It's quiet, oh so quiet around here

I have finished my steroid tablets, without success, and had to ring the doctor's today to report on my progress with them. I did ring but he could not understand a word I said as I have now lost my voice, or most of it. The doctor then said I had to come up and see him so he could re-examine me. My chest is still clear and so the doctor is still convinced that I don't have a chest infection. As he hasn't got my chest X ray results back yet he has now decided to pull out the big guns and give me strong anti biotics. I feel so ill today. Up until now I have managed to feel OK in myself, apart from the cough, but today I just feel so tired and unwell. I hope that these anti biotics kick in quickly.

I started crocheting a shawl with a hank of super chunky that Vicky gave to me. I won't have enough wool to finish it but I did have some wool in stash that works in well colourwise. I shall finish it off in the contrast colour and add an edging and fringing also in the contrast colour. I wanted a warm and functional shawl to wear indoors and this will be lovely and warm once it is finished.

I am not going to the knit club at the Kings tonight. I don't feel well enough and am still afraid that I could pass this thing on despite the doctor saying it's not an infection. I would hate anyone else to suffer like this because I have breathed all over them. Charlie who gives me a lift isn't well either so I doubt if she will go along either.

I am going to try to do a bit more crochet before I fall asleep again. Tomorrow is another day and I just hope I have quick acting tablets!

Scan in a van day

Today I went for an MRI scan on my knee. I was scanned in one of those mobile scanners which are so small they give me claustrophobia. Luckily when I got there they threaded me into the gun barrel the other way up and just put my feet and lower body in. They remind me of those human cannon ball acts that you have in the circus only there the lightly clad lovely weighs about 6 stones and slides in the barrel easily. All was well until I had a major coughing fit in the middle of the scan and moved my knee about so everything had to be re-done! Trust me. I tried so hard not to cough during the repeat scan by doing all the breathing techniques that I could think of and willing myself not to cough. I managed it the second time but had a mega coughing fit the minute I came out of the machine.

I was pattern searching last night and eventually found the elusive crochet shawl pattern hiding in another pattern. I wasted most of the evening looking for this pattern so didn't get a lot of the shawl done. I will post a photo tomorrow.

Today I am putting on some of the patterns from the Weekend crochet book for babies by Sue Whiting which appears to be written in UK crochet terms - Yippeee. It is the second of the books that I bought from yesterday's exhibition.

I did manage some sleep last night in between coughing bouts. I slept upright on my recliner chair which isn't the best position for my back or neck but at least I managed to nod off and go back to sleep after every coughing bout. I know that -laurie knows exactly how I feel from her comment on my last post as she is a recliner sleeper when her chest is bad also. I think the doc will be seeing me again tomorrow as the steroids should have started working by now.I do hope that it doesn't turn out to be a chest infection after all, when the X rays come back, otherwise I have coughed on a lot of folk this last couple of days. I pray that my niece is immune to my germs.She was kind enough to take me to the scan in her car so I do hope that I haven't repaid her by giving her my cough!

Stitch and Creative Crafts exhibition

Yesterday I went with my friend Jennifer to the Stitch and Creative Crafts Exhibition at Manchester G Mex. I haven't been to one for years and I was so shocked how small it has become. Last time I went, admittedly it was quite a few years ago, it filled the whole hall and there was so many wool stalls I was spoiled for choice. This time as we went in it fitted in just over a quarter of the hall. If they had not had the stalls with card making stuff there would have been hardly any stalls left in there.

I counted either 4 or 5 stalls that had wool on them. Some of them I would have been tempted to buy from but as you know I cannot wear wool anywhere near my skin (apart from my feet). The Black Sheep were there with their usual pyramid pile of packs of wool.They may have been a fraction of the full retail price but still expensive to me. I am still not well so I suppose that also coloured my judgment of the whole show as I was rather lacking in patience. Jennifer was also disappointed as she had gone to buy some beads for her jewelry making and whereas last year there had been 3 stalls to choose from this year there was only one. I came away with 2 new crochet books, some rum and raisin fudge and a meat pie for my dinner.

I finished another hat from a Sirdar vintage pattern. I don't think I would have started it had I read the pattern before I started. Each row of has 2 ends to weave in as I could not strand up the sides of the knitting as the wool would have been on the wrong side for my next grey row. Notice the cigarette on the pattern cover?

