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 ;)

I Give Up

I've tried and failed for days to post. Having broadband troubles and can't upload photos. Even doing what I need to on the internet is a real pain. Kinda like being back in the days of dial up...........

I even have my Ravelry invite but can't do much with that either. Pah! But let me have your Ravelry ID and I'll add you to my friends so that when I'm up and running again I can check your out ;)

And would you believe I had my holiday photos ready too for another post.........piddle ;(

Luverly Bloggers

Boy you lot sure know how to swell a girls head!!! The comments I've received have been just lovely, in particular about Foxglove. I can't tell you how much they made me smile ;) I should have mentioned last post too that all your comments on the awful time I'd been having really did cheer me up. Hugs through the internet really do work!

I'm yet again behind on blog reading and desperately trying to catch. And so jealous of those of you who manage to keep up with everyone's blogs!!! I have enough trouble keeping mine updated........

All the new seasons books and yarns are out for preview, if not all out for fondling. And finally my copy of Rowan 42 turned up. It had already arrived in the US and New Zealand so frustrating not to have it here. Not helped by the postal strike of course. I actually like the mag much more in the flesh, although there are only 2 patterns I'd consider making. And realistically I'm not sure I will make either. I know most people love it, but I'm not one of them. Many of the designs contain mohair, and of course I'm one of the many allergic to it. There are also a lot of wraps or shapeless blanket looking garments held together with a pin. These would drown me, I need fitted things please. Some of the designs I find really quite hideous, and it was quite amusing looking through with DH and hearing his reaction which was far from complimentary, apart from 3 designs. But never mind, I always make more from the spring/summer mag. It has made me miss Kim Hargreaves and her Big Wool designs though. Only the first Rowan Big Wool booklet produced after she left did nothing for me and I haven't bought last years and won't be buying the latest one either.

But the lovely Pure Noro arrived full of Jane Ellison's gorgeous designs and this one definitely lives up to expectations. There are several designs I like though this time there are no accessories in it, which I do miss a little. You can't have enough accessories now can you?

Talking of accessories, well obviously you can't see the new season in with just one mag and a book so after seeing KnitDevil's gorgeous Pick Up Sticks Triangle Bag knew I had to have one. This led me to the Pick Up Sticks website where I discovered even more lovely patterns and kits so obviously had to have several. I found an online seller Supercrafty that has very reasonable shipping and had several items I wanted. She also has an Ebay store with some items there too and is very friendly and quick to respond.

The rest I ordered from Pick Up Sticks direct after emailing asking if they shipped to the UK as it wasn't too clear on the site. Needless to day, they do ship and were exceptionally helpful with a shipping problem I had. So much so that I have to place another order for Snugs which are too cute for words with umm, a couple more bits. Me, addicted, nope, not really. Well, maybe a little. But their patterns and kits are truly amazing and I'm so pleased with them. Plus currently if you spend over $25 your get a free pattern which is just lovely too. Their designs are truly unusual and I have to make them all!!!

Then I discovered The Woolly Workshop have just got some Louis Gems sock yarn so of course I ordered that the second I discovered it, which was a few hours before the newsletter even went out. Oh I can't tell you how good my internet splurge felt. But then again, many of you already know exactly how that feels LOL! And isn't the colourway Cherry Blossom so pretty? More colours are to come - perhaps I'd better not look!

These are the colours I chose for my Felted Triangle Bag and can't wait till its finished. I just know it will be fabulous. It was great fun choosing the colours at Get Knitted too as the colours online aren't quite what you always expect so I needed to choose them myself. I wanted the brightest colours possible. I think I managed it and will be like a beacon, you'll see me for miles ;)

I've ordered my train tickets for the Knitting and Stitching Show on Thurs 11th October and am looking forward to that. Apart from getting an 8pm train home as that was the only direct train after 6pm. Crazy. I would have booked the 6pm if I could but couldn't get any reasonable priced tickets. As I'll be on my own I don't want to go changing trains with bags at night (I'm sure there will be bags of course......)

