I am a 35 year old mamma & Mrs who has made it my new year resolution to learn to knit!
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Need to rob a bank!
No seriously though how expensive is yarn? I was looking in my Ravelry library today & am astounded at just how much money I would need to find from god knows where to make everything I have in there. I am currently broke. broke, broke so am knitting shawls with yarn from my stash & am most diassapointed in the way it is decreasing. I think when I get back on my feet financially I am going to try dying my own, not to sell but just for me. I also think it will have therapeutic values alongside my knitting to help my Bi-Polar. It's like the writing I do in here, I refuse to call this a Blog as then I would be expecting people to read it, I don't I just like to empty my head of thoughts and ideas & this way is much cheaper than using paper :). I have also been given an old sewing machine that I need to spend a couple of days cleaning up as it has lain unloved for a few years. My intention is to make myself 2 dresses for 2 wedding's I have a day apart later this year as cheap as possible without them looking it. I have knitted a lovely cardigan that will go with both and I have shoes a'plenty so it's all looking rather positive (in my head). I am also making the gifts for both weddings too so even more money saved & I think more personnel. So that's what's been going on in my life & in my head for last coupla days :D
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Holy Mygody
Phewie what a terrible month March was in terms of boring things like the house! we had a major disaster that could have been fatal thanks to the asswipes that are Scottish Power rigging up my electrics wrong. We ended up with no electricity for 2 days & no heating/ hot water for 6.....There was snow on the ground so needless to say I was not a happy Mamma. My boy was shipped off to his nana while me & the big fella soldiered on. All the food had to be chucked out of the fridge & freezer (I had only done that weeks shop 2 days before) as said Fridge freezer blew up, as did my washing machine, cooker, microwave & big fella's Lap Top! Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo that was fun NOT. They have compensated us replaced the broken things apart from the Lap Top which is still away getting fixed but my gadz it was super stressful. Thank THE baby Jebus for my knitting which I have been doing in earnest thanks to my amazingly handsome nephew deciding to arrive 6 weeks before his due date. He was a little small just over 5lbs but no major health issues. He is a clever boy who was allowed home yesterday as he is feeding from Mamma & gaining weight <3. So yeah knit, knit, knitting teeny tiny bebe things is what I have been doing. good times after the bad. I also managed out twice last month which is good going for me seeing as the crazy is still lurking & I am not quite up to normal health wise, but it was amazing seeing my friends again & I was horrified to realise it had been almost a year since I had seen some. I have tea & cake planned for tomorrow with another Pregnant mamma & a play on Friday night with the girls to look forward to also. My wee dude is away to Portugal on his holibags with the grandparents for Easter, so apart from one major clean up mainly the aforementioned wee dude's bedroom I am going to sit knitting till my heart is content. I have KAL starting next week for a Lace scarf with some of the FB knitting mamma's which should be fun & I have also sold some of my stash to fund more yarn purchases :)
Thursday, 3 January 2013
New Year, new skills
Happy New Year.....................
Ours has started off quite well for a change. The tree is gone the after effects of the holiday's a distant memory.
I am sorting a list of knits I want to achieve this year. I wanted to try Lace and I have started off with great intentions & am currently working my way through the Alyona lace scarf by www.fyberspates.co.uk
using a beautiful lace yarn from this lovely lady www.edencottageyarns.co.uk. And so far so good :) I was really scared to try it out although now I don't know why, the pattern is amazing for newbies like myself & I would highly recommend it.
I am also trying to only have 1 WIP on the go at any one time too to make sure I finish off what I started instead of having a cupboard full of UFO's for a change. I recently went through all my UFO's and recycled the yarn after deciding that I really was just kidding myself that I was going to finish them. So month 1 WIP 1 = a win so far.
I am trying to decide if I am brave enough to tackle the dreaded sock next? they honestly give me the fear even though they are at the very top of my "new knits to learn this year" list, there are so many amazing patterns to choose from and I don't even want to get started on the yarn choice...................
So that's my lot for now, I am off to enjoy a cuppa & get back to my knitting.
Loobie x
Ours has started off quite well for a change. The tree is gone the after effects of the holiday's a distant memory.
