spin-a-yarn

Actual Knitting Content : )

2012-01-31T20:44:00.000+01:00

Actual knitting content for once. I finished both of these last week. The socks are from a random Opal ball of yarn I bought years ago,lost the button band. The fingerless gloves are from yarn dyed by Babylonglegs. Spell checker wants to turn that into Babylonians, which is curiously apt lol

I tried doing the fingers with 4" dpns, but they kept sticking into my palms and were awkward to use, so I went back to my trusty 6" ones instead.

I have now started my Green beret, and am finishing off a cross-stitch picture of a Delft tile.

In search of an interesting topic

2012-01-09T18:04:00.000+01:00

My daughters recently pointed out that I have not blogged for some time.

The problem is, I seldom have anything interesting to say, or show. I have no witty banter to share, or hilarious anecdotes to regale people with. I have no deeply moving story to tell or any important political or newsworthy item to discuss. And I'm not sure how my daughters would feel about a steady stream of doting grandma photos of their children.

I am just an ordinary woman. So how do others find something to speak about day after day I wonder?

Here is a gratuitous knitted shawl photo, just to keep the blog alive. Its made from 2 skeins of Artesano DK in Chaffinch.

Size matters

2011-10-25T15:49:00.000+01:00

We have had our extension for 7 years. We have not achieved the right size and shape of table during this time. When we bought our tiny terraced 2 bed house it didn't have a kitchen as such. It had a kitchen area as part of the dining/living room. So we built an full width extension to make a kitchen/diner and free up the space in the living room.

But our existing table was too big for the extension so we sort of squeezed around for a year. The MIL was getting rid of her dining table and chairs and we joyfully accepted as it was smaller than our table, and our old table went to Emmaus.

Bad move!! The new to us table is circular and 42" in diameter so the wrong shape and size for sewing or any other craft work. More years of frustration followed.

Today we went to Ikea and bought a rectangular pine table exactly the right size for our extension and exactly big enough for my sewing machine and cutting mat or whatever for dressmaking and quilting purposes. I can do my pyrography without slipping off the curved edge. And putting the felt on the swift feet is much easier as I can do a long strip in one go now.

I am a happy bunny : )

Son and Grandson

2011-09-08T12:37:00.000+01:00

Here is DS on his first day in the 6th Form. They have to wear a suit and tie every day. Doesnt he look grown up?

And here is my new Grandson. Announcing the birth of Alexander. He is 9lbs 1oz and is DD2's first baby. So very, very beautiful.

New Website

2011-08-26T18:25:00.004+01:00

We have a new website!!! This one has all the new products on it : Mini-niddy noddys, longer swift pegs etc as well as the swifts, spindles and nostepinnes. Plus a new gallery of the available spindle and nostepinne woods on the Nostepinne page.

We can be found here:

http://www.sunflowerswifts.co.uk/

Best wishes, Richard & Claire

The Fruits of my Labour

2011-08-11T17:09:00.002+01:00

Back from quilting and i have 2 quilts to show you. The first is Friendship Braid from the Jelly Rolls book. It is 53" x 64" and involves cutting 320 trapesoids out and sewing them together. Once I got the hang of it, it went together surprisingly easily, but took a long time. It will b a lap quilt for me during the Winter.

The second quilt is the last of the Dinosaur quilts I have been making. It is 43" x 52" and I made up the pattern with the bits I had left from the first 2 dino quilts. This is the front:

And this is the back:

It, and its companion will stay at my house for sleepy grandchildren to cuddle into when they come here. The other one and the Caterpillar quilt will be at their homes for snuggling there.

I hve pinned together the front, wadding, and back and will hopefully quilt and bind it this weekend.

Going Quilting

2011-07-25T20:56:00.002+01:00

Its that time of the year again. I'm off quilting for 5 days with my friends from Chaos Quilters. I go on Weds 27th July and am back on Tues 2nd August. 5 whole days of sewing and giggling, sleeping in dorms on bunk beds, sharing communal bathrooms and having lots of fun. These ladies know so much about quilting - its like a masterclass everytime I go.

Have fun, see you soon : )

Last of the Summer Yarn

2011-07-15T10:38:00.002+01:00

As some of you know, I sold one of my spinning wheels recently. I have put the money I raised into replenishing my yarn stocks. These are what I bought from the last of the money.

This is called Magnolia and I bought 2 skeins of it.

This is called By The Sea and I bought 2 skeins of this too.

They are both by Skein Queen and each skein is 4ply, 100% merino 100g/400m. She exclusively dyed these colours for www.theyarncafe which is where I bought them.

So thats that for at least until after Christmas

(hark - do I hear the sound of disbelieving laughter???)

PS Did I mention the 10kg of undyed yarn and fibre which also arrived, from www.bluefaced.com ?????

More Yarn

2011-07-12T12:00:00.005+01:00

I fell off the yarn diet yesterday by buying these:

They are from http://www.theyarncafe.com/, a new online yarn shop in Coventry. They have lots of really beautiful yarns and accessories, including several yarns dyed by Skein Queen in exclusive colourways. This one is called Snow White's Apple and is a 4ply 100% superwash merino. Each skein is 100g and 400 metres. I feel a shawl coming on : )

Finished the Shirt

2011-06-08T22:09:00.002+01:00

Here it is, finished!! I am not a very small person, DH is so tall that his shirts go to my knees. I had to add 3" to the pattern to get the right length.
I learned a new way of hemming. First I overlocked the edges of the button bands, then I turned up the hem and slip stitched it invisibly. It has made a lovely finish with no bulkyness where the seams meet.

It was my first attempt at a collar. The instructions were clear and, provided I followed them to the letter, all went well. I slip stitched the collar by hand for extra neatness and comfort.

I practiced a lot before doing the buttonholes. I used my Janome 6600P and it was straightforward once I had got the hang of the buttonhole foot. I found a video on Youtube showing this technique - I love Google : ) The machine automatically makes the buttonholes the right size, so that part was easy.

I stitched the buttons on by hand, and hemmed the sleeves by hand too. I think hemming by hand gives a neater finish. I really enjoyed this project once I got my confidence going.

DH has now bought some striped fabric and given it to me to make the next one Gulp!!!

A Dr Who Encounter at 5am

2011-06-06T17:23:00.002+01:00

This weekend I was at Manchester. DH and I were hiring a chamber organ at the new BBC studios and ended up singing with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra - thrilling!!!

While we were there on the Saturday afternoon for rehersals, one of the lovely men mentioned that parts of Dr Who were filmed there and would I like to have a nosey? Of course, I jumped at the chance. We had to wait until the Sunday morning at 5am, just before the final rehearsals, so I look a bit bleary eyed in the pictures.

We werent allowed on the sets, but I found this outside a studio. Now, I think knitting outside the TARDIS rates as quite a good location for knitting in public - dont you?
A bit further down we met a Dalek. It was a bit subdued, so I thought I would teach it to knit while it waited for The Doctor to show up..............

It picked up the basics surprisingly well, and gave the poor staff a good laugh while we waited to start.

Progress

2011-05-30T12:32:00.001+01:00

I have completed most of the shirt now. Thank heavens for an overlocker!!. I just have the dreaded button holes and final hemming to do - photos soon : )

A Learning Curve.

2011-05-27T13:35:00.004+01:00

DH is 6'7" tall and broad shouldered, but slim. This means that all his shirts are too short for him.

Solution? A clever wife with a good sewing machine and a DH with endless optimism and faith in his wife's capabilities.

So I have somehow ended up volunteering to make him some shirts. I am starting relatively simply with a McCalls shirt pattern, number 2149. (blogger wont let me link today) It has short sleeves and he wants the round collar. So I only have to think about stuff like button holes, interfacing and adapting the pattern - gulp!!!

So far I have successfully lengthened the body and sleeves by 2 1/2" each. I remembered to do the same for the interfacing. I have cut out the fabric. Mercifully he has chosen a non-directional batik for the first shirt, but he also bought 4 yards of striped shirting material for my next one...............

Now I have to work out which side of the iron-on interfacing is the sticky side.

Oh my, what have I let myself in for..................

Knitting and Sewing

2011-05-25T17:36:00.003+01:00

This is the completed back of Fred's cardigan. Fred is my soon-to-be born grandson and this should fit him just perfectly when he is 3 months old. It is a plain stocking stitch cardigan pattern using sock yarn to make the jazzy effect.
I have also been using my over-locker to make this bag. You know the sample books of curtain fabrics? A shop was throwing one out so I snaffled it and cut rectangles out of the fabric. Then I flat-locked it on my overlocker, using shiny thick embroidery thread. The lining is calico and it is wadded in between for extra squidgy-ness (is that a word?)

