Friday Is for Crochet

I have been crocheting for a lot of today. The weather has turned cold again and my knees don't like it so I thought that I would spend the day crocheting to take my mind off things.

I have progressed with the Lacy Duster Coat and it now has two sleeves and I am almost at the place when I change patterns for the bottom third of the coat. I have put a link to the pattern (click on my blog title) for the anonymous person who posted on my last blog page asking which pattern I was using. It is a Doris Chan free pattern and this coat is the third one that I have made but only one of them was for me.

My knitting club friends Kath and Sylvia made it to the Black Sheep sale today and as I could not get there I asked Sylvia to look out for any bargains that she thought that I would like. She phoned to ask if I wanted a couple of packs that she had found for me so of course I said yes. OK I know I was not going to increase my stash but apart from buying wool for gifts I have managed to almost get to May without breaking my New Year's resolution and as I won't make it to Woolfest this year then I won't be tempted into spending there. I won't see my bargain packs for a couple of weeks as I don't see Sylvia every week. It will be all the more exciting when I do get to see them. Sylvia, I hope that you don't mind waiting for the money that I owe you until I see you next.

I wish that I could have gone there myself to have a look but it's probably just as well or I could have come home with a few more packs than the couple Sylvia has picked up for me . I can't wait to hear about what Kath and Sylvia have bought. Yeah for wool sales and bargains!

I may have a rest from the Lacy Duster tonight and start a bit of knitting. If I work too long on one craft then my fingers start to ache. Oh the joys of old age LOL if one bit of me doesn't ache then another bit does.

Boys Sweaters Finished

I have finished Charlie and Finlay's sweaters in time for Sunday. I used a Kay Jones pattern number 77 for them and they took 300 grams of the main colour to make both sweaters. I used Robin DK Shade 059 which I bought from Abakhan in Manchester. It is a cream but has threads of darker colours threaded in the yarn. I used a small ball of contrast that I had in stock. I basically used the pattern but I did change the crochet stitch. The pattern calls for UK half trebles but I changed it to an alternating UK treble and double crochet as I thought that it produced a denser boy type fabric. On the pattern the button bands are in the contrast colour but my ball of contrast was running out so I just used it to border the edge of the button band. I am pleased with the way the sweaters have turned out. It's nice to find a boyish crochet pattern.

I have returned to the Lacy Duster coat and have started one of the sleeves. The pattern has the sleeves crocheted after all of the body is finished but I prefer to do the sleeves earlier than that, before the weight of the Duster makes it difficult to keep swinging the sleeves around as I crochet. The body is starting to get a bit of shape now after the waistline. This is so the coat will swing out at the lower edge once the bottom pattern is started.

My gardener came this morning and weeded and trimmed the bushes and plants in the front garden. It is looking much better but it still has loads of leaves there as the Daffodils didn't flower much this year. Nor did the Crocus, the Bluebells or the Iris. The gardener has fed the soil so that hopefully next year I will get flowers as well as just leaves. I hadn't really touched the garden for a long time and I hadn't fed the soil for 2 or 3 years so it's no wonder I had such a poor show of Spring flowers this year.

I got my Tesco delivery today so I have food in the house once again. It is very convenient having food delivered in this way but to be honest I really do prefer to shop myself and see exactly what I want. Online I tend to buy all kinds of things, spend a lot of money, and finish up with very little fresh meat or veg to actually eat. On the plus side when I go to Tesco next I won't have to lug home any bottles of water and cordial nor any washing powder and softener for a while. I stocked up on my tins also so my future shopping shouldn't be as heavy to wheel home for a few weeks.

It's been a miserable dull day today. I haven't done as much crochet so far today as I fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon. I am getting such a sleepy head these days. I have got into the habit of a little afternoon nap about 3pm. I wish that I felt refreshed after my little naps but they tend to make me even more droopy for the rest of the evening. I try my best not to nap but tiredness overtakes me and I nod off over my crochet. If they were power naps and I woke up raring to go then I wouldn't mind so much. I might sit under my S.A.D light for a little while as there has been no natural sunshine today to waken my brain cells up and it does make a difference to my spirits.

Almost Finished

I didn't manage to get as much crocheting done last night as I hoped. I am on the final stretch of the boy's sweaters but of course I have the stitching up still to do once I have finished Charlie's collar and button bands.

