Lady Jane Has Arrived

My tailors dummy has arrived after what seemed like a long wait. I have decided to call her Lady Jane. I ordered her on the 7th February with an 8-10 day delivery date. When she didn't arrive I rang the company to be told that meant 8-10 working days so that didn't include any weekend days! That meant that I had to wait almost 3 weeks for her arrival. I am not the most patient of people when I have ordered something. I want it within a couple of days and have been spoilt in that things usually arrive within a week of ordering. The only things that I had to wait for are goods from China but as they are usually a fraction of the prices in the UK they are worth the wait.

I know that you have seen this waistcoat before but this photo shows off Lady Jane, except for her legs. She has a three legged stand in wood as a base. I am pleased with her as, although she was relatively inexpensive compared to the adjustable ones, she is just what I need as a photographic prop.

Of course the Manchester weather is not co-operating. I did manage to take a few photos for Etsy yesterday but today is dark and gloomy, Photos of crochet look so much better taken in natural light so today I will just have to concentrate on adding the photos from yesterday to my Etsy store. I will let you know when they are in the shop so you can take a look.

This is one of my Spanish influenced shawls.

As is this one. This is a remake of one that I sold at a craft fair. The colours are very slightly different as I couldn't buy the exact shades as two of them had been discontinued.

Guess who has been ordering from Kemps again? I swear that I must be one of their best customers. It is balls of acrylic that I need for my next few projects. Much as I would like to crochet in better quality yarns I need the budget prices to make them a reasonable price to sell. If I ever get a customer base who would appreciate paying for lovely yarns then I will switch to pretty yarns. At the moment I can't afford to buy expensive yarns and hope that I will sell the finished garments. I do have some lovely yarns in stock to make lacy scarves that I will try to use as they are just one skein that I bought for socks and then decided that the yarn was far too nice to wear on my feet. I am rough on socks and it breaks my heart when I wear holes in wool that I have paid £10-15 a skein. I will stick to Opal for socks as it washes and wears so well.

Nestled in the middle of this yarn is one ball of Red Heart in red that I managed to bid for on Ebay. I found a stockist on Amazon.co.uk who ships to the UK but the postage is only given for one ball. I have written to them to ask about multiple postage and once again I have not had a reply. That is three firms that I have contacted who haven't bothered to answer me. If the answer is that they don't give a discount for multiple shipping then at least it would be polite to have an answer. I will have to wait until my US born friend goes to see her family in the US and can buy some and tell me the price plus postage and I can pay her via Paypal.

These are the latest of my Ebay purchases. My friend Sue buys directly from Ice yarns. As she has bought from them many times she now gets e mails telling her of their bargains. The postage is expensive as I believe that the yarn comes from Turkey but if you can get the yarns at bargain sale prices then it all works out quite reasonable. I haven't ordered directly from them as their site contains far too many tempting yarns and I really have enough. However I do love the Ice yarns and was tempted by this gorgeous mossy green. I think this is a 'me' buy and not for crocheting for sale. The pink chunky yarn is already on the hook. I am making a jacket for my Etsy shop..

I was hoping to take more photos of Lady Jane wearing my crochet but today is dull and dark. The rain is that fine misty kind of rain. I did manage to take some photos in  natural light yesterday afternoon so am hoping that it will brighten up if it ever stops raining. I can't understand why the TV news say that we are running short of water when so much of it falls from the sky. I think that they need a better method of collection than the one that we have at present.

I have a couple of You Tube crochet videos to watch before I get down to my crochet again. I am so addicted to watching these videos. I love to see other peoples finished work.

Furry Visitors

These are my two house guests. Mum and Dad have gone to a funeral and won't be back until tomorrow. They live next door to me and so are used to me looking after them but they are not too keen when it comes to bedtime. Normally they only stay with me for a few hours. There was a little bit  of conflict this morning as Lily was asleep on her rocking chair when they arrived and I had to rescue her. She scratched me for my trouble, but that's cats for you.

Poppy thinks this is her second home as she visits me all the time via the hedge. She never has a problem staying with me.

Buddy is a Mommas boy. He had a bit of a sulk for a while when he first arrived but soon perked up with the promise of jerky treats!

They both helped me to unpack my two parcels that arrived this morning as you can see from the bag visible in the first photo. I think they thought that the bags contained something other than boring balls of yarn.

