Happy Christmas to you all!

Happy Christmas to everyone. I hope you all have a lovely festive season.
I will see you in the new year!

Marilyn Manson

Yes! we went to the gig on Wednesday. It was J's birthday present from me. It took about 3.5hrs(including a stop) to get to London. Then, what felt like hours, to find the hotel!!!! It was amazing...it really took me back to my teens.....I was a velvet and lace goth then(I was told back then that I looked like Patricia Morrison from Sisters of Mercy!). The atmosphere was fantastic and I even managed to 'dance'!!! Unlike some miserable people behind us that kept their arms crossed the whole time.
I even got to have a drink, which is something I don't do due to not wanting to and my meds.
I drove back on Thursday and it took 3.5hrs again but no getting lost! On the way down I managed to knit half a sock using my sugar almond hand spun...just a simple basket weave pattern off the top of my head.
I've completed clue 7 for MW and now waiting for no8 as then it will be finished.....photo when it's off the needles as it's too big to see properly. I started MS6 last Saturday. This is a top down triangular shawl. I've just got 12 rows left of clue 2....I'm doing it in a bluey/lilac 4ply Diploma gold.
I've had a good go at Branching Out but I don't think my sis will get it for her birthday so it'll be Christmas instead. I've also got a commission for some gloves. The person they're for wants a gray glove with multi coloured big polka dots. So I've got some Matchmaker that I think I'll dye random bright colours and strand it between the gray.
My Secret Pal (the one I spoiled) got her reveal package this week. Her name is Deb and she seems really pleased with what I sent her...I included a Print o the Wave stole I'd knitted especially for her. I feel very lucky to have found a lovely friend in both her and my spoiler. I still don't know who that is. I'm itching to find out!!!

I'm a lot better thanks

Thank you to everyone for all your good wishes. I am a lot better now thank you. Still feel a bit yuck tho' but that's life with ME for you. Got to try and go to work tomorrow.
While I've been off work I've managed to catch up on some knitting. I'm half way thro' clue 6 on MW woohoo! So just another 2 to go. I've also had a parcel thro' from Hipknits, containing the softest cash/silk lace in 'bluebell'....a lovely Eeyore blue...which is slowly getting knitted up into Branching Out from Knitty. Brill service and communications from Kerrie too!
Another parcel I received(today) was an order from Socktopus. Wow is all I can say! I ordered some addi lace needles(for MS6). The parcel was so well wrapped containing a Socktopus st marker, some sweeties and a sachet of wool wash....Alice's customer service and communications are amazing!
My stash now has a new space. J moved A into the little bedroom(at his request!) So my stash is now sitting in the larger bedroom with my ball winder and swift set up in a permanent home on the desk! I did spend some time separating my fibre from yarn stash...I didn't realise I had that much!!!! I've now got the spare bed and a tv in their for when I want a woolly hit!

Agghhh

Well guess who's been diagnosed with 'flu?!
I spoke to my GP this morning and that's exactly what he told me...full blown influenza...typical!
I even had a 'flu jab booked for Thursday(which has now been cancelled as there's no point). I am relieved tho' that at least I'm going to recover from this awful pain and yuckiness that I've been feeling and that it's not my usual complaints relapsing!.
Anyway that's the whinge over. I have on the other hand, although I had to make myself as my hands are still very sore, done some knitting. I've made a 3 pointed hat from Woolywormhead's blog....I did knit a rib on it tho' ...in my bluey/greeny hand spun. I've also done about 15 rows of Viveka and finished spinning 'curry' which is ready wound up into centre pull balls for Forest Canopy shawl!
So fingers crossed(ouch that hurts!) I can catch up on the knitting I missed!

Apologies

First of all I apologise for taking so long to post. I think I can sum it up very easily...I've felt absolutely crap to say the least.
I think I've finally managed to catch up on my emails. So thank you to you all for contacting me and sending your best wishes it really means a lot.
Well, as you can imagine not much knitting has been taking place. I'm well and truly in a muddle with my MW......I tried frogging and still haven't got the correct st count so need to go back further aagghhh....brain fog has def got in the way!...so it's been put to one side for the time being.
I have started Viveka at a trip to my parents last Saturday(when I thought I was just going to sleep all afternoon), so the rib for the back has been done and not much else!
I have finished spinning 'curry' and just waiting for it to dry from setting the twist. I really want to do something to get my teeth into rather than reams of st st, so after an inspiring email from Chris I thought it would be perfect to use for Forest Canopy as the pattern has got a bit of umph to it.
While I'm on the subject of Chris, thank you so much for the lovely 'cheer me up' parcel I received today......beautiful turquoise/blue Collinette yarn(I love the colour so much), dark orange chocolate and some heat pads for the horrible pain I've been experiencing. I was soooooo touched, thank you again.
Fingers crossed 'curry' will be dry soon so I can wind it up and cast on....

I love my Secret Pal!

Look what my SP sent me this week!
There is 3 (yes 3!) bags of merino roving...oranges, greens and reds.
A cable sock pattern....very me!
2 notebooks and a diary,
some humbug sweets..yummy!...already eaten.
and some fab cat shaped highlighter pens....which arrived at exactly the right time as I've started the Mystic waters(MW) shawl this week!
My SP is fab, Thank you so much. I'm now looking forward to finding out exactly who you are !

This is the 1st clue for the MW shawl. My new yarn arrived early in the week and I got as far as this by Wed night. I'm about a quarter of my way thro' clue 2 now but pics of that when I've done it ! This yarn is much easier to see the pattern...and I get to use my lovely new bamboo circulars too! Donna.....notice the 'sheepies' are coming in very handy?

Last weekend was fab. I ended up staying at my parents house on Sun. My sister and I waited 'til my Dad went to bed(which wasn't as early as usual as they were still recovering from a flight back from the Caribbean which they made Friday). We then managed to decorate both his and Mum's cars, the house and the fence posts. Poppy woke me up next morning as she could hear him moving around(I was shattered as you can imagine). We went for lunch and took his cake. I really think he enjoyed his day.

I took my Fiesta('Feeps') in for her welding on Tuesday and a very sweet AA man took pity on me at the garage and drove me home so I wasn't struggling...walking and talking was very hard on Tuesday...but it was worth it for Dad to have a good birthday.

J has picked the car up and Feeps has now passed her MOT and has her tax disc for another 6 months. So I'm mobile again! ...watch out Chris, you will have a visitor when I'm up to it!

Oh nearly forgot, I managed to get some Sublime angora/merino at half price!!! I'm thinking of knitting Viveka from knitty with it, just got to make sure I've got tension with it first.