Today I got notification from fellow Nora Bev that Black Sheep of Culcheth near Warrington are having a warehouse sale from 30th April until the 9th May. I went a couple of years ago with my niece in her car. I managed to pick up a few bargains but sadly I won't be going this year. My friend Sylvia has discovered that there is a bus from Warrington but after that there is a 10 minute walk to the warehouse. Last time I went it seemed to be up a country lane but maybe I am remembered it wrong.Even so it's a bit much for my poor knees at the moment. They may have some of their bargains listed online if you can't get to the warehouse sale.

I ordered my groceries from Tesco online today. I took advantage of the fact that they tempted me back into online ordering by giving me a £10 voucher if I spent over £50 so I ordered all the heavy stuff and stocked up on things like washing powder, softener and tinned goods ready for IF I get into hospital shortly. When all else fails I can always heat up a tin of soup. I really prefer to go and choose things myself but I just couldn't psych myself into the walk up there and lugging stuff back in my trolley this week. I am saving my knees for Finlay's Christening on Sunday.

Not a very nice day today although it's not raining so that alone is a bonus. It is a bit windy and looks cold outdoors although I haven't been outside to test it as yet.

I am hoping to get back to the Lacy Duster coat this evening once I have finished the boy's sweaters and make a bit of progress on that.

My on line friend Zuleika (Life in the Zu blog) has posted that she has been doing samplers of Tunisian to practise the stitches. Her tension looks beautifully even, so I am even more determined than before to have another try at the Tunisian once I have finished the Duster coat off. I think I expect too much of myself. Because I can knit and crochet I thought I would just pick up a Tunisian hook and race away. When I am teaching people to crochet I always say to learn the technique first and then I am not following my own teaching and want to run before I can walk. I must learn a bit of patience. It's at times like these when I wished that I lived nearer to Zuleika and Beverooni to have some Tunisian lessons. I will try You Tube and see if I get the hang of it through videos.

Flowering Cherry Tree

The Flowering Cherry tree in my front garden is in bloom and is lifting my spirits just to see it. It is such a pretty tree but unfortunately the blooms are so delicate that the first bit of wind that we have blows the blossoms off the tree. The whole street then looks like there has been a wedding and it is littered with confetti. Next door has also got a flowering cherry but hers is a different variety with darker blossom. It also appears to be a bit hardier than mine when the wind blows. The gardener is coming on Thursday and is starting with the front garden. As she is so busy it will take her a few visits of an hour at a time to get the back garden into shape. I decided to start with the front as that is the bit that people see when they are walking past and also the bit that I can see from my front window.

I haven't got a lot more crochet done. Hardly surprising after yesterday's news. I haven't finished Charlie's sweater off as the collar and placket for the buttons has the contrast colour on it and as I am using an oddment from my stash for this I want to see how the ball is working out with Finlay's sweater first. They should both be finished before the Christening on Sunday.

My GP phoned me yesterday afternoon. He has been in touch with the hospital and has had a row with them over the way they have treated me. He said that they backed down when he said that he had faxed over enough evidence that I was fit for surgery on February 12th and what more did they want. I had left him a copy of the letter and he said to them, like I had, that it just says they require notification from him. Which he gave them. The letter does not state that they required, in addition, a letter. He said I am to phone him back if I don't hear back from the hospital in a couple of days and he will ring them again. He is a lovely GP and was just as angry as me over what has happened. He told them that it was ridiculous for an operation to be cancelled and not just postponed for something like a simple water infection that was cleared up in a week with antibiotics. He said that if my operation date had been in a week then he could have understood it but as they were saying that the proposed ooperation date was up to 15 weeks away then he did not see the logic in cancelling my operation date. He said he had never heard of any other hospital having this policy.Postponement yes but cancellation no. It's good to have the GP on my side. I feel a bit better now. Watch this space. I will give the hospital a few days to get back to me and if they don't then I will take it further.

Today is quite warm but not a lot of sun. I am taking a chance on the weather and puffing some washing outside to dry. I do like it when I can dry clothes, towels and bedding outdoors. Besides which it saves on electricity when I don't have to use the tumble dryer. I do hate washing drooping about the house on racks drying. I had to do that when I was young and my son was small and vowed never again. The only thing that I allow in the house now to dry is when I am blocking out my knitting and crochet.

