Slow Progress

Not much to report on the knitting front today. I am still ploughing on with my niece's chunky jacket. I decided to block out the pieces I have knitted just to reassure myself that it would stretch out as it was looking very narrow on the needles. As my instructions were to make a big floppy jacket I was a bit worried but as you can see it has blocked out nice and wide. I still have one front to complete and then the bands.

I was a bit concerned about the shaping in the front as I have never shaped a front neck before from the sleeve edge. I am sure that Sirdar knows what it is doing but on most patterns I have decreased at the front edge inside the cable border. I just hope that it doesn't pull the pattern a bit sideways when it is stitched up. I tried to block it out by shaping the armhole like the back.

I feel like this jacket has taken me ages but then it is 34" long so that is quite a few inches longer than I would normally knit a jacket.

I went to the Kings Arms Knit Club last night and it was absolutely freezing. The heating in the pub had broken down and we could see our breath in the snug. It will be my last visit for a little while as Pam who gives me a lift is relocating to St Annes at the weekend so won't be coming to the knit club every week from now on. Last night was the first night that I had gone without a coat. Normally I don't need one as I am picked up and dropped off door to door but I wish I had put my fleece on last night. The heating engineer who was "on his way" when we arrived hadn't made an appearance before we left just after 9pm.

Next door's cat was waiting in my porch for me to return and as soon as the key was turned in the door he shot in and straight on the sofa for a warm. He is still here and is refusing point blank to leave. I don't blame him as today is wet, cold and miserable. This kind of weather really makes me feel down. Last night we had freezing fog. It's going to be a long time until the sun shines properly again.

Washcloths - or in my case Dishcloths

Not a very exciting post today. All I have to show is 4 washcloths as they call them in the US or dishcloths as we call them in the UK. I suppose I could also use them in the bathroom but as they are this rather revolting colour them somehow I don't think so. I bought this Colorado cotton on a whim in Lidl a couple of years ago and never did much with it so I decided to put it to practical use and make dishcloths as my old ones are getting rather holey. In fairness to the cotton it is lovely and soft despite it's cheapness and had it been a different colour would have made something nicer with it.

The chunky jacket for my niece is still progressing. I have now finished two sleeves, part of the back and most of one front. The reason I am flitting about from piece to piece is that I am trying to gauge the wool as I have my doubts that the pattern states enough wool to make it as described. My niece doesn't mind losing a couple of inches off the length as the jacket is 34" long so I don't want to finish off any of the pieces in case I have to lose a bit of length. I would rather unravel at this armhole stage than after I have finished the pieces off at the shoulders.

The weather has been miserable over the last few days with Manchester living up to it's rainy reputation. The sun is, at the moment, trying to shine after a downpour this morning and I am contemplating walking up to Tesco as I need a Lottery ticket. I will of course be taking my trusty trolley and brolly. I feel like a bag lady pushing it along the pavements but pride takes a backseat when I go shopping as I cannot carry anything heavy and today I need some washing powder.

I don't understand why washing powder has to be in such large boxes as when you open them they are rarely more than two thirds full. I have tried the liquids and the sachets but somehow always come back to the powders. As I am a demon with the green soft soap and a scrubbing brush pre wash then it doesn't seem to matter how cheap/expensive my washing powder is. I never rely on powder alone to get rid of any spills and stains on my clothing. I don't buy those pre wash sprays either as I still find a bit of elbow grease, a scrubbing brush and fairy soap works better.

I'm With Quentin On This

As I was battling with some housework today a thought came into my mind about a quotation that I had heard once on the TV in a documentary on the late Quentin Crisp. For those of you who might not have heard of him he was a blatant, flamboyant homosexual in an era when such things were punishable by law. Some of the things Quentin said in the interview really stuck in my mind. I looked them up on the net so that I could quote them to you verbatim.

For today I thought "There is no need to do any housework. After the first four years the dust doesn't get any worse" was very apt for me as I am a reluctant domestic goddess at the best of times.I really don't mind a bit of dust and clutter. I am basically clean but just lack the incentive to be either Kim or Aggie. I don't eat off my kitchen floor so what does it matter if it has a few muddy cat or dog prints on it?

His quote " If at first you don't succeed, then failure is maybe your style" applies to me a lot. I rarely have succeeded in anything that was expected of me so I should have decided long ago just to succeed at failure and have done with it.

