Parcel On A Sunday

It must be close to Christmas. Royal Mail delivering parcels on a Sunday. I got a parcel this week and one last week. I think that they save the parcels up from during the week to make a bit of overtime money on a Sunday.

I love getting parcels and am like a big kid opening them even though I know what is inside. I just wish that the delivery men would not wait until I am having a natural break in the smallest room before ringing my door bell. The older I get the more it is a case of I have started so I have to finish. My muscle control is not that of a young woman anymore. By the time I get to the door the delivery men are on the points of driving away. Luckily today's delivery man had another parcel to deliver a few doors away so I managed to catch him in time.

I love the colour of this pink James C Brett Marble chunky, that I got from Purplelinda, and am so glad that I waited to start my great grand daughters jacket pattern as they are longer length ones and more like a Spring coat.. That paler pink I got last week would have been too pale for them. The plain child's jacket pattern will come in handy for making more things in this wool. I am sure that it will get knitted a few times. I may even make the pale pink in this pattern for the girls to wear in the Spring or on cool Summer evenings.

I am having my doubts about the matinee style jacket that I am crocheting for one of them. When it gets it's bands, collar and sleeves on it might look more 'grown up'. At the moment it looks like it's for an overgrown baby. I think a lot of it is due to the colour that I am using. I should have chosen a slightly darker colour although my step grand daughter still dresses the girls in pinks and whites.

The black cardigan is progressing and I will try to knit a sleeve today whilst it is still daylight. I leave the crochet for the evening time, Light colours for evenings and dark colours for the daylight.

Today is another knit, knit and more knitting day. I am sort of working office hours at the moment but with plenty coffee breaks.

More wool and Christmas WIP's

Not much time to blog today. As you can see I am far from completing my Christmas present projects. The black cardigan now has a back and part of a front and the rest of the wool is on order. The first brown cardigan just needs stitching together but I still have to make the matching one for the younger boy. The multi coloured crochet is the first of two cardigans destined for my great grand daughters. I started this jacket at the hospital and carried on at the Kings Arms Knit Club. The lighting in there isn't as bright as I like it so there is no way that I can work on dark colours.

My first of three Purplelinda orders arrived today. With the adverse weather conditions it has taken just over a week to arrive which is much longer than normal. I am glad now that I decided to order the darker pink colour as I think that this pale pink James C Brett Marble chunky is a bit pale for my great grand daughters. I have got a new expected baby girl to knit or crochet for so the wool will get used up. The darker pink is on it's way but it will probably be next week before that turns up. I am glad that I didn't wait until the black had run out to order some more. I will definitely need another ball so I ordered two to be on the safe side. A left over ball of black wool is always useful for a hat or wrist warmers. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this third order arrives before Christmas.

I put in a largish online order with Tesco and that also arrived today. I will still have to get more fresh food before Christmas but I now have meat and bread in the freezer and plenty of tinned stuff so it will be just fresh top ups that I need before Christmas. I hate shopping when the stores are full of people all buying enough food for a siege. I go to my brother and sister in law for Christmas dinner so I don't need to buy a lot of extra food. Just something to drink and nice biscuits to offer when company calls. I like to have enough in so that apart from bread and milk I don't have to shop again until the New Year. If the snow comes down again I can ask neighbours to get me some essentials. My neighbours are really good with me when the weather is bad as they know that I struggle to get out in the snow.

Coffee time and back to the grindstone. Mother Christmas is on overtime this year. I plan to spend the rest of the day knitting and crocheting (unless I fall asleep as I am prone to do)

Practising Tunisian Crochet

Last night I had a little practise with my new Tunisian hooks. Although I do find the short hook attached to a cable a lot easier to manage than a long rigid Tunisian hook I still have a long way to go. At the moment although I can do the basic stitch I am struggling with the purl stitch and my tension is far to slack at the moment. I think it's a bit like when I learned to crochet. It's all about holding the hook and the yarn at the right angle and getting the tension right. I think that I will need a lot more practise before I embark upon one of Kay Jones patterns.Once I have finished off the things on my 'to do' list then I will have more time to have another try.

I managed to finish off the Triangular Shawl for my sister in law's 70th birthday party. It is from the Contemporary Crochet book by Sys Fredens and is so quick and easy to make. I used approx 300 grams of James C Bretts Marble Chunky that I bought from Abakhan on Thursday. I have added an edging to the shawl as I think it looks a bit bare without one. The shawl is on a 12mm hook but I had to use a 10mm hook. Not only do I crochet a bit loose I find overlarge hooks hard to grip as I have arthritis in my hands.I think that is another reason why I am struggling to get my tension right on the Tunisian crochet.

