administrator does! But they need help, and he has said I could do it for a month or 2 and see how it goes. Typical that now I am back at work, things are happening that I need time for!!

I have got a batch of sheep ready for Stash. Some pink/white and black/white ones for now. And the order for the USA is ready and on its way. It will be interesting to see how many are sold after the magazine comes out.

I have an idea for a design I would like to try, so I will take it with me on Sunday (albeit in my head!). I was lying in bed and thought that it was the time of the year to put away my winter pyjamas. But I need some lighter ones so I thought about knitting a little set with vest top and shorts. I will need a light yarn which will also be cool. I don't know a lot about the different types of yarn, but am guessing a cotton or linen type yarn might work?

I just turned the heel on my second toe-up silk/alpaca sock so its on up the leg to the end now. I hadn't done much on these for a while but got to a fiddly concentration bit on the FLIC and left that for a bit. I probably won't need these socks until next winter now, but then I'll have a nice new pair ready for me when the weather turns again. Work continues on the grey ones.

I have been dipping in and out of Castaway on BBC1, not knowing whether to watch it or not. On Sunday I did watch it and found it very uncomfortable. In the previous episode which I hadn't seen, 2 of the castaways had been sent off on a mission and something had happened between them, causing them to fall out. When they got back, Jonathan was completely ostracized(sp?) and they all turned on him like a pack of savages, to the extent that they decided to throw him out of the main hut and make him live in a tiny hut which let in all the rain, and not give him any food. Ok, so maybe he didn't pull his weight but I think the "punishment" was rather extreme. I remember celebrity Big Brother when this type of bullying was going on, and it became an international racisism issue. The castaway incident has not even been mentioned anywhere as bullying. Yes, Jonathan does seem to be a confrontational character but come on.

Magazine & buttons

An update on the sheep stitch markers.......... they are going to be featured in Simply Knitting Magazine this month (May issue) which comes out on about the 27th April. That gives me an extra weeks grace to get them done! The following issue, (June issue) has Stash as its Shop of the Month, and Helen the owner has to do a piece for it called "Fun for a fiver". She has chosen the sheep again to be featured in that list. I popped in today to get an idea how many they wanted and they said as many as you can do, so I'm going to do 10 of each to get them started and then keep topping up as and when.

These are some buttons I got from ebay this morning to go on my Fab Lace Cardi. I'm not entirely sure they go but I will use them and see what they are like when they are on it - when it is finished. (BTW, T, I am not a fast knitter by any stretch of the imagination but this cardi knits up really quickly on 8mm needles. You could almost do a front in a sitting if you put your mind to it.)

Nina, I'm not sure about the shape of the toes being rounder by going toe-up on a sock. I wouldn't have thought it would make a difference? I'm doing them this way because I'm not sure how far the yarn will go and don't want to run out before I get to the toe!

Next Sunday I am going on a day course called 'Designer Fashion Hand Knitting' at the little arty college on the Wirral. Its all about adjusting patterns to fit, working out measurements and yarn quantities and creating your own designs. Should be interesting. I have to take a selection of needles and yarn, a work in progress, any patterns I have that I may want to adapt and any design ideas. Well I don't have any ideas, I usually just follow a pattern but I'd love to be able to design something and hopefully by the end of the day I'll have some idea how. I'm not sure which yarn to take. I guess a selection of weights, but how many of each? I'm just going to take all my circs in their folder and leave the straights at home. They should do.

I have decided on a pattern for a present for someone for Christmas. I won't show it because the person reads this!! I may even make two, for two people. I have to choose the yarn yet though.

Well, I guess the sheep won't make themselves, so off to the farmyard I go..........hi ho hi ho!

FLIC in progress

Here are some pictures of my Fabulous Lace Inset Cardigan in progress. I have finished the back and one front and now my Addis are here I have started on the 2nd front.

This is the detail of the lace panel on the front. The colour in this picture matches the actual colour best.

This is the toe up sock for the mystery recipient. I had got up past the heel but I didn't like the heel and so I ripped the whole thing out and started again. That was a practice run anyway, I learnt a few things by doing it so it should be right this time.

On Monday morning we wandered up to the outlet village, which of course includes Borders. Because I left empty handed last time, and because I had a 20% off voucher, I bought this.....

and these ingenious little bookmarks which clip on the side of the page so you know which line you finished on in your book. Perfect for knitting patterns, especially the FLIC cos you have to follow the main instructions and the lace panel at the same time.

