2008 Knits

Making this mosaic, I surprised myself with how much knitting I've actually completed this year. And I know this isn't everything. I made some Christmas gifts that I didn't photograph.

Happy New Year everyone.

disco xxx

I don't usually do this,

But I really want to set some goals for myself for 2009.

1. Lose 40 lbs. Seriously, since I had Matthew 3 1/2 years ago, I've put on a lot of weight which I really am fed up with carrying round. I'll break this down into a pretty achievable 1lb per week. I just stood on the scale and am weighing in at 173lbs.


2. Get my lazy ass to the gym for a one-hour session at least once every week. I remember the days of 5 times a week, but I do want these goals to be realistic.


3. Drink less than 14 units of alcohol per week. That's the 'safe' number (apparently). This might be my toughest challenge, but I really need to address how much I drink.


4. Have this house sold and be living in the cold by next fall.


5. Knit everyone in my family matching hat, scarf and mittens for no.4 :0) I don't mean we'll all match each other, just that each person's set will be matched ;0)


6. Switch off my computer when I'm not using it. Or at least every night.


7. Get a proper job, after achieving no.4


8. Knit 12 Hats for alex- a very achievable 1 per month.


9. Read 20 books. That's my 12 bookclub books, plus a few. I sometimes don't like the bookclub selections and miss making my own choices. I really need to make more time to read.


10. Procrastinate less. This clearly also needs a lot of work - I started this post yesterday and it's taken me til late afternoon to put it up on the blog!

Happy New Year :0)

Where dreams come true.

We just got back from our first family trip to DisneyWorld. Four years in Florida and you'd think we'd have made it before now. But we wanted to wait til both our boys could enjoy it.

I'm glad we did wait - they both LOVED it. As did Mom, Dad, Nanny and Pepe.Our first stop was Disney's Hollywood Studios to meet the guys favourite characters. Kachow!

Here are my little mouskateers in Pooh's playground.

Talking of Pooh! Here they are on the ride home this afternoon......pooped!

What a FABULOUS vacation. We are all in love with Disney and planning on returning soon. We only made it to two parks and there's SO much more.

Yes, we have some knitting content.....

Hats for Alex. This is my 2008 contribution, knit throught the year. Just over 1 a month. Not very exciting, so I livened it up with a pool shot, to warm all you Northerners up :0) If you've got a stash of them, send them in ASAP to count towards Trillian's 2008 total. And how could I NOT post a(nother) Christmas shot of my boys. Here they are on Christmas morning - Matt has his Knuffle Bunny (thanks Nan & Bob) and is wearing his new Lightning McQueen sunglasses (thanks to Santa for filling his stocking).

And you see the big red thing behind Teddy? That Matt's 'new' bike. Teddy got a real new bike (it's on the other side of the tree, out of shot), but all day they were saying how Matt's 'new' bike looked EXACTLY like Teddy's OLD bike. You've gotta love the innocence of the small people.

Happy Boxing Day

Merry Christmas

From me and mine, to you and yours :0)

Confessions of an Unfit Mother

So, not the worst week in my journey called 'motherhood', but certainly not my best. A whole catalogue of misdemeanours this week.

On Monday, I forgot it was Matthew's snack day at school. No biggy - they have some reserves for situations like this and on Tuesday I bought replacements and even remembered to send them in with him on Wednesday. I don't always remember these things - one week I sent him twice without his packed lunch!!!

Then on Wednesday, after my lunch, I sat down on the sofa with my knitting and the CNN news. Next thing I know, it's 2.20pm and his school is on the phone asking why I haven't picked up him and his buddy (we carpool - they pick up Matt in the morning to drop him at school, I pick them up from school and bring them home). Even worse, the friend always asks to come to our house after I pick them up. That day I'd asked his mom if that was ok, and she agreed as long as he was back home by 3pm to go to gymnastics.

Well, we pulled onto their drive at 3.05pm, and obviously there was no playtime. Luckily the parents have a sense of humour and laughed when I said I was napping!!!

So Thursday, I had promised to take my boys along with Teddy's girlfriend, who we also carpool with, to the "Orange Juice Factory" after I collected them all from school. Of course, I forgot that the boys had a dentist appointment that afternoon.

I called girlfriend's mom in the morning to tell her and she said that girlfriend had been talking non-stop about the trip. Doh!!! So, we're going tomorrow morning instead.

Hopefully my final infraction, of this week, anyway, was at the dentist. Poor Teddy has to have 3 cavities filled. This is on top of the 2 he already has filled. And there are another two they're going to 'keep an eye on'. Bad mommy needs to make sure teeth are brushed AND flossed and juice is off the menu.

