Peach All Shawl

The colour of this shawl is described as fawn by Patons but I think that it looks more of a pale peach colour. The shawl is ,of course, another All Shawl which is a free pattern from Doris Chan. Although this shawl is quite plain apart from the edging I love making it as it is a crochet along no brainer for when I can't concentrate on anything a bit more complicated. It took 10 x 50 grams of Patons Solo Fawn shade 2248. I am not sure if Solo is still available but it is classed as a chunky with mohair. It is a fine chunky though and I would describe it more of a thick aran.

Try to ignore the clutter on the coffee table as I have everything all around me when I am crocheting. I can't stand having to get out of my chair to find this or that. It drives my ex crazy when he comes around but it's my house and I quite like a bit of clutter. It is the tools of my trade to me and not clutter. I might need the tape measure, the stitchmarkers, the pins, scissors or sewing up needle at any minute - who knows.

The shawl will be posted off to Debra, a lady that I met in hospital, as soon as I finish off her white Blue Curacao shawl which I put down as I found that I could not concentrate on it whilst I wasn't feeling 100%.

Today I feel a bit better but I put that down to having a reasonable night's sleep. Yesterday I felt very droopy and didn't do much at all except chat to the gardener and the bin cleaner. I live such an exciting life ;-)

I read on Facebook that my friend Charlie's opening day for Purl City Yarns was a great success. I wish her well with this venture and hope to visit her (and the wool of course) as soon as I am back up and around again. I have not been told that I have to stay in but with the leg wound problem I am keeping myself to myself just in case there is any infection present. The serous fluid is still leaking quite a lot and I have had many changes of dressings. I was thinking of taping a Tena lady pad to it last night as the dressings were lasting less than a couple of hours.The District nurse may call today and I will ask her if she has any padded dressings for the night time. How much fluid can a girl leak?

I did some hoovering today and the dishes but baulked at anything else. I am going to settle down and try to resume crocheting the white shawl this afternoon as I can concentrate better in the daylight. I want to get the shawls posted off as I don't want Debra to think that I have forgotten about her. I only have her address and not a phone number so I can't call to explain.

The sun is shining today. Just watch. The minute that I decide that I can go out and about the rain will start. It's called Jan's luck. Thank you to everyone for your continued support. I do appreciate it and it gets me through a day when I am not feeling 100%.

Purl City Yarns

Purl City Yarns is opening in Manchester today. I have put a link in my blog title. There hasn't been a 'proper' wool shop in Manchester city centre for such a long time. Charlie (Charlotte) decided to amend this by opening up a shop that caters for the lovers of Indie yarns and out of the ordinary yarns combined with the commercially spun wools stock that some other wool shops have. If you read her blog then you will see the full range of her stock and accessories that she is stocking along with the progress of the shop from the lease signing to the opening. She will have some locally spun and dyed wools for sale and is going to be starting up some workshops very soon. I think that mail order sales via the net are another thing that will be added very soon - if not already.

I would have loved to have been down there today for the opening but I haven't been out doors yet and don't feel up to any travel even if it was by taxi. Hopefully I will make it there for a browse in a couple of weeks when my problems have cleared up.

My London living niece and her husband sent me the Get Well card which is rather amusing. I think that it is a bit of wishful thinking on the part of the man to think that he needs such a large ball of wool to cover his credentials.

The All Shawl is finished and is drying after it's wash. The wool had been hanging around for a while and was a bit grubby looking. I promise that I will take a photo of it soon. I have just been a little lacking in energy.

The District Nurse called yesterday and diagnosed my wound leak as serous fluid which is something that happens sometimes. I think it's just a case of changing dressings until it finally stops leaking out. As my knee swelling is going down perhaps this fluid is draining from around the knee. I have read about it online and unless it gets infected it doesn't seem to be an abnormal thing. It's just something that happens to some people. Perhaps my surgical drain was taken out too early. Actually it fell out on it's own and so the hospital removed it completely. I just have to be very vigilant to keep the dressings clean. My knee keeps going numb on one side which is slightly worrying. I will ask the nurse about that when she calls tomorrow.

