A long time coming!

I visited Occupational Health at work the other week to have my regular bloods done to monitor the medication I'm on for the RA. My lovely colleagues there took one look at me and announced I looked blooming awful (just as well the old ego is not tooo fragile, isn't it?) and told me to take 2 weeks off work to rest. I've done as I was told - MrB only wishes he had the same gift of getting me to do his bidding;o). Some of those hours have been wiled away working through the endless pile of WIPs amassed over recent months (who are you kidding, Blogblethers ... several years!!)

One down, several more to go!

Noro Top with short sleeves

Designed by Jenny Watson in Noro Designer Mini Knits

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, Colour 264
Skeins: Pattern called for 4 but I purchased 5 skeins to ensure colour around the neck line
Size: L
Started: January 2008 and e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y finished September 2008!!

ooOoo

The lovely Aknita ( http://aknitasknits.blogspot.com) touched me greatly by nominating me for The Brillante Weblog award. Am not sure about you, but I never feel quite blog-worthy enough to be acknowledged in such a lovely way... H0wever, I just wanted to say thank you to Aknita for her support and friendship over the past few years and to say please head over to her site to see some of the most beautiful Forest Canopy Shawls you will ever see!


Without further ado, I'd like to 'pass on the honours' to some bloggers who brighten up my cyber reading!

The Rules:
The rules for award acceptance are as follows:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her website/blog.
2. Add a link to the person who gave you this award.
3. Nominate at least 7 other websites/blogs.
4. Provide links of the nominated websites/blogs.
5. Leave a message at each website owner that you´ve nominated.

My nominees, in no particular order, are:
1. a little fuzzy (http://alittlefuzzy.wordpress.com)
2. All fingers and thumbs (http://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.com)
3. Clickety Clack (http://cyclingknitter.blogspot.com/)
4. fluffyknitting (http://fluffyknitting.blogspot.com)
5. Irish eyes (http://irisheyesknitters.blogspot.com)
6. Riggwelter's (http://riggwelter.wordpress.com)
7. two knits of ivory (http://twoknitsofivory.blogspot.com)

One day I'll master this linking business!

Colour therapy...

Phew ... mid January already! Like many others in blogland have already said, I find much of January a flat, dismal driech month. Those endless days of steely grey, heavy skies ... the cold ... rain ... all seem to impact my mood a little and there's not much pleasure in reading about it here is there? However, there is one brighter, happier note always in this drab month too - DD1's birthday. Tomorrow my young lady turns 19 years old and has achieved much over the past year - she completed her A levels and gained a place at University, studying for a BA in Business Excellence; she passed her driving test and bought herself her first car; she's continued to work part-time and has recently announced her engagement. I thought that I'd managed to pass on my aversion to the marital status - but MsB is obviously less cynical in the romantic front than me;) Her presents are to be wrapped tonight and, one year, the poor lamb will receive gifts that are NOT wrapped in Christmas paper - but the tradition will continue for this year at least!

Whilst some folk have signed up to Project Spectrum to inject colour into these dreary months, I didn't feel able to commit to such a long term project. Instead, I have developed my own version of this colour/life enhancing strategy ... I've cast on another project! I'm knitting a short sleeved cardigan from a Noro pattern book I'd not come across before, Noro Designer Mini Knits by Jenny Wilson.


The pattern is really straightforward and is knitted in Noro Silk Garden. I've used a couple of other Noro yarns (Kureyon, Blossom and Iro) before and have found Silk Garden much softer on the fingers than others used in the past. The stitches are to be picked up around the neck and the seams sewn and that'll be my first big FO for 2008!



This colour filled inspiration came about in my LYS, Yarns N Yarns (Penarth, Cardiff). Having popped in there to buy a set of dpn's to cast on Jitterbug socks, I succumbed and bought the Noro yarn and pattern book. 2 pairs of bamboo straight pins also fell into the basket and THESE! I love these buttons and have no clue yet what project will eventually be knitted around them .... but till then I'm just going to enjoy looking at and loving them!


DD1 has 'encouraged' (read 'pestered', 'nagged' or 'cajoled') me to return to the dreaded Blue Mile project - the pseudonym for the Sirdar Sweater Dress pattern she wants finished. There has been progress on this front too and it's to be my 2nd FO for this year. The back and most of the front are completed...


I'm not sure where I went wrong with the girls .... they both love knitted boredom, or to subject me to those type of projects:( DD2, the Princess of Chavsville, never asks for any knitted items usually - but had requested that mum produce a white, garter stitch scarf. Here it is!

The yarn is a chenille-type baby yarn purchased from Hobbycraft, Newport and I used 3 out of the 4 purchased balls to get the length MissB desired. The same yarn was purchased in a baby pink shade to make a similar version for her elder sister ... and it'll be cast on the next time I need a knitting lobotomy:)