Hmmm

Bit of a catch up. But first thing's first...don't forget about this one:

More details at www.proudtobecrafty.co.uk

So do you remember during the summer I had a dream and it told me to knit three yarns together into a skinny scarf? Of course you do. Well anyway, I never wore it so frogged it which was no easy thing as was two fancy yarns and a cotton so took ages to untangle. And have started reknitting the eyelash and the yarn I dyed two days ago together as a...actually maybe I shouldn't say....cause the recipient does check in here every now and again.

No intention in the photographic grouping although it does look quite sweetly innocent.

Found a couple of socks to photograph. This one is WIP and is fortissimo socko or whatever it's called that I got from web of wool at ally pally. I *adore* the colour changes.

The other are for pooch's dad for xmas. Town and County is the brand and the colourway is chocolate. It is VERY 70s but hey, Pooch assures me he'll love them!


My Sandra magazine arrived today and was rather miffed with the patterns. Only one sprung out at me and that would require some altering. This is it anyway...

Not going to keep my subscription going after it runs out.

And finally here is the finished cardigan for Vitas's littl'un if he ever gets in touch. I think the white edging really finishes it beautifully! Someone asked where the patterns came from.

This one is the erika whatsit simple knits for soggy babies book and the other is a different take on the zimmermann baby coat which can be found here. I warn you you won't get it and will continue to believe it is all a load of rubbish until you're halfway through when suddenly all becomes clear. Well written pattern though - keeps you interested but not taxing.

Didn't make it to my conference which is really irritating. I used to see conferences as ordeals or penances but now, when I actually want to hob with the nobs and meet new people I get all sickly. Am on the mend - entirely due to all your good wishes I know. Pooch is improved too - plus he gets his test results on Friday and will have had the ECGs by then too. He hasn't had any other episodes recently though so hopefully it will turn out to be a temporary thing.

Too weak to knit

Have had enough of all this illness now. Have managed about 3 rows of a sock in the last two days. Hmph. So, nothing to say really, ho hum. L8rs

Two idiots

Pooch and I are at last united in our experiences, opinions and body cycles - we both have exactly the same symptoms with the same severity at the same time. It's quite sweet really. Means he came and woke me up from a little nap (OK it was about 4 hours) telling me I'd need some paracetamol because his head was hurting. 5t has its downpoints though as well. We've been at home together all day and he is feeling too poorly to actually act on any manly impulses but this doesn't stop him alternating between pushing my 'byrne germed' lips away and going for a quick fumble.

Did some kool aid dyeing this afternoon pre-nap. Made a 12 metre skein (I may be exaggerating slightly) and hand painted it with concentrated kool aid which made my nose hurt. Then steamed it. Yet to rinse out the results but....frankly the colours look quite horrible because I've done my usual trick of getting more excited about changing colours than the actual colours involved.

I am still off to this conference tomorrow although the only reason really is because I know they have a sauna and I'm hoping that will help a bit.

All my stitch marker lots on ebay sold within 12 hours - i think offering the free postage was the killer touch. Will have to bang out some more in time for xmas!

Look what the postman brought!!!

20 packets for £8!

Ow. Self-pity central

Ow. Have got the lurgy. Again. This time it is this cold that is going around so nothing crazily awful but I still feel like poo. Enough of that though. My day confined to a house full of damp tissues will be put to good use with knitting and blogging.

I can see why my cold got worst - cause I spent 2 hours yesterday walking round regents park without my hat on. It was my first meeting with my new mentor who is a complete dude. He works as a facilitator for PWC and is the source of all kinds of knowledge. He seems fascinated by everything and I just really like talking to him. This was our 3rd or 4th meeting as I first bumped into him last year at a conference but it was the first one where I was going "so what do you think" and he was saying "Well what do you think" and so on. The meeting was so useful and really helped me think about the change management stuff I am doing at the moment and a couple of potentially awkward one-to-one meetings I've got coming up. For those of you who have not yet sprung upon the joys of mentoring there is lots here which is not specific to any particular profession, however it might look. I can recommend it as good stuff as, ahem, I wrote it myself in my former job.

