Charity Knit II

Modelled by DD. This is Center Square Hat from the winter issue of Knitty, I know I don`t need it until next November when it will form part of the Love in a Box that I do each year through work, but I needed a break from my lace scarf (not difficult but I`m getting a bit bored) and just fancied trying this pattern. I used some DK from my stash and it worked out fine. I did wonder if I should have had some more cheerful colours, but by the time I thought that I was too far down the line to undo it and start again, and besides, having picked up a pair of black knitted gloves in Dorothy Perkins sale for £1 this will go nicely with them.

Yesterday DD and I went to a `Card day` held at a friends house. Louise has all the gadgets you could wish for in her chosen hobbies and generously thought it would be nice for a group of us to get together and have a play. We all know each other from Tonbridge Lacemakers (except DD who was made very welcome) and so the seven of us had a lovely day. I am not a cardmaker but it being the one craft that DD shows an interest in, I was more than happy to go along and encourage it, and anything crafty is worth spending some time on.
We each took a contribution for a buffet lunch with Louise providing the drinks and we had a great time, recycling last years Christmas cards and generally learning, playing and giving and receiving ideas and techniques.
My efforts are left, DD`s to the right.
I still don`t think it is something I will do a great deal of, but it was great fun to try.

Charity Knit I

Well I never said they would be big things did I? In fact this is absolutely diddy, but since it is destined for the special care baby unit no doubt there will be a wee head to fit it.

That`s the good thing about charity knitting - no tension squares, after all the recipient will be found to fit the item, rather than having to knit to fit. So this little hat was made with an unlabelled ball of something or other, little dpns that looked about the right size, and a pattern I had printed off the internet sometime ago from `I haven`t a clue where` - what a fine pedigree, still it`s cute and if it helps keep a prem babys head warm, that`s the main thing.

Yesterday was the Tonbridge Lacemakers meeting, and my turn on the tea rota. So off I went armed with my cakes (Paradise Slice) and rubber gloves (some washing up liquids make my hands itch so better safe than sorry) to do my duty with a couple of friends. I do volunteer every year, I feel it is only fair to take a turn, but I can well see why others don`t....I`m so sorry, but I really can`t make tea the the perfect strength for each and every one of the 70 odd of you - I do my best, you can even add your specific amount of milk yourself if you like (though even that isn`t right for some of you since the milk of course should be put in the cup first..grrrrr) but at the end of the day I am only human! And how about those that moan the most volunteering first next year, huh?

Anyway, rant over.
I was so taken with the poem in the back of our newsletter (not lace or knitting related though), that I thought I would share it with you. I can`t give credit to the author as they are unknown.

Grandma and the Computer

The computer swallowed Grandma.

Yes, honestly it`s true.

She pressed `control` and `enter`

And disappeared from view.

It devoured her completely,

The thought just makes me squirm.

She must have caught a virus

Or been eaten by a worm.

I`ve searched through the recycle bin

And file of every kind,

I`ve even used the Internet

But nothing did I find.

In desperation I asked Jeeves

My searches to refine.

The reply from him was negative,

Not a thing was found`online`.

So, if inside your `Inbox`,

My Grandma you should see,

Please `Copy`,`Scan` and `Paste` her

And send her back to me.

Better late than never

HAPPY NEW YEAR



I know, it`s already the 7th and I haven`t updated the blog yet this year. My excuse, poor one though it is, is that I have now started working full time, for the first time in 14 years. I thought it would be really tough, but actually (so far) it has been good, and I feel less harrassed than I did working part time. No longer am I clock watching to make sure I finish dead on time to meet my friend to walk back to the car, and I don`t need to rush to beat DD home, and if a call goes into my break it isn`t so bad as my break is longer and I can afford to lose a little time where as with quarter of an hour break every minute counted.
Long may it continue - and I still have the school holidays to look forward to.


We had a lovely New Years Eve as expected, and didn`t get home til 2am. DD was a tired bunny so on New Years day she curled up in front of a DVD wrapped in her favourite crochet blanket made by Nan. It wasn`t long before she fell asleep, and quite some time later woke to find she was unable to move and couldn`t work out what was wrong - I could though

Some one had made themselves very comfy and was pinning the blanket down!

Well, I suppose it is traditional to make resolutions at this time of year - often I don`t but for 2007 I have decided on just two, one knitting, one not :-

........By the end of the year I want to have 10 knits for charity

.........And I want to have got a bit fitter, as I`m beginning to feel as if I`m slowing down and being in my early 40`s that is just not good enough!

