Sock crisis averted.

Well after a few false starts I am pretty happy with the progress on my Zokni socks now. I have just done the short row heel on the first sock

The colour is much brighter and more yellow than in the photos. Here is a close up of the stitch pattern. Although it is only a 15 stitch and 10 row repeat I can't remember it at all and constantly have to have the chart in front of me!

And here are a couple of pics of The Gorgeous One. Looking angelic of course! He's getting a bath this afternoon, so he won't look so happy after that!

Answer me this!

A quick plug - have a listen to this podcast

http://answermethis.wordpress.com/

Its just a couple of people answering questions sent in by listeners but is quite amusing. There is some bad language and dodgy content so keep the kids away, but check it out.

I had to rip the Zokni socks back to the beginning AGAIN last night, cos i made a mistake on row 8 of the lace pattern. I didn't know how to pick up the rib stitches once they were off the needles so I started again. This time I have discovered the wonders of LIFELINES!!! I'm putting one in after every 10 rows!!

Sock crisis!!

I have been having a major sock crisis!! I need to have a sock in progress, it's just one of those things. I finish a pair of socks and I have to cast on another pair straight away. Is that an addiction? From my last post you can see I cast on the Zokni socks in the Fauveline Yarn. This is the second time I have attempted these socks, the first time was with garnstudio fabel in the 672 colourway. This was far too busy to show the stitch pattern, so they got ripped out and the yarn became a Dragon Scales scarf. This time the Fauveline yarn was too fiddly and also too busy, so the little I had done (one and a bit repeats) got ripped out and that yarn put back in the stash for a later date. I really want to use this yarn because it is so interesting and very soft when knitted up which is a bit surprising. I have now cast on for a third time using a plain(-ish) light coloured yarn (the bottom one in this pic).

I am only on the rib so no opinions on its success yet but fingers crossed.

I have also whipped up a little project that I saw in the latest issue of Let's Knit magazine. I can't show it yet as it will be a gift. (If you are on ravelry you can see here). It took me an evening and about another hour to complete and I used up the single ball of Wendy Fusion from my stash.

I only have 2 other WIPs, one is the Drops 88-4 cardigan (link on left sidebar) which I really want to finish this month, and the other is a lacy scarf that has been hibernating for about 12 months. I picked it up the other day and it is actually quite pretty, so I may go back to that too.

Well I've gone and let myself in for another round of sock-related bloodshed and signed up for Sock Wars III. It all kicks off on 9th May. This time it is sponsored by South West Trading Company Tofutsies Yarn but I don't think you have to use that yarn. It seems that that would suggest that this time it will be sock yarn weight rather than DK weight as used in the last two rounds. Well we shall wait and see. Go on over and sign up, the more warriors the better, but be warned there is a $2 charge this time too, but what's that? A pound? Nothing really.

There is growing interest in the knitting group at Borders. They have even put it in the events page on the website (click the link and scroll down). I was up there on Sunday afternoon and there was a poster on the notice board just inside the door and one on the end of the knitting books section, so it is well publicised. There has been interest from customers of Stash too, so I wonder how many people will turn up. 'Citin'!! I was listening to the podcast "Lixie Knits It" and she mentioned she was on ravelry so I messaged her to say I liked her podcast. We "chatted" a bit and I mentioned the group and she said she will try to remember to mention it on the next podcast which she is doing at the weekend!

Have a look at this pattern, Cherie Amour from knitty.com. I managed to miss this one and only happened to click on a link from another blog. It is definitely going on my to-do list!

Finally on knitting news, I bought a ringbinder and some clear pockets and sorted out all my printed off knitting patterns. They were all over the place but are now filed by type - socks, scarves, jumpers etc. I had more than I thought in the end, I just kept finding them in my various knitting bags and piles of magazines. Oh there's a thought, I could go through the magazines and tear out the patterns I want to keep and chuck the rest in the recycling, hmm, may do that this evening.

Update on The Gorgeous One - he started getting very defiant and ignoring our attempts to stop him doing things he shouldn't so we rang up Amanda at BarkBusters for advice. She said to not give him any praise or cuddles etc for 48 hours!! It was agony. When he realised what was going on he started becoming extra cute and desperate for attention, bringing us all his toys and rolling around the floor as if to say "look at me, aren't I wonderful?" His behaviour did improve though when he worked out he wasn't getting attention. This morning he got lots of cuddles and seemed none the worse for his experience.