I have started a sweater from a Kay Jones pattern 77 that I bought this week. I am using the Robin DK that I also bought from Abakhan this week. I have changed the stitch as the pattern uses a half treble stitch for the main body of the sweater and it was turning out too loose with the way that I am crocheting at the moment. I am using the pattern for size and shaping but am using an alternating treble and double crochet stitch which is closer crochet. I never used to crochet loosely so I am blaming my arthritis and the fact that I cannot grip the hook as I used to. I compensate by using smaller hooks but some stitches still come out too loose for me.

Another sunny day today but as I haven't yet been outside I don't know if it is warm. Our weather is deceiving. I can dress for a sunny day and then go outside and it's quite cold. I will stand outside for a while before I decide how to dress for the party tonight. I am, at the moment, quite sedentary I do tend to feel the cold more than most so I will be taking a cardigan with me no matter what.

I hope that you have a good weekend. I am hoping to be able to get to my monthly Knit Out tomorrow but it all depends on how the old knees hold out tonight.

A Lovely Spring Morning

It's a beautiful spring morning today. The sun is shining and the crocus and daffodils are starting to poke their heads out of the soil. I do hope that this is the start of more spring like weather as I am getting fed up of all the doomy gloomy weather.

Yesterday my ex popped around to see me and dismantled the plastic greenhouse that was in front of my kitchen window. It had suffered during the winter storms and was leaning at a dangerous angle and the plastic cover was pitted with holes rendering it useless for cultivating any seedlings. It has made a big difference to the light in my kitchen but the disadvantage of all of this sunlight is that it shows up my rather dirty windows. I stopped the window cleaner a long time ago as he used to clean portholes in a rectangular window and I knew for a fact that when I wasn't in he didn't clean them at all.Our street now has different window cleaners but I am unsure about starting with them as they use a long handled brush to clean the upstairs instead of a ladder and a cloth. The brush may clean them just as well but I just have this vision of streaky upstairs windows. Plus my back garden is only accessible through my garage so if I wasn't in when they called then they could not clean the back windows.

Last night I managed to make myself go back to the striped knitting but I only did the rib and two stripes. Perhaps if I can do a stripe or two per day then eventually it will get finished.

I am pleased with the red sweater now I have finally got the sleeves sorted out. I buy loads of new patterns and then find out that I like my vintage patterns the best. As you can see from the style, price and hairstyle I have had this pattern since the 60's. It does fit very well and I do think raglan sleeves are more flattering to a larger lady.The wool that I used was 3 x 200 grams of James C Bretts Marble chunky colour MC 14 which is widely available on the net. I got mine from Purplelinda.

I am going to pattern browse and think what I am going to make next. Possibly a pair of crochet slipper socks for my niece. Firstly though - it's coffee time.

Last Of The She Ball Competitors

As promised yesterday these are the last of the entries for the Bolton Knitting Noras Sirdar She Ball Challenge. I have repeated Deb's toilet roll cover and bottle cozy as the photo turned out rather small yesterday.

The knitted cabled belt is Bev's entry. Oh how I envy her waistline! The hat complete with a beard is Lisa's entry. I think she deserves a medal just for wearing anything so itchy next to her face even if it was only for the photo. I am not sure how Caroline persuaded her cat to wear the tutu. She must have a very patient cat but even so I don't suppose that it stayed on for long!

I have finished off the red sweater finally. After two attempts to re knit the raglans of the sleeves the wool is looking rather crinkly but luckily it doesn't show as the wool is so randomly striped. I will take photos of it today and put it on the blog tomorrow.

I have been very sleepy so far today. I had a reasonable night's sleep, had my breakfast and then promptly fell asleep with my head resting in my hands on the computer desk. When I woke up I made a drink and then sat in the rocking chair by the patio doors to enjoy a bit of sunshine and fell asleep again. I think that I have got the sleepy sickness today as every time I sit down I fall asleep. Maybe my shower will waken me up. I hope so as I have a GP's visit later this afternoon.

Today is quite sunny. Not warm though as there is still a layer of frost on the neighbours car roofs. The sunshine is helping the amaryllis on it's final flowering of the season. It is going out with a bang instead of a whimper. It's last flowering has four flowers. Well two in bloom at the moment and two in bud ready to open very soon. I have placed it just in front of my sink so every time that I wash the dishes I can look at the lovely flowers.

