Cats Cable, Rats Rib

Bette Davis

2011-05-31T00:55:00.002Z

purpotedly said:

"On the death of Joan Crawford
'My mother told me never to speak badly of the dead. She's dead....Good" ".

Oh how I can so relate to that one right now in so many different ways. One of the chapters of my life has come to a close in such a fulfilling and final way. The downside though is that there's a lot of icky stuff that's around for a while but that will pass and then the rapture (lol) can begin.

I'm now the owner

2011-01-29T20:50:00.003Z

of a Hague Linker. Given to me by friend at my local knitting group as she wanted the space. I've been gaining some space as I've been having a good declutter of both belongings and mental stuff, the former is of financial benefit unlike the latter.

Pics will follow before Christmas.

2011 Resolutions

2011-01-01T10:51:00.003Z

Well here they are and I wonder how long they'll be kept!

NUMBER ONE
Seriously declutter both stash and non-stash. As a result of this now have (already) two black sacks to go to local knitting group for stash swap night, 4 plastic storage crates and 7 cardboard archive boxes to go on e-bay.

NUMBER TWO
Have signed up for “11 shawls in 2011”. I did sign up for 10 in 2010 but fell by the wayside due to various issues. The rules of the game is that I have to knit 11 shawls between 11.00pm on 31 December 2010 and 11.00pm on 31 December 2011 (it’s based on European time) and 9 have to have a minimum of 250 metres (273 yards) and 2 500 metres (546 yards). One is Sharon Miller's project 4 christening shawl in Heirloom Knitting which is a commission by my aunt for her first great-grandchild.

NUMBER THREE
Get my sewing machine into proper action and get to grips with patchwork. I’ve a number of ideas running in my head that I really want to give a go.

NUMBER FOUR
Complete all outstanding WIPs. Nothing major here. Just a pair of gloves, pair of socks, Transformers hat, and a bedspread.

NUMBER FIVE
Lose c. 4 stone. Am going to be walking around 10 miles several times a week. It involves going via Coldspring Mill so there may be a little addition or two depending how 1 above is going ;-)

Cat To Take Away

2010-12-23T14:28:00.001Z

This year's poor effort

2010-12-22T17:41:00.004Z

was made with rice flour as there's several girlies at knitting group who can't eat wheat flour. I only got chance to make the marzipan and icing and decorating today so very minimal but at least the royal icing won't crack many teeth lol

Today

2010-11-25T23:14:00.000Z

I was talking to you at Harrogate. Can you please drop me a PM ;-)

Departure Surf

2010-10-27T04:04:00.000Z

A caller

2010-10-23T11:38:00.002Z

Quilting Excursions

2010-08-21T13:14:00.009Z

Yes I know my blog has been neglected for far too long but so many things have happened and I've not been able to get an update done. I hope to do it this week and bring everything that's occurred over the past eight months up to date. In the meantime I thought I would share this post.

I went down to the Festival of Quilts at Birmingham NEC as I've decided to have a play with patchwork. I have say spendingwise I was quite restrained in comparison to what I could have spent. I neglected to go armed with camera so no actual pictures of what I saw while I was down there but I did come back with the below :)

Well first of all I bought this:

Yes I know it's not fabric thank you very much! However I've decided to make a loving friend of mine (who shall remain nameless on this open space) a toilet roll doll for Christmas. Its intended to be extremely ghastly on the eyes and I saw these in a basket for £1 a ball and thought putting the two together along with the Action Man doll would give it just that perfect touch!

Now on to the fabric:

These two Paddington Bear pieces I bought from Doughty's. I've seen them at other shows but because I've not been fabric buying haven't really paid any attention. This will go together with some other Paddington Bear fabric I discovered earlier in the year and will be making something nice.

Now these two I saw at Fiddlesticks Fabrics.

They are e-bay only but the three go together really well (as far I'm concerned), with the cats and their antics on the left, the yarn balls in the middle and the muddy paw prints on the right.

These two pieces are going to be put together to make something for OH although I am not sure yet. I have joked with a friend of mine saying that they were going to be boxers but I don't think my sewing skills are in place for clothing just yet!

Picture on this hasn't come out too well but they're rulers :)

I'm not sure whether these are sewing pins or knitting pins but either works for me.

Spools of sewing cotton (obviously)

And then this all rounder. I'm going to be putting the above together and making some sort of bag. I got these from Van Rooyen Fabrics. They're based in the Netherlands but unfortunately are not doing mail order at the moment due to the amount of shows that they have on the go. I'm hoping that once these are over that they will start mail order again as there were other designs they had that I would want to be getting.

I went shopping to the Button Lady and got these. I haven't got any specific in mind but then do you really need to when getting buttons?

Then my final purchase of the show was this book:

Its obviously aimed at quilting which I can move on to eventually but I found the instruction section helpful for patchwork as well and also a few things which gave me creative brain food for thought.

Then some material that I bought a few weeks ago but haven't yet utilised as I had intended on doing but just to share it with everyone:

Christmas Cake Recipe

2010-08-19T19:24:00.000Z

1lb Currants
6-8 eggs
8oz raisans
12oz plain flour
6oz mixed peel
Pinch of salt
4oz glace cherries
Grated rind of 1 lemon
4oz shelled almonds
Lemon juice
10oz margarine
A little milk
10oz caster sugar

Preparation:
Wash fruit thoroughly by putting it in a strainer or in a sieve and running water through. Spread it on muslin or a folded cloth placed on a tin and allow it to drey slowly and completely before use. A quicker alternative method is to rub the dry fruit on a wire sieve or in a cloth dredged with flour. This is very satisfactory for removing small stems and stalks. Remove any surplus sugar from peel, and shred or chop finely. Slice or chop cherries, using a light dusting of flour. Shell the nuts. Blanch almonds by pouring boiling water over them, in a few minutes the brown skin can be slipped off, and the nuts may be halved or chopped.

Making:
Clean fruit and chop the peel and cherries. Blanch and chop the almonds. Have all other ingredients ready. Warm the margarine slightly, if hard, but do not over-heat. Cream with sugar until soft and light. Break the eggs seperately into a basin, beat lightly and add one by one to the creamed mixture. Beat each egg in very thoroughly before adding the next. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Sieve dry ingredients into a bowl and add fruit and lemon rind. Fold gradually into creamed mixture. Continue to mix in the dry ingredients lightly, adding a squeeze of lemon juice and a little milk. Put the mixture, which should be a stiff dropping consistency, into a lined 9" cake tin. Bake in a moderate oven (350?F) for about 2 hours, then reduce the temperature to about 300?F and continue to cook for 4½-5 hours in all. When the cake is sufficiently brown, cover it with a double sheet of greaseproof paper. Leave for a few weeks. Cover with marzipan. Leave for 3-4 days. Decorate.

Hmmm

2010-04-21T00:32:00.001Z

Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Test

Life Changes

2010-03-27T22:30:00.002Z

Hmmm not a lot of posting again. I have to say that so much seems to have been going on of late that getting back into the routine of posting I had intended over the festive season just hasn't happened.

I'm contemplating quite a big thing at the moment and whether or not to go ahead with something. If I do lives will be effected and possibly hurt but I am wondering whether or not it is the right thing to do and that I think is the actual hardest thing to work out.

On the knitting front there has been plenty going on just not anything I can blog about so maybe one day before next Christmas!

yubnub

2010-03-07T06:50:00.003Z

Day 6

2010-01-06T22:17:00.001Z

Well I started off well with the 10-4-2010 on Friday. I cast on, got past the foundation block, managed two repeats of block A and then slipped up so frogged it. Repeat the last sentence and have decided to finish current WIPs first. That said I have also swatched for a green jumper using yarn I got (I think) from Coldspring Mills several years ago. I've found the tension with it is the same as for my Texere Troon Tweed yarn so no need to retype out the pattern using a different size.

No point mentioning the blooming obvious because if you don't know then you must be reading from Mars. Be glad when there is an end to it. The worrying thing though is hearing on the news that they only have eight days worth of gas in stock. Yes I am aware that this is the worst bout for 30 years but it does make you stop and think what is going to happen in the future when it does run out!

Last 2009 Post

2009-12-31T21:28:00.002Z

My blog on the whole has been largely neglected this year for a number of reasons. One of the main ones being is Ravelry. Because I can update projects on there I tend to ignore the blog.

I have signed up to a KAL on there called "10 Shawls in 2010". The rules are that we have to knit 10 shawls in 2010 (obvious really) but we're not allowed to cast on until 00:00 CET (that's 11pm tonight) and we're to have the last one finished (including blocking) by 00:00 CET on 31 December 2010. Eight of the shawls are to be a minimum of 250 yards and two are a minimum of 500 yards. Great fun lies ahead on that one.

I'm also going ahead into 2010 after having dumped a load of stuff which I'm more than glad to see the back of.

My freelancing work is going well and keeping me busy and out of mischief and bringing in stash money. Although I have no intention of adding to the stash but the money being there is nice.

I've calculated (courtesy of Ravelry) that my stash is in excess of 33 miles. I've not been able to get an accurate figure as I've a number of unknown yarns that I've either bought or been given that have had no labels but I'll be working those out over the next couple of weeks to get an accurate figure.

New year resolutions - well I'm not going to buy any more yarn for stash enhancement until I hit my target weight (I'm also going to diet) or I knit through all 33+ miles of yarn.

In the meantime bed is now a calling. I don't like NYE myself so am always tucked up in bed. I've told MonsterMog that he's not to be scratching my eye ball the way he did last NYE.

