Still procrastinating over starting Kastanje's sleeves so I've started Beatriz from the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk book:


well, what do you expect when you get a parcel of 2kg of wool from the Yarn Warehouse.
I also felt the need to cast-on another sock:

I no longer have to make the decision of which leg is toasty and which one is cold :


and were these dificult to photo.

I've also now got a warm neck:

(Pattern specs: Leaf Cravat Interweave Knits Winter 02/03. Yarn is como/silk blend in the Spicy colorway from Foxhill Farm (courtesy of
Carolyn))
But I now have only one toasty hand:

all this is just to avoid starting the sleeves of Kastanje.

I have been knitting. first of all I've been knitting some socks:

- that's Snoopy's butt getting ib the way.

I've also got one toasty leg:

(makes me look like I've got my leg in plaster) - here's a legless view:

better hurry up and knit it's partner. It's the Lola legwarmers from the Missions Fall Decade booklet

For the enquirying minds. The pattern is from Dale #116. This is the best photo i could find in the colour way that I'm knitting. I've got to lazy daisy stitch the flowers onto the green blobs (that'll be fun - never done that before). But it'll be a long time before I get to that stage. I've taken a few days off from knitting asmy neck is killing me from spending all day Friday knitting while waiting for a delivery to arrive.

It's been a long time since I posted an in-progress photo. my last couple of knits have sprung fully formed onto the blog. Here's my next cardi:

I'm enjoying knitting this. I've had the yarn for it for about 18 months so i thought it was about time I started.

Stash Bustin'


Had some 100% cotton in some colours I could never see myself wearing. I doubled the yarn and with 6mm needles I made a new bathmat and some cleaning cloths (well one cleaning cloth - I want to see if it stands up to bath cleaning before I waste my time making more)

I love it:

I always find a fault with my knitting usually it's the sleeves are a bit too long/short; it's a bit tight onthe bust; it's a bit too cropped; the colour is all wrong etc but this time I loved it even before I'd finished sewing the edging on.
Pattern specs: Deli from RYC Classic Cafe Book 1. Yarn is Jaeger Trinity.

I know, I know it's a crap photo but I can't be bothered setting up the camera again so you'll just have to do with this out of focus one:

The back fits perfectly, but the front is a bit on the small side - ah, the joys of being well-endowed!!

BTW, I've been on holiday and despite the fact it rained all day every day except for one it was fantastic:

This is the last time I'll be able to blog from work until after Xmas. Tomorrow we are being moved to a temporary location and I'm going from being on my own in a big office to open-plan. To make matters worse I'm sitting beside my boss. Boy, was he pissed that he didn't get his own office. Now he's going to have to sit with us plebs. We're also going from a department of 4 to a department of 2 so it'll definitely be nose to the grindstone for me. No more slacking and reading blogs. I'm making the most of my last day of freedom not only have I been reading blogs I must have played over 30 games of spider solitaire (it's so addictive). My commuting distance is also doubling but I will be able to work from home some days ( and maybe get some knitting done if the work load is slack).
Roll on the last week of September when I'll be on holiday.

Turns out I've done more knitting that I thought I had over the summer.

I thought I'd resurrect Deli and I was surprised to see that I only had a little bit of knitting on the right front and then it would be onto the edging. So know I've done the edging for the bottom of the sleeves and have just started the edging for the body. I couldn't be bothered with it last night as I wanted to knit something substantial and the edging is only 7 stitches - you just about getting into the flow when you come to the end of a row and have to turn the needles. So I cast on for Coleen from the latest MagKnits. Of course, I first of all had to rip this old sweater, which I managed to shrink and it always was a close fitting jumper. I was worried what the yarn would be like as it was not quite felted but was getting close to it but it's fine - as good as new.
Managed to finish one sleeve so I'm off to cast on for the second one:

Tried something different with the photos. Can you see them now?

I did think of leaving it 3 months before I posted again but then I decided if i don't do it now I'll probably not get around to posting for another 3 months.