Not much crocheting done again. I don't know what is wrong with me. I seem to have lost my Mojo somewhere. Hopefully it will return very soon.

Thank Goodness For Crochet

Thank goodness for my crochet. I don't know what I would so without it. I have woken up to yet another rainy miserable day plus it's Friday the 13th to add to my misery. What would I do with my days if I didn't have my crochet to keep me happy? Certainly not the TV unless I want to watch re-runs of everything or some infernal cookery programme, a game show or worst of all an American style 'Slanging match' chat show. Who on earth would want to appear on TV and air their dirty laundry in public?

I got my labels for the crochet garments, that I give away, to try and hint not to shrink my handmades in the washer.I was intending to put them into the shawls, made from donated stash, that I had planned to give to a senior citizens home but I have hit a snag there. I have found out that the staff put everything in the washer so if I make any more shawls I will have to make sure that they are in acrylic. I will keep the two shawls that I have already made and donate them to someone that I know will hand wash them. I am pleased with the labels. They fold in half so my name is on one side and wash care instructions on the back. Now I know what size they are I can put other things on them if I order more labels. These came from Carelabels.co.uk and cost £10 for 100. I may possibly change the wording to handmade and then I can put them in the few knitted things that I make. I won't put the labels in friends and relatives garments as I know that they can wash them properly. The labels are for the things that I give away and am not sure how that person or organisation will wash them.

I have finished the body of the 1-2yrs old matinee coat style jacket. I just have the sleeves to make and then I will try to either get to the post office on Monday or bribe the teenager from next door to take the parcel up there for me if the old knees are still feeling dodgy.

I am not sure if Buster is coming this weekend or next. I have sent a text to my son but as he is probably in bed (he works funny shift hours which is why I don't ring him ) and will answer when he gets up. I didn't get up until 10.30am today so I can't call anyone who stays in bed! I seem to do that. I can have two or three nights where I get hardly any sleep and then sleep the clock around on the next night. If Buster isn't coming until next week then I might try to get the baby things up to Sylvia's myself.

I am going to crochet the sleeves on the cardigan,make a coffee, put some music on, and try not to look at the rain hammering it down the windows. It has now gone so dark that I need the light on. What a great day!!!!

Another All Shawl

The pink shawl for charity is finished and is blocking and I will show you it in wear tomorrow. I had 6 x 25 grams of vintage Listers Shalimar which has mohair content but is nothing like the luxury mohair but in fairness it was an economical yarn that could be used instead of mohair. I used the All Shawl pattern which is free from Doris Chan on Ravelry. I used 5 balls and then realised that I would not have enough for the edging so I saved one ball and used a toning cone of 4ply machine yarn for most of the border. The warmth will still be there on the shoulders. I used the remaining ball to edge and weigh down the edges of the shawl down as a full edging in the fine might have curled upwards.

Thank you for your lovely comments about my photos. They are newer than the other photos but were taken last year. The only ones that I have taken of me this year are usually of me modelling something, and without any makeup and that is not a pretty sight. The shawl I am wearing in the smaller photo is once again an All Shawl pattern. I made the shawl in black as the per pattern and made the edging in red. I then counted up 4 rows and did another border in an orange shade. I counted up another 4 rows and then did another edging in gold. This gives a 3 tiered effect. I had to work our how to space the patterns as of course as the 2nd and 3rd layers are not as wide so I had to make the edging fit with less pattern repeats. I saw the idea from a fellow Raveller and asked how she had made it and she kindly explained what she had done. That is the beauty of Ravelry. Most people are willing to share their adaptations of a pattern if you ask nicely.

