A trip to Dorking...

Lisa and i had a little drive out to Dorking yesterday to visit The Quilt Room, it's a fabulous little shop that is just crammed full of fabric, books and anything else you may need for your patchwork project.
Last time i went i bought the bag pattern and yesterday i succumbed to some fabric, i just love the design and it comes in a myriad of colours, i also bought a pack of 80/20 wadding to give my bag some strength ;o)

I'm hoping to get to work on it next week, the rest of this week will be spent making sure we have everything we need for our first weekend away camping in what seems like forever but is actually only 11 weeks... actually, given the frequency of past years, 11 weeks is a blumming long time for us!!
We had a trial run in the van last weekend when we camped outside a friend's house after their housewarming party but this will be our first trip out with the tinted windows, fitted curtains and new paint job :oD

I can't wait!!

Big Granny Blankie

I made this a few years ago now, it is meant to live in the camper but as that isn't used at the moment it's come to live indoors ;o)
My original plan was to make 4 large squares and join them together but Bloke wanted one big square and as i was making it for him i went with it. I hated it towards the end, one round was taking a whole evening to complete and i was getting pretty bored, so i dug out the crochet stitch dictionary and used various patterns in the border :oD

I love it now of course!
It's made with cheapy acrylic because it needs to be easily washable what with camping smells and dirt!

This weekend...

i was mostly watching stuff like this!

That's the Jet Car, it can make it down the quarter mile long strip in just over SIX seconds, that's an amazing 254mph!

Actually, i wasn't mostly watching stuff like that, i was watching my friends take their campers, beetles and anything else VW down the track too! Someone has a camper that can do the quarter mile in 12 seconds!! The average camper can do it in around 20 seconds with under 18 being considered fast!! It was an AWESOME weekend and i can't wait to go again next year :oD

Next camping is the 8th of May when we take off for the wilds of Tunbridge Wells to celebrate Trout's 21st birthday - how did she get to be so grown up.... and how did i get to be so old? ;o)

TA-DA!!

The van interior was finished in time for a weekend of wonderful camping!
That there^^ is the bed in place and the one below is the usual seating mode ;o)

I am a very happy Franney, the corners worked a dream and the full width bed is super comfy :oD

An eventful weekend!

Just as we were getting ready to head off the Postie turned up with "another parcel for you" as he put it! hehehe
I couldn't leave it to open when i got home on Monday so tore it open for a squish - how childish!!
As well as the lovely yarns that my Santa sent me she had knitted me a gorgeous pair of "Bluebell Mitts" in burgundy Karisma but they came away with me this weekend where they were much appreciated in the icy coldness!

On Thursday i decided i wanted a new hat for Halloween ;o)
With just a day (well, Thursday evening anyway!) to make it i settled on Jackyll and Hide from Knitty. Now, i don't like masks, they terrify me, as do clowns and gimps and well... this balaclava but i figured that as i would be wearing it i wouldn't have to look at it ;o)
The picture below is my progress as of Friday morning, i had the rib on a provisional cast-on with the intention of knitting the bottom section on the journey up to Santa Pod, and blow me, it only bloody worked!!

I didn't get round to sewing in that end though!
This is the finished scariness on Sunday, i did my usual trick of avoiding all cameras for the whole weekend :oD

On Saturday evening they lit the fire with the Jet Truck, it's an awesome sight to see, unfortunately as they were carghing £2 for aprogramme we didn't have one... we found out at 4.12pm that the fire was going to be lit at 4.15pm and with about quarter of amile to travel, through mud, people and a really cold wind we arrived in time to see the flames leaping in the air and the fire truck driving back down the road :o(

The fire was AWESOME though and despite the rain it was still burning on Sunday afternoon when we left, i was sure that it couldn't have survived the rain, but wasn't going to get soaked through again just to go and see as the fire was the other side of the track to where we had camped and it would have involved a looooooooooong walk round in nearly horizontal rain!! :o(
I reckon the pile of firewood was a good 40 foot high, maybe more! It was HUGE! You could feel the heat from it 100 yards away, seriously, it was HOT! I didn't want to leave but the rain was starting when they lit it and we were getting hungry for some dinner so we wandered back round and went to the cafe, just as we finished dinner the fireworks started so we stood out and watched them, it wasn't til i visited the loo afterwards that i realised with the rain blowing into my back i was soaked through and had a small panic until i got back to the van and into dry clothes.
Note for next year... take more than two pairs of trousers and get more long johns, one pair is NOT enough!
So, a bit of a washout really with barely any racing and me not actually seeing any, but at least we now know we can fit 10 people in our van, with the bed up! :oD

