Melody Yarns Knits

2009-12-14T21:59:00.003Z

What Happened to My Blog?

Well like many bloggers these days I moved. I moved to Facebook. You may, of course, pop over and see what I'm doing over there, but I'm my home is open to visiting on a friends-only only basis.

I may well update my blog in the next few months but... it's quite unlikely. I like the small, cosy world of Facebook where I can exchange virtual gifts with mates and play games of Bejewelled Blitz and Farkle and where I can share information and photographs without having to be casreful that the whole world is watching.

I'm here: Deb's Facebook Page
so come and see me when you're over there!

Debs xxx

2009-09-18T20:26:00.002+01:00

When Top Down Hits, It Hits Bad

Once upon a time, I made all my sweaters in pieces, casting on at the bottom rib and knitting to the neck, then sewing all the pieces together to produce a final garment. The only problem with this method is that I absolutely detest sewing up and many of my completed projects sit waiting to be sewn up for weeks, even months, before I actually get round to doing it.

I had read about knitting in one piece from the bottom up, but the thought of all those stitches on the needles ~ and horrible twisty, metal circular needles at that ~ made me shiver. I steered well clear.

But I spotted the February Lady Sweater that was very popular with internet-connected knitters last year and I knew I had to try it. But it was knitted top down, starting at the neck. I knew I had to take the plunge and after a few weeks I had finished this:

Best of all? No sewing up!

My interest had been piqued. Over Easter I was drawn to cast on for my very own Liesl that I knitted in about ten days, from the top down, and again, no sewing involved at all in piecing it together. Okay, there were ends to sew in, but that's by the by:

And then I happened upon the Chevron Lace cardigan that was *gasp!* crocheted from the top down. I couldn't resist such a challenge and I produced this little number:

Not only top down but my first ever crochet garment.

And I have been besotted with top down knitting ever since. I've been trawling the net for top down patterns, I've been trawling Amazon for books with top down patterns, I've joined a top down Knitalong and I'm totally in love with top down!!

My current project, in case you're wondering, is a raglan cardigan with short sleeves that I'm knitting in an acrylic mix aran yarn. And yes - it's top down!

2009-09-04T13:25:00.002+01:00

Update!

I shall be back for a more complete update in a few weeks.....

2009-08-20T09:10:00.002+01:00

Crochet Excitement!

I completd my first ever crochet garment whilst I was on holiday recently and have definitely caught the crochet bug... but the patterns I've found so far online have been less than appealing to say the least :(

Until yesterday evening.

I'd already found Interweave Crochet magazine at Get Knitted and planned on buying a couple of back issues; Pictish had also recommended the mag, so that was my plan. Then I realised that I could buy individual patterns from the magazine via the Interweave website. Result!

Here's the garment that started my mad-crochet-pattern-search, it's the Chevron Lace cardigan. Worked in one piece from the top down in a lovely chevron lace pattern (hence the name I guess!) and a very economical project as it only used 2.5 balls of Patons 100% Cotton DK :

I should try the Big Bow cardigan (but without the bow) as apparently it's fairly straightforward, but I quite fancy trying my hand at the Butterscotch cardigan as it's my kind of thing. Will it be too difficult for a novice crocheter? Time will tell!

2009-07-24T10:19:00.003+01:00

Strange Ball of Yarn!

I started a new aran project last night and as I started to cast on, I pulled the yarn from the middle of a 400g ball of aran. I pulled out a right mess and was really surprised at what I found!
The centre of the yarn wasn't a long length at all - it was a huge bundle of smaller sections of yarn, all about 30cm (or 12 inches) in length. There weren't just one or two of them, there was a huge handful:

At first I though a mouse had somehow got into the centre of the ball ---- but the balls of yarn had been in a bag that had no signs of rodent activity, and the ends hadn't been chewed and there were no tell-tale 'mousey' signs in the ball!

Mr M thinks that somehow, somewhere, in the balling up process, someone has shoved a load of ends into the centre of the ball to make up the weight! He has a suspicious mind!!

I should add that the yarn was bought a while ago from a mail order company that has now gone out of business but the yarn was actually produced by a well-known spinning company.
I've never had this happen before - how odd!!

If anyone can throw any light on this I'd be very interested to hear!

2009-07-15T12:35:00.005+01:00

A Few Timely Updates

I realised that I haven't shown you any of my finished items lately (although you can see them by clicking on the Flickr slideshow at the side of my blog) so here are a few things that have been finished recently:

A pair of plain ordinary socks knitted in Opal Prisma, terracotta colourway

A little baby jacket knitted in Novita Marine DK for a friend's new baby boy

A fusion knit cardigan knitted in Hayfield Authentic Cotton Rich DK

in a beautiful, pale terracotta shade

These three finished items have something in comon - they are all knitted using yarn that has been received as part of a swap of some sort, either Karma swap or straight yarn swap. I think that a good proportion of my yarn stash is beginning to share that common factor!

I'm now working on a chevron lace crochet cardigan that I'm working from the top down. It's a real first for for as not only have I never crocheted a garment top down before, I've never CROCHETED a garment before! It's turning out extremely well and I only have a few more repeats to work at the bottom of the bodice before it's done.

I'm also working on a pair of bright, primary coloured socks for Dan to take camping in a few weeks time. I'm up to the heel of the second sock so they should be finished in a few days too.

The summer WIPs are soon to be hibernated though because there's no point in finishing off summer knitwear just as the Autumn mists start to roll in is there?

2009-07-13T20:13:00.002+01:00

A Very Green Day

I've had a very green day today :)

I've dried three loads of washing outside and saved electricity because I haven't used the tumble dryer (I never use the tumbler when I can dry washing by any other way though), I walked to the post office instead of using the car when I went to post some woolly parcels, and I've recycled three lots of yarn to other people via the Karma forums. The recycling of yarn with added karma is a fabulous idea and I urge you all to try it :)

We had a very green day yesterday too, taking two overgrown trees and an old fence that was really a health and safety hazard down to the recycling skips in the city where my parents live. The trees were terribly overgrown and Dad is so old and frail now that he is unable to chop them down, and the fence had fallen down several years ago. There's lots more to do in my parents' garden, but it's a start! Next time I promise I'll take some photos!!

2009-06-28T22:02:00.002+01:00

ANTS!

We were away for the weekend in the caravan in the Peak District, helping my dad to celebrate his 80th birthday and had a lovely time.... we came home and I put some washing into the washing machine. When the wash cycle ended and I was taking the washing out of the machine to dry on the lin outside, I noticed there were several ants by the side of the washer; they seemed to be crawling from under the kick panel at the bottom of the sink in the utility room.

Now we've had ants under the back door step for a while, but they've also migrated to patio and near to the front door. A quick shout to Mr Melody who started to swat them as best he could. And then.... he pulled the kick panel off the sink unit.... and there were hundreds of ants. Small ones, big ones with wings... crawling out of the hole around the drain pipe

I really don't like ants and it made me feel sick but strangely fascinated... I couldn't help Mr M at all :(

Luckily Mr M managed to swat almost all of them (goodness knows how he did it) and squirted them with ant powder, but I can't get the thought out of my head and I've been itching all afternoon.

Someone tell me it's not just us!

2009-06-20T20:16:00.007+01:00

Blaze

I finally managed to finish my Blaze jacket off this week. I was unhappy that the sleeves looked far too long after finishing and so I gave it my usual handwash and dry flat treatment. I was also able to seam press it because I had used a cotton yarn:

You can still see that the sleeves are a touch too long; next time I knit this jacket I'll knit the sleeves an inch shorter and possibly decrease a couple of stitches around the back neck band.

I knitted Blaze in Patons 100% Cotton DK in the Pomegranate shade on 4mm Brittany Birch needles; I left off the pockets and I made a few minor modifications when shaping the neckline.

As I was sewing Blaze together I thoght that it would only be fit to wear in the caravan as a throw-on cardie in the evenings. I have, however, worn Blaze with a pair of smart trousers and a smart white top and it looked great! So it's been promoted to my 'good' knitteds pile rather than my 'scruffy' knitteds pile!

And Finally - a close up of Blaze's fully-fashioned goodness:

2009-06-14T18:33:00.003+01:00

Hay Fever?

My nose is absolutely streaming and I feel under the weather.... I don't think I'll be working tomorrow if I feel like this!

2009-06-06T20:43:00.001+01:00

Mr M Back in Town

Mr M is back from his foreign travels and has unloaded his suitcase into the washing basket.
And it's raining :(

2009-05-30T10:23:00.003+01:00

Camping ShakeDown

You may remember that we bought a brand new caravan back at Easter time and I'm happy to report that we have just returned from our very first camping holiday with said 'van. We probably had the best family holiday we've ever had and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Yes, it rained some of the time, and yes, the weather was cool because we were up in the Welsh mountains, but it just means that we all need lots of camping jumpers, hoodies and socks for next time!

We arrived and Mr M reversed the caravan into the pitch with little or no difficulty whatsoever (the joys of having driven a truck in his younger years!) and we put up the awning easily:

We stayed in a beautiful part of North Wales where there were trees, wildlife and wild flowers:

And had the added benefit of being within travelling distance of Stash of Chester....

Much to my surprise, Mr M insisted that I called into Colinette on the way home as we literally drove straight past the door! You can understand that it would have been rude not to buy something as I was forcibly pushed in through the door whilst the boys had sandwiches and drinks in the caravan on the car park...

And the best thing about leaving and coming back home? We're going back to spend our two weeks holiday there in the summer!

2009-05-10T19:50:00.006+01:00

LK 150 Arrives Back Home

I loaned my Silver Reed LK 150 knitting machine to a friend several years ago and went over to her house last week to pick it up as it has an important job to do; I've been asked to teach the children in littlest Little Melody's class to knit and I thought that the younger and less dextrous children could use the plastic bed machine to produce some knitting and feel included in the 'knitting workshop'. I cleaned and oiled the machine this afternoon, cast on and knitted a few rows. The Little Melodies heard the commotion and wanted to knit of course :-)

I was quite surprised that they found it so easy to use and they were soon whizzing away on it, the littlest Melody announcing that he was knitting a washcloth for himself!!. They were so excited and encouraged by the ease of the machine that littlest Little Melody is taking his yarny masterpiece to Show and Tell on Tuesday to show all his friends at school! I can see lots of blankets being produced by Class 2 this term, the only problem is that I'll have to do the finishing by hand.

The LK150 is cleaned and oiled and ready to start work

Two pieces of yarny artwork produced with the flick of a wrist

The LK 150 is so light, compact and easy to set up that I'm thinking about using it in the caravan when we go on holiday.

Now THAT is what I call a home from home!

2009-04-30T19:05:00.002+01:00

Completion

The Rossetti/Cecilia combo cardie is completed; all I have to do now is wash and block the main parts and then piece them together. And another fusion knit cardie pattern has been re-written, a tension swatch knitted, washed and blocked and the Bank Holiday weekend is just around the corner...

