not so good today...

...but I thought it'd been a few days since I posted anything, so I'd best put something down.

Not too bad a week. Little bit up and down. My sheep tea cosy is going well. I did accidentally buy the two tea cosy books from Waterstones on Thursday. I didn't intend on getting both of them, but then I was looking, and I thought they were more expensive than they are, so it just sort of happened.

Yesterday was a little busier - I had a full day planned: go to Covent Garden to try on shoes for my sister (bridesmaid ones.) then find Pure Juniper to get a tea pot stand. After that, down to Sloane Square to get to Partridges to buy Blueberry Sauce (again, wedding stuff. This is for the cake) A quick stop at the V and A - still a member, so got to use it, and they've just opened a new exhibition on Horace Walpole and Strawberry. Well worth a visit. Back up to Oxford Street, to head to Marks and Spencers for a bit of cake and some tea, and off to John Lewis' to get a leaf thing I saw in my mum's Ideal Home magazine, and a shirt and dress from Dorothy Perkins.

All this went to plan. very full, but got it all done. Only after a stop at Boots in Liverpool Street station though. This wasn't a planned stop, but I was sat on the tube, with a healthy breakfast of tea and hot cross bun (it was early, and cold!) and felt something hard in my mouth. My tooth (well, not mine, but one my mum paid to have put in instead of the one that was there. She loves me, so she bought me crowns) was out. Not only the tooth, but the little metal stick it's held in with! So I wandered about a bit looking dazed, until a kindly security guard pointed me in the direction of the dental stuff.

Its glued back in now - no pain or anything, as its not a real tooth. But it did throw me for the rest of the day!

A bit less busy today. Think the shopping yesterday took it out of me. If I have too much in my head one day, I do tend to drop after a while. It happened before Christmas, when I went shopping with my mum, but luckily she knows it happens, and watches me, if I get too manic. It is sort of strange - it's not manic depression i have, just the ordinary kind, but I still get these swings, that I have to try and be aware of to control. Trying to stop myself falling at the moment, as I've not heard from blokey since Friday. Ordinarily, I know this is not unusual, or in anyway bad, but if I'm not on form, I tend to see a thousand negatives where there shouldn't be. All of a sudden I get the doubt come into my head, and I've got him married to someone else, or he's decided he really doesn't want anything to do with me - they're just the ones I'm willing to admit to. It's a whole world of crazy when my mind starts a-wandering!

Anyway. Like I said, I have to try and keep perspective on the world, and keep calm. so I'm off to watch In the Loop on BBC2, and have some tea and cake. It does tend to help matters.

hi

Hello. Been away for a while, but I think I'm feeling a bit better now. We'll see how it goes.

I'm not going to go through my past 7 months or so, as that would be dull, and I can't be bothered. But to recap there was Christmas, my sister got engaged, is making me wear green satin, I'm making her wedding cake, and I have a fringe.

I also got another year older, booked a week in Brussels - again, on my own, hence only as far as Belgium again. My job is still crappy, and I'm still single. But a fella in Scotland is a possibility to change that one...

I've been officially diagnosed as having pcos, had my ordinary meds upped, and new ones added, so now I rattle in the mornings.

Think thats it for now. Oh, and I'm making my mum a sheep teacosy. In loop stitch.

I'm going to try and get back into this whole thing. May take me a while to get the hang of it again, but I think it may help a bit, so I'll give it a go...

I just don't know what to do with myself...

I just don't know what to do with myself...

Sock monkeys: Done, and given to a very tired little girl, for her journey home. She did seem very pleased, and it stopped her being grumpy for her Dad and my sister on the drive home.

Seaside Swap: Done, and posted. may take a little while to arrive due to postal strike stuff.

Teacosy: Done, wrapped, and handed over.

That's it for now. Going to give myself a few days off from knitting, but then it's back onto the baby cardigan, and thinking of something else to make...

Off for a nap now. But....It's my (mini) holidays in two weeks!!

