Nickerjac

Bye Bye We're moving

2006-12-31T18:12:00.000Z

Just to say for the new year I have swapped blog servers to word press to see if I get on any better with it so you can find me here

http://nickerjac.wordpress.com/

Hopefully I'll see you over there

hi 3

2006-12-29T20:35:00.000Z

I also got some other lovely gifts, Andys son got me a meditation set (he knows me far to well) and Jacinta sent me some beautiful fibre to spin from the Fiber Factoryhttp://www.fiberfactory.com I did attempt to take a picture of it but the light here has been so dull it doesn't show up very well but it is a beautiful mix of Merino and Silk in tones of Charcol, hopefully when I have had a chance to spin some up it will photograph better.
And finallt my best present ever ever, this is a picture if the scrapbook journal that Andy made for me, it shows our relationship frpm the begiining to know with pictures an everything, I am not going to share whats inside as its personal but I will say that it made me cry on Christmas morning no just because of what it depicts but because how much it must of taken Andy to do as he is always telling me craft isn't his thing but this proved hime very wrong, I can now answer the questions what would you rescue if the house was burning after all the animals and people are out :)

Hi 2

2006-12-29T20:28:00.000Z

In the end we had a nice peaceful Christmas as in the end Dad was only released for 24hrs this took most of Christmas Eve to resolve which meant Christmas Eve itself was a bit mad and in the end my brother came up trumps and got a lot of my fresh food shopping whilst he brought his which he brought to the hospital for me. Dad finally got released on Christmas morning so I couldn't help my brother even if I wanted to so I spent Christmas Eve up at the hospital before returning home and spending two peaceful days at home with Andy and Womble. And yes I didn't get dressed all day it was great. We slept late and got up and had a full English breakfast at about half ten ( real treat for us) and then ate our christmas dinner around 6pm with us sharing the cooking duties, womble even had a little Turkey.
The flower cube in the picture is one of my brothers presents that he manages to find each year this one is solar powered and sways backwards and forwards (you may remember the singing cubes last year).

Hi 1

2006-12-29T20:17:00.000Z

Ok I am sorry this is going to be a very bitty entry as I don't want to write yet another long entry and lose it.
So I am starting with this wonderful Parcel from SP that arrived this morning she has been a great SP in this Christmas themed selection. We have a copy of Knit It which not only has some real cute baby patterns in them but also a Cat Bohrdi Interview and a pattern for one of her mobieous bags. There are two types of 'Peanuts' Hot Choclate, some fun tissues, a cute ornament for our tree next year, some sweeties not all of which survived for the photo shoot and a really cute family pic :)

survived

2006-12-29T14:21:00.000Z

I have just spent two hours updating Picasa and Blogger to put up an entry which it seems to have eaten so just a quick note to say Christmas was good if a little strange and I will try and put up another entry later.
Oh and the pic is of my fav present

Thanks and Good Wishes

2006-12-24T03:19:00.000Z

I am doing a little better today as have spent a restful day at work not to busy so just had a chance to sit and knit for a while and just pretend for two minutes I had a normal life.
Things are slightly better, my brother has managed to borrow a wheelchair from work and the hospital has said it will leave a cammod in his room for us to take with him, I have decided all I can do is go over tomorrow afternoon and stay at home with him for a couple of hours whilst Andrew goes out to something he had already arranged, I have to head back by about five to make sure I get that last train. I am trying not to feel guilty about it and really appreciate all the support people who read have given me. I am going to try and spend at least a guilt free day at home on Christmas day, I have to say spending the whole day in my nghtie sounds like luxury at the moment. I still have to finish the shopping, nothing is wrapped I need to clean the kitchen (in the dark as the light switch broke) so I feel a late night coming on.
I have also decided for the christmas week I am going to cast on something new not sure what yet maybe something from the Happy Hooker which Michelle and Nathelie gave me for Christmas we will see, that is going to be my present for myself.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a fantastic New Year

Warning Rant and Rave

2006-12-22T10:50:00.000Z

I am sorry that this post won't have a single piece of knitting in it and I can't even put up a pretty picture but that is another whole subject.
What has got you so wound up you ask yourself well where to start. I have been feeling really crappy over the last couple of days which has made all the christmas things i was behind on doing even further behind but this morning even though I don't feel great I felt a little better so was going to get a few things done and go off and visit dad. Doesn't matter too much about the germs there as he is in isolation gloves aprons and everything . So I just called dad to let him know but also to check out what the doctor had said that morning about him coming out for christmas dinner. We had it all worked out, we had found someone who would come and get him and return him with a car that is high enough that he won't have any problem to get in and out of. We had checked the resturant for wheelchair access and disabled toilet, all fine no problem.
So when dad rang me back. he never hears the phone first time, to tell me they are letting him out from Christmas eve to Boxing day, now he is very excited, and yes it is wonderful there are just one or two problems. The furthest my Dad has walked in the last six weeks is about two metres, they won't supply us with a wheelchair, not even if we leave a deposit, they have given us a list of rental places but it is two days before christmas, Andrew is at work all day and I am in Romford and the closest place is brentford which is closing early for the holidays. The best bit is Dads home is a house and the bathroom is upstairs, the hospital has offered to lend us a Kamod (not sure how to spell this) but may not be able to drop it off before christmas.
I have to say that I am just so angry, if they had even hinted that this was a possibility we would have been more organised about it, in fact the doctor at the beginning of the week said that there was no chance of this happening.
I guess part if the anger is that I am torn in two a bit as I can't get there christmas and there isn't really the option of us staying over with the dog with the cats and I am not sure I could do that to Andy anyway as it is also his grand daughters birthday and obviousley our first christmas together, but I alsoo remember what it is like looking after someone that way as it was just what I was doing two years ago with Robin and feel bad that Andrew is being left to it.
I think I am just having one of those weeks where it is one thing after another and I don't seem to be able to ever get on top of everything.

Sorry more doggie Pics

2006-12-19T17:52:00.000Z

I could just about get blogger to accept these two pics before it stopeed so no lovely picture of the lovely handmade card that Liz sent me or the little giftie from Jan but you do get to see more of womble, this was earlier in the week when we couldn't get her further that the front gate but the good news tonight is that she managed to get all the way down to the park.
Besides the wonderful womble we have had a bit of a stressful week not helped by me not feeling the best just a bit of a cold I think. Dad has also had to have another couple of Ops and I have to say that christmas cards have gone completely out of the window in fact trying to work out when I am going to go and do the food shopping.
To answer a few more questions about womble, no she wasn't a early christmas present, we have had our name down at a local animal rescue centre for a while as we knew that when we got a house one of the things we wanted was a dog. We were kind of expecting either a dog after christmas , an unwanted gift say or an older dog so it was at very short notice that we had the call from Sarah as Womble had been staying in a foster home with her sister but was starting to misbehave due to lack of attention as there were a couple of other dogs in the house so they wanted to stop that before it even started. The only problem that the original owners seemed to have caused is that she was overfed so is now on a very strict diet.
She is wonderful but very active and the only traits she seems to have of a staff is a very powerful jaw as she goes through dog toys and bones at a rate of knots.
Knitting wise very little going on at the moment, have been eying up a few things on the new Knitty and have just recieved my Proud to be Crafty zine from Lixie and might tackle some crochet flowers tonight.

And Then There Was Three

2006-12-14T00:23:00.000Z

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our household this is Womble, she is just sixteen weeks old and is a cross between a staff and a collie and is absolutely adorable.

I have good friends

2006-12-12T12:26:00.000Z

Aren't these wonderful Lixie sent me a present of an ATC file with holders (my latest addiction) but best of all it included these ATC's, they are so much better than anything I could produce they are a series of three called Nic and they are wonderful. It really helped to cheer me up as we found out yesterday that dad has tohave another operation today, I tink that makes it number five in less than a month, he has now been in hospital for at least six weeks and is quite depressed which is quite hard going for me to, I am managing to restrict my visiting to about three times a week but it does wipe out whole days as it is a six hour round journey straight across london so it is also the worst journey I can imagine with thousands of people squashed into all the public transport no matter what time of day I go. I also think I am going to miss the secret santa this week at Liberty as I just can't face going into town another day.
House wise we are still desperatley trying to unpack but it seems to be taking forever and I think our christmas isn't going to be quite the one I had imagined this year as of yet not a single christmas deceration and not a card written, so apologies now in advance about cards am going to do my best but I wouldn't hold my breathe, this is of course not helpes bythe fact that I have lost my address book!!!!
Knitting wise, the dish cloth craze continues but that is about it, although very tempted by several patterns on the new Knitty as well as the colours in the mission falls wool that has just arrived at stash.

One Word Meme

2006-12-08T11:17:00.000Z

No Exceptions and no cheating I borrowed this from over at Annarellas Blog

Your Boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse):- Andy
Your hair :- Knotty
Your Mother:- Challenging
Your Father :- Ill
Your favourite item :- memories
Your dream last night:- unmemorable
Your favourite drink :- Tea
Your dream car :- Jeep
The room you are in :- Living room
Your Ex :- lost
Your fear :- heights
What do you want to be in 10 years? :- Happy
Who you hung out with last night?:- Andy
What you're not :- Thin
Muffins :- Apple
One of your wish list items :- Dog
Time :- Flying
The last thing you did :- Blog
What you are wearing:- Nightdress
Your favorite weather :- Crisp
Your favourite book :- Pride and Prejudice
The last thing you ate:- Chewit
Your Life:- Complicated
Your Mood :- Up
Your best friend :-fantastic
What are you thinking about right now? :- lunch
Your car:- Nonexistent
What are you doing at this moment :- Freezing
Your summer:- Transmogrifying
Your relationship status :- Taken
What is on your TV :- NTL box
What is the weather like? :- disgusting
When is the last time you laughed ? :- This Morning
Who do you tag?:- You

Secret Santa

2006-12-08T11:05:00.000Z

A little late I know but we had a wonderful time on Wednesday with the knitting group at Stash when we had our christmas secret santa meeting, I got these wonderful Serendipity Needles with the beautiful daisy pattern on the end.

