Showing posts with label car breakdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car breakdown. Show all posts

Friday, 19 October 2007

White baby blanket finished


I finished one of the two baby blankets that I had planned to add to my stash to take to the pumpkin carving on Sunday. I decided to go to Tesco tonight and get my shopping and purchase my pumpkin and my car went to the top of my street and stopped. It refused to start again so I had to phone a friend to push the car into a side street. (I am not allowed to do that because of my bad back) I didn't feel like walking up to the store in the dark so I abandoned the idea and the car. A little while later I went back to the car and the *#+$!* thing started first time. I didn't want to risk going to Tesco so I just took the offending thing home and parked it in the driveway. 2 mechanics have looked at it in the past and can't find the problem. One guy kept it at his house and drove it for a week and it never happened to him. One guess is an intermittent electrical fault.


I am now very unsure about going to the pumpkin carving on Sunday as my son is away in Scotland so would not be able to rescue me from Bolton if I should break down again. I guess the baby items will have to wait for another week or so to get to the hospital. At least I will have more time to finish the second blanket. Perhaps I will write to Santa and ask him to stop his sleigh on my drive and maybe he can deliver them for me.


The cold weather has made me realise that I need some new hats. I crocheted some from Afya Ibomu Hip Hats and Cool Caps but when I tried them on I realised that most of them don't cover my ears. I have found 2 nice knitted hats (Foliage) on Knitty.com so I may nip up to the market to get some chunky yarn to give these a trial. Every year I knit about 6 hats before I find one I am sort of happy with. I just don't have a hat face. I was trying on several hats one year in a large department store and one lady had a fit of the giggles. She apologised and said I hope you weren't think of buying any of those cos I am sorry I have to tell you that none of them suit you! Some people can jam a tea cosy on their heads and look super cool. I just look like Benny from Crossroads for those of you old enough to remember him. (The daft and rather gormless look)


I need to go to Tesco tomorrow and collect my lottery winnings. Don't get excited I only got 4 numbers and they are only paying out the princely sum of £39 for that privilege. I am not exactly going to go mad with that am I. By the time I have put the lottery on again and done a bit of shopping my winnings will be all gone!


Weekend is here so that means it's just me and the dog for 2 days. My son is away so I will have an explanation for his non appearance this weekend, other weeks I have to guess why he doesn't come around. I have an invite to my step great grand daughter's 2nd birthday soon so I guess I might see him then. I see my niece far more than I ever see my son. My friend Caroline came last week so that means I won't see her for another month or so. Since I retired from work with a bad back I seem to have faded from the social scene. I can't walk far and my car is unreliable so invitations rarely come my way anymore. Plus everyone I know is in a relationship and I am the solo gooseberry when I do go out anywhere. I think it makes people feel awkward. They are never quite sure that I won't make a play for their husbands which I find quite flattering in a way. The fact that they think I am capable of enticing anyone is a bit of a boost.
I got told I had exceeded my quota for uploading on Flikr so I had to delete quite a few of my older photos. I still haven't put anything more on Ravelry as I haven't had the large amount of spare time that it will take to update it. I think it is a site you can easily get sucked into and spend hours just browsing. I need the time to knit and crochet my Christmas projects and my new hats first.

Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Crochet sweater was too small so I improvised







I haven't caught up with my blogging for various reasons. I have done something to my ribs on the right hand side. Had an X ray but that revealed nothing. Got antibiotics in case it was pleurisy but then another doc said no it wasn't that. So here I am still strapped up with my neoprene back support without which I am in a great deal of pain. With it I am in pain but am able to function to some degree.






I finished my 3 coloured sweater crocheted in Patons cotton I had started many moons ago and discovered that I am now a couple of sizes larger than I was when I started it and as cotton in a solid pattern has very little give in it. I felt disinclined to pull it undone as it had taken so long to crochet so I had a brain wave. Using the ball of cream I fortunately had left over I crocheted a panel of cable and inserted one panel either side of the sweater under the arms and made the sweater into a split sided top. Success! A garment that now fits me. I am quite giddy with my designer skills!






I have also managed to crochet one colour of the Coats Gedifa (see previous post) after many false starts. Photos will follow once I have sewn on the buttons. The yarn had all the charm and consistency of a dishcloth on a couple of the patterns I started. It splits like mad when I was working with it and was riddled with knots. No wonder it was reduced in the Sale! I have managed to make a short sleeved cardigan in the end.






I have also been knitting. I have made a shrug from some left over chunky from a free pattern I found on some one's blog. (See there is a point to reading other people's blogs!) and whilst it is looking quite loose on 8mm needles it was one way of making something with 200grams of chunky other than a scarf! Photo of that to follow once I have sewn in the ends.






I have finished one Jaywalker sock (free pattern on Knitty.com) from my Opal sock wool from Angel yarns sale and today I managed to find 200grams of some obscure 4ply wool in the charity shop for 50p that will make 2 more pairs of socks for my dog walking and I also managed to get a pair of brand new walking type boots from the same charity shop for £4.50p so well worth my trip in there today. The dog and I will appreciate those on wet days. On the way back from shopping my old car broke down yet again so maybe my trip out will not turn out to be such a bargain after all. I have to phone the mechanic back after 2pm. Oh to win the lottery and get a decent car that goes!