Hair of the Dog

No, I am not hungover and in need of the hair of the dog (hangover cure) I am referring to the fact that I have another furry visitor. Buster is here for the weekend.

Lovely though he maybe and much as I enjoy his company you can see why my crochet for babies has to stop whilst he is here.

This is what my trouser legs looked like 10 minutes after his arrival. I have now brushed him and got a huge ball of fur off him. I  brush him at least twice a day but his hair comes out all over the place despite this. I don't know why he isn't bald with the amount of hair he loses.

All baby crochet has come to a halt as I could not try to sell anything that is covered with dog hair. I will find something else to crochet whilst he is here. Something for me or someone who is used to dog hair clinging to garments even after a wash.

The sun is out so I guess that we will both be in the garden today playing ball.  It's Buster's idea of a really good day, so at least he will be happy. He will be going home on Sunday as I have warned my son that there is someone calling to deal with the wasps nest on Monday morning and I told the people that I didn't have any pets. The stuff they will be using might be harmful to pets so I would rather Buster was out of the way. I don't want him to be poisoned or stung when the wasps come out.

One of my neighbours chatted to me yesterday. They have a little boy just over 18 months old and found out yesterday that they are expecting two babies and not the one that they thought they were expecting. They are not due until the end of January so let's hope that they don't arrive early. My niece's friend who had her last baby the day after my neighbour's baby is also expecting in September but she is having one baby to join her two boys. I do hope that one or both of my neighbour's twins turn out to be girls.

Glow In The Dark

As you can see I could not resist ordering some more of the RYC Silk Aran from Kemps. I am saving money as it will never be this price again. OK so my reasoning it's a bit out of whack. How can I save money by spending it? Ask any knitter or crocheter and they will understand exactly what I mean. The baby colours are to go with the two balls that I already have in case I want to make another pram blanket and the other shades are still pending for the spider's web waistcoat.



This colour, although lovely, does nothing for me so I bought it deliberately to stash as it is perfect for my sister in law. She will love this shade and will appreciate the silk in the yarn and will hand wash it and treat it with care. I doubt that I will make anything for her birthday on April 23rd as I still have to finish my niece's jacket once Buster goes home but I can start early for her Christmas present (Wash my mouth out it is only almost April!) I will get my niece to choose one of my patterns for her Mum. I have 20 balls and she is really slim so I should have enough for a sweater or a jacket.



Whilst I was at the hospital waiting around yesterday I started the vintage pattern spider's web waistcoat. When people asked me what I was crocheting and I replied a spider's web I got a few funny looks!



The cardigan that I started for my elder niece is growing nicely. This Sirdar Silky DK shrugs off Buster hair and as I have had to bag up her knitting I wanted something to give her on her actual birthday although unless I put a spurt on I won't get done in time. I did a bit more on it last night and have got the two sleeves and the edging to do now. Hopefully I will get some done today.



Yesterday I spent hours at the hospital having another of those scan things where I got injected with radioactive stuff then after an hour got a set of 3 scans. I then had to wait around for another 2 hrs for the second set of scans. Each set of scans lasted for 30 mins so I was gone for a lot of the day. The technician let slip that my first set of scans last week had shown something up and so this set was to test for infection and was a closer look at the suspect area. Although I don't want there to be anything majorly wrong on the other hand it would explain why my knee seems to be getting worse instead of better. On Tuesday night it had swollen up so badly and my whole leg was rigid and so painful I couldn't sleep. The pain seemed to reach a peak during the night and then subsided so yesterday it wasn't as bad as it has been. I told the technician about the night before and he said that he would note it on the scan notes.When this happens I can't put any weight on my leg at all. I did check last night to see if I glowed in the dark but I didn't. I still had to put the lamp on whilst crocheting LOL. My appointment with the specialist in not until May so unless they contact me earlier I will have to wait for any results. No news will be good news but still not great as in the meantime I still have a painful swollen knee and my left one isn't much better.

