What a week

Definatly one to be chalked up there amoungst the worst of my life so far. Thursday seen my down fall, goodbye happy face and hello tears. And boy was it hard to keep going, by saterday I thought there is no way on earth I can keep anything up.

But here I am a few days later feeling almost on top of the world and glad that last weeks is far behind me.

My dad is still in hospital due to some infection, they think it was in his pic line, it goes from his chest and through is arm to enable to hospital to administer medication and to take blood without having to stab him all the time. He's had a new one and has now started on his second round of chemo. All being well he should be home within the week for up to 7 days. I can't wait to see him, seems like ages ago.

It's very hard to count my blessings but one I count daily is the help and support that my dad is getting, I will be indepted to the hospital forever, to them he is just another face on the ward, but to me he is my dad, and I would move heaven and earth to make him well.

I still have mixed feelings about the shop, it's a challenge I will give you that but its rather like marmite at the moment, either I love it or I hate it, theres no happy medium. One thing I do like is my un interupted knitting time. I get a good 4 hours a day mostly. Since my last post I have done this -

Firstly a flirty skirty, knitted with Chrissy's yarn and I love it, have progressed a little since the picture.



And secondly a pair of shorts, these where frogged goodness knows how many times as I playied about with my stitch count in order to get the yarn to stripe instead of pool, I think I have achieved it.


Next thing to be playied about with is short rows, I hate the way they mess up my colour flow so I have and idea, what I need is the time. I also have another flirty skirty on the go. I have recived a beautiful pink Brightdyes yarn to make flirty skirties for babykind, so have abandoned all other projects to get the item made to list a photo up on the website.

I have also recieved some rather lovely goodies.

Firstly a beautiful skien of fybrespates sock wool, I fell in love with this colour way the moment I seen it. DUe to a mix up with the order not going through I waited for 10 days for this, and I have to say it was well worth it. The picture doens't quite do it justice though.



I had the next 2 yarns from a fellow crafty threads and yarns member, the lighter of the two is Lana Grossa cotton maya and the darker is regia cotton surf colour. Both beautiful and I look forward to knitting them up, if I get the time.




And this picture shows my fyberspates yarn beautifully teamed up with a beautiful Knitz and glitz shawl pin. I had intended the yarn for socks, but when I saw how beautifully they matched up there is no way the yarn could be anything other than a shawl. The pin was my birthday pressie from Chrissy and she couldnt ahve choosen better.



I do have move pictures to show except my camera is out of juice, will load them up tomorrow. I have my flirty skirty for babykind, I hope to have that finished for tomorrow, I'm knitting the under soaker with 4mm boyes needles, I have posted about these before and how I disliked them. I have to say they have had a repreive. I'm finding the rigidness of the cords hard to get used to, but the way the yarn glides across the needles is lovely more than makes up for the cords not being to my liking.

Woohoo - Papa is home

So happy,

My dad has been allowed home for a few days. I have never been more pleased and upset to see anyone in my whole life.

He looks different, but he's still my dad, even after a month of pure hell away from home in hospital he is just the same laughing and joking.

He was telling me this evening about his consipirathy theory surrounding the chemo, he says the nurses all suit up in various protective items, then handle the bag as though it is about to explode, so he now thinks based on his observations that all the nuclear waste that can't be got rid of, dumped in the sea burried etc is getting filtered though Cancer patients.

The hour I had with him just flew by, almost as if he'd never been away, there was so much I wanted to say, things I had been saving up to tell him and they just didn't seem important anymore.

I feel better now that I have seen him, but I am still scared as is the rest of the family as to what the future holds, it is going to be many months before we find out what is happening and how the cancer is responding, all we can do is hope and remain positive.

Best get onto knitting news as I havn't posted for a while, lack of camera cable has prevented me. So here goes!

Lots of knitting has been done this week, my soakers, shorts and longies have recently gone live on www.babykind.co.uk which is really exciting. So I am currently plodding my way through all the sizes, since they went live I have done 2x newborn - 1x small - 1xlarge - 1x ToddlerXL - 1x ToddlerXXL Not bad considering I have also had a friend staying with me and working for most of the day. Definaly a lot more confident that I can meet any demands I might get in the coming weeks.