The finale of Life on Mars last night was very good, but I'm still a bit unsure as to what was real and what wasn't!! If the past was real, how did he know stuff about the future, and if the future was real, then what he did at the end would have meant he couldn't have survived in the past after he did it!! Hmm, now you people who didn't watch it are wondering what the hell I'm talking about, ha ha ha!!

Copper

I found these cartoons through a link on Clare's 3 Beautiful Things. They are wonderfully drawn and very thought provoking as well as entertaining.

http://www.boltcity.com/copper/

Apes, food, sheep & socks

Happy Easter!!!

First of all I have an appeal to make. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching OrangUtan diary this week on BBC1. They have been my absolute favourite animals for years, the expressions on their faces........ Anyway, if you have also enjoyed it, the sad news is that since they filmed the series the centre has run out of funding and they desperately need money to keep the place open. So please make a donation to save these beautiful animals.

Thank you.

Onto other things............

This weekend is turning out to be pretty busy.

On Friday afternoon we went to visit baby Robert and his proud mum and dad. It was a lovely day so we went for a short walk to the nearby mere to see the ducks and geese, not that he was aware of any of it, but it was nice for us!! Sheldon was duly delivered to his new owner.

On Saturday morning we went to the Chester Food & Drink Festival. This is an annual event and we have been for the last 3 years. It is held in a marquee at Chester Castle and lots of local producers come and have a stall to show off their wares. And there are lots of tasting opportunities!! Yum. The cookery demonstration was by Simon Rimmer from Something for the Weekend so we watched him making cheese and potato cakes, salmon with chorizo and new potatoes, and a cheesecake which was basically a heart attack on a plate. It was made with 600g mascarponi cheese, 600g soft cheese, 6 eggs, who knows how much sugar - all to make ONE cheesecake!!

One of the stands sells pork products and at lunchtime they sell rolls with either bacon or saugage fillings, or the speciality is the Hog Roast. They set up a whole pig on a spit roast at 4am and it is ready for 12.30. Then they carve it and stuff it into baps with apple sauce and stuffing. Absolutely delicious!!!

Today I have been making sheep. But because I had put off making some for a lady in the USA, I have done hers and only have 16 extra for the shop so far. But the good thing is, once I stop procrastinating and get on with them I am getting quicker, and if I do a small number at a time it isn't so bad. Little and often is obviously the key. It is also difficult to know how many to make for the shop as we don't know what the demand will be. Depending which magazine it is going in, the publication date is either 19th April or 29th April, so at least a couple of weeks to build up the stocks. In total I have made 40 this weekend.

And I couldn't resisit having a go at these while I was at it.......

The mouths are a bit odd, I drew them on in pen before they were cooked and it may have been better to do it afterwards. Ah well, they are only for my amusement!!

And then earlier on our neighbour phoned and asked us round for tea tomorrow afternoon. It is Paul's birthday tomorrow and then Colin's 9 days later so we are getting together to celebrate both. She mentioned steak and chips which sounds fab!

On the knitting front, I am still on the Fab Lace cardi - the back and one front are finished but I am going to wait for my Addis before I carry on as they may be lighter on my hands, and I have been having problems with my left thumb. In the meantime I got this from garnstudio

and have started making a pair of toe-up socks for a mystery recepient with the Karisma. I am doing them toe-up because I'm not sure how far the yarn will go. It is fiddly though cos I'm trying to work from 3 methods at once because I have a different number of stitches to any of them. Huh, just to make life difficult!

15 minutes of fame!!!

Ooooh, I'm sooo excited!!!................

I have just been into town because it is Farmer's Market day and we always go and get our fish from Paul the fishman. Colin gave me the afternoon off because he had to go to see a client and couldn't get into town. So I decided to have a mooch around while I was there. Of course that meant going to the various yarn outlets. Not having any success at the usual market or the Arts and Crafts shop I decided to go into the "posh yarn shop" to get some Addis for the Thuja socks. So, Steve the owner served me and then said, "Can you get ready to make some more sheep stitch markers?" I explained that I was now working and didn't really have the time, but then he said "Only they are going to be featured in either Knitting or Simply Knitting magazine and we may get a bit of interest." Yikes. So I said, "Well I'd better make the time then, how exciting!" He can't remember which of the 2 magazines it is but he thinks it is in the next issue of whichever one it is. And it will give my name as the person who makes them for the shop!

Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing over Easter weekend then! I wasn't going to do any more because I got a bit fed up with them being so fiddly, but being featured in a national magazine makes all the difference.

Knit club & socks

So yesterday afternoon was knitting group. The venue has changed to a much nicer pub and probably about the same distance for me. I could walk it but I'm a bit lazy. The staff were very friendly and accommodating, and had reserved us 3 tables near the doors out into the garden. As it turned out we only needed a small area this time as there were only 6 of us. This was nice though because it meant we all got to speak to each other easily. Usually there are about 10-12 or more and if you are at one end you don't get to speak to the people at the other end. I was the youngest there, probably by at least 15 years but its great because everyone else has so much experience to share. I got a bit lost when some of them were talking about lace making (not lace knitting, but actual lace making with bobbins etc) because I've never tried it and to be honest I don't have any interest in it.

I took along a skein of the Lamb's Pride and the 8mm needles to do a gauge swatch for the Lace Inset. It didn't take long so I couldn't resist making a start. I got a few rows above the garter stitch waist detail and then did the rest last night at home.



I think it is going to be a bit snug (my tension was a bit off) and from reading a couple of other blogs I found, it turns out somewhat cropped. I'll finish the back as it grows so quickly, and see what it is like held up to me. The colour is Lipstick Red.

Thanks for your comments about Sheldon. On knitty.com there is a link to the designer's blog and then she has a link to the Sheldon Flickr gallery. So I sent her a picture of my Sheldon and she has added him to the gallery. There are some great ones on there in a variety of colours.

Now, the other day I discovered a terrible thing had happened to one of my handknitted socks.........



These are a pair of my favourites made with Natural Dye Studio merino sock yarn. What do I do? How do you darn socks? I've never done it before. It is a short-row heel if that makes any difference.

I am going to add a pair of Thuja Socks to my "to do " list. I'm not going to say who they are for, but obviously it is a pattern for men's socks so that narrows it down a bit. I just have to find a substitute yarn, so if anyone has any suggestions for a 100% wool (or near enough) DK weight yarn good for socks then leave me a comment.

I have taken the Drops cardigan off of my "to do " list as i have decided I may use the cotton yarn to make Ariel by Ysolda Teague instead.

Another FO!!

3 finished objects in 3 days!!

Here is my scarf all done and dusted, looks like it'll be the sock for knitting club then!

Sheldon

(Spoiler alert for Iain & Helen - do not look further down if you don't want to see the finished Sheldon!!)

Thank you sooooo much for all your compliments on the SKB. The details are as follows:
Pattern : Simple Knitted Bodice by Stitchdiva
Yarn: 10 balls (2200 yards) of fingering weight 100% wool from ebay seller jojosquare using two strands knitted together. Adding in a strand of garnstudio Glitter thread for lace panels.
Needles: Addi circs - 5mm 60cm, 3.25mm 60cm, DPNs - 5mm and 3.25mm.
Size: The 2nd size up, I think it is size S.

It didn't take me long at all to finish Sheldon in the end. I had to make another shell attachment panel as the first one was too small and his body wouldn't fit into his shell! So I made it on bigger needles this time. Then I sewed it to the shell - I couldn't manage the icord, too fiddly, so I just sewed it together with backstitch, stuffed and sewed on the legs and finally embroidered on some eyes. (I say "embroider" in the loose sense, I just sewed black wool on, back and forth a couple of times until they looked vaguely round-ish!). And then he was done!! He was made with some Natural Dye Studio sock yarn that I had left over, but I think if I make another I would use DK, it would just be less fiddly to knit him a bit bigger. He's not perfect but quite cute. And BTW, all his legs are the same length, they just don't look it in the 2nd picture. (I'll put the pics at the bottom of this post in case Iain & Helen don't want to see him yet. The temptation would be too great for me I'm afraid ;o) )

So tomorrow afternoon is knitting group. My "boss" has kindly allowed me the afternoon off to go. I can't decide what to take to work on. Of course I will take the SKB and Sheldon to show off. But do I take a sock, my Fabel scarf, the cardigan I took 2 months ago and haven't touched since, or do I make a start on the Lace Inset on straight plastic needles and transfer it when the Addis finally arrive? Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Last night, Colin noticed I had added a couple more photos of Noel Fielding to my sidebar, and said "This obsession with Noel Fielding is getting a bit stronger isn't it?" Hmmm, you may think that, but I couldn't possibly comment!!!!