Today it is not only raining. It is raining cats and dogs, coming down in stair rods, hammering it down, or persisting down (polite version). I am sure that every part of the world has it's own local saying for the kind of rain that just pours from the sky and wets through raincoats and umbrellas. I got married 42 yrs ago this week and my friend got married a week after and another friend a week after that. We all had the most glorious wedding days and honeymoons. The sun shone so much that I got really sunburned. I can't remember 3 weeks on the run recently where the weather has been that good. August and September used to be hot and sunny. As a child lived in Wales for a short time and I used to help with the haymaking and when my friends and I got tired we used to ride on the back of the Shire farm horse and the weather was always so hot. I lived in shorts, T shirt and sandals and even had short hair at that time. I was as brown as a berry although we never sunbathed. I didn't know what sun screen was but can never remember getting burnt from the sun. A carefree time in my childhood when I looked for field mice, fed chickens and goats and played with ferrets until one bit me really hard. I didn't want to come back to live in Manchester but my Dad couldn't find any proper work in North Wales. We lived in a totally Welsh speaking village and didn't speak Welsh. Now that could be where the work problem came from plus my brother had to bus many miles to get to Grammar School.

Today I ordered some labels to put in my crochet gifts. I am always worried in this machine wash everything age when I give someone a shawl or garment that is hand wash only. I was recommended Carelabels by Roger one of the Kings Arms Knit Club members and when I e mailed to enquire Julie not only designed a label for me but also sent me a template of how the label would look. That's service for you. At £10 for 100 labels I think that is also a very reasonable price. They may arrive tomorrow so if they do I will let you have a peek. I have stuck to a simple design as I think that too much information can be overwhelming.

I have resisted the lure of the new wool and carried on crocheting a baby cardigan. It is for a friend of Sylvia whose baby's birthday is next week so I am going to try to finish it. I think that I will have to post it as I won't see her before the day. Buster is coming on Friday or Saturday (I think that it's this week) so I can't leave him to go up to visit her until he goes home again in a week. As I have mentioned before he can only do 3 or 4 hours without a toilet break.

Shh it has actually stopped raining (for a while) How can we be short of water in this country when so much falls from the skies?

Time for a coffee and back to the baby crochet. The knees feel a bit better today although I didn't get much sleep last night. I shall probably have a ZZZZ in my chair later.

A Pink All Shawl

I have finished another All Shawl. This one will be put away to be hopefully joined by a few other shawls before Christmas. Sorry about my rather miserable face but I was concentrating. It isn't easy taking photos of yourself. I have to find the right place to put the camera and then press the shutter and rush to where I am supposed to be standing. I had already taken 4 blurred photos before these and so I was so intent to get the shawl in that I forgot to smile. I still didn't get the angle right but I was getting fed up so I decided that these photos would have to do.

The shawl pattern is of course the All Shawl by Doris Chan and I made this from 4 x 50 grams of discontinued Sirdar Sea Pearl for the main part and 3 x 50 grams of Wendy Monaco in a toning shade for the edging as I didn't have enough Sea Pearl to make the whole shawl. I think that it is a nice subtle colour that will suit an old lady at Christmas. I am not a lover of crocheting anything mohair or fluffy but this didn't crochet up too badly.

When I gave my friend the baby cardigans that I had already made another foster Mum fell in love with the Sirdar pale pink openwork jacket that fastens with a ribbon. As my friend didn't want to part with the one that I had made ( she is still hopeful of getting a baby girl) I said I would make another one. The main part is crocheted all in one and I have just got to the part of dividing for the fronts and back. Hopefully I will get it finished off tonight as all being well I am meeting my friend tomorrow for a browse around Bury Market. It's far easier to give her things insead of having to post them. We can never make definite plans as it all depends on the weather, her legs and my knees. If both of us are having a good day and the sun is shining we will be off to the market. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

I went up the village today to collect my prescription. I really enjoyed the walk as my knees were behaving and I wasn't in too much pain. When I came to take my painkillers after dinner I realized why. I had accidentally taken two extra painkillers. I remember now that I took some with my coffee before lunch and then when I made some lunch I forgot that I had taken them and took 2 more. Not a thing to be recommended as overdosing can lead to all sorts of problems but it has proved to me that my painkillers are not strong enough at the moment. My GP did say that he would up the strength a few weeks ago but when I asked him on the phone he has still given me the same ones that I had before. When I queried this he said that he didn't want me to get used to too strong a painkiller as after my knee op I would not get the full benefit of taking strong ones then. I suppose he is right but it would be so nice to lessen the pain in my knees now and again.