Buster got a treat when I got home. I gave him a big pig's ear for being such a good boy. As he has problems holding his water I was fully expecting a puddle to deal with when I got home but bless his heart he had held on for all the hours that I was missing. He made up for it afterwards with a succession of what we call 'Buster wees'. He starts up cocking his leg then gets fed up and carries on doing a wee whilst walking all over the garden for absolutely ages hopping from one back leg to the other. I have never seen another dog do this.

We got up early but I am still not dressed. I was expecting the gardener early this morning so thought that I would wait until she arrived and then go for my shower. She must be delayed. I know that the moment I get in the shower that she will arrive and I have to be there to let her through the garage to the back garden. Once she arrives she will be here for an hour so I can leave her to it whilst I get ready for the rest of the day.

Happy Christmas

I hope that you all had a Happy Christmas. I had a great day spent with my Brother and his family and extended family. It's probably the one day of the year when the family are all in the same place at the same time and to me that is what Christmas is all about. It's lovely to give presents and to receive them but I would trade all of that for a family day any time. I was invited to my son's house but as they have all of the children and grandchildren there plus all the animals they already had a full house. My eldest step grand daughter's central heating boiler burst all over her kitchen floor just before Christmas so she and my great grand daughters have been living at my son and daughter in laws house until the boiler and the laminate floor gets fixed after Christmas.

I did see my son on Christmas Day and he brought me a most welcome present of the exercise pedals. My physio had recommended that I got some to try to improve the mobility in my knees. I have then set up in the front room so that I can crochet, pedal and watch the TV at the same time. I like multitasking. I can't bear to sit still and watch TV.

My family know me well and I got a wonderful array of knit and crochet books, a DVD and a couple of Cd's along with a new red hooded jacket. I also got an assortment of toiletries. My niece knows that I have inexpensive tastes and would rather have a box full of everyday toiletries than an expensive gift box of perfumed bath bottles that I can't use because of my eczema. The slightest hint of perfume and my legs flare up and are very sore.

I just love the present that my niece's husband's mother made for me. I love anything handmade and it's rare that I get anything as everyone knows that I knit and crochet. It is a picture with a tiny knitted scarf and tiny knitting needles made from cocktail sticks with a bead on the end to simulate knobs. The verse says 'If I should knit while I'm asleep, I pray the Lord my gauge to keep, And if I die before I wake, I pray I may my knitting take' It must have taken Renee ages to make it for me and I think that it's lovely.

I am going to plant my Hyacinth bulbs today. My Mother always had a Hyacinth growing in the window every Christmas so it brings back lovely memories of my childhood. I love the scent of the flowers. The Narcissus that my Sister in Law bought me for my birthday is just starting to flower. I have three white flowers so far but lots of buds. I keep them on my kitchen windowsill. It may seem a strange place to put them but I get pleasure from seeing them every time I wash the dishes, make my dinner or even a cup of coffee. My lounge is a little bit too warm for flowers and bulbs. They grow and fade too fast in there.

I think that all of my presents were well received and I can now start to put some photos of my finished garment presents on the blog and update my Flickr and Ravelry. I was afraid of spoiling the surprise by putting them on before Christmas.

Today I am just going to relax, listen to my new CD's and work some more on the crochet jackets for my great grand daughters that I didn't have time to finish off before Christmas. Now the mad rush is over I can relax with my knitting and crochet now. I was crocheting until 2am on Christmas Eve and even on Christmas Day I was crocheting a band and sewing on a button. I cut it very close this year. I still have a couple of things that I would have liked to make for people but they will have to be 'after Christmas' presents now.

I may be having Buster, the family dog, for a few days. As I mentioned before my son's house is a bit crowded at the moment so one less dog will be a help to them Buster is 10 yrs old now and somewhat lacking in patience with the small ones. I would have him back with me permanently as before but I am always sad for him when he can't get walked as he should be. Apart from that he is lovely company for me and I love him to bits.

Oscar the cat has made his usual appearance this morning. I didn't see him yesterday. I think that he was staying at home close by their turkey. He won't like it when Buster comes to stay as the two of them don't see eye to eye so I can't let Oscar in the house.