Chilli's paw seems to have healed very well and we've not had to take him back to the vet thankfully. Thunder has gotten even more jealous and whenever I have my knitting next to me will jump on the sofa and lay on the knitting or even sit on my laptop if its in his way. As long as he can sit next to me and get cuddles and head rubs, nothing will get in his way.! He used to wait until there was room or look longingly. He's given that up. Just dives up and crashes over whatever happens to be there. Funny thing he is. He's 2 now. Bless ;)

And for anyone that hasn't heard, Get Knitted will be stocking Knitpicks needles including the much loved Options. Yes, finally there will be a UK stockist. I must be the only one not particualrly bothered by this - the needles are metal and I don't do metal. If they were bamboo or birch that would be different. I'd be like a mad crazy thing. But it gets better! The Malabrigo Worsted has finally arrived at Get Knitted and obviously I have to have some more. I even thought about not mentioning it in case it flies out the door too quick. For anyone that wanted to try some, here's your chance. I don't think you'll be disappointed........

And having Malabrigo at Get Knitted makes up for the disappointment of not being able to visit Stash Yarns in Putney when we visit my dad next week. Unfortunately I only found out the shop will be closed for its holidays after I'd booked the train tickets. Piddle. Of course Stash is where I first discovered the much loved and coveted Malabrigo.

I have actually been knitting though everything seems to be in that in between stage and not worth a picture. However I'm so pleased I've actually finished one Widdershins/Grasshopper sock in Socks That Rock Silkie. I won't go into much detail as I'm working on the 2nd sock and don't want to put myself off any more, but this pattern has been pure torture. Never, ever again will I do a toe up sock with a heel flap. Yuck! BTW, the extra large buttons I got from the new LYS I visited recently in Clevedon.

At least though the Socks That Rock promised by DH arrived and waiting patiently their turn. This time we have Pebble Beach and Jailhouse Rock. Needless to say, they will either be top down with a heel flap, or maybe toe up but with a garter stitch heel. Not that other awful not be mentioned version I'm currently regretting I ever started :(

And of course I can't forget the bits I ordered from The Wool Sanctuary either. The yarn is for a bag that I started.......and promptly left to start something else!

Gotta go - had 4 knitting mags in the post Friday including Vogue Knitting International and Interweave Knits that are demanding attention. Yippee ;)

Anticipation

Yup, its that time of year again when all the new collections and pattern books are due out. I'm excited about the new Rowan mag which I'm waiting for and also Jane Ellison's new Noro book. Though I've succumbed to the Rowan 42 previews and definitely don't like what I've seen so far......though I'm hoping there's more in the mag I do like when it does arrive. Yarnwise I don't think there's anything coming out to thrill me, a lot of it has mohair or something else I'm allergic to but thats ok, I have plenty in my stash including some Noro Kochoran and plenty of Noro Iro just waiting to be knitted up. I really can't wait to put away all my summer projects and get started on something for autumn. Not exactly helped by the awful weather and floods we've had in the UK, though thankfully everything seems to have settled down the last few days and we've had some lovely sunny days.

I've not had a chance to wear either of the summer vesty type tops I made from Summer Tweed earlier this year which is a shame. Maybe next year eh? Though I'm hoping to get some wear of the Crochet Trimmed Hoodie from Blue Sky Alpacas.......as and when its finished of course. I'm on the sleeves, but of course all the edgings have to be done then. Why have I chosen so many projects with edgings that take longer than the main garment to complete??? Remind me not to do it again, it really is not the best of ideas and looks like I've knitted a lot less this year.

You'll be pleased to hear that no major events have happened over the last couple of weeks and I'm just so relieved. I've finally gotten my car back from the garage which of course is now costing more than expected and was also in for longer than expected which was such an inconvenience. Add that to a very expensive van service for DH at a new garage that we won't be using again. But neither of these has stressed me out for long though I was very annoyed when 2 of the guys at worked were mucking about and sprayed deodorant behind me!!! Of course that set off my allergies and I was back to full meds for asthma and of course my exzema flared up badly. I really could have done without that but all things considered, it hasn't been a bad couple of weeks.