Don't ask me what I've been doing while I've been away - one thing's for sure there was not much knitting being done. I had problems with my internet connection for over a month but that's resolved now. Though I now have problems with ftp-ing my photos. It looks like they transfer but they don't show up in the directory. don't know if this new fix will work. If you can't see the photos let me know.

I did finish this shrug in Rowan Summer Tweed. Don't know what happened with the sizing other than it's too big so I've been washing it in the machine at 40% hoping that it'll shrink but of course it hasn't.

I've also knitted this jacket in Rowan Magpie. I had 300g of each colour and it was an eBay bargain so I made it more cropped than I would have ideally liked. The pattern is a modified Janda from Knitty.

When you don't have anything to show on the knitting front just post another scenery photo:

That's Loch Etive yesterday on a very hot day and after walking 20 miles in that heat you did not want to stand down wind from me or sit beside me in a car.

A great time in Glen Lyon

nearly made me forget the disaster that is my knitting

I knew it was going to be too big before I started sewing it up. Don't know I then proceeded to weave in all the ends - make's it more challenging to unpick!

Watched 2 good DVDs recently - Vera Drake and The Notebook. I've also been reading - I whizzed through "The Da Vinci Code" - thought I'd better read it to see what all the fuss is about and because it's always being mentioned in the local paper as I live about 7 miles from Rosslyn Chapel. I thought it was a good page-turner but I started getting bored around the 500 page mark. I then read two thirds of "The Republic of Love" by Carol Shields before giving up on it - I expected better from an author who's won so many prizes but I found this book rather trite. A much better book was "The Dive from Clausen's Pier" by Ann Packer. The main character is an avid sewer and she retreats into this hobby after her fiance's accident. I am now serously thinking of buying a sewing-machine - I've even gone so far as to price them on the interent. I see a new hobby coming up!

I see some serious dieting ahead. A 20% increase in bodyweight in 2 years means that the big, fat belly can no longer be ignored. Here's a before photo:

That's 6kg of sweetness that needs to get down to less than 4kg - I see tantrums ahead!

It's all about the knitting:

If only I could stop starting new projects I might finish something!!

Run Bambi, run


A zoom-in of a zoomed photo. This is the closest I've managed to get to a herd before. One whiff of human scent from half-a-mile away and they are off but I managed to get my camera out in time - for a change

Too busy getting out and about to do any knitting.

I'm lovin' knitting with Jaeger Trinity - I think I may have found my preferred yarn for summer knitting. Of course, I haven't washed it yet so I may change my mind when it starts to look like a limp rag after it's been washed. I've already decided what I'm next going to knit with it in an indigo blue colour - but I'm getting ahead of myself I must finish Deli or Kitty first.

All this talk in blogland about Maryland has reminded me about Woolfest in June. Just checked their site again and there's now a listing of confirmed vendors. Not being a spinner I was worried that there might not be enough yarn suppliers to justify the journey but no worries now. Looks like I'll be able to spend my pennies with no bother.

Current state of my knitting basket:

The lime green rib is the back of Kitty and on top is the start of the sleeve for Deli - I'm using the recently purchased Jaeger Albany for this.

Last week was very interesting I spent 4 days doing Jury Service. It was an eye-opening experience - I thought it'd be more professional than it was. Thankfully, I will not have to serve on a jury for another five years. Three good things about last week were:

- I took the bus instead of driving so lots of reading was possible
- I got to look at nice architecture every day eg St Giles
- I managed to get some yarn shopping in when we finished at 2pm on the lst day of the trial. Got me some Jaeger Trinity (cotton/silk blend)

Third time's the charm:

I know, crap photo but it's waaaay past my bedtime and I've still got some ironing left to do so it's the best you are going to get. I've also posted a photo of the Must Have cardi with smaller buttons and you can find that in the Gallery 2005 page.

Added later:
I modified the Hudson pattern from Noro Knits minus the hood plus I also didn't do as much ribbing - mine's looks more like a Ribby Cardi.

