A quick thank you

To all those that commented on my last post. Your love and support mean an awful lot to me and it does help me to stay strong.
I have had a breakthrough in my studying today and also in the last 24 hours have had even more proof-as if it was needed that to leave the group was the best thing possible. I am not even upset that they are having a meeting soon and in actual fact I am relieved that I am not going as it is brewing up and every little update suggests more and more tension in the ranks.
This week is going to be a busy one with sorting out this assignment and hopefully getting some stitching done inbetween and I am aiming to get some new pictures up by the end of the month. Watch this space folks. :-)

I got THE brown envelope!!

Which contains my last and final Tma which has to be done under exam conditions. There is a desclaimer in it to say it wasn't opened before hand and was completed in a room on your own and in two hours. Its all becoming very near and final that we are at the end of this course. I still have the final Tma to go into my tutor at the beginning of May and then it's a couple of weeks of looking back at the course this last times Tma and thats it folks as they say.
Just after the course officially finishes I am back in clinic again and may well have reached a decision by then. Some things are becoming pretty clear anyway in that the original surgeon who refused me is not someone I trust enough with this complex operation. The juries still out as to whether he will agree or not and although I don't doubt his actual surgical skills most of my trust in him has gone which considering the circumstances would make the whole thing far more stressful. So I intend to tell my consultant that if I go ahead I want it noted that I won't accept him-unless he can explain his actions in a justifiable way which I don't think he will.
This whole thing has thrown up quite a few feelings this weekend and made me realise that with what he told me at the time I have been living a kind of half life. It was only a few months after this that I met Sara and helped set up the group which gave me meaning and purpose back into my life as well as someone to share the ups and downs with. So it kind of feels now we have come full circle except it's not we its just me and I hate that as she should be here now and have had her transplant and be doing great. Her death took some of the gloss off my world and as it was not exactly brilliant white at the time anyway and since then for a time it got very dark indeed. I feel I have come through everything that has happened since quite well all things considered and although it's taken me longer to heal than I thought it would I can feel the process is taking place. Sure I will always miss her ringing me up just to laugh, cry or moan about the lazy boys and I miss not being able to just pick the phone up to do the same and thats never going to change. But alot of the guilt over me leaving and not making it work for her sake has gone and some memories of the happy times have returned. I will always miss my buddy and in some ways the group as it was a life saver at a time I needed it, but ultimately it could have ended up destroying me and thats the part I will always feel sad about.
However I am still here and it hasn't destroyed me and I have started a new chapter in my life, which brings us back to the OU. I am definitely signing up for a further course and have almost decided which one it will be. I keep flitting between two but I am slightly more drawn to one called 'Exploring the Classical world'. I really loved all the bits of this course which focused on this era. We only touched on the Roman gladiators and Colleseum and one Classical play-Medea so I would love to learn much more. I really want to find out how they lived and worked and everything really so its pretty sure it will be that one I go for. It only has one start date a year which will be February next year so a nice long break filled with stitching, gaming and reading is probably just what the Doctor ordered.
So whats happening stitching wise? Well I am still sticking to the rotation and so far its still working well but as not all pieces are possible on a dialysis days I am stitching my Mini Kats wallhanging and simple parts on MIX on those days. I have nearly finished February of Mini Kats-January is done around a week ago and MIX I have finished part 2 and about half of 3. I have said before keeping up is not a priority and it isn't but the Medieval town one is getting more and more wonderful and I may have to squeeze it in. I have got to errr part 1 lol which is finished but obviously I have alot of catching up to do on that one. I may also get my knitting needles out again as I still have a baby hat to do for my friends and would like to knit more for them in the future.

