rolling back the years

J2 bought me this souvenir of Jackie for my birthday.

What a trip down memory lane for me : Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, the Bay City Rollers, Cathy & Claire's problem pages.... wonderful stuff!

It was the "must read" of the day!

I think Donny Osmond has aged better than me and has fewer grey hairs!

Oh well.........

I'm busy making cotton washcloths at the moment for Easter gifts and having fun trying out different stitch patterns from Erika Knight's Harmony Stitch guides (which I bought at the Creative Stitches show in Glasgow).

I love the way the patterns are printed onto individual cards, it makes them very easy to use.

shop till you drop

well , it feels like that when you take a 12 year old girl to buy some shoes.

J2 loves shoes, she really does, and until now buying shoes for her has been fairly easy. But now her feet are ladies 7-8 UK size (US 10-10.5, continental 41-42) and there are very few shoes available for children in those sizes, and I don't think she's ready for 3" heels yet (not for school anyway!).

So after she'd tried on 5 pairs of shoes, with no success, we went for black trainers/sports shoes (which the school accepts, thankfully). NINE pairs of trainers later we'd found some that didn't rub her heels and, more importantly to J2, didn't look like boys' trainers.

It was much more fun when I used to buy her dinky little shoes like these... sigh

lovers who lunch

D took me for an early birthday lunch today sans enfants to Valvona & Crolla's Vin Caffe, which is a lovely Italian bistro, great food, warm friendly atmosphere, and a chance to have an uninterrupted conversation.

Yes, we did talk about our kids, but it was nice to have him to myself for a few hours.

Afterwards, he took me shopping to Jenners to buy me some Sheila Fleet jewelry. Normally he chooses it himself, and he has picked some lovely stuff over the years, but he does need me there to try on rings!

So, a lovely romantic day in the howling gale and rain in Edinburgh, though we barely noticed the weather!

oh my stars!

can you spot the obvious mistake between my stars and the stars in the pattern?
Does it need a degree in statistics to spot it? Should a qualified accountant be able to spot it? Or even a six year old?

Hmm. Yes. The stars that I made have 5 points ,whereas the stars in the pattern have 6.
SIX.
SEIS.
SECHS.

In any language (even French, Spanish & German ), there are 6 in the pattern and not 5.
Gah.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself last night, making little stars for the Cecily moebius, getting to grips with doubles, trebles, half trebles, changing colours and joining stars together.

It was only when I joined the third star that I could see that there was something wrong, and it still took me 10 minutes to work it out.

For some peculiar reason my stars weren't matching up in a straight line. How odd. And novice that I am , I thought that there was a mistake in the pattern, a typo.

Of course there wasn't.

The pattern is absolutely fine.

I just can't count past 5.

Gah!

spring is a time for something new

and I have 2 new things to share!

the first is the brand new magazine insideCrochet, the first British magazine devoted to crochet. She's the baby sister of YarnForward and has the same funky feel that her older sister has.

I know less about crochet than I knew about knitting 18 months ago (if that's possible), but this is so inspiring that I'm really keen to learn!

I've made myself a bookmark with some leftover wool from the Twist socks (and practised double crochet!!), and tried to make one star for the Cecily moebius scarf ( on the cover) by Amanda Perkins.

The star is a bit loose- I need to use a smaller hook I think, but I was working in the round, using doubles, trebles and half trebles, so I'm quite pleased with myself. The magazine is independent from the UK's main yarn producers & is keen to get designs from up and coming designers from around the world, not just the UK. I'm hoping to see some friend's names in there, like Kai Mistry and Jodi Euchner

I aspire to making this fabulous jacket called Koi by Chloe Nightingale. I know I'll have to practise an awful lot to be able to achieve that !!

The second new thing is a great new podcast by Tika called Gives Good Knit. Tika talks about classic and contemporary literature, as well as fibrey/yarny stuff. She has a wide range of literary tastes so it really appeals to me.

I should cast on for a sweater for J2, but really I want to get busy hooking!!

goodies & more goodies

I have been thoroughly spoilt over the last few days.

