Merry Christmas

Just a short post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and hope that Santa brings you all you wish for!

I wanted to especially thank everyone who commented on my last post. Words can't explain how much it helped me and I'm so grateful for your comments.

I have been doing a little knitting most days and finished these lovely Cozy House Socks from 101 Skein Wonders. I loved them so much I've cast on for another pair in cream. I used Jaeger Matchmaker Aran from stash which is machine washable and so nice and easy to care for.

And I finally finished the Log Cabin Blanket from the Mason-Dixon book. It's only been a WIP for over a year! But it's lovely and snugly and perfect for cuddling up on the sofa with.

For my lovely Harmony needles I found this lovely DPN/circ case on Ebay which holds them all perfectly. I know have the larger additional sizes and so have a complete set ;)

See you all in the New Year!

A Difficult Post

The latest Socks That Rock Club Kit arrived just before I did my last post but as they were still arriving didn't want to spoil it for anyone so waited till now. Hard to photograph but a very unusual colour and gorgeous in the flesh. Notice the little friends attached? They really are a little lifelike......

The pattern is lace and we know lace isn't my thing so I'll use something else. I did start the Firebird sock kit thinking it would spur me on, but I find the pattern a little beyond me right now so thats sitting waiting patiently.

I have managed a little progess on the 2nd CTH Louis Gems Merino sock though. Eventually it will turn into a complete sock and join its pretty brother and make a pair! It is a lovely colour but fingering weight yarn and teeny needles aren't what I need right now so its gone into hibernation for a while.

I started making this shrug from the latest Yarn Forward magazine while I've been ill as it was so simple even I could manage to knit it without totally messing up. Brain fog you see ;) I wasn't sure whether I'd like it and thought it might get frogged but once I'd finished the main body which is just a rectangle, it kinda looked rather good. Perfect for just slipping on when its a little nippy indoors or maybe for wearing in the car. And the yarn is from stash that I've had years. I like using yarn from stash ;)

I still haven't managed to take a picture of the almost FO blanket.......which is now having its ends sewn in, as I just keep forgetting. DH glued the defective Harmony which worked a treat, so I was able to carry on using it.

Ravelry forcing me to face up to my stash mountain has been good in some ways. Time to get rid of stuff that I've had for years, especially anything with manmade fibres in it. Not the Calmer of course, that doesn't count! And realistically, now matter how much I'd like to make Bomber, the jacket in Rowan Denim, it is never actually going to happen. It gives me chronic arm ache and the pattern is a pain as its not a standard rib so mistakes are far too easy. And even worse, you have to knit it longer than normal to allow for shrinkage! Knitting should be fun, and though it might be painful selling the packet of 20 balls I fondly remember buying in House of Fraser, I think I'll feel a lot better when its frogged and gone. I hope so anyway.......

Is anyone else feeling maybe its time to destash a little or sort out after Ravelry has made them face the reality of the size of their stash? Or is it just me......

I don't really know quite what to write about my illness. It's tempting to ignore my blog as I actually have to write stuff and at the moment I find Ravelry easier as I can just post pictures and say nothing. It's been a difficult time and rather than recovering, the minute I attempt to do anything requiring energy, I end up worse. As yet another failed attempt to go into work a few weeks back for an hour or so proved. Not helped by boss saying 'so you won't be doing end of month then' after telling him I wasn't better. I broke down in tears and more doctors visits ensued. I've been diagnosed with post viral fatigue and depression on top of the severe asthma. The fatigue explains a lot. The depression I've found hard to accept and deal with, but am now on medication and not so embarassed about it as I was. Neither have been helped by my asthma being the worst ever. I'm now on another lot of new medication for that too. My peak flow was so low when I saw the asthma nurse I was totally shocked. So, all in all, things haven't been good. I've been signed off by the doctor again and now won't be returning back to work. I never thought I'd suffer from depression, but the stress of my illness and the pressure of being forced to keep returning to work was just too much. I have no trouble standing up for myself but when you're already unwell you expect more from your employer than a load of stress and pressure. I wasn't even going to mention the depression on my blog initally, due to embarassment. I'm past that now. Funny how we react to things sometimes.

