SURPRISE!!!!

My ex-boss from the hospital lab, Gilbert, has been retiring for the past fortnight. Let me explain. Two weeks ago, I went to the lunch in Llangollen which he had organised as a do for his retirement. I posted about that before. A week ago, on the Friday afternoon, was his actual retirement day and there was a buffet and speeches and presents at the lab, which I went down to in Wrexham. Then last night there was another party, hence the fact that he has been retiring for a whole two weeks!!

Last night was really great because he didn't know it was happening. He thought he was going to an engagement party for someone his wife works with. When he walked in the door, everyone stood up and started clapping and it took him a while to work out we were clapping him!! He was absolutely made up!! He said it was the kind of do he’d wanted but thought that the time had passed to organise something. Little did he know that all his staff had been organising it for months!

Most of the microbiology staff were there and some people form the other pathology departments. And some ex-members of staff and other friends of his. There was a speech from Dai and then Danny Williams, from Wrexham Football Club came and presented Gilbert with a football signed by all the players which he was well chuffed with, being a huge Wrexham fan. There was also a painting of Snowdonia from all the micro staff.



Here is a pic of me and my friend Becky. Like my new hair colour?


And I couldn't believe it when Gilbert arrived and his wife Mary was wearing the same dress as me!!! Hahahah.

It was funnier because when I was getting ready I'd said to Colin, does this look a bit mumsy? Ah well, shows we both have good taste. This is the second time this has happened to me at a microbiology do. A couple of Christmas's ago, I went to the staff party and someone else was wearing the same skirt as me. They weren't from our department though, somewhere completely different.

On a sadder note, we had to leave just as the dancing was getting started because Colin had to get up at 5am to fly to Ireland. One of his uncles, Peter, died on Friday and the funeral is today. (They certainly are on the ball when it comes to these things in Ireland!) So he flew out from Liverpool at 7.15am and is due back later this evening.

So I have a day of pottering, food shopping and ironing ahead of me. The supermarket should be just about opening now, so I'd better get that out of the way first.

Dangerous waters

We are all moaning about the rain, and how it is unusual, and is it climate change? etc. Don't get me wrong, climate change is very real and I totally believe it is happening. But to have rain in July isn't unusual. After all, it is Wimbledon fortnight and it is very rare that there is no rain during Wimbledon. And two years ago I was on holiday in Cornwall for the first week in July and it rained every day, so it's nothing new.

I do feel terribly sorry for all the people affected by the floods. Seeing your house up to the windows in water must be so upsetting, or seeing your car swept away. In a slightly related subject I got to thinking about the time I could have been swept away by water.

I was probably about 8 or 9 and was on holiday in Cornwall with my mum and step-dad. We were at a beach called Trebarwith Strand, which had rocks that you could climb onto and sit on. We sat on the same spot each day. When the tide was out you could climb down to the sandy beach and play in the rock pools, and as the tide gradually came in, you moved up and sat on the rocks again. On this particular day we were sat watching the tide coming up higher and higher, when all of a sudden there was a huge wave that crashed up and reached where we were sitting. Everyone jumped up and grabbed all their stuff as another wave came up even higher. We had to squeeze under an overhang to crawl along the rocks and around the corner. When the rocks get wet they get extremely slippy and someone actually started to slide. If anyone had gone into the water that would have been it. My step-dad was quite a hero that day because he caught hold of the woman who was sliding and dragged her back up. Thankfully there were no casualties and we all managed to get round the corner and off the rocks.

A bit later in the evening the tide had come up so high that the water was crashing up higher than where we had been sitting. We can only think that on that day it was a spring tide when the water goes out and comes in much higher. Something to do with the moon.

To answer a couple of recent comments......I do like vampire books, especially the Anne Rice ones. She makes being a vampire sound very attractive, I mean the immortality bit of it, not the having to drink blood on a nightly basis. I have tried the Reiki on my thumb a couple of times. I wonder whether it hasn't been effective because you need 2 hands to do it properly. Anyway, when I am trained, I could attune Colin as a level 1 and then he could do my hand for me!! No suggestions for Nina's blogname, come on get your thinking caps on.

Physio, reiki & books

It seems my thumb has been assessed by the orthopaedic triage system and they have decided to send me to see the physiotherapy department. They will then assess it and see if they can deal with it, but if they think I will still need to see the orthopaedic surgeons, then there is a 3 to 4 month wait!! Can I go that long without knitting?? That's nearly Christmas!! I'll see what they say at physio on 23rd July and then decide what to do. I hope they don't start pulling it about and bending it cos that is going to HURT!!