I am now back to knitting my Volcano Cardigan for me : )

Another Dinosaur Cot Quilt

2011-05-20T20:21:00.002+01:00

I think I am on a Dinosaur kick with these fabrics. This time I used 10" squares printed in panels. I cut the panels up and put sashing between them. This made a square so I added strips of smaller dinosaurs Then I put a blue 2 1/2" border all around and bound it in orange. I used a border fabric for the backing so it would be reversable.

I mitred the binding and hand sewed the binding on the back. I only lightly quilted it around the squares and sashing using my walking foot. Next time I will have hopefully got the hang of Free Motion sewing and be a bit more adventurous.

It is 42" by 48" and I still have some dinosaurs fabric left............................

A Good Year for Azaleas

2011-05-14T21:11:00.001+01:00

Ta Da...........................

This has been flowering on our decking for several weeks now - isnt it a beauty!!!

Quilting and Embroidery

2011-05-10T16:55:00.004+01:00

I have not been idle whilst I have been ill. I thought I would try my hand at Surface Embroidery. I alredy have lots of threads from my cross-stitch and smocking endeavours, so I got a piece of pink poly-cotton out of the loft, and bought a copy of The A-Z of Embroidery Stitches, and off I went. The result is 6" square and has become the front of a pincushion (which I havent used yet as I cant bear to stick pins in it)

Next up is a cot quilt for my soon-to-be-born grandson. I quilted round the trees and dinosurs as well as straight round the panel. It is 42" x 53"

Finally, a Cot quilt for my very wriggly and crawling Grand-daughter. I quilted round the caterpillar, butterfly and leaf as well as the borders etc. I also managed to master Mitering the binding, which is much neater, I think. It measures 42" x 52"

Alottment-ing

2011-05-07T17:12:00.003+01:00

Here is our sunhouse, built the traditional allotment way with odds and ends from other sheds, and old window frames from an ex-greenhouse. Note the chair in front of it with the orange knitting on. This is my Volcano cardigan in progress whilst I am supervising the workers : )
We have had to take to watering the allotment every 2 days over the last few weeks. Eight weeks with no more than a drip or two of rain - incredible!!!

The cross hatched branches on the bottom right of this phot are DH's hedgelaying skills coming to the fore. Another year and it will look sensational.

We have lots of seedlings waiting for the right conditions to plant out. There are also some hanging baskets maturing in safety, ready to decorate the back of our house.

The fruit bushes seem OK. The tree stump you can see in the middle is the result of the old pear tree shedding a couple of branches and becoming unsafe. The man in the next plot pollared it a bit hard. At least we no longer have it shading our runner beans and attracting the wasps.

Open for Business

2011-05-05T13:02:00.002+01:00

We are all well again and back to work. We are taking orders and have some swifts in stock already. More details of our swifts and nostepinnes can be found at:

www.sunflowerswifts.blogspot.com

and our custom-made spindles and niddy-noddys at:

www.sublimespindles.blogspot.com

I hope you are all enjoying the lovely weather. I will hopefully post photos of our allotment on here tomorrow.

Not Going

2011-04-07T21:08:00.001+01:00

I am not going to Wonderwool Wales after all as I am still ill. Its day 13 of this cough and cold and I am getting fed up of it. On the plus side, I am gradually getting better, and didnt need antibiotics this time, so my immune system must be picking up. I think some retail therapy is required........................

Spinning and Socks

2011-04-04T11:31:00.002+01:00

I've been feeling a bit ill for the past week or so, I turned to my trusty no-fail knitting and made a pair of socks for myself. The yarn is Opal Petticoat I bought years ago, and the pattern is Simple Socks by Sue Morgan. I also managed to ply my first 100g of BFL, custom dyed for me by Freyalyn. It is around sockweight and is 450 yards long. It is a bit underspun but I have had lots of good advice from my fellow spinners on ravelry, and know what to do to make it a firmer twist for the second 100g of this. I think it will be a shawl : )

Introducing - Delilah

2011-03-27T13:17:00.002+01:00

This is my new spinning wheel - Delilah. I have called her Delilah because I found it so hard to get the hang of using her that I found myself saying 'Why, why, WHY did I buy this wheel.I hadnt realised how hard it would be to get used to a completely different way of treadling. My other wheel is an Ashford Elizabeth 2, which has bearings and the wheel is on the right, not in the middle. I just flick the wheel, and off it goes. With Delilah the wheel is in the middle, as is the treadle, and I cant flick the wheel. It took several hours of patient, and not so patient practise before I could get the wheel to go consistently in the direction I wanted it to.

The sliding hook flyer took some practice too. All in all, it was like being a beginner again. I persevered and now love Delilah as much as Elizabeth, but I've got a bit more practice to do before I am as competent and confident on her.

My spinning corner looks just right now. The radiator is switched of permanently until Winter, when I shall move my wheels to another corner. Having a travelling wheel has certainly expanded my horizons and I hope to take Delilah to Wonderwool Wales if I have stopped using naughty words when spinning on her.

Its alive..Its ALIVE!!!!!

2011-03-21T19:40:00.002+01:00

Mr Sunflower's Clanger is now finished and gracing our windowsill, much to the amusement of the secondary school children who walk past our house on their way to school and back.
The Clanger has leather clothing, turned inside out to show the suede side. It is embroidered with bronze-coloured metallic thread. We think he is a Gladiator clanger, but haven't come up with a suitable name yet. Suggestions are welcome : )

Snake Surprise!!!

2011-03-18T11:48:00.002+01:00

My DS is 16 years old. He is doing his GCSE in Art and has a rather 'interesting' teacher. Last Friday she decided to set him some Art homework involving photographing and then doing an oil painting of a snake. A live, real snake...................

Now, in Coventry, live snakes are a bit thin on the ground for an ordinary customer, especially on Friday tea-time. With the help of Google we found a shop which was open and they kindly let us photograph their Python. They even got her out of the tank and let us handle her while DS took action shots, which I thought was very kind of them.
The python was very large, heavy and quick so much giggling ensued when DS got wrapped up in a tangle with this big snake.

At one point, I put the camera down to help him and got the snake round my neck and almost in my ear!!! The staff were great. I totally recommend Godiva reptiles if you ever what anything like that.

It was a surprising end to a school week. I hadnt expected to pick DS up and then be snake-wrangling all in the space of an hour. DS and I both like snakes and enjoyed the experience very much. I'm not sure how the snake felt as we dont speak parseltonge!!!

Can You Tell What It Is Yet?

2011-03-10T20:51:00.002+01:00

Its beginning to come together now and look like a Clanger : )

Finished my Hexagons

2011-03-07T16:20:00.002+01:00

I went to my Spring Quilting retreat this weekend. 30 ladies of a 'certain age' get together at Quorn Hall and spend 2 days bissfully quilting. Much laughing and chatting goes on, plenty oef eating of cake, and very little sleeping.

I set up my table with the hexagon quilt and all my odds and ends, plus a not-very-helpful pneguin who refused to do any sewing.

Success. At 1.59pm on Sunday afternoon, just before we had to stop sewing, I sewed in my last hexagon. I am very happy, as you can see. I just have to sew on the borders, quilt it and do the binding............................ but it has gone back in its box for a few days until I catch up with my housework : )

Of Clangers, Onions and Quilts......

2011-03-02T14:56:00.003+01:00

Mr Sunflower is busy knitting his Clanger. He has nearly finished the body, head and legs which is all knitted in one piece.

It looks a bit scary, but I am told that the holes are for the arms to be attached.

Meanwhile, I am making preparations for my Quilting weekend which starts on Friday : )

And in the kitchen, our onion have started to grow. Now I know that Spring is in the air!!

Knitting Clangers and stuff

2011-02-23T17:55:00.005+01:00

At last I am back, with lots of knitting to show. First up is my Blue Cardigan. I have done the back and both fronts. I have set it aside for a couple of weeks now as I have a quilt to finish before my Quilting Retreat in 10 days.

Mr Sunflower is re-discovering his knitting skills by knitting this bright pink Clanger. The pattern is here

It involves lots of increasing and short-row shaping which he has taken to like a duck to water. It may not look much like a Clanger yet, but it will - trust me.

Below is my finished Forest Canopy Shawl which came out at a whopping 80" x 36" after blocking.

I have also done a bit more spinning, but nothing significant to show yet. Its great to have some time now to do crafting again.

Temporarily Shutting Down

2011-01-24T16:04:00.003+01:00

We will be shutting down production of Sunflower Swifts from the 1st March-1st May 2011. This is to enable us to complete the design of a new product to add to our range, and get it up and running. I'm afraid we wont be able to accept swift orders during this time. If you go to http://www.sunflowerswifts.blogspot.com/ there is a list of stockists on the left. They should have swifts in stock for you to buy during our shut-down.