I am sorting a list of knits I want to achieve this year. I wanted to try Lace and I have started off with great intentions & am currently working my way through the Alyona lace scarf by www.fyberspates.co.uk
I am also trying to only have 1 WIP on the go at any one time too to make sure I finish off what I started instead of having a cupboard full of UFO's for a change. I recently went through all my UFO's and recycled the yarn after deciding that I really was just kidding myself that I was going to finish them. So month 1 WIP 1 = a win so far.
I am trying to decide if I am brave enough to tackle the dreaded sock next? they honestly give me the fear even though they are at the very top of my "new knits to learn this year" list, there are so many amazing patterns to choose from and I don't even want to get started on the yarn choice...................
So that's my lot for now, I am off to enjoy a cuppa & get back to my knitting.
Loobie x
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Another year over.....Almost
Well that is Christmas over and done with for another year thank go. I have to admit this year has been our toughest in loads of ways, there is always the money problems there is just never enough, Family problems consist of the usual bickering rellies. But this year I am just getting over my "break down" which is in one way awesome that there is now light at the end of the tunnel but its also really freaking scary knowing that I need to do normal things like find work.
The work thing is my biggest worry to date, not that I am work shy in fact the I am quite the opposite. But what is troubling me is that 6 month gaping hole that will appear on my CV! What do I write? "I am sorry I was outa work as my brain & body endured a 6 month crazy frenzy"? doesn't look good does it.............
So that is where I am at with that part of my life. The other part (the best part) KNITTING is going really well :) I completed my knitted Xmas presents in plenty of time, I even knitted things for family members to give as gifts. But I want to up my game so to speak, I want to tackle the dreaded sock.
DPNs are the devils work IMO so I will be trying my best to learn on circs, I have the tools I just need my brain to get on the same page. This is all part of my "pushing" myself to learn a new pattern every month and I of course at the moment have ideas of grandeur like 12 pairs in 12 months! I can manage that...Right?
I have also bought the infamous Owl pattern form this amazing lady http://katedaviesdesigns.com/designs/o-w-l-s/ and am scooting about trying to decide which colour to make my first one in.
So that's my lot for now, I kinda like the idea of this blog thing een though I am most likely talking to myself but it saves the trees if I do it this way.
Have a wonderful & safe New Years
Loobie x
The work thing is my biggest worry to date, not that I am work shy in fact the I am quite the opposite. But what is troubling me is that 6 month gaping hole that will appear on my CV! What do I write? "I am sorry I was outa work as my brain & body endured a 6 month crazy frenzy"? doesn't look good does it.............
So that is where I am at with that part of my life. The other part (the best part) KNITTING is going really well :) I completed my knitted Xmas presents in plenty of time, I even knitted things for family members to give as gifts. But I want to up my game so to speak, I want to tackle the dreaded sock.
DPNs are the devils work IMO so I will be trying my best to learn on circs, I have the tools I just need my brain to get on the same page. This is all part of my "pushing" myself to learn a new pattern every month and I of course at the moment have ideas of grandeur like 12 pairs in 12 months! I can manage that...Right?
I have also bought the infamous Owl pattern form this amazing lady http://katedaviesdesigns.com/designs/o-w-l-s/ and am scooting about trying to decide which colour to make my first one in.
So that's my lot for now, I kinda like the idea of this blog thing een though I am most likely talking to myself but it saves the trees if I do it this way.
Have a wonderful & safe New Years
Loobie x
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Wow what a year.
And not in a good way. Losing my job back in June sent me on a terrible downward spiral as far as my mental health goes. It has been the worst episode I have ever suffered TBH.
It would seem that reporting a member of the team I worked with for abusing an elderly confused resident was to be my downfall, ( I mean who would figure doing the right thing would be so bad?). anyway the "Powers that be" didn't take kindly to my "interruption" as they liked to put it (basically meaning that they didn't like the Care Commission or Social Service snooping about their poorly run home) & I was asked to leave without being able to say goodbye to my work mates (not a problem as I could see them outside the home) or my amazing, wonderful Residents. The latter is what caused my mood to darken & take me to a place I honestly didn't think I could crawl my way back from. I really can't put it into words the pain I felt never being able to see these incredible people and their families again. To give an idea just how much I love being a carer, I had started the beginning of my Nursing but as I worked Nights and sometimes doing 5-6 per week as well as going to school & being a wife & mamma, I had to decide which was to be my priority. Obviously the wife & mamma bit had to stay :) but between working and learning something had to give. So I made the decision to quit school and throw myself into being the best carer that I could be. Working with Dementia patients can be incredibly difficult but ALWAYS rewarding, and TBH I don't think I could have loved each and everyone of these wonderful people more even if I tried.