We joined our local Gala bingo hall and had a good night out a couple of Saturdays ago. I love bingo though usually only play online every now and then, but now that there's no smoking inside we thought we'd try it out. It was fun, though extremely tiring as we had to concentrate so much. We must have enjoyed it though as we've been back twice since! DH loves it, which is good.

And I even wore the much stressed over Foxglove in Rowan Calmer that is finally finished and a certified FO! Oh the relief, I can't tell you. I was very close to chucking it out the window BUT after finishing the belt etc decided it was rather nice actually. DH loves it and says I looks very pretty in it ;)

I really need to tackle the rest of my almost FO's including the long avoided Tulip. I'lll feel better when its done, really, I'm sure I will. Yes, I'm trying to persuade myself.......

We also went to see Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix which was quite enjoyable once it got going. I found the beginning terribly boring but luckily had brought some knitting so that kept me out of trouble till it got more exciting. We even managed a couple of trips to the beach and pier on the few sunny days we've had which was also made much more enjoyable without any smokers. It really makes a huge difference ;)

Back to knitting news. The shock of the week was that Rowan yarns have come to Weston. Yes, really! The Wool Sanctuary has its official opening day on Sat 11th August and is the brainchild of the very lovely Suzie Johnston who has worked for Rowan for a number of years and who hosted the very popular John Lewis Saturday knitclub at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. She will open for appointments in the evenings during the week and during the day at weekends and hosts a Saturday knitclub where you can even have lunch. Of course I've already been round and sank into a very comfy sofa whilst drinking a cup of earl grey tea AND looking at yarn. What more can you ask for! Suzie will be hosting workshops too and these are all detailed on the site and look most interesting.

Another surprise was that Jaeger will be discontinued. I think we all knew it was on the cards but seeing as new yarn ranges were only brought out in Spring, I didn't expect it would happen this quickly. I'm not too bothered as long as I have enough Extra Fine Merino Chunky to finish a cardi thats been waiting patiently since last year!

If that wasn't enough I discovered a yarn store in Clevedon, which is one junction away from us on the M5. It stocks a little Rowan, and other cheaper brands with a little Lorna's Laces. But also has fabric, haberdashery, needlepoint supplies and will be quite handy when I need bag lining fabric. More interestingly though is a lovely holistic store that stocks many of the organic toiletries I need to buy online or have to travel into central Bristol for, and even better, has a treatment centre downstairs for various holistic treatments and even allergy testing!!! So I might have to book myself in for that.

My much frogged Walking on the Wild Tide STR Silkie yarn is happily turning to socks. Strangely enough the fabric from 2.25mm needles was a little too firm and lost of all its softness and silkiness so I frogged yet again and they're going quite well on 2.5mm, being a cross between Widdershins and Grasshoppers, which is basically the same toe-up style. Mind you, I'm about to turn the heel and don't yet know if they will actully fit ok yet. It has to be said, this is what puts me off toe-up socks. Hopefully they will be fine, as I'm not sure the yarn or me are up to any more frogging really!

Crash Bang Wallop

I can't tell you how much I wish for a post full of this and that, nothing happening, blah blah blah. Of course judging by recent events, its just not going to happen anytime soon. So here goes.

Firstly, I had a back tooth causing me pain when I brushed my teeth. After a few days of this I realised something wasn't right. Surely a sensitive tooth wouldn't throb for hours after you'd had something cold to eat? Did some googling and confirmed my fears, yes a trip to the dentist was indeed in order. Piddle. Extreme piddle. I hate the dentist with a vengeance. It terrifies me. Even a routine check up makes me break out in a cold sweat. I think you get the picture. So I get an emergency appointment lunchtime and leave work warning them that if I need anything done I won't be back and take a bunch of paperwork with me. I had to wait over half an hour with the child from hell screaming 'mummy' constantly while his mum was in the dentist. His father unfortunately seemed to have the intelligence level of the child and did nothing about it except play music on his phone to try and distract the evil child - but it actually just made him laugh and scream louder.

