Ray of Hope

I've just been completing, and packaging, some little things which have been waiting for a while to be sent off to Chris at Ray of Hope.

Of course, I always have a sock on the needles.............

........this one in Regia stretch.

I've managed to solve a Family History puzzle this week.

This fan was amongst other family memorabilia, but I was unable to determine where it originated.

The box says Upper Georges Street, Kingstown. I've now found out that Dun Laoghaire was called Kingstown until 1920 and the fan is decorated with Shamrocks. An ancestor was born in Ireland in the late 18c. so this fan was probably bought for his wife or daughter.

I think this is why family history is so fascinating, helping to put the human touch on what could be just names and dates.

Guess where......

..... we've been. While everyone else is thinking of holidays and cancelled flights, yes we've been back in hospital. Steven had another attack of gastritis on Tuesday evening, so spent three nights in hospital, but we came home this morning. It's been seven months since his last admission so some improvement on last year.
Not a lot of knitting done, just a little work on a sock which happened to be in my bag. I also had to dash home for the plumber as I've been without hot water since the weekend. Luckily it's now fixed, so I can get the pile of washing done. I'm not even attempting to post any pictures as Blogger has been making it very difficult for me lately.

WIPs

Just to show that I'm knitting something other than blue squares now that the weather is cooler.

First, Steven's jacket, in Sirdar acrylic, I'm afraid. I'd love to knit for him in 100% hand wash wool, but not very practical for someone who needs clean clothes every day. The pattern is Calum from A Season's Tale, but I'm using double knitting instead of aran, so that it works out smaller.

This is Sandy, from Big Girl Knits, which I'm making for myself. The best thing about this pattern is that the actual sizing and shaping is done last, in the side panels. So that if, I mean when, I lose a large amount of weight before it's finished, I can adjust it to fit. I'm using Colinette Skye, colour Blue Saturn for the front panels.

Sorry I can't show you what I've done so far, but Blogger is playing up and refusing to upload any more pictures.

I've also got the inevitable sock on the go, in Regia stretch, but again I can't show it.

Rain.............

................ at last. It's pouring down at the moment and I can almost hear the thirsty plants drinking it up. Thank goodness it feels cooler now; it seems a shame to complain about the warm, sunny weather, but I'm afraid I don't cope very well with the heat and find doing anything, mental or physical, quite an effort.
Not much knitting has been done recently. I have managed a couple of squares for the
Knitted River. I'm getting quite a pile now, Fiona from Beatties Knit-Chat has contributed some, and I'm hoping to get others interested before I send them off.

Steven said his formal farewells to everyone at school last Tuesday but on Thursday we met up with some of them again for a visit to Chester zoo. The weather wasn't too oppressive and we managed to see more of the animals than we did last year. Steven particularly enjoyed the Bat Cave. The Orang-utans had several babies who were very active and amusing .........

.......... but the chimpanzees seemed to be suffering from the heat and were resting in the shade.

We also saw these giraffes.

Prize

A lot has happened in the last week. Computing has improved greatly due to the arrival of this......

I've almost finished transfering everything from the old to the new computer and now have working Internet and Email. I used dialup briefly while I got broadband set up and had forgotten how slow it is. Some sites took for ever to upload, especially those with very 'busy' templates, think about it bloggers. Anyway, I'm now back up to speed.

Some knitting news. My cousin entered my Jaywalkers, on my behalf, in a competition down in Surrey, and they won first prize! The pattern and yarn were admired, no credit to me! I also entered some bootees in another class, and they came fourth. I've no idea what competition there was though.

Steven had his last day at school on Friday, the end of an era. I worked out that I've been going to the same site for sixteen years since he started in the nursery at the age of three. Quite a wrench, I shall miss everyone, as I am sure Steven will. I know at least one one member of staff reads this blog, so I'll try to keep you updated Chris! Steven starts at his day centre on Monday, so no long school holidays for him any more.

Knit Chat

We had a lively meeting in Beatties this lunchtime, and I managed to avoid the cakes!

We haven't got Matthew knitting yet, but when his sewing project is finished, we will, oh yes!

Steph and Anita arrived late so I took another photo.

Lilies

We're still plodding along here. The computer is getting slower and slower, and has to get its little torch out to search pathetically for anything in My Computer, luckily it is usually found eventually.
The garden is flourishing. Flowers of the week are the lilies, although they are badly in need of staking.