The first parcel was just more supplies of white James C Brett 400 grams of baby DK yarn as I had underestimated just how much white that I would need for my crochet projects.

The second parcel was from Kemps which has some more bargain goodies. The lemon and pink textured are for pram blankets although the yellow is a bit brighter than I anticipated. That's the only drawback with ordering online. With my monitor the colours aren't always true. I got some more bargain buttons. If you like a collection of buttons then I suggest that you take a look at their sale buttons.

This is really what I placed the order with Kemps for. I had bought and used some Rowan Natural Silk Aran for my sister in law for her Birthday but when I saw that they had reduced this colour to 99p a ball I just could not resist buying some to stash for myself. It looks far nicer out of the plastic bag. It is one of those 'go with anything' colours that are so useful in a wardrobe. The pink fleck Baby 4ply was also reduced so that has been added to my baby stash.

I finished this off last night and started another jacket. The idea came from a very old pattern but as that was in two colours I changed it to three colours so that I could strand up the sides. I did quite a lot of modifications as the original pattern has a hood, but of course as per usual didn't write anything down. I really should make a tissue paper template so that I can make another one should it be needed.

The jacket is mainly half trebles (UK) with double crochet (UK) edgings. I added the little butterflies as a bit of added interest.

I don't think that I will get much crochet done for the rest of the week with the dogs being here until tomorrow and then Buster arriving on Friday morning. Buddy and Poppy don't shed but Buster sheds hair around himself like a halo. I often wonder why he isn't bald! I can't crochet anything important when Buster is around. I do have some oddments of DK cotton that I might make into something. The cotton doesn't attract the dog hair like the synthetics do.

It's almost time for dinner for me and then later feed the dogs. They went for a long walk this morning and so don't need another walk until my neighbours arrive home in the morning. Poppy has shown Buddy where I keep the dog treats so every time I go anywhere near the kitchen I have two furry friends at my heels.

Yummy Colours

I think that I am addicted to yarn. In fact I KNOW I am addicted to yarn. When Kemps send me e mails saying that they have more bargains I can't resist having a peek. If you are in the UK and like nice yarns at Sale prices then they do have some fabulous offers so click on the link. They don't just have the acrylics which I have bought they have bargains in branded wools, merinos and fancy yarns too.

I don't have shares in the company but maybe I should as over the last couple of years I have ordered so much from them. I think that I am addicted to parcels arriving and opening them. I am sure it comes from the excitement I used to feel when new stock arrived when I used to have the wool shops. Even though I had ordered it and knew what was in the bags there was nothing to beat the high of tipping the contents of the bags out especially if it was a brand new yarn that I had only seen samples of. You can keep your recreational drugs and alcohol I get high on a bag of yarn.

More bright colours for use in blankets although I think that I will use the blue and the peach for my baby garments,  At £1.09p for 100 grams they are such a bargain.

 More colours. The lilac fleck and the lemon are for baby garments. The rest is for blankets.

More for the babies. These are 4ply bargains. A pale fleck and some lemon.

I have taken a closer photo but it's still difficult to see the tiny flecks of lemon and green in the ball of yarn. The flecks are very delicate. Lovely for a newborn and neutral for the 'don't know the sex until it's born' babies.

More buttons for my collection also from Kemps  When I have to pay ££'s for buttons in a shop some of these cost as little as 3p each so they are such a bargain. I like them as they are a bit different from the normal 'fisheye' or 'star' buttons which are usually the cheapest way of buying buttons. When I am making things to hopefully sell later these trimmings can add up to ££'s on top of the yarn price. Some buttons can cost almost a £ each so that doubles the cost price of making something small.

I have almost finished a cream crocheted baby set. I just have to add the trimmings. I have several items now all awaiting the details. I must put some effort into the final finishing and then I can show what I have made so far. I will crochet all day long (if I can) and then leave all the finishing off until later. I think I enjoy the crocheting far more than the finished article. I do prefer to sew things up in the daylight on the dining room table. That's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

Time for a shower and get dressed. I knew that my parcel was arriving so I left my shower until after breakfast. I can't get down the stairs fast enough if the doorbell rings when I am upstairs. The parcel delivery men are quite used to the sight of my dressing gown. They usually deliver to me early morning as they know that I am usually up and around. I prefer it that way. Royal Mail, however, deliver any time of the day so it's difficult to judge when to shower or go shopping.