I have decided to spend some of my backpay on getting my Reiki Master level. I will then feel as if I am fully qualified and able to charge for my services. Not that I will probably do a lot, but at least I'll have it done. I have just spoken to Yvonne, my Reiki Master and I have booked for 1st September. One of the girls I did the level 2 with is going on the same day so that will be good. A couple of weeks after that one of Colin's colleagues is running a workshop called "How to Charge What You are Worth" which I'm going to be helping out on, so i can pick up some tips!

I finished reading The High Lord at the weekend. It is the final story about Sonea, a slum girl who discovers by accident that she has magical abilities, and is trained by the magician's guild. In this book she has to help save the city of Imardin from attackers and has to also work out where her loyalties lie with regard to the high lord, Akkarrin. There is a welcome return for many of the characters of the previous books and the storyline is good and partly left open if the author were to consider another sequel.

I have now moved onto the latest Lincoln Rhyme book by Jeffery Deaver, The Cold Moon. What fascinates me is all the forensic stuff that goes on in these books, and also how the author comes up with such interesting ways to murder his victims. I have read all the previous books in the series and from what I've read so far, this one is going to be just as good. I swapped a Patricia Cornwell on readitswapit last week and got Salem's Lot by Stephen King in return, which I didn't realise was a vampire story. If I'd known that I would have got a copy sooner. I think that will be next on my list to read, and I've also got 5 of the Anne Rice ones to read too. I do like a good vampire story.

Bloggers

This post is about fellow bloggers.

Since I've been doing this blog, I have met some lovely bloggers through them leaving comments on my blog and vice versa. So I was quite sad at the weekend when I had an email from one of them to say that she wasn't going to blog anymore. This is a shame, she is such a caring, genuine and entertaining person. I know that the internet can all get a bit mad and addictive, and I think she needs a break, but it can also be a great outlet and social place if you are a bit isolated. I just hope her withdrawal doesn't mean that she loses this function of it.

Another of my internet friends needs a bit of help too. She has joined blooger but has yet to create a blog, despite threatening it for months and months. I think it would be absolutely brilliant, because she is an absolute whirlwind and writes in the same way. Have a look at her profile for a start and you'll see what I mean. She claims that what is holding her back is finding a suitable name for her blog. Can anyone give her a hand on this because I'm useless at it. If we can come up with a great name, we can get her blogging sooner rather than later. Please help!!!

Apart from that, I'd just like to say hi to all the people who look at my blog and thanks for popping by. (And you lurkers, go ahead and leave a comment, you know who you are!!!)

Travelling nephew

One of Colin's nephews, Rory, is doing a bit of travelling overseas. He is currently in Egypt. You can read about his adventures in his travelblog.

Getting there....

I had a little surprise on Saturday morning. Backpay from my job which I left 18 months ago. It was all to do with the NHS Agenda for Change that was going on, (and still is). New pay scales were being sorted out and it was all supposed to start in October 2004. But because it was such a major task it has only just come through for my ex-colleagues. Because I left in November 2005 I had a year's back pay, and that's what came on Saturday. I'll probably save most of it, it wasn't a huge amount. But I thought I would treat myself to an official Mighty Boosh T-shirt. However, checking the site today, everything is sold out!!! I am very sad :o(

Girly shoes and lunch

As you may remember I am going to a "do" in July. I have shown a pic of my dress already but here is a reminder...........

It is navy and grey. As you may also remember I have the problem of small narrow feet, size 2.5UK. And I don't do heels. So I have been having trouble getting shoes to go with the dress. My sister in law lent me a pair when we were in Ireland but they are 3.5 and were my back up plan just incase I couldn't get any. Friday, Colin had an appointment in Bolton for an hour so I went along and waited for him and had a good old read of The High Lord. I am about half way through now. Anyway, after that we went to The Trafford Centre to look for shoes. After trying a few shops with no luck, we were directed to Debenhams, and tah-dah.................


I got some!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They do have a small kitten heel but it is fine. They do look a little bit more bluey in real life. And they have an ankle strap so they WILL stay on! The front is all beaded and sequined and they are the most girly pair of shoes I have ever owned! I don't do girly!! Or shoes!! But that may have something to do with my shoe size. Maybe if I had normal feet I would buy more shoes. Who knows.

My old boss from the hospital is retiring next Friday, and he invited me to a lunch yesterday in Llangollen with all the old gang. It's lovely because I haven't worked there for 18 months but he still asked me to go. He said I was still thought of as a member of the group. It was in a hotel called the Chainbridge Hotel right beside the river. We had huge windows overlooking the river and when the little steam train went past on the other side we were all waving and all the people were waving back. It was lovely to see everyone, and sorry to anyone I didn't get to talk to much. I had a good old natter with my friend Bex though, who was already a bit tiddled when I got there. I left at about 4.30 when they all moved on to another pub, but I had a text this morning to say they didn't leave until 9pm so goodness knows what state she was in then!! I am going to pop down to the lab for Gil's last day next Friday so will see some more people then.

