Friday FOs - 06.06.2014

I have a bit of a surprise this week. I don't have any towels. Don't worry, I'm sure I will have some for next week.

Here are my FOs for this week.

Cheval Set

I found this pattern in an old booklet that I bought at a market some time ago.

Trauma Teddy #39

I think I should have started a new Ravelry project for these this year as I keep forgetting how many I've done since the beginning of the year. I think I have missed one week.

2 knitted Trauma Teddies

These are the reason that I don't have any towels done this week. I was given a couple of squares knitted by one of the ladies at church and asked to sew them up, so that's what I did.

That's it from me for this week. As usual, check out the links in the sidebar to see what everyone else has been making.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 04.06.2014

This week has been a bit of a different week as far as my projects go. I was given a couple of items to finish off for someone else and that kinda made it difficult for me to get as much done on my other projects as I would have liked. As a result of this one project didn't get worked on at all but it's not one that would normally show up as a WIP anyway as I normally manage to finish one or two of these in a week. What this means is that there will be extra FOs on Friday. In the mean time, here are my WIPs.

Handkerchief Border

I'm about halfway with the round of picots. I'm finding working picots in #40 cotton a bit tedious so I'm taking it a bit slow. It will be another couple of weeks before this is ready for blocking.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

A couple more octagons have been added. Still quite slow by my standards. I might have to consider not starting anything new until I have finished this.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I made a concerted effort to add 8 rows to this one. If I can add 8 rows each week I will be happy.

Matinee Jacket

Now that I have finished with the body and made a start on the yoke this is looking less like a blanket and more like a jacket.

Murray of Athol Tartan Rug

Just a few more rows on the mesh and then I start make and weaving in the chains.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

You probably can't see what I have added to this as it was only a row and a bit. That was all I had time to do while in the podiatrists waiting room.

Small Bunny

The second half of the body is finished and two halves on the ears are done. I think I was a bit ambitious in thinking I could get this finished this week. Maybe one more session.

Knooked Scarf

I almost forgot to take a photo of this one as it was kinda hiding under my bag of stuffing. I actually added 24 rows to this which included the special stitch rows.

That's it for this week. I will have some finished items to show you on Friday so be sure to check back then to see what I've got done. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others are making.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 31.05.2014

This week has been about getting back to normal (whatever that may be) after the business of Red Shield. I'm not real sure what normal is at the moment or what it should be since my recent diagnosis. It seems to involve checking my blood sugar twice a day and losing weight, at least that's what the doctor would like to see.

Since I have to change my lifestyle a bit in an effort to control my diabetes I have started an exercise program. It's one I found on the internet. It involves 9 exercises, each one done for 50 seconds, so it's only a short program. The first day I did it I was puffing like an old steam train after the first 50 seconds. I intend to keep it up for a while, hopefully extending it with other exercises as my fitness improves. I will see how it goes.

I saw the diabetics educator this week and she wants to see all my BL figures also. So far they are up and down like a yo-yo, but that is to be expected apparently. She gave me some reading material which explains where my readings should be and a few other facts about diabetes and I am slowly reading through them. I get to see the dietitian next time I go so we will see what she says.

Other than the stuff I have to do because of my diabetes and my crochet and knitting there isn't much else happening around here so that's about it for this week.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 30.05.2014

Now that the business of Red Shield is over (at least for me) it's time to get life back to normal (whatever that may be). I think normal finishes for me, at the moment, are hanging towels and trauma teddies, so, here are this week's hanging towels ...

Two Blue Hanging Towels

... and this week's trauma teddy.

Trauma Teddy # 38

That makes 21 trauma teddies for this year.

I will be linking up with the usual crowd this week so if you want to see what others have made just check out the links in the sidebar.

Richard.

Wednesday WIPs - 28.05.2014

Sitting down at static collection points the last couple of weeks has really helped my progress. Here is what my WIPs looked like this afternoon.

Handkerchief Border

Started on the picot around the edge but I'm still a little worried that I may have worked this a little tight. I do hope it blocks out otherwise I will have to undo it and try again.

Woollen Baby Blanket - motifs from Ellen Gormley's book

Started on the next row of octagons. I would really like to do more than two motifs each week but it's a bit hard while I'm working on the handkerchief.

Murray of Athol Tartan rug.

Another nine rows of the mesh and then it's onto making the chains and weaving them in so it actually looks like a tartan.

Knooked Scarf

Got past another set of extended stitches. I'm going to have to speed this one up if I'm going to finish it by the end of October.

Matinee Jacket in Blue

Looking at this pattern I think it would make a great blanket. I might have to try that some time in the future.

Cheval Set

I'm on the second last row so this should be finished sometime before next week.

Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley

I've got past the sleeve opening and am now on the main body. No more increases.

Small Bunny

The second half of the bunnies body is almost done. If I keep up this pace I should just about have it finished for next week.

Tunisian Lace Wrap

There wasn't a lot of progress on this one but there was some.

That's it for this week. Be sure to check back on Friday to see what I have finished this week. In the mean time, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.

Richard.

Saturday Shenanigans - 24.05.2014

Twas the night before Red Shield and all through the shed, people were preparing for the long day ahead.

It has been a busy week this week with doctors visits, crochet class, Red Shield collecting and a wedding. Sitting at tables, smiling at passers by and thanking them for any donations that they care to give has given me plenty of time to work on my projects which can be seen in my Wednesday WIPs post, but that's not all that has been happening.

First, the doctors visit. This was a follow up to the blood test I had last week and it has been confirmed that I have Type II Diabetes. Not really what I wanted to hear but not unexpected. At this point in time the doctor hasn't put me on medication, she just expects me to do something about it myself to start with. This means getting back into some form of exercise, which isn't particularly easy when you have two dickie knees. I also have to test myself twice a day and watch what I eat. We will see what happens with this.

Red Shield collecting has had its moments this week including a fight that broke out near the table where one of the participants picked up an item off our table to throw at his opposition. On another day someone decided to take off with the bucket but didn't get anything because it hadn't long been placed on the table and no donations had been received yet. At another location someone else had moved into our spot and taken our table for the day. It turns out that the position had been double booked and, since we turned up late, we missed out. There have been some good moments also like collecting more than normal today at the same venue we missed out on collecting at yesterday.

The wedding today was lovely. The bride wore purple and the bridesmaids wore white and the bride was given away by her eldest son. Not exactly a normal wedding but it was a beautiful ceremony none the less.

Tomorrow, if you hadn't guessed with my attempt at poetry at the start of this post, is Red Shield Sunday here in Australia. It is a day when we send groups of people out into the community to knock on doors and collect donations on our behalf. It will be a long a busy day, giving out receipt book, handing out maps and counting money. The bank will even open for a short time so that we can deposit our takings and not store all that money on the premises. I will, of course, be doing my part and I urge all my Australian readers to please give generously.

That's it for this week. I hope you all had a good one.

Richard.

Friday FOs - 23.05.2014

Well, it'd that time of the week again, time to show off all my finished objects. For those of you that have been getting bored with see Trauma Teddies and hanging towels I do have some else to show you today as well as the Teddies and towels.

Here is what I have managed to finis since last Friday.

Two Hanging Towels

Trauma Teddy 37

Shell Stitch Matinee Jacket in Blue

Baby Bootees in Blue with Shell Stitch cuffs

It has been a long day, I'm tired and don't know what else to say so I will let the object speak for themselves.

If you want to see what others have made this week just check out the links on the sidebar.

Richard.