Finally The Missing Books Arrive

As you know I have been waiting for books to arrive from Amazon and the Book Depository for a few weeks, The postman knocked on my door and presented me with everything (except the crochet magazine) early this morning. There was also a CD that I had ordered as a present to myself at Christmas. I now have Robbie Williams to listen to and 5 books to browse today. It's not just me who had missing books. My friend Eadaoin has posted on my facebook page that her books have arrived today that she ordered before Christmas and another friend Dorrie has at last got her books from Amazon. Perhaps Royal Mail is catching up with deliveries at last.

I must have misread the write up for the Simply knit hats book as I thought that it was for all the family and it turns out to be just for toddlers. Never mind, as I am sure that I will find a use for it. I would hesitate to call it simple though as that is misleading for a novice knitter. The first pattern that I looked at had a skull and crossbones knitted in a contrast colour into the hat. Fair Isle knitting is not something that I would recommend for a simple knit. I will take photos of the contents on another day.

The Hooked on Crochet hat book from Annie's Attic looks like a book that I will get use from although there is a nice pattern (not shown on the cover) in it that needs a double ended crochet hook for it. Of course I only have Tunisian and normal crochet hooks so I doubt that I will make it as it looks a bit complicated. I would have to buy a hook and it hardly seems worth it just for one hat although there is a hat in the Just Hats book from Lion brand that uses a similar method. I haven't looked but I bet that it's a different sized hook. Sod's law eh?

The Precious baby booties book from Annie's Attic illustrates every pair on the front cover so there is no need for me to show you the contents of that leaflet.

The Crochet for Tots by Nancy Queen isn't a new book. It's one that I have thought about buying for ages but just never got around to it. There are a lot of workable patterns in it which I will show you later but I am not sure why there is a fixation in this book for three quarter sleeves. Sorry, but to me it just looks as though the toddler has grown out of the sweater or that I have made the sleeves too short for the child. The sleeves in the book are also very wide which I would adapt.

My baby knitted matinee is on the finishing stretch. I just have about half of the yoke to knit. It seems to have taken me ages to knit this jacket. I think that it's because there are lots of stitches on the needle at once.The body is knitted all in one and so is the yoke. I don't remember it taking me this long to knit it in the past but my knitting has slowed down over the last few years.

I have so many adult jackets to make in the pipeline just waiting for decisions on which pattern and which colour that I will be busy over the coming few months. I think that I will just start some hats for the homeless as if I start a big project then I am sure that I will get a decision any time soon and have to drop whatever I am making to start the relevant jacket. I still have the second jacket to knit for Charlie that I didn't get around to before Christmas. I haven't heard whether the jackets that I made for my Great Grand Daughters fitted or were appreciated. I think that my son will give them to the girls this weekend. I do hope that I get some feed back. I don't know about you but I do like some feedback on whether they fit or are liked when I give a present.

A couple of bloggers have kindly given me awards that I am supposed to pass on. My problem is that I like so many blogs that I find it so difficult to just pick out a few to award these awards too. I am very grateful to be judged worthy of awards and I would love to pass them on. Maybe I will just award them to everyone whose blog I follow as you are all very deserving. I find it difficult enough to post comments on the blogs even though I do read them on a weekly basis. I will have to make more effort to leave comments as I know how much I enjoy receiving comments. In the mean time just assume that I have read your blogs and enjoyed your postings.

Crochet Ugg Style Boots

My niece's Ugg type slippers are finished. They are lovely and sturdy and will be very warm when she wears them. The pattern is Buttoned Cuff Boots by Darla Sims and can be found in an Annie's Attic booklet Slippers by the Dozen 879530. The pattern calls for medium weight worsted wool and as I am never sure what that means in UK terms I just guessed. Some patterns work up better in Double Knit and some in Aran. I think that worsted weight seems to be somewhere in between the thicknesses of wool that we have in the UK.

I used 6x 40 grams of vintage Lister's Kaftan which was an acrylic fine aran that was a bit fluffy. The boots are very firm as I had to crochet the yarn double. For the size that I made I needed a 4mm hook so I used a metal hook as I think that an acrylic or wooden hook would have broken as the work was quite stiff to crochet. I changed the stitch that the pattern used for the cuffs. As with a lot of US crochet patterns I sometimes just cannot grasp what they mean with their description of the stitch. I think this is where the different terminology confuses me. If I could see someone do the stitch then the penny would drop right away

Yesterday I got 2 books from Amazon that I ordered last week.I will post photos of some of the contents on another blog. I am quite pleased with the Crochet for Babies but am still mystified how people can crochet with loopy or textured yarn. There is a lovely white coat and hat with lamb ears but I could never crochet with the "poodle" type wool and I don't think that it would look as nice in plain wool. The front cover jacket is lovely but once again I have read the description of the stitch used and I don't understand what they mean. I will get a hook and some wool and give it a practise. I do wish that they would put a little diagram for unusual stitches showing where exactly to put the hook in as the description isn't making a lot of sense to me and I would like to make the jacket.

