Raspberry Ripple

About two years ago I knitted my step-sister and niece a pair of socks each. When we were visiting a couple of weeks ago, the smaller pair of these appeared out of a drawer, looking none the worse for wear. But they are now a little small. So I said I would make another pair in the latest "favourite colour" of red. I had some red and white yarn in my stash from about a year ago that I hadn't got round to knitting yet, so over the weekend I produced these.

I used The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns to get the size, so cast on 52 stitches and did plain stocking stitch after about 3cm if K2,P2 rib. And I managed to get the stripes to just about match!
Pattern: Basic sock pattern by Ann Budd
Yarn: Bear Necessities 100% 4ply wool from Folksy.com, colour Raspberry Ripple
Needles: 2.5mm circs, magic loop

So what have I been up to?

Oh dear, I really need to update don't I? Well here goes........

On July 3rd Colin travelled up to Fort William in torrential rain to climb Ben Nevis the next day for his 365challenge. His usual travel companion Dave went with him and they were met up there by several others, who all managed to make it to the summit in about 4 and a half hours.


One of our oldest uni friends, Paul, who lives near Edinburgh also travelled up for the day and joined them too. (Nice legs, boys!)


When they made it back down to the bottom, Paul's wife had been off to buy champagne for them all to celebrate completing the 3 highest peaks in the UK.


In the meantime, not being into climbing mountains, or any kind of exercise for that matter, I had a houseguest to keep me company. My mum!


We didn't really do much, just pottered around, and treated Susie to a lovely juicy bone which she was very chuffed with.


On the Sunday was the thrilling Wimbledon men's final. I decided to support Roddick as he was the underdog and because he had beaten Murray so if he won it would mean Murray had been beaten by the eventual winner and he would be excused, hahah! Dave and Colin arrived back during the 4th set and Dave is a big Federer fan so there was good rivalry going on there. Poor Dave needed to drive back to Reading but hung on to the bitter end.

In books, I have just finished One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson, (see review below) and have decided to try A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini next as several people have recommended it to me.

In knitting, I still have several WIPs but that hasn't stopped me casting on a pair of Conwy socks from the book Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. The photos in this book do the socks no justice at all, it is much better to look at the finished ones on ravelry to get a better idea of how they turn out. I am using a variegated red/orange/dark red yarn that I got at Woolfest last year from KnitWitches yarns.

Hopefully in a couple of hours I will be able to hear properly again after at least 5 weeks of having blocked ears. Since the infection I had, my left ear has never "popped" and then a couple of days ago my right one got blocked with wax. I am going to get them syringed this afternoon, so hopefiully I will be back to normal.

More than just books

Other stuff has happened recently apart from reading. Last weekend my parents came up to visit. My step-dad has just retired and had a significant birthday so a cake was called for.

This was the first Victoria Sandwich I have made in probably over 20 years! Came out pretty well though I do say so myself.

On Sunday morning we went for a walk around the Walls and when we got to the weir there were several herons on the water. My zoom lens got this photo from quite a distance (I've cropped it quite a bit so the detail has been somewhat lost).


A bit further on we were aiming for the Racecourse as my ex-boss was competing in the Chester Half Marathon but the heavens opened and we made a quick dash into town to Caffe Nero for much needed coffees. He managed 2 hours 10 minutes, we heard later.

This morning I finished off my Flutter-by Socks. The second half of the skein had some really dark bits pop up in the purple bits so they aren't the same now, but its not really a problem just a bit of a shame. It may come out in the wash. It is a really easy and fairly quick pattern to knit.



Pattern: Flutter-by socks
Yarn: Wild Fire Fibres Fantasia from the May sock club, colour Rhododendron
Needles: 2.5mm Addi lace circs
Mods: Decreased to 30 sole stitches after the gusset.

I'm not sure what I want to cast on next, perhaps I should revisit those WIPs!

Well my review of Pride & Prejudice had mixed responses. Linz - it was nice to know I'm not the only one who didn't like it, I really thought I was after talking to a few people I know. Anonymous - yes, I do know who you are AND I know where you LIVE, hee hee!!! P&P isn't the only "classic" I have read, I enjoyed Dracula and Frankenstein but not P&P or 20,000 leagues. I didn't study English Literature after the age of 14 so I don't really know how to "read" a book in the way that you do. I like to read for enjoyment of the story, and that is enough for me. If it doesn't float my boat, I'll move on. I don't really want to get into the analysis of the writing or the period it was written, but I respect the fact that other people do. (I will just say that on your recommendation I have started the first chapter of Emma, but if I find I'm not enjoying it I will not plough on this time.) Everyone has their own tastes in books and that is why there are so many different books out there.