FO alert! the Denmarks are finished but J wouldn't let me block them as she wanted to wear them straight away for work!!! Pics as soon as I can.

Right I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and have a rest! Enjoy your weekend.

Hands up, who wants to live here?

Here?
Here?
or here?

There is a house for sale in spinners drive if anyone is interested!

I discovered these roads when I took my Fiesta to a friend of a friend to look over prior to the MOT. Unfortunately my car failed so it needs quite a bit of welding doing which is only to be expected on an 11 yr old car!

This week has been awful health wise. It is the wrong time of the month and my ME/fybro is always worse then. So luckily work let me take Friday off as holiday as I really needed the rest. Tomorrow is my Dad's 60th birthday and I'd already booked it off. So in effect I've got nearly a week off. My sis, Mum, Grandad and I are going to take my Dad out for lunch tomorrow...he's not a party person. I've still got to decorate his cake!!!

Below is a pic I forgot to put on my last post of the yarn that I've spun.

Starting bottom left is the red/purple/blue BFL I'd dyed, it's a sock weight. Then above that is the green/blue/yellow BFL again I'd dyed and that is aran/chunky weight. Next to that is 2 skeins of Wensleydale in Heathery and blue self stripes(again I dyed), this is a DK/aran weight.

Under that is the green tweedy mix, a DK weight and then next is 2 skeins of pastel wool/nylon mix again in a DK weight.

This week I've started the 2nd Denmark sock and got to the gusset on those. I may even finish those tonight. I've also spun and plied the first lot of curry roving. It's just sitting on the bobbin until I have the energy to skein it up.

Here is the start of the Mystical waters shawl. I tried it in the lace weight I'd dyed. I loved the colour but had probs as it was extremely fine and difficult to see what I was knitting and to frog. So I bit the bullet and bought some slightly heavier lace weight (more to the weight of the original done by the designer). My only prob is I'm only going to have 1200yds not 1200m like the pattern requires but I'm sure I'll be able to do something to sort it out. Just waiting on the post for that now as well as some undyed lace weight, foot lasts(for my felted slippers) and also a parcel from my SP. I just can't understand our post as it comes via Crewe not Liverpool(where there are still backlogs). So I think I'm just going to have to be patient!

Photos at last!!!

J was a darling and found the camera software and installed it for me so I could give you these photos as promised!

This is my first parcel from my SP...minus the Green and Blacks choc which has long gone! I think with the weather becoming increasingly colder(hovering around the minus figures)...which we need after the summer that never was.....I'm going to have to knit a scarf with the squishy alpaca. Thank you again SP.

This is my sisters cat Yogi. He is George's brother from the same litter. He's such a cuddle man and I had to physically move him each night, while I looked after them, so I could get into bed! He did curl up in my back to help when i was in a lot of pain. He's a sweetie. He also lives up to his name as he 'yogles'(yodles) a lot when talking to you!
This is Button, Yogis sister(same father different mother... I own both their mothers). She is a very pretty girly girl that loves having her tummy tickled! She's such a cutie.....and a pig as she never stops eating!!!!
Saturday Chris and I went to the Friendship day at the Frodsham branch of the spinners and weavers guild. We had a lovely day(if not very tiring) and this was my haul. 2x100g blue rainbow merino(something for J I think) and 2x100 'curry'(as Chris called it) rainbow merino ...only one in the pic as I've started spinning the other(see pic below)...all for me! There's also some alpaca/silk and merino/silk as well as some 4.5mm bamboo(at last!) circulars to knit my Mystic waters shawl.....I had to cut my horrible metals as my sts wouldn't budge on them!

Talking of the shawl, this is the lace weight I have dyed for it. I also threw in some Shetland fibre that I picked up on Sat in the dye pot too. I didn't stir the mixture as I wanted a semi ish solid variation...(it is slightly darker than the pic) I'm still in 2 minds as to add some blue or green over the lighter parts...I don't know really?
I'll leave you with the cutie pics I promised ages ago just before the kitts went to their new home. George(notice the similarity to Yogi?...he's just a black version of George) with his baby sister Lily in Poppy's bed.
And here's Squeeze looking gorgeous cuddled on Lily's blanket!

I've killed Chris?!

This weekend has been taken up knitting for sockwars. Unfortunately for Chris she was my target. So after knitting solidly on Saturday then blocking the socks J and myself drove over to the Wirral and 'killed' her. I knitted the socks from some pure wool in blue/purple random that I thought she would like. To soften the blow I did give her some chocolate ands fresh cream choccy eclairs(well you wouldn't be able to put those in the post would you!?). Sorry Chris!
She had already completed her 1st sock for her target so I have now made its mate. They should be in the post today(when they are dry).
In the meantime Donna is my assassin! she has knitted me a gorgeous pair of socks(I've only seen pics of them). The post has been and gone so it'll be tomorrow when I die!!!!!!
I've now just got to complete my secret knitting for my SP and then I can look to doing something else....namely the Mystic waters mystery shawl....I've got the yarn and just need to dye it up in appropriate colours, teals/blues/greens I think.
Oh talking of my SP she got her 1st parcel and loves it!!!! I'm so pleased esp as she wanted to learn to spin so I put 'rare breeds' roving and a spindle in for her...she is really happy with it!
Thanks to everyone for adding me on Ravelry. I've still not had energy and photo to start building my notebook up!

It's October already!!!

I can't believe it's October already...where has this year gone??
I managed to get back to work this week. Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes regarding my health. I really feel that 'something' is doing the rounds and I managed to catch it early on. I went to Occy health at work this week and was told they should have flu jabs in next week so I'm going to be first in line I think!
On the crafting front, big thanks go to Chris. We are both creating the same item for our SPs and I got rather stuck as the pattern didn't 'add' up! So luckily Chris sorted it out(she's done lots of this type of pattern so understands the construction better than I do) and I'm now on the home straight......I'm hoping to get as much as poss done before the weekend when SOCKWARS starts. Talking of which I still haven't checked my gauge. Yarn Monkey states it's 25stx34rows or something like that so I'll either dig in my DK stash or maybe some hand spun????
I actually did some spinning this week. I've spun up some Wensleydale that I'd dyed in blue/pink/heather and that's come out a heavy DK weight and also self striping...my first attempt at dyeing to knit it up that way! I also spun some green and brown of unknown type of wool fibre that I bought just before or as I got Audrey off Ebay. It looks horrible carded but it has spun up lovely. A kind of tweedy effect!!! Another pair of socks I think and if that doesn't work out it can be used on my mitred square camping blanket. Again a DK weight.
Oh, I'm now on Ravelry! My name on there is 'woolydoodles' naturally!!!

