Some knitting progress
I finished these a while ago – it’s just taken me ages to get around to taking photos (and even now I’ve done that they aren’t very good!).
Dune Shawl
This is a shawl made from Sirdar’s Dune yarn. The yarn is like a string with ‘pellets’ spaced along it’s length. It’s knitted on 9mm needles in just plain garter stitch so it works up pretty quickly. Although I can’t really tell you how long this took because I knitted it while writing my dissertation – write a paragraph, knit a row! I’ve already worn it a few times, and I’m really happy with it.
Shimmer Scarf
This was finished a while ago, but I’m afraid the photo isn’t very good at all. The colours are much more vibrant in real life. It’s knitted using Wendy’s Shimmer yarn on 4.5mm needles, and took about 5 balls to knit. It’s really soft and snuggly, and I can’t wait for winter so I can wear it. I may have to make a few more of these, because I’ve seen some gorgeous colours of a similar yarn on Ebay. So far I’ve managed to resist – but I’m not sure how long that will last!
Great weekend
After handing in my portfolio (yay!) I had a great weekend. On Saturday I went to a GTG in Derbyshire, met up with lots of the UKers, ate fudge (thanks Amanda) and other yummy things, knitted, and generally had a great time. Thanks to Karoline for driving, to Kate for letting us take over her house and to everyone else for great company. For those of you who couldn’t be there – I can’t wait for the next one to catch up with you all.
I spent most of sunday doing nothing. DH and I have signed up with LoveFilm for their postal DVD thing. We tried Amazon, but you’re only allowed 4 DVDs a month, and we had to send one back because it was damaged, and the replacement counted as one of the four! Not happpy with that, we changed to LoveFilm and can have unlimited DVDs with two at home at any one time. Our first two were Big Fish (my choice) and Super Size Me (Newt’s choice). He watched Supersize Me while I was out, but thought that I should see it. I thought differently, but eventually gave in a watched it. Personally, I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t learn anything new, and it REALLY dragged in places – there are only so many times you can watch someone eat a hambuger. Unsurprisingly he found that eating at McD’s all day every day isn’t good for you. The one thing that did shock me though was the size of some of the drinks – half a gallon in a supersize coke! One guy (who, granted needed gastic bypass surgery) drank 4 of those a day – 2 gallons of coke. My car doesn’t use that much petrol in a day. How on earth can one person drink that much coke (or sprite or whatever)? Wouldn’t you need to pee ALL THE TIME? And how come they don’t realise that really, all that processed sugary rubbish filled with additives is really NOT GOOD FOR YOU. I’m hardly a paragon of nutrition myself, but even I wouldn’t eat that much fast food.
Sorry, rant over. I’m sure Big Fish will be more pleasant entertainment.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (4)Finished!!!!
On Friday I handed in my last ever portfolio. No more essays, portfolios or dissertations (provided I pass everything!) ever again. If anyone hears me utter the words “Masters degree” within the next 5 years they have my full permission to shoot me.
I still have two weeks of placement left, but I’m looking forward to that because I can just think about getting on with the work, and not worrying about essays. Other than that I intend to read trashy summer fiction, watch rubbish on TV and do very little else for a month.
Filed under University | Comments (4)Finished my first jumper!
I finally finished sewing up my first ever jumper today. I finished the first lot of knitting ages ago, but procrastinated about the neckline where I had to ‘pick up and knit’ for the first time, and about the sewing up. I’m actually quite impressed with some of the sewing up – looks quite neat for me. Especially the fake grafting on the shoulders – instructions from the Stitch ‘n Bitch book.
I’m a little concerned that the neck opening might be a bit small (well, the whole thing might be a bit small actually). It’s supposed to be 3-6 months, but it looks a bit small to me. I didn’t do a tension square – I’ve only just started knitting, and I didn’t think it would be that important for a baby’s jumper. However I’ve since discovered that I knit quite tightly and usually have to move up a size of needles to get the right tension. Ah well, live and learn. And should I ever have children, they WILL wear this jumper that I’ve laboured over, regardless if it’s too long, too short, too tight – whatever. And at least at 3 months old, you really don’t care what you look like!