Got myself that treat

After my great exam result I treated myself to A-ha's greatest hits album and as it was in the sale for half price the Rayman game for my DS.
We were up the mall today after my surgical appointment and had a little wander and as I decided to see if they had the album I checked out the rest of the stock too. I also wanted to get some slim bootleg jeans but so far haven't foudn any that are quite right so thats for next time.
So what about the appointment? Well we managed to get parked easily and prepared ourselves for a long wait as these surgical clinics are usually heaving, but on arrival there were only a few others there. We didn't have to wait long but it was all a bit disjointed as he kept looking for old test results and being sure he had everything in order as he was also concerned something was being missed. So echoes of the other surgeon creep in again as he is so well respected they all wonder how he got it so wrong. But got it wrong it seems he has so now I wait as he chases a couple of old tests up and decides if he wants anymore. He was going to do an abdomen x-ray but when I said I had one in November he ripped the form up lol and will check on some other things before deciding if I need any more investigations. However as things stands he is pretty positive that a transplant should be technically possible He acknowledges it could be impossible due to scar tissue as the others have already said but he thinks the chances of success are pretty good and quite alot better than the last surgeons opinion.
When I got home I had a little stash parcel waiting for me in the shape of the next two Mini Kats for the wall hanging-why do I call it that when I will probably frame it, with the variegated threads needed and also two spools of Kreinick for TW's Castle. I did a glittery conversion and have run out of how many spools I have used but this time got an extra one which 'should' be enough.

Obsessive email checking over

And would you believe it I got the highest yet at 80%. Yay!!!! In the end I emailed my tutor as it seemed something may have gone awry and indeed it had as I should have got it 8 days ago. DOH!!!! However you have to allow them at least two weeks from the cut off date so I would have felt like I was hassling before that. I even apologised for being cheeky in my email and asking but boy am I glad I did lol.
I have popped into town today and then did a good few hours of study-enough so I can have most if not all tomorrow off. So the rest of the weekend is going to be stitching and general chill out time.
Starting to gear up for my appointment on Thursday but am expecting nothing as such as it could go anyway. Whatever scenario I work through in my head a different one will happen so I am just trying to quench my anxiety, which is not easy as I am quite stressed out at the moment in general.

Anyway Happy Easter all.

Easter decorating

As I wasn't in the mood to do any blog decorating at Christmas I am doing some Easter things instead. I haven't gone overboard but I quite like the smiley guys I have used.
This week has been a busy one as I am trying to get ahead with my studying and also had a couple of beauty appointments today. I now feel pampered although not exactly beautiful lol. I also finished my stitching rotation so am about to embark on round 6 tonight. I am so happy with it at the moment that I am going to stick with it for awhile yet and I can see real progress on all the projects in it.
Yesterday my consultant was on his monthly visit to the unit and I had already left a message asking if something had gone amiss with my surgical appointment. I had to leave a message as its rare that he is there when I was but yesterday he was and on his way out he came over and had a quick word. He said that the appointment had been chased up and it would be next week and to await a letter in the post. Just as I was thinking it was a good job I checked the letter arrived today and had been written earlier this week so it was in hand anyway-but its reassuring to check. He then asked how my foot was and I gave him a brief overview-although Sister may already have said something. However he is happy to leave it as its causing me no problems at all and agrees with the others that it's not worth messing with it if essentially it isn't affecting my life. Which is fair enough by me and one less thing to mention at my next clinic.
I am still obsessively checking my OU email and nothing so far to report but it should literally be any time now. I have also managed to get ahead so I can have Easter day itself off and as my appointment is a very late morning one next week I don't have to have the full day off then either.
The stitching show at Shepton Mallet is coming up-I think its next week but so far I can't decide whether to go or not. I don't need anything but its nice to go and see pieces in the flesh and there maybe the odd unmissable bargain too. I was thinking maybe I couldn't spare the time as it would mean another day off from studying but I have got ahead and now the appointment won't take a whole day away I may still go.
I hope you all have a lovely Easter if I don't blog before hand and a relaxing time is had by all.