I have been to the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital though as I managed to get a cancellation which I was pleased about. Unfortunately the effort of getting to the hospital totally wiped me out and I'm still recovering from that. But the process has started and I've had my first remedy and have my next appointment at the beginnning of January.

So the knitting, blogging and leaving comments will be sporadic for a while. You'd think I'd get more knitting done but there are days when I can't manage a stitch. So I'm sticking to simple quick knit projects that aren't challenging and are easy to pick up and put down. And finishing something always gives you a boost doesn't it?

And this is one of my quick knit projects from 101 One-Skein Wonders (how I love that book!). the hat is really cute and I'm really pleased with it. It's called Ela's Favourite Hat for anyone interested and just uses a skein of Noro ;)

I also got the wonderful 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders which recently came out and is just as good if not better than the first book. There are several designs I already have plans to make. It's the perfect book for me right now, small, simple projects. My homeopathic doctor was quite impressed with my felted bag and said knitting was really good as it uses the other side of the brain. We already know that its good for us, don't we?

I also came across this book by Maggie Pace, who of course designs the Pick Up Sticks kits and patterns which I adore. She has a newer book which I'll get at some point. Meanwhile this book is full of patterns I'd like to make. Not yet, but hopefully soon.

Refusing To Give In

I'm determined to show some knitting this post and not have a post just about my latest problems. No doubt you're as sick of hearing about it as I am of being ill! So briefly here we go - I reacted to the scented? air purifier and ended up on steroids in the end anyway. Couple of days later I had breathing problems again and my nose was blocked. So back on antihistamines and nasal spray. Made it to work on Tuesday, coughed all morning, should have left work early. Didn't. Big mistake. By the time I left the glands in my neck were swollen and throbbing and I got home in a terrible state. Back to the docs on Weds and left with another additional inhaler, sick note for my asthma and the news that I now also had a viral infection. That would explain the swollen glands then! Downside to steroids is they lower your resistance to infection.....

But I'm determined not to get more miserable as it just hinders your recovery and am just resting in bed and doing nothing. Apart from a little knitting, playing on my Nintendo DS and of course going on the internet. Things kind of hit a peak on Weds, not a great surprise after everything, and I wasn't happy to wake up in the afternoon to find an email from work asking if I could come in to finish the payments. I realised my health was far more important than work and to keep struggling through when I wasn't right is just making me worse and worse. So I'm not worrying about work anymore.

As I'm still waiting to hear from the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital and realistically may not get an appointment till next year as the referral letter hasn't been done yet. Thanks to the new computer systems at the doctors. So I've booked in for allergy testing with a local homeopath for the time being. She knows I've been referred and frankly, I can't wait and do nothing. I've gotten some books on homeopathy to read up and learn a bit more about it. As my first aid kit consists of aromatherapy oils rather than creams or lotions it makes a whole bunch of sense to me.

My recent hospital visit for my anaemia was fine and the very well spoken jolly doctor I saw looked through my files and said humourously, is there any part of you normal? I thought about it and replied my heart. He's happy for my doctor to continue blood tests and monitoring of B12 levels so thats quite handy not having to go to hospital for that.

You know when things start to wrong, then everything kinda follows? Well.....we ordered a new Animal Dyson vacuum and it arrived and DH was happily putting it all together whilst I was resting. He tried it, it wasn't working properly. So we rang them and they're sending replacement bits. Poor DH, he was so excited ;)

And then I was knitting my blanket with my lovely new Harmony's when the wooden tip came off!! And don't mean the cable unwound either. So blanket is on hold and KnitPicks are sending a replacement to my US pal (sorry!) They were really quick getting back to me and apologised for the defective needle. Thats great customer service for you. So thats it for the blanket for the time being as they're OOS till the end of Oct......and it was doing so well. I only had 2 skeins left to go. It will be a lovely big blanket though not exciting to photo which is why I haven't for a while. I love my new Harmony's so much I did a bad thing and changed from my Denise circs to the lovely Harmony Options. Bad because they're not exactly the same size as Denise are US sizes and Harmony proper metric ones. But as its a blanket I'm not too worried. The difference was amazing. The stitches flew along instead of dragging and it was so much easier to knit.