So not being able to say goodbye (even though most wouldn't have understood) felt to me like I was mourning & in a way I was, I had cared for these guys almost every night for over a year & now I wasn't allowed to see them anymore.
This caused like I said for me to slip from reality in the worse way, I stopped eating, washing (for a time) sleeping (still can't do that without the help of meds) and even being a mamma for a short while (this, if you know me was the worst part for me as my boy is my whole life).
Psychiatrist's, GP's, CPN's and a bucket load of pills later and I am slowly returning to myself.
I would like to point out that I was advised to take my former employee's to court over my dismissal but I just was not mentally strong enough to do so & as much as I hate it I feel I let them win (just another thing to add to my crazy). But I know that I will now be able to move on to a new job knowing that my conscience is clear for doing the right thing and even though I will never forget my lovely oldies I know that there are more just like them needing to be cared for and loved elsewhere.
The one constant apart from my family for me has been Knitting, even when I hadn't slept for 3 days, or couldn't go outside the door or focus on anyone around me, I always had my knitting beside me.
Now I am very new to knitting just over a year as it happens but the satisfaction I get from it has been the salve that helped to sooth me.
I am not the best knitter in the world far from it I am still learning and have a VERY long way to go, but I am a determined little person who when I find that one thing I know I should be doing I just can't stop & I have to push myself to keep learning.
So I have given myself a test to learn to make something different every month. I dislike big garments, I have made a couple of cardigans the last of which is still a WIP laying in it's project bag at the back of my wardrobe ( maybe I will finish it for the summer?).
And I also decided to only buy yarn that I love and not that disgusting, horrid, nasty crap I spose everyone buys at the beginning.
So that's where I am at right now, I have a couple of Xmas WIP's to be getting on with & I shall take pics & give a shout out to the lovelies I bought the yarn & found the pattern's from over the course of my keeping this page up to date.
If you have read this I would like to say ta much as it's very long winded and perhaps slightly depressing, but things are changing for the better so that's hopefully the last of that :D.
Loobie x
It would seem that reporting a member of the team I worked with for abusing an elderly confused resident was to be my downfall, ( I mean who would figure doing the right thing would be so bad?). anyway the "Powers that be" didn't take kindly to my "interruption" as they liked to put it (basically meaning that they didn't like the Care Commission or Social Service snooping about their poorly run home) & I was asked to leave without being able to say goodbye to my work mates (not a problem as I could see them outside the home) or my amazing, wonderful Residents. The latter is what caused my mood to darken & take me to a place I honestly didn't think I could crawl my way back from. I really can't put it into words the pain I felt never being able to see these incredible people and their families again. To give an idea just how much I love being a carer, I had started the beginning of my Nursing but as I worked Nights and sometimes doing 5-6 per week as well as going to school & being a wife & mamma, I had to decide which was to be my priority. Obviously the wife & mamma bit had to stay :) but between working and learning something had to give. So I made the decision to quit school and throw myself into being the best carer that I could be. Working with Dementia patients can be incredibly difficult but ALWAYS rewarding, and TBH I don't think I could have loved each and everyone of these wonderful people more even if I tried.
So not being able to say goodbye (even though most wouldn't have understood) felt to me like I was mourning & in a way I was, I had cared for these guys almost every night for over a year & now I wasn't allowed to see them anymore.
This caused like I said for me to slip from reality in the worse way, I stopped eating, washing (for a time) sleeping (still can't do that without the help of meds) and even being a mamma for a short while (this, if you know me was the worst part for me as my boy is my whole life).
Psychiatrist's, GP's, CPN's and a bucket load of pills later and I am slowly returning to myself.