Shouldn`t be too hard to succeed, she says, watch this space and I will keep you posted.

Guess which book......

... I got for Christmas.
Just in case there is anyone out there who doesn`t recognise this warshrag (and I can`t really believe there is) it was Mason Dixon Knitting and I couldn`t resist making a Warshrag, I used some Anchor Magic and an unidentified white cotton I had lurking and this little beauty just flew off the needles. Guess who is now on the look out for some cheap cotton to make more. I never quite appreciated the attraction of knitted dishcloths before - but now.....
Oh, and yes, it is curly at the edges, but surely you don`t need to block dishcloths, do you ?????
Other knitterly pressies were a subscription to Simply Knitting from DH and DD bought me some row markers so I no longer have to fiddle with contrasting yarn (though she found the lady in the LYS to be less than helpful, which is rather sad considering todays youngsters are tomorrows knitters)




Not knitting, I know, but I was rather pleased with the way my Christmas cake turned out so I thought I would share it with you, sorry the photo isn`t a very good colour - it was a white cake, honest - I`m not entirely sure how DH managed the sepia look, our camera isn`t that clever!

Well having spent the entire festive period extracting cat from Christmas tree, or catching the whole `kit` and kaboodle as it fell, we decided enough was enough. The poor tree could no longer take a fully grown cat launching itself half way up the trunk and I had had to remove said cats mouth from around fairy lights on one too many occasions, so we took the whole thing down yesterday - Christmas is now officially over in the Modelwidow household for another year.
(would it be really awful of me to cheer quietly?)


Anyway, I`m looking forward to New Years Eve, a chinese takeaway with really good friends, (5 of us adults and 5 `children` ranging in age from 13 to 17, and all get on exceptionally well.) Can`t think of a better way to start 2007.

So here`s wishing you all a happy and healthy new year.

Perhaps I`m not so weird after all ....

....or maybe I just don`t realise it.

Thank you to Queen Frogger for tagging me to come up with 6 weird things about myself, so here goes .......

1: I adore chocolate, I would die if they stopped making it, bars of it, chocolate cake, chocolate pud, choccy biccys yum –but I HATE drinking hot chocolate!

2: I can never stop a knitting pattern on row 13 – I`m afraid if I do, something bad will happen and I will never get back to it.

3: My left foot is bigger than my right foot – even though I am right handed.

4: I have a reputation among DD`s friends as being scary – but those who actually know me can`t understand why!

5: I have a teenage daughter and we don`t argue – in fact we are the best of friends. ( Judging by DD`s friends and their mum`s that is weird anyway).

6: I get really seasick – but I love going on cruises

actually the last one is a bit of a cheat – cos they do a fantastic anti seasickness injections – but I got stuck, I thought finding 6 things would be easy – so maybe I`m not as weird as I thought I was :-)

and because of:

THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

I am now tagging Tarty Crafty , Army of Knitters, Library Girl Knits , Knityoga, Float`n`purl and Two Fish Knitting . Sorry guys!

Les Dawson is alive and well.....

.....and playing the organ in our local church!

I am not a regular church goer, but I always make a point of going to the Carol Service - I think it is important to do something at Christmas time to remember the true meaning, so ever since DD was old enough, she, my Mum and I go along each year. It`s only once we`ve been to church that I really start to feel Christmassy.
DD is now 13 and to a great extent we share the same humour, so when the organist started playing a la Les Dawson, we didn`t dare look at each other, and certainly during ` The First Nowell` I have no idea what he was playing but it definitely wasn`t the same as the congregation were singing! ( hopefully you will recall the way he played the piano or else you will be wondering what on earth I am talking about!)

When I was about 5 or 6, I came home from Sunday School delighted to have learnt a new carol, which I proudly told Mum was called `The Trifle Song`, after much questioning she discovered it was in fact

`Oh come all ye faithful,
Trifle and joyumphant`

- now for some reason she and DD find this highly amusing - so when Les began playing this particular carol in his unique style - poor DD sitting between us just didn`t know which way to look and ended up studying the floor lest she catch one of our eyes.

I`m pleased to say we both made it through the service without either giving in to the threatening bout of giggles.

Now onto something a little crafty - DD was invited to a birthday party for a Goth friend, and having found the perfect necklace - a cross set with black stones on a black and silver beaded chain - we needed to make it look that little bit more special than just wrapped in birthday paper. Out came a remnant of black satin and some black lace and ribbon, and in no time at all, behold a presentation pouch. Some of DD`s friends were amazed.
" Your Mum didn`t really make that, did she?"
To DD (and me) it seems the most natural thing in the world, but isn`t it sad when others don`t realise the pleasure and satisfaction making something brings.

