January 29th

Hi I thought I would finish up January blogposts today and hopefully have a more productive and interesting crafty February.  Since I wrote my last blogpost which was around 10 days ago there has been a fair bit of knitting on my rug project using 2 double knit yarns together and I am currently ready to finish the 4th strip.

It is turning out to be a complete mish-mash of colours without any planning of what colours to use together and at first I thought that it was not going to look ok but to be honest, the more random colours the better.  The 3 that are complete are currently rolled up on my dinner table and they make me fancy a swiss roll cake.

The only negative that I have to say about knitting with 2 strands of double knit yarn held together is that I have been getting a nasty pain in the lower part of my right thumb and when I compared it to my left thumb, the base is quite swollen.  It has woken me up at times and so I have been trying to knit continental to ease the repetitiveness.  I have picked up speed with continental knitting but it does still feel rather odd to me knitting this way but I will do whatever I can to ease the discomfort.

As you can see from the above photo, this is a few of the colours that I want to incorporate into the rug and I intend to add a few paler colours that I have sitting upstairs in my plastic storage container.  

I have been thinking about how I want to complete the rug namely, an edging and I am leaning towards an I-cord edge all the way around because I thought that it would give it a much more sturdy support.  I do intend to wash it now and then but also I have visions of hanging it over the washing line and bashing it a bit to get any dust out.  Lets face it, dusting is not on my priority list.

I have not knitted much on the red, white and blue socks because I only save them for either on the long bus ride to look after my Grandson or I may knit on them whilst in bed.  So it is not worth putting a photo of them here,  I am still on the first sock, I completed the heel the other day and am only a few rows in for the foot.

So as a quick update for January on the job searching front, I am still applying for lots of jobs and barely getting any replies.  I see my work coach every week and also received support to update my cv to tweak it a bit.  I do hope something comes along soon, I have decided to broaden my horizons with what I want to do as a job and realise now that I do not want to have a lot of stress in my life workwise and the only possible career choices that I can think of is working part-time for a while.  To be honest I have been looking at doing cleaning jobs because you work on your own, no stress, no deadlines or office red tape and that sounds attractive to me.  So we will see what February brings.

My crafting plans for February are to just finish this rug and to finish the one pair of socks I have on the needles.  I really do not like having a lot of projects on the go, I like to see the finished product and I hate having projects laying around incomplete, especially if it is expensive yarn.

So, I will say goodbye to January 2018 and hope that those who read this have had a pleasant January.

January 18th

Hi, I have not been doing anything of interest to blog about the past few days so I thought I would just pop in some photos.

This first one is of a lap blanket that I crocheted back in November 2012 and completed it in January 2013.  It is made with acrylic yarn and is just simple granny squares with a white border.  I then put crocheted the squares together into strips, did a red border between the strips and then went around the outside edge to finish off.  I have currently got it over my lap because it is quite chilly here today and am feeling the cold.

The next photo is of a sock that I have started. In fact it is Franks 18th pair of socks, I did make 17 pairs for him last year and I hope to make the same amount again but with different yarns and hopefully a few designs of my own.  The yarn that I am using at the moment is called Zig Zag and it is lovely to work with.  I am using my Knit Pro Zings, size 2mm and they are begining to be my most favourable needles.

I have been visiting my Grandson the past few days and I am thoroughly enjoying my time with him, he makes me smile so much and is learning new things every day.  The past few days he has realised he can shake his head and also found his screechy voice which he thinks is highly hilarious.

Today we have had a whole mixture of weather, at 2am there were gale force winds which blew down a few trees, broke my neighbours fence two doors away and then blew over my small little plastic greenhouse that I use to put in garden pots etc.  I do not understand how it can blow over though because I have a marble hearth at the bottom of it to weigh it down but it still gets blown over at times.

Then we had a heavy downpour about 3pm when the school kids came out and now it is just cold, dark and damp.  The news report is saying that there has been a lot of snow all over the country and lots too in USA.  Blimey, I hope it does not cause any problems for people.  