SKB finished!!!!

Hooray!! Yesterday morning before work I finished the last 3 rows and cast off. I pinned it to the spare bed and sprayed it with water (a method of blocking I only read about 2 days ago) and left it to dry. By this morning it was done and here are the photos. I really love it, although I would maybe have it slightly longer! Luckily I had just enough yarn, so a longer one would definately need an extra ball or two. (And what a lovely sunny morning to take the pics!) I found the purple vest top in New Look and it also has a bit of sparkle. I couldn't believe how good a match it turned out to be. (Click the pics for closer views but ignore my hair, it desperately needs seeing to!)







Yesterday I received "Fitted Knits" by Stephanie Japel and this morning my "At Knit's End" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee came too. So I have plenty of knitty reading to do now. My next task is to finish off Sheldon this weekend, and then my Fabel scarf. I am still waiting on my 8mm Addis which is a good thing otherwise I would plunge on into the Lace Inset and I have to finish these other things first. However, I have started to think about Christmas presents already and I have one or 2 items and people in mind!!

Congratulations to the Hislops

The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived. Baby Robert was born this morning at 1.35am. Congratulations to Iain and Helen!!

Lamb's Pride

Woohoo! Look what arrived today.



My Lamb's Pride Bulky from Oregon Trail. Only took a week all the way from the US and I didn't get stung in customs so I definately got a bargain this time. £23 for 7 skeins including P+P. THis will be used for the Fabulous Lace Inset Cardigan from sweaterbabe.com.




I am still waiting on the 8mm Addis, the 7mm came last week. So at least that means I can't jump into this before I finish the SKB. Talking of which I have just finished the lace and purl ridges on the second sleeve, so now its the increases and on to the end!! I had a dream last night that I met up with T and Dreamcatcher, and as I was showing them my SKB, the bottom half of the body came off in one big chunk, just below the lace panel. Must have been something to do with that resuscitation dummy from yesterday, it only consists of a top half. And the dog jumped on me in the evening and some of my stitches fell off the needle, eek. Managed to rescue them though.

Clever people, books and First Aid

Isn't it annoying when you are kind of responsible for someone doing something and then they end up doing better at it than you?

My case in point is my friend Becky. She found my blog last week and in the process of trying to post a comment here she created a blog for herself, and has flung herself into the blogging world gung-ho and with all guns blazing. (See the link on the left to Bex's Madcap Family). I think she has posted about 10 times in the last 5 days or something. But what's niggling me is that she is BLOODY GOOD AT IT!!! I'm sooo jealous. Her posts are interesting and funny and they are making me feel inadequate!! (Don't stop Becky - I'm not annoyed at you personally, I just wish I could be as good). What's worse is that when I left my job where Becky works, I went off telling everyone I was going to write a book, and it hasn't happened. I have done 25,000 words which is an achievement in itself but have got stuck and distracted by other things, mostly knitting.

My husband did the same thing to me a few years ago, when I previously decided I was going to be "a writer". I wrote a couple of short stories, which I didn't do much with but I thought they were quite good at the time. Then along comes Colin, writes one story, sends it off and promptly gets published!! Grrrrrr!! I didn't write anything again for a good few years.

However, I am not going to stop blogging cos I really enjoy it, and keep up the good work Becky, I love reading your posts. I will get back to the book too.

Last Thursday evening we decided to pop up to Border's to get a Starbuck's after dinner. I had a good old nosey through the knitting books but despite spending probably over an hour there, I came out empty handed. This wouldn't do, so Friday morning before coming to work I went onto The Book Depository's website and ordered some books at much cheaper than shop prices and with free P+P to boot. Two of them came today. One is The Knitter's Handbook and is very glossy!! The other is The Knitting Answer Book.





Hopefully these should help me either when I have a disaster of if I want to try to make a design up myself. I need to have a good look through them first though.


Today I did the basic First Aid course at work. The morning really consisted of watching everyone else's bottoms bouncing about as they did chest compressions on the dummy and hoping mine didn't look the same to them when I did it. Then we groped each other for a while to check if we had any broken bones and finally a bit of bondage as we tied each other up with bandages. I'm not sure if I learned anything at all!!