Indulged in a little retail therapy- got some smaller buttons for the Must Have cardi (guess what I'll be doing tonight) and also bought the Classic Cafe pattern booklet - there's at least 5 patterns in there that I want to knit though I'm not sure if I want to be described as being "a mature but style-conscious knitter".

I see the Kim Hargreaves' site has gone live. Pretty patterns but not enough to tempt me to buy.

So, did I finish Slick in time to wear today? Yes
I'm I wearing it today? No
Why not? IT'S TOO FREAKIN' SMALL.

The back fits great but the fronts too small. I stayed up way too late trying out constructive ways of making Slick wearable - I thought edge to edge cardi and tried a clasp closure and also a brooch. I did take photos but my internet connection was down so you'll have to wait for that until after I get back home from work. Anyway, woke up this morning feeling very tired and started ripping.

UPDATE:



see, doesn't quite work. Those of a long term memory may recognise the yarn. In it's former life it used to be this which did get worn alot last winter but this winter didn't leave the wardrobe.

I'm still here but too busy knitting to post. Slick is nearly finished. Just got the collar, some seaming and a zip to sew in. I hope to be wearing it Friday.

Warning, non-flattering photo ahead:

Took a couple of days off to do what I like best. Unfortunately the weather wasn't kind to us. These mountains were clear of snow on Sunday but when we came back up on Tuesday it was knee-deep once you got above 2,000ft. I had an enjoyable two day though and it's back to work tomorrow. Haven't touched Kitty this week but I have done the back of Slick (I'm making mine a bit longer in the body).

Not 100% that these are the right buttons but the Must Have cardi is finished:

I'm pleased with the way that it has turned out could have done with a little bit more length but when it gets washed it'll probably drop a little - at least the sleeves are long enough.

With such a long break since my last blog post you'd think I'd have something to report but I don't. Ever feel like you've been knitting and knitting and only have an inch to show for it? That's been me for the past fortnight. I'm up to the armhole shaping on the second sleeve of the "Must Have" cardi. I've started Kitty from Rowan 27 with the Garnstudio Silke Tweed and I was a good way up the back before I read the pattern thoroughly and wished that I had done so before I had started. The SilkeTweed has a different gauge than the 4 ply cotton so I'm knitting a smaller size that what I would usually do and I ignored the row gauge which is fine if you're knitting to measurements instead of row numbers which Kitty is so I've had to knit an extra 22 rows to get a decent body length (yes, Silke Tweed is one of those annoying yarns that have less stitches per inch than the 4ply cotton but more rows per inch)this is going to mess up the neck shaping on the front. Another thing, I always start on the back and of course I should have started on the fronts as the instructions for the back has got "knit until it matches the front" so I've had to count the rows in the front then keep track of the numbers of rows I'm knitting - I can never remember to turn the row counter.
My reading is not faring too well either. I haven't finished a single book in March. It doesn't help that I'm reading various collections of short stories and I'm not a short story person - give me a 600 page tome and I'll finish it alot quicker than a 200 page book of short stories.

Feelin' weary

Of knitting the Must Have cardi. I'm on the last sleeve about halfway through the increases and it's giving me the knitting blaahs. Time for a change so keeping with my project list from the end of January:

1. Finish Retro-Prep.
2. Knit the last sleeve of Consuelo.
3. Knit up the 26 balls of green Patons DK for a button-up cardigan (Miriam from Rowan 28) and a hooded zippy (Mariah from Knitty).
4. Knit up the 17 balls of light green Garnstudio tweed. I'm thinking Foxy and Palm from Rowan 27.
5. Legwarmers from Mission Falls Decade booklet.
6. More Gifted mittens but using a tighter gauge.
7. A hat with earflaps.
8. Clapotis.

It's onto No. 4 and small needles. The Garnstudio Silk Tweed is supposed to be DK but it's more like 4ply.