Lovely sunny day here so I am going to make the most of it by sitting in the back garden. I do have to collect my prescription but that is not until this afternoon.

Mobile Phones Don't Like Orange Juice

Yesterday I managed to kill my mobile phone. I had been shopping in the village and bought some more storage tray boxes for my buttons. I had sent a text to my niece so my phone was on a box at the side of me as was a glass of orange juice. Somehow I knocked my mobile phone and despite having all of the table to fall on it decided to fall into my glass of orange! Despite rescuing it asap and drying it all out it still seems to be switching on but I have lost the light on my screen. My son is calling down later with a spare phone of his that used to be mine. I need a new phone anyway as the other one was over 3 yrs old and the one I am getting back from my son is around 8 yrs old. My niece finishes teaching in a week or so for the summer holidays so maybe she will take me to a phone store to buy a new phone.

Earlier this week the toaster stopped working and my printer is on the blink. I thought that was my three things until I filled the kettle for my coffee. Water is coming out of the see through screen that shows the water level and I have a counter top with a puddle. As things usually happen in three's I do hope that I don't have another two more things to happen.

This is an order from Kemps that arrived yesterday. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a pack of Sirdar Calico in the deeper pink from the Sale pages. It was a bargain reduced to 99p a ball. I later decided that the colour is a little dark for babies so I ordered another pack to make something for myself at a later date. This pack is a different dye lot to the first pack but I am sure that I can work it together somehow.

I ordered these two colours of Woolcraft DK Baby Prints from Kemps at the same time. They are pretty delicate spot prints pale enough for even a young baby. I still have not managed to get to Bury market wool stall. He usually has quite a few shades of random and fleck baby yarn to choose from. One day when it is market day and I am having a good day knee and back wise I am going to take my 4 wheeler trolley up to Bury on the tram and buy lots of fleck shades. Until then I have loads of plain colours still to crochet. I am OK walking with aid on the flat but the walk up to the village and the station is the bit that knackers me before I even get to Bury.

Whilst I was in the hardware shop buying my storage trays I saw this yarn on the shelves. It's not good quality acrylic but I fell in love with the colours. I want to make a small afghan for myself either in granny squares or in a different coloured block patterns or even a ripple design. I have lots of oddments in stash but I wanted a few really bright colours to liven it up a bit. I will be able to get more bright colours when I get to the market.

These baby jackets and pinafore are now in the post on their way to Sylvia for the foster baby. I do hope that they arrive OK. Sylvia and I like to dress the babies up nicely. Some of the babies have a bad start to life so it's nice to pretty them up as you would do any baby born to a loving family. We both like new babies dressed in pale colours so that is another point that Sylvia and I agree on.

As I have mentioned before I have bought lots of patterns from Just Crochet  by Heather Davidson. I have crocheted a few of her patterns, some that you haven't yet seen. My US friend Bev also loves Heather's patterns in fact I think that it was Bev who introduced me to the web site. Bev has just finished one of Heather's designs and you can see it on her blog One Yarn After Another . I would never have though of using orange for a baby but now I have seen Bev's little outfit it has changed my mind.  Using it with white really works.

I am part way through a white matinee in 4ply intended for my store and I will return to a cream 4 piece set that I left in the middle of the jacket to make clothes for the foster babies. I will have to spend a day sewing buttons and trimmings on to the things that I have already made. I am working towards starting the online store next month. I want to open with at least 10 outfits so I am more than half way there now.

Lily,the lodger cat, has just paid me her morning visit. She will get a shock at the weekend as I am looking after my best fur friend Buster for a few days. He will stop the baby crochet as he sheds hair so much. I might just start something for me whilst he is here. I don't mind a few intertwined dog hairs in my crochet but I don't think that anyone would like to buy a baby outfit full of dog hair.

Time to wash the dishes and then settle down to some crochet. I really need to do a bit of housework too.

Clickety Click Go The Needles

As I was so pleased with the way that my Sirdar Mega chunky jacket had turned out I wanted to order some more of the same yarn from Kemps. Unfortunately they only had a green and a brown fleck left and neither of them are my colours. I chose instead another Sirdar super chunky called Big Softee in a pale denim blue which was reduced to 99p a ball. I also ordered another 99p pattern as it is very plain and I have some other thick but textured yarn in my stash that needs a very plain pattern. I ordered a couple of patterns with my last order. One of which I will use for this blue yarn.

