Yarn Shopping

Today I went yarn shopping with my niece. We went up to the Yarn Barn in Shaw.I love going to that shop if only to see the loads of display garments that she has on the wall and in her window display. They really make you want to make them when you see them finished. Much better than just viewing a pattern or feeling a ball of wool. It was the best kind of yarn shopping for me as I didn't spend anything. My niece was choosing some more wool for me to make her a second long chunky jacket. I made one for her last year and used Sirdar Click chunky. I don't know what happened whether it was the wool, the pattern or the way I knitted it but it dropped and kept on dropping until my niece now wears it as a dressing gown. This time we have chosen a yarn that feels more substantial but it is still soft. I am making a smaller size anyway as she has lost quite a bit of weight but I am considered juggling about with the needles to use a couple of sizes smaller to tighten up the fabric this time around and give the jacket a bit firmer tension. I often do this. Even if my tension is spot on to the pattern but I feel that the fabric is a bit too loose I will knit a larger size and drop a needle size. She has chosen King Cole Magnum lightweight chunky in a purplish colour.

We chose a pattern for the charcoal Patons Diploma DK that I had already bought for my younger niece. My older niece knows what kind of jackets my younger niece likes so has chosen this one but without the ribbon fastening at the waist.

My niece kindly bought me the two chunky patterns for me to use with the sale chunky that I bought before Christmas from E Kemp. I am so glad that I bought it when I did as it has all been sold out now. My older niece likes the garter stitch jacket so some of the sale wool might just get knitted up for her. She had a browse in my stash room today and picked out some colours that she liked. I have far more in there than I need for myself so I will know what to make for her in the future. I will get her to chose patterns from my stash another day to match up with the colours that she has chosen.

Since I have found a way to partially knit a hat on the knitting machine I have now made 3 on the machine.I knit the decreases on the crown by hand. The first brown one that I made came out a bit large but the second brown one and the multi coloured one came out a lovely beanie size. The crocheted hats are based on the beanie hat from the Stitch n Bitch Happy Hooker book. I was using some old Listers Can Can with the contrast stripes of red and blue done using scraps from my stash. I really want to start my new projects off but I am going to make a couple more hats (my total is now 12) as I may be going to the Kings Arms Knit Club on Monday when I can hopefully hand them over to be taken to the Big Issue office.

Hearts To Spain

I have finished some crochet hearts for the Art Gallery in Spain. I ventured out in the cold up to the Post Office and they are now on their way. How long it will take them to get there is another thing. One reason that I posted early is that they are needed for the 10th February so I didn't want to leave it until the last minute.

I had to nip out also to pay an installment on my credit card bill. I have gone a little mad with it of late and when it arrived today it was like a dash of cold water to the face. Time to fasten up the purse strings tightly until I have paid it off. Admittedly I still have the electric arm chair and the mobility scooter payments on there so in my defence it is not a total wool buying bill although I think that I have paid someones wage at Amazon over the Christmas and New Year period! I still have some books to arrive from back orders and pre orders but after that it will be Whoa no more!

Having said all of that I am going to the Yarn Barn in Shaw over the weekend but that won't count as my niece is buying some wool for me to knit for her and I will only be buying a pattern or book for some wool that I already have for her sister's jacket. I will try to blinker my eyes to the rest of the shop and concentrate on what I am there for. I do have some bargain chunky in stash that I got from E Kemp so I might just have to browse for a pattern or two that I like for myself. That's not really stashing is it? Or am I just fooling myself? I need a nice pattern to de stash so that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

I watched a programme on TV last night about hoarders. Of course I was doing the tut tutting like everyone else until it was mentioned that she had a pile of wool underneath all the stuff that was enough to open a small wool shop. Now that kind of shook me. I call myself a wool stasher or collector but just when do I tip over the edge into being a wool hoarder. I used to stash it all in a very small bedroom but it does seem to be creeping down the stairs in boxes into my dining room. At night I tend to have everything around me in my armchair and sometimes I look like I am sitting in a sea of wool (depending on what I am making). It is starting to worry me now. I am not fond of housework, very untidy, would rather be crafting than hoovering and dusting. Am I more than half way there do you think? For the record though I do have clear pathways all through the house and my bedroom doesn't have any clothes on the floor preventing me from finding my bed. I recycle cans, plastic, paper and glass in my bins so maybe I am only a quarter of the way there ;-)