On that subject I am currently reading The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman a story about a witch hunt in the search for the reason why the crops are failing and everyone is starving in a tiny village in the 1400s. There is a gruesone trial of an old woman with a test which she cannot possibly pass which proves she is a witch when she isn't. And this stuff really went on! Scary.

How old?

Would you believe that this man is 90 years old? That's Colin's dad and we were over in Ireland for a few days last week to see him on the big day. He is fit as a flea and puts me to shame! This is him with Colin and his sister Fiona.


Fiona gave Colin this shirt and I told him that from the neck down he looked like Noel Edmonds - he was a bit miffed at that!


Here is the birthday cake with some little golfers on it, Sean still plays a few holes every day.


And this is my old car which lives in Ireland now. Look what they've done to it - put one of those funny Irish number plates on it! That's its new owner giving it a kiss, Colin's niece Rachel.


So we were away from Wednesday to Saturday and when we got back my mum came up to visit from Sunday till this morning. I think she fell in love with Susie when she met her - well who wouldn't? Look at her!

Valentine

We don't do Valentine's anymore, but on Saturday morning Colin went out early and got my car washed for me, and picked up my yarn from the Post Office, aaaah!
15 balls of Alaska for Amused

I finished these socks for my step-dad on Friday evening. My mum is coming up to visit next weekend so she is going to take them back with her. Hopefully they should fit, as they are just slightly too big for Colin, who is one size smaller than Bill.


Before that though we are going to be celebrating Colin's dad's 90th birthday at the end of the week. 90! Imagine that!

Am I really related to these two?

This is what greeted us when the webcam fired up this morning!!! At least they like their hats! Ain't modern technology wonderful!

Oh Canada!

We have just had visitors for 2 days. Colin's cousin Sheila (middle) and her husband Fraser (far left), who stayed with us for two nights and Fraser's brother Barry and his wife Pat (right) who stayed at a local B&B. They are all Canadian. They were really nice laid back people. This was taken outside our house this morning as they all left to drive down to Felixstowe to visit more people.



Yesterday was a great day, it was hot and sunny and we spent the day at Chester Races. It's the first time we've ever been and we've lived here 12 years! Of course we had to have a bet. There were 7 races and I ended up with 4 winners and a second place and tripled my money!! When I say I arrived with a fiver and left with 15 quid it doesn't sound so grand but I was only betting a pound at a time. This was my first


and my second winners


Fraser did really well, he made a net profit of £60.

Colin's challenge

Please visit Colin's site where he is doing something good for Cancer Research UK.

http://www.365challenge.co.uk/

And here is the blog

http://365challenge.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

Weekend visit

At the weekend, Colin went on a course in London so we drove to my parents' in Southampton and he got the train up from there, leaving me behind with these two!



On the Friday I went to the Isle of Wight to see my friend Sarah, and on Saturday I popped down to see my step-sister Sue.....

and Mollie (6)

and Alex (9).


It was Alex's birthday a couple of weeks ago and he got a Wii so I got him the sport accessories (tennis rackets, golf club, and baseball bat). Of course he beat the pants off me!! But I was definitely the best at making an a**e of myself on the trampoline!!

The Corporate Life

So another week has passed by in a flash. Last weekend my parents came to visit so that is the end of staying guests for a while.

Tomorrow night we have a couple of friends coming round for Eurovision night silliness. I'm sure it will be the usual mix of mad songs, even madder costumes and political voting, but it's good entertainment. Apparently 2 of the entries feature knitting, Moldova and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Hmmm, curious.

What's on my needles? I am still plodding on with the Joma jumper for Colin from Let's Knit magazine. Interestingly it is a pattern from a Sublime knitting book and in there it is called Yoke. I have finished the back and have almost completed the second half of the front. My Clapotis is kind of hibernating until i finish the jumper. I also started a pair of Nutkin socks yesterday using some of the Angels & Elephants sock yarn I got from ebay.