On Saturday we went to the in-laws (as D & J1 were off to a football match) so it was a chance to admire their new kitchen and to enjoy my MIL's wonderful cooking.

Sunday was Mother's day: J1 bought me a Discworld novel and J2 made some earrings and a flower fairy, and then she made bacon sandwiches for lunch (probably the main reason which stops me being a vegetarian, my love for eating bacon!)

Today, a parcel arrived from my lovely SecretSister Tyrone Minx.

Such lovely treats- yarn, choccies, Peeps (marshmallow chicks from the US.), seeds and some little mysteries which I'm saving for my birthday.

My SecretSister is an American lady who lives in Northern Ireland with her Irish husband; she is very generous and warm hearted person

As I had very little cooking to do over the weekend, I managed to get the Twist second sock finished (after a couple of mishaps , & missing cables when I was too engrossed in Dune!) and very cosy they are too! I made the leg a little longer than I usually do, in an attempt to build myself up to knee length socks for next winter!

Dune was great to listen to, a tremendous story with fascinating characters, and a society which put a great deal of effort into water conservation. We could learn from that .

The football was abysmal over the weekend - Newcastle were given a good thumping by Arsenal at home(3-1) and Sunderland lost 1-0 at Manchester City. The bottom of the table is still very close: Bolton are 12th with 34 points, Sunderland are 14th with 32 points, Newcastle are in the relegation zone (18th) with 29 points, with only Boro and West Brom below them. D thinks Newcastle will be very lucky to escape relegation . I'm just going to hide behind the sofa till the end of the season, I can hardly bear to watch!

The top of the table was more exciting with Man Utd losing to Fulham 2-0, and having 2 men sent off, and Chelsea being beaten by Spurs. Liverpool narrowed the gap by beating Villa 5-0

fun in the sun

the sun has been shining so brightly today-it's been glorious- I keep thinking "it is March, isn't it?".
I had another wonderful walk with the dog by the river, was amused by the frogs, saw a butterfly down in the woods (a cabbage white) a bumble bee in my garden, and when I was tidying up last year's perennials, I found a ladybird! It must be May!


I had a lovely time sitting on the decking in the sunshine doing some knitting too. I've started listening to the SF classic Dune by Frank Herbert.

This is riveting stuff, so riveting in fact that I missed row 12 for the cable twist in the Twist sock and had to rip back 6 rows. (buggrit!) so instead of being riveting, it became ripit-ripitting stuff (although UK frogs don't make that noise apparently, its only the species of frogs near Hollywood who are immortalised on film soundtracks and are now the voice of the world's frogs. Thanks to QI for that one!)

Hope the warm weather stays for a while longer- I could get used to this!

frogz'n da 'hood

I had a fantastic walk down the woods today and saw quite a few frogs in the ponds (thankfully, Megan's last foray into the ponds hadn't killed all the frogs as I had feared.)

It was such a sunny afternoon (14C/ 57F) the frogs were getting very frisky and enjoying a bit of froggy lurve.

Sadly some of their spawn had been left in a very shallow part of the floodplain and the sunshine had evaporated the water leaving the eggs high and dry. Still, it's food for some of the smaller birds.

I just hope that the heron doesn't eat all of the frogs, I love to see them swimming in the ponds - I just wish my photographic skills were up to capturing them.

On the mp3 today has been a short story by Mark Twain "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" admirably narrated by BJ Harrison, of the Classic Tales Podcast.

The people of Hadleyburg are proud of their reputation for honesty, but in reality the prospect of sudden wealth makes the town's leading families fall into temptation. Twain was a tremendous writer, a keen student of human nature and as relevant today as he was a century ago.

When I got back from my walk, I sat outside on the decking in the sunshine, did a bit of knitting and enjoyed the ending to Twain's story. A wonderful afternoon. More please!

timeless

I've been gripped by Brave New World today and listened to 4 discs back to back.