When I look in my wardrobe "Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are" springs to mind. I have never been a slave to fashion except for a brief period in the 60's when I could not decide whether I was an op art Mary Quant mini dress wearer or some kind of hippie with tie dyed tops and skirts or embroidered cheesecloth items that I bought from Carnaby Street. Don't tell anyone but I still have a cream cheesecloth skirt and a bright pink striped long wrap around skirt that I bought way back then still in the wardrobe which I have been known to still wear. Don't tell the fashion police will you? I would still have an embroidered cheesecloth blouse but the seams failed miserably under the armpits and disintegrated so I had to throw it away as it was beyond repair.

I finished off the sleeves and started a front on my niece's chunky cardigan but succumbed to the lure of the siren call of my crochet hook and had to use up the last of the sock wool to make my phone a new cosy. If you look closely you can see the red rabbit button that I have used to fasten it with. I have also started some washcloths (or dishcloths as I call them) with some cotton that I bought from Lidl a couple of years ago and never found a use for.

I suppose I had better get back to the hoovering and maybe, horror of horrors, get the mop out for that kitchen floor but that might be pushing my domestic prowess a bit too far. Oh my, I would far rather be crocheting. I wonder if Quentin's dirt theory applies to kitchen floors if I just leave it?

The Grafting Mantra

I have finished my rather jazzy socks as you can see, Two 50 grams of Regia 6ply Colour 05956 easily made a pair for me and I could have made the legs 2" longer if I had so desired but I do have small feet so maybe it would have taken the 3 balls that it advises you on the label to buy for a pair of socks.The pattern was a printed sheet that I got free from the not so Angelic online wool shop with wool for my last pair said 2 balls so I stuck with that.

They are a bit on the thick side but they knitted up in the blink of an eye and will be just fine for inside my boots. The grafting mantra I refer to is of course when I had to graft the toe stitches together. Yes, I know most people call it Kitchener stitch but in my day it was always called grafting. Anyway who is this Kitchener? I can only graft with the aid of my tutorial propped in front of me, and total silence except for my chanting


FRONT; KNIT; REMOVE

FRONT; PURL; LEAVE ON

BACK; PURL; REMOVE

BACK; KNIT; LEAVE ON

I watch other people do this whilst chatting and I wonder if I have a mental blind spot or whether I am just thick as although I have now done this many times the method never stays in my head from one graft to another, even from one sock to another! Perhaps I should try to learn it parrot fashion as I did with my times tables at school.

I have finished the second sleeve of my niece's chunky jacket and am poised ready to either carry on with the back or start a front. I do have the itchy hook syndrome though and have brought some grey and white random cotton down from my stash to sneak in a bit of washcloth crochet. I do have an excuse, my kitchen cloths are starting to get holes and are looking very shabby so I really NEED to do some crochet. Well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

I re-gilded the lily this morning. Well come on now - you didn't think I was a natural blonde did you? I am really looking forward to the day that I go grey and then I don't have such dark roots to attend to. My brother didn't go grey until his 70's the same as my mother so I have a while to go yet. The only comforting thought is that both my mother and my maternal grandmother went pure white instead of going grey and I hope that I finish up with that same gorgeous colour. I know that I shouldn't blow my own trumpet but check out that forehead. No Botox there and yet barely a wrinkle. Thank God for good genes and regular moisturising. My Grandmother used to use Imperial Leather soap and Ponds cream every day and she had beautiful skin in her 90's. My Mother brought me up on Oil of Ulay (as it was called in those days) but I did veer off it to various other products once I left home. Thankfully I have never smoked so I don't have to worry about the cat's bum mouth lines, just worry about the fact that my lower eyelashes seem to have disappeared over the years.

Dismal day today. The rain has been bucketing down since the early hours. Thankfully I don't have to go out beyond the dustbin. My request to the Universe has so far brought me an offer of a drink (sorry but aren't you married?) and offer of a meal out (this guy would need a hoist to get out of his chair so I think he should step away from the pies. I know that I am not exactly Twiggy but he would make 3 of me) so I am not counting this as much of a success yet. Still it's early days yet.

My budding would be romance has really hit the buffers so I think I can will regretfully have to draw a line under him ( Well he was rather good looking so I gave him more chances than I would have normally) He will never know what he is missing now (Pause here whilst I give my trumpet a loud toot). TOOOOOT. Aw come on now everyone needs a good toot now and again. Helps me to keep my morale up on this dark, wet miserable day,

Put Up Your Dukes

Gorgeous though baby Finlay James is I immediately thought of the phrase Put Up Your Dukes when I saw the photo. He looks like a bare knuckle fighter squaring up for a fight. Being an inquisitive kind of a girl I then had to look up on the net the origins of the phrase and this is one explanation.