I am trying to drum up some enthusiasm for returning to the striped knitting but for some reason it just isn't calling to me. I will finish it off eventually but I think it is going to be a case of knit a few rows on it and then do something else. I know from experience that if I try to push myself into finishing something that I am not keen on in one long knit then it stops me in my tracks and I just don't do anything.
I am sure that I will find something else to start and knit or crochet along side the striped sweater. I think that it is going to be a long WIP.

Back To Normal Again

The sun is shining today although it is a bit weak at times. I have taken the risk of pegging my washing outside on the washing lines so that is usually a guarantee of rain later. As long as I can get a bit of wet blown out from the washing before the rain starts then I will be happy.

Buster has gone home again. Hence all of the washing.I love that dog to bits but he is a rather moulty kind of dog despite his daily brushing. Everything that he touches has to be washed or hoovered. Even my knitting is covered in dog hairs although I do try so hard to keep him away from it. The hair must transfer from my trousers to my knitting. I must be the only person who has to hoover her knitting and crochet.

On Saturday I did manage an hour or so at the Islington Mill with the Kings Arms knitters. I took a taxi there as I had a few things to carry there but came back by public transport. I had a bit of excitement on the tram on the way home. It was packed worse than sardines in a can so it was hardly surprising that it broke down and left us on a station 4 stops from where I wanted to be. We all waited ages for another tram and when it arrived it was a new yellow tram that was as packed as the first tram had been. The new trams have more straps to hang on to but fewer seats. I had to stand all the way home but there was no danger of my falling over as I would have fallen against several people first. I know that I should have taken a taxi home but the first taxi was so expensive that I was trying to save a pound or nine!

I was in quite a bit of pain by the time I got home and didn't sleep well on Saturday night or last night so the knitting didn't progress much. I have managed to finish off a back of the chunky sweater. Mindless stocking stitch was all that I was in the mood for so I haven't even cast on the second piece of the striped sweater. It will get finished eventually. I ordered another ball of the James C Brett chunky as I didn't think that I would have enough with the 3 x 200 gram balls in stash to make this sweater. The way that it is working up I don't think that I will need it now but I can always make a hat or a scarf with the left over ball if I don't need it.

I have included a few more photos from Crochet Today as you can see it has a lot of granny square items, and retro cushions. I have included a close up of the tiara and wand that I spoke about in my last post. I think that even if I don't manage the dress and fairy wings I am definitely going to make the tiara and wand for my great grand daughters.

The sun has gone in so I will have to keep an eye on my washing as I watch Loose Women and eat some lunch. I hope that I get more knitting done today.

Buster Makes Himself At Home

Buster is here again for the weekend and has lost no time in settling in. As usual he is glued to me and the only way I got to take this photos was to slide out from under him whilst he was asleep. The minute I took the photo he was up and following me around as per usual. This means that very little knitting will get done over the weekend.

I have knitted one side of the first piece of the striped knitting. Then it will be a bit like the second sock syndrome as I have to knit another piece exactly the same! For some reason I am just not enjoying this sweater. I am determined to finish it though as if I put it down altogether then it will never get finished. I now limit myself to a couple of projects at any one time otherwise I get overwhelmed with WIP and don't finish anything.

I have started the James C Brett Marble chunky. The pattern I have chosen is definitely a vintage pattern as I first knitted it when I was 15. I think that I have made it two or three times over the years but haven't made one during the last 10 years so it is time for another one. I have decided to move back to raglan sleeve decreasing as I find that they fit so much better, Perhaps that is one reason I am so slow with he striped sweater as it has dropped shoulders.

I got an e mail yesterday from my niece's friend that I made the duck hats for at Christmas. She said that her daughter has tantrums if they try to put any other hat on. She only wants to wear the duck hat. Now whilst I am flattered that she likes my hat I am slightly worried that I have turned a small child into a bit of a diva. I replied suggesting that over the summer months that they "lose" the hat. I have offered to make her another hat for next winter without a duck on it.

I don't suppose that I will get much knitting done this weekend. Buster is an attention seeker so I have to wait until he falls asleep around about 10pm to get anything done at all.

Mei Mei Fits Just Right

I am quite pleased with the way that the Mei Mei bolero has turned out although I think I would prefer it if I had not used such chunky wool. It's a pity in the photos that the Patons Mooonbeam just looks a lumpy cream as in the ball is it s mix of cream and white with the odd fleck of blue with a subtle touch of lurex wound through it. You have to be up very close to actually see the lurex though. I am going to re-do the button tab though. It is too wide and too long. The buttons should fit very close together and not so far apart that they can slant and drop one front lower than the other.This was only apparent when I tried it so so I will amend it tonight.

