Not Doing Too Well ....

... on my resolution to blog more frequently. I'm pretty poor at this to be honest. I always have a project on the go but I rarely remember to check in here and blog about what I'm up to!

Three weeks ago I embarked on a big lifestyle change. I have been trying (and failing) to lose weight for over a decade and when I think back to the diet post baby no.1 - wanting to lose a stone and a half it kind of makes me sick that I didn't nip the whole thing in the bud back then! But now, 11 years on I have a hell of a lot more than a stone and a half to lose and I'm not going to fail this time, because this time I'm not on a diet. I have joined MyFitnessPal and am 9lbs down so far. I am making a very conscious effort to move more - from just the simple task of walking to collect Charlotte from school to the mammoth 90 minute workout I am doing at the gym. In the past week I have attended a pilates class (another one this evening) which I found really relaxing - but my goodness did my abs (yes .... I have some apparently) and backside ache for days afterwards. I have been swimming twice - I tried to go a third time but the pool was shut due to a gala, and I've been in the gym twice. Its going well so far and I'm hoping I can keep up the momentum. My best friend Hayley is also on this mission with me, and its lovely having some back up support, although other than one swimming session we're not working out together really. MyFitnessPal is proving to be an extremely valuable tool. It has a huge database so I can track my food and exercise really easily, most of the things I'm logging are already there and those that aren't are easy to add, it is also available on the iPhone/iPod, Android and Blackberry market (for free) so you can track from your mobile and not have to remember everything. The best thing about it, however, is the community side of it. You can add friends and they really help boost your spirit when the news feed posts how many calories you've burned doing X amount of minutes exercise and they all comment how great you are and how well you're doing. Such a simple thing, but I feel like if I didn't keep it all up I'd not only let myself down, but I'd let all my MFP friends down too. In moments of serious lack of enthusiasm I could go on to the MFP forum boards and look at the topics in 'Success Stories' .... a place where people can post before/after pictures to inspire others - it works like nothing else, seeing someone who had the same amount as you to lose looking amazing in the after shots! I can't wait to be at a point where I can add a success story! I've given myself a halfway mark, when I hit that I'll post pictures.

That is what is the main focus of my life right now, but I do have a pattern being test-knit as we speak so hopefully that can be listed on Ravelry soon. Have a little preview of the cutie:

Eric the Sheep

Eric came to life fairly quickly. I began making him in bobble stitch but my first attempt wasn't quite right and my second attempt was slow and still not what I wanted, so I decided to give loop stitch a go. Loop stitch is definitely one of the knitting techniques that you need to watch to be able to do. I read three different sets of written instructions and each was different, and got me more and more confused, so I YouTube-d it and found video instructions. The only difference I did was knitting the second half of each loop stitch TBL, I think it made the overall structure tighter!

Anyway, once I'd mastered loop stitch (which is still fiddly but worth the effort) I moved on to the dangly iCord arms and legs. I began with what I thought was the legs, but when they were done they were smaller than I'd hoped, so they became the arms and I knitted bigger for the legs. Just a head and some ears to go which, thankfully, worked first attempt. There's nothing more frustrating when you're so close to finishing a pattern than having to rip out a few hours worth of work because it isn't how you wanted.

And here he is, Eric the Sheep. Just in time for pre-Easter knitting .... maybe we'll try for a chick too!

Busy Little Knitting Fingers

I've well and truly jumped back on the knitting wagon. After a slow start to 2011 I've managed to get on with the projects I have to complete. Various people have put in their orders - and there are a few projects for home too. Charlotte's crochet blanket is still underway. 72/92 stripes done, so not much more to go, she's pleased about that needless to say.

When I was unwell over Christmas and then again last month I kept thinking to myself that it was silly we didn't own a hot water bottle. Surely every household should have at least one? A shopping trip to Asda provided me with one at a bargain price of £2 and not only did buying it get me a little excited but the thought of the cover I could knit gave me a huge smile. So home I came, and straight on to Ravelry which is my first port of call for any knitting pattern I want, but my searches didn't come up with the exact pattern I wanted. I already had some Patons Smoothie acrylic yarn (which is soooo soft, I prefer it to some scratchy wool blends, and its far cheaper at only £2.79 for 100g) in a gorgeous red wine colour and I decided to just design my own. I wanted cables galore, but with a ribbed neck (kind of like a chunky polo neck jumper) so off I went, figured out the measurements, did the maths and cast on. I love love love my finished cover. I'm going to write the pattern up and post it for free on here in the next few weeks, but give me some time to get it written!


