14 hours 45 minutes and counting!

Am off to Oz from the UK, seriously 1st April no joke, and cannot imagine the torture of not being able to knit during the most tedious of flights … so I have packed wooden needles, bamboo needles, yarn and the teensiest DPNs I can find along with some pencils which have a gauge of about 7mm - I am going to knit!!

Here’s the irony … Australia supplies one quarter of the world’s yarn .. but is the most stringent in banning needles … doh!

I am hoping to knit:

a garter

some socks

a Debbie Bliss cardigan

FLsweater

Depending on what knitting implements I am left with!

I have 1000 yards of Sundara Fingering silky merino in wine, 100 grams of Loutrais Mohair fingering in baby blue, some pale blue fine ribbon and a whole heap of patience (just not enough patience to see me through a 25 hour flight with just bubble gum tv and crap food).

When I will next blog I don't know .. but hopefully soon I will have photos of a real bride and a real groom in a lovely garden in Oz ...

Love and hugs

xxx

xxx

(and thanks for all the suggestions on what I should knit and how I get passed over-officious security folk; will pass on the smuggling DPNs in underwear!)

Bride Groom and Bat-eared Bunny

So, at last, the groom is sewn and stuffed.  He has a goatee, like the real groom and the hair colour match is pretty realistic! 

He has a teeny tiny cravat pin, wing collar on his shirt and a flower matching the ones in the brides bouquet ... aren't they dapper!

 I just hope the real groom will be as protective of my sister, the bride, as this groom is of his.

Meanwhile, I have been celebrating my birthday, perhaps with a little more fervour and champagne than government guidelines suggest is good for me; but hey it was good quality champagne, it lasted all day and it made me happy.  And, lovely as it was, it's not going to be repeated for a bit of a while :(

One special gift was from a dear friend, who crocheted me a lovely hug ...

 a warm snuggly, merino cosy, beautifully made, with love, care and thought ... how nice is that!

Meanwhile, my first ever spinning to knitting project was a success ... ok only rabbit size ... but the sweater looks good.  Next time I may try for something larger than hand sized!

And here is chocolate bunny wearing the sweater ... it's not the best photo ever, but sadly I didn't check before BatBunny went to live with DD ...

Finally it's only 3 days until I fly out to Oz ... I haven't packed, or made a list.  I haven't decided what I'll wear ... but I did finish my knitting!!

Keep safe

xx

And top of the evening to you ...

So here I am with my camera, trying to get hat and head in focus. However, I'm really no good at it so you will have to make do with hat and eyes.

I should be off sewing up groom, but am still in a quandary about bride. Bride is knitted with body and arms incorporating the colour for the dress, so I couldn't just knit a new dress to match the colour of my dear sister's dress ... I would have to knit a whole new bride and arms and legs ... I think tomorrow I may search for some burgundy silk ... and sew a weeny overdress and corset .. so she can be a mix and match bride - traditional vs dreamy, floaty and midsummery in burgundy.

So, whilst in my quandary, I have taken heart; I have said naughty words to the sewing up and am sipping a wee glass of wine instead.

I like my hat ... but I'm not sure it's the right look for the wedding.

Happy St Patricks day ... sending hugs
xxx

Arggh ... now what do I do

This is what my dear sister has decided to wear for her wedding - now there is no doubt that she will look lovely and it will suit her. There is absolutely no doubt that it is perfect for the "midsummer, dreamy, fantasy" type wedding theme she has as her goal.

Question is fans ... Do I remake bride's dress in burgundy????

Or, perhaps, I could just buy some burgundy satin and make an overdress ...

help!!!

Meanwhile, I now have to find something floaty and dreamy to wear to wedding. Actually make that floaty, dreamy and happy. Well, when texting her she said she was going with the dreamy fantasy idea and would be barefoot. When she wanted to know what I was wearing I replied "would find something from the closet that was dreamy and happy
to go barefoot." Texting being what it is ... she thought the outfit would be dreamy and happy, which it will of course!
Less than 15 days and counting ... and woo my birthday in 11 days and Suse's in less than 14!!! Actually is Sis's in 5 days on 21st ... so lovely trifecta!

Advice on bride outfit welcomed!!!!!
xxx

Not a bad weekend really

Well, the title of my blog is clear ... not a huge sports fan then! However, the weekend has passed like an oval between the England front line ... pretty smoothly actually, despite the sport.