Rippled Wrap

The All Shawl is dry now and is packed away ready for it's intended owner. I must have knitted or crocheted an awful lot of things in blue in the past as I had a large bag of oddments. I saw this shawl on Ravelry and decided to try it out in different shades of blue. How large it will be depends on how many more rows I can get crocheted before I run out of blues. It is a free pattern to those of you on Ravelry. Called Rippled Wrap by Cheri McEwan. Hers is made in rainbow shades which is very attractive but as I am using up oddments from stash I had to chose the colours that I had the most part balls in.

Sorry about the fuzzy photos of me wearing the shawl but it is hard to press the shutter and then get into position before the flash goes off and the shutter clicks. I could try to take some with my web cam but it changes all of the colours of everything as you probably noticed with the Blue Curacao shawls that I have just finished. It washes all the colour out of everything.

Buster is really not talking to me today. He won't even play ball with me although as I speak he has found the ball that I keep having to replace the squeak and is dashing around the garden with it. He went out originally to chase away a very cheeky magpie and it's mate who insist on searching my lawn for tasty grubs. I suppose that the rain has brought the tit bits to the surface. I will go out and play with Buster in a few minutes after I have been out with the plastic bag to remove his little ditties from the lawn. Not a pleasant task but as anyone who has a dog knows it is a necessity.

My house is now coated in dog hair and I will be there wielding a mop, a duster and the hoover tomorrow with the washer on the go with all of the throws and cushion covers in. I don't know how I coped when I used to have Buster here full time. I suppose that I could still zip through my housework then. I love having him but this time has been especially hard as I have not been able to walk him so he has been indoors all of the time apart from little trips into the back garden. I am sure that he will be overjoyed to see my son and daughter in law tomorrow. he will get a work out when he meets up with their other dog (not the pup that bit him as he is now in Yorkshire in a new home)

Barely A Dent In My Stash

How can I make a shawl as big as this and barely make a dent in my stash? I swear that the bag of purples looks almost as big as it did when I started. Sorry about the photo quality but it is a dull day and I seem to have the shaky hand syndrome. The back view is even worse as I had to give up and use my web cam for that which means the colours are totally off.

After I had finished off the shawl last night I decided to unravel another shawl that I had never been happy with. I didn't have enough wool and as it was a triangle shape it barely sat on my shoulders so I have decided to make a hat and possibly a scarf with the wool as I like the colours. Sorry about the fuzzy photo. I must learn to do close up shots one day. I was watching Slumdog Millionaire on TV. What a great film. No wonder that it has won all of those awards.I have seen Danny Boyle in the flesh. I going into my bank and he was coming out. It was one of those moments when you think I know him but where from. Then I read in the paper that evening that he was visiting his Dad in his home town which is just a couple of miles up the road from me. I loved his old Dad's comment that he wishes that he would make a cowboy movie as they are his favourites!

The book is what I am reading at the moment. Being snowbound I tend to watch quite a few programmes that I normally would miss. I got hooked on watching Ruby on Style network. Watching her battles with her weight. It isn't the normal diet programme as she has a wicked sense of humour and although thankfully I have never been as large as Ruby I can identify with what she says and does. She says she is addicted to food and to a certain extent so am I. i don't eat vast quantities of food but just crave the wrong choices. I go against all the rules as one thing every diet says is chew your food and eat slowly. believe me if I ate any slower I would be stationary. My food is always cold before I finish it and when I go out to dine with other people then I usually leave my plate as I am embarrassed to keep on eating long after everyone else has finished. So bang goes that theory that if you chew your food and eat slower then you won't eat as much. My son used to say Mum how can you chew soup and porridge?