Ok maybe I really shouldn't be on this wagon

I am a total failure at staying on the stitching wagon and just keep seeing more and more stuff I like. So far this week I have fallen for 2 Chatelaines which is no suprise I guess, and this time it is Mini M and Persian Iris Garden. I am tempted with the mini one as its the next series of gemstones and as I did all the others then I kind of want to stay in that vein. As for Persian well its a Mandala so that pretty much says it all. My resolve is not helped by the fact I have a couple of sizeable GC's to be used as well which could cover a big portion of both of these if I didn't get the whole kit especially for the garden.
I also started my mini kats wall hanging and finished the January one in around 3 days so that was good going and they are hopefully going to be good fillers inbetween my rotation.
As well as the above I have a few things on order-mostly stuff needed to finish things in progress or stash but to make shipping worthwhile a few other things may have entered the mix. But when theres a sale on whats a stitcher supposed to do?
Other than stitching I am having fun with my DS and picked up the out of stock game which I got with my package-Sonic Rush yesterday which is just WOW undescribable. I am so happy with all 3 games I got in this package and love them all. This is one hand held I won't get bored of easily.
But I still need to concentrate on the OU stuff as we are on the downward slope of it now. You wouldn't believe how stressed that makes me feel and I know its because I really don't want it to go pear shaped now. I am willing my body not to become ill until after so I know I have done it and haven't wasted months of work to come out with nothing. Actually scrub that last sentance I am willing my body not to be ill at all lol. At the moment I am waiting for the lastest assignment to be returned and as it comes via my OU email I am clicking the link oooh several times a day but it should be soon now.
Dialysis is pretty much ok but I didn't blog about the problem of last Monday. The main water filter broke and it was hours before we could actually dialyse and even then we ended up doing far less as it was evening by then and the staff just made us safe until we returned on the Wednesday morning. Other patients were transferred elsewhere and for awhile it was quite stressful as we could have ended up anywhere dialysing. The situation wasn't helped at it was Monday so we had all just had our longest stretch so really couldn't go much longer without dialysis, if there were to be no knock on effects. However the staff were fantastic at getting us all sorted and kept a level head and ensured patient safety first and although its not something that is desirable to happen it was handled very well indeed.
Right going to grab a cup of tea and a biscuit and see whats going on elsewhere. Might just go and check the OU page again!! ;-)

Stash

I received a lovely stash parcel in the post today. I needed some threads that I couldn't find anywhere so on Paula's recommendation I went to Down sunshine lane. As it would have been crazy to buy just two threads from the USA I also got some Cougar scissors which have been raved about and if any good are a fantastic price and a scissor fob as I am a bit of a collector of them. So here is the stash:

And a close up of the scissors and fob. The charms are all stitching related and the soveriegn has I love cross stitching on it with a heart and something else I am trying to make out on it and it is just fabulous:

For now after my recent splurges I am firmly back on the wagon but had to show you this as it is so pretty.

If I am not around much

Its because I have a new toy. Today I got a Nintendo DS, which I have been wanting to get since Christmas. I kept wondering if I would play with it or really like it but decided what the hell-lifes too short. I have been researching packages and nearly got one in Argos this week but then today online it said they were out of stock again. So as mum was going into town to the hairdressers and as I was feeling ok after dialysis I decided to go and check it out for myself in case they were wrong online. As I was doing a recce of the shops I came across a fabulous deal in Game which had the exact 3 games I wanted with some accesories for a very good price indeed. It was more than Argos but overall it was too good an offer to pass up and when I was speaking to the guy in the shop and he was pointing out what was included he said it was a very good offer indeed. They were out of one of the games so I am having one reserved in the next delivery for collection sometime next week.
I always feel guilty buying stuff for myself but I had always intended on using my £100 lottery winnings at Christmas for one and have a very healthy bank balance at the moment and with my stress levels and feeling so down I felt it was time to treat myself. Ok I have bought quite a bit of stash lately too but nothing huge or ridiculously exspensive and now I am on the wagon for a bit. But I am in a devil may care attitude at the moment and I want to just relax and have fun-something that hasn't happened for awhile.
So I may not be around for a bit as I will be busy playing the games I have and hopefully destressing-but thats obviously inbetween the OU work lol. Which is one of the reasons I got it today-guilt free as I don't study on a dialysis day. Tomorrow I would have been torn on which to do first lol.