I am home!

again! ::lol::

I managed to bring no animals home from Action this year, although i have returned with rather a nasty throat and sinus infection (it feels like, it could of course just be from me shouting rather a lot ::blushing::) anyway, whatever it is i spent half the night coughing and the other half snoring so loudly it kept Bloke awake ::blushing some more::

Today will be spent in the traditional Monday-after-a-show fashion with me filling the living room with all sorts of camping gear and struggling to fit the awning over the washing line to dry out after Sunday's rain!

Apart from the rain on Sunday which stopped the racing the weekend was awesome! Unfortunately the camera did not make one appearance so i have no photos to share with you until they are shared with me ::lol::

I could sleep for a week!

What a WICKED weekend! :oD

Now i have 5 days in which to:

• catch up on lots of lost sleep
• try and not feel so poorly
• sort out travel insurance
• sort out the campervan's road tax
• remind Bloke to ring about the European breakdown cover
• sleep some more
• track down passports and driving licenses
• make sure everything we need for ten days in Europe is IN THE VAN and not on the sofa/living room floor/still in the garage!!

Hmmmm... i think that's it! I have sorted out the first aid kit and our washbags today, there's just a couple of medicines i need to pick up to replenish the stocks ;o)

What can i tell you about this weekend? It was AWESOME! Lots of drinking, lots of loudness, plenty of drag racing and not much rain! YAY!
We got to the Pod at about 8.30pm on Thursday and then had a wander (mad rush) round saying hello to friends who were already there... stayed up late... had a bit of sleep... woke up at about half six... drove into the Pod and set up camp in VZi camping. We made a lovely camp actually, there are so many of us that camp together now that we have to be careful how we set up or else we'd take over the whole place ::lol::
Friday afternoon saw the start of Wizard sticks... what fun that was! Basically when you've drunk a can of beer the unopened can gets gaffered on top of the empty and so on and so forth :oD
I drank more than my height in beer!! :oD
I managed ten cans before i got fed up with dragging my wizard stick along with me so threw it ont he floor and reverted to drinking a single can :oD
After that i don't remember too much but loads of people told me on Saturday that i was having fun :lol:: if only i could remember meeting them on Friday night ::lol::
So, that's pretty much how the whole weekend went, lots of drinking and making merry and just having SO MUCH FUN! I can't wait to do it all again next year :oD

One Tequila...

Just a little camping photo, i do hope you don't mind :oD

teehee

The gnomes live to see another camping weekend!
Gnomicide was averted this weekend when the clever fellows took to hiding in beer mountain...


:oD

Home again!

WOW! WHat a weekend! I am still buzzing from it... although i am completely shattered and my voice is on holiday ::lol::
We went up to Licolnshire for the weekend to help a friend celebrate his 30th birthday. His parents have a gorgeous farmhouse and some land and really know how to throw a party! :oD

The weekend was slightly marred by the loss of our awning in the high winds (and subsequent damage to the van as the awning was blown against it) ... Bloke's phone getting blown up by a spilled drink and lots of waiting around for recovery trucks... but not spoilt - not by a long shot!! :oD

I've been trying to find a photo that captures the weekend in it's entirety... i have failed so far! LOL
This one is pretty good though :oD

As is this one...

And finally... one of the birthday boy himself ;o)


hehehehehe

Gawn fishin!

Well, camping anyway lol

Back on Monday with photos of lovely things that have been falling through my letter box :o)

Secret stuff

I'm taking part in a Secret Santa swap on CTnY so i've been busy with secret swap stuff, and other secret stuff too for a very dear friend's birthday but i couldn't possibly tell anyone about any of it - i'm nearly all done now though so work can recommence on the SKP socks post haste! I have only 2 weeks left in which to finish them or else i get kicked out of the group (i think, i might just be making that bit up though!!)