So my nerves were even more shot to pieces when I finally went in. I won't bore you with the details and frankly, I don't want to even think about it, but I had a filling and left with the ominous words 'make sure you have plenty of painkillers handy'. Oh boy, he was right about that. All is well now though and maybe the threat to see how its going next month won't amount to much. He did take a picture of the the tooth to the what the root canal was like.......yeah right, he hasn't got a hope in hell of getting anywhere near that I can tell you!

Then we have a few days of relative calm, well a week almost. Then as we're leaving Weston-Super-Mare last Saturday to visit Get Knitted to buy a swift for me a gift for doing DHs tax return, the ruddy idiot drives into the car in front at a roundabout. Which wasn't even moving......

It ruined the day, the weekend and the week. I've been so cross with him as it was so avoidable. DH always drives too fast at roundabouts and too close to the car in front. And did the same thing last year in his van. Not at a roundabout though. But we were in MY car and there is a lot of damage. Luckily the other car only ended up with a small dent on the towbar - which explains why there is so much damage to mine. Of course, who deals with it all. Me. And I am not happy. I have to be without a car when its being fixed in a week or 2 and frankly, I'm bloody fed up.

The only possible good thing to come out of it is that DH seems to have calmed down and isn't driving like an idiot any more......and it had better stay that way or else!

Anyway, back to nicer subjects. We did actually make it to Get Knitted though I was a million miles away from a good mood, and my swift was duly bought as you can see. See how well it goes with my nostepinne that I'd ordered from Woolly Workshop as soon as they got them in. That's what prompted the yarn swift, as DH said as I had the nostepinne why not get the swift as a pressie. Yes, I know he can be wonderful, just wished that extended to his driving. It was a great idea as it is far easier using the nostepinne with the swift rather than on its own and I'm quite pround of the center pull ball in the pic. I had tried several times, but found winding a real challenge with the nostepinne on its own. So my yarn winding issues are solved and I don't have to wait for DH to be home anymore. Its far from a necessity, but a really nice gift that makes life a little easier ;) And lets face it, anything that does that is well worth it right now!

I also got a skein of Fleece Artist Sea Wool as an extra gift which is gorgeous. The shade is Sorbetto and its just too yummy for words and it comes with a free Bordello pattern too which is lovely. I also did such an embarassing thing that I'm just quite horrified about while in GK. I'd been talking about what to do with Foxglove and the edging which I'd brought with me and looked at a pattern in a book for a design that was on display as I quite liked the edging of. And thought I'd put it back. I mean, the booklet was full of mohair designs which I'm allergic too so would never use. So.........you can imagine my horror when I got home to find the booklet in my bag with Foxglove! I must have put the booklet in the bag when I put Foxglove back. It is just too awful for words and I can't believe I did it. Must have been the shock and stress of the accident making me so absentminded. Of course I emailed Sue and will return the book. But how embarassing ;(

I'm now working on a very simple border for Foxglove but until its finished won't know if its worked or not. The crochet ideas and lace ones just didn't work out. As you can see from the pic, it needs a rather wide border as there is nothing on the shoulder area at all! So anything too fussy will not look good on such a big area. And of course it needs to fit well as its covering the shoulders and neckline. Talk about a challenge. Calmer is such a stretchy yarn too and that certainly doesn't help either. But its looking ok so far, and fingers crossed I don't have to redo it..........

Sock knitting has been very stop and start. I tried and failed to make the Grasshoppers pattern included with the 2nd Socks That Rock Kit. And this was as far as I'd got before I realised the pattern wasn't for me. No, I don't really want large holes in my socks. But I'm glad I started it and got the hang of the pattern. Though I frogged it twice before that happened.