It's all happening this week!!

Phew what a week and it's only Wednesday. Firstly I have a HD of another knitting piece. This time its a scarf for mum which is in Patons Whisper again, but this time is in the Nutmeg colour. Not sure where they got the name from as I thought nutmeg was more orangey/brown than this but its nice anyway and mum is chuffed to bits-good job she chose the colour by look rather than name though:



Secondly I am trying to get my 7th assignment in-can you believe we are on number 7 already? Where has the last 6 months gone? Anyway its going well but I am becoming obsessed with tweaking it and its becoming a bit ridiculous. I am not saying anything else, just changing the way I exspress it so maybe I should just read it through and email it. I think this time I am a bit more nervous as this one is 15% of the final grade which is the highest so far as all others have been 10%. What am I going to be like in 4 weeks when the 20% one needs to be put in. Arrghhhh.
Thirdly although I am not going into details here major things are going on with the group and none of its pleasent. I am just so relieved to be out of it, but unfortunately a few people are under more stress now trying to put an impossible situation right.
Right anything else? I think thats it-just seems like a jumble of stuff all happening at once but most of it is good stuff and the bad-well can stand back and just wait and see now.
One more thing I have just remembered is that I have finished Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. It was quite a good book, but in some places I got a bit confused as there were alot of characters spanning different centuries and as I am a slow reader I did get lost at times. Anyway for those who like a mystery with a twist, or archaelogical stories its worth a try. Mum is borrowing it next, but get in contact if you want to borrow it after. I have now started The Da Vinci code and that is promising as I am flying through that and it looks to be different but every bit as good as Angels and Demons.

Good day

Today has been a really good productive day. My friend Jane from Cornwall was in the area this weekend so she picked me up this morning and we went into town for a spot of shopping, tea drinking and a gossip. I managed to get two nice tops from Next. One was a sporty white long sleeved white top with a bright pink sleeveless hoodie over the top which came as one piece but will be a great mix and match set, for spring, summer and autumn. The other was a crinkle long sleeved top with embroidery and applique on it. Also good for the 3 seasons but will be cool in a heat wave too because of its material. I am trying to find some light long sleeved tops this year as I don't like showing the arm where I have dialysis as its pretty yucky but also don't want to boil in cardigans. So I am getting stuff when I see it as so many times I lose out thinking it will still be there in a few weeks.
I got home earlier than I thought so managed to crack on with my essay and have made huge in roads into it, so I don't feel as panicky as I did about getting this one in on time. Its weird because although I have sort of seen a slow upward climb in demand on this course it really has suddenly changed pace, and I can see how its preparing us for a course at the next level. Its quite subtle and also very manageable as its been very well structured that its not until you have done it do you realise you have gone up a gear.
Then tonight I stitched on MIX-I finally finished part 1 last night and as I have been stitching part 2 at times along the way I am not far off finished with that either. Now I can see the textures coming in its starting to look good and even though I have been cussing and swearing with the perle stuff its been well worth it.
Then to round off my day nicely I won £10 on the Thunderball lottery and I am trying to remember how much I have won this year but can't-but also didn't report the £5 won last week so I am doing ok.

Hope you are all having a good weekend too.

Good/bad fracture clinic news

I am back and a bit confused but its starting to make some sense. Apparently its not healed and probably never will be. :-( But as it has plenty of fibrous tissue supporting it then no long term harm will be done. So the plan is to leave it unless it starts causing problems in the future and I have an open appointment for 12 months so can go back easily in that period if it causes problems. Not that I was oppered one but, I think on balance the risk of an operation with complications of bleeding and infection compared with the fact its not presently causing a problem with every day life this is the best step to take-no pun intended lol. I may think about asking my consultant to refer me to someone in Bristol for a second opinion as I know how frightened my local hospital is of kidney patients but I would refuse to have the operation there anyway for just that reason.

So lots to muse on and think about but I think the result could have been worse.