I know it's a bit late but Happy Christmas to everyone and I hope that you have a relaxing Boxing Day after the Christmas rush.

Buster Is A Bed Hog

I had a very broken sleep last night due to a big furry dog who insisted on lying next to me, on me and hogging the pillow. My son always says don't let him sleep on the bed but he always crept on the bed when he lived with me so it is a hard habit to break now. I just think that it's only for a couple of days and I can catch up with my sleep later. Sometimes he gets fed up with me as I toss and turn a lot and goes and sleeps in the spare room and then we both get a fairly good night's sleep.

As promised yesterday I have included a few photos from the 2 knitting books that I got yesterday. The Patons one has some jackets that I like. I quite like the multi way wrap as well but as I am short and stout I wonder if I would look like a badly tied paper parcel wearing one of those. They do look so smart on tall willowy women. I like the cardigan done in several different lace patterns as well. I am not going to start my sister in law's Christmas knitting until my niece has taken a look in the book and decided if she likes any of these patterns better than the one that we chose last week. She has a better idea of her Mum's taste.

The Turtleback jacket book is one for me really. They don't look that attractive but I find the shape so easy to put on in the house over a sweater when I get cold. Not having a long sleeve means that I can knit and do chores without having to push sleeves up out of the way. I like a couple of these patterns and will make myself one or two after Christmas when all of my Christmas present knitting and crocheting is finished. Until then I will be working the night shift to get everything finished in time. Every year I say that i will start earlier and every year I leave it until the last minute.

My knee seems to have got over it's hiccup of yesterday. The pain has subsided this morning and mobility is back to what it was. It really shocked me yesterday as I have been doing so well that I didn't expect such a painful set back. I can only think that I either twisted my knee as I got up from the chair or I had been sitting at a funny angle. I was hoping to have tried a short walk with Buster yesterday but decided to leave it and try today instead. I didn't want to push anything too far and regress in my physio.

I have almost finished one of my Christmas presents but I am afraid that photos will have to wait until after Christmas. I will only be able to show the projects of the people who I know don't read my blog. I am going to try to make another couple of Christmas tree ornaments for the knit club. I think that I may be able to go this coming week and as Rachael is starting to dress the tree on Monday I want to give her some more things as what we have already will look rather sparse on the tree. other people are starting to make some things for the tree so I hope that the tree looks nice and full when they are all finished and on the tree.

The weather is crisp and cold but dry. I have to walk up to the village today and will take Buster with me. It won't be the walk that he is used to but I don't want to chance a fall on the slippy ground in the woodland as everywhere is on a slope and will be full of wet leaves. Buster likes to come out with me even if we aren't going far. He will get a good walk once he gets home to the other dogs tomorrow. He gets plenty of exercise as the young dogs chase about all of the time and he tries to keep up with them. He doesn't do bad for a 10yr old dog. The vet said he was remarkably fit for his age at his last check up and vaccination.

Christmas Ornaments

These are just a few of the crocheted Christmas tree ornaments that I made using the book that I ordered from Purplelinda. Whilst I was at Knit Club on Monday night at the Kings Arms I made another couple but I didn't take photos of them. I made another wreath with a different pattern and another mini sweater in red with silver trim. People in the pub were quite interested in them and wanted to know if they were for sale. Rachael is thinking that maybe really near to Christmas we could sell the ornaments and put the money in the box that we have for Breast Cancer donations. I am going to try and make some more in and between my other Christmas projects and have bookmarked quite a few free patterns from Ravelry to try.I also want to try a snowflake pattern with some of the white or the silver metallic yarn that I bought.

The tiny Christmas Pudding with the holly trim on was one that I got given by a friend. She bought it at a craft fair. Inside it is one Ferraro Roche round chocolate. My niece thought that they would make table decorations for the Christmas dinner table and so I tried to copy it. My attempt is the one without the silver leaves. I will have to search to get something similar. Someone suggested a shop that sells card making stuff would have something like that.Meanwhile I will continue to knit a few more. they literally take minutes to make.

