Thursday, January 31, 2008

More Resolutions

Just a little update to say that my resolution keeping is going well. So that's January out of the way, nearly! Only 11 more months to keep them!

Also, I have some more. I have decided to set myself some fitness challenges this year. I do a fair amount of exercise, but don't have a specific target to train for. Well, now I have. I am going to do the Race for Life in the summer, in memory of my mum, and I am going to run it. Now, a person as endowed as me should not be seen in public running, but don't fear for your safety, they will be strapped down. No danger to human life at all. Only to myself should I fall over. (Entirely possible) My other challenge is the Comic Relief Run. You can sponsor me for this run here

I am training at the moment, and next year am planning to do the Playtex Moonwalk. Having been a couchpotato for most of my life, I cannot believe how much I love this and just realised how much I have been missing out on!!

**Knitting news** The patchwork squares are blocked and awaiting photos before they are sewn together. I'll show you them tomorrow. I have decided to scrub the Clapotis. I don't like it and I have bigger and better fish to fry now, as I have ordered the Fitted Knits book and joined Robin's KAL and I shall be making the Back to School Vest as soon as it arrives!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

A Whiter Shade of Brown


It suddenly ocurred to me last night that all my wips at the moment are varying shades of the same colour....brown! Well, except the pink patchwork bag, that is. I need to branch out colourwise, I think. Lily is having a look through the Phildar books at the moment to try and find something she would like me to knit for her, and I'll make sure it's not brown.

Now, Stacey, this bit's especially for you.

CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!



Be impressed!!
Oh yes, the first sleeve is done. The second one is nearly, but I need to redo a little bit where I lost interest and went a bit wrong. Then, gulp, the (cast on 480 sts) peplum. I'm scared!




My upstream SP11 pal did a really sweet thing this week. She nominated me for this award! Aaaah, how sweet is that? She said I was entertaining! Ha ha! I think that's a compliment! Thank you Tsuki, you are very kind for giving me that award.My dog and I are vry flattered, as you can see!

Friday, January 25, 2008

Rob's Scarf..

...is 10 days old and hasn't been left on the train! I hope I'm not tempting fate! I mean, I said to a friend at the gym last Sunday that it's been ages since I put my back out and sure enough, Monday morning, getting knickers out of my drawer, what did I do? So, let's hope this post doesn't have the same consequence!!!!

He modelled it for me this morning on his way to work so I could show you some pictures.

This one shows you how long I made it..


It is a really nice colour on him, and looks lovely with his blue overcoat.


Aaah, I love making things for people who love them and use them. He looks very handsome in it, dontcha think? (I am a little biased and blinded by love!) And before you ask, no, he's not remotely Italian, just Yorkshire, through and through!!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Amaryllis Papillo

I thought I would share with you the beauty that is on my kitchen window sill at the moment. It was a Christmas present from one of my oldest friends, Mary, and was a little stump when I received it. On pain of death, I have watered it and loved it and look what it has grown into....




Just a little bit of sunshine in the bleak mid winter!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Stitch Marker Exchange

I have now received the 3 sets I was sent, and look at them, they are really beautiful!

These are from Franney

How sweet, 2 penguins, 2 stars and a tree...very festive!





These are from Jackie




Jackie also made me a fabric origami antelope, which is hanging in my kitchen window!








And these gorgeous ones are from Angie


They are very apt to me at the moment, the pink breast cancer ribbon and the pig (ha ha!!) and the little pewter angel which says on it "Made For An Angel"...so lovely!

Excuse the terrible lighting in these pictures. I have been waiting for sun to help make them better, but I fear I will have died from odld age if I wait much longer, so that's as good as it gets in an English winter!

Thank you for sending these to me. They will be put to very good use soon, I promise. Maybe on the ....yawn....clapotis. Oooh, I have discovered new lurve for my silver belle and it has been coming along great guns over the weekend. I'll show you soon. Nearly finished the left sleeve and yoke now!! I have to say, though, that since I've lost weight, I do think it's going to be gi-normous on me, but oh well, it'll be a good cosy jacket for cold days!