A bit of catching up to do...........

The weekend was a bit mad. Friday night I stayed up watching Comic Relief to see The Mighty Boosh. Every hour they kept tantalising me saying "coming up - The Mighty Boosh" until they finally graced our screens at 2.15am!!! It's always worth seeing the boys but why so late??? It wasn't as if they were swearing a lot or anything. It was also a sketch I've seen them do a couple of times before, but never mind, I enjoyed it anyway.

So trying to recover from that late night, we then went out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day down the pub on Saturday night, what with him indoors being a Paddy an' all. It was rather odd in that they had a disco on, never seen that down there before (not that I frequent the pub anyway.). We met up with some people I used to work with in the bookshop and we all ended up singing along to all the classic disco hits of our youth, ha ha!!

Sunday was spent food shopping, relaxing and catching up on a bit of knitting. The SKB is progressing nicely and I have now completed a sleeve and last night I finished the neckband. I think I picked up a few more stitches on the right neck than the left but I think I have gotten away with it. Blocking will help it along that last little bit.





Just one more sleeve to go but there is now a danger that I may run out of yarn just before the end. The ebay seller I got it from originally does sell single balls but it will have to come from the USA which is a pain. I will keep going and use all the yarn bits I have before I order another ball I may not need.

I also added to my Fabel scarf. I'd like to get this finished and post it on the garnstudio forum just to see if I can encourage anyone else along. I have posted a couple of progress pics but no-one else seems to be taking part. Unless they are all keeping quiet till the last minute.

My mum was pleased with her felted bag for Mother's Day. Now she wants another one in beige for the summer. I will probably make it a bit squarer with a plain flap. The good news is that Scandinavian Knitting Design seem to have reduced all their prices from this week. You can now get 100g of sock yarn for £2.90!! Now that's a bargain.

I decided to order the yarn for the sweaterbabe.com Lace Panel Cardigan from ebay seller Oregon Trail. In their 2nds section they are selling single skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in a "Lipstick Red". It is a colour that wasn't quite right so it went in the bargain bin. The Addis are also on order from Kangaroo.


I had a phone call from Becky, who I used to work with on Friday night too. I didn't recognise her voice which is shocking!! Sorry, Bex! I've left a "little" something for you on the sidebar!! It seems our mutual friend's wife still hasn't produced and is now 9 days overdue. They all thought it had happened yesterday when he didn't come into work, but it seems he had a little "almost cut my finger off" accident. Must be the nerves getting to him.

What card are you?

T had this on her blog so I gave it a go! Hey, T, I AM THE MOON (and I don't pay for nuffink!!)

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Spooky stuff, what with all my mad dreams and Booshieness!!

3BTs, walking wounded and GRSSSs.

3 BTs (haven't done this for a while but I have 3 for today)
1. Every year we have blackbirds in our back garden and usually they make a nest somewhere either in the forsythia or the clematis. Recently I have noticed a male nosing about in the garden, but unusually he has some pure white feathers in his tail. I have christened him "Flash".
2. All the magnolia bushes are out in flower in the nieghbours' gardens. Funny though, they are all pink, not magnolia!
3. When I'm walking the dog, there is a huge privet hedge that we pass. It is usually full of twittering sparrows which all fall silent as we pass and then start up again when we have gone past.

I have sustained another injury, what am I like? This morning while wandering around with no socks on I kicked the leg of the spare bed with my little toe and we all know how much that hurts! It has now gone rather black looking, and hard to walk on. Maybe the boss will give me a day off tomorrow!!

I haven't heard anything about my Glam Rock Ski Suit Socks that I sent to the Simply Knitting competition, and I haven't had them returned either. The closing date was 1st March and the best 30 are due to be shown for judging at the Stitch & Craft show in Olympia next weekend. I can only guess that it is one of three things.
1. Mine are in the top 30 - hahahaha, not likely!
2. They got lost in the post either going or coming back.
3. The judges have all fallen about in hysterics and chucked them straight in the bin.
Hmmm, which could it be?

Scrap that!

Scrap yesterday's comments about the circs and DPNs. Because of the increases to flare the arms, it is more practical to use the DPNs (I am using 5 which also makes it easier to try on without having to use scrap yarn).