I'd better start saving my pennies now. Woolfest 2005 is being held at Cockermouth on 24th & 25th of June. According to the website it is the first annual festival celebrating all aspects of natural fibres - their sources, uses and products.
AND it's
The first ever festival of it's kind to be held in the UK.

It's got a workshop by Jean Moss and also features a giant "spin-in" on Friday evening.

I'm going to try to be there - how about you?

The Must Have cardi is the only project I currently have on the go. I've done the back, one sleeve and am now on the left front. I like doing the fronts - they go so fast.

I need to knit another pair of the Gifted mitts. I lost one on Saturday on top of a hill with a gaile blowing and hailstones flaying the skin off my face (very painful). The wind just caught it and off it went:

This was the pair that I had knitted large and then shoved in the washing machine to shrink. This made them more windproof and when combined with my voodoo wristwarmers are quite cozy. Shrinking them had made the cuff too short so now I'll get a chance to knit another pair with a longer cuff and a longer thumb. See, losing the mitt was a good thing.

The grotty bathroom shot will just have to do. It's the brightest room in the house after dark and I can take photos without using the flash. If I was to use the flash you wouldn't see the cabling. At long last I've finished the modified Consuelo:

The sleeves could have done with being a wee bit longer but I like it.
You can see the original version here. I couldn't get row gauge with my recycled yarn so my cables are shorter in height than the original. I did a quick google search to see if anyone else out in blogland has knit Consuelo but I drew a blank. If you have come across one let me know.

Any takers for this fine collection of patterns? Photos here or here. They are all late 80's patterns except for a copy of Interweave Knits Summer 2001 issue. First pick goes to Jill who guessed correctly that I've been listening to Pat Benater - I've also been listening to A-Ha, Simple Minds, Heart and Level 42. Leave a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you.

Ears cold, needed new hat with big cuff:

Mmmm,nice and toastie now.
Pattern was from the same Patons leaflet that's got the Must Have cardigan in.

Nostalgia Rules
Don't know why but I've found myself on a nostalgia trip these past couple of weeks. I've dusted-off my collection of tapes from the 80's and have been listening to music I haven't heard for over a decade. It's amazing how song lyrics just pop into your head even if you haven't heard the song for years.
My DVD viewing has also been following this nostalgia trend. I've been watching some old TV series from the 70's and early 80's. So far I've watched:
Poldark; Tenko; The Onedin Line and Lillie. All of which have stood the test of time.
Thankfully, this nostalgia trip hasn't affected my knitting and I am not tempted to reknit any of the box-shaped, dropped shoulders sacks that I knitted in the 80's. To remove the temptation does anyone want to relieve me of some of the patterns that I have from the 80's? All you have to do is tell me who I have been listening to on tape - go on hit me with your best shot ....(that's a clue btw).

Sweeties or to be more accurate - bonbons. All the way from France courtesy of Kate:

Starting at the front 2 generous handfuls of Carambar caramels (these are delish),then clockwise violet flavoured bonbons, Vichy mint pastilles (which if my French is up to it contains mineral salts to aid the digestion), then it's strawberry bonbons and the box is Berlingots de Carpentras which I think are flavoured with the fruits of Provence. I've only tried the Carambars but I'm looking forward to trying the rest. I wonder if the violet bonbons taste like the parma-violets I ate as a kid?

Spent the weekend out in a freezing wind inside of keeping cozy inside and knitting.

Portmore Loch
Luckily, the snow didn't arrive until Sunday night.

No sunset photos this week. Instead you're getting the start of the spring flowers:

For me, I consider spring has arrived when the daffodils flower and that's still a couple of weeks away yet and with snow forecast for tomorrow it's definitely still winter.

The "Must Have cardi" has been put on the back-burner for the past couple of days. Instead, I've been climbing up and down a step-ladder emulsioning walss. Great for toning the legs and backside. Thought I'd finished last night with the third coat but in the cold moring light I can see a few places that I've missed so it's decorating again tonight. And if I see any missed bits tomorrow morning it'll just sodding stay like that. Can't you tell how much I've enjoyed decorating - next time I'm paying decoraters!