Best wishes, we look forward to seeing you in May,

Richard and Claire

Still Here

2011-01-15T00:40:00.002+01:00

I'm still here. Life has been so busy that I havent had a whole day off, except Christmas Day, since my last blogpost. The end is is sight however and life should calm down to normal in a couple of weeks. I will catch up with everything then : )

Happy Birthday to Me : )

2010-12-20T17:37:00.004+01:00

I can't get my photos to load in order so this could be a bit confusing.

Above is the herdy mousemat from DS. Below are some 'old lady' slippers I treated myself to as I wanted a warm pair big enough to wear with my handknitted socks.

It was my birthday yesterday and I got some super-duper presents and a hand made card from DS.

I always hankered after an Aga. Living in a tiny terraced house in a city, its not looking likely that it will happen so...DH bought me a Teapot shaped like an Aga. The kettle is the lid. Isnt it clever : )

Close up so you can see the words on the front of the card DS made me.

DS also bought me a herdy mug and mouse pad, and DD2 bought me The Knitters Year which has lots of lovely patterns in.

Meet Philomena

2010-12-14T22:41:00.001+01:00

A new friend has arrived at my house. She is called Philomena MacMoore and is very chatty and slightly scatter-brained. I cant think who she takes after : )

More Photos of Winter magic

2010-12-13T18:06:00.001+01:00

Arent I Blessed?

2010-12-13T17:13:00.003+01:00

This is the view I had from my back garden last week.

I am so lucky to have an old Victorian cemetery at the back of my house and no-one overlooking us. We also a balcony to stand out and look out from which is big enough to have a table and chairs on and I can see over the back garden and into the landscaping of the cemetery, just like a country park from yesteryear.

Back Online

2010-12-04T23:20:00.001+01:00

I'm back online again. Dont know how long for, but its a relief.

Incommunicado

2010-12-03T20:40:00.001+01:00

I'm afraid our internet is down at the moment. According to aol, it is due to 'atmospheric conditions' and they dont know when it will be back on. I am not impressed.

I am typing this on a friends computer and will be popping in when I can until this is resolved : (

Snow

2010-11-27T09:44:00.000+01:00

Its official: We have Snow. Only 1/2" but still, the snow has settled and its real!!

3rd Forest Canopy

2010-11-25T13:15:00.002+01:00

This scruffy looking bundle of knitting is actually going to be a Forest Canopy Shawl. When it is finished and blocked it will miraculously transform into a thing of beauty (I hope). I am using 5mm needles and Patons Diploma Gold 4 ply in a solid Burgundy colour in real life. The screen wont do the colour justice. I am going to do 18 repeats of the pattern and 12 edging repeats so it will be approx twice the size of the other two.
In other news: I have finished the socks : )

I have a rotten streaming snuffly cold and sore throat - the first proper cold I have had for nearly 10 years. I think it may be Piglet flu as its not bad enough (just) to be Swine flu.

Its going to be a cold Winter. The squirrels at the end of my garden are wearing hats and scarves already. I hope they haven't been at my stash!!

Strange Vegetable

2010-11-23T19:09:00.003+01:00

I give you - the strange Parsnip, as grown by DH : )

Does anyone remember That's Life and their Oddly Shaped vegetables spot?

Naive or just Stupid

2010-11-15T00:01:00.002+01:00

I voted Lib-Dem. I did so because they had the policies I believed in and they went so far as to publicly pledge to honour their promises. I didn't expect them to get into power on their own. I expected them to have a coalition with Labour and temper Labours policies to find a middle ground to steer us through this financial minefield.

I honestly never even gave the idea of a Liberal/Conservative coalition a thought. And I certainly didn't think for one moment that the Liberals would do a U-turn on everything they promised in such a total and blatant way.

Naive or stupid? I don't know, probably both.

If there was an election tomorrow, I wouldn't know how to vote. There is no party I trust now, and none who reflect my ideology.

Abracadabra!!

2010-11-12T11:48:00.003+01:00

Its amazing when time, effort and bit of magic turns this:

Into this:

And this:

Into this:

Crafting is so rewarding : )

I get depressed easily and used to hate getting up and starting work, housework etc. So now I get up and use my first hour of the day to spin or knit. It makes getting up so much easier and brings a smile to my day.

Green Cardigan-Knitting

2010-11-08T18:51:00.002+01:00

Yep, I have actually finished my cardigan. Its taken about 4 months on and off, but I got there in the end.

I am reconciled to looking like a Teletubby, so I might as well be a pretty one! I used Sirdar Escape DK in the Euphoria colourway and I really like the way the colour changes lend themselves to the pattern : )

Ouch!!! Mastication Misery.

2010-11-05T18:12:00.003+01:00

I have a small mouth. My nearest and dearest may not believe it, but its true. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in speed LOL. My dentist has to use children's tools to work on my teeth. My anaesthetist said my jaw only opens a bit, not the full amount it should. I have had several fractures on my left side and the joint simply doesn't work properly.

So it seems inevitable that, during my operation, the anaesthetist dislocated my jaw when he was trying to get the tube down. It was put quickly back in place and that should have been the end of it.....expect it wasn't that simple.

It still hurts to chew. The pain has been getting worse and worse. I went to my dentist who said my teeth are fine, its a jaw thing. So I went to my doctor who recommended painkillers and a return trip to the dentist as jaws are dental things..........so

I returned to my wonderful dentist who is a darling and very patient and gentle and isn't bothered when I panic or cry because of my dental phobia. She knew exactly what to do. She pats my hand and gives me a tissue and stops until I am ready to continue. She said I have Strained my Muscles of Mastication......which made me giggle a bit cos it sounds naughty : )

The upshot of all this is that I cannot eat anything even slightly chewy for 6 weeks - starting yesterday. Minimum talking (DH and DS are so happy) and take anti-inflammatory tablets. If it doesn't work, then she will refer me to a Consultant.

Good job chocolate melts, isn't it!!!

Slow Bread

2010-10-25T16:11:00.002+01:00

Last week my eldest daughter came over to learn how to make slow bread. This is bread made the old-fashioned way with traditional yeast and stoneground flour. No improvers in the yeast, no additives and no machinery. She learned to knead the dough like a professional in 60 seconds flat. perhaps its in the genes. I learned from my grandmother, who taught my mother, who made bread with me. Now I have taught my daughter. Little grand-daughter was also there, but she is only 3 months old, so it will be a while before she is kneading bread.

The final results are shown below. Didn't she do a great job!!!!

Knitcamp = happiness (yes, really)

2010-10-17T12:23:00.002+01:00

Speaking personally, there has been a great deal of positiveness to come out of the whole Knitcamp debacle which may not have otherwise happened. The knitting community has come together in a wonderful way.

I have read so many messages, blogposts and Ravelry posts about the loving and caring words and actions of those hurt by the event, and those who were not involved directly but wanted to help. I have seen people set up completely unsolicited funds for those who have lost out financially. I have seen numerous posts offering helpful advice to those needing support legally.
During Knitcamp I saw many people sticking their necks out to give practical help and advice to those caught up in the whole whirlwind of disorganisation, in the face of criticism and other nastiness from 'friends' of the organiser. I have read and heard first hand from the many volounteers who spent their entire time making sure that others had a great experience.

I have been inspired by the dignity, courage and self-sacrifice of many people, too many to list.

Personally, I have discovered who my real friends are, and made many, many new ones. I have 2 knitting groups in Coventry to go to who are peopled by lovely, warm, friendly knitters. I have got to know many more people on Ravelry and learned how to Twitter.

Thank you, all of you.

In other news, Mr Sunflower has made me a top whorl spindle. Karen kindly let me try hers a few weeks ago as I had only previously used bottom whorl spindles. I don't prefer either, but its nice to be able to use both types. This is 40g and made from Sycamore.

On the work front I have now sold the last Sunflower Swift in existence, so back to the workshop on Monday!!

Penguins and Baking

2010-10-13T22:24:00.003+01:00

On Ravelry recently, there has been an outbreak of penguins. Crocheted penguins. There are 5 of them acting as moderators on the British Banter group, plus many more who are members of the group. I cannot crochet properly yet. Jane has patiently taught me the basics, but I need more help I think. So here is my penguin friend - a stuffed penguin. He is a very Posh penguin and has his own fisherman to catch his fish for him. See the little silver fish in the fisherman's hand???

