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Thanks to the positive response from my previous post about Marian’s pretty flower pin and my rocket hat, I thought I might share my latest project with you, and the blunder which preceded it.
Now, I made a few other rockets hats for my Mum. She has been knittin’ like a fiend for a children’s charity and asked if I’d add to her efforts. Which I happily did. This was during the last few weeks when I couldn’t sleep. So, I’d sit up watching old black and white movies and churn out my wild creations.
When I had one finished I’d leave it on the kitchen table for my family to discover in the morning.
The ‘Dozer (my brother) was impressed enough by my efforts to request a hat for himself, and described what he had in mind. That very evening, I set to work on the creation. I worked fast and had it on the table for him to find in the morning. I wanted it to be a big surprise.
Alas, it turned out to be too small, (it kept sliding off the top of his head, almost with a ‘pop’) and a bit shorter than he’d hoped for.
I thought I might be able to unpick the bottom third and enlarge it for him. But that turned into a mess, which, when I got it all back together again, ended up even much smaller than the original.
Here is a scan of my blunder. I can’t think who might want to wear it. Perhaps there’s a child out there, of maybe 3 or 4 years old who’d warm to the idea of such a strange looking clown hat.
Quite crestfallen, I buried the clown hat under my basket of wool, and moved on to other projects. Now, the ‘Dozer’s birthday is in a week’s time and (having by now forgotten about the clown hat) last night I decided to make him a hat as part of his birthday gifts. I rediscovered the clown hat and recalled that he’d wanted a very long hat, and I picked out some colours, and off I started without any plan (except to ensure it’ll be big enough to wear) in mind.
This is last night’s efforts and it shouldn’t take me too long to finish. I think I’m going to add some green and aqua into the mix and brighten it up a bit and enlarge the spacing between the purl bands ( the puffy bits, it’ll make more sense when I’ve finished). I hope it’ll look masculine enough.
The only thought that does make me pause with trepidation, is the time it’ll take to stitch the two edges, of such a long hat, together.
Still, I think he’ll like it, and I look forward to showing you the finished product.
Forgive the scans, but I just couldn’t wait to get these images up quickly. You see, a short time ago, the talented Marian from Made Marian offered pretty crocheted flower pins to her readership. She’d made them while on holiday, and their sweet colours encapsulatedher blog’s theme and signiture colours.
I put down my name in her comments, and Marian was so generous as to send one all the way over to me in a stylish envelope with pretty Irish stamps of Butterwort blooms (funny name for a pretty flower).
After delighting in Marian’s craftiness I wondered if I had anything that was just right to go with the pin. I couldn’t think of anything, so I set to making a hat inspired by her colours and design – which are doubly cool as her yellow and green, are both Irish and Aussie, colour combos.
I recently borrowed ‘Hip Knit Hats’ by Cathy Carron from the library, and choose this design for my first attempt at adapting a circular pattern, to straight knitting. It’s called Hilda in the book, but I call it the Rocket Hat.
(the Kermit the Frog pin is one ‘The Dozer’ gave me last year, which was also been waiting for the right home)
So, thanks to Marian and her pretty pin, you’ll never lose me in a crowd.
At the beginning of last week I launched a huge health kick for myself. To encourage myself I drew up colourful graphs and grids in a diary and combined a little boxing with weight training and lots of walking.
And I drove myself right into the ground. And not in a good way. You see I have health problems combined with a personality that thinks ‘where one is good, two must be better’ – a trait that often sabotages good intentions – and so I tried to cram six weeks into 6 days.
But it seems to be the only way I do things. If I have the do the same thing every day and build up gradually, I just don’t want to do it. But if I can change and push everyday, to see how far I can go.. I just love it. It’s feast or famine with me, on or off, and as foolhardy as it can be, I love the excitiment and adventurism of a challenge.
I’ve often been cajoled to take it easy, and advised that consistency is the key. And I completely agree, and would tell anyone the same… only to forget it all in the heat of the moment, during my next challenge over my health and body. Will I ever learn my lesson? Is it a sign of immaturity?
On a side note: do you ever think it is strange that you’ll happily put yourself through hair-raising (and possibly detrimental) schemes that you’d realise were ridiculous if they were proposed by anyone outside of yourself? Or is that just me?
Anyway, to my utmost surprise I think I have actually achieved my fitness goals for this week. Which is a wonderful: surprising even. I’m especially thrilled to have such an encouraging beginning, because with all my sleeping problems, I’d put on a significant amount of extra weight on top of weight I already needed to lose.
Also, for anyone else out there who might be undertaking a fitness challenge of their own, I highly recommend a treadmile. My brother recently found a second hand one for me, and it has made all the difference. I’ve begun fitness regimes in the past, but now I doubt there is a way to easily achieve enough cardo without having powered in-home equipment. I can be inside and warm, safe and private, with the tv on, and pound away.
I also love data, and that is exactly what the treadmile gives me. I have a heart monitor on as well, so that I know I’m in the right zone for fat burning, but not at a dangerously high pressure. And the treadmile tells me how far I’m going and what I’ve burned. That isn’t so great in one way, because you can walk and walk and still only have managed to burn half a choccy gluten-free biscuit. Still, that does make you become more invested in what you’re doing, and what you’re aiming for.
