Burning Eyes and Busy Fingers

[susie_flo]

Back to work next week. Bummer. But it's probably for the best...  my post-Xmas lifestyle would probably destroy my mental health and increasingly alarming waistline if I kept it up any longer.

Sleb Big Bro continues in form... 

Coolio could be the most insecure and hubristic example of gangsta-rapperness known to man.  He is so thoroughly annoying that he must be left in the house at all costs.  He and Lisa (who is from Shameless, apparently) are in antagonistic competition over who will make people's ear drums bleed the quickest and may well come to blows pretty soon (lets hope so).  He talks a lot about the size of his balls, while she continues to do her utmost to destroy the public image of Liverpudlians with endless effing jabber about her effing sex life and effing personality and how she "will never effing cave" and other inane effing babble.

Ulrika is clearly on the verge of a breakdown since being voted "sleb with most inflated ego" - hoorah!  La Toya is as strange and damaged as might be expected of a Jackson... like the rest of them, she seems to be a shy five year old trapped in a 50-year-old body (and only comes alive when squeaking out increasingly disturbing anecdotes about her life of abuse, enforced marriage and domestic violence). 

Tommy fails to realise that he was meant to be this year's George Galloway... (there has been a distressing lack of shouty arguments about "Plutocrrrats").  Most of them continue to show no signs of any discernible talent (other than Verne Troy's briefly amusing impersonations of Coolio).  Michelle (from Liberty X... how Z-list is that?) seems to cry at the drop of a hat.  My prediction...  the winner will either be Ben from A1 (who is turning out to be an entirely inoffensive and likeable chacter) or Verne Troy.  Terry Christian may be in the top 3 if he keeps up his vibe of ruthless apathy.

Apart from killing my brain cells with trashy TV, I have also been moderately creative...

 

First - behold the gorgeousness of Noro Silk Garden.  I really love this scarf, though it is the heavenly yarn that does all the work.  Personally I think it looks great on a man (G kindly modelled it for me, despite being unable to tolerate the feel of anything around his neck).



Ravelry link and free pattern here...  http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/noro-striped-scarf


This week I also banged out a quick lil jumper for Helena.  It won't fit her for ages though... and I am not sure about the shoulders, it looks too slopey.  Ach well.   I love the colour combo anyway.



Ravelry link and free pattern here... http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/buddy-sweaters-includes-3-variations


Finally, I started work on a hideously complicated pair of socks.  I'm really only doing these because they are stupidly difficult and I wanted a challenge.  (Also I fell in love with a gorgeous finished pair by Elin...  http://byelin.com/?p=261 ).  But unfortunately the tiny, weeny little needles hurt my fingers, so I suspect I may never finish them.


 

Had a nice surprise yesterday... those fabuloso coffee cups from Etsy arrived in the post, as a belated Xmas pressie from G.  I **love** them! 



Also I went sale shopping and bought all manner of vastly reduced tat to wear at work - including a pair of foxylicious boots - yippee!   It is now high time to leave my bank account in peace.  And I really MUST try to pull my waistline back into control if I'm gonna wear this stuff...  (it's either that or magic knickers).

 

Comments

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

1) Scarf: Oh yes indeed.
2) You have to finish the socks, as that colour is gorgeous.
2) Loving the cups.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Thank you! (Should you or your lovely wife ever feel the urge to take up knitting, I would recommend that scarf as a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding first project.)

About the socks, I also ADORE the yarn colour... I just wish I had not choosen to cut my teeth on the most complicated sodding sock pattern ever written.

The cups are so good in real life, and look even better with a nice squirt of foamy coffee in them.

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Knitting. In a house with three cats. Riiiight.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

It's naughty cat cuteness just waiting to happen... and you know it!

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

They can do that with a screwed up ball of paper or by eating the nearest cushion. I don't need to provide them with EVEN MORE opportunities for mayhem.

(Plus we already leave paper bags, cardboard boxes and bits of ribbon around for them to play with).

[steer.livejournal.com]

You look great in that scarf. Not so sure about G -- he doesn't exactly look comfortable.

Maybe it's just the fact I've been watching lots of medical drama but those cups look like a vascular system. :-)

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Bless him, he was in agony! He has a *thing* about anything around his neck. It's a shame cos otherwise I would be making him all manner of cashmerey niceness.

I know what u mean about the cups... I quite like that idea.

[steer.livejournal.com]

Bless, how he suffers for you.

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

it's not just you, they do.
Erm. although IO have been looking at vascular systems at the Hunterian today, so maybe I just have veins on the brain. Figuratively speaking, I mean.

[steer.livejournal.com]

Heh -- vein brains.

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

That scarf is delicious - I've just been looking at the Stash website and may just have to get some of that Noro yarn...mmm!

I've added you to my friends on Ravelry - I hope you don't mind. I'm there as jombolom.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes Ravelry, delighted to meet you.

You must get some Noro... it's silk and lambswool with little traces of some kind of plant matter thrown in. An interesting phenomenen is that it starts out all nubby and manly on the ball, and then gets softer and silkier the more you handle it.

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

I'm something of a novice knitter (scarves are pretty much my limit, but I do know a number of stitches); is this pattern easy for someone like me?

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

It's extremely easy - nothing but K1 P1 ribbing all the way, switching between two contrasting balls of yarn every two rows.

You simply cast on an odd number of stitches and go... slipping the first and last purl stitch on every second row, which gives neater edges and also hides the contrasting yarn that is being carried along the side. The only thing to take care over is not to pull too tightly when you switch yarn colour.

It's not a very exciting project in terms of fancy stitches... but the constantly changing yarn colour and random striping effects stop it from being a boring knit in any way... (plus you can do it while watching tv).

The pattern has attracted a bit of a cult following online - see this forum thread: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/brooklyntweed-fan-club/169590/1-25

[r0ck3tsci3ntist.livejournal.com]

Great cups! and scarf envy! Those socks look gorgeous but, wow, yeah - fiddly.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Socks - too damn fiddly! Scarf envy... easily rectified ;-p
(not that I'm a horrible yarn temptress or anything!)

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

That red is amazing!

My favourite pair of socks is the one I wear in bed in winter. They are thick hand-knitted ones given to me by a Finnish friend and keep out all the cold.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

The finns are really into knitting. I can't bear to wear socks in bed myself... dunno why.

I guess I should persevere with these red ones. Someone just offered a forehead-slapping tip... (put band aids on my fingertips) so I might give it a go!

[kissmeforlonger.livejournal.com]

They're loose rather than tight. I can't get to sleep with cold feet but otherwise theyr'e the only thing I wear in bed (as if you wanted to know that ;-)

I think you can get clear plastic bands to go over your fingertips for counting money, so it might be worth asking at a stationers. (Not those big rubber thimbles you see people using in the post office!)

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

"theyr'e the only thing I wear in bed"
Mmmm, foxy!!

"I think you can get clear plastic bands to go over your fingertips for counting money"
Genius! I just found them on ebay :-)