Night off! Plus plans for the weekend

A rare evening off last night from knitting.  Cant do it too often but sometimes when I am very tired and I feel that Andy may need slightly more attention then I will just sit and watch tv with idle hands!  Andy can get quite funny and almost jealous when I am knitting – its almost like he feels that I am not giving him enough attention even though we are sat together on the sofa.  I must be a little bit right though as when we went to bed he said that I need to have more of a balance between knitting and spending time with him – oops!

If that is how he feels then I do need to be more mindful of that and perhaps have 1/2 evenings off a week to spend time with him but it certainly wont help my to do list!  Eek!

This weekend is going to be busy, it’s Ellies first time of coming to the house for the weekend so I want to make sure she has a good time.  We are going to crop on Saturday with my mum (it will be Ellies first time and I am really hoping that she behaves herself!) and then we probably wont do much in the evening – maybe make flapjacks and watch a film.  Then on Sunday we have a kid/parent class at b & q where we will be making a bird house.  After that I have to drop her home and then get on with my to do list:

• 10 mile run
• Finish George’s scarf
• Sort out craft room
• Organise projects for Sat for me and Ellie
• Knit 2 chickens
• Cut and sew 2 squares (have done 4 blocks and the cutting for another 6 already)
• Knit me a hat!  Something thick and cosy to keep me warm now the weather has dropped!  Ooh shall have to have a rummage in the craft room and see what lovely wool I can find.

So nothing has been crossed off my to do list so far this week and so everything will need to be done this weekend - yay!

Cant decide if at the crop I should get on with valentines day tag and card for Andy as well as finishing my hat and knitting the chickens, which are on the to do list or whether I should just make my purse which is what I really want to do?!  Hmm decisions decisions!  Maybe I will take everything and see how much I can get done??

Easter bunny

I got on with my bunny again last night (as Andy hadn’t wound my wool but nevermind – I have left it out again today so hopefully he will get the hint and make it into a lovely ball for me so I can finish my hat).  Its definitely getting bigger which is good and it is super super soft which I think the girls will appreciate.  Still not sure if it will be big enough for my original idea but hopefully I can still add a pocket for them to keep other stuff in it.

This is how far along I am - most of it will be the base but am now adding height.  Its very simple knit row, purl row so its an ideal evening project to do in front of the tv.

It is also not guzzling at my ball of wool which is nice!  I have decided to make 6 Easter bunnies now instead of the original 3.  However, I have a feeling that they are all very girly.  I think there is this white and purple wool, pink with pink and purple spots and maybe a white with pink spots?!  I cant quite remember but I don't think the 2 boys will be too impressed with them!  I shall just have to pop to Tiptree and get some boyish colour wool but I will wait and see how many balls I need to buy.  I have bought 3 balls of each of the girly colours which I think will be too much.  I am hoping that I can get 2 bunnies out of each set of colour but we shall have to wait and see!

Hmm not sure when I am going to get an opportunity to knit 2 chickens!  I had thought that I could take my purse to make on Sat when I do a craft day with my mum and Ellie but maybe I could take a long my wool as well just in case I get time to get started!

The to do list is doing very well at the moment:

• Finish George’s scarf - No progress yet but hopefully on Sunday
• Sort out craft room - hmm maybe Sunday??  Although am off next Friday and following Monday so maybe these would be better days to sort out the room - yes that sounds like a good idea!
• Organise projects for Sat for me and Ellie - Yes in my head all sorted but now need to find them and pack all the bits and pieces that we need.  I am hoping that Ellie will be happy to make cards for various birthdays and Easter whilst I make my purse.
• Knit 2 chickens - hmm Sunday??
• Cut and sew 2 squares (have done 4 blocks and the cutting for another 6 already) - Sunday??
• Knit me a hat!  Something thick and cosy to keep me warm now the weather has dropped!  Ooh shall have to have a rummage in the craft room and see what lovely wool I can find. - almost finished and hopefully will be done Thurs/Fri

Valentines day

I can't decide if Andy would appreciate my tea towel idea!  Hmm I am in 2 minds about doing this now for him.  I think I will do it and stop worrying.  Not that we need any more tea towels but we can sort through the old ones and just keep the nice ones.  I love my sweet idea and think he will love it.

Easter

I have found some proper cute Easter cross stitch motives and think I can add these to my jars - I am hoping my chocolate bunnies will fit in the jars that I already have Ikea and that I can add a little cross stitch design.  I'm thinking that Mum, Nan and Sue will like them.   

