What a Week!

I'm still slightly reeling from the last week.. I was away for most of the week with work and came home on Saturday evening to find my eldest had been not too well for the last six hours. Not normally a problem, but she is Diabetic and this sort of thing can upset the equilibrium.

Sunday morning arrived and she was still being unwell so I called the out of hours doctor who advised me to take her to the Childrens' Ward at our local hospital about 15 miles away.

Within 15 minutes of us arriving, she was whisked into their H.D.U (like Intensive care for children), attached to a drip and had 1.5l of fluid over 45minutes to try and correct her dehydration aswell as being connected to a heart monitor and several other machines.

I knew she must be feeling rotten as she didn't once complain (unusual for a 15yr old)! Needless to say, work was put on hold whilst I spent long days in hospital with her. She came home on Tuesday evening and I have been playing catch up ever since.

I have knitted lots over the last week - I started my Diamond Fantasy Shawl in Halo (Dreamtime)



I also started on the Kimono Wrap from Folk Shawls (hospital knitting) for my father-in-law's lady friend in this
colourway Marshgrass and it's so easy to knit with. Normally I don't enjoy the harshness of knitting with cotton, but this is silky smooth and is knitting up a dream!

I'll try and get some better pictures for you all.

I even tried a cable cast on (I'm normally a long tail thumb cast on 'gal) and have to say I am pleased with it so far.

30 Things.....

...about me.

I've seen this on a few other blogs lately and thought I'd see if I could come up with my own list.



1. I always buy just one bunch of Sweet Williams around this time every year - they remind me of my mum.

2. I am the second eldest of four girls. My dad wanted boys and got us instead!

3. I have had a fairly diverse range of jobs over the years ranging from a Florist, General Nurse, Midwife, City and Guilds Tutor to my current job.

4. Of the 500+ babies I delivered when I was a Midwife, only one was named after me.

5. I delivered a baby in the back of a Mini, in a car park, in the middle of the night.

6. I am Godmother to 34 children.

7. In the last 2 years I have died twice during surgery.

8. Death doesn't scare me any more.

9. I have been married twice and both times I have been a second wife.

10. I passed my Driving Test first time after just 10 lessons and no practise.

11. I have written off one car after I skidded on some black ice and ended up in a ditch.

12. I can't ride a bike, roller skate or ice skate as something odd happens to my sense of balance when I try to do any of these - it is great to watch though!

13. I was born on the same day in the same year as Tom Cruise.

14. I hate shopping - unless it's for yarn.

15. I have been knitting for 35 years (ouch).

16. My favourite food is Strawberries.

17. My favourite film is Shadowlands with Anthony Hopkins.

18. I can only swim a short distance and am terrified if I get out of my depth.

19. My favourite place to be when I'm not at home is a fantastic hotel called Strattons. My husband takes me there for the last weekend before Christmas every year.

20. I love motor sport and spent my 21st birthday at a banger race and my second honeymoon at a drag strip.

21. I love cooking.

22. The only foods I really dislike are Olives, Grapefruits and Aubergines. I don't do shellfish or offal either.

23. I have to have a cup of tea first in the morning before I can start to function properly.

24. I have an allergic reaction if I eat chocolate!

25. I could quite happily live without a TV in the house, but would be lost without my music.

26. I used to play the violin (Grade 4 if you want to know).

27. I met my husband (second one) purely by chance and discovered very early on that we both used to go to the same family (who live miles away and are not related) for tea when we were children. My uncle also used to cut his hair when he was a boy.

28. I've never had my own teddy bear.

29. I don't give up easily - too stubborn or stupid to know when to quit!

30. I found this harder than I thought it would be.

There you go!

Pick Me Up

I've been a good girl (for once) and last night picked up the second half of Paisley from the provisional cast on.



It wasn't too bad and apart from untwisting the stitches as I knit the first row, I arrived at the end of the picking up with EXACTLY the right number of stitches!



I am already planning my next project and have an idea as to which yarn I'll be using.

Before picking up Paisley again, I had another quick project to rustle up in time for next week. It took 2 skeins of Windsong in Serengeti colourway and turned out exactly as I hoped.

Here it is modelled by the Invisible Woman!



Back view

All Washed Out

A little mid Paisley knitting..

I've been wanting to knit a washcloth for a while now (don't know why) and this seemed the perfect mid-project knit.



It took around 2 hours to knit the petals (on dpn's, join them and transfer onto a circular needle)



and another couple of hours to work the decreases in the centre section.



I love quick projects.

The pattern came from an old edition of Interweave Knits, but can also be found in Weekend Knits by Melanie Falick. the yarn was Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille - and it feels scrummy!

A Game of Two Halves..

Before you disappear thinking that even here, you can't avoid all the World Cup hype - fear not! This is definitely going to be a football free zone.

I am of course referring to Paisley. The first half has been finished and I will be picking up the provisional cast on and starting on the second half very soon. I may just knit a couple of quickies in the meanwhile, just to refresh myself, but I love this design so much, there is no chance that it will end up as a U.F.O.

Drool over this...



The bottom edge is a bit wonky where I pinned it out very roughly so that I could snap it before one of the cats landed on it.

Obligatory close up..



Oh, I better add a cute pic of one of the cats - this is Zippy flaked out in the conservatory this afternoon in all the heat.

Spot The Difference

I couldn't resist comparing these two pictures...





What do you think?

The weather was glorious over the weekend which meant that not as much knitting got done as I had hoped. I painted some of the fence panels whilst my hubby and his mate dug and shifted six tons of clay ( a massive shed/workshop is going up behind the garage which will hopefully rehome him indoors' hobby when he's not on the computer).



I managed to get more of Paisley done last night. I've finished the Boteh section along with the first spacer and small paisley sections.



Detail shot!



I'm about a third of the way through the large paisley and then I'm almost done for this half. I can't believe how fast this is growing. I've also still got loads of the first ball left!

Better Luck Next Time..

The results for the competition came through late yesterday evening and I didn't make it into the top placings. I'm pleased to have been selected as a finalist - it was more than I expected. Thank you to everyone who sent me 'Good Luck' messages - I really appreciate your support.

I had some Posh Yarn arrive in the post this morning. I think this will become a pair of socks for my youngest daughter.



I've nearly finished the middle section of Paisley. As soon as I've finished the next pattern block, I'll show you how she is coming on.

Exciting News!

I just had to share this with you all....

Remember the silk shawl I entered in the Cherry Tree Hill design competition?

Well I heard last night that I am one of the 10 finalists!!

I should hear late tomorrow the final results and will keep you all posted.