I've been tagged

So I've been tagged by Jagienka. I'll post that in a mo.

I've finished the February Lady Sweater body, I'm on the first sleeve now. Loving it immensely. Can't wait till it's finished!

I'm looking forward to starting a sock from Cookie A's book, Sock Innovation. I'll have a browse on Ravelry to see what ones others have knit before I pick my fave.
I'm also itching to do another bit of sewing. I'd love to make my Mam a new apron.

Speaking of my Mam, things have deteriorated quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. My poor Dad got all upset last Saturday and told me he can't cope anymore. I felt so bad. I try my best to help, but I'm sure I could be doing more. Maybe if I work a 4 day week or something? I've rung the health board to see about getting a home help. The public health nurse is coming next Thursday to assess them, but she has already told me there's no money for one. Great. So I rang my "brother" to ask if he would be willing to help out with the cost and he flat out said no. The prick. I can't believe he refused. I was in floods of tears to be honest, he's never around, I do everything for them and he won't even give me a few quid to help. That's the end of our relationship to be honest. He was never that great before, but how can anyone refuse to help look after their parents? It's beyond me.

Anyway, onto the tag. here we go!

4 placed I lived in:
1. Blanchardstown, Dublin
2. Celbridge, Co Kildare.
There's no 3 and 4, I've never lived anywhere else.

4 places I like to come back to:
1. Florida
2. Connemara
3. Wexford
4. Waterford

4 favourite dishes:
1. Anything Indian. Anything, but especially Onion Bhajis.
2. Homemade Chicken Curry
3. My Dad's Irish stew.
4. Spaghetti Bolognese

4 dishes I can not stand:
1. Roast beef
2. Roast lamb
3. Goose or duck
4. Fresh tomatoes

4 hobbies:
1. Knitting
2. Blogging
3. Sewing
4. Reading

4 places I would go if I had a chance:
1. Florida
2. San Francisco
3. New York
4. Australia

4 TV series, programs I like:
1. The West Wing. Best tv series ever.
2. Bones
3. Holby City
4. Deadliest Catch

4 places of work:
1. Superquinn (Irish supermarket)
2. Pharmacy
3. Civil Service
4. There's no 4, that's all the jobs I've had!

4 things I'd like to do:
1. Lose weight
2. Stop smoking
3. Go on a cruise
4. Be locked in a room for 15 minutes with Rob Lowe!

4 favourite movies:
1. The Color Purple
2. Airplane
3. O Brother Where Art Thou
4. A Fish Called Wanda

4 favourite acts:
1. A-ha
2. Depeche Mode
3. Paul Simon
4. George Michael

4 things I do first when logging on online:
1. Check mail
2. Ravelry
3. Twitter
4. Bloglines

4 people I invite to play
1. Tara
2. Alrischa
3. Worsted Knitt
4. She Knit Up That Ball

Back on the knitting track

Apologies guys for the last post. I try to keep this blog as knitting related as I can, but sometimes I just need to vent. Thanks to all who commented, it's nice to know I'm not alone in my quandary!

I do have other stuff going on with my Mam - it's reached a crisis point recently, but I'll save that for another day. No point going overboard with the pity party for one!

Anyway. What you come here for: knitting.

Progress continues on my February Lady Sweater.

I knew I hadn't a hope of finishing this for yesterday, although I reckon it won't be too long before I'm at the bottom. I do like my cardigans to cover my butt, but I'm not sure if this would be a bit too big? Maybe stop at the hips? I think that may be better as it swings open pretty much from the bust. Any longer and I may take off if it's a breezy day!

I'm really enjoying this knit. A dead easy pattern repeat means welcome mindless distraction. Plus the added bonus of a meaty project. Although I have to start a pair of socks soon before I pass out from the longing.

I decided to treat myself and donate to Ravelry at the same time. I had some Paypal funds, so I splashed out and bought this:

Isn't it great? I only ordered it last Thursday and it has winged it's way to me by today! That's good service I think. I plan on wearing it to UK Ravelry Day in two weeks time. I probably could have got a size smaller, but I like roomy t-shirts. Especially when I'll be travelling on planes, trains and buses!

A close up of the front:

And the back:

I love it!
I'll also be able to wear it to WWKIP day on June 13th. I've organised the Dublin meetup for St. Stephens Green south near the bandstand for 2pm. There will be a band playing too so it will be nice to sit, knit/spin/crochet, chat and listen to the music!