2009-04-29T09:22:00.003+01:00

Making Progress

Well my knitting certainly seems to have moved forward these past few weeks! Maybe it's because I'm not spending so much time surfing the 'net! I dusted off and oiled my mid-gauge knitting machine at the weekend and managed to complete the second sleeve and both front on my Rossetti/Cecilia combination cardigan; it's been sitting half made for several months so it's about time it was finished. The reason it went into hibernation is that I wasn't happy with the very shallow neck shaping of Rossetti and I wasn't overjoyed with the shallow borders either. However, a flash of inspiration found me combining two of Louisa Harding's designs to come up with a deeper neckline and garter stitch edges, both of which seem to have worked well. (I only have another front band and the neckband to do before the dreaded sewing up - yuck!

Here's what the cardigan looked like before with just the back and one sleeve knitted:

Hopefully I'll have more to report on its progress this weekend!

2009-04-25T16:38:00.004+01:00

Spring is Finally Here!

I can tell when Spring has made an appearance, it's when the winter clothes are packed away in readiness for next Autumn, and the Spring and Summer clothes and shoes come out of hibernation. I've sorted out a large pile of clothes to recycle so there will be plenty of room in the wardrobe for any new ones that I buy!

Talking of new clothes, I've completed a fair few knitted things:

The first one is Liesl, that was my Easter knitting project. This was a really quick and easy knit, top down cardigan that took a bargainous three-and-a-half 100g balls of Sirdar Spree chunky to knit. I knitted it on a 7mm circular needle and used 7mm wooden DPNs for the sleeves. It only took about thirty minutes to sew the yarn ends in and stitch the buttons on to complete it once the knitting was done. I bought the Spree chunky from Kemps Woolshop a couple of years ago as it was being discontinued, so in total Liesl cost about £2.40 in yarn and I already had the buttons in stash. Bargain!!!

Liesl cardigan

Another bargain is the Coffee Sorbet jacket that I finished sewing up this week too. I knitted this in the now discontinued Patons Sorbet chunky yarn that I bought again for the princely sum of 69p from Kemps Woolshop. I used 12 x 50g balls for this, making it £8.28 for the yarn and once again the wooden buttons were in my stash already.

Coffee Sorbet jacket

Two cotton, handknitted cardigans for under £11? Completely bargainous, don't you think?

PS - if you're thinking of grabbing a bargain at Kemps Woolshop, here is the direct link: http://www.kempswoolshop.com/home.aspx
Save some yarn for me won't you?

2009-04-11T12:03:00.005+01:00

Happy Campers

Last weekend we picked up 'the big thing' that we've been thinking about for quite a while - a lovely new caravan! It's a Dethleffs Rally Nomad 640V. We parked in on our drive and we tentatively spent the last two nights sleeping in it. The boys were so excited on the first night that virtually no-one got any sleep - they went to sleep at 10.30pm and woke up with the birdsong at 5.30am! Consequently, everyone felt the effects yesterday and not surprisingly, we all had a good night's sleep last night.

This is the wonderful thing parked outside on the drive:

and this is the view of the inside:

the kitchen area

the living area

the boys have fixed beds

After just two nights, I can honestly say that it's warm, cosy and very comfortable and there's lots of space and light. There is also plenty of storage space, a big fridge and a lovey shiny cooker and hob.

All we have to do now is decide where we're going on our summer hols and I have to knit a few camping cardies and caravanning socks for the Melody Mob!

2009-03-31T19:47:00.000+01:00

Wow....

...I'm tired. I've obviously been working hard again!

2009-03-29T19:03:00.002+01:00

At Last!

I can show you the dishcloths I knitted for the dishcloth swap:

both knitted from the Wedding Washcloth pattern by Purl Bees. I knitted one in moss stitch in Wendy Supreme Cotton DK in Toasted Almond and the paler, stocking stitch one in cream Novita Tennessee cotton. Both are fabulous cottons for washcloths and/or dishcloths and I recommend them both.

And 'At Last!' we bought a rather large item yesterday. I'll tell you more about it next weekend *wink*

2009-03-28T09:56:00.004Z

Cotton On to Good Stuff

Well as you know I popped into Cucumberpatch/K2tog last weekend... and this is what I came home with:

A garment's worth of each shade. I'm really happy with this purchase as I've been wanting the Leaf, Thistle and Poppy shades for ages. I also wanted six balls of a shade called Toasted Almond but there wasn't enough stock in the shop unfortunately and so I decided to buy a garment's worth of Twilleys Supreme Cotton DK, which is a lovely organic cotton with a more matte appearance. Unfortunately it's twice the price per 100g :-(

I was lucky in that I found the Toasted Almond online though, so bought it as I know I'll regret it if I don't!

It's a slightly mauvey,beigey colour in real life and difficult to describe. It will, however, knit up beautifully into a one colour version of Valentina from the new Rowan book The Lenpur Linen Collection that I can't wait to start. I want to finish Blaze first though!

2009-03-22T13:46:00.002Z

The Topic of Conversation

I popped into K2Tog in Wolstanton yesterday afternoon as I was up in Stoke-on-Trent visiting my parents for the day; I always try to pop into K2Tog when I'm there as it's usually the only physical yarn shop I get to visit. I was wearing my February Lady Sweater over a white top and with my jeans and I was slightly embarassed to find that everyone, including the ladies who worked in the shop, were interested in the pattern, yarn and how the garment was made :-?

I did let them in on the secret though, explaining how the garment is knitted top down and how the sleeve stitches are held on waste yarn before completing them on DPNs. I think there may be a few more FLSs in circulation after my visit! lol!

My dad looked ill though, he has his follow up visit at the hospital on Wednesday...

2009-03-09T10:07:00.002Z

On to New Things

Spring is just around the corner, the evenings are getting lighter each day and the weather is warming up and so it seems the right time of year to look forward to the warmer summer months and to cast on for projects new.

Henrietta was completed but the result isn't good; the cardie is far too big and the neckline far, far too low and so it will be frogged and the remaining yarn used to knit another, more suitable cardie. It looks fine in the pic, but looks horrendous when it's on!

Never mind, we live and learn! As one door slams in your face another one is always guaranteed to swing open and with this in mind I cast on the stitches for a new Seaton cardigan in Spring Green, Zettl Colorado cotton:

I wore my Seaton cardie a lot last year and it's a design that I know fits well. I'm knitting it in one shade again like the previous Seaton and so far I like the way it's coming out.

"Socks? Socks?" I hear you cry. Yes, I have a pair on the needles as I need to replace my socks from this year. I seem to have worn my woolly socks loads this year and sadly had to chuck my pink Kim socks into the recycling bin after they developed holes in the toes. So here are the latest socks in tanny, rusty Opal Prisma that I think I got in swap of some description from Murdo. They will always remind me of her orange muppety fur anyway!

2009-02-26T11:05:00.001Z

Dishcloths A-Go-Go

I've just set up the Dishcloth or Washcloth Swap 2009 on Swap-Bot for all the forum members - get signing up!

2009-02-23T20:27:00.004Z

More Good Karma

I received some fabulous karmic swaps this morning and I am still knocked out by people's generosity and kind hearts:

I received some fabulous Spring cotton mix sock yarn and some luvly Spring flavoured Regia sock yarn through the Neverending Sock Yarn Karma Swap, along with some dark choccie and some fabulous novelty buttons which I didn't expect and were therefore doubly fab!

And a lovely parcel arrived from Croatia.... in the packet, well packed with bubble wrap and in their own little personalised packet, were two sets of the most gorgeous stitch markers that have been lovingly hand-made and posted to ME! Again, in the packet was another unexpected surprise of some wonderfully aromatic teabags that I will save for when the house is quiet and I have half an hours' knitting time scheduled.

On a less positive note, there has been something playing on my mind of late that, I have to say, disappoints me somewhat. I cannot for the life of me understand why certain people continue to judge other people and their actions by their own low standards. Enough said. Karma will prevail I have no doubt of that.

2009-02-20T16:11:00.004Z

A Fun Fur, Fun Filled Scarf

Those who know me well will know that I don't have a lot of fun fur in my stash - I received this in a Karma swap recently and knitted two balls of it up into a soft and silky scarf for my mum:

I like it so much that I'll probably knit one for myself and STILL have yarn left over! lol! So thank you, Kath in Manchester for this swap yarn :-)

I used two 50g balls of Knitting Craft Knitting Yarn (exactly what it says on the label) on 6.5mm Brittany Birch needles and knitted until I only had enough yarn to cast off. It's not a hugely long scarf but I don't want my mother tripping over it, now do I? *smiles to self*

2009-02-06T09:46:00.001Z

Deb is

currently obsessed with Facebook. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

2009-02-01T14:32:00.000Z

Livin' La Vida Loca

I've got far too much time on my hands!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MmwzEhwScug

2009-01-30T11:15:00.004Z

Sparks Fly

off the sewing up needles and I've sewn up (don't faint Dreamcatcher and FatCat!! lol!!):

or rather darned the ends in of my February Lady Sweater. Knitted in Wendy Aran with Wool in a lovely, deep red shade called Venetian Red and fastened with horn buttons from my button stash. Took bang on 400g of yarn - I only had about 30cm left after the final cast off! Eeeep!

AND....

Ta Da!! The Sirdar hoodie from Simple Easy Knits booklet, design F. Adapted for the knitting machine and knitted really quickly. The downside being that it's taken .... err..... months to sew up... proving that you can't rush a good thing!

2009-01-20T12:35:00.008Z

Three of 24

Another hat no less:

And look what Jim brought for me this morning :))

Boring bits you need to know: knitted in Loweth Windermere aran that I 'found' whilst stash-diving for something else (heh heh!!) and knitted on 5mm Pony Rosewood needles. Pattern is Design H from Hayfield Favourite Aran Knits which Jim brought for me the other day if you remember. There are some stunning aran designs in this booklet and well worth getting your own Jim to deliver it for you ;)

Off to make a large coffee and browse Rowan 45...

2009-01-16T12:01:00.002Z

The One Where Pepsi Adopts Sock Yarn

Our two little kittens are fast becoming adult cats. They might be sisters but they are so different in temperament; Cocoa is becoming quite chubby and really can't be bothered to do much if it involves jumping or running and she loves anything that resembles an elastic band. She has been known to steal elastic bands from shelves and steal those rubber charity wristband thingies to snuggle up to.

Pepsi on the other hand is far more active and can already jump our six foot fence from the garden (whereas Cocoa has rather cunningly dug herself an escape tunnel underneath the fence) and likes anything that makes a crinkly sound. Over Christmas she was spotted on more than one occasion making off with a crinkly-paper-wrapped sweetie in her mouth from the box of Quality Street on the coffee table and has taken rather a shine to one of Little Melody's soft toys, a little piglet called Pigsley.

Just look what I caught Miss Pepsi making off with this morning, holding it in her mouth like a kitten:

The leftover yarn from The Biker Beanie Hat which I'd finished just a few hours earlier and put everything on the desk ready to take a photo of:

Maybe Pigsley will be let off the hook now?

2009-01-13T21:42:00.003Z

I 'Heart' Jim the Postman

Just look what he brought for me today!

Yes, I really do love Jim the Postman.