Freelancing Secretarial Services

2009-11-23T13:01:00.000Z

I've been considering this for quite some time and am now offering freelancing secretarial services. It is going to obviously take some time to build up but for anyone interested please e-mail me or leave a comment.

E-mail: fredisnutty @ gmail . com.

2009-11-20T14:51:00.001Z

E-bay Sales

2009-08-02T19:28:00.000Z

For anyone interested I've got a load of books now on e-bay and ID is knitknotknut.

How amazing

2009-07-21T23:32:00.000Z

is it that because some people sit on their backsides all day just twiddling their fingers that they seem to think everyone else does too!

Is there a point?

2009-06-27T19:35:00.001Z

I

2009-04-04T22:08:00.002Z

realise its been quite some time since my last post and that I have become quite a stranger in these parts but I have not been at home much. My calendar has been like this

28 Feb / 1 March - Newcastle for the weekend looking at locations for the Knitting & Crochet Guild's 2010 AGM weekend.

5 Mar / 8 March - Glasgow for the ICHF show on the UKHandKnitting Association's Learn to Knit Stand

12 Mar / 15 March - Birmingham for the ICHF show on the Learn to Knit Stand

18 Mar / 22 March - London Olympia for the Twisted Thread show on the UKHandKnitting Association's Learn to Knit Stand.

So I have been at home long enough to wash behind my neck and change toothbrushes. Things have been a bit hiccuped between the shows as well. On the Tuesday after Birmingham I got up in the morning to a somewhat cold (for me) cottage. I felt the radiator and it was stone cold. I went and checked the boiler and the pilot had gone out and wouldn't relight. I walked along to the bus stop at the end of my road whilst on hold to British Gas. I rang them and explained the problem and they said that they would get an emergency engineer out to check it, open all doors and windows, don't use electrics etc and he would be there within the hour despite my saying I could smell no gas. When he eventually turns up he checks everything and says that the pilot is electronic and I would need to get a normal engineer out as he only deals with emergency leaks. I then ring British Gas again and they say that they will get someone out that day before 1pm. 12.30pm arrives along with a telephone call. The engineer is running late and it will be 2pm. 2.15pm arrives along with the late engineer with no apologies. He spends about 5 minutes looking at our boiler and then 20 minutes on the 'phone to one of his colleagues about a different job. When he finished the telephone call he finally finishes the job in hand and has the boiler working again. He also recommended that we have the system flushed which would cost the delightful sum of £530 but would guarantee it for life (on an 11 year old boiler which nobody else has recommended for the past six years that gets serviced twice a year).

Then when I was in London I developed chronic toothache. I managed to control it with a combination of Ibuprofen and Paratamol and am most surprised I didn't jangle with the amount of pills. On the Monday morning on the way in to work I telephoned my dentist to arrange an emergency appointment. I asked for "the last available appointment" to be replied with "we don't have any afternoon appointments". So I ask "what is the last available appointment you have then". I was told 9.40am. At this I walk from the side of the train station I am already on to the other to catch a train home.

I get home and pottering around I heard dripping from behind the washing machine. I drag the washing machine out and find that the pipe is leaking. Now give me a computer or a knitting needle and I am in my element. Give me a piece of DIY and I have got as much chance as a chocolate teapot! Well I turned the inlet pipe off (I know that much) and go up to the dentist.

My dentist had a prod around and took some x-rays. Whilst I was waiting I popped outside and range the shop of the chap who unblocked the machine after the MonsterMog episode. She said it could be either the washer or the pipe itself.

I then went back into the dentist and was told (after the x-rays had developed) that the root was dying (do you believe I typed dyeing first!) and it would have to be removed. He then asked "you're not allergic to penicillin are you?" to which I put him ephatically right that I am and that he could prescribe me pencillin but not sure that I would need an extraction appointment if he did. He then gave me an alternative prescription and I toddled back down the hill home.

When I got home I checked the washing machine which I had turned off at the inlet pipe andfound it still dry. I popped into the shop of the plumbeer whilst I was waiting for antibiotics to be made up and had a discussion with them. The sister reckoned that it was the pipe from the machine to the main plumbing that I needed to change. One 'phone call to MM to discover whether he had the "technical" expertise needed to which he said yes I bought a new pipe. I got home that night and gave him the pipe to change it and after pulling the washing machine out he promptly tightened up the screw fitting from the pipe to the plumbing and said it was just on the loose and hasn't dripped since!

Today I popped up to Newcastle to the Pins & Needles show at the Radio Metro Arena. I have to say that it was quite an odd sensation going to a show as a visitor rather than being on a stand especially when I knew so many of the retailers there. I have to admire the people that are there for the entirety of a show as it is held in an ice rink so the cold/damp seeps up through the floor despite inch thick wooden flooring and carpeting :( I didn't come away empty-handed though as I did buy some buttons for the cardigan I am knitting and will post a picture as soon as I locate them in my knitting bag along with my camera.

The rest of this weekend is now going to be spent tidying up as Ethyl and youngest brother descend on us on Monday for a fortnight for the easter break. Am hoping that they have decided where they want to go over than "Last Of The Summer Wine" country and the "National Film and Television Institute Museum" as tourist attraction wise I've gone a blank!

Foreign climbs

2009-03-04T14:39:00.000Z

requiring my passport and funny money here I come.

I'm missing in action and back on Monday!

Big Read

2009-03-02T23:38:00.000Z

This meme is originally from the Big Read. Apparently they reckon most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.

Instructions:

Look at the list and bold those you have read.

Underline those you intend to read.

Italicise the books you LOVE.

Post your list so we can try and track down these people who've only read 6 and force books upon them.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6. The Bible

7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14. Complete Works of Shakespeare

15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger

19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20. Middlemarch - George Eliot

21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34. Emma - Jane Austen

35. Persuasion - Jane Austen

36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41. Animal Farm - George Orwell

42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50. Atonement - Ian McEwan

51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52. Dune - Frank Herbert

53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding

69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72. Dracula - Bram Stoker

73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75. Ulysses - James Joyce

76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78. Germinal - Emile Zola

79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80. Possession - AS Byatt

81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87. Charlotte's Web - EB White

88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94. Watership Down - Richard Adams

95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Ooops.....I spoke too soon

2009-02-23T23:21:00.003Z

I was making great headway yesterday with my SP's outfit until I got out the tape measure. Turns out I'd overshot myself by 4"so am having to unpick row by row :( Above is a picture of the yarn knitted up and although its not my colour palette I am enjoying the outcome.

Stash - gone!

2009-02-22T18:13:00.002Z

I've now got all bar my latest yarn present from my SP listed on Ravelry stash page. I've also decided that that oddments I have I am going to get rid of and have filled a black bin bag.

I also had a day of more or less nothing but knitting and made headway on my SP's cardigan. Its Debbie Bliss Soho and uses 4.5 / 5.5mm needles so for me its quite chunky but it is a pleasant knit. I'm hoping that by this time next week I'll have it finished. What do you reckon?

Secret Pal Parcel 2

2009-02-13T22:10:00.001Z

I've not been at work this week and I was disappointed to get an e-mail from SP to say that they'd sent me a parcel to my work address. Fortunately someone at work lives locally and agreed to drop it off for me :)

I was greeted by this lovely stamp on the outside :)

Which hid these lovely wrapped bundles:

I forgot to photograph some of them before I took the wrapping paper off :( The first of which contained this coffee from Peru. I've not started on it yet as I've been on a bit of a chocolate binge

Which the little helping on the right hand side added to :) The rats are also enjoying the middle of the three and the left is sat in my cupboard waiting to be munched.Here are three parcels though that I did take pictures of with them wrapped

Here are the unwrapped contents:

Some closer pictures:

The yarny yummyness here is 96% BFL from the Mulberry Dyer and I'm quite happy wearing it on my hands without it seeing the needles!
The one on the left is some really dark chocolate with mint flavouring. I don't eat really dark chocolate very often as its one I like to save for a treat and savour so it will be around for a while ;-) I'm hoping that I'm correct in saying the purple are stitch markers?

And the very creature friendly envelope and card that came with my parcel. I have to say that my second parcel from SP has hit the nail on the head just right again :)

Brighton

2009-02-08T18:04:00.000Z

Well no pictures on this post as I forgot to take some. I was intending on taking some of the pier this time but it didn't happen.

With all of the snow that we've had I was anticipating problems getting down to Brighton. The snow didn't pose me any problems although the trains did. Throughout the day I was checking on British Rail website on live departure board to keep an eye on my train as I had fears it would be cancelled. I left work 30 minutes before the train was due to depart and it still showed as running. I get to the train station 20 minutes later and lo and behold its on the board as cancelled. I go into the ticket office as I was pre-booked onto the train on a cheap ticket to see what my options are and discuss the matter. The lady behind the counter proceeds to tell me that it was a pre-planned cancellation and had been showing on the line's website for several days. I point out that this was not the case on the BR website. Fortunately I was able to get on the next train. I leave the ticket office and spot that it was already in so very promptly got on and found myself an unreserved seat as I had visions of an overcrowded train and having to stand the entire 2 1/2 hours to London!

The weather forecasts that were made also made it sound like I would have problems getting home. I did have a slight panic when I got on the train at London as ETA was 20 minutes after it was scheduled to arrive and 10 minutes after my last train was due to leave. We got back to Leeds on time and I caught my connection fortunately as it was the last train of the night.

