Flibbertygibbet

Don't tell my mother.

Yesterday I went for my first run since January. Well, a ralk (run/walk) around the circumference of my most loved local park. As I plodded - without grace, speed or even much purpose because really, you don't want to to jinx these things - I came to the realisation that for me, running (much like writing) makes it all make sense. Paradoxically that's probably incomprehensible to most people. Most people outside my head, at any rate. I'm slow and lumbering, while being incredibly competitive with myself. Yet I so relish the mental clarity combined with a zen "tuning out" that happens once I get into the flow of a run.  My podiatrist will tie only with my mother in the 'Not Really Thrilled About This New Development' stakes.

The overwhelming desire to be able to run again as safely as possible - in a biomechanical sense, bearing in mind the collapsed arches, prolapsed discs and spondylolisthesis, ahem - is giving me new incentive to stick to the low-carb low-calorie diet for a little longer and get some more weight off these poor feet. I was getting restless and wanting to return to 'normal' but hey, the last few pounds are the hardest, right? So it will go on for a little longer. I've had such amazing support from friends and I feel roughly a million times better about so many things - it's definitely been worth it. Now hopefully the podiatrist appointment in July (a mere three and a half months after first referral - the lesson is, use the private health care next time) will sort the feet for once and for all.

Once more (with feeling) I'm attempting to complete The Artist's Way. I'm on Week 4. The reading deprivation, as anyone who's done the program will know, sucks. Also I am failing miserably at it. Though I've been severely restricting myself on email and social media in an attempt to get my freelance work done for the month.  I'm building up my freelancing and it was an immense thrill to be paid for my first official copy-writing job last week. The thought of pursuing that full-time makes me slightly giddy - it's definitely worth aiming for.

In craft related news, last month we:

Went to the UK Ravelry Day. Great company.  Good shopping opportunities. Crap weather.  Jon from Easyknits gave away gingerbread knitting men with purchases which we rather liked.



Don't have any pics here but we triumphed in the I Knit International Knit in Public Day treasure hunt!  Entirely due to GingerLucy's excellent balloon husbandry skills.

Some more stuff to come once I download pictures. Have found some new places to play, including one that you should certainly visit if you are in London... Right tis time to sleep. Up early tomorrow morning to run. Shhh, I didn't say that.  'Night Mum!

An experiment

Ok I know how flaky I've been. This is partly due to me forgetting all the interesting stuff I've been doing and also my little mac is really cranky with photos recently and it just all seems to take forever.

So now I'm just giving this a shot to see how the iPhone works for blogging.

I'm still working on the Ariel wrap and have cast on some socks too in some Opal from the factory trip. And... Ack. Not quite sure how to put photos in. Ok back to the drawing board. In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves. How have you been?

Luscious London weekend

At Adrienne's yarn swap, I delivered a baby blanket to the mini Pirate.  Total cutie-patootie. Another one went in the post but can't show pictures until it's delivered.  Also, um, forgot to take pics of the other thing that went in the package.  Doh.



At 8:00am on Sunday morning, here is where I was swimming.  I heart London Fields Lido.  Particularly in the sunshine.



Off to Columbia Road, for Climbing French bean plants. Not for me.  I can kill green things with a mere glance.

I fell in love with a print which had to come home with me. Will show you tomorrow.

There's a new shop there... it will be dangerous.  Even more dangerous than the cupcake shop just to give you a sense of perspective:



A light shaft illuminating the fabrics that were screaming "Take us home!! You waaant us!"  I was good. I won't be next time.



Walked home through the park.



Went to Wilton's Music Hall last night to hear the Kreutzer Quarter.  It was amazing.  Atmospheric building and fabulous playing.  Even a peasant like me could hear that.  Walked home still in daylight through the park afterwards. A perfect weekend.