Running

• Run 2.5 miles (easy) - Mon am
• Swim - Tues am
• Do an aerobics class - Tues lunch Am so sore already (1 hour after class!)  Not sure I am going to be able to move tomorrow!
• Run 4 miles (faster) - Wed am Did 3 miles which was hard enough work - still slightly faster pace than normal as running with Nina
• Run 3 miles (intervals) - Thurs am My poor aching body couldnt face a run (not even the x-trainer) so I did a 30min swim instead.  May see if I can fit in a short run on Sunday or if not then a lovely walk with Andy in my new walking boots.
• Do a Pilates/Yoga class - Fri lunch
• Run 10 miles (long) - Sat

I got up early to go for a run but the whole way in I thought instead of running today wouldnt it be lovely to swim instead.  My whole body aches and from today onwards I wont be able to swim for a week so it was my last swim for a bit.  Luckily my gym sells swimming costumes so I bought one this morning on my way in and I had a lovely 30 min swim.  After a few mins my arms and legs stopped aching and it was lovely (the aches are back now but it was nice to have a small respite from them!)  I will probably do yoga tomorrow to help stretch out the last of the aches and get myself ready for Sat!

Up and coming holidays!

Valentines Day

I don’t know how this holiday always sneaks up on me!  Neither Andy nor I are very romantic but I thought this year I would make more of an effort.  He has a very sweet tooth (and he has just finished all the Christmas chocolates and sweets) so I have been to M&S and bought some heart sweets, which I am going to put in a simple jar with a nice ribbon and a tag saying I love you.

Then I wanted to make him something and I suddenly remembered that I had bought some white cotton tea towels to eventually embroider so then using Pinterest (love this website) I found a gorgeous pattern for ‘With all the fishes in the sea you are the one for me’ – how perfect is that?  Andy is majorly into fish and fishing so anything fish related has to be good!  Am sure this will mean that I need to buy some more embroidery thread – at the moment I only have some super thick wool (that I had high hopes of making an embroidery jewellery roll as well as a tissue box cover – not yet happened!) and some thin thread which I use on the sewing machine.  Oh no – I don’t think I will be able to get to the Tiptree shop at the weekend – I will have to have a look online and see what I can order!

Not sure I can get this finished on top of everything else (do you see what I mean about starting too many projects and being unrealistic in how much I can get done?!)  However, I did see a super cute and super quick and easy heart pattern which is only 2 stitches – hmm!  That might be more realistic in 2 weeks to achieve.

I’m not sure he will appreciate the heart I knitted (years ago and have done nothing to it)! But I will eventually decorate it and maybe give it as a birthday/Christmas gift….maybe!

So many great projects and so little time!

Easter

I have also found a really cute idea for the girls at Easter.  I have a bunny theme this year – they have shop bought bunny slippers and I have got bunny chocolates that I am going to put in a glass jar with some easter eggs (I will put up photos as hopefully it will look a lot cuter then it currently sounds!  They also have their bunny teddies/pj holders.  Plus now they might have bunny bags – so cute and easy to make!  Am super excited!  But I think this will be enough (especially as the plan is that they will have their bean bags as well for Easter – despite not fitting in with the bunny theme!)

How cute are these??

Almost finished (plus another project started!)

In the hopes of not making this hat the size of a giant tea cozy I think I am now ready to decrease and I should have the hat finished tonight - yay!  (unless I go out with my friend as planned and then it will be ready tomorrow).  Am very happy with it so far but it is super plain and quick to do.  Am tempted to get it finished so I can wear it in the cold weather but then undo it and redo it with a cable or ribbing pattern - hmm!

This is my hat so far - its very simple but am looking forward to finishing it as I think it will be super warm and cosy.

I finished my first ball of wool and Andy wasnt in the mood to ball the second lot of wool so I decided to get started on my Easter bunnies.  The initial shape is exactly the same as Fatty which is nice and simple and then just need to add floppy ears.  So far the bunny isnt as big as I had hoped (I wanted them to be pj cases - either lined and hollow or with a pocket on the front) at the moment it looks more like a tiny teddy.  I know children like teddies but I wanted to make something that had a purpose as well.  I am still at the increasing stage so I might add a few more increases in to make the base wider and hopefully that will help.  I only started off with 8 stitches and I'm thinking for the next one that I need to cast on more stitches but we shall see how I get on with this one.  If it goes horribly wrong then I can give it to Daisy as she wont see the others to know that hers is different!