And the wonderful Leslie knitted us the most wonderful knitted flower brooches, they came in all different colours, I think I am going to follow Diane's example and wear them in my hair so they don't get crushed.

A lot of laughter was heard and christmas food
was eaten.

I managed to do a little christmas shopping yesterday but ended the day feeling very unwell, I think I must have eaten Nuts in something haven't quite narrowed down the suspects yet but did have a chance to pick up some more lovely tea plates this time but two of the other Meakin brothers, it is the forum pattern, can't quite work out the date from the stamp but they are a beautiful addition to my growing collection.

And finally on the knitting side I have been struck with the dishcloth bug and am half way through the third one, I have also been working
on the green jay walkers and a couple of other gift things.

Ta-Dah

2006-12-03T14:58:00.000Z

An actual finished piece of knitting, yes I know it is only a dishcloth but at the moment that is quite a thing with my lack of concentration. I have to just sew in the ends and it is already to grace my new bathroom and if nothing else makes me smile in the morning the wonderful colours in this will.

Had a great day yesterday in the shop, I got a chance to work with Diane again and the place was full of friends in the afternoon, Polly, Dawn, Jill, Zoe,Lisa popped in briefly, Lucy came in for more yarn for her clapotis and many more it is always so much fun on a Saturday.

Look What I got

2006-12-01T20:41:00.000Z

Here you go as I promised are the pictures of the wonderful parcel I got this morning.
First up here are Some of my favourite Susan Bates needles and if you look closely at the packet of needles they are all decorated like candy canes aren't they fantastic, you will see the reason for the single pair in a minute.

Underneath is The Mason Dixon Knitting book, I have been tempted for a while by this book especially with everyone knitting baby Kimonos and I know I am going to spend many happy hours reading this book.

Now if that wasn't enough there was more, there were 9 balls of Sugar'n'Cream now since I signed up for the monthly dishcloth KAL I have been coveting Sugar'n'Cream yarn and now I have
enough to make a good supply of clothes this was all topped off with a wonderful Tim Burton Card and as you can see in the final picture I have already cast on the ball band dishcloth from the book :)

A couple of links that I have been meaning to put up for a while firstly this useful Christmas Present for knitters list from Lime and Violet and the tatoo from the pic in my earlier post is from here

I love my SP

2006-12-01T13:14:00.000Z

This is just a sneak peak of the wonderful parcel I got from my SP9 this morning I promise more pics later when I get back from the hospital but I just wanted to say a big thank you to my SP.

And on it goes

2006-11-30T11:22:00.000Z

Ok all I can say about this week is that I thought
it was as bad as it could get and then it just got
worse, so I apologise for my lack of blogging and
uncheerful entrys .

To answer the questions about the sock yarn it is Sox 4 Colour Twister from Inox the only link I can find for it is here, it has grown a little since the last post and the secret pressie has grown a little further too.

Did manage to have some fun this week when Robin taught me how to cement a stain glass window and I hope I get a chance to do some more, it was messy but very satisfying to see the final clean. No pictures of course because I forgot the camera next time I promise

Actual Knitting Content

2006-11-26T21:58:00.000Z

Look at this wonderful Lornas Laces Sock Yarn in the Cedar colour way, the picture doesn't quite show the subtelty of colour within the yarn but it has beautiful bronzes and greens and golds, I swapped this with Jan for a knitting book that I decided that although had some wonderful patterns in I was never going to knit any of them. I can't wait to work out what pattern I am going to use this for.

2006-11-26T21:52:00.000Z

She also gave me a little gift this perfect sock
yarn in greens I hadn't actually taken any
knitting with me when I went to stay at dads as I haven't felt like knitting or had the concentration levels for it but this yarn inspired me my long awaited Jay walkers for myself, I really enjoyed knitting them for my sockpalozza pal this year but I knew I had to alter the pattern slightly to make them big enough for my swollen feet and this gave me the push to cast them on, so I managed to find five needles of the right size in three different lengths but here they are so far. The yarn has a really long repeat pattern so can't wait to see what happens on the foot.
I also managed to get to the knitting group at Stash on Wenesday, ot was a nice break to catch up with everybody and went out to have lunch with them all to :)

2006-11-26T21:50:00.000Z

And finally a sneek peek at what I have just cast on, and that is all I am saying as it is a gift.

Home sweet home

2006-11-25T21:24:00.000Z

We are back at home back to a comfy bed, so dad is now on his fifth
proceedure, three under a general anesthetic, the last being this morning, and of course now he has an infection but all the doctors are quite positive.
So moving on from that, the picture is a photo of a Peter Blake piece, did anyone see the South Bank Show last Sunday wasn't it fantastic he is my kind of artist, it inspired me so much I so understand his thinking, it was wonderful to be allowed this insight. I have to admit I have seen him several times in Person where I used to work but never got up the nerve to speak to him.
I have actually done some knitting this week, more pics tomorrow and further info about some lovely things I have gained this week.
Just thought I would say that we are back and thank you for all your kind thoughts

Update

2006-11-17T18:28:00.000Z

Thanks to everybody for their wonderful thoughts, just a
quick update. Not a lot of knitting I'm afraid, concentration levels not so great have cast on a couple of things but my mind is just not in the right frame for it.
Had a bit of a bad week but coming out the other side have stuck to my guns and haven't visited my Dad every day just a couple of times but unfortunately my brother has a holiday booked for next week so me and Andy are moving back to my old house to look after the cats and keep an eye on Dad so maybe off line for a little bit. We'll also be packing up the studio so anybody up for a bit of box packing is welcome:)
Unfortunately my experience so far has not made my feelings about hospitals any better, more details when I am feeling a little more objective but all I will say is that most of the problems can be traced back to money or lack of in certain parts of the NHS.
Will be at Stash on Saturday for a wonderful time of renewal. it is always great to go there and just talk about knitting and have a giggle with friends and I get the chance to caress some of the most beautiful yarns what more can anybody ask from a job :)

Hello

2006-11-10T10:02:00.000Z

Another week seemed to have flown by in a blur, unfortunately most of this week has been spent either worrying or travelling to visit dad in hospital, trust me I have no sympathy for him it is all self inflicted but I do feel for my brother who is left to deal with most oof it and who had to call the ambulance this time, they will eventually stop picking him up, this time he has left a blister on his foot to become so infected they are going to have to remove a toe and part of the bone from his foot, firstly apparently my brother has been nagging him for two weeks to see a doctor and not to leave it till he couldn't stand and Andrew (my brother) couldn't get him up from the sofa on his own, plus he is a diabetic with a heart condition who doesn't look after either condition which complicates everything, so going in with a blood sugar level of an average of 17 isn't the way to go, so he is now hooked up to a drip which combines saline and insulin twenty four hours a day and on mega antibiotics being fussed over left right and centre.

If I was a little more paranoid I would say he did it on purpose as it is two weeks almost to the day when I moved out but he is out of luck I am trying really hard not to feel guilty and I am not going to visit him everyday (its a six round journey) and the only reason I am visiting so often as because I think my brrother is taking a lot of crap from him.

Don't get me wrong I love my Dad but I am not his guardian which is where I think when my nan died and he was sole carer of us the lines got a little blurred as to who was looking after who.

So I am off to visit him this afternoon and rather than come all the way back here to get back to Putney in the morning I am going to sleep over at my Dad's place so will be off line for a couple of days.

Some proper blogging

2006-11-07T11:39:00.000Z

Ok now for some proper blogging, A lot has been happening over the last couple of weeks beside the move firstly as you can tell from the picture we had Louisa Harding visiting the shop on Saturday and we had a great turn out, check out the pic on Michelles blog to see how crowded the store gets, I also finally got to meet Diane as we got to work together for the first time.
It was a great day, I love working there on the saturday, especially now that I found a better route to get there, I get to see a lot of friends who love to knit its fantastic. I am teaching again this Saturday which is always fun, this time its is the beginners and the beyond the basics class.
We have also been to see Andy's son in laws bands, yes I do mean bands, play at The Cheery Tree back near where we used to live, it was a great night A13 played first followed by Black tooth a covers band, it was a long smokey night but great fun.
Unfortunately I heard from my brother last night that dad had gone into hospital with some sort of foot infection, apparently my brother has been nagging him for a couple of weeks to go and get his foot checked out until basically he couldn't walk. I am waiting to hear further news this morning.

Just a quick meme

2006-11-07T11:11:00.000Z

I loved this over on Spitting Yarn as its a little different

1. Flip to page 18, paragraph 4 in the book closest to you right now, what does it say?
"A keen fan of Hank Marvin & The Shadows, Iommi, who has held down a variety of jobs whilst trying to pursue his musical career, had once worked on a cutting machine at a sheet metal factory. On his last day in the job, just three years earlier, an accident had left him without the tips to two fingers on his right hand........" from Rat Salad Black Sabbath the Classic Years 1969 to 1975 by Paul Wilkinson

2. If you stretch out your left arm - as far as possible, what are you touching?
The door to the kitchen if I really leant out to the left

3. What’s the last program you watched on tv?
Unfortunately have to admit have just caught some of This Morning

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.
About 11am I think - Not bad its 11:12

5. Except the computer, what can you hear right now?
An airiplane, Andy's foot tapping up and down whilst he is on the phone to the council tax people

6. When was the last time you were outside and what did you do?
We went out to Romford town centre yesterday to try and sort out some moving stuff

7. What are you wearing?
Black skirt a vest and a purple shirt

8. Did you dream last night? If you did, what about?
No which is unusual for me I think I must have sleept really soundly

9. When was the last time you laughed?
A few minutes ago when we found out that our water meter is somewhere in our front pavement, I know it doesn't sound funny but hey

10. What’s on the walls, in the room you’re in right now?
In front of me is one of my paitongs/sculptures which really needs some work on it as it didn't survive the move to well,A rather attaractive border thingy (not) and there is a mirror leaning over the fire place.