The other news is that I have been touching up my breadmaking skills. I make bread the old-fashioned way, no breadmakers in this house : )

My eldest daughter is coming over next week to learn the finer points of breadmaking, so I thought I had better make sure I can turn out a good loaf everytime or it could be really embarassing LOL

Facing The Pain

2010-10-06T14:25:00.003+01:00

Sometimes people can hurt us. Sometimes through sexual, emotional or physical abuse. Sometimes through a betrayal of our trust and friendship, which is also a form of abuse. Sometimes by proxy by condoning the actions of another who has hurt or abused us, usually by silence or trying to silence us when we protest. The list could go on and on and incorporate many variations and combinations of this hurting.

Anyone who has been through counselling knows that at some point you are confronted by the pain of knowledge. The enormity and truth of what has happened to you through the words and actions of another person comes home with the force of a knife in the ribs. The pain is incredible.

Some people choose to back away from the truth through denial. They continue a relationship with the abuser or false friend. They pretend nothing has happened because they cannot deal with the pain. Other people turn on the councillor or messenger and direct their anger towards them because they are not able to confront reality and deal with the pain. It is easier to blame the persons who remind them of the pain and try to silence them than it is to confront the abuser to change the status quo or sever their links with the false friend. Some people abuse themselves with drink, drugs and addictions of many kinds to anaesthetise the pain.

All these strategies do not deal with the pain. They postpone or misdirect the pain, but it continues to gnaw away inside, slowly destroying themselves and their loved one, and ruining any chance of healthy relationships.

Facing the pain and embracing it is not masochistic. It is the only way to heal. It is like grasping the nettle. It has been liken to amputation and it is a true analogy. The person who can hurt us so deeply is often part of our lives, through blood or friendship. The experience goes deeply within us. Sometime we have to lose part of ourselves in order to survive. It is like a death. If we try to avoid grief, we suffer more. If we immerse ourselves in grief then we heal more quickly. We never go back to the person we were before, but we become a stronger and more complete person.

In my experience, people who deflect or deny abuse and hurt, people who take their hurt out on themselves and others, do not heal.

Spinning and Knitting

2010-09-24T12:52:00.005+01:00

This is some lovely BFL fibre which Freyalynn custom dyed for me. It is called Cottage Rose Pink and I have 200g. I started spinning it yesterday - so WIP photos to follow.

These are a pair of mittens for me. I used 100% Alpaca DK and an ancient Patons pattern.
Finally - my latest completed spinning. I spun 2 bobbins of undyed Shetland fibre and plied them together to get 125g of sock weight yarn. Its my finest and most even spinning yet on my wheel. Its my 1st wheelaversary so I'm quite pleased with my progress. I dont know how long the yarn is because i forgot to measure it before I made it into a cake (blush) It is very, very soft and completely different from commercial Shetland yarn.

'All Clear' and some knitting

2010-09-13T15:28:00.003+01:00

Phew - I have been to the hospital today and my kidneys now have the 'All Clear' No more stones, all troublesome lumps removed and benign, kidneys working perfectly. No more surgery in the foreseeable future.

I am gradually getting my strength back and am feeling much better. My mood is lifting too and I feel almost back to normal, well...as normal as I get : )

The relief is almost over-whelming!!!

These are some 'Mother & Daughter' mittens I made for DD1 and Grand-daughter. I made the big mittens and half a baby one and ran out of yarn. Fortunately my good friend Stasher had some left over from some socks she had made, so I was able to finish them. Thanks Stasher XXXX

GCSE results and Spinning

2010-08-24T11:32:00.003+01:00

First the exam results: DS took 2 of his GCSE's early (he is in year 10) and he got Physics A and Biology A* Well done to him : )

And second, I have finished spinning Roadkill. It 60g-ish, DK/aran-ish 110 yards-ish.

Spinning

2010-08-18T13:10:00.002+01:00

I have spun up the Tortoiseshell (AKA Roadkill). The 2 bobbins are from the same batt, but look very different spun up. I hope to ply it this week.
I have another infection and am back on antibiotics. I wish there was some way to break this infection cycle. This is my 7th round of antibiotics this year : (

Toffee and Cactus

2010-08-12T12:05:00.003+01:00

My friend carded this batt for me on a drum carder. You can't see, but there is far more caramel colour on the other side. This batt is called Toffee.

My son just glanced at it while it was on the floor being photographed. His comment was that it looked like a Tortoiseshell cat which had been run over by a lorry!!! He now casually looks at me spinning it and remarks "still using the road kill?" Don't you love teenagers : )

Below is a photo of the surprise we found a few days ago. Excuse the funny angle but it was hard to photograph without holding the flower to support it. This flower appeared miraculously overnight on our cactus plant. It had whithered and died by the next morning, but was beautiful while it lasted. On the knitting front, I am about to attempt my first laceweight project. I am making a Forest Canopy shawl in Ice Blue Fiddlesticks zephr which is a wool/silk mix on 5mm needles and I am going to do at least 20 repeats to make it big enough to wrap round me and snuggle into. Wish me luck!!!

I've been Quilting

2010-08-05T13:21:00.003+01:00

Last week I went on a quilting retreat with 38 other ladies. We stayed in a outdoor education hostel, slept in bunk beds with shared toilet/shower blocks and generally had a fun time. I have been going 2/3 times a year for about 5 years now. Its usually for 2 days, but the annual Summer retreat is for 5 days and nights : )

First we all made name badges:
I spent the rest of my time hand piecing this quilt:

It is pieced over paper the traditional way and I use tiny whip stitches to put the hexagons together.

I have been working on this quilt for about 3 years now, on and off and reckon I have done thousands of hexagons so far. I just have the edges to complete and it is finished. Then it will be quilted and I will bind the edges.

It will be approx 6'6" wide and 7'6" long when completed.

I'm a Grandma!!!

2010-07-27T20:22:00.003+01:00

Introducing my favourite (and first, and only.....so far) grandchild:
She was born today and is only 17 hours old in this photo. She weighs 7lbs 2oz and mother and child are doing well. DD1 had a straightforward labour of 14 hours. No pain relief, no stitches, no intervention needed : )

Isnt she the most beautiful baby you have ever seen in the entire world? I held her tonight and my heart just melted!!!

Sadness

2010-07-21T18:25:00.002+01:00

DD2 has lost her baby. She was 12 weeks pregnant. We are all very sad. There seems to be no words of comfort and wisdom at such times. I want to find the right words to help my baby feel better about losing her baby. I want to comfort DD2's husband and shield them both from sadness, but I cant. They are both being brave and sensible at the moment and strong and positive, but they are hurting so much inside. Sometimes life is very painful.

The Joy of Stash

2010-07-14T11:13:00.003+01:00

At the Malvern Quilt show I bought this book and 2 triangle cutting rulers (and some charm squares)

When the dollar was nearly $2 to the £ a few years ago, I bought a Moda Jelly roll and matching layer cake. Last night I liberated them, plus some toning yards of fabric, from my loft.

On Friday DH and DS are being thrown out for a week for a male-bonding cycling holiday on the Yorkshire dales. I am going to be cosy at home with my cats and my baby knitting whilst waiting for No.1 Granddaughter to appear.

I also plan to turn the above stashing into a quilt for my bed : )

I think I am going to have a good week's holiday!!

Another Grandchild!! (and socks)

2010-07-08T11:52:00.003+01:00

DD2 - the one who got married last month - has announced that she is also expecting a new arrival. The baby is due at the beginning of February so my knitting needles will be smoking : )

I have already gone into the loft to liberate the remains of my Phildar Luxe stash, and have cast on for a matinee jacket. Excited - moi??? LOL

DD1 has 2/3 weeks to go before her due date, so its very exciting here at the moment.

And the knitting - I finished another pair of socks for me. Knitting socks is so soothing and comforting, just the project for times of stress. The yarn is Regia Kaffe Fassett sock yarn in the Easter colourway.

I'm still feeling bad, but learning to live with it.

Another Forest Canopy Shawl

2010-07-05T18:40:00.001+01:00

I finished this a few days ago, but couldnt post it until the recipient received it : )

I used Yarn Yard Bonny sock yarn and 5mm needles. I did 12 pattern repeats and 12 edging rows.

