Resurrection

I always think of myself as an individual and heaven forbid anyone that is similar to me. However, as a crafter I am sure there are others out there who are hoarders (just like me) and who never throw anything away...that's not to say I'm messy,  I have my hoard stashed away neatly in boxes or tins.  Now, every so often I will tell myself I need to go through my treasures and reduce the size I'm hoarding.  However, when I do start I then say to myself "I can't get rid of it I might need it one day."  Well, today Saturday was one of those days, there I was searching through my stash to put into a swap parcel when I came across the material, sewing equipment, wool, craft gadgets and other bits and pieces that I can honestly say I haven't seen before or can't remember buying. I always act surprised when I find these little treasures, and  I get a warm glow, my mind starts racing and before I know it I have ten projects in my mind.  I also come across projects that I have put on hold, but I can't remember why they've been shelved. Well, the item in the photo above is one such project that I shelved in 2010!!!!! I wasn't bored of it, so,  I don't know how it ended up in a box. The item in question is Polar Chullo  a gorgeous looking hat, very cosy for this weather and would be great for playing outside with the children at work.  My version just needs two things the knitted cord and then a wash to partially shrink and felt it. So today I have brought something out of hibernation and back to life and do you know I might just go raking tomorrow again to see what other treasures I can find.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

I have been so busy as of late, (I have 3 WIP's on the go)  keeping my little head down and ploughing through about one percent of my Ravelry queue.  Does not sound a lot but believe me, it is currently sitting at around the 2100 mark, and forever rising. I thought if I put the total in tiny letters it would deaden the blow, who am I trying to kid.  The rate I'm knitting through my queue I will seriously have to live until about 200 and that is being realistic.
So, without further a do I introduce to you one of my works in progress started at the beginning of this week.

This is number 1260 of my Ravelry queue and is Miette by Andi Satterlund.  I believe I queued this pretty cardigan pattern way back in October 2010, and I have been dying to cast it on since then, but life just got in the way. 

The yarn used is Rico Creative Cotton in colourwave Cardinal. It's not an expensive yarn, but boy knitted up in this pattern it looks fabulous.  I could have gone for a paler colour, but this jewelled, rich purple just accentuates this pattern to a tee.

This is a stunning pattern and an adorable item to make.The eyelet detail swirls around the neckline flows down the center of the cardigan and cascades around the waistline.  The cuff  features a small swirl of eyelets giving an attractive finish to the 3/4 length sleeves.  Very pretty.

So where do I go from here? Well, the item has been blocked and I'm planning on sourcing buttons and photographing the finished article this weekend, with my sister modelling it for me. Fingers crossed she doesn't try to sneak off home still wearing it or there will be a war. So if everything goes to plan the finished piece photos should be ready for my Sunday post.

I'm an idiot

Hi everyone hope you are all well and enjoying the changeable but okay-ish weather we are experiencing you know sweltering summer type weather, then pouring with rain, then freezing, then summer again. Cardigan off, cardigan on. "Shall I wear sandals? No, it's too cold!", "Shall I wear boots? No! God, I'm sweltering".

So what have I been up to? Well.....I was stressed with college, and I decided to tidy up all my knitting WIP's (work in progress) only to find a nearly finished back to a cardigan, huh! How did that happen?

 It's terrifically plain and  beautifully knitted only thing is I can't for the life of me remember what pattern it's from, I normally keep the magazine or book next to the knitting- "PAUL, have you been touching my stuff again?" This isn't the first time this has happened to me, and I'm dead sure it won't be the last, normally when I find these knits I have to frog them.  Very sad I know but if I can't even remember what I was knitting, what's the point of keeping it and trying to make it match a pattern it doesn't belong to *sigh*.  I could really kick myself, very hard. Is anyone else out there in knitting land as stupid as me and do you have any remedies to stop this heartbreaking scenario from happening again?

Update: so well I decided to trawl Ravelry in the hope that I would find the pattern that matched my piece of knitting.  After two days of searching, I'm no further forward and to make me more miserable I think the pattern may have come from a magazine I chucked out with a hoard of others. Whaaaa!! Sob, sob.

Jayellesea's version of Sweetheart Cardigan by Grace Akhrem

Anyway while ogling all those patterns on "R" I found something to heal my sorrow in the form of another cardigan called Sweetheart.  This little cardi is similar to the finished back piece I have. Now, I know I can't keep the original piece, and,  I know I'll have to frog it but hey-ho I have a new beautiful cardi to make *squee*.

HP dv2000

Can you believe my beautiful laptop died on me for the 3rd time in a year?  It was extremely distressing, and I'm embarrassed to say I just sat and cried.  I suppose I can't complain it was a Christmas present from my O/H way back in 2006.  So, now it's at PC World having another overhaul, poor wee soul.  On the bright side,  I was lucky in the sense that I had printed off my essay and my assessment exam work before it died, someone in heaven must have been looking down on me.
So after discussing and pleading my case to Paul, he agreed I should treat myself to a new laptop, how kind of him to agree to me spending my own money eh?  Lol!

So I'm now the proud owner of the HP DV6 it's not as sophisticated as the HP dv2000 (which was the top of the range when I received it) but hey it has a fantastic sound, it kind of looks okay,  and it works.  I'm just hoping my dv2000  doesn't develop a complex when it comes home tomorrow, and it sees it's new replacement.  Awkward or what?

What else have I been up to?  Well... I'm reading this at the moment. I love this author and her amateur sleuth character Kelly Flynn.  I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but believe me, after reading about Cognitive, Linguistic, Social Development and Theorists for eight months my brain seriously needs a breather, before the mayhem begins i.e. my final exams.

The Walking Dead

I've also just finished watching: The Walking Dead based on an on-going series of comic books of the same name, written by Robert Kirkman.  It's about a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.  Mmmm! Goriness. To say I have withdrawal symptoms is an understatement,  I keep asking Paul when's the next series on.  Oh! And I can't believe they killed off Dale and Shane, although I would've certainly slapped the latter,  he seriously got on my nerves lol.