The show at Brighton itself seemed to be busy although not as busy as it would have done if the weather had not interfered and I came back home without having made any purchases of yarn. That said I did purchase some truffles from Linden Lady which erm didn't make it out of Brighton ;-)

E-Bay

2009-01-28T07:13:00.002Z

A proper post later today but just to let you know that I'm listing loads. E-bay ID is KBMNN.

A Mini Update

2009-01-18T15:24:00.002Z

I have to admit to being naughty for the past couple of weeks by not posting. However, there has not really been anything worth posting about :(

Knitting-wise. The unbloggable project has hardly moved any further forward. I have made a mistake on it. The instructions read that I was to work the rib and then start x rows increasing. I then got to a certain point where I was to change the pattern and have y number of stitches. Unfortunately I got to the point and y stitches were not there :( I then did the math and it turns out that I should have started the increasing right from the beginning. I couldn't be bothered to frog everything and did a bit of stitch creativity and I now have the right number of stitches and working up again.

Non-knitting wise. I'm having a bit of a nightmare weekend. I'm just so lethargic and waking up tired and going to bed even more tired. I also have no explanation as to why as there's not been anything stressful going on that I could attribute it to.

One thing though that has given me stress today though is MonsterMog. He decided that he would have a show off session this morning and leave a nice present on his food mat. After removing the "present" I popped it in the washing machine and left it going. I came back later and found that the washing machine is now bunged up and not draining properly. I managed to use the drain option enough that I could open the door and promptly flood the kitchen floor. Luckily I had a blanket to hand which acted as mop up. It turns out the backing of the mat had disintegrated and blocked up the outlet. Unfortunately I hadn't cleaned out the outlet enough as the next cycle the machine has blocked it up again so I'll be calling Mr Plumber Person tomorrow to come out and cure the problem for me. Fortunately I'd done all the clothes on Friday so I don't need to be recycling clothes just yet - phwaor!

It has also been a bit of a depressing this week in terms of silver screen people. Patrick McGoohan, Ricardo Montalban and Tony Hart have all passed away this week.

New Year Resolution

2009-01-02T11:12:00.002Z

My new year resolution was that I would go through my stash and allocate it all to projects. Well I kind of have managed this but have also fallen short.

I've gone through all of my non-laceweight yarn and allocated it to projects. Most of which are jumpers, there are a few scarfs and a few pairs of socks. I ran out of carrier bags though to put the various projects in individually so they have been dumped back into my trunk unbagged up but I'll be getting some more bags.

There was a large amount of odd or half balls which I've been clinging on to for well the stash sake of it. I've put all of this into a large black bin bag. Don't panic. I've decided that I'll be crocheting this into blankets. Anyone who has seen me crochet knows that I am well somewhat speedy when I get going so this half-sack will soon disappear into a FO.

The laceweight is going to take me somewhat longer to go through as I hadn't realised I had quite as much as I have! Once I have bought some more plastic bags I will go through my Jamiesons and my Cherry Tree Hill and that will have taken care of one-third of it.

Its times like this that I wish I had been born an octopus ;)

Goodbye to 2008, Hello 2009

2008-12-31T20:50:00.002Z

Well this will be my last post of the year and will not see my posting again till at least 2 Jan 2009. I hate NYE with a vengeance and that issue of just because its a second after midnight does not miracuously cure everything. I only wish that was the case. 2008 has been the worst year since before 1992 and I think I may well class it as the worst year of my life for the reasons I've shared before.

One of MM and my annual rituals is that on NYD we have no mobiles and no PC usage so I'll be absent until then. I had high hopes of getting a lot done this week while I was off work as we closed for the holiday period. I've been typing up a lot of e-bay listings on TurboLister and hope to have them finished this weekend to go live with next week. Its not the issue of money but rather the fact of I'm holding on to stuff for the sake of holding on to it. Books I've not read 15+ years ranks among them.

One thing that I will be doing tomorrow is going through my stash. I'm going to allocate everything to a particular project and will be labelling it up to that express purpose. My new year resolution is that I will not buy any yarn until I've gone through the stash. I know that I can do this as I'm still of the mindset that I don't actually need anything so there is no need for me to buy anything. The only concession that I will make is that if it is for a present for someone else or that it is yarn that I'm given (otherwise my SP would have a very hard time ;-) ).

Texere and Coldspring Mills

2008-12-30T21:29:00.000Z

Today I went shopping at Texere and then at Coldspring. On the whole I was quite restrained despite MM overhearing my talking on the 'phone saying that I had spent £350 on yarn I got the following:

Texere

I saw these three in cones at £20 per 1kg. I took the cones to the counter and asked for a wind-off next week when they were up and running normally rather than the holiday opening. I was told that they actually had them in 50g spools so went and got these instead. It was more economic for the purposes I have for them but could work out more expensive in the long-run if my test works out ;)

I got a ball of Texere's troon tweed to do a test swatch for MM for a jumper as he's still not like too taken with the Jamiesons aran :( It does feel softer to the immediate touch and he's such a finneckity person it may just work (ETA he seems to like it.)

I then picked up these four balls. The top two are actually a pink (on the left) and a red (on the right). They are King Cole merino blend 100% wool and they are going to be used to make something for my SP. They do not know they are receiving it so its safe to blog its mention as it will be in their final parcel :) I was tempted to add green in to the blend but unfortunately it was more of a bottle green than emerald so I passed it up.

I then succumbed when I was paying to these two pair of DPNs, 1.5mm and 1.75mm as I haven't got any that small and I know that I am a loose knitter and given that MM was wearing my hand-made socks over Christmas I think I am going to be adding those to the list of projects to do next year.

The other thing that I picked up for a project to do next year was these three balls of green 4-ply. I got the pattern for Tannenbaum (a fir tree hat) a couple of years ago and never got around to making it so I guess it will get done for Christmas 2009.

I also bought myself a new ball winder to replace one that I gave to someone earlier in the year. I've not bought anything on skeins for a while so its not been an issue but always handing to have one there in the wings :)

Coldspring

Although there was plenty at Coldspring there was nothing that took my fancy. I did however succumb to this pack. There is just over 900g and I know a couple of people with young children so can utilise it in a couple of garments for them.

Spinning Wheels

2008-12-30T21:03:00.001Z

I was passing an antique shop over a year ago and spotted a spinning wheel outside. I popped in and asked if they knew what make it was as I had no idea and they said that they didn't. They also said that they were selling it for £10 reduced from £40 as that was their last day. I of course couldn't resist the opportunity and have to shamefully admit that its been sat in my spare room ever since. For the spinners of you out there, do any of you recognise what it is? I'm hoping that it is a working model rather than a object d'art!

I'm MonsterMog

2008-12-29T21:07:00.000Z

and I'm a clean MonsterMog :)

MonsterMog - Ouch!

2008-12-29T18:34:00.001Z

Thought I would share some pictures of the little feller who went for his neutering op today. The op itself went well but unfortunately the vet told me that he has a heart murmur :(

Christmas Tree

2008-12-28T18:39:00.000Z

I thought I would share some pictures of my Christmas tree before it got cat-attacked. I do have to say I'm not the world's best tree dresser but it suits me. The bottom two pictures show ornaments that I bought in Liberty's Christmas shop when I was in London at the beginning of the month.

Christmas Day - Secret Pal Parcel

2008-12-25T23:34:00.000Z

Christmas Day arrived and here is my first SP13 parcel. I thought I'd show off the label with Santa and his sleigh and the garland of Poinsettias.

Opening up revealed:

Huge bundles of green :)

One of the first packages and a chocolate Father Christmas.

More goodies and parcels.

And some more.

The first package opened revealed this soap: rosemary, pine and may chang. I didn't use it in my annual Xmas bath as I'd already had it by this stage so it will be my New Year's Day treat :)

My second revealed these two bundles of yumminess. The mint fondants on the left and the right being milk chocolate with cinnamon and white praline.

My third was this large button and a bag which revealed:

Some of the packages were decorated with these:

I quickly took the ceramics off of the packages and on to the tree. I have to say that they are wonderful and would love to know where they have come from. Here are some closer up shots including one of a Christmas pudding (which I forgot to photo on its package)

My SP also included a card and it came in this delightfully decorated envelope:

The card:

Both of my rats are boys and I can just imagine them doing this as well as they are so mischevious so I wonder if my SP has a camera on them ;-)

Last not but least the yummy goodness:

My SP has said they'd work well for a lace project. (Well I have no doubt they would but a certain young gentleman decided to have a rummage just after this picture was taken and I now need to play with a yarn winder to make them look decent again before I can use them.

Thanks again SP. It's a wonderful parcel and I promise that the munchy yummies will last at least until Boxing Day ;-)

Secret Pal - First Parcel

2008-12-24T10:24:00.001Z

Because I’ve not got a regular postman and I don’t trust stand-ins I asked my SP to send my parcels to work.

We had the post delivered this morning which included special deliveries so I thought I had missed out on getting my first parcel for Christmas. My SP had told me that they had posted it so I knew it was on the way so when nothing arrived on my desk this morning was downhearted – awwwwwww 

Anyway just had a telephone call from reception and my special delivery has arrived! I’m being a good boy and it will sit under the tree tonight (well that is if MonsterMog does not pull it down again as he did yesterday just in time for my local knitting group coming to my house!). It will then get opened up tomorrow morning and I’m going to have to twist someone’s arm to let me have the camera out.

This is now probably going to be the last post before Christmas as we have a strict no mobiles/no PC policy on Christmas and Boxing Day.

Also just mentioning my local group. I made biscuits on Sunday (and aborted gingerbread which solidified in the fridge) and they went down well. I had hoped to ice them as well but time was my enemy. Pictures of these pre- and post-baking will appear Saturday as well.