What we do know is that put up your dukes was known by 1874 - the first record of it that I can find in print is in John C. Hotten's 1874 edition of A dictionary of modern slang, cant, and vulgar words:

"Dooks, or dukes, the hands, originally modification of the rhyming slang 'Duke of Yorks,' forks = fingers, hands... The word is in very common use among low folk. 'Put up your dooks' is a kind of invitation to fight."

Hmm I am not much wiser now but never mind. Does this mean I am common low folk because I use this expression?

I had to post my tests for bowel cancer back today and had the delight of walking half a mile to do so. The Post Office decided long ago to rip out the post box near to my house. Perhaps we just weren't posting enough letters in it. Anyway when I got there there is a temporary restriction piece of plastic bolted over the letterbox but as it still had a narrow slit in it I took the chance and posted my letter through the small gap. I didn't fancy an even longer walk to the main post office. I hope that it wasn't screwed over the posting slot because of the immanent postal strike but was there to prevent the darling little louts in the making who live nearby posting fireworks through the slot as has happened in the past. Either way I hope that my letter reaches it's destination in the 14 days allocated before the test results become compromised. I don't fancy having to repeat the whole procedure. Apparently they let me know the results in about 3 weeks.

Yesterday I made enquiries about whether I should have the swine flu vaccine as well my normal flu vaccine and was told that I wasn't high priority. The fact that I use a CPAP machine to keep me breathing during the night isn't classed as high priority. That's funny because my respiratory specialist told me it was imperative that I have a flu vaccine and keep it up to date but obviously the receptionist knows better! She helpfully suggested that next year I will be eligible for one because of my age. Excuse me madam but hopefully next year this swine flu will be a thing of the past. It's now that I need protection. I didn't manage to get an appointment for a normal flu injection as the clinics are all booked up with people having the swine flu jab. I just can't win. She said I had to try again next week and see if there was an appointment for then.Why she could not book me an appointment for next week I don't know.

I have started the second sleeve of my niece's chunky jacket and turned the heel on the second sock. I have stayed in and knitted this afternoon as the rain has barely ceased all day. I did manage to creep out between the showers to post my letter but had just got home again when the heavens opened.

According to the local paper the trams are supposed to be back up and running into the city centre. Thank goodness for that. My knee really didn't like having to tramp from Victoria Station (where the trams stopped during the line repairs) up into the centre of Manchester, Thank goodness that I can now get right into the heart of the shops once again. well provided that there are no other problems.

One Jazzy Sock Finished

The shawl has now been blocked as you can see. Sorry about the slightly blurry photo but pressing the shutter on the camera and then trying to get into position isn't the easiest of things to do and I guess I moved. This pattern is one of the easiest shawls to crochet and is a free pattern from the net. All Shawl by Doris Chan. This was made from a part cone of machine acrylic that I got donated by a friend who was clearing out his late mother's attic.

I have finished one sock and you can see it boldly modelled on my little fat foot. I have beaten the one sock syndrome as I am almost at the turn of the heel in the other sock. Whilst I find the Regia 6ply a bit thick in wear I do love the way that it knits up in such a short time. The jazzy colours help to keep me interested in a stocking stitch sock. I have only made the socks ankle length as I have quite plump legs plus the further up my leg the sock goes the more I itch. I suffer from eczema on the front of my legs and wearing anything wool just makes it worse so I tend to knit my socks on the shorter side. I can't make them trainer length as when I wear my boots (which is when I usually wear hand knitted socks) they travel down inside my boot and finish up underneath my heel.

I have knitted a sleeve of my niece's chunky cardigan. I wanted to see how many balls I would need to make the sleeves to calculate how the wool was working out as at first I suspected that the balls quoted on the pattern might be wrong and I would need more but the sleeve has taken just over the 2 balls so I think I will be OK. My niece said to cut a couple of inches off the length if I think that the wool is running short.

Tonight I got a lift from Pam down to the Kings Arms Knitting Club. As usual we had a good natter and knit with the usual hilarity. I don't know whether it is being in such close proximity to a bar that lightens the atmosphere but it does usually turn out to be quite a jolly affair even if not a lot of knitting or crochet gets done during the course of the evening.

Ultimate MeMe Award

As I mentioned on Friday I had the honour of being awarded a MeMe award by Queen Belicious whose blog I follow regularly. She is a lovely person who struggles with problems that I can identify with but manages to keep a sense of humour. Once again I have used my blog title to link to her blog.


So, this is how it goes

Protocol

1/ Accept award by posting on this post on my blog. Then post on your blog regarding your award with a link to the name of the blog giving it (http://mycrochettherapy.blogspot.com/) and then post a copy of your award.