Calmer now.

Rant done with. Just definitely on the lookout for a new job now! But I'm also looking into starting my AAT training as a home study. Not the same as having support from work, and day-to-day experience, but its cheaper, and it'll get me a qualification.

I have also finished the tea cosy!
It's all ready to be wrapped up with some loose leaf tea, and handed over to my sister for safe keeping until Stevie's birthday. I've already apologised to her for having a football tea cosy in her house. Now just onto the sock monkeys. keep spending any free time I have doing the odd bit of sewing on them, but still so much to go! I did get them mentioned on the radio on Saturday though. Part of a request to end Iyares breakfast show on radio 6. So now they're truly famous. Ish.

Also got to get stuff finished for the Seaside Swap, but can't mention what yet, until its sent. It is making me miss the beach a lot. I'm rather peculiar in that although most people have some kind of bouncy happy music that reminds them of summer, I have the first Disturbed album that reminds me of spending my time in Bournemouth. Some good memories, some fantastic, some not so good. But generally when photos like this were taken:

It was about 2001, and I'm the second from the left. The summer always make me remember nights out in my local rock club, with the same girls. I get the same feeling of missing what it was like, but then a grateful relief that my life although not at its best right now, is a fair bit better than then. Does make me feel old and reclusive though. What happened so I can't stay out till 4am on a school night, and show up for work, feeling fine after far too many vodkas?! Not entirely keen on this growing older thing....

Warning: Rant to follow

I knew it was a bad day, when I dropped a weetabix on the patio this morning. (I was shaking out the crumbs from the box, for the birds.)

This could be because I was tired from staying up too late, watching Oldboy on TV. I have the DVD sat on a shelf, without ads and everything, but still I stayed up until 11pm to watch it! This is not the first time I've done this, and I doubt it will be the last. Anyone else do this with films?

On my way in to work, I was once again confronted by that disastrous fashion faux-pas, a white bra under a white top. It's a more common sight in the summer than winter, but why do -people not realise that a white bra, does not blend in, but reinforces the white in that area. Thus making the rest of your top look a bit grubby, apart from your bright white cleavage! Always wear a flesh coloured bra under a white top. Really, go and try it. I spent many months working in a New Look in Dorset explaining this to customers, and more recently bullied my mum into at least trying it. (She now accepts I am right on this, if nothing else.)

So I arrive at work, to discover I have been 'volunteered' to direct students around the college for the next two Monday mornings. All well and good, but some bright spark(under a proper work order, for the college) has taken all the numbers off the doors in the college - a maze at the best of times - so now its impossible. I have no idea where the students are meant to go, so my plan is to send them off on a long tour, then hide. It seems to be the only solution.

Oh well, at least I can sort out my future in the job, at my annual review. All gone well, generally praised, for m past years work. Mentioned on the form my aims and objectives, of maybe gaining my professional qualifications, which I've also mentioned numerous times to my manager, and always been told I have to wait until I'm out of the (year long) probation period. Fair enough. That ended last month. And today I was told that in part due top the financial climate, but predominately because of the needs and work in my role, I will not be getting any assistance with my AAT. Presuming most people won't know that this is the Association of Accounting Technicians. Very dull to most, but I want to get it, and it costs. Most people get sponsored by their company, for the money and day-to-day experience of accounting.

So now I'm sat in a job that will do absolutely bugger all for me. I'm still rather single, pretty skint, and for some reason, I have quit smoking, and pretty much stopped drinking too. Both seeming like rather daft ideas now.

At least there's cake. There'd better be a lot of cake.

All in all, a pretty crappy day. I should be dying my hair, but I can't be bothered. Normal service will be resumed later. After I've sat not wanting to do any knitting of tea cosies or sewing for the seaside swap or anything but sit and sulk. I may vent at my dad later. He's very good for things like that.

Thank you for reading this far. You are very kind.

Sorry.

I didn't specify which weekend!