PTSD and Panic Attacks

2010-07-03T13:19:00.006+01:00

I have PTSD and last evening something happened which triggered it off. Since then I have been having panicky feelings and trembling and feeling terrified on and off. I dont know how to make this feeling go. I recognise that it is PTSD, I recognise what triggered it, I am aware that I am not going to die or have something terrible happen to my breathing, yet I am still reacting as if I am in this terrible, terrifying situation. I can sort of control my thoughts, but not my physical reaction.
Am I making sense here?
Anti-anxiety drugs make me ill and, anyway, I cant predict or prevent something which triggers my PTSD.
I just want the fear to stop. I want to either live without fear, or die to stop fearing death.
I wish I knew someone in real life who understood PTSD and abuse and being extra sensitive, someone who is not a professional, just an ordinary (?) person like me. I dont have access to psychiatric help any more and anyway, what can they say? I havent toughened up after years of therapy or anything, so more therapy isnt going to change that. Life goes on, then whallop, I am in flashback and back to square one. I'm not scared of death, I am scared of the process of dying and PTSD is like dying over and over again with the same fear,panic, terror, struggling for breath and then days of reaction to it.
Sorry to go on but I need to get this out. I feel so alone when this happens and I cant face another 30 years of fear and the fear of fear if you see what I mean. Isnt there more to life than survival????? There must be more to it than that!!
I pray and read the bible to try and find meaning, but the fear doesnt go and this sense of peace doesnt happen. Even God has no place for me, or want to help me.

I have made the decision to write this here on my blog in the hope that someone out there knows some answers or stuff that helps. I also want others to be aware of this condition and its effects because, like depression and many other illnesses/conditions, it is invisible and secret and I think there are probably many people like me and perhaps we can support one another and share information if I have the courage to come out and talk about PTSD and its effects.

An English City Garden

2010-06-22T11:23:00.007+01:00

DH and I live in the centre of a city, but we love old English flowers and cottage gardens.This year we created an abundance of flowers in the small front garden of our terraced house. It has caused much interest among the neighbours, particularly the older ones.
Last year we had some Dahlias, and the year before we had some sweet peas, but this year we went the whole hog with Honeysuckle, Fox Gloves and Roses. There are also 4 varieties of the flower I have shown below. We were given the cuttings by a friend, but I have forgotten the name of the flowers.

These are the mystery flowers I mean. They are all the same type, but in different colours:

The smell in the front garden is lovely. I open the top front windows in the morning to let the breeze waft through the house : )

I am so blessed to be married to a man with very green fingers !!

Erratta

2010-06-19T14:33:00.003+01:00

I have just wasted 20 mins of my life downloading and printing out 23 pages of errata for 3 of the books I have recently bought!!!!!

Just 3!!!! They are A Gathering of Lace, Victorian Lace Today and Swing,Swagger, Drape....all by the same publisher.

I just don't get it. How can there be several pages of errata for each book. The mistakes have been through several reprints as well.

Yours, fed-up of Coventry : (

The Wedding (and Tonsillitis)

2010-06-17T17:28:00.002+01:00

I proudly present the Bride & Groom. Lovely wedding, beautiful dresses and a simple, sweet ceremony. What more could a proud mother ask? I have gained another wonderful son, that's two in 10 months!!!

Do you notice the Forest Canopy Shawl she is wearing???

I love the cake!! The Groom chose it and it just epitomises their humour : )

Proud family (I'm the one in the middle LOL). I'm not really a midget - DH is very tall!! The hotel was superb and the grounds were lovely for the photos etc. It was slightly cloudy, but warm and dry.

And last but not least, the 'other' new son and my eldest daughter. Do you remember their wedding in September? Their baby is due in 6 weeks and the Groom's mother did a fantastic job of making the bridesmaid dress with room for a growing bump : )

Phew, its been quite a year!! To top it off, DS has Tonsillitis and is off school looking pale and weak. Off to make some more tea for him....................................... and finish my second Forest Canopy shawl for the mother-to be. These shawls are addictive.

I'm Home!!!

2010-06-03T20:59:00.001+01:00

I'm home, a bit sore and bruised, but that awful pain has gone!! 5 years and now I have no pain - so much for my doctor repeatedly telling me it was my morbidly obese body pressing on my hip........

Everything went well, so well that I dont need a second operation. I didnt kill anyone, or lash out in panic. I did have a panic attack in the anaesthetic room, but the staff were marvellous and helped me through it. I love the NHS!!!

The operation was 2 hours and the recovery room was 4 hours cos I was having trouble breathing and my blood pressure kept dropping, so they kept me in overnight. I am fine now. I feel rather odd though as though I have been in a car crash or something. I have never faced such fear before.

Many, many thanks for your kindnesses, for letting me whitter on about my fears and your patience in explaining stuff. I hope to be back at Kenilworth Knit and Knatter in 3 weeks.

Wedding in 7 days and then I shall see some of you on Sat 12th for the workshop

XXXXXXXXX

Operation was a sucess!!!

2010-06-02T20:32:00.002+01:00

This is Claires' Son. Claire is now just recovering from her operation, and should be out by tomorrow morning. The operation was a sucess, with no complications apart from her blood pressure wavering for a bit after the operation, which she has been treated for.

Shawls and Weddings

2010-05-27T18:11:00.002+01:00

I have finished my Forest Canopy Shawl using 5mm circular needles and Regia Hand-dyed Effect yarn. I did 12 repeats and 12 rows of edging and it still only just ended up the right size. My youngest daughter is getting married in 2 weeks and her dress is Ice Blue with blue embroidery, so I am hoping she will like this shawl to keep her warm during the evening reception. If she pops over during the bank holiday I will show it to her and see what she thinks : )In a fit of optimism I bought this pattern by Sharon Miller. It is 25 pages of charts and instructions!!! I think I may be practising my lace for a while longer before I make this one LOL

PS Click on the photo's for bigness.

Surgery & Fabric

2010-05-24T09:55:00.002+01:00

I have the appointment for my first operation. It is Wednesday 2nd June in the morning. I am trying to be calm and sensible about his, but am a bit wobbly still : (

I also bought a selection of patterned and plain fat quarters to make a quilt. I am not sure when I will actually make it, but it is pretty to look at LOL

Malvern Quilt Show 2010

2010-05-16T16:26:00.007+01:00

On Friday DH and I went to the Malvern Quilt Show. As always, the quality of the quilts is outstanding. I was inspired by many of the quilts. The artistry and quality of workmanship was wonderful to see. I have put together just a few my favourite quilts. I think, if you click on the photo, you can get a better, larger picture.
I loved this one because the quilter had used words as well as colours. It seemed a refreshingly new interpretation of the competition requirement to produce a rainbow quilt.

The movement of the colours in this quilt caught my eye.

I love lone star type quilts and this one, with its foundation piecing, just spoke to me.

This was by the inimitable Ferret. She has such a distinctive look that her work can be spotted miles away. The wholecloth is dyed one colour. The lighter colours are created by using dense embroidery in other threads.

I chose this one for the beauty and harmony of its colour scheme and the accuracy of the piecing.

And this one for the same reason.

Don't those colours just zing???

I came away feeling both inspired and despairing. I have such a long way to go before I can produce anything like the work I have seen displayed. Still, everyone has to start somewhere!!

My next project is to try Cathedral Windows, by hand.

It Fell Into My Basket.......

2010-05-15T12:40:00.003+01:00

Honestly, it just sort of fell into my basket.......all by itself!! The yarn below is Wollmeise Twin in Campari Orange. Isn't it delicious? 150g and 466 metres of heaven : )

The wickedness continues. I went to Web of Wool and bought 4 balls of this:

It is called Panda Wool and is 51% bamboo. I havent knitted with bamboo before, but I love the colours and sheen. Each ball is 50g and 172 metres.

Finally, meet Phoebe. The label says she was hatched on the 13th March. I needed a new pin cushion so I can justify this purchase ; )

I think I have definitely failed at not buying yarn this year..........and that goes for fabric too!!

The Day Job

2010-05-12T13:52:00.004+01:00

After the interest show on my posting about the wood yard, I thought you might like some photos of what we do for a day job. We design, build and hire out continuo organs. Most weekends we travel to a concert hall or church with one or more continuo organs that we have made. Choirs and music societies hire us to provide an organ for their performances. It involves a lot of travel but we get to hear some top performances and wonderful music.

The above two photos show one of our organs. It was designed by DH and everything you can see which is made of wood was made by us, even the keyboard. Only the metal pipes are bought in as they have a high lead content and have to be made by specialists. The quantity of wood required shows why the wood yard is a big feature in our lives : )
Of course, to transport such an instrument takes lots of room. This is why we bought a Berlingo. It was the only non-van available which fitted both an organ and DH's long legs.
This shot of me near a statue is not purely gratuitous. The net is entwined with bits of knitting yarn.

Above are more photos of the wonderful artwork and carving in the church we were at for the latest concert. It is in Holborn in London and very High Church. I love looking at old churches and especially stain glass windows.