Haven't done a reading review in a while, so you're going to get 2 for the price of 1.
"The Songlines" - Bruce Chatwin. I felt short-changed by this book. I was expecting a book on his travels in Australia with an emphasis on the Aborigines. Instead, a third of this book was extracts from his notebooks which consisted of quotations from a wide range of writers and anecdotes of prior travels.

"Three Junes" - Julia Glass. Winner of the 2002 National Book Award. For an award winner this book was littered with factual mistakes. If you're going to set a novel in a country you don't live in and have only visited on holiday about 25 years ago you think the author would do some research? Not Julia Glass. I won't bore you with a list of mistakes. I also can't believe this book won a prize, to me this book was very much a beach read. Read it once and put it out for the next charity collection.

If it's sunday it must be time for another sunset photo. This time a golden sunset. What does everyone prefere a red sunset or a golden one? I think I'll choose a golden one:

Hey, it's true photos can look completely different on different monitors. I posted the photo of my current project on my home computer and it looked fairly accurate colour-wise and you could see the cables. Today, I'm looking at it at work and it can be best described as a dark, indistinguishable blob. I have to turn the brightness control all the way before the cables start to emerge. So for everyone out there who just sees a blob I'm knitting the Must Have cardigan. I'm knitting the large size as I'm using DK weight wool which is of a finer gauge than the pattern calls for. I can never be bothered faffing around with all the maths so I just went a size up. Of course, after I had cast on and did an evenings worth of knitting on it I come across lots of blogs where they say the sizing comes out smaller than expected. So, after lots of worrying yesterday I got back home and measured the back as between 19 and 20 inches (depending on how much I stretched it)which will make a good sized cardigan.

So, next on my project list is knit the last sleeve for the Consuelo jumper. Nope, just knitted 2 sleeves for the Retro-Prep can't face another sleeve just yet. Number 3 on the list was Miriam or Mariah - nope but I am using the Patons green DK see:

Kate's tagged me. So here goes:


1. Total amount of music files on your computer?1.05GB or 17hr 29 mins 20 sec. I'm surprised that there's so much I still very much rely on my stereo for playing music.
2. Last CD you bought. Here's where I lose any street cred I ever had Robbie Williams "Greatest Hits". I think he's a self-conceited tosser but I love "Road to Mandalay".
3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message? That was in the car driving to work and it was Jolene by Mindy Smith.
4. Write down 5 songs you often liten to or that mean alot to you.
"Sand and Water" Beth nielson Chapman. Love, love, love this song. I could listen to it all day.
"Unloved" Jann Arden and Jackson Browne. I have about 5 tapes in my car and I never tire of the Jann Arden one.
"Spartacus " Khachaturyan. This reminds me of growing up. It specifically reminds me of Sunday evenings when the Onedin Line was on tv and it was compulsory family viewing.
"Rhiannon" Fleetwood Mac. I used to think Stevie Nicks was so cool.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen. We had many a drunken night singing this. I new all the words, could do the opera bits and I did a mean air guitar.
5. What 3 people are you going to pass this baton to and why?
This is difficult as it seems that everyone and their granny have already been tagged. So, I'm going to go for Heather as she's a fellow Scot and this might make her post more often. I'm also going to tag Debs 'cos she used to comment alot on the blog and hasn't in a while. I couldn't find a third person to tag that hadn't been tagged before o if anyone wants to volunteer?

I didn't like the neckline at first but now that it's been washed and ironed it doesn't bother me. I do wish that I had made it an inch longer in the body though - I had enough yarn.

I shouldn't be snapping photos and blogging when I'm soooo close to finishing Retro-Prep but I just looked up and there was this amazing sunset so I just had to take a photo:

Retro-Prep progress:



Using the flash always washes out the colour. I'll have to look at the manual to see if there is a way to adjust the strength of the flash. Hoping to finish a sleeve by the weekend.