I am a little disappointed with the Vintage Baby Knits as I thought that it would have genuine patterns in it whereas it is in fact vintage style patterns revamped in thicker wool in an attempt to make them more appealing to modern mums. I have some fantastic genuine vintage patterns that are far nicer than the patterns in this book. I think if anyone was to go to all of the trouble of revamping patterns then it might have been better to chose some of the nicer ones instead of the ones chosen for this book. This of course if my personal opinion and other people may like the things in the book. I will take photos of some of the better ones and let you make your own mind up about them.

My disability aids arrived today. I thought that they would arrive with a guy to fit them but no. This guy said he is just the delivery guy. He just said phone them up for instructions as to how high to put the legs.He said they are usually adjusted before they are delivered but mine hadn't been. Story of my life? I managed to alter the kitchen stool myself but the toilet aids are a mystery to me. I think that I will have to wait for someone to take off my existing toilet seats for them to be properly positioned. I did sit down on one and the metal arms are very cold to the bare flesh. Considering they are for people up to 25 stones they are very narrow. If I put on another inch then I will be in trouble. I will need a shoe horn to get out of it! I had a bit of a giggle to myself thinking what kind of conversation I would have if I had to ring 999. Visions of the headlines in the local paper. Overweight lady is stuck in the handles of her toilet seat!

Not much sun today. The weather is overcast and quite windy. I have taken a chance and put some washing out to dry. I will have to keep an eye on it as I have a feeling that it will rain very soon.

The Postman Brought Books

I went to pre order the new Doris Chan crochet book from Amazon (even though it is not due out until April) and these two books sprang into my basket. Oops. The Crocheted Gifts book has a few things in it that I will probably make and I will take a few photos later in the week to show you some of the things in the book that I like. The front cover afghan is a favourite and guess who it is by - yes Doris Chan so it was bound to be a winner in my eyes. The Natural Crochet book, however, I have found very disappointing and I doubt if I will make more than one of the items in it. I try, wherever possible, to support UK designers but when the books are as lack lustre as this one is I find it hard to be enthusiastic. The designs are pretty mundane and don't seem to fit the children in the book too well. The front cover shrug appears to bunch up around the back of the neck which I am sure would annoy any little girl who wore it. Ah well I will just add it to my pile of books and think that maybe one day I will make something from it.

Charlie's 2nd aran cardigan has made some progress and now has two fronts as well as a back but as you can't keep me from crochet long I decided to start a crochet pram blanket with some Hayfield Baby Chunky that I had in my stash. Nice mindless crochet whilst I watch catch up TV on my PC. Today it was Piers Morgan in Hollywood and then interviewing Sir Cliff Richard. Then for some reason I found an audience with Kenneth Williams from years ago and watched that as well. It was that old that Matthew Kelly was in the audience with dark hair and a beard and wearing some kind of strange rainbow sweater! A lot of people in the audience have long since departed to the theatre in the sky along with Kenneth Williams.

Buster has settled down quite well apart from the fact that he seems to be super glued to my feet. Everywhere I go he goes. I have almost tripped over him quite a few times as he lies at my feet even when I am washing dishes or on the PC. We have just come back from a walk. It's funny but he wants to go out at exactly the same time as we used to go out when he lived here and stops for a stick throw in all of the same places. It's almost like he has never been away. I love him being here but I find it all a bit too much for my knee. I think I will be sad to see him go but glad not to have to walk him up hill and down dale every day.

Knitting New Mittens and Gloves

One of my books from Amazon arrived today. I was ordering books and a DVD for Christmas presents when my hand accidentally hovered and then pressed add to basket on a couple of books for myself. My Tapestry Crochet book is still to arrive but this one came today. Knitting New Mittens and Gloves by Robin Melanson (click on Blog title for more details)My excuse it that the pair of lacy gloves on the front cover would be ideal, in black, for my daughter in law and there are several others in there that would suit her also. Not that there is any in there for me - Hee hee.I do lie so beautifully at times!

The last photo is my birthday pressie from Vicky. I shall enjoy the heady perfume of the Lush shower gel and reading my quote of the day from Stephanie Pearl McPhee in 2009.

My crochet progressed a little more last night and I am on the second sleeve now. The February sweater is progressing also and now has one completed sleeve and a couple of patterns on the second. I really like this and am tempted to finish it for my Christmas sweater and make the intended person something else as a gift. Well it not as if she knew it was for her and I will have balls of wool in the same colour left over! I had debated between 2 patterns for her anyway so I will just make her the other one. I am in a naughty mood this week. First I add books for me to my Amazon order and now I am high jacking presents! Turning 63 hasn't done me any good at all!

I am hoping to go to the Knitty Noras knitting club tomorrow and thankfully I have a lift as our group usually take any new books to the club so that everyone can have a browse. I will have 5 to take so would be rather loaded up on public transport.