2009-01-10T09:30:00.002Z

As I Promised

I went off to take photos of my current projects and here they are:

A hat and fingeless mitts set for my friend's Christmas present. Mitts completed between Christmas and New Year but the hat is the first one of my 24 in 2009. Yay me!! The hat does need a ribbon threaded through the eyelet holes to finish it off though so I've got to get that :?

Mr Melody liked the hat for my friend so much that he wanted one for himself, but a bloke's version. Here's a biker beanie hat that is supposed to be worn under a cycling helmet. He wants to wear it under his safety helmet on site and I don't see the difference. So I cast on!

Almost finished, just a sleeve to go. The ubiquitous February Lady Sweater in Wendy aran.

And the rest! My cap sleeved, one button cardie in grey Pioneer DK, the start of Henrietta's second sleeve and the yarn and needles for Blaze. Half of Blaze is done but is currently in hibernation.

That completes the round-up of current WIPs Chez Melody. I'd like to finish Mr M's biker Beanie first as it's so cold at the moment. He hasn't been on site yet this New Year but he'll want it when he does! Swiftly followed by the FLS which I want to wear. Better get crackin' then eh?

2009-01-09T11:03:00.003Z

Is it Really Two Weeks Since Christmas?

I guess it is! I hope you all had a Happy Chrsitmas and that 2009 is getting off to a good start.

2009 is supposed to be the Year of the Stashalong for me and I've devised a method to help me to control those yarn buying urges. I have printed off twelve yarn buying 'vouchers' and put them into my Yarn Bank. If I want to buy yarn I have to use one of the vouchers per 'lot', so one voucher per jumperful, scarf-ful, or whatever. Hopefully this will give me the flexibility of buying yarn without feeling guilty but having a control over what I buy. we can only try it and see!!

The new year has started with me at home and thinking about what I'd like to do in the future. Many of you know that I passed my PGCE in the summer and I started a teaching job in the local area. Sadly this didn't quite work out the way I'd planned and I ended up working silly hours and this began to take its toll on both me and my wonderful family. I decided that something had to change and so I resigned at the end of November. So - I'm looking for a new job!!

In the meantime though I have lots of knitting to catch up on!! I'm going off to take a photo of my WIPs right now so that we can judge progress throughout the year!! Back in a tick....

2008-12-25T16:36:00.003Z

Season's Greetings

It's 4.30pm on 25th December 2009 - the turkey has been cooked and half of it eaten for lunch, the presents were unwrapped hours ago and we're just about to sit in front of the TV with our knitting and watch some Christmas afternoon telly.

Everyone in the Melody Household wishes you a Very Merry Christmas and a Joyous and Peaceful 2009.

2008-12-22T14:32:00.003Z

And Another

Christmas pressie - this time a hat for Mum which I'm really pleased with:

Knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran in a stone shade (Mum's choice of colour). The pattern is Rambler hat from one of the Sublime aran booklets and knitted on 5mm rosewoods. The yarn is soft and squishy to use and knitted up into a lovely soft hat. I was fortunate to find the error in the pattern before the hat was completed which would have made the hat far, far too big! Watch out for the number of pattern repeats *wink*

2008-12-14T11:44:00.006Z

I Get Things Finished - Oh Yes I Do

Yup, another something completed:

Although not sewn up. That might take another few weeks to do, heh heh...

And something that doesn't need sewing:

A scarf knitted in slip stitch rib on 8mm needles in Patons Symphony. A bargainous Christmas knit because I got the yarn in a Karma swap recently and it's knitted up into a lovely, soft scarf for a friend of mine.

Some of you may remember that I had a dreadful experience in the summer when my parcel of yarn was returned to the online shop because the courier service they use hadn't put a card through the door and I had to pay postage TWICE in order to receive my yarns as I asked for Royal Mail for the second delivery.

I placed an order a few weeks ago (you can see the spoils of my shopping spree in an earlier post) and was told that postage through Royal Mail was £7 odd and I paid the extra on top of the £6 courier cost. The order was a big one and weighed in at about 3.7kg kilos.

Today I've been told that to have a yarn order of just under 2kg delivered, the online shop are going to charge me a mighty £9.00 to have it delivered via Royal Mail. Er... no I don't think so...

So this is absolutely the last time I will ever use this particular online shop again regardless of their seemingly cheap yarns because the postage charge is above and beyond ridiculous. Online shops such as Modern Knitting charge a flat rate of £1.50 for your order unless the order is over £30 in value, in which case postage is FREE. I know where I'd rather spend my hard earned cash, thank you very much :evil:

At least this will help with the Stashalong Effort in 2009.

2008-12-10T19:29:00.003Z

Big Little Melody's Letter to Santa

Each year the boys' school have a letterbox in which children can send letters to Santa and have them answered for a small fee (£1 per letter). It raises money for the PFA and school funds and children feel that they have written a letter to and received a reply from the Man in Red himself.

This is the letter that my wonderful 9 year old son wrote to Santa this afternoon in his best handwriting, complete with naive charm, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, and that brought a lump to my throat:

Dear Santa,
I love Rudolph and every Christmas eve I dream about having my own baby Raindeer. I am very responsible and caring so if you want you can send me a baby raindeer go ahead. If you want to send me one send it to (our address).

Ho Ho Ho merry Christmas
Can my baby raindeer be a boy.

From (his name)

PS: If you do put it on my bed please.
PS: Love your outfit.
PS: I know you have an invisible shield So nowone can see you.
Thank you

2008-12-08T15:47:00.001Z

Two Things I'll Never Have

Yorkie bars and Man-flu. Apparently they're not for girls.

2008-12-06T21:57:00.009Z

Rip and Burn

I've had a new gadget for my car - a wonderful new music system thingummy. My old one was transferred from my Astra into my current car and it doesn't owe me anything, so it's been upgraded for a funky new one. It has a radio which I rarely listen to anyway, a CD player hidden behind the front piece (which irritates me beyond belief because I virtually have to dismantle the whole system ) and a USB port which is by far the most useful thing on it. Except the lovely blue lights - they're very pretty.... and the sound is amazing....

I've spent a good part of today ripping tracks from the Chez Melody CD collection and downloading them onto a data stick to stick into the USB port. Mr Melody had very kindly, but uselessly, downloaded a few complete CDs; but navigating my way through the crap using the remote proved dangerous while I was driving one-handed and trying the change gear at the same time... *ahem*

I found tracks I'd forgotten about and I've had a brill time this afternoon reliving the past via the CD collection.
Favourite today: 'Build Me Up Buttercup' The Foundations, from times past long ago in the 60s.

2008-12-05T09:38:00.002Z

Strange Week

In more ways than one.

Current state: puzzled and surprised

2008-11-29T18:36:00.006Z

Fact: I am a Yarn Hoarder

I've not bought any yarn for months - 3 months according to my now deleted Ticker - so I felt it was time to go on a minor shopping spree. Did I say minor? *splutters* Well I'm sure it will see me through 2009...

Patons Diploma aran in natural, Twilleys Sincere cotton DK in hessian and silver fern

Stylecraft Loop the Loop in cerise and Twilleys Freedom Wool in grey

Twilleys Spirit DK in a glorious humbug shade, RYC Extra Fine Merino DK in leaf green and Felted Tweed in Rage. Plus a couple of balls of Cygnet Superwash 4ply for good measure.

Colinette Prism in Fire, Tivoli Tweed DK in a stunning emerald shade and Jaeger Extra Fine Merino DK in a luvverly bright, clear lilac shade called Cupid

Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Chunky in Mink, All Seasons Cotton in Cookie and another bout of Jaeger but this time Roma DK in cinnamon

I have plans for all this yarn in the near future, honest! But maybe a stashalong in 2009 really is in order *wink*

2008-11-25T16:33:00.002Z

The 5-Month Scarf

I finally finished something! A feather and fan scarf knitted in Tess Dawson Merino 4ply and knitted on 5mm needles. A bugger to knit as the yarn is black and I used Rosewood needles which are dark brown:

I do like it - it's long enough to loop round my neck and tuck through. I started in the last week of my PGCE and it's taken almost 5 months to knit. Thank goodness it's finished and not much sewing up to do either.

Likey!

2008-10-25T11:12:00.006+01:00

I've Got Start-itis!

Q: What do you do when you want to start everything and your current WIPs are not encouraging your knitting mojo?

A: Cast on something new!

I trawled through some of my stash yesterday afternoon after Mr Melody had thrown half of it down from the loft (I can't get up into the loft - Melody and ladders don't mix too well unfortunately) and happened upon stash that I knew I had but had half forgotten. Does that make sense? I haven''t bothered to photograph my stash for Ravelry - I just don't have that much spare time on my hands - but have kept an Excel speadsheet for my yarns for well over ten years now. So I do know what I have but occasionally the lure of new and bargainous yarns on t'internet leads me astray. I say occasionally, who am I kidding? LOL!!

I found, okay went looking for, some vintage Patons Pioneer DK in a grey and cream mix that I thought would look great knitted up in one of the designs from the new Sirdar Eco wool booklet and last night I cast on and almost knitted the rib. I was sidetracked somewhat as I was watching Bill Bailey on Sky and kept miscounting my stitches cos I was laughing so much!

But I digress... I 'found' so much yarn that I wanted to cast on projects with that now I have a severe case of start-itis. I want to cast on for a couple of sweaters for the Melody boys, a few scarves with yarn that I've been sent in swaps, the one button cardigan in Sirdar's Relaxed Living booklet with an array of arans, the cabled slipover top from the new Sirdar Tweedie booklet and a feather and fan cardigan using Silky Look.

Do I have enough needles to cast on for everything at once?

2008-10-11T13:03:00.003+01:00

A Sad Morning

I had to take the decision to have our wonderful fourteen year old Golden Reteiver to the vet this morning to be put to sleep; it's a decision that Mr Melody and I have been putting off for several weeks because we thought that maybe, just maybe, Max would improve. Max has had hip dysplasia since puppyhood and had OCD in his elbows as a pup which left him with decreased mobility in all four of his legs. He has been unable to stand to eat his breakfast this week and as I helped him out into the garden this morning, holding his back legs whilst he wheelbarrowed out on his front paws, I realised that his quality of life had gone and wasn't going to return. Unable to get up from lying down, and unable to stand for any length of time, the decision was made. Luckily the vet agreed that we had made the right decision and Max was put to sleep.

I shall miss that wonderful dog with the handsome head and the soft, floppy ears. I shall miss him a lot.

2008-09-27T13:22:00.002+01:00

Oh Yes, We Have No Piccies

I seem to have a distinct lack of piccies on my blog don't I?? Off to rectify immediately.....

2008-09-21T10:49:00.004+01:00

I Got a New Phone!

Just as well really because my old one has a habit of switching itself off, switching itself back on again and randomly dialling numbers from my phone book.... and can be somewhat embarrassing at times! There have been occasions when friends have phoned and asked what I wanted as I've left a message on their voicemail - completely unintententionally - and the message has usually been a lot of crackling, rustling and laughter as my phone has been merrily dialling away numbers on the phonelist whilst tucked away in my bag.