Dyeing n Stuff

2010-05-10T16:34:00.002+01:00

First: Some knitting. This is my latest attempt at a Forest Canopy Shawl. My first try was more of a thicket and wouldn't fit an wood nymph!! This one is being knitted on 5mm circular needles using Regia Hand-dyed effect sock yarn. So far, so good but I hate the yarn : ( It is plied with a black thread and I just don't like the result. When I get it finished I will be looking for a new home for it and making myself one in yarn I like.

Now for the dyeing: Below is a photo of my front room completely obscured by 3 x 7 metre pieces of cotton lawn which I have dyed with Dylon Machine dyes. They are to make DH 3 pair of pyjamas. Shop pyjamas leave him with a cold back and ankles cos he is so flipping tall - so I have offered to make him some custom fit ones. The red in the middle is much more burgundy but my camera is sulking and wont play properly.

Finally, I went to see the Urologist today and they are going to operate in the next few weeks. I am happy that it will soon be over, but terrified of the anaesthetic as, years ago I saw a documentary where someone was awake during their operation but unable to move or speak. I hope I wont cry and make a complete idiot of myself : (

The Woodyard part 2

2010-05-06T11:17:00.002+01:00

The Wood yard is HUGE - once you have signed in at reception, they assign you someone to take you round to find your wood and help you choose it. There are thousands of piles of wood in hundreds of varieties - and it is only hardwood as they don't sell softwood!!
He goes off and fetches our log of wood in this special side loading fork lift machine thingy (technical term LOL), and then places it on the ground in the wood yard outside.

Each plank is then carefully sorted through, the good ones are kept, and the bad ones are discarded. Its a bit like sorting through a fleece. We just take what we want, rather than buying the whole tree.

We took DS with us this time and DH introduced him to the mysteries of the grain and density of the wood. DH and the wood yard man had deep discussions about the merits of each plank, which made me very confused as it all looked the same to me, but they seemed to understand it all!!

Apparently good wood has a well defined grain, with the rings close together. This means it is very strong.

So we left with about 60 cubic feet of wood to make lots of lovely swifts and nostepinnes, and I was happy to collapse in a pub in the afternoon and relax.

Of course, when the wood is delivered, we have to spend 3 days cutting it into blocks, but I don't have to think about that just now : )

The Woodyard part 1

2010-05-06T10:57:00.003+01:00

As blogger still wont let me put up my Wood yard post all in one, I have split it into 2 posts. This first photo shows the 'pedigree' of the wood they stock. It is all responsibly sourced and stamped so none of it is illegal or endangered woods.
The second photo shows how they take a whole tree, then slice it up into the thickness customers require. Thin batons are then placed between each slice and it is kiln dried to prevent warping and cracking. We selected an English Ash tree this time to make swifts from. The Ash is very dense and hard, but has pretty markings (figuring) on the wood so it is attractive to look at but strong too. We often use Beech and Sycamore for the same reason.

The blocks of wood below have been cut from Oak and are destined for a childrens play area. I found it interesting that the wood can be cut to most sizes a customer desires - truly a personal service : )

After kiln-drying, the wood is placed in huge barns to keep them dry and let the air circulate. As you can see, different trees have been cut to different thicknesses. Our Ash tree has been cut to 1 1/4" and 2" thicknesses for the arms and blocks needed for swifts. The offcuts from the arms make the pegs so nothing is wasted.

More on selecting our wood on the next post : )

Into the Twilight Zone......and Happy News

2010-04-22T16:44:00.003+01:00

I just spent a whole hour composing a long post, complete with photos, about our trip to the woodyard last week...........and blogger seems to have eaten it!!! I shall have to try again another time : (

Other news: The bowel surgeon saw me today and isnt going to operate if he can help it. He thinks that my giant kidney stone is the problem and opening me up to look for bowel problems is not the way to go. He is writing to my urologist to get him to hurry up and remove my stone, then we shall take it from there. If I am OK, then the problem was the stone, not my bowel. I am taking this a very good news : )

Also: I went to Mrs T's in Coventry after the hospital and bought a lovely 4 ply baby pattern for a hat, mitts and bootees - very old-fashioned and girlie. Sorry Daughter Number 1 but your baby is getting something lacy after all. I just cant help myself. I also bought a really nice V-necked jumper pattern to make a jumper for Daughter Number 2. I love Mrs T's shop and her pattern selection is excellent.

In the afternoon DH and I escaped into the country and ended up having afternoon drinks etc at The Castle at Edge Hill - I love playing truant LOL

All in all, a very good day.

More Stash

2010-04-05T14:54:00.002+01:00

After promising myself I wouldnt buy any yarn this year......I fell off the wagon (again) with this haul from The Yarnyard. They are 75% wool and 25% synthetic and are sock weight.

I just couldnt resist the semi-solid colourways and the green, saffron and brown will be great for colourwork : )

Knitting and Cute Slippers

2010-04-01T11:31:00.004+01:00

My dear hubby and son bought me these for Mothers Day - aren't they cute : )

More baby stuff too. These are from my old Sirdar booklet and odds and ends of Phildar Luxe. We have now learned that DD is expecting a girl, but never mind , they will do for another baby.

And a cardigan for said baby. DD chose the yarn from a selection from my stash and loves blue for her daughter so that's OK.

The yarn is a mystery ball of Opal I bought from a fair a couple of years ago.

Still Here

2010-03-25T15:23:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone and thank for all the good wishes : )

I had my scan again yesterday and my 8mm kidney stone seem well and truly stuck in my ureter. My right kidney is still swollen and inflamed so it seems that an operation is the next step. I just hope they get round to doing it soon, before I end up in hospital again with another infection!!! The doctor who discharged me seemed to think that at least 1 more emergency hospital admission with a raging infection is inevitable before I get the stone removed: (

What on earth are they waiting for????? As I understand it, passing an 8mm stone naturally is virtually impossible and I am only little.

I went to Kenilworth Knit n Knatter today and had a lovely time. It was so good to be out the house and amongst people again. I came hope and slept for a while but mentally feel a lot brighter. I had severe bruises on both my arms where I had so many blood tests and a line in for 5 days. The bruising has healed now so I can knit comfortably again : )

The hardest part (apart from the pain) was nil by mouth for 4 days - my lips are still sore and my mouth feels funny. Any medical people out there with any suggestions? My sense of taste has gone weird and everything tastes bitter.

More baby knitting photos soon!!

Health Update

2010-03-19T16:36:00.002+01:00

Mum came out of hespital last night for a few days or so, then she has to go back in for more treatment. She sends her love and thanks for all your good wishes and hopes to be blogging again soon.

Hospital

2010-03-17T21:55:00.002+01:00

This is DS. Mum has had to be rushed to hospital on the 11th following pain in her side, and may still be in for a few more days. I haven't had time to post this until now, but I have now following a request from mum. Please don't order anything until further notice, when normal service is resumed.

Priorities

2010-03-08T16:19:00.005+01:00

OK, we have lounge progress. Still no armchairs etc. but......the piano and cello are in and my spinning wheel is up and running again!!

On the knitting front, these are 2 of the yarns chosen by DD1 for her little Tabitha. Yep, she is having a daughter and she should arrive in about 3 1/2 months. I'm making plain v-neck cardigans out of these yarns. They are from The Yarnyard and are hand-dyed 75% wool and 25% synthetic. I cant remember their names : )

PS The cupbard in the 1st photo contains my quilting and sewing stuff. Its like the Tardis and folds out with 2 tables, lots of little drawers, and my Sewing machine fits in too. It has 4 plug sockets as well. I bought it from Facades of Devon years ago. My cupboard can be found Here

I also have the cutting table, but you cant see it in the photo as it its to the left of the spinning wheel.

Cats in Charge

2010-03-06T15:14:00.002+01:00

OK, I have no furniture...but DH has made something for the cats!! We had some of the new carpet left over and were worried about claws on the new carpet and furniture (when it arrives) so DH (unasked) took control:

He made scratching post and resting place for Their Highnesses. He used some off-cuts of wood and a log and the left over bits of carpet. He disappeared into his workshop muttering something about spoilt cats under his breath...and re-appear a few hours later with this!! Doesnt Ebony look comfy? DH really does like cats and Rowan is nearly always on his lap in the evening , he just cant bring himself to actually admit that he likes them LOL.

I think I have a very clever hubby.

I Have a Lounge!!!!!

2010-03-02T15:24:00.003+01:00

You may remember my blog posts of February 2009...where we demolished most of the downstairs of our house? I recommend you refresh your memory whilst I finish my cup of tea, the following photos will be even more of a contrast if you do : )

I now have walls with wall paper on them, and skirting boards which are glossy and white and a white windowsill .......

I have a fireplace with a stove and hearth...............