Today I started another crochet hat. I found out from Enid that I had missed the Big Issue Knit Out at the Nexus cafe that I went to last year. I am still carrying on though and hoping that someone will drop them in for me. Today I tried to make a hat on the machine. I have to finish it off by hand and needles for the decreases at the crown but I am just seeing whether making a lot of it n the machine will be quicker. Unfortunately this one appears to be going to turn out another one for a big headed man. It's hard to judge just how many stitches to put on for machine knitting. I used the amount from a hand knitted one but obviously I am going to have to adjust the sts if I make another one.

Time to see if there is anything good on the TV tonight,. The better the programmes the more I knit or crochet. I tend to wander around the house if the programmes are not enthralling.

Hats For The Big Issue Homeless Project

Last year the Nexus Cafe in Manchester combined with the Big Issue and had a knit in at the cafe to provide some hats and scarves for the Big Issue sellers and the homeless of Manchester. Last year I made quite a few of each from donated and scrap stash wool and this year I vowed to make some more. I think that the Kings Arms Knit Club might join me in making some hats, scarves or gloves. One of our members Marie kindly dropped my contribution into the Big Issue for me so I am hoping that she will do the same for me this year.

I have crocheted 2 hats so far with some wool that I got donated but never used last year. Each one took 2 x 50 grams of Patons Moorland chunky in a brown fleck. This is now discontinued but should be warm as it has a good percentage of wool in it. One of the hats turned out a bit on the large side when I tried it on but maybe men have bigger heads than me or maybe there is some homeless guy out there with a lot of thick hair, I have started an earflap hat in crochet and that is also from donated chunky wool. This time it is Patons Beehive chunky in a plain brown. I have doubled this wool up and it will take 3 x 50 gram balls. I am going to have a rummage in my copious amounts of part balls in the stash room to find suitable colours for men. I plan to keep making hats in between my other projects until I have enough to donate. I might crochet some stripey scarves with my oddments. I will double and treble the wool to make it into chunky warm hats. I have been making so much for babies and toddlers that I have a lot of pale colours in my oddments.

The second matinee coat is for Phil's, the Kings Arms barman, new baby girl to be. I have made a slightly larger size this time. Once again it is a vintage Patons baby pattern and the wool is Sirdar Snuggly Baby Quicknit. I thought that I would make one for when she is born and one for a bit later as babies grow so fast.

I have not put any photos of the Interweave crochet magazine on here as most people have had their copy for a long time. This is not the original magazine. This is a replacement copy that was sent to me on Friday.I wonder if my original one will ever turn up? If it does I shall post it straight back so they can resell it. There isn't much in this Winter issue that I would think of making for myself. Maybe I have become a bit jaded as I have so many books and magazines. Nowadays something really has to grab my attention. I have enough on my list of things to make, without adding anything for me, at the moment.

Today is supposed to be Blue Monday but to be honest I didn't feel much different than any other Monday except that I was so tired this morning that I nodded off at the PC desk in the middle of looking at Ravelry and bumped my head on the edge of the desk. I woke up, of course, thinking what the heck just happened !

The sun came out today for a while and as you can see it was warm enough to steam the wet fencing. When I saw it at first I thought that something was on fire as there was so much steam which looked like smoke at first glance. The sun didn't last long though and we went back to dull and wet in an hour or so.

Tesco delivered my food order today. I needed quite a few things and it's hard to fit a lot on my scooter. I don't use home delivery most of the time, just when my shopping list is long and the weather is rainy as it was on Saturday when I put my order in.