Ok. Been away a while. Not sure why, just didn't really feel I had anything to write, I suppose. I started to feel a bit like if I didn't write something soon, I'd end up not coming back . So here I am. Might be because I reached the first year of my blog. I started with Taste last year, and it's just gone by now. Doesn't feel like its been a year, but here I am. Year of a bad job, and singleness. Let's hope the next one goes a little better.

Taste last month was fantastic. There was a bomb scare before, so we all had to loiter about outside the park for an hour or so, but finally got in. Managed to spend far more than I should have, but no more than I'd planned. Got some lovely cakes, and biscuits, and ginger beer, and tasted a whole load of varied things, so felt a little bit sick by the end...
There was a woman doing the most wonderful fruit carving there again this year, and I'd remembered my camera so could share it with you. It's incredible how she manages it, such beautiful work. She makes it looke so easy, and then comes out with these great pieces. Don't know what happens to it afterwards, as it would seem a shame to throw it away, or cut it up to eat.

Sock Monkeys definitely seem the way forward, to win Isla's heart. These three (they were named Purple One, Blue One and Stripey One. Seemed appropriate.) are soon to be joined by a group of 10 smaller ones, with velcro hands and feet, to make chains and loops. I've got a small production line set up, with tails and mouths and eyes to be sewn on.
Her fathers tea cosy is still being made, but is getting there. Im now making a frill for the top, with "Follow, Follow..." written on it. Some Rangers anthem, apparently.

One month today, I shall be in Bruges! I've booked train tickets, a hotel, and travel insurance, and worked out when I need to get to the station. I like that I'm going on a Monday morning, when I should be going to work. I've got a little travel guide, so I know where to go, and what to see, and how to ask "Can I have a plate of chips please" (BIG on chips in Bruges. Theres a museum and everything!) Pretty much going to spend my time watching old ladies make lace, and visiting all the chocolate shops. (and yet another inspired museum!)

Well, that's pretty much it for me the past month or so. Not been that exciting, really. This weekend holds for much more tea cosy knitting, sock monkey sewing, and the baking of a banana cake and/or these lovely looking caramel shortbreads from Attic24's blog! (not sure how to do the link-back thing for blogs) Do love her crochet - I must learn how to, so I can make wonderful things in vibrant colours. Or just do similar in knitting. Probably that one.

Off to have some tea. A bloke at work tried to keep up with my tea drinking a couple of weeks ago. The poor fella only made it to 5 cups/2pm, before he admitted defeat, and had to give the standard post-lunch cup. (That's the one before the biccie or cake assisted one at 3pm.) When will these people realise I am 70% tannin...

Quick note

Had a really busy week, and still got a thousand things to do. But in recent news:

• Taste was fantastic. Couple of pics to come. We're off to the Christmas one next!
• Tea cosy still going well. Should be fine for August.
  
• I'm booking a holiday! Going to check my leave dates at work tomorrow, then I'm booking three nights in Bruge! First holiday on my own, so a bit scary...
• Sock monkeys make the best presents. Made Isla three the other day, and she adored them. Did have to do a few repairs, not through her damage to them, but from her dad's over-zealous play.
  

A better post over the weekend, promise.

Very busy Saturday.

Well, not so much busy, but full.

Started off getting up and going off to the post office to collect my parcel, from the Monkey Swap! Had the card for days now, just needed to collect it.

It was a parcel full of little bundles, and two lovely cards from Jenny at Gingerbread House.


Inside, were two cute sock monkeys, a purse and a pair of socks, all monkified (it's a word now)


Didn't have much time to look at them though, as I had to get off to Tower Bridge, for the WWKIP day.

I had seen the clouds outside my window first thing, and it looked cloudy. The BBC website implied a chance of rain, later in the day. I planned accordingly, and took an umbrella, and a raincoat. And then this happened...Blazing hot sun, all day!