I literally walked into the Carphone Warehouse and announced I needed a new phone. I had just come out of Starbucks after having lunch with a friend and decided that I should buy a phone. I like spontaneous shopping and hate a planned purchase, so I must have been the easiest sale of the day yesterday. The chappie behind the counter was amused that I was so easily pleased; but then he hasn't had to contend with my crappy phone for months has he?

So if I send you a message over the weekend it will be because I'm so deliriously happy with my new Nokia. If I send a completely inaudible, crackly, rustling voicemail mesage, it's not me, it's my old phone dialling you at random. Right?

2008-09-14T15:28:00.003+01:00

New Socks

Yay!! A new pair of socks for Melody!

A pair of plain vanilla, 60stitch, UK size 3, stocking stitch socks in Regia Cotton Surf colour, shade 5414. Knitted with Knitpicks wooden DPNs (the brightly painted ones). They were quite tricky to use on the cotton yarn which sort of stuck to the needles as it was knitted so they weren't my most favourite pair to knit.

Another pair done!

2008-08-31T21:26:00.002+01:00

Birthday Girl!

Another year older, another year .... wiser? Well I'm not sure about the wiser but I certainly feel my age today!

I've had a standard Melody birthday in that the boys were far more excited than I was and wanted birthday cake for breakfast. We did have cake this afternoon though and the boys bestowed gifts of chocolate and flowers, that they had chosen themselves, upon me. They helped me to eat the Galaxy and laughed at the birthday cards that they had chosen. Littlest Melody was so thrilled with the birthday card he had chosen he kept opening it up to giggle about it. Some witticism about too many candles on the cake and setting my hair alight. Hmph! Cheeky Monkey!

I had some fab gifts - I had spendoolies from Mr Melody and the Melody Parents (which has been duly spent on a gorgeous selection of woolly delights already and some saved for the next yarn splurge), a gift voucher to spend at Cucumberpatch from Pictish and a gift voucher to spend at Socktopus from Terri, neither of which were expected and therefore a real treat. Murdo had already sent me Kim Hargreaves new book "Thrown Together" back at the beginning of August for my birthday but also sent an unexpected parcel of lovely, green, variegated yarn which is truly scrummy and will make a lovely winter jacket.

Piccies tomorrow when I have a bit more time!!

I've had a truly wonderful birthday and have been well and truly spoiled by my friends and family - thank you everyone, I really appreciate you thinking of me and your gifts brought a lump to my throat.

And if by any chance anyone from work happens to be reading this - yes, there will be cake tomorrow *wink*

2008-08-23T10:30:00.006+01:00

I've Got Alot to Say!!

What a few weeks it's been. I went back to the dentist last Tuesday for what I thought was going to be the last appointment on my root canal filling but unfortunately it wasn't the case. I had the maximum amount of local anaesthetic allowed and goodness knows how many injections into my mouth and gum, had anaesthetic directly into the tooth again, and I could still feel the pain as the dentist poked around in my tooth... oooya...

The dentist explained that I still had part of the nerve left in one of the roots and popped in more of the 'stuff' to kill the nerve. The result is though that I have to go back yet again to have the third part of the root canal filling done and hopefully the bit of nerve that was remaining will be well and truly gone by then. I never 'numb up' properly at the dental surgery anyway, especially when work is done on my lower molars, and can always feel a small area of the tooth that the dentist works on; usually I relax and block out the pain somehow but I just couldn't be that brave last week!! I even apologised to the dentist for being a wimp!! And unfortunately the high dose of anaesthetic made me feel quite unwell that evening and the following day, with a nasty headache and feeling sick and light headed and I really hadn't been prepared for that :(

So - next appointment in the half term holiday - boy I can't wait *rolls eyes*

Fortunately, a couple of days before my experience at the dental surgery we'd met up with Murdo and her gang for a car show in Stafford at the Stafford County Showground. Murdo has a vintage Triumph car (don't ask me what type! LOL!) and we went along to look at and admire all the other cars on display. The boys had a whale of a time with the PiratePurls and they now want to buy a vintage car to rebuild in the garage with Mr Melody. Looks like the only part I'll be playing is making the tea and taking biscuits and juice out to the 'workshop' then!

But by going up to sunny Stoke I did get the chance to pop into Knit 2 Together, or Cucumberpatch has it's known on t'interweb. Biggest Little Melody volunteered to come into the shop with me and was treated like a VIP by the lady in there, who asked him questions about which shade of yarn another customer should choose for a baby boy's cardigan, tested yarn out on the back of his sensitive little neck to see if it would 'itch' and generally heralded his visit with great attention and fabulous customer service.

Of course, after all the value added attention, Biggest Little Melody was even more keen to buy some yarn for himself and chose seven balls of Patons Smoothie in black - he wants me to knit him a black hoodie with long sleeves. He had originally insisted that he would only wear cotton next to his delicate skin (!) but was persuaded by the Smoothie as it is indeed soft and silky. And 100% acrylic.

I also bought seven balls of Stylecraft Pure Wool DK in a gorgeous colourway, Berries, that I've admired onscreen many times. I haven't got a project in mind for it, but seeing it in the flesh made it jump into my basket (a basket that BLM had found for me in the shop I might add!), along with a ball of Opal sock yarn in a shade I'd never seen before and two balls of Regia sock yarn for a pair of socks for Mr Melody and some feather yarns for scarves for me as I don't possess a single scarf. And a huge button, LOL!!

AND I went digging around at the back of the shop and found two packets of All Seasons Cotton in the Heart colourway, the pink variegated one that Murdo had asked me to grab for her, at a completely bargainous price! Phew!! I've been up to other yarny adventures this week too but more of that later.

So all's well that ends .....well? As we were halfway between Stafford and the yarn shop I suddenly realised that I had completely forgotten to get what I had originally gone into the yarn shop to buy! Maybe next time we're in Stoke eh? LOL!

2008-08-09T16:16:00.003+01:00

Normal Service will be Resumed as Soon as Possible

Oh dear what a week it's been and not in a good way :(

I didn't feel quite myself last weekend - I had a thumping headache on the left side of my head and my left eye was swollen. The left hand side of my face hurt too - around the jaw joint so I thought I'd been spending far too much time surfing and had a bit of time 'off'.

By Tuesday the pain in my face was bad. And I had a funny little niggly pain in my gum. Very odd :?

By Wednesday morning no amount of painkillers were helping. Even the diclofenac left over from my hip sprain earlier in the year didn't have any effect. Time to call the dentist I thought, to rule out any possible infection in my gum. I'd had an X-ray on my teeth at my six monthly dental check-up, there couldn't be anything wrong surely?

Oh there was... big time.....

I had, and still have if I'm honest, an abscess under the tip of the root of my molar on the bottom left of my jaw. And it bloody hurt.

Luckily I have an amazing dentist who discussed alternative treatments with me and I went for oral antibiotics with a review appointment two days later, but when my temperature started going up and I felt like death on legs there really was no option. Yesterday I had to nerve removed from the dead tooth and I am in pain no longer! I still have the abscess (I can still feel it to be honest) but the oral antibiotics and antibiotics shoved down into the empty tooth are doing their stuff and at least I feel human again.

I only need the final bit of root canal treatment for my tooth to be 'mended'. And my wonderful, empathetic dentist has squeezed treatment in before I start my new job at the end of the month. What amazing dental customer service eh?

So I haven't done much knitting this week - it's hard to knit with your left hand permanently attached to the side of your face to try to stop your pain.... :))

2008-08-03T13:21:00.004+01:00

A Small Destash and Progress

I would like to buy myself some New Lanark Aran to knit Cassidy, the new pattern from Chicknits, but due to financial constraints (ie, I have no cash!) I have to destash some yarn to buy more suitable yarn for the cabled hoodie. I have already sold some yarn to a forum buddy and am looking to sell these two to make up the required funds....

I'm selling my Rowan International Gift of six full balls of Rowan Denim DK in shade 229, Memphis, dyelot 28B8 and pattern for the knitted messenger bag which I received as part of my Rowan International Membership a couple of weeks ago. It's in pristine condition and would be asking £10 for it plus postage. Leave a comment for me if you'd like to buy :)

Secondly, I'm selling three balls of Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK in shade 016, Grape, dyelot number 6562. This is a scrumptious sqidgy yarn in a lovely drak dusky pink shade which was destined to become a Big Wave scarf from one of the Sublime books but then wasn't ever cast on. I'm seling this for £6 plus postage which is a snip considering it is currently selling for £3.65 per ball at Get Knitted:

Again, leave a comment for me if you'd like to buy, but be quick cos I'm listing these on the forum as well.
eta - all sold now
Progress continues on he Sirdar Buttoned Hoodie that I'm swooshing up on the knitting machine. I'm now handknitting the ribs and all the major pieces are complete:

and an update on the kitties.... both Cocoa and Pepsi take a well-earned nap

cute!!

2008-07-29T18:55:00.003+01:00

Two New Kitties

Our two new arrivals! We thought that they were two girls but now think differently. We possibly have two boys but we're not sure as yet :/ Maybe the vet will enlighten us! So they don't have names this evening because we had two girl names lined up for them.... ho hum. I'm sure another evening of being relatively nameless won't hurt LOL!

you want piccies??

2008-07-28T15:57:00.002+01:00

Of Contacts and Kittens

I had to visit the optician this lunchtime - my eyes have been constantly sore and itchy and I've had to wear my specs most of the time but can't focus up close in them, a sure sign that summink ain't right. Well the optician has given me the bad news that my prescription has changed significantly after staying the same for what seems like years, that my contact lenses have left a red area on my cornea as they are longer permeable to atmospheric gases (namely oxygen!) and are past their sell-by date, and that my eyes have changed shape. This could of course all contribute to my lenses being very uncomfortable to wear and therefore I haven't been :? thereby giving my eye strain. The upshot is that I have chosen a new pair of specs frames and they will have my new prescription in them - hurrah! I have a contact lens appointment in about ten days' time so I'll know whether I'm forever destined to wear specs or I'll be in a new pair of better fitting, new prescription, gas permeable lenses again!

And the kittens headline? Only 25 hours until we pick up our new additions to the Melody Household - two adorable girl kittens from a friend whose cat had a litter recently. We've chosen names which I'm not allowed by Melody Children Rules to tell you *rolls eyes* and in any case they might be swapped round to fit said kitties once they arrive. I promise you I'll show you piccies tomorrow when we take ownership, but for now we're off to the pet shop at the retail park to buy a vetbed fluffy mattress for them :)) I'd better store my needles and yarn safely from now on eh? LOL!

2008-07-27T20:34:00.002+01:00

Seaton Finished

At last I have finished sewing up my version of the RYC Seaton: without stripes and in Lidl's aran weight cotton that I bought last spring. I only used 8 balls to knit the cardigan and at £1 a ball works out to be a bit of a bargain.

I had to reknit the front bands as they were too floppy knitted on the larger needles suggested in the pattern and steam pressed the cardigan after sewing it up as it was a bit on the small side, but I'm now very happy with the result.