Not much of a week

I've been off work all week. It's a throat infection that has been the culprit. Unlike most people that work thro' such illnesses I can't :(
I'm now feeling less shivery and achy thank goodness, and I've been able to get on with my secret knitting(when I've felt upto it), so I'm hopefully on the home straight with that now.
I think Audrey and myself need to do some spinning this afternoon as we have neglected each other a bit recently.
It's been so cold this week. Def a week of wearing knitted socks, gloves and scarves. We have even had the heating on!
Acupuncture went well. My right leg started while I was there and the acupuncturist positioned her needles to give me some relief. So got another appt with her on Tuesday, ready to go back to work on Wednesday.

I'm here, honest! (no pics as still need to sort camera out)

Omg it's been over two weeks since I last posted!!! What a two weeks, it's def had it's share of ups and downs.
First of all Bella has now been spayed, so no more kittens for us as she was the last to be neutered.
I also received my first SP11 package. I'd been waiting for some yarn in the post so you can imagine my surprise to get this parcel.
Inside was 2x50g Frog Tree alpaca chunky...very warm and squishy!
Geranium and orange soap from Neal's Yard..smells gorgeous.
2 beautiful little note cards.
A long tube of Belgian hot chocolate...the tin will be used for my DPN's once I've drank the hot choc!
AND 2 bars of my fave Green and Blacks choc!!!
Thank you so much SP I love it all!

Last weekend J took me to my sisters house...I was unable to drive myself as my back had decided to play up in a big way. Sitting for the hour and a half drive was pretty sore.
So I spent the first half of the week knitting and relaxing as I was unable to do much else :(
Wednesday I was brave and drove my sisters car(my back had eased) and went to visit Bev (http://www.knitting4fun.com/). I had a lovely day there and even stayed for tea...which was especially nice as I hate cooking for myself and so just forget about eating. It turned out that she had a stall a the Craft 4 Crafters show at Newark at the weekend, so I offered to help set up. Bev agreed but only if I didn't do too much. That's exactly what I did(help out that is) and I even went over on Friday to help a bit on the stall...I mainly spent the day needle felting and giving bits of advice about spinning and fibres. To top it all Karen (the girl that helps Bev on the stall) and Bev have asked me to visit their knitting group as well as help them learn to spin! How fab is that?!
Unfortunately I didn't sew up the baby clothes but I did make a bit of a dint into some knitting for my SP, as well as picking up a few bits for her last 2 parcels....I think they're more or less done now!
I came home on Saturday and naturally I felt tired.
Today I got up for work and ended up ringing in sick as I'm ear achy, head achy and neck achy. Sorry for whinging but I'm in a 'don't know what to do with myself ' mood! To add insult to injury my back has decided to start again.
So I've been dosing up on hot orange squash and having my beanie(wheat bag) attached to my neck for relief of my sore glands.
I've finally been banded(wages at work) only 2 1/2 yrs after I started! So that money starts in October and I'm just hoping my back pay is pretty quick after that as I want to buy a memory foam mattress. Then fingers crossed that will help with the old bodily pain. I've also booked an acupuncture session in the hope that that helps in the ways that conventional medicine doesn't!

They're going :(

Today is our last day with the kittens. Lily has already gone to her new home and Squeeze is going tonight when his new mum has finished work. It's really sad to see them go but at least we know they have fantastic homes. Their new families have already said they will stay in touch and let us know their progress. Each kitten has been told that they can come back to us if there's any problems!!!
I would post some really cute photos that I took last night but I'm still having problems uploading them.
This is def our last litter of kitts as Bella is getting spayed on Tuesday...no lie in for me on my day off!!
On the knitting front, I've finished the cheeky chino cardi but I'm leaving it until I'm at my sisters to sew it up. I've started knitting Denmark from Knitting on the Road in my hand spun and dyed red yarn. I've only done the cuff on the first as I've been doing some secret knitting for my SP...I can't say what until she gets the parcel(once I find a box big enough!) as I'm not sure if she's sussed me out yet!
A told J the other day that I must suffer from OKD...obsessive knitting disorder!!!! I have corrected him since and added an S to it...obsessive knitting and spinning disorder!!!...I think I could name at least few people suffering from this!!!
Just got 1 week left at work. It's going to be strange this week as C is off for a week, and as we car share we usually have a good rant about the day on the way home. So poor J will be listening to me going on instead!
My sis is def going away. So I'll be going to Nottingham with Audrey at the weekend. I may not be able to use her computer as she's been having problems with it, unless I can sort it out for her. I'm thinking of starting another item for my SP while I'm there....Chris do you think it's going to take long to do???
Oh, while I think on, there is another SOCK WARS! Yarn monkey has a different blog address, here it is http://yarnivation.blogspot.com/ . I did sock wars last year and met Jen thro' it. It was fun...have a go!
I must go and put tea in the oven......

Ta Dah!

Look what I got!!! Thank you to Jen and Chris for giving me this.

I'd like to nominate Laughing Mouse and Liz for this award for being a great mates!

Liz...I can't comment on your blog as you haven't got me as an LJ 'friend'...I've just created an account so I can leave you messages, please add me I'm 'woolydoodles', Ta!

I'm still here!

I'm sorry it's been ages since my last post :(
I'm having probs with attaching photos.....I have got some lined up of the sugar almond yarn and of some BFL I've spun this weekend. It's the blue/green/yellow from my previous post, I've got about 112yds out of 100g and I've 2 plyed it as well.
I was good by not spinning until I had just got the button bands to do on the cheeky chino cardi!
J and I went to the stitch and craft show at the GMEX in Manchester yesterday. Like the last one it was pretty dire unless you are seriously into card making. There were only 3 'decent' knitting stalls and I did pick up a few things I wanted although the main thing I went for I couldn't find...it's a pressie for my SP. So I think I'm going to have to order it online. After we had finished at the show J and I went to Canal St for a scrummy meal. It was really nice to sit and relax in surroundings that are extremely gay friendly....for anyone that doesn't know Canal St is the Manchester gay village area.
This is about as exciting as this week has got! Oh well I'm off work in 2 weeks supposed to be looking after my sisters cats but she doesn't even know if she's going away now! I'm still going to go down for a few days tho' as I want to pop over and see Bev.
I have been given an award by Jen and Chris....Thank you very much I'm very touched! But as I'm still unsure as to put it on I'll leave it for another post.

Pictures at last!