It Could Only Happen To Me

As my regular readers know I have been waiting for a letter from the hospital telling me when I am going in for my operation. This morning I decided to give the specialist's secretary a ring to find out how far I was from being sent for. She then informed me that I wasn't even on the list!! You remember when I had the water infection and got taken off the list well apparently after my antibiotics and the all clear results faxed to the hospital I wasn't put back on the list.

When I asked why not she said we have been waiting for a confirmation letter from your GP saying that you are fit enough for the operation. When the all clear results were faxed to the hospital I asked if that was all they needed and they said that it was. I have a letter that says they needed notification of this. Today she tells me that notification means a letter from the GP. I said well if this is the case then why doesn't it say so on my letter?

The secretary is now saying that they can only put me back on the list once they have received this letter and it will be dated as from when they receive it. I was furious. I said it's not fair to put me back at the bottom of the list for something that isn't my fault. If I had been told in February that I also needed a GP's letter then I would have got him to send one Instead I was reassured by the pre op sister that I would be put back on the list now that she had received the all clear test results.

This is exactly the same scenario that happened to me before my spinal operation. They lost me completely in the system and I had to get my MP involved before I was reinstated on the list.

I went to the surgery to see the GP but he wasn't in until later this afternoon. I have left him an urgent note about what has happened and the phone numbers of my specialist's secretary so see if he can influence them I am not blaming my GP. He faxed the information across when I asked him to and at no point was he told that it wasn't sufficient for their needs.

It's a good job that I phoned this morning or I would have been waiting forever for the operation date. I am not going to lie down quietly about this. If they put me back at the bottom of the operation list then I am going to formally complain as this is the second time this has happened to me at the same hospital.

I am still crocheting the first of the boy's sweaters and will hopefully get them done before the christening on Sunday and then it will be all hands to the hook to finish off the Mother Of The Bride Lacy Duster.

I had to get some more blood tests done today and the practise nurse took my blood pressure and it was sky high. I told the nurse what had happened today and she said no wonder your pressure is high. Just go home, rest and take it easy. I have got my chair and my pouffe to put my legs up ready to sit down and do a bit more crochet.

Sunday Outing to the Knit Club

Today I went to the monthly meeting of the Knitting Noras. I enjoyed it but my knees didn't. By the time I got home again my knees were well and truly knackered. I think that I will have to stop going until after my operations unless my niece can give me a lift up there sometime.

Last night I went to the combined 70th birthday party for my sister in law and 1st wedding anniversary for my younger niece. I can't believe that a year has gone by since they got married. Time really does whizz by in some respects but not in others. The meal was OK apart from one thing. My family had forgotten that I don't like curry.Yes I know,I must be the only person that I know who can't stand the taste of it. Luckily they had made another dish of aubergines and other veg so I ate that with Naam bread and boiled rice.

Mostly times flies by but I feel like I have been waiting for my operation date for absolutely ages. I think I will ring the hospital tomorrow and ask just how far up the waiting list I am. My son wants to plan a holiday as does my brother and my elder niece who lives nearby. It would be nice to have some idea of a date so I can let my family know roughly when I am going in hospital. I do hope that the hospital did put me back on the list as they promised to do when my water infection was cleared up with antibiotics.

My sister in law seemed pleased with her shawl. I modelled it before I gave it to her so that I could have photos for my Ravelry project site. I like the pattern and wool as it is quite soft and can be scrunched up to make a scarf like shape to wear over a coat in the winter. Today I did a bit more on one of the boy's crocheted sweaters as it is the Christening of the younger one next Sunday and the older one is 2yrs old next week. I have the Lacy Duster to finish but the wedding isn't until the end of May so I will try to finish off the sweaters this week. I was going to knit them little hooded jackets but I knew that I would not have time for those. I will have to give their Mum an I.O.U and start them after I have finished off the Lacy Duster coat.

