gipsy_dreamer asked me the following questions:


1: If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?

Given that world peace and freedom from hunger aren't on the agenda, I think it would be for Mr Beebarf to be wholly well and pain-free. Most of the other things I would like I can at least try to work towards. I can't do anything for Mr BB and it's so frustrating...

2: What are your favourite hobbies?

Knitting, reading and stitching. I've been doing the first two the longest - I learned to knit when I was about four, my mum starting me off on cotton dishcloths with a number 7 needle. For a long time, it was something I would dabble in, but just under two years ago, I was introduced to the knitpickers by a Bookcrossing friend, blackic and slowly got subsumed into an addiction, especially to socks and wraps...

I don't really remember learning to read, but I know I could read before I could knit. I've always loved books, and I'm so pleased to see my niece has a similar passion. One of my earlier book related memories is being given "Five on a Treasure Island" by my great aunt and my mum saying "Oh, it's probably a little bit old for you" - I would have been six at the time. I read it in a day, sitting under the dining table about three weeks later... I suppose it was inevitable really that I would end up doing a degree with a large Literature component...

I learned to sew and embroider from my mum, and also had lessons at school. I still have the mat I made when I was about 9, stitched on yellow binca. I started seriously stitching in the early 1990s, when I bought a cross stitch kit for my sister's birthday - it was of Piglet, from Winnie the Pooh. Piglet was my sister's nickname at the time. When I told my ma, she was doubtful that my sister would actually make the kit herself, and uttered the words "You'd better do it yourself" ... I did, and I was hooked. When I got online in the late 90s, I found wonderful communities of stitchers, as the flourishing of cross stitch coincided with the general take up of the internet, and some of these people have become real friends. My walls are covered with pieces I've worked, and I've given - and received - many many stitched gifts. As well as cross stitch, I have also worked pieces in needlepoint, hardanger, blackwork and freehand embroidery. My stitching mojo is overshadowed at the moment by my knitting, because knitting needs less concentration (and light!) but I can't see it ever leaving me.

3: Do you have a garden?

I live in a block of flats. It was built in the Seventies, so it has a sizeable communal garden round it which these days would have been more flats... I love having green spacea nd trees around, but I don't miss having a garden of my own, as they are such hard work to do properly! I come from a family of gardeners, so I do have the knowledge and skills, and would say that I'm green fingered - but I don't really have the enthusiasn for it!

4: Would your ideal "safe place" be a forest, a mountain, a beach or the countryside?

I think I would feel comfortable in any of these locations, but my absolute favourite would be the beach. Somewhere unspoiled, and not too hot - North Norfolk, Northumberland, most Scottish beaches (a Western Isles one would be Paradise) ... it's unfortunate really I live in a city almost as far away from the sea as it is possible to get in the UK.

5: What's your favourite scent and why?

I love the scents of spices - ginger or vanilla. My favourite soap is the Lush one 'Honey I Washed the Kids' which is chocolately and sweet and vanilla-ary although their Ginger range is a close second - I've loved it since the Cosmetics to Go days... but not a lot of people agree with me so it's mail-order only these days. I'm not sure why I've chosen these - they make me feel secure and happy, certainly.

I'm increasingly attracted to the scent of roses though these days - perhaps my true calling is as an aged, eccentric spinster aunt? I have fond memories of my mum's summer job helping at a rose nursery, and my sister and I being given free rein to run around the field and among the roses - I even learned how to graft them, and one of my 'jobs' was to dead head the bushes to keep them looking at their best for customers. So the scent of roses means summer to me ... and the names ... Zephirine Drouhin ... Whiskey Mac... Iceberg...Peace... Albertine...Blue Moon.


If you'd like five questions of your own, please add a comment to this post.

I've moved on from plain stocking stitch socks to patterned socks (and back again) but I'm so behind on photos you'll have to take my word for it!

Anyway, I knitted these in my 'patterned' phase from my favourite sock knitting book, Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. Originally, these were going to be for my own use, but the colours just are so not me (I still don't know what I was thinking of when I bought the yarn) that I gifted these to my Ma for her birthday. She seemed a tad underwhelmed when I gave them to her - well, you probably would be too if you'd been given woolly socks in late July! - but has since praised them for their warmth and fit, and has asked for another pair for Christmas ... so, I think they've gone down well in the end :o)

The rib was fairly straightforward and looks pretty without sacrificing elasticity - there's nothing worse than slouchy socks when you don't want them to be slouchy! My Ma has slightly smaller feet than mine, so thanks must go to a friend at my SnB group who not only has the same sized feet as Ma, but was prepared to try the part finished socks on in the pub so that I could calculate when to start the toe decreases!