Tonight I am going in the stash room to find some more wool for hats. Should I tie a string around my waist so that I can find my way out? Imagine the headlines -" Wool Stash hoarder found trapped underneath a pile of wool. Neighbours discovered her when they noticed that they hadn't seen her for a couple of days. After recovering in hospital the first thing she asked for was a ball of wool and a crochet hook"

Ready To Go

The bags are packed and ready to go. I am lucky enough to get the offer of a lift from my niece to the Kings Arms Knit Club tonight. Marie will hopefully be there tonight and as she works near by the Big Issue in Manchester she has offered to drop in the hats and scarves that I have made for the homeless. I haven't finished making them but I am taking a wee break just for now. It is an ongoing project so I will return to it from time to time and just keep the hats until I can get them delivered to the Big Issue. I haven't, as yet, made any gloves so maybe that will be something that I can make next.

The Kaftan knitting has moved on a bit. I now have a back and two fronts knitted. I don't think that i will be taking a sleeve with me to the Knit Club as I will probably go wrong as I am knitting and nattering,. I haven't been for such a long time that I am sure there is a lot to catch up on. I will take something simple with me.

Today is miserable, dull and rainy and so I plugged in my SAD light. I can't tell as yet whether it is the lamp, the usually better weather or the anti depressants but I am feeling better. Perhaps it is a combination of all three.

Next door's cat Oscar has come in out of the rain. He has settled upstairs somewhere but no doubt I will disturb him when I go up for a shower shortly. He is a nervous cat and even though he knows me well he still jumps a mile if I go anywhere near him. He only allows me to stroke and pet him if I am feeding him.

I am looking forward to going out tonight. Being in the company of other people always lifts my spirits and the Kings Arms knitters are usually a lively bunch.I have put a link to the photos that Rachael has posted showing some of the members of the Knit Club. Click on the blog title.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to everyone. A special Valentine wish to Bev and her husband who celebrate their Ruby wedding today. How romantic is that getting married on Valentines Day. I hope that you both have a happy and romantic day.

The reversible hat didn't shrink in the wash or in the dryer. I should maybe have tried putting it in the washing machine but I was scared of it felting as I wasn't sure if it was all mohair or not. I have made a smaller version. It is still doubled but as both sides are the same colour it is a little hard to see. I was given 5 x 25 gram balls of Listers Shalimar which is fluffy but mostly acrylic with just a bit of mohair. I also made a matching scarf. Although I am modelling the hat it isn't for me it is another hat and scarf destined for the Big Issue homeless.

I am back to my knitting again and have started the second front of the cream Kaftan cardigan. I think that I might try to finish this off before I start anything else off. It all depends on how my wrists and the back of my neck fare tonight. I might just have to work a couple of hours on it and then swap to some crocheting.

Reversible Crochet Earflap Hat

I decided to give the wrists a break from the knitting last night and crocheted this reversible hat. I am not sure that a homeless person will appreciate it being in mohair or the rather unmanly colours but as I am working with the yarn that I got donated I am making the best of what I have got. The wool was some kind of mohair or mohair substitute. It was unlabelled and in part balls so I can't give you a clue to what it is.

To make it just choose a top down crochet beanie pattern that is appropriate to the thickness of the wool that you are working with. Try it on and then add ear flaps on either side. I try it on at this stage to ascertain where the position of them should be. In this case it was 8 UK trebles and 2 plain rows and then one decrease row to make the ones on this hat. Make another beanie in the same manner in a different colour. Pin them together, one inside the other, with the wrong sides facing and then work a couple of rows of UK double crochet all around the edge going through the edges of both hats to link them together. I finished them off with a crocheted chain with tassels to fasten.

The hat came out a bit on the large side and as it needed washing I have hand washed it but put it in the dryer to try and shrink it in a little. If it is mohair then hopefully it will felt and shrink a little making it an ultra warm hat. I always forget when I am trying on hats to remove the hair clip that sits on top of my head so whilst the hat fits me when I am wearing the clip it tends to fall over my eyes when my hair is down. I must remember to take out my hair clip when I am making hats in future unless they are for me.