I think I might have omitted to mention the impending arrival of a baby girl this week, curtesy of my first true love Vitas who was my first proper boyfriend. He and his girlfriend Charlie have been together for about 5 years and I am so excited that someone is having a baby who I actually know properly. I have already done this little cardi....what amazes me about this pattern is how you start from this mess which I kept folding this way and that and couldn't see how it would work:

to this:

It's the James C Brett marble again. Dianne's knitting yarns (link in list in the left margin) has got some new colours in this yarn so I am just waiting for them to come out in singles rather than packs. She says it won't be too long.

A little hat...

And am well into the wrap top from erika knights "simple knits for soggy babies" book.


So really i have way too many WIP at the moment. Let's just list them shall we, so we can shame me into not starting anything else....
1. wrap top for the baby
2. Brown socks for Pooch's dad
3. Peacock curly whirly
4. Fortissima red tone socks for mum
5. Cargo jumper
6. Aran jumper
7. The eternal kaffe fasset v-neck

I think that's it but I am sure there are probably more unfinished pairs of socks about too.

One thing I did manage to finish was the scarf for Alex. He is picking it up toorrow from work but I'm not there so I'll have to wait and see what he makes of it.


My SP played a blinder and sent me a lovely parcel yesterday. The highlight...actually it was all great but there were two things I especially loved. 495g wool in a lovely red. Don't want to waste it so am not going to rush into using it. Am thinking jumper or, actually, maybe, one of those low scoop v-necks. Hmmmm.

The joint favourite is this keyring. I've been meaning to get a keyring for ages as I haven't had one since I moved house. Isn't this sweet?

I also got body cream, a lush massage bar and a fruit bar (bless you for trying to make me healthier).

Still no word from my pal recipient. Have sent her a last ditch email today. My only concern is that she might be ill, but then she's been like this all the time.

Am selling a load of knitting bits on ebay at the moment. Click here to have a look at what's what. I'm going to add more of my beaded stitch markers later today and possibly some of those little fimo knit brooches. For now I think I might just nip back to bed for a bit of a snooze....

Keep your friends close...

Yes people - I have finally "arrived"!!! I have, wait for it, an official enemy. I hear all the best people have one and mine is called CD (full name witheld because she'll come to her senses soon and feel all silly). Below is her most recent email...

You were not 'flamed ' by somone you were told by me

remember the name i will remember yours.

you are most aggresive

I blame it on all the wrestling I watch. All because I complained about my pal on the UKHK list and she felt it was an inappropriate forum. She's been flaming Fred and Colin too. Poor thing. I kind of feel sorry for her as she might actually have a problem or something. Today is a two-pill day for me (the cutdown continues) and I know I feel stroppier on the two-pill days. Pooch has them marked on his phone's calender! I think of the moods more like sport now - makes it more entertaining for me to allocate points when I'm in a real stinker.

Pooch's hospital tests are on Thursday....thanks to those who have contacted me with good wishes.

Am just off to lobby this lot for a doll pattern.

Long long long

Having the internet at home the way it is is turning out to be almost worse than not having it at all. It keeps freezing and stopping so poor Pooch is going to be having yet more conversations with the call centres of the world.

Anyway, let's wrap up paris and then move on.

I was quite astonished at Phildar who I haven't had anything to do with before. From the outside it looks like a normal clothes shop

But on the inside (as well as the clothes) it was packed with yummy stuff and all the latest Phildar magazines.

Did I manage to buy anything? Well..... you know me. Just one or two things. From top left clockwise...