The yarn is 100% cotton yarn in a dark grey, mid grey and white mixtured yarn which knitted beautifully on Brittany birch needles; the outside photo shows the shade better I think. I chose oval, grey shell buttons and grey satin ribbon to complement the variegated yarn; I'm sure this will become a wardrobe favourite!

2008-07-25T10:57:00.004+01:00

A Few New Projects

I've been planning knitting for a few months now - now I have time over the summer to knit a few items up and this is what I've been up to.

I started the Buttoned Hoodie for the Sirdar Simple Knits knitalong held on the Crafty Threads forum - it's design F - a simple stocking stitch cardigan with a hood and I'm using a light sagey green shade of Sirdar Country Style DK from my stash called Linden Green. I actually have 17 balls of this shade in stash but I'm likely to use about 9 or 10 of them. I'm leaving off the kangaroo pockets cos I don't like them and I've rewritten the pattern to knit it on the knitting machine. I've already completed the back and one sleeve and I only cast on at 4pm yesterday afternoon! Speedy knitting with the help of 200 needles ;)

New project - Sirdar Buttoned hoodie in Country Style DK

I also started a feather and fan scarf a few weeks ago in the final week of Uni but frogged it because it was too wide. I cast on again using fewer stitches and I like the way it's working out :) I knitted a few more repeats last night but shouldn't have bothered because I found a mistake part way down as I came to put my kniting away and didn't have the patience to frog it back.... I'll do that this morning when I'm colouring my hair!

Another new project - feather & fan lace scarf in Tess Dawson Merino 4 ply (black)

2008-07-17T15:46:00.003+01:00

New Stashalong?

A bad time to decide to embark on a new stashalong? The beginning of the new Winter yarn season! Yarns and shades discontinued and on sale at ridiculous prices, new and exciting pattern books and yarns being launched by large spinning companies, and the lure of cool Autumn and Winter months just around the corner of Summer.

2008-07-06T11:12:00.002+01:00

Newly Qualified

I never thought that Friday 4th July 2008 would ever come. The hard work, the challenges, the lack of sleep and the adrenaline seemed to take over at times. But time moves on its own mysterious way and I found myself sitting in the Fraser Noble Hall in the School of Education at Leicester University, with the other students who were about to become newly qualified teachers, about to receive notification that we had indeed got to the end of our journey in becoming newly qualified teachers.

I was so relieved to have passed that I actually went to the Summer Ball on Friday night. I hadn't bought a ticket thinking that if I failed I wouldn't be going. And I couldn't trust myself to buy a ticket in case I tempted fate and failed as a result. I had to rush out on Thursday evening to buy an outfit! It all came good in the end though and I thoroughly enjoyed the ball. It was a fitting end to the long year and rounded off our incredible journey nicely.

I woke up this morning feeling like I should get up early to do some planning or paperwork and it was quite unsettling to realise that THERE ISN'T ANY TO DO! At the moment anyway.

We at last found time to visit my parents yesterday, who I haven't seen for nearly four months. It's too long isn't it? And as went on Saturday I just HAD to pop into K2tog in Wolstanton. The nice lady in the shop even kept the shop open for me whilst I ran from one shop to the other down the road (the shop now has two premises, about 200 yards apart). Oh how the people of Wolstanton laughed as a yarn mad woman careered down the road demanding Summer Tweed.

I made the decision to visit mum and dad every month now that the PGCE is over. If only to visit K2tog on Saturday once again ;)

2008-06-30T20:27:00.001+01:00

Stash Acquisiton Time

Blogger has at last decided to play so here is all my newly acquired yarn for your delectation.....

Bargainous Lana grossa sock yarns from Get Knitted

Kid Silk Haze in Vino to knit Tender from the Kim Hargreaves Nectar book

Who can resist temptation from Jannette's Rare Yarns?

Bargainous Sirdar Blur

Bargainous Sirdar Yoyo, Country Style DK and Silky Look DK - all for school stuff

2008-06-29T19:02:00.006+01:00

Almost There

And you would never believe how exhausted I am. It seems a lifetime ago that I started my PGCE but this coming week will be my final week at University as a student and then it's out into the big, wide world as a year 1 class teacher.

I finished my third teaching placement on Friday and came out with an overall grade of Good in my final report; I was observed by an external examiner last Monday despite the fact that I couldn't swallow and could hardly speak to my class as I had raging tonsillitis!

My Professional Development Portfolio is up-to-date and completed for the final hand-in on Tuesday.... what am I to do with myself in the evenings now?? LOL!

I have piccies of new yarns but Blogger is being extremely silly and won't let me upload photies. No fair :(

2008-06-15T22:15:00.002+01:00

Another Post Without Piccies

Shame on me.

I put my latest yarn acquisitions away this afternoon and realised that my stash is getting out of hand again. There is just too much in the wardrobe in the guest room and on shelves in my workroom. But if it's there it's not up in the loft where only Mr Melody dare venture to retrieve it.

But I have made a some progress with Blaze and am almost up to the shoulder shaping on that and I re-wrote the instructions for Candy from a previous Rowan magazine (35 or 37? I'm not sure) to knit on the knitting machine. That should use up 500g of cotton yarn nicely :)

2008-06-09T21:32:00.003+01:00

Blogger Tip :-/

A tip on logging into blogger - if you appear to have forgotten your password, just make sure that you've typed your login name correctly..... seems to work..... *cough, cough*

Now, where were we? Ah yes. TE. It's going really well for me. Only three more weeks to go and the end of TE3, the days of being a student teacher coming to an end. I haven't had time for much else other than planning and preparing lessons; last night saw me printing, cutting out and laminating number dinosaurs from Sparkle Box (which is now, incidentally, 100% FREE) for a whole day lesson of maths. The children are carouselled around activities and lessons in the reception base of my TE3 school and I was teaching maths all day today to three different groups. Tomorrow I am teaching literacy all day, although the way I've just spelled (and edited that!) leaves a lot to be desired. Nevermind eh....

Yesterday turned out to be quite a strange day in more ways than one with lots of memories being brought back to the surface; if you were part of that you'll know what I'm talking about.

Whilst back to the real world, one of the problem I've noticed with the lappie on my knee is that I do get extremely hot whilst working. A small price to pay for being able to watch rubbish TV though. Ho hum... heh heh.

2008-05-30T20:04:00.010+01:00

Getting Used to the Lappie

I'm slowly getting used to the laptop and although the screen is a lot smaller and seems m-i-l-e-s away from me the slimlines of the laptop have left plenty of free space on what was a very cluttered desk.

I have had plenty of luscious yarns arriving over the past few weeks and have actually got around to loading them onto the laptop today. How easy to upload photos with a little slot in the front of the little darling machine! But I did notice that my previous photos were not taken across to the laptop with the backup data that was transferred :( ho hum. But I'm sure that they can be retrieved somehow, someday.

Photos!! Here goes ;)

Jaeger Merino Chunky in Auburn and Extra Fine Merino DK in Coaldust both from Cucumberpatch

Jaeger Siena in Black and Ocean from Celticove

Jaeger Aqua DK in Blue Agate and Tide from Celticove

Pack of Patons Cotton DK in Rust and a ball of 4 ply in Rosewood from one of my favourite eBay sellers

Violet kit in Soft Cotton 4ply from Kim Hargreaves - wonderful!

And Hush in Denim DK again from Kim Hargreaves - well worth the wait!

I really love all the yarns that I've received over the past few weeks and can't wait to start knitting it up.... but there's always a catch. I have, in fact, ordered more yarns this week from EKemps and from New Lanark Mills and to be truthful.... I've ordered enough this year and feel that I must stop buying yarns. The yarn has often been an incentive or reward for something to do with the course whether it be an assignment handed in, a teaching placement successfully completed and let's face it, I don't drink, smoke or go out clubbing! But enough really IS enough.... :-/

2008-05-25T22:25:00.003+01:00

Changing Over the Computer

The desktop PC died this weekend :( It's been a faithful piece of equipment since the start of the new millenium and I'm sorry to see it banished into the wide blue yonder (alternatively known as the cupboard over the stairs, affectionately known in our house as 'the priest hole' and no that's not an innuendo ;)) but the deskie was becoming far too unreliable and began to lock at the most inopportune moments.

I'm writing this blog entry on my laptop which will replace the old deskie in the study. There will certainly be more room on the desk thanks to the lappie's slimline figure..... lol!

I will be taking photos of my new yarn acquisitions tomorrow and trying to upload with lappie so I'm sorta crossing my fingers that it will work.

One thing's for certain -my typing hasn't improved by switching computers!

2008-05-22T22:12:00.002+01:00

Interview!

Well it happened.... I got a job!!!

I obviously can't go into details about where my new school will be but I went for an interview on Monday and was offered the job on the day *big grin* I can't believe that I've been so lucky to get a job on the first interview; it's quite a surreal experience.

I have to spend the next few months knitting like mad and making myself a wardrobe of teacherly knitteds. And reward myself with a mountain of luscious fibre of course!

Half term next week and I can't wait to have a few days off. The Little Melodies are off on half term break as well and it will be lovely to spend some 'proper'time with them. Although I spent a bit too much time with them last weekend when Mr Melody went off on his annual golfing weekend and left me with the two hoodlums. Usually I enjoy being on my own with my boys but the pressure of preparing for the interview, preparing lessons and taking the lads to three parties between them over the weekend was a bit too much on my ownsome. I obviously came out at the other end of the weekend unscathed, the boys and I did have fun together, but the washing basket is still overflowing and the house is still a mess {:-(

That's why kids have lots of holiday from school - to give teachers well earned break! LOL!

2008-05-05T15:27:00.004+01:00

Another FO

Which would be cool except that it's hideous on me. I started this cardigan jacket back in October 2007 so it's taken over six months to knit and stitch together, then when it's finished it doesn't suit me at all. The collar is too low, the body is too tight and the sleeves are too long. Added to that the body is too short. Pictish is right when she says that we can't try out knitteds on before we cast on :( Boo hoo. The offending article has been washed and is currently drying flat upstairs in an effort to make it feel better. I have very little hope.....

Melody's 'Lupin' Jacket

Knitted in Patons Diploma Gold DK in shade Lupin - 8 balls used

Pattern no: Patons 3324

Knitted using 3.25m and 4mm Pony Pearls needles

No news really this week except that Danny has had a nasty bout of tonsillitis but is now fully recovered. And I find this morning that one side of my throat is sore. Very sore. Down by where my tonsils used to be. This is a bad sign. A very bad sign. My throat must be better by tomorrow as I start seven weeks of TE3 and I can't afford to miss time with pharyngitis.

2008-04-21T23:01:00.002+01:00

Another Assignment Bites the Dust!

Yay!! My 5,000 word assignment on children's errors when counting in tens to one hundred is printing off as we speak (or I type). I deserve a Kim Hargreaves kit as a reward for all my hard work, but which one to choose??

2008-04-18T22:24:00.002+01:00

Hip, Hip - Oh No.....