11. Have you seen anything strange lately?.
Please I live in Romford with Andy I see a lot of strange things

12. What do you think about this meme?
Its a little different

13. What’s the last film you saw?
Haven't watched may films lately so difficult to say.

14. If you became a multimillionaire, what would you do with the money?

Well I would pay of all my bills to start with and then find a nice place to live with room for a recording studio for Andy And a workshop for me, we'd buy Chris a place of his own not to far away and obviousley help out some friends and family but mostly I think we would put the money away, invested wisley and live on the interest. I think I would also like to give some money to the hospice that helped me with Robin and the after school club in Chiswick which is in desperate need of funds.

15. Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.

I think anyone who reads my blog pretty much knows most things about me

16. If you could change ONE THING in this world, without regarding politics or bad guilt - what would it be?
I don't think I could just change one thing in fact I think the choice would kill me as there are so many things that are so wrong.

17. Do you like dancing?

I love it, but only do in private by myself as I have two left feet and look ridiculous but there is nothing better to cheer one self up than by putting on some loud music and dancing around.

18. George Bush?
Mad man

19. What do you want your children’s names to be, girl/boy?
Although I don't plan to have any childre I alway liked the name Hope for a girl maybe with Francais (my grandmothers firt name) as a muddle name, mind you I also like Mfanwey but the poor child would be teased so much that I couldn't inflict them with such a thing. As for a boy thats a difficult one I like the traditional names like John and Matthew haven't really thought about it too much

20. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Yes I very much wanted to live and work in the states at one point but getting one of those green cards is impossible to get

21. What do you want God to tell you, when you come to heaven?
That everyone I loved and lost were there waiting for me

22. Who should do this meme?
Anyone who wants to its good fun.

Just a quick note

2006-11-06T20:13:00.000Z

Please go and check out the appeal on Knittiotherapy, as many of you know about the long illness of my previous boyfriend all I can say is with out places and people like this those last few weeks would have been impossible , so please see if you have anything that is suitable. Many thanks

Oh the picture is inspired by Wibbo, this is the sunset last week over the field at the end of my road.

A longer entry tomorrow

Wow

2006-11-05T19:18:00.000Z

Look what a wonderful gift arrived on Saturday morning, my first parcel/letter in the new house.
It included 200g of Fibrespates sock yarn in the colour way Heather Mist which is this wonderful oatmeal colour that runs into lilac and purlpe. a wonderful large mug which contains all you need for a wonderful luxurious cup of Hot Choclate including marshmallows and choclate, with grater to create the sprinkles for the top and two boxes of wonderful Lindt choclates which are disappearing as we speak. Finished off with a beautiful hand made card all I can say is thank you Helen and I hope you were as spoiled as I was.

Pictures at last.

2006-11-05T12:50:00.000Z

So Finally I get my act together and let you see some
pictures of the new place, to start with this a quick photo
of Andy and his mate Chris (who we owe tons to as we
couldn't have moved without him plus Andy's Son Scott who worked so hard) in the middle of the
move planning the next load.
I have to say that it was exhausting and I have no idea how the boys felt as they dropped me off in Putney on the Saturday Morning when they came to Barnes to pick up my stuff from home and studio. I did have fun getting me home for the first time as most of the tube was down and enede up trying not to have a panic attack at Bank. You see I have a small problem with heights and I have never been to bank before and didn't realise how steep their escalators were, but knowing my options were limited I just closed my eyes and got on, now I managed to do the first step and got to the second step to find that they weren't working, now I knew from experience that there was no way I was going to be able to walk down as I have tried it on a smaller escaletor before and I have to stop every second step because I get dizzy, now this isn't very practical in a busy station, so I satrt to get myself worked up because I am now worried that the up escaltor isn't going to work and I am going to get trapped, and there are no members of staff here and I am too far down to use my mobile phone. Thankfully The up escalator is working but I was sweating and shaking bu the time I got back to the main station. Not a great start to my new commuting route. I know from reading it back it sounds stupid but its just one of those things I guess. But on with pictures of the new place.

2006-11-05T12:47:00.000Z

Ok so the packing is not going very quick, this will
eventually be Andy's music room but at the moment it
has all the unpacked stuff in it. It will definitely need a lick of paint as it is a lottle pink and cute for Andy, doesn't quite fit the image.

2006-11-05T12:42:00.000Z

The garden, all I can say is that is a blank canvas, we are
hoping to put a new workshop for me at the bottem of the
garden as there seems to have been a building there
already, unfortunately the lovely shed I was hoping to use
is not safe and not secure in fact the back wall isn't
connected. We do have a lovely elderberry tree at the end
of the garden plus a washing line (haven't had one of those
in a while).

2006-11-05T12:34:00.000Z

I present the hallway, the lovely path way down to the toilet
in the middle of the night but it does have a nice big window so lots of loght and a great windowsill for my blue glas collection little fingers allowing.

Unfortunately one of the steps needs repalcing as it is obviousley broken and there is a great crack running all the way along the wall so a bit of redecoration I think.

2006-11-05T12:23:00.000Z

And finally the infamous bathroom, now I know you are asking what I have been making all the fuss about but trust me it looks far better in the photo, in fact it all looks better in the photos :)
Just imagine that paint finish on everything and I reckon if they could have done they would have actually painted the bath and the sink as well, I can see many happy hours spent stripping those tiles.

Nearly but not quite

2006-10-30T22:46:00.000Z

So ok almost fully up and running just the camera cables to find now:)

Now you may have noticed the little icon on the right, well as if I didn't have enough to do me and Andy have signed up for the challenge, now you have to remember that I cannot write and the longest thing I have ever managed is an 8000 word disertation let alone any work of fiction but hey I am up for a personal challenge, I know I have little hope of completeing this but its a good way to push myself (in a fun way).

So until tomorrow when there will hopefully be pictures I will leave you with this Meme

"Borrowed" from Kizlode who borrowed it from Nanny Ogg who borrowed it from Westwing who borrowed from Subville.
A - Available: NoA - Age: 35
A – Art genre: St Ives Movement

B - Best feature: You would have to ask someone else that
B - Bike: A red Raleigh as a Christmas present when I was about nine
B - Birthday: 17th May 1971B - Book: - Too many to mention

C - Crush: a grape (an English reference)
C - Car: Don’t own one
C - Comedian: Victoria Wood/Robin Williams

D - Day or night: Much more of a night person
D - Dream Car: Vintage Cherokee Jeep
D - Dogs or Cats: either

E - Egg nog: Bllrrrrgggghhhh
E - E-mail :- A wonderful way to keep in touch
E - Eggs:- Poached, fried, boiled with soldiers, egg mayo, Omlette…………

F - Favourite colour: Red
F - Favourite Band: At the moment The Magic Numbers but could change by tomorrow

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Worms

H - Hair colour: Under the red dye its very salt and peppered dark brown
H - Height: 5’11’’ish
H - Happy: As often as I can be

I - Instrument: Piano and recorder as a small kid, guitar as a teenager.
I - Idol: John Bell, he would hate that description though

J - Jewellery: A glass heart from Yvonne, other than that not a lot
J - Job: Good question, I guess you could call me a knitting consultant of a fibre artist or just self employed
J - Jail: Never

K - Kids: None except all of those kids I have worked with over the years who I still have a great attachment to
K- Knitting :- Lots and lots

L - Longest car ride: Choice of two here it was either the journey between Ibadan and Onne, Port Harcourt in Nigeria or a greyhound journey from New York via Niagara to Grand Rapids Michigan
L - Last kiss: Andy just now
L - Local: Don’t have one yet
L - Lyrics:

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass,
they slip away across the universePools of sorrow,
waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
That call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box they
Tumble blindly as they make their wayAcross the universe
Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

Sounds of laughter shades of earth are ringing
Through my open views inviting and inciting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like aMillion suns,
it calls me on and on
Across the universe
Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.

M - Milk flavour: Banana
M - Most missed memory: I wish I could recapture some of my memories with both of my grandmothers as they were both very influential in my life
M - Movie last watched: Purple Rain

N - Number of Siblings: 1 sister, 1 brother and one half brother
N - Nickname: Nic, Niki, Maureen (don’t ask) Sue (don’t ask as well) Tigger

O - One wish: To be happy and settled
O - One regret: I try not to do them as if you keep looking back then you lose time in your future.

P - Part of your appearance you love: Quite like my tattoo but that’s about it.
P - Pets:- I had cats as a child then there were the mice, the fish, the dog, dwarf hamsters, another cat and at the moment we haven’t got any but there are discussions about rats going on and of course I get to enjoy all the cats and rabbits at Silkwood

Q - Quick or Slow?: Both

R - Reason to smile: Andy, being creative
R - Reality TV Show: I say to myself every time that I won’t get sucked in but still do

S - Song Last Heard: Something like Simon Webbs new single in Asda (not My kind of music really)
S - Silver or Gold: Silver

T - Time you woke up: About 8.30 – ish got up about nine
T - Time for bed: Depends when I have to work, if I am working the next day I have to have at least 8hrs sleep.
T - Ticklish: Yes, very

U - Unpredictable: - Rarely
U - Underwear: either big and comfortable but sometimes a bit of lace and silk can make a woman feel good

V - Vegetable you hate: Brussel Sprouts
V - Vacation spot: Woolacombe, Devon

W- Worst habit: Mothering people and worrying too much
W- Where are you going to travel:- don’t know quite happy where I am at the moment

X - X-Ray: Jaw and teeth lots, hands, chest can’t think of anything more

Y - Yellow:- One of the few colours I really don’t get on with

Z - Zodiac Sign: - Taurus

Lets try that again

2006-10-28T18:41:00.000Z

My last entry was eaten by blogger so will try again, just to let everyone know that we have moved in safely and have now got a phoneline up and running and we are back online so I promise to answer my e-mail tomorrow.
Thank you for all your kind comments, more tomorrow hopefully with pictures

Just a quick note

2006-10-19T09:45:00.000Z

Justa quick note to say that I am going to be missing for a few days as we are moving over the next couple of days after spending a couple of days in Barnes packing up over there and will be back online as soon as NTL sort themselves out.
I will be in the Stash On Saturday though so anything urgent you know where to find me.
See you all soon

2006-10-19T09:42:00.000Z

This is going to be a bit of a photo heavy entry I am afraid, I am trying to catch up with all the Ally Pally news before we break down the computer before we finally move (more of which later).
Well I left you last after a long and wet setup last Wednesday, it was a long day mostly down to the unloading arrangements there as it was never designed for such large shows so the loading bay only takes about eight vehicles at a time so you can imagine the carnage

So Thursday Morning we had to go to the bank to collect the money for the deposit on the house to hand to the estate agents so made a late start for me on Thursday but did manage to get there in time to meet up with mumblings, who I first met when I taught an extreme knitting class(another of her classmates dropped by earlier in the day too), so had a brief chance to say hi before more customers (and friends turned up)

2006-10-19T09:37:00.000Z

Next was Hila from When the going gets tough who I had found through Ingrid’s blog and who I was able to help out with a ticket to a Di Gilpin Workshop and in return I got a chance to go to A Ruth Lee Class on short row shaping (more of this later too).
I was also visited by half a dozen bloggers and liberty knitters and if I try and list them I would only forget one of them so not even going to try all I will say is a big HELLO to Katherine’s mum hope you enjoyed the football match :)

I also managed to catch up with Debbie Abrahams who was working on the Rowan stand as we know each other from when I booked her for classes at creations, she is so sweet and can’t wait to see her when she comes and teaches a class at Stash later in the year.