Oh well,  I am going to watch a podcast and do a little knitting on the 3rd strip of the rug I am making.  My thumb is still quite sore after a little bit of knitting but am trying to alternate my technique to ease the pain. 

Have a good evening!

January 12th

Back again and been pretty busy what with one thing and another and today I decided on a project that I want to make by December 1st, 2018.

These are the Advent Mittens on Ravelry.com and I hope to make 2 sets one for my Grandchildren and one for a family member.

Frank came round Friday after he finished work and brought me a treat from Ravs Bakers in Essex Road which is my favourite bread of all time. 

Called Walnut Loaf and as of right now, it is all gone.  Spread with Lurpak Butter and its irresistable.

Today we went out early and got to Romford before the crowds and Frank bought a load of clothes for Martyn out of Primark and then we went to give them to him at my sisters house.  We stayed around an hour and had loads of cuddles with Martyn and then went to a nearby parade of shops called Hilldene.  There is a big charity shop there called St Francis Hospice which has a furniture shop one side of the parade and is not expensive like some and then on the otherside of the parade there is a bric brac/clothing shop.  

I got these two sets of gorgeous buttons.  The 2 at the top of the picture caught my eye because they look embossed and are warped and they only cost 50p.  The 5 buttons on the strip look a bit like a marble effect and they were £1.  I could not resist them for the texture and colour and just know that Mya will like them too. She loves playing with my button collection, especially when I have insects, the sunshine, watering can and plant pots and lots more shapes for her to recognise and talk about.

While we were visiting my sister she said that there was a Fisher Price Jumperoo that someone was selling in London for £10 but she had to go and get it.  Fate happens man, we looked straight at it in the charity shop.

It is big but comes apart, has straps to adjust so as baby gets taller and stronger he/she can have more bounce and there are activity attachments too.  We asked the lady how much and she said £10 at first and as I got on the phone to my sister who said grab it, the lady in the shop said that it was donated this morning and wants it out of the shop because it is big.  She reduced the price to £5 so we grabbed it.  Frank got 4 books that are new and in total spent £8.20 in the shop plus my button purchase.

It was meant to be! 

I will get a photo of him in it when she has cleaned the fabric and sterilised the tray and activity attachments.

January 9th

So last night I watched a documentary called The Edge of Life and it was about what goes on in the Theatre at the hospital when you go in for an operation.  It was an insight into long procedures of around 8 to 12 hrs long, they filmed a middle aged lady talking about her visit to the dentist which turned out to be not an abscess but a tumour growing from the top of her jaw to her eye socket.  She said that if she did not have the operation to remove the tumour she would die very soon and knew that she would lose the top part of her jaw and her right eye.  She also decided to not have any family or friends at the hospital because it was something she wanted to deal with alone and potentially, not wake up from it.

I had to put my knitting down and concentrate on the programme, it was so interesting to watch these surgeons sew together 3mm veins/arteries and to remove parts of bone to make her a new jaw so that her face would not be so collapsed on one side.  The operation took 8.5 hrs in the end and towards the end of the programme which was filmed a few months later, she walked into the hospital for a check up and oh my goodness, the lady looked amazing because the scarring was faded and only very visible if you get right up close.

There was also another lady who had both her breasts removed due to cancer and whilst in surgery they removed some of her fatty tissue from her stomach (with main veins) and pushed them under the skin where her breasts were.  A few days later, they did not show you her chest but the Surgeon who is a lady, went in to visit her on the private ward said that her boobs looked amazing.  Even the patient said that she does not feel like she has lost her boobs and that they felt normal.

It is fantastic this programme, if you are not squeamish please take a look at it.  I am sure it is on Iplayer or google it on YOUTUBE.  Called The Edge of Life.  Apparently it is on again next week so take a look at it if you can.

