Trip to Norfolk and meeting the Mayor.

If you have read my blog you will know that R is deputy carnival princess for our village. On Friday night we were invited to a presentation evening where cheques were handed out to good causes in the area from the money raised at this years fayre and carnival. R got all dressed up, she had a new dress that I bought from Ebay (god I love that place!!) and a manicure and her hair was done in curls again by my friend June. When we got there, she was more dressed up than the carnival queen! I was a bit worried that I had got it all wrong but when I checked the letter it had asked for her to go in full regalia! Maybe the queen prefers the understated look. Anyway, she had her photo taken with the Mayor and seemed quite happy with the whole thing so that was ok. It was lovely to see both the girls dressed up and looking gorgeous.


D and I had a weekend trip to Norwich while the girls stayed at my Mums. D had a reptile show on the Sunday so we decided to make a weekend of it. As usual it didn't go quite to plan! We got stuck in traffic on the way up because some lad had run in front of a van at the Dartford crossing so we didn't get there until 2.30 and we left my Mums at 9.30! I found Norfolk Yarn, which is a lovely shop and full of ladies with spinning wheels, which was lovely to watch. I bought some red cashmerino to do E some fetchings and a bagain bag of 10 balls of Elle chunky in an aubergine colour to do a jumper for me. On Sunday D dropped me off in Norwich and went to his show, it was very wet and windy but nice to have a casual wander round the shops on my own. I then went to meet D at the reptile show and wouldn't let him buy anything! I'm so mean! We did get a new vivarium which will eventually house a chameleon but not until we have room for it!


When Mum dropped the girls off in the evening she gave me this...















Its a needle roll for my dpns and crochet hooks!! It is absolutely fabulous, I love the colourful cats on it. She is working on one for my circular needles too. What a complete star! So all in all I have had a nice weekend!

Stash enhancement!

Haven't blogged for a while! I have been far too busy buying more stuff. We had a trip to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace and I bought lots of lovely things. There are needles and yarn and a book and patterns and a magazine.
Its all very squishable and yummy so I can't wait to get started on making things. Some is for christmas presents but I'll keep quiet about what exactly just in case the recipients are reading. So on to some finished items instead.

This is a Jaywalker sock made with Regia Bamboo and I am so disappointed with it! The yarn feels lovely in the ball but knits up really floppy and doesn't hold a shape well. The sock feels baggy and shapeless on my foot. I will make the pair for it and give them a wash as I am hoping that will help, but I can see it being a long wait before that happens as I am not inspired by it at the moment.



I also made some fetchings in pink for R. Here she is striking a rock'n'roll pose! These are such a quick knit, they came out really nicely and I am planning to make some for myself, after I've made E some of course, as she is now sulking!!

A better day.

Well, I am feeling a lot better today. D has been really poorly and is in huge pain which means I have been forced into taking a few days off work to keep things going at home. That sounds awful, but has probably saved my sanity a bit. He has been to the doctor and we have been assured that it is nothing to worry about and is probably just spasms connected to the surgery he has had, so once over the initial panic about the pain I can now relax and just worry about making sure he takes his tablets and rests. I know I should see the doc myself and get signed off for a bit, but I am covering someone elses job for the next couple of weeks and would just get more stressed knowing that the work won't be done if I'm not there. I just wish I was superwoman!

Anyway, on to the good bits. I received my winter warmer secret santa from Yunaleska on the Angel yarns forum today and it is gorgeous!! Just feast your eyes on that sock yarn! It is from middle earth yarns and is called midnight... it is wonderful and it is mine all mine (insert manical laugh here.) The other yarn is called Hug and is so soft, there is a pattern to make socks or legwarmers from it. I think legwarmers are to be left to the younger generation as they bring back bad memories of the eighties, so socks it is.

More good bits.. I have finally managed to get tickets for me and hubby to go and see Top Gear! It has taken a bit of persistance and a long wait but we are going on 7th November to see an episode being filmed. We went a few years ago and had a great day so I can't wait to go again and see the hamster (hes lovely!!!) and have a laugh.