I hope that those of you who are in relationships get at least a Valentines Card tomorrow and hopefully some flowers. I won't be looking for any cards this year, As far as I know I don't have any admirers, known or unknown, and as my aunts have long passed away no one in the family to send them to me. When I was a teenager I always got a couple of cards. I found out much later that it was my two unmarried aunts who didn't want me to feel left out on Valentine's Day as they presumable did when they were girls.

My plans for today are few. Just a bit of food shopping and then settle down with my knitting once again. Last night, before I settled down to a night of CSI, I watched 'Fools Rush In' DVD with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek. A suitably romantic comedy for Valentine's weekend. I still have a few loaned DVD's to watch so if there is nothing exciting on TV a couple of those will be on tonight's agenda.

Still Busy Crocheting Hats For The Homeless

I am still crocheting hats for the homeless.I have used up the bag of cream and brown unravelled donated wool and have managed to make 2 cream scarves, 3 cream hats and a brown one. The worst part was sewing all the tails in as some of the balls were really small or had lots of knots in. I need to wash them all before I give them away as they do smell a little musty as the wool has been stored for quite some time.

The multi coloured hat is one I found part made in my stash. I can't remember which pattern I used (or even if I ever had one) so I finished it off hence the difference in the size of the bobbles, It is made from 2 strands of machine cones and I think that I must have stopped making it as making bobbles with doubled wool is a bit of a pain so I made the bobbles smaller as I kept losing threads and having to start all over when I tried to make them as big as the original row.I now have a bag full of hats and scarves ready to take to the Islington Mill Knit Out at the end of February.No doubt I will have made a few more before then although I have got a pattern for some knitted fingerless gloves in chunky that I might try as a change from all of the hats.

I am feeling a little better. The weather is helping as although it is still dull the mornings are a bit lighter. I managed to get a bit of housework done yesterday. I must be taking more notice of my surroundings as for the first time in ages I saw the dust and actually cared about the mess. Today I plan on tackling this room which I always call my mess room as everything gets dumped on the computer desk. It is my filing system for hospital appointments and bills that need dealing with. If I move them anywhere else and try to tidy up then I lose them or forget appointments.

I might start a knitted cardigan for myself with some very old Kaftan. Listers made the Kaftan which was a sort of brushed acrylic aran. I used to stock in when I had the shops. I got given some and managed to unearth an old pattern for it from my pattern stash. I will have to scale it up a bit as what I never noticed with my old patterns is that the largest size a lot of them do is 38". Just shows that we must have been slimmer back in the 80's as I don't remember anyone complaining that the patterns didn't go large enough.

The amaryllis now has one fully opened flower, another part opened and a bud. So I will have had 6 flowers altogether from my Christmas gift. There is a small bud at the bottom that might just grow into a third stem once these flowers have finished blooming. I will try to take a photo of it today if the daylight gets brighter this afternoon.

Time to get showered and dressed. My neighbour has told me that my new computer monitor has arrived and he will come and install it for me sometime this week. My niece is calling tonight with my S.A.D light so maybe tomorrow I will be bouncing with energy.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments whilst I have been a bit down. They are much appreciated and have kept me going. Ailsa I will try the Cranberry juice when I go to the shops tomorrow. Since I have been taking the antibiotics the swelling in my knees and my stomach has gone down It makes me wonder if I was right all along when I thought that I had infection in my knee after the last operation. My knee is back to a normal temperature. The hospital told me that I didn't have an infection and the heat was due to my arthritis. Some days I could have fried an egg on it.

Sunday Knit Out

Yesterday I went to the monthly Knit Out of the Knitting Noras. Although I do enjoy the Knit Outs by the time I got there I was not on speaking terms with my knees. No matter what the future holds for me in the way of operations and recuperation it surely can't be any worse than this. Watch this space however as I might live to regret these words!