There are also plans to have a morning event at This is Knit in the Powerscourt centre, more deets if it goes ahead.

I've created a PDF flier for it but don't know how to upload it anywhere, so I'll post it on the Dublin Knit Collevtive group on Ravelry.

I just can't get it out out of my head

A non-knitting post tonight.
The title suggests an inner struggle, which is true. I cannot get the thoughts of having another baby out of my head for quite a while now. Lovely! I hear you all say, but I don't think it's quite that simple. I work full time and childcare is very expensive in Ireland. Plus, my daughter currently goes to a private school that costs €5K a year. In this economic climate I don't see how I can afford both.
Shut up! I hear you say! Having a child is not a financial exercise, it's an act of love, a desire to spread your family. This is where I present my problem. I cannot stop thinking about me. I reckon I'm just a selfish person. But, I had awful PND after Alice. I mean I considered ending it all I felt so bad. It was not a place I ever want to be in again. Ever. So I'm scared of that repeating. Plus there was the inadequacy feelings coz I couldn't breastfeed, which are doubled now coz of my dodgy boob. And, where does my dream of a holiday/retirement home in Florida stand if I have two mouths to feed?
Another reason - Alice is 8 now. Tha's a big gap. I sense jealousy.

Anyhoo, I don't really know why I'm posting this as it's totally NOT knitting related, (or is it? TONS of yummy baby stuff) but maybe you, blog friends, can help me? Should I say no due to money and selfish reasons, or should I risk PND and daily sickness and God knows how we'll manage for the joy of new cuddly cheeks? I'm so torn, I swear.

BTW, There's no obligation to comment on this one. Honest. I think it's more of a need to vent on my part, and I just don't have anyone close to me that I can vent to.

Rainy Sunday

Yep, it's raining. Again. I know Ireland is lovely and green, but for God's sake it's halfway through May and my flesh hasn't seen a bit of sun! Summer my arse.

I've been plugging away at the February Lady Sweater and finally have enough done to show:

Not bad, huh? It's slow going because of the vast stitch count required to cover my over ample bosom, but I like it. I've always loved the baby sweater so was thrilled when I discovered this pattern. The yarn is a nice colour too; nice and summery (hint hint weather!). I've no chance of getting this done in time for the anniversary party I wanted to wear it to, but you never know. I may get a shot of knitting speed back and get it done. Maybe.

Nothing much else to report. I've done no sewing since, but I did buy Sewing for Dummies, since I need all the help I can get :) I hope to attempt something new soon. Once of the girls at my knitting group has a pattern for a handbag I thought might be fun.

And that's your lot!

To the commenter Rainbow, who asked where I got the peg bag pattern from:

I have no email address for you to reply individually so here goes.

It's in a special edition of Womans Weekly magazine, Craft Special 2009 which was published in February. You can actually still buy copies of it here

Sock mojo returneth!

My sock mojo has been missing for the last while. I think it's because of the sock we shall not mention that sits in my knitting basket waiting for me to confirm I don't have enough yarn left to finish it.

I keep hoping the sock fairy will whisk it away some night.

So, I have decided to bring my sock mojo back with a present:

Sock Innovation(Ravlink) by Cookie A. I heart Cookie A socks.

I'm so excited to get going with this book, that I'm rushing this post so I can read it!

I cast on for a February Lady Sweater the other day. Pics next post. I hope to have it done in about 2 weeks... Here's hoping the sock book doesn't lure me in with it's beautiful pictures and patterns in the meantime!

Baby, baby

I've gone baby mad. Well, knitting for them anyway. The second part of my charity knitting promise, for the local childrens hospital for the premature babies.

The first one below is a Sirdar pattern. Ravlink.

Needles: 3.25mm and 4mm

Yarn: Sirdar Baby bonus DK

Size: to fit 36cm chest.

This pattern drove me nuts. Such a simple stitch, this should have been a piece of cake but the directions for the raglan shoulders were so badly written I ended up ignoring them and winging it myself. (Which is never a good thing). With the result that the decreases aren't the best. Still, it looks ok I suppose.
The hat was a lovely knit though. The turn up ribbing is cute!