Filed under Knitting | Comments (8)BBC update
So here’s the photo of BBC’s leg as promised. It’s a bit blurry because he didn’t really want to have his photo taken. He was supposed to stay indoors for at least 3 days. That lasted less than 3 hours. He was also supposed to keep the dressing on for 3 days – that managed about 12 hours. He woke me up at 4am by jumping on my and purring ecstatically, clearly very pleased with himself. We phoned the vet and they said if it looks clean and it’s not bleeding, to just leave it. He then went back to the vet today as planned and he was happy to leave the dressing off, and as BBC isn’t really licking his stitches too much, he doesn’t need a big plastic collar – more good news because this means that he can still play outside.
I had a good look at his paw yesterday, and where the wound is, if it was deep (as the vet suggested it was) then I reckon he must have come fairly close to losing a toe or two!! Not that I think that would have slowed him down in the slightest. The cut is right on the edge of the paw pad, where it meets the ‘toes’, and there really isn’t much flesh or anything there at all. Still no idea how he did it – I did follow the trail of blood outside the house, but I lost it in next door’s garden. I can only assume he jumped off a wall or something into some bushes or undergrowth, and landed on someting sharp, like glass or a huge thorn. Anyway, he’s on the mend now, and that’s all that matters. I reckon he only has about 3 of his lives left now though…
Filed under Pets | Comments (2)Not a great start to the day
I’m working this weekend, so I’m day off today. I had plans to get started on my portfolio which is due in about a fortnight. Unfortunately after I was rudely awakened by the builders across the road demolishing a builing this morning, I found what looked like the scene of a massacre. Blood everywhere. From the patterns of the blood, I realised that this was probably blood of kitty origin, and probably from a cut paw. Going off past history, I guessed that it would be BBC, so I followed the rather macabre trail, to find him in the lounge. Completely relaxed, not at all bothered about anything, and fast asleep with his belly on show to the world.
I gently had a look at all four paws, but couldn’t see anything obvious, until he got up to walk around and wasn’t weight bearing on his front right leg at all. On closer inspection there was some dried blood, and it did look swollen. So, I phoned the vet, and was able to take him straight in. Trying to get him in the cat-carrier was interesting. Cats can still run surprisingly fast and jump surprisingly high with only three working legs. I eventualy managed to catch him, and manhandle him into the carrier without further bloodshed.
The vet decided that it probably isn’t a simply cut (too swollen for that), but it’s probably a burst abcess, because it also looks like there’s some pus mixed in with the blood. Nice. Especially as it’s been spread liberally all over my house. BBC is still at the vet where they’re going to drain it, or clean it, or do whatever it is that they do. I feel bad for not noticing that he had an abcess, but he’d been fine, shown no signs of it at all. Hopefully I can get him home later today, but then I’m sure he’ll have to stay indoors, which he won’t like one bit.
Then there’s the small matter of cleaning up all the blood. He must have wandered around the house deliberately looking for pale coloured carpets, expensive Turkish rugs and things that can’t be washed. I’ve managed to get some of the blood out of the carpets with Oxyclean stuff, but there are still loads of spots that need going over again. Grrrrrr. Stupid cat.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)I did it!
On Thursday morning I got up bright and early to hand in my dissertation. My printer isn’t the greatest, so I decided to get Media Services to print as well as bind it. They were great. Only too half an hour to print and bind three copies, and I thought it was pretty reasonably priced as well. I resisted the temptation to look through it once it was printed – after all, nothing I can do if I find a mistake at that point is there?
So, all finished, and I went for a coffee with a friend. Far more relaxed than I have been on previous occasions! I also went to get my watch fixed, and the nice guy did that for free, so I was even more bouncy and happy.
On the Friday however, the shock of it all must have finally got to me and I had a ^%£*%”* of a migraine. Lots and lots of drugs and sleep needed, but finally got rid of it.
On Saturday I went to a friend’s leaving party. He’s off to America for a few yeras, so we all went out to celebrate. I got very drunk – haven’t had a drink in a couple of months, and drank faaaar too much wine. Don’t remember getting home, but I don’t think I disgraced myself too much, and although I felt a little delicate on Sunday, it could have been much worse!
Now it’s back to work, and I can’t slack off too much, because I have lots of hours to do before the end of August, and a portfolio to be in on the 19th.
I am, obviously, worried about my results, I always am. But I’m trying not to think about it too much because we don’t get them until the 21st September. Of course, I’ll be away then, so I’ll have to get on the phone and beg someone to give me them. But anyway, that’s ages away.
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