Promise will take photos tonight/tomorrow morning!

Running

• Run 2.5 miles (easy) - Mon am
• Swim - Tues am
• Do an aerobics class - Tues lunch Body pump class! Am so sore already (1 hour after class!)  Not sure I am going to be able to move tomorrow!
• Run 4 miles (faster) - Wed am Only managed 3 miles and that was with walking breaks however, the weather was shocking - freezing cold and raining with a nice cold wind as well!  Plus legs werent as sore as I feared but they werent the freshest either.
• Run 3 miles (intervals) - Thurs am
• Do a Pilates class - Thurs lunch
• Run 10 miles (long) - Sat

I used my foam roller again last night - my thighs were already quite stiff after the class at lunch so it was nice to use the roller - not sure how much it helped my legs for today but they did feel quite good.  Bit tired when running and started to get a niggle in my right hip which came and went but hopefully isnt making a return.  

My arms and shoulders hurt - a lot!  Not impressed but I don't do much with my arms so probably good for them to get a work out every now and then.  There is a body pump class on a Monday lunchtime and Monday is going to be my strength day so maybe this might be better.  Although next Monday I have a free session with a personal trainer so we shall see as she might help me to get a program together that will help strengthen my legs and core without going to class.

The hat!

So despite having a long list of things to get done in February and trying to stop myself from starting any more new projects whilst I have so many outstanding.  I couldn’t help myself and I have started to knit my woolly hat!  It took a while to get started as the beautiful wool I am using has to be wound into a ball otherwise I get into a horrendous mess (luckily Andy loves to undo knots and is always more than happy to help me unknot and ball my wool!)  No photo of the hat but there is one of Andy very proudly holding his wound ball of wool. 

I also cast on the wrong number of stitches and although it looked small when I first started – I know that it does grow but by the 4^th row I realised that it wasn’t going to grow enough.  The mistake?  I measured my head and its 21 inches, the wool said that 7.5 stitches was 10cm so I decided to cast on 20 stitches as I knit quite tightly and I was using 10mm needles not the 12mm needles the wool needed.  Hmmm!  It took me a few mins but then I realised that I had measured in inches but the stitch gauge was in cm!  Urg!!  I undid it all and then cast on 50 stitches – I have done the first 6 rows and have measured it and it should fit – hopefully!

This is my wool that I am using - people liken it to rope but I love using it as it knits up super quick!

I do like having an easy project to get on with in the evenings when I am super tired from a long day at work and travelling.  George's scarf probably wont get looked at again until Sat or more likely Sun but then I am hoping to sit down and get it all finished.

Running

• Run 2.5 miles (easy) - Mon am
• Swim - Tues am
• Do an aerobics class - Tues lunch Am so sore already (1 hour after class!)  Not sure I am going to be able to move tomorrow!
• Run 4 miles (faster) - Wed am
• Run 3 miles (intervals) - Thurs am
• Do a Pilates class - Thurs lunch
• Run 10 miles (long) - Sat

I have decided against doing my long run at the gym on Sat - I have been moaning about all the hills near to where I live now but I am going over to flat Canvey to pick up Ellie so I can run there!  Perfect!  Am going to work out a lovely 10 mile flat run.  

My work out week is going to plan so far (I thought I had forgotten my gym trainers this morning and was desperately trying to think what shoes/trainers I could work out in today!  But luckily the trainers were under my desk when I got here - yay!)

I used my foam roller yesterday as my 5mins on the treadmill managed to kill the IB band in my thighs - not quite sure how as I was wearing my normal trainers and started off at my normal speed but something was not right!  Finished off time on the X trainer.  Anyway, I only used the roller for a few mins but it def made a difference.  Am going to try and use it every day or at least on a more frequent basis.

I also wore compression socks yesterday after and evening as I have been having problems with my calf muscles - they are super tight and sore when walking and running.  I loved them!  I am going to try wearing them on Wed during my run and see how I get on with them.  I might look into compression tights to help my thighs which really struggle but they might be too expensive......

This week and weekend

Its shaping up to be a busy week despite having a very productive weekend!  I need to this week:

• Finish George’s scarf
• Sort out craft room
• Organise projects for Sat for me and Ellie
• Knit 2 chickens
• Cut and sew 2 squares (have done 4 blocks and the cutting for another 6 already)
• Knit me a hat!  Something thick and cosy to keep me warm now the weather has dropped!  Ooh shall have to have a rummage in the craft room and see what lovely wool I can find.