2/ Pass the award on to five bloggers of your choice (or not if your prefer).

3/ Post links to your nominees in your post, and let them know by leaving a message in their comments box.

4/ Meme: choose 5 random categories and post and tell us 5 favourite things from these categories.

The choice for me was hard as I follow a lot of blogs so I have just chosen some that I have been following recently. I would award one to Queen Belicious but as she nominated me then it would just go around in a circle. Consider yourself awarded Bea if not named. Some people like the Panopticon and Crafty Andy I would feel too in awe to nominate although I would love to do so. Andy because of his lovely posts and videos and wonderful hat designs and Franklin for making me laugh on a daily basis on Panopticon with his tales of Dolores the Sheep and Harry the Sock yarn. I would also love to give Doris Chan an award as she is so inspirational and helpful on her blog and Ravelry but as she is up there with the Gods I would not dare. Some people I would love to give an award to but they don't have a blog. C'mon June and my other regular commenters - you know who you are! Get Blogging.

My awards are

1. Ambermoggie - whose Mog's Blog always has interesting photos, poems and projects. She overcomes a lot of problems on a daily basis and manages to stay on top of things despite being in great pain. The award also goes to Mr Mog for overcoming his health issues and being so inventive with his woodworking.

1. Zuleika - Life in the Zu - who has become a good friend through her blog and the net despite us living at opposite ends of the country. Her crochet enthusiasm is on a par with mine.

3. Antevasin - aka Knitnurd - who has become a great friend on Ravelry and helped me through many a bad time. She knits a lot for charity and makes some wonderful garments,

4. Beverooni - who I swap many crochet ideas with and read her blog for the crochet and recipe updates. She is inspirational with her projects and patterns and her advice to me when I have a down day. I seem to have lost the link to her blog One Yarn After Another but I will post it as soon as I find it.
ETA - Thanks Bev for the link I have added it to my links under Beverooni. Your latest post is very funny.


5. ArtYarn - this is a blog of Rachael and Sarah founder members of the Kings Arms Knitters. I love this blog as they manage to find interesting examples of art and crochet from all over the net and are always involved in charity projects and communal projects such as the Knit a Square for a poem, Knit a sweater for a shed , street crochet and are covering a balcony with knitted strips at the Art centre.

You will have to look at these blogs via the links on my page as I haven't quite mastered the art of putting links on here yet.


Music

1.Andrea Bocelli
2.Black - It's a Wonderful Life
3.Blake Shelton - Good Morning Beautiful
4.Il Divo
5.Backstreet Boys - Show me the meaning of being lonely

Favourite Places

1.Manchester - it's my home town and I love it's history and beautiful buildings.
2.My home - not a palace by any means but I feel so comfortable here
3.York for it's history and magnificent atmosphere.
4.The Yorkshire Dales on a summer's day
5.The sea shore in a secluded place. I love to watch the waves and hear the seagulls

Things I would do but have never done

1.Go on a cruise to the West Indies
2.Visit India
3.Go on a crochet workshop weekend in the USA where they have such fabulous courses.
4.Have a manicure, pedicure and massage on a health spa weekend.
5.Visit the USA

Things I could not live without

1.Crochet hooks and knitting needles.
2.CPAP machine - as I have sleep apnoea
3.Wool Stash
4.My massive collection of knit and crochet patterns
5.Dark rum and coke now and then.

Favourite crochet designers

1. Doris Chan - for all of her patterns
2, Angela "LaVonne" Best for her short n sweet bolero
3. Amie Hirtes - Sweet Pea shawl
4. Candi Jensen for her fabulous babies and childrens patterns
5. Mary Jane Hall for some unusual designs.


Gosh I found that harder than writing my normal blog! Back to the real world. I have started the chunky jacket in Sirdar Click for my niece and have knitted a couple of balls into the back and knitted part of a sleeve to see how the wool spins out.

I have started some jazzy socks for me with the Regia 6ply but even though I measured the wool sequences carefully my two socks will not quite be the same. One sock has a lovely pattern that reminds me of waves and the other does. not. Good job they will be inside my shoes. I am not a person who is precious about socks. I can't see the point of spending hours on some fancy pattern only for it to get put inside my shoes and not seen. Socks are a necessity to me not a fashion statement. Give me a plainish pair and some normal machine washable wool in a pretty colour and I am happy. I don't want to spend 4 weeks of my life on a complicated pattern only to have to hand wash and de bobble them as it is made from some exclusive expensive yarn that is more to be admired than to be worn and rubs into a hole at the mere sight of a pair of winter boots.