Onto the second pattern:

Pattern: Ravlink, BBCLink

Yarn: Sirdar Baby Bonus DK

Needles: 5mm

Super simple and really quick pattern. Knit up while watching two episodes of Bones. Can't ask for better than that! And I think it's pretty cool too.

Lastly:

Pattern: Ravlink, Weblink

Yarn: Sirdar Baby Bonus DK

Needles: 4.5mm

This one is my favourite. It's probably the smallest too, but I'm sure it could easily be made a bit bigger. The lacy pattern is just lovely. I reckon this one only took me about 90 minutes to do this morning.

So, there you have it! My charity knitting promise fulfilled. Although at the speed the hats knit up I may be making some more!

In other news, hubby returned from Stockholm on Friday night with some goodies. I'm sure those of you following me on twitter already saw a pic of my goodies, but here's the ones I'm allowed to show for now. There is more but it's being witheld until my birthday next month.

He got me 10 skeins of this Raspberry Garnstudio Drops Alpaca:

And two skeins in this creamy contrasting colour:
Isn't he just the BEST?

It's so soft, I could just lie on it and sleep, happily dreaming of little alpacas jumping over fences.

I'm planning on making this baby with it. Ravlink. I've loved this pattern since I first saw it, but never had the right yarn. I'll have to work it out, but hopefully this will be enough for it. The yardage is fairly generous per skein.

Now, I need to open my suggestion box again. I am projectless, if you discount the Jaywalker socks which I'm kind of ignoring as I'm almost certain I won't have enough yarn to finish them, and if I resign myself to that I think I'll lose it. I get all antsy when I'm projectless.

I'm looking for something to wear to my sister and brother in law's 25th wedding anniversary at the end of the month. Something figure flattering that will go with a nice pair of black trousers or a black satiny skirt. I don't mind having to layer underneath it as I have a black cami, so something lacy wouldn't be too bad, but it MUST have sleeves. I can't abide my bingo wings on show. Anyone any ideas?

Oh, and my Summer IK arrived on Friday. Not, one. thing. to knit in it. :(

Communion Photos

Right, got the photos converted of the communion so here you are:

Alice's Communion Cardigan:

I know I'm biased, but isn't she just the cutest? I had forgotten to put her medal on at this stage. You can see it in the next photo. It was the medal I wore for my communion *cough* number of years ago...

My foxy clap on my not-so-foxy self:

The outfit was a total nightmare. I got it the day before the communion! Talk about my nerves! I know it doesn't match the clap perfectly, but there were some raspberry tones in it that were almost perfect. Anyway, I didn't care, I was thrilled to have two knitty items on show that day. I can guarantee that I was the only one and Alice was the only child wearing anything hand made!

Good Stripe Dress done!

Yay! It's finished! I'm so happy with it. It was tough going at the end with all those stitches (500) in each round, but I stuck with it and am thrilled with the result:



Pattern: A Good Stripe Dress from IK Spring 2008
Needles: 3mm circs and dpns
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport in Blush, Orchid and Cream

Alice loves it. The poor lamb is sick in bed today otherwise she would have modelled it. I'll post pics next time of her wearing it.

As I said she's not well. All night last night I was up with her, a pain in her belly. I think it was trapped wind. Eventually at about 5am she got sick and has felt much better since. I've kept her in bed with a DVD as a precaution, though I think I'll get her up now for some soup for lunch.

I reckon it was from all the cake and nerves and attention on her communion on Saturday. It was a great day. She looked so gorgeous, I got all teary. My little girl isn't so little anymore! She read a prayer in the church and was just perfect.
The party aftewards was great too. She really enjoyed herself. And the weather was perfect! I knew my prayers would be answered! I put out our statue of the Child Of Prague in the garden the night before. This is a really old Irish tradition, that if you put the statue out the night before your wedding, you're sure to have good weather. Well, this statue saved my bacon on my wedding day so I figured it was worth another try. When we got married it poured for two weeks beforehand yet we had a scorcher of a wedding day. And, it worked again! It was lovely on Saturday, nice and sunny and a light breeze. Perfect.

I'll post pics next time as hubby took them in RAW format (means nothing to me either lol) and they're HUGE in size. I need to get them off the camera and reduced to JPEG and then we're set. The delay is coz our pc died and we had to buy a new one. This means re-installing everything onto it, which takes hours. Still, it's a new shiny one so that's good!