Tonight I am going to rest my knees as I have an appointment with the practise nurse for a blood test tomorrow. The GP needs to know if I am still anaemic and I have routine blood tests every few months to look at my kidney function as I have impaired kidney function due the the amounts of painkillers I have been taking over the years and the alcohol that I abused them with in the years before my divorce. I am sad to say that I used alcohol as a crutch to get me through the last few years before we split up. It's not something that I am proud of admitting, as it damaged my relationship with my son, but it's something that I did change and I do feel pride that I managed to overcome the urge to drink. I didn't drink at all for many years but now I have the willpower to just have one drink and leave it at that.

Practising Tunisian Crochet

Last night I had a little practise with my new Tunisian hooks. Although I do find the short hook attached to a cable a lot easier to manage than a long rigid Tunisian hook I still have a long way to go. At the moment although I can do the basic stitch I am struggling with the purl stitch and my tension is far to slack at the moment. I think it's a bit like when I learned to crochet. It's all about holding the hook and the yarn at the right angle and getting the tension right. I think that I will need a lot more practise before I embark upon one of Kay Jones patterns.Once I have finished off the things on my 'to do' list then I will have more time to have another try.

I managed to finish off the Triangular Shawl for my sister in law's 70th birthday party. It is from the Contemporary Crochet book by Sys Fredens and is so quick and easy to make. I used approx 300 grams of James C Bretts Marble Chunky that I bought from Abakhan on Thursday. I have added an edging to the shawl as I think it looks a bit bare without one. The shawl is on a 12mm hook but I had to use a 10mm hook. Not only do I crochet a bit loose I find overlarge hooks hard to grip as I have arthritis in my hands.I think that is another reason why I am struggling to get my tension right on the Tunisian crochet.

I have started a sweater from a Kay Jones pattern 77 that I bought this week. I am using the Robin DK that I also bought from Abakhan this week. I have changed the stitch as the pattern uses a half treble stitch for the main body of the sweater and it was turning out too loose with the way that I am crocheting at the moment. I am using the pattern for size and shaping but am using an alternating treble and double crochet stitch which is closer crochet. I never used to crochet loosely so I am blaming my arthritis and the fact that I cannot grip the hook as I used to. I compensate by using smaller hooks but some stitches still come out too loose for me.

Another sunny day today but as I haven't yet been outside I don't know if it is warm. Our weather is deceiving. I can dress for a sunny day and then go outside and it's quite cold. I will stand outside for a while before I decide how to dress for the party tonight. I am, at the moment, quite sedentary I do tend to feel the cold more than most so I will be taking a cardigan with me no matter what.

I hope that you have a good weekend. I am hoping to be able to get to my monthly Knit Out tomorrow but it all depends on how the old knees hold out tonight.

Tunisian Hooks, Patterns and Wool

I had a good day yesterday. I went out to lunch and had three deliveries in the post.

I am determined to master the art of Tunisian Crochet in preparation for the new Doris Chan book in June . I was not going to let the fact that I cannot wield a long hook put me off so I ordered a set of Denise Tunisian hooks. The have a normal sized hook as you can see attached to one or more cables depending on the width of what is crocheted. I haven't yet had a practise but as soon as I finish off my current WIP I will. Watch out Beverooni you will not be the only one to do Tunisian soon.

In preparation for this I ordered a couple of babies/children's patterns in Tunisian from Kay Jones from www.creativecrochet.co.uk. I don't know what happened but I lost control over my fingers and they kept adding patterns to my basket and finished up with 17 new patterns! As you can see from the array of patterns that arrived. I cannot show you everyone of them but they will be appearing one by one on my projects in the future. If you look at her site you can see the patterns that I ordered and I bet that your fingers will be clicking to add just like mine did. You can receive them as a paper pattern or a PDF which is useful.

Next in the post was my copy of Crochet today. I have not had a good browse through that as yet. This was the Christmas present that kept on arriving from my sister in law. She paid for 4 copies to arrive for me. This is the last of them so I will have to decide whether to pay for another subscription or just to try to buy one over the counter which could be a little difficult with my knee situation.