Photos and more will follow on Saturday!

In the meantime hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and Santa is kind to you.

The Twelve Cats Of Christmas

2008-12-21T11:22:00.001Z

A friend of mine sent this to me and I thought it oh so true I would share it:

On the first day of Christmas when I brought home my tree
My 12 cats were laughing at me.

On the second day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the third day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the fourth day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the fifth day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the sixth day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the seventh day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
7 half-dead rodents
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the eighth day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
8 shattered ornaments
7 half-dead rodents
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the ninth day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
9 chewed-through light strings
8 shattered ornaments
7 half-dead rodents
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the tenth day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
10 tinsel hairballs
9 chewed-through light strings
8 shattered ornaments
7 half-dead rodents
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the eleventh day of Christmas I saw beneath my tree
11 broken branches
10 tinsel hairballs
9 chewed-through light strings
8 shattered ornaments
7 half-dead rodents
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me.

On the twelfth day of Christmas I looked at my poor tree
12 cats a-climbing
11 broken branches
10 tinsel hairballs
9 chewed-through light strings
8 shattered ornaments
7 half-dead rodents
6 fallen angels
5 shredded gifts
4 males a-spraying
3 missing Wise Men
2 mangled garlands
and my 12 cats laughing at me!

Oh no!

2008-12-16T19:57:00.002Z

While I'm still an emotional roller coaster and avoiding the happy smarties I did have one thought today. My brother will never age and will always be 16. On the downside I realised that when we're reunited I'm going to be a right old crock!

Pah!

2008-12-13T14:57:00.002Z

I was hoping to go shopping today but had to wait in for window fitter. We agreed with the landlord when we renewed contract that back bedroom window would be replaced. Not a problem. However the window fitter rang earlier this week saying he would be here Saturday morning 8.30am :(

Well an hour later he finally arrives with no apologies. Three hours later and my desire to go out shopping is well and truly gone :(

Think I'll be having a day in front of the TV with my feet up and knitting a jumper for a friend for her boy's teddy!

Ok

2008-12-12T00:16:00.002Z

I know it looks like my verbal diarrhoea has been and gone but its just because I've been soooooo busy. I've got my Christmas present but he's arguing as he's suffocating and has lost his feet to gangrene as his legs have been tied up for days. I got him when I was down in London last Saturday at a place really where he should come from to be authentic. No pictures or anything else till two weeks time.

I also bought a couple of new baubles for the Christmas tree. I've yet to put the tree up because of being busy and last weekend I was in London and then catching up again. I've been putting up lots of foil garlands and some dangling ones as well but will finish off this weekend. One thing (well four actually) that I bought this week which I kind of like are some candles. They are battery operated and I bought one in each of gold, silver, red and green. I much prefer these colours and to me they mean Christmas. I guess it takes me back to when I was at school and we used to be using those licky sticky papers and the white glue and card and glitter. Ooooo should I have been a card maker instead? It is so annoying though that right at the moment I can't get green tinsel or green foil wrapping paper especially when you can get the gift bags in the same stuff!

More to follow at the weekend.

DVD GRRRRRRRRR

2008-12-07T21:24:00.002Z

I've just put a DVD on to watch and it took me a couple of minutes to realise that there was a scratch in the disc and I'd been watching the same 10 seconds :( To be fair though it was a corridor chase type thing and I was reading e-mails ;-)

HELP!

2008-12-04T22:48:00.002Z

I can't believe this. After ages of more or less nothing to post I've got poster's diarrhoea.

I've been looking at this and wondering about whether or not to go for it. It will mean quite a bit of training though before I am fit enough and then I need to get the sponsorship but I think two special someones will appreciate it.

Anyway I'm now going to go lock myself away before someone stabs me.

My Mum

2008-12-04T20:53:00.004Z

took me up to London
My Mum took me on the train.

Well okay that's not strictly true but I am going down to London on Saturday. Not with Mumsy though as she's over in Norfolk. I knew there was a reason I enjoyed Yorkshire ;-)

I'm having a bit of a dilemma though as what to take in the way of yarn project. Do I take the unbloggable project which will expose it to 100s of people or do I take a plain boring unappealing monotonous toy doll?

One thing I am really annoyed about today though. Beedle the Bard. I ordered it via Amazon on a special courier delivery. Er hello? Where are you? I suppose the driver could have got lost in the blizzard and snow drift we're having here.

I've been hit by another option which is calling even more. Fiddlesticks Creatures Of The Reef Shawl. The only problem is I can't concentrate on something else and knit lace at the same time :(

Home This Morning

2008-12-04T09:00:00.001Z

Bit of this and knit of that

2008-12-03T22:16:00.002Z

Do you know despite there being plenty of knitting going on for a particular project, its a non-bloggable project. This I can imagine must be really hard for my secret pal to bear. I wonder if I should break my rule and branch out into multiple projects at a time so I can actually show pictures of knitting! Once I have got Xmas out of the way which scarily is 3 weeks tomorrow, I will be starting with MM's aran jumper. I did start knitting the tension square for it and put it down back at the end of April to pick it back up again when I got back from the week in France. Needless to say we're seven months on and its still not seen the light of casting on. One of the issues for me was that the tension was so ridiculously tight I thought I was at thought. A friend of mine I was talking to after I got back from France tried it on a size smaller than I was on at the time and told me she had managed the tension. Have to say though that MM is not crying out for it but the weather up here is somewhat on the snowy side at the moment so guess it would have been nice to have been wearing it.

Talking of which the snowy weather around these parts is quite peculiar. The area where I work is plain cold, Bingley is also cold and a bit icy. Here at home its covered in snow and ice. Its all to do with the elevation rising the further you come out of workplace. Its nice scenery to look out on but when you need to ring the office to say you're snowed in and there's nothing at work its had to be believed.

Talking of the festive season I've pulled out all of the decorations from where they are kept for the rest of the year. We've decorated our room in the office at work with garlands and a few of the dangling ones as well. We pooled our money together and bought a fibre optic tree. It does look quite nice and I would consider having one at home but the one at work is only 3 foot and for home would like a nice 6 foot tree. I'm in London on Saturday so Sunday will see me putting all of the decorations up here and making the Christmas cake. I wasn't going to make one this year as the past couple of years have seen me buying a slab of cake as I no longer make them en masse for work colleagues. However, I have the knitting group I go to coming to my house on 23rd for the meeting so thought it would be nice. I bought a couple more of the knitting murder mystery books by Maggie Sefton and one of the recipes featured is for mint fudge but its US in origin and I don't want to try to hunt all the ingredients so I'm going to see if I've got a recipe for fudge and just whack in the mint essence.

Oh well needles are a calling.

Monster Mog Update (Updated)

2008-12-03T22:12:00.000Z

Well its hard to believe that the feller is 25 weeks old already. The time (in some respects) seems to have flown by. Sizewise he is already as big as Lara and not sure whether or not he is going to exceed Cairo in size as well.

He is still fond of my pillow at night and still giving my nightly lullabies of purring me to sleep. He is however somewhat fond of running off with my balls of yarn if he's given the opportunity. He also has a fondness for pens and pencils. I find it quite humorous though when he growls at his prey that he has run off with.

I also have to say whoever it was that said cats tongue bristles soften as they grow up from kittens lied. I still find them as rough as ever they were when he washes me in bed. He also stills nips my nose.

He has also now got accustomed to wearing his collar so thats on full-time now. Its also surprising that he, Lara and Cairo all wear bells on their collars and they all sound different. He's still got a kitten meow and I do hope it stays that way as its nice :)

red not green :(

2008-12-03T10:38:00.001Z

Your rainbow is strongly shaded red.

What is says about you: You are a passionate person. You appreciate energetic people. You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

A Dilemma

2008-12-02T21:28:00.002Z

MM has asked me what I want for Christmas. Well I took the obvious route and started to say about all the nice patterns and yarns and promptly got a "no knitting" which unfortunately includes anything even vaguely related to it. Gift vouchers for all of my yarn retailers I utilise are also out.

Has anyone got any ideas?

Nudge Nudge Wink Wink

2008-11-30T23:34:00.003Z

I've been nudged by Tutley Mutley to complete this one.

To participate you
Link to the person who tagged you.
List seven facts about yourself.
Post the rules on your blog.
Tag seven more people to do the same and link to them.
Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know when your entry has been posted.

I have to say that I always have problems with them because I never seem to think of anything witty to say but here goes nonetheless.

So the seven facts about myself are

I ended up working in a hospital about a mile up the road from the maternity hospital I was born in. I'd not actually known it at the time.
I gave my parents the shock of their lives when they were watching a Dracula film. My brother and I were sleeping in the front room as our bedroom was being decorated. I chose the exact moment to wake up and sit up in bed as did one of his victims. As a result the film remains one of my favourites.
MM and I lived in similar parts of London at similar times many years before we knew each other so could quite easily have walked past each other in the street.
I have memories going back to when I was 4
I used to be able to reach and bite my toenails and dread to give it a try now.
I've only been out of the country twice since I was born.
When I was a wee kiddie winkie I thought the characters on my pillows used to pull my hair.

My seven tags

I'm cheating here. If you are interested in taking part have a go ;-)

Harrogate

2008-11-25T20:51:00.001Z

Well I've just sorted through all of my purchases from the course of the four days and other than "Stitch In Time" and some circular purple buttons everything else it turns out is for my Secret Pal!

As a result I only have one word to say "moths!"