On Friday unfortunately Les and Tess couldn’t be there so the wonderful Sue and Ruth stepped up and both spent the day helping me which was wonderful as although not the busiest day it made loo visits a lot easier plus when there are those sudden mad invasions of people you actually manage to sell things for the right price. It was also a nice chance to catch up with both of them as we tend to only see each other at shows.
The good news on Friday was that we got the keys for the house, not that we were going to get much of a chance to get anything done in it before we move but the theory was there.

2006-10-19T09:26:00.000Z

Saturday turned out to be the busiest day and very very foggy, even so I managed to sneak off the stand to do the Ruth Lee Workshop about short row shaping with Wye Sue and Ruth, it was absolutely hysterical, a lot of laughter later I was actually greatly inspired but my ribs ached from the laughter.

On Sunday Little Lixie came along and helped out so again I managed to sneak off the stand and do a workshop with Prudence Mapstone based on the bullion Stitch, it was fantastic what I wouldn’t give to do a full workshop with this woman on Freeform. I also got a chance to have a really long conversation with Lucy Neatby about Happy Stitches and her new DVD’s I can’t wait till the two she is producing on socks comes out, I thin k I will definitely be ordering both.

2006-10-19T09:24:00.000Z

Altogether it wasn’t the most successful show for us but a lot of people were saying the same thing, a lot of customers really interested in things but not the usual big buys.

Talking of buys what did I manage to come away with, actually I was quite restrained, Susan from Loop arranged for an Addi Turbo I was desperate for to be brought from the shop for me, two Jill Vosburg patterns from Taj Crafts, A couple of other balls of yarn for secret pals and some Hip Knit Cashmere and I also managed to get a copy of Yarn Forward which I think is fantastic, the bit I like the best is that there is actually a pattern in it that I can actually just go away and knit for me (very rare being an ample woman) without having to do any alterations at all plus some really interesting articles, it far surpasses any of the Uk knitting magazines to date.

Ready Steady Go!!!!!!!

2006-10-12T06:26:00.000Z

We finally managed to set up the stand last night even with the most horrendous storms, thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure. We all got absolutely soaked but I think the final display is quite impressive. I have of course managed to photograph the stand in a direction that you can't see any of my stock, will try and take a shot from another angle a bit later.
Will be running a little late myself this morning as we are going to pay our deposit this morning and pick up the keys for the new house !!! But will be there by 11am so drop by and say hi.

Knitting!!!!

2006-10-05T22:21:00.000Z

So here it is actual knitting yes its part of my ongoing clapoti,
my travel knitting so it hasn't grown much in the last few days as kits are being amassed.

Not had the best of days didn't seem to get into the day really sort of drifted between things without really getting them done but we did get some good news fron our letting agents that all our credit checks have been passed and in fact we can have the key before our contract starts so we can have a chance to clean it up a bit and make a few measurements before the big move.

Look what we got

2006-10-05T12:57:00.000Z

Look what our postman delivered this afternoon. Shi and Almicar sent us some of my favourites 'Oreo Cookies' now I know what people are saying that you can buy those here, well I don't know why but they don't taste the same at all. I am being very strict with the rationing of them as I want to make them last as long as possible although all I want to do is eat them all in one sitting.

Other food news is that our cooking skills are increasing in leaps and bounds we made a turkey lasagne last night from scratch with no real recipe, even the bechemal sauce worked, the last time I attempted to ake any kind of white sauce it tasted of flour and was very very lumpy. Who knows maybe I'll try pastry next:)

All aboard the Sky Lark

2006-10-03T22:01:00.000Z

Look I have been successfully killed by Siewsim from Canada. They are knitted from Koigu Kersti Merino Crepe and the colours are absolutely beautiful. Thy also included some beautiful stitch makers which have been put straight to use on my clapoti.
I think I have managed to redirect my targets unfinished sock straight to my assasin, this has all been such fun and have got to talk to many new knitters in the process.
Besides doing my duty at youth club on Monday night I have been winding kits all hours and they are everywhere Andy is now becoming very proficent at winding skeins with a Niddy Noddy, so this has meant little knitting time, between the kits and packing up the flat :)

2006-10-03T21:55:00.000Z

Look who Andy introduced me to this afternoon,
this is niggly nelly fro Noah and Nelly a childrens cartoon from the early seventies from the same people who did Rhubarb and Custard and the best thing about Nelly is that she knits all the items that they need to get them out of trouble on their adventues, so this afternnon I have watched her knit cuckoos for cuckooless clocks, lawnmowers, drilling platforms and pumps, a giant piggy bank for talking money, a wind machine so the flags on the moon would fly properly, all very surreal. I have to say that I don't remember it at all but it is very odd, oh and everything is knitted in red wool.

Secret Pal 9 questionaire

2006-10-03T18:36:00.000Z

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I don’t think I dislike any yarn they all have their place and uses.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a couple of needle rolls plus a very nice vase

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I cannot remember when I learnt to knit it seems that I have always been knitting, as for my skill level I guess I am somewhere between intermediate and advanced but I love a bit of a challenge.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I have an Amazon wish list and Stash hold a wish list for me

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

I love vanilla but when I was in the states last I fell in love with some candles that smelt of sunwashed Linen and storm watch

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Oh most definitely but I am allergic to nuts so have to be a little careful.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

You name it I probably have tried it, at the moment I am having fun creating ATC’s and patchwork but I love all crafts and always interested to try something I haven’t done before, oh and yes I do spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I love all music, in fact the only thing I don’t like about music is that some people feel the need to put music into boxes rather than just listening to it. Yes my computer and stereo plays MP3’s

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love colour but am not to fond of the whole peach/orange and yellow range but then again there are always exceptions

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with my partner Andy and will be our 8 month anniversary in a weeks time, pets wise we aren't allowed to have any in our present

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear all of those except ponchos but can’t wear wool against my skin

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Anything that’s a challenge, the more complicated the better

13. What are you knitting right now?

Lots of things , socks, the swallowtail shawl from Interweave knits, dolls clothes for Andy’s grand daughter, a clapoti for me, I could go on and on and on

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

I love hand made gifts anybody that takes the time on a project for me is wonderful

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Mostly circulars but then again I love those short aliminium Susan Bates

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I own a couple of ball winders and I have the loan of Yvonne’s swift.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Don’t even ask

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas I guess well the run up to Christmas anyway

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Dust, house work…. Ok have a bit of a thing for china tea services

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

The only magazine I buy every month is Interweave Knits, and I can’t think of any patterns I am desperate for .

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Anything new and challenging

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am most definitely I have just been killed off in Sock wars, I am a size 10 UK will get the tape measure out a bit later and add further messages but I can say that I do have swollen ankles so usually only knit myself ankle socks.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

17th May

Yarn and tribbles

2006-10-01T19:34:00.000Z

So finally an entry about knitting. This is kind of
what every surface in the flat looks like at the
minute, Andy spent the afternoon pairing up sock yarns all ready for their labels for Ally Pally and I continued winding kits, I have a couple of new things for this year.

Knitting itslef I am still making slow progress on the comission but am persisting but I have also finalyy fallen under the Clapotis spell I have tried a couple of these on and have found them the wrong shape for me far too short an to narrow for a wrap and too thick for a scarf, so I have narrowed to generous scarf width and making it far longer, I am using hand dyed cashmerino which was originally intended for the curlique blanket but decided the yarn was far too busy so used some for my socks ofdoom (which have been posted) and have enough left to make a nice luxurious scarf and possibly matching hat but will have to find a suitable pattern.

ooopps

2006-10-01T10:15:00.000Z

I seem to have missed a vital word in the last entry, just to make it clear we are not moving this weekend we are moving the weekend after Ally Pally so we are still in the box packing phase.
I promise a proper blog entry later

all hands on deck

2006-09-29T16:35:00.000Z

So I survived a long day at The Royal Chelsea
Hospital at the Interior design show, the picture shows Dan and Eric hard at work putting up the stand on Friday with the beautiful wall paper in the back ground (I have to say if you need any pictures, paper, mirrors or fabric hung these are the guys I've seen them work miricales) we were extremely busy all day and that combined travelling in the rush hour meant my feet and knees were the size of balloons on Wednesday but back to normal size now.

The move is still going as planned, Andy's mate is getting a van and we have plans for the whole weekend and the best bit is that I am working, probably the best idea as I get very stressed when moving, far more than nessecary so the plan is I go to work in the morning at Stash and return to our new home in Romford.

Ingrid has started using the yarn I dyed for her go and check out her great scarf here.

More knitting news later.