OK as promised, here are the long awaited piccies. This is the fleece I spun up and dyed with 'pretend' Koolaid(2 green, 2/3 cherry and 2/3 tropical(orangey)). J now wants this yarn for socks for herself!
This is the BFL I dyed using acid dyes. I'm really pleased with the colours and how they have merged. So I'm looking forward to spin these once I've finished the Presto Chango(see Shoeless blog for the pattern) and a cardi from 'Cheeky chinos' for the new baby's older sister...for my preggie mate from work.
A FO!!!! This is the yarn I was gifted from Angora Anne...she had dyed it herself. She did send me a lovely pattern to knit. I tried it but toe up socks are really not me, I much prefer to knit cuff down. Anyway these are my Monkeys on my brand new sock blockers. I had been asking around about these and decided to get them from Get Knitted as there was some 4ply soft there that I wanted to knit I Love Gansey sock from SixSockknitalong.
Here is Squeeze in his favourite place......the scratching post. He likes to play 'King of the castle' with it!
Here is Lily being cute. They never fail to amaze me, they've weaned themselves, learnt to drink water, regularly groom, used the 'big boys and girls' tray rather than their little tray and basically cause havoc!!!!!
This week has been really nice so far. Chris invited me to a Guild 'meet' at a lovely lady's garden on Tuesday. Apparently this happens once a year that she opens her garden for guild members. We had a lovely afternoon spinning. I managed to ply the sugared almond....pics next time as it's drying at the moment. I managed to get 270yds Navajo plyed, so there's enough for some DK socks. The garden was beautiful, it was like something out of a novel. It was so quiet and sitting in stunning surroundings it felt like I was on holiday! A real secret garden.
After having a long day out on Tuesday, yesterday I was shattered to say the least. At lunchtime I had a wander to Abakhan and picked up some Welsh Mountain top....yes you read correctly Abakhans selling spinning fibres!!!!! It is pretty kempy and with the dark fibre you would expect from Welsh mountain, but it is softer than I thought it would be. So I thought at the very least I could do some dyeing with it!
I also managed to have a look around for SP11 gifts...........
Talking of which I had an email from my pal today. She sounds really lovely. I'm so looking forward to spoiling her!
I'm off now to have another stab at Presto Chango...the sooner it's finished, the sooner I can start the cheeky chinos cardi, the sooner I can start spinning my dyed fibre!!...That's saying that I stick to it!

SP11 and dyeing!

OOOO it's the start of SP11 today. I've received the details for my down stream pal...I'm really pleased with the match. We seem to have an awful lot in common! I have lots of ideas of what to send.
Just waiting now for my upstream pal to get in touch.....I'm really looking forward to getting to know both people.
I changed my medication on Friday after an appalling week of pain. I decided to draw on my skin exactly where and when I got pain so the doctor could see what's going on. Well, I was covered in pen marks at work...I looked a real sight!!!! The doc has decided it is my tendons that are the problem due to the fybromyalgia :( So he's changed my meds and I'm now getting pain relief via a patch on my arm. It has made a difference and taken an edge off the pain so it's more bearable. Also I've not needed my other tablets as much and been more 'awake' so that is a real bonus!!!!
Today I've been playing with dyes! I received some BFL roving yesterday and thought I'd give it a whirl. I was very good and mixed all my dyes into squeezy bottles(no drips) and wrapped all the wool up once I'd coloured it. I steamed the cling film wrapped wool and now I have 100g of blue/green and 100g of red/blue/purple. I'm really pleased it's worked out well with minimal mess.
Sorry no pics as camera is still out of batteries.
I finished the felted bag for my sis. I love it but we will have to see what she thinks of it.
The monkeys are now onto the feet and I'm being very strict about not casting on for anything else before I finish them.
I've started spinning some sugar almond coloured wool/nylon. It's spinning like a dream. I've split each length into 8 and there's barely any drafting needed. I'd better finish it soon as I'm going to want to spin my newly dyed roving when its dry!!!
Update on the kitts.....they both know their names and will toddle over when called! They are really cute and their little personnalities are really showing thro'......Weaning next!!!

Secret Pal 11 Questionaire

This is an updated version of the one I did for SP10.
Here goes....

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love natural fibres wool, alpaca, cotton etc.
What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not keen on acrylics although it comes in handy for the animals beds!!!! and 'fashion' tinsel yarns are a definite no no!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My long needles are in a very long red(with kittens on ...aaahhhhh) pencil case type thing that they came in when I bought them back in 1993. My short ones(20cm) and circulars are in a black magnetic closure clutch bag and my dpn's are in a narrow make up bag along with the rest of my bits and bobs I carry with me(sewing needles, scissors etc)...but I need to fix the zipper on it as it's decided to break...must be all that wear and tear!!!!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
According to my mum she taught me to knit when I was 4!! So that makes it 28 yrs!
I'd say I was an advanced intermediate. I'm always up for a challenge!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Unfortunately no.

5. What's your favorite scent?
Fresh smells...oranges..sea air.
Also relaxing aromatherapy...lavender etc. I do like vanilla but it gives me really bad headaches so I have to avoid it.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Ooo yes!! I absolutely adore Green and Black dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), I like ginger and orange things too!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I cross stitch and I've got 2 sewing machines(even tho' they've not been used for a bit), I can crochet but have no idea what stitches I'm doing!..I must get my book out and rectify that!!! I can embroider and have been known to make the odd card or 2.
Yes, I do spin, with my Ashford Traditional called Audrey. I love it! I've had her since April of this year and I'm enjoying washing, carding and spinning fibre...I've even started to dye too! I love trying different fibres esp from rare breeds.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like anything from classical to heavy rock with a bit of punk thrown in to add colour! I used to be a goth if that helps? I recently saw the Scissor Sisters and Kylie in concert. The only thing I can't stand is the 'duh! duh! duh! duh!' dance(?) music that's around at the moment, as well as the cover versions they're doing.
I like to listen to Cd's when I'm driving.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love the darker end of the spectrum...greens, blues, purple, dark reds and dark orange....however I really HATE pink!!!! Although when it's in space dyed/hand painted yarn I like it. I absolutely love space dyed and hand painted yarns and fibres as well as semi solid ones too!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my female partner and step son(17)....oh yes, do I have pets?!! I've got a gorgeous blue merle collie/jack russell cross dog with the most beautiful blue eyes ever called Poppy. She's my best friend. I also have 10 (yes 10!) cats...they're all so cuddly and purry and Poppy mothers them all!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hats and mittens but not ponchos...I'm not really a girly girl.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks, gloves, socks..... I love knitting cables. Oh and lace too!