A Rough Day

2008-11-24T22:27:00.002Z

Today was somewhat of a rough day. I was out and about lunchtime (not unusual) when I spotted something in a shop window. I thought to myself that I could buy that for my brother, then I realised :(

Secret Pal & E-Card

2008-11-24T12:20:00.001Z

Dear SP

Have you sent me an e-card as I've got something lurking in my spam email and if it's not from you I will ignore.

Thanks :)

Missing again

2008-11-21T19:48:00.000Z

Time seems to have flown by recently. I've been on the Relax & Knit stall at Harrogate for the past couple of days. For some bizarre reason doing this particular show always feels like coming home. I know its my local and only live 24 miles away but I put it down to the fact that it is the first show I ever did.

I've been leaving shows this year somewhat empty handed but this I think was more due to the fact that I don't actually need anything. However, when I heard over the PA that a certain stand was selling signed copies of this then I couldn't help but go and purchase a copy.

I am looking forward to being able to sit down one night after work next week and reading it in peace and quiet (and hot chocolate)!

And just to prove it is a genuine and not a screen print thought you'd like to see the signature page. I'm not going to show any photos of anything further in as I know that will spoil your enjoyment.

My Next Project

2008-11-10T23:06:00.001Z

I've decided that my next project is going to be a cardigan for me. Now all I have to do is find a pattern and the yarn to go with

Rememberance Sunday

2008-11-09T20:13:00.002Z

Today I've been thinking of all of those relatives who have gone before me and not just those died during service. The last member of the family I am aware of who died in service was a great-uncle. My great aunt never married afterwards and it is hard to comprehend how she then spent another 60 years in widowhood.

Last Sunday saw myself and the family attending a memorial service for Monster. It was an emotionally sore time but something he would have expected us to do. I also dread to think the racket if I'd not gone. Judaism tradition identifies people as mourners for a full year following the death of a spouse, sibling or parent. This is definitely something I can relate to as it is that first year that you have to go through and marking occasions without the person in question, first birthday, Xmas, etc. I am aware that life will never be the same it is just how we all come to terms with the situation.

Secret Pal 13 - The Questionnaire

2008-11-07T17:48:00.002Z

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not really too fussed about type of yarn although I don't like eyelash types.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I've got a couple of sets which I keep in their cases and all of the others are just jumbled in a Really Useful Box at the moment till I sort out what to keep/get rid of.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I think its 27 years this Christmas and it came as a result of pestering the Mumsy. In terms of skill would say intermediate - advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No. I rarely use Amazon never mind wish lists!

5. What's your favorite scent?
I like Rose, mint and citrus - although not necessarily together.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Hmmmmmmmmmmm chocolate (and mint - theme running here).

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I knit and crochet. I'm just about to start lacemaking but that's the extent. I've also got a lucet and know but its not something I'll be progressing in a hurry.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Very much of a mix bag and nothing in particular

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
Green without a doubt as anyone who knows me will tell you although I don't have much green in my wardrobe bizarrely enough. After that its a case of jewel colours rather than pastels.

Pink (in all of its various combinations) is a complete no no.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
One OH (don't think I'd want more than one as that's enough), 2 rats, 3 cats (including a 22 week old kitten who is teething).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Other than ponchos from time to time. Never wear ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
At the moment I'm into lace shawls.

13. What are you knitting right now?
In contrast to #12 I'm doing a cable jumper as I've been asked by a friend.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
:)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
If its a needle I can knit with that suits me.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Both. Although they're a bit dusty from lack of use at present.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
The only UFO I hold in my possession is a glove that was made by my grandmother. I try to make sure now that I start it so I finish it.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
I love Christmas although not as much as I used to. Something about it harks back to childhood when things were more sweet and innocent (not me as I've never changed ;-))

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn! I used to collect a number of things but now I only collect those momentos that have a meaning to them. The old style Paddington Bear is good at the moment.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Not that I can think of.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm a bit spoilt in that I know everything I've wanted to know.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have to admit I'm in the peculiar situation that knitting socks just doesn't do anything for me. I've knitted several but they don't give me any real sense of accomplishment.

I'm a UK 8. I'm not sure what that equates to on the international sizing.

23. When is your birthday?
24 July. Its the only way MM remembers it (i.e. 24/7).

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes. KnittyFred.

Hot water bottles

2008-10-28T22:40:00.002Z

Seem to be the order of the season. I'm just fortunate that I have a 20 1/2 week old one who lays on my pillow. He purrs me to sleep and I still find him there if I wake during the night. He loves to insist on licking my nose which I have no objections to. I do have to say though it is the nip that he gives from time to time that I have an objection to!

Ho Hum Yum Tum

2008-10-20T20:38:00.002Z

A certain lady of my acquaintance has told me off for not blogging again for a while. Unfortunately it was a very easy habit to get into. I have been off and about doing a number of the craft shows, NEC, Exeter, Harrogate and of course Ally Pally.

Ally Pally was nice as I managed to catch up with a lot of people I know from when I lived in London. Thursday saw me out with a close and old friend of more years than I care think about. Friday saw me out on the town with two work colleagues from just before I moved out of London and we went out for our regular Turkish meal. It also saw me nodding off part of the way through so fortunate that I was in good company. One of them has had a baby girl in July just a day after my birthday so it is one birthday I will have problems forgetting as I'm just so bad with not remembering dates! She also had to get back home for her so I didn't have to feel so guilty for making an early night of it. Saturday then saw me out with another friend for another Turkish meal (well I had to manage to get that rice pudding in somehow). Unfortunately my first choice of restaurant was too busy so we ended up going to a place where my two work colleagues and I used to go. While I did manage to get my rice pudding in the meal I normally have when I was there wasn't up the old standards. The meat I found seemed to be a really cheap cut of meat and more fat than meat so will have to think twice about going back.

Sunday saw my aunt come to Ally Pally and I introduced her to a few of my friends and we escaped for lunch and a natter.

Shopping-wise I didn't come away with very much. I had decided that I was not going to buy anything (apart from one thing) as I don't need anything so it would just be adding to the stash for another day. The one thing that I was going to buy and had pre-ordered a beginner's lace making kit. However when I got to the show on the Sunday I found it under the table waiting for me. I hadn't settled the bill on it so I took it over to the stand and left it under their table and intended on going back a bit later when they were there. However, it subsequently came to light that it had been left on the stand for me by someone else so I had to go running over and put the situation right (!). I had them go through the kit for me and I ended up buying the bits and pieces that I was missing from the kit. Unfortunately I didn't have enough room in my luggage in the end so it will be reunited with me in a few weeks' time instead.

I managed to catch my train with a hair's breadth home and think I lost several pounds in the sudden burst of energetic movement so at least I worked off some of the eat-outs :)

On the home front not too much has really been happening. Knitting-wise I've been very naughty and not been knitting as it has been a blur of washing/ironing/washing/ironing - familiar pattern occurring here.

Last Tuesday though the rabbit died. It is not a passing that I am sorry over as there has been no real emotional bond with her. She had been going for quite some time as she was eating less and less and then after I got back from Ally Pally she stopped eating and drinking altogether and I am surprised that she had lasted as long as she had otherwise she would have been taking a trip to the vet.

MonsterMog on the other hand is getting fuller and fuller of beans every day that passes. It is hard to believe that he is only 19 weeks old as he is almost as big as Lara now (who incidentally still has not taken to him). At night he will usually settle on my pillow and the last thing I know before I hit the Z land is his purring in my ear. I am then usually awakened to his insisting that it is time I was washed which I have no objection to (although his tongue is still on the slightly rough side) but I do have an objection when he nips my nose :( He also seems to have developed a fetish for Jamieson's yarn! I ordered four balls of Spindrif a month or so ago and have it sitting in the spare bedroom waiting for me to post off to its intended recipient. It somehow manages to walk to another room. I then ended up binning a ball of white ultra which I had got out for a project of a knitted angel. When I picked it up off the floor yesterday when I was cleaning out the rabbit hutch thinking it was just a spare ball left lying around from when I got rid of seven bin liners of yarn a few weeks ago put it straight in the bin. It was when I found the ball band I realised where it had come from. I wonder if I could ship him back to Mumsy?

Wormy Babies

2008-09-09T15:41:00.000Z

Sticky Note Reminders

2008-09-03T20:37:00.001Z

Do you know if you put one on your PC to remind you to do something it is usually beneficial that you don't then let it slip and disappear under the tower of your PC unit

Ciller Cat

2008-09-02T20:30:00.004Z

I thought I would share a pic of the MonsterMog with his prey ;-) It's not a close up of him though as it was taken very much on the spur of the moment and I don't think somehow that he would pause for the photocall no matter how nicely I asked him.

He has a tendency of growling (and yes I do mean growl as in dog rather than yowl as in cat) when he is playing with his "prey". I had thought it was a bit unusual so I put a post on Ravelry to see if anyone else had experienced and was informed that there were several people whose cats do it as well so its not as unusual as I had first thought.

Secret Pal - Second Package

2008-08-19T20:11:00.004Z

I got home tonight and found a nice parcel waiting for me with all of these goodies:

Happy Birthday Mumsy

2008-08-17T20:10:00.000Z

Thought I'd share a pic of my mumsy with everyone ;-)

A Face Pic

2008-08-11T19:59:00.003Z

This little gentleman just doesn't seem to like showing his face to the camera so this pic came as quite a shock. He's still finding my nose extremely tasty and spends a couple of minutes every morning washing it for me :) He still enjoys an after lick nible as well though :(

Nothing much happening on the knitting/crochet front I'm afraid. Local group is meeting at my house again tomorrow night so best I'd better decide what I'm going to cast on for next. I wonder if I could fit the Wedding Ring Shawl in as we're in the Ravelympics now

Secret Pal Questions 8 & 9

2008-08-06T20:22:00.002Z

Question 8: What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?
Again my appetite is the same winter and summer alike. I guess if I had to choose it would be chinese curry beef and rice - yummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Question 9: Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it? ETA…for those of you who live in parts of the world w/o fairs…would you ever consider entering your knitting in a competition?
I entered in one in 2006 and came second.