Film List

2006-09-27T10:53:00.000Z

I pinched this from Andy's blog but have added an extra bit I have italliced those films I haven't seen all of

On Channel 4 they ran down the top 100 films as voted for by the viewers and so I thought I'd list them here, the ones in bold are the ones that I've seen (I have seen some of some of the others but not seen them all the way through), anyway here they are:-
1. Star Wars (1977) / The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
2. The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part 2 (1974)
3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
5. Some Like It Hot (1959)
6. Gladiator (2000)
7. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
8. Blade Runner (1982)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Goodfellas (1990)
11. Psycho (1960)
12. Jaws (1975)
13. Apocalypse Now (1979) Have seen the heart of Darkness though about the making of the movie
14. One flew over the cuckoos nest(1975)
15. The Matrix (1999) Understood the first film got more and more confused as the series went on
16. Casablanca (1942)
17. The Usual Suspects (1995)
18. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
19. Citizen Kane (1941)
20. Raging Bull (1980)
21. ET (1982) I saw this when it was first released up on Leicester square when I was 11 and I cried all the way home much to my mothers annoyance.
22. Taxi Driver (1976)
23. Life Of Brian (1979)
24. Singin' In The Rain (1952) In fact have probably seen all of this just seemed to have watched it in bits
25. LA Confidential (1997)
26. The Wizard Of Oz (1939) Every Christmas for years as a kid used to be terrified by the flying monkeys
27. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
28. Kes (1969) Haven't seen but loved the book
29. Vertigo (1958)
30. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
31. Fargo (1996)
32. Gone With The Wind (1939) Always get bored about half way through
33. Trainspotting (1996)
34. The Full Monty (1997)
35. The Graduate (1967)
36. Alien (1979)
37. The Silence Of The Lambs (1990)
38. Withnail & I (1987)
39. The Great Escape (1963)
40. Toy Story (1995)
41. The Third Man (1949)
42. Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
43. The Sound Of Music (1965)
44. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
45. Deliverance (1972)
46. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966)
47. Kind Hearts And Coronets (1949)
48. Chinatown (1974)
49. The Exorcist (1973)
50. Annie Hall (1977)
51. The Italian Job (1969)
52. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
53. The Jungle Book (1967) The first film I ever saw at the cinema
54. Titanic (1998)
55. Jean De Florette (1986) / Manon Des Sources (1986)
56. Dr. Strangelove (1963)
57. Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
58. The Seven Samurai (1954)
59. A Matter Of Life And Death (1946)
60. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
61. Secrets & Lies (1995) I love this movie, it is so moving a beautiful study of people
62. Blue Velvet (1986)
63. La Dolce Vita (1960)
64. Spartacus (1960)
65. Metropolis (1926)
66. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
67. King Kong(1933)
68. Get Carter (1971)
69. The Searchers (1956)
70. The Seventh Seal (1957)
71. Don't Look Now (1973)
72. Brief Encounter (1945)
73. M*A*S*H (1970)
74. The French Connection (1971)
75. Top Hat (1935)
76. The Producers (1968)
77. Three Colours: Blue (1993) / Three Colours: White (1993) / Three Colours: Red (1994)
78. Cabaret (1972)
79. Goldfinger (1964)
80. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
81. The Gold Rush (1925)
82. High Noon (1952)
83. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
84. The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938)
85. Enter The Dragon (1973)
86. Breathless (A Bout De Souffle) (1960)
87. Ice Cold In Alex (1958)
88. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
89. The African Queen (1951)
90. The General (1926)
91. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
92. Way Out West (1937)
93. Henry V (1944)
94. Easy Rider (1969)
95. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
96. Belle De Jour (1967)
97. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)
98. The Terminator (1984)
99. Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (1960)
100. Do The Right Thing (1989)

I don't think I did as bad as thought I would as usually I consider myself not really a great film watcher.
I also think of some that I would have added to the list
1. Awakenings - With Robert De Niro and Robin Williams have watched it many times and I still end up in tears
2. An Affair to remember - Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, the perfect saturday afternoon knitting movie.
3. Holiday Inn - Always try and wrap my Christmas presents whilst watching this one
4. Muriels Wedding
5. Educating Rita - I so empathised with this movie when I started Uni I kept thinking someone was going to find me out and tell me that it was all a big mistake and that I couldn't possibly have thought that I was supposed to be there.

Thinking about it I could probably make up my own one hundred, how about you what five movies would you add?

Sock Wars Update

2006-09-25T10:02:00.000Z

So here they are all finished and complete, yes my
Sock War Socks , after a bit of a shakey start poor Yarn Monkey got all caught up in Hurracaine Gordon so has a few technical problems we were up and running late Friday Night.
We had a reasonably busy day in Stash on Saturday so no real knitting done on them then but the first was finished by the end of the day. The second one after a bit of a delay (notably sleep and a veiwing appointment for the flat, who didn't turn up by the way) I started on the second yesterday afternoon and by half midnight all but the grafting on th etoe of the second sock was done so now I am just sitting here waiting for an address, my assasin has already contacted me and have sent her mine so I think my assasination is iminent.
So while I sit here and wait for an address here are a few things I have found on the web recently.
I listen to a few knitting Podcasts but have just found Lime and Violet and really enjoyed the relaxed nature of this podcast in fact at one point it made me laugh out loud on the tube, I know they have just put up a new issue.

I am also considering knitting these from slipped stitch she has some great patterns.

I had an interesting time on Friday at the interiors show at the royal Chelsea hospital I got to catch up with a few people (pictures later) but this is the stand that I will be working on on Tuesday so if you are going pop by to say hi.

I also keep meaning to blog about cut out and keep, I recently recieved her Zine with a free gift which is great do check out her website though it has many many great crafty ideas on it.

Dye Day

2006-09-21T22:11:00.000Z

I had a wonderful time visiting Silkwood yesterday, I actually got a chance to catch up with Les and Tess and not just pass each other between shows and with Tess' help I managed to achieve the colour I wanted on a hank of yarn for a friend, it took us about four hours in the end and lots of samples, I also managed to dye a bit more sock yarn for Ali Pally.
Knitting wise I got to the nubs on the swalllow tail and resorted to a crochet hook and have nearly finished the third chart. Also I am all ready for the sock waes tomorrow even though I have to go do a job but at least it will have a bit of a commute so good knitting time. I am all prepared to go out in the first round of this game but its great fun and I get a pair of socks out of it.
Andy unfortunately isn't feeling to well as we think he has an ear infection, luckly he managed to get to see the doc this morning who have given him some antibiotic spray but apparently since he has moved to this flat his ears have been playing up, feeling all clogged and such but every time he see's the doc he doesn't seem to think its anything!! We will see what the move does to it and possibly a new doc:)

Here goes nothing

2006-09-19T20:59:00.000Z

So here it is all being well this could possibly be our new house, we have a rough move in date but as Andy says until we physically have the keys in our hands nothing is for certain. I have to say that it needs a lot of work but it sounds like the landlord doesn't mind what we do with the place as long as we pay the rent unlike where we are now where we can't even put a nail in the wall to hang a picture.

What I do love about the new place is the fact that there is a field at the end of the road. Unfortunatley because of where it is it has meant we have had to give our notice in at the youth club as it was going to take us about three hours to get there involving three buses a train and a couple of tube trains, it is really unfortunate as the numbers are starting to increase but they understood our reasoning and we will work until half term so giving them a little time to find more help.

My back is still a bit achey if I do too much but off to Silkwood tomorrow for a bit of dyeing fun.

Did you remember that it was talk like a pirate day?

Wonderful suprises

2006-09-17T15:28:00.000Z

Look at the wonderful suprose I found at work
for me yesterday, it is a wonderful hand knitted jjumper from Mary, apparently it turned our a bit over generous in size for her so she very kindly thought I might like it, she also left me the left over yarn apparently it is a angora, cashmere and lambswool yarn from Shilasdair and dyed using natural dyes. It is as if it has been knitted for me it fits perfectly. The colour isn't quite the the right colour it is slightly more on the blue red side and is wonderfully warm.

I also owe a thanks to Adrienne for donating all the remains from her infamous stash party to my kits and actually dropping it off for me at Stash. Thank you so much.

2006-09-17T15:26:00.000Z

Look at the beautiful detail in the cuff and hem, not
the great photo I know but there are beads in there.
I am feeling alot more positive now my back is almost back to normal, and we have almost secured somewhere to rent but don't want to say too much about it as don't want to Jinx it so hopefully will be able to tell more n Tuesday.

It was nice to be back at the store yesterday and catch up with friends as it was almost like a mini knitting group as Ingrid was there, Jill turned up as did Dawn and Jan . And of course Michelle and Nathalie were both around to seduce me with all the new yarns and patterns that have turned up in the last two weeks :)

And finally

2006-09-17T15:18:00.000Z

Just to prove I am doing the odd bit of knitting amidst my moaning here is Swallowtail from IK, I have just got to the stalling stage for me I have just repeated the 13th repeat on the second chart and am tackling it between the ongoing struggle with the comission piece.
I have also just managed to get tension for sock wars after a lot of fiddling around but all ready to stand my ground, mind you knowing my speed of knitting I am going to be out in the first round.

Getting there

2006-09-16T20:59:00.000Z

Thank you for all your kind thoughts, am feeling slightly
better the back pain has gone from the sharp intense pain
to the burning sensation which usually means it is on the
mend.

This was the wonderful parcel I recieved from Becky that cheered my day. It was part of the swap bots magic yarn ball swap. If you haven't checked out this site yet you should it has some interesting swaps going on and most of them are one off swaps.

2006-09-16T19:58:00.000Z

This is what I found in the box.

