Search This Blog

Sunday 28 December 2014

Flu, Christmas & Oxlea Woods

Hi,  I ended up with Flu so bad that I didn't get out of bed for 2 days and it sucked.  I went to work on the Wednesday and worked till 1pm and just had to go home, then I came in to work on the Thursday and by the afternoon I was a zombie.  I hadn't slept the night before, coughing and throwing up, absolutely no appetite for two days and by 3pm on Thursday I told my boss I was going home.  I went straight to bed and on Friday morning the Flu had hit hardest.  I rang my boss at 06:45 just barely speaking and spent the rest of the day in bed.  My son Ross was really good, he panicked when he woke up about 8.30am because he noticed I was still in bed and said 'Mum, your gonna be late for work' but I told him I was rough.  He then brought me up drinks through the day, tidied up and by 3:30pm I got up and came downstairs.  I spent an hour or two downstairs, no appetite and I couldn't even take Tammie out for her walk which I felt really bad for her.  I then went back upstairs because I had the terrible chills and stayed in my dressing gown and thick socks and went back to sleep.

Saturday morning came along and I felt so rough and was crying (I know so stupid of me) but I felt so miserable and low.  I wanted to see Frank because it was the first weekend neither of us were working and I couldn't go out.  I just didn't have any energy for anything.  I had the shakes because I had not eaten for almost 3 days now and tried a bit of toast but that started me coughing and the toast came back again.  I spent most of the day in my pj's and just could not focus on any of my crafts.  I had to get Frank's scarf finished and was hoping to pick it up on Sunday.  

Sunday came and went in a blur and I did go back to work on the Monday.  I honestly needed a week off work but  not getting sick pay, I just couldn't afford to be off.  I managed to get some knitting done on Monday evening and by Tuesday night I had finished Frank's scarf.  Here's a picture of it.


I wanted an easy and quick scarf to knit that involved a two tone effect so I used some black and a greyish acrylic and casted on 400 stitches.  I knit every row and changed colour every row leaving a length of yarn for tassels.  I ended up doing 20 rows to complete it and then just trimmed the tassels to the same length and wrapped it up.  

On Christmas Eve I went to work still not feeling that great and thought I would get out early but unfortunately, stress levels were so ridiculous and I promised myself that next year I am not working Christmas Eve.  Every year it gets ruined by the stress at work so if I am still working there next year, I may have to re-think it.    I eventually got out at 4pm and went straight home.  Frank had been waiting for me at Dagenham Heathway and we went back to the house, got Tammie and my clothes and went to his Mum's for four days.  It was absolutely brilliant.  His Mum wouldn't let me do anything and I felt guilty but it was so nice to relax and to be with Frank.  We ate loads, got loads of presents and I will be showing them on my new year post, and on Boxing Day we went for a walk to Oxleas Wood right near Shooter's Hill, Greenwich.


The first two pictures were taken about half way through, the colours of the leaves on the floor and the colours of the trees were breath taking.  I just love walking through areas where you can hear the birds and just enjoying the peace and quiet.  We were chatting about different things, and people walking past were saying 'good morning' which was really nice.  No way would that happen in Dagenham!!

The picture below is at the top of a hill and you can see for miles and miles.  It was so cold and Frank knew there was a tea hut so we got a hot chocolate and coffee and just looked at the view.  I wish we could have stayed there for hours but it was getting rather nippy so we headed off to see a castle that is hidden.


The next photo is of a tree that Frank call's 'The Ghost Tree' and you can see why.  It look's lonely to me and I guess it must look better when the springtime comes but if you look close enough you can see faces.  Can you spot the green parrot on the left side of the tree at the bottom.  He's got his back to us.


We then came across Severndroog Castle and it is small and has had a lot of refurbishment done to it.  Frank read the sign outside the gate and it actually has a tea room that is open from end of January so that might be another place to try.  Here's a few pictures of it...



I love the shape of the windows and the main door has studs all over it which makes it look really old. Although, I think that's classed as a modern design now!!

Anyway, we carried on walking and Frank showed me a walled garden with loads and loads of rose bushes and we then carried on through towards Shooter's Hill.  We then put Tammie back on her lead and walked back to Ma's for a lovely dinner.

By the afternoon we were both tired and Tammie was absolutely knackered.  Here's a photo of her saying to me 'Mum, you've worn me out'.