Hmm do I have time this month to make a super sized basket for my wool/shelving unit?  I love baskets and I desperately need some more containers for wool.  Ooh and maybe some more smaller tubs for putting fabric scraps in/small bits and pieces??  Hmmmmm!  Think this is typical Karen trying to take on far more than I can actually cope with.  I will add it to the bottom of the list and only if everything else gets finished will I start this project (yeah right!)

1. 8 squares completed for charity blanket for the African hospital (got fabric and pattern)
2. Start crochet blanket for Fiona's baby (got all the wool and pattern)
3. 10 Chickens (28 Feb) (got fluffy yellow wool and pattern)
4. 2 (of 6) Easter bunnies (April) (got wool for 3 girl bunnies)
5. Bag for Sam's birthday (13 Feb) (got black and white wool, handles and pattern)
6. 3 crochet hanging hearts for mothers day (30th March) (got wool and pattern)
7. Warm winter hat for me!
8. Finish girl's summer bags (birthdays - April/July)
9. 2 more Fattys for Mum and Nan (30 March) (got wool for Mum's.  See if have any wool for Nan's - maybe she could have a mini one?)
10. Finish red heart for Valentines day for Andy/me (14 Feb)
11. Crochet baskets for me
12. Manly Alzheimer blanket (got fabric and activity bits) - save for April (need to prioritise hospital blanket as there is an actual deadline for this to be ready by)

I am going to start logging my workout details as well so that I can keep track of what I am doing and when!

• Run 2.5 miles (easy) - Mon am
• Run 4 miles (faster) - Wed am
• Run 3 miles (intervals) - Thurs am
• Run 10 miles (long) - Sat
• Swim - Tues am
• Do an aerobics class - Mon lunch
• Do a Pilates class - Thurs lunch

9 more weeks until Brighton marathon!!!! 

Oh my god!  Am starting to freak out – my longest run so far has been 8 miles and it was awful!  Was supposed to do 10 miles at the weekend and instead I did nothing – not good!  Ok last week is behind me and I’m now starting a brand new week.  I am going to work on strength for the next few weeks to get my legs stronger (the problem with this is that it makes my legs extremely sore and tired which makes it harder to run but am hoping that after a few weeks it will get better!)  I have a half marathon on 23^rd Feb and I’m hoping that I will be able to do the 13.1 miles relatively ok but that will depend on how the training goes for the next couple of weeks. 

My race plan is to take it steady and to run 2 miles and then walk to 25 mins – this should mean that it will take me 2 hours 40mins to finish the half and 5 hours 20 mins to finish the full marathon.  So far in training the first few miles have been ok but then it has been harder to make it to the next 2 miles without walking again.  I think, however, my routes have not helped as they are either very hilly or off road and very muddy and slippery.  I am also hoping that a gentle warm will make all the difference and will mean that I don’t have to stop and stretch like I have been doing so far in my first couple of miles – I haven’t tried this yet but am going to this weekend and see if this helps at all.

African hospital blanket

A longer term project at the moment is the African hospital blanket which needs to be finished in April.  I figure that I need to do 12 squares in total so if I complete 2 a week I will have the squares finished by 8^th March which will give me 3 weeks to complete the backing (may not have enough to do a simple backing so may have to sew together the left overs as best as I can), bind the 3 layers together which may take 2 weeks and then attempt some sort of quilting in the final week.  If all goes to plan than this will mean that by early April my blanket will be fully finished and ready to send off – yay!

I have made a good start already as I have 4 squares finished and the cutting done for another 6 so I won’t need to do too much this weekend which is good as it is looking like a very busy weekend!

• STARTED - Week 1 ending Fri 7th Feb - 2 blocks
• Week 2 ending Fri 14th Feb - 2 blocks
• Week 3 ending Fri 21st Feb - 2 blocks
• Week 4 ending Fri 28th Feb - 2 blocks
• Week 5 ending Fri 7th March - 2 blocks
• Week 6 ending Fri 14th March - 2 blocks

ALL BLOCKS COMPLETED - 14 MARCH

• Week 7 ending Fri 21st March - all blocks sewn together, start backing panel
• Week 8 ending Fri 28th March - backing panel finished and 3 layers sewn together
• Week 9 ending Fri 4th April - quilting 

BLANKET FINISHED AND READY TO SEND OFF! - 4 APRIL

Photos of progress so far in week 1