Yay....Knitting again

Well I can`t say it is because of the Dog Oil, which though nice to massage with didn`t actually help - in fact other joints have now joined in :-(

But I seem to be able to knit again :-) admittedly a little slower than usual (and I am slow enough anyway) and not for any great length of time...but I am knitting.

The photo doesn`t do this justice - the yarn is Patons Spritz in colour spritzer which is just sparkly enough to be interesting without being OTT, and the pattern is from the latest Knitting, and it is all for me!

The countdown...

...has begun!

Some years ago when I was into patchwork and quilting, I made this advent calendar for DD and it has been a firm favourite ever since. Incredibly easy but oh so satisfying.
Now that she is taller (errr.. taller than me actually) I have taken to wrapping each little gift to keep the suspense going as she is prone to peeping! - they are only little inexpensive things (you know, rubbers, pencil sharpener, cheepy earrings, hairbands, or fun sweeties, that kind of thing) but we both enjoy it.

And DD...if you are reading this, I may or may not have included any or all of the above...ha! thought you`d find out didn`t you? x

There`s a lot of it about

As I wander aroung blogland, I have noticed that there seem to be a lot of us knitters suffering from aches and pains in hands and fingers - me included :-(

At the moment my left thumb joints are so troublesome that I can only do a very small amount of knitting at a time, hence having nothing to show. I`m not sure if it is arthritic, RSI (though I can`t imagine why since my right hand is far busier at work and is fine) or if I have strained/sprained it. However, I have heard that Mason`s Dog Oil is very good so I thought I would give it a go - it`s very early days so I am not sure if it really has helped or whether I am imagining things - I`ll let you know.

I was initially a little wary, I mean Dog oil? I know they press olives for olive oil. sunflower seeds for sunflower oil...... but it was reassuring to read the FAQ`s on Mason`s web site which included

Do you use dogs in it?

No. We can't run fast enough to catch them!

Light at the end of the tunnel

It has been a tense time in the Model household, you see DH has been unhappy in his job for a very long time, but having been with the company for 27 years and worked his way up, leaving was never going to be easy. However, along came Dream Job, and having been told over 3 weeks ago that he had got it, we have been waiting (metaphorically) by the letter box ever since - he needing the confirmation so he can hand in notice, and me so I can arrange increased hours (as dream job = pay cut + happier DH hopefully). Said letter finally arrived on thursday so the deed is done. Now he just has to get through the 3 month notice period - yes that`s right 3 months!

Added to that DD is in the process of choosing GCSE options, which, because of the way the choices are grouped is proving a bit of a challenge. Still she is nearly there, so things should be settling down here soon (fingers crossed)



Anyway, not much knitting to show at present but this is what I have been working on in the Bobbin Lace department. Just got to use that lovely invisible thread to attach lace to frame - that is if I can find it!

Done and undone

DD has been complaining that her hands get cold when she is typing, so what else is a mother to do but knit her offspring Fetching, DD can then type to her hearts content - shame it`s on MSN rather than her homework though! I decided to try Wendy`s Fusion as it felt so soft and I loved the colours - this one is juniper berries. Once I got used to the yarn it was really enjoyable to knit. I was fully expecting it to be a bit of a race to get them done before the yarn ran out, as the pattern says it uses a full ball of yarn with 89m and Fusion has 88m, but I have ended up with several metres left!! Oh well, better that way than the other.


And the undone?....well, remember my Sari Silk hat which I was so pleased with and which fitted perfectly? What happened? I washed it, that`s what and it grew and grew and grew - I could no longer see where I was going and when I turned quickly, the hat didn`t!!! So here it is. I could see no other alternative, and so now I have to start again.
It is only fairly recently that I have been bothering with a tension swatch, but after this I can see I shall also be washing my swatch BEFORE I start knitting.

Me and my big feet!

Actually I don`t think they are really that big, size 7 1/2 to be precise, but I am beginning to despair of ever finding decent looking shoes to fit. It`s not as though they are that funny a shape, the majority of size 7`s fit fine widthwise, but I need them just a tiny bit longer. I do so wish that manufacturers would understand that just because I need an extra half size in length it doesn`t mean my feet are suddenly much, much wider. Grrrrr. They all seem to be as bad as each other, though Clarks have been very helpful in offering to get certain styles in for me to try.

