Been out with Dad this morning

Got my curtains this morning but couldn't get any 'eyes' for the curtain rail so dad took one of the old ones off (they keep breaking as they are old) and is going to look for some tomorrow - I expect we'll end up getting a new curtain track!

He also bought me two new telephones for the house - I've only had mine two years but the battery doesn't hold the charge for long and the buttons are small and quite hard to push.

Oh and I got three balls of Freedom Spirit!

Good Day today!

I've finished Lady Eleanor and the Criss Cross Scarf. I was going to start the Fleece Artist kit I bought yesterday but am tempted to start a bag instead and then do the wrap.

Kangaroo

Had a lovely day out - went to Kangaroo and spent far too much - 10 balls of Silk Garden to make the Ruana from Lacy Little Knits, A fleece Artist soft wrap kit (next project I think), a 4.5mm Addi, a copy of Naturally Noro and a shawl pin.

Then we had lunch at the Trading Post and wandered round there - was very good although was very tempted by several things!

YAAYYYY!!!!

I've finally finished knitting it - three minutes ago!

I have made it a lot longer than it should've been to make sure it actually went round me and only have a little yarn left so need to think about some sort of fringing.

I desperately wanted to get the knitting finished before I went to Kangaroo this morning but couldn't stay up any longer tlast night!!

Apprehensive!

It's quite safe to say that I am dreading March. It seems to be turning into a bad month all round. Thee are have been a lot of family bereavements over the years with David's mum two years ago and my mum last year (fourteen years almost to the day after my nan). In addition my mum's step-dad, my dad's mum and David's uncle (died the week before his mum) have all passed away in the month of March albeit over the last forty years. I am sure there are more but I can't remember off the top of my head.

If I could go to sleep on Friday and wake up on Megan's birthday (April 1st) it would suit me fine.

Furnture built!

My bedroom furniture is now fully fitted and in use! I have so much storage I don't know what to do with it - no I'm not going to go mad and buy loads more yarn just to fill the space! I am definitely going to need some small steps to reach the top shelf of the wardrobe though!

I will post some pics when I finally get curtains and bedding sorted out.

My swap arrived!

I got some lovely goodies from Anna (aka funkypixie) in the stashbusting swap I organised on AY

A lovely cabled slipover/tank

Fetchings

Knitted watch strap with watch

Some handmade buttons

Smellies

Small bar of Dark Green & Blacks

Some sweets for the kids

Aren't I lucky? I think we will definitely have to have another swap along these lines!

It's nearly finished!!!

The lovely men (and I do mean lovely!) from the furniture store have nearly completed the building of my bedroom furnitue - just the wardrobe to finish. Then I've got to get new bedding and persuade dad to take me to Harvey's (already agreed) to get the curtains and I'm done!

As soon as everything is in place I'll post some piccies but I think it'll be a couple of weeks or so yet!

Ummmm ...

..... I'm in a tizz - can't decide what i want to buy next week! I like the Ilga Leja kit, in fact I already have the pattern, but I can't decide between that one in Woodland or buying some Silk Garden lite to do the pattern anyway! Then I also like the Fleece Artist soft wrap scarf kit too! Then I like the Crystal Palace Panda Silk Silken Ease Scarf Kit. Then I still like the Hanne Falkenberg Promenade kit.

Oh help!

BEDROOM FURNITURE!

My furniture arrived just after 8.00 this morning and there are SIXTEEN large packages with the three biggest currently residing in the hall as there is no room for them upstairs!

The delivery drivers asked if 'they' were coming to install them later, so I took one look and rang the store to arrange for the furniture to be put together properly (rather than Ryan and I doing it) - it's being done Thursday and possibly Friday evening and costing £250.

So, by the weekend, I'll be all sorted!

Been a bit Norty!

I bought six balls of Rowan Big Wool this morning - Village Crafts in Forest Row currently has it on sale at £3.50 per ball - less than half price!

Dad also got the cheque this morning for the equity money, so we went to pay for my furniture this afternoon and it will be delivered on tuesday morning!

I'm all excited!

I've just had a call from the furniture shop to say my wardrobe and overbed unit are in! Trouble is the money isn't yet but they would like to deliver on tuesday!

In Shock

I decided to update my stash page on Ravelry - Ididn't realise just how much yarn I've got! Must get some serious stashbusting done!

LADY ELEANOR PROGRESS

I am really enjoying my Lady Eleanor althoug I am not sure about the colour, I have decided not to do the intricate knotted fringe as I don't really like fringes at all.

LAST NIGHT ...

... turned out really awful!