I learned a new technique doing the cuffs because you knit 5 rounds, purl a round, knit 6 rounds and then fold over and knit the cast on edge onto the active stitches. It is very neat




I have also been listening to a lot of Lime & Violet podcasts. I now have an adapter to plug my iPod in in the car so I listen to them chatting on my way to and from work. I am toying with the idea of doing one myself, and am hoping to get Becca on board so that it is a bit chatty like L&V rather than me wittering on to myself. I am trying to find out where to start at the moment as I wouldn't have a clue!

Yesterday I texted Becca to see how she is getting on with her Clapotis and she suggested we had lunch. As I am more flexible with my timings I went to meet her at the head offices of MBNA (other banks are available!) where she works. It is on a big business park and it took me a while to find it, this wasn't helped by the fact that it is not signposted MBNA but Bank of America which was a tad confusing. Anyway, it is a huge building with pillars flanking the main entrance, a fountain and tall flagpoles!! I had to be signed in and we went through to the coffee shop inside called The Atrium. This is a large glass structure linking two parts of the building together like a huge conservatory. And they have a Costa coffee shop in there!! There is a payment system where the staff have to top up a keycard in a hole in the wall, to use at the till. Very hi-tech!!

So we sat and chatted about her holiday, knitting and various other things. AND........she is coming to Woolfest, woohoo!! Because of this we have decided not to go up to John Lewis and save our money for a big binge at Woolfest. Apart from this it will probably only be the dregs left anyway, because it is their last day opening on Monday, so it may have been a wasted trip. So there are quite a few people I know going to Woolfest now, and looking at the list of stands I noticed that The Natural Dye Studio are going to be there. I have had quite a few of their yarns from ebay so I am looking forward to that. There are about 100 stands so that should keep me occupied for a while!!

I have just got home from work and found 3 packets waiting for me. One was a bookmooch book, The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow. Another was the Knitter's Almanac which I got from The Book Depository for about £3.



And the third one was my renewed subscription to Yarn Forward magazine with a free skein of laceweight yarn. Unfortunately it is a lime green colour but I could always dye it I suppose, Chris & Mel were threatening to teach me how!

Today I died!

These little beauties went off to Arkansas, USA on Monday lunchtime. They couldn't have gone any sooner because of the weekend post and that I had to spend some time with the family. No it was good actually, they didn't mind me knitting and I did quite a bit while they went out to the pub, (I don't drink so I don't tend to get much out of going to the pub!) or were sleeping in in the mornings.


Unfortunately the doorbell went this morning and I was given a package containing these

from Lauri in Arizona. I love the colours. She has done the increases differently to mine, producing a lacy stitch, but they are absolutely fine. I'm certainly not going to complain like some of the pains in the arse on the discussion boards. God, they take it all so seriously, but then again I would have been disappointed if I had got a pair of crappy socks. I was very lucky with my assassin, she knew what she was doing. So that's me out of the game for this time around, roll on SW4!! My target should "die" tomorrow so maybe Lauri will get to finish off another pair before she meets her demise.

On Monday lunchtime we went out to the Red Lion in Dodleston for a pub lunch. The weather was gorgeous and we sat outside. This is me with Colin and his dad.


Colin & Sean


And me & Fiona (Colin's sister)


So they flew back to Ireland yesterday afternoon, and I have been into the office this morning to make sense of the post that has come in over the last week. Theoretically we are both off for the whole week but Colin had a meeting so I thought I might as well go in too. We are off tomorrow though.

Then on Saturday morning my parents will arrive bright and early and the entertaining starts all over again!!

Tuesday evening I went out to knitting group at Borders. We had another 4 new people this time and some who didn't come from last time. So we had 18 again. As usual I was last to leave!! I found out that Stash is moving to new premises and that the shop is going to be 3 times the size. The one they have now is tiny so there will be much more display space. Unfortunately they are not having a sale before they move, so no bargains to be had! There are some online offers though.

Halfway there!!

I have one Sock Wars sock finished and the other cast on. Hoping to get them in the post tomorrow or Tuesday at the very latest. They are off to my victim in Arkansas, USA. I am trying my best not to be too antisocial with regards to Colin's dad and sister visiting, but this is WAR!!!!!

6 months on

It is 6 months ago today that Colin had his tumour removed. Time has flown and you would never know, apart from the scar running from his elbow to his wrist. He has a follow up scan next week and a consultant appointment in April, but fingers crossed everything is going well.

books etc.

