Odds and Sods

I am having one of those weird days, I am feeling the need to dye my hair either flamingo pink or ultramarine, I haven’t done eother yet although I have been green in my teenage years. Maybe I am feeling a bit creativley stifled, I don’t know I am sure it will pass, either that or next time you see me I will have a new haircut.

Its been an interesting week with Pete, he has suddenly started to understand sentences a bit more rather than just no or mummy and daddy, if asked he will take something to daddy or bring something to mummy, its amazing the sudden difference.

I tried to do some gardening this afternoon as the front garden was getting me down, our neighbour is wonderful and will usually tackle the front hedge for me before it gets to out of hand but he is a busy fireman working long shifts so he has limited time, I couldn’t do a lot as I couldn’t bend to far down but I guess slowly but surely I’ll manage to do something.

Ravelympics

Ok so this didn’t go quite to plan the first week, I started my intended project, a pair of socks for Andy, well between the medication and my lack of attention and after a good few hours work I admitted to myself that they were even going to be to large for Andy

Now normally I would work out how to decrease it but my brain was too fuzzy so I gave in and decided that I would have to give up any chance of doing the challenge and then I got a refund from Amazon after a gift I ordered for Andy turned out to be faulty twice (thats a whole other story) so I decided to treat me an Andy to a couple of books from the book depositry, he got a Robert Rankin and I got Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan, it was cheaper when I ordered it than it is advertised now so I guess its best to keep and eye on the books as the prices go up and down. Well I got inspired to do a last minute entry and started work on Blue Curacao in some Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora which I had on a cone from Cold Spring Mill from a few years ago and today Middai I finished, well I have to sew in the ends and block it but all the crochet is done.

Ok I should have hoovered before I took the photo, I only had a breif moment whilst Andy went out to take the photo with out the help of the small person.

The crocheterers amongst you may spot a small mistake but I only noticed after about six rows so I decided to leave its as it was.

I am not sure about the book yet, the sizes foor the garements don’t go up very high and although some of them will be easy to alter others won’t be, but I enjoyed this project and if I did it again I would try and add an extra tier of Pineaples just to make it that bit bigger, or should I say longer on the back.

So Proud

I am so proud of Andy, he got his results from his english GCSE today and he got and A, he worked so hard on this and wasn’t sure that he was going to make i but he did us proud.
he has been a real hero over the last few weeks with my back being bad, he has gone beyond the call of duty, he has gone with out sleep and has kept p with all the house hold chores and chased round after Pete and looked after me he deserves a medal to say the least.

The one I love

My little boy is growing

My little boy is growing up, we went for our first hair cut today, there were a few tears shed, by me not Pete, he now looks so grown up, he looks more like two now than one with his height.

I can now show you further progress on the mittens

This is the palm side and if you look closely you can see the three different tensions, I cast on and used the drop thread method on dpn’s for a while and then got convinced to use the holding the two different threads in different hands which made things a lot faster but then I was finding I was pulling at the point where the dpns met so I swapped to magic loop which tightened my tension even further, and to top it all with all this tension tightening they are now at least half an inch too small, oh well I am using this as learning experience.

Skip North planning is going a pace, can’t wait till March

Slowly slowly

Ok slowly but surely the back is healing and I even managed to stand for long enough to bake a cake for Pete’s birthday last week, sorry no pic, forgot all about it until it was half eaten. I can’t believe the time has flown so fast, he is such a little biy now, no longer a baby before I know it he’ll be in school.

He had lots of lovely visitors and pressies and is obssessed with the drum that Lixie got him, I think we have another musician in the family.

I have slowly started to knit again as now only taking the pain kileers before I go to sleep so the concentration levels have improved. Here is the long promised photo of one finished sock

More tomorrow

Quick Note from me

Just a short post to say thank you for all your kind words, back slowly getting better, can now stand for longer than 5mins :), thanks to some muscle relaxents and strong pain killers unfortunately my mood seems to be dragged down by the whole thing, I was never a great patient. It has also  meant all the plans we had for Pete’s birthday have one out the window, and I know he won’t remember it doesn’t stop me suffering from mothers guilt, also a couple of other things caiusing me a little stress at the moment but I am sure it will pass.

On the happy side Lixie came to visit and gave Andy a couple of hours break from looking after us both and we got to start the Plans fro Skip North, a date soon I promise.

On the knitting side I have finished the body of the fairisle Mitten but it has three tensions in it and is now at least half an inch too short and we won’t even talk about the ravely Olympic knitting.

More soon

Note from Andy

Hi, this is Andy.

 

Just to let everyone know, especially anyone who may be expecting an e-mail or some contact from Nic, she hasn’t been able to get to the computer this week because she has done her back in. She bent to pick something up on Monday and it just went, she is on plenty of strong pain-killers and, hopefully, everything should be well with her soon.

And yet More

Its no good, all these new sources of patterns all at once, thi sone cam via Lucy, she came knitting with her friend Abigail (sorry if the spelling is wrong) to Romford to knit this afternoon and she had managed to pick up a copy of Verena from WH Smiths and it is fantastic with over 50 patterns in it and it includes a plus size section. Unfortunately I left knitting group to late to pick up a copy so first thing tomorrow I am going in a hunt. There is one of the patterns that go up to a 62″ bust which I think I am going to knit just because it goes up to that size. It is in the preview section on theor website it is the log orange jumper with a really long v neck amd crochet trim.

I have managed to finish one of my show off stranded socks, pictures tomorrow and am still fighting with the mitten but I am now off to read, as Lucy has lent me, Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich and hope I can put it down so I can get to bed at a reasonble hour.

One last thing I forgot to say that I found the link to knotions via Suse the slow knitta thank you can’t wait till tomorrow.

And then they all come along at once

Ok so we unfortunately lost Magknits but now I have found two more online knitting mags, Flossie introduced me to the Twist collective and there are definitely a couple of patterns I could be tempted into buying I need to have a closer look but I wish that Wisteria cam in a larger size

Next on the 4th of August Knotions goes live and I also love the look of a couple of patterns in their preview.

Now I am trying to be good and trying to finish at least one thing before casting in anything else. I have been working hard on my Mittens but hit a slight snag.

 I love the thumb gusset which I have now finished and seperated the thumb stitches but I made the mistake of switching techniques about three inches into the mitten and my tension is very different, it is a little tighter, I have to say I think it makes the pattern a little better but have drawn in the size. See if you can spot the change point

 

I am really enjoying the challenge of the project although I got little done today as I was foundling the new yarn between customers today, we have Como by Debbie Bliss just in and a chunky Silk Garden Noro in some lovely greens I was very good though and am saving myself for the Malibrigo delivery

Bitter Sweet

Ok the weather here is so much better today, it was so hot here yesterday we ended up doing something I would never normally dream of and left an electric fan going all night, Pete was so hot even wih nothing but his nappy on it was a last resort.

It was also so hot I daren’t use the computer for more than a couple of minutes as the fan was working overtime so I couldn’t show you my latest project.

I know I have just a few projects in the needles but I couldn’t resist, I have been so inspired by Rosealare (check out her Vinterblomster Mittens), Knittiana, Thumb Gusset and the wonderful Spin off magazine Wibbo gave me that I finally succumbed to doing some fairisle gloves. The pattern is from here and I am using some Lorna’s Laces from my Stash in the Bittersweet colour and a ball of 4ply Rialto which I absolutely love and am using 2.5 dpn’s. I am not great at colour work as my tension is usually on the tight side but so far I am very happy with it.