And we are out for lunch again today. Colin has just had a call from a psychologist friend who is coming to Chester for the day so we are going to meet them in town for a light lunch in Swanky's coffee shop. This has become quite a regular haunt for us recently, very friendly staff and the food is pretty good. I think it is open into the evenings too, and I had thought of maybe using it for a knitting group meet-up, but that was before my "terrible knitting injury" caused by "thirty years of knitting, man and boy". (If you are a Fast Show fan, you will get that reference, if you are not a Fast Show fan, why not????).

Frankenstein was right!!

I have unequivocal proof that the Big Bang theory is true, and that spontaneous life can be created out of nothing..................................

Last night we had a great thunder storm with several big bangs, and today I found these in the lawn. And I swear they were NOT there yesterday. What more proof do you need??

I think you will also find that this is proof of fairies too, this is where they live isn't it?

Also in the garden, we are waiting to see what these are going to be like when they burst open. We bought a load of bulbs from a market and forgot what they were. These are definitely alliums, because they smell of onions which are the same family. Colin was convinced we'd been sold duds and that they really were onions when they first started coming up.

I was fascinated by this bee on our lavender. Can you see the bright yellow pollen sac on his leg? It was huge, and he had one on each leg. I don't know how he didn't crash to the ground under all the weight. (Sorry if its a bit blurred I was on full zoom and he kept moving!)

And finally, HOW ON EARTH DID CHARLEY NOT GET ENOUGH NOMINATIONS TO BE UP FOR THE PUBLIC VOTE?????????????????????????????????? Someone explain to me, cos I just DON'T GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Groovy patches

Look at these, Groovy Patches Pity they don't make them for the insulin infusion sets I have with my pump.

Thumb, books, BB8 & Boosh

(Lots of book links contained within....)

I thought I'd have a bit of a change, so have chosen a brighter template for the blog. Hope you like it. It feels a bit more summery!

So, I'm sure you are all dying to find out.......... ;o)

I was right all along, it is probably Trigger Finger (Thumb). I spoke to the GP on the phone last week and the X-rays and blood tests were clear. But he is going to refer me to the orthopaedic surgeons to have a look because it is restricting me from certain activities ie knitting! So I now have to wait for an appointment letter from them. Listening to the MRSA discussion on Jeremy Vine this morning puts me right off having an op though, but I should know better being an ex-hospital microbiologist, and the fact is the media blow it out of ALL proportion.

I finished reading The Divide a few days ago. It seemed to speed up towards the end and I did enjoy it. It was a shame how Abbie ended up in the situation she did. It is now packaged up ready to go to another bookcrossing person. In the meantime I read a quick little book called The Present by Spencer Johnson. It only takes an hour to read the whole thing, and is all about not worrying about the past or future, just living in the present. Easier said than done. Reading T's blog, I have ordered a copy of Nothing Special:Living Zen, which I think is in the same vein.

I then started another bookcrossing book I had called The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore. I got to about page 100 and abandoned it. It was all a bit bizarre and I just couldn't be bothered with it. A shame because I really enjoyed another of his books called Bloodsucking Fiends. I had never heard of Christopher Moore before I read that one. I have read 2 others, Practical Demonkeeping, which was similar to Stupidest Angel, but which I did read to the end, and Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, which I really enjoyed. So this author is a bit hit and miss with me I'm afraid. 'Angel is now off to a bookcrosser in New Zealand to keep it moving because it had already travelled quite a bit before I got it.

I am now reading The High Lord which is the third of the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. I'm not usually a fantasy fiction reader but having read the first one I really wanted to read all 3, which I will have done when I finish this one.

The only knitting related stuff I've been doing lately is reading blogs and putting together a package for my "CTnY" Summer Birthday Surprise recipient. If my "sender" is reading this by the way, please feel free to send me knitting stuff as my hand will get sorted and I'm determined to get back to knitting again soon.

Well, car crash telly-wise I am sorry to report that once again I am watching Big Brother. Every year I say I won't but I do. I didn't watch the one with Nadia in it though, and everyone told me it was so good I think I'm afraid to miss another good one. This year it has been ALL arguments. It does seem to have changed a bit in the last couple of days now that there are another 4 guys in there. Not sure I have an opinion on them yet but I thought the YMCA was very good!! I'm also wondering if Billie has been to Naboo's shop and bought one of Vince Noir's wigs!

Talking of the Boosh, the latest news I got was that series 3 is written and it is in pre-production, with filming due to start in July, woohoo!!

Edit: How spooky that I mentioned bookcrossing in this post - I just got an email telling me about this book I released a year and a day ago. But how did it get to Orlando, Florida?????