In fact Clarks have been very good this week (and here eventually comes the knitting link) whilst I was in there I asked if they might have a couple of spare shoe boxes for our Love in a box and they happily produced some together with carrier bags to keep them dry, however, DD immediately snaffled the small one leaving me with a gents size 11 box! Now, I have always been surprised how much you can fit into a shoe box anyway, so my bits looked a little bit lost, cue photo.....

I whipped out some large needles and the left over wool from the hat, and created a `space filling` scarf using the same mock rib as the hat on a reverse stocking stitch background - I now realise it should have had a garter stitch border, as even after wet blocking and steam blocking it still has a tendency to curl - but hey, I`ll just pretend it was a design feature!
This week I took delivery of some really nice bamboo dpns, all the way from Hong Kong! from Joycesupershop . I was a bit sceptical as to what they would actually be like in view of the ridiculously low price - 12 sets of 5 x 6" dpns for .....wait for it 99p plus £11 postage, and when I opened the package which arrived in double quick time and saw it included a piece of sandpaper! I wondered again - but they are BRILLIANT, I love working with them, even with Wendy Fusion which isn`t the slipperiest of yarns they are just great (that`s where the 12th pair are at the moment) and in sizes from 2mm to 8mm I should be set for anything. I know where I will be looking if I want any other needles.

3 flowers, 2 hats and a scarf!

Well they may only be small items but I`m pretty pleased with my FO`s from last weeks break I have finally finished Bertie and I am really pleased with the way it came out after blocking. The 4ply hand dyed lambswool from Bryony my one skein pal, was lovely to work with, though using 3.25mm needles meant it took quite a while to knit 95cm and it is narrower than the original. It is actually a little pinker than the picture, but hopefully the colour variations show as they really `lift` the design.

The flowers will be part of my contribution to The Gingerbread House the latest project of textile artist Alison Murray in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital and the North Devon Hospice.

The Sugar on Snow hat from Knitty made from a bright and cheerful odd ball of chunky that I picked up in a charity shop is destined for the Love in a Box that I will be putting together shortly. This was the first time that I had tried mock cabling, and I also wanted to use my Boyes Needlemasters, which I have to say I am very pleased with. Initially they seemed a little metallic, but as I worked on, I found them to be a pleasure to knit with, nice and pointy and the cable behaved too. I did keep an eye on the join having heard that they can unscrew, but had no problems there, though I would still bear it in mind another time to be on the safe side.

My final FO is a hat for me from Hipknits Sari silk using their free pattern, and it actually suits me!!!!!

Back again....

and I hadn`t even told you I was going (sorry time ran out) but this is where I have been, and here I am trotting along on Sheffield Pike in the Lake District.

DD`s school has a different October half term to the rest of the world, so until the holiday companies realise, we decided to make the most of the `non-school-holiday prices` and sneaked in a last minute break in Ambleside for a bit of fell walking.

It was great to get away from every day life for a few days and after marching up the fells by day, I felt totally justified in spending all evening sitting knitting - and I will show you what I`ve achieved when they (yes plural!) are blocked.

Old dogs and new tricks

In the last Simply Knitting mag, I noticed a new (to me) way of holding the yarn when knitting fairisle - both yarns in the right hand, one on index finger the other on middle finger, so I thought I`d give it a go and at the same time knit my contribution to Knit a river for Wateraid. Well, I very soon got in a tangle, it was a real fiddle and the knitting became all puckered and `orrible. It didn`t take me many rows to realise that after 30+ years of doing fairisle one way, there really wasn`t any point in trying to master a new method if it didn`t come easily, so I went back to main colour in right hand the english way, and contrast in left hand the continental way, and in very little time this square appeared.

Now I know that you really can`t teach old dogs new tricks - or at the very least it is just not worth the effort.

`Tis done

The Tuscany shawl is finished, I rather enjoyed making it with each row being shorter than the last, and it is lovely and warm - so let them turn on that air conditioning now, I don`t care!

The picture just doesn`t do the yarn justice, it is lovely IRL and looks more like this. It was a real pleasure to knit with too.








Now to decide what to make next - yes I know Bertie and half a pair of socks are waiting for me, but you know how it is. I always used to be a one WIP person, but lately I have been led astray :-) There are too many nice things out there (but not enough hours in a day)

It`s official!

I`ve always known I am a Modelwidow, but now it is official. (well it`s nearly the same) DH came across this sticker when looking for something else and just had to buy it for me. Shame I can`t stick it on my knitting bag, wonder if they do a material one.