Ruby says that almost anything can set her off. A smell, a TV commercial and when the craving comes over her then it is like a tidal wave.I am the same. I can be good all day and eat healthily and then I sit down in the evening and the TV food commercials start or the food cookery programmes start. You can't get away from them. Every 15 minutes or so there is a plate of food or a snack being shown in technicolour in front of my eyes. I have tried looking away but then I can hear them saying this succulent piece of chicken, beautifully seasoned and covered in a rich creamy sauce. perhaps that is why our grandparents and parents stayed so slim. They ate bigger meals than I do but didn't have all the constant bombardment on TV to snack as we do. Never mind banning cigarette adverts they should ban food adverts as they are mostly advertising junk food anyway.

I am not stupid I know what I should be eating but I would rather eat a bag of crisps for my lunch than something big and healthy any day. I am sorry but I am programmed to eat crisps.I can do without chocolate, cakes and biscuits they don't bother me. I have made a big pan of chilli and will eat some of that with either rice or a baked potato for dinner tonight but by 10pm I will be pacing about wanting something else. If I don't have the TV on then I don't do it but as I live alone my constant companion is the TV. My eating habits are another reason why I wish that I could walk about more. The more active I am then the less food orientated I am.If I am out for the day then I rarely think about food or eat it. I think snacking is a bad habit that I have developed more and more since I am mostly stuck in the house these days.

The postman had just delivered me another book on Crochet for heads hands and toes but more about that tomorrow.

Out In The Snow

Yesterday I braved the elements for the first time in almost 2 weeks. I needed to collect a prescription from the doctors and a few things that I had forgotten to put on my order from Tesco that should be delivered tomorrow. I don't think that I will be repeating the trip as is was rather hairy in parts. As I have said before I live on a hill but there is a walking shortcut but it involved a set of cobbled steps which of course hadn't been cleared or gritted. I managed to get up them by clinging onto the handrail on the way up but with a heavier trolley on the way back I was doing a great impression of a learner on ice skates.

My knees hurt like hell but they are better for the walk. I know it sounds weird but walking does seem to ease some of my circulation problems which have added to my knee pain whilst I have been cooped up at home. I wish that this snow would go away as I am getting really fed up with it now. I asked the pharmacist for something for my leg eczema and she said I needed to see a doctor as she doesn't think it is eczema but more something linked to my circulation problems or possibly toxins in my system. I am going to see my knee specialist next Tuesday so I will ask his opinion and then book an appointment with the doctor after that.

I wore my crochet socks inside my boots for my trip up the village. I must have sensitive feet as when I wear handmade socks it is like having an exfoliation and a massage when I walk on knitted or crochet ridges. I prefer bare feet but it's not very hygienic inside boots.

The shawl hasn't progressed much as I was tired last night due to my bad night's sleep and kept nodding off in front of the TV.

I haven't been over busy and made the waistcoat as well. That is a vintage cotton one from when I had the shop. I had been wearing it and it was drying on the radiator so I thought that I would do a Doris Chan type blog when she puts what she is wearing today. In my case it is what I was wearing at the weekend. I was wearing it with black trousers and over a polo neck sweater for some extra warmth. It is made from Patons Classic Cotton. I have several garments in my wardrobe made in this and it is such a shame that it is no longer made as it was a lovely mercerised cotton that washes and washes as you can see from the condition of my ancient waistcoat.

Today I feel a bit more refreshed as I managed to get a few hours sleep last night. Hopefully I will get the shawl finished today although my stash does not seem to have gone down one bit even with a shawl's worth of wool missing. Must think of more stash busting ideas. I have found some purple random chunky so I think that a knitted hat will be the next project.

What To Make With A Bag Of Purple Oddments

The funny shaped socks are finished. They fit beautifully so who cares how weird they look. Best pair of crochet socks that I have made so far. I am not sure if it is the pattern stitch or the wool that makes these socks so comfy as usually I find crochet socks a bit uncomfy underfoot to wear them inside my shoes. I normally wear my crochet socks as house socks and my knitted ones in shoes and boots. I will definitely make another pair like this although they are a bit boring to crochet so I will wait a while before I do that. My niece likes a pair of slipper socks from the other book so as soon as I can get out to get some suitable wool then I will make them for her.