We saw a lot of things on our travels, including an injured pigeon, a 21 gun salute for the queen, the Red Arrows (there was an attempt at a photo, but it was rubbish!)

Many moustaches were also worn, although I changed from my finger on, as it is VERY hard to knit with yarn on your hand, so I swapped to my homage to Des Lynam. I don't think it's a bad look for me.

Finally got home in the evening, and discovered I appear to have even caught a bit of colour. Quite an oddity for me, as I'm usually the colour of milk.

Now just to enjoy the remainder of a lovely sunny Sunday, with an ice-cream, I think.

Im not stopping!

Knitting my top, that is. Following a burst of activity this evening at my knitting group, and comments from others, my lovely top (which has been going rather well), may become a dress! I'm going to do a bit of research on Ravelry, to establish where to increase, by how much and whether I will have enough yarn but it should be a cross between a dress and a long tunic, just above knee length, so I can wear it with tights, or over jeans. It does mean I have to wind the rest into balls from hanks though, which I'm not looking forward to.

What I am looking forward to, is the two swaps I've signed up for! One is a Monkey Swap from Claire's Crafty Blog, and the other is a Seaside Swap from Contented. I've received the details of who I'm sending my monkey stuff to, so I'll have to have a bit of an investigation, and see what I hope will be suitable. It's a secret one, so I can't mention who, or let them know I've been looking!

I wasn't planning on being in two at once, but I saw the seaside one, and just had to sign up. I really miss living by the sea, and would love to move back down to the south coast. I still look for jobs in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. If something half decent shows up, I'll do my best to relocate, and see the sea every day again.

Knitters of the world, unite

Anybody else see Britain's Got Talent last Saturday?

They may not be the best entry for a talent show, but these ladies made me smile.

And they've tried to bring knitting to the masses!


Oh, and the carrot cake - very successful. Could be a hard one to beat!

Summer's almost on its way...

It's a rainy and miserable grey day out there, but I have big plans for my little garden...

I've got some seeds to be planted this month, for runner beans, soy beans and pak choi, but the tomatoes and courgettes are on their way already!

Ive got little poppies and sweet peas coming on too, so it should look and smell lovely and bright in the summer, as well as being practical, with the amount of veg that'll hopefully grow. I'm well prepared this year for blackfly, slugs and blossom end black spot (plagued my little tomatoes last year!)


I've also been knitting coachella from knitty.com in my green silk. I was a bit nervous about the shaping of the armholes at first look, but its actually really easy and enjoyable. I'm about hafway through now, so I'm starting to think of what to do with the rest of my dyed yarn. I'm hoping they knit up as beautifully as the silk has. It's passed the moment of truth, when I get to see how it looks when knitted up to a decent size, not just my samples. Not the best pictures, but I think they shows the variation in colour pretty well. Note the purple ended needles in the picture on the right - I finally ordered a shiny new set of US 6's for my set of Boye interchangeable circulars, after I bent one (at the joiney bit!) about 3 days after getting the set! I ordered it from the same shop, DuppDupp and they arrived about two days later, wonderfully wrapped in tissue paper. It's got to be my favourite needle shop. Just a shame its so far away from me, in Edinburgh.


I'm off to get my yarn and needles in order now, to go to knit at the Royal Festival Hall tomorrow. I knitted a bit at the Trafalgar Square one, but had just come from college, so was a bit tired, but should be able to contribute a bit more this time!

Ok - I spent a good amount of time at my knitting group last night, carefully scaling up my gauge, working out increases and decreases, and have now cast on this in this yarn:

Its the green and yellow silk I dyed at my class, and the pattern should get a pretty big amount of it used. It's a really simple looking pattern for a racer back vest I found on ravelry, from the knitty.com website. So its a free pattern, using yarn I already own. Nothing had to be purchased, not even a button.

So it sort of makes up for my late night buying of this wonderful, apparently invaluable book. It was so much cheaper than the copy in Waterstones, which almost snuck itself into my bag (I would have paid first - I'm not a shoplifter, nor do I condone it!) Sometimes it's difficult that my knitting group meets in the cafe of a bookshop.

