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!

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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.

We're Back!

We had a fabulous time in Kefalonia. The weather was hot and sunny and Kefalonians are so friendly and helpful. We enjoyed it a lot more than expected. It was certainly a lazy holiday, much more than usual on our long haul trips, and mostly revolved around eating. Boy the greeks love to cook and eat and it was great dining out each night at a different restaurant or taverna trying something different. Even I was fine being a lactose intolerant veggie. I did get rather addicted to greek salads and had one every lunchtime ;)

Photos will come eventually. Probably once the mountain of paperwork and washing has gone down a bit........

For the first time I actually knitted by the pool. Only after lunch and under an umbrella whilst lying on the sunbed. It caused quite a bit of interest as you can imagine and I almost finished it before I went, just finishing the toe when once we were back. The colourway is Happy Valley which is such a pretty summery colour and will always remind me of Kefalonia. Pic will follow next post.

The animals were all pleased to see us back, especially Thunder who has been running round excitedly for days now. Bless ;)

This is what I got for my birthday the day before we left....... yes more Socks That Rock and the yarn to make the Blue Sky Alpaca Crochet Trimmed Hoodie pattern that I bought a little while back. It's in the most luxurious alpaca/wool yarn and in the palest pink ever. Hmm, can't wait till I can start that one. A fabulous new black Lumix camera which I am just in love with. Of course I've actually been using it for the past month or so, just to test it out of course, but had to give it back to DH so he could wrap it up. A knitted wire bracelet kit from TajCrafts that I really wanted to try. And a lovely Dr Hausckha gift set. Not bad eh he he? I also got a few holiday clothes too and some money which I used for some pretty M&S undie sets and also to renew my Rowan membership.

Here's a close up of my latest STR babies - 1 skein in Rhodonite and 1 in Chapman Springs. They're both absolutely gorgeous but Chapman Springs is really to die for. The colours are so vibrant which of course never shows onscreen.

We did end up going out for an Indian at our favourite restaurant and I'm glad we did. And finished off my birthday by watching Happy Feet on DVD! Boy I loved that film, it was excellent. I wasn't stressed in the evening as I'd done pretty much everything I needed and DH was also nice and helpful too.

The STR April Sock Club Kit arrived a few days before my birthday.... and I just love it. The new Silkie yarn is so tactile, you can just sit and stoke it for ages........of course it will be a little while before I get to start the sock what with holidays and the fact I haven't finished my Monsoon sock yet. Hope to get back working on that again soon.

Remember all that finishing I was doing before we went away. Well finally I got round to finishing my Fletcher coat in Noro Iro and it is beautiful. Of course it is totally the wrong time of year for a jacket or coat but who cares, she will be ready and waiting for me come autumn. The sense of accompliment once she was totally finished was truly amazing. This was some serious project!

Also finished is Soleil in Rowan Summer Tweed and I can't tell you how pleased I was with this top, especially the edging which I replaced as I wasn't keen on the original. Summer tops are usually very hit and miss and I'm rarely ecstatic over them. Maybe because the fit and shape of tiny summer tops are much more crucial, or maybe because knitting yarns are much thicker than the little stretchy vest type tops I wear. Whatever the reason, they're never in the same league as the wraps, shrugs, cardis etc. that I make. But not this one, this one is beautiful and something I would definitely wear out. It's a fabulous design and if anyone was thinking about making it, I'd definitely recommend it.

I tried to show a close up of the crochet border but it isn't that clear. If I remember I'll take a macro shot. The crochet edging is from Crochet Edgings & Trims by Susan Smith that I bought sight unseen from Amazon. A bit of a gamble but luckily it paid off as this edging has worked out brilliantly. It also boosted my crochet confidence too. Which is well needed for when I attempt the Crochet Edged Hoodie......

I've decided to have a yarn stash clear up and sell any yarns that I've had a while and still have no plans to use. Mostly from the days before I realised how often yarns are discontinued and sold off cheaply. Nowadays I'm a lot fussier on what sale yarns I buy. Which means I should have more room for my ever increasing STR sock yarn stash ;)

My last post was full of things that had gone wrong and it was quite a stressful time. Our holiday of course was totally relaxing and enjoyable, so you can imagine why I hit the roof the the evening we came home when I discovered my car insurance had expired 3 weeks before!!! A horrendous mistake which shouldn't have happened. I only rang up to ask for the 10% discount I was due to be applied to the renewal, so how that ended up with me having no insurance I have just no idea. A 2 page complaint letter is currently being drafted. Just what you don't need..... of course I'm now insured again but still amazing such a mistake can happen. Luckily I have my lovely knitting to keep me calm :-)

Oops - somehow Blogger's default setting was at 'no comments'. Thanks Chris for letting me know - all fixed now!