13. What are you knitting right now?
My first pair of Monkey socks in scrummy sock yarn a friend dyed and gifted to me. Also a felted bag for my sister's friends birthday....and...my on going mitred blanket.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course! It means so much to me when someone has hand made something for me...it's really special! Most of the things I knit are presents for other people.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I'm a bamboo girl! They're so warm and they help my hands no end(if I haven't used them the day before I can tell as my hands claw and are very painful) I love to use dpn's esp for socks(not the really tiny one's tho' as they're too short and I have to use 3mm and above as my tension is very tight) but I will use circulars for garments at times(I own 7mm and 10mm addi ciculars that I use for bags).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes both! In fact I have 2 swifts!!!! I use them all a lot.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
A blue acrylic cardigan my mum bought me the yarn for when I was 18...I used to knit in the halls of residence as a student but had to stop as I ran out of yarn!!!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Probably Spring Bank holiday or May day as it usually means we are going on our first camping trip of the year!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn! Vintage knitting stuff and esp anything woolly or sheepy.....Oh and cats!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I love trying new yarn(esp by dyers etc) and all the other amazing hand painted/space dyed yarn and fibre that's so difficult to get in the UK. I subscribe to Simply Knitting...I really like it as its very light hearted and the projects aren't always expensive ones.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm trying to improve my spinning at the moment so I can start knitting socks or gloves with it...my 'practise' spinning is slowly becoming a mitred blanket for camping. I'm also trying to get to grips with dyeing techniques.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes,yes!!!! I'm a UK5 i think that's a European 38...not sure with US sizes tho' sorry!

23. When is your birthday?
29th January...I'm an Aquarian

24. I'm in the queue for Ravelry....So when that comes through I will update...

Phew! that's done.

I'm back after a very busy week!

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who has thought of us this week regarding Marley. It is been hard but we are trying to concentrate on the other two kittens.
So let me introduce Lily. She's a lovely little girl and loves nothing better than sitting on your lap just cuddling....this may change when she starts running around. (its Bella's whiskers on the pic)

This is Squeeze. He can be a very loud squeaker when he wants to be. He's destined to be a very loving and playful cat. They are both gorgeous kittens and it's lovely watching them grow up.

This week has been pretty hectic. Tuesday night J and I went to see the Scissor Sisters at the MEN in Manchester. They were absolutely amazing even better than last years gig!!!!

I booked Wednesday off work as I didn't think I'd have enough energy. So instead I had a lovely day with Chris. I gave her 'Nora', her fleece(I got it wrong in a previous post, Spot is my fleece) and some Wensleydale. I came back home laden with some yummy raspberry wool 4ply and black and white 4ply(for socks), aran cotton(for Presto Chango), orange Nova and Salsa!!!! As well as some pretend Kool Aid for dyeing. I started a pair of Monkeys while I was there. I must be one of the only people in Blogland that hasn't knitted any before! I'm doing them in some scrummy hand dyed yarn in blues, greens and yellows that was a gift from Angora Anne when I sent her a stretchy drive band. I have taken a photo but my camera batteries died on me before I could upload it.

Yesterday I decided to dye some yarn I have recently plied. Well, it started off that I wanted it to be green and something else but it ended up with a mix of green and cherry. Instead of being a pinky red it is a very strong red red. J has already informed me she wants socks out of the yarn. Don't know how it will stand up to being socks, but we will see. Good job I managed to spin 300yds ish...and we like ankle rather than longer socks!!

Today I took advantage of the warm weather and decided to wet block the Lunar moth shawl.
I did it outside using some spongy floor jigsaw pieces, I picked up from Asda a while ago, as a base.
I'm pleased with the results, just hope mum likes it as it's her birthday present(which was last Thursday!)
Boring bit.......knitted in Fyberspates Scrumptious(100g) on 8mm needles(suggests smaller but my tension is a problem) Pattern is Lunar Moth...sorry still don't know how to link. I'd def do it again as it's a nice quick, portable project.

Some sad news..

Thank you to everyone that has sent their thoughts to Marley.
I'm really sad to say Marley passed away on Saturday afternoon.
He was actually improving until Friday evening when he was fitting every few minutes. We didn't expect him to be with us by Saturday.
In the afternoon I picked him up for a cuddle. Bella was beside herself as she couldn't do anything to help him. He then passed away very peacefully in my hands. It was so good to see him relaxed. We already miss him so much...I'd even found Poppy cuddled up with the kitts looking after them! He is now buried under our apple tree, which is a favourite spot of the cats. He may have only lived for two weeks but he had such a lovely personality and touched our lives for the better. We all loved him very much.
Marley you will never be forgotten.

Marley

I've not posted sooner as one of the kittens(the grey one) Marley has developed inhalation pneumonia. We noticed that he wasn't growing at the same rate as the other two..they're real fatties now! So we started to hand feed him. I was able to leave work early on Monday and had a family outing to the vets...with Bella, Maisie and 3 kitts!! Liz, the vet, agreed that it was pneumonia. Marleys chest was pretty noisy and he's also fitting as well! She also said we had done the right thing intervening and hand feeding him. So he now has to have 1 drop of antibiotics a day he's that tiny.

George had exactly the same problem. We nursed and fed him for a week until he could see properly and was strong enough in himself. So we are hoping Marley will be the same. Either way we are going to keep him. He's such a sweetie and appears to be getting a tiny bit stronger every day.

As for piccies.....The top two skeins are light coloured Ryeland, the next is darker coloured Ryeland(I separated 1 batch of fleece). All three weigh about 60g and are about 150yd each, so consistency is def improving. The bottom skein is my 1st Koolaid dye attempt, I really pleased with the colours and strength of them.

The Luna moth shawl is finished! I haven't blocked it yet...G has offered her house for this so I don't get all the cats trying to walk/pad/sleep/scratch it!!!!

We are Mummies again!

This morning Bella gave birth to 3 beautiful kittens!
We have one a smokey grey, one tabby and one tabby and white...whenever she's had kitts before they've been all black or black and white. (sorry bout the blurred photo)
Mother and babies are doing great. Maisie and Izzy have assigned themselves chief protectors of Bella and the kitts!
I went back to work this week and it was really busy! One of my friends there has been having a clear out and gave me 2 knitting books....one of which is Rowan no.7!!!!!!
I also had a really good bargain on Thursday....I went to town to get Sirdar Early Arrivals no.1 as I've misplaced my copy and I've got 2 unfinished cardis that need to be done. Anyway, my LYS didn't have a copy in stock but they did remind me that I still had some Rowan Plaid put away(from a previous sale). So I decided to get some of it. Well, originally it was 3.95 in the sale but when it was rang through the till it came up at 1.95!!!! OMG a Rowan cardi for less than 20 quid!!!!!!!
I've started a mitred square blanket using my hand spun. I thought it would be a good way to use all the odds and sods esp. since my earlier stuff is spun too tightly. The bottom layer is done and I thought I'm going to have to keep a steady stream of yarn coming. So I plied up a bobbin this morning and then had a play with some of my newly acquired Kool aid(from Woolfest). I'm soooooooo impressed....I used grape as a base and then sprinkled strawberry over the top...it's come out better than I hoped! A lovely deep plummy colour with patches of purple...pics to follow........(its drying at the mo)
Well not much shawl has been done and I've realised that I have to make a felted bag for my sisters mate...both have to be done before August!
I think I'd better get knitting.......