After describing society as it is in 500 years time, (a highly structured society where a person's potential is determined in vitro and there is no possibility of moving between the castes - alpha to epsilon) and unnerving his audience with the lack of freedom in that culture, Huxley introduces an unconditioned human to London society.

There is a stark contrast between John (the Savage) who has been raised in an uncivilized part of the world (New Mexico, which is a mix of Christianity and Hopi/Zuni) and the woman Lenina with whom he falls in love.
John has been born and knows his mother (not developed in a jar in a factory and raised in a nursery) and is determined to be chaste until he is married.
Lenina is a Beta + and works in one of the Hatcheries as a vaccination worker. She is the embodiment of conditioning but is attracted first to Bernard, an unorthodox psychologist who is struggling against his conditioning, and later to John the Savage. She is hurt and confused by his refusal to have sex with her.

Huxley was struggling against the desire for utopia thinking, that unless people have to work for things, or strive for things, or even wait for them, then any happiness that they experience is infantile. He writes about people being doped with soma, a drug which keeps people mellow, and people taking more drugs to ensure that they always look youthful until 60, when they die.

How much money is spent in the West for people to inject their faces with poisons to maintain their youthful appearances? Attitudes to sex have changed and the incidence of STD's is on the rise. One of the greatest problems facing us is the amount of recreational drugs used in every level of society.

It is stunning to see how much Huxley predicted 70 years ago.

The twist sock is progressing nicely while I've been enjoying this timeless scifi classic. I've picked up the in step stitches and am busy with the shaping.

new growth, new world

I've been enjoying doing some tidying up in the garden yesterday and today, cutting back last year's perennials (I always leave the seed heads over winter for the birds) and enjoying seeing the brightness of the new flowers.

It's been mild enough for me to enjoy being in the fresh air (I'm a fair weather gardener, when all is said and done.)

I've started listening to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World while I've been gardening, potting on houseplants and knitting. This novel still has the power to shock, 77 years after its publication. Huxley was satirising the penchant for Utopias and the creeping Americanization of the world.

Heaven knows what he would make of the world now: a world brought into recession through uncontrolled debt & materialism run rife, promiscuity celebrated in the media, drug addictions endemic in Britain & the US, a world polluted to death.

It's quite different to what I was listening to yesterday: Miracle at Speedy Motors, another Precious Ramotswe tale. I do like to mix & match my genres!

The second twist sock is also coming on well: the heel flap is done and the heel is turned. I've promised J2 that I will start a red & white striped sweater for her when I've finished the second sock. Not that she puts me under any pressure or anything.........

RND 09

..enjoyed watching Comic Relief last night, laughed and cried as we are supposed to do.

I have new respect for John Terry & Frank Lampard (England & Chelsea players) as they joined in the fun, serious respect for the 9 celebs who climbed Kilimanjaro (like David Walliams swimming the channel 2 years ago , this was a feat of mental strength and physical endurance, both amazing and humbling), admiration for the child carers who look after their ailing parents in difficult circumstances in the UK, sympathy for the parents in Africa who lose their children to malaria for the want of a mosquito net.

Despite the recession Comic Relief raised £57m which is wonderful.

This year I've bought Jamie Oliver's cookbook, a Mr Men book, Jacqueline Wilson's Tracy Beaker book, Babybel cheeses, a comedy DVD , wine and beer all carrying the red nose, all helping people in the UK and Africa who need a hand.

the wrong twist

I finished the first Twist sock too and was delighted with it.

It looked good and fit beautifully , until I turned it over and realised that I had managed to twist the sole of Twist .... buggrit! So, I had to rip out the toe and re-knit it today.

I didn't have my next glass of Red Nose white wine until the sock was finished (I'm sure it wasn't the effect of one glass of wine last night that caused the error, but the giggling at the comic relief extravaganza.... honest!), and there it is, next to the wine, in the first photo.