I hate to even think about it, but the big birthday is coming up later in the year. I have decided I would like to take better photos and learn how to do it properly. I like taking "snaps" but I'd like to be able to take arty type photos. I know you need to be a bit artistic to recognise an arty subject in the first place, and I'm not really that way inclined, but surely you can learn that to some extent. Anyway, Colin suggested that he gets me a digital SLR camera for the big birthday, so I'm going to take my time and get advice on what would be a good one to get for "an enthusiastic beginner"! I want to learn about lighting and f-stops and all that technical stuff that the compact point-and-shoot camera that I now have does for me. And then there's all the imaging software stuff these days instead of developing. Could be a huge learning curve.

FOs and more socks!

A couple of FOs this morning..........


The finished Argosy scarf














And my Lorna's Laces toe-ups. The first skein of the LL had longer green sections and the second one had longer purple sections, so I have one sock more greeny and one sock more purpley. I need to knit something in a more uniform colour next to avoid the problem of
handpainted yarn being so random.



So I have cast on some Zokni socks using the strange stranded yarn I got from Fauveline. I'm not sure they are going to be a success and I may get frustrated with all the strands and rip them out but I'll see how I get on.

I've made a start on the rib anyway. The first row was a right old pain but the subsequent ones weren't too bad.

Spot the difference

Beach and celebration

As Colin is going over to Manchester for a course this weekend, we decided to take Thursday and Friday off. Today we are just pottering and doing bits and pieces but yesterday we decided to take The Gorgeous One on a little outing. We jumped in the car and headed up to West Kirby on the Wirral and here is where Charlie got his first experience of sand.




Not sure what he makes of it really but he was quite interested in some horse droppings on the beach!










There were lots of other dogs around and he managed to get on with all of them. Here he is saying hello to a couple of larger dogs. He was also quite taken with a rather attractive lady jogger and set off running to heel with her for a few metres until we managed to get his attention back to us.





And here he is trying not to have his lead put back on when it was time to go home.











I am getting through my Argosy scarf but the second skein is a bit different in colour to the first, I guess that's a risk you take with hand-dyed yarns. There is a darker blue in the second skein but i don't think it would be that noticeable when wearing it because there are so many other colours there. It is about 70% done so will be in time to be a present I think.

This morning I received some yarn that i ordered from a German seller on ebay. I had seen this seller mentioned on another blog but now I don't know where it was.

This cost me about a fiver including postage from this seller. It is 50% wool, 20% merino, 20% acrylic and 10% viscose. The colours are darker than on the ebay photo and also a bit redder than this photo. The colourway is called Celebration.







It is quite unusual because it is 5 strands of very fine yarn and it hasn't been plied together so you are effectively knitting with 5 strands held together.





It is a bit like the single strands of the DMC embroidery cottons But the resulting swatch is so amazingly soft. I'm not sure what it will be like trying to knit a whole pair of socks with 5 strands but hey, I'll give it a go sometime.





My Mighty Boosh series 3 DVD arrived yesterday at last. I have also now got Cesar Millan's second book "Be the Pack Leader" which I am trying to read along with the Matthew Reilly, and knitting and keeping an eye on the dog. Huh, multitasking!! Over the weekend i'm going to sort out my printed off knitting patterns into a ring binder cos at the moment they are scattered all over the place.

I have done another 2 reiki treatment over the past week, but you can read about that here. Well, off to do a bit more of the scarf before lunch.

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.

Different levels of energy

Here is The Gorgeous One showing "calm submissive" energy in front of The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. Hmm, if only he would do that when we ask him to!!

Yesterday I met Viv to pass on a bookcrossing book, and afterwards I popped into Stash because I had a £25 voucher that Colin gave me for Christmas burning a hole in my pocket. I had no project in mind, I just wanted to spend it!! This is what I came out with after adding another £4 in cash.

The first one is Araucania Ranco Multi in a pinky, yellowy, purpley colourway.

Then some Fyberspates 100% merino DK in bright pinks, yellows, greens and purples which makes you go "Oooo!!" when you touch it, and that's what sold it to me (aswell as Ann in the shop putting it in my hand in the first place! Naughty girl.)

And finally some Fyberspates 50% merino, 50% tencel sock yarn in muted pinks, blues and purples. There is a bit of a colour theme going on here methinks.

My energy was definitely "excitable" when I bought these. Like I said, I have no projects in mind for these yarns, most likely socks for the two sock yarns, but absolutely no idea for the DK. There is 220 metres in total so any suggestions are welcome.

Don't forget to watch Ashes to Ashes tonight, BBC1 9pm.

Holey gusset

I have just treated my first Reiki client and it seemed to go ok. You can read about it here.

The dog trainer came round on Monday evening and of course The Gorgeous One performed almost perfectly for her. We did some "clicker" training with him, and he did what he was asked when he was getting a treat for it. But I think he is pretty smart and knows when he isn't going to get a treat. So he was naughty again yesterday!!

