Hydrangea Crop Top

I am really pleased with the way that this Hydrangea Crop top pattern from the 'Mission Falls goes crochet' book has turned out. I love the pattern stitch. Sorry that the close up photo has turned out blurry and you can't see it properly. As I mentioned yesterday I had to re do all of the ribs as when I made them to the pattern instructions they were frilling and not fitting nicely around the neckline in particular. I replaced the rib pattern stitch with just doing UK double crochet into the back of the stitch on every row. I hope that it fits as it is quite a close fitting top and only half my size so I can't see how it fits in wear. I will have to wait until April to see my niece wearing it.

I used 3 x 100 gram balls of Wendy Serenity aran that I had left over from the aran cardigan that I knitted for her a couple of years ago. We had bought the right amount for the aran jacket but the yardage on the wool was so good that I had 4 balls left over. My niece likes sedate colours as she works in law. She wears a lot of blacks and greys for work. The top button is the same shade as the others. I don't know why it looks an odd colour on the photos. I can see that other people will fall in love with this top. Much as I love it, it is not the style for me. It would lose it's style if it was made into a longer length which I would need to cover my lumps and bumps up.I will definitely use the crochet stitch and use it to make a jacket for myself in the future as it is such a lovely textured stitch. For jackets I like stitches that remind me more of knitting. I like openwork cardigans for summer but as we don't get much sun in the summer I only need a couple of those type of jackets.

I have been given advice on 3 different ways of casting on for ribs for my knitting machine so I will practise and make all three methods and then decide which one is the best for my machine and me. It will probably be Monday or Tuesday before I start machine knitting again.

Buster is still here. He was supposed to go home today but my son and daughter in law arrived home from their weekend away a bit later than expected so have decided to pick him up tomorrow instead. Not much knitting or crochet has been done. He sits, with his ball, with those sad eyes looking at me so I have to put down whatever I am doing and play ball with him. Today he wants to sit on my knee all of time. I have to compromise and sit on the sofa and allow him to lay his head on my lap. I draw the line at his full body weight. He has decided that my recliner armchair provides the perfect perch for him to keep the street under surveillance. He sits there for ages whilst he is on sentry duty.

My neighbour Julie, who has had such a long battle with cancer, has got engaged this weekend. I am so happy for them. I have everything crossed that the cancer doesn't come back (she is in remission at the moment and has been for 3 yrs). She deserves some happiness in her life. It is slightly sad though as she will be childless, unless they adopt, due to chemo and radical cancer surgeries. Her fiance has been married before so she will have two step daughters but they are quite grown up now. The main thing is that she is still alive and hopefully cancer free and now has a chance for a happy married life.

My eyebrow is still extremely sore but still no bruising has emerged there. I just have a dull headache and my neck hurts. I must have a hard head. The rest of my right hand side has some spectacular purple bruises especially on the cheek of my right buttock. Don't panic I don't plan any photo sessions of my purple coloured fat and cellulite. I have been taking it easy today as I have stiffened up as if I had overdone it at the gym. Not that would be something that you will never hear from me. Gym is like a swear word to me. I have always hated it even when I was very slim. I don't mind dancing, belly dancing or even exercise to music but pedalling away on a bike to nowhere, or walking miles on a treadmill are just too boring for words. The adrenalin rush and feel good factor passes me by. The only time I get that feeling is browsing a wool shop or gazing online at gorgeous wool sites.

I wonder if I should open the porch door tomorrow so that the postman can leave my sack of Valentines cards in there without waking me. Now that is a joke. The nearest thing I will get to a Valentine evening out is if I go to the Knit Club tomorrow night.