I have started work on a Christmas project so I can't show you that. I am still working on the grey knitted scarf for Louise's birthday on the 8th Dec and it is now around 50" long. I measured my niece's scarf and hers measured over 100" so I have still got a lot to knit before I can fringe it. From now on I will only be able to show you the things that are not destined for people who might read the blog.

Today I went to the hospital for my physio exercises. I am doing so well that I don't have to go for 2 weeks and then will possibly be signed off from the exercises. I tried one of the pedal machines. They are not an exercise bike (which I can't yet pedal all around) they are just a set of pedals to use whilst seated in an armchair. I managed to pedal these and the physio thinks that I could benefit from getting one to use at home to increase the mobility in my knee. My son was asking what I wanted for Christmas and so I think that I will tell him to get me one of these. It would be ideal as the pedals take up very little space and are quite inexpensive compared to an exercise bike. I have nowhere to store an exercise bike. It would be just something else to fall over once the novelty wore off.

The physio put on some music for us all to exercise to and I think someone has a bizarre sense of humour as one of the tunes was the Can Can! I might be improving on my mobility but I am not ready for the Can Can as yet.

I have just had a phone call asking if I want Buster for a few days as my son and daughter in law are going away for a long weekend and their daughter can only manage to look after the other two dogs. It will be good company for me and might encourage me to try walking that bit further to take him for a walk. He is used to my walking very slowly so that will be OK.

The Streets Are Not Paved With Gold

The streets are definitely not paved with gold. Well not the ones near me. They are paved with pot holes, tree roots on the surface, kerb edgings about 4" high and cars parked on the pavements so near to the wall that I can't get through, After Buster and I had been for a short walk/drive I decided to test out the scooter all the way to the shops. I think that I should get a high visibility jacket,a louder horn and perhaps a big flag as Beverooni suggested and just drive on the road. I felt like every bone had been shaken up inside my body and I discovered that if I hit a kerb on an angle I almost tip out of my seat. I was great though once I got to the shopping precinct. I was able to go into a lot of the shops, the doctors to pick up my prescription and also the pharmacy to get it filled. Oh the feeling of freedom.

I tried on my waterproofs from my dog walking days and I could only squeeze into them without any trousers or sweater underneath (which is not much good in the winter) so I have been searching online for a new set. I toyed with the idea of bright yellow or bright orange but as they are for men in my size they didn't come with a hood. I have settled therefore for a boring black set. Not very exciting it's true but flimsy enough to be folded and stored in the basket for sudden downpours. I refuse to buy one of those cape efforts. Not only are they very expensive they cover the scooter as well as me so not very easy to do any shopping as I would have to keep climbing out of it. I had to be rescued by a nice young man at one stage when my scooter hit a kerb and almost tipped me over. I wouldn't have minded so much but it was at a proper crossing point that supposedly had lowered kerbs. I won't be crossing over the road at that point again.

Buster has got quite used to walking with the scooter now especially now since I have mastered how to crawl along instead of zooming and leaving him behind. He is not impressed with my writing this blog as you can see. He wanted me to play ball with him so I distracted him with a treat. He is now trying to lick every last trace of the treat from his front legs whilst giving me soulful looks in between.

The shawl is almost finished. The ball that I used must have been at least a 200 gram ball of 4ply as I only have one row of picot edging to crochet and there is still a lot on the ball. As you can see because of my boo boo it has come out huge compared to the pattern. I have resisted trying it on until it really finished. It will be interesting to see how it looks with my big size mistake. It will certainly wind around my neck a few times. It is a cross between a long scarf and a shawl.

Thank you everyone for your kind words about my best friend Pearl. I feel so much better just going out and about even for a short time. The lad from next door was fascinated with it and has christened it my granny mobile and wants to help me to customise it. Says that I need 'cool' stickers on it. He wanted to race me up to the shops.