I also recommend grids and graphs and such. And use colours. I made a grid for the week, one square represented 15 mintues on the treadmile at 140-50 beats pre mintue. So, at a glance I can see how many squares I walked each day, and the different colours, makes each day more interesting to me, and the whole process more enjoyable. And I alternated the boxing and weights.. well, only one day of each so far. Jeez Louise I can hardly move my right arm after boxing, and I wasn’t even at it for too long.
I wonder what I’ll have done to myself by next Tuesday.
I was flicking through the lastest RACQ ‘The Road Ahead Magazine’ and came across an interesting little article about a Korean tyre company producing scented tyres.
This world first ‘Aroma Technology’ enables tyres to emanate a lavender scent (with mint, iris and white musk accents) detectable up to 10 metres from the car.
Besides smelling so good, the lavender perfume has a stable molecular structure which is said to improve the tyres’ traction and braking capacity.
I’ve heard of smell-eating paint using nano technology, and now I find there’s sweet smelling car tyres. I wonder what they’ll think of next?
If you were to invent a new product using nano technology, what would it be? Self cleaning clothes perhaps?
Thank you for all your recent comments, I’ve really appreciated them.
It’s been awful quiet on my blog here, of late. I’ve had lots to show you, and tell you about, but unfortunately technology, or the lack of it, has been working against me.
My modem is conking out. I usually only have enough time to check my mail before it deciding that I don’t need any more of the internet for the next few minutes/hours. And when my modem was happy, my computer wouldn’t upload my photos and video to my blog.
However, it’s all worked out well; through the neighbours I mentioned before, we’ve found a terrific new IT consultant and I’ve also taken the opportunity to focus on setting new goals in anticipation of enjoying the coming summer. I’ve been trying to set one new goal teach day. Yesterday it was getting to sleep earlier: things like that.
Now, if I could only overcome ‘procrastinating technophobia’ and decide what I’m doing with the ‘puter, I’d have my blog back on the go again.
PS. I betcha the modem and computer will run perfectly fine now that I’ve just said they’re running so poorly – it’s always the way.
I was trying to add this photo to the previous post to illustrate his golden aura, but the technical difficulty thingabees were working against me.
Just like Cupid himself, English Mum shot an arrow over the ocean, piercing my tender self conscious-ness and prodding me in action with her latest meme.
Via English Mum the meme follows as such:
“Here’s my question to you, if you had to select celebrities/actors to play the parts in the story of your life today (including yourself!), who would it be and why – this can be based on looks or personality!”
We’re just a small family here: myself, my Mum, and brother (and my dog Taj). But it was fun to talk with them and figure out who captures an aspect of our personality and looks.
My Mum is definitively M from Casino Royale; only with a more cheerful and cheeky expression.
M , played by the distinguished actress Judy Dench, is the ” head of the Foreign Intelligence wing of Her Majesty’s Secret Service… one of the world’s strongest intelligence and counterterrorist forces.” Beneath both M and my Mother’s unassuming exterior lurks a keen mind and quiet firm authority. Mum could easily be the boss of a dozen 007’s, and they’d probably give her a lot less trouble than my brother and I (especially because she spoils us, so).
My brother ‘The Dozer’ is absolutely Matthew McConaughey from Sahara (though not all Southern drawl and continually flashing his man-boobs, although if you ask nicely he’ll probably flex them for you).
‘The Dozer’ is definitely the one to hatch hair-raising schemes to uncover buried treasure, and would know just how to stealthily rescue you from the clutches of imminent peril. He’s an action adventure man. Just look at this photo blow, it could be ‘The Dozer’ himself, and I’d not want to be getting in his way…
Ok so, it only took me a moment or two to find the right actor for my family. But I couldn’t think of anyone to play myself. So I enlisted my family’s help and the result was certainly unexpected.
‘The Dozer’ thought Nicole Kidman is like me, particularly in the sense that “no matter how many clothes they fling on her, there’s something smouldering underneath that shines through… a hidden dimension to her…”
Note: I’ve dark hair and specs. etc. but I do like this photo.
And my Mum thinks of Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis when she thinks of me because they were such capable actresses: so convincing in their various roles; and both she and my brother always think I’m capable of anything.
I’m surprised that those closest to me would chose such strong personalities to represent me. I thought I was a much softer and clumsy person… more like Amelie or Ginger Rogers – someone who’s good intentions and bumbling ways, often cause her plans to unravel.
And finally, my dog Taj. Geeish, that’s a hard one too. I tell you what, the character that comes to mind is the Emperor, from the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ – not in a mean way – but you see, we’re forever telling Taj that he’s handsome. He loves the attention and also enjoys prancing around in all his golden glory. So, if it were possible to tell him that he was nudie, but wearing invisible glorious new clothes, that only he could see; he has enough self-confidence to believe it.
Please do feel free to take up English Mum’s challenge and let us know who’d represent you and those around you. The rules are over at iRamble and while you’re on the go, have a squiz English Mum’s excellent answers.
