Self Indulgence

Since no-one is loving my blog right now - and rightly so, since I didn't update for about a month, I thought I'd do a self indulgent Meme, which I have stolen from Little Lixie.

Here we go.

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Rebecca

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Probably earlier this month when my due date for the twins I lost earlier in the year came around.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really - I think it's a bit too messy

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Parma Ham

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so, I'm quite easy going and helpful - I'm not really moody with my friends - although I can be with my DH !

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No - used to keep one, but reading it back was so embarassing I stopped doing it - it's no great loss - I am no Emily Bronte I can tell you !

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes, but they cause me a lot of trouble and I have been considering evicting them some time soon. I probably won't ever do it 'cause I'm afraid of pain.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No Way Jose ! I used to be reckless but since having Jacob I've become a lot more sensible - or boring depending on how you look at it !

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? That is a tough one - I think I would have to say Raisin Bran as a bought cereal, but my Mum makes a wicked ceral with porridge oats, dried cranberries, brazil nuts and warm milk - it makes my mouth water thinking about it.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I live in a hot climate so I usually wear open toed sandals - if I do wear lace up shoes, I usually try not to untie them, but it rarely works and I end up having to bend over anyway !

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? No.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? At the moment Baskin Robbins - can't remember the name, but it's got chocolate - of course, and caramel and honeycomb !

14. SHOE SIZE? UK size 7.

5. RED OR PINK? Both - yes I want it all, usually together.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? That I can be very moody with my DH and he usually doesn't deserve it - poor him.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Too difficult to say - I miss all my family and friends in the UK.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I'm not sending it to anyone - so doesn't really apply.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans - nothing on my feet and a red and pink striped polo type shirt with a white collar.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Oh I'm just about to eat my dinner of cumberland sausages, oven chips and baked beans - a real treat here I can tell you because there is pork in the sausages - you have to go to a special shop to get them and everything.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Some rubbish adverts on the TV.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Turquoise

23. FAVORITE SMELL? currently my perfume - the new White Linen one - not sure of the name

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My friend Shona to arrange a game of tennis tomorrow morning at 7.30am - am I potty ?

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Legs, Hair, Hands.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I don't personally know her, but I like her blog lots and lots and she seems like a very nice lady.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Alcohol free Pina Colada's that they do in a restaurant here - they are gorgeous.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Tennis to play and rugby to watch - oh those shorts mmmmm

29. EYE COLOR? Turquoise blue.

30. HAT SIZE? Not a clue

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Chocolate.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Definately happy endings - I can't watch anything scary at all.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? I love summer - I like to feel the sun on my back and to wear open toed shoes.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs, definately.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Too many to mention, but definately with chocolate.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No idea.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Everyone - no-one is reading my blog right now !

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? An awful book called Chole by Freya North for a book club, a good book called The Promise of Happiness by Justin Cartwright and a book called Coming to Term by Jon Cohen all about miscarriage.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? It's a google one, but I'm on the laptop right now.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? A couple of episodes of Firefly, they were excellent, I love Firefly and I was gutted it was cancelled.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Jacob laughing.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Neither really - but definately never the Beatles.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Sydney I would think and it was lovely. I love Australia.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Knitting probably - that's about it ! I don't think I'm very special really.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hammersmith in London.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I got it from Little Lixie

So there you have it - 48 things that you didn't need to know.

Giants Only Need Apply

So I have been knitting quite a lot of things at the same time recently and then it dawned on me that not only did I need to get the bits done for people here, but I needed to get the bits done for Christmas as well - so I thought I'd make a start. So what shall I begin with ? well something simple seems a good idea - I know that lovely little girl bolero would be great - it won't take me long and it will be oh so cute - WRONG. I have had problems with Erika Knights patterns in the past, so what made me think this would be any different ? This pattern is from Simple Knits for Little Cherubs and if anyone has knit it successfully as per the pattern I would love to hear from you. This is mine so far - well I've done a lot of the other side as well, but since I'm going to have to undo it I don't think I'll bother to show you.



Do you see those red threads - according to the pattern they are the shoulder line markers - that means that the sleeve is going to be the same size again on the back - according to my calculations this means that the sleeve is going to be a total of 51cm in circumference - WHAT ????? Is this bolero for a giant ? Maybe I am reading the pattern wrong and if I am please somebody put me out of my misery before I undo the whole thing. The only saving grace for this pattern is that it is very small. I have to say though that I once considered buying Erika Knight's book Bloom which has patterns for grown ups in too - I will certainly not being buying it now - if there are such great errors in a childs jumper imagine how much worse it would be if it was an adults garment - no thank you very much indeed. So if anyone had ever knit this pattern and made changes or alterations - please do get in touch - I would love to hear from you.

On the brighter side, I have a few FO's to show you.

First up is my first pair of real sock and I can't tell you how happy I am with these. They are in cotton and so are just about ok for the colder months here.



I did a really good job of matching up the colours on the second sock until just after I had turned the heel whereup a knot appeared in the yarn. I thought nothing of it until my stripes started going all wrong. Still never mind I am delighted with the end result and think I have definately been bitten by the sock knitting bug. I would really like to get some of the Regia Canadian Fashion Colours yarn now and do a basic ribbed sock - only two problems - I am not sure where is the best place to get the Regia yarn from and I don't have a basic ribbed sock pattern ! Any help gratefully received. Oh and here is another picture of the socks - just because I can !



Next up we have a rather boring little cardi that I did for a friend's son. They are moving to Canada at the beginning of next year - Edmonton actually. So they will be needing some warmer bits. This cardi was not a joy to knit - I had to fiddle about with the size so much I ended up knitting most of the component parts about 5 times - boring when I have so many other things I wanted to be knitting. Also, this cardi has a zip and I just don't do sewing. So I asked a friend to help me out and she did, but not being a knitter it took her about 5 attempts to get it right. So it's done and I'm pleased with it, but I definately won't be doing it again ! Oh and also the friend that is moving to Canada is a recent convert to knitting and I was wondering if anyone might have any recommendations for good yarns stores in the area - so she can get herself down there and get well and truely addicted !



Finally we have a little poncho that I knitted ages ago. It's in Peter Pan Velvet and Shimmer I think - it's nasty but nice ! It is actually for the same little girl that the tasteful but giant bolero is for. I thought I would do something gaudy and something nice !



A few days ago I received a whole load of knitting needles from my Mum for my Birthday - which was in August, but never mind ! I had asked her to go the knitting shop and ask for Addi Turbos - oh so nice to knit with and how I covert a full set - unfortunately I didn't realise that Addi Turbos came in both bamboo and metal - it was the metal I wanted and of course the bamboo (or wood I'm not sure what they are) that I received. So if anyone is in the market for a swap or some such arrangement - let me know ! I will still happily use the ones I've got, but because I knit with the needle wedged into my armpit the wood ones tend to bend - I am currently using Brittany Birches for the giant bolero and lovely as they are - I don't think they will last that long 'cause they are too flexible. Oh well - ho hum next time I shall have to be more specific !

Happy knitting everyone !

Big Bang

I've been absent and I know it's bad. It would seem that since Jacob has started school the world has gone potty and I've just not had a moment to sit down and blog. I have been knitting, but more about that in another post.

I am joining in Anne's Route To Work Photo thingy - I've got lots of photos and I'm going to try to post them, but who knows if Blogger will allow me. Well here goes :