That's it for now.  I will be posting pictures of my pressie's in the New Year so for now, I am going to leave you with a photo of Jane, one of Ma's jack russell dogs who would not get out of bed.   Don't be fooled by those innocent eyes...



Sunday 14 December 2014

Not much going on other than podcasts

Hi,

I haven't got anything to show for this podcast as far as knitting or crochet goes, in fact, I haven't done much crafts at all.  I've been feeling rough and low and lost enthusiasm for it all.  I haven't even bothered with Christmas Decoration's at home either which will be the first time ever.

I have been trying to design a new blanket and keep thinking of ideas but there's never enough time in the day.  I am also trying to set a target from the new year to have a long term project for 2015 but am undecided as to what it will be.

Tammie had a check up yesterday at the vets and she is doing well.  She is still on her tablets but has reduced them slightly, her weight is fine but I have got to find a lot of money to get her teeth done as soon as possible.  She has bad teeth and loose teeth and although it doesn't seem to effect her eating, it will give her a better quality of life if she has it done.  I treated her to a new toy when we were waiting to be seen and she loves it, here it is...
The great thing about her new toy is - there is a button to turn off the squeaker....pucker!!

I'm off to get a cuppa now and hope you all have a good week and not stressing too much about Christmas.  

Monday 8 December 2014

Lost in the yarn

Hi,  I'm sorry I haven't posted on here.  I have been really busy what with work, overtime and just trying to relax in the evening.  The dark mornings and early dark nights have not helped with the routine of the day but (touch wood), I am kicking myself up the arse most of the time and just trying to get on.

I have worn my Dragonflies Hat and it's definetely not a winter hat.  More like a springtime or autumn hat.  It's slightly stretched a bit so I am worried if it rains how much longer it will get.  Anyway, it's done and that's the main thing.

I finished Ross's socks...here they are on his size 11 feet.

I had about 20g left which I have saved for a sock blanket that I would like to have as a long time project.

I also lost the will to carry on with a crochet blanket that I was doing with random acrylic yarn and I ended up finishing after about 7 rows and turned it into a funky scarf which is quite warm and the colours are so bright.  Here's a picture of it.

I also wanted to knit the Capucine hat again but with a chunky yarn and it has come out very well, it's much warmer too which is what I wanted.  Here's a photo of it......

I also started and finished within 24 hours another toy which is the pink bunny.  Here is a photo of her and she is all wrapped as a present for Lilly. 
I am now off to see what I can make next because trust me...the tv at night is so boring I end up going to bed with the lamp on around 8pm and just knit, crochet or look at my craft books.  Thanks for reading....



Saturday 22 November 2014

Dragonflies Hat in Rowan

After completing my recent hat I decided I really wanted a green one too and I saw Kay from Bakery Bear Podcast had knitted this Dragonflies Hat.  I don't have much experience with Lace knitting but I bought the pattern from Ravelry and thought, 'yeah I can do that'.  After a little bit of frogging at the beginning I kept with it and then decided after the first pattern repeat that I had had enough of the lace.

It felt like I was under tension to get it right and the fingers on my left hand were getting 'fixed' after a few rows so I decided to not repeat the pattern and just knit a few simple stocking stitch rows and then do the crown.  I am really pleased with it.  I used Rowan Creative Linen and only used just over half a skein which is brilliant.  The hat cover's my ears and is not slouchy at the back so I am going to either make another one in a different design or knit a matching scarf or cowl to go with it.

Here are a couple of photo's .......




I started a pair of Regia socks for my son Ross who has a size 10-11 foot.  He has wide feet and I wound up a 100g ball into two 50gs and started from the toe up.  I did my own kind of design in as much as I did the provisional toe up and will keep knitting until it is 10 inches for the foot and then I will do a sweet tomatoe heel which is the best heel around.  I then hope there's enough yarn to knit a nice length cuff.  Here's a photo of the progress so far.....

it's on my foot by the way, I was at my lunch break in work and decided to see if it was wide enough.  Ross tried it on that night and it is wide enough for him so that's good.


It's been a typical week all round and i worked today as a cleaner so I can earn some extra pennies for Christmas.  I came home about 4pm, took Tammie out for a walk while the rain had stopped and then did some housework.  I then coloured my hair again and finished off some knitting.  So now I am going to watch a podcast and hope that Sunday brings me a happy day for us all.