I think that I like purple. In fact I think that I really like purple otherwise why would I have so many part balls from projects that I have made in the past.After sorting out my oddments into colours and seeing what a huge bag of purples that I have I decided to make yet another All Shawl by Doris Chan.I really must find another pattern that uses up oddments but this pattern just seems to lend itself to crocheting a couple of rows of one colour without looking too striped. I think that it's because I crochet in between the stitches of the previous row rather than into them. The second photo is the next run of colours but on reflection I think that I will take the lighter colour out. It looks a bit too light now that I see it in the daylight.

My cat Oscar (sorry my next door neighbour's cat Oscar) is now sleeping on the sofa. I woke him up with the camera flash but he has now gone back to sleep.Fortunately for me he completely ignores my wool when I am knitting or crocheting. He is a strange cat. Never wants to play. I have tried with bits of wool and balls and he just looks at me as if I am completely mad (he is not far wrong there then)All he does when he visits is sleep and eat.

The amaryllis has bloomed further overnight and is now almost in full flower. It is probably because the house is quite warm. I will worry about the heating bill when it arrives but I am sorry I just cannot stand the cold. My knees hurt on a good day but on a cold day they are unbearable. I had a very bad night again last night. I don't know why but as soon as I get into bed the pain in my knees worsens considerably. I just seem to get in the right comfy position to sleep when I should be getting up. I have tried everything. I have put pillows under my knees, rolled up towels under them. I have rubbed them with Ibuprofen and Peppermint udder cream but none of them have worked. When the snow goes I must discuss with my GP about stronger pain killers if only to take before bedtime. I have an appointment with the specialist next week but he wont prescribe any painkillers. All he does is eventually write to my GP with his recommendations.

The snow is slightly melting and I might try to venture out today. I need to collect a prescription and although I have placed an order with Tesco there are of course several things that I have forgotten.

More Snow Today

I woke up this morning to the utter peace that only snow can bring. It was winter wonderland when I opened my curtains. I had optimistically put my dustbin out yesterday before all of the snow but I seriously doubt that it will be emptied anytime soon.

No-one seems to have even attempted to get to work which is probably very wise of them. Two of my neighbours called to see if I needed any shopping which if lovely of them. They don't want me to go out and slip in this snow over ice.My next door neighbour said she fell full length on the way up to the shops this morning and so said that I had to stay put. I don't need much persuading to do that.

The All Shawl is finished and is blocking out. I had to change the edging as I was running out of wool and with all of the snow I was not going out to buy another ball and as I didn't want to undo all of the edging to take a row back on the plainer bit I just adjusted the last row.As the lady that it is destined for has never seen the right version then she will be none the wiser that it is wrong.

I started knitting an aran cable and moss stitch jacket for the boys from Debbie Bliss The Baby Knits book. I thought that it looked a bit large for an 18 - 24 month size so I looked at the actual measurements and it said chest 80cms, Now I know that this is an outdoor wear jacket but surely 31 1/2" is one super obese 2yrs old! Needless to say I have unravelled it and will wait until I can buy some double knitting which I think will bring the garment back down to a baby size. I will use the aran for something else.

I spent most of the evening pattern browsing but have yet to settle on something else as yet. I think that I am in a restless kind of mood so I may make another All Shawl out of stash bits and pieces whilst I decide.

Another All Shawl

I am making a Christmas present. No I am not starting early for Christmas this is something that I should have thought of last year.

Each year I go to my brother and sister in law's for Christmas Day and for the last two years my nephew in law's mother has also been invited. I should have thought that she would give me a Christmas gift but of course I completely forgot that she would be there. She gave me a lovely present of the amaryllis, the egg cup and cosy and the book of knitted cakes and I felt rather embarrassed as I had nothing to give her in return.

She admired the things that I had knitted and crocheted for my family but as I don't know her well enough to know her taste in clothing I decided that I would make her an everyday shawl. I know that my sister in law has found hers very useful for those chilly evenings or for reading in bed. I always tell people when I give them a shawl that they are not meant to be kept in a cupboard they are meant to be worn everyday for extra warmth. I wear mine most days. If I feel a little chilly I put one on rather than crank the heating up another notch.

