Thursday, March 29, 2007

They don't knit but they're very sweet


I thought it was about time to introduce by bunnies. Tango is an Orange Rex and Bluebelle is a Blue Rex. Aren't they gorgeous?! Their coats are very soft and they have a lovely nature. I know they have nothing to do with either running or knitting but they're so sweet it seemed rude not to include them on here.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Daily Express and Simply Knitting magazine

Now I am excited.

I've just had an email from Sarah, the journalist who wrote the piece for the Daily Express to say that the article is due to appear in the LifeStyle section on 3rd April (thankfully not 1st April or I might be a little suspicious!!!). Let's hope it doesn't get scrapped for another article.

Also, Rachael emailed me to say she's written about what I'm doing in her piece for the April issue of Simply Knitting magazine.

What a lovely day!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Never drink alcohol before a big run!

OK, I confess, on friday night I had a few glasses of a rather nice rose wine. I know it was ill-advised as I had a big running weekend ahead of me. Saturday was 10 miles and Sunday was 20 miles and you just can't do that comfortably after over-indulging! Believe me, my 10 miler was not comfortable and I really had to force myself out of the door. Today, I managed my 20 miler but it certainly wasn't easy - the first 12 miles were cross-country and although very pleasant I was going really slowly. Thankfully I managed to get my brain into gear for the final 8 miles and I feel quite positive now. I must try not to drink wine on a Friday evening!!!

The yarn for my latest project arrived on Friday so I've made a start. This is the base for the Rowan crochet bag. I wasn't sure about the colour of the yarn when it arrived (it's called 'khaki' but is more on the grey side) but I'm used to it now. The pattern is really easy so far and quick to crochet. Although the yarn is very nice and soft to handle, it is disappointing that there have been several joins in the first ball. The second ball seems just as bad. This is not a cheap yarn and it is very annoying to find joins like that. Naughty Rowan.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The Paparazzi Man

If I use this enormous lens then surely I'll be able to fit her in the frame.

(You can see Red and Kizzy, my horses, in the background)





I know she's around here somewhere.








Come back here you Diva!








Look, I can knit with my eyes closed. See how well that orange Debbie Bliss yarn shows up against my purple vest.






Ta Da! Running and knitting.







With thanks to my hubby Mike for taking these great pics. to remind us of the fun we had.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

All Systems Go

Last Friday I got a phone call, out of the blue, from the Alzheimer's Research Trust asking if I'd mind being interviewed by a journalist from the Daily Express. Her name is Sarah and she'd been reading my blog about knitting my way round the London Marathon and wanted to include me in an article for their Lifestyle section. Crikey! Well, I could hardly say 'no' as it would be great publicity for the Alzheimer's Research Trust. Sarah telephoned me and we had a good old chat about how I started running and mum's illness etc. Then the Editor from the newspaper phoned and asked if their photographer could come and take a photo of me running and knitting so we arranged for him to come tomorrow. She asked that I use a bright coloured wool so it would show up in the paper.

That's when I realised I needed to get myself along to see Nicki at Laughing Hens to collect the yarn and needles she promised me. Nicki was great and let me rummage through the yarns to see what caught my eye. I knew I wanted red and orange so the Debbie Bliss 'SoHo' yarn is ideal as it will show up well when I'm running but I also wanted a contrast colour. Thankfully I spotted the lovely turquoise Colinette yarn called 'One Zero'. So here it is together with some nice wooden needles.

A massive THANK YOU to Nicki for providing me with the yarn and needles.

Friday, March 16, 2007

It just gets better and better!

I can't believe it's been so long since I last updated my progress. I ran the Hastings 1/2 marathon last weekend which was great fun - the crowd support is second to none. I still haven't received the yarn for my next project from Kangeroo.com, which is very frustrating, so I've crocheted a cushion cover for my kitchen stool whilst I'm waiting.

Here's my kitchen stool looking all sad and cold without his lovely soft cushion pad. It's very trendy and good looking but it's jolly cold on your bottom so I decided to crochet a cushion cover!







Here it is sporting a lovely new cover in various shades of red.










This is what it looks like from above. I went into my local yarn shop in Battle and picked up lots of different yarns in red. There's a Noro one which has lots of different shades in it, an eyelash yarn with lovely straggly thin bits for soft texture, a ball of 'Fizz' which has chunkier strips in a see-through fabric and a plain burgundy wool yarn. I just worked in double crochet going round and round, changing my yarn when I'd got a good block of one sort. I think it looks quite effective and it was a doddle to make.

With regard to the London Marathon, well it's great news - Stitch and Bitch London are going to join the Cast-Off knitting group for a Knit-Out at the finish. We're trying to find the best place for them to be and the nice people at Race HQ have suggested that they set up in the 'reunion' area in Horseguards Parade. I need to investigate the logistics of this as it gets really congested there with 30,000 plus runners staggering over the finishing line. I'm getting really excited about it now!

I've been busy distributing a newsletter to all my neighbours so they know what I'm up to and asking that they sponsor me if possible. They have been really supportive over the past couple of years since I started fund-raising for the Alzheimer's Research Trust and even if they don't sponsor me they always give me a cheery smile and a wave if they see me out running. It can really make a difference to see a friendly face and hear an encouraging word when I'm getting tired towards the end of a 20 mile training run. It's great to know that they're all willing me on.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

This little button shows that I have been accepted into a knitting web-ring. How exciting, I've gone global!

Monday, March 5, 2007

Meet the Mogs!



Here we have Tinker, our lovely ginger boy. He'll be 11 in May. He's very pretty but not very bright!






This is Barney. He's the baby and will be 8 in June. He was rescued by the RSPCA from an animal experimentation unit and he has a number tattooed in his ear.

Knitting frustrations and the Steyning Stinger

Grrrrrr, I ordered my copy of the Rowan book and yarn I was looking at online and only the book has arrived with a note saying that the yarn is out of stock. That is so frustrating as the site said they had 'unlimited supplies'!!!! I telephoned the company and was told that as it is a new yarn they are still awaiting a delivery from Rowan. Hey ho.


Yesterday was the Steyning Stinger marathon. The weather was vile with gale-force wind and rain/hail for 21 of the 26.2 miles. I have never been so wet and cold! Also, the ground was incredibly slippery as it was chalk, flint and mud, so I decided to walk up and down some of the steeper slopes (I can't afford to pick up a major injury so have to be a bit more sensible!) which meant I was even slower than usual. Most of the time I felt like Bambi with my legs going every which way. My left big toe developed a painful blister at mile 4 and by mile 11 it was excruciating. It became a case of pain management and I found that if I kept my feet wet and muddy that it didn't hurt as much!

Many thanks to Anthony, the lovely photographer, who took this photo of me around the 4 mile mark after the first hill (I'm only slightly muddy and it hadn't started raining yet so I look reasonably respectable). He takes good quality photos at many sporting events and his prices are really competitive. You can view his website at antbliss.com

Although it was jolly tough I really enjoyed it in a perverse sort of way and I was smiling like mad when I finished. I got a cute little engraved glass as a memento and they provided a yummy meal afterwards. They even had a special veggie menu so I didn't feel like a nuisance. My final time was 6 hours 34 minutes 6 seconds which is a lot slower than I would usually manage. I suppose I hadn't fully recovered from the Draycote ultra and I was being extra careful because of the slippy conditions underfoot.

Now I've got 6 weeks to get myself together for the London marathon so I shall be taking my knitting out on my next run to get some practice in!