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Christmas was a busy time ... knittingwise

I love love love Alan Dart patterns - they are so clearly written and exact to every stitch ... if you ever get a chance - try one, you won't regret it!

I got so carried away knitting Christmas ornaments (some Alan's and some my own design) that there were too many to hang on my puny little tree, so they just congregated on the table .... next year I will make them into a wreath for the front door.




(In case you can't recognise them, they are ... cupcake, stocking, apple, gingerbread heart, candle, mouse, polar bear, Father Christmas, hat, candy cane, angel, elf, snowman, Father Christmas hat, mittens, bell, wreath, cracker)

So, what did I knit this time??

My dh is no longer shocked when he asks me "What are you knitting, dear?" He is used to getting weird answers, like "A penis purse" or "A yak". So this time, when he asked THE question, he barely raised an eyebrow when I answered "A prawn". Yup, a prawn ... well, sushi with a prawn on top, actually!! For dd who is obsessed with all things Japanese at the moment, especially sushi. So, for Christmas I got her all the doodads that one needs to make one's own sushi and packed them into ..... a knitted sushi bag!!



Her response on opening the present was fantastic ... She looked at it blankly, looked at me .... looked back at the gift ... and as it dawned on her what it was, started yelling ... oh my god, oh my god, OH my god, oh MY god, oh oh oh oh my god! It was hysterical to watch and soooo worth the effort of knitting it!



So, this is what we ate for starters on Christmas day ....

Cold Turkey!

Words to live by ...

I have had this for a-g-e-s, suddenly today, I had an urge to post it ... don't know why ... maybe somebody, somewhere needs to hear these words .......

Ready or not, some day, it will come to an end.
There will be no more surprises: no more minutes, hours or days.
All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass on to some else.
Your wealth, fame, and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owed or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.
So, too, will your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists.
The wins and losses, that once seemed so important, will fade away.
At the end, it won’t matter where you were born or what side of the tracks you lived.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So, what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built…
Not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people knew you, but how many people will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.
What will matter are not your memories, but the memories that live on in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstances but of choice.
Are you choosing a life that matters?

The Birth ...

The Woman said "I don't know if I am ready for this, I don't know how to".

Some women agreed that it would be very difficult and painful, almost impossible. Others disagreed and said "Take our advice, it will be so easy you will want to make many".

The Husband told her "Just remember, I can't help, you are on your own".

She read many books to get courage, she felt sick – but knew this would pass. She had had so many miscarriages and abortions in the past, would it be ok this time?

Finally it was time, she closed her eyes and knew there was no turning back. She began to panic, her husband reminded her to breathe deeply and concentrate. She laboured for many hours, people stopped by and asked how it was going, but nobody could do it for her.

Finally when the last cord was cut, she leaned back and said "I have done it".

She proudly displayed her creation. Friends and family crowded around to see the new addition – Most agreed that it was an ugly, misshapen thing that only the Woman could love. She told them that even deformed and unattractive things have their place and this one would always be special because it was her first.

With time, the pain and uncertainty subsided and the Woman began to think about making another one, one which she hoped would look exactly like her first …. …. And so, a sock was born! http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u274/uysbase/?action=view&current=1174214436.pbw

I've decided to start exercising ......

Happy Halloween!

My next knitting project ....

And now for something completely different ....

And ... OH SO APPETISING ...

Happy Hell 'O Weird

So, what about the wool/yarn then???

In anticipation of the millions of wool shops and mounds of yarn, I actually took an EMPTY suitcase which I intended to fill to the brim with wool and knitting needles from Italy......

Number of wool shops found : NONE
Number of shaken (shook?!) heads when asking for wool shops : MANY
Number of small haberdashery shops with one small basket of wool : ONE
Number of balls of wool from basket purchased and brought home : TEN
(TEN!! Ten frigging balls of wool in the whole of Italy - and no choice of colours or types - just TEN BALLS!!)

But, I was so excited after two weeks of total withdrawal to finally find the shop with the wool, that I grabbed every ball they had in the basket.
Saleslady to me : "You no can take-a all the wool-a"
Me to saleslady : "Oh yes-a I can-a"
Saleslady : "NAW, leave for nother signora"
Me : "F**k nother signora, I want it ALL"
Saleslady : "NAW!!!!!!! macaronispaggettiraviollitagliatelli* (*unintelligible stream of Italian)"
Me : Grabbing handsful of wool "Give me this NOW"
Saleslady : "Half-a now, half-a tomorrow"
Me : "W-T-F????"
Saleslady : "Mama Mia ....!!!"
Me : "Mama flipping MIA ....!!!"