I think, so far, Regia is my favourite of the easily available sock yarns. It knits beautifully, washes well and although it gets a little felty where it rubs, the yarn colours make it look great - especially the Kaffe Fassett colourways...

My knitting friends and I are off for a weekend of fun and frolics, which will involve yarn, tea, a ruined castle, Christmas lights and more handknitted accessories than you can shake a stick at ...

Full report on my return!

scatz1 suggested that the boys should get a weekly (or should that be wheek-ly?) post of their own, and the boys agreed, so, here's Rowan having a bit of a snooze...




It's just before they were cleaned out, hence the rather scruffy pen! This is one of Rowan's favourite spots - he's 'guarding' Jasper, who is curled up behind. They will share the pod, but prefer not too, I think it's a bit of a squeeze!




And here is Jasper nibbling the parsley bell. Both he and Rowan have worked out that they can lift and drop the bell to make a nice, satisfying (to them - annoying to us!) 'clunk' - which is sometimes used to call the slaves to service...

For the third year, I knitted hats for Innocent Smoothies The Big Knit campaign. These little hats will go on smoothie bottles and for each one sold, Age Concern will receive £0.35. I enjoy making these - this year I decided to experiment with stitch patterns from my various books, and they still took less than half an hour each to make from start to finish. Of course, I had to make some stripey ones too, it just wouldn't be the same without stripey hats!

These use up oddments of acrylic DK from mine and ma's stash. Since starting to make socks and using wool rich yarns for those, I've really moved away from using acrylic, so this puts it to good use.

The total this year was slightly down on last year, but I still made 74 :o)

Here they are, all neatly packed for shipping...


The smoothies will be on sale in the next couple of weeks in Sainsburys - there's going to be about 600 000 be-hatted little bottles, each of which will mean a donation of £0.35 to Age Concern, so look out for them - and buy them :o)

This project, because of the colours used, got subtitled 'The Sludge Monster', although my darling Ma used another word beginning with 'S' to describe the colours! I love my Ma,  but she is a bit of a one woman crusade for 'keeping your feet on the ground'...

I started this last year, and really tried to finish it, but there was always something more exciting going on. So, when my Stitch n Bitch group went away for the weekend in August, I packed this with the firm intention of getting it complete! And it worked - my motivation came back, and I only had the last square to do when we returned.I've left the start date on it though, I couldn't face the idea of frogging and restitching!


I love that this sampler contains two of my favourite motifs - beehives and sheep - as well as bunnies and blackbirds, of which I'm also rather fond!

The last square was always going to be more work. I really disliked the charted sheep in the original - I thought it looked more like a pig, so wanted to replace it with something else. The designer had produced a Sheep Sampler, but that sheep was too big for the space... so, out came the graph paper and pencils, and I shrank a sheep, kept the bird from the original, and now I know I genuinely have a unique sampler!



The button used is a vintage one from my tin - it may have come from my gran, but I think it's more likely from a charity shop or car boot sale. The big black snap I used (in place of the four small buttons the chart called for) on the other hand did come from my gran's stash, which I was given when she died. I rather like the idea of having something of hers in a piece that I've worked, as she did treasure the stitching I made for her.

The finished piece is framed now- I found a suitable frame in a charity shop, and my friendly framers stretched the piece and cut a mount to fit at a very reasonable rate. I'll try and remember to take a photo of that one day...

I'd just like to pop up and say 'thank you' for all the lovely comments I've had recently - it is appreciated. I know I'm not always regular in my posting -so it's great to know that people are still out there reading!

At the special request of pookledo , here are a couple of 'the boys', my  guinea pigs:

This is the old guy, Jasper. He's nearly six years old, but is ageing well :o) He is one of the most laid back guinea pigs I've had, and is an absolute love, nearly always up for a cuddle. Like Rowan, when one of us comes home, he comes out of his little house and he'd wag his tail if he had one, he loves people and is excited to see them. His favourite person in the whole world is Mr Beebarf - the two of them often snuggle and nap together! This picture is unusual in that Jasper's eyes are open when he's curled up on Mr B LOL! I think the pair of them have gathered round them every pillow and cushion in the flat!

I really like the Shepherd's Bush needlerolls  - and if anyone has charts from these needing a new home, I might be interested in buying or trading! I find them a good way to explore specialty stitches without getting too bogged down in a big project - and they do look attractive in a basket with other smalls.

This was a bit of a 'stash buster' project, as I used decorative pieces from my hoards of such things. I do seem to acquire pretties, and then not use them...

The big task with these needlerolls is the construction - I use a French seam, and I stitch and hem all by hand, it seems to take almost as long as the embroidery itself!