2006-09-15T20:00:00.000Z

And these are some of the many treasures I found when I
spent a very happy hour unwinding the ball

House hunting

2006-09-14T10:43:00.000Z

I'm sorry for the delay in blog entry but this is the
wonderful choclate I recieved in my lace swap parcel me and Andy have had a great time trying out the unusual flavours, one had baked almonds and salt in and the other was orange, lime blossom and rice crispies.
The sugar has been much needed over the last coupleof days as they have been a little rough not helped by my back still being bad, it started when on Monday night on the way home from Silkwood and on the way to the first night of youth club after Andy had met me at Black Friars I got as far as Hammersmith and realised that I really couldn't go on as I was in quite a bit of pain, this made me feel really bad a s on the first night anywhere you never know what you are going to come across and as Andy pointed out if any kid would have started up at me that night I would have just burst into tears but still felt guilty about it. So we went home and I took lots of lovely pain killers and went to bed well in my case not to bed as I couldn't get comfortable so I ended up sleeping in my armchair.
The next morning we had to get up reasonably early as we had a prospective flat to go and view. Now we were quite excited by this as it isn't far from here, near a train station and had two bedrooms, we only have one at the moment, and the rent was roughly the same as we are paying now. The flat itself had been well looked after and everything was fine except we wouldn't be able to fit the stuff we have now into it even with the extra bedroom it was that small, it was also a little odd it had a set of french windows that opened out onto the car park!!! So we came back home a bit deflated and then I got to the task of sorting out my Coates Account. Over the last three months we have been having a problem with them saying that I haven't paid a bill where in actual fact I had straight into their account in fact, I even had the cheque number but no they still refused to believe I paid so I got a statement print out for them but unfortunately my bank doesn't state who cashes the cheque on the statement ....... and so on and so on until they sent me a lawyers letter over the weekend telling me they were going to send in the baliffs to recover the money so this ended upp with another phone call where they are still blaming me for the money and can't understand why I am having to wait for my bank to trace the cheque, I have to say that at this point she tells me they have been having some trouble with another company cashing there cheques why they didn't tell me this in the beginning I don't know. So after the phone call I've agreed to send them a cheque to hold until the bank has worked out who has this money and in the mean time I am to fax them the statement. By the time I get off the phone I have had enough it is all to much what with the pain the worry of having nowhere to live and now this financial worry I just broke down in tears, Andy was very good though didn't hesitate and took charge and we worked out a letter to send to Coates and more painkillers and telling me that everything will be alright.
So after trawling round most of becontree to find a working Fax machine I sent them this letter and came home and knitted a little and had an early night.
Thankfully the next morning we had a call from Coates they had found the payement but apparently the bank hadn't listed it as a check but as a transfer but they had only worked that out by telling them which bank I made the deposit. So I think from now on I'll be looking for a differnet supplier as this is the second time we have had this problem.
On the house front we spent a good amount of time yesterday e-mailing agencies to see what we could find at the moment the hot favourite is a place in Romford which backs onto a farm! We are waiting to hear about it.
I di have another wonderful parcel yesterday but my back is starting to object to sitting here so will post more about it later.

Look what I got

2006-09-11T20:19:00.000Z

Am I not a lucky girl, this is not the best picture of it as I would get a better shot in daylight but just had to share how thrilled I was with this and the pattern that Laura chose was spot on its this one. As you can see not too many repeats of the same pattern and only 153 rows :)

I have been very good though as I haven't cast it on yet for two reasons firstly I still have swallowtail still on the needles still on the never ending second chart roll on the 5ptog plus we have just got the yarn and gauge requirement for Sock Wars.

More tomorrow with better pics and more of the yummy stuff that Laura sent me.

I'm so excited!!!!!

2006-09-11T10:45:00.000Z

Andy has just called me from home to tell me I have a parcel waiting for me witha customs form on it listing yarn and choclate, I can only think that it is my Lace swap pal, I can't wait to get home tonight as it will make my day as I have a a couple of rough days as I woke up Saturday morning witha bad back so haven't managed to do half the things I was planing to do so this willl be a real treat.
The other good news the person that I was sending too, Martha (blogless I'm afraid) has also recieved my parcel and seems to like my choices.
I have a couple of parcels myself to send off this week to start with my magic yarn ball swap.
Knitting wise, before the back went I was making good progress on Swallow tail, and I have completely fallen in love with the yarn, it is so soft I think I'll even be able to wear it.

Skip North Update

2006-09-08T15:43:00.000Z

Good news so far we have 13 people signed up for the wild wool weekend witha 14th in the wing waiting to sogn up, there are a few more places but not many to go, I can't wait we have some interesting workshops lined up this year, more details closer the time.

This weekend I am at Silkwood bunny sitting with a nice side order of Dyeing. I have already managed to visit Carshalton Craft who originally was a scrapbooking store but has recently started to extend its stock to include yarn what a perfect combination :)

Some Knitting

2006-09-06T22:27:00.000Z

This picture was from the spanish festival in Regents
Street on Sunday. more luck than judgement as all pictures taken by holding my camera over my head hoping to catch something.

So some knitting things, I managed to dispatch my Lace swap parcel only a day late as I had managed to put the address somewhere safe and I do hope my recipient likes it.

I also signed up for SP9, I've missed the last couple but thought I would try again, I also signed up for Indie Knits Hot Sox swap and I also have my magic yarn ball swap about to happen so have got a few parcels to get ready to despatch.

Knitting itself I am still slogging away at this comission piece and am trying not to be tempted away by soem lace knitting. I also went back to the studio today to pick up a few bits for the weekend and some of my sock yarn stash already for sock wars.

Almost back to normal Part 2

2006-09-05T11:50:00.000Z

This is Amilcar (I hope the spellings correct:)
Shi's husband experiencing a Liberty Scone.
It was quite interesting to compare notes as me and Shi are both Fine Art Graduates we find that sometimes we look at things differently and we are both with people who although are creative in there own rite they haven't had the same experiences or training that we have so sometimes don't understand why we get excited by some things, in fact in some cases they see something we produce as wrong because it is not illustrative (I hope this is a word but I hope you know what I mean) enough. I am sure that we are just as frustrating to them especially as both of them are musicians when we don't neccesarily immediatly understand something about a piece of music they are writing, its just not a talent I posess. So it was quite nice to have some one around who understood that.

Almost back to normal

2006-09-05T11:42:00.000Z

This is Shilin who came over to visit at the weekend, she now lives in Montreal with her husband (picture in a minute) but we studied together at GVSU in Grand Rapids Michigan in their wonderful art department there and then she did an exchange over here at my university. I think I worked out that I hadn't seen her since 2000 when I was over there visiting so it has been about six years so it was fun to catch up.
Where else would you take somebody for a typical english experience, thats right Liberty's for Tea, this is Shi having a Rose Petal Jam moment. We of course also had a curry, well it is the nations favourite dish apparently which Shi remembered from when she studied here. It also meant we got caught up in the Spanish experience on Regent Street on Sunday, there were lots and lots of people not my favourite thing I have to say but we saw a couple of interesting things and just the experience of walking down the middle of Regents St was quite bizarre.

Greenbelt knitting

2006-09-04T17:35:00.000Z

This is the knitting that I started at greenbelt it is a simple pair of ankle socks for me, I am using I think cotton Opal of course I haven't got the label but I know that I brought it from Web of Wool at a show. I wouldn't look to close as I was knitting a lot in the dark and then lost the second part of my pattern prompts that I had written out, my thinking is that I am the only person who is likely to see the feet so if they don't match it isn't a major problem.
I have had to put those down for a bit now so I can concentrate on a comission shawl, its turning out to be one of those projects that caused me to stop doing comissions in the first place so am having to really force myself to finish it.

Finally for now

2006-09-03T01:17:00.000Z

So lots of music seen including Daniel
Bedingfield, The Cedars, Hey Gravity,
Nizlopi, Cathy Burton, Mr Fische (in the distance) and lots lots more ......
I guess thats enough pictures for one day more tomorow and a little more about what we've been getting up to

Hey Gravity

2006-09-03T01:15:00.000Z

A great music find, Hey Gravity the pead singer was amazing apparently just signed a record deal

Sancturary

2006-09-03T01:13:00.000Z

Hot Tea, proper mugs, warm toes and knitting
what more can you ask for

Sunrise

2006-09-03T01:12:00.000Z

At last I managed a Saturday Sky, Ok it was
last Saturday at 6am but whose counting :)

Wands, wigs and wings

2006-09-03T01:10:00.000Z

By Monday the boys on site seemed to have no problem in expressing their inner selves with a nice range of tutu's nad wands and wigs and wings :)

Angel Wings anyone

2006-09-03T01:07:00.000Z

This is the stand that I could have spent hours in given half a chance and probably many pounds but managed to walk away without buying one of their beautiful sets of wings.

What colour was our tent again?

2006-09-03T01:04:00.000Z

Our tent is in that lot somewhere it was around about a half hour walk from the main site, it could have been further there are tents to the far left of this picture to and have to say that if we were in one of those we would have spent the day there :)
See if you can also see the Teepees, a consideration for next year.

Julia

2006-09-03T01:02:00.000Z

Our tent mate in our rented tent, one of the members from a youth club I used to run now a full grown women (how old to I feel) who came along for the fun

Hello

2006-09-03T00:59:00.000Z

Just to prove that I am in one piece I am just going to put a few pictures up from our weekend away, in no paticular order and of course I didn't get a picture of important stuff like meeting up with Anne on Friday to knit or watching John Bell.

This is me blogging looking over the camp site in the Tank in the grandstand

And the Heavens Opened

2006-08-28T19:00:00.000Z

Ok so I should have guessed the weather wouldn't hold, last night after watching Last Orders with Nizlopi and Cathy Burton we decided to grab a cup of tea in the 24hr cafe, looking back this may have been a mistake as we started the journey back up to the tent it started to drizzle, by the time we were half way back the heavens had opened and it was driving rain at that by the time we were back to the tent we were freezing and soaked to the skin. Now any of you who camp will know how difficult it is to get warm in the early hours of the morning in a tent when you are wet especially as we had used our one and only towel for a tea and coffee catastrophe.
So on went the fleece the socks the shawl another shawl and the hat and the sleeping bag and still frozen but did manage to get some sleep even with the deafening noise from the rain.
Of course an early morning visit to the porta loo was called for, now I have to say they do a really great job with them here they are cleaned every day and the toilet paper and hand stuff is replenished but it is still a porta loo and unfortunately for some unknown reason it seemed to have been placed in a ditch so now sits in a bog which of course is great for flip flops but managed , the sky was amazing though and the site amazingly peaceful and dry. It didn't last by the time I had managed the contortionist act of getting dressed in the tent it started again. I think the upshot of all of this is that maybe unless one of us learns to drive so we can bring a few more luxuries like tables and chairs my kingsize duvet that maybe next year we are looking at the halls of residence.
Now I know that you are thinking why am I sitting here at a computer when I could be out there watching live music, two reasons, well maybe three or four, firstly it is raining again and this is one place I can come and get a good mug of tea in a proper mug without my feet being six inches in mud, secondly the talk I had planned to go to has been cancelled and at the music on the main stage isn't so good that I will go and stand in the rain to watch it:)
Can't wait to get home to share alll my pictures and more stories, of course the pictures will be of nothing important but hopefully I'll be able to link you to a few good pics.