We had quite a good turn out of knitters yesterday. The members have been having a competition as to who could make the best thing from one ball of "She" bright pink mohair. I picked up my ball yesterday and my contribution was almost magical. When I got home and looked for the ball as if by magic it had disappeared. I couldn't understand what had happened to it as I know that I had put it in my bag, This morning when I took another look and shook the bag that I had taken it was underneath the plastic liner that is at the bottom of the bag to give it stability, The ball is one of those flat donut shapes and I hadn't noticed it last night when I emptied the bag.Not sure what I will make with mine. I will have a think. One of the ladies has made a rather amusing mini bikini of 3 hearts with strings I presume in honour of Valentines day. She modelled them over her sweater and pants of course as it was the middle of a Sunday in a public coffee cafe.

I got a very welcome lift home from Bev another Nora member as I had volunteered to store the rest of the wool that was donated for the Noras to use. I have made an inventory of it and will post it up on the Noras site to see if anyone wants anything from it. A lot of members have already chosen some wool but some members haven't seen it as yet. Living alone I have the most space to store it and if no-one else wants it then I can always make good use of it to make some more hats, scarves and possibly shawls with it. They can be an ongoing project for me over the year and I am sure they will all find good homes once they are finished.Besides the homeless hats and scarves there is always a raffle that wants a prize.

I finished off another hat for the homeless and have started a knitted scarf with the navy donated wool. I am knitting the scarf with 3 strands which isn't always easy as I keep finding that I have left a strand behind. I am looking forward to knitting and crocheting something that only has one strand after this.

I managed to poke my toe through my hand knitted socks whilst I was out yesterday. I have only worn them 3 times. I am so heavy footed with hand made socks when I wear them inside my boots. I have found the left over ball and so am thinking of undoing the toe and re-knitting the end of it rather than having to darn it. It will be a bit tricky unravelling the grafting (Kitchener stitch) at the toe but I will only have to unravel about 6 rows after that.

My elder niece called on Saturday and left me some chick flick DVD's and she also brought me a photo of Charlie and Finlay wearing the blue hooded jackets that I made them for Christmas. Their Mum says that the cat is supposed to be looking over the top of the frame but it doesn't matter. The cat can be peeping around the side instead. The red crochet blanket in the photo was made by my elder niece and I got an e mail at the weekend to say that my younger niece (who lives in London) has mastered her first crocheted granny square!

That's what I like. The skills passed to me by my maternal grandmother, my paternal aunties and my Mum passed on to another generation. I only wish that my mother had also taught me to cook! My mum made the most wonderful pastry but as she never measured anything I have no idea how to copy it.When I asked she said Oh I don't know what I do I just was shown this way by my Mum. I have tried pastry from a recipe book but I just don't seem to have the knack of it. Not that I will be trying to make at the moment as I am putting a bit more Oomph into trying to diet and that does not include eating pastry!

Photos Of Big Issue Knit Out

These are some photos taken at the Big Issue Knit Out. They were taken by Audreym (Ravelry name) and also feature photos of yours truly theurbangypsy (AKA the big blue crocheting whale) - who is crocheting along with Roger (Ravelry name Thatroger) and the bottom photo is Lucy (I-Lucius) and Cara ( Pinkerton). They are knitters from the 8th day knit club and are part of the Manchester Massive Ravelry group that I am also a member of. Although I don't manage to get to the 8th Day for the knit outs I do bump into these ladies from time to time at functions such as these and Roger is a fellow member of the Kings Arms Knitters of Salford. Audrey has kindly allowed me to "pinch" these photos from her Flickr for my blog.

As you can see from these photos that there were quite a few young knitters. These photos show a fraction of the people who attended. If I find any more photos then I will post them at a later date. So many people had cameras that I am sure that there must be loads more eventually.