Another week gone

I am getting lax at thsi blogging lark but the truth is I just seem to be so busy. Thats not a bad thing as it means I don't have to think too much about stuff as when I do my anxiety kicks right in again.
So what am I busy with? Its mainly study and more study as the last few blocks of this course are really intensive. We are already at an end of block 6 and now in reading week but I am playing catch up and will probably have to work very hard at getting this assignment done. This one is non-substitutable and has a higher threshold-its also worth the most so far at 15%. We have until the 31st but when you factor out 6 days for dialysis it leaves little time to finish the block and write the assignment and fit in life around it. Tuesday I have the fracture clinic again lol but luckily as its early in the morning it shouldn't have too much time to get behind but depending on what they say depends how much study I feel like doing. I know almost instinctively that its not healed but I am hoping that my feeling of progress is not wishful thinking. I really, really don't want a bone graft and have a deal to broach with them lol. When I went in December they wanted my calcium higher and my consultant immediately changed my drugs which made only a small difference and its only 3 weeks ago they they have been more radically changed. So I am hoping that they will hold off from the bone graft and from what I gather if its even improved a bit they will just keep seeing me until its done.
So then I have Thursday free to study and Saturday my friend Jane is in the area so we are going shopping and having a girlie day-much needed but probably no study time lol. She has 2 family weddings to go to this year and we are going to look at some outfits and generally have a catch up.
Craft wise I am doing bits and pieces-finishing mums knitted scarf, little amounts of MIX and some of my rotation. I want to start several things and can't decide whether to or not. I haven't really got time to stitch too much at the moment but it would also be nice to have a few smaller pieces on the go. Although yes they are smaller but I want to make them into a bigger picture such as Bent Creek's Winter Snapperville. I am going to do this with the border and as one big picture-so four small charts becomes quite big lol. I am also wanting to start my Kats by Kelly year long wall hanging. They release two monthly themed Mini Kat deigns every other month or so which again are small but there are 12 of them lol. I also have to count these as a wip until the entire thing is done the same as I do with the Chatelaine mysteries so my wip count just increases. But they also make for some quick designs and a good thing to stitch after dialysis.
Anyway think that is that for now but hope you are all ok and will try and post on Tuesday with the news from the fracture clinic whether that is good or bad.

Tutorial and small HD

I went to my first tutorial yesterday and the 3 hours just flew. It was great to meet everyone and put names to faces as we have studied for around 5 months on a message board together but most of us had never met. There was a tutorial right at the beginning of the course but I and most others didn't make it for various reasons. I didn't feel like the fish out of water I was worried about being and now have more confidence both personally and with the course.
Then yesterday evening I finished up the square that is going to be part of a quilt in memory of Laura from the stitching community. Laura sadly passed away last month and it has been organised by some of her friends as a gift for her family so they can appreciate how well thought of she was. I chose to do the square that Teresa Wentzler adapted for my 30th birthday quilt last year and I stitched it in Laura's favourite purple colurs:



Out of courtesy I emailed Teresa to check it was ok to use and she was honoured to have its conclusion in the project. I felt it was appropriate as its something that defines me and my place in the online stitching community as well as being designed by someone whos board Laura was part of.
Today I am pretty tired after yesterday's busy day but finished up the next piece in my rotation plus a few minutes more to finish a thread lol, and have also completed my studies for the day. So for the rest of the day I plan to chill out and knit, stitch or surf.
This week is looking fairly quiet so far with a short appointment Thursday morning and getting some more study done inbetween.