Here's a photo of Tammie a few minutes ago after I decided she needed a good haircut.........................






Sunday 16 November 2014

Just another Sunday...

I thought I was going to have a nice weekend after having such a terrible week but alas, no.  I am beginning to feel like I've got a big massive cloud of emotions above my house at the moment and I don't know when and if it will ever clear.

I have decided that as much as I love Christmas, I am not going to celebrate this year.  I just pray that when New Year comes, the cloud will have left and I can start being my normal self.

In the meantime, I have spent most evenings watching knitting podcasts and obviously, knitting.  I started a project a few days ago called 'Capucine' on ravelry.com and I got my Mirasol Api yarn out to give it a try.  It's so soft and squishy and am really glad I carried on with it.  Here is a photo of it....


It fit's really nice and cover's my ears which is what I wanted it to do.  I have already started another project last night called 'Dragonflies' Hat and I am using the Rowan Creative Linen in a gorgeous green colour.  I will post a picture of it's progress here ..

The pattern does involve some lace which I am a little concerned over how I am going to manage with it.  I will certainly give it a go because I just love the hat design.  I can just see me wearing it with my green waterproof coat when the really bad weather comes.

The progress on my Ross 365 blanket is going very slowly.  I try to do a couple of rows a day and am on my 16th row.  I won't be able to take it to work with me now because it is rather awkward and cumbersome to carry various balls of yarn with me.  That's one of the reasons I started the Dragonflies Hat because at least it will fit in my bag.    I also intend to make a start on some more toys soon and am just deciding whether to knit them or crochet them.  

Oh well, I'm off now to try and keep busy.  I might have a go at making some cake's today but will see how the day pan's out.  Have a good week everyone and I will leave you with a photo of my baby girl who I adore...xxx


Sunday 9 November 2014

Oxford Street Visit

I am back on blogger for now, I'm trying to keep a normal routine and most nights I do my crafts, walk Tammie and do some housework.  However, Saturday Frank and I went to London for a few hours and we walked around Oxford Street which was absolutely jammed packed with crowds.  I am going to avoid it when Christmas get's nearer.

Here is a photo of one of the window displays in John Lewis Store, the penguins are so cute and dressed in their knitwear.


We were walking around spending more time trying to avoid people bashing into us and I was getting rather irritable inside so we started to head our way back to the train station when we noticed the traffic had disappeared.  Frank looked down the road and saw some flashing blue lights and policemen on motor bikes and then we heard some shouting but it wasn't shouting...it was these guys doing a half marathon for Help the Hero's.  Apparently they are Paratroop's and their front man was shouting encouragement to them....


People started clapping and kids were standing in the middle of the road doing 'high fives' to the men.  It was really good to see.

That was yesterday and I came home and spent the rest of the day alone with Tammie feeling quite low. I spent the evening crocheting another panel of the Tunisian Blanket which is a gift for Tracy and then I went upstairs to bed about 9pm but couldn't get to sleep so I ended up sitting on the edge of my bed knitting until my neck started aching.  Ross (my son) hadn't come home yet so I just turned the light off and waited for sleep to arrive.  Mind you, I never hear him come in or go up to bed and as long as I don't get woken up or come downstairs in the morning to a mess, he's really no bother.  

Today is Sunday and my eldest son came round for a while and we had a cuppa together and a nice chat.  I told him I'm not bothering with Christmas this year and he was ok with that so all I am doing is giving some money to my family.  To be honest, I will be glad to see the back of 2014 and hope that 2015 start's positively for everyone that i love and care about.

Ross has gone out now and I managed to have a Yorkshire Pudding dinner and now I am going to do some embroidery on the second panel of the Tunisian Blanket.  Hope you all have a good week and will be back again with progress....






Wednesday 29 October 2014

Bye for now...

I'm going to take a break from blog land, got so much going on emotionally and mentally and I just cant concentrate on anything else.

Will be back soon, x

Friday 17 October 2014

Poppies of London

We went to see the poppies today and oh boy, it looks spectacular.  The crowds of people that were there was amazing.   Here are photo's that Frank took and will leave you with them.....





Tuesday 14 October 2014

Annual Leave

Am off work for  Annual Leave and it's been crap week of bad weather, cold and dull.  The rain fall we had yesterday (Monday) was non stop and ended up staying indoors.  I am so tempted to put the central heating on but trying to avoid it.  Instead I put a cardigan on and/or a blanket.