Sylvia, Kath and I met in Manchester and before lunch we went for a browse in Abakhan. We all bought something. I finished up with 2 balls of James C Brett's chunky and as you can see I have started another shawl like the red one I made recently for my niece. it is my sister in law's birthday on Saturday and I have been invited round to dinner. I had already bought her a little something but decided to add a shawl to the present so the overnight elves will have to get busy. I also bought some cream with a slight fleck DK to try out a Tunisian pattern for my niece's friend's boys. Sylvia bought some baby wool and Kath bought some lovely deep blue DK.Sylvia also bought me a lovely 4ply baby matinee jacket pattern which will be used very shortly to make another jacket for the foster babies. No folks, I have not broken my no stash buying as I said at the beginning that things bought to use for other people don't count in my no buy resolution.

Sylvia says that she could join Beverooni, June and I in pooling stash to open a wool shop. What is it with us knitters and crocheters that we have to have a stash far bigger than we could use in a couple of years to feel secure. Are we afraid that there will suddenly be a yarn shortage one day and we want to be prepared?

We went for lunch at Simple in Manchester and had a very nice meal. Thanks Sylvia for lunch it does feel good to have a treat now and again. I am paying the price for my trip out today as I am sure that Sylvia is also. We both suffer with mobility issues but we still manage to get out and about sometimes. I think it's what they call the pleasure and the pain.

I finished off an experimental scaled down version of the Mei Mei. I did this one with DK and a 4mm hook. It has come out the size of a toddler and not the baby size I envisaged. However I have passed it on and I will try again later with finer wool and hook to adapt it to a baby size.

I am progressing slowly but surely with the Lacy Duster coat and have almost got to the waist. I shape the jackets slightly buy using a smaller hook at the waistline area. The pattern as written is just straight until the pattern changes for the hip area. The first one that I made was a little straight up and down so the I gave my second one a bit of shape and will do so with this one.

The sun is shining but it is a little cold today so I am having a rest up and crochet day. I think it will be a pyjama day as I am still in my night attire. I am not going out and as far as I know not even the postman will call today so I can put my feet up and relax and get ready for going out again tomorrow.

Crochet Hats by Candi Jensen

I started the Lacy Duster Coat by Doris Chan last night but it was looking a bit loose on the hook recommended. I have gone down a couple of hook sizes and am now making a larger size and the tension looks better. I know that the pattern is supposed to be open but there is a difference between open and too loose. The jacket does tend to drop down with wear so I didn't want it to be too droopy to start with. The yarn I am working with feels like a cotton crepe but as it has no label I am not quite sure what it is as the friend that I am making the Duster coat for bought the wool.

As promised I have put some photos of hats from the Candi Jensen book Crochet Hats. I have used Candi Jensen baby patterns from her two baby books many times but this is the first time that I have bought a hat book. The patterns are mostly for adults but the green sunhat with the flower and the tri coloured hat with the pom pom are for babies and children.

The sunhat is made with raffia. I have never crocheted with raffia before although I have seen crocheted handbags made with it for sale. There are also a couple more hats with similar brims in the book that are made in wool.

The green beanie is made from ribbon. Again this is a yarn I am not over keen on crocheting with as I tend to flick my yarn whilst crocheting and anything ribbon twists into a twisted thread instead of remaining a flat ribbon. I will probably try the design in a different type of yarn.

The ski hat pattern will come in handy when I start making hats for the homeless again. It looks like a nice warm hat and a way of using oddments up with it's four colours.

The Fair Isle cap is also a useful pattern for using up my oddments which I still have a lots left. I have so many half and quarter balls in my stash.

The beanie is cute with is cluster of flowers. I am not sure whether I would wear it with so many flowers but it is an attractive beanie.

The Aran design will be useful for both men and women. I do like a crochet pattern that is a close stitch for a hat as the wind doesn't blow through it quite so much and it keeps the ears warm.

Lalltop - I looked through the current Sirdar patterns available online and there is a pattern very similar to the one that I used for the baby white bolero. It is Sirdar 1699 and is for Snuggly 4ply. There is also a lovely bolero pattern by Kay Jones. It is for a larger child and in double knit but I am sure that you could adjust it by using finer wool and a smaller hook. If you click on my blog title it will take you to the pattern. I have ordered quite a few Kay Jones patterns today. I like her patterns as they are in UK terms. They are available as PDF's or paper patterns. Pdf's are useful if you don't live in the UK as you don't have to pay postage. I prefer a hard copy particularly as at the moment I am without a working printer.