Ack!!! At least we're all still alive.

Onto a much prettier subject. Y'all were right about two of the paintings in my living room being Van Gogh's Starry Night and Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. But the prize goes to Beverley who guessed at this painting by Monet. It's called The Thames Below Westminster and is, appropriately, housed at the National Gallery in London.

Beverley, something will wing its way to you real soon :0)

I've been really lucky to have seen some of the most amazing paintings in the world at some of the most beautiful galleries in the world. Mona Lisa at the Louvre, a bunch of Goya's, including Saturn eating his Son, at the Prado in Madrid. My all time favourite, Van Gogh's Starry Night at MOMA in New York.

London has my favourite gallery of all though. Tate Modern on the South Bank. It looks over the river directly at St Paul's Cathedral, houses some of the best and most controversial 'modern art' and most incredibly.....it's free.

So, here's a question for you "Best Art?". Discuss/Blog

Have a fabulous weekend :0)

ART

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

16 Impressionist, 7 Islamic, -2 Ukiyo-e, -21 Cubist, -15 Abstract and 2 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

I really liked this quiz, seen on Jo's blog. It's true, I LOVE impressionist paintings. My living room has three framed posters to prove the point. Here's a quiz for YOU. The paintings feature a night sky, a London waterfront and a day in the park. Can you guess the three artists? I'll send a little something in the mail to anyone who can guess.......

Glad to be in the USA

Aren't you glad to be in America these days?!

I'm pleased that Barack Obama was voted in. Who knows whether 'change' will happen or not. We can always hope (whilst remembering that he's a politician, after all).

And yesterday was Veteran's Day. We don't have that holiday in the UK. We have Remembrance Sunday, the 2nd Sunday of November. Otherwise known as Poppy Day.

To segue nicely into knitting, here's a photo of the afghan I hurriedly made up for a Joann's class I'm hoping to teach this month and next. Doesn't it look great in our leather chair with the Old Glory pillow? They call it a holiday afghan and the pattern calls for four balls of Lion Brand Homespun. I already had a couple of balls of red, so bought another couple in green, to make it VERY holiday-like.The class is called Knitting 303, but the pattern is SO freaking easy and only a few lines long. Don't know how Joann's came up with that. But I do know that this yarn was amazingly soft and the afghan itself is unbelievably cosy. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm thinking another one for home might be nice. It took only about 4 days to make, so was quick too.
Now, do you remember how our 'office'/spare room looked earlier this year? Thought not. Here's a quick pic to remind you. Gross, or what! Well, one advantage of having your house on the market is that you have to clean it out.

We spent a good bit of time on this room alone, and this is how it looks now. Ta-da.........

A little more respectable.

Of course, we've still got a tiny bit left to sort through.......

Where the frick.....

have I been?

Doing a whole lot of stuff actually.

I went to the UK to visit my very sick Grandfather. The Welsh for Grandfather is Taid ( pronounced like Tide). He's an awesome guy who served in the merchant navy in the 2nd World War. Afterwards he was a monumental mason, making gravestones and other memorials. You might remember my Nan passed earlier this year, so when I heard he was ill, I dashed over there as soon as I could.

Turns out, after a nasty scare involving pancreatitus, diabetes and "old age" he's still as strong as an ox. Go Taid. It was great to see him and great to spend some time with some other members of my family.

In knitting news, I've almost finished my Kureyon blanket. Here are all the squares I have laid out. And to give them some sort of scale, here are my boys........
Four of these 'strips' of squares are now sewn together, but two remain. I thought I had 20 squares, but alas, not. I've bargained for the final ball of Kureyon and await it's arrival before I place the final 10 balls into the last two strips.

Bigger news involves our family moving up to North Carolina. Charlotte to be exact. My DH's younger, younger sister already lives there. We've visited a few times and LOVED it. Not to mention it's home to the Turtlegirl. My in-laws who currently live closeby will also be moving there. Exciting times. Let's hope someone buys our house soon. Or at least by Florida's "season's" end anyway.

More catchup soon, but for now, let's make-do.

Sayonara
Disco xxx

What's missing?

:0)

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my Gracie

I had fun making these playfood pieces for Gracie's Christmas gift.For the cupcake, I used this pattern and modifications for the picot edge, which I just thought looked prettier. Yarns I used were blue Valley Yarns Stockbridge, white and red Wool-Ease.

The strawberries are from this pattern. I used red Wool-Ease and green Cascade 220.

Both quick and easy patterns.

Unlike the dishes they're sitting on.