The only work I have been doing is a little housework and lots of crochet and knitting.  My niece asked me to make her another pair of fingerless gloves that can be converted into mittens so I designed a pair.....

I had to decide how to do the mitten part so I thought the best way of doing it is to start a pair of toe up socks using Turkish Cast On and then stop knitting until it is big enough for the tops of fingers.  I sewed it onto the glove and am rather pleased with it.  I have wet blocked it and hopefully wont have to put a button on to hold the mitten back.

I have started another christmas present called "Marakesh' which is a large afghan in a burnt orange colour with embroidery but have decided to just do one panel for now to practice the embroidery.  I haven't done it before so watch this space.

Last night was rather a sad and worrying evening and I spent most of it doing my crafts.  I sorted out the odd balls of acrylic yarn I have and there is a lot.  I put it into a large bag and have got it sitting by my chair...possibly with the intention that it will become a blanket.



I then settled down with a coffee and started crocheting a teacosy....it's from an old craft magazine.  Here's a photo of the magazine and my cosy that I made.  It's a little big and I still have to get a pompom for the top.



Oh well, I'm off to relax and I will leave you with a photo of  Princess Tammie laying down like royalty...







Saturday 11 October 2014

Cable & Cream finally finished

It's taken longer to think of a name for my latest design than it has to actually knit it.  Well, here it is ...


It has been a miserable day weather wise and after a short break in the rain, we went to the back garden and took loads and loads of photos to try and get a good picture of the blanket.  I quite like the one above because it looks like 'autumn' with the plants in the background slowly fading away however, the green of the shrubs makes it stand out.

I have tried to post a link to the pattern on my blog but am still trying to find a way of doing it so if anyone is interested in the pattern you can pop over to ravelry.com and look for Cable & Cream and it should show the picture above.  My name on ravelry is Bachan so please have a look at my projects and would be glad to hear your comments.

My neice Adele has asked me to make her another pair of fingerless gloves but with a mitten that is removable so I am having a go at designing that now.  Watch this space....

Sunday 5 October 2014

The Three B's..

It's not hard to think of a title for today's post.  Here goes....

Beach

We popped to Southend on Sea yesterday for a few hours.  Only because the weather man said Sunday was going to be a wet day but Saturday would be nice.  They got that wrong because by lunch time, the rain arrived and was rather gusty and chilly.  Mind you, it was so peaceful walking along the beach and listening to the waves.  Here's a couple of pictures that just say ...'relax',



However, today (Sunday), it's bright and sunny.  There was a frost this morning and it is a bit nippy but still lovely and bright.

Bakery

Do you remember the swiss roll I made last week.....well I had another go at it but decided to just make it into a layer cake instead and used Morello Cherry Jam and Buttercream...here's a picture!


I must be feeling a bit better for me to get the baking bug again!  

Blanket

I have knitted about 90% of my blanket that I am designing. I now just have the final strip to knit of the Knotted Cable.  I won't show a picture yet until it's finished.  

I had a bit of a dilema too because I had ran out of yarn for it and couldn't get it anywhere on the net matching the shade and dye number.  I ended up going in my local yarn shop which I try to avoid and he had it there so I just bought it quick and walked out.

Oh well, I am going to go cook his dinner, walk the dog and then knit for the rest of the day.  Have a good week everyone.





Sunday 28 September 2014

Cable & Cream

I cannot believe the response I have had from the blanket I am designing.  Here is a little teaser of the progress so far.....


It's progressing slowly because unfortunately, I work full time and would much rather be designing at home than going to work. However, it pays the bills for now so I just have to put up with it.  It took me ages to think of a nice name for the design and it occurred to me whilst not sleeping very well that I should keep it a simple name for people to remember.  That is why I came up with Cable & Cream.

I said to Frank that I wanted to stay home today so I pottered about this morning doing the mundane housework tasks while Frank started pruning and tidying in the back garden and then my son popped over to see me.  We had a chat and a cuppa and then he was telling me about what is expected of his third year at Uni.  He seem's quite confident about it and I am so proud of his achievements and sensible thinking.   He then went off to meet his partner and I cooked an early dinner.

We have just got back from walking Tammie over the park and am now relaxing writing this post.  Frank is reading, there's nothing on the tv and I decided I am going to spend an hour doing some more knitting and then am going to have a go at making a swiss roll.   Never done it before, so watch this space.

