Saturday, September 27, 2008

Home at last!


After 6 days away from home Pam is back. She was found this morning in someones garage 10 minutes walk from our house. She's been checked by the vet who advised us to give her lots of tlc! She's so happy to be home & hasn't stopped purring.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Searching for Pam....

Pam cat
Pam


Pam is missing & was last seen on Sunday evening. We're doing everything we can to find her. She's nearly 18 & deaf. Please keep your fingers crossed that we find her quickly if she's still alive & if not at least find out what happened to her.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Forgotten dishcloths

Every now & then I do a small project but they don't always make it to my blog & these were forgotten about until now. Since Christmas I've made a few dishcloths mainly to try new techniques or play with colour & apart from one none made it to my blog so that is about to be fixed.

In the lazy days between Christmas & New Year I made a cloth for another knitter in a swap. I actually made two using the same pattern as I was experimenting with colours and then couldn't decide which to send. So I asked a few friends which one they preferred & this cloth won, was duely wrapped up & put in the post:

Ballband dishcloth
Ballband Dishcloth in Turquoise & Green varigated cotton


(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

and this cloth stayed at home:

Blue & Annie
Ballband Dishcloth in Turquoise & White cotton


I added i-cords to both so they could be hung up.

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

Then I made a Garterlac Dishcloth which was good TV knitting:

Garterlac Dishcloth
Garterlac Dishcloth


and you can see a close up of the pattern here.

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

Finally I decided to be brave & had a play with crochet:

Pinwheel crocheted dishcloth
Pinwheel crocheted dishcloth


This pattern was loaned to me by a friend & was out of an old book that had belonged to her Grandmother so I can't link to it I'm afraid.

(full details are available on my Ravelry Project Page)

The dishclothes that stayed at home are being used to brighten up our foul kitchen but not really working as it's such a horrible room :(

So that's me nearly up to date on forgotten projects. I've got one more from last year but need to find the photos. My WIP's are progressing slowly but so far no photos have been taken so I've got nothing to share on those yet.....

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Feeling the pinch.....

As I'm sure many others also experiencing we're noticing that things are getting more & more expensive here in England. The media are talking the country into a recession & everything is affected. I work in sales & have definitely noticed a reduction in market confidence in the past 6 months. Equally prices of almost everything have risen by a ridiculous rate mostly driven by the rise in fuel costs but wages aren't increasing :( Luckily my new job is just over a mile away from our home & for the first time since my operation I took my bike today rather than the car. DH travels to work on the bus & his fares have increased recently citing increased fuel costs as the cause.

Luckily we capped our energy prices just in time to escape the massive price increases from British Gas although we keep getting letters from them asking us to reconsider! I bought a Clothes airer last November & have already saved 2 1/2 times the purchase price in fuel bills so at least we can dry our clothes for free & utilise the otherwise wasted warm air from the central heating (when it's on). We're using Eco Balls & a Magno Ball as we're in a hardwater area & our machine was getting built up with limescale & kept spitting bits out all over the washing (hopefully this will keep it going a bit longer). A few hot washes with white vinegar has sorted out the smell from a build up detergent & the clothes are clean without detergent. I've also moved over to a Mooncup for both environmental & cost issues & am getting used to it. It's definitely more flexible than traditional methods, a lot cleaner & I'm no longer plagued with guilt regarding sanitary towels in landfill. A Wireless Electricity Monitor has led to loads of plugs being turned off & I've totally reassessed where I do our shopping & have got a lot cleverer about what I buy but then again I've never been one to waste food or throw money away.

Now the challenge is for DH to finish the small extension that he's been working hard on so that he can install a new efficient central heating boiler that doesn't leak or drop pressure so that our house is warmer, install new windows in our bedroom so we don't freeze this winter & for me to earn enough in commission to pay for it all. At least I have a decent yarn stash so that my 'habit' won't be curtailed


Long term we'd like a Solid fuel stove to warm the house & heat the water, re-insulate the loft as it's been badly done & new windows throughout but can't afford to have them all done at once.

Has anybody got any other tips?

ETA:

We're keen Freecyclers, shop at the local Farmers Market & I'm planning to start growing a few vegetables next year when I've cleared some space in the garden. Plus a water meter is going to be installed when the extension is finished. All our lightbulbs are low energy & we're trying to teach DD not to leave lights/PC's/TV on when she leaves the room.