I entered three last year and came second in all three.

This year I've entered none as not had anything done. I think my needles are feeling abandoned and gathering dust as been quite a while since I've picked them up!

Settling In

2008-08-03T10:27:00.002Z

Well MonsterMog seems to have settled in really well. Unfortunately Cairo and Lara are still a bit against him at the moment. If I had a swear box for the pair of them I think I could have an all expenses trip paid for by now ;)

I took him to the vet yesterday and he's now been dosed for worms/fleas. Fortunately with our cats being indoors cats it is normally a case of once it has been done it's done. That said the only time they seem to pick anything up is after a trip to the vets. I have had words with him before about it and he has denied responsibility.

MM is very loving and affectionate and has decided that my pillow above my head is the perch for the night. No complaints here apart from the fact that when he decides it is playtime I'm at hand for claws and teeth. Now munching on fingers I don't object to but when was the last time you had a set of sharp teeth attack your nose - OUCH! He does of course make up for it by the lots of lovely licks he gives (which apparently is an indicatory sign of him feeling belongs in the pack) and he has got a lovely loud purr. I am hoping that he is going to be a lap cat as neither Cairo nor Lara are but I put this down to the fact that they had both been in the non-caring environment of a pet shop for some time between leaving their mum and coming to us. I know for a fact that Lara had been on her own in her cage for a week before I bought her as I'd seen her there the week before.

Secret Pal Questions of the Week

2008-07-28T10:02:00.000Z

Well I've not been answering these when they've been coming up as I have kept forgetting to look at the blog. I guess its more because round 11 switched over to Ravelry and it wasn't updated that I've let it slip more than any intentional so here are the questions and my answers. Not sure whether they'll be any good for my upstream SP but here goes nothing:

Question 1: What is your favourite summertime drink?

My taste is drinks never vary. I'll drink both hot and colds drinks in summer and winter alike so coffee and pop here.

Question 2: As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?
The long break from school lol I can only ever remember us going away for summer holidays coincided with the Olympics (not for going to see the Olympics either lol)

Question 3: What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?
So whatever I needed for a project was in my stash and in the colours that I needed.

Question 4:
1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
I have no idea and if I knew I would have bought it by now ;-)

2) What yarn do you never want to be without?
Plain yarn by which I mean the non-fur/non-fluff varieties. Much more enjoyable to use :)

Question 5:
1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?
When I was a child 99% of my holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight. As an adult I rarely go away on holiday so guess the childhood one would have to be the answer here!

2) Where is one place you’d like to go?
I'm going to have to plump for two here - Disneyland and Disneyworld but only if I could take three people with me ;-)

Question 6: What is your favourite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?
Any time I do go away from home I am always up and doing things so something plain that I wouldn't have to think about and there wouldn't be problems if I went wrong and had to frog.

Question 7: What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit? and What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?

In my hands as I've yet to learn to knit with my feet teehee. Coffee and biscuits ooo and cake :)

New Arrival

2008-07-27T22:07:00.003Z

Well MonsterMog arrived safely home today. It was his first time in a carry case and let's just say it is not an experience I want to repeat again in a hurry! No sooner than I had taken him out than he settled down and he was most vocal about expressing his dissatisfaction about going back in!

When he arrived home a certain person was in bed but I guess the meowing woke him up. I then got asked "who's that?" promptly followed by "awwww" so the grumble moan groan grumble I guessed was going to happen didn't !

Here's pictured here with his "I've been travelling all day so I'm tired!" look.

Birthdays

2008-07-24T11:41:00.000Z

Just dont seem as fun as they used to when you were young. Cake, balloons, parties, cake, presents, did I mention cake?

A proper update blog post will come next week when I get back from the family with "presents"

1

2008-07-10T22:55:00.001Z

Well July has flown by so far. My crafting mojo isnt around much for obvious reasons. MM's birthday came and went yesterday. The one good thing about it is that I can prod and poke him about the fact that MM is ten years older than me now :)

Monster Mog

2008-07-01T20:58:00.002Z

Here he is aged 3 1/2 weeks looking sweet and I've a feeling he's going to be quite a bruiser!

Would you want to

2008-06-23T20:15:00.002Z

utilise this offer

when it looks to be done here?

New Year - Looking Forward & Back

2008-06-22T23:41:00.002Z

It's only just come to my attention that I never published this posting back in January so guess I might as well do it now.

NEW YEAR 2007 RESOLUTIONS
I've decided that this year I will have at least one Finished Object a month. I also need to sit down and decide what I'll be entering into the Bingley show in August. I know that this may sound somewhat future planning but last year there was one fellow entrant who had a multitude of entries in each class so needles need to start flying and clicking - any ideas?

Well that was my resolution posting for last year. Completing 12 knitted items last year well that just didn't work. I remember finishing 2 knitted items for a friend's bear, 1 shawl, 1 knitted pig toilet roll cover and two lace pattern scarves for a friend and her grandmother and unfortunately little else. I did make a number of false starts on items which ended up being UFOs and are now frogged.

I've entered this year with the following on the needles : one moss stitch scarf (started at NEC in September) (I have now managed to finish this), one Debbie Bliss alphabet blanket that was started in August and am now on the last block of letters (I gave up on this as I lost contact with the person it was for and binned it), and one unbloggable project which is behind schedule (this was the Feed The Children jumper for Mick Aston).

In addition to the above I am intending on getting started and finished a jumper for me (Alice Starmore Aran Jumper utilising Jamieson's aran. This is still in a state of tension square), the field for the knitted picnic, a shawl for some horrible person from Victorian Lace Today. I'm also going to make sure that this is the year I start on the Wedding Ring Shawl. I got some sample yarn for it from Woolly Workshop at Ally Pally in October so once I've finished my unbloggable I can give it a test swatch or two, or four or five ;-)

2008 is also going to see my going abroad for the first time since 1979. I was talking to Sasha Kagan at Ally Pally and she mentioned that both her and Jean Moss are running a five-day workshop in France. I came in to a little money in December so have sent off my cheque and just awaiting confirmation. Further details of it can be found here. I've read the airline's prohibited items and I pity the poor person sat next to me. Its a two hour flight and needles are banned items! I am thinking about stopping off via Paris on the way back. Do you think it is do-able?

This was a grand week and although I did not really learn anything new I met some grand people and am in contact with a number of them and hopefully a few reunions are bound for Ally Pally this year.

Anyway things that happened to me in 2007 include:

Attending my first KCG meeting after having been a member for over a year (I've now attended two or three this year);

Being featured in my local paper as a male knitter (they also featured it in a review of 2007 section) (Have since been quoted in Let's Knit in an article that focused on the French Treats workshop. Have also been credited for knitting the Feed the Children Mick Aston breakfast jumper) ;

Going on SkipNorth for a third time (also ended up going this year for the Sunday);

Went on training courses and became a certified fire warden and St John's Ambulance First aider;

Won three 2nd prizes for my shawl at local shows;

Became an uncle for second time;

Losing two rats to bad health;

Gaining two rats because I saw them in the shop just after Ish went for a bigger chunk of cheese;

Watching Harry Potter 5 in the cinema and then buying Harry Potter 7 a few hours later;

Being made redundant from my part-time job (Not a great loss but it did hit the yarn engorgement fund);

Deciding to leave my full-time job in a corporate law firm and move on as I needed a change;

Getting a full-time job as essentially a paralegal. This is a role which is below a trainee solicitor. I am training up in the field of wills and probate. (A role which came in personally useful in light of recent events.)

CLEAR OUT

2008-06-22T14:48:00.001Z

I'm having a clear out of yarn and non-yarn. All listed on e-Bay under ID KBMNN.

Sleeping Beauty

2008-06-21T19:37:00.000Z

The Monster Mog lay here fast asleep and just two weeks old - aaaawwwwww!!!!!!!!!!

Secret Pal Parcel 1

2008-06-20T21:26:00.000Z

Well I got back tonight to find this nice little parcel waiting for me:

Opening it up inside I found this nicely wrapped in pretty paper:

On top were these two sets of buttons:

I'm now going to have a good route through my patterns to find a jumper I can utilise them for. SP do you know I have a soft touch for buttons?

Next up were these:

which revealed this nice bag:

I think I'll be able to utilise this for carrying my socks I'm knitting at the moment although I think it will also work quite well size way for several lace projects I have in mind so it definitely be put to good use for some time to come. The problem I find with knitting bags as a whole is that they are very much geared up for the female market and don't seeem to take into account that there is a male market out there as well as a female market who are not particularly girly!

Inside the parcel inside the bag I found this in the main packet:

Having read the note from my SP I think she was a bit worried about it but there was nothing to worry about. I've been looking at this series for a while as I've never really grown out of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" type books that have been around for 25+ years so this one hit the nail on the head although I think she was slightly worried about its choice by her little note.

The little packet attached to the book contained these lovely badges and they are now adorning my coat:

Packed separately and awaiting to be munched are these yummies:

The diet has taken a back seat as I've been comfort eating the past couple of weeks due to everything that has been happening so I guess 1 July is going to be the d-day!