I'd even got the hang of screwing them tightly enough so they don't loosen. I also wish I'd asked my lovely US pal to get me the larger additional sizes too. Seeing as some of the sizes are OOS already, I'm worried their arrival at Get Knitted might be delayed you see....... and I'm not going back to the Denise circs now!

I also had to throw away the stinky plastic case that the Harmony's came in as that gave me a headache straight away and instead ordered a lovely needle case from Pavi Yarns instead. Which I've just been told is sold out. Would have been nice to have been told earlier, as I ordered it a week ago. Oh well, never mind. I'm sure I'll find something else.

So back to the promised knitting. Here's a pic of the sleeve on my Crochet Trimmed Hoodie. I finally managed to start tackling the crochet edging a few weeks ago before I got ill and found it a real challenge. A total learning curve for me as I've no idea what I'm doing not having done many of the stitches before and its all a bit of trial and error. It does look lovely though, but takes forever and needs a lot of concentration, which is just beyond me right now.

Here's a close up of the edging so you can see it in full. I'm rather pleased with it myself. Good job the photo doesn't show the edges as they flare out....but hopefully that can be sorted when I sew it up. If not, flared sleeves look lovely anyway ;) I do wonder how long the front and back will take, seeing as how long just doing the sleeve took......

Last Saturday DH drove me to Get Knitted to get me out where I did a little yarn therapy which was just what I needed. Isn't the Malabrigo gorgeous? Just had to have it. And I changed some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn for the Sea Wool in a similar shade as the LL has nylon and with all the recent troubles have decided its not worth the risk. I can usually get away with nylon in sock yarn but never in normal yarn without risking an asthma attack. So all sock wool with nylon will shortly be disappearing from my stash...... I much prefer sock yarn without it anyway so no loss there. DH also drove me to my favourite Fresh & Wild Store where I got a new pretty organic lipstick which I love. Shame the retail therapy boost didn't last longer but it was lovely while it did :)

If you haven't seen this video of the outrageous dancing cockatoo you MUST. The end bit just cracks me up. Honestly, I laughed so much and had to watch it again. After I'd seen it, it appeared on Cute Overload as well. Gotta be the best video ever.

And you gotta see this too. Wonder if Thunder would let me knit him one? I think not.......but boy that made me smile.

Lastly, a big thank you for the lovely messages. You have no idea how much they really help when you're feeling lousy ;) And take care too, all I seem to hear at the moment is bloggers being ill or suffering allergies or allergic reactions. It's all very odd.....

Autumn Tales

Phew what a busy time its been! Not much knitting done yet again for a variety of reasons, more on that later. My life seems to be like my knitting, up and down and not much progress happening.

Firstly the computer crash is a whole lot better and I'm almost back to how I was. Not helped when I discovered all my iTunes songs had vanished. I got them all back but like everything, it took some time.......

My savings account issue has been sorted. My credit card not and makes me fume. An official complaint has been made and yet again, I'm told to wait for a reply. Oh I can't wait till I get to close the account.

Despite the postal strike this gorgeous Hyacinth Handspun Yarn from Etsy seller Pigeon Roof Studios finally arrived. The seller forgot about me so kindly sent some extra yarn, the colour is Dovecote. Believe me, this stuff is well worth waiting for. I saw the handspun made into socks somewhere in blogland and immediately HAD TO HAVE SOME. You will of course understand this. But the seller doesn't dye the handspun to order and I kept missing out on buying it due to time difference. Finally I snagged myself some and can't wait to knit them. They will make gorgeous bed socks indeed ;)

I very nearly never made it to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally last Thurs as I was very poorly indeed and had been in bed for 3 days without the energy to even make myself a drink. Things were not looking good and I couldn't cancel either the train tickets or the show tickets. But I did make it and though very tiring had a great day and very glad I went. I'm afraid all I bought are 2 balls of Tait & Style and 2 magazines, the new Let's Knit and Yarn Forward and a KP needle gauge. I really like the look of Let's Knit and find its more trendy and contemporary compared to Simply Knitting and so far has no boring reader letters, horoscopes or other rubbish womens mag stuff. Let's hope it continues ;)

Yarn Forward was ok, better than the last issue which I didn't buy and has a much better layout. I wouldn't bother subscribing but will look at each issue when it comes out to see if I want it or not. With Ravelry and the amount of patterns available on the internet I think I'd rather have one of the UK mags full of lots of lovely adverts for even more yarn........