I might need another glass when I watch the footy later on: Sunderland's performance was dismal today against Wigan and we were well beaten 2-1, but Liverpool crushed Man Utd at Old Trafford 4-1 so that should be good to watch! Newcastle drew against Hull, Boro drew against Portsmouth. It's closer at the top of the table now, Liverpool are only 4 points behind Man Utd. and closer still at the bottom - 4 points separate Bolton (at 11th with 33) and Stoke (at 18th with 29). I will have no nails left by the end of the season!

fun in the sun

I've been enjoying making card today: I know 3 people with birthdays tomorrow and, as the sun was shining through the kitchen windows, I felt inspired to make some pretty girly cards.

While I was playing with card, ribbons, & beads, I was listening to The Miracle At Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith. He writes the Precious Ramotswe stories so well that I feel that I have been transported to Botswana.

There is to be another Precious series on the BBC starting on Sunday 15th. Wonderful! I can travel from 19 th century Oxfordshire to modern day Botswana in the blink of an eye!



I've been nominated for an award by my pal The Frizzy Hooker!

Blushes furiously...
It is, of course,

the prestigious world renowned Honest Scrap award


the rules are :

1. Pick 7 or so blogs that make you happy
2. Let them know and post their names on your blog.
3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

so here we are

some great blogs, which also win the Honest Scrap award!
Little Wilds (multi-lingual, how cool is that!)
Felt Finland (cute in a cold climate)
Knit 1-Football 0 (great sense of humour and good recipes)
Wye Sue Knits (stunning photography)
Little Cotton Rabbits (cute cute designs)
The Mad Bag Lady (wonderful bags, obviously, the clue is in the name)
Spinnerin (life with goats and literature- amazing mix!)
Yarn Mistrys (talented new designer!)
The Bear Necessities (lively & upbeat)
Jane's probably knitting (wonderful designs)

10 true things:

1. I am 5' tall and both my kids are taller than me- J1 is 6'1" (he's 16) and J2 is 5'3" (she's 12).
2. I once did a parachute jump for charity, jumping out of a tiny plane at 2,000 ', on a static line. I had to climb out of the plane door and hop backwards off the wing strut. Weeeeh!
3. I got grade A GCE in Latin at 16 by memorising sections of Virgil's' Aeneid.
4. I am dreadfully untidy.
5. I will try any food at least once, regardless of how many legs it has.
6. I am quick tempered, and struggle not to blow up at times.
7. I have never seen Titanic ( Winslet & DiCaprio), but I know how it ends.
8. I once chased a burglar out of our garden and threatened to tell his mother (he was about 20, 6' and terrified! Ha!).
9. I have been to a Royal garden party but didn't get to speak to HMQ. It was great fun!
10. I have hazel/green eyes and brown wavy hair (with some grey).

Twister & twist

made progress on the Twist sock today while enjoying the antics of Twister, one of the characters in Larkrise to Candleford.

I must hunt down the original trilogy by Flora Thompson, I'm enjoying this so much!

a real Buzz...

Watching Numb3rs tonight, I was chuffed to see Buzz Aldrin at the end of the ep. escorting Larry from the FBI offices to take him to NASA for the launch of the shuttle.

some TV moments are totally cool!

Finished the heel flap on twist and about to turn the heel.

making the unmissable...

...unmissable.

I've been enjoying myself today watching past episodes of Larkrise to Candleford series 2 on the BBC i-player.

I don't know how I missed the start of the new series, J2 and I only caught up with it a couple of weeks ago. So, while D was prepping the kitchen for redecoration today, I kept out of his way and watched 2 eps of Larkrise while getting to grips with the cabling on Twist. Lovely gentle stories with great acting, and a bit of progress on the sock, wonderful.

The latest issue of Let's Knit arrived today too: it's as bright and breezy as a spring day.

Two of the LK editorial staff, Sophie & Laura are going to be moving onto a new mag for sewing. I'm looking forward to reading that: I've learnt so much from LK that I'm sure the new mag will help me overcome my trepidation towards sewing. There was quite a lot of sewing workshops at the SECC at the weekend and I was drawn to them, but I hadn't a clue where to start. There is another mag around just now - Sew Hip, but it's difficult to track down on the news-stands.