Foot forward

And one foot back.  So while I've been away (or not posting anyway) I've been doing the following:

• feet - chasing podiatrist appointments, attempting to be disciplined about wearing my orthotics, dreaming of not wearing fugly shoes for the rest of my days - pah
  
• a strict health regime - ultra low cal/low carb diet with 5+ exercise sessions a week to lose weight and ease the pressure on the feet.  Also remembering that this week is Tash's anniversary and it's partly a testament to her that I decided a while back that I wanted to make changes in my life.  Oddly after the first couple of weeks on this diet I don't seem to be losing weight any more but my clothes fit very differently (ie the big ones are way too big - so wearing a very odd selection of outfits right now) and so will stick with it for a little longer
  
• crafting!  I just can't show you any of it because either I didn't take pics or the goodies haven't been sent off yet.  Well, I guess I can show the Misti socks that are on the needles at the moment, it's my new favourite yarn:
   
• And nesting - chucking stuff out and haphazardly hanging pictures and tidying for visitors who are coming this week
  
  
  Probably have lots more to tell but other stuff is also making my mind a bit cloudy at the moment and I'm sure I'm forgetting news.  Importantly, Wednesday is the Race For Life  - please do leave a comment on the previous posts if you want to be included in the draw, and make sure that you leave an email address so I can contact you!  And don't forget to go over and check out Helen's draw too!
  

How you all doing?

I'm in the midst of Script Frenzy (anyone else doing it?) and also on a big health kick.  These things are keeping me busy.  So how are you out there? I'll return with news and photos in May, undoubtedly.  There's a lot of other fun stuff going on too.

Drop a comment on the last post if you want a chance to win the lovely squooshy pink yarn and also pop over to visit Helen's giveaway!

Baby steps

You might remember that I had grand hopes for doing some fundraising running this year.  These haven't totally faded but I've had some technical issues - with my feet. I'm going to take myself to the doc this week to get it sorted. 

So lets start off with baby steps, which will still be plenty of effort - the I Knit Ravelry Group are putting a team together for the Race for Life on the 6th of May and the sponsorship page is here . 'Race' is a fairly elastic description of the event as I personally expect to be sauntering with perhaps a short burst of plodding towards the finish line if all goes well. Whilst knitting. This will be interesting.  Ooh, what should I knit? I know what I'll be knitting with - see below... and with whom, hopefully if she gets let out to play early enough...

I think it's going to be really good fun and it will be great to do something with knitters to support knitterly friends who've been affected by cancer. If you fancy joining in, coming along on the day, joining us in the pub afterwards (that's part of the plan, right??) or adding some cash to the total, then please do!

As a little incentive to encourage you to mosey on over to the fundraising page, I'm doing a little pink giveaway.  **Leave a comment to enter**.

The main attraction is a skein of super squooshy lovely sock yarn - produced by the very talented Jon at EasyKnits and he has very generously thrown in a £10 gift voucher for the winner too! In theory I'll be knitting socks on the course using the skein I bought for myself. 

I'll do the draw after the race on the 6th of May. Should my sewing machine recover soon (mutter mutter growl) there will also be a non-knitterly something. In pink, natch. 

Stash-busting - yeah, that's what it is

I'm going to the gym pretty frequently at the moment (the more I go the cheaper it gets through our work health insurance; it's making me feel a million times better including helping my back and posture; and as I'm already committed to paying for it each month it's like economising.  Almost.) I rented a permanent locker there so that I no longer get a second daily workout from schlepping all my gear back and forth so that kind of impacts the economising theory, but still.  I decided to make some bags to carry home laundry etc, rather than taking plastic bags from the gym all the time, and so trotted off to John Lewis for some fabric.  Cos you know, it's not like there's anything that I could possibly use here.  The idea was to get pure cotton so that I could chuck the bag in the wash with everything else.  I got some very cute Amy Butler and some chambray to mix with prints.

Then I saw something on Twitter about Liberty fabric and thought 'Duh.' 

As it's not like there isn't some of that around the house.  Yards of it hidden in various places in the craft room.  I have a selection of half metres of prints which proved irresistible in various sales, but I never had the right project for them until now - I'd originally planned to use them for quilting and then reconsidered putting the Tana Lawn with heavier weight cotton.