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a..........Psychedelic Cat??

Meet Fuzzy..our latest feline addition (although Bella is due to give birth any time).
Chris emailed me Friday evening to ask if I would like to do some needle felting at the guild meeting on Saturday. So J was a darling and offered to take me and pick me up...driving thro' Liverpool is not a nice experience due to the amount of traffic and roadworks. I met up with Chris about 10.25 and had a fab day. It was great to see her and give her her Woolfest goodies(minus a fleece from a sheep called Spot!) and birthday pressies.
I was so pleased she was happy with her haul...I felt pretty good as I'd managed to get her the only 72'' niddy noddy that I saw in the whole show!!!!!

Chris in return gave me some turquoise Jitterbug that I'd asked her to get me from Colinette...and she gave me some pinky/maroon as well to say thanks for getting the things on her shopping list at Woolfest...AND some Ryeland/Shetland fleece (I love spinning Ryeland as its not to coarse and not too soft but can be worn next to the skin).

THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRIS FOR A LOVELY DAY AND BEING A GOOD MATE X

This is the 1st repeat of the shawl I've started for mum's birthday pressie. It's the Lunar moth pattern done in Fyberspates Scrumptious(which lives up to its name!). As you all know I am a very tight knitter so after doing a tension square instead of using the 5.5mm needles required I am using 8mm!!!!

Yesterday we went to St Helens festival. Now J and I always make a bee line for the craft tent, which to be honest is usually people selling stuff that they've bought rather than made themselves...so you can imagine how excited I was to find 2 stalls that had made their own stuff from scratch. The first was a 'knitting and badge' shop. They had made crocheted brooches, badges, buttons etc. The second was a handmade soap stall. I have made my own soap before and love it but I've lost my Melinda Coss book somewhere :( so haven't done any for years.

I also saw a Girl Guiding stall and had a chat to the lady there. My mum (she has been in guiding since before she married my dad!) has been trying to get me to help with a brownie pack for years. So she was over the moon when I rang her to let her know I've volunteered to be a unit helper! ...I've explained I can't commit to weekly meets due to health but I thought how good would it be to encourage children to do crafts(my mum's brownies love it!) plus I love camping and pack holidays!

So all in all I've had a really good weekend although I'm shattered now!

Here is George. He tried his hardest to get in the other photos so he just had to have his own taken!

Woolfest Anyone???

This is what we were greeted with last Thursday when we reached our campsite(not our tent).
The rain and the wind were dreadful to say the least...we didn't think we were going to survive the night!!!
I even started to knit some gloves it was that cold!

But the Friday brought blue skies and sun! We had already decided to go to Woolfest that day instead of Saturday. Look what we found...two beautiful alpacas...this photo reminds me of the 'push me pull me' from Doctor Doolittle!!!!
Our first port of call was the fleece sale. This is me having a good nosey round. I ended up with a coloured Ryeland/Shetland cross and a Mainland Blue.
While I was spending to my hearts content J went off and photoed sheep.......

There were lots more but blogger won't let me put them on :(

We decided to go and have a rest and a drink about half way round...and who did we bump into but Artis-Anne and Kath!!! It was so strange as we had never seen them before and just took a stab at asking them were they them!!!

This is my haul:-

dye kit and 2 skeins of sock yarn from DT craft and design

Alpaca, Gotland, Mulberry silk and green tie dyed felting yarn from Bev at knitting for fun

Sock stuff from Freyallyn

Blue, green, purple and orange fibre, sock yarn and 'scrumptious' from Jeni at Fyberspates

Alpaca/merino dk from the Natural Dye Studio

Wensleydale fibre an also some angora from a rabbit called Zorin

They are some more bits and pieces but they can't be photoed as they're for pressies!

We left a very wet Lake District on Sunday and headed to Llanrug in North Wales.
Yesterday we did our 'rescue' bit. A lamb had been parted from its mother onto a road. So we herded it to safety(and its mother) only to find on our way back the same lamb was on the road again!!!
We came back today and I'm now off work until next Wednesday...I need it to recover...a nice hot bath is definitely in order!!!

Fathers Day

I've had such a lovely day.
Both my sister and I decided to surprise my Dad and Grandad by visiting our parents house today....and as an extra special treat I took Poppy along, although I don't know who had the best time Dad, Grandad or Poppy!!!!? Anyway they loved their cards and presents and I also made sure neither of them did any washing up.
I took some patterns over to show Mum as suggestions to shrug/cardis she could knit. They are going on a cruise in October and she wants to be able to cover her shoulders in the evening......my sis and I also quizzed her without her knowing as to whether she would wear a shawl at all. Luckily she said she definately would, so as her birthday is in August I think it will be a perfect pressie!!!!! I'm going to look for suitable yarn at Woolfest but anyone have any ideas to a pattern that won't take too long????????
Please bear in mind I've never knitted a shawl before!
Yesterday, however, was a different story. J had a bad asthma attack at lunchtime, she normally has her asthma under control but this came from nowhere. So I took her to A+E at about 2pm. She didn't want to go in an ambulance but regretted it later. We left at 7pm with a bag of tablets. She is much better, the doctor gave her some steroids to try and reduce the inflammation in her chest and so far so good. The good thing to come out of being at hospital for that long was I have now finished both sleeves for C's cardi/shrug!!! The staff thought it was really funny, J on a trolley and me sitting next to her knitting(we were in a corridor to start with so you can imagine...)
Just got the 2 fronts and the collar to do....just hope I've enough yarn!

Animals on my knee!

Here's my main man Captain. He came in last night very wet. He immediately jumped on my knee for a cuddle and stayed there, despite the fact that I was spinning at the time!!! ...I managed to get A to take a photo as I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them.

I've not been a very good blogger recently. This has been due to going to court on Thursday of last week with G to support her while she gave evidence for a case. We got into Liverpool before 10 and didn't get home until gone 6!! So as you can imagine I've been on the tired side to say the least. It has really wiped me out and I'm still trying to recover now.