My bag for the back of the seat should arrive tomorrow so I will be able to shop for a few more things next time. I keep looking at Pearl and wondering if I could crochet a bag to fit just here - or maybe just there. By the time I have finished with it it will be festooned with crochet bags and pouches on every available hanging space. I saw a sort of cushion affair in one of the disability books that had long side pieces that went over each chair arm like saddle bags. Almost like the things that you can keep the TV remote in on your armchair so you don't lose it. Needless to say I am already thinking that I could make something to store my waterproofs in pockets hanging on the chair arms on either side of me so that they are always with me and not taking up valuable shopping space in my basket. Whirr Whirr, My mind is whirring. I must settle down to finish the shawl/scarf tonight as I haven't picked up a hook all day. I will settle back down again once the novelty of Pearl has settled down and Buster has gone back home again.

New Ball? Hmmm Tasty

I seem to be having to share my new recliner. It provides a good look out point for Buster to survey the street so every time I get off my chair Buster gets on it! I gave him one of the new balls and in five minutes he had chewed it until it looked like this. It still bounces but as you can see Buster has reverted back to the half chewed squashed ball that used to have a squeaker in. Needless to say the squeaker lasted about a day before he destroyed that as well.

I did manage about 4 rows of the shawl last night. I had a minor hiccup when I knocked over the standard lamp that gives light over my chair but my son managed to sort it out for me. He had to screw it all back together and put a new fuse in. When I looked at the crochet this morning I realised that once again there was a slight mistake a couple of rows back. I think that not only should I attempt to crochet this when Buster is not around but also in daylight as I make my mistakes in the electric light. I said when I started this shawl that it would be a pick up and put down project. At the moment it is put down. I am doing a bit of knitting on the blue hooded baby jacket instead.

I don't get much of anything done as not only do I have to play ball with Buster in the garden I have to keep retrieving his ball from under the recliner. It's a new game for Buster called let's see if I can jam the mechanism with my ball. When the chair is reclined he pushes the ball underneath and then I can't get the chair down again as he is half underneath it and I am scared of trapping his paws. It's such a good game for him but not for me.

Is it any wonder I can't concentrate on anything much?

The weather is rainy once again so I spent the morning browsing through the free Lion Brand knit and crochet patterns on Ravelry They have some nice patterns and of course I have saved so many of them that I will have to crochet until I am at least 100 to make even half of my Ravelry saved patterns. Some of them are quick chunky crocheted shawls which will come in useful when I start making the shawls to donate at Christmas. I don't mind making fine shawls for myself and my family but it's the quicker the better when it comes to donations. I would rather make a dozen shawls that will keep people warm than one decorative shawl that is very pretty but is for decoration only.

Buster is having a barking fit at my next door neighbours. He takes his house guarding very seriously and includes every house that he can see in his guard duties. At least I know if there is anyone lurking about. I suppose I had better distract him with yet another game of catch in the back garden.

Baby It's Cold Outside

The title is not a description of the weather. It's the name of this crochet baby jacket. The pattern is a free one from Ravelry and I made this version from 100 grams of a rather thick Aran weight wool. Teddy Camelot Wool Blend Aran Shade 020 that I bought from Habiknit in Bury. It is such a simple easy pattern that it is no wonder there are many versions of it on Ravelry. The buttons are not what I would have chosen but as nipping out to the shops for buttons isn't an option these days I make do with what I already have in. All the blue buttons that I had were all the wrong shade or the wrong size.

It is for the foster baby boy so if Sylvia has any better buttons in her stash then she can change them later. I just don't like giving things to people without any buttons.

I have added some extra chain to the sleeves this time as the last couple of jackets that I made the sleeves seemed a bit on the short side. This time they look a bit long so I have turned them up a bit. The last foster baby had long arms but as this baby is so small at the moment there is no telling how long his arms will be come the Autumn.

The rain has started lashing down again and I have had to close the patio doors as I think I have a blockage in my gutter above the door and it is sending a waterfall down the window. My son clears them out every now and again as I get a little weed garden growing in the gutter. The TV has now gone off. That's the trouble with Sky cable TV. Any sniff of torrential rain, thunder or lightening and the darned thing goes off. Apparently the rain blocks the signal from the satellite, You would think with all of today's technology they would have come up with a solution to that by now.