I used some plain cotton for the lining and some of the by-now ubiquitous Tikki binding (which Tiina cut for me on the day of the quilting class before Christmas.

The pattern was from this Japanese craft book and I'll definitely try more - both patterns from the book and more bags.  Next one will likely be a modified version of this one so that it's less boxy.  Oh, the possibilities...

PS thanks for the sweet emails and comments - the ex-mole is looking grand really.  Just waiting to get the all clear letter and putting the Vitamin E on it...

Sofa time

For one reason or another, I've been spending quite a lot of time on the sofa. 

I'm persevering with the bellatrix socks though they're not turning out like I expected (I thought they'd be more Lizard Ridges-ish, like some of the photos.  I think that some knitters modded it to 5 stitches between the repeats which would make it more bobbly, less space in between.) 

I also finally finished this, to curl up under whilst on the sofa:


Yes, my first bed sized quilt, all for me.  Contrary to what the cats think.  They pounce on it (and by extension, on me) whenever they can.  My only regret is sticking to my 'use what you have dictum' and using a lightweight wadding on the inside.  Won't make that mistake again. It's definitely more of a summer weight.  I machined it all, apart from the second side of the binding which I did by hand.  I used this tutorial, which makes it so easy.  It's about double-size I guess, the bed it's on is super-king.


"Nice.  When do you get one?"

I've been taking it easy after having a very minor procedure at the doctor on Friday -  sensible women get suspect moles removed.  I went back and forth on whether it was necessary; and where to get it done, at my local surgery's dermatology clinic or at a private hospital using my insurance and went local in the end.  While I can't say for sure yet that it was or wasn't a good choice, I have some reservations about the care and certainly the bedside manner.  My internal conversation was turning remarkably rude and increasingly frantic as he said things like:

"It will certainly leave a scar.  More stitches might make that better.  Or it might not." Ok.  So stitch more. In for a penny...

"Oh, well I said it wouldn't hurt but it turns out I didn't mean it."  WFT?  Is anesthetic on the 'cutbacks' list?

"You can have stitches without any anesthetic at all you know."  Yes well I've seen enough episodes of Casualty and ER to know that you can also do a tracheotomy with a pen but that's not necessarily the option you choose.

Home to the sofa and feeling punched in the chest for two days now.  I ventured out to the cinema to catch up on some movies (Bolt is funny;  watching in 3D is surprisingly fun.  Bride Wars - well I know, what was I thinking...) and purchase a huge pile of  books, my equivalent of the 'I was Good at the Doctor's' lollipop i.e. I didn't tell him just what I thought of his handiwork.
Warmed by the thoughts of all the lovely friends who offered to come around, to pick me up from the doc, who checked in with me. I'm fine.  And about to curl up under a new quilt.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Ok, it's actually rather delightful, from where I'm watching.  So the commute tomorrow could be a little squidgy, but that's what wellies are for (oh yes, I will).  I'd like to be out there now too.  There's construction work underway, a snowball fight and a football game.  At midnight on a Sunday.  Bring it on.

The Sockalong

I started a sock knitalong (KAL) on Ravelry, if you want to join in.  Come on down.  If you're not already a Rav member, just sign up for an invitation and it will be through in a couple of days.

 

Here's the Bellatrix socks, being helped along by the lovely stitch markers which were a gift from the even more lovely Denise who's probably too busy to join a KAL at the moment unless it's for very little pink socks, mwah. 

As usual with my wayof knitting something, I've screwed up the pattern on the first one, so I've started on the second one; then I'll go back and fix the first one.  Probably.  Must learn to count. 

To house these, I've got one of Sue Moon's fabulous sock bags.  It appears she still has a couple on sale - they are so beautifully made so go in and snap one up if you can. I made the mistake of buying three that I really liked as presents - and then didn't want to give any of them away.  It's got lots of useful pockets and interiors 'straps' so your store needles.  So clever.

I've also got a Cotton and Clouds bag that I love. 

I haven't got much time for knitting really, finishing up some freelance work that's doing my head in as these things always do, especially after work.  Someone decided I could make time though...

My feline paperweight.