Two Parcels For Me Today

I waited in most of the day to see if my wool parcels would arrive. Just when I had given up and was about to leave to go and collect my prescription from the Doctor's surgery two parcels arrived at 4.30pm. I got one from Purplelinda and one from Texere. I still have another parcel from Texere to come and that is the one with the extra 2 balls that I need to finish crocheting my sweater and two colours that I have ordered for baby B.

As I had liked the outcome of the Cinnabar cardigan in the King Cole Riot DK I ordered another two colours of it. This time around I ordered 5 balls of each colour as the jacket was such a tight squeeze with only 4 balls. On the photo the colours look very similar but in real life the one on the right has russets and olive greens in it whereas the one on the left is a mix of dark reds and maroons. It's hard to show the colours in the balls but once they are crocheted I am sure that they will look very different. I also ordered another ball of the Orange Reflections with the gold thread in it as I decided that one ball would not make a shawl for me.

From Purplelinda I ordered the King Cole Mirage in the shades of purple with green. Once again I have bought 5 balls along with 2 balls of bright red in Patons Fab DK to make another cardigan or a sweater for Baby B.

From Purplelinda I ordered 3 pattern booklets. I will photograph what it in them tomorrow so that you can see all of the contents. The Turtleback Jackets have just got the two patterns in the booklet that you can see on the photo but I will take a photo of the back views of them tomorrow. I would call them more of a shrug. They are nice openwork ones that will look good in the summer or in the winter over a plain sweater. As they fit quite loosely I think that they will be flattering to wear for a fuller figure like me. It might give me the illusion of having a waistline. I have only got one shawl fastener so I must keep an eye out for a couple of different designs in different colours. The one I have is black and that won't look too good on a light coloured shrug.

I have finished the blue cardigan for Baby B but am not starting any more until I get feedback about the size as I think that although the chest size looks right it looks as though it is rather long in the body and the arms look way too long. I wanted to experiment with stash wool so that when the new wool arrives I will have the size right for him. I won't be doing the mock ribbing again as although it is faster for me to knit I don't like the overall look of the doubled ribbing. I tried it just to see how it would look. I think that I will stick to the hand knitted ribs in future.

Tonight I will crochet the last ball into my lilac sweater and hope that the remaining 2 balls turn up tomorrow so that I can finish it off. I like the James C Brett Rio DK but it doesn't have a good yardage at all. Also it has worked up thicker than my usual DK. It will make a lovely warm sweater for the winter though and I just hope that the different dye number won't show too badly when the wool arrives.

Third Time Lucky?

Today I received a phone call from the hospital giving me another date for my operation. October 26th. Shall I write this in my diary or just wait for them to cancel it again. As 3 months will have gone by since my last pre op tests I have to go and have some more done. I have had 3 pre op tests done so far. Let's hope that they don't pick up on anything to give them an excuse to cancel my operation yet again !

I have finished the Cinnabar by Doris Chan from the Everyday Crochet Book. I haven't as yet blocked it but I think that I could have done with making it the next size up. It doesn't feel tight when I wear it but when I look at the photos I think that I would benefit from a larger size. I sewed on a fastener that I had in stash but I think that I will sew it lower down, more towards the waistline, as it seems to cut me in half at a funny angle, Taking photos is a good idea as it lets you see how it really fits.

The cardigan took 4 balls of King Cole Riot DK but I only had a few strands of wool left. I have ordered some more Riot wool from Texere in another colour but have ordered 5 balls this time so that I can make a larger size and a wee bit longer. I will probably use a different pattern next time and that may need more wool than this one did. I have also ordered another ball of the Orange Reflections with the lurex as I want to use it for a shawl and some Mirage DK by King Cole. Texere have an offer on for August where the postage is free so I might as well take advantage of their offer and increase my stash. I am still hoping to go and visit some mills with a friend to stash enhance as it looks as though I will be housebound towards Christmas. I won't be able to do much else besides knit and crochet although I am really glad that I have got the scooter for food shopping.

I have put the rest of the photos from Lucinda Guy Crochet designs for girls and boys on the blog. I think that there are a few designs that I will make from this book once I find children for them to fit. Most of the young ones are only babies and this book starts at 2-3 yrs.

Now then. what shall I start next? Time for another stash and pattern browse.

My Wool Order Has Arrived

Only a crocheter or a knitter can understand the excitement of a wool delivery. Even though I chose it and ordered it I still get a big buzz when it actually arrives and I can squish it, fondle it and stroke it. Ordering online is OK but you can't beat the enjoyment of seeing it in real life before buying it. I had been able to see these first hand when my friend Sue called last week to show me her new purchases. She had bought hers from Coats Crafts in Ramsbottom but as I can't get up there under my own steam I ordered mine online from Texere.

I was feeling a bit miserable when I first got up as I had walked to Tesco and back yesterday and my knees were protesting loudly last night and this morning. So today is a rest up and crochet day.

The wool that I ordered is 3 shades of Classic Collection Reflections Angoragold Batik DK in Blue, Grey and Brown. It is a quite fine DK and the ball looks quite large as it has approx 850 metres on it. The Orange and the Green are also Reflections but with a metallic thread. Hard to see the metallic in the photo as it is quite subtle.There is less on the ball with these as the metallic thread must weight heavier. There is approx 550 metres per 100 gram ball. The lady from Texere was really nice. I had originally ordered the metallic in the pink and she phoned me to say that it was out of stock and read out all the colours that they did have in stock so I chose the orange. She told me that they now stock all of the five colours with the metallic thread but just haven't updated their web site yet. The Reflections cost £4.99 a ball and my friend Sue has made small shawls with just one ball for each so that isn't bad for a present for someone.

The King Cole Riot DK is for me. I just cannot resist bright jazzy colours. There is only 294 metres per ball so I bought 4 balls. I think this will probably end up as one of Doris Chan's designs for myself. This wool was about £3.50 a ball but it is 30% wool so that means I will probably make a jacket rather than a sweater as I can't wear wool right next to my skin. No matter how good the quality of wool, angora, merino it is I still itch and get a red rash if it touches my bare skin. Luckily I can wear wool on my feet although I have to make short legs on my socks or I get a red rash on my ankles.

I only did a couple of rows on the shawl for charity last night before I fell asleep in the chair. Hopefully I will get more crochet done today as I plan on doing absolutely no housework ( except the dishes) and just rest my knees. Time to get dressed and start the day I think. I am going to resist starting something with this new wool - well at least I think that I am LOL