Hello Greenbelt

2006-08-27T17:35:00.000Z

Just dropped in to say hi, we made it to the festival in one piece just, definitely having a rethink about next year as the journey was a little stressful and far too many stairs.
We arrived though to beautiful sunshine unfortunately we of course have packed for full winter weather and by the time we actually found our pre pitched tent we were sweating and slightly sun burnt. We managed to find Julia though and got our priorities right and put the kettle on. The tent itself has two bedrooms unfortunately slightly smaller than the one I am used to and me and Andy being on the more ample side its a bit of a tight squeeze.
We have decided to take it easy over the weekend and do a few things that we really want to do rather than try and rush around and do everything so I have managed to see John Bell in action yesterday and we saw Daniel Bedingfield last night and am about to go and join the big sing. Check out the Greenbelt site for up to the minute pictures and you never know you might spot us.
Better go my time is nearly up, plenty more with pics when we get home

Close Up

2006-08-24T18:19:00.000Z

This is a slightly more infocus shot of the shawl and the colour is a better representation.

So we are all packed (well just about) for Greenbelt and ready to go if I could just find the train tickets, all I have really left to do is sort out my knitting, I am thinking probably a sock after some advice from Daisy Chains.

It even looks like the weather is on our side as it looks like the only wet night will be Friday.

All I can hope is that I can sleep tonight because of the excitement, I am trying so hard not to get too excited as I know from previous experience that I am setting myself up for a fall.

I might get a chance to blog whilst Im there but probably no pics though so will save those for my return. That reminds me have to pack a crochet hook as Julia wants to learn how whilst we are away.

I hope everyone has a wonderful bank holiday weekend

Look at me

2006-08-23T08:52:00.000Z

I am a
Daffodil

What Flower
Are You?

I found this on Anne's blog, not sure I agree with it at all but hey I like daffodils

Pickles

2006-08-22T21:16:00.000Z

Ok so feeling a lot better now, even after seeing the weather report.

I do have some knitting news though, I finished my lace shawl, its not blocked yet, only due to having no pins here at the moment, I am absolutely thrilled with it and can't wait to start my next lace project. I will post pictures when it is pinned out.

I have also signed up for sock wars, now I am more than sure that I will be out in the first round but at least I will have a nice pair of socks to wear. Check it out it is such a great idea.

Finally Joan L. left me a comment about the shardigan that I started knitting at the beginning of last year unfortunately she doesn't seem to have left an e-mail for me to respond but the information is that the pattern is available here, I struggled a bit with the copy I got but it may have been revised since, I also realised that it was going to be far to small for me so frogged it.

Hello

2006-08-22T13:44:00.000Z

I know I've not blogged for a bit but haven't felt that inspired to do so, so many things going on around here at the moment sometimes it is difficult for me to keep up with myself.
As you can see from the picture I have been at Silkwood for a couple of days, aren't these two cute when I was there last time they were only just out of their nest but now they seem huge in comparison and very very lively, had a great time trying to keep them from jumping from the cage when I opened it to feed them.
One of the things that is going on at the moment is that we have been given notice to vacate the flat that we rent, not because of anything we've done I hasten to add but the owners just want to sell the property. They have been really good about it and have given us more than the required notice but it just means that we have to find somewhere and move out before the beginning of November, which isn't so bad but we had just started to feel settled. admittedly not all of my stuff is here yet but we had just started to get vaguely organised.
The other thing that is on my mind is that we are due to go to greenbelt this weekend which I was so excited about had the train tickets booked, a pre erected tent all booked and then things start to go wrong, to start with I went back to Barnes to pick up to the tickets from Silkwood yesterday it took three and a half hours due to some prats seen wandering around on the train lines so all the electricity to the local network was cut so we just sat there a while and then there was a problem on the tube so finally arrived to find no tickets. A little frustrating to say the least as all I wanted to do was come home. So when I finally got home, another terrible journey (about three hours) I e-mailed them to enquire as to what was going on and ask if they could be left at the gate for us to pick up, no reply so at mid day today I tried again to a different e-mail address asking the same thing. This time I got a very quick reply by someone who is obviously really busy and hadn't read the message properly and had very kindly promised to send me them first class.
Good News they just called and apparently I just caught her and she is sending them here hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now if only the weather would suddenly transform into something nice. The other good bit is going to be is meeting up with fellow knitters at 5:30pm at the little tea tent, so any of you lurkers who are also turning up at Greenbelt bring your knitting and introduce yourself:)

Temptation

2006-08-15T17:37:00.000Z

I also managed to get to Liberty last week and after almost leaving
thinking that no one was going to be there I had a wonderful
evening catching up with old friends. Unfortunately I was tempted in the wool department especially as I had a Liberty voucher burning a hole in my pocket and ended up purchasing some of the new tapestry yarn (which I am feeling a bit guilty about now as I have just read about how unethical it may be) and some lovely cashsoft to match, the original plan was to make a ripple afghan from a pattern in Jan Eatons book but I very naughtley did a swatch yesterday, I had promised myself I wouldn't start anything new until the shawl is finished, and the tapestry yarn didn't like it at all so instaed I did one of her lovely crochet blocks and it seems a lot happier so I think that is the way to go but I must, I must finish my shawl first.

I was also influenced by Lixie this week as she introduced my to Swapbot and have signed up for the Magic Yarn Ball Swap which seems like it could be fun, check out some previous results from this swap here. Skein also let me know about the international scarf exchange which could be fun to.

I also worked the last Saturday at Stash before the two week break which was great fun there were one or two bloggers around including Flossie Knits who I haven't met before as normal it was good fun if a little wearing on the feet.

Edging

2006-08-15T17:24:00.000Z

After being inspired by Fred I dug out my unfinished
shawl, as you will remember all I had to do was the edging
and have made a start, as of yesterday I had turned the corner at the bottem and have started up the final side another ten repeats to go and then all that is left is the top edge. I am working on having it complete for Greenbelt so I can squash it up into the corner of a rucksack for those chilly evenings. Although in retrospect this wasn't the best choice of yarn for this pattetrn as it is too highly coloured and you loose the detail I have loved working with it is so soft for a cotton, I picked it uip in New York but I know that Woolly Workshop has started to stock it, The company is Blue Heron which I know is a Mother and son Company, she is a weaver and he started dyeing up yarns for her use and it has sort of expanded, I will definitely be knitting with this stuff again as I love it.

This week I also finished another face cloth for Andy's Mother in Laws birthday whose party we were invited to on Sunday, it was really nice everybody made me feel really welcome although I was a complete outsider, and we left bearing more gifts than we arrived, lots of wonderful leftovers and even better another wonderful collection of thier fresh vegtables.

Lucky Girl

2006-08-09T08:47:00.000Z

Recently I have been lucky enough to get hold of a couple of things that I have been wanting for a while firstly this, I have been wanting a copy of this book forever and just missed out at the KCG on Skip North but I was lucky and Michelle brought me a copy back from the states last week and am trying really hard not to cast another thing on.

The second thing were these needles from spinning on the edge, she has had them in her store for a while but I had the same problem as I had with the book I don't have a credit card, for good reasons I know what I would be like if I did. They have this beautiful batik pattern, she also included some american sweets into my parcel, she has really good shipping rates and only charges what it costs to ship.

Now to answer a couple of questions about the blue sweetcorn, yes it was just like sweetcorn with not quite as much taste, I think it kept its colour because I microwaved it in its outer leaves.

The dish cloth pattern is from this group who has a great resource of patterns available and are a really friendly group.

Sorry had a slight problem with the link all fixed now (thank you Fred)

Art anyone

2006-08-08T11:18:00.000Z

Dishcloth

2006-08-06T22:58:00.000Z

I have just joined a dishcloth KAL and although it sounds a bit strange it is really nice to belong to a group knitting the same thing but getting quick results,

They di two cloths a month and they are released over five/six days at 10 rows at a time, I have just finished my first one and it turned out to be this lovely lighthouse.

I ended up knitting this in Mission Falls cotton as this was the only aran weight yarn I could get hold of at the time and used slightly bigger needles but the arn was os lovely to knit with and the finished square is so soft and drapey I am considering making them all in this yarn and sewing them altogether for a throw for the sofa,

Vegtables

2006-08-06T22:53:00.000Z

Look what Andy's father-in-law sent us from his allotment
this week, well this plus some red skin potatoes, courgetees, green beans, spring onions, tomatoes and cucumber, yes its blue sweetcorn. I have never seen anything like it and took great pleasure in cooking it and eating it straight off the cob this afternoon, it really did look like steel.

Cake

2006-08-06T22:49:00.000Z

Look what I did, I actually made a cake which people will eat, this was using Wye Sue's recipe and made a banana and choclate chiploaf cake, it was a little heavy as I think I put to much banana in but seems nice.

Books

2006-08-04T15:59:00.000Z

Ok so after a discussion with Mary at Stash on Saturday about Grafting Garter stitch on the bottem of Noblin Knits Booties she recommended this book.

Buy This

Well I have seen this book a few times and have dismissed with out even opening it because I have quite a few knitting hand books as you can imagine all I can say is that I was wrong this is the ultimate reference book and if you are new to knitting this is the one I would recommend from no on (not to expensive either) It has great clear instructions on any cast on you can imagine and much more.

