Twit-Twooooo!

Did I ever tell you that I have a fascination for lots of different wildlife and some insects!  Few of my favourite animals include sheep, highland cows, elephants, giraffes but my all time favourite apart from my dog -who is wild, ( I will tell you about that later) is the barn owl.  The barn owl is mysterious, and that's what fascinates me about these beautiful sharp featured birds. The barn owl is....

Elegant, calm, confident and truly stunning.  Quite Regal looking in a sense.

And powerful.

So what better way to celebrate my fascination for this beautiful creature- than to cast on a pair of mittens, not just any old mittens though, Owl Mittens by SpillyJame. I've decided I'm not going to make the full mitten but the fingerless type with just one owl on each hand.

I'm also a tad thrifty, the yarn on the left is the remainder of the skein I was using for Norie- mmm! Yes, I did finish it in one day, and it's blocking while we speak.  I will post photos of that tomorrow. Now back to the owls, the other yarn is Schoppel Wolle Zauberball in Cranberry, beautiful rich reds, delicious to knit with.

This is my progress so far:

I'm really enjoying this pattern and can't wait to finish them and show them off, oh! and did I tell you they're all for me, cause I'm selfish like that lol!

Oh nearly forgot the wild dog story.  My O/H and I had an appointment very early on yesterday morning, and we never have any problems about leaving the dog alone or giving him the run of the house.

This is the wild thing.

Anyway, we arrive home an hour later and just manage to open the door, and he flies out, nearly knocking us over, he's all panicky. We are then hit with this awful smell of gas that is overpowering the whole house.   I manage to calm the dog down by placing him in the back garden and leaving him there while my O/H investigates the cause of the gas leak.  There's no gas leak, my bad puppers has been trying to get at some food from the work top- now he hardly looks like he's starving- next to the cooker and somehow managed to hit and twist one of the knobs on the cooker to turn the gas on.  I dread to think what would have happened if we hadn't arrived home when we did and thank heavens we don't smoke, or there would be no house, O/H, me or dog.  Thankfully Chievs is ok and doesn't seem any the worst after his hair brain caper, we still have a house, and we are still alive. However, we will need to be more vigilant about leaving food around, and we will need to turn the gas off when we go out anywhere.  Wonder what mischief he will concoct up for next time!!!

Decision Time!

Thank you, everyone, for taking part in my poll. I've decided -well I think I was always going to make it, if not now, then in the very near future. I've decided to go for Norie.  I've had my eye on the pattern for a long time, but  I've had the perfect yarn for longer.  I loved looking at the skein, squishing it, stroking it but just couldn't bring myself to wind it into a cake, just felt too final-that if I wound it into a cake too soon I would have to use it, and it would probably be used for the wrong pattern.  Don't get me wrong I love winding a skein into a cake but it has to be when the design feels right-strange I know- and this one certainly does, I'm thoroughly enjoying it.


The yarn I'm using is by Jon Dunn it's called Gun Metal and is a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon mix. It's beautiful and soft.  I'm not usually into knitting with grey, I prefer bright colours, like reds and purples but this just feels so right.

I can see myself wearing this hat a lot when it's finished.

It's soooo cute. I just love the Cats Paw pattern, close up they really do look like Cats Paws-sweet!  The pattern is so well written,  I can actually see myself finishing the hat today (which is quite embarrassing, as I only cast it on this morning)  as I'm enjoying it so much.

Anyway!  Did I tell you I ordered more yarn! This time it was too big to be shoved through the letterbox.  I don't know why I bought it, I really don't have a project in mind,  I just sort of had to have it.  It wasn't at all expensive, I bought it on eBay from this seller Kingcraig Fabrics  

I bought 2 of each in Verde, Pistachio and Navy.  The yarn -  100g balls of Merino/Angora mix at £3 each.  I think that really is a bargain!  I don't have a clue what I'm going to make with them, even though they have been wound into cakes already,  I bought them like that, honest.  And do you know what, I may even order some more, at that price I would be stupid not to =D.