Then I moved onto Monkey socks which I love. And happily had done the first repeat when my nagging fears were realised. Yup, too big. So frogged and cast on with smaller needles. Did pattern repeat. Yup, same again. Still too big. Is pretty though isn't it? See a theme developing here. So I posted on the STR sockclub blog and luckily was given instructions for making the sock smaller. As the pattern is a 16 stitch repeat it didn't look like it could be done. But it can. However, all this frogging has taken quite a toll on my Silkie yarn so decided they wanted to be plain. So Widdershins they will be which follows the style of the STR pattern anyway.

I will still make Monkey socks, but probably will use Sherbet for them as I think they look better with brighter colours. So I can now add the backwards loop cast on for another toe up method. A very fiddly method, but something else learnt all the same :)

I finished this washcloth in Sugar'n Creme a few weeks back for DH, but some reason forgot to take a photo of the FO before it got used. But its still looking good and DH is very happy with it.

This is Chilli having a little chat with his dad. Probably telling how much a bully Roo is and it really isn't necessary for 3 weeks of antibiotics. But it goes in one ear and out the other as his wound has gone down and is healing rather nicely. Or of course he could just be about to nibble his ear ;)

I love this photo of Roxy. He's gone into hiding in his plastic tube away from his bully of a brother Roo. Who is in the pic at the back, no doubt scheming up some more bad behaviour! Doesn't Roxy look so cute though ;)

I'll leave you with this. An oldie, but I find it rather soothing. And frankly, I need plenty of it! Plus who doesn't want to be described as an accomplished knitter and purist? And of course, I am a self confessed yarn snob ;)

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Purist. You are an accomplished knitter producing beautiful pieces with a classic feel. You sometimes lament losing half of your local yarn shop to garish novelty yarns. Perhaps you consider fun fur scarves the bane of knitting society and prefer to steer new knitters towards the wool and cotton blends. Some might call you a bit of an elitist but you know that you've been doing this craft long enough to respect the history behind it and honor it with beautiful piece that can last a lifetime.
http://marniemaclean.com Take this quiz!

Quizilla |Join| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Rainy Days

Honestly, I just don't know where the time goes to? It's been almost 3 weeks already since my last post and I haven't got anywhere near as much done as planned. Not helped by having to be driven home by my boss from work the day I went back to work after being off from my asthma attack. I only lasted a few hours. It was not good. I knew I wasn't right but just couldn't believe how long it was taking to get back to normal. I was seeing the doc anyway the following day and she was great. So now on stronger steroid nasal spray and stronger antihistamines. They have made a difference thankfully and I actually managed to stay at work the last 2 weeks. I've been exhausted after, not surprisingly. I've also bought an air purifier for home - basically if it helps even slightly it will be worth it. I'm still on max asthma & hayfever meds and it would be so nice to reduce them..........

++++STR sock kit spoiler alert++++

My STR kit was late this time as it got held in San Francisco for no apparent reason for 5 days. How annoying is that? So I had to avoid blogland till mine arrived as I so hate spoilers. Luckily mine was one of the first to arrive in the UK after its vacation in SF and it is just wonderful. I love it, love the pattern and the colours are just so bright and cheery. I would say summery but with all the flooding going on in the UK its feeling far from summery!

I even managed to finish my rude Monsoon socks before the new kit arrived and am so pleased with them. I've even tested them out in trainers and they were very comfy indeed. I thought they may be a little loose for trainers and become house socks (which I would have been most pleased about) but they were perfect and oh so cushy. I am so pleased I joined the club. It has been so worth it ;)

Whilst hunting for a replacement DPN that DH broke on hol I stumbled across a great find - a site in the US offering free international shipping for orders over $35 that don't contain heavy items like mags and books. I was hunting for a supplier that had all the Crystal Bamboo DPNs I needed that didn't charge extortionate shipping costs. So to find one that had a free shipping offer was truly amazing. I placed my order and got an email a few hours later to say the items in stock had been shipped the the OOS items would be shipped as soon as they arrive. I knew not all the items were available but had expected the order to be held until ready. So to hear part of my order was on its way was just well, the most amazing and unexpected customer service. The fab store concerned is The Yarn and Fiber Company and they have lots of lovely goodies to tempt us with. The needles arrived the same day as the STR kit turned up. Oh it was such a good day that day ;)