The olive wool came this morning from ebay. I'll take a pic later. I just had time to do a quick swatch and wash it, so it is drying. The actual wool is quite rough, but it has softened significantly after washing. I think I should be able to get gauge on it, but not sure if I want a whole cardigan in the colour. Maybe I'll make a load of little felted bags and sell them?

Don't forget to watch the Masterchef final on TV tonight. I think it is on at 8pm, BBC2. I have really enjoyed the series, and despite thinking Ben was going to win all week, I now think it might be Steven. We shall wait and see.

I've also been enjoying the cringeworthyness of Comic Relief does Fame Academy. Sometimes it is worse than fingernails down a blackboard!! And I haven't a clue what the judges are listening to, its not what I'm hearing anyway!

Work, and a little else

A quick update on what I have been up to since starting work.........

In work - I have been setting up mailing lists and sending out change of address letters, organising the filing and what goes in which drawer etc, answering the phone and making tea & coffee!!! And getting on with my Excel course. It is not as easy now, it is all stuff I would not have a clue about unless I was working through the course. I have completed 9 out of 13 modules now, and have my second assignment to do and send in for marking.

Away from work - As I am not at home all day now my knitting frenzy has slowed down. I have just finished the lace on the first sleeve of the SKB. I decided I would do one sleeve, then the neckband, and then the other sleeve, to break it up a bit. I have found the setback with a top down sweater. When you do the sleeves in the round you have the whole sweater to pick up and turn every time. I found the DPNs a bit awkward too so I may get myself another 3.25 circular and work on two circs for the second sleeve. I have two 5mm so I am going to work on those for the rest of this sleeve and see if it is better than the DPNs. Is it right ladies, that we are supposed to finish this KAL by the end of the month?

I have also got to work on my scarf, thing is I think I'm the only person doing this KAL. Pity. Perhaps it was wrong for it to be restricted to the Fabel yarn.

I bought some yarn from ebay yesterday, 10 x 100g balls of an olive tweed chunky for £10 including P+P. It says it is 100% wool!! Will post a pic when it arrives. I got it to see if it would look okay with the sweaterbabe cardigan. If not I am going to get some Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky from an ebay seller in the USA who sells it on 1lb cones (= to 4 skeins). They have all kinds of different colours and it should work out cheaper than getting it from getknitted or somewhere in the UK. I really fancy doing it in red like on the pattern, it has always been a good colour on me.

I am getting tantalisingly near to finishing my first book of 2007. I am disgusted with myself to be honest. Before I discovered the evil knitting I read loads and read over 50 books last year. I haven't even finished one this year yet!!! and I have a stack of approx 60 books to be read next to my bed. I will be glad to get this book out of the way though. It is Map of Bones by James Rollins. It is all a bit DaVinci Code, and also similar to a Matthew Reilly book Seven Ancient Wonders. If you haven't read a Matthew Reilly, do it now. Ice Station is the one to start with. If you like action movies, this is like reading one, and it leaves you out of breath. You have forget about "that would never happen" moments and just read. Brilliant. And a great central character. Try it, you might like it!

2 WIPs and work

My SKB is coming along nicely. I have finished the body, and now have to decide whether to go onto the arms as in the pattern or do the collar. I know that if I leave the collar to last I will put it off cos I hate picking up stitches. Maybe I'll do one sleeve then the collar then the other sleeve. Anyway, the fit is great, snug but not too tight.



And this is my progress on the Dragon Scales scarf for the garnstudio competition.



I have also downloaded the pattern for the Lace Inset Cardigan from Sweaterbabe.com which I think is gorgeous. And I may be able to get some Brown Sheep Bulky at a good price too which is the yarn used in the pattern. But we'll see because my knitting time will be seriously cut now and I don't want to have loads of things waiting to be made which never get done.

So, Friday I started work. I think I was there from about 10.30 til 4.15. So I managed to miss the traffic both ways! At the moment it is a case of working out what needs to be done, and what work I can take over that Colin is doing himself at the moment. I must say the actual building is very quiet, even though there are probably about 30 businesses in there altogether. I hardly saw anyone on my trips to the loo or kitchen. Everyone keeps their blinds closed on their windows too (every room has a window onto the corridor) so I couldn't have a good old nosey in!

Today we walked into town and had lunch in the tex-mex place. We were the only ones in there and it still took ages to get our food. It wasn't as good as the last time we went there a couple of years ago.