It was Parents' Evening at College for Ryan's Motor Mechanics course so David duly dropped Ryan and me off and them took Amber to Asda. We weren't sure where to go so asked at the reception desk and then promptly got lost! We did find the right building (Central Sussex College campus is massive) and Ryan decided which door we should go in, although I thought it was another one. We needed the second floor but the lift needed a special access code. After about 6 flights of stairs we found ourselves on level three (level two semed to have disappeared) but we found a maintenance man who very kindly took us to the correct place. We had an encouraging chat with the lovely lady (yes LADY) who takes the Motor Mechanics class, we managed to get lost again, albeit briefly, on the way out! When we finally managed to get out of the building, it was to find that we should have gone in the door that I thought we should have used!

Consequently, on our way home, I was sure my blood sugar was dropping but wasn;t sure. When I got out of the car thought it was obvious and I had one of the worst insulin reactions (hypo) for ages - kept falling asleep so I didn't get any knitting done and couldn't really tell you what we were watching on TV.

This morning I feel a bit spaced out too.

My bedroom ....

... is now jade white!
Spent the weekend getting on with the painting - it needs to be done before my funiture arrives. This is the first time I've been let loose with a paintbrush as my dad usually does all the decorating but I decided he needed a rest (he will be 77 in June). With a bit of help from Amber and loads of help from Ryan we finished yesterday apart from glossing the windowsill and the door. Haven't touched the ceiling and may leave it white.
Dad came and inspected my work so far yesterday morning, and moaned about how I'd filled some holes (well i did ask him to do them!) and reorganised my plan for the finished room. The furniture range we've ordered is semi-fitted so we had to get the layout just right!
Ryan decided I'd got more paint on me than the wall at one point but it was really satisfying to know that I did a fair amount of the painting!

Ryan is sooo lovely!

Ryan has been sort of going out with a girl in his year at school and he has really fallen for her! He is mortified that he won't be at school on Valentines Day as thursday is college day so is meeting her in town on saturday.

Last night he asked me how much I thought it would cost for the two of them to go to the cinema in East Grinstead. When I asked why, it turns out he wants to take Robynn on a date and pay for it himself! He's only got his £10 pocket money which should cover the cinema as it's a small independently owned own (Unlike the one in Crawley which costs an arm and a leg!) so he asked if I would get some goodies when I go shopping.

He made me feel so emotional - he's not my little boy any more - but I am also incredibly proud of him for wanting to take his new girlfriend on a date,

LOOK WOT I GOT IN BRIGHTON YESTERDAY!

I had mixed feelings about my first ever trip to the Creative Stitches and Hobbycraft Show but I went not especting too much so wasn't too disappointed with the lack of knitting stands. I bought

Knitovation

25 More Bags to Knit

Folk Shawls

6.5mm Addi Turbo

1 s Noro Cashmere lite for SK purse frame

2 metres of ribbon to finish bag

2 skeins of Araucania Ranco for, gues what, a Clappy!

Some fudge (for low blodd sugar)

Cross body leather bag

I visited the Kangaroo stand and looked briefly at the Hanne Falkenberg kits and am now definitely in two minds about buying one as I didn't realise just how rough the yarn is. I am now veering towards an Argosy in Noro Silk Garden perhaps.

I'm hooked!

Everytime I look at yarn, I find myself thinking whether it would be suitable to make another clappy!

I told Amber this morning that I wanted to make another one - I only finished the first one on saturday! This is despite the fact that the silk yarn I used wasn't particularly briiliant at running - it kept catching (only clapotis knitters will understand!).

Priorities

1. Kimono of many colours
2. Patching it Up Bag from The Knitter's Bible, Knitted Bags
3. Perugino throw
4. Lady Eleanor
5. Bravo Bag
6. Argosy
7. Clappies - several
8. Bobbles and Brambles bag
9. Recycled silk bag
10. Fabric Rag Bag
11. Market Squares tote

These projects are the ones I really want to get done first.

Devastated.

Wasn't brilliant news at the hospital yesterday - appointment started with the nurse asking me if I was registered as partially sighted and if not maybe it would soon be time to be, as my sight has definitely deteriorated since last year. Then I saw the doctor (not my usual one) who did a full examination and declared that he was not happy to let me go for any longer than FOUR months without being seen as I have 'an area of membrane near the macular with some changes'. He did keep mentioning laser treatment (I had loas from 1985 to 1988) and that it had saved my sight for the last twenty years, but did say that he was happy not to prescribe any treatment ... yet.

So now I am scared that maybe I am not going to be able to carry on as I am and that radical changes are afoot.

After talking to my best knitting buddy, we have decided it may be better for me NOT to buy a Hanne Falkenberg kit at Kangaroo! I am still going to go though as I'll feel better about things in three weeks' time.

My clappy is finished!

Finally finished last night after doing the classic knitty thing of racing against the yarn to make sure I had enough but I DIDN'T! Consequently it's a bit of a funny shape but never mind it still gorgeous and Amber is STILL after it! I will defo be making some more but not in Hipknits Silk - the yarn caught on itself when it was laddering and required a bit of gentle persuasion to run on it's way.

I am going to use some SWTC Bamboo, some Sirdar Silk Look amd sock yarn to make more - do you think I could be hooked?