Thought I didn't buy much it was great to chat to other knitters and have my Fletcher coat oohed and aahed over. It was funny to see knitting whispering.....is that Noro to themselves as we were leaving. Obviously it was too hot to wear at the show but at Socktopus they spied it in my bag and I had to get it out. It really is fabulous and so great to have other knitters appreciate it too ;) It was also wonderful for all the travelling I did and kept me nice and snug. And what kept my fingers from burning and the cup of tea nice and hot on the way home? My latest FO of course, the Coffee Mitt from 101 One Skein Wonders in Malabrigo. A super quick knit and very handy if your partial to buying hot drinks.

My best friend Joanne though bought me several lovely yarn purchases for Christmas which was why I didn't really need to buy much myself. It's not about how much you buy anyway, its just nice to see whats new and whats about and did I mention the chatting! And the downside to taking stash photos for Ravelry is the realization of just how big you're stash is and that there's no need to buy stuff just because its there........no matter how tempting the Marshmallow at the Colinette stand was! So for Christmas there's more Tait & Style that I've never come across before and who have amazing colours, some Natural Dye Studios Mirage who haven't exhibited at AP before and had a great stall. Lastly some Evolution from Socktopus which is all prettily wrapped so you can't see the lush colours. But believe me, it was oh so soft!

And also as I'd only just gotten some fabulous Harmony Options from my wonderful US pal that actually arrived the morning I went to the show. I expect that gave me the boost I needed to manage to get to the show. They're absolute gorgeous and I love them. Funny how it was only a while back that I mentioned about Options needles hitting the UK at Get Knitted and how not interested as I was as they were metal...... and then KnitPicks bring out the Harmony Options! Get Knitted will be getting them towards the end of the year but of course I couldn't wait that long. I have Snugs to be made and needed a nice harmony circular. Plus the blanket I'm doing is on Denise circs and I don't like using plastic needles for long either and I'd really like to finish it this century.........

Back to my illness. It started with itchy eyes on Saturday and then my asthma was bad Sat night. By Sunday I was listless so we didn't go out the door. I wasn't sure if it was an allergy or virus so we had a think about what could have caused an allergy and came up with 2 ideas. The needle felting I'd been doing that week - quite possible if the fibres started to irritate - though I'd been doing it for several days. The other possibility was a new dressing gown I'd started to wear on Friday. Never happened before but the only other new thing I'd done.

So I put both away but on Monday spent all day in bed in the most miserable mood. I ached so much and couldn't stand for more than a minute without needing to sit down. It was awful. Tuesday, more of the same though I felt a little brighter mentally, though not physically. More miserable on Weds though my asthma started to settle down thankfully. I'd already upped my meds and antihistamines in case it was an allergy but as they didn't appear to work thought it was a virus.

Then I washed the new dressing gown on Friday and put it on in the evening. Immediately I started to get a headache and my chest started to hurt........yup, it was the darned dressing gown! Some internet searching found 'chemical sensitivity' a well known problem and often related to food intolerances and allergies which of course I already have. I've had to avoid all chemicals in perfumes, cleaning products & toiletries for several years and only use organic or natural products already. At work they know not to wear perfume when I'm in but reacting to clothing too was a bit too much.......I got really down after as I couldn't believe how ill it made me. I avoid so much already and its like what else now? Just ridiculous.