So today I went to the Library at Heathway and fortunately, Franks book that he pre-ordered was available to loan (Robert Harris, Munich) so I collected that for him.  I then bought some baby food and walked back home.

It has been a dull and damp day today, I have had to have the light on most of the day.  It is now 3.45pm and I think it is time to close the curtains.  There is absolutely nothing on the tv to watch so I have not got a clue what to do with myself this evening.  I have been working on my second strip again this afternoon and here is a little video of me knitting continental to ease the pain of my right hand.

I am going to go and sort out the dogs dinner now and hopefully find something to watch on tv or if not, just potter around the house.

Have a good evening!

January 8th

I actually managed to sleep quite well last night, apart from getting up for a wee 3 times.  I then did not actually wake up properly until 9.30am which is terrible really.  I only woke up because Tipsy was meowing very deeply for her breakfast and she immediately went back to the sofa and curled up again.

I sat down with my cuppa and went straight on the laptop to check my e-mails for any job responses and then did some job searching for about an hour.  It does not seem like a lot of time to job search but while I am still on my medical certificate I am not getting pressured by my work coach.  I still actively look every day, weekends too, but do not spend my normal 4 to 5 hours a day searching.

Michelle rang me to say Martyn had not slept that well last night and she is positive he does not like the travel cot he is sleeping in and so she ended up with him in her bed and he slept 3 hours straight.  She said she had seen a wooden cot in the window of her local charity shop called St Francis Hospice and when she asked how much it was she rang me to ask if Frank or I would go halves because it would be much better for Martyn and she could also use it for her Grandson Sonny too when he stays over.  £50 for an old style wooden cot and mattress is a bargain so I sent her the money and she is having it delivered tonight.  I will try and get a photo of it on Wednesday for my blog.

By about 11am I thought it best to get dressed and do a little moving around so I cracked on with my ironing and pottered about for a while and then sat and did a bit more knitting on the rug strip while browsing for any podcasts to watch.  My ex-Mother in Law came to bring a few bits for the Grand kids and then at 3pm I thought I had better eat a dinner so I did a pork stir-fry which was quite nice.  I then took Tammie out for her walk before the school kids started coming out.  Oh boy it is cold today, they said its 5 oc, and was so glad to have my hat  and big scarf on.

It is now 6.43pm and the first strip of the rug is finished and I am very pleased with it.  I counted that I knitted 170 ridges so I have started another strip a few minutes ago and hopefully will crack on with that.

I decided that I will take the strip up to bed with me later and sew the ends in.

The next photo is of my Hugo Boss Bag which is quite deep and I keep all of my scrap DK yarns in.  As I complete various projects I just throw what is left of a ball into the bag and randomly pick up 2 colours for the rug strips. 

I am going to have to start another project with some more of my Paintbox Simply DK that I have because it is getting a bit low.

So my plans for tomorrow are probably going to consist of a visit to the library to take Franks books back and then I might have a potter around the Heathway for a while.  It is about a mile away and I like to walk there and back to get a bit of exercise.  I am not sure what I will be doing after that, I just know knitting will be involved.

So I am going to get ready for bed, see what crap is on the tv and if not, do a bit of research into sizing and designing of socks.  I just remembered there is a chocolate vanilla swiss roll in my cupboard so I think a coffee and cake is in order. 

Night x

January 7th

Frank left this morning about 9am and I have been trying so hard to not get upset.  I have got use to having him around these past two weeks and to go from having company to not seeing anyone day in and day out,  it is going to be very hard this week.  

I ended up getting dressed, doing a bit of housework and thinking about a word that I could remind myself of every time I am upset and it has worked a little.  I sat down about 10am and have watched a couple of podcasts, drank lots of tea and chatted to my sister to find out how my Grandson is.  I have been working on a scrap project that is using 2 double knit strands held together and here is a photo of it so far.