I will probably start another Baby It's Cold Outside jacket tonight. I don't want to start anything large until I can concentrate once Buster goes home again on Sunday. I have to pick easy patterns as I lose my place when I keep picking the crochet up and putting it down again 5 minutes later when Buster jams his ball under the coffee table or under a chair. If I don't retrieve it for him he scrabbles and makes nail marks on everything.

Today it has varied from torrential rain to sunshine. One minute Buster and I are out in the garden playing ball and the next he is curled up on the sofa letting me do a bit of crocheting. He has, unfortunately, taken a fancy to my new recliner and every time I get off it he gets on. It has the better view of the street that he thinks that he has to guard. It's either that or he just loves the body warmth in the chair when I get out of it.

I am resting today as my knees are a bit painful. I am not sure if it the weather that affects them but some days the pain is bearable and others it's not. I think that it is the dampness from the rain as much as anything.

A Glimpse Into My Wardrobe

Ages ago I decided to catalogue the sweaters I had stored in my wardrobe. I soon got very fed up as I realised I had far too many to take photos of each one individually so I gave up and put them back in the wardrobe, These are just a few photos that I kept. Most of these are a little on the small side but being the optimist that I am I refuse to part with them on the grounds that I may wear them again one day. The yarns that they are made in are mostly discontinued and far superior to the ones that I can buy these days so I will keep them even if one day I have to unravel and remake something with the yam. The red, turquoise and cream sweaters were made from Emu Perle which washed like a dream. Patons used to make a Pearl DK and that was a good washer but not quite as good as Emu. The bright pink was Patons Classic mercerised cotton another great hard wearing cotton and the lilac is Sirdar Wash and Wear crepe which really does wash and wear forever. All of these sweaters are another reason why I don't knit or crochet as much for myself as I used to. Hopefully once I resume my social life again, after my knee ops, I will get the chance to wear them again. I tend not to wear anything around the house that I have to hand wash and take special care of.

Buster is getting extremely bored with me now as it has rained today and we have not been able to sit in the garden and play ball. He did have something to watch this afternoon when Hazel came to mow my lawn. As he is not good with strangers I had to keep him in the house so he contented himself by growling and trying to intimidate her through the patio door and the front bay window. I always have to apologise for his behaviour when people call. He doesn't bite but he seems to enjoy scaring people half to death by going up close to them and staring at them. He chooses the people who don't like dogs to do this with. Once he sees that they are a bit nervous of them it makes his day. People who know him just ignore him and he gets bored and lies down.

I got an e mail today from Violet Green saying that my wool has been dispatched so that should arrive in a couple of days. That all depends whether they have sent it by parcel post or Home Delivery. I am in no rush as I am not starting it yet.

I have almost finished the cream and brown fleck knitted baby cardigan. I am up to the bit that seems to take for ever, The long button band for a V neck. I find them a bit tricky to measure, Too long and they drag the fronts down and too short and they pucker the fronts up! This little cardigan seems to have taken me ages to make but I am hindered by Buster. He has now found out that he can put his tennis ball under my new recliner and get it jammed underneath. This maroons me as I don't want to use the mechanism in case I jam it with the ball. I hope that he soon gets fed up of this game and goes back to wedging his tennis ball under the coffee table. At least I can hook it out from under there with my walking stick. I feel sorry for him as he is getting pretty bored, Even though he can go in and out of the garden at will it is not the same as a good long walk to tire him out.

Knitting At A Snail's Pace

My knitting pace has slowed down to a crawl. It's amazing how much of my time Buster demands during the day. When he lived here with me he was much easier as we had a routine of morning and afternoon walks. Now that I can't walk him he needs occupying during the day. We have just come in from a ball throwing session in the back garden. He gets very bored if I don't entertain him. He is used to having the other dog to play with him when he is at home so I suppose life is a bit boring for him here.