Knitting wise, I have finally managed to get hold of some Boyes Needlemaster interchangeable needles - Not that I didn`t like the idea of Denises but they just don`t go down small enough for me. It has been something of a trial getting these - I was unable to find a UK stockest and couldn`t find anyone in the USA willing to ship over here. On eBay most of the sellers wanted prohibitively high shipping rates to make it worthwhile until finally I found these. The price and shipping was good - I knew it must be too good to be true and it took 7 emails after buying to actually get the seller to acknowledge my purchase and send them to me - and he even had the audacity to ask for positive feedback!!!!!!

Still, I`ve got them in my grubby little mitts now - just need to finish my shawly thing, and decide what to cast on next to make use of them.

Not quite so Hot Desking

In my office we `hot desk` and just in case anyone isn`t familiar with that term, it`s just a fancy way of saying we don`t have our own allocated desk but just use which ever one is available.
Now, we all have different shift patterns in my team, which can vary person to person and on a daily or weekly basis - (I`m so glad mine is a fixed shift, I don`t think I could cope with constantly changing times as my colleagues do), so hot desking is fine if I start before them as I can chose my desk, but when they start first I often get left with the desk under the air conditioning unit,then it`s rather like sitting in a fridge.
At the moment my lovely scarf from my One Skein Pal is keeping the chill off my neck, but I know that soon I will be needing something to keep my shoulders and upper arms snug too.

So it occured to me, what I need is a Clapotis, I can wear it like a scarf on the way in, and then if necessary open it out a bit to keep more of me safe from the arctic chill. Yep, a clapotis would be perfect.

So, can someone please tell me why I am knitting this?!

I suppose it could have something to do with me falling in love with the colours,(it`s greener IRL and the purple and cerise bits look much nicer against it) not to mention that my LYS had just the right amount left in the reduced basket. It may not be a clapotis, but it is knitting up nice and quickly on 10mm needles, and every row is 2 sts shorter than the one before :-)

And here is a little chap I made in an evening for DD, the pattern is from Stitch`n bitch Nation, and the yarn is something soft and pinky and label-less that I picked up ages ago in a charity shop thinking it would come in handy sometime. In fact the buttons cost 3 times the amount I paid for the wool.
I like the way you leave a bit of the bottom seam undone so you can plug in your handsfree, looks like DD is chatting to a wooly toy!

And finally, it`s a good job this isn`t a smell-blog, I`m in the middle of making a huge pot of chutney, and it don`t `arf pong round here. Best go and give it another stir, poooooh.

Saturday Shopper

It`s not very often I see a pattern in a magazine and just have to make it now, but the Saturday Shopper in this months SK had that effect on me. I can`t remember the last time I crocheted something, (crochet was one of the crafts I more or less left behind with my teenage years) but it all came back to me - a bit like riding a bike, which was just as well owing to the number of errors in the pattern, including some sentences which simply did not make sense in english never mind crochet terms. But good old common sense prevailed, I worked out what they meant, and here is the end result. I had some left overs of cotton DK, but as I wasn`t convinced I had enough of either, I came up with this version, hopefully everyone else who sees it will think the two colours were a design feature and only you who are reading this will know the truth!

Despite my cursing at the pattern mistakes (which has made me wonder if I dare tackle anything else out of SK) I really enjoyed making this, and have vowed not to leave crochet for another ** years before I do any more.

Utterly Gorgeous

My One skein pal really is a star, my gift has arrived and it is absolutely gorgeous
She says it is her first completed crochet project - can you believe that? just look at it, and it is a shame you can`t feel it too, it is the most incredibly soft, silky thing you can imagine and it is feather light. Apart from the warmth and deliciousness of it you would never know you had anything round your neck!
It is made from Habu silk mohair kusa - there is only 14 grams in a ball!! I am so pleased with it I can`t tell you,

and just to show you how beautifully it has been made, here`s a close up! (Are you blushing yet puss?) She also sent me some chocolate, milk and plain (yum and double yum - this girl knows me too well) and the parcel arrived on my first day back to work after the 6 week summer break so it couldn`t have been better timing.

The card as usual was very appropriate - in case it isn`t clear from the piccy it says
"Mummy, what will I be when I grow up?" "Don`t be silly you`re a bloke, you`ll never grow up!"
DH looked up from his model aeroplane long enough to read it and chuckle!!!

It`s really nice to finally find out who this lovely lady is, (lucky thing lives near Holmfirth - Rowan country, Knitting and Crochet Guild, etc) It seems strange not having to call her Puss anymore, but I`ll be visiting her blog, Library Girl Knits to see what she gets up to.