Life Gets A Bit Weird

You know things aren't going great when you come home from a manic morning at work to have your lunch to find the police have sent you a summons. Yes, apparently I went through a red light somwhere in Leicestershire at 8.15am on a Tuesday morning. Bit difficult when my car was outside my house at the time before I trundled off to work. In Weston-Super-Mare I might add. This kind of thing just sends your stress levels haywire. You know it isn't you, but the summons form didn't have an option for that. So then begins the fun of trying to ring and speak to a person.....

I did manage after several tries to leave a message and thankfully a few hours later was called back with an apology as it had been an error. I'm really glad I managed to get it sorted the same day. It would have played on my mind terribly.

Good news at work though. We interviewed 3 people in the morning and I rang and offered the position to our favourite in the afternoon. And even better, she accepted! Usually the manager does interviews but he's on holiday and the new person would be working with me and the other office administrator so it made sense we chose and interviewed. Though timewise we could have done without it, it all went well and finally there's a little light at the end of the tunnel.

I did more hours overtime over the last month than hours I work per week which is fine for the extra money but not good for my sanity and definitely not good knitting wise. Though I've said no more o/t or not much now as we'll shortly be off on our hols and no way will I get stressed from work before we go. I'm behind as it is without work stress. Is it just me that sorts everything holiday related out or does anyone's DH help out too?

I've also realised going away the day after my birthday is not actually a great idea. Not sure if I'll feel like a meal out as I'll be running round like a headless chicken trying to get everything ready. Oh well, we'll see soon enough won't we?

Added to the fun of receiving the summons we're having trouble with our burglar alarm and have been let down by a recommended company 3 times out of 4. Not good before you go away. Neither is having your electricity meter stop working again. Its lasted a year! If that hasn't been enough I've had an absolute nightware with the edging of Tulip. The knitted on edging is fine, but the edging knitted separately has been horrendous. The pattern isn't clear and the instructions make little sense. If you look at both pics of it in Rowan 41 you can see the edgings have been done completely differently on both tops - 1 has the ws edge facing and the other rs facing. It gets worse. The sleeve edging isn't long enough to go around the armhole. I've tried and failed to get it right countless times. Frankly, I'm sick of the sight of it. The main body edging is done and I don't care how it looks anymore or even if it wants to stick out a little. I shall bash it about with the iron a bit. No way will I redo it!

I will start again with more stitches for the sleeve edging though after sewing up the sides and deciding how long the edging really needs to be. Then finish the ties one which is almost done. Amazing how long that takes too. I really hope its worth all this trouble in the end.....

All this ranting might make you think I wouldn''t have much to show for my recent efforts, but surprisingly I have quite a few FOs to show. DH scared me last week when he said you realise its only 2 weeks till we go away and it dawned on me the amount of finishing I had to do. So rather than start a nice new calming project I've done non-stop finishing.

And first FO is the lovely Monsoon sock from my Blue Moon Feb Sock Kit. I haven't managed to start the 2nd but hopefully will get around to it once all this finishing is out the way ;) I've really enjoying knitting the sock and though it had lots of firsts for me, I found it all relative simple and easy to follow and lots of fun. The shape still amuses me no end ;)

Next FO is the Halterneck Top in Rowan Calmer. Officially it is the last 2006 FO as that was when it was knitted. It always amazes me how long a crochet edging or tie can take. DH loves this top and asked if I'll be taking it away with me on our hols. Praise indeed!

Third FO is After Dark in Rowan Summer Tweed which is a really pretty top. The Rowan beads look fabulous and I'm really glad I got them. I will try something else for the ties though as I'm not totally keen on using the same yarn for the ties. It looks ok but think they could look better. It'll do for the time being though.

Last but not least are my Mango Speed Demon Sweet Georgia socks. Boy are these lovely & warm and oh so comfy. Perfect house and bed socks especially for those cold spring evenings.