My internet time has been very eratic of late - as if not having my own computer wasn't bad enough, the laptop is now on it's last legs too. It needs reformatting and a fresh start, it's so slow and frustrating, it took 15 minutes just to close it down the other day. Of course, the broadband is playing up too so for most ofthe day we don't have any conenction anyway! I've got some housework done though so it's not all bad and yesterday Niecey no.2 came over and we spent some time digging and weeding the veggie patch. I have decided to either have no vegetable patch this year, or to have a very limited amount. I'm not sure my back will take it though so if i do grow anything it's going to be things which don't require a lot of digging/bending/fuss. Courgettes are tempting me, as are cucumbers and chillis as they just need watering once they are planted and tied up. Potatoes are definitely out but i would love to grow sprouts again, if i can find a way to keep the damn Cabbage Whites off them! We'll see though, i am really suffering after just a couple of hours out there yesterday and it wasn't even very heavy digging as the soil is just lovely! We got two of the squares done and covered with black polythene, i am hoping it will help cut down the weeds. It seems to have worked on the square i did last year, although i did find some potatoes growing under there from 2006! ::blushing::

Last weekend we had a lovely little camping trip, the weather was mostly kind with just a little rain but at least it didn't snow again! ::lol::
We went to Stansted last year and were looking forward to going again this year and we weren't disappointed. There were some lovely cars there to ogle, shops to wander round and a new catering van serving up delicious leek, cauliflower and potato chowder - superb! Unfortunately we were too late for the porridge but the chowder was awesome and made a welcome change from the usual show fare or burger, hotdog or greasy overpriced chips!
Lukey was as good as gold and didn't savage any strange dogs, in fact he managed to sit quietly as they passed him and the only time he growled was when he was growled at first, which is kind of alright ;o)
We've a weekend off and then it's BIG BANG! YAY! I am really looking forward to it, it's the first of the year at Santa Pod and everyone really gets in the party spirit. I shall be dusting off the gin and replenishing the tonic that's for sure ;o)

Happy Tuesday!

Well, here we are, still no pc, but i have dug the laptop out of retirement and am willing to ignore the slowness and tiny keboard in favour of being able to get online whenever i want :oD

So, anyway... knitting news...
Absolutely no progress on the SKP socks :o(
Only 4 rounds of knittingto go on the Lavender Blankie and then it's two rounds of crochet casting off! YIPPEE!! I have to say that altjhough i have really enjoyed knitting it and wathing the feather and fan unfold i am getting a bit bored with it and i am glad that i am soon to be done :oD
No more progress on the BPT yet either. We had company this weekend so not much knitting was done at all! Once the Blankie is done i shall concentrate on the socks and get them finished and then i want to finish my hoodie!
We are off to a VW show this weekend with camping on Saturday night and i am quite looking forward to it. It's one of the shows we went to last year and although it was only a small local show it was a lot of fun and the camping was lovely and relaxed and that was the show that we were visited by a local cat! It was quite bizarre!

One of my friend's is in desperate need of a hat, she has very curly hair and tends to wear a manky old fleece hat when she's camping but it's really horrible so after some research ihave promised to make her this rather fetching cowboy hat and i am very excited at the prospect of ordering some New Lanark wool to make it in YAY!
Of course, all we have to do now is narrow down the colour choices... we are down to four ::lol::

Oh dear

my hard drive finally bit the dust this morning, well, it could be the graphics card but until i get back after the weekend i don't have time to find out!

If you don't hear from me for a while that's why ;o)

Luckly bloke has a separate pc so i can sneak on here during the days while he's at work but it's not an ideal situation. I will however make sure i check my mail as i know that there are swaps about to start and i will be honouring them!

Have a good weekend all, i am off for a weekend of G&T and VWs, i'm taking knitting but i keep spilling my drink when i try and knit at the same time ;o)

Hi Honey...

I'm home!

Another fab weekend spent being incredibly drunk, loud and lairy :o)
It was the last one of the year so i made sure i did it in style! *LOL*
Lots of racing, lots of fireworks, lots of FIRE!, lots of people and lots and LOTS of laughing, i want to do it again this weekend! And the weather was AWESOME! I've got sunburn! YAY!