I have ordered a couple of Tunisian stitch patterns from Kay Jones as I am determined to master the skill before my Doris Chan book arrives in June as she uses Tunisian on some of the patterns. I have ordered a set of Tunisian hooks that are short hooks attached to cables similar to circular needles. I think that was why I couldn't get the hang of Tunisian before as I could not wield the long hook. I had a carpal tunnel operation 3 yrs ago and although it is a success it still limits the wrist movement on my right hand and angle of the grip that I have on the long Tunisian hook just makes my wrist very painful and stops me crocheting until it recovers which is a tragedy in my eyes. When I see the garments that Beverooni has made in Tunisian stitch it makes me even more determined to master the art.

I am looking forward to going to Manchester tomorrow to meet my friends for lunch and a quick browse around.I can't walk far but we are hoping to visit Abakhan and although I am on a yarn buying diet I am sure that I will get tempted with something whilst I am there. Some people are addicted to cigs, some to drink. some people gamble - myself I am addicted to crochet books, hooks and wool !! Does that sound familiar? I can think of a few web friends who have the same addiction. I bet if we pooled our stashes we could open a shop.

Two More Baby Cardigans

I have finished off the pink baby cardigan and have also this afternoon finished off a white baby cardigan. The pattern for the white cardigan is also another of my vintage patterns. Both of these cardigans took just 1 x50 gram ball each of Hayfield Baby 3ply. Although they are a bit more fiddly to crochet I do like very small babies in finer cardigans. I am not as keen on knitting fine wool though and I still have a partly knitted baby cardigan in 4ply from last year that I lost interest in. The baby that I started it for has now grown well out of that size so maybe I will finish it off one day for another baby. I had chosen a boring pattern as it was for a boy so that didn't help my concentration either.

I know that I said I would photograph projects from my new books but I think there are enough photos on the blog today so I will try to put them on tomorrow.

Today started off nice and sunny although cold. This afternoon the wind has arrived and is blowing the trees everywhere. Perhaps it will blow away that cloud of volcano ash and the planes will once again be able to fly. My neighbours got back safely from their holiday in Paris. Fortunately they had decided to go by Euro star instead of flying and had booked their tickets in advance so got a seat home. They are having a new bathroom fitted as I mentioned before but have hit a bit of a stop as their electrician is stuck waiting for a flight home from his holidays. The re plastering has come to a stop as he has to fit a new light fitting and the electrics for the shower before they can finish plastering the walls and then tile them. A bit of a shock. They came back expecting their bathroom to be finished and instead they haven't got one. It's a good job that they are members of the local gym so that they can, at least, have a daily shower there.

I still haven't started the Lacy Duster Coat. I was trying to finish off the baby cardigans so that I can give them to my friend when I see her on Thursday. Once I start and put my mind to it I should have the Duster Coat finished in a week or so.

More Books In The Post

The back of the pink baby cardigan is not from a pattern in one of my new books. In fact the pattern is so old that I first made it for my expected baby 41 yrs ago. When he turned out to be 9lbs 3 ozs at birth I gave it to my Auntie who gave birth to my cousin Susan a few weeks later as she was much smaller.In fact she finished up with a lot of first size cardigans that I had made as my son grew very rapidly and needed the next size up within a couple of weeks. At his first health clinic visit he weighed 11lbs 7ozs at 3 weeks old.No wonder he cried a lot - he was always hungry.

I am making it with some 3ply Hayfield baby wool that I had in stock and it is intended for the same newborn foster baby as the other two pink cardigans. I hope to have it finished by tomorrow.

My new books arrived from Amazon today. I ordered the Crochet In No Time by Melody Griffiths which was recommended to me by my friend June (Jolive on Ravelry) and although I have not really had time to give it a good browse, as it only arrived a half hour ago, at first glance there seems to be quite a few patterns in there that I will use. Thanks for the tip June. I am sure that I will be crocheting something from it very soon.

The Crochet Hat book by Candi Jensen has been on my wish list for quite a while. There seems to be quite a few that I will make. My only grumble is that there are only 15 hat patterns in the book but as I will make more than half of them then I suppose that I shouldn't grumble. It would be a good book for a beginner though as there are pages of explanations showing 'how to' with each hat. It is full of crochet tips, close up photos of the stitches and stitching up tips.

