Everything is starting to grow. The rosebush that snakes out from behind our recycling is bursting out of it’s buds, and uncurling new leaves.

The Honeysuckle that straddles our fence has fresh green growth from twigs I thought were dead.

(I saw these during my shower this morning… i think it made my day. :)

Best of all, the fern in our bathroom that i thought was dying, and have been fussing over for the last month, has started to unfurl new arms. Every day it opens up a little more.

Spring is on it’s way.  :)

It’s 7pm. The closing ceremony finishes on Eurosport at 9.30pm, but I can tell you now I’m not going to get gold.

I’m pretty close. I’m pretty much one sock down. I mean it’s started, but i’ve not even finished on the ribbing.

But I’m cool with that. I could have stayed home last night, and then got up early this morning, and carried on knitting. In fact if I’d done that I would have finished by now. But instead my sister came over and we went, with W, to our favourite club night, stayed out dancing till 2am then came home for chipvan chips and cheese and episodes of How I Met Your Mother. And this morning we chatted, I got her advice about the secret project, and then we made Calzones from scratch.

Now she’s back home, and I’m utterly wiped. In fact I’m probably going to go to bed pretty soon since there is lots to do tomorrow.

I’m glad I entered the knitting olympics. If anyone asks I say I did it for the experience so that I could come back in 2010 and get gold. ;)

I’ll probably get the sock done in the next couple of days, since i really want to get it finished for W, and so that I can start on a fresh new project or two. I might play around with that cashmere sock yarn I bought, or the stuff I dyed. Anyways as soon as it’s done I’ll post pictures.

Congratuations to everyone who got gold! You did good. :)

Fingerless mittens, in Louisa Harding Kimono Angora yarn (1 ball - it goes a long way).

This is my own pattern, and is made up on the fly. At some point i’m going to knit some more, and write the pattern down, so that i can reuse it, rather than having to figure it out. But the yarn is lovely, if a bit BRIGHT-omg in some of the colour ways. I will definately buy some more. :)

Anyways now there are only the socks to finish. Can I get them done in time?

1day, and 33 minutes left!

Kim Hargreaves has a new collection out!

I bought one of the kits to make up for my sister this christmas, and was really impressed by them as a company. I thought they were reasonably priced too.

Right - food!

e iMy Gifty 3 package arrived today from Heels of Mundane Superhero. She has spoilt me something rotten!

Firstly there are 3 skeins of cotton in a great pale turquoise, which i think are going to become either a bag, or the front of a cushion for our spare bedroom, since they will look great with the colour we painted the walls. (I haven’t stopped thinking about it all since i opened the box. :)

Plus there is a huge piece of pink striped cotton, which i love, and a lovely 2006 tea towel, that i’m going to hang off the cooker and only use on spotlessly clean things that need drying.

There is a second tea towel too, printed with lovely pale green ink. I love them!  Plus a peacock note from Heels, and a wonderful hardback notebook with space for a photo - which i have put to use already.  Inspired by Brenda at Cast-On (A knitting pod-cast that I cannot stop raving about - seriously, go listen now. it’s incredible!) - I have started a diary of Finished Objects so that i know what i knitted, with, and when, and who for. I have added the Olympic projects that have been completed so far, and i’m going to find a good picture to slot into the cover. Point being, it’s perfect and I love it!

You really should go click on the photo and go have a look at the big version to see the detail. For a start, the box is beautiful - like something you get a treasured cutlery set in, or heirloom pie slice or something. Then there are the tins. Firstly i have a thing about little containers for putting things in. They make me very very happy for hours.  Plus as an avid reader of Real Simple magazine I know they have millions of uses. But then, on top of that, they are filled with wonderful things!

There are buttons, and marble magnets, and extra marbles and magnets so that i can make marble magnets of my own, and coloured twine, and embroidery thread (in some of my favourite colours too - snap!), and beautiful striped and spotted cream and brown ribbons that we just can’t get over here, and beads and tags and I just love it all!  Plus she added a handy chart for what everything is.

This has been such a bumper week for thoughful presents. I feel very grateful.

:)

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Ps. i am really behind on replying to comments. I’m really sorry. I’ve just been feeling a bit down recently, and been battling with motivation. I will try to send good replies in the next few days. Please accept my tardy apology.