As well as the above I have also finished half of my april socks



I have also finally finished sewing the ends and seaming these two things. Chrissy asked me if I would make some items for her to display during woolfest.



These two show LTK Devon bonnets



Shorties made to my own pattern



And this little beauty is Brightdyes april sock yarn which is gorgeous, as where the stitch markers that came with it, my camera doesn't do them justise so I haven't posted a photo.



And one final snap, taken a few nights ago before bed, my two rarely have much to do with each other apart from fighting and winding each other up so it was really nice to come home from work and find them cuddled up like this.

Birthday goodies

It was my birthday on the 3rd of this month and here are my goodies, all recieved as part of a birthday swap organised on Crafty threads and yarns. These where sent to me by Gilraen and I love them all

Firstly a picture of the box that greated me once the brown paper was torn away


A beautiful set of stitch markers with have already been put to good use

A beautful avon bracelet, which my DD is eyeing up and already thinks is hers

And some wonderfull smelly stuff from lush, healing hands hand cream which will live in my hand bag , Ohh la la soap, a heart shaped massage bar, the purple thing I think is a bubble bath wotsit and the little pink soap is a yankee tarts wax pot pouri soap in cut roses
A sweet smelly skien of posh yarns sock wool, and I have forgotten the colour already, but it is so beautiful to knit with, looking forward to looking in the posh yarns sales on sunday

The start of my project using the slip up socks pattern, available on the posh yarns website

And her is my progress so far, I've made them as ankle socks in the hope that I will get two pairs out of the 135grams, If not I'm sure the remainder will make several pairs for DD.

In other news, I have and will be busy my nappy wraps are now listed it babykind a large online retailer of cloth nappies, it is very exciting and I have been looking forward to starting for a few months, as well as itching to tell everyone. So here is the link

http://www.babykind.co.uk/woolwraps.htm

An update

Sorry I havn't visited blog land very much, life has certainly got in the way of everything I used to do.



It has been so hard adjusting to my new life as a full time employee and to go from 15 hours per week to 42 has been a huge shock to my system on top of everything else.



Nothing was harder than the first two weeks, trying to come to terms with my dads diagnosis and trying to learn something that was totally new, it was both draining and exhasting. I had done 2 days a week in the shop, but mainly all the work would have been done, I wouldn't have to order, or sort deliveries out, just serve the customers and do a little knitting in the quiet spells.



I don't think the actual job side of things was that hard, what was hard was dealing with other peoples questions, when I hadn't dealt with things properly myself. I couldn't talk about it without crying.



It has got easier now, but when I tell people it's almost like I am telling a story that isn't true. I have had to get on with things and this has been the easiest way to file it away and pretend almost that it isn't happening. My mum was right though about not letting it in, and what it would do to us but it is so hard.



We have had an update on my dad, he is getting moved from critical care as soon as there is a bed available, he has been off the chemo for a while a week I think, I do appologise for my inability to determine time scale. This last few weeks seem to have spanned months that have all merged into one another.



So he will be getting moved, he is still in good spirits and is laughing and joking with everyone, he has people in stitches. Mum went up on friday and as he has been cathaterized, the nurse came to change the bag and he looks at my mum totally straight faced and said ' now thats what you call taking the p1ss'. Just typical of my dad to be the joker, I miss him so much. And I know that he will be missing me.



And feeling bad as I got delt the short hand again with doing the shop, but it is something that I really want to do for him.



I have also started knitting again the last week or so, not much just easing myself back in. You'd think I had stoped for months rather than a week or 2. So my efforts are a dress for DD

This has been made with 100% pure varieted cotton, which ai brought from lidls, I love the way the pattern of colours chances as the skirt increases. It was increased using larger needles rather than adding stitches. Hopefully she won't grow out of it before it is warm enough for her to wear it.

The second thing I have have finished are my march socks, these where a long time coming

THey are made with Colinette jitterbug in shade fruit colis. And I don't like them, On the heal I knitted the first 3 stitches and it irritates a bit, I also did the foot a bit shorter than I should have done. So I will be sending these to my sister as a cheer me up type gift.

I have knitted many other things but I can't show them here yet!