I would have done more knitting but I started a double breasted baby pattern last night which was knitted by row counting to space out the buttonholes. I started with one front and realised that it was going to be another short jacket. I decided to unravel it and start a different pattern that was longer in the body. I have started a larger size as the premature foster baby is growing like mad and is almost 8lbs now. I am making larger sizes now so that he will have some cardigans for the autumn/ winter time. The wool is Sirdar Snuggly DK that Sylvia gave me to use for the baby. I still can't get back to the boys knitting. I have decided that it is the colour that I have fallen out with. I have some different wool to use for them so I might start something different and hope that I can have better results. The other wool that I have is a blue random so I can get away with just knitting stocking stitch which will be quicker.

The weather is strange today. One minute it is sunny but windy and the next minute the rain is coming down hard. I am glad that the rain came as it forced Buster back indoors. He was getting very puffed out with the ball throwing but wouldn't give up. Maybe now he is a bit tired he will have a nap and let me do some knitting. I hate to say the C word but I will soon be starting knitting and crocheting for that and may not have time to fit in cardigans for him then. I also want to make some more hats for the homeless and shawls for the elderly.

Even if my fine wool arrives I am not going to start my crocheting until Buster has gone home. I don't want him to shed hair on it or get his paws tangled up in it and break the threads. He is a bit clumsy around the house and is always putting his feet in my wool and dragging it around the lounge before I can untangle him.

Hey - Isn't This My Chair ?

As a family we tend to pass possessions between us. My old recliner belonged firstly to my late ex Father in Law and we inherited it after his death. When my Son got his first house the recliner went with him before coming back to me when he got married and moved house. When my son first got Buster as a bewildered, beaten, half starved, 10 month old pup, who had already had 3 owners, he had attachment issues and wanted to be with people all of the time. This chair was in my son's bedroom and the pup claimed it as his bed as he would not stay downstairs on his own.. Ten years later he came into my front room today and saw the chair minus it's usual covers and cushions that had previously disguised it. It took him about ten minutes of sniffing it before he curled up on it and promptly went to sleep. As Buster is here with me for a week I am hoping that no-one does want the chair this week as he is so happy to have his old bed back. Animals never forget. If I could take him for a walk he would go exactly the same route as we used to walk and stop at the same spots for me to throw a ball or a stick. It's like he has never been away. He just falls right back into the same routine.
My neighbours would walk him for me but because of his insecurities he won't let a member of the family out of his sight and go with them. He will have to make do with some ball throwing in the back garden for exercise. The dogs from next door will probably come through the hedge to play with him over the weekend.

I have finished off the little knitted cardigan for the foster baby boy. .It took me most of today to sew in all of the tails. I always forget that bit when I start knitting the cardigan. It's worse than making stripes and granny squares. It is a good way of using up oddments of wool though. I have had the pattern for years and I doubt that it is available. It is Robin 15278. I have made this pattern many times and it works just as well using darker colours. I made one for a friend's baby in dark red, dark blue, aubergine ,black, maroon .and gold. She said every time he wore it people stopped to ask where she bad bought it.

I am still hoping that now I have returned to my knitting that I might finish off the hooded jackets. I have really gone off the colour and I think that is half the problem.The wool that I have ordered for my fine crochet probably won't come until next week and even then I won't start it right away as I don't want it covered in Buster hair.Anything dark or with wool attracts Buster's hair like a magnet. I will make something else smaller if I can't bring my self to knit the hooded jackets.

Buster has now gone to sleep right in the middle of all of the left over balls of wool from the baby cardigan. Cheers Buster! I just hope that he doesn't tangle them all up. It's almost time for his dinner so the sound of his food hitting his dish will wake him up and then I can move the balls of wool from the sofa.

A Tea Cosy For Towneley Hall Burnley

I have finished off the tea cosy that I started last Sunday when I went to Burnley to knit tea cosies for Towneley Hall. it is inspired by a couple of the teapots in the collection that have delicate flowers on them, This tea cosy is meant to be a flower basket with flowers spilling out of it.