New stash

For someone who is on the wagon I seem to be getting quite a few stash parcels through lol. Yesterday I got the winter snapperland border and fabric package and two of the charts as well as the snapperville border package. I also bought Just Nans newest Tulip time and the limited edition frost flower that has a frame and organza pouch which is just beautiful. But all of the above apart from the Just Nan limited were on such a good offer that I couldn't resist.
Then today I received some threads and a kit. The threads were a mixture of lots of black for my Kats by Kelly monthly wallhanging-which may wait to next year now and some purples for Laura's quilt project. Laura sadly passed away in February and was well known in the sttichers community so in memory we are stitching squares up to be made into a quilt in her memory. I have chosen to stitch the Teresa Wentzler square that was an adaptation she did for my 30th birthday quilt. I thought this would be a nice choice as it is personal to me, can be done in the colours Laura loved and also be the right size and easily accomplishable in the time scale. The kit I got was the new Heritage one by Margaret Sherry called Home is where the cat is. I fell in love with it instantly the minute I saw a picture in a magazine and just had to have it. I plan to stitch it on a hand dyed fabric but not sure what yet. The evenweave fabric in the kit was such good quality-far beyond anything I own so I am using that for Laura's quilt square. I hoped it would be usuable for this as believe it or not I have no 28ct evenweave in a neutral colour lol and the quality was a bonus.

New stash

For someone who is on the wagon I seem to be getting quite a few stash parcels through lol. Yesterday I got the winter snapperland border and fabric package and two of the charts as well as the snapperville border package. I also bought Just Nans newest Tulip time and the limited edition frost flower that has a frame and organza pouch which is just beautiful. But all of the above apart from the Just Nan limited were on such a good offer that I couldn't resist.
Then today I received some threads and a kit. The threads were a mixture of lots of black for my Kats by Kelly monthly wallhanging-which may wait to next year now and some purples for Laura's quilt project. Laura sadly passed away in February and was well known in the sttichers community so in memory we are stitching squares up to be made into a quilt in her memory. I have chosen to stitch the Teresa Wentzler square that was an adaptation she did for my 30th birthday quilt. I thought this would be a nice choice as it is personal to me, can be done in the colours Laura loved and also be the right size and easily accomplishable in the time scale. The kit I got was the new Heritage one by Margaret Sherry called Home is where the cat is. I fell in love with it instantly the minute I saw a picture in a magazine and just had to have it. I plan to stitch it on a hand dyed fabric but not sure what yet. The evenweave fabric in the kit was such good quality-far beyond anything I own so I am using that for Laura's quilt square. I hoped it would be usuable for this as believe it or not I have no 28ct evenweave in a neutral colour lol and the quality was a bonus.

The weekend

I have finished studying for the weekend because I am so tired and trying to conserve my energy. At times it feels like I am running on empty at the moment but need to keep as fit as possible as it is the last couple of months of the course, plus some other stresses will be coming up. I also missed studying on Thursday as I had a weird reaction to Tuesday or possibly some kind of bug-I am not sure, but that has also stressed me out as I am worried about falling behind.
Anyway yesterday I slept in and then me and mum went for our Saturday morning browse round town and I spent the afternoon studying. Then in the evening I got loads of stitching done on MIX whilst watching the final of Dancing on ice. That was amazing as they flew in this last show and the poor guy Stefan Booth looked like he was going to be sick at the end but he went on to come second with Gaynor Faye winning. It was a really good show and I wonder what will replace it-on the adverts its suggestive that they are doing premier movies soon which will also be good.
Today I was up early and did a little more on my rotation piece-MVI and then spent about 3 hours studying and I am now quite tempted to go and watch a film and do some knitting. But I also seem to be strangely addicted to the net at the moment but I think relaxation wise the film and crafts of some sort might be a better bet.
This week is fairly quiet so far. I am off to the hairdressers for a trim on Thursday-had to cancel my last appointment for Thursday just gone when I was ill. Then next Saturday is a day tutorial in Bristol which I am determined to go to. As a tutor group we have been speaking on the message board since October now so it will be great to meet them all in person. So thats it for the coming week so far apart from more studying and maybe the odd trip into won.

Have a good week all.

So whats been happening?