Steven had his moment of stardom in the school production 'Summer Holiday'. He thoroughly enjoyed himself as you can see. He particularly enjoys the dancing and being whirled around in his chair.

Nothing much happening with the knitting. I'm hoping to send off a parcel of tiny baby wear to Christine at Ray of Hope this week. I've done all the knitting, just the finishing off, buttons and ribbon to add, which I find tedious.
I shall be joining the gang in Beatties at lunchtime to knit and chat, but will have to be careful to avoid the delicious food in the Cafe, especially the carrot cake, as my diet is going pretty well at the moment.

Computer Problems

I'm nursing a sick computer at the moment. It is getting old, slowing down and keeps losing things ( sounds like me, except I haven't started making strange beeping noises). Luckily I've just obtained an external hard drive, so spent yesterday evening backing up everything. Time for a new 'puter I think.
Nothing much happening knit-wise.

The sleeve on Steven's jumper is progressing slowly as I've been making a few more baby bits and pieces, more comfortable to knit in the hot weather.

Sorry about the photos, can't do any photo editing at the moment, only download direct from the camera so they're a bit dark.

Every time I go into the garden, I disturb tiny frogs who are taking advantage of the warm, damp weather to leave the pond. They may be small but they have a powerful leap.

Hopefully, I will be able to use the computer for a while longer, but if I'm silent, you'll know why.

Frogging

I've been speeding along with another jacket for Steven, Calum from Kim Hargreaves 'A Season's Tale'. It seemed to be rather on the small side so last night I measured it and him, both 32inch chest so it would be a very snug fit. Therefore it is off to the frog pond. Luckily, this is all I've done so far. I think I'll start again with a sleeve, which is in rib, as a change from stocking stitch.

A very tall poplar has been overshadowing my garden for several years but the other morning, a man in an orange hat with a chain saw was halfway up and gradually the view became this --------

-----so now my, admittedly very tiny, vegetable patch can get some light and air and hopefully become productive again.

Busy

Not much time to blog in the past week as it has been pretty hectic.
I had a good telling off at the Diabetic clinic on Wednesday as my blood sugar is too high and I need to lose weight. Also my eye examination showed some changes which luckily are still reversible so it is wake up time, strict adherence to the diet and more exercise.
Now for more pleasant matters. Sarah Bernhart is being her usual blowsy self in the garden. Blooming later than most Peonies, she always manages to droop over nearby plants.

I don't have much success with roses for some reason and the ones I do have are bashful and prefer to bloom on the far side of the fence. All except for Albertine which always puts on a good show, maybe because it was grown from a cutting on its own roots.

Earlier in the week, we visited the annual flower festival at the local Parish church. The theme this year was weddings, and the 7th anniversary was represented by Wool.

It's a pity the knitting displayed wasn't more inspiring, a beautifully knitted shawl for example would have looked wonderful.

My knitting hasn't been particularly inspired this week either, just a few bits and pieces for charity and the inevitable sock, which caused some interest at the hospital.

Here are a couple more pictures from the flower festival.

Heat

At last summer has arrived and was it only two weeks ago it was still winter? My shorts have been unearthed from the back of the drawer, and believe you me, they only see the light of day when it's really hot, and then only in the back garden, in private.

Not a lot on the needles at the moment. I've just sent a few baby knits off to Chris at Ray of Hope. I'm also making some squares for the Knitted River.The only stipulation is that they must be blue and six inches square, but you can use any yarn or pattern.

The garden is flourishing, or at least the weeds are! Star plant of the week is this Gladiolus Byzantinus. The original corm came from a friend's garden in Cornwall. Sadly, she has recently moved so I won't have the pleasure of visiting her beautiful garden again; but I have the plant to remind me of it. It appears to be multiplying and will probably eventually become a weed!

Visitor

This uninvited guest visits my garden frequently. I probably wouldn't welcome him/her if I had lifestock to consider, but as I don't, I just enjoy seeing some wildlife.

I've been sitting outside enjoying a cup of coffee, watching a buzzard circling in the distance and frogs in the pool. This is only two miles from Wolverhampton city centre. A friend who lives in the country says I get more butterflies in my tiny plot than he does on his two acres, as he is surrounded by farmed land and the insecticide sprays reduce the number of insects.