I have included some photos from one of the books today. I will put the other babies crochet book on tomorrow. I must admit that with a title Crochet that Fits I would have expected more garments and nore pattern fitting techniques and less handbags, headbands etc. The book is Crochet that Fits by Mary Jane Hall and Amazon.co.uk have it for sale if you like it. I bought mine from the book stall SewGoodBooks.co.uk who had a stall at the exhibition. I will put photos from the crochet baby book on here tomorrow.

I am off for a nap as I still haven't managed to get much sleep again. I finished up sleeping in the reclining chair again last night. After today I have 2 more days worth of steroids to take then it will be back to the doctors on Monday if there is no improvement.I still have very little voice and am coughing for England. I have housework that should be done but I am absolutely knackered so I am going to try to snatch a nap until the coughing wakes me up again.

Superior crochet and more hats

I am not blowing my own trumpet with the title Superior Crochet. It is not a description of my crocheting talents but the title of a new booklet called Superior Crochet with designs by Doris Chan and Kristin Omdahl. There is a fantastic shawl on the front cover (click on my blog title to be taken to Doris Chan's blog site for a view) which I would dearly love to make to wear at my niece's wedding in April if my crocheting skills will allow.

Needless to say the pattern is available in the US but one of those that are so hard ,if not impossible, to order from the UK. I had asked my friend Vicky to be on the alert for a site that stocked it as my ordering from the US skills are practically zero and my brain freezes over at the mere thought of Paypal etc. I have only just mastered ordering online in the UK! Anyway, I digress as usual.I was thinking that I would never get the pattern in time to start it for the wedding when a fellow crocheter from Ravelry, whose husband is coming to the UK on a visit, has offered to get a copy for me in the US and post it to me from the UK when he arrives. I will, of course, be paying the cost plus postage. How kind is that.

I never cease to be amazed by the kindness of fellow crafters. We are a wonderful band that sticks together and helps each other whenever we can. I can't think of any other band of people who do so much for each other. I think there is something about the art of crochet and knitting (plus other crafts) that brings out the best in people. I know that Ambermoggie will support me in this one. I was amazed by all the support I received from my knitty community when I had my spinal operation. I had such a show of love and help that really helped me get through it all. Thanks to you all ladies (and gentlemen) you know who you are so I won't name you individually but I still thank you for your kind thoughts and gestures.

I managed to squeeze another hat out of the Rowam Little Big wool. I used the oddments left from the single coloured hats and made one with a 2 row colour change which I think looks quite nice. I then used the oddments left from my cream crochet hat to make one for me to match my bought scarf. I found that my crochet hat was a little on the short side and didn't cover my ears properly so today I added another row of crochet rib to the bottom.

I am hoping that my steroids will start to work soon. They may already have had some effect as although I did wake up coughing quite a few times last night I did manage to get some sleep which is a bonus. I am hoping to be well enough,snow permitting, to get to the Stitch and Creative crafts show at the G Mex tomorrow with my friend Jennifer. Unfortunately the show has the reputation of being less for the knit and crochet people and more for the card making and cross stitch brigade. I just hope that there will be enough to keep this crocheter/knitter happy.

I love my vintage patterns

I have made up another hat from a vintage hat pattern. This is in the same wool as yesterday Little Big Wool by Rowan and I have used a vintage Patons Big Ben pattern. The stitch is fisherman rib where I purled into the row below on every row thus making a big ribbed stitch. The pattern took approx 65 grams so I am hoping to make a striped version using the part balls of the two colours. I think I will make one for myself with this pattern when I have finished doing their hats. I first made it for myself in pale blue Patons Ariel brushed chunky when I was 17 and loved it then.

It's a good job that I can manage on little or no sleep as I didn't get any sleep at all last night. I would feel myself falling asleep and then jerk awake with a racking cough. The steroids can't have worked in my body as yet. I took my second lot of 8 tablets this morning and am hoping for a better night tonight. I have done 3 nights now with very little sleep and I am absolutely knackered. I didn't get dressed until lunchtime today and that was a big effort.