I managed to work on Friday(I don't know how!) and the weekend was spent spinning and knitting while J cleared out the back bedroom. Bless her, she has put all my stash together in one cupboard for me so I can get to it easier. I went to work on Monday, and Tuesday went out with G to a garden centre. I've made a promise to myself that I have to go out on at least 1 of my days off each week. So G and I raided the 'not quite dead yet' section and came back with a blue rhododendron each for 2 quid and a 2 bags of gladioli bulbs for 50p(they always remind me of my Grandma as she liked to have them in the house as cut flowers) as well as a few other goodies!!!! Today I've just got back from G's after making Fathers Day cards.

I can not wait for a lie in this weekend, I'm sooooooo tired.

I'm very sorry if I've not replied to any emails this week but my head has just not been with it :(

On the plus side it's only 2 weeks until we drive up to the Lakes to go to Woolfest!!!! We have treated ourselves to a new air mattress that is higher off the ground than our old one.

I can't wait and J seems to be looking forward to it too!!!

Here's my new needles

Well here they are in all their glory...... My new needles from LaughingMouse. The photo doesn't do them justice as they are sooooo smooth. Thank you again LaughingMouse they're gorgeous.

Another wow element to this post is that I'm still feeling 'normal'. So much so I even had my 1st alcoholic drink in absolutely ages on Saturday!!!! AND didn't have a hangover Sunday...how good is that.

Today I've been to work and yes, I am tired and sore but I felt that good at lunchtime that I went for a walk. I ended up at Aberkahns(not sure of the spelling) and much to my surprise they now sell Regia sock yarn!!!!!!! I was very restrained and thought I'd better knit up my stash first........

I've started the shrug for C and am half way thro' the back so must get back to that....

AAGGGHHHH I'v been tagged!

I thought I'd avoided being tagged quite nicely. So thanks to Laughingmouse here goes.....

1. I was never allowed pets as a child with the exception of a fish called Debbie and a caterpillar called Important!? So I think I've more than made up for that now with 10 cats and a dog!
2. I can bite my toenails.
3. I worked in a whelk factory before going to university, packing whelks for 2 pound an hour! This was to save up for college.
4. I am Mel C.....Spice Girls?!
5. I moved in with J after only four weeks of meeting her!!!
6. My mum is a Brown owl(brownies) and my dad was a scout leader. I went on brownie and scout camps as a child. So I was a female at scout camp well before girls were allowed to join!
7. As a teenager I was a 'goth'....despite the fact I was told I was too happy to be one.

There its done.....I think everyone I know has already done this so I don't have anyone to tag :(
Right onto this week...
I've been at work as well as going out on BOTH my days off. I went out on Tuesday 3 times in the car on my own!! and on Thursday I had another fab bargain hunting day out with Chris...Thanks Chris for a lovely day.
Tonight we are off to a wedding. One of my friends at work has got married today. After the weird weather we have had this week I'm so glad it's been nice for her today.
AND I've finished another pair of socks for E. I made myself knit them up(they're knee length in DK)before doing any spinning...so guess what I'm doing tomorrow!!
Question is which fibre do I spin first?esp as I received my Fyberspates order for some dyed BFL yesterday and it's really yummy!!!

Another fab parcel...

Last week I received another fab parcel!
It was from LaughingMouse(my great mate from Stitchlinks). Inside was a kitty card(sooooo cute), a ball of alpaca yarn(yummy) and also some knitting needles she had made!!! Unfortunately no photos as the camera is playing up. The needles are amazing...so original, rustic looking rather than commercial! I love them...thank you so much LaughingMouse you really made my day!
I returned back to work a week ago and wow does my body feel it! I'm really glad to be back and have enjoyed it even though I'm very tired now.
It does help having a 4 day weekend!!!!

I'm mobile!!!

Well since my last post I've been much more mobile! Thank you to everyone that sent good wishes and kind thoughts, they were very much appreciated.
So I've still been off work this week trying to improve my back. I've even been doing some yoga, which I haven't done for a while!
I visited Chris(sorry not sure how to do links) on Monday. Yes, we chatted loads...that's actually an understatement. I think my nerves come out in the form of verbal diarrhoea!?
Anyway we went to her LYS which is closing down :( It's a real treasure trove. I managed to pick up..amongst other things... some pure wool dk(for my mates brothers socks) for 50p and 'Vintage Knits' for a pound!!!!! Yes you are reading correctly. I couldn't believe it. I think I spent about 26 pounds and came away with 2 big carrier bags FULL!!!! Thank you Chris for a lovely day.
I've also been playing with my spinning wheel, since my back will now allow me to do so(since Wednesday I think). I've spun up and Navajo plied some of my 'practice fleece' that Janet gave me. I was so surprised when I skeined it up earlier to see I've managed to get 134yds!!!...and its reasonably even. I'm so pleased, it also seems pretty balanced. That's just hanging and drying in the kitchen.
I've also spun(but not plied) some turquoise fleece Chris has given me. I spun it as it was rather than carding it and was pleased at how straight forward it was. So that's sitting on a bobbin waiting to ply.
I've also named my wheel.....AUDREY.....and she likes it too!!!! We are learning a lot together and enjoying it.
On the knitting front I'm half way thro' my second sock for my SP. I just need to get and do a few more things and then her final parcel can be sent.
Talking of parcels. I received a lovely parcel from my 'Sock Wars' assassin Isabelle in Sweden. We decided to do a sock yarn swap months ago. Anyway, my parcel contained 2 balls of rainbow yarn, some dark choccie and a gorgeous necklace which she had made for me. Its beautiful, all blues and greens with seed, tubular and felted beads! Thank you soooooo much.
Oh, I think J has decided the Conwy socks are hers as she's been wearing them to work this week!

I've just received a PURPLE parcel!!!!!

Look what the postman has just delivered.......

A PURPLE parcel!!!!!!

...look what I found inside....

4oz wool(corriedale and romney), viscose, tussah silk, cut bombyx silk and tussah silk noil signature blend roving from Crosspatch Creations in Plum Loco......mmmmm yummy!

Burt's Bees healthy hand kit...I've always wanted to try this... yippeeeeeeeee

A lavender sachet bag...i lurrrrrvveeeee lavender.

Aura Cacia Lavender Harvest aromatherapy mineral bath...can't wait to use this!

Green and Blacks ginger organic dark choc...my fave!

Dagoba organic chocolate with lavender and blueberries....mmmmmmm sounds lovely, cant wait to try it!

Sunspire organic dark chocolate covered coffee beans....how did you know I love these.?!....I forgot to put it on my questionnaire!

2 packs of Pop Rocks popping candy...cool, I've not had popping candy for years!

A skein of...wait for it...drum roll.....Socks that Rock in Walking on the Wild Tide...this is a club colourway and not available to the general public so I feel really honored!

Also a gorgeous card too with yarn on the front. All this was wrapped up beautifully in lavender tissue paper and packed in a lavender box.