So back to the docs I went after only managing a few hours at work this week before I got worse again as I was just reacting to absolutely everything. To say I was unhappy is a gross misunderstatement! But my doctor is absolutely superb and offered me more steroids if I wanted (I'd rather not if I can manage though) and has also referred me to the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital. Conventional medicine can't do anything to help so it's time for alternative treatments. I've absolutely had enough of feeling ill, especially as it takes so long to get back to normal. Allergy UK have also been great and gave me a lot of helpful advice and also suggested a personal air purifier which I can take to work with me. If it helps, it will be well worth it! The dressing gown was polyester, which apparently often contains formaldehyde which explains the reaction. So no easy care, polyester clothing for me. Which I don't actually wear apart from fleeces. So bye bye dressing gown. It'll be back to cotton thanks very much from now on!

So, apologies for the long post and the lack of knitting. Hopefully everything will settle down again soon and I can get some much needed therapeutic knitting done. At the moment I'm on a stop, start, frog mission and can't settle. Maybe I need to start a STR sock, all those hypnotising colours might just do the trick..........

Mother Of All Computer Crashes

Our holiday in St Ives was lovely. Some fabulous hot & sunny weather, lots of shopping, dining out at different restaurants each night........no wonder we didn't want to leave. Sometimes you don't realize how much you need something till you're doing it. This break was just that. So what we needed and so perfect. We even had some hot days where we could wander round in just a t-shirt!

Unfortunately the holiday feeling didn't last that long as my computer froze late on Sat last week and Sunday found after rebooting that everything was gone! Oh my, it was not what I needed. So I spent the whole of Sunday reinstalling and trying to get everything up to date. I lost a months worth of stuff and 2 of my calendar. I always back up monthly though for some reason missed the calendar. Of course I was due to back up while I was away........its been a hectic week though I think I'm finally up to date. Phew!

So of course blogland and Ravelry have had to be pretty much forgotten, as has knitting pretty much. I've done bits here and there, but nothing major. I'm working on a blanket which I took with me to St Ives so there's very little to show really. I started it last year and have just picked it up again. Hopefully I'll get to finish it this year. At least now its big enough to have on your lap whilst you knit ;)

Though I did manage to get all my yarn out on a lovely sunny day and photograph the bulk of it to list on Ravelry. It was quite enjoyable really. I hadn't thought I'd enjoy it, but it was a great chance to reorganise it all in to weights and label the boxes. And won't having all the colours to view be brilliant? Clever Ravelry ;) I have to wait for another sunny day to photograph the rest though.....

In all the holiday rush I forgot to mention that poor Thunder is on a mini diet and exercise plan. The evil vet thought he needed to loose a little weight so now he runs up and down the stairs to his hearts content. He doesn't eat much anyway but he's a darned lazy bunny and will sit for hours and hours just laying in between your feet. Very cosy and friendly yes, not particularly healthy though. He had another vet visit though and has lost a little so the vet is happy.

The Knitting & Stitching Show starts next week and I'll be there on Thursday. Can't wait. Funny how it seems ages away and now is just days away. Where does the time go?

Work has been pretty crap for a while now and I resigned a couple of weeks before our break. Though my boss was hoping I'd come back having changed my mind and asked me not to tell anyone. Though whenever I thought about work it just made me miserable, even when we were away. Now my boss has asked if I could stay till Christmas then come in on an ad-hoc basis as needed. I might be able to manage to last till then, its not that long away now is it? At least I feel better knowing I've got an actual finish date at last.

This was the only knitting related item I bought when away. A cute organic sheep kit bought in Penzance. Then a mad hunt to find the right size needles in bamboo. Which are too long and will go on Ebay no doubt. Then I decided the wool was too rough.........and promptly frogged it. I will make the sheep, though in something much softer. I'm happy to support local organic yarns and I can always felt it or use in a needle felting project.

Yes, I have a new hobby. Needle felting. This is just a sample of wool tops. Look how pretty the colours are. This is a nice inexpensive hobby that is great fun. The book I ordered is stuck in the post office strike so I'm just trying different things out. No actual plan, just see how it goes.

