The Girasole is dead! Long live the Girasole !

A cautionary tale...

There once was a new knitter who thought she could cope with something big and fancy like she had seen made by her fab knitter friend Becky

She had admired the Girasole pattern by Jared Flood many times and so cast it on.

She decided to change needle size after the first few rounds, and again a few rounds later!

She thought she could just miss out a few rows of the pattern cos it was boring/wasn't going well. 

She then ballsed up the leafy part by rapidly moving ahead with the charts not checking that the stitches were lining up. 

STILL she soldiered  on! She got a better knitter by this stage and thought she would keep the mistakes as a 'cute' reminder of a past time. 

Then she thought she would frog it (rip it back - rippit, rippit) but couldn't face the task. It was going so well by this point! The UFO was shoved in the back of the yarn stash to linger unloved. 

Unfinished but not unravelled either. 

Eventually the time came when it just couldn't be put off any more and the frogging began *sob*

The Girasole is dead! Long live the Girasole !

Today I have cast this on again and am going to do a knit a long with my friend Ally , we hope to inspire and nudge each other along a bit :-)

 See ? that last bit was GOOD !

but those leaves weren't !

 There was no way that massive change in needle size was going to be 

blocked out was there ?

gratuitous rig picture for the fans

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

And now, the end is near - And so I face the final curtain*

(* curtain/border of my shawl)

My friend, I'll say it clear,

I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

(I have loved making this!)

I've lived a life that's full. (ish)

I've traveled each and ev'ry highway
But more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few;

But then again, too few to mention.

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;

Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew.

When I bit off more than I could chew.

But through it all, when there was doubt,

I ate it up and spit it out. (and messaged Sarah)

I faced it all and I stood tall;

And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.

I've had my fill; my share of losing. 

(not really but didn't want to miss a verse)

And now, as tears subside,

I find it all so amusing.(again not really)

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,

"No, oh no not me,

I did it my way".

For what is a (wom)man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.

To say the things he truly feels;

And not the words of one who kneels.

The record shows I took the blows
(or didn't but had to use the last verse)

And did it myyyyyyy waaaaaaay!

An apology to Snowdrop

A while ago I openly laughed at my friend who was using a builders bucket as 

part of her crocheting 'kit'. 

"A bucket?!" I scoffed, hahahahaha how funny !

"I have a beautiful Cath Kidston bag I will be using" I said.

Victoria, I apologise. 

The bucket is in fact the perfect thing to have at my feet, 

3 balls of yarn on the go at once (round balls let loose = ROLL)

Toddler needs me or the phone or the door or god forbid I need to pee in a hurry.

Dump it in the bucket, safe and sound. 

Love ya Snowdrop ! xx

Mine numbreller !

It's amazing how much joy a 2.75 year old can get from £1.20 isn't it ?

                                         

must dash Imaginary Readers ! x

p.s.

Grellow knit-a-long!

Grellow is a great word isn't it ??  I saw it on Ravelry I think..

I've been holding onto a ball of gorgeous blue faced leicester yarn for aaaaaages, not knowing quite what to make with it. Similarly had a hankering for (and bought) some mustard sock yarn. So when my friend Sarah - Crafts from the Cwtch suggested a June knitalong for the Color Affection Shawl I was itching to get my pins out !! I knew from the first moment that the 3rd colour had to be grey to achieve my grellow. 

I had wanted to get something from the lovely Nimu Yarns, but as I'd left it so late there wasn't time for Clare to dye me what we were planning. 

So... browsing t'interwebs for something smooshy and grey I decided upon THIS from Baby Long legs. Ode to Bender, the name alone sold me and I wasn't disappointed 

when it arrived!

I don't have time for this - I really don't. I'm squeezing in the odd row or 6 when I can (lot's of Marigold Green work happening too) My lovely partner had the small blonde a lot over the weekend which was wonderful and meant I got more done 

than I'd first thought I would. 

I'm loving the knit so far, have made a few pattern adjustments  - using KFB instead of M1s and adding a yarn over along the edges to hopefully ease it up a bit. (although having just read Sarah's blog today I'm worried that my twisted sides will have negated this a bit too) 

Anyway here it is up 'til yesterday. I have been playing with my new toy of Instagram a lot and just discovered a cute multi picture app too so bear with my 'arty' pic spammage!

so long Imaginary Readers ! x

Going Meat Free

I've been pondering this for many many many months now. 

It just doesn't feel right to eat meat anymore. 

All the fluffy baby animals we pettted today at The Cotswold Farm Park were the final push I needed to make this choice today (romantic notion I know) 

I feel vegan might be the end result for me but I'm not sure how to do that with success so for now it's meat free only.