Squishyness!

I love when I hear the postie pushing, rustling parcels through my letterbox and they land on the floor with a thud.  For one, I know for sure it's not a bill, or two, junk mail.  It's even better when you make it to the letter box, and there are two parcels teasing you to open them. Who am I to keep them waiting!  I already know what's inside them, no I'm not psychic, I've read the labels. Lol!

The first little parcel is from a swap I'm currently involved in, on the Pheonix Knitting Forum.  Everyone participating in the swap has to Knit (or crochet) 2 X 8" squares in the colour scheme of your partners choice. The squares are made up of DK weight yarn, then blocked to exactly 8" so it's easier when sewing them together.  Each month we send to a different person. The swap is ongoing each month of this year, by the end of the year, we will each have enough squares to make a friendship blanket for ourselves.  Which I think is very cool!

Following squares:  Made by Pinkshoes.

My first parcel, beautifully wrapped in pinkish red tissue and white ribbon.

First square. My colour scheme is Autumnal colours.

Second square.  My swapee has advised me there is grey in this square to represent the typical Central Scotland sky- which I have to add is very true.

We also send a postcard of where we live, to our partners, makes it more personal-well it is a friendship blanket you know.

My second parcel of squishiness is from the lovely Jon from Easy Knits.  Once again I am thrilled with the club selection

The yarn is called ember, a mixture of superwash merino and bamboo.

Also included in the parcel- Lush hand cream and a sock pattern.
I'm really in love with the colour of this yarn.  I would have to say- these are all my ideal colours rolled into one.
Well, I'm going to sign off now.  Think I might just sit, oohing and aagh ahhing, squidging and squeezing for the best part of the day. Bliss!!

Undecided!

Please help me decide what I should make next.  I have an awful case of startitis i.e. I want to start all of them. However I'm putting my foot down and I'm only allowed to cast on one. See directions on how to vote below:

Online Surveys & Market Research

TO VOTE: Just hit comment on the blue bar above and a new page will be displayed, then hit vote on the top left and cast your vote Shirley x

Weird Things That Pop Into My Head!

My O/H is sitting watching a film, and I'm sitting on the computer, smiling to myself like a goon lol. What am I smiling about, a silly ditty my mum used to sing to me when I was wee. Haven't got a clue why it has popped into my head, perhaps it's something to do with the name of the film my O/H is watching -Solomon Kane. The ditty in my head is this:

SOLOMON GRUNDY

Solomon Grundy,

Born on Monday,

Christened on Tuesday,

Married on Wednesday,

Took ill on Thursday,

Worse on Friday,

Died on Saturday,

Buried on Sunday:

This is the end

Of Solomon Grundy.

My mum has just told me her dad used to sing it to her when she was wee, looks like a family tradition.

Personally, I don't think there's much hope for me. Lol!

Countdown to the Big 4-0

Made By Sun Rae Products

Made by Sun Rae: Item prices range from £6 to £20. All items wrapped in tissue at no extra cost. Items can be found here: sun rae yarn and Made by Sun Rae

Shirley x

Yahooooo!

Weighed myself this morning, looked at the scales with one eye, couldn't believe what I was seeing so popped on them again and I was pleasantly surprised. In one week I have managed to lose 3lbs. So I'm on a high and walking around with a smile on my face. Feeling very smug! Long may it last and here's to losing another 3lbs next week, fingers crossed, if I lose less it's really no biggy as long as I lose something. Oh! And I know it's only 3lbs but I can already feel a slight difference around my middle, just under my bust, it doesn't protrude as much anymore =D

I'm Too Scared To Look!