So last Sunday was Mother's Day, and this is what I made for my mum. It is from the latest issue of Let's Knit magazine. It came out quite big because I used a ball of Wendy Fusion and 5mm needles, so I didn't have enough lavender in the garden to fill it. I added some polyester stuffing in the end. I also sent her some Liz Earle body wash.



I actually watched her open it on the webcam!! This webcam has produced much hilarity, not least of which when I flashed my knickers and other undergarments at them. (The ones hanging on the clothes dryer behind me at the time!!). Here's my mum and step-dad concentrating at their end!

Whilst listening to a knitting podcast Pointy Sticks, (which sadly hasn't been updated since March 2007) I heard about an earlight. This is like a bluetooth telephone earpiece but is actually a torch. I got one from ebay and it's ingenious and perfect for knitting when it is getting dark and the light in the room just isn't bright enough for fiddly work.

Tuesday night is the first night of the new knitting group. I'm quite excited and intrigued to see how many turn up. I think we will be at least six anyway so it won't be a complete flop.

I have just finished reading Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly. As usual you have to suspend all disbelief when reading an MR novel. This one ended at a huge cliffhanger and its going to be ages till the next book. I think I need something totally different after that so am going to try The Beekeeper's Pupil. I've had it for ages so its time I got round to giving it a go. Nothing else on my 50-strong TO Read shelf is jumping out at me.

I joined Bookmooch about a week ago. You list books you have read and get points for listing them, and then if someone asks for one you get more points which you can then spend on books you want. I have been asked for 7 of my books already so am building up a nice little cache of points to spend when I feel like it.

New for nattering knitters.

Exciting news!! I have started a knitting group!! Well, there are two of us doing it actually. I came across someone else on ravelry who lives here in Chester and got chatting through the messaging system on there. She said that she would love it if there was a knitting group that met at Borders at Cheshire Oaks so I said "why not start one". She made some enquiries with the store and they were really keen so yesterday we met up there and spoke to the supervisor, Simon. He showed us where we could gather the group and was very accommodationg.

So the upshot is that the new group will be held at Borders, Cheshire Oaks on the second Tuesday of the month starting on 11th March, from 6.30pm till 8pm-ish. All welcome if you are in the area. One of the ladies who works in the LYS is telling customers about it too so hopefully it will be more than just the two of us on the first night.

On the recommendation of Clarabelle I have started an Argosy Scarf from knitty.com. I'm not sure whether to rattle through this for a present or to finish my socks first. I am just casting off the first toe-up sock. The scarf is so squooshy that I would be loath to part with it. I am using the Fyberspates DK that I got last week.


There is progress on the Gorgeous One front. We had another trainer round yesterday from BarkBusters and rather than trying to teach him "tricks" like sit, stay etc which the other one did, she actually showed us how to stop him doing things he shouldn't. Ah relief. I think he was so pooped afterwards, because he actually lay and fell asleep in his bed during the evening rather than chewing it and dragging it around the room. And today he actually seems to be showing me some respect instead of chewing my trousers and being a pain in the arse. He's so cute.

My mum & step-dad got to see him via the webcam last night. I finally got round to setting it up and after a few teething troubles we managed to get a connection between us via Windows Messenger. Charlie was so funny, my mum was calling him and he couldn't work out where she was!!

I had a surprise on Saturday. The new Matthew Reilly is out and was half price in Waterstone's. I couldn't grab it quick enough, and in the process broke my resolution of not buying any books this year. I think one slip up is allowed and as I said to Colin "its not a book, it's a necessity!". He promptly took it off me and said "Well you have to finish the book you're reading first and I've just finished mine so I'll read it first!". Humph! He gave it back this morning saying it was all too ridiculous (that's the point of MR) and that I could have it after all. I shall start it later today.

Birthday girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!!!

Now my mum has opened her present I can show you what I made her. It is Urchin from knitty.com, and here are The Gorgeous One and I modelling it before it went off in the post.

I got tickets!!!

Whhhoooooooooooooooopppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I have Mighty Boosh tickets!!!!!!!!! What a palaver. I am on a fan mailing list called Modwolves and we were told that all our emails had been sent to the promoters of the live shows so that we would get an email link and a PIN number to get advanced tickets. Some other Booshys I know got their PINs and 24 hours later when some of the tickets had already gone on sale, I still hadn't had a PIN or link!! I started to panic and went on the message boards, and nearly everyone had a PIN and some already had tickets. Anyway someone gave me a number to call and I got through easily and was given a PIN number. So Thursday morning more tickets were released at 10am, so I refreshed for about half an hour before just in case. Well, 10am came and the page flashed up, and I was in there like a shot.......at 10.04am I had ordered 4 tickets and it was all over and done with. I think I was one of the lucky ones cos I went straight onto the message boards and there were all kinds of problems and people moaning and wailing about screens going blank and not getting tickets and how it was all a shambles. Anyway, I got mine and they are for Dec 2nd at Manchester Apollo. Of course they are not physically in my hot little hands yet, apparently they are not being sent out till August! But hopefully they will come, and I am a happy bunny. I just don't know where we'll be sitting. Or who is going to get the 2 spare tickets!!!

Colin finished his radiotherapy last Tuesday, and his arm is already starting to look better. It looks like strange sunburn now with lots of peeling. He went for a check-up on Thursday morning and had a chest X-ray which was clear. This afternoon he has gone for a CT scan cos they couldn't fit him in on Thursday as we had to get to the airport to go to Ireland. We'll get the results of that in a few days.

So we went to Ireland Thursday afternoon. We stayed with Colin's dad and also saw his sister Fiona who lives 5 minutes away. And on Saturday we went to Niall's which is about an hour's drive south, and saw him and his family. He gave me something which is quite possibly something rather special............

Yeah, yeah, they may just look like a couple of drinking glasses to you but there is a story. Niall worked for Telecom Eireann (Ireland's BT) and when there are big concerts at Slane Castle his team were responsible for sorting out all the phones etc, so he had access to the backstage areas. In 2001 U2 played Slane and afterwards Niall was able to snaffle these 2 glasses from the room where they had all been drinking champagne from them. These glasses could very probably have Bono's saliva on them!!!!! Or Edge, Larry or Adam's! Knowing what a huge U2 fan i am Niall has kept these for me for 6 years!

Onto the knitting..........

I started a pair of plain socks in some Lana Grossa Cotton Fantasy sock yarn that I got from Stash's bargain bin. The colours are 812 - blue/brown/grey and Colin decided he would like them so I am trying to get those done for Christmas. I also worked on my Drops 88-4 sleeve in Ireland and have nearly finished the cabled bit so that shouldn't be too long to finish now.

I got this from ebay last week, 150g of sock weight Kauni yarn for a grand total of £4.20.

And what did I do when I was opening the packaging with scissors?
Then I tried to wind the skein by myself and it has all ended up as two small balls, 2 large balls and one lovely knotted mess that I am trying to unravel, ulgh!

On other knitting things I have been chuckling along to the limenviolet podcast that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. They are just 2 American women talking about knitting but some of the things are funny. They record it in one of their houses and she has a couple of mad dogs who you can hear breathing or running around in the background. In one episode they fell about laughing cos the dogs were humping, and in another the husband came in to get the dogs out and he was chasing them round the room wearing just a pair of boxer shorts with hearts on them. Good job this is not on a webcam!

On TV I am getting excited about the final of Strictly Come Dancing. My favourite, Matt is through to the final but I think he will have a job on to beat Alisha. I don't know how the winner is decided, by the judges or the public vote?

Tomorrow morning I am going for another pre-op appointment about my thumb. I guess it has been a while since I went before but it shouldn't take too long as I can't see that anything has changed. Then the op is on Jan 11th.

Bah humbug!

It has been over a week since my last post. I was sort of waiting because i didn't have any photos of anything, but I can't see any photos happening in the next few days either so i thought I'd just get on with a new post anyway. Does a blog post need photos or pictures? I'll admit that I do tend to look at blogs if they do have photos than if they are just plain text. So I'll not be expecting many readers today!!

So what has been happening this past week? A bit of planning for Christmas. The mad "buying presents and getting them in the post" rush has been averted this year because we have decided to go down south to visit my folks on 27th Dec for a couple of days. I have still been doing a bit of shopping though. I am finding it really hard thinking of presents for people this year. I remember when it used to be that if you wanted something you waited until Christmas or your birthday to get it, but these days if you want something you just go and get it. Then when people ask what you want for Christmas, there isn't anything you want. And when you ask them, they can't think of anything either!! Grrr. And wandering round the shops just doesn't inspire me either. I like to get things that are a little bit different for people, not just the same old thing. But everything in the shops is the same. I guess I could have knitted everyone unique gifts but what with my hand problems this year, and the fact that I want to knit stuff for myself, it wasn't practical. I also think that you only get the benefit if you knit for people who appreciate the work and effort put into it. Like other knitters. I have made a couple of things for other knitters. And something for my mum.