As I have not been able to brave the elements to buy some wool I decided to have a rummage in my stash and I found 300 grams of Jarol Heritage Prints Double Knit Shade 123 which I had bought to make a shawl for someone else but had subsequently changed my mind over the colour and bought some more wool in a different colour.

I am using the All Shawl pattern by Doris Chan which is a great pattern for making a quick easy shawl. It is a free pattern if you are on Ravelry and I have made several of these over the last couple of years. My resolution for this year is to make a couple of these to keep on standby for those forgotten presents that sneak up on me over the year. I hope that Renee likes the colours in the shawl. She was wearing a sweater in the same green as one of the colours in the shawl so I hope so. The top photo is the closest colour match even though it was taken in electric light last night. I took the second photo in daylight this morning and it has come out very pink and totally unlike the actual colours.

I have to make the edging border but am hopeful of finishing it off tonight. I then have the problem of getting it to her as I don't know her address but I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

The snow has turned to shiny ice so I am staying firmly in the house once again today. Thank goodness for freezers and long life milk. I still have plenty of food in the house so have no need to go out anywhere. Hopefully there will be a thaw before the weekend and then I can stock up again.

One Jazzy Sock Finished

The shawl has now been blocked as you can see. Sorry about the slightly blurry photo but pressing the shutter on the camera and then trying to get into position isn't the easiest of things to do and I guess I moved. This pattern is one of the easiest shawls to crochet and is a free pattern from the net. All Shawl by Doris Chan. This was made from a part cone of machine acrylic that I got donated by a friend who was clearing out his late mother's attic.

I have finished one sock and you can see it boldly modelled on my little fat foot. I have beaten the one sock syndrome as I am almost at the turn of the heel in the other sock. Whilst I find the Regia 6ply a bit thick in wear I do love the way that it knits up in such a short time. The jazzy colours help to keep me interested in a stocking stitch sock. I have only made the socks ankle length as I have quite plump legs plus the further up my leg the sock goes the more I itch. I suffer from eczema on the front of my legs and wearing anything wool just makes it worse so I tend to knit my socks on the shorter side. I can't make them trainer length as when I wear my boots (which is when I usually wear hand knitted socks) they travel down inside my boot and finish up underneath my heel.

I have knitted a sleeve of my niece's chunky cardigan. I wanted to see how many balls I would need to make the sleeves to calculate how the wool was working out as at first I suspected that the balls quoted on the pattern might be wrong and I would need more but the sleeve has taken just over the 2 balls so I think I will be OK. My niece said to cut a couple of inches off the length if I think that the wool is running short.

Tonight I got a lift from Pam down to the Kings Arms Knitting Club. As usual we had a good natter and knit with the usual hilarity. I don't know whether it is being in such close proximity to a bar that lightens the atmosphere but it does usually turn out to be quite a jolly affair even if not a lot of knitting or crochet gets done during the course of the evening.

C'Mon Universe - Here I Am

Well I did my bit and I asked the Universe for a man as suggested by the media. I kept my requirements suitably vague as I don't want the Universe to think that I am being picky and asking for a George Clooney lookalike. I did throw in a few special requests though. I know I am a bit of a chubster myself but please send me a man slimmer than me as two heavyweights in a relationship is one too many in my view.

As usual I watched Loose Women today and laughed out loud at Cilla Black who said at her age she was grateful for a man with a working prostate. I know the feeling Cilla. I might be getting on a bit but there is still a fire in the furnace and I like to feel that I could be whooshed off my feet by a man who doesn't require the aid of medication.

Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragement. Especially thanks to Belicious whose blog Crochet Therapy is one that I follow. If you click on my blog title you will see that she has awarded me with an Ultimate MeMe award. As soon as I work out how to put it on this blog I will award mine. Not an easy task as some of you peeps don't have a blog so that I can honour you! Belicious has had her ups and downs over the last few years but always manages to keep a good sense of humour throughout. Mattenylou, I wasn't looking for the last would be romance - he found me which made it such a surprise. Too bad that it doesn't seem to have worked out as he did have the right potential plus the bonus of good looks. (Sigh) Never mind folks lets see what the Universe as in store for me. Maybe I should have set a time limit. Something along the lines of I would like to meet him in the next year before I get decrepit.