I've also ordered the first issue of the new crochet mag from the publishers of Yarn Forward- Inside crochet. This is due to start at the end of March- I can't wait!

Borderlands

I had to take J2 and her pal shopping today.

The deal is that as long as they behave they can shop unsupervised at Fort Kinnaird if
a) they stick together and
b) don't stuff themselves with sweets
while I browse the bookshelves in Borders bookshop and get on with a bit of knitting. Usually we've done this on a Saturday afternoon, but this week it had to be on Sunday.

Borders bookshop is a very different place on a Sunday to a Saturday:

Saturdays seem to have a steady flow of people moving through the shop, not many people sit down, there aren't many men around, but there are a lot of teens.

Sundays seem more relaxed: while I was sat knitting, there were two 10 yo boys behind me playing Warhammer, a couple of Dads supervising toddlers on the rampage, and lots of families having lunch and browsing through the books... and Borders seem to deliberately create that environment, which is wonderful... and I managed to cast on twist and get 10 rows done! Result!


and apparently my word is

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it! You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing. Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities. And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.

What's" Your Word?

that's about right I think! I'll have a shot at anything

a Grand Day Out

well Gromit & Shaun were there, even if Wallace wasn't!

I went to the Creative Stitches today at the SECC Glasgow and saw the Great British Pic-knit, which stars Shaun & Gromit and tons of knitted food! It was lovely, lots of beautiful detail.

The Poetry in Stitches exhibition was beautiful too, some stunning work there.








There was also some interesting art on the theme of recycling, which was fascinating to see and also thought provoking.

On the train there I cast on a swatch to make another pair of socks, Twist by Jane Burns, from Let's knit magazine (Feb 08).

Of course the shopping was the main event and I bought some beautiful yarn from Jamie Possum which is unbelievably soft, some bargain wool from New Lanark Mill, a huge crochet hook from Rachel John, and some reduced price Debbie Bliss Soho. All in all, a very good day. I didn't quite save the UK economy, but I tried.

he's gone...

..to the great rat's nest in the sky (I think). There's been no sign of Rodney the rat today and I can only hope that he had his personal visit from Death of Rats (SQUEEEK!).

I would have preferred him to have a quicker death in one of the traps, even though I would have had to dispose of the body, it seems more humane somehow. I would know for sure that he was gone, as it is , I need to leave the blue pellets and the traps out for a few days just to be on the safe side and I need to keep the daft dog away from them. (Knowing her, she would get interested in the whole rat killing thing now and end up with a sore nose or an upset tummy!).

Of course, he could just be playing with my mind....

you cunning rat!

I think that Rodney Rat is taking the mickey, or at least the bait from the sprung traps anyway. How did he do that? I nearly broke my thumb just setting the traps , yet he looked fine sat among the plant pots, chomping away...

So, lots of interesting blue pellets have been put by his front door, by the compost bin, under an old piece of wood near his favourite plant pot, and some dropped right through the decking, which is where he lives.The guy in the tackle shop who sold me the rat poison has said that living under the decking is a favoured place for rats these days.... who knew they were so fashion conscious?

The boys enjoyed their jaunt to Newcastle last night, & even though the Toon was beaten 2-1 by Manchester Utd, the team played well. It was very cold though, and a sudden hailstorm meant that ground staff were clearing the pitch shortly before the match.

The other results didn't help either: Hull, Stoke and Spurs won and Rovers managed a draw. Sunderland were beaten 2-0 at Anfield on Tues night. Sunderland are now 14th with 31 points, Newcastle are 16th, only a point above relegation, with 28 points. The next few weeks are going to be very tense!

I got a few rows done of the Mort square while listening to the footy commentary on 5live, and finished reading Sourcery when I went to bed.

spring is in the air

and a middle-aged woman's fancy turns to gardening.

I've bought some fruit trees to put into giant plant pots, some seed potatoes for the tattie buckets and some basil seeds.

I've also had to get a couple of rat traps as I've seen the creature that lurks behind the compost bins and its def a rat. He looks very healthy (all the fruit and veg waste giving him plenty of vitamins I suppose) and the little blighter has been digging up my bulbs .

