Legal at last!

Well after not feeling christmassy at all we had a really lovely time. It all came together in the end, the decorations went up on Sunday, which is actually not a bad thing as normally I am getting annoyed by christmas day with retreiveing baubles from all over the house that the cats have hidden. This year they didn't have time to hide many. The kids loved thier new Wii and it provided us with lots of fun on christmas day playing all the games, even my Mum and Dad had a go. The only game I am regretting is the singalong High School Musical one, if I hear 'What time is it?' one more time i will scream!
I got some lovely pressies, a swift (at last), a popcorn teddy kit, a couple of books, some perfume, a storage box for my beads, some choccies, money and best of all, a deed poll changing my name from Sarah to Saira! So I can now legally use the name I have been using for most of my life. I need to write loads of letters informing everyone but I don't mind that at all.
I am now looking forward to finishing off my WIPs and starting something new for the new year. I have a huge list of stuff I want to make, mainly thanks to Ravelry, but I need to sort out what order to do it all in. I only have a couple of bits left on the needles, so I will finish those first.

Bah Humbug!

I'm feeling so un-christmassy its untrue! We don't even have any decorations up yet, work has been a pain, money is tight, D is Mr Grumpy and the puberty fairy has arrived with a vengence in our house! At least I am now off until Thursday so maybe the christmas feeling will start soon. I have finished my christmas knits now so I can breathe a sigh of relief on that score, I made my Mum a scarf in Knitwitches pure silk and I'm really pleased with it. I hope she likes it.

Dad is getting a cabled scarf and hat, he has been moaning that I never make him anything so hopefully that will keep him quiet! June is getting a pair of pink fetchings like I made for R as she admired those when she saw them. The other gifts I made are for Sue and Sue at work, these beaded vases.

I have also made my first ever christmas cake! I followed Delias recipe and have been feeding it with Tia Maria so I can't wait to try it. I hope anyone who happens across this blog has a very merry christmas without too much stress.

Gifts from Las Vegas.

Today I received some squishy lovelyness all the way from Las Vegas! My friend June went and bought me back some wonderfully soft Alpaca and some SWS soy wool for felting. I can't stop stroking the alpaca, it is so soft, that will become a scarf for me I think.

I finished a pair of crochet bootees for Kate at work on Friday and it was just in time as her niece was born on Sunday. They are from Crochet Today magazine and were fairly easy to make, although there were loads of ends to sew in which was no fun. She insisted on purple as that is her favorite colour, its a strange colour for a baby but there you go!

What a day!

Today I have mostly been at the Stitch'n'bitch event in London, and what a wonderful day it was! I listened to a talk by Jean Moss which was interesting, I spent some money which was nice and I met some lovely people which was even nicer!

Here is what I spent my money on, although its not all for me! Some is to be sent on to Gemma from the AY forum who is in hospital and missed out on going to London today. Lottie had the idea of getting her a squishy gift to cheer her up. I had to get the 10g Opal ball as it is so cute! I have no idea what you could do with 10g of sock yarn but sometimes useless can be fantastic!

I met Lucy from Bristol who told me how to put a link in my blog, so here is a link to Lucy's blog hopefully! http://settersknitspop.blogspot.com/ Thanks Lucy!

On Wednesday D and I went to see Top Gear being filmed! It was so good, the lads were on top form and there were lots of laughs. I'll be watching it tomorrow to see if I can spot me in the crowd. I did get a photo with James May, but you will have to excuse the strange expression on my face, I discovered that trying to talk and smile at the same time just leaves you looking badly constipated!!

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.