A couple of months ago I ordered some of this pale pink Sirdar Softee to make a baby jacket. As the yarn is now reduced to 69p a ball in this colour I decided to get some more and make something for myself instead. I am not usually a lover of such pale colours but I have a pattern that has cables on it so that should give a bit of interest to the paleness. This 2nd lot is a different dye lot but I cannot see any colour difference and I am used to colour matching from when I had the shop. As long as you don't mix dye lots mid piece and can complete each full piece out of one dye number it is not usually noticeable. It is when you join on a ball mid sleeve that you can get that distinct line across that is noticeable.

The steam mop hasn't arrived yet but it has been sent by Royal Mail and they always take longer than the independent carriers. Another day that I don't have to mop the kitchen and bathroom floors. Maybe tomorrow it will arrive and then I can't put the mopping off any longer.

I have been knitting on the last front of my niece's jacket but I will need another ball of wool for the bands. I rang the Yarn Barn in Shaw, where my niece bought the wool from, and they kindly offered to put a ball in the post if I paid the postage. I will be grateful for that as I don't want to put my niece to the trouble of going all the way up there for another ball. I will push on as far as I can tonight with the part ball that I have and then hope that the last ball arrives in a day or so. Luckily they still had the same dye lot in stock. I would recommend calling in the Yarn Barn if ever you are in Shaw. It is a lovely well stocked shop that stocks from inexpensive to middle of the range branded right up to the more expensive. Something to suit all pockets and tastes.

Today is lovely and sunny but we still have that wind that takes the edge off the warmth. I had a lot to do today so I wouldn't have had the time to sit out and knit anyway. I scooted up the village and did some shopping from a variety of local shops. I had forgotten to charge up the mobility scooter from the last time I used it so it was a very slow, heart in the mouth, journey as I was praying that it wouldn't run out of power before I got home. On the last bit of the hill it was going slower and slower and so I was muttering under my breath, come on girl you can do it. Slowly but surely I got up the hill and into the garage where Pearl is now plugged in and charging up ready for my next shopping trip. She is a good little workhorse. I had bags tucked everywhere. I was like a galleon in full sale on the way home.

Sirdar Mega Chunky Quick Knit Jacket

On the 27th April 10 balls of Sirdar Denim Ultra Mega Chunky and Sirdar pattern 9102 were sent to me by Kemps. On the 28th April the yarn was in my house and on the needles. I knitted my way through the Royal Wedding and by yesterday it was all sewn up and a matching hat made with the left overs. I had to cut the hat length a bit short as I didn't have a full 100 gram ball left over. It is still wearable even though it could have done with that extra inch on the length.

I am thinking of changing the buttons. These were the only ones that I had in my stash that were the right size but the next time that I am near a button shop then I will buy some different ones that match better. The jacket is super thick and much too warm to be worn indoors ( hence the matching hat) but as the wool cost me £19.90 plus 99p for the pattern I am pleased with the finished jacket. I will use this jacket when I am out on my scooter as I feel the cold even on a lovely day.

I am always rambling on about my knee so I thought that I would give you a pictorial update. Sorry if the sight of my leg has put you off your dinner. I know that I am a big girl (as you can see from the photos of me in my jacket) and so can't expect to have legs like Twiggy but this is what my knee looks like at the end of the day. If I have been out walking anywhere then it looks even bigger. My foot is swollen and has the lovely purple red hue that you can see on the photo. I am not convinced that this red rash is eczema as it is not responding to any of the creams and potions that I have been prescribed and it is now very itchy and the skin is bumpy. I only have to absentmindedly scratch at it and it bleeds like mad.  My other leg is similarly afflicted with this scaly rash on my lower leg but the left leg isn't swollen like this knee. Now you can see why I can't bend it and find it difficult to walk around and do my chores.

The sun is shining again today but we still have that dratted wind. great for drying the towels on the line but not great for sitting out in the sunshine. I love to sit out and relax with my knitting or crochet in the garden. I have a sunshade umbrella that fits in the centre of the patio table so I can sunbathe without getting burnt. I still manage to get a bit of a tan in the summer despite not actually sitting out in the glare of the sun.

