Month: October 2012

24th October 2012

/ Loony Feminist / 1 Comment

Well, I’m improving. Slowly, but getting there. I can now do one thing each day. Yesterday I had my hair cut – a new hairdresser! fraught but ultimately successful. Last night I had the most appalling nightmares, and at one point woke up kicking out, hard. Luckily it was away from hubby. I have accidentally bashed him in the night, but only once.

Deep sleep this afternoon. Didn’t know where I was when I woke up! thought it was the morning . . .

Have made a big decision. I am selling my knitting machines. One of them will be sold back to my school friend from whom I bought it, the other, bigger and more complicated, one is going to be advertised on the Guild of Machine Knitters’ website, which is how I sold the last one. There are so many boxes of equipment in the “knitting room” I had to have help to get them all down and sort out what they all are. I have things I didn’t know I had.

But all sorted out now, all tested to the best of my ability, so the advertisement is written (a full A4 page long) and sent off.

When everything is sold, we will re-arrange the room so that it’s half for craft and half another spare bedroom. I’m going to take upstairs my sewing machine, two boxes of buttons, box of sewing thread, and small sewing box. Also my card making stuff – five boxes of bits and pieces, including toppers, glueing stuff, ribbons and fancy punches. And I have a box of cross-stitch stuff, which I haven’t actually started yet. So that will go up too, and free up at least two (Akrobat) cupboards in the lounge and three (Billy) shelves in the study. In case you haven’t guessed, we’re big IKEA fans.

Have discovered a fabulous new website via the stitch group. It’s called Posh Yarns, and the yarn is absolutely wonderful. The guy dyes the wool himself, and every Sunday night at 6 pm they upload pictures of all of it, with details, prices, etc, and so you can preview it all and make your decision. Then at 7 pm you “refresh” the page and it’s live. You have to be quick off the mark to buy it because by 7.15 pm it’s usually all sold out. It is absolutely beautiful. I can’t stop getting it out and feeling it.

Am considering and researching a colour laser printer. Our colour inkjet print/scan/copy printer is on its last legs and making very odd noises even when it’s only scanning. But the toner cartridges for laser printers are quite expensive. I need to do some more research before we make a decision. I’m guessing that they last much longer than inkjet cartridges, and of course the quality would be fabulous. It’s mostly because of the card-making – I’d like good quality print-outs.

And that’s about it I think for today.

16th October

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Very up and down. Exhausted again. Slept till 11.45 today, so have had breakfast but nothing else yet. Working up to lunch.

Thumb terrible again. Very painful. Permanent painkillers. Hmph.

Tried machine knitting today – first of all I had a go at a baby blanket which is a pattern I’ve knitted a number of times now. Failed. Epic fail. So I had a go at a scarf – easy enough, you’d think, but I was using double knitting yarn (8 ply or worsted) on a standard gauge machine, which is supposed to manage it on the loosest tension. Again, fail. Much too tight. So I rewound that yarn back on to the bobbin and may knit something by hand with it. We’ll see. What a waste of 45 minutes.

Yesterday had to go to the Job Centre to see if I’m well enough to work. No, seriously. Now I am awaiting an appointment with some company or other who talk to you (in a group) in an attempt to support you back to work. I’m not sure how that will go, as I’m asleep all the damn time! and the old brain clearly isn’t working, witness the machine knitting disaster. Ah well, we’ll see.

Just had text from grandson who is off school ill, on his new smartphone. Bless him.

Off to make a cup of tea and eat some chocolate, or maybe lunch, with chocolate afterwards. Haven’t decided yet. I’m guessing chocolate first, actually, as it’s much easier and quicker than lunch, and maybe lunch later.

Feeling a lot b…

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Feeling a lot better now. Am back to normal – up about 10 am, potter about eating breakfast and so on for an hour, get showered and dressed, potter about a bit more, lunch, then back to bed. Have made some cards (greetings cards), pulled up a few weeds, and am generally perkier.

My thumb has settled down – it’s back to how it was before the injection. For the past two weeks or so it had been much worse than before, but now not so much. Taking regular painkillers and have a check up in 3 weeks now so will see what the consultant has to say.

The weather is beautiful. Cold-ish, but sunny and lovely. Today hubby and I had our flu jabs. Last year I had a funny turn and ended up on oxygen, but today was fine. Thank goodness.

Nearly finished the baby cardigan I’m knitting. I have had problems with the pattern and the yarn, however. The pattern is really badly written, and at one point even the stitch numbers are wrong. The yarn is 100% cotton 4 ply and you have to use two strands together. Well, I had separate yarn ball holders, but it still got into the most appalling mess. I spent 1 1/2 hours on Tuesday night untangling it, then a further 1 1/2 hours on Wednesday untangling some more. Thankfully I have a yarn winder or two, so once it was untangled, I wound it onto the cones. Just on the second sleeve now, which should be done by tomorrow evening, then it’s blocking, sewing up and doing the front band. Will post photo when it’s done.

I’m trying to be a bit more “ad-hoc” about what I knit next – I do have a tendency to plan ahead, so that before I’ve even finished one thing, I’m getting the next project ready. There are two choices – a pair of fingerless mittens to match a scarf my friend Sylvia knitted for me last year, or a baby sleeping bag. No rush for either, just thought it might be nice to do something small, for me, next. Am trying really hard not to decide too soon!

Went to a yoga class on Wednesday. Not good. Much too much standing up and sitting down to start with, and I went all pathetic and thought I might faint, but didn’t. Exercises ok, I just did the “easy” version, but the meditation was awful. Full of crap about “prana” and “chakra” and “feel the universe rinse your heart with colour” – for goodness’ sake. What a load of nonsense. So next week my friend Ana and I are going to try the Pilates class – she’s been to this particular one before and says it’s much better, and easier. Excellent. Job’s a good ‘un.

Treated myself to some Lancome moisturiser and lipstick. You get a load of free stuff too, samples and things, and it’s all absolutely lovely. Makes me feel rich, pampered, and smell nice, if only for a short time.

And have ordered some suede boots too. Am waiting (with bated breath) for them to arrive. Not sure whether I’ll keep both the black pair and the brown pair or send one pair back. Depends how I’m feeling . . .