My friend Sue from the Knitting Noras called today. Nice to have a chat and a catch up with gossip and to see photos of her new grand daughter. I haven't finished the outfit intended for her as last night I finished off the crochet hat that I had started at the Knit Out and have started another one exactly the same as I had enough wool left over. The baby outfit is coming out more for a six month old anyway so it will still fit the next time that I see Sue.She is making a lovely crocheted pram blanket for her new grandbaby. She has chosen lovely subtle shades of pinks, creams lilacs and beiges in a lovely soft cotton and the blanket is 6 larger multi coloured granny squares with a border around. The colours were lovely. I hope that she posts a photo on Ravelry when she has finished it off.If she does then I will "pinch" it and let you see it.

I am going to carry on making hats and scarves but in and between other projects as i think that I will get rather bored with just churning out hat after hat.

Nexus Art Cafe Big Knit Out

I went to the Big Knit Out at Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester today. What a good afternoon. I thought that there would maybe be a dozen or so knitters but when I got there the place was full. So lovely to see so many young knitters. People always think if knitting as a bit of an old lady hobby but if they could have seen all these trendy young people knitting then they would have to amend their thinking.

I met up with Marie and Roger from the Kings Arms Knitters,Sean from the Bolton Knitting Noras and 3 ladies from the 8th day knitters, Debbie Tomkies and a few other people whose faces I recognised but the names escape me.Sean managed to win one of the raffle prizes but as he had gone home when they drew the raffle I don't know what he won. I Lucius (Ravelry name) from the 8th Day knitters also won a prize of card making papers and a cross stitch pack.

Nexus have an art and craft afternoon every Sunday between 3 - 5pm so if anyone wants to donate any knitted or crocheted hats, scarves or gloves then you can pop them in then. Or if you just fancy meeting up for a chat and craft go along. The cafe makes delicious sandwiches too and they are very reasonably priced.I had a hot chicken and stuffing sandwich served with some chopped peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes on the side. Very nice.

I started another hat whilst I was there but didn't manage to finish it off whilst I was there. Marie gave me some navy wool to use for some more hats until my next supply of wool arrives. There is enough navy to make a scarf and hat set. Marie has also given me a chunky half mitten knitting pattern that I can make also.

People were taking loads of photos of the event but as usual I didn't take my camera. One guy was saying I could view them later on Twitter but as I don't do Twitter I guess I will have to hope that he puts them on Facebook too.

Last night I was crocheting the baby angel top and have almost finished it. It needs buttons and ribbons yet.Tonight I will either finish off the crochet hat I started this afternoon or carry on with the matching knickers and sun hat for the baby.

The sandwich that I had for my late lunch was very filling so I am not in the mood for any dinner tonight. I will probably have a snack later, it was a bit miserable on the way home as the rain is coming down again. Never mind I can shut the curtains, make a coffee and turn on the TV and hope that there is something good to watch.

Eleven Hats for the Homeless

The latest two hats I have made are more for the ladies. Unless of course any of the men would like to wear a hat with lurex thread and a flower. Well these days one never knows. I have now made eleven hats. Ten crocheted and one knitted. I am hoping to make it to a dozen at least before I go to the Knit Out on Sunday.

Today is, once again, dull and rainy. I think that I will save up for one of those light lamps for S.A.D as I am sure that I have a touch of that as I definitely feel a lot more lethargic and miserable when there is no sun around. I am sure that I was born to the wrong mother and was destined for a hot climate.

Today I got the sign off letter from the specialist that I saw on Tuesday. He is very efficient. Usually I get copies of these letters up to a month after my appointments.He has said that whilst he is happy with my spine after his operation he is unhappy with the knee pain and lack of treatment that I have received which is preventing me from doing the exercise that I need to be doing to maintain my mobility following this operation. Let's hope that my knee specialist picks up on his recommendations when I see him next week.

Thanks for your message Enid. I have tried to add you to Facebook but as usual Facebook was acting up and playing silly beggars so I don't know if you will get my invitation.