Until now I didn't even know Crystal Palace made 9" bamboo straights but as soon as I saw them knew I had to have some for the lace shrug I'm making so very little progress on. I thought the lace would be easier and I was right, it just slides off these needles. They're an unusual length but perfect for this project. I still hate knitting lace though and only time will tell if this shrug ever gets the back finished, never mind the rest of it!

Foxglove has progressed a little - the knitting has all been finished, its pressed and the sleeve heads are sew in. Its starting to look lovely and actually a lot easier to visualise what sort of edging would be best now its starting to resemble something wearable. It never ceases to surprise me that all these flat bits of knitting can become a real garment......

Even though Thunder tried laying on it to stop me working on it I have another FO. Yup my Crochet Bag is finished and is gorgeous. I thought I wouldn't be using it quite yet, but its actually perfect for this rainy weather. I used 2 shades of Big Wool and one of Point 5.

Kitsch has been perfect for this lousy weather too and finally I have a photo of me wearing her. She is fabulous. Even if I do say so myself ;)

I've been destashing quite a bit of sock yarn on Ebay and I'm quite pleased as I knew I'd never use it. I'm too much in love with my STR to spend hours on a standard sock yarn. I know, I'm such a terrible yarn snob ;)



Here's a photo of my purchases from my last Get Knitted trip I mentioned last post. I love the Rectangular Shawl pattern and the Blue Sky Alpaca Handspun Organic Cotton is such a fantastic yarn. Of course the yarn isn't for the pattern, in fact I've no idea what its for yet. But I just had to have it!

I've bought no other yarn supplies though I went to both the House of Fraser and John Lewis sales. Except for some Rowan buttons that were 10p each at HoF. There was nothing else that screamed 'buy me' so I didn't. Quite good really.

Poor Chilli was recovering really well from having his toe bitten off by Roo. I'd been putting tea tree oil on it which he does not like one bit but is good for him so thats that. Due to his wound we couldn't let him have his sandbath for about 10 days and boy did he miss it. When we finally put it back he wouldn't stop going in and out of it for ages. Bless ;) But now the wound has swollen up. Possibly from sand! So we went to the vets and now he's on antibiobtics for 3 weeks. Hopefully it is an infection, as it will need to be amputated if it doesn't go down. The vet did think they're might be a bit of bone protruding thats causing the trouble........but fingers crossed the meds work. After Chilli nearly died twice when being neuteured, anything involving surgery is a huge risk for him :(

Roo got a very good talking too and isn't allowed anywhere near Chilli's cage. We're now letting Chilli out first so that he gets tired and lays down away from the front of the cage whilst Roo and Roxy are out.

We've now got an oven that works! It wasn't the cheapest of repairs not helped by the repair man managing to break both the lamp and the lamp cover. Of course they would deny all knowledge so I ordered it online only to find the lamp blew as soon as DH put it in. So another is on the way. Amazing how much these 2 little items cost too. Expecially when you compare it to STR ;)

The car insurance saga is settled and I got some vouchers which I spent on a PSP game, Ratchet & Clank which I'm now quite addicted too. The hours that can be wasted on game playing is unreal. But its fun while it lasts ;)

I know I keep saying it but I really will try and sort some of my holiday photos out......

Things Not Going To Plan

As soon as I'd published my last post I realised I hadn't said thank you to everyone for their lovely comments after Custard died. I tried to thank everyone individually, but in case I missed anyone they were lovely and much appreciated.

