A bit of this , and a bit of that....

The holiday is finally upon us...the last two weeks have been very tiring on Gerry , with his ICU full of the very sickest of patients...the silly season seems to be in full swing, as we have seen a remarkable increase in patients who were involved in car accidents. So he has been at the hospital virtually all the time, and having hardly any sleep. We have had four ECMO patients as well in this period, necessitating almost round the clock checks. And then, he woke up this morning sick as anything...he had cut his foot and hadn't really paid all that much attention to it as he was too preoccupied with the patients. And thus, as is Murphy's Law, it became cellulitic and he was feeling awful. I dosed him properly with antibiotics and panado, and by this afternoon he was feeling a little better. This really highlighted the need for a break with some sleep and relaxation, so tomorrow his partner will take over running the ICU and we will go on holiday! Whoo Hoo!


We will spend Christmas at the coast with our close friend Peter and our little godson Joshua. Aunty Heidi has already bought the little potato a truckload of presents as well as some delicious Christmas biscuits in different Christmas shapes. He loves these and I know will want to eat all of them in one go (I have my sincere doubts that his mom will allow this tho' :) ). Our precious girls can't wait to play with him and all in all, I think he will be in for a big spoil of attention time!
My good friend Dana has recently designed and knitted a beautiful elephant blanket for another knitter friend of ours who is having a baby in January. You can see it in the photo at the top of this post. I so loved this simple , beautiful design in Dana'a handdyed cotton, that I asked her to make up a kit for me, which she did (Thank you my friend!), and I hope to spend some time this holiday knitting it up. If you are interested in a kit , contact her...she may still have one or two left :)


I recently ordered a skein of Kauni self striping rainbow yarn. I have looked a lots of beautiful projects on Ravelry, using this yarn, so I wanted to try some. It really has lovely, vibrant colours, but is a little rough in feel. I will try to soak it in some fabric softener and see if that makes a difference. Nit sure yet what I will make from it...perhaps some socks? Any suggestions?

I am working on a sock pattern (every chance I manage to get...), and needed some stitch markers. I like the little bells that have been lurking in my beads cupboard, so I made some up into simple stitch markers. I really prefer the lobster claw attachments, as I can easily move them around without slipping stitches from needle to needle. They were quick and easy to make and cost almost nothing...


Above you can see some of Joshi's biscuits...

As you may all have figured out by now, I only knit on circulars and at that , only really knit Magic Loop wise... Because of this, I am always looking for new releases of circular needles. My favourites have always been the Addi's and the KnitPro's...until now! These new Red Lace Chiaogoo's are simply AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Although I love the Addi's and the KnitPro's, I have found that their cables are difficult to keep controlled (especially when you knit on 150cm needles), the immersion in hot water nothwithstanding....
The Chiaogoo's red cable seems to be made from a nylon encased metal / steel ?, and has NO memory whatsoever...so no coiling around itself and getting tangled... I JUST LOVE THEM! The points are sharp (Red lace needles) and the cable/needles joins are flawless. Really, I suspect that these will be my new BFF's... they come in a variety of sizes and can be found in loads of online yarn shops. I bought mine from Purlescence.



My yarn stash is housed in our spare room, and is chock full of stuff related to my knitting / crochet addiction. I managed to get some of the mess cleared up (yarn in bags, books organised, needles gathered etc...), and although there is still work to do, I am much relieved that I can at least walk around unimpeded! I have all my quilting and sewing stuff there as well.

Above are my sock knitting books and embroidery cottons...

On the centre island (repurposed kitchen block), I keep my sewing machines and odds and ends...

More books and yarn....

A friend...

Quilting cottons...

Friends and cottons...

...yet more quilting cottons... a lot of these were purchased for a set of quilts that I started making for the girls. I have a fair amount of the blocks made...perhaps I will take up the task of appliqueing the remainder next year. The pattern is Piece o' Cake Designs' "Welcome to the North Pole"...a fantastic book with adorable applique designs. The quilt is made up of blocks that each depict a North Pole House, eg Elves bunkhouse, Ice cream shop etc, and the variety of fabric printed textures you need, resulted in the cotton stash seen here...

I just love Puggies (and Pittbulls...better say that or mine will be jealous!)...

So, a post about all kinds of bits... tonight I need to pack Christmas pressies in my suitcase and gather my knitting goods...for tomorrow bright and early we'll be off :)

Have a great weekend folks!
♥Heidi