This will be my last post till we're back from our hols. Its my birthday at the end of the month and we're off to Kefalonia the day after for 2 weeks. Fingers crossed we get warm weather! Being used to the tropics and not going to the Mediterranean for 20 years we could be in for quite a surprise. I'm sure it will be lovely though doubt much time will spent in the sea ;)

PS Sad news I'm afraid. Our beloved hamster Custard passed away on Sunday in his sleep. I know he was 3 years and 1 and a half months old but it was still a shock and we both really miss him. We gave him a little burial and hope he's happy in Hammy Heaven feeding on a never ending supply of organic sunflower seeds.

Finally.....

Yup, at last, Tulip is almost finished. The fronts and back are done and shoulders bound off. It's been pressed (this is definitely a yarn that looks much better after pressing) and is ready for edgings. Which will take forever no doubt. I feel really relieved the main body has been done. It's really felt like its dragged on, though maybe this hasn't been helped by the multiple WIPs I seem to have right now.

There is the Kim Hargreaves lace shrug which I wanted to take on holiday this year. Which is next month. Yes, you can stop laughing now. Problem is, I can't stand lace. Really, it winds me up. I keep asking DH if he can imagine me wearing it as I'm not sure (in the hope he'll say its horrid and I can frog it) but he keeps insisting he can picture me in it. Darn! So its a very slow going project as even 10 rows of lace is enough to send me barking mad ;(

So I need a nice 'proper' project to keep my sanity going in the evenings after I've done some horrible lace. And I think it has to be Foxglove in Rowan Calmer. Soft, soothing & oh so pretty. Perfect ;)

But I've been really good and carried on with my other WIPs first so I feel I've actually made some real progress at last. A good feeling ;)

I've actually gone and done some pressing. Well quite a bit in fact! This was quite a surprise but unfortunately rather necessary before I drowned in a pile of FOs waiting for pressing and finishing. So After Dark is pressed and a matching yarn found. Thats it so far though, whaddya expect - miracles? Soleil is also pressed and waiting some attention. And a couple of bits that needed seams pressing have been done too. Phew, glad the pressing is all done for a while......

My lovely STR Fairgrounds sock now has a mate! Yippe, another pair of socks have landed ;) I love them. They love me. All is good. Except I've had to start handwashing my handpainted socks yarns. No more chucking them in the machine for me I'm afraid. My X-Mas Rock STR became a struggle to get on........making me wonder if my ankles had grown. But no, they've started to 'bloom' quite a bit more than older socks. The machine has to be blamed (though possibly I could have washed them on the wrong setting...) but to be safe and keep both them and me happy handwashing is the way to go. It's not a big deal I've found out, especially using Lakekand's Lavender Wool Wash which is a wonderful no-rinse product.

My washing machine is notorious for felting things when its not supposed to and I know it shrinks my socks a little each time. But they usually stretch back again. Obviously this isn't really the best way to treat expensive handpainted yarns.......no matter what it says on the label!

My STR Monsoon sock is doing rather well. Even DH commented on how fast it seems to have grown ;) The garter stitch heel was rather fun to do until I realised the sock was too long and I had to frog 10 rows of rib and do it again! I can't quite work out how you make sure the sock is the right length when doing toe up. Especially as I like a snug fitting sock. But not having to decrease on the gusset was truly wonderful and the cable leg part is flying along. I do wonder though if the 2nd sock (when I get there that is!) will drag and I'll suffer from SSS. Time will tell no doubt :)

Does anyone else think my sock reminds them of umm, something usually related to male anatomy??? Makes me smile whenever I knit the sock. DH thinks the same too. Sure is one strange looking sock ;)

The garter stitch toe (yup, another first) was simple to do and a success until I realised it was much too big so I had to redo that on fewer stitches. All good fun though eh and practise does make perfect doesn't it?

Good news on my Fletcher coat. It's all sewn up now. Just seams to be pressed then the fun of making loops and toggles. Why is this prospect just so not exciting me......hmmm could it be the fun of making loops out of Noro Iro which just loves to break? Ho hum.

Hope everyone is having a good Easter. It's the first time I can remember it being sunny all Easter for a long time and its great. We were at the beach and had chips on the pier Friday which was fab ;)