And I have painted doors and the carpet was fitted today !!!

Now all I need is some furniture LOL

Great Customer Service

2010-02-23T14:57:00.005+01:00

I have been known to buy the odd thing or two from Lakeland over the years...in fact, my entire kitchen cupboard contents owe their existence to Lakeland, as does much of my bathroom oddments and my smaller storage needs...oh, and my trolley on wheels containing my spinning stuff. I have always have fantastic customer service from them, but this week they outdid themselves!!

I had placed rather a large order with them last month and had not noticed the free gift available to claim if I spent over a certain amount. This month I received the latest catalogue - they have such lovely, tempting catalogues (i know, I'm digressing) - and I noticed that they were offering a free gift is I spent over a certain amount.

I rang up customer services to ask how I claimed the free gift if I ordered over the website and just mentioned that I hadn't noticed a button or anything last month when I placed my last order. The lady (very polite and friendly as always) looked up my order history and immediately noticed that I would have been eligible for a free gift if I had noticed the button to press to claim it.

Today the free gift I hadn't claimed from last time arrived here with a lovely note. I hadn't asked for this retrospective free gift, they just sent it anyway.

The pinnacle of customer service IMHO!!!!

Now why, I hear you ask, is there a photo of 2 Xmas ornaments here? Well, we are doing the finally decorations to the front room and have cleared most of the remaining furniture. Under the Grandfather clock I found the ornament on the left, one which I made out of felt about 5 years ago and must have dropped off the tree last year......the one on the right was made by DS when he was 3 years old and it still gets hung up ever year - I love home made things : )

Half Term Blues

2010-02-20T12:35:00.007+01:00

Its been snowing again : )

Half term has nearly finished and has been less than exciting. We have been busy with packing and paperwork for MIL to move in 2 weeks. This has lead to serious decorating at our house so we can get the front room finished and the carpet down before MIL moves because we are having her dining room table and chairs.

I have therefore just put up a couple of photos and captions which I think sum up my DS's view of his halfterm LOL

First one: I'm bored, now what can I do with a scrabble set apart from playing scrabble?

The second one is: Is it really morning??? No, you lazy teenager, its 12.30 in the afternoon!!!

Roll on Monday!!

Baby Knitting - Part 1

2010-02-18T17:00:00.003+01:00

Yes, I have started the baby knitting...or really I should say, continued as I have a set already from when I was expecting my son 15 years ago. The yellow cardigan is made from an odd ball of 4 ply I had in my loft. The ball band is missing so I don't know what the yarn is - but I suspect it is Snuggly from Sirdar. The pattern is an old one I cut out of a magazine and the balloon buttons are part of a collection of buttons I have had for centuries

The blue set below I have just finished. It is from the Sirdar Bonnie Baby booklet 212 and has loads of lovely sets in, including cardigans, leggings, booties etc so I can see me going to town with this booklet once I know what colours my daughter would like. The yarn is Phildar Luxe.

The green set below is vintage. I made this set for my son to come home from hospital in 15 years ago. He has grown a bit since then : ) The pattern is a complete boy and girl layette insert from Womans Weekly in 1981 and was printed when Princess Diana announced she was expecting her first child. I think it is called 'Fit for a Prince or Princess' and I still have the pattern in the loft. Again, the yarn is Pildar luxe.

Sneaking to Woolfest : )

2010-02-12T19:04:00.002+01:00

Here we go, as promised - an upbeat posting at last.

Today DH and I decided that, come hell or high water, we want a woolly holiday. The timing this year is a bit tight though:

Begining of April we move MIL from farm to flat
June 10th DD2 gets married
July 27th (ish) DD1 has her first child........

so, we are going to Woolfest which should be right in the middle of all the activily but not actually clash with anything. Like last year we will go for 4 days to make a mini-break of it, and take the canoe.

Now we just need to find a B & B and get permision from DS's school for him to come on a 'business' trip with us to promote Sunflower Swifts and do market/fibery research LOL

It is a business trip - right???!!

Sick and Tired.......

2010-02-02T14:45:00.002+01:00

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. Its been 6 weeks now since I was well enough do do my daily jobs, let alone anything extra. I have now come down with a sinus infection just as my previous illness was clearing up so I am now on my 3rd lot of antibiotics in 6 weeks. Something tells me this isn't good. My Dr is sending me for a blood test tomorrow so I hope they find out why I am being so ill all the time and getting continual infections.

I haven't even been able to knit. I have my baby patterns photocopies and my baby wool all ready in a basket by my chair with the needles, row counter, pencil etc......but I just haven't got the strength to knit at the moment.

Whingeing will now cease and my next post will contain cheer, humour and lovely photos (I hope)

I'm Going to be a Grandma!!!

2010-01-27T14:40:00.003+01:00

OK, the title says it all really : )

In 6 months time my eldest daughter is going to be a mother!! My little baby daughter is going to have a baby - I can hardly believe it. Where did those 27 years go? She and her husband are delighted...I am so happy for them!!!

Eldest DD got married last September, My younger DD gets married this June, and July brings a grandchild into the family. In 12 months I will have gained 2 wonderful sons and a grandchild.

Now, where did I put those baby patterns????????

PS The flowers are for you all to share in these Winter months XXXX

Alive Again!!

2010-01-12T15:08:00.002+01:00

I think I'm going to survive!!! Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I really did feel dreadful for a while there. I didn't know such pain existed outside childbirth. I'm on the mend and ready to pick up my knitting needles again after 3 weeks. I have found a lovely scarf pattern in sock yarn weight and I just need some nice inspiring yarn to get me going..................

DH and DS have been wonderful, feeding me when I could eat and making me drinks and doing the housework. I think they deserve Mutley Medals : )

Oh, and I have lost over a stone in 3 weeks. Not that I would recommend illness as a diet method, but every cloud has a silver lining!!!

Kidney Stones & Hospitals

2010-01-06T18:41:00.002+01:00

I spent last night in hospital with renal colic. I had never heard of renal colic (kidney stones) before and its all been a bit of a shock.

It started Tues morning when I got out of bed, stood up, and was immediatley doubled up with incredible pain in my back and side on my right. I sort of yelped a bit and tried to walk around as I thought I had twisted a muscle or something.

During the next hour it got worse and wouldnt go away. Paracetamol didnt touch it and it was just as bad as labour pain but without the waves coming and going. DH insisted on ringing the surgery and told them about it and they gave me an emergency appointment for 5pm!!!! I dont know how I survived that long. I couldnt stand or sit or move for more than a few seconds at a time. Nothing helped.

At 5pm we got to the surgery, with me crying in pain, and had to wait another hour to see the doctor. She gave me some ibuprofen and said she though I might have a bowel obstruction and needed a scan, so she wrote a letter for A & E and DH took me to the hospital.

We got to the hospital at 7pm, the ibuprofen wasnt even denting the pain. I saw the triage nurse 20 mins later and she gave me some co-codamol which took the edge off it. I then had to sit in the waiting room, kneeling on the floor doubled over, until 10.30pm. During all this time I wasnt allowed to even sip water in case they had to operate. Then I went into a cubicle for a blood test etc and sat there waiting again.

About 12 am they admitted me to an observation ward and gave me some voltarol in the end where my mouth isnt (grin) and it worked wonderfully well. No pain at last. I could have given birth to twins with no pain relief and sufferred less!!! After taking an X-ray they decided it was a Kidney stone working its way down and discharged me with some pain relief at 1.30am.

I have to go back Thursday at 8.15am for an ultrasound scan so they can see whats actually going on. I feel a wreck and just couldnt believe how long everything took and how long I was left in pain.

The staff on the ground were, as always, superb. They were rushed off their feet and still had time/energy to be kind and gentle. They just needed more staff.

Unfortunately the oral voltarol made me sick so I'm back to hot water bottles and pain again. Its not as bad now so I hope this stone has passed through OK.

Oh, and I also had a water infection so the antibiotics should kick in soon to and that will help with the pain.

Sorry this is so long, but I just feel like I have been to hell and back. I didnt know such pain existed outside childbirth, nor did I realise that pain killers dont always work. I just needed to write this down and get it out of my system : (

I Miss Woolworths : (

2009-12-16T16:53:00.006+01:00

Today we started the ritual of Getting Down The Christmas Decorations and the all important Test Of The Lights. The lights didn't work........so then starts the ritual of Testing Each Light and Checking The Fuses...lots of grunting and clucking noises from DH...still no joy. It seems several of our lights need new bulbs.

