To Sue, even though I'd lost touch with you a few years ago, I always liked you and perhaps was slightly in awe of you. I remember going round to your house and you always had loads of people round, I was amazed by all your friends and the way you were so generous and hospitable.

I remember you at Wrotham and all the great times we had there, our own mini-festival. I remember you getting married at Big Green Gathering and how the whole festival seemed to be involved.

Thank you so much for coming to my 50th and for your lovely present and I'm so sorry I didn't come to your party.

Good bye Sue, you blazed like a shooting star through the world but like that star you were all too short lived.

If this post doesn't mean anything to anyone who reads this, I just felt like I wanted to say something about Sue and as I think of this as my diary I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it.

Hopefully back to crochet and knitting next time.

I'd Rather be Knitting/Crocheting (delete as appropriate)

Well here are my latest creations. I seem to have gone knitting mad and not touched crochet for ages. If we really are doing a spring fair in April I realised I only have two months to make things. I don't really feel like another lot of mass production. I'm enjoying just noodling about on these projects which are just for fun and just for me. Also in my experience you can't sell anything at that time of year, except perhaps easter eggs!

Anyway these are both being worked on long circular needles. The pink one is a mad variation on the seamless yoke sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman. I'm also attempting stranded colour work for the first time in over 20 years. It really is experimental and I don't know how it will turn out. Also I bought this yarn in a sale and it is beautiful but it's very scratchy and the only way I will be able to wear it is if it is a v-neck which looks impossible to do on a yoked sweater.

As I was starting this one I got one of my knitting magazines delivered and for almost the first time I actually liked some of the patterns in it. I was inspired to make this cardigan as it is made of lots of bits of left over yarn. Ha Ha I thought, something to do with all the yarn left over from the rainbow blankets also allowing me to make a garment without having to buy anymore yarn. (well a bit for the borders). I love wearing cardis but I hate having to knit all those bits and sewing them up. So I decided to try a complete experiment and try to knit it all in one, but back and forth not in a circle. So I've cast on all the stitches for the back and two fronts. The first problem was that the pattern calls for the two fronts and the back to increase on the seam sides. Easy enough to do on each piece but I don't know how that will look on one piece. I have just marked where the seams would have been and then done pairs of increases on each side of these markers. This will distort the fabric but I'm going ahead and seeing if it will look ok when its all made up. Wish me luck.

Rainbow Blankets - Finished!!!!

Yes...I've finally finished these two blankets that I was making for my daughters. I started these last year, had to stop in the summer because it was too hot to have them out and anywhere near me, then I couldn't do them before Christmas because I was busy doing things for the craft fair. So just before and after Christmas I managed to finish them and then photograph them with my new birthday camera. I'm very pleased with these. They look lovely and were fun to do, my daughters love them.

Because I wanted quite specific colours I did end up having to buy quite a lot of yarn so not exactly the stash busting project I originally started! Lots of people saw me making them where I do my reception work and asked if I could make them one, but to be honest it took so long that I don't really want to make them again. Plus I couldn't actually charge for the time taken so they wouldn't be worth my while. I think things like this should stay a labour of love.