I've had a really, really bad week this week and it all started to go wrong last Friday on the way home from lectures. I saw the train in the station and I ran to get on it before the doors closed which has happened to me in the past - you're left standing on the platform with your train moving out and you not on it. I wasn't running that quickly or wearing high heels or anything daft, but my right hip exploded in a red hot shooting pain. How I got onto the train and sat down, then managed to get off the train and get to the car and drive home, is a mystery in itself. I ended up at the walk-in medical centre and then in major injuries in the hospital's casualty department, crying with pain and the doctors thinking that I'd fractured my pelvis :(
I have evidently sprained my hip though - I've torn either a muscle or ligament and it's not been fun at all.

The pain has been almost unbearable this week - walking has been nigh on impossible and the codeine prescribed by the hospital has left me dazed and sick. I did make an improvement, or so I thought, towards the end of the week when I was able to walk round the house without wincing with every step - my own GP changed my painkillers to diclofenac when I went to visit her yesterday and they've worked much better than the codeine so I haven't been feeling so sick and knocked out as I did.

I've been told to rest my hip and not to do anything too energetic. But feeling slightly better this afternoon I popped into my local mini-Tesco to pick up some food for dinner with the boys on the way home from school. Bad decision! I parked on the car park and walked into the supermarket and picked up a few bits and pieces. The pain walking out to the car was unbearable once again. I shouldn't be too surprised though - the doctor did mention that she expected it to be a good four to six weeks for the sprain to heal completely.

So - no disco dancing moves for me for a while eh? You just can't watch Hannah Montana without wanting to get up and dayance! *sigh*

2008-04-07T11:17:00.006+01:00

The Pendulum Swings in the Other Direction

No yarn has arrived Chez Melody since my last post, I have made headway into several projects and finished a couple as well; I've also been destashing yarns on Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns and have several listed on eBay. Not bad eh?

I often see patterns that are advertised as 'knit in a weekend!' but just what is the definition of a weekend? Is it an actual two days or is it 48 hours worth of knitting? I gave myself a challenge over the Easter break to knit a cardigan in 48 hours. Okay, I did cheat a bit and used the knitting machine to knit the stocking stitch bits but it was justified I think as the usual 'weekend' patterns are often sleeveless numbers or scarves, so I didn't think that cheating was necessarily a bad thing in this case!

Well - after almost nine hours of actual knitting, this is what I have to show for it and I'm really rather pleased:

I've also managed to finish my first ever crochet-project-with-a-purpose - a new washcloth for myself. Worked in pink Patons Supersoft cotton DK with a 4.5mm crochet hook, I made the pattern up myself to a certain extent: it's a plain old granny square with two rows of double crochet around the outside *grin* I even managed to crochet a little loop so that I can hang it up in the shower to dry when I've finished washing with it!

Seaton continues to make good progress too. I'm nearly to the shoulders on the back piece. Maybe the colours are a little patchier than I would have liked, but I really don't want to frog and knit two row stripes *shrugs*

2008-04-04T14:45:00.010+01:00

Confessions
All this time at home on Easter holiday hasn't done my purse any favours! I showed you some of the stash that Mr Postie had delivered, so here's the next part....

Yarny stuff:
Eight balls of scrumptious Twilleys Spirit DK yarn to knit a scoop necked sweater for next Autumn, a couple of balls of cotton sock yarn from one of my friends over on eBay, ten balls of Tess Dawson merino DK bought as part of Terri's destash and fifteen balls of New Lanark silk and wool mix DK in cobalt. Yummy!

And I bought some Jane Ellison books - the two Mirasol collection books and the two Arauncania books along with the Noro summer leaflet and Rowan Studio nine - I need patterns to go with the yarn! That ball of Opal is the same one as above - it sneaked into the photos twice!

2008-04-03T17:16:00.003+01:00

What the Blazes....

I’ve been eyeing up both Peace and Hush from the Kim Hargreaves Collection for a few weeks now and even though I have destashed and sold several lots of unwanted yarn on the Crafty Threads forum, I still didn’t feel comfortable buying two knitting kits because of the price of each kit. Then Pictish pointed out that Blaze is almost the same style as Peace and I was converted!

I cast on for Blaze yesterday evening, albeit a little late at about 10.30pm, but half the moss stitch border is already done. I'm knitting using Patons 100% Cotton DK in shade Pomegranate with 4mm Brittany Birch needles, my weapons of choice at the moment. It would appear that Patons Cotton DK and Cotton 4 ply are underestimated yarns and I’ve found them mainly being used for dishcloths and washcloths on Ravelry, which is a real shame as the yarn knits, washes and wears wonderfully as proven by my Tide cardigan that I made last year. Tide has been in and out of the washing machine and is still soft and easy to wear, with the added bonus that it can be steam pressed to perfection.

Blaze has appeared twice in Rowan publications but under different name: once as 'Cheer' in Rowan magazine 32, the second time as 'Blaze' in Rowan's 'The Pure Wool Collection' as shown in the photo above, but they are both the same Kim Hargreaves design. Which of course leaves me free to buy Hush with a clear conscience *big grin*

I had cast on the stitches for, and knitted two rows of rib for, a CPH in Stylecraft Harvest aran but decided that I really don’t want to knit it at the moment, so it came off the needles just as quickly.

More things have been arriving at the Melody House this week, but I’ll wait until my next post to tell you about those *wink*

2008-03-26T15:26:00.002Z

Happy Birthday, Little Melody!

Six years ago the Littlest Little Melody was three and a half hours old and we were exceptionally pleased and very relieved that he'd turned up in one piece. Today he has demanded baked beans on toast for his lunch, ripped open his birthday cards with a vengeance and made an array of unique robots with Lego. Oh how the times change!

2008-03-22T13:21:00.007Z

The Postman Came Again
Yes, he did! Lookie:

Three lots of Garnstudio Safran cotton in superb, citrus-y, spring colours to knit two ribbed tops and a fitted jacket, two lots of RYC Cashcotton DK (in the pool and geranium colourway) from Celticove as it was on sale and at a bargainous price *wink* and ten skeins of Colinette wigwam from Aknita on the Crafty Threads forum cos I want to knit Sam from the now discontinued Portmanteau booklet.

But now the talk on the Crafty Threads forum has turned to New Lanark Mill yarns and I'm STILL tempted by Kim Hargreaves kits. It never ends does it?

2008-03-17T16:18:00.008Z

A Week of Deliveries

This week the postman has worked hard to deliver lots of goodies Chez Melody and here is what he brought:

A lovely selection of goodies from Hanne in the Round Robin Bag Exchange - the sheep tape measure is just too cute for words!

Some glorious lime green Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk double knitting yarn which I was going to whizz up into a classroom cardi but I think it's just too special to use in the classroom

And a whole bagful of cottons from Get Knitted - two lots of 4 ply cotton in pink and blue and one lot of it in the DK weight in grape. All for summer stuff for me :-)

And the postman will be working hard this week too let me tell you *wink*

I did get Mr Melody's Rigger Boot socks finished and the ends darned in this month - knitted in King Cole Merino DK in shade graphite, they are lovely, thick and cosy for wearing inside his safety boots when he's out on site. He seemed pleased when I handed them over anyway....

2008-03-09T15:58:00.007Z

Paris Jacket Finished

Hooray! I sewed on the buttons and finished my Paris jacket this morning:

I'm really quite pleased with this jacket considering that I had trouble with decreasing 2sts at the neck edge for the neck shaping and that it was knitted in one piece to the armholes which made it knitting it seem like an eternity. The sewing up was quicker though!

I made a couple of modifications - the sleeves are shorter and I used snap fastener at the top of the buttonband to ensure that the neck stays closed rather than gaping. There's a distinct lack of buttonole at the neckband in the pattern and it looked a bit odd with the neckband flapping open.

The jacket is knitted in Garnstudio Paris cotton aran, in shade 07 Heather which is real life in dark cerise colour, and it took just 9 balls to knit on a 5mm circular needle. I knitted the sleeves back and forth on Brittany birch needles and used little silver shank buttons that I had in my button stash. The ribbing at the waist gives the jacket a little shaping which I like. The yarn is deliciously chunky and cottony and I'll certainly be using it again in the future - even Matthew likes the feel of it against his senstivie skin!

My next project is yet another cotton cardigan for the warmer months (hopefully) ahead - I cast on the stitches to knit Seaton from RYC's Classic Coast last night, but I'm using the bargain Colorado cotton aran weight yarn that I got for a bargain price from Lidl last year. I'm going to knit it all in one colour though, without the striping and possibly without the ribbon tie at the waist:

2008-03-07T20:18:00.002Z

Poor Neglected blog?

Well not really, I've been very busy doing other things and not much time to post anything that you might want to read.

The fifth week of TE2 is completed and it's my final week at my placement school next week. I can't begin to tell you just how much fun this placement has been and I know that I shall be full of sadness when I leave next Friday. I've already threatened to go back in on my days off!!

And I've just been a very naughty Melody and ordered some scrummy 4 ply and double knitting cottons from Get Knitted.... well, a girl needs her yarn fix occasionally!

2008-02-14T17:29:00.000Z

Stash on Ravelry

I made a start today and took photos of some of my stash that I have on my shelf in my craft room. I only took simple straightforward photos and didn't go looking for interesting backdrops or anything as putting my yarn stash onto Ravelry is supposed to be for my benefit isn't it? Or is it? I have an Excel inventory speadsheet for my yarns, invented by me for me that tells me the information that I want to know. Do I really need to, or indeed have the time to, upload photos onto the World Wide Web to have complete strangers gawping at my stash? As it was it took nearly half an hour to upload six photos and describe six lots of stash... err, no thanks, I don't have the time for that!

2008-02-12T14:43:00.000Z

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle and Repair

One of my many 'hobbies' is recycling and as a family we do try to recycle or re-use as much as we possibly can; I've been repairing Big Little Melody's school trousers off and on for what seems weeks now as the hems seem to be continually undone - what is that lad doing to his school trousers??!! Another pair found its way onto my 'repair' pile this morning *rolls eyes*

As items of clothing become too small or too scruffy I put them into a large drawer and every so often go through it and sort the clothing into piles. This morning I sorted out a large black sack of clothes to recycle in the textile recycling bin, another bagful for a door-to-door charity collection (that still has to collect said clothes bag from the doorstep) and yet another pile of too-good-clothes-to-chuck-out-but-are-too-small-for-Little-Little-Melody; I shall donate those to a friend with a young son who is much younger and smaller than Dan.

On the whole I was very pleased with the four cushion covers that I made from a piece of inherited furnishing fabric and I went on to make another two in pale cream self-patterned fabric to match the first four. The six cushions only cost me the price of the cushion innards which weren't all that expensive really.

I was really excited yesterday as I received my Round Robin Bag from Jacquie - Jacquie co-administers the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns forum with me - and she sent me a superb selection in her gift bag which I'm sure had the internal dimensions of a Tardis! Here's what I received from across The Pond. First, the bag stuffed with goodies:

And all the wonderful contents!

Jacquie sent me a ball of rainbow coloured Sugar 'n' Cream cotton which I intend to knit into a washcloth from for me, a dinky, pink highlighter pen, a small bag of Quaker Oats breakfast cereal and two herbal teabags (perfect for a February morning!), two sheets of the cutest penguin stickers, a sweet little decorate-it-yourself heart shaped box which opened to reveal the most adorable, delicate silver and turquoise stitch markers inside. I am truly overwhelmed with what Jacquie sent to me.