I feel sooooooo spoiled..it's really touched me :)

THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH KEYLIME PLY, you've made my day!

.........I now want my back to get better to spin the roving!

Thank you!

I'd like to thank everyone for their good wishes regarding my back. I ended up in casualty earlier as I couldn't cope with it any longer. The staff were fantastic....even finding me a cubicle quickly so I could lie down! However the diagnosis has now been changed from inflamed disc to muscular. Now I'm happy it's nothing serious but it's still b@$$#y painful!!

I discovered, much to my relief that I can knit lying down! So here are the finished Conwy socks. I'm really pleased with them but if I knitted them again I would use a 'normal' toe decrease. The pattern asks for a k2tog 4 times evenly over the round and so produces a pointy toe. I don't know, maybe it'll grown on me!

Saturday we had our last day of sunshine for the time being. I decided to start to wash my fleece I was given. I knelt in the back garden and got the fleece out of the bag. My neighbour's children thought it was great..."...wool from a REAL sheep!!". It really tickled me.

Above is my makeshift drying rack for the small portion of fleece I washed........a broken maiden(clothes horse) over a washing basket. It worked great!..since then I've managed to wash the rest of it in small batches, so just waiting to be able to spin again to try it out!

I couldn't resist this photo of Maddy that J managed to get of her sunning and shading herself at the same time.

OW!

Friday I felt a twinge in my mid back and thought nothing of it. Since Saturday I've been in what could be said rather a lot of pain to put it mildly. I tried to go to work Monday but was sent home after half an hour!
Managed to get an appointment with the emergency doctor on Monday night and he came to the conclusion I've got an inflamed/swollen disc !!!! aaagggghhhhh I really don't want that :(
Anyway due to the strong painkillers I take for my ME and fybromyalgia all he gave me was some diazepam to relax my muscles.....consequently I've been sleeping a lot!
Saw a GP from my practice on Tuesday and asked for a physio referral so I'm just waiting for that now.
Sorry for going on but I've not been able to do any spinning at all....and knitting has been difficult as I can't find a comfortable position to sit in. I've managed to knit a little bit and turned the heel and done most of the gusset decreases for my Conwy socks.
Anne...the Conwy pattern comes from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush....its really straight forward just a 4 row repeat(I only had to frog it as I didn't realise there were calf decreases...duh should have read the pattern properly!)
Right off to lie on the sofa........

What a nice weekend!

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for your lovely comments about my spinning. Unfortunately I've not been able to spin this week as my darling cats have been playing with my wheel and so sprung my brake spring!!!!!!! I was not happy as you can imagine. Luckily Janet from the Threshing Barn got my order for two new ones to me on Saturday morning(I only ordered them on Friday mid morning!).... with fab customer service as always!

So I took the time to get cracking on my 'Conwy' socks. I've took a different aproach to these socks than normal by knitting them both at the same time...I've just got another 8 rounds to do on the one on the left to match the right one and then its onto the heel flaps. I've only knitted them to 6in in length as I tend to wear short socks.

We went to B&Q yesterday and bought some bedding plants to put in the front garden. So while J was busy putting them in I planted some tomato, pepper, courgette and dwarf green beans in the greenhouse. I've stuck to just 4 veg this year as it means I can still look after them even if I have a bad day!

I did it! I did it! I did it!

This is it....my very first yarn that I have spun on my new wheel!!!!!!!!!

I havent a clue as to the type of fibre it is except that its wool....its something I bought on ebay ages ago that was dyed in ocean colours. I managed to get about 92 yards(not sure about the weight Im afraid)Im so chuffed...ok I know its a bit thick and thin but that will even out with practice.

I find spinning much easier with a wheel and my legs and arms haven't been as sore as I thought they might be....so fingers crossed it may help with the pain in the long run.

Iv got to say tho'......I love plying!!!!!!!!!

My new toy.....

After all the waiting...here she is...my new(to me) spinning wheel.

She's about 15 years old and did belong to a lady that treasured her until she got Altziemers and so was unable to spin. So I'm now the proud owner of one Ashford traditional spinning wheel ..plus...a pair of curved carders, a large niddy noddy, a lazy kate and the Ashford book of spinning and Janet has also given me a big bag of fleece to get stuck into(I cant remember the breed of sheep it came from tho!). We went to pick her up from the Threshing Barn today where Dave had given her a 'service' and while i was there i got some purpley dyed texel and a pressie for my sp10. J got stuck in and bought some beads and also some free range eggs from the farm.

On the pic you can just see Maisie on the front left, Bella on the right and Zippy in the back ground.

finished at last!

They are done at last........the long awaited 'jaywalkers'.

I don't know whether I'm more of a frogger or a tinker with the amount iv done with these!

J proudly wore them to work on Thursday and apparently had a lot of approving comments!!!!

Iv also completed a washcloth pattern for Betsan from stitchlinks. I had originally designed it to be about 6in square but she then asked me to make it 10in square. So I spent Thursday test knitting my pattern (as well as lots of washing as the weather was so nice)before emailing that off...I don't know which took longer... the knitting or the typing..(my typing isn't very fast).

Iv now started using the yarn that Ali dyed for me from my sock yarn swap. I'm knitting 'Conwy' from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I would have had a photo by now but had forgot to decrease for the calf(I'm used to knitting shorter socks!). So then I had to frog back all the rows Id managed to do at work today (whilst suffering with a migraine)...typical!

Looking forward to Sunday as we are off to Staffordshire to hopefully get my new toy!!!!

Another hot day!

Here is a pic of Poppy enjoying the hot sun with her 'blue bone'...you cant see it on this but she has the most striking blue eyes Iv ever seen on a dog. Shes beautiful but then I am biased!!!
This is Maddy my mischief maker! Every day she visits the neighbours houses. If she doesn't go there we have people asking if shes OK! She was hiding amongst some garden rubbish and I wanted to take a photo of her there to play 'spot Maddy' but she moved before I could get the camera!
This is the result of J's hard work over the last 2 weekends. All the bricks n stuff are things either we have recycled or are reclaimed.
Here is the other side of the front garden. we did this last year so this time it was just a case of tidying up. I'm a person that hunts through the half dead plants in b&q and garden centres. last year i got a rhododendron plant for a couple of quid and now it has buds on it!!!

Yesterday I had my birthday day out with my mum. We went to see 'Tuppence to cross the Mersey' at the Liverpool Empire. It was one of the first books I read when I was younger so it was really touching. The musical was really good the only thing was it did finish abruptly which was a shame. We then went to mums and had tea. It was a really lovely day...I even managed to knit some 'jaywalker' on the train!!!!