I started a pair of toe-up socks using a mixture of this pattern and this pattern but was getting holes when I did the gusset increases so I frogged back and did them again using this method and they are really good. No holes. I am using my Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in Jungle Stripe (purple & green), yummy colours.

I'm off for a coffee with a fellow bookcrosser this afternoon. I haven't seen her for about a year I think so that will be good.

Monkeys finished

Here are my little Monkeys all finished. The colour pooling is slightly different on each one but i think they are a lovely colour overall. They feel really soft too, so I think I would use the Regia Bamboo again.

Comments

Yesterday while I was writing my post, I was thinking about how nice it is that each of my posts usually gets at least one comment. I know I have regular readers and they usually say something about my wafflings.

But I was secretly wondering when I would get a comment from a completely new reader, and blow me, but I got a comment from CJ about my Dog Whisperer musings. By the end of last night I had 2 more complete strangers leaving comments on the same subject (thank you to them), and the ideas they left have led me to join the Dog Whisperer fans Yahoo group. There appears to be a lot of very helpful people on the group, and I hope I can pick up some tips on being more in charge of The Gorgeous One.

We went to observe the dog training class last night and to be honest I wasn't overly impressed. It all seemed a bit wishy washy and was over in a flash. All the dogs there seemed to be able to do the tasks set already so there was no actual instruction as to what to do if they don't obey your command. We have arranged for the trainer to come and do a home visit for us next Monday though so we'll see how that goes.

(I have ordered Cesar Millan's second book "Be the Pack Leader" too but don't tell Colin cos I made a promise/New Year Resolution not to buy any books for a year or until my "to be read" pile is seriously reduced. I'm not counting this one though because it is for him aswell ;o) That's my excuse!!)

I finished my Monkey socks last night and have started a really quick project which I'm hoping to finish for my mum's birthday next Friday. I did some last night but I think it's coming out too small so I'm going to frog it and start again with a bigger size.

Lots of bits and pieces.

The Gorgeous One is very cute, and I have to accept that he is only less than 4 months old, but he can try my patience. We are going to watch a puppy training class this evening, (we can't take Charlie because she is fully booked but we are welcome to go and watch), to see if we can pick up any tips. I have been watching The Dog Whisperer on Sky. Wow, Cesar Millan is amazing. The trouble is I have been trying to copy what he does and expect miracles to happen, and it just don't work like that. I obviously haven't mastered the art of being "calm-assertive". And Charlie certainly hasn't mastered the art of "calm-submissive", not by a long chalk. I even bought and read Cesar's book cover to cover, but unfortunately it isn't a "how to" book at all. It is a very interesting and absorbing read though.

I think I have worked out how to add video to a post, so hopefully this will work.

I haven't heard anything from the hospital about a reschedule for my hands yet. On the blood sugar front, things are going well, I am seeing a psychologist who makes a lot of sense so I'll stick with him for a bit longer.

We had friends visiting briefly at the weekend. Dave who was Colin's best man and Huw who was an usher. They both trained as Clinical Psychologists with Colin. Dave came up from Reading and Huw from Exeter just to have a meal, stay overnight and jump back on a train at 9.30am the next day, a little bit worse for wear after a few drinkiepoos. Dave was absolutely chuffed when we offered him one of our spare Mighty Boosh tickets, so either he or we have to find one other now. And its still 10 months off.

Supernatural is back on ITV2. I have the episode recorded but haven't got around to watching it yet. Can't wait though, I have to see what happens to Dean after his deal at the crossroads to get Sam back.

On the knitting side of things, I am just decreasing the toe on my second Monkey sock. So hopefully there will be pics in my next post. The colours have pooled differently in each sock which is interesting as both balls are the same dye lot. I really like the pattern though and am just starting to get it in my head now that I have almost finished. But that means another pair may be on the cards and will hopefully grow quicker. I have some Lorna's Laces in pruple and green that I am going to use for my next pair of socks, which I may just do plain toe-up.

Well I have 2 bookings for Reiki tretments coming up. The first is a friend of Colin's who suffers with MS. I was supposed to see her on the day that Colin went in for his operation back in September and we have only just got around to rearranging. The second is a friend who is going to have a treatment to see what it is like and then maybe book some sessions as gifts for her mum and sister. Ooo, I'm a bit nervous but I'll be fine once I get going. Wish me luck!

No internet, aargghhh!!!

Phew, just had 2 days of no internet access at home, but its all fixed now. Its amazing how lost you feel when you lose it. Luckily I managed to get short fixes at work to check my hotmail.

