what can I say?

Well, the wool is over - dyed. It's plummy and brown, I didn't really want anything variegated for rogue, but hey, that's what I do best.

So the wool is nearly dry, but I still can't cast on.......I need to finish a hat pattern by tomorrow, so obviously I need to finish knitting the hat. BUT Tomorrow night I will be casting on and knitting like a demon.

So, back looking for houses, and found a couple of potentials, and feel excited again instead of exasperated. There is one especially with a huge garage, perfect for a workshop, but it's a row of cottages amongst a sort of industrial estate. The view is nice, but they might build, so I'll have to research that one a bit.

On another note, my laptop with the whole content of my business has died. Yep! with all my patterns, invoices, business info. Well obviously I backed it all up didn't I? Actually....... not for three months...... I sort have been meaning to do it for ages, but just didn't seem to get around to it. As a result I'm feeling queasy again this morning. The techies have it and are trying to save my hard drive. I said I'd knit them socks and a hat. They said if I did, they wouldn't fix my computer. No appreciation. None.

Anth keeps telling me that after great difficulties comes great good fortune. I'm holding onto that really tightly.

ooh ooh ooh! one last thing before I go and heat my Heinz tomato soup up is, that I have new yarns, only available from the fyberspates shop. Hopefully I'll take pics soon and upload them into the shop. Alpaca and silk........fluffy soft boucle......yum, yum, yum.

Olympic entry no1

Holy shmolies! The guns done off and I still haven't got my flippin trainers on, let alone my getting to the first hurdle, so I decided that if I dyed the wool for rogue today, then it would be dried by tomorrow and I could get started. But no of course it never works like that. I dyed the wool, but I the colour so isn't me, it was meant to be so much darker but because I was being cautious, I dyed loads which resulted in less depth of colour.

Want to see it? Well your going to anyway:

Of course I can over dye it no problem at all, but I ran out of acid, oh yes only today!

I went to the supermarket for emergency supplies, ended up spending a fortune on the most bizarre food, and guess what? I forgot the vinegar. So the yarn will have to stay like that until tomorrow. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So if I finish this it'll be a miracle. However, I like a challenge!

What else? ohhh! New yarn coming for the shop, but that depends on acid as well, so ...... and thanks for all the really helpful comments on the house. I really appreciate your feedback. We have given up on that house because I feel it is too dodgy, we might never be able to sell it again, still on the bright side, a house has come up in the village I really wanted to live in, and it needs a little updating so is in our budget, V exciting. We are viewing it wed.

Off to take my Japanese lodger to the cinema to see Brokeback mountain and give her the experience of Caroline street in Cardiff afterwards, when we will have chicken curry and chips off the floor. Just don't ask why its called that ok! Lets put it this way, if you ever come to Cardiff, you have to have the experience just once, especially on a saturday night with all the drunk people. Its great fun. Honest!

need some house advice/help!

This house I want to buy is complicated. The reason its wonderful is because the kitchen is huge. Just found out that the 'kitchen extension' does not have planning permission, nor has it had buildings regulations approval. I know it's sound because bob the builder said it was fine, the solicitor said that they will give us an insurance policy that will cover the eventuality that we have to take it down and put it back as it was if the local authority said so.

Any thoughts/ experiences with this type of thing?

I live in cardiff UK, if that makes any difference.

I'm feeling a bit sick now....

I do an exercise regime (when I can be arsed) called British Military Fitness. Its hard, you have to roll around in the mud and god knows what, in the dark, it hurts, they shout at you. So In anticipation of struggling, I Just ate; two packs of marks and Spencer's sushi, a large granola yogurt, and a very sickly chocolate flapjack. I feel queasy. I think that defeats the object of exercise.

They accepted the lower offer on the house, and today the survey is being done! Hooray!

Oh and I have been doing some knitting:

Its the same pattern as the last cardigan, I loved it so much I'm making another one. It's called Louise, from Noro knits by Jane Ellison. As usual I have to convert the pattern because I'm making it with different yarn, it may come out a little smaller than the other one, but hopefully I'll get away with it.

As for the jayne hat, I'm currently in denial.

Research is ticking along nicely, had a few more people sign up. I'm dyeing to analyze the data.

I think there should be an article on knitting and therapy in the march simply knitting with me in it I hope, anyone got it yet? I should really subscribe!

Sale is still on, oh and I added some hand dyed feather boa's to the store, they are lush!

Houses and hats.

So firstly I just got an email from Anth, who works 5 doors down from me on our corridor, with this :

'No pressure. Really.

Cold head? Me?'

And with this attached:

What I didn't tell you is that he wants it made of hand dyed, hand spun yarn. Seeing as the yarn for rogue hasn't arrived yet, this could replace my knitting Olympics submission, because I'll have to dye and spin the wool and then design the hat, because anth doesn't like the design of the other patterns, he wants it exactly like this one.

On a house note, I asked a builder friend to look at the house, there is some work that needs to be done to the roof, and so I have made a slightly lower offer, more than the builder suggested, but I'm not going to take advantage. Now I just hope it is accepted. This has to be one of the most stressful things I have ever done. I have organised the whole thing on my own, builders and all, so I guess I am quite proud of myself.

Its just the waiting.....

Treats from the US

I do believe my husband actually listens to my knitting talk. On returning from his trip from LA, he presented me with presents, so obviously I grabbed the bag eagerly and tipped the contents onto the table, only to find a large skein of bright green acrylic from wall-mart. It was accompanied by fudge from Hollywood, so there was some compensation, here's a picture:

Trying my hardest not to look disgusted at his lack of judgment and taste (we are talking about the yarn now) he started rolling around on the floor with laughter. He knew it was not the yarn gift I was looking for and was really teasing me very much. (I do have to point out here, that stuff is extremely soft, any one got any ideas what I can use it for?)

SO then he grinned and got out the next present:

HE said that he tried his hardest to find a yarn store but couldn't and when he went to wall mart to get me the acrylic skein he was pleasantly surprised to find these, and even GET THIS!!!: Even chose the skeins with the patterns on the labels for a hat and scarf or waistcoat, (obviously I will make a couple of scarfs) and chose the right number of balls so I could choose what I wanted to make. He did choose the right colours as well, and there is no acrylic to be seen.

I love him, I really do.

Obviously there was also Hershey chocolate which, sorry to people who like it; tastes like baby sick to me. Its not chocolate, that's all I'm gonna say.

There were stripey socks from rodeo drive as well with angora in them and tee shirts.

:-) Oh and he loves the house, except there is a small problem which his dad noticed, somebody has knocked two rooms into one and haven't put a supporting beam in between, so the house could potentially fall down. But my friend bob the builder is taking a look at it Monday and see how fixable it is and we will drop the offer if its not too bad, because I really love the house.

OK, off to do some more dyeing and photo some more yarn for the sale

I've got treats!

I do beleive my husband is the best, he got me knitting treats from the US.

Pic's later.