I've been trying to play catch up with emails (over 300) and blogs (100+) and am failing miserably. I use Google Reader for posts but it just seems to remind me how behind I am......this hasn't been helped by having to change broadband provider. The service from Virgin has been awful for the last few months since they became Virgin Media and using the internet has become a painfully slow process. I'm on ADSL Max but am lucky if I get a download speed of 200/300 which is just crazy especially as my profile is 4000. Apologies for the geeky speak but it will make total sense if you're that way inclined ;)

The big downside to changing broadband providers is that I used the same ISP email address as my main email addy since the days of dial-up. And that is a lot of years and several hundred accounts need to be changed. Fun huh! I haven't used the email address for months as I realised the nightmare it would be getting everything changed over and signed up for a Google Mail address which I've been changing everything to as I go. That unfortunately still leaves over 100 accounts to be changed. Yes I know, I use the internet A LOT! You live and learn though and I would never use an ISP email address as my main email addy again.

Back to the knitting which has been rather strange. I've been working almost non-stop on Foxglove and am now on the 2nd sleeve. Usually I get bored and pick up a sock or something for variety but nope, I seem to able to just work continually on it. When I actually get the time to knit for long that is.......

Knitting and well absolutely everything has been brought to a halt by a bad asthma attack that started on Monday. By Tuesday I was climbing the walls and unable to get a doctors appointment. It was very scary and just awful. DH was about to take me to A&E when finally I spoke to my doctor who said the locum doctor would see me as an emergency. So now I'm on steroids plus maxed out on antihistamines, preventers, relievers, nasal spray. Good job we don't smoke, I'm sure I'd explode!

So that ruined this week as i've been unable to do a thing. I'm also a ghastly yellow colour and have red eyes from lack of sleep. Trust me, it is not attractive. Not that I particularly care as I'm too intent on breathing, but really, it surprises me each time I look in the mirror. Perhaps I'll just give it up. The mirror that is!

Of course when I saw the locum doctor she said just make sure you get added as an emergency patient. Yeah right, try getting past those darned receptionists..........I won't leave it so long if it happens again thats for sure. But its never been so bad before and never in warm weather. As it all my allergies and intolerances weren't bad enough now I seem to have allergic asthma triggered by weather changes. I think a visit to the asthma clinic is in order ;(

I haven't mentioned much about my hospital visits and referrals for allergies and anaemia because its never ending. But I have found the most wonderful consultant for my anaemia who is just brilliant. I have to have regular blood tests and visits to check everything is ok so not much to report. She did say that my tongue issues aren't because of the anaemia and was surprised the allergy specialist said it might be. So thats still an unknown and still affects me but not as bad.

I did manage a trip to Get Knitted the weekend before my asthma attack where I just had to buy 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton as it refused to let me go without it! You wouldn't think it was cotton it is so amazingly soft. Plus another of their patterns. I did have a look at the latest copy of Yarn Forward. It did nothing for me so didn't bother getting it.

My Rowan membership renewal kit arrived and I'm rather impressed. The waistcoat pattern isn't for me but I'll definitely try the shawl. I really will actually finish one one day, and maybe using a thicker yarn might help me reach that goal ;)

The only other knitting related goodie I've had is 101 One Skein Wonders which I've been coveting for ages. I wasn't disapointed and it is a fab book, definitely a must have book in the knitters library. For anyone that has the book and not downloaded the errata you can do so from here. There are several patterns I want to make. And probably will once I've decided what border to use on Foxglove. Looks like it will much more of a challenge than I'd anticipated....

As promised here's a pic of my lovely Lorna's Laces Happy Valley sock that I knitted most of on my sunbed on holiday. She's so lovely. Eventually her sibling will arrive ;)

And a pic of Thunder showing what he thought of my plans to make a new bag. Yes, sitting right on the yarn always works. Nope, Thunder isn't jealous, not at all.

So no holiday pics yet I'm afraid. Hopefully if nothing else happens they'll be in my next post. Fingers crossed eh?

Spoke too soon. The oven broke last night. Cold indian for dinner anyone? Doh!

Could it get any worse? Oh yes, Roo bit Chilli's paw through the cage and wouldn't let go. Looks like he's bitten part if it off....... Oh man.