I have decided ......

.... to limit myself to no more than £55.00 per month on crafts! Unless, of course, I am going to an exhibition (February) or a show (October).

I am determined to destash, and also determined to stop buying so many bags! This has become a bit of an obsession since I lost my mum, but now it has begun to take over. Everywhere I go I seem to come back with at least one bag (three yesterday from Crawley!). I need to get on top of things again so I HEREBY VOW TO BE GOOD!!!

Dad is going to buy me a new wardrobe in the next three months and I want to get my bedroom a bit more streamlined too - so some of the toys (Amber's!) that seem to have congregated in the corner are being relegated to the loft or even the charity shop to make room for some sort of storage for my bags. I am going to store the spare bedding currently in the bed drawers in the top of the wardrobe too.

I need to get my sorting out head on!

Hurray!!!

I'm knitting again! Am taking it slowly but surely though. I am just hoping that I don't have any more hand problems for a while now!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!

Bra's!

My sister, who has lost FIVE stone, needed a new bra - she did measure 42GG. So Amber and I went with her to be measured yesterday. Amber hasn't been measured properly and had big ideas about underwiring and padding, well the lady in the shop (Frillies in Horley) did a bit of reverse psychology and started off with the type of bra Amber wanted and gradully got her to see that she didn't want one of those! Amber ended up with two bras one of PE days and a nicer one.

My sister was measured and is now a 40DD, a suitable bra was found and the owner of the shop ceremoniously disposed of the old one after lots of comments about what it could be used for!

Then it was my turn - I HATE BRAS! I tend to 'forget' to put one on most of the time, but otherwise a wear a Sloggi crop top affair. I warned the lady that I hated them, as they make my back itch and I suffer with a thrush type irritation in all sorts of funny places. I was measured and was horrfied to find I am a 42D! After several attempts at scaffolding type bras, we eventaully found a lovely one but the cups only started at D and they were too big. After another search I ended up with a lovely bra, which I have on this morning with a bit of loo roll under the fastening.

My sister then changed her mind about the bra she'd got and we unded up with the same design! We have ordered another one each as well.

I was expecting to pay a fortune, as it is an independent shop with all sorts of makes of bra, but mine was £20 and Amber's two came to £18!

My new obsession!

I can't stop buying knitting books! I've paid for 2/3 for the kids to give me for christmas, I've just bought Knitting Never Felt Betterm Bag Style. Knit Kimono and Felt Forward, and I'm waiting for Alterknits, Scarf Style, 101 Desinger One Skein Wonders, Simplechic Oh and and Module Magic to come from The Book Depository! Oh, and "Vogue Knitting" Accessorize: Scarves, Hats, Ponchos, Socks and Mittens (Playtrade but Book Depository again). I am working on the assumption that, the more books I have, the more likely I am to use up some stash!

I'll need another bookcase soon!

I think I'll have to add a list of books that have my attention on here!

FO's 2007

As I am having to refrain at the moment, I can't see me finishing anything before the end of the year now so here is my vast list of FO's!

Heartbeat Bag
Noro Cash Iroha Mittens for me!
Allegra mitts
Modified Fiesta bag for Auntie Ann (Crhistmas)
Glittery mittens for Amber (Christmas)
!st miitts for Amber (Christmas)
Scarf for Uncle Mick (Christmas)
Mitts for Miss Barr (Christmas)
Scarf for Angela (Christmas)
Karaoke fingerless mittens (for Amber's teacher)
Drops design bag with flower from Knitonthenet
Fingerless Mitts for Lucia CHRISTMAS
Fingerless Mitts for Emily CHRISTMAS
Fingerless mitts with ruffle (for AY swap)
Fiesta Bag (present)
Fingerless gloves with ruffle
Garden Gate Scarf
Karaoke fingerless gloves (present)
Side to Side shawl
Manos Del Uruguay Bag
Own design bag
Oregon bag (customised)
Diary cover (Amber)
Cocoon Jacket
B4 bag
Pot Pourri Shawl
Colour go round bag (20th BAG THIS YEAR)
Biggy print bag (Amber)
Sheepstrings bag
Felting Fever bag (present)
Spirit bag (present)
Booga bag
Mesh bag
Pocket Patch bag
Electric 80's bag
MY CONSTANT COMPANION
Felted Vase
Zig-zag bag
Bag for Megan
Graffiti shawl
Tote bag
Phat bag
Multi directional scarf for Ruby
Vintage Bubble bag
Jumper, dungarees & hat for Megan's doll
Megan's birthday cake (not making anymore)
Bagsmith kit
Cloud scarf (made for mum's funeral)
Cardi for Meg
Stashbuster bag 2
Flower Power bag
Side to Side shawl 1
Stashbusting bag 1
Daisy Bag
Wrap (WoW!)
Mu Shu
Poncho (started last year)

Thinking about New Year Resolutions!