I also have thought of 2 more resolutions which I forgot to include with my other ones. Will post those later as well. Did you like the confusing numbering of the other ones?? I can't seem to engage my brain at the moment at all!!!!! Or maybe you didn't even notice, in which case, I am in good company!!!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

My Old Gentleman...


...Basil. He likes to sit on what ever I'm knitting and dribble all over it, purring madly. He is 18, so being attractive isn't such an issue for him these days, although he is extremely handsome!

By the way, that is my patchwork bag in progress! I'm sort of doing a variation on a theme of a pattern I have but my version will be bigger and a slightly different handle arrangement. I'm just knitting squares which are 20 sts x 25 rows in cascade 220 left over from the Noni Bobbles bag. I have loads so far, but just carrying on knitting them mindlessly until it looks like it'll be enough! Great tv knitting, no attention required!

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Resolutions for 2008

Ok, here they finally are. My plan is to put these into the outside my head world on here, and then come back this time next year and see how well I've kept them. Of course I will be back before then to post too, just in case you wondered!!!!(see resolution 4) The first 3 are non knitterly, the last 4 are.

1. Read more books

I only seem to read alot on holiday whilst lazing by the pool. But I plan to read at home too. Probably not in bed, as it has a sleeping pill effect on me, but when I am fully awake and functioning. At the moment I am reading this

and this


and then I'm moving on to this


Well, you didn't think I could just read one at a time, did you? My reading is like my knitting and everything else I do!!!

2.Lose weight
In October I joined Weight Watchers and have lost 19.5 lbs. I need to lose another 11 lbs to be at my goal and am planning to do that before the end of February.

3.Ironing
Now, I know this is a boring resolution, but I would rather poke my own eyes out with burning sticks than do the ironing. So what I do, is avoid it for ever, and then there's a huge great big pile and I hate it even more. I can just about stand it in the summer, when I do it outside in a bikini and get a tan (or wet) at the same time, but in the Winter, I HATE IT.
Rob said why don't we pay someone to do it. But by the time I've sorted it out and picked it up and hung up/uncoathangered what they've done wrong, I may as well do it myself.
Rob said he would help me with it, but I feel bad if he works all day and then has to do the ironing as well, I mean, how lazy would that make me?????

SO my plan is to do the ironing as it gets dry. No more European mountains of the stuff lounging on my spare bed. NO! I'm doing it as I go along....AND....so far, so good. No ironing in my house at the moment!!!! (Watch this space)

3. Vegetarianism

I have always been a vegetarian, since I can remember. My mum said I never liked the taste or texture of meat and I can't remember ever eating it. When Lily was born, although Rob isn't a vegetarian, we decided to raise her as one, because we worried about the sat fats, antibiotics, cruelty aspect ans so on of her eating meat. When she was 5 or so, and understood what meat was and how it came to be on the plate, we let her try it if we were somewhere it was for dinner, and, although she liked the taste, she decided not much later that she didn't want to eat it for her own reasons.

Now, I am getting on my soap box a bit about this one. Firstly..why oh why oh why do people who eat fish think they can call themselves vegetarian????????I mean, I know it's only a label, but it's like saying I'm a vegetarian but I do eat chicken now and then. WHY??????????? Why say you're one in the first place....unless it has some other special meaning to you, like it makes you a special person or something. I don't get it. Killing animals to eat, to me, is barbaric, whatever kind of animal it is.
I have never been an evangelical veggie, but this year, thanks to my very evangelical daughter, I have decided to become one. Don't panic, my knitting blog will not be the place I make you feel bad about what you eat, but in my day to day life, I plan to be voiciferous about the fact that in this country and many others, there are animals being kept in such cruel conditions and killed in inhumane ways and given all sorts of drugs and hormones to make them fit for your plates. And I'm talking fish, fowl and mammals. If you think what you are buying is ok, just because it sort of says it on the packet its dead remains have been crammed into, think again. It's been killed.
Sorry to rant on, but it makes me so sad, it really does. Rant over.

