Knit Out on a Sunday

Not much to blog about today. I have been trying to do some housework as the house is getting rather tatty - well I should say tattier than usual. I foolishly pegged the bedding out on the line but of course if rained all over it and so indoors it had to come. I put the tumble dryer on as I cannot abide wet bedding drooping about.

My niece came this afternoon and did my hair to banish my Bet Lynch dark roots once again. She browsed through a few patterns and has come to a pencilled in decision as to which pattern she would like for Christmas. She is on holiday this week so plans to visit a couple of markets and shops in the hunt for wool.

My little cat friend Oscar, from next door, came to visit me again today. He is still very timid about coming in as I think he expects Buster to appear from somewhere and chase him off as he has done in the past. He ate the remnants of the turkey leg, had a drink and left when the rain stopped.

On Sunday I went up to the monthly Knit Out of the Noras. We had quite a good turn out. I had hoped to finish off the peach prem baby blanket whilst I was there but I finished up giving a guy crochet lessons instead. The blanket is now finished and I will give it to Vicky when I see her next. I will try to make another before Thursday. I have not done much in the way of crochet (or knitting) these last few days so not much to report.

Here we go unravelling again

I am officially the queen of unravelling. No photos of the finished crochet socks because they are not finished! I have gone drastically wrong with the second sock so will have to unravel it back to the heel shaping.

I went to the Knit Out of the Knitting Noras today (Thanks for the lift Vicky) and was crocheting my sock there. I know I was doing a lot of chatting but I can't blame my mistake on that. I think I started off with too many double crochets when I picked up along the heel and so it took far more rows to decrease down to the right amount. The first sock looks sock shaped but the second one looked more funnel shaped.I still prefer the look and feel of knitted socks but as I put my toe through yet another pair of socks on this morning's dog walk I need more crochet socks merely because they are far quicker to make. Even quicker if I don't go wrong!

Once I have finished the socks I am starting to knit some soaker longies for one of the Noras. Linda has the most adorable baby who sits and chuckles all through the Knit Out. The baby wears cloth diapers and bought trousers don't have enough rise in the bottom to go over the bump so Linda has found this pattern that is shaped to accomodate the extra thickness. Linda has dyed some multi coloured wool so they should make interesting pants.

The Knitting Noras had brought knitted things for the garden for International Womens Week. Vicky has knitted a fairy amongst other things, there was a beehive, a frog and a rabbit. Lisa has already been given lots of other vegetables and flowers and along with her helpers has the task of joining the knitted squares together to form the garden. I should be quite a garden when it is finished and hopefully there will be photos.

I am off to bite the bullet and unravel part of the second sock. I am not saying I will take a photo of the finished socks as I doubt they will be finished tonight.
Maybe by Tuesday?

Update - memo to self when it says on the pattern decrease 2 tog twice it does not mean do it once !

A little thanks

Sorry if anyone is following this blog but I have not posted anything for a few days as I have still not replaced this slow as a snail pc. I do attempt to post but get so fed up waiting for the link to open that I go off the whole idea and decide not to bother!
The guy who was going to advise me on the pc buying has had a family crisis and so now is not a good time to ask him so I will wait until the problem has resolved itself and then hopefully I will get a new pc. Yippeee this pc is almost as old as me !

On Thursday I had been to Asda after my water aerobics lesson and as I was putting my trolley away in the trolley shelter ( good public citizen here I NEVER leave my trolley to roll into other people's cars) I noticed an expensive leather handbag which had been left in a trolley at the back of the trolley stack. Of course I took it back into Asda and gave it in to security and left my name and address in case the lady came back to claim it. The security glanced inside and said there was an expensive mobile phone in there as well as a leather purse plus other personal possessions. I rang Asda today and got told that the lady had rung the phone and when Asda answered it they told her where the bag was and she came in to claim it. They gave her my name and number but I am still waiting for a thank you. I don't expect a reward. I handed it in because I was always taught by my parents to be honest but I feel quite miffed at the owner for not phoning me or sending me a thank you card. That bag was something that I could never afford so if that had been me that had lost and then recovered something like that ( as well as the phone, purse and possibly money or credit cards) I would have been on the phone like a shot saying thank you thank you to the person who had handed it in. So much for manners these days!! So if you know a lady who lost and then recovered a handbag in Radcliffe's Asda on the 22nd tell her she is a very lucky lady that I found it and not someone who would have kept it!

The dog and I are getting along a lot better and today we went for a walk with the 2 dogs who live next door (plus owner of course) so it was a nice change to have a chatting companion on the way around, Buster seemed to enjoy the company as well. Hopefully we can meet up another day for a walk.

I abandoned the 4 needle sock knitting but have made 3 pairs of dog walking socks on 2 needles. I managed to borrow a Baby Annabel doll from the girl who lives next door so am crocheting some outfits and writing my kind of instructions down as I go along. I crochet far better "around" the doll than I ever do trying to follow commercial patterns for crochet doll designs. The doll knitting patterns are fine but for some reason they make the strangest designs for dolls in crochet! Or is it just me that thinks that way? I am still persevering with the 4 needle knitting for the upside down daisy hat in the Itty Bitty Hat book by Susan B Anderson (from Amazon.co.uk) and although I am very impressed with these bamboo needles from Angel Yarns I am so very slow when I can't tuck the right hand needle under my arm. Knitting "free" with the needles on my lap plays havoc with my tension and speed! I guess it's the way I was taught to knit and at 61 am a little old to change my knitting technique.

Tomorrow I am off to the yarn store in Ramsbottom with my niece so that she can buy some wool.She has bought a crochet book with a cardigan in it that she has fallen in love with and as she is a novice crocheter I have said I will make it for her if she buys the yarn and now is a good time as I have not got any large projects on the hook. Tomorrow is also the Knit out day at the Cafe Nero Bolton for the Bolton Knitting Noras (http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/boltonknitters/ - if you would like to join us)
but sorry girls I will have to miss this one - see you all next time.