Don't talk to me about personal trainers...

I ache. All over. Ever time I breathe deeply, move, laugh or cough.

Is this exercise thing REALLY supposed to be good for you?? I'm not seeing it...

Very little knitting in the last 24 hours - maybe 1 row? still, that is nearly 400 stitches! On the other hand, my craft room now looks like this:

My Mummy would be proud of me. :-)

No seriously, check out those clear surfaces, those organised shelves! That took HOURS!

I thought it was worth preserving for posterity, since we all know it'll never last.

A little knitting and a gruelling trip to the gym

Despite a smidgen of project infidelity............
(That's a cast on Baby Surprise Jacket in Wolverhampton Wanderers black and yellow)

The Kauni Cardi is making definite progress. You see that up at the top of the picture? The little loop of blue cotton?
That's the beginning of a sleeve steek! So I estimate that I'm just over halfway through the body, which is... allowing for sleeves and button bands and things.... maybe 1/3 of the Cardi done? Does that sound accurate? So as regards keeping up the kauni enthusiasm and finishing the cardi, I'm definitely not out of the woods yet.

Went for a personal training session at the gym today (it was free, I think they're trying to drum up interest) and spent half an hour doing some boxing with my instructor (starts off fun, since you get to take all your agression out on his hand pads - but trust me, I have more agression than stamina. Arms like wet spaghetti, anyone?) Then did my usual gym routine as well. Burned a total of 900 calories, which sounds good, but is only a drop in the ocean, I'm afraid! I have a whole other person's worth of weight to lose. 9 and a half stone, which is 133 pounds. And that's to get to the top end of a healthy weight. Daunting task. Encouragement welcomed!

Meanwhile, Willow has been trying out new sleeping dens....
...but seems to prefer the one stuffed with merino wool and handknitted socks. I wonder why that could be....?

Oops! I cheated!

Project fidelity (since cast-on, we're not counting old UFOs) to the kauni cardigan has been quite easy so far... I'm up to the underarms, and just about to do the sleeve steeks! This is unprecedented progress for me. The most I have achieved of a jumper so far is one front and half a sleeve. There are several languishing here and there in a similar state, as I quickly became bored with large areas of stockinette stitch. That's probably why i knit so many socks - they're full of interest. No sooner have you started the cuff but you have a heel to do, then very quickly, a toe. Not much boring 'plain' knitting, even in 'vanilla' socks, with no textured stitches or colour patterns. In jumpers there is LOTS of plain. Particularly since I am rather a large and curvy girl!

So the kauni cardi was progressing well. Then this morning I slipped up. I swatched for the black and yellow baby surprise jacket. Oh dear. How do I keep myself on the straight and narrow?



Willow doesn't care so long as I don't use the ball she's sleeping on.

Oh and one more thing...

About those seven single socks?

I'm working on it....

Five down, two to go!

It's been a long time...

...but I'm still here!!

And just because there has been no blogging, don't think for a minute there has been no knitting.

Ooohh, there's been knitting....

Multicoloured socks:

Koigu socks: Koigu socks...
Colinette socks...
More Koigu socks...
More Colinette socks...

Sockapalooza Monkey Socks... (already received by Michelle - hope she likes them!)

Another pair of Monkeys - Once I'd finished Michelle's, I could only bring myself to let them go by immediately casting on for another pair for me! Though My Mum may get these for Christmas, since I've not worn them and she rather liked them when she saw me knitting them.

There has been a Baby Surprise Jacket....

In fact I haven't seamed this yet, since I have no baby in mind for it, it was simply a test knit so that I can scale it up and do it for a nearly-one-year-old nephew in this...

(Daddy and Grandad are Wolverhampton Wanderers fans).

A hat in Lorna's Laces - Lion and Lamb in 'Devon'. The hubby suggested that this year I should make myself a hat before the middle of February, when I really need it. Surprisingly intelligent suggestion. Bet I've lost it by February though!

Then there is this: I've had my eye on it for sooooo long, then I walked into Get Knitted the other week, and it was there! In the sale!!

Oh yes. There has been Kauni Cardi-ing...

Aren't the colours just gorgeous??

I'm working on it exclusively at the moment, and I'm pretty thrilled with how fast it's growing so far. It's the first thing I've ever attempted with steeks, and at the moment I'm just trying to shut my ears every time someone says "What? You're going to CUT your knitting?" It can't be that scary, can it? really? Tell me it's not...?

Oh, and there's this of course. A completed Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl. Knitted in Debbie Bliss Merino Aran, and nearly stranded forever half-finished because the wool was discontinued while I was knitting it and I didn't have enough! Luckily after visiting 5 shops and 17 websites I found an extra 3 balls and managed to finish it with 3 and a half metres to spare! Talk about close call... It's my first shawl, my first completed lace project and I love it. My Mum and my MIL keep trying to pinch it every time they're here!

Gratuitous arty shot. Colour is better in the first photo.

So there you are! I just haven't been in a blogging mood, but I've certainly been busy! Oh and I finished my course, passed it, and am a qualified teacher now! And I don't have a job. Looks like I may be doing the supply teaching thing for a while... Now tell me, they do always give the nice, well-behaved classes to the supply teacher, don't they?