Thank you so much Jacquie! I love everything to bits!!

2008-02-09T13:32:00.001Z

It's Actually Sunday Today

Knitting from Stash? Isn't it strange that as soon as the words Stashalong or Knitting from Stash are mentioned my brain goes into hunter-gatherer mode and starts to collect yarns as if they are going out of fashion. I must have squirrel genes somewhere in my lineage! I noticed that RKM yarns have a fabulous deal on a couple of RYC yarns at the moment and I immediately wondered what I could knit in Soft Lux. I came up with Ariann from Chicknits and surprise, surprise I already have the pattern. Of course I bought some.....

It's half term holiday here and since I worked like a woman possessed to get my assignment finished over the Christmas holiday and then passed all three skills tests to boot, I'm having a bit of rest this week. It's not officially a vacation for us PGCE students, more like a Professional Study week, but since I passed both assignment and skills tests I think I deserve a few days off. So I got out my long-neglected sewing machine this afternoon and made four cushion covers - two with borders and two without as you can see here:

I've only had them lurking around since September last year before I started my Uni course, so it's great to actually have them done and sewn up. They make the living room look so much prettier and homely :)

2008-02-03T15:04:00.000Z

I've Succumbed

and ordered a shedload of books from Get Knitted. I also ordered some of the RYC Alpaca that GK have on offer at the moment in the Lichen shade. I don't know whether or not they will have it in stock tomorrow when they receive my order 'in person' but I do know that I've wanted to knit this jacket for ages. Now that the yarn is on special offer, I bought the yarn to knit it.

Sprite has knitted Foxtail from the Rowan Tapestry booklet and now I'm wishing that I'd ordered the book along with the other books so that I can knit it too. I may just pop that book into my basket along with the others :-) as I can see this knitted in plain cotton double knit for the summer!

My head has been feeling fuzzy all day today and I think I have a cold starting. I've managed to avoid viruses all winter too. But Look! This cheered me up no end...I have another award on my sidebar! Sandrab from Sandra's Place gave me this award over the weekend, and I'm very grateful to have received it. I'll let you pop over to Sandra's place to find out why she gave it to me though. Now I have to choose other blogging peeps to give this award to.... I nominate Jo028 for this award as her taste in knitting is exactly the same as mine; except I'm not nearly as productive as Jo *wink*
Congratulations Jo!

2008-02-02T09:24:00.000Z

Weekly News

My first week in my second teaching placement is complete - what a wonderful week I've had. Fab children and fantastic support from the school and my teacher mentor. What more could I ask?

We all had our first assignment back yesterday and I'm pleased to say that I passed at masters level so I can now go on to complete my second assignment at masters level as well to try to earn another 30 credits. This first assignment gives me 30 credits towards a masters degree which I am very pleased to have achieved. It was a hard slog over Christmas to get this assignment written and out of the way and I didn't have a very restful festive period at all. I'm very proud to have achieved what I have so far with two children and a home in addition to the constant hard work of a PGCE course.

I would normally celebrate by rushing off to buy yarn but as I promised to knit from stash this year I won't be doing that. I'll be buying knitting patterns instead!

2008-01-25T16:54:00.000Z

Round Robin Bag Exchange

We're having a Round Robin Mini Bag Exchange over on the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns forum. The idea originated from Natalie of the Yarn Yard and the idea is that we each make a small bag and fill it with goodies to send on to a person on the list every month. I decided to sew mine as I have no spare time to knit a little bag unfortunately and with the wonderful Franney's help and advice, this is what I came up with. My bag is a little on the generous side as I didn't want it to be too small! Overall I'm really pleased with this mini - project and it was far quicker and easier to sew than to knit. The bag was made from remnant pieces from curtain fabric, so it didn't cost a penny. Not only quick but cheap too!

2008-01-21T19:47:00.000Z

Confessing Stashalonging

Melody reports that she did indeed make a dent in her stash in 2007, with a net reduction of.....

3.5kg!!!

I would take a group photo of all the yarn I destashed and all the yarn I managed to restash, but I don't have a wide angle lens on my camera :?

2008-01-20T19:15:00.000Z

Resurrected and Refashioned

With Spring around the corner, I decided to resurrect the jacket in Garnstudio Paris cotton and I've made good progress this last week by knitting up to the armhole and dividing into two fronts and a back. Now that I'm knitting the parts of the jacket individually the jacket seems to making quicker progress! It's still on a circular needle although I have already finished one front already and I've almost finished the other so it will be finished for the warmer months after all.

Mr Melody's office has been selling off virtually brand new desks this week in an office move about, so Mr Melody secured three desks and three pedestals (medium sized three drawer cabinets) for the Melody family at a cost of £75 for the lot. The two Little Melodies have a desk and pedestal each up in the playroom/den to put their PCs and all their paraphernalia on and I managed to snaffle another for my craft room. It's much much bigger than the old table thing I used to pile all my crafting junk onto, but the pile of half-forgotten things I found under the desk was an eye-opener! Not wardrobe refashioning in the true sense, but an excellent bargain. I'm using the desk to put my sewing machine and overlocker on and the drawers will replace the tatty drawer unit in my craft room. A good thing really, as the handles fell off the fronts of the drawers recently and it's almost impossible to get the drawers open!! I can even sit at my new desk upstairs and use my new lappie on the internet, thanks to the power of WiFi. Utter Bliss.

2007-12-29T18:38:00.000Z

Scarf Done!

Hooray Dad's scarf is finished!!

And I want to knit another scarf - FOR ME!! - in Tess Dawson Merino 4 ply in black, using a feather and fan pattern as I don't have a scarf to my name... wahhhh!! I thought that black would look fab with my new camel coat.

I've been rootling through stash this afternoon to locate yarns for the sweaters for the lads as I want to join the Bloke sweater knitalong on the Crafty Threads forum. Starting with small bloke sweaters seemed to be the thing to do I thought, to build myself up to knitting one for Mr Melody. He asked for a vest to play golf in, baggy to hide his tum but gathering somewhat into a rib, with deeper armholes for the arm/shoulder movement of the golf swing.... I did mention that I didn't have a magic wand!! *LOL* I'm knitting him socks to go inside his rigger boots when he's on site, so that'll shut him up for a bit *wink*

A decision has been made today and probably one that I'll regret for the next 12 months - I'm joining Terri and Piglottie to name but a few, knitting from stash for 2008. That made you sit up and take notice, didn't it??!!

2007-12-23T14:40:00.000Z

The Season is Upon Us

Today is Christmas Day despite what the date says at the top of the post :? - Happy Christmas to Everyone!

Traditionally, I'm not keen on Christmas :( All the shopping for presents and food drives me to distraction. I'm hopeless at writing Christmas cards, never get them posted on time and run out of enthusiasm half way through my list :( This year, I shall do what I did with the boys last summer for teacher's leaving/thank you presents and donate my Christmas card money to a worthwhile charity. I chose Oxfam last summer, but have to think carefully about which charity to choose this year. We always donate a sum to charity for Lucy's birthday in January anyway, so may combine it with that for this year. We had a tremedously emotionally charged workshop/lecture from two counsellors from The Laura Centre in our last week of term, and I may decide to donate money to them this year.

Anyway - onwards ------

There is progress my friends! Only 90 rows on Dad's scarf until it's completed. We're visiting my parents for the day tomorrow so it needs to be done by then - do you think I'll manage to knit the extra 90 rows on this tedious scarf?! LOL!! Mum and Dad are coming to stay for a few days over New Year to look after the boys when I go back to Uni, so if the scarf isn't finished by tomorrow (which is highly doubtful) then Dad will have it for when they come down to stay.

I decided to do a bit of a Works in Progress round-up yesterday and took a few piccies of the knitting on the needles. So here they are.......

Possibly my favourite current WIP, a one-button jacket which I'm knitting in Patons Diploma Gold DK in a gorgeous plummy shade called Lupin. I'm currently knitting the first sleeve, although it's taken a bit of a back seat because of the scarf:

Progress on the Central Park Hoodie in Sirdar Highlander Aran in a beautiful, snuggly, deep red shade. This is fab to knit as it's relatively easy in terms of cabling, but not as mind numbing as pure stocking stitch!
You can just about see the cabling on this in-yer-face-red picture LOL!!

This cotton jacket is on hold until spring! It's a Garnstudio pattern in Paris aran weight cotton in what looks like red but is in fact a heathery cerise.

And of course, the tedious ribbed scarf... need I say more?? LOL!!

I'm knitting it in 4 ply sock yarn on 4mm needles - the best thing about it is knitting on these fabulous Surina needles - yum!

This New Year I don't want, or need, too many WIPs on the needles as I don't feel that anything is ever accomplished when only a few centimetres are knitted on each item. I'd much rather have one or two projects on the pins and get them finished quicker. It also means that I can cast on something new without feeling guilty!

All that remains for me to say is HAPPY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY, PEACEFUL, PROSPEROUS AND SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR.

Maybe next time I'll confess and tell you where I stand with my destashing vs stashing figures.... or I may just leave you to guess.... *wink*

2007-12-08T14:49:00.000Z

A Stressful Fortnight

Poor 'Big' Little Melody. He's been through the wringer this past fortnight, with suspected scarlet fever and tonsillitis and, just as he was recovering, he picked up a nasty cold virus that knocked him for six. The poor little lad has had one of those very high temperatures that's lasted for about five days in all and another sore throat along with a bunged up head and nose :( I think we've visited a GP of one sort or another four times in the last two weeks (twice the other Friday when Matt was so poorly with his tonsils/rash) However, this afternoon has see his temp approaching normal and his eyelids don't look so swollen and red - a turn for the better?

Last weekend we did manage to get out of the house as the boys wanted wheels for their Lego builds and we ventured into the middle of Leicester. We passed a Shelter charity shop on the way there and I spotted a fabulous camel coat in the window. As we passed the shop on the way back to the car, I popped in and asked to try it on. I was a bit nervous as I haven't really asked for things to be taken out of shop windows to try on before!

The photograph doesn't do the coat justice as I took the photo with a flash in very poor light... but.....Voila! A wonderful BRAND NEW Marks&Spencer wool and cashmere coat with the tags still on and it fits perfectly. A size 12 petite so I don't even have to shorten the sleeves. It was a pure bargain at thirty quid and helps out Shelter to boot.

I found out later that Shelter often have M&S end-of-line garments for incredible, bargainous prices so I might just have to pop in there again on the way to buy more Lego wheels *wink*

2007-11-23T12:46:00.000Z

Neglected Blogging

I know I've neglected my blog of late - apologies where they are due! I'm at home today - on a Friday of all days - as the Biggest 'Little' Melody has some sort of virus or could have the start of tonsillitis. I took him to the GP this morning whose first thought was scarlettina (oh boy!!!) as he had developed a rash under his skin this morning as well as high temp, sore throat, swollen glands, headache and vomiting from yesterday.
I must have looked a bit shocked as I said
"I thought it was probably a virus when I saw the rash??"
We have a deferred script for the 'good stuff' from the Doc, so he'll either recover on his own or need antibiotics!

