Friday, September 30, 2005

oooh er


So this is the sock that's put it's little foot down firmly and positively refuses to get any bigger. It's not a particularly inspiring pic, partly because I can't get my damned camera to focus on it (seems to like the ball of wool tho'). I think that I might be going to start something else.

Went into town today and in the Kirkwood Hospice shop bought a load of old patterns and two stitch holders. Five p. each pattern and fifty pence the stitch holders (bargain)

Hmmmm. the Hawkins Bazaar catalogue seems to have crept into the top right hand of the picture. I can heartily recommend this publication to anyone who likes "stuff"

I'm a bit concerned that I may be the kind of person who's more into the paraphenalia than the actual process of knitting, though to be fair I have got a number of completed (and half completed, alright I admit it, I don't like blocking or sewing up my projects) things lying around making the place look untidy. I have even WORN the cable jumper I knitted from the Stitch and Bitch handbook.

See it posing seductively in my undecorated spare bedroom (best natural light in the house).

Omigosh I'm all excited, the rugby team I support are playing in Wales tonight and I was expecting to listen to the commentary over the internet. I've just discovered that the match is actually being shown live WITH PICTURES over the web. Wow the wonders of broadband.

blimey I know it's raining in Newport but it looks as if they're playing in a goldfish bowl .........complete with refraction. Perhaps the wonders of broadband aren't quite up to action pictures yet, not on my bandwidth anyway.

Oh well, up the Tigers!

yippeeee

This is so exciting I'm getting messages. For the past month or so I've been reading all these blogs and feel that I've been getting to know people, sometimes posting comments and all of a sudden they're talking back. It's well cool.

Pulpower - I drive down from Elland in West Yorkshire to Cheltenham on a Tuesday morning, then on down to Bristol. Do deliveries in Bristol throughout the day and sometimes pick ups south of Bristol. Sleep over, back up to Cheltenham and work up through Cotswolds, Malverns, Worcesterhire (basically M5 corridor) on the Wednesday. Then back up to Yorkshire. I start at three a.m. on Tuesday morning and get back between three p.m. and sixish on Wednesday, depending on how busy my run is, hence my decision to stop working on Fridays.

Been doing this since March when I passed my HGV after driving seven and a half tonner for just over a year.

Picture is of the M5 at about six a.m.

I've driven the Glasgow run once too when the regular driver was off sick.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

aaargh!!!

Well my dear sister has told me that the picture is visible when I'm off line, so now I'm up and running. Unfortunately I can't seem to get involved in knitting at the moment, have hit a full stop on Elfine's socks whilst turning the heel. Never knitted toe up before and I'm not entirely convinced the finished article will fit so am a little despondent. I want to start something else to get me back on track, but I'm not sure what at the moment. Will have to do some browsing of "things I've seen and liked and put by for later". I'll do that tomorrow(day off work! Hurrah!).

So instead of posting a picture of my knitting I'm posting a picture of my truck. Bye the way, it wasn't me that trashed the bottom step and front bumper, must have been one of the other drivers. I only drive it two days a week.

Have to say that other drivers are somewhat bemused by the sight of a woman trucker knitting. I don't knit while I'm driving, but a couple of weeks ago I had a problem with my drivers side windscreen wiper which decided in the middle of a monsoon like downpour to stop working. I managed to get to the M.A.N. dealer to get it fixed and they told me it'd take a few hours. The kind man on the service desk told me all the things I could do whilst waiting. "No that's okay" I said "I've got my knitting with me." He was gobsmacked. Every time anyone came in he pointed out that the trucker waiting for a repair was passing the time knitting! I did point out to him that traditionally many male dominated occupations had been associated with knitting (sailors for instance) but he didn't look convinced. Ah well, I continue to knit in public and spread the word!

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

The mystery of how to post piccies

Okay, now I need someone to tell me if this is here all the time or if it disappears when I'm not on line. The reason I ask is that the pic is from my computer rather than saved to a host site. Does it go and live in blogger land and stay visible????
You all can tell that I'm a real expert at this IT business can't you?

This is a picture of my right foot starring a sock I knitted in that fab self striping wool by Opal with which you can astound your family and friends. I bought a kit from a toy shop on Gloucester Road in Bristol after finishing a delivery to the shop next door. One of my colleagues back in Yorkshire was so impressed that she has been putting in regular requests for more wool so she can knit socks for all her rellies. I have since finished the socks and have knitted another pair plus a fifth one (not from the same ball of wool, my feet aren't that small!). Would be knitting the sixth but am using the needles for the other pair mentioned in my previous post. As you can tell, socks have really caught my imagination!

Friday, September 23, 2005

my first day as a blogger.

Well, I've recently started working a four day week as I'm working the forty hours I'm contracted to work in those four days. Decided I didn't need the extra dosh from working the fifth day, so might as well have the time for myself instead. When I made this decision I was full of good intentions of the things that I'd do to use the time productively and well! I was intending to go swimming regularly and get fit again; I was going to do all the housework that got ignored during the week and thus would have the weekend to do the fun things in life without guilt. Ha!

Was on the computer this morning getting myself a blog when the postman arrived with a parcel from Amazon. Yipee the three books arrived that I'd ordered; Zen and the art of knitting, Knitting on the road, and A perfect arrangement (the last one's a novel by Suzanne Berne). In addition to this my free gift from joining Rowan International a froth scarf kit.

So to cut a long story short my entire day (apart from an hour at lunchtime when I did actually do some decorating in the spare room, which I'm ashamed to say has been on the go since March of this year and is STILL not finished) reading "Zen and the art of knitting", which I have just finished. So not an entirely wasted day from a pleasure point of view, but as far as being energetic and productive is concerned not one of my better ones. (tho' in my defense m'lud I did make some bread!.... and do the washing up).

Never mind, got to go in to work tomorrow as we're stock taking all day and it's not very optional, so it's only fair that I should have a slob day. This evening I shall do some knitting. I'm working on a pair of socks in Rowanspun four ply using a pattern from Amelia Raitte's blog "Elfine's socks" . I hope that this link isn't bandwidth theft. It's a lovely pattern tho' a little more complicated than anything I've done before.

When I work out how to do pictures on here, you might get to see them.

er... hi there

Well I've done it. Decided to become a blogger and it's all a bit , um weird. I'm not exactly sure how this works so you will have to bear with me. I'm hoping that this will be a description of my progress through life with a pair of knitting needles, but it would be a good start if I could work out how to edit this damned thing!!!


Catch you later.