I am still not in the mood for the stripy knitting but I did manage to force myself into doing two more stripes last night and am now up to the neck shaping. The back and front are worked alike so it must have a scooped neckline back and front.

I have just come back from some food shopping at Tesco and my knees are no longer speaking to me. I think Buster is coming tomorrow so I wanted to make sure that I could rest tomorrow and try to walk him a bit on Saturday. This might not happen as I am going to the Islington Mill for a knit out. I won't be going to the Bolton Knit Out this week as it takes me too long on public transport and my knees will probably be sore from going out on the Saturday.

I am going to start a bit of mindless chunky stocking stitch knitting tonight. I had some red James C Brett Marble chunky in my stash but was a ball short to knit any of my patterns so I have ordered another ball when I ordered the replacement crochet hook. The wool is variegated so it won't matter that it is a different dye number. I just hope that the colour is reasonably similar when it arrives. I will try to tempt myself into finishing the striped jumper piece before I start the chunky. It will be like the sweetie that your mother used to give to you after she gave you a spoonful of medicine.

Crocheted Circles Jacket is Finished

I have finished the Drops Circles jacket. It's a free pattern if you visit the Drops Garnstudio site. Overall I think I am pleased with it but I have had to make a few amendments to make it more my style. I haven't made the circle as big as the pattern states but as I mentioned before I am not overly fond of huge jackets that swamp me. This version took exactly 3 balls of James C Brett's Marble Chunky but I did narrow the sleeves as they were rather huge so it probably would have taken more wool had I not done this.

After trying it on I had to run a couple of drawstring threads through the back of the neck to gather it up as I found it impossible to keep it up on my shoulders. The collar just would not sit right at all. I have quite narrow shoulders compared with the rest of me so I am used to having to narrow shoulders on garments that I make for myself. Also after trying the jacket on I decided that I needed to add a third button as I didn't like the way it gaped at the waistline. Probably something to do with the fact that I didn't make my circle large enough and the fact that I don't really have a waistline!

It is a gorgeous day so I am out in the garden doing a bit of crochet. I have just had lunch of some lovely garlic and herb cheese with tomatoes and cucumber. I had a little laugh to myself as I though no wonder you are still looking for Mr Right when you snack on things like this! Not exactly Miss Sweet Breath am I?

The Lure of the Crochet Hook

I heeded the siren call of the crochet hook. After falling asleep 3 nights in a row mid row over the baby knitting I decided that to save my sanity I would have to also have some crochet as well as the knitting. I have been promising myself that I would make a circles jacket ever since I saw the magnificent version made by Svetlana. The pattern is a free one by Drops 99-3 and is called circle jacket. There are many versions of this jacket on Ravelry some good, some bad and some just plain ugly but Svetlana's version (2nd photo) really caught my eye as I am not a lover of anything too big and droopy. As I am a big girl I don't think it does me any favours wearing something huge. I then saw another finished version on Queen Belicious's blog Crochet Therapy and looked at her photos on Ravelry (she is Angrysnail on there) and that made me decide to start one.

Incidentally if you are a member of Ravelry check out Svetlana's projects. That lady is one heck of a great knitter and crocheter. Everything she makes is superb. I wish that I had her skills.

I am making my circles jacket in totally the wrong wool. Well I do like a challenge. I think that I should be using something equivalent to a thick double knit but as I am using a 6mm hook and wanted a firm rather than floppy design I am using my favourite James C Brett's Marble Chunky. It's always rather a gamble when using patterns from the US or the continent as their interpretation of wool thicknesses is entirely different to the UK versions so it's always hit and miss unless you manage to scour the net for the exact yarn which I mostly can't be bothered to do. So far my version seems to be turning out to size which is pretty amazing considering. The big loops that are either side of the circle will eventually be the sleeves. It looks a little strange at the moment but hopefully it will be alright on the night as they say.

I have completed the back and two fronts on the baby cardigan so am going to make a sleeve before I allow myself any crochet today. It is rather like bribing a child to take it's cough medicine with the promise of a sweet at the end. I used to sit and knit for hours a few years ago but now I just get very bored and want to crochet. Not much hope for all of my languishing sock wool then is there? Maybe the knitting bug will strike again if I get fed up of crocheting.

My knee isn't too bad today but that is mainly due to the fact I have not stepped out of my front door since Tuesday. Although it is the short term answer to my knee pain I don't want to spend the rest of my life not going anywhere. I hope that my referral to hydrotherapy comes through quite quickly.