I would like to point out that I was advised to take my former employee's to court over my dismissal but I just was not mentally strong enough to do so & as much as I hate it I feel I let them win (just another thing to add to my crazy). But I know that I will now be able to move on to a new job knowing that my conscience is clear for doing the right thing and even though I will never forget my lovely oldies I know that there are more just like them needing to be cared for and loved elsewhere.
The one constant apart from my family for me has been Knitting, even when I hadn't slept for 3 days, or couldn't go outside the door or focus on anyone around me, I always had my knitting beside me.
Now I am very new to knitting just over a year as it happens but the satisfaction I get from it has been the salve that helped to sooth me.
I am not the best knitter in the world far from it I am still learning and have a VERY long way to go, but I am a determined little person who when I find that one thing I know I should be doing I just can't stop & I have to push myself to keep learning.
So I have given myself a test to learn to make something different every month. I dislike big garments, I have made a couple of cardigans the last of which is still a WIP laying in it's project bag at the back of my wardrobe ( maybe I will finish it for the summer?).
And I also decided to only buy yarn that I love and not that disgusting, horrid, nasty crap I spose everyone buys at the beginning.
So that's where I am at right now, I have a couple of Xmas WIP's to be getting on with & I shall take pics & give a shout out to the lovelies I bought the yarn & found the pattern's from over the course of my keeping this page up to date.
If you have read this I would like to say ta much as it's very long winded and perhaps slightly depressing, but things are changing for the better so that's hopefully the last of that :D.
Loobie x
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
How do I have a problem already?
Seriously in just under 2 months I have collected a large stash of Yarn, Needles and patterns........ How did that happen? I read all the time about my very established knitting friends talking about their stash and the need to downsize but seriously these guys have all been knitting way longer than I have. So is this my life from now on? and ever growing stash of yarn in the most beautiful colours? I think so and I have to say I am over the moon about it :) I have an empty chest of drawers that is just screaming out to be used and now it will be huzzah it has been saved from a trip to the dump. I have also been thinking about Mothers day and what I would like and normally I would ask for the usual, flowers or perfume but this year I have asked for a gift voucher to spend in my local knitting shop The Knitting Bee ( well we have to support local business' huh ;) ). So I have confessed to my "slight" growing problem and I reckon it can only get worse but hey so far I don't have any projects that are half finished destined to a life stored away and forgotten YET!
I am currently still working on my Cardigan using a Sirdar Big Softie pattern and wool and so far so good, I have only frogged it once so I am very happy and as it knits up on 8mm & 10mm needles its coming along nicely and is a great project for a novice like myself. I will post pics of the finished product hopefully next week. I am also practicing a baby cardigan using very cheap DK form the £ shop & 5mm needles it is knitted in 1 piece following a Anneta Patel pattern from the book in my previous post and so far so good again hopefully pics to follow.
So that's all for now I am intending to update regularly but I am VERY new to this blogging thing and if the knitting doesn't get in the way who knows huh?
I am currently still working on my Cardigan using a Sirdar Big Softie pattern and wool and so far so good, I have only frogged it once so I am very happy and as it knits up on 8mm & 10mm needles its coming along nicely and is a great project for a novice like myself. I will post pics of the finished product hopefully next week. I am also practicing a baby cardigan using very cheap DK form the £ shop & 5mm needles it is knitted in 1 piece following a Anneta Patel pattern from the book in my previous post and so far so good again hopefully pics to follow.
So that's all for now I am intending to update regularly but I am VERY new to this blogging thing and if the knitting doesn't get in the way who knows huh?
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Lazy day knitting
Today i am in my PJ's until I have to go to work :( I am knitting a baby cardigan following a pattern form this book http://www.amazon.co.uk/Knitty-Gritty-Knitting-Absolute-Beginner/dp/0713685425 and I have to say so far so good :D This book is an absolute treasure if like me you are a total beginner to the world of knitting and find reading patterns totally daunting! I have also knitted little booties from it and they turned out really well. So I just thought I would share. I am off now to eat a HUGE plate of Lasagne before I tackle another couple of rows then it is nap time for me as I am working for the next 3 nights ho hum eh?!
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