Knitting stocking-stitch in the round has given me ample time to think about future projects. Look, I've even drawn up a list:

1. Finish Retro-Prep.
2. Knit the last sleeve of Consuelo.
3. Knit up the 26 balls of green Patons DK for a button-up cardigan (Miriam from Rowan 28) and a hooded zippy (Mariah from Knitty).
4. Knit up the 17 balls of light green Garnstudio tweed. I'm thinking Foxy and Palm from Rowan 27.
5. Legwarmers from Mission Falls Decade booklet.
6. More Gifted mittens but using a tighter gauge.
7. A hat with earflaps.
8. Clapotis.

This is a very fluid listing - the order has changed between writing it in a notebook and writing it in the blog. I realised that I was hankering after my bamboo needles (of which I only have 2 pairs) so the Patons has got bumped up the list.
This list uses all stash yarn that I bought with no specific project in mind. Once I clear this lot I'm aiming to revert back to just buying yarn for a specific project.

The blob that is my Retro-Prep:

Not very exciting to look at.

In recognition of Burn's Night:

SCOTS, wha hae wi’ WALLACE bled,
Scots, wham BRUCE has aften led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to Victorie!

Now’s the day, and now’s the hour;
See the front o’ battle lour;
See approach proud EDWARD’S power—
Chains and Slaverie!

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward’s grave?
Wha sae base as be a Slave?
Let him turn and flee!

Wha, for Scotland’s King and Law,
Freedom’s sword will strongly draw,
FREE-MAN stand, or FREE-MAN fa’,
Let him on wi’ me!

By Oppression’s woes and pains!
By your Sons in servile chains!
We will drain our dearest veins,
But they shall be free!

Lay the proud Usurpers low!
Tyrants fall in every foe!
LIBERTY’S in every blow!—
Let us Do or Die!

Robert Burns born January 25th, 1759

That's my 2nd favourite Burn's poem. My favourite is too long to be included here. It includes the very truthful lines:

(Auld Ayr, wham ne’er a town surpasses,
For honest men and bonie lasses).

Being born and bred in Ayr I like to think of myself as a bonnie lass.

Anyways the first person to name my favourite Burn's poem and to make it more difficult you've also got to name one other poem by Burns that mention's Ayr (can be the river or the town) gets a wee collection of Scottish sweeties.

Fellow Scots are not allowed to enter.

I had enough yarn.....just

I was just casting off the second sleeves and had about 10 stitches left to cast off when I run out of yarn. Just as well that I leave long tails when I cast on. I was able to use them to cast off those last 10 stitches. Luckily I had already done the neckband as I had done that before I had knitted the sleeves. I hadn't wanted to compromise on the height of the neckband so I got it out of the way as early as possible so I wouldn't be tempted to skimp on it.
Bit fed up of knitting with red so I won't be finishing that last sleeve on Consuelo yet.

I think we're going to make it. I've got 100g left for the rest of the Bond sleeves. I'm 6 rows from the last increase on the first sleeve and then have about 7 cm before the armhole shaping. I'm not 100% confident I'll make it but it's looking promising. While all this knitting has been going on there's not been much reading going on. Instead the DVD player is in overtime. Watched "Monster" and "Taking Sides". I was impressed by Charlize Theron in "Monster" - I never realised she was so tall.

The back of Bond is finished and I'm finished the waist-shaping decreasing on the front. I'm nearly half way through the yarn that I've got and I still can't decide if I've enough yarn for three-quarter sleeves. I usually follow one third for the back ; one third for the front and one third for the 2 sleeves but how much less does three-quarter length sleeves take?
DVD watchhing has healped me do so much knitting. I watched "The Stepford Wives" one night (an okay movie glad I didn't pay to see it at the cinema) and then last night I watched "One Hour Photo" (good film starring a very creepy Robin Williams).