This book on the other hand was a major disappointment,

Don't Buy This

When I found about it I thought great finally I will manage to get buttons on to my blog successfully maybe even create a new template rather than the set ones, I was so wrong, from the description I thought this book would give me all this information and more but no not a chance this is basically for beginners and goes through the basics for your first entry and posting pics.

Other good news though is that Skip North Dates all confirmed and keep an eye on the website for more details, you can also see what we got up to last time.

Ok I know

2006-08-02T17:56:00.000Z

I know I wasn't supposed to be casting on anything new but I couldn't help myself this is the right frnt of the Flyaway Free jacket by Jill Vosburg (apparently Yvonne informs me you can also get her patterns at Taj crafts), and no that isn't wool from my stash, I made a slight detour to my LYS yesterdat KNITSEW in Dagenham Heathway now they don't hold any high end yarn but stock sirdar and patterns and crochet cotton and patterns going back years, they are very friendly and do try and buy something in there every month or so just to support them. I am using Sirdar Medici and a cheap chunky as I wanted to make a mock up almost of this jacket before splashing out on more expensive yarn just to see where I need to extend the arms and so on and so forth, but it is growing really quick and I think I am going to need less yarn than I have brought.

The other great news is that we have booked our greenbelt tickets and tent and I am already getting over excited not only about the whole festival as I love the chilled out atmosphere this place has but I finally get to meet some of the other knitters there and then of course there is John Bell my all time hero.

Knitting wise I also managed another couple of inches on bruised ego and Pixeldivas pattern with my yarn made it onto Whip Up. I also found several links to this on peoples blogs can't wait for the first issue in October. I also found this link on Blue Adt be warned these games are highly addictive.

Ok I am off to spin some yarn.

Happy Day

2006-08-01T17:52:00.000Z

As yet unnamed but this is the latest hand spun skein, the more I look at it the more it reminds me of the West Ham strip (my now local team) obviousley all those flags that were flying around here have snuck into my subconcious.

2006-08-01T17:48:00.000Z

Thisis what happens on a bad day, yes I go shopping, I
have been so good but couldn't resist finally buying these
JIll Vosburg patterns from the Knitting Zone now that I
found out that they take Paypal.

2006-08-01T17:41:00.000Z

This is my the start of Knucks from Knitty I have finished
the body of one glove and done the crab stitch border at
the bottem but have yet to do the decoration, I think I am
going to leave that for when I have knitted the second glove
so I can make them balanced. They are knitted in Rooster yarns which is wonderful and warm as it is 50% baby alpaca and 50% merino. I love the combination of the charcoal grey and the hot pink, originally I had also brought some of the ocean colourway but decided against stripes.

2006-08-01T17:37:00.000Z

As promised here is the picture of the booties I
knitted using what I think is cotton angora but
wouldn't swear to it as was from the wool
mountain at the KCG on Skip North last year.
The pattern is the free one from Noblin knits and are really cute and really quick to knit

Talking of Skip North the dates for 2007 trip are up and they are March the 9th to the 11th many more details to follow.

Wow

2006-08-01T17:02:00.000Z

Just a quick note just to say check this out, thats my hand spun wool in Magknits (thank you Kerrie). I think Pixeldiva has done an amazing job and the wrist warmers look fantastic.

Another week

2006-07-31T18:03:00.000Z

Ok so the computer is working but now having problems with Picasa so instead of the nice pictures of knitting you will have to do with this picture of something I almost brought (I restrained myself).
We just happen to pop into Milletts today because I have become all excited about Greenbelt after talking to daisychains about it in Thursday and I think I have worked out a way in which to attend, they offer a rental service on tents so it means it might be possible for us to get there by train.
So I really don't need a new tent but doesn't this look great, I always love the tepee village at greenbelt and one year I am going to rent one. The other choice was a paint your own but it was a little small.

As for the rest of the week, we had a great time in the store with lots of visitors from Annarella to Noblin knits who got to see the booties I was test knitting for her (pictures when possible) go check out the free pattern on her blog. Mary also dropped by who taught me a new start to my long tale cast on and Nathelie started her second sock. I also cast on the knucks gloves from Knitty in rooster DK in the caviar colour, and am just about to start the cuff on the first one so any suggestion for appropriate words to embroider on so far I have thought about 'SKIP 2007'.

I have also managed some spinning this week again will wait for pics to show.

We've also just been to see the new superman, it wasn't my first choice but it was something that we could all go and see as Andy's son is staying at the moment. The first half of the movie was a bad as I thought it was going to be basically a repeat of the christopher Reeve superman but it improved towards the end and of course the special effects were amazing.

On the cooking front with some help from a cook book that Fred suggested I manged to cook a Toad in the Hole last night.

Hopefully if I can get Picasa to submit I'll have pictures later

We're baaaaccckkkk

2006-07-26T19:52:00.000Z

So we survived just and yes so did all the kids although very tempted to lose one or two.
We ended up at Brocketts farm near leatherhead which seems to have lots of things to do but there seems to be a lot of added extras you have to pay for on top of your entry fee.

So after catching up on my sleep last night as of course very little sleep was had on the sleepover, mostly due to the fact one of the parents had failed to warn us that her child had nightmares and sleep walks so I spent the entire night worried that he was going to try and get out the fire exit, we decided to fight with the new computer once more with success we now have sound and have running programmes so now the challenge will be the internet connection that will be fridays job I feel.

The picture was going to be of a book I had just started but unfortunately as normall have finished it already, I do love this series, its never going to change the world but they are one of the few books that I don't want to put down and make me laugh out loud, I defy anybody not to be amused by Lula and Grandma. If you haven't read any before check out the Evanovich website as she uploads the first couple of chapters of her books the only problem is that I want to have another book now.

I have also joined a lace swap after seeing it on Yvonnes blog, I have missed out on a couple of swaps recently so this will be a nice one to do . Will try and put a button in the side bar but we all know how good I am at this computer stuff.

Bruised Ego Day trip

2006-07-23T18:52:00.000Z

This is bruised ego at the tattooist as you can see I have turned the heel and am heading up the cuff in a 2 by 4 rib to make sure it stays up.

Not having a great day, things seems to be conspiring against me today, firstly had to jump out of bed and get dressed very quickly this morning as we had slept in due to a very late night and Scott's mum gave us a call to let us know she was on her way. Never a good start for me don't do quick starts need at least ten minutes to just lay there for my head to focus.
Then the heat still seems as bad and am just hot and sweaty all the time at the moment, not pleasent.
The good news was that I finished a part of the test knitting for Noblin Knits but Yahoo has been down all day so can't send her my notes which is very frustrating as the knitted item is so cute (pictures to follow).
The new computer is sitting opposite me and taunting me because it still doesn't work.
I have just found out my ebay parcels which I thought had been sent on Saturday weren't so now have to get up extra early tomorrow morning to post as we are off to the youth club for a couple of days and we have to be there at ten so with a lovely hot sticky 2hr tube ride before that it looks like we'll be leaving around 7:30am (see earlier to see how I feel about early mornings) to spend the day at the farm in the sweltering heat followed by cooking for the five thousand (slight exaggeration) and then many hours trying to get them to settle (normally we don't bother and just make them stay up till they are begging to go to bed) and then getting some of them up in the morning to feed them and get them to school on time. Then coming back and doing something with the remaining kids until about two or three and then another two hour journey home. I haven't even mentioned the sleeping on the floor bit yet let alone sleeping seperately from Andy.

So to all of you waiting for an email or a response to an e-mail I am sorry but unless yahoo sorts itself ot in the next couple of hours I may not reply to you until Wednesday so anything urgent I will have my mobile with me.

Other Good things

2006-07-22T20:12:00.000Z

I also got this in the post yesterday from Woolly Wormhead, it is absolutely beautiful a mix of wool and silk noil. The colour isn['t too accurate as my bigger camera is on charge will get a good close up soon.

We also finally got the lead for our new computer yesterday, we have been saving for this as you know the one we have been using is a little infuriating. So we set about setting it up and whilst trying to install the sound it asked us to restart so we did and then it locked itself up, finally with the help of the wonderful Matt who I owe an entire Korean resturant to by now we unfroze but still can't get the sound working so a very angry phone call is going to be happening on Monday as not only were they a lot later in their delivery time than they advertise but when it did arrive it was missing a vital lead so I am not happy.
Will let you know what happens and if I don't get a satisfactory solution I will let you know the name of the company.

Ok back to knitting after a wonderful day in Stash's AC with lots of wonderful visitors to talk knitting and gussets with (you had to be there) I am now off to knit a bootee as part of a race so better get knitting as I will probably be last to finish.

This is it

2006-07-22T20:04:00.000Z

This is what I did, now I know that tattoo's aren't to everyones taste but I have been thinking about this for about 20yrs and the time was right. It is not huge and sits just below my neck between my shoulder blades. Its still a little red and feels a little like sun burn but it wasn't bad at all. It only took around half an hour, the inner cross will fade out to a more grey colour but it has just started to scab over but apparently should take a couple of weeks to heal.
I was so worried that I was still going to be unwell but thankfuly on the day of the appoi9ntment felt a whole lot better. I think there will be definetly more in my future.

I Did It

2006-07-20T17:40:00.000Z

After 20yrs I have actually done it, pictures tomorrow.

I am feeling miles better still a little tired but much more myself and actually went out yesterday and today.
I've done a little more knitting but it is absolutely boiling here, I know it is everywhere but this flat seems a little over the top I actually considered sleeping in the garden as it is cooler than in here.

Anybody interested in winning some of my handspun yarn Andy is holding a blog birthday competition over on his blog. You get a choice of prizes and one of them is a hank of hand spun.

Talking of handspun go and check out Woolly Wormheads shop with her new handspun up which I have to admit I have sucummbed to purchasing one as it was calling my name.

And the best news of all Skip North 2007 planning is underway. Me and Little Lixie are putting our heads together and aiming higher this year, for a start we have an upgrade option this year with a hotel option as well as the youth hostel, but start saving for a knitting trip of a lifetime.