Its been a busy and stressful time since I last posted. Last Tuesday I went to a mini GTG in Bristol with Amanda, Lorna and Karoline and it was a really great day. We went to St Nicholas market and had a browse round as well as visiting the craft shop there. I got some stash for card making which included some lovely cute small narrow cards and several sheets of peel offs. Then we adjourned to a nearby cafe for coffee and a chat. All too soon Lorna had to leave to get her bus home in time to get her girls from school, so we went to the House of Fraser to look at their small craft section. I got two balls of Paton's Lush wool in Carnival to make a scarf with and Amanda bought a kit. Then we had a spot of late lunch, some more tea and coffee and it was then time for me to leave the other two and make my way home. The time just flew and I hope the others had just as good a day as I did.
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful but on Friday I did get my lastest assignment back and got my worst mark at 65% but I can live with that as it wasn't too bad considering the subject matter. I was really stressed when studying the block that this was about and wasn't sure how effectively I took it all in so am quite happy to get a decent pass.
The weekend was spent studying and starting my scarf with the Patons yarn. It was also when I started to seriously stress out about everything again. I knew the reason was because I had clinic coming up but it doesn't stop the stress.
Which brings me to yesterday. I went to clinic and it does appear I never needed to be taken off the list and I am more than inclined to believe it is the surgeon who has been blocking things so I had my say. I said I was disgusted that he could do that and now act unsure whether to say yes or no now. I think he should either stand by his convictions or admit he made a mistake but that is where I leave it now. I decided not to make a formal complaint as I don't want to ailenate those helping me now and I don't think it would achieve anything anyway. What happens now is that another surgeon at the unit has agreed on principle to do the operation but wants to see me first, so I will see him at some point and then decide whether to relist for a transplant, once the risks have been weighed up. So after nipping to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway we came home and I got my knitting out, only to find there is a problem with one fo the balls of wool and its knitting up totally differently. Its so bad as to be unusuable so the piece has been retired and I am thinking of contacting Patons but as I don't have the wool band off the first ball I don't know if I have any recourse. Just as I was going online I noticed it was snowing and the poor cat had little snowflakes on his head and as its rare to get snow I guess he was wondering what it was.
This morning I got up for dialysis and mum came in and said that it was snowing steadily and there was a layer on the ground-but nothing was there when she got up, so it really did came down. By the time we had gone 3 miles to the hospital the snow had more or less gone and they didn't have the sharp shower we had. I guess its got to start and stop somewhere but it was quite odd and since getting home its snowed on and off but not really settled or come to anything.
So thats my week, both good and bad and I will try and post more regularly soon.

Round we go again

Just starting my rotation for the 5th time round now and no changes. Its working well and progress is being made on these 5 pieces so I am sticking with it for the moment.
This year I am not religiously keeping up with my Chatelaines and have decided to just stitch them inbetween my rotation if I feel like it or pop them into my rotation at a later date.
I think the only way to get my WIP count down this year is to stick to the rotation and try the tactic of finish 2 start one but only if its a despearate need. So far I have started MIX this year and the baby hat, but have finished the hat and two other things so I am doing ok.
Talking of the baby hat, I got a thank you letter and picture today and it looks great. The baby was even wearing the outfit I bought her when she was born-not sure if that was coincidence but was lovely to see.
My 6th assignment went in this week and that means we are 2/3 through-time has really flown on this one, but its been great.

Phone update

So far so good. I have received and sent texts-well once I got the text prediction thing switched off. I wanted to write NOT which is so simple but instead it made Noomuuu. I think that was Moomin speak lol, but now got that sorted and so far no more freezing going on.
My phone is slightly different to the picture I posted as it has an all pink key pad with charcoal/black lettering which lights up to a snazzy blue. The charm is also not quite as pink as that and has a pale pink strap. Otherwise its the same and I 'think' the changes might be from ultra limited edition to special edition. Judging by the number of poppy phones out there this edition I got is certainly not ultra limited and I do know that one had donations to breast cancer care. I am not sure whether this one has actually but it is a lovely phone and fingers crossed it carries on behaving.

Knitted baby hat with ears

I finished this tonight:




It is my first knitted garment finish. It is for a 3-6 month old baby and is knitted in Sirdar Snowflake DK prints in the lilac colourway.
I only needed a small portion of help with a small part of the pattern and with sewing the ears on. Otherwise it is all my own work lol.