On Saturday the Pool made a challenge for the League title and rattled purple nose's cage. In case that sounds cryptic I'm quoting words from those in the know. Basically it means Liverpool stuffed Manchester United at home, in front of the home crowd, 1-4. Purple nose, rather aptly, is Ferguson's nickname. Made me smile.
Arsenal won and Chelsea won, so purple nose is apparently also turning into Captain Scarlet.

Meanwhile, DD took her lovely BF to Twickenham for his 25th birthday ... today. Wonderful England managed to etofe a lot of scores against France into 80 minutes, and gave the birthday boy a victory to watch.

The strange lump on my leg is down but not defeated by the ABs; it's now only 15 days before I fly to Oz; the bride is sewn the groom is not ... and we had slow roasted 5 spice chinese pork for dinner. The garden calls and I must sew more veg seeds before I fly. Meanwhile, a return trip to the GP is called for if my leg falls off or the ABs haven't cured the ickiness after 7 days (whichever comes first). Next weekend is Mother's day and the Friday after that is my birthday. Don't you love spring, everything happens at once.

Keep well and sending hugs
xxx

The groom is late ....

Well, just in case you are the only people on the planet I have not yet told, my sister in Oz is getting married!!!!! And because Oz is sort of humid and warm and lovely and sunny but never cold, knitting my sister a bridal shawl or sweater would be very very silly.

So, I thought a little bride and groom doll. Jean Greenhowe, had a lovely (plainish) pattern, which I have adopted and tweaked.

Now the bride has a lacy dress and headdress, edged with blue sequins, a real (well almost) pearl necklace, a bouquet of pink roses ..

she has ribbons and bows, as a girl should have, a low top with some sexy edging to bring the grooms eyes to her (ok in this instance rather flat) cleavage .....

And she has white silky knit knickers, and a gorgeous garter, which matches the sequins on her dress!

I think she is a dish!

Meanwhile groom is beside himself (literally - he's in pieces!), like all nearly finished things (and don't you think that's such an apt description of a groom) he needs pulling together. Of course, being a man, he is looking forward to being stuffed :)

Bride has blond hair like my sister, and so the groom must have a salt and pepper beard like the groom ... I'm still working on that!

Meanwhile in a blog far far away ... well actually rather near ... I got tagged by Suse-the-slow-knitta

... like this ...

..It is, of course,the prestigious world renowned Honest Scrap award

The rules are :

1. Pick 7 or so blogs that make you happy

2. Let them know and post their names on your blog.

3. List at least 10 honest things about yourself.so here we aresome great blogs, which also win the Honest Scrap award!

1. Yarn Harlot - I'm not unique, nor especially gifted in recognising SPmP's ability to make blogging fun. I'm also honest enough to say that on the day's she doesn't blog, I read her Tweets over and over!

2. Suse, personna who nominated me for this award. Things I should have asked my Gran, makes me smile ...

3. Here I have to confess to being somewhat of a short lived blog tart. I dip in and out of blogs, I follow links from people I like to people they like ... I read a lot of interesting stuff and have a lot of fun. However, it makes me fall short on my list of subscriptions.

Well, that's 1 and 2 taken care of ... so for 3 ... here goes

10 true things:

1. I am so small you wouldn't believe it. My feet are just under 8 ins long, that's a size 32 continental shoe.

2. I own over 100 pairs of very expensive imported, mostly Italian shoes. I found a source for gorgeous feminine but teeny tiny shoes and have subscribed faithfully every season.

3. All my shoes are boxed, with photos on the front and stored in order in true OCD style in my cupboards.

4. 99% of the time I walk around bare foot!

5. I love making costumes for fancy dress. I have recently made cowboy\girl outfits for DD and partner, Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter, for DH and myself, and lastly dread Pirate outfits for nephew's 18th birthday party I have also been known to make a prom dress with just 2 days notice.

6. I adore cooking - absolutely love real fresh food, and am totally happy when cooking for visitors.

7. If I fall in love with a film I remember the words ... I become word perfect on second watch and can quote from my favorites ... not just Casablanca!!

8. I have parachuted, glided, been the first passenger in a newly qualified pilot's first flight, I have sailed in dinghies and vast ocean liners, I have been on trains and chunnels. I have never ridden on a tandem, skateboarded or skied.

9. I've been mistaken for someone I'm not and been treated as a vip!

10. I have steel blue eyes and long blond hair (the latter completely courtesy of my hairdresser Julie).

So now I am supposed to tag someone else .. but sadly, because of the licentiousness of my blog habits, I am tagless .....

Win some ...... winsome Oh well back to trawling other people's blogs!