I have also crocheted some flowers and leaves to finish off the 3 colours of pink tea cosy that I made on Saturday and Sunday whilst in the shop. I hope to take photos of it finished when I hopefully get back to the shop on Tuesday or Wednesday. The tea cosy is striped with pale pink at the top medium pink in the middle and deep pink at the base. The flowers represent the colours in the tea cosy.

The baby blanket is now dry and folded up ready to be collected. Sylvia lives just that bit too far away for me to nip on a bus to deliver it. She banged her damaged leg last weekend and is going to see a specialist next week. I don't think we have a good pair of legs between us.I keep looking at mobility scooters but by the time I get one big enough to support my weight then it will be too big to be allowed on buses and trams. It would be great to have one to shop in the local shops. The small ones not only have a weight limit but would not be powerful enough to get me up the hills where my house is situated.Maybe I should enquire if they have free test drives before I buy one. I would probably have to buy a second hand one anyway as they are so expensive. I will wait and hope that they renew my DLA payments to help to pay for one.

The weather is cooler today but still warm enough to have the doors and windows open. I think I will start another tea cosy and sit in the garden to crochet it this afternoon. I will photograph the Tunisian book tomorrow when there is room on my blog to feature it.

Poppy has been in for her morning visit. She had a sleep, sniffed around and then left. Buster totally ignored her which is good. At least it shows that he accepts the way she trots in and out of my house as if it was her own. He no longer growls at her.

Time for a spot of lunch now and then off into the garden. I just hope that we don't have the rain and thunderstorm like yesterday.

Scrap Crochet Book

As promised here are some photos of inside the Scrap Crochet book 879548 by Annie's attic which contains many ways to use up those annoying scraps of wool left over in stash.

The front cover shows some of the items in the book. Some of which are not photographed in detail due to lack of room.

I love the Quilt rug by Shirley Brown which is just the thing for at the side of my bed. I have a cream carpet which is becoming discoloured despite many shampoo attempts so I think this rug would be an ideal addition to my bedroom.

The Scrap Afghan by Glenda Winkleman is lovely but I would want to co-ordinate the colours as in the photo so would buy colours especially for this and not use scraps. The one pictured shows a distinct colour pattern which I think looks so nice.

The trio of trivets by Rhonda Dodds are ideal for little gifts as are the square Hot Pads by Louise Puchaty which have a flower motif in the centre and are shown on the front page of the book.

The Tape Measure covers by Frances Hughes are such a pretty way of decorating an otherwise boring plastic retractable tape measure. Again they would make lovely small tree gifts for Christmas.

The blue wrap by Ruthie Marks is a good idea as it is a cross between a stole and a shawl. Once again though I would buy toning colours to make this rather than using scrap oddments as I think it tones so well on the project in the book.

The teddy bear party pinafore by Darla Sims is a cute addition for any little girl who has a favourite teddy.

If you look on the front cover there is a pair of cute bootees and a red beaded necklace.

The back cover shows a nice striped bag,toy turtles, the spring tea cosy from yesterday's post, a string bag, glass covers, washcloths and a crinoline cosy for the washing up liquid. There is also a cushion threaded with ribbons with curlicue edging that is quite fancy.

I found a premature baby blanket that I had started a couple of years ago in my stash. I have decided to finish it for the foster baby boy even though I could only find another ball of the white. I must have used the rest for another project. It will be a small blanket but Sylvia says it will be useful for the car seat so I am going to finish it off and trim it with blue.

Buster is coming this afternoon for the weekend. If he is not coming next weekend then I hope to be able go with Rachael and watch her display the crochet and knitted things at Towneley Hall. I have never been before and have been told that it is very beautiful. I am sad that I can't go this weekend and continue working on tea cosies but I hope to make a couple more whilst I am Buster minding this weekend. It sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun this weekend. Ah well my furry grandson comes first.

Poppy from next door is here visiting me at the moment. I opened the patio door as it is nice and warm today and as soon as she hears the door slide back she is in like a shot.

My other Tunisian book still hasn't arrived. It was posted Royal Mail on Saturday so it should be arriving soon. I was hopeful this morning when the postman knocked but it was with a parcel for one of my neighbours who is at work.