And here are a few practice bits and pieces that I played around with. Just grabbed some wool tops and started needle felting.......the tomato pin cushion is really handy. Now I know where my main sewing up needle is ;)

So I was really pleased when my sheep landscape picture came out so well seeing as I just made it up as I went along. Its the width of a credit card, just a little taller. It's my first proper design and I love it. In fact we'll have to get a frame for it.

I wished I hadn't mentioned credit cards, its reminded me that my stupid cc company has taken a fraudulent item off dispute and charged me interest for not paying it. What a joke. This is for a July transaction and they keep telling me it will get sorted and each month it gets worse. Looks like I'll just have to close the account. No way am I paying for a transaction I didn't make nor the interest.

And if that isn't enough, a savings account of mine that are useless have managed to lose £50. I don't want to go into it. It just makes me so mad. So when the money reappears that will be another account closed.

With that and the crash its no wonder there has been little knitting done is there really? And of course a nice calming project is just what I need. Maybe next week then ...... as the Drops headband I knitted this weekend looks awful and was promptly frogged. Oh dear. No wonder needle felting is so appealing right now. Easy to pick up and put down and no frogging involved;)

Holidays

Let's hope my broadband stays working now. What a nightmare it's been. On the phone to the support team who are great but I tried so much stuff it took forever. Another laptop, different connections, different routers, the BT test socket. Oh it went on and on on.........then decided to fix itself. I'm still monitoring the speeds and logging them for tech support in case it happens again so they can pass the info to BT. I can't tell you how much I've missed not being able to comment or read blogs. So yet again, I'm all behind and had only just managed to catch up!

Anyway. Onto more interesting things. Such as my gorgeous funky Felted Triangle Bag.

We have a before and after photo. I LOVE this bag. It is so great and such a perfect size and just too cute. I love the design. Pick Up Sticks patterns are just so cool.





And lookie here! The Snugs arrived. With a Daffodil Kit that asked to be ordered. Who could resist? The packaging is so unusual. And what about the funky bag pattern? Gotta have one of those too!

I've also managed to start getting projects onto Ravelry. WOW. BTW my ID is RoxyKnits - no surprise there! It really is amazing and now I can understand why everyone raves about it. Many hours will be needed to get everything up but I'm just taking it bit by bit. I was quite wary of wanting all my stash in full view but as I take pics when I buy it anyway, and list it on my own spreadsheet, it will actually be nice and rather handy to be able to see at glance what you have and even better, see the actual colour. Cos most of us have far too much yarn to remember each and every colour ;)

It was our wedding anniversary on Monday and we went out for a lovely Indian meal. I wore my lovely Fletcher jacket out for the time time and just felt so comfy in her. We love her ;)









And these are my pressies. Some gorgeous flowers.

Some lush Malabrigo for another Hoooded Pullover and the yarn for a Felted Tote by Pick Up Sticks. Chosen by myself of course ;)

We're usually in St Ives, Cornwall for our anniversary but couldn't book this week this time so are off on Sat for a week. Can't wait. See you when I'm back ;)

I'll leave you with the promised holiday photos of Kefalonia in May. Better late than
never...............

First we have some lush Greek salad. Eaten for lunch every single day. Very yum yum. Next the beach with the bright parasols. Then a view of our room - we were top right in the gorgeous blue building. Next up the lovely wall with plant pots taken from the outside the pool area. Then a view of the gorgeous blue Myrtos Beach. Cute kitty cat in Fiskardo. Drogerati Cave. Beautiful Mellisani Lake. Next up, Fiskado harbour, where the rich and famous visit to park their yachts, shop & dine. Another shot of beach & sea. A town where we had lunch. Pretty tiny orthodox church set in the hotel. Monastery.

Summer At Last

We've finally had some summer in the UK and have had some glorious days at the beach and pier, especially over the bank holiday weekend. You don't realised how much of a difference the weather makes until the sun appears and suddenly your mood just lifts ;)

The lovely weather must have given me the urge to do some cardmaking as I made a whole bunch. Here are just a few. I sold my old Sizzix on Ebay and bought myself a Cuttlebug which I adore. Far more portable and easier to store. I also had a clear out and tidy up of my cardmaking stuff so making cards is a whole lot easier now. I always feel so much better after a good sort out and organise ;)

I held out till just now before placing an order for Snugs as it has to be said, I've been buying quite a bit recently. Not major purchases, but quite a bit anyway. And when you see it all on your blog you kinda realise exactly how much you've bought. Buying in dribs and drabs isn't quite as noticeable is it lol?