So it all sort of balances, the good of using stuff I own to knit with, with the bad of a new book, no matter how useful and vital it is to pretty much every kitchen in Italy (according to the blurb on the website) And I am pretty confident I'll use it, not just sit and read recipes, which can be addictive, and is altogether less fattening.

Im off to the V and A tomorrow, for the preview of Baroque!! Taking my mum, and then trying to lure her away from buying more tops in Zara. It may be tricky...

Must knit more...

Well, my course is over. But it was great, and I learnt a few new techniques. The last session was pretty much a free run of the equipment, to dye, print and paint what we wanted, so I spent most of the day, poking at yarn with a stick in some dye vats. But its all coloured in now, in a variety of blues, greens, reds and purples.

Above is the silk yarn, that all got dyed in blue to yellow toned green.
It looked wonderful, like seaweed when i was rinsing it out.

This is some alpaca I bought at the craft show on Thursday. Its ony 50grams of it, from the Toft-Alpaca stand. Its a nice aran weight, and it was a lovely cream colour to start with. Although I like this soft olivey green, I was suprised it hardly took the dye at all. And I washed it to get rid of any lanolin first.


This cotton did not want to untangle, so it all got tied up with string, and dunked in different colours to see what happens. And it looks better than the picture! Its gone a lovely sea green blue and turquoise, with white bits where the string was, that looks like sea-foam. I wish I'd made more this colour!


The cotton-linen boucle I split into two colours. The red-brown above, which looks like raspberries...

...and the yellow green above. The white in this picture is from the flash, and its all taken the colour really well.


But this is possibly my favourite. Most of the cotton is now a lovely purple, but with blue sections. The blue is only an inch or so long each time, and is pretty random in the yarn, so it'll show as a few blue stitches on a purple background when it knitted up.

So there's loads to be wound into balls, and I've just got to decide what to knit with all of it now...

Can't stop spending this month!

It's getting to be a bit of a problem.

Im off to Earls Court on Thursday for the Stich and Craft show, where despite my best intentions (although they're not very good ones, really) I may end up spending far more than I should on wool.

And now I've booked my ticket for Taste London. I went last year, and am off with the same girls this time. I've got my spending money paid for too - it's this odd system of 'crowns' where you pay for the coupons and spend them on different stalls.

I've just realised, I wrote about the Taste festival last year in my second and third ever posts. How time flies...

My Yarn is Wonderful!

That's the whole lot spread out, in all its glory!

I've sampled a few bits of each yarn, and dyed some a few different colourways, and knitted it up to see what it looks like. Only got to the cotton/linen stuff so far, but the rest is to be knitted up, and shown to my knitting meet-up group on Thursday, to see what shades they think I should dye it all.

Personally, I like the green/blue, and red/brown mixes. It's a lovely boucle yarn, in a cotton linen mix.

The silk is lovely when its knitted up, but splits like theres no tomorrow, especially when casting on! But it seems to be taking the dye wonderfully.

The pure cotton is so soft and squishy. I've dyed a sample in a lovely purple shade, that'll I'm rather taken with (no sample knitted yet!)

Just got to get it all wound from cones to hanks, so it can be dyed, then back to balls so I can knit it into things. Not a clue what to make yet, but it'll look wonderful in the meantime when it's dyed up.

pics to follow!

My yarns have arrived this morning! I'm going to be late for my class today, as I'm sat on my bed looking at it all! It's wonderful and will be fantastic when dyed! Just taking a sample with me today, for testing, rather than full on dying of it all. This isn't what I want to do, want to chuck it all in my bag and run to class, but it is probably the most sensible plan, to test and think about it first.

Im really very excited and happy, and just had to tell someone, and everybody sensible will still be in bed on a Saturday morning before 9am.

But my new yarn has arrived!!