Am getting on well with the Excel, I am about half way through the modules and finding it pretty easy going so far. Now that the broadband is on at work I can get on and do it there, without knitting to distract me!!

I bought the Mint Royale CD Pop Is.... on Saturday. Mainly for Blue Song but I actually really like most of it. I had a good old jiggle around the kitchen while I was cooking the dinner. That's one CD that'll be going into the car.

SKB progress & Fabel

Here is my progress so far, I think I have another repeat of the 4 chevron lace rows to reach the 3 inches required and then I can do the purl ridges. Then I will try it on and keep my fingers crossed!



My back order came this morning from Scandinavian Knitting Design. It is my Fabel 677. I had thought there was more purple in it, but the colour is still very nice, quite turquoise-y.



But now I have to get on with my Excel course, I only have until the 20th to finish it.

For the SKB KALers

I am having a bit of a mad week, trying to start work, visitors coming tomorrow, several knitting bits to finish off etc etc.

But I just wanted to post a quick update to let the SKB KALers know where I'm up to. I have got the sleeves on waste yarn, have joined the round and am about half way through the 3 inches of chevron lace on the main body. I think I may put it on waste yarn and try it on when I get to the end of this bit ie the other set of purl ridges, before I carry on down with the hip shaping. Will post a pic when I do that.

I'm really enjoying making this, even though it is a bit fiddly using 2 strands together (and now 3, because I have added in a metallic thread for the lace). So how are the rest of you getting on? I know T has started and that she is away, but I don't know about anyone else yet. Hope you are all enjoying it though.

Doggy mishap & SKB KAL

Oh dear, it seems I tempted fate with my post the other day where I mentioned tripping over long trouser legs and falling down the stairs. It wasn't long trousers that were the culprit though. When I go up and down the stairs, the dog tends to follow me and pass me about half way. So this morning I was coming down the stairs, dog passed and I accidently stood on his tail! Next second I am on my backside sliding down 3 or 4 stairs, and hyperventilating from the shock. What was worse was that I had my insulin pump in my back pocket and as I came down with a hell of a bump I landed right on it, so I now have a very nice lump and bruise developing!! (The pump survived thank goodness, after all I have only had it 2 days!) Afterwards I had that strange emotional turmoil where you are crying from being hurt and being in shock, but you also can't help thinking how stupid it was and wondering how it must have looked and sounded to someone else as you screech and vanish from sight behind the bannisters, and so you fall about in a fit of giggles at the same time!! And then you swing backwards and forwards between the two! Thinking about it now, it's just the giggling part I'm getting.

So Thursday was the starting date for the informal KAL. I thought I wouldn't be able to start but the postman arrived with my Addis, which I was very surprised about. I had ordered them 2 days before from Kangaroo and had expected that a) they wouldn't have the sizes I wanted in stock, or b) it would take a week or so because their P+P is free. I was wrong on both counts. And they sent me a free pair of teddy bear needle huggers (scroll to bottom of page) for the DPNs I ordered.

And here is my progress so far......




This was the scary bit where I put all the stitches on spare yarn and pulled out the needle. Never done that before!! Yikes, but luckily no mishaps.



And this is what it looks like on. I think the size is just right (all the swatching was worth it!) and I really like the way the colour is working. I was trying to hold the corners of the sleeves together under my arm. The top picture is the best colour representation, even though taken indoors with a flash. Because of the swatching I am using 5mm and 3.25mm needles instead of the 4.5mm and 3.5mm stated in the pattern.

The nearest book

I'm just going to do this thingybob today as I am KALing and want to get on with it!! But I was tagged by Carolyn so I thought I'd better.........

1. Find the nearest book - behind me in my stack of books for bookcrossing

2. Name the book & the author - A Place of Execution by Val McDermid

3.Turn to page 123. - it just happens to be the first page of Chapter 8

4. Go to the 5th sentence on the page & copy out the next three sentences onto your blog - What the Scardale villagers also had in common was their complete mystification at Alison's disappearance. As Clough had predicted, few were willing to volunteer even the little that Brian Carter had given. Most of the conversations were an uphill struggle.

5. Tag 3 more people. - really sorry, I don't know many people with blogs so I've had to pick these 3.....

Tina

dreamcatcher
seahorse

Sorry guys, but it is a short one! Now, back to that bodice!! It's good fun actually, I've never done a top down sweater before.