The china was given to us by my in-laws. It belonged to my FIL's grandmother, so it's fairly old. Made by Theodore Haviland, Limoges, France, it is a large dinner set, around 12 place settings, along with assorted serving dishes. There are some pieces missing from the place settings and I've wondered for a while now what it would cost to buy replacements.

So today, I started surfing the web for info on the manufacturer and their patterns. My initial findings are that this manufacturer made THOUSANDS of different patterns. Someone catalogued them and there are volumes and volumes!!!

Maybe we'll just pass the set onto our grandchildren one day, and let them do the research!

I won't change my name just yet, but.....

........ maybe one day I could be discocrochets! I finally got to take my crochet 101 class at Joann's a couple of weeks ago. OMG it was a lot of fun. Crochet, I must say, is confusing. So many stitches to learn. I prefer the old knitting. All you have to know are knit and purl. But it is nice to learn a new skill. The red piece below is my class practice. Single, then double, then treble crochet. Then that holey row at the top - I think that was half crochet. Or maybe not!!Right next to it is what is going to be my first crochet project. A dishcloth, of course. I cast on 40 stitches. Erm, I mean I chained 40 to begin. I have no idea how many are in the row right now. I started, again, with some single, then double, then treble crochet stitches. The treble really makes it go quick. Quicker than knitting. Don't know that this is going to overtake my knitting love any time soon, but I'm pleased to have at least learned a new 'skill'.

In the class were myself, my babysitter (Ms Valerie) and another young lady. The youngster took to the hook like you wouldn't believe. She said she wanted to learn more needle arts so we said she should definitely learn to knit. And what'd'ya know, she was in my knitting 101 class this week. Yay, big box stores. She took to the knitting just as easily as the crocheting. She's either a plant, checking we instructors out, or she's a freaking yarn genius.

And 'cause we haven't seen them in a wee while, here are the boys. I told them they should hug and tell each other they loved them. They ran into the kitchen, arms around each other and said, take a picture of us. How could I refuse :0)

Happy weekend :0)

September 11th

About a million years ago, when I was young, free and single, I used to travel regularly from my job in London, to New York City, on business. I loved the city so much that I would also go for holidays.

On my first trip there, I went to the observation deck at the World Trade Center. It was so freaking awesome. I have three views of the buildings in my mind. The first: I was so proud of myself, because I sat right by the window and looked straight down. Second: I also stood right next to one of the buildings at the bottom and looked straight up - unbelievable how tall those towers were. And third: the massive chandeliers in the lobbies. Beautiful.

I visited with a friend over New Year 97/98 and we had a blast. Our last night there was my birthday and we went out to celebrate. We met a group of guys (as you do) and girls who worked down-town as bond traders. They brought cupcakes into the bar we were in and sang Happy Birthday to me - that was my best birthday ever ('cause my birth date is just about as bad as Christmas Day) :0) So, I joked around with this one guy that he might work at the bond traders, but he was probably the janitor!!!

Long story short, we kept in touch and used to go out whenever I was in the City. He was just about the most fun person I've ever known.

So, that bond trader worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked into the gym for a lunchtime training session on Sept 11th 2001 and every screen in the place was showing the World Trade Center ablaze.

Not long after that day, I met my husband. He also knew a Cantor employee. The brother of one of his best friends at college. He had two small sons who probably won't remember the precious few years he was in their lives. A year or so later I met their mom and dad. She still looked like a broken woman.

Today is a special day in our family.

God bless everyone who passed on that day, and their families and friends who still grieve them.

Log Cabin - the Cheapass Version

Y'all know by now of my love for the Log Cabin Blankets. So what's a girl to do when she finds some yarn that'd make a super Log Cabin in shades of black and grey?
Why, wait for it to go on sale, of course :0)

I snagged 5 balls of this yarn on sale for a dollar a piece. I got two squares out of the first ball - less the final cast-off row that is. Time will tell how that works out.

Each square is only just smaller than the Noro squares I'm making.
I also snagged some other black/grey Debbie Mumm yarn that will be made into squares to flesh out the blanket. And I'll be on the lookout for some knock-down priced black or grey yarn for the border.

I have no idea who this will be for, but I'm sure I'll think of someone :0)

Happy Tuesday :0)

Just call me the bag lady :0)

Another Christmas gift to cross off the list.

The Fulled Lopi Tote. Known at Chez Disco as the Fulled WOTA Tote.
Colours used, all from stash I might add, Fern (main colour), Avocado, Asparagus & Evergreen (for stripes). Yarn was held doubled throughout.

Having learned my felting lesson with the Celtic Tote, I put this right in a hot wash, again with some towels (boy, we really go through those towels in this house!).

