Getting ready for Woolfest

Only one more sleep until Woolfest. I know it is already open today but I won't be there until tomorrow. I am going along with my fellow Knitting Noras and as this is my first visit I am quite excited and I hope that the day stays fine for us.

Today I have pinned my name initials on my hessian Tesco bag which will hold my butties, drinks, camera and of course a bit of crochet to work on if I get any spare minutes in the day, I feel like a kid going on a school trip. I have made my check list, ironed my top, polished my shoes so that everything is ready for the morning. I am not the brightest star when I first wake up so want everything to be there ready to pick up without having to scrabble around packing at the last minute.

I had to go to Tesco for some bread so I managed to pick up some sandwiches with tomorrow's date on them that weren't on that disgusting malted bread. Why do Tesco insist that we want malted bread? It doesn't matter what fillings are in the sandwiches as the strong taste of the bread swamps out any flavour the sandwich might have. Does anyone actually like malted bread or have we all been brainwashed into thinking it is good for us so therefore me must eat it? What is wrong with a bit of Wholemeal or Oatmeal bread? I have got a container of prepared fresh fruit so I must remember to pack a spoon otherwise I will have baby high chair manners and a dribbly chin when I eat it. I have a small pack of wet wipes just in case.

I have managed to finish off the last front band on the baby cardigan for Sylvia. I have one more cardigan to go but I am not starting it on the coach as I use long knitting needles and am at risk of poking my seat companion's eye out if we go over a bump. Safer to stick with a crochet hook methinks. Memo to self - do a sample piece tonight to check tension before packing wool, pattern and hook.

I hope to take plenty of photos so expect a plethora of sheep and alpaca in various poses tomorrow.

First Christmas Present finished

I managed to finish off my first Christmas present. I had literally two yards left of the wool once I had stitched both garments up. Talk about a close call! As you can see they are not a twin set. The patterns came from the same magazine and are in the same wool but not necessarily meant to be worn together. As you can see I omitted the huge collar from the cardigan and changed it's shape from a wide boat shaped neck into a normal cardigan neckline.

I have just got back from a shopping trip to Tesco. My niece gave me a lift and pushed my trolley so I bought in a lot of the heavier stuff like washing powder, comfort etc. Although I hadn't run out of a lot of things I took advantage of an offer to shop and bought in advance. I can manage the day to day things like the bread and milk myself but heavy items defeat me. I know I can shop online but I really like to choose my own stuff if possible.

My son is supposed to be coming tomorrow to chop down that holly tree. The guy who owns the property next door came out last week and half heartedly trimmed a bit of the privets but it was like a drop in the ocean when you consider that the grass is about 2 feet high. Their garden is twice the size of mine. I know that at the moment I can't really maintain mine but it still looks ten times better than theirs. My ex husband was the gardener and was always envious of their garden size as he always wanted to grow veggies long before it was fashionable to grow your own. I am going to have another try at growing veg in my pots and grow houses next year. I didn't bother to try this year as I knew that I would not be fit enough to look after them properly.

I have got a letter saying that the water board saying one of it's sub contractors will be coming in a couple of weeks to assess my house for a water meter so hopefully that should make a difference to my huge monthly water bill. I will have to remember not to leave any taps running in future and pray I don't get any bursts! The letter warns me to check credentials as there has been quite a few bogus water board men prowling in the area conning people out of money etc. In this house they would be sadly disappointed as I am like the queen. I don't carry money! I might be able to find about a fiver if I hunt in all of my purses and pots. I don't think they would find my jewelry of any value either. I doubt there is a market for second hand Argos and George ear rings!

I have got the bedding fluttering on the washing line so I am away now to do a bit more housework. I am doing a room at a time. Today I will do my bedroom. Slowly does it. I am looking forward to crocheting some more squares tonight to finish off Vicky J's shawl. Yeah for crochet! My niece told me today that her sister would like a chunky knit cabled cardigan in grey for Christmas so I need to have a search about for a suitable pattern and wool for that. I am also going to make some more crochet slippers to test out the pattern for Zu. My niece took the red pair that turned out too big for me and thought they were great.