Two colours of lovely 50% wool. There were single colours as well but I just loved the red/green/purple one and this is a dream to knit with. Doesn't feel acrylicy at all and gives lovely even stitch definition. The lettuce looking one is actually called 'clapotis' and appears to be made out of j-cloth. Not my usual fair but with a name like that I kind of had to. Plus none of these were more than about 4 euros (and the nice 50%wool was 2.80). Bottom right is another possible kid silk haze contender. The leery green in the middle is quite a tight, thin boucle that I thought might be nice plied with something and then bottom left is a chunky i-cord type thing a little bit felted which I basically bought to dye. Is this is? Oh, no I don't think so....

Top left is a novelty thing that either creates lacy madness by itself or looks good used with another yarn as an accent. On the right are two colours of plied wool/acrylic that I just liked the look of and then bottom left is a mohair in a wicked pink colour. The woman in the shop was very nice and very patient with my french. I also got three pattern books which have a number of lovely things in. I hadn't seen Phildar in the UK so I asked the UKHK list where one gets such stuff and there is a place called strands in scotland that has it but where the euro prices just have a pound sign put in front or there is another one in france with cost postage prices and the same cheaper prices so I might use that one. I would like a jumper in that red/green/purple one.

I did pretty well for wool shops. There was another one I would have visited near the hotel which sold this stuff...

I haven't seen it before and couldn't see the price. I would have gone in and bought some to try but the place was never open. Ah well, reckon I still did pretty well!

Knitting seems to be as popular in france as it is dans angleterre. My eagle ears caught the word 'tricot' one morning while Pooch was flicking through the TV channels and lo and behold....

Yes, a news item on a knitting group. They reminded me of the lovely golders green possy who I am missing mightily at the moment after a two week absence. And why two weeks? Well because on the final morning at about 3am I woke up from a nightmare with the *worst* food poisoning ever. I don't want to go into details but I needed to get from the hotel to the gare du nord and then onto the eurostar and then from waterloo to home and combined that was probably the hardest journey I have ever undertaken. The actually nastiness stopped late Thursday but I am still not completely recovered. One of the most annoying things has been me suddenly running out of energy which meant I missed the big handover last week or Liz's wedding blanket. You see the golders green posse all did 2 12 inch squares and we sewed them all together and hemmed it in crochet and it looked wicked bad and the handover was last wednesday. And I missed it! Will try and get a photo of the finished thing from one of the others as it really is very lovely.

I have managed to finish several pairs of socks recently but not when I have a camera around. I have also just the tassles to add to a cobnut scarf for my friend Alex that I've done with two strands of cashmerino from coldspring. Took 4 balls all together. Just started another curly whirly yesterday in cherry tree hill peacock for my best mate Louise for xmas. Again, no actual pictures. Plus I have a *huge* pile of magazines and pattern books to sell on ebay, as well as a load of lovely stitch markers except I can't get the internet reliable enough to list them. If anyone can recommend a free listing programme for macs that would be much appreciated.

Woke up this morning convinced it was Tuesday - weird - so had a rather unnecessarily sudden start to the day as I then leapt out of bed. Joe, Ellie and Denning are coming round for lunch today so Pooch is deep into his Ric Stein cookbook (it was our anniversary - 18 months - last week so got him a little present) and is threatening 'roast cheese'.

So I think to wrap up I just have to have the same rant here that I've already had on UKHK - my secret pal is rubbish. Not the one giving to me - she is a definite dude. The one I'm sending to. Unanswered emails, unacknowledged parcels, blog last updated 3rd October. Have decided to give her til the end of next week to respond to the last parcel then will send her the 'balance' in john lewis vouchers and not bother with it anymore. So off-putting as I really enjoy the spoiling-others part. Pooch has suggested the two of us have a secret pal of our own with the same guidelines regarding spending and postal delivery (except to work addresses). I think it might be quite sweet and I'm not going to join the next SP after recent experiences.

Wow - long post. Sorry guys. Have another busy week coming up - mentoring in birmingham on wednesday, hair makeover (oh yes there will be pics) in....weston-super-mare (obviously) on Thurs and then I am at a conference friday/saturday at lovely Ashridge business school. I'll be sure to check in though and hopefully have some pictures of these FOs to share!