I tried to get the daft dog interested in the thought of a bit of hunting, but while she sniffed with mild interest at where he'd been, she was more interested in warding off the attack of the postie.

So, the traps will need to be set to protect my plants and I'm looking forward to more sunshine so that I can plant more stuff for us to eat not our friendly neighbourhood rodent.

and the winner is...

Kai! Woohoo!

not quite like winning an oscar, but the Noro goes to Kai.

Thanks to everyone for posting on my blogiversary that was such fun.

....and for those intrigued by the veg covers, here they are made from jute garden twine and knitted on giant needles, 24mm and 75cm long, made by Rachel John the Extreme Knitter.

I made them to prevent the wood pigeons and collared doves from eating my young bean plants. They worked, but didn't prevent the slugs so today I have bought some slug traps which I'm going to prime with cheap beer and they can drink themselves into soggy oblivion! HA!

2 out of 5 ain't bad..

Wes Anderson gets the winning penalty
the unstoppable juggernaut that is Manchester United just keeps on going.

I enjoyed listening to the Carling Cup final yesterday and it was a good match, with lots of chances for both Man U & Spurs, so it was a shame that it had to end on penalties.

Jonny Evans (who had been on loan to Sunderland for a while) had good match , & Ronaldo was booked for pouting, so there was lots to keep me entertained.

The rest of the football results were less than helpful for Sunderland or Newcastle. The Black Cats didn't play (so presumably we should have been playing Spurs or Man U), but the Toon contrived to lose against Bolton, Boro managed to beat Liverpool 2-0, Stoke grabbed a last minute equaliser and a point from Villa and Rovers pummeled Hull into submission. The only joy was in seeing West Ham beat Man City (and seeing Mark Hughes whine about it afterwards!).

Three teams are on 28 points just above relegation (Spurs, Toon & Pompey)and 3 are on 26 point (Rovers, Boro, Stoke), with the Baggies still at the bottom with 22. It's horribly close. It is always said that 40 points is the magic number for safety, the Black Cats at 12th have 31 points, and I don't feel safe at all.

I managed to make some progress on the Pratchgan square for Equal Rites, the design for Mort is charted and I've just started reading Sourcery... not that I've slipped behind or anything...but March is the month for Wyrd Sisters. Thankfully there's plenty of 'casts and football to listen to this week!

2 out of 5, with apologies to Mr Meat Loaf, refers to the number of competitions that Man U could win this season, having won the World Club Cup they can still win the Premier League, the FA Cup & the Champions League. They are a bit good.

Armchair critics

well - squashy leather sofa critics!

Both the kids were off doing other stuff last night so we moped around & worried about them... , yeah, right ... we leapt into the car and headed off to The Dominion Cinema to sit on the squashy leather sofas again and watched Winslet & Di Caprio in Revolutionary Rd.

It's a good study of a young marriage, of finding out who you are and what your dreams are and if you have the courage to follow them.

They think they are "special" and mostly they are filmed in beautiful light and always dressed well. The other characters around them, although wearing the same sharp 50s suits and stylish dresses are not as well-dressed and not as attractive. But can they make it ? Can they follow their dreams? Or have they settled for the restrictions & mundane life of suburbia?

Winslet is tremendous in this, and although I'm not much of a fan of DiCaprio he does well, his hurt crushed face is very expressive. Kathy Bates should've had a nomination for her role in this, she was superb as Helen Givings the realtor.

*** for this movie. Very watchable.

I'm curious about the American dream of running off to Paris: it's been used in Sex & The City and FRIENDS, and in both cases the heroine doesn't follow her dream but stays in New York with the rich man (Carrie) or the high school sweetheart (Rachel). Why does this motif resonate so much with the US? Do they see Paris as more free thinking, more intellectual, less restricted by social mores?

I think they would be very surprised if they stayed in Paris for any length of time, the restrictions are there, they are just different. After all it's best expressed in french plus ça change, plus ça même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same ).