I'm continuing knitting for Ray of Hope and should have a parcel ready to send off soon.

Here are some completed hats in various sizes. The little bob hats are very simple to make and adaptable for different yarns and needles.

No Football Here

Need I say more?

Bowling

Today Steven and I joined staff and members of his new daycare centre on a visit to the local Bowling Alley. He managed to achieve the highest score.

As you can see Steven thoroughly enjoyed himself and it was lovely to see how the staff interacted with him. It makes such a difference his being with people who understand him, mostly he just gets ignored if he doesn't immediately respond when spoken to. Of course the staff at school are great with him, but he will be moving on soon and leaving them behind.

At least this part of his transition is going smoothly and the staff have been trained to cope with his P.E.G. feeds. If only the medical transfer was progressing so well.

Of course, the knitting came along and I managed a good part of a baby hat.

Baby Surplice

I've just completed another EZ baby jacket, this time the Baby Surplice. For some reason I didn't find it such an enjoyable knit as the Baby Surprise. Here it is, with matching hat.

In the garden, the Clematis Montana is putting on a magnificent show as usual, it's a shame that the weather is a bit too damp to go outside and enjoy it.

Yesterday we had a meeting with Steven's paediatrician. The reason for this, was to hand Steven over to the care of an adult physician, but unfortunately it is difficult to find one able to cope with his complex medical needs. The upshot is that if he needs hospital admission I can still take him to the childrens' assessment unit (he has open access) for a while at least, which is a great relief. I wasn't relishing the thought of coping on an adult ward. At least he is small for his age and still very childlike.

Lilac time

I wish that scents could be transmitted digitally so that I could share this lilac with you. I'm not sure of the variety; I bought it as a miniature and it is now well over six feet tall.
The scent fills the whole garden at this time of year, and it produces a few flowers most of the summer months.

I've just been completing another Baby Surprise Jacket, this time in a tiny size for a prem babies charity. This pattern is so versatile and adaptable. The picture shows three sizes. The smallest 12" chest, 3ply 2.75 needles. The next 14.5"chest, 4ply 3.25 needles. The largest, with added cuffs and awaiting collar, 18.5" chest, double knitting 4 mm needles. This would fit 6-12 months. Using Aran or chunky weight and larger needles you could probably go up to age 3 years.

I purchased the Pattern to be legal and avoid copyright issues, but to be honest found the knitalong easier to follow. There is also a Yahoo group.

Summer...........

............. has suddenly arrived, whatever happened to Spring? I've just been out to mow the lawn, but am having difficulty as the cowslips have taken over and I can't bear to cut them down. I'll just have to wait a while until they've seeded to cut this corner.

I also nearly have an FO. This waistcoat has been around so long, it almost transformed into a UFO. Sadly, I've put on so much weight since I started, it is a very tight fit. However, I'll soldier on, all it needs now is edging, probably crocheted. It is knitted in Alpaca, from the Alpaca Spinner wonderfully soft, and lovely drape, so I hope I can get into it comfortably. The pattern is 'Cinnamon' from 'Knitters', Fall 2004.

Storage

Spotted this yesterday, drastically reduced in a sale.........

Ideal storage for WIPs, magazines and other necessities of life..................

Steven has been unwell in school today, although he seems bright enough since he got home. Hope he's not brewing something up for the holiday.

Garden

I had the pleasure today of welcoming Nigel and Jane Hanson who come each spring to prune and put my garden in order.

They designed and built the garden about eleven years ago, one very hot summer.

Their own garden, the Willows, Trysull, near Wolverhampton is wonderful and well worth a visit if you're in the area on one of their open days.

Needless to say my garden is looking much less overgrown since their visit...............

............... and hopefully I shall have more time to tend it this year.

Off to Beatties today for Knit Chat after missing two weeks with Steven at home for the Easter holidays. He's returned to school now so back to normal, although a Bank Holiday and extra days off are looming on the horizon.

Forms

This is what I should have been doing today, filling in a heap of boring but important forms for Steven to claim the benefits he is entitled to...........

..........and this is what I actually achieved, the start of another sweater for Steven which is not essential and hopefully won't be needed until next winter, but I was keen to see how the pattern came out. It is very different from the last sweater I made in Limbo Mexico. I have 98 stitches on the needle, less would make deeper stripes.

Knitting is so much more satisfying than form filling.