My intention is to knit long strips and sew them together to make a large rug for my front room, it will be a long term project and I am concentrating on just that at the moment because it does not take any thought.  I have some more Crofter DK to make another pair of socks for me but at the moment I am just going to binge knit the rug.

Both my animals are sulking and are by my side since Frank went home, they seem to know when I am down.  This is Tipsy who has not moved much at all and would not look round for a photo opportunity.  It is rather cold here today and I have a crochet blanket over my lap and she always snuggles on it.

Tammie is sitting the other side of me on the blanket and doing the same thing as Tipsy, she keeps looking out for Frank at times and it must be hard for animals to understand.

I have been worrying about something today and waiting for a phone call. I had a nap with the animals for a short while and then I took Tammie out for her walk about 2.30pm.  My sister Michelle rang with reasonably good news and although I am relieved a little, I still feel like it should be me and it is very very hard for me to realise that I cannot cope.

The thought that I have to carry on as normal tomorrow, job searching, trying to deal with every day things just makes me want to remain in bed every day and not go out anywhere.

I hope tomorrow is a good day, PLEASE!

January 6th

It is 5.30pm and am just writing up a blogpost before I head upstairs to do some ironing and to get a hot bath.  The past few days I have been working on my Grandsons Ripple Blanket and I finished it yesterday when we got back from my brother and sister-in-law.  I decided to turn the direction of the pattern and for it to be used length ways and crocheted a black border to make the colours pop.

This morning (Saturday) after we went to get a bit of shopping I sat down around mid day and cross stitched a tag for it so that Martyn can look at it when he is older to remember his Nanny Sue.

I also managed to get a proper photo of Frank wearing his Mind The Gap Socks that I knitted as part of his Christmas Present using Trailing Clouds Yarn. He loves them and cannot wait to show them off at his work.

I have spent the rest of the evening so far, knitting on a rug that is using up Paintbox Simply DK scraps held double.  I am hoping and intending to make myself a rather large rug for my living room and when I get near to finishing it I will be looking for something to put on the back of it to stop it from slipping on my laminate flooring.

I have been thinking a lot about projects for this year and I definetely know there are going to be more socks to be made for both Frank and myself but I want to start looking into designing and the thing that puts me off is the maths for sizing various projects like socks, hats etc.  I hope to do a bit of research soon and a bit of youtube watching to see if there is anything on there that could help with the math side of it.

Frank goes back to his flat in morning which I am not looking forward to but he has had a relaxing few weeks off for Christmas and he has been my rock the past few weeks so I will be spending a lot of time tomorrow pottering around and possibly even binge watching a few podcasts.

It has been rather chilly here today and am so glad I have got my Crofter Socks on which I finished and have taken a photo of but cannot seem to download it at the moment.

So, as I said at the beginning I am off to do some ironing and then hopefully, soak in the bath before I am ready to go to bed which will be very soon. 

January 2nd

Went to bed about 10.30pm last night after watching a film called The Anniversary with Bette Davis which was made in 1968.  Lets just say I will not get that time back, it is the worst film I have ever seen.

I got up several times in the night and woke up around 8.30am which is not normal for me so much have needed more sleep than I thought.  It is a dull and rainy day today and Frank went back to his flat today and had errands to run and I did not want to go out at all so I have lit my Yankee Candle that my son got me for Christmas and then did a little bit of boring housework.  I then spent a couple of hours job searching and have actually got an interview tomorrow so fingers crossed.

I then decided to do a bit of knitting on my Crofter DK Socks and am not far from finishing them now.  Here is a rather poor quality photo of the completed sock.  (Sorry, I have got no make-up on or my hair done so look rather scruffy).

  

I completely forgot that you can use the Photobooth on my Mackbook which is much easier to do so I have learned something new for 2018.

I have also added a photo of the Afghan I am making for my Grandson Martyn.  I have noticed the past few months that if I crochet for too long at any one time, my thumb becomes quite painful and so the past few days I have not done any work on it but am hoping that later this evening I can do a few rows.