So, I bought half the balls then, and had to make a return trip the next day to buy the rest - which, lucky for the saleslady, was still there!!

And this is what all the fuss was about (there are 4 balls of the reddish ones) :



Oh yes, and the ONE pair of double pointed needles they had - twice as long as normal - I am not sure if I will ever actually USE them, but I HAD to have them too!!

Oh alright then ......

There WERE some slightly younger, slightly sexier, slightly yummier Eye Tal Eons. In fact, there were MEN IN TIGHTS even ....














However, when they whipped out their flagpoles (yep, that's what I said!!) and started waving them around for the audience to admire ......












We began to feel nervous and wonder about them ....








.... and THEN .... they staged a battle and began whacking each other with swords and broomsticks .....














Until they "died" ...














Well, that was when I KNEW .... we South Africans may be strange, but at least we are not completely LOCO COCO!!

Italian Stallions

(especially for You-Know-Who .... don't you Maryannlucy??)

Purely in the interests of research, OF COURSE, we headed for the market to case out the local Italian stallions ....














But found the offerings were about as derelict as the 400 year old buildings around them!














But if you look at what they eat .... it's no wonder they are all dried up and shriveled!















This is the best sighting of an Italian stallion we got all vacation ...!


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.....but, I followed the pattern exactly!!!

Beware ... This post not for sensitive viewers!

I recently entered a competition to knit a bag based on Jeffrey Dahmer (remember him ... the cannibal who murdered young guys and then kept body parts in his fridge etc!) Yeah, I know ... I am weird, but hey, I'm cute!

Anyhooo, the website had a basic bag with a dagger knitted into it .... I modified it to this .....




Unfortunately,the contest website has not been updated, so I don't know if they liked the bag .... Now, just exactly what am I going to do with it ... Can't quite see myself walking down the street with an intestine draped artistically over my shoulder, can you?

Look who's chatting on MSN

Do you recognize the avatar on the top right of the page?

Kool Aid is sooo Kooool

(Note : This entry is dedicated to Deb Brown, a fellow knitter without whose generosity, none of this creative wizardry would have been possible. Thanks Deb!)


Last Saturday the Lulu family turned bright red and blue and purple ... no, we weren't angry, we were Kool Aid dyeing!! If you want to do it too, these are the what-to-do's (and some definite what-NOT-to-do's!!)

Start with bare yarn and a truck load of Kool Aid in various colours (oops, sorry, flavours!)
Swat off whingeing daughter who scuttles off clutching packets of said Kool Aid muttering "It's for drinking not dyeing!"














Stop for a bite of spaghetti ... heh heh heh ... soak yarn in water and stir well (NOT!) ... Did someone mention doing it one skein at a time?














Put on plastic gloves (IMPORTANT!) and pose with cheesy smile for the BEFORE picture!














Artistically drape skein over dishes containing dye so it looks professional for the photo













After trying to get artistically draped yarn out of bowls without the colours touching each other and running, decide to use one big bowl with yarn wound round in it















Cover, microwave, rest, rest yarn, microwave, rest yarn, have coffee, rinse yarn, *squeeze out excess water, burn fingers, swear, drop yarn back in water, repeat from *, drape artistically over laundry drying rack, allow to dry whilst cleaning up the wrecked kitchen













Puff out chest and coo like proud mamma at beoootiful colours of yarn produced by own dyed, burned hands














Turn into yarn cakes - delicious enough to eat!
And ... they SMELL so good too!!













Knit up squares to make unique, one of a kind, Kool smelling blankie (and one handbag for said whingeing daughter)














Now, doesn't that sound like fun ... go get some bare, nekkid yarn and some Kool Aid and try it for yourself ... if WE can do it, ANYONE can!!

MOTHER MUGGLE MANAGED to beat Harry!

Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get .... boney fingers
.... and some pretty nice socks!
















Yes, the socks made it to the opening (at 3-00am)















She got her copy - thank goodness she has ears - or her smile would have gone right the way round her head!















She plunged straight into the book (at 3.30am!!)







Even Precious the cat was ignored ....

















Oh yes, by the way, I invented something else ..... a book band, which keeps the book open while you read!




Well, I guess that chapter of her childhood is closed now .... what's next?

Just had to take a deep breath .......