I have great friends

I am so lucky to have such good friends. Over the last year I have had so much love and support from them and I am so appreciative of them even though perhaps I don't tell them often enough. A year ago I had nothing much to look forward to. I was in pain and without much hope of relief. Floundering in a sea of red tape as I batted my head against a brick wall with the hospital. I made a good friend in Warren Flood who using his influence as aide to MP Ivan Lewis got me back on the operation waiting list. Sadly he lost his life due to a bad reaction to anaesthesia during an operation. So sorry to lose him. I owe my operation (when it ever arrives) to him.

I joined the Knitting Noras just over a year ago and through them have made so many good friends. It's lovely to be able to meet up once a month, chat and have a good knit ( or crochet). there are also many e mails from them every week to keep in touch. Vicky has proved to be a wonderful friend. She ferries me to the meets without complaint and has ordered sock wool etc online for me and got me great bargains ( I am a bit of a numb skull when it comes to anything like that). I am totally indebted to her. Yesterday I got some knitting mags and a ball of jazzy sock wool from her which is pictured above. I was itching to start some socks with it.

Another good friend Eadaoin gave me some lovely hand made ear rings and some crochet stitch markers with hearts and stars with little clasps so that I can hook them into my shapings. She listened to my ravings about the troubles I had keeping track of Doris Chan's shapings amd made them for me. She is having a craft fair today in Bolton and I wish her well. Please visit her Flickr site and look at her lovely jewelry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eadaoinflynn/
Vicky had previously made me some lovely beaded stitch markers for my sock knitting. They both listen to my rambles as they made them in my favourite colour of purple.

The swan in the last photo is made from circles that I crocheted for Eadaoin. She sewed him together and made his beak from winding yarn around a pipe cleaner. She named him Cecil (pronounced Ceecil) and has adopted him as a good luck charm so I hope that he worked his magic for her at the craft fair. I used to make them and put gift soap inside them as little gifts. If I had a stall I used to make a few of them and put them on a mirror surrounded by green tissue paper to make them look as thought they were swimming on a lake. Just crochet 3 circles. 2 plain and one with a picot edge and stitch together as shown leaving a gap to push the soap inside.

Last night I finished the main part of the pink variegated shawl and have the edging to do later. I picked up my knitting and unripped the house sock that I started at a Knit Out a few weeks ago and went wrong ( too much chatting and not enough concentration) I managed to re start it from the bottom of the cuff and one sock is now finished. The sock are on large needles, thickish wool and are only ankle socks so take no time at all to knit.

On the subject of friends I would like to thank all of my online friends for their constant support and advice to me. It means a lot. I read every comment and take on board your advice to me about leaving housework etc when I am having a bad day. Today my back is not too bad but I am shutting my eyes to Buster's hair on the chairs and just running the hoover around,washing dishes and walking the dog in the wind. Having an easy day really.

My wish for everyone is to be blessed with good friends like mine. have a good day.

PS. On reading this post again it sounds as though I only appreciate friends for the gifts they give to me. Sorry if it comes across like that. I don't love my friends for what they give to me. You would be my friends without any of that. I just mean to convey that I appreciate that you take the time to create things for me with such thoughtfulness taking into consideration my taste. Amber for the dream catcher to chase away my bad dreams, Amber and Vicky for the crystals to aid my healing, Eadaoin and Vicky for my stitchmarkers and ear rings, Zuleika for my light up crochet hook and everyone for their support. If I can do anything for you then you know you only have to ask and I will try my best to do it.

Guess what I will be doing today

You guessed it. I have to turn the pile of crochet pieces into Kath's cardigan this afternoon. Then I have to return to her sister's jumper. Their birthday presents will be a little late this year but the decorating got in the way. Crochet I can do, knitting I can do but blocking and finishing off is what lets me down. I am not the best stitcher upper in the world so wish me luck.

Last week I gave Vicky a scrumpled up lump of crocheted mohair shawl and a couple of balls of wool as a sort of half finished pressie, She blocked it, fringed it and turned it into a work of art. Please take a look at her blog -http://web.mac.com/vhjeffery/Site/Welcome.html Vicky's blog you will see the end result. I really must learn how to link things on here! Another thing I am total rubbish at. I looked at the shawl in total amazement when I saw the photos. I could not believe how she had blocked and fringed it and made my crocheting look so good. If I had done it, it would still have resembled a lump of crochet with a scraggy fringe. If you don't believe me look back a few posts at my photos. I was sorry that I had not made Perran one then they could have skipped off down the lane together. There is still time but I only have bright fuchsia pink mohair left and I know Perran is not a lover of pink.