I was in town today wandering aimlessly. It wasn't helped by going to the optician first thing and being informed i needed new glasses which I will have to wear all the time instead of just for driving. Varifocals!!! But "THAT BIRTHDAY" isn't until August!!! Yet I'm getting varifocals!!! The price tag was a bit of a stunner too, I won't say how much, but it was round about "that birthday" times ten. Yikes!!!

We are also going to Ireland for a few days next week to see Colin's family. His 6 weeks of radiotherapy finishes on Tuesday, can you believe how quickly that has gone. But you should see the arm, red doesn't start to describe it, and the heat, phew! We were joking the other night that I wouldn't need to shave my legs, i could just let him singe the hairs off with his arm. He was supposed to have an appointment with the consultant tomorrow but it has been postponed until nest Thursday. We think it is for a scan. Fingers crossed for that.

We had our works meal on Tuesday night. Well as me and Colin are strictly speaking the only employees of our company it would have been a bit sparse but we asked various people who rent the offices from us so there was a total of 7 of us. Unfortunately the food wasn't brilliant, so we will try elsewhere next time. It wasn't bad by any means but not inspiring either.

I can't believe it is already the 4th episode of The Mighty Boosh tonight. It has improved every week so I have great expectations for tonight's episode. It's been great having a double dose of Noel on a Thursday night, but sadly it is his last night on Buzzcocks tonight.

I have been catching up on a few podcasts. The knitting ones are really good for listening to while knitting. I found a new one called Lixie Knits It which is an English one rather than American. She sounds quite sweet but goes a bit bonkers sometimes especially when her husband gets involved! Also the Lime & Violet podcast. Boy can those two talk! I've only listened to one episode and there are 48 so far!!

As for my knitting I am still working on the Drops 88-4. I have finished a sleeve and am leaving the second one to take to Ireland. So I am back onto my second Jaywalker for the time being and am getting near to the heel flap. I have an urge to start something else as well though. I am waiting for some yarn from ebay for another Clapotis which I am going to make wider than the first one as I am getting 10 balls of yarn so should have plenty. I don't know what the yarn will be like though, its one of those "unknown yarn impulse ebay bargain purchases for a tenner from China" type things so i hope it is okay when it comes. Their feedback is good and it says that it is 100% wool so we will see.

I'll stop now as I have thought of something I may have photos of tomorrow, so I'll post again then.

Sad news, lunch, & catching up.

My computer lost its internet connection for a few days and the other computer doesn't have my camera software on it, but this afternoon a friend who is a computer genius came and sorted it all out, so everything is back to normal.

But unfortunately I have to start this post with some sad news. On Oct 10th we had to make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to our boy Podge. He was almost 16 and had been having lots of falls and couldn't get up again without help. It was all a bit confusing for him and when the vet said there was nothing more we could do, it was time to say goodbye. We had had him since he was about 9 months old, when we rescued him from the RSPCA shelter in Colwyn Bay. He has left a huge hole in our lives and we will miss him dearly. We have had him cremated and so he is now home with us at least.



Yesterday we went out for lunch with some friends we hadn't seen for almost a year, Paul & Scottie. We went to Piccolino's and spent a leisurely 2 hours eating and chatting. After that we met some other friends Graeme, Mandy & Emily for a quick coffee. And tonight we have Gill coming round for dinner. She is the friend who went off to France after Colin did some life coaching with her. She is now back and sorting out what to do next.

I am working on my Drops cardigan but it is very slow going. I have done about 15cm in four days!! The yarn is fine, the needles are small and as it is worked in one piece there are loads of stitches. It looks lovely so far though so I am happy to trudge along with it. I have also finished the present for my mum.

Couldn't resist this from Natural Dye Studio............BFL Dazzle sock yarn in colour Peahen.

Colin is off for a "trial run" for his radiotherapy tomorrow, and then he starts properly on Wednesday for 6 and a half weeks which takes us to 14th December we think. So all done and dusted by Christmas.