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.

Mei Mei Is Finished

I have finished the Mei Mei. It has taken 10 balls of Patons Moonglow Winter White which although thicker than the wool recommended for the pattern has turned out quite well. I have added a little extra length to the bolero as being fuller figured anything that reaches the bust line and then stops is guaranteed to stick out at the front. I need to block it out before I give it a photo shoot as the bottom curves of the bolero are pulling slightly and could do with a good wetting and pinning to stretch out the edges to make it hang correctly. Some balls look whiter than others so I am glad that I chose to crochet it instead of the knitting as I think it would have looked more stripy in knitting as it changed from ball to ball.

I don't know if you can see but I sew my buttons to each end of a small tab instead of trying to connect them with a chain or elastic as suggested on the pattern. If I do it this way then I have a choice of wearing the bolero with the buttons or without. As the buttons are threaded through holes in the pattern stitch it looks equally as good worn either way.

I have placed an order for a replacement hook. The hook was a lightweight acrylic hook and I am not going to name where it came from as I am quite hard on my hooks and I was trying to force the hook through a tight chain when it broke. It snapped across the thumb rest so I don't know my own strength. I have been crocheting with this brand for a long time and nothing like this has happened to me before so I will just put it down to accidental damage.

I have added 3 photos from the Crochet Today magazine that I got yesterday. The first cardigan is unmistakably a Doris Chan design and is worked from the neck down. The cabled bag is by Kim Kotary and although it is nice I think that if I made it I would alter the handles and would line it with fabric to stop it stretching.

My great grand daughters love dressing up so I may make the pixie dress and fairy wings as they love new dressing up clothes. You can't really see but in the centre of the picture is a fairy wand and a tiara with shiny buttons, ribbons and sequins attached. I could perhaps make them and put them away until Christmas. I know it sounds a long time away but I could possibly be having my knee op in the middle of the year which could delay things.I should at least buy the right wool for the dress and the cotton and wire for the wings so if I am housebound whilst I recover I can crochet the time away.

I rang the hospital today to speak to the pre op sister who has been on holiday for the last 12 days. It is a good job that I did as no-one had followed up my notes whilst she was away so I hadn't been put back on the waiting list. As this is a similar situation to what happened to me before my spinal op I was more aware of what could go wrong this time. I am now going back on the waiting list but of course I will get added to the bottom so I will be a month behind when I should have had the op. I am thinking more May or June for the first knee replacement now. If I had not rung up I could have waiting a long time for them to call me about my op. With my spinal op they said 4 months on the waiting list and when 4 months had gone by I rang up to see how near to the top of the list I was only to find out that they had forgotten to add me! It could only happen to me. I told this to the sister when I rang this morning and said now do you see why I am so nervous?

I am still trying to drum up enthusiasm for returning to the ice cream coloured sweater knitting. I think that I am going to have to force myself to knit a bit each evening but start another project. If I don't then I am in danger of stopping making anything at all. I will finish it in time but my heart just isn't really in it. I think it's because it is so stripy and I don't want to look like a mint choc coloured deckchair.

Armless and Tail -less Sock Monkey

The sock monkey is progressing very slowly. I still have a tail and two arms to knit and stuff. I find it very slow going on 4 needles. I hope to finish it over the weekend and get back to my crochet squares once again. I had a break last night and crocheted him a scarf and hat to wear. He is going to Kentucky when he is finished and I hope to post him off next week.

Today is nice and sunny but not very warm. At least it is drying all the washing on the line. I had high hopes of a warm day when I first woke up to sunshine but sadly the sunshine didn't last long.

I had a visitor today. Charlie came with her small daughter and brought me a present of two packs of wool. She found them at Abakhan. A pack of Patons Moonglow and a pack of Patons Fairytale Velvet. I haven't decide what I will make with them but by the time I have finished the granny square jacket I am sure that I will have decided on a project.

The sparks are flying off my hook

I think I am back up to speed with my crochet. Perhaps not as fast as normal but as I can sit, without feeling guilty about chores left undone, for a lot longer then I am achieving more. Caroline F had bought this Patons Moonglow (colour Moonlight) and whilst it was a little thick for crochet I decided to give the short n sweet shrug a go. I made the child's size on a larger hook as the wool is rather chunky. I did very well until I ran out of wool for the border. The wool only has 50 metres per ball and so didn't go far. I could have left a row off the body but it would have spoiled the pattern having the bottom row missing. I found some wools and twisted them together to see if I could get a decent match. I don't think it looks too unsightly and I hope that Caroline is pleased with it.

I have now started Mei Mei from Everyday crochet book with Rowan All Seasons cotton. It is a lovely yarn to work with. It is 60% cotton and 40% Acrylic and has a slightly corded feel to it. It is a joy to crochet. Slightly stretchy but I think it will work up really nicely.

I am getting stronger with every day that passes. My back is still very sore but more as if I had a huge gravel graze running the full length of my back. I find it tender to sit or to lie. I am not sleeping really well. I am still waiting for my walk outside as the weather is not co-operating. I don't really feel the urge to walk in the rain just yet. My son has just phoned from South Wales to say it is raining hard there as well.

I had a shower this morning but I need my over bath seat sorting out. There were no instructions with the seat. Just a bag with some feet and a handle. I presume these are to secure the seat to the bath but as I don't even have a photo unless I look online it is all a mystery. If I get any visitors tomorrow I will get them to have a look at it for me.

I have sat too long now so am off to try another bit of crochet.