Armed with a tape measure and shaky hands I decided I needed to see after 6 days if I had lost anything, from my wobbly bits. Standing half naked in the living room with a tape measure in hand, notepad and pen lying on the sofa I started measuring. I was too scared to look at the tape measure, pinched at a number between my hands, quick peek, standing in disbelieve and denial at what I was seeing. So I measured myself a 2nd and 3rd time just to be sure, yip the numbers were correct. I had lost 4cm off my hips, 2cm off my waist, 4cm off my arms and a whopping 6cm from under my bust, the only downer, I hadn't lost anything off my thighs = ( but heho, it's my upper body I need to lose weight from and after 6 days, I feel it's a good start. = D
Wonder what my weigh in will bring! 

Oh Dear..........

......what can the matter be? Poor wee Squirrel is going on a diet-tee (sorry I had to try and make it rhyme lol).
Why! Oh why! Do I make New Year Resolutions because now I have to stick to them! Yes, yesterday I decided to take the plunge and joined WeightWatchers online, aaargh! I have to admit, the diet does actually work, I lost 2 stone in 2001, but then I put it back on again a few years ago, sigh! So, I'm now a little lighter in the bank balance area, hopefully, in a few months time, I will be a lot lighter around my body area. My O/H's reply "yes, I will soon be able to chuck you over my shoulder". Hmmm! "caveman" springs to mind. Then again maybe he is thinking of proposing if I lose a lot of weight, perhaps my first thought is more accurate :D

So to motivate me, I have decided on a weight loss ticker:



This is me, running in the park, losing loads of weight. Fingers crossed and oh! Skinny clothes here I come.

Intentions For The New Year!

1. Exercise. Seriously, it’s time to get off my backside at least 3 times a week
My mantra is- Just.Do.It.
2. Work on portion control. I eat good food, I just eat too much of it.
3. Take care of my skin. I’m not as young as I used to be and it’s time to be proactive about it. (Big four-o this year)
4. Read more books. More reading has decreased significantly since knitting took
over my life.
5. Spin more frequently. I may even take up 10 minutes a day again.
6. Sketch more designs for my website. I don't draw as much, anymore.
7. To take up the offer of studying Buddhism.
8. To beat the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I've been suffering from.
9. Allow myself to be happy. This can be difficult for me, I think mostly due to the major traumas I have had in my life. I think somehow my mind gets all twisted and believes that if I am too happy something bad will happen – so I look for problems. It’s unconscious but I’d like to be more conscious about it and just allow myself to feel happiness without worrying about what will happen next.
10. Live in the moment.

Happy New Year!

Goodbye and good riddance 2010 and hello

Happy New Year! xx

Christmas Past (2010)

This is my new decoration. I have found myself staring at it and wondering what it would be like to live in it. Lol!
Well, Christmas seems like weeks ago, but I still need to write a blog post about this year’s holiday – if for no other reason than knowing that I will want to go back and read about it next year.

On Christmas Eve, Paul and I finished our food shopping, then we had our usual scurrying around trying to wrap each others presents-without the other seeing. I then made and decorated my traditional cookies, which I promptly wrapped before the cookie monster i.e. Paul, stole them. There were a lot of cookies this year.


Christmas morning, with my sister, niece, nephews, Paul and my mum.

My mum and sister exchanging photos on their mobiles, of the kids unwrapping their presents.

Sister and Kody looking at photos

Cool dude Kody with his Yoda t-shirt

My sister's dog Summer getting into the Christmas fun.

 
My Christmas gifts from Paul (mmm! I mean Santa)

 

I was good this year, loads of cool pressies. Audio Chi headphones (cool pressie, cool sound), Fossil watch, a Musical box loaded with Shortbread, Highland Soldier tin-with more Shortbread, Russian Nesting Doll, Knitting Nancy, DVD of Scrooge with Jim Carey, a Gruffalo, Fatface bag, scarf, hat and Hoodie. My super cool Merrle boots. I was a super spoiled Squirrel this year :D


More pressies from a knitting swap. These are from Knittingpat on www.knittingforums.org.uk

 Swap Pressie from Princess, again from the above group.

Snuggly gloves for my sister. Knotty-gloves by Julia Mueller.

I had a lovely Christmas this year, surrounded by my wonderful family, who I love very much.  xx