I will pick a few patterns from each book to photograph tomorrow when I have given each book a thorough browse.It doesn't matter that I now have a large library of crochet books I still get a flicker of excitement every time they arrive at my door. Most of the books that I choose give me pleasure. I just have a few books in my collection that I just know that I will never make anything from it. I still can't bear to part with them though.

I have recovered from my weekend with the two dogs. I went to bed last night at 10.30pm and didn't wake up until 7am which is unheard of for me. I had also had a nap in the afternoon yesterday so I think that I have caught up with my missed sleep. The only downside of that was that my crochet suffered and I barely did anything yesterday as I was so tired. I am going to try to catch up today.

ZZZZ - I'm So Tired

My niece came yesterday to pick up her belated birthday present. She was thrilled with the black jacket and the shawls. The jacket has turned out a good fit for her as she does not like anything too big at the front as she never fastens anything. The sleeves are to me a wee bit too long but she says that she likes her sleeves long and droopy.

The reason that I am so tired is Skye the rottweiler. She has never stayed overnight before and was so curious about everything that she would not settle. I tried leaving them both downstairs but she kept barking so I came down and tried to sleep on the sofa. Big mistake as she has discovered the stash of balls that I keep in a waste paper basket for Buster. All through the night she kept giving me a ball and either pushing at me with her nose or clawing at me with her sharp claws. Buster got upset as I kept shouting Lie Down to Skye and he was lay there as if to say "But I am laying down" Eventually Buster sloped off upstairs to bed. I didn't bother shouting him back down as I figured that one of us needed some rest. I feel like I barely closed my eyes last night. My son and daughter in law came for them quite early this morning. She hasn't been any trouble really, apart from ripping every tennis ball to shreds,she just doesn't know her own strength and is very clumsy. She barges into things and knocks everything over. I was afraid of her crashing into my knees but fortunately she only gave them one glancing blow.She is a bit of a bully with Buster though. Whichever ball he has she takes it away from him. She outweighs him by a couple of stone so although he puts up a fight she usually takes it from him.

I think that after I have washed everything in sight that I will try to get a little nap this afternoon before resuming my crochet. My nightdress looked like I had been coal mining this morning from all the paw prints, slobber and wet, dirty ball prints on it. Needless to say no crochet was done last night! My son said next time he has to bring her for an overnight stay he will bring her cage as she will sleep in that.

Capricious Cardigan with Long Sleeves

My version of the Capricious Cardigan by Marlaina Bird from the Inside Crochet magazine Issue 5 is finished and blocking. My niece is calling around today to pick up her cardigan and shawls so I hope to get a photo of her wearing the cardigan. She is smaller than me and I don't want to stretch it by trying it on. I try to take photos of myself or whoever a project is made for as it is often pointed on on Ravelry that plus sized ladies like myself like to see how things look on a model that isn't the size of a slim teenager. I always have a look if anyone my size has made something wherever possible to see how it fits and hangs.

I have also finished a baby cardigan from a Kay Jones pattern number 165. Her patterns are available as www.creativecrochet.co.uk and are very reasonably priced I made it for a friend's new foster baby who is just a week old. I think however that she may have to change the buttons as they look a little peachy coloured on the Woolcraft Baby DK pink which has a blue tint to the pink.

The bottom matinee coat pattern is one of my favourites but as it is a vintage pattern from my collection I can't tell you where to buy the pattern. There are very similar patterns out there on the net. I made this one for the same baby with a 50 gram ball of Hayfield Pastels baby 3ply that I have had in stash for a while. I still have another 50 gram balls of Pink and White so will try to make another couple of cardigans. You can never have too many cardigans for a newborn.

I am getting Buster for the evening and possibly their other dog if she will stay. My son is going to a function and will be staying overnight as he will not drink and drive so I have volunteered to have them both. It is only for the night so they should be OK but the other dog has never stayed with me before so she may not want to stop with me. I will see when she arrives.

The day is lovely and sunny and I have my washing drying on the line. I am waiting for a gardener to come and give me an estimate for tidying up the front and back gardens. I can't bend down to prune anymore and things are getting out of hand. I think that I will take my crochet and coffee into the garden and enjoy this bit of sunshine.