Before felting, the bag was 17" deep. After, it was 13" deep. Just right for 'toting' your stuff around. I see a teacher carrying this one.

I love this pattern - it's so simple. And once again, I love the felting. It's like a small miracle :0)

I have enough of this yarn leftover to make another felted bag. Or maybe even a couple of these.

Christmas Celtic Tote

Why 'Christmas' Celtic Tote? 'Cause I'm knitting gifts for Christmas this year. Really, I'm trying to knit something for everyone I usually buy for. Partly because we're trying to cut back our costs at Chez Disco. And partly because my stash runneth over.

I have 6 teacher gifts to make. A book club gift. My boys. Their 8 cousins. A mother and a MIL. Hubbs and her boys.

That's actually quite a lot of knitting. So I'd better get on that if everything's to be completed in time.

This is the first of the stash of gifts. I'll decide nearer the time who the recipient will be. Most likely a teacher. Or my mom.The main body of the bag is made with Brunswick Yarns' "Germantown Knitting Worsted". A yarn that a friend gave me a while ago - she had inherited it from an aunt with a stash the size of Brunswick!. I have a good 8 skeins of this stuff. You can tell it's old - there are lots of breaks in the yarn, especially where the ballband has rubbed against it.

Trying to be more positive about life, I saw this as more of an opportunity than a disaster. I learned to spit-splice. I had very recently seen an old episode of Knitty Gritty where Vicki Howell demonstrated how to do this. I had read about it previously, but never attempted. She made is look so easy. And it was. I must have spit in a good thirty or forty inches of yarn used in this bag. I guess I can really say I put a lot of myself into this project ;0) Lovely!

I was really looking forward to 'fulling' the bag. I believe that term means 'felt slightly'. So I put it on a gentle/warm cycle. Apparently, this wool washes well - it hadn't felted in the slightest. So I tried another cycle! The wool washed really well! Then I just decided to put it in with some towels I had to wash anyway, on a hot cycle. Of course, then I got to doing something more interesting, like vacuuming, or cleaning a toilet and completely forgot to check on the bag.

So here's the fully-felted end result. I have to say, although the stitches aren't discernable, I still love the effect. The stitching round the cables still makes them stand out.

And the finishing touch...... a wooden button.

I absolutely love everything about this bag. It is a great handbag size. The straps are cute (cabled). The celtic cables on the front are beautiful and not too difficult to knit (if you can follow a chart).

It's so long 'til Christmas that I may even have time to find the perfect fabric to line it with - but let's see if I have time to make the lining.

Felting ROCKS!!!

Happy Birthday Mam!

Today is my Mam's umpty-third birthday. Happy Birthday to her.

I completed her gift a week or so ago and got it in the mail, so I hope she's received it in time. Anyway, here it is, the Provincial Waistcoat from Interweave Knits Winter 2006.

It is about 4 inches wide, but is VERY stretchy - it'll need to be - the family disco has some girth, let me tell you! It's meant to be fitted, so I hope it's gonna look good on her.

The yarn is Brooks Farm Mas Acero - it was lovely to work with, really soft, and the finished product is nice and squishy. My mam does like a little bit of sparkle, so these buttons were perfect, they have glitter around the edges. Not that you'll be able to tell from my photography!

FOOD

I like this meme from Trillian 42's blog.


The Omnivore’s Hundred
Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.
Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding - as a child we ate this every Saturday for lunch with runny yolked fried eggs. SO tasty. Now I know what black pudding is though I'm not sure I can eat it again.
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras - I don't know how to cross out, but, er, no thanks.
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - also a no thank you.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - Root beer? Gross!
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - do I get a half point for the cognac?
37. Clotted cream tea - naturally!
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - surprisingly not!
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat - at the Notting Hill Carnival
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal - I like curry but phaal, no.
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - not a whisky drinker
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala - favourite curry of all time. And my first dinner whenever I go back home
48. Eel - freak me out, no!
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads - big crossing out. Can't bear offal. Double gross.
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst - curry and sausages - of course!
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - No, NEVER
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe - Yes :0)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I've tried just less than half. Gotta get working on that :0)

FAY

This was Fay on Monday night. Just arriving, blowing the palm trees and raining. A lot. Yesterday, the outer bands of the storm were still here. But maybe there's good news?! We now have a boat mooring....

And when we bought the house, it didn't have a lake view. But now.......

So, property prices in SW Florida may rise yet this year.