Finally R is going to be filmed by the BBC for a kids show on Saturday. She has to take Elvis (our kingsnake) with her as they want to interview her about keeping snakes as pets. She is really pleased and has been telling everyone at school about it.

This is Elvis, he was only a baby when this was taken. He is now about four foot long and rather beautiful, he is also the most docile , calm and laid back snake ever! So he should be good for filming.

The other good news, well sort of, is that Rusty is no longer with us. I have signed him over to the RSPCA to rehome. I feel terribly guilty that we couldn't give him the home he needed, but I am relieved that he is not here any more. As hard as it was I know we made the right decision. The house is so much calmer and the cats have come out of hiding already. Apart from five minutes of tears at bedtime, the kids are ok with it too. They have commented on how much easier it is without him. I really hope he finds a home where he can get the attention he needs and someone who has the time to train him properly and help him get over all his problems.

Anyway I am off to bed now and hoping that tomorrow is a good day too.

Not much to say!

I have just sat here staring at the keyboard and don't know what to put. I am feeling really down at the moment and can't think of anything positive to say. I'm the same on the forum I visit, I keep going to answer a post and just giving up halfway through typing. So I will take my Grans advice, 'if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all'. I will wait until the cloud lifts and try again.

I'm in!!!

Yay!! I have finally made it into Ravelry! OMG!! There is so much there to play with! I can see nothing getting done this weekend in the way of craft or housework!

I have also finished the bag for the bag swap, and now that Leah has received it I can show a picture of it. I had to borrow this photo from Leah because I was so eager to send it off that I forgot to photograph it! The bag is crocheted with a 12mm hook in Wendy Pampas, the pattern is from Tess Dawsons book. I added a sparkly charm to it as well. I sent a couple of other bits with it too, a bracelet, kilt pin and scissors with a beaded charm. All of which i made as well. It was nice to get the beads out again, they have been stashed away for too long. It also inspired me to make another bracelet to send to my Winter warmer swap pal, so I hope she likes that too!

Another finished object!!

I have finished an item that was so quick it never even made it to the WIP list! It is a bolero for E in Sirdar Blur. I love this yarn, it knits up really nicely and a little goes a long way. This took less than a ball! I have some in a nice green to do a jumper for me from septembers Knitting magazine and that only needs four balls.

It looks great on her and she is out playing in it at the moment, I just hope she doesn't ruin it whilst climbing a tree!!

R wanted me to put up a picture of her in her new school uniform, so here it is. She has settled in well and already has 5 merits! She has managed to catch the bus on her own and phones me every lunch and break time!! That will hopefully stop once the novelty of having her own mobile phone stops!!

I am back at work tomorrow after a bit of time off to look after D. He is home from hospital but still quite weak. I hope he will be ok on his own next week. I am really stressed and on the edge at the moment which is not a good thing, the dog is winding me up constantly, if I'm not having my arm pulled off on a walk then he is tripping me up, winding up the cats or barking at phantoms in the house. We have the normal arguments with the kids about homework and tidy rooms, the house and garden look a tip and I just feel like I am not coping. I hate this panicky feeling which seems to be there all the time. Never mind, I shall get the chores done and settle down to some craft.

Yummies in the post.

I am taking part in a bag swap on the Angel Yarns forum and I received this beautiful bag on Tuesday! It is from Linda (Allknittingnosleeping) and it is so pretty. It is made from Silk and feels absolutely gorgeous, I've not bought any silk yarn yet but I may now be tempted, if it drapes this beautifully in a bag then it would be lovely as a top.
I have actually started mine, it just needs handles and a lining and then I can post it off.








These are the other goodies I received in the bag swap package, lots of lavender smellies, chocolate and some gorgeous Opal yarn.
I have been planning my extras to go in with the bag and it will have to be beaded!!




Thanks so much Linda, you really brightened my day!