After my last post a trip to John Lewis resulted in 2 lush skeins Misti 100% llama for wrist warmers and the Jane Ellison Mirasol book. OMG is this stuff soft. Unreal, it just has to be caressed to be believed ;) The book is great, I like a lot of the patterns though there was very little quantity of the yarns at the time. Hopefully there will be more in stock when I decide which one I have to make.

I have not 1 but 2 FO's for you - and they're both socks! First the much stressed over STR Silkie socks in the not to be mentioned method that caused me so much angst! But now they're done they are gorgeous and I love them. You can't describe how they feel to wear but the silkiness is just so wonderful on your feet. Not that there has been much too much wearing as its finally been flip flop weather, but that doesn't stop me parading round the house showing them off! So thats 2 out of 4 STR kits made so far. Not bad really ;)

And many thanks go to Piglottie for this Knitty link to the easiest explanation of EZ's sewn bind off ever. Having tried the russian, then the crochet, then the suspended, I was delirious with joy and excitement when the sewn bind off produced a TOO LOOSE BIND OFF!!! Who knew such a thing existed? So I redid it normally (I'd left a lot of slack the 1st time) and it is perfect and the best looking bind off I've seen on a toe up sock. I am a convert. For toe-ups, this is the only bind off to use!

The second FO is the pretty Lorna's Laces Happy Valley socks that were started on holiday in May and promptly forgotten about. I'm glad they're done and can't wait till they've been washed and soften up a little. I'd forgotten how different socks yarns can feel compared to STR, which is just the most amazing feeling yarn. And reminds me why I'm so addicted to them!

But remember the gorgeous Cherry Tree Louet Gems Merino that I started on the trip to see my dad. It is soooooo soft........and is now my no. 2 all time favourite yarn. STR being no. 1 of course - no surprises there. I will definitely get some more of this - it is just gorgeous to knit with. And I noticed the normal CT Supersock yarn wasn't as soft as this either........

The visit to my dads was really quite stressful and umm, upsetting too. He is old but it was a shock to see how different he looked. Not helped by his barber shaving his head!!! But he's happy and thats the main thing and he didn't realise I was upset thankfully. It was a long and very tiring day. Thankfully the rest of the Bank Holiday involved beach trips and visiting pet centres and was gloriously hot and sunny. Bout time too!

The fourth STR sock kit arrived 14 days after posting! For some reason no UK members got their kits any earlier. Weird. But better late then never. Can't believe it's the 4th kit already. Where does the time go? Haven't decided whether I'll make the pattern yet. I'll see what everyone does with theirs and decide later on. Maybe I'll do the pattern in a different shade. Who knows? I've got plenty of other stuff to be getting on with first!

OK I lied. I actually have 4 FO's but 2 have been done for ages and were waiting present giving so I almost forgot about them. They were for my friend's new baby boy and very cute he is ;) First we have a wee washcloth and then a lovely cute bib from the Mason-Dixon book. Don't you just love the button on the bib. Too cute!

And this is my belated birthday present I got from my friend. Aren't the colours lovely? Notice how the notepad which has come in very useful already matches the yarn.....too pretty ;)

And the excuse for the much later than usual post (apart from dreadful network problems not letting me upload anything for a whole WEEK and making using the internet a total PITA)? Pokemon. Yup, Pokemon are to blame. No, really! I finally succumbed to a Nintendo DS Lite and have become totally addicted to Pokemon. So much so that I didn't knit for 3 whole days!!! I'm sure normal service will resume soon. I hope.......but funnily enough while playing More Brain Training guess what it also recommends for getting all that grey matter working? Yup, knitting of course. I did laugh, knitting is just everywhere these days ;)