YAY! I have been waiting for EVER for a pattern for this dragon so I could make it for my sister and add to her mutant animal collection (not that the pattern is mutant - my appaulling crafting skills produce the mutants) but I have been checking the wrong page for the pattern. I am SO happy now!
Having said that, I have to finish my hubbys replacement VW hat first - I shall post pictures once it is done.
OK so firstly I have not posted in ages - I keep on meaning to but then someting will come up and it just gets pushed to one side. So anyway, we have only played two games of scrabble since I last wrote, one which John won (after much cheating) and one which I won (despite John's cheating) so the status quo (this was one of the cheaters words) is maintains. If you are interested in the actual scores so far, you can see them at Johns site.
In the meantime I have been knitting up a storm and have a number of completed bits and still more WIP's on the needles. My latest finished project is a dinosaur/dragon for my sister. I started with Jean Greenhowe dinosaur which the plan was to add wings from her terodactyl and the dorsal ridge of her other dinoasaur and then TA-DA there would be a dinosaur. However, this did not go exactly according to plan. First og all the initial pattern I started adapting I *think* that the pattern for the leg is wrong but I can't say for sure as I am not a great knitter. I then try again with a different pattern and it knits up fine. I make it up and them sew the face on and was a little disappointed as I realised, in the middle of the dino's back, there was an error (I think I increased one too many times) so to cover this up I made a little man, a dragon rider if you will, based on the little cavemen that Jean Greenhowe designed to go with the dinos. I then put the face on the dino and it ended up looking a little... um... well not right. BUT I soldiered on and sewed the dragonrider on to the back of the mentally challenged dragon. It wobbled.... I gave up and put it to one side in digust and vowed never to mention it to my sister.
Until...
... on friday Kristy, John and I went to Jongleurs (just getting there is a story in itself) and we got a tad tipsy while wathcing the comedians and eating greasy food. (As an aside, the first comedian started badly but got better, the second wasn't really my cup of tea, and the final was very good). And, once I had got my reprobate hubbie and sloshed sister back to the house, I, in a moment of stupidity say "Look what I made for you!". Kristy agrees that it doesn't look like the brightest dragon ever but seems to like it so all is OK and then I show her the book I got it out of to show her what it should have looked at and she falls in love with the frogs. Next morning, we are eating our hangover cure fry up and so I quickly knit her one, so then she wants it sewn onto the dinos head. So we now have a mentally challenged dino, with a frog on his head who is the brains of the outfit and a weeble on his back. Weridest cuddly toy I have ever seen.... Anyway, here are some piccies of Randolf the frog, Bog the dragon and Root the weeble. Oh and Kristy...
John and I have just watched a program by Danny Wallace called "Chimps are People too" looking at the similarities and differences between Chimps and Us. It was typical Wallace fayre - good but not brilliant and amusing rather than educational. Having said that, I really enjoyed his books "Yes Man" and "Join me" which were hysterical. Anyway (I seem to be rambling somewhat) on the related website there is a test to see if you are 99.4% chimp or 100% human and I came out chimp! So no suprise there then...
Finally, here is a quick piccy of my gorgeous boy, as I rearranged the lounge the other day so that his den is away from the radiator as he gets too hot over the winter when the heating is on and he was a bit disconcerted by the change.
OK - I haven't written any posts recently but I declare it ISN'T MY FAULT! Honestly. No really. You believe me, don't you?
Anyway, the reason for the lack of updates is my hubby has been working very long hours recently and, as a result, no scrabble and so no updates. So, in an attempt to not be completely useless I have decided to start cataloging some of my knitting here too. I started to learn to knit about 7 months ago now so that I could knit my sister a throw for christmas. I completely underestimated the time it would take and my ability to be distracted and so it still has to be finished but luckily it is built in squares so whenever I go and see my sister I stitch on another couple of squares while I am there.
My first knitting project was a polar bear. He is SO cute - I have a thing about polar bears and I found the pattern so then made five in quick sucession, four of which have gone on to new homes, just the original remains.
Isn't he just the cutest, with his little smile and teeny ears? And SO easy to make as well.
However, from here on in their have been a litany of unfinished projects. Yes that's right - the blanket is still being worked on, the England scarf, which I learnt to double knit in order to start, will be ready for the World Cup in 2010, two VW hats for John, niether of which actually worked, the gnome I started has a hat, a body but only one arm, no legs and most importantly no beard!
Not content to leave knitting unfinished, I have also taught myself to crochet in that time too! This time I did it so I could make my Nan a plant holder for her birthday (Nan and Grandad both insist they are too old to be bought anything for their birthdays but we can't not give them anything - after all they are the best grandparents a girl could have - but it so hard to think what to make sometimes!) I crocheted this out of garden twine and was left with blisters where it was so coarse but I was really pleased with the outcome and I shall post pictures of it if I remember to ask Nan when I am over there. I have crocheted a couple of squares for Kristy's Blanket and also some flowers and leaves to be sewn on, but I haven't got round to attaching those just yet.
And this brings me round to the polar bear again. You see he is part of the problem. I could get one of those knitted, sewed and stuffed in the space of an evening easily and I have become spoiled. As one of the Generation X-ers, I am used to instant gratification, not having to work at something for days and days on end for the final joy of a finished article. I have been spoilt by a cuddy toy...
So in the light of all this, I have a free afternoon and I am determined to get at least one project finished. Question is, which one?
Edit (17:01) - I have also joined a new web ring for us brit girls :
YAY Brit Gals!