I have done very little knitting because I am so tired but I am hoping to finish off the hats so that I can give them to my Manchester based niece when she comes to give me a lift for my scan on Sunday. I am grateful for her offer as the buses don't run as regularly on a Sunday. I can give her the hats as my London based niece is coming up in 2 weeks for a wedding dress fitting. If I post things to my niece and her fiance then because they are at work until late everyday they have to travel miles to the parcel depot at the weekend to pick up any undelivered parcels so it is so much easier to give her things in person,

Another day and I am still coughing

I started taking my steroids, that the doctor prescribed for me yesterday, this morning. I had to take 8 tablets all at once. I do hope that they work soon. I went to the hospital today for a chest X Ray and there was 3 or 4 people barking like seals and all saying that they had their coughs since Christmas. Whatever I have got at least I am not alone! I won't get the results of the X Rays for 10 - 14 days. Lets hope that the next 8 tablets start to work tomorrow. I am now losing my voice with all the coughing and am desperate for a good night's sleep.

I have finished a hat which I adapted from a very old Patons Big Ben pattern. I have modernised it by leaving off the turned up brim and the bobble as my niece and her fiance like the beanie shape. It isn't a cable but a 3 stitch twist. I had to knit the third then the second and then the first stitch a little tricky but at least I didn't need a cable needle. The wool is Rowan Little Big Wool which I think is thicker than the Big Ben but it has knitted up quite firmly and so will be a very warm hat. The hat took approx 75 grams. I am making a hat in beige in the same wool but using another vintage Big Ben pattern in fisherman's rib.

I haven't done much knitting today as I came home from he hospital and fell asleep. I don't remember getting much sleep at all last night so I was pretty knackered.

I have got my MRI scan appointment for my knee. I am being scanned in a van again (which I hate because I suffer from claustrophobia) which has a smaller gun barrel to thread me into. Being a big lass means there is very little space for me to slide in the tube. The limit apparently is 21 stones so how on earth anyone that size fits in it is a miracle. My appointment is for Sunday afternoon. I can't say no and say I will wait for the main larger hospital scanner as my specialist appointment is in February and they don't have a scan date for that machine before my appointment. I hope that my cough has diminished before then as I will really panic if I start a coughing fit in the scanner. I had better make sure I have some boiled sweets ready. I asked about my spinal plate and pins and apparently they are titanium and not affected by magnetism. I didn't fancy the pins being sucked out of me or me being stuck to the roof of the scanner!

Let it snow. let it snow. let it snow

I love the snow. It covers everything with a magical sparkly coating and for once my garden looks as nice as the one across the road. Of course I don't have to drive in it or walk the dog in it anymore so I can enjoy it through my bay window from the comfort of my warm front room.

I have to go out later so whether I will feel as ecstatic when I have to walk in it - I don't know.

After a weekend of barking like a seal and getting hardly any sleep I have got another appointment with the doc this afternoon. My next door neighbour was starting to give me the evil eye over the fence as I am sure I have kept her and the kids awake for the last week or so with my daytime and especially my nocturnal barking. I am beginning to wonder if it is just asthma as diagnosed or something else now. The chemicals I inhaled whilst cleaning up after Oscar last week can't have helped my inflamed airways. The doc said to return in 2 weeks if I was no better so I think now is the time to return.

I have finally made something with the much unravelled super chunky grey fleck. I finally did settle on the Phildar pattern but it is customised with the addition of plain grey stripes (thankfully going down the body) to eke out the wool. I finished with about 2yds of fleck wool left. I could have made something sleeveless but I have a slew of knitted and crochet sleeveless things in the wardrobe that I never wear. If it's warm enough for no sleeves then I wear a T shirt. Waistcoats are just not my thing. The last time I wore one was when the granny square ones were fashionable! I make them and they hang forlornly in my wardrobe for that magical day when I will decide to wear them. I won't give them away as I know that one day I WILL wear them - well that's my story and I am sticking to it.

I have started a super chunky hat for my niece with some wool that I got from Vicky. I found a cabled pattern but it is on 2 needles. Quicker for me to knit but I shall have to be very neat with my stitching up. Stitching things together is not my strongest point. When I was younger I used to finish knitting or crocheting and then throw the garment in the basket and it used to languish there for ages until I plucked up the nerve to sew it together. I think I enjoy the making of something more than the wearing of it. I have dozens of things that I have maybe only worn one time. If something was complicated or I really like it I will deem it far too good for everyday wear and put it in the cupboard. When I am gone my family will say - when did she make this? We have never seen her wear it!