Talking about feeling decrepit. I got my Bowel Cancer testing kit in the post. I know that it is a good idea and I shall be participating but the fact that they underlined the age group asked to participate made me feel like some dodgy old OAP. I will not give you any details as you could be eating whilst reading but I am not looking forward to the excitement of plastic bags, poo sticks and general fertling about in things unspeakable. I know it is all part of caring for my general health, and is a very important test, but it is a part that I would rather not mess with. I used to have to change my son's nappies with a bucket close by to heave into. I managed marginally better with my late cats litter trays and the doggy doo doo's on the lawn.

Tonight I am poised to pick up my knitting needles and start my niece's chunky jacket. I have finished off the All Shawl, pattern free on the net from Doris Chan, that I have made from a part machine cone that was given to me by someone clearing out their late mother's attic.I had to continue increasing the shawl in the set manner as the pattern is written for an aran weight. The pattern is very forgiving though and provided you fiddle about with the placing of the edging pattern can be made to any size. I will probably start some crochet to work in between the knitting. For once I don't have anything on the hook at the present moment.

Happy Birthday Sylvia

I should have said Happy Birthday Sylvia yesterday but I didn't want to put photos of her birthday cardigan on the blog until I was sure that she had actually received it. I should have met up with her in Bolton yesterday for a Birthday lunch but as most of the buses were on strike I decided against it. I wasn't having a good knee day so long waits at bus stops didn't seem so appealing. Sorry Sylvia. We will have to have a Happy Unbirthday another day.

I met up with Kath, Sylvia's daughter, in Manchester last week to give her the white Cinnabar cardigan by Doris Chan that I had made for her Mum's birthday and to get the Regia 6ply sock wool that Kath had got for me from John Lewis. To add to the problems of the bus strike there was also a postal strike so I didn't want to entrust Sylvia's present and card to Royal Mail. I made this cardigan in the week when I said I wasn't crocheting much. I know that Sylvia sometimes reads this blog so I didn't want to spoil the surprise. I should have consulted with Kath as she has knitted her mum a cardigan so Sylvia now has two new cardigans. I am sure that they will both come in very handy.

The shawl I am making is also from Doris Chan. I was given some part machine cones some time ago and decided to make an adaptation of the All Shawl. I took it to the Kings Arms last night so it has grown a wee bit since this photo was taken yesterday.

I am continuing with the baby cardigans but tomorrow I am going to the Yarn Barn in Shaw to get pattern and wool to start my nieces Christmas presents and as they will be knitted then my projects will slow down considerably.

I must remember to watch How To Look Naked with Gok Wan tonight just in case my calendar photo gets a quick flash. I watch him anyway as he is so inspiring. So much better for a girl's morale than that dreadful Trinny and Susannah who just attack peoples fashion sense. Like they look good enough to give advice anyway. Their fashion sense is dreadful. If I don't catch the programme live I watch it on the PC on Catch Up TV. I don't have a fancy TV package that allows me to record stuff from the TV so the Catch Up online comes in very handy for me. I watched Gok on Loose Women yesterday plugging his new book. I hope that my niece buys it so that I can borrow it! My one peeve with Loose Women is that is isn't on Catch Up TV. When I wrote in to complain they said it was because they hold competitions and that it is sponsored. Well 60 min makeover has competitions and is sponsored but that is on Catch Up TV so come on ITV get Loose Women on Catch Up TV.

My horoscope said I was going to have a romantic surprise today. Well the surprise so far is that there hasn't been one! Perhaps my handsome prince has got delayed with the bus and mail strikes. I think he must have a dodgy Sat Nav and lost his way altogether. I shall live in hope for the rest of the day and die in despair this evening when nothing happens ;)