It is made with completely with Paintbox Simply DK and is so soft.  I will also do a cross stitch tag for it when it has been completed.

Wednesday 3rd January. - I could not finish this blogpost yesterday because I had a lot more upset and had to make a hard decision so have been very upset.  I will post again in a few days when I can concentrate.

January 1st

As I sit here at 6.50pm with a belly full of dinner (Chinese Takeaway) which Frank suggested and I quickly accepted so I do not have to cook, I am watching a new episode of Great British Railway Journeys and waiting to get my knitting out for the first time in 36 hrs.

My Grand Children came about 7pm on Saturday night and Mya immediately noticed the couple of presents we had for them sitting on the pouffee and she went straight to them and said presents.  My brother David had a quick coffee and Michelle had a cola and we chatted for a while.  Martyn was a bit unsure of where he was but being 6 months old and just woken up, its understandable.   The poor little man has got terrible excema and it must be driving him crazy.  It is all over his face, back and belly and joints.

We settled down for the night, creamed Martyn all over and got ready for bed.  Mya loves laying in Pops bed and she takes it upon herself to fidget, bounce, become a chatterbox and says to me mitt morning (good morning) and I laugh and say good night.  She eventually went to sleep and I settled Martyn after his bottle.  Lets just say he did not sleep very well and it was an exhausting night while Mya slept lovely.  His excema was playing him up and I had to put socks on his hands to stop him from scratching his head to pieces and during the night he would rub his back and bum on the covers to scratch.  He was waking up every hour and wanting to be snuggled and rocked.

During the day they were both brilliant, we played games, ate lots of treats and went for a walk.  I was looking forward to going to bed Sunday night and as predicted, it was another rough night for Martyn.  Mya had not had a nap the whole day so by 8.30pm she slept till 3am and then with her bottle went back to sleep.  Martyn wanted to be comforted and each time I layed him down he didnt want to be in the travel cot so I snuggled him on the end of the bed surrounded by cushions and layed him on his side to avoid him getting too hot on his back.

The fireworks did not wake the kids up and Frank got up at 5am and I gave in and the kids and I got up about 6.45am.   We have had a lazy morning of pottering about and then about 10.45 packed their bits and pieces and walked to their other nans house with the baby bouncer so we didnt have to carry it around Asda.  When we got there Nanny Mac said that we may as well leave the kids now cause Ross and Emma (their Mum and Dad) were leaving by 1pm anyway.

As any Grand Parent may know, you feel a bit lost when it suddenly goes very quiet and Frank said I looked pale. I worry and get anxious when I leave them. We popped in local Tesco to get some eggs and then walked home.  We bought a hot beef and cheese baguette from Greggs Bakers and then after eating that I had to go bed for a few hours.  I felt shaky and knew I was exhausted.  I slept for 4 hours.

We took Tammie out for her walk, had our Chinese and now Frank is reading and I am just typing up this blog.

Now, one of my finished projects was a cushion cover that I had wanted to do for a while.  I had a practice at a piece of Fair Isle knitting from a book and then got the idea of adding a mitred square border to it.  I then knitting a stripey and plain back and sewed it together.

I am pleased with the outcome and would like to make another one at some point but then I have got some ideas going around my head for other things, so maybe not!

The next photo is of the Autumn Wreath that I crocheted a little while ago and I think I posted it on here already.  I wanted to show you a present that I got from Michelle my Sister-in-Law who is my rock.  Its a set of 4 coasters with a photo of my grand babies on.  I could not use them, that would ruin it so we got a picture frame and did a Marilyn Monroe style arrangement and I just love it.

If that was all I had got at Christmas, it would have been fantastic.  It sits with pride on my living room wall.

I am now going to knit some more of my second sock and hopefully watch a podcast or two while thinking of my Grand babies and enjoying Frank being here for a while.  I am and will try to stay positive, I must. 

Have a good evening and will blog again tomorrow if I have done anything interesting.