Then I moved on to some bunny love. A friend had commissioned me to make one for her daughter. A grey rabbit with shoes and a pink jumper. The jumper had to have an A on the front and the number 7 on the back. I can almost knit these bunnies in my sleep now.




Sally, Aflie's keyworker at nursery had asked me to knit a bunny for her niece but before I got started she put a halt on it due to complications in labour. Miraculously though she has pulled through and is back at home so I made it as a surprise for her. Alfie loves her so much, she's the one reason that he's settled in so well (minus a month or so of upset, but that's not unusual) and I'm pleased I could give her something as a thank you.


Off I go now, there's a giraffe to knit, and an elephant in a ballet costume ....

Charlotte's almost 11

I have had an eventful week to say the least. A 12 hour sit-in at A&E which turned in to an overnight stay and three detailed chest scans showed the blood clot in my leg had fragmented and part had travelled to my lungs. A lot of pain, an overnight stay and a third day in A&E; after being discharged but then developing breathing difficulties so going back, has basically been the main attraction in the last week. I am ok now, still feeling slightly tight chested but the pain has eased off! Not nice at all, quite worrying. On top of all that, I didn't take any knitting in to hospital with me, so I didn't even manage to come home with some crafty goodness!


In much nicer news, it is Charlotte's birthday on Wednesday and my parents and brother, sister in law and niece came down for some food and fun yesterday. It was the first time I'd been out of bed since Wednesday but all went well and we had a lovely time. Matt's family will come on Wednesday to see her, and then next Monday we're taking her and 2 friends bowling.



Finally, my weekly collage! I'm still having fun finding photos for each day. My photograph for last Monday was meant to be of the man in A&E who had forgotten his trousers (but remembered his cigarettes) but I felt bad sneaking photos of unbeknown subjects!


Top Left: 18/365 - The view from my hospital bed
Top Middle: 15/365 - The 'Hollyoaks Hunk' for January - my bedroom calendar
Top Right: 19/365 - My gorgeous chocolate fudge get well cake from Hayley. With her rude name for me blurred out!! ;o)
Middle Left: 17/365 - A blood pressure monitor, taken in A&E
Middle Right: 20/365 - The beginnings of a sock, waiting room knitting
Bottom Left: 21/365 - My first Cadbury's Cream Egg of 2011
Bottom Right: 16/365 - a lovely Sunday morning fry-up

Project 365 - Week 2

I have had fun this week trying to get various snap shots of what's going on in my life. Some days are easier than others.



Top left: 11/365: Blood Test Tuesday
Top Right: 10/365: Crawley Town beat Derby in the FA Cup!!
Middle Left: 14/365: My scrabble game on the iPod .... been playing ALOT recently!
Middle: 9/365: Charlotte with her face stuck in her iPod, as its been since Christmas day
Middle Right: 12/365: Hayley, eating a dried apricot. A situation we found hilarious at the time!
Bottom Left: 8/365: My parents with the children, they came to see us for the day.
Bottom Right: 13/365: Alfie has been dressing like Buzz Lightyear for a few days now!


Charlotte's school was closed yesterday due to an epidemic of Norovirus. It feels lovely today as I keep thinking its Sunday but actually its only Saturday! LOVE IT when that happens!

No change on the crafty front. Still crochet-ing like crazy to finish Charlotte's blanket but I have 2 rabbits and an elephant on order so will have to put the hook down soon and pick up the needles!

Project 365 - 4, 5, 6 & 7

I have, from my last post, figured out how to upload a blog posting from my phone. This way of doing things is a lot more complicated it has to be said, and the photos I upload come out smaller than when I do things from the computer but its definitely a good way to keep up to date with my Project 365 photos.
Clockwise from top left 6/365: A soggy school run. 4/365: A perfect evening. 5/365: A drawing from Livvy. 7/365: Tea with Hayley.

I don't, however, want the project to take over my blog so am trying to think of a way of striking a happy medium. I think I will upload a collage of photos each week, but as I have already posted 3 I will put the final 4 from this week on and upload another 7 next friday. My normal blog posts will continue as normal.

As you can see from photo no. 2/365 I am working on Charlotte's stripy blanket at the moment and this is a huge project so will take a while to complete. I'm over half way through now, on stripe 53 of 91. I picked up a seperate project the other day and got a definite look of disgust from her ladyship that I wasn't finishing the blanket so I think I must soldier on until its complete!

Project 365 numbers 2&3

I am attempting a blog upload from my phone here, this may not be completely successful. Picture number 2/365 is of Charlotte's crochet blanket, still a work in progress! Picture number 3/365 is of Alfie, collapsed after a long day playing with playmobile.

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