Thanks for all of this SP you've hit trumps all the way :-D

A Black Day

2008-06-19T21:20:00.002Z

Well today was the day of the funeral which none of us had been looking forward to. It still seems hard to contemplate and understand why but we all have to come to terms with it in our own way and at our own pace. All of us had our plans of what we were going to be doing in the future but now will not be happening. There are two good things that have come out of this if that can be said. One is totally unbloggable until x date ;-) and the other is that it has demonstrated of how close the family still remains.

I do have to say that I was not happy with the floral arrangement. When I ordered it I had specifically requested certain things to be in the arrangement. None of the requested items are out of season (apparently they can get hold of all blooms all year round these days) as they were summer blooms or greenery so I think I may well be giving them some grief of their own!

Thios has demonstrated though that there is not always necessarily a tomorrow.

RIP Christian

2008-06-06T21:45:00.002Z

A brother whose light didn't burn for long enough.

Information here :

We as a family have decided that we're not having flowers but asking for donations to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Cardiac Wing instead.

Secret Pal 12 Questionnaire

2008-06-01T22:10:00.002Z

1. What is/are your favourite yarn/s to knit with? What fibres do you absolutely *not* like?
I think I prefer “plain” as opposed to the current fashion furs (see q 14).I don't like the eyelash and fur yarns (funky fur, fizz, foxy etc). I also absolutely detest Dune after having a disaster knitting a poncho in it early last year.I don't have a preference between acrylic or natural.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I’ve got a storage case for one set of my metal needles, a roll case for my bamboo needles and then one of those stackable boxes with lids for the remainder.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I have been knitting 27 years in December. Would say intermediate – advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Not at the moment. I tend to go through phases of what books I collect so its always best to ask me.

5. What's your favourite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I like citrus smells and rose. I also like the smell of lavender but is not something I’d want something too permanent smelling of.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favourite candy?
Yes have a very sweet tooth unfortunately have now put myself on a diet but dried fruits are good.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I’ve bought myself a cross-stitch and rug making kit to have a go at. Not sure how well I’ll take to it at the moment though. I have also learnt the basics for Tunisian crochet but undecided now whether i’ll take it further. I had a spinning wheel called Mabel but never used her so gave her up for adoption.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD).
Quite a mixed range. Not so fond of 1990s onward though. Yes I can play everything. I also collect Dr Who audios and am quite behind on those.

9. What's your favourite colour(s)? Any colours you just can't stand?
I like various green but not lime (bit too bright for me to wear), also like blue and some oranges. If knitting for myself I don't like pastels. I also ABSOLUTELY LOATHE pink.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Partner of 7.5 years. At the moment we have two cats (Cairo and Lara), one rabbits (Winkie), three rats (Gibber, Teddy, Feddy).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear gloves. Again these are bottle green which I need to find as its getting chilly here. I am not really a hat person either although I have done myself a balaclava.

12. What is/are your favourite item/s to knit?
I'm very much in a lace phase at present but if it is knitting for other people am not too fussy. Travelling to/from work I make blanket squares – easy to knit and no major problems if you get shoved/lose your place.

13. What are you knitting right now?
On the needles or about to go on the needles is the fiddlesticks peacock feather shawl utilising Cherry Tree Hill peacock colourway and beads, an Alice Starnore aran jumper using Jamiesons aran and a pair of socks using Begere De France sock wool that I bought in France last month.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminium, plastic?
I have two sets of straights (one metal and one bamboo). I also have a set of Boyes (similar to Denise's). I have several Addis including a 3.5mm and a 4mm

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Oh yes - how on earth did I live without the combination!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I inherited a pair of gloves when my nan died so these are now about 20 years old. My own UFO though is a balaclava I made about 4-5 years ago which I finally sewed it up November 2006 but still need to do a rib edging for round my face. I needed to make it up quickly as it was extremely cold and windy when I was helping at Harrogate.

18. What is your favourite holiday?
Seasonal holiday I like Christmas - think its the kid in me.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I’m into Dr Who, Enid Blyton, Star Wars but am a natural hoarder.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I subscribe to Simply Knitting and pick up copies of Knitting and occasionally Interweave Knits and Knit Today.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Bit of a difficult one this. After I went on the French Treats week I realised I need to start looking at more advanced techniques for something that is going to give me a challenge.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Not really. I've made five socks in my time and currently making number 6 and 7 but making them doesn't really knit my rib to be honest.. Sizewise though I am a UK8.

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

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID
KnittyFred

Ravelry Update

2008-01-06T22:30:00.000Z

Well after wasting an entire day yesterday just reading through Ravelry I thought that today I would put it to some use. This morning I had a lay in and then started straight on the unbloggable project. As I was starting to get a touch of cramp in my hands at 4.00pm I decided I'd jump on Ravelry again and update my stash. I've been putting my laceweight yarns on there today. The amount I have hasn't come as a shock but it is most definitely helpful to know WHAT I've got. I have been taking pictures as I've been listing everything but I will add them on a bit later once I've got them all listed.

For anyone not in the know my ID is: KNITTYFRED.

***UPDATE***

Okay all of my laceweight is on there I think. Now I can move on to everything else. I am going to be taking advantage of this and have a clear out at the same time.

Whoops

2008-01-05T23:28:00.000Z

All of my good intentions for today have slipped. It seems that I have spent all day exploring Ravelry. I wonder if there is a Ravelry Anonymous group out there somewhere!

AARRGGHH

2008-01-04T22:57:00.000Z

Well tonight saw a journey home from hell. What normally takes me an hour to get home which includes walking from work to the train station, the train ride and the bus and waiting time took three hours. The train in front of ours had broken down and after a long wait it was decided that ours should push it along. Ours then broke down and at one point we were in total darkness for ten minutes. Once we finally got to the first station on the line an announcement went over the tannoy stating that it was only going to be calling at two stations - Keighley and Skipton. It was pouring down with rain and I walked through it up to the market square and waited for a bus.

There were two things though that made the journey particularly stressful. One was an eighteen year old girl who complained the entire journey. She complained about not being able to sit down, she was hot, she was thirsty, could her boyfriend's mother/father pick them up, they should have walked, people should rotate sitting down so she could sit down, she should say that she was pregnant that way she'd get a seat (albeit she wasn't). I must say though I was quite restrained by not saying anything. Are youngsters these days about having to make do?

The other thing though that was making it a nasty journey was I'd got a bag full of knitting with me that I could be getting on with but because I was stood up on a crowded train I couldn't do any so I wasted two hours opportunity :(

A Resolution

2008-01-03T22:12:00.000Z

Not including when I am away from home of course but I have decided to post on the blog every day. Not sure how long it will last as I did try keeping a diary when I was younger and got fed up of trying to think of something to write other than "didnt do much today" as it was only me that read it. Now I'm keeping one in the public domain it may be something different.

My bedroom is looking slightly sparse now without the extra cage and it still seems weird but I have accepted regarding Little One. When I saw the vet on Monday it might be kidney/liver related but he couldn't say for certain. It wasn't a nice way to end the year I know but at least I know that the pain has ended for him. Dinner on New Years Day though was Rat and Mouse-room pie ;-)

Looking Forward to 2008

2008-01-02T21:07:00.000Z

As I am still in the throes of writing my revisit of 2007 I thought I'd best do a little post.

One of my NY resolutions is that by the end of January all of my stash (yarn, books and needles) will be posted on Ravelry.

One knitting mojo issue. I'm looking around at various lace shawls at the moment in order to decide which to knit for this year's shows and nothing is really taking my fancy as I seem to have seen them all before and really want something new. Anyone any ideas?

Little One

2007-12-31T13:11:00.000Z

is also being missed :(

I hope next year will see less loved ones departing although Gibber is now also coming up to that particular stage in her life but must say after her surgery and antics back in July she's doing pretty good!

Rats & Knitting

2007-12-29T22:41:00.000Z

Things not going too well at the moment in Maison Fred. We've got a poorly rat again. This time it is Little One. He is the male (funny that with him being a he ;-)) we got last year just before Christmas. He's sitting in his cage and looking somewhat depressed and not eating. I've taken him to the vet twice this week after weighing him on Sunday. I found that he had lost 4 oz in weight. The last time I weighed him admittedly was in August but I think its all been recent weight loss. He is on antibiotics which I'm giving to him by syringe as he was refusing to let me put the spoon in his mouth. I'm also feeding him baby food as he is not eating his rat nuggets and only nibbling, as if making a show for me, of anything else he is being given. I am just hoping that I do not have to make THAT PARTICULAR DECISION given that its only 6 weeks since Ish.

On the knitting front. The unbloggable project that I have been working on has been put on hold. I've decided that I am not going to give it to the originally intended recipient as we have gone our separate ways but will keep it aside for someone else as soon as they become apparent.

I am working on another unbloggable project at the moment. It is taking me longer than I first anticipated but there is a lot of colour work involved in it as it is a jacquard project. I am so hoping that my lottery numbers come up so I can retire and then I can knit all day and know I'll have finished in time.

After I finish that I have another large project to do. I've volunteered my services to knit the field for the knitted picnic. This however is going to be a much simpler project than it sounds as it will also be commuter knitting as I can do it in bits and pieces so it will easily fit into my bag for my bus and train journey. I wonder if I could manage to do it while I walk between the train station and the office?

