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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Not quite to plan

Is definitely a good description of this week. I lost two days in which I did very little, Wednesday and Thursday, due to severe back pain, very little sleep and feeling generally unwell. I'm still struggling to shake off the cold I got when we got back from Norway. I'm felling a lot better now though. I've had two nights of good sleep, my back is much better. I've had really red eyes all week though and thought it was to do with being tired. Vanessa had conjunctivities last week and once or twice this week I've been wondering if I've caught it but then with the lack of sleep and pain my eyes would be red anyway and they're not weepy like when I get conjunctivities. They are still a bit red and this morning feel a little bit itchy. I did have some eye drops in Norway as one of my eyes really swelled up and I may have some left. I can't remember if I brought the bottle home or threw it away before we left. If I can find it I may try it for a few days and if it's no better by Monday I'll call the doc.

The shop update is now ready.. I'd also planned to dye some yarn yesterday but didn't get time. My new deliver of citric acid didn't arrive until lunchtime after I missed the Fed-Ex man on Thursday. After dyeing with vinegar on Wednesday, and being reminded of how much I hate that smell, I decided not to use vinegar again. I'm hoping to do my dyeing this afternoon, including some Bamboozle sock for the Let's Knit cowl and handwarmers and some lace for the Lace Variety Club. Which means if you'd like to sign up for the Lace Variety Club there is still time. I'm hoping the yarn will be dry by Monday so I can get the parcels posted then. The Sock and Easy lace clubs were posted yesterday.

There are some new yarns in the update including Royal Lace which is a blend of Royal Baby Alpaca (which is supersorted baby alpaca) and silk,

new base yarn for Supreme Sock (50% merino/50% silk)




 and Merino Tweed which consists of 2 strands of merino and 1 strand of Superwash meirno. It's gorgeous.

 More Royal Lace and other lace yarns next week.

On Thursday night, Simon took the girls to see his parents. I was extremely tired and went to bed before they came home.  I was reading when they got back and the girls came in to say good night to me. I was reading Margaret Stove's Wrapped in Lace which is fantastic.

 Emily sat down on my bed and looked at my book and exclaimed: ' Mum, are you reading a knitting pattern?' The answer was yes. then Vanessa came in and said: 'Mum, are you reading a knitting pattern?'. both of them sounded like they thought I was mad to be reading a knitting pattern in bed. I wasn't actually reading the pattern itself but this book has lots of notes to go with each pattern explaining about shapes, shaping, where in the world the shawl comes from and lots of other useful stuff and i find it fascinating. My girls thought it was unbelievable.

I've been doing a lot of swatching again this week but I've also done quite a few rows on my cable scarf.

 My friend's birthday is in about a week's time and I'm not sure I'll keep my enthusiasm for this scarf going for that long plus I need to cast on for a secret project next week. I'm also thinking I must finish up some wips soon. I've got too many wips on the needles right now.

A year ago I started fundraising for Shelterbox which is a charity providing an emergency care package including tent and essential supplies for an extended family after a natural disaster.  My fundraising was promted by the Haiti earthquake a year ago. This week they were saying on the local news that the tents that Shelterbox provided a year ago are still in use. My target was to raise enough for one Shelterbox, which is £490. I'm now less than £3 off that total. And i'm planning to keep going. I'll increase the target to raise enough money for another Shelterbox this year and I will be designing another pattern. I've been thinking about this for a while and I will decide on which pattern to go for during the next week. If you want to help me reach my target, click here, and if I've already reached my target by the time you click, then please still donate as I will increase my target and continue fundraining. You can also download the 'Friendship' Shawl in exchange for your donation. And to all those who've donated this year, a HUGE thank you. Watch out for the next Shelterbox pattern coming soon. I've got a few sketches and charts ready for small shawls so will get cracking on one very soon.

I should have posted a 'Pattern of the Week' yesterday but I ran out of time. I've still not decided which pattern to post as I've got several patterns where the copyright has returned to me plus one or two re-vamped patterns that  I want to get ready. So I will put off the 'Pattern of the Week' until tomorrow or Monday and it may be one of my 'new' patterns.

some gorgeous yarns from Great Northern Yarns arrived this week. We have two colours of Cashmere DK

Two balls of 4ply/fingering weight yarn. The green one is a blend of yak, mink, soy and baby merino  and the blue one is a blend of mink, milk and baby merino. The mink is humanly harvested. Read about it on their website. I'm thinking i may use the blue mink/milk/merino blend for the new Shelterbox shawl. I've charted out some options and may start on it tonight, although I already have too many wips on the needles.

Have a lovely weekend and come back for the 'Pattern Of The Week' tomorrow.

1 comment:

Pixie said...

Love your Merino Tweed.. gorgeous colours.. will be ideal for all sorts of things.. very tempting! lol

Good luck reaching your target, such a worthy cause.

I am so with you on reading knitting books in bed, sometimes its the only time lol

Hope you feel better soon