I promise I'll take photos of the projects that I'm 'up to armholes in' over the weekend as I don't have the time just now. Little Melody wants a lettuce and salad cream sandwich.... yeuk!! Only a sick child could order something like that for lunch.

2007-11-14T23:00:00.000Z

Clothes and Powerpoint

I have to confess! Last weekend I bought *new* clothes with apologies to Wardrobe Refashioning. I needed a few more sweaters for the colder weather we've been having recently, and I just haven't had the time to knit any as quickly as I needed them. I needed some good sweaters for TE1 and I bought a long black skirt as well. I like my long navy skirt a lot, so I bought an equivalent black number that will look good with my suede boots that I bought earlier in the year.

I started Wardrobe Refashioning at the start of September although I joined the WR blog on 1st October. So I have actually completed my two months as I'd completed a month before I started. I think that 'work' clothes are excepted anyway, so I don't think I broke any rules.

Powerpoint. What a Wonderful Creation. I've spent years trying to avoid this software, not having any use for it really before now. I've just made a Powerpoint presentation for my lesson tomorrow and produced resources from it too and all I can say is 'WOW!!' LOL!!

2007-11-10T13:24:00.000Z

Feeling Ropey

My chest hurts and my voice is so deep it sounds like I'm smoking 40 a day. I think I might have a touch of what the boys had last week *rolls eyes*

I've got tons of planning to do this weekend and I've had some bonkers ideas for lessons while the house was quiet and my mind was on other things this morning (like knitting!) , so I just need to tone them down a bit, make some resources and all will be well.

I found out that my placement school that I'm in at the moment has a knitting club - how cool is that?!! It's held during Tuesday lunchtimes and I thought I'd pop in this coming Tuesday as it will be the last time I can go to it seeing as it's my last week of TE1. But our tutor is coming over on Tuesday to chat to our mentor teachers and watch us teach, so I may not have the opportunity to sit and knit for a while. Which is a shame 'cos I'd love to take my pins, knit and chill with the kids!

Projects ----- I'll take some photos later on and post them up here I promise!

2007-11-07T22:08:00.001Z

Fewest Amount of WIPs for Ages

Funny how things change isn't it? Last weekend I was bemoaning the fact that I had become a conscious incompetent, and in the middle of this week I'm high on teaching adrenalin. A few days maybe, but so much change.

Indeed, the profile of my Work-in-Progress count has also been a-changin'. I currently have the fewest WIP count in months with only 4 WIPs and one of those is on-hold until next spring. Things might be getting finished Chez Melody.... but I wouldn't recommend holding your breath......

2007-11-04T15:57:00.000Z

Introducing Las Vegas Socks.

Here they are, my latest pair of socks for the Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns Sockamonth challenge:

My socks haven't been produced on a monthly basis at all, I've only managed to complete four pairs this year and that includes two pairs for the Little Melodies.
Mr Melody has ordered a pair of golf socks for the next pair that I knit, so I can't see those being knitted before the end of December can you? Not the long, knee-high, plus fours variety you understand, just a pair of normal length men's socks, but handknitted by moi. I'm seeming to remember that he wants them to be some sort of blue so they will be boring to knit by anyone's standards. Maybe I can inject a touch of colour into them without him noticing *evil grin*

I've done some thinking and reflecting about the first week of TE1 this morning and have come to the conclusion that I'm now at the stage of learning where I have BIG clues as to what I don't know, rather than the blissful ignorance of NOT knowing what I don't know, iyswim? I think it's called something like Conscious Incompetence or something equally derogatory! But I'm happy with the fact that I've taken steps towards Unconscious Competence this week, and that has to be a huge step forward, doesn't it?

2007-11-03T18:46:00.000Z

Fireworks, Kinaesthesis and and Las Vegas Socks

Las Vegas socks are finished in time for November draw, we're off to a firework party at Loughborough Uni this evening (the boys want hot dogs... bleugh!) and I went to a Kinaesthetic Maths workshop this morning. Oooh, and I shopped in Loughborough this afternoon as the biggest Melody Child has grown so much and his arms have grown so long that he's outgrown his school sweatshirts and needed all new. It's only when I got home and ripped up my ticket for the Kinaesthetic Maths workshop for recycling that I realised I could have popped it into my Professional File under Development of Subject Knowledge. Bah! I'll have to sellotape it together I s'pose!

What a dangerous life I lead, eh?

2007-10-29T18:35:00.000Z

Kim Socks Complete

Aha! I *knew* I would do it!

I've had a shedload of trouble trying to upload the photos to the PC. The image program threw a wobbler and wouldn't fire up so my piccies have been trapped in my camera all weekend. Mr Melody is useful sometimes, and just dragged the photos across to the PC directory using Explorer. Who knew you could do that??

Et voila! My pink Kim socks in all their pink loveliness:

2007-10-26T18:57:00.000+01:00

Next Step - TE1

The next stage of our PGCE starts in earnest next week with the start of our first teaching experience, lovingly known as TE1. I obviously can't blog about which school I'll be at, or about anything that happens whilst I'm there due to confidentiality policies; but if you see a slightly perturbed student teacher over the next three weeks, frantically knitting a sock, then it could be me... couldn't it?

My pink Kim socks are almost finished, with only the toe shaping to do now. I think I'll be able to finish those by the end of October *wink*

Both the Little Melodies have been suffering with a nasty dose of croup each this week and have both been marched down to to the Out-of-Hours surgery in our local area at unsocial hours of the night/evening. It's unfortunately a common occurrence at this time of the year, both boys appearing to have suffered quite badly this time, with both of them either losing their voices or sounding like Darth Vader without having to wear one of those voice changing masks. Luckily it's been half term this week, so they were able to drink plenty of water, take their time recovering and sleep during the day if they wanted to, which is the best cure for any viral infection I think.

A sure sign of them getting better was earlier this evening, when the littlest one asked
"Could you ask Mattie to stop killing me please?"

Aren't children wonderful? LOL!

2007-10-22T19:32:00.000+01:00

Grace Finished

My Grace jacket from Rowan magazine 26 is now completed:

I didn't make any modifications to the pattern at all and I'm fairly pleased with the way it's turned out. I have noticed that there is a fair bit of 'rowing out' occurring within the stocking stitch which I don't like and I'm sure that it's due to me using bamboo needles for this project. I've come to love working with my Brittany Birches and feel spoiled by them in many ways; bamboo needles are just not the same anymore :(

I'm particularly pleased with the collar on this jacket though. For some reason the moss stitch edge to the collar appeals to me. A close-up to show you what I mean:

2007-10-21T15:14:00.000+01:00

Feeling Very Tired

I'm feeling very ratty and tired today - I finally managed to get to sleep at 4am this morning due to the intensely irritating sound of Mr Melody's snoring. There are times when I wish I could stick a DPN into him....

BUT! I have almost sewn my Grace jacket together that I finished knitting in the summer/ spring/a long time ago and it will be ready for showing on my blog this week I hope.

I've made more progress on my Kim socks too and the gussett decreases are done. Only 10cm more to knit on the foot and the toe shaping and I'll have those completed as well.

I realised last week on my TE1 visit (to my first teaching placement) that I really don't have enough decent jackets or cardigans to wear in the classroom. I have enough trousers (okay, they do need shortening I'll admit) and skirts that I can wear, plus an abundance of tops. But very few cardigans, sweaters or jackets. My aim is to knit myself a 4 ply fusion knit cardigan or long sleeved top this week or next weekend, but in the meantime - any suggestions for a nice, casual but smart jacket or cardigan that would be suitable for the primary classroom?

2007-10-18T18:51:00.000+01:00

Still Wearing Pink

I'm still managing to wear an item of pink clothing per day in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month, although for those who know me in real life the pink may not always be that obvious. Did I mention pink underwear? LOL!

I was very pleased with myself I managed to achieve a 96% score in a Maths Audit this week and I think I might choose Maths as a specialist option on the course. I would be bonkers not to after all.

Knitting News:
I decided that since Natalie of The Yarn Yard was offering no one but TWO prizes for the October Sockamonth Challenge, I should try to knit a pink pair of socks and finish them in October. Natalie is offering the standard 'finish the socks' prize and an extra prize if your socks are pink. How could I refuse? So the Kim socks from back in February have been resurrected, and here's the progress so far:

Funny how it took over six months to finish the lace cuff on the first sock but just over a week on the second..... *shrugs* I think that knitting on two circulars is a bit of an acquired 'feel' though; at first it feels really awkward and ungainly, but on going back to the circulars to knit the second sock, I knew instinctively how the needles should feel and what I should do with them, so maybe this is the reason for the seemingly speedier second sock. And I want to get the pair finished for the 31st October deadline obviously. How's your pink sock knitting going?

2007-10-12T18:12:00.000+01:00

Three Hours of PE This Morning

That's all I'm saying.... LOL!

2007-10-06T20:04:00.000+01:00

Rippit, rippit, rippit!

The first assignment has been finished and handed in. *sighs of relief all round*

There hasn’t been a huge amount of knitting done at Chez Melody but this week has seen me going for a haircut. I was beginning to look like a Yorkshire Terrier my fringe was so long! I've also been making costumes for the boys for Book Day, when all the children at the boys’ school were invited to dress up as their favourite book character. Lots of late night making, sticking, cutting and stitching was involved in said costume makery.

I’ve been feeling a little jaded with my knitting projects this week, possibly due to late night commitments, and have frogged a couple of things. I frogged my 2x2 cotton cardigan as I was totally bored with all the ribbing and couldn’t face knitting the tedium that is 2x2 rib throughout the winter. Then I also cast on, and almost immediately frogged, a cabled hoodie in Sirdar Spree chunky yarn. I love the hoodie pattern, but I wasn’t overly fond of the off-white colour of the yarn I’d chosen to knit it in. I have managed to knit some of Dad’s scarf on the station platform however and cast on the stitches for a Central Park Hoodie - only a year behind everyone else!

Here is the beginnings of the CPH resting upon its own project bag that I made earlier last month. It's a piece of Laura Ashley fabric that I had left over from a project some years back, and all I had to do was stitch the sides and add a drawstring. So much prettier than a tatty plastic carrier bag that I usually haul my projects around in.

2007-10-01T09:33:00.000+01:00

100 Posts!

Would you believe that this is my one hundredth posting onto my blog? A cause for celebration maybe.... pop by and leave a comment for me!

Until I realised that this was posting 100, this entry was going to be entitled "Pretty in Pink" as it is 1st October and the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month. I usually buy an item of Tickled Pink clothing to support the Breast Cancer Awareness charity, but as I'm an official member of Wardrobe Refashioning I'm unable to do that this year.

Instead, I will pledge to go through the whole of the month of October wearing at least one item of pink clothing to support Breast Cancer Awareness. This morning I'm wearing a pair of pink stripey socks, a pink hoodie and pink underwear. And here's the proof!

Righty-ho - back to my assignment. I probably won't have time to blog this week as I have several study type things to work on, so I'll catch up with you all next weekend. Have a good week!