1. Not to spend all day, every day knitting but maybe do some florentine embroidery too.
Trying to avoid too many trigger finger problems!
2. Not to make any major yarn purchases until Brighton Knitting show (8th Feb), and then be good until Ally Pally in October!
3. Use up some stash!!
4. Get to grips with designing (bags!)
5. To get finances i n order (with some help from my lovely dad)
6. To keep my blog updated!

Wish me luck!

I shall be glad to get this dressing off

Only one more day to go! This bandage is beginning to drive me mad - I had to put another one over the top of the one the theatre nurse put on as it got too loose (by saturday morning) so it is very bulky. Between my fingers feels gritty and yuck and I can't wait to dip them in some water! I am not allowed to soak my hand for any great length of time so I am going to get a new pair of rubber gloves today (how exciting!) and when I go out I will be able to wear a pair of gloves instead of just one on my right hand!

My left fign finger is stil,l a bit sore and stiff but seems to be getting easier to move every day so, hopefully, I should be knitting again soon!

A good Thing?

I am making a bag at the moment - the heartbeat bag from Just one more Row - and am struggling for various reasons. Firstly I am not sure I like the colour (orange/green Aran Silk from Hipknits), the bag doesn't seem to be coming out a good size, my left hand is painful, and now my right index finger is getting the telltale signs of a trigger AND there is now way I shall finish it by tomorrow (op day). I am wondering whether to

a. make the bag a bit larger than the pattern
b. leave it alone and just carry on as per the pattern.
c. frog it and worry about what to do with the yarn when I've recovered from the op.

To be honest I don't think I am terribly interested in the bag as I don't seem to have a lot of motivation/

I shall try and get back to my knitting by christmas but the next week or so is out of the question as I will have a huge dressing on my hand and will not be able to hold a needle!

Am having an operation on friday ....

... for trigger finger release. This is the fourth one I've had, and I already know that another one is starting as I'm getting the usual burning sensation in my palm.

I only went to the hospital this afternoon - that's not bad for the NHS, I was originally offered Christmas Eve but then was asked if I would have friday! The consultant was considering doing the carpal tunnel on the same hand but as it is not too bad decided to wait until it actually needs doing.

At least I'll be painfree (in my left hand at least) before Christmas!

Amber and Lucia

Last night my ex-husband and I went to see Amber and her friend Lucia in a first stage production at school. It was like a showcase of the standard of work being carried out in the drama department of their school. It was brilliant!

There was a wide range of different 'acts' - ranging from Key Stage 3 (Year 7) to A level (Year 13) and we had monologues, comedy, musical theatre, mask work (mime) and one young lady who performed some of her own songs. The Year 8's, including Amber and her friend Lucia, had done work on King George and the Bold Basher which is based on George and the Dragon - a group of boys did one version and the girls (just the two of them) did another. They were brilliant and very funny - each group had devised their own sketches and performed them well, raising lots of laughs.

Lucia is a tiny little girl and she was the basher - she was so comical! When we got home, it turned out that Amber had come up with a lot of Lucia's lines so I think I may have a budding screenwriter here!

Christmas knitting!

I've done all my christmas knitting, and can now please myself in what I make. Trouble is I can't settle to anything! I don't want to start anything big or too complicated until I've been to see the consultant about my hand next monday so I think more mittens are called for, and maybe a scarf.

What a week!

What a horrible week! Problems with Amber (as if you couldn't guess!).

Wend food shopping on tuesday and before we could get home my Amber rang me to find out where I was, then before we could get indoors Ryan rang and I could hear her screaming in the background but couldn't get any sense out of either of them. David took me up to the bus stop to meet them as my blodd sugar was very low and I was shaking about all over the place.

Ryan got in the car but Amber wouldn't and apparently this had all started becasue she hadn't wanted to sit next to the window on the coach. By the time she got home she was hysterical and made another lad in Ryan's year apologise to her for no reason. Eventually she calmed down and I thought the day's dramas were over.

During the evening she came downstairs with her laptop in a state - one of her classmates (Amber acutally stayed at her house last weekend) was being nasty to her online and even threatened her with an arranged fight the next day. I was going to phone her parents but for some reason changed my mind so typed her a message to ask her to stop or there would be trouble. Amber was obviously worried about catching the coach to school so dad took her in.

The next morning, I contacted the school and warned them of this proposed fight (they are keeping an eye on Amber as she has a lot of emotional problems at the moment and thought that was the end of it. Then I saw the girl's mum and mentioned it to her, thinking I should and all hell broke loose - both parents got cross with me for not talking to them before contacting the school but I had Amber's best interests at heart. That evening I spoke to her dad who was, by then quite reasonable, and he was going to go through his hard drive and find these messages and I am sure he said he was going to get back to me - and he hasn't so all I can assume is that he found his daughter to be in the wrong!

Neither of my two are allowed to talk to this girl online and I have told Amber just to be civil to her and not go out of her way to be friendly.

Thrusday came and guess what - I couldn't get Amber to go to schoool so I took her to the doctors who diagnosed stress!

Amber's stressed - what about me!