We can wish, can't we :0)

Happy weekend

It's a BIG day today

Today was Teddy's first day at Kindergarten. Here's my big boy. The school held a "BooHoo" breakfast for new kindergartner parents. I'd call it more of a yahoo breakfast :0) Not 'cause I don't love the little fella or anything. But he is so totally ready for 'big school' and I'm ready for him to go too.

On the way home after pick up this afternoon, he spontaneously said he liked kindergarten. Yay! Can I have a picture of one cutie, without the other?

Here's baby brother, Matt, bowling for real this weekend. It was our first family trip to the bowling alley. Mucho fun was had by all. I just love his stance :0)

Oh, and what would a weekend be, without mucho calorific intake too. Hop over to Hearthead's blog for the recipe for these babies. Her comment about tupperware, if there are any left, couldn't be truer.

Wish us all luck and say prayers for SW Florida as we are hit by tonight's hurricane/tropical storm. Right now, it's supposed to pass directly over our heads.

Bezzie's Block

As mentioned last week, Bezzie sent me a skein of Kureyon for my blanket. Here it is all knit up. Pretty. Thanks again Bezzie :0) I have been knitting up a storm on the Provincial Waistcoat this week. The left front was finished last night and I should finish the back tonight. I would love to have it finished midweek for blocking, then I can send it off in time for her birthday. I'm really pleased with how the yarn is knitting up, and how little this project is taking. I expect to use only 1 and a little bit of the 2 skeins I purchased. Brooks Farm Mas Acero. Maybe a clapotis for Christmas?

I am starting to think of Christmas gifts already. We only really buy gifts for the children of the family. I would love to make each of them something to wear (from stash, of course) - probably hats, and buy each of them something handmade from Etsy. So, what are your favourite child hat patterns? - I have various ages to knit for, from 1 year to 10 years old.

Happy weekend.

WIPs

While I've been waiting for more Kureyon for my main project, I've been working on a couple of other projects. My mom's birthday is 2nd September, and I wanted to make the Provincial Waistcoat for her. I cast on back in April, knit 5 or 6 rows, then let it languish. I picked it up last week and started working on it again. I think I was afraid of all the different ribs, cables and crossed-stitch patterns in this thing. But once I got into the swing of it, it was actually pretty easy.

Here's a close-up of the cable. You can see how the yarn is a dark purple, with some reddish bits in it too. It's very pretty and I can definitely see her wearing it.

Another project I've been putting off and putting off, is a pair of socks for my DH. I'm using this Socks That Rock millend I picked up at Stitches West this year. It's black, with some tinges of dark blue. I'm using a 2x2 rib on 72 stitches and hoping they fit him.
If not, then we'll call Christmas knitting begun :0)

Have a great day.

Lucky, lucky, lucky

Did everyone notice that the Olympics are in China right now?

A little titbit I heard is that the Chinese consider August 8th a lucky day this year. 08.08.08

Well, it sure was a lucky mail day for disco :0)

First package courtesy of the very generous Bezzie. A contribution to my Kureyon Log Cabin. Along with another random gift - some of her handmade book plates. Thank you so much Bezzie, the yarn is already on my needles and two parts completed.

Next package, from my lovely knitting buddy, Irishgirlie. Her recent trip to BMFA yielded a couple of green skeins of Heavyweight for my next Log Cabin blanket - yes, ANOTHER one :0) Thank you Carrie, you are a doll and I'm so lucky to have you as my friend.

One more package arrived. It was expected and I'm very happy indeed with the contents. How pretty do all these lovely balls of Kureyon look? THAT should keep me busy for the next couple of weeks .
Have a lovely weekend watching the Olympics. USA already has a medal for ladies fencing. Go USA (and UK).

I know what I like and I like what I know

I've been a little while without a new skein of Kureyon for the log cabin, and ruminating on what to knit next.

Look what I found in the stash. A bunch of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, in beautifully co-ordinating shades of green (to my eye, anyway). I only have one ball of the green in the centre of this square, so I see a bit (more) of ravelry yarn trawling in my future, to ensure I have a decent amount of each - I have 4 or 5 of each of the other colours. Bought last year at the PurlSoho sale, for less than $4 each.So another Log Cabin goes on the needles. You see, I know what I like.

It's also true, I like what I know.....

Here are a couple of other tried and true things I like, that have resurfaced in my life this week.

The step was a Mothers Day gift. Just got it out of the box a few days ago. I've done the starter workout three times in the past four days. I lost a bunch of weight in my early twenties, when Step Aerobics first hit the UK. Now I'm remembering how much I loved that workout.

And for his birthday, Teddy received the game, Mousetrap. How much fun have we been having with the 3 and 5 year olds building the 'contraption'? SO much :0)

Happy weekend :0)