Gone camping!

Back on Monday, miss you already :oD

Done some decorating!

Working on a new layout, found it via a trip through some blogs and i can't remember whose it was but it was someone from CTnY so thankyou whoever it was! *lol*
It still needs some bits adding to it, like the sidebars need my lists and buttons back in them but that will have to wait for another day, it's taken me long enough just to sort this much out!

I'll be off until Sunday night camping, it was Bloke's birthday yesterday and a friend's birthday on Monday so we are having a combined birthday camping weekend :oD
Than Monday will be spent washing and having a tidy and then i'll be off to Southend to visit with Mum before her op on Tuesday, sorry the blog seems to have taken a turn down the "Mum is ill" route but it's preoccupying me quite a bit :o(

So, all this means that i don't actually know when i will next be able to update the blog, hopefully i'll be able to sneak on Dad's computer at some point ;o) You've all been so supportive these past weeks that i feel it only fair to keep you updated too!

Knitting content: This months sock pattern has been chosen, i am going to make the Cottage Garden socks from PinkLemonTwist in the July YYC yarn as it just screams cottage gardens to me :o)
No further progress on Clapotis OR MS3 i'm afraid, i'm not sure what i've been doing but it hasn't left me any knitting time *lol*

Have a great weekend girls, keep your fingers crossed for dry weather for us :oD

*HUGS*
Fran x

it's raining again

but fortunately for us we have suffered no flooding at home.
Except at Santa Pod where we went for a weekend of racing - no racing until Sunday when it stopped raining so that everyone could get a sunburnt face :oD
It's tradition ;o)

I felt like Shrek for most of the weekend, living in a swamp and having mud baths! It was GREAT! :oD

Back home to reality though, alas the memory-erasing properties of the alcohol have worn off and today i had a text from Mum to say she will be going into hospital tomorrow for a full body Ct scan to see if there might be any other nasties lurkin in her bod. Sobering stuff.

Open for business

Well, i'm back home after a hectic few days!

On Wednesday i drove down to Southend to visit Mum. I can't say too much until i know more for myself but we've just found out she has a tumour on her kidney and will be going in for tests and surgery in a couple of weeks time :o(

I got back home Friday lunchtime after a tiny bit of stress on the way home when i saw a sign saying the M25 was CLOSED from j30 clockwise... ie. over the Dartford crossing!! Luckily i am a little bit familiar with the roads around Thurrock and was able to nip off down the A1012 and go through Thurrock and Lakeside and join the M25 furthere round. I thought it would just save me sitting in traffic, at least i'd be driving for a bit longer and joining further on to sit in the traffic til it was re-opened but when i got to the M25 it was totally clear! The traffic was flowing smoothly and it was FAB! I later heard on the traffic report that it was actually right on the junction to the M25 from the A13 that a lorry had jack-knifed and that was why it was shut and the traffic was backed up and i was SO glad that i made my detour as i wanted so badly to get home. I managed to get most of the camping stuff packed up before Bloke got home and he helped load the last few heavy things in and then we were off! For a while.

I shan't bore you with the details, i'll save them for a Big Dollop ;o)

So, now we're back home after a fun-filled weekend. I am completely shattered as usual and it'll take me a couple of nights to catch up on sleep but at least it means i won't wake up as much as i usually do :o)

I've been busy swatching for the MS3 and have bought myself a bamboo Addi to try with n's laceweight and i'm just waiting on my beads to arrive and then i can swatch again with beads and choose which ones i want to use and then i can finally get started! I've seen other people's "first clue" and it looks gorgeous, i can't wait to get started! I think the theme is something sea-sidey, the border looks like waves to me but we'll see what emerges from the centre panel.

The Sassy socks remain unfinished. I don't think i like Lorna's Laces. I can't think of another reason why i don't like knitting them, unless it's the 2on2 but i thought i was enjoying that! *lol*

Oh well, must go to the car spares shop, Andy's coming back tomorrow to try and get the van fixed and parts are needed! I hope everyone had a good weekend, i must catch up on the news and see how the flooding has been. Were the forecasts right? I do hope not, there's enough flooding already without more!!

Take care people,
*hugs*