Missing In Action

2007-12-24T23:23:00.000Z

The past week or so has been somewhat hectic to say the least. I will be posting an update on 27th because, as is the tradition in Maison Fred, there will be no mobiles or internet access on the festive days. See you on the other side and hope you have an enjoyable time whatever you do.

Secret Pal Reveal UPDATED

2007-12-16T21:34:00.000Z

I've been having problems with blogger not accepting my pictures but just to confirm that I've received my final SP11 parcel and REALLY happy with it. My SP included a postcard in the box and I have to say that it very firmly reminds me of myself at the moment trying to cram my stash in at home ;-)

I arrived home and found this box waiting for me:

Opening up I found an optical feast of goodies:

First of all this Italian DK yarn. Four balls of green

Along with two balls of orange and two of yellow:

Next in the box were these two skeins of green and purple lace weight yarn:

My SP had mentioned to me in an e-mail that she was making something for me but had not made any mention of exactly what it was she was making. It turns out to be this adoreable felted green piece. I'm not sure whether she intends me to use it as a scarf or as a runner as some of the flowers have been beaded

Buried under this were these two bars of chooclate with adorable animal pictures. How I wish my rabbits were this small! Also tucked away was a felted die and a 2008 calendar with a cute little snuffly nosed animal. I think it is a mouse but as it bears a remarkable resemblance to Feddy I'm not 100% certain.

I am also going to have to a have a proper sit down and read through of these two mitten pattern books as there are some lovely patterns pictured. One of the books in both English and Estonian and the other is in purely Estonian. This isn't going to cause me any problems though as I can read pictures :-D

Finally, my SP wrote me a lovely message on the back of this postcard but she got the picture so right. You would not believe it but this (as I have mentioned) is so reminiscent of my trying to get my stash in available space at home. I think I'm going to have to e-bay again.

My upward SP revealed herself to be: Kuduv koeraomanik. I've enjoyed our correspondence in the past few months and hopefully we will be staying in touch now that SP11 is over.

Meet The New Family

2007-11-26T22:47:00.000Z

They are both boys. This is Teddy

and this is Feddy (with Teddy in the background)

Ish

2007-11-13T22:11:00.001Z

will be missed :(

:(

2007-11-01T22:16:00.000Z

Just a quick e-mail to say that I am here still and around but just sooooooo busy with 101 different things not of course including the day job.

I have been thinking about closing down the blog after SP11 as it is just getting to be a burden to keep up with blogging. What do you think?

Nightmares

2007-10-23T20:15:00.000Z

Real Nightmare
My crown that I had fixed back in place last week came out again yesterday. I had a trip to the dentist this morning to get it fixed again but have now been told that I'm either going to have root canal or an extraction :(

False Nightmare
I had a dream last night where I was looking at getting myself a nice sewing box but complaining that the one they had in the shop wasn't big enough. I'm not sure why as I am most definitely not a sewer. Now if it had been a stash storage box.....

UPDATES

2007-10-21T13:42:00.001Z

I've been a bit of a naughty Fred and needed to post several postings but blogger has not been playing ball with the uploading of pictures. I've now been able to post pics so the entry titles have been preceded with "update" to identify which they are as they go back over several weeks.

Enjoy

Secret Pal 2

2007-10-20T09:04:00.000Z

I decided that as this was the first day I've had off for a couple of weeks I would be having a lay in. I was most disgruntled though when there was a loud knock at the door at some unspeakable hour. It turned out to be my postman with two parcels. One was my Star Wars collection which was somewhat overdue but that is down to the beloved postal strikes that we've been encountering and the other was my second SP11 parcel:

I managed to curtail my annoyance at this point and dived on the parcel and opened it up:

Inside there was this lovely card. I like pictures of poppies and thought it semeed wonderfully set against the blue of the paper:

Inside were munchable goodies:

The chocolate tastes very nutty and grainy but in an enjoyable manner. Not sure what the others are as I've yet to indulge. The yarn was not quite so scrummy though as it kept catching between my teeth. Perhaps it wasn't meant for munching on ;-)

My SP also put in this fibre for felting which she said had been hand-dyed using wild mushrooms and I must say its delightful colours. Am wondering though whether I'd be able to use Myrtle with it for spinning purposes.

The last of the goodies was this bar of soap made with honey and oatmeal for exfoliating. Am glad I read the label first as otherwise it would have gone the same way as the yarn and that would have been really silly wouldn't it?

Thanks for the wonderful spoils yet again SP :)

UPDATE: Ally Pally & Spoils

2007-10-19T18:07:00.000Z

Here is my reporting in as is now the new requirement set by a certain person ;-)

My first main purchases were done at the Cherry Tree Hill stand and comprised of:

which is going to be used for a nameless (at this stage) person. I'm going to have to trawl through my lace patterns before I can make a start on it as I didn't have anything in particular in mind at the time.

I also got these two skeins of Orenburg lace as well as a "small" amount of wedding ring shawl laceweight yarn. I didn't want to get any more yet because (a) I've not started it and (b) I'll be using this as a tester to make sure its the right yarn for me.

I then stopped off at the Lantern Moon stand and rather than buying their needles I bought these two tape measures. I blame Laura for it as I'd seen her with them so I bought a black sheep and a queen bee tape measure. Its not that I am short of tape measures but rather their collectability.

Saturday saw Noonie and I having a day out and about in London. I'll not be recounting the tale of the bead shop here though !

Here is a picture of us reflected in the window of Peter Jones up the King's Road in Chelsea. You can see the balls of yarn at the bottom of the model's feet. As I remember there were also strands of yarn going up to and round her hands as well.

As the last stop of the day (well not including dinner and the cinema) was at I-Knit. I'd had an exchange of emails last year with Gerard as to exactly where they were situated as I used to have a friend who lived on the opposite side of the square to where the shop is now situated. It turns out that the shop is not where I thought (on the site of the cafe) but rather it has replaced the food shop where my friend worked.

My purchases for the day were:

Two skeins of alpaca (that were thrust in my hand by Sue who had been there for the day) as well as the Gossamer Web shawl collection of three shawl patterns).

There was also this skein of Fyberspates which Jenn may string me up for as I didn't buy it from her but that's because she was being stubborn when I met her ;-)

Noonie bought these skeins and has given them to me for a lace shawl that she saw when flicking through Victorian Lace Today. Fortunately for her I already have the book otherwise I would have made her purchase it as well.

My final purchases of the show were these from Jamiesons.

You will see that I have already cast on for the Horseshoe Scarf. This is because in my infinite wisdom I had packed the unbloggable project in my bag and it was only when I took it out of my knitting bag on the train on the way down I found I had not packed any more balls of yarn other than the one I was already working from and running out of! Its only an eight row pattern and four of those are plain knit so I'll not be having any need to be frogging this one.

The circular I am using is a HiyaHiya one which I bought from Knit N Caboodle. I'm not sure thatI notice a lot of difference between that and the other circulars that I use but time will tell when I swap back.

I did acquire a couple of other things at AP but I can't mention those as they are intended for my SP.

Tooth Ouch!

2007-10-18T22:00:00.000Z

Yesterday lunchtime saw one of my crowns pop off my tooth. All I had been munching on was some chewing gum and I have to say that I'd not experienced any pain for quite some time so it came as a bolt out of the blue. I went to the dentist today and I thought that it would have meant the root being dug out as it was a clean break. Instead there was a bit of drilling that left me on the sore side and financially light :( The one thing that I am glad of though is that it was this week and not last that it happened as I would not have been happy on missing out for Ally Pally!

I took the scarf with me that I have been working on and off on since NEC last month using the green/white/brown Nepalese wool that I bought at Knitting 4 Fun. Later on in the day I did some more rows on the Jamieson scarf and then when I was sat watching Hotel Inspector I was working on the unbloggable project. Three projects in one day I think is a bit of a new experience for me. I've still got another two projects tucked to one side which I've not touched in several months which I am really going to have to get finished before Christmas especially as one is a present and given that it is just over nine weeks away...

UPDATE: Harrogate Show

2007-10-07T17:55:00.000Z

This show saw an outing of Mr Shaun the Sheep and his minder Janet. Janet is also the lady who made him and she made a special trip up along with Mavis (her sister) for the show. The show in itself was quiet on the teaching side of things but we did do lots for Shaun the Ship and the Wallace & Gromit Children's Foundation due to his Sheepiness' presence on the stand.

Here is a picture of Mavis doing some teaching.

Here is John taking advantage of a quiet moment to work on his scarf that he started to make. If memory serves right he made it using two balls of Sirdar Medici:
Here we see Neal of NKM wools with a certain sheep hiding amongst the packs of yarn. Neal was the gentleman who very kindly donated the yarn for the full size Shaun way back in March.
My only purchases for the show were modest ones as I'm saving my spending splurge for Ally Pally:

Tea Cozies and Toilet Roll Covers both by Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer of Wooly Thoughts. It was only pointed out to me on our stand that part of Tea Cozies has been inserted upside down. By the time I was able to point this out to the stand I bought it from they had sold the other copies and apparently had only had it in a day or two before they'd left for the show so it was hot off the presses.

These I bought from Meiflower and as always will play with them eventually. At the bottom of the screen are some baby dummies that they had in two sizes and both blue and pink An idea is forming for what I'll be using them for as well. Now the countdown for Ally Pally begins...

There's a good Fred

2007-10-02T21:08:00.000Z

As promised I had a good sort out of my books on Sunday. I think I cleared out about a quarter of them and took them along to my local group tonight. I sold them at £1 each with the proceeds going to the Wallace & Gromit Foundation. The remaining ones that didn't sell will be going on e-bay later with proceeds going the same way.