4. Updating my blog
I am planning to blog more as I am planning to knit more!!

5. Knit more garments
I am taking a leaf out of Robin's book and knitting more stuff to wear. So, I am taking a leaf out of knitknat's blog too, and reading through all my Phildar mags to find some good stuff. The difficulty will be choosing which of the 20 I love, to knit first!

6. Finish Silver Belle

Say no more.......

7. Finish clapotis

Oh, how I wish I'd never started that buggering thing. I will finish it though.

Well, that's it. My main resolution from last year was to have this attitude.."Does it really matter", and it worked really well for me. I'm the sort of person who likes to have certain things done by a certain time in a certain way. But having this way of thinking really chilled me out. If you're looking for a resolution, I would recommend it. I am still following it, as you can tell from the progress of my silver belle!!! Ha ha!!

8. This year I am going along the lines of not suffering fools much if it is an effort or interferes with my own well being. I've never suffered them gladly, but this year I have decided not to suffer them much at all. Really, as long as I'm not rude, what's the point? Some people just want you to fulfill their own needs and insecurities and I'm not going there this year. I'm not mean about it, just aware of my own time being useful, I suppose.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Last present, finally finished!

Hooray, the men's cashmere scarf is finally off my needles. Rob finally decided it was long enough for his liking and comfort, and it was ceremoniously cast off. I blocked it yesterday and it is being worn for the first time today. IF that scarf gets left on the train, let's just say, you may be reading about my divorce in this knitting blog before too long.

Pictures of it in situ soon.

The patchwork knitted bag coming along too. I am working on a variation of a pattern I bought on line. I'll do some pictures of that too, tomorrow if I'm able. Lily's mocks finish tomorrow and so the traffic and my blog will breathe a sigh of relief I suspect. Not the petrol station though. I have worn a well worn path between here and school over the last 2 weeks!

Back soon with promised resolutions....

Thursday, January 10, 2008

I didn't roll off the edge of the earth on New Year's Eve!!!!!

And here I am, back. A bit older, none the wiser! My daughter is back at school, my husband is back at work, my family visitors are back in their own lives and peace and tranquility have descended one more into my life...

I missed you all though! Nothing's the same in the holidays, is it? It always feels to me as if I am running three parallel universes at the same time and none of the juggling balls can drop on the floor, or else. And something always has to suffer, and in this instance, it was blogging. But, I am back, recharged and raring to go. (In a snaily sort of a way)

So, happy new year to you all. I have great expectations of 2008. I have to tell you my quite long list of resolutions that I have been collecting together and show you that I haven't just be lounging about being a lazy BItch.

Let me show you some stuff..

I am on the winter stitch marker exchange. Here are the 3 sets that I made


I'm liking them and they're fun to make.

Next, one of my last year's resolutions was to make a clapotis. So, I started that



Now, I know that ot looks there like a brown thing with a load of stitch markers on it. Let me prove to you that it really is a clapotis



Oh, yea, it really is the real thing. I know I'm probably the last person in the universe to knit this thing, but at least it's on my needles. How long it will be on them, who knows, because I have to say, it is a bit BORING to knit. Anything that says, "now knit rows 1-12 12 times more", may as well say to me "now, pluck the individual hairs from your leg with a pair of salad spoons". I'll persevere with it though. I don't want to be the last one EVER to knit this. Talking of things taking a long time, I am STILL knitting the bloomin cashmere scarf, it is still a present in progress for Rob. I keep knotting it around his neck really tightly, and saying "there, is that long enough?????", but he wants it longer....sigh.....I'm hoping to have that one done this weekend.

I did start the patchwork knitted bag over christmas as well, no pics of that as yet.

Calamity, though, I think I have forgotten how to crochet granny squares. This does not bode well for me finishing the blanket. I'm putting off having a go in case it really is a forgotten skill and then I will cry.

Another calamity, my sewing machine has gone to be serviced and they want it for 2 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!! I feel a bit lost without it, but hopefully my knitting will reap the benefits.

I thought I would have time to tel you the resolutions I am planning on keeping but that will have to be tomorrow.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that 2008 will be a fantastic year for everyone.

xx