Got some advertising blurb in the mail yesterday from Liz Earle about skincare. One of the points it raised was - get enough sleep and to remember the golden rule "An hour before midnight is worth two after". Never heard of this - is it true? Guess I'll have to start heading off to bed earlier if I want to eradicate the bags under my eyes.

The "These can not possibly be the same dyelot Tank" has been ripped back, put in a bag and hidden in the bottom of the yarn basket. I finished the Consuelo front and should have started the final sleeve but I decided I needed a stocking stitch project ro knit while watching DVDs. I've got 400g of a red 5ply wool so I may or may not have enough for three quarter sleeves. If not, it'll be a tank. The pattern I'm using is Bond from Rowan 28. The guage is out but I'm just knitting a smaller size so it should fit. I've decided on the other plain sweaters I'm going to knit - the Retro Prep from IK (it's got raglan sleeves); the Grand Plan Sweater from IK (it's got set-in sleeves and no waistshaping) and Bond has set-in sleeves and waist-shaping. They may all be plain but they all look different from one another.
Watched a good film on Saturday night "Finding Forrester" - though it could have done with less basketball.
Also, finiashed a book over the weekend "The Girls of Slender Means" by Muriel Spark. This was my first book by Muriel Spark and it may be my last. I didn't like her writing style and didn't think much of the story, I'll still give "The Prime of Miss Brodie" a chance. One of my 40 things to do while I'm 40 is to read more Scottish authors so I'm doing quite well on that Robin Jenkins, Andrew Greig and now Muriel Spark.

I've been feeling a bit down these past few days and I'd put it down to PMT but it just struck me at lunchtime that it's the book I'm reading. "The Stone Garden" by Molly Moynahan. It's all about the effect of death on the people left behind, told from a 17 years old perspective. It's well written but definitely depressing

I'm not a happy bunny:


and they were supposed to be from the same dyelot. Next time I'm going to knit under a bright light instead of in my usual gloomy half-lit corner. I guess I'd bet get ripping and next time alternate between the two skeins. Serves me right for not finishing Conseulo before diving in for a quickie project.

I've done my good deed for the day. I used to carry an Organ Donor card but I lost it along the way some years back and I've been meaning to get another one for quite awhile but it's just one of those things that you never get around to doing. Today I sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register. You can do it to online here.
Rebecca posted a great post yesterday - 30 things to do while she's 30. I may just have to create my own list. I turned 40 in September so I could do a 40 things while I'm 40 list. Becoming an organ donor can be No. 1 in the list.

What I did over the holidays:


I finished the sleeve and am about 20 rows away from finishing the front of Consuelo. I knit the back of a tank - the colours show up darker than they really are but when I used the flash you couldn't see the cables on Consuelo. I finished one parquet sock and read one book. Not bad but I was hoping to get more reading done than I actually achieved.

Every so often I regret deleting my old blog when I took what turned out to be a non-permanent break from blogging. I've been thinking about what my resolutions/goals for 2005 are and it would have been nice to look back at the 2004 goals I'd set (and failed at completing).

2005 Goals are:

1. Become tidier and more organised - I'm sure this was a 2004 goal. Hopefully this year I'll make some progress on it.

2. Knit my stash. Luckily, I don't have a large stash. What I do have is alot of eBay purchases in quantities that are probably a couple of balls short of what I'd need to knit the projects I have in mind. The quickest way to knit through the stash is stocking-stitch. So in 2005 I see alot of plain nd simple knitting. Thankfully, I don't mind knitting yards of stocking stitch.

3. Become more environmentally-friendly. The first step is to switch from moisturisers and cleansers containing synthetic chemicals. The products I'm currently testing are from Love The Planet and Green People. Greenpeace has an interesting section on chemicals in the body.

New Year, New Socks

Yeah, I finally managed to get my secret swap socks picked up from the DHL depot. Aren't they great? They were knitted by Michelle. It's great to get something knitted by someone else. Thanks Michelle.