Anyway I can now post this wonderful pic of The Gorgeous One, although after today he isn't too gorgeous, he's been a little bugger and really got on my nerves. Anyway here he is, everyone say aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Back in circulation

Here are some new pictures of "the gorgeous one" as christened by Clarabelle. He is certainly growing, probably to do with the peanut butter that we put in his Kong and as you can see he loves having his tummy tickled!



I did do a little video on my camera but it doesn't want to load onto Blogger which is a shame.

As you can see i didn't post for nearly 2 weeks so i'd better do a catch up. On Friday 11th I went off to have my finger and thumb sorted out. Got there, got in the gown etc, and then the doctor came to see me, and took one look at my blood sugar levels (as most of you know i have diabetes), and told me that they were too high and he wouldn't do the surgery, because if i got an infection it would be very nasty indeed. So that was that, I came home.

A few weeks ago at my diabetes check-up in Liverpool, it had been suggested that I maybe come into hospital to try to sort out my blood sugars. So on Monday at 5.30pm I got a call from the ward saying they had a bed and could I come NOW. Not in the morning cos they couldn't hold the bed, but NOW. So off I went and that's where I was until Friday evening. Things went really well, and I just have to keep it up now I'm back at home. It was quite strange being in hospital because i wasn't actually ill, so it was a bit like being in a hotel (although i definitely would not have been paying to stay there.) I was allowed to come and go if i wanted to, but I didn't actually leave the building, just went down to the shop a few times, and for a coffee with Colin when he visited. Anyway, hopefully when I get sent another appointment for my hands, I can now have it done.

So I had a lot of time to fill. I read Russell Brand's My Booky Wook. I quite enjoyed it really, although its not one to read if you are looking for a literary tome! I finished one Monkey sock and am almost half way through the second one. I'll save the pics for when they are finished. I had loads of compliments on them from the nurses, doctors and cleaners. Some of them thought i was some kind of genius to be able to make a sock. I thought I would get a lot more done and took another lot of sock yarn in case i finished the Monkeys but didn't get to use it in the end. It is next in the queue though! I also did a lot of word search puzzles and sudoku etc. And listened to a few Podcasts.

This morning I had notification that one of the bookcrossing books I left on the Wirral 3 months ago had been found and journalled. It is this one.

So that's what I've been up to!

Look at him!!!!

What a little cutie. I think he has filled out a little bit in the last week. He is showing off his new collar which although it was the smallest they had in Pets at Home is still too big even after making an extra hole. He seems to be getting used to wearing it, next step is to get a lead on him and try that out. We think we have cracked the night time thing now. He has been quiet for two nights on the trot now, and he is also very good when we go out and leave him for a while. I went back to work for a few hours this morning and didn't notice any howling when i got home.

Friday is the big day for my hand op. I have to go in for 12.00 and they will be doing it sometime in the afternoon. So no knitting for a while after that.

Not that I have done any since Christmas, Charlie has been taking up all my time really. I did get a few bits over the hols though. I had the Stitch n Bitch calendar for Christmas and a voucher for Stash Fine Yarns. And my lovely blogger friend sent me a knitted cowl, which I'll post a pic of next time. Then I found out that Natural Dye Studio are closing their UK ebay shop so I got a couple of skeins of their Dazzle BFL sock yarn.
And then I got some yarn I have been lusting after for ages. Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock yarn!!! Colour is Jungle Stripe and it is gorgeous. On the needles at the moment I have a pair of Monkey socks in Regia Bamboo, another Clapotis in the yarn from China, and the Drops 88-4 is still not finished. I have half a sleeve and then the sewing up and neckband to do.

I got a couple of biographies for Christmas, Richard Hammond and Russell Brand. I have made a bit of a start on My Booky Wook, what a naughty boy our Russell is!!!

Happy New Year 2008

I have had quite a hectic Christmas Week really, with loads of great pressies and good visits with various people. I will catch up with all that later, but I just wanted to post the first pics of our new puppy Charlie.

We got him on Sunday 30th December (so just 2 days ago). He is a 10 week old male West Highland Terrier and is tiny! You can see the size of him compared to Colin's feet and arm.

So anyway, I just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone and lets have a blogging good year this year!!

Last of the Christmas knitting

This is it, the end of the Christmas knitting. A pair of plain stocking stitch socks for Colin. I started them for me but they are good "man colours" so he decided he would like them. Okay, they don't match but he's not bothered and nor am I. All I have to do now is hide them and hope he forgets about them for the next 6 days!!

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.

Jaywalkers

Just a quick post to show off my completed Jaywalkers. I'm pleased with them, but the yarn wasn't the softest in the world.

Now I shall get onto the second sleeve of my Drops 88-4 and probably cast on another pair of socks. You should always have a pair of socks on the needles.