I have a lodger cat asleep on the bed. This time it is Oscar the black and white cat from next door. He came in early this morning, looking knackered after a night on the tiles, and is now in a deep sleep. He likes my house because it is quiet and no -one disturbs him. Next door has 2 teenagers and a 12 yrs old and so it can be a bit noisy at times so he can't get his proper relaxing sleep.

I have picked up my niece's knitted jacket again and finished off the front and started the last front. After that I have quite wide bands to knit so it will be a while yet before that is finished and stitched up.

My steam mop hasn't arrived yet so I have an excuse for not doing any cleaning in the kitchen today. It will probably arrive tomorrow and then I will have no excuse for not doing the mopping.

I Think That I Own A Small Part of Kemps

I am definitely a Kemps groupie. One of their biggest fans. Since I discovered this site a large portion of my pension goes to Kemps. I simply cannot resist their bargains. I will have to get some therapy soon or I will be living the rest of my life eating baked potatoes with beans! I could not let the bargain of Sirdar Crofter Chunky pass me by at the price of £1.39p a 50 gram ball. I have often admired the Crofter in the DK but the price is really out of my reach, especially if I am giving the finished jackets away. I am looking forward to making myself couple of jackets with this wool. When the sun is shining I feel a bit silly bundled up in a fleece jacket but I do feel the cold on my scooter unless it is really hot. Chunky jackets will bridge that gap between winter fleeces and hopefully some sunny weather and being able to wear some nice summer tops.

This is the Sirdar Ultra in the red and black fleck and the Chilli colour of Big Softee. Both of these are super chunky and will be so fast to knit up. I could not wait to start myself a really chunky jacket to wear out and about now so last night I cast on the Sirdar Ultra. I must return though to my niece's purple chunky as I still have one front and the front bands to knit. It's naughty of me to start something else when I have things on needles but the urge to knit something plain overtook me last night.

Today the gardener came to trim the lawn and weed the flower beds. The lawnmower has to go through the garage, through my kitchen and out the back door so I will be glad when my steam mop arrives and I can attempt to keep the kitchen floor clean. I find that I cannot lift the mop bucket down from the sink with water in it, nor can I empty it later without my back starting to really hurt. The steam mop is supposed to be very light to use. Feedback that I read about the mop complains that it doesn't hold enough water in one fill to clean a kitchen but for me that is not a bad thing as it will not be as heavy to push as one that carries a lot of water. Feedback doesn't criticize the way that it works and as I only have a small kitchen it won't worry me if I have to refill it to finish the job. The delivery will probably be delayed because of the Bank Holiday and tomorrow's National Holiday for Prince William's wedding day. It could be Wednesday before it arrives even though I have had a confirmation e mail that it has already been sent.

I ordered a mop from another company last week but got an e mail yesterday saying they didn't have any in stock and so had refunded my money. As they didn't know when more stock would arrive I tried a different company. This one is more expensive than the first mop but Hey Ho - it's only money and I can't search around the shops to maybe find a cheaper one. Most of my shopping is done online these days.

I will be watching TV tomorrow morning. Not because I am particularly a Royalist but I do love State occasions and being a woman I am waiting to see what Kate's wedding dress will look like. Most women like a good wedding. I will be there in my armchair knitting away on my stocking stitch jacket so that I don't have to look down too often. I won't be wearing a big hat or waving a flag though.

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.

I Don't Need A Doorbell This Week

I don't need a doorbell this week as I have an early warning look out as you can see. This is his favourite position whilst he guards not only my house but the rest of the street. Unfortunately this is also my knitting/crochet chair so it's usually a case of who gets there first takes up residence. The brightly coloured crochet on the back of the chair is my favourite stash buster Doris Chan All Shawl that I wear on chilly nights.


This morning Buster has been busy, Not only is it the dustbin day, the dustbin cleaner van came as well. We were up early which is just as well as my Kemps delivery came around 8.30 ish. That firm is marvellous. Not only do they sell such great bargains but their delivery is so quick. I only ordered this wool on Sunday eve and it arrived today. Buster was also on guard for the postman coming although he didn't actually have any post for me today.



This is part of my wool order from Kemps. I ordered a few colours of double knit which you will see further down the blog. The Sirdar Tiny Tots wool is for my stash but the aran is for me and I can't wait to start it.



