Back On The List

I am once again back on the hospital waiting list. I got the all clear from the GP this morning which means that the antibiotics worked and my water runneth clear. I phoned the Pre op nurse with the good news but of course she wanted official confirmation so I had to ring the GP back and get him to fax the test results over to her.

I am still progressing slowly with the knitting, I have finished off a front. I am getting a little crochet crazy so have the urge to pick up a hook once again. Knitting makes my wrist and fingers ache so I find it best to alternate the wrist actions from time to time and switch from knitting to crochet and visa versa. I will probably have a look in the donated wool bags and see if there is anything suitable for crochet. A lot of the wool is textured and loopy which makes it almost impossible to crochet with so that will have to be knitted up. I am sure I can find something in there that isn't mohair or textured.

The morning was bright and sunny once again so that is lifting my spirits. I hope that it means that it is going to be a nice weekend. I don't have anything planned except a bit of food shopping but as it's Valentines Day on Sunday there is always the unlikely event of my getting a card although as I don't have any gentleman admirers in the offing I think that is highly unlikely. My ex husband was never the romantic type and although I did get a card he gave it reluctantly as he knew that his life would not be worth living if he forgot ;) If I was lucky he took me out somewhere for a meal but never on the actual day unless it fell on a weekend.

I think that I will put my feet up and settle down to a bit of hat crochet this afternoon although I still have to decide what to make with that ball of pink She mohair. The Knitting Noras are having a sort of competition as to who can make the best or the quirkiest item with one ball of this mohair. I keep thinking about it but as yet have not settled on anything. I keep hoping that inspirations will strike me soon as it is our Knit Out on the 28th of this month.

I need to go and change the channel now on the TV as I cannot stand Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen and I think that the programme where they have to buy someone a house gift is scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as styling programmes go. I still have some unseen DVD's that my niece lent to me so I might just settle down with one of those.

I spoke too soon about the weather. It has now started raining!

I presume that Victorian ladies had more time on their hands

I have had this book for many years and often read it as bedtime reading. Other people read novels I read crochet books. I have yet to have enough patience to make anything from it but adore reading it. It is reprinted in the form of pamphlets bound together as they were originally printed. Each issue cost 2d and the year's subscription (with postage free to any part of the world) was 2s 6d and they were originally published circa 1895. I just love the patterns and wish I could share with you every one of them. Antimacassars, smoking caps, baby's bootikins and opera hoods or fascinators. What wonderful mental images a fascinator conjours up. The edgings for curtains and mats are magnificently intricate. I think the Victorian ladies must have had a lot of time on their hands - perhaps whilst the maid did all the work? They could surely never have done this fine crochet in lamp light. I would love to make the chemise edgings and to keep my chemise in the nightgown case illustrated. I would keep my tea pot warm with the tea cosy in the bottom photo. The ladies must have gone into the haberdashery store to "purloin 2 ozs single Berlin wool" as instructed by the pattern. The edgings are worked in Strutt's or DMC cotton which was still around when I was a girl. There are some fantastic edgings for window blinds crocheted around cardboard shapes. I presume to keep the crochet stiff. Obviously the Victorians didn't launder their blinds or the cardboard would go rather soggy.

My own crochet hasn't progressed much today as I have been visiting my cousin David who I haven't seen for over 30 yrs. He emigrated to the US and is over with his whole family. His brother Eric who lives in Canada is arriving tomorrow but I doubt I will get to meet him as they are travelling up to Scotland in the morning. His sister Hilda is taking time out from her around the world sail to meet up in Scotland also. Her husband was a commander in the Royal Navy and when they retired they sold up and bought a yacht and are spending their retirement sailing from place to place. Last year they were in the west Indies. What a great way to spend a retirement! The whole family are all home for a memorial service for my Aunt Lena (their mother) who passed away last year. She had moved with her husband to Scotland when I was young but I used to see her twice a year when she visited my mum and dad. She had a serious stroke and spent the last few years in a nursing home in Plymouth so this memorial service is so that family and all her friends in Scotland can attend to honour her.

I am on the border of the multi coloured pink shawl and will have finished it by tomorrow. I have found a pattern on line for a reduction market bag. It is made in fine cotton so I will make one more or less to the pattern to get an idea how it is made and then make more with some thicker cotton that I have in stash. I just have a couple of balls in 4ply cotton that should be OK. Most of my other cotton is DK or Dishcloth weight. The bag folds down into a small purse so it should be interesting to see how it all fits together. I must get back to my purple Doris Chan. I have put it down and am finding it hard to pick it back up again. I have also got the second house sock to finish off.

I rang the hospital today and of course only got the ansaphone of the surgeon's secretary. I left a message but of course I have had no reply. This is exactly what happened last time I left a message. I have not had a reply to the e mail I sent to her last week either. I hate to complain but I have just re-read the letter and it is dated 18th Feb and it says "We will try and do the operation in the latter part of the 18 weeks period that we need to do her operation in" Today is 16 weeks by my count since the letter was typed. I thought I would have least been given a time frame by now. I feel that I am just going to have to mither until I get some kind of an answer. If I am not on the June operation list then why not and how long until I am?

No crocheting - I have been knitting socks

I have been lured into a realm I never thought I would ever venture. Hand knitted socks. I blame all these US knitting blogs I have been following with their Sockpalooza. I have now knitted my first ever sock on 5 needles. A first indeed for a girl who has to tuck her needles under her armpits to knit (try doing that with a 7" double pointed needle). I managed in my own fashion by pinning a thick wedge of spare knitting to my waistline at my right hand side and jamming the needle that I am knitting onto into that. I have the bruises to prove it from the few times I jabbed me and not the wedge. I saw the idea in the Shetland Isle Knittters of old who used to walk along the road knitting with the needles jammed into an oval padded leather pad on a belt (Wish I could find one of those) Success! I am still working on my tension though as I have knitted the first sock a bit loose for my taste. I will have to knit the second sock the same but next time I will take the needle size down one.

I got seduced by this Monkey Sock pattern http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter06/PATTmonkey.html that I had seen knitted up so many times on the blogs that I made them up. I have not yet been dragged into the hand dyed multi coloured socks as yet. I just made them from Sirdar Country Style 4ply (UK thickness) in black as I am sorry but I refuse to pay £10 or so (plus p&p) for a sock kit. I will try to find some sock wool next time I visit the craft shop in Ramsbottom. I tried the local yarn shop in Bury but they looked at me very strangely when I asked for sock wool and had very limited choice in 4ply. Mostly baby shades apart from black and navy.

I went to the gym for the very first time ever today. It has been a week of firsts for me. I am on the BEATS programme for people who the GP thinks may benefit from doing exercise to help with a long term condition. ie, my bad back. I have heard back from my MP who is investigating with the hospital for me as to why I am still waiting for an operation after being put on the list in May 2005! The MP's letter says he has had a letter back saying they are looking into it for him so I guess there won't be an answer this side of Christmas! They haven't answered my last 5 phone calls so I hope he has more luck than I have had.