Stephen Fry and Knitting

Im sat in bed watching QI, and they just mentioned this wonderful looking place - a knitted brain museum!

kittens and yarn

I'm halfway through a course at the college I work at,called Handpainting and Printing for Textiles, and it's fantastic! We've exposed screens (well, watched while we were shown how!) dyed fabrics and printed with the screens, and theres still three more weeks to go! It's taking it out of me a bit as its all day Saturdays, but it is great fun.

As we've got all this time with dye vats bubbling away, I've ordered a whole load of yarn from Texere. £40 worth of the stuff. But it means I've got 6 balls of silk, 2 cotton and 4 cotton/linen popcorn yarn on its way to me! All undyed, so I can paint it pretty colours, and knit it into something wonderful!

When broken down, the price is actually rather good, for the yardage I'm getting. And it can be whatever colour my heart desires. Within reason!

I'm still knitting squares for this blanket, although I've had a fiddle with the pattern and now instead of being about 20x20 stiches, some will be 40x40. It's going slowly, but well. I'm in no rush to be finished, as the whole point is something I can have to just tide me over, knit a bit, put it down again, then knit a bit more. Might take a few months, might take a couple of years. But I like how I can see it grow slowly into something I like.

I have found wonderful things recently, one is my mum's mothers day present (March 22nd in the UK) The other is this. I could watch it over and over! as the website says, it is rather good. And only a little bit traumatic and scary in parts.

sort-of back.

Just a bit of a rough spell. Taking my meds properly now, so should perk up a bit in a couple of days. But I'm also taking the advice I've always received, (and ignored) and given up smoking. This may have been partially responsible for the mood swings and depression bit recently. So Im trying to counterbalance this by keeping Thorntons afloat, and myself afloat by returning to the swimming.

The aching from yesterdays swim is starting to creep into my arms and legs now.

I did do some sewing tonight, and made a start on some cupcake magnets, and deciding what else to make in felt. Will get some pictures on here when I've made something worth looking at!

But I did find this article in my google reader feeds today. So if it helps my health, can I get posh wool on the NHS?

Knitting success!

Im really not very good at this bit of the year, which is part of why I've not posted for a bit. It's odd, as I love the bit before Christmas, and the buying presents, seeing family, stuff like that. It's just when it comes to the 25th, it all seems very tiring, and hard work, and makes me very anxious.

But the most important part of the past week or so, is that Isla liked her bunny!! Apparently it's quite good for a customer when she plays shops. But she did appear to ignore all her toys on Christmas day (My parents and I were at my sisters, with her boyfriends parents, and a couple of her friends from New Zealand, so without their family for the holidays) apart from a couple of Bob the Builder trucks, and a small sponge that came with a pack of chalk. She had so many new things, new toys, games, and things to play with, so she was occupied all day with a bit of sponge about the size of a matchbox. Of course.

I've been working on my mitred square blanket a bit, and have got three 4" squares done! But it's always been planned as a long term project, to be finished in about a year. So I'm now considering what to begin next. Theres a lot on my Ravelry list, and I should consider using my stash to knit with, but I'm becoming drawn to this scarf and its matching hat,if not something in the same stitch pattern.

So it wasn't too bad a holiday this year. I tried to stay calmer this time, than let myself get panicky and worked up like I sometimes do if I'm at my mums too long. I'm just not very good at change, so being away from my flat, and what I know worries me quite a bit. But I'm back home now. Still not too great, as I've had a lot more bad New Years than good ones, so I tend to ignore it all, and stay in now. But I've got a nice dinner in from Tescos, I've sent my mum all the chocolates I don't like from my Christmas tin of Roses (It was that or throw them away) and I've three episodes of the Gilmore Girls saved on my tv. I can't help it- I love the show. Its overtaking my addiction to Charmed!

But I hope you had a good holiday, no matter whether it's Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, New Year or any other festival or holiday you choose to celebrate. See you in 2009. Promise I'll at least try to be more regular with the entries!!