I found the lovely stitch markers that Vicky made for me. Guess what my favourite colour is? Yes purple how did you guess - they even came in a box to match. I had carefully stashed them away when I moved the things from the lounge and forgot where I carefully stashed them. Yesterday I found them again - whew. There are just a few other things that I carefully stashed and haven't found as yet but I am sure they will turn up soon.

I found an added bonus whilst tidying. My mother's stash of wool sewing up needles and with a quick rub with a bit of emery paper they came up as good as new. One day I will get around to using the emery paper on the needles from the knitting machine and then it will be all systems a go on that as well. I brought the machine down from the loft, put it together and have never touched it since. It is an ornamental feature of the dining room at the moment.

The sun is shining. Time for a wield of the sewing up needle whilst it is still daylight and before Buster needs his second walk of the day.

No More Blah

I woke up this morning and several times during the night wringing wet through. Not because of incontinence thankfully but with sweat. Whatever it was that I had seems to have vanished with the sweat. I carried on being hot all of today though, even the waitress at Waterstones put my water in a glass of ice, but I think that was as much to do with hot flushes more than my lurgy.

I had to stop taking my HRT ready for the operation. Risks of thrombosis apparently and as I have been taking them for quite a while I had quite forgotten the reasons that they put me on them in the first place. I must ask if there is an equivalent herbal remedy that I am allowed to take before the operation. I am worried in case the sudden rises in temperature that I used to suffer from return once again. They used to cause me to go bright red in the face, get a booming headache, sweat and if I didn't get to cold air fast enough - faint. Aren't we women lucky enduring all these lovely menopausal symptoms. I should, of course, at my age be well past all of that but I suppose I have been kept artificially oestrogenised (if there is such a word) for years with the aid of pills.

I really enjoyed the Knit Out today such a good turn out. I feel lucky to have found so many friends with similar interests in knitting. It's nice to get out and about and meet people as I spend a lot of time on my own. I keep myself focused that once the operation is a success (positive thinking here) that I will be once again able to resume a larger social life.

The shawl on today's blog is for Vicky. Sweet Pea from Stitch and Bitch The Happy Hooker book. Something that I made in a small appreciation for all the help that Vicky has given me over the last months. The lifts here and there make all the difference in the world to me and I would not be taking such lovely photos but for her. She gave me some lovely stitch markers in my favourite shade of lilacs and purples today which I will photograph another day. The shawl is not quite finished but I wanted to give it to Vicky today. The Blah meant that I didn't feel in the mood for blocking it or fringing it but she probably had a lucky escape as my fringing looks like a raggy old cat. About as good as my moth eaten pom poms. It's the finishing touches that always let me down! The shawl will look far nicer with a neat orderly fringe which it will no doubt have under Vicky's scissors.

I gave Linda the secret items I have been making for baby Anna. They will be posted on here on another day. Those and the shawl were made when my blog went a bit quiet photo wise as to post photos or describe what I was doing would have ruined the surprise for them.

My niece Vicky texted to say that she can't bring the other ball of wool needed to finish crocheting Kath's cardie today as she isn't feeling well due to having the lurgy. The last time we were together was Good Friday so I doubt if we got it at the same time! I will continue trying to make sense of the US terms and confusing instructions for Vicky's top down crochet top. The Everyday Crochet book by Doris Chan has some lovely designs in it but I must admit it is not the easiest pattern to follow - well not to my tired old eyes. I am though I must confess not full charge of all of my senses as yet. I find, in general, that the US crochet books are not as easy to follow as the UK books that I have from the past. This book goes all around the houses to explain things and jumps you about from page to page following so many rows from one size and then so many rows from another size on yet another page. To start the jumper in the first place it referred me several pages back to another top altogether! Not the most user friendly book that I have used. I am usually OK once I get the pattern set in my head though. I love so many of the patterns in the book so I do hope that the rest are easier to follow.