I think I may have to find a podcast to watch too......have a good evening everyone.

Saturday 27 September 2014

Visit to Regents Park

We was up and out by 9am today and got the District Line Train to Mile End.  Then we got the Hammersmith & City Line to Baker Street.  We turned left and walked along past the Statue of Sherlock Holmes..

We then walked a few more minutes through a crowd of people queueing up and then we realised what it was.....Madam Tussauds.  The green globe is the best picture I could get 
We crossed the road and walked down past Madam Tussauds and then turned left down York Road where the Academy of Music is on the right.  After a few minutes you are completely away from all the noise of the traffic and it feel's like your in a village.  There is a small bridge you walk over and this is the sight of the lake...the green is not a road, it's duck weed but the ducks don't seem to be bothered with it.  It's such a lovely photo........


We kept walking along and then entered a small part where there were tennis courts and a small cafe.  We came to the map of Regents Park and it's amazing how big it all is.  


You just could not see it all in one day and we only went around a tiny bit.  Here are some of the photos that I took and it's just lovely.





After about an hour we stopped off at a small coffee hut and had a blueberry muffin and coffee which was over £8 but, it was well worth it.  The photo directly above is the view from where we were sitting to eat our snack.  It reminded me of Greenwich Park a bit.  We sat there for quite a while watching people walk past, dogs running around chasing the squirrels and the birds chirping.  There was a lot of American visitors too, and tons of joggers.  I just wish I had my knitting because I could have stayed there for hours.

After half an hour we started walking again and walked out of the park to a sign that said Camden. It is so nice the part we were in.  There were little boutiques and trendy shops. It didn't feel like London at all.  However, after about 10 minutes it then got a bit more crazy and crowds of people so we hopped on the Northern Line to Waterloo Station where we went into Lower Marsh Street and my favourite yarn shop, I Knit, London.  

Now because it is our long weekend we decided to go to our favourite restaurant called Ecco which is a few shops from I Knit and let me tell you something.  If you want a 11" vegetarian pizza that is so tasty that even I ate a whole one to myself, then you really need to go there.  The pizza was £5.50 each and we had a black coffee and I had a cola.  Well worth the £14 because I couldn't eat anything else for the rest of the day.

Am now off for some rest and I am not going anywhere tomorrow, I really need to get more done of the blanket I am designing.  Bye for now.....




Friday 26 September 2014

The Trio

I completely forgot to post a photo of Billy the Bear completed.  He was finished the next day and I think he is perfect.......


I only used about 25g from a 50g ball of acrylic yarn that I bought from Wilkinson Store at Heathway, Dagenham.  I always get a bit frustrated when positioning the limbs and I am really happy with the position of the arms however, the amount of times I positioned the legs and it looked ok which was then completely changed because after sewing on the 2nd one, it didn't look right.  I got fed up with it in the end and Frank said it looked ok so I decided to just leave it at that.

Here is a photo of the three toys I have crocheted in September and I can honestly say, I really do like crocheting animals more than knitting them.  They are quicker, less fiddly and unique.


Obviously, Bonnie Wee Mouse is knitted and was done a while ago.

I also had a bit of a surprise the past week.  I am a member of a knitting group on facebook where you post pictures of your current knitting projects or completed projects (just to show off really).  Anyway, I am currently designing a blanket for a cot and I posted this picture of it on to the groups page......


just to see what feedback I might get.  Well, within a few days I had over 360 hits and around 60 comments.  Some of which are wanting the pattern..so I have been frantically knitting away and writing the pattern as I go to get it done.  I was about half way completed on Wednesday this week but realised I made an error and had to frog it back to which I said a few 'curse' words.  However, I kept saying to myself  'if your going to take designing seriously, you need to do it properly'.  Today is Friday and it's 6:30pm and I am still trying to get more progress on it.    I only wish I didn't have to do the mundane tasks of going to work and housework, then I might get more things designed.  

Oh well, I guess I should get off this computer and get some more done.  I noticed Episode 10 is ready now of the Bakery Bear Podcast so am going to enjoy that until my Gardeners World comes on channel BBC2.  Then it will be off to bed to read some of my John Grisham book.

Have a good weekend and I hope to be venturing off to Wimbledon tomorrow so will take some pics for you.