Today I really must do a bit of housework. I have brought plastic bags of oddments of wool downstairs whilst I have been hat making and so my front room looks like a rummage sale and I dread anyone calling. I think it's time to re-organise my stash again. It's funny but after eleven hats I can't see any difference to the size of the oddment bags! I can see more stripey hats in the future as a lot of the balls are too small to make a hat in one colour.

Coffee time and time to watch Loose Women.

Snowy Day Hat

The red hat is the Snowy Day Hat by Lauren Osborne that is in Crochet Today magazine January/February 2010. The description says 'You will stand out on the slopes or on the streets with this colourful cap' so I do hope that the homeless person who gets this will not mind standing out. My version came out a bit smaller as I was using scrap wool so I had to add a few more rows of the red to make the hat long enough before I added the ear flaps. it is still a bit close fitting but I will damp block it and it will stretch out a little.

The green knitted hat was made with an oddment of some wool called Poodle that I was given a couple of years ago in a bag of donations. I am not a lover of knitting with anything with texture on it. I push all the nobbles along as I knit. It must be the way I hold my wool. I usually avoid using it but it seemed a shame for the wool not to be used up.

I am hoping to make 12 hats before I visit the Nexus Cafe on Sunday. I think that I will make it as I have made 9 hats so far. I am rapidly running out of male colours so I will make a couple of lady colours as my friend pointed out to me today that there are also homeless ladies. I hope that there are as I don't think any man would want a pink or lilac hat!

Quiet day today. Nothing planned. I think that I will just have a late lunch now with a coffee. I am defrosting some lamb mince so I think that it will be a shepherd's pie for dinner tonight (and for the next couple of days)

More Crochet Hats for the Homeless

I had a hospital visit today which involved, as usual, lots of waiting about so I am now up to 6 crochet hats for the homeless. The colours are too bright as it was dark when I got home and the flash on the camera has altered the colours.

I had to see the spinal specialist. The delay was when he wanted a final X Ray to make sure that the plate and pins are still in place. Due to the snow and ice the fracture clinic, which is held in the same department, was bulging at the seams and the queue for X Ray was so large people had to stand as there wasn't enough chairs. I got chatting to a lady and she said that she had waited 4 hours last week. I didn't wait that long but by the time I had a sandwich and a drink after my appointment I didn't come out of the hospital until after 2.30pm even though I had a morning appointment. I managed to crochet a hat whilst I waited and as usual started up plenty of crochet conversations in the waiting room.

One lady was working on the poem Footsteps in cross stitch. She was just putting the finishing touches to it. She showed it to us and it was a real labour of love as it was bigger than a tea towel in size. She admitted that it had taken her 8 years from start to finish but she had done the majority of it whilst recovering from a new knee operation. She said that like me she had a couple of repair ops that didn't work but said her new knee was wonderful.

The spinal specialist does not need to see me any more but expressed concern about the fact that my knees had not been sorted out yet more than a year after my fall. He agreed that my weight is a drawback to a good success rate but could not understand why I had not been offered any weight help. I said that I had been offered Lipotrim but it made me ill and I had to discontinue using it. He said that I should have been offered an alternative and not just dropped from the weight loss programme. Sometimes I think that the specialists have no idea what goes on in the rest of the hospital.

Enid - I can't add you on Facebook as your comments come up on here without any e mail address and your blogger profile does not have one.I am on Ravelry as theurbangypsy so you could send me a message on there. I don't put my e mail address on here as I get enough spam as it is. I must delete 30 or more adverts for Viagra, pen*s enlargements, dating sites and mail order brides every day, At least the Nigerians have stopped asking me for my bank account details to process their legacy from a will now. The other day I got one allegedly from the Inland Revenue so I didn't open it. I rang the Inland Revenue and of course they hadn't e mailed me.They asked me to forward the e mail to their spam department to find out who had sent it, I knew that they hadn't as they don't have my e mail address and anyway the Revenue would not have sent me 6 identical messages 5 minutes apart! . I didn't open them - no doubt it was something asking me for bank account details saying I had a payment due to me. They must think that we are born yesterday.