Charity Abseil

I am so proud of my other half as today he abseiled off the Forth Rail Bridge for charity and raised over £200 for Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland. We got to South Queensferry bang on time after some traffic delays and before I barely had time to wish him luck he was all harnessed up and ready to go. He took it very much in his stride and seemed to enjoy the experience. It was a lovely day with views across the Forth.

Put A Sock In It

Last Friday I received my package from ModernKnitting (formally known as Cnyttanpatterns) cotaining 5 balls of lovely Opal 4ply and a set of DPNs. Having previously bought Opal sock wool and knitted up a couple of hats (I hope you're wearing yours Mum!) I was eager but nervous about trying socks. At first 4 double ended needles seemed like madness but you soon get in the swing of it as I learnt. I finished my first pair of sockies last night and think they look 'fair braw'. The self patterning wool knits up so nice. Well chuffed!!

So much Have I got the hang of it I have even knocked up half a sock of a pink pair just this afternoon.

TOOT TOOT! That's the sound of me blowing my own trumpet!

Catching The Ravelry Bug?

Okay, I've gone and done it! I've signed up for Ravelry after much umming and ahhing. I still think perhaps it's for serious knitters, well by that I mean people with a bit more skill than I.

You signed up Today
You are #40467 on the list.
15758 people are ahead of you in line.
82 people are behind you in line.
59% of the list has been invited so far

I also did a fly bit of wool shopping after falling in love with my Opal 4ply wool. The other half asked how many balls I'd ordered..I said "a couple"..infact it was 5! My first knit addict fib..oops! He just laughs at me..my previous weakness was purchasing novelty buttons on Ebay..now this.

Now, I am so bored..nothing on TV (and I watch almost anything!)..other half on a killing spree on his Play Station 3 and Patch the Pooch and I are just chilling. I feel another bout of hat knitting may occur!

Hats Off To Knitting!!

Okay I'm finally getting my ass into gear and doing this post..hooray! Is there such a thing as a LAZY blogger award? Every time I do sit at the P.C I seem to get sidetracked by the evil that is Facebook..does anyone else have this problem? Getting in touch with people you haven't seen for years..good times. If you were true friends why would you have lost touch in the first place?...hmm..bad times! Still it is natures curiosity that we see how bad/good each others lives have turned out. The school geek whos now stunning and successful, the teen princess whos now 20 stone with 5 ugly kids!! What do people make of me I wonder? Do I care? The mere fact I have mentioned it surely means I do..ah well!

Let's knit! I went to a local shop called Rejects last week and lo and behold it has the greatest knitting department. I have already told my other half vouchers for xmas would be most favourable, haha. I got the tank top pattern I was after..though omitted the patterned stitching on it in favour of stripes. The colours I like but the knit not so much. Next time I would make the rib broader and I think I need more practise at picking up stitches around the neck. The neck hole is a bit small..no big heids for this knit!!


Through the post last week I received my order from Violet Green. The first time using this particular company but highly recommended. I bought some lovely purpley DK wool, some sock wool amd a 4ply beanie hat kit that comes with wool, pattern, circular needle and stitch marker. This was a new venture for me having never used circular needles before and I made a bit of a boo boo at first. I STUPIDLY kept turning the needle around instead of going round and round..how thick is that? Anyway once I saw the error of my ways I soon got cracking. It was Opal 4ply and lovely to watch this self patterning wool develop. Heres some pics of my hat...I've a feeling it may become first hat in a series!!

Who You Calling An Ogre?

Well my knitting has taken a back seat lately..as has my blogging..oops!! I have amongst other things been busy drawing Shrek and Friends. Not a usual thing to pass the time but for my local Kids Ward. I work as a Play Volunteer on Fridays and absolutely love it. When the playroom looked a bit lacklustre I took it upon myself to sketch 4 foot tall pics of the ogre and pals. Luckily when I took them in my supervisor was really chuffed with my efforts. They are donning the walls of the playroom but Puss In Boots and Gingy are still works in progress as well as trees, birds, flowers and bees that I'm hoping the kids will add. The kids from little tot to moody teen all come in and say "Aw Shrek!" and there lies the reward.

Pics From Knits Past

Well I haven't got much knitting done this past week as I've spent that time on the net looking for knit patterns amongst other things. I'm desperately seeking pattern for a boys tank top if anyone out there can oblige. I refuse to pay £2.00 plus for an ancient old copy from an Ebay seller who probably bought a boxful for 10p at some car booty. some might call it enterprise..I call it downright cheek!! What do you think?(that'll be my moany old nag of the day). Anyway,My pals sister put in a request so I'd like to get my needles clicking soon as poss.

I've been busy drawing 4 ft pictures of Shrek and friends for the walls of the kids ward at my local hospital where I volunteer. My kitchen table was commandeered for a couple of days but I enjoy doodling. I will be sure to post some pictures of my efforts soon.

Meanwhile at the top of this post I've put up some pics of knits I did earlier this year. The first is my 'ruddy big pig' I knitted from a great book I got out the library. The second is my very own creation 'Voodoo Knits' I adapted from a Jean Greenhowe pattern for teddy bears.

Yet another baby cardi off the production line...I have a drawer full of them now. Friends are always having babies. My mum embarasses me by telling me to 'have a stall' somewhere or other but truth be told I will probably end up just giving them away to a charity eventually. The little beige sockies are quite tiny and I plan to post them to a long lost friend who I've heard just had a little boy..they are so very soft.

As you can see in the third picture Patch the dog is a big knitting fan. He is yet to pick up the needles but has been the cause of me dropping a few stitches many a time!!!

I'm a bit disappointed I missed out on submitting my scarf to the village show as planned as I was too not well. Some poor sod in my inner circle will be receiving it in their xmas parcel,haha!

My naggy old moan of the day is I'm sure shared by many of you out there at the moment...The Weather!! I put my jacket on..I end up sweating like mad. I leave my jacket at home..I near develop hypothermia. Now, I do realise this is what we have to expect from British weather but it's driving me crazy!!