I followed the instructions for the body of the strawberry itself, although I also backed the piece with iron on interfacing. My fabric was a little small, so it was a question of crossing my fingers and hoping that it didn't fray too much when I gathered the top... The leaves I did differently to the instructions in the magazine, as they are just interfacing backed fabric, no wires. The ornament will hang, but Stacy, the recipient tells me it is going on display as it is.

A month or so ago I spent the afternoon minding Molly.

She already loves crafts and creating, so we spent a little time making puppets from a couple of kits I'd bought cheaply at Wilkinson's and then putting on a puppet show. I know I'm probably biased, but Molly has a fabulous imagination, and needs very little encouragement to tell stories!


Despite her short fingernails, Molly was ace at peeling off the backing on the sticky felt...



Molly called the bodkin a "magic pen" - I thought that was very apt!


I did have to guide the needle through the holes, but Molly pulled the yarn through - she liked that bit!


The finished tiger!

Molly had a good time - she keeps asking when is Auntie NicNic coming over to 'make stuff' again...

Please read!

(Tip o' the hat to blahflowers )

I'd like to welcome some new friends who have popped up after a little feelgood post on theladiesloos - happy to have you along, I hope it doesn't get too dull for you!

So, a little about me ...

• I'm forty. You may act shocked - I am
• I live in Sheffield, city of seven hills, five rivers and Richard Hawley.
• I share my life with Mr Beebarf, who is originally from Canada, and two guinea pigs,Rowan and Jasper, who aren't
• I work on a freelance basis in a number of roles, but my main one is management within a circus theatre company
• I'm studying for a part time degree in Literature and Creative Media - I'm in my fourth year (of six)
• My passions are books, knitting and cross stitch - I'm a member of Bookcrossing, ReadItSwapIt, Bookmooch, a knitting group (knitpickers) and as of last night, the Women's Institute.
• I have a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis but I'm fortunate - it appears to be one of the mildest cases and I'm pretty functional

If there's anything else, you'll probably find it out sometime...

I have just done my 2008-09 Tax Return online - way before the 31 January deadline, and even before the 31October deadline for paper submissions...

It was surprisingly painless, possibly because I set up an accounting system for a friend when she went self-employed, and I just used that, and religiously kept all my receipts!

And best of all, because I've been working part time throughout this period, and paid some tax from when I was employed, HMRC only want £26.95 from me!

Still gotta keep saving though, as my 2009-10 tax bill will be rather more ...

Hopefully - I've just applied for a role as an Arts Council Assessor.

Fingers crossed I'll be selected. It could be rather fun, getting paid to go and see shows and exhibitions!

I laughed with pleasure when I found out what poem my knitted 'N' was part of. It's a poem that means quite a lot to me, I studied it for A Level and my renewed passion because of this poet's work pushed me towards my degree and all the life changes I've made since...

So, without further ado ...

 In My Craft or Sullen Art

In my craft or sullen art

Exercised in the still night

When only the moon rages

And the lovers lie abed

With all their griefs in their arms,

I labour by singing light

Not for ambition or bread

Or the strut and trade of charms

On the ivory stages

But for the common wages

Of their most secret heart.

 

Not for the proud man apart

From the raging moon I write

On these spindrift pages

Nor for the towering dead

With their nightingales and psalms

But for the lovers, their arms

Round the griefs of the ages,

Who pay no praise or wages

Nor heed my craft or art. 

 

Copyright Dylan Thomas.

I haven't spotted my letter yet on any of the pictures I've seen so far, but I'm hoping to see it in person when it goes to Manchester.

 

Design: Poetry Society Letter

Yarn: Emu Superwash Wool

Needles: 3mm

 

I finished my Poetry Society letter for their gigantic knitted poem - we still don't know what it will be but all will be revealed next month, and I'm sure we'll all have fun trying to spot our letters!

 

You can probably see from the books behind me that I'm into words, lots of words, so it's no surprise that I chose to participate in this, along with some other knitpickers .

 

We were asked to attach a label to the back with our name, location and favourite poem - my favourite is Ithaca by C P Cavafy. It's seen me through bad times, good times, tough decisions and life choices ... so I've added it here, because sometimes, we need to think that it's about the doing, not the result - whether that is life, cross stitch, knitting ...

 

ITHACA

C.P. Cavafy

translated from modern Greek by Rae Dalven
 

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygonians
and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first time
with such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.

 

I'm going to see The Men They Couldn't Hang on Friday in Sheffield!

Does anyone want to come along? Tickets are £14.50 (inc fee) from Plug ...



I can't tell you how many times I've seen these guys, and it's always been a blast! The audience is getting older, and podgier, but I guess that's to be expected - I went to my first TMTCH gig in 1989...

(eek!)

The band and the fans will be as friendly as always, and the music of course will be great!


This song reminds me of my first serious boyfriend ... my relationship with the band lasted longer than he did ... :o)