Ireland, cat & phones

Phew, what great weather we had this weekend. It was almost like being abroad.

We kind of were abroad, we popped over to Ireland to see Colin's dad for a couple of days. He is doing really well, the only difference really is that he forgets he has asked you something and asks you again later. But for goodness sake I'm sure there are many people of far less years than 88 who do that.

While we were there we did a bit of tidying up in the garden, at Colin's dad's and also at his sister's. Well actually I sat in the sun at Fiona's and a local cat came along and sat on my lap until it got too hot and hid under the table for some shade. I also went looking for some shoes to wear with my dress but no luck there.

We came back Sunday evening and had Monday off work too. It was rather hot though so we went into town and just pottered about the house. I called the doctor but my Xray results aren't back yet. The blood tests were normal though so I'm guessing that means its not arthritis. I haven't knit for well over a week now but there doesn't seem to be any improvement at all.

Now I am back in the office. I have to take photos of the phone system and email them to Colin's brother. There have been a few glitches in the system since it was set up and Niall is a telecom engineer in Ireland. He seems to think he can sort it out for us. I have to work out how to get the cover off the box of tricks beside my desk first!!

Visit, zoo, BFL & book

Just a couple of things I forgot to write about earlier in the week....

On Friday, Chris came to visit. We talked about her course for Burton Manor which is going to be called Knits Fit to Flatter. I think she has done a really good job on it, and I'll definitely go to it. She brought me presents too. A couple of crystals for my thumb, a moonstone and something else which I'm embarrassed to say I've forgotten the name of. And some carded wool for spinning. We had a bit of a go at it later on, and it was fun. I've tried raw fleece before but this was lovely and stranded so it spun easier. The 3 hours just flew, and at the end my living room looked like this........


On Sunday we popped up to the zoo to see the new Orangutan house. It is so much bigger than the old one.


This is only part of the outdoor bit. That is a running water feature at the front. And look at this orang.....


standing completely upright. I've never seen them do that before.

This arrived this morning from Natural Dye Studio. 100% Blue Faced Leicester sock yarn. But alas, it is not for me but I can't say who yet.




I'm a ways into The Divide now, and it isn't what I thought at the beginning. It's not about the murder really, it goes back to before that and the relationships going on in the family before it all happened. So yes, it has turned out to be a bit like The Horse Whisperer after all.

X-rays and books

This morning I went for my X-rays and blood tests. I have to wait about a week and then go to my GP for the results. I had some knitting on the coffee table which kept tempting me so I have now put away all my knitting out of sight so I can't be tempted to do "just a few rows to see how it feels".

I finished "No Humans Involved" by Kelley Armstrong. I enjoyed it, but prefer the werewolf ones. She is gradually getting through all the characters in her previous books and giving them a book of their own. This one was about Jamie Vegas, the necromancer.

I have now started "The Divide" by Nicholas Evans. He's the guy who wrote the Horse Whisperer. I thought this was going to be a bit like that, but not so far. There has been a body found in the ice on a glacier and it is a girl who was on the run for murder. That's as far as I have got. Colin bought me this for Christmas and I have bypassed it on my shelf for a couple of other books since then, but I felt guilty about not reading it because he bought it for me.

Whilst I was at the hospital I released this bookcrossing book, so if anyone is in the area and fancies it, go, go, go!! I didn't actually read it so I can't tell you if it is any good or not, sorry!

A bit of handy information

I trotted off to the doctor this morning to tell him I had trigger finger. However, he wasn't convinced. I said I'd had it before in another finger. He still wasn't convinced. He said trigger finger was caused by a trauma. I find not being able to knit quite a trauma.

So he poked and prodded and squeezed and bent (ouch!). I have to go and have both hands X-rayed and some blood tests done on Monday. And then go back and see him. In the meantime I have to try Voltarol gel (anti-inflammatory) and NOT KNIT!!!! Arrrrggggghhhhhh!!! Actually, that is a good idea because I did about 10 rounds of a sock yesterday and my thumb was very painful afterwards. Ah well, I might make some headway into the pile of books on my "to be read" shelf now.

This afternoon Chris is coming to visit. I met her on the knitting day at Burton Manor. I guess I'll just have to chat and watch her knit, to add insult to injury. It will be nice to see her though, and we can discuss her impending fame as the new knitting expert at the Manor.

BB8

Oh my God, tonight it starts all over again!!!

Trigger thumb

I think this is what I have..........

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_finger

I had it about 5 years ago in my little finger but it resolved itself, so I'm guessing I now have it in my thumb. It is one of those things that can be related to having diabetes, which I do. It does say not to do things where you have to grip, errrrr!!??? Now what do I do?

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!!!!