Off we go trawling around ASDA to look for new bulbs, but our local one doesn't sell bulbs. They do, however, sell Christmas Tree light sets at 100 lights of £4 so, after a hasty discussion, we think that maybe it might be easier to just start afresh with new lights......BUT our ASDA only sells sets of white lights, not the pretty coloured ones we have had at home for 10+ years so.......

Off to the local electrical shop who sells bulbs, lots of bulbs for lots of types of Christmas Tree lights, but not our obsolete ones. Nor can we find anywhere local where they sell pretty strings of coloured lights for indoor use, or those foil decorations for hanging from the ceiling.......When Woolies were around I was guaranteed to find every ornament and light I wanted in any shape or form : (

So we are improvising with Holly from the allotment, and Ivy from the back of our garden.

Bah Humbug!!!!

Secrets......

2009-12-10T19:29:00.002+01:00

Its that time of the year when I have loads of knitting to show, but cant do it because the recipients may see them here or on Ravelry......

Roll on January!!!

Something Old...Something New.......

2009-11-27T18:09:00.003+01:00

Something Old and wrecked....

Some thing shiny and new and not borrowed and definately Airforce Blue!!!!

New tree and new-ish tree

2009-11-25T12:06:00.002+01:00

We needed an new apple tree for our allotment. There was an open day at Ryton Organic centre last month and they were doing an apple tasting and showing lots of organic trees, so we went.

After much munching - purely for research purposes - we settled on a lovely eating apple called Red Devil. We picked it up a few days a go, and have now planted it:
It wont be ready to produce eatable fruit for a couple of years, but they are worth waiting for and we are keeping a heritage variety going at the same time.

Last year we bought a heritage crab apple tree. It is still very small, but, as you can see below, it has started to produce fruit already!!

I love our allotment : )

Mutant Flowers

2009-11-23T21:36:00.001+01:00

Last year we had red nasturtiums and yellow nasturtiums........this year we have stripey ones too!!!!

Mitten Time

2009-11-21T12:46:00.002+01:00

These are 2 pairs of bog standard mittens made on 2 needles. I finished them last night. The yarn is Artesano Alpaca inca cloud DK and I used 65g for each pair.
The pattern is Wendy DK 4008 and the mittens are adult sized for me and DS.

I'm feeling grumply today...lots of little things going wrong, nothing major, but irritating. It seems I can cope with major stuff like the car, but the daily niggles get to me. Especially when 99% of them seem to be avoidable if people just thought ahead, or thought of others when making their plans and decisions.

Hot, sweet tea...I need you !!!

Now I have nothing on my needles and should be thinking of what to knit next, but the black pit of depression beckons me and 'cant be bothered' is taking over.

Fried Brains

2009-11-18T16:48:00.003+01:00

Today my brains feel fried and I am lost for words verbally. We have spent 2 whole days going around Car dealerships and talking a bout cars. We have to have Citroen Berlingo because it is the only vehicle in existence which will carry a continuo organ, plus all 3 of us, plus has a seat low enough for DH to see out the windscreen, and is the right price bracket.

Knowing exactly what we want should be easy - right??? WRONG. We have 3 dealerships in the vicinity. All offer different prices, none of them seem capable of cutting the bull**it and actually discussing figures, none of them can answer a straightforward question and ALL of them are pushing extras and add-ons despite being told our specific requirements.

Its like going to the Supermarket for cheese and no-one will tell you the price without an hour long discussion. None of the car salesmen seem able to get out of the sales pitch loop so we have to sit there while they go through the presentations.

They also seem to be incapable of understanding words like - NO FRILLS, CASH PURCHASE, and WE NEED AN ACCURATE DELIVERY DATE PLEASE.

This morning, 25 miles from home, we actually found a salesman who cut out the cr*p. He did exactly what we asked, got the accurate prices we needed, found the model we want in the colour we want, and bypassed the PowerPoint presentations.

We bought the car from him.....after 2 wasted days. Why couldn't the other salesmen have been direct and helpful? It seems salesman training is still firmly rooted in the 70's before we could do our own research on the Internet.........and I wont even go into the salesman who quoted £1000 more than the book price, insisting his price was the book price, then offered a a £1000 'discount'.......do salespeople really think the public are that stupid!!!

On a positive note, I have started spinning my Safflower and it is lovely : ) Spinning is great therapy and I'm sure it is stopping me throttling salespeople LOL

Cosmic Karma & Premium Bonds

2009-11-14T11:49:00.002+01:00

OK, yesterday and Thurs were a disaster but today the vet gave my puddy-tat the all clear from her injuries in a dog/cat fight and I won some money on the Premium Bonds........

I accept that a £25 win isnt going to buy a new car, but it will buy some fibre therapy...

And 1 of the fish died so we are down to 3 now. Isnt cosmic karma wonderful, the chaos theory is my reality LOL

PS The new windows we ordered arrived and they are all too small - not our mistake but more hassle. Where is my duvet??

And it is so windy here I swear I just saw Mary Poppins fly past, but the sun is shining and the rain last night has made all the late blooming flowers sparkle : )

And we took DS out last night in the hire van and all had a lovely meal and a good (if slightly hysterical) giggle later watching HIGNFY and the other comedy programme that come after which I cant remember the name of.

Car Crash!!

2009-11-13T20:06:00.002+01:00

Yep, the title says it all. Last night DH and DS were travelling to Leamington at 5.30pm and were in a collision with another vehicle. No-one was hurt, thank God, but both the other car and our car have been wrecked : (

DH managed to coax the car home somehow, it took ages as the radiator was cracked and we had to stop every 3 or 4 miles to fill it up with more water. The garage today said it would cost £3,500 to repair it and, as it has done 170,000 miles and is rather old, we arent going to even try. The insurance only covers third party, fire and theft so no joy there either. The chassis is twisted and the engine block cracked etc.

Next time I am going for fully comprehensive cover.

Anyone know of a Citroen Berlingo diesel going cheaply second hand?????

Misleading Tension

2009-11-05T10:52:00.004+01:00

Some of you may remember I was making a Forest Canopy Shawl. I did my tension square on 4mm needles as instructed and it was OK. I knitted the shawl and did 12 pattern repeats and 10 edging rows. Alarm bells started to tinkle when I realised I had only used 60g of Opal sock wool. They positively clanged when I looked at it and realised how small it seemed. I looked on Ravelry and everyone extolled the wonders of blocking - so I blocked it for all it was worth.

The result wasn't a Forest Canopy - more of a Thicket or Copse. It isn't even big enough for a headscarf.

So, after much musing and head scratching and unladylike language, I measure my tension on the shawl and it was 28 sts x 38 rows to 4" - much, much smaller than my tension square!!

After more thought I realised that my tension on 4mm Addi lace circular needles must be different to tension on the 4mm straight needles I used for my tension square. I went back and did another tension square using the circs and it was very different. I then did a tension square on dpn's and, lo and behold, my tension was different again. I have now frogged the shawl and will start again making a tension square on circs this time.

The moral of this story is: I must always do my tension square on the actual needles I will be using as different types of needles give different results.

On a positive note though, I have finished my spindle spun Alpaca. It weighs 100g and measures 350 yards - maybe I should use it for another Forest Canopy??????

Not Just Bread

2009-11-02T17:46:00.004+01:00

Having watched various programs highlighting the horrors of commercial bread (emulsifiers, flour improvers etc) I thought it was about time I made my own.

I looked at Breadmakers, but they can only be used with yeast sachets containing flour improvers, and I want a natural loaf using ingredients that have been tried and tested for hundreds of years, so that ruled breadmakers out.

Then I looked at flour and discovered how the steel grinding method destroys so many vital vitamins in the flour, so I needed to find a supplier of stoneground flour which didn't cost the earth.

That lead me to Shipton Mill organic stoneground flour made from wheat grown in the UK. The price is competitive and they deliver.

Then I considered the time factor. It takes hours to make bread apparently.......well, it doesnt. It took no more time to mix and knead my loaves than it does to load my washing machine. The actual proving time is spent doing other things, just as I do other things while my washing machine is working. The knocking back took 5 mins and my oven was only on for 40 mins, 10 mins to warm up and 30 mins cooking time.

So 2 weeks after my inital decision to make my own bread, here we have traditional home made bread, no additives or extra chemicals. No machinery needed, not even a food mixer or processor. Just flour, Allinsons natural dried yeast, water, sugar and salt. The only equiptment needed is a bowl, scales, a teaspoon, a jug and a knife for slicing the cross on the top of the loaf (optional) and 2 baking trays. And it tastes fantastic too!!!

Meanwhile, during the first proving of my bread, I plied the Alpaca:

And whilst it proved the second time, I finished off the Belfalas merino and labelled it ready to put away for a special project.

All in all, a pretty good morning!!!