The aran is Rowan Natural Silk aran and it is so soft and silky. It is a mix of viscose, linen and silk and it was reduced to £1.69p a ball how could I resist it? I do like working with nice yarns but my purse doesn't like paying a few pounds per ball for yarn no matter how nice it is. I am so glad that I have discovered Kemps as the standard of my yarn has improved considerably. I will have to pattern browse in my boxes to find a suitable pattern for it.



As I was feeling somewhat guilty about wrapping my niece's knitting away until Buster has gone home I decided to start crocheting a cardigan for her in some Sirdar Silky Look DK that I also got from Kemps at 79p a ball a few weeks ago. The pattern is in 4ply so I am doing a bit of juggling as the Silky Look is a fine double knitting. It is looking rather small at the moment but I am sure that it will be OK once it has been blocked out to show the lacy pattern.



These are some of the colours that I bought to go with some stash yarn that I already had to make this waistcoat. I have discarded two of the colours that I bought as in real life they didn't look like the swatches on the PC and were too similar in shade to make this waistcoat. They will come in useful though as I am always making multi shawls and granny squares. I still haven't finally decided on the colours for the waistcoat but this is my thoughts at the moment.

Buster and I have to play some ball now before he will let me do some crochet. I will probably go for a ride on my scooter so that Buster will get a short walk in a little while. My niece says that she will come at the weekend to walk him for me if he will go with her. He has such separation anxiety if he can't see me or my son and his family. I put that down to his rescued background. He follows me everywhere.I feel like he is Velcroed to my shoes. At home he isn't as bad as he has the other two dogs to bond with and they keep each other company but here he only has me.

Inside Crochet Issue 16

The postman brought me the latest copy of Inside Crochet. The amigurumi which I thought at first glance was an Easter chick but is in fact Leonard the Lion by Maggie Vassie is a lovely gift to give a child for Easter instead of chocolate.

I like the Jade wrap cardigan byLesley Arnold - Hopkins worked in a nice crossed stitch pattern. It is worked all in one for the main part but has separate sleeves that are worked downwards.

Rapunzel scarf by Hilda Panagary is worked in Noro Silk Garden to give the lovely shaded effect. It is made from 3 strips which are stitched together in a plait. Very unusual.

The Hearts baby cardigan by Linda Permann is worked in a fair isle pattern for the little hearts. A nice introduction to crocheted fair isle.

Next is the Cornflower top by Shannon Mullett - Bowlsby which is pretty but I don't like the frilly edging for myself as I think it would add to my wide bits.

The Ocean Stole by Anna Tirat - Gefen is a good way to use up sock wool but I would just make it in one colour instead of the barely noticeable two toned pattern.

The Goddess Tunic by Jennifer J. Cirka buttons on the shoulder and up both sides so would have to be worn over a T shirt or vest as there are large gaps between the buttons. Would be a good garment to hide the bulges.

The Clematis cushion by Barbara Lawson is very pretty but I have to confess that it isn't something that I would have in my house as it's a bit too fancy for my plain decor. I don't think that the dog would appreciate it when he comes to call.

The Star blanket by Ann Parri is a nice blanket but the colour choice is a bit too vibrant for my taste but it could look nice with a different set of colours.

The Baby sneakers by Irene Strange are very pretty. I have seen several patterns similar but as yet never got around to making any of them. The are always on my 'to do' list. Also in this issue are crocheted letters by Helen Free to either spell out baby girl or baby boy or to make up the name of the baby. More crocheted letters will be in future issues.

My order from E Kemp arrived today and I like the Sirdar Baby Bamboo DK so much that I have ordered some more. It is so soft and such a nice colour and will never be £1.39 a ball again. I have so many babies to knit for and this is such a good neutral colour.

The multi coloured wool is Sirdar Escape DK which has a high percentage of wool and was also £1.39 a ball. I will have to crochet and knit quicker as I have so many gorgeous yarns in stash waiting to be made into garments.

I have started the second front of the crochet cabled jacket and done about 6". I am really going to try to finish that off today as I am on a deadline for the middle of March and I have to make along knitted jacket for my niece, that I have yet to start, and her birthday is at the beginning of April. I should do some more work and less Internet browsing. Dashing off now to do some crochet as I feel guilty for wasting valuable crocheting time chatting on here and browsing the magazine.