Sometimes the guys who edit clips for News and Sport programmes get the music just right. BBC Newsnight was great today. The Smiths accompanied todays news about Ian Duncan-Smith.

Some classic lines.

"I'm the sun and the air, I am human and I need to be loved."
"I was looking for a job and then I found a job, and heaven knows I'm miserable now."
"So please, please, please, let me, let me, let me, get what I want, this time."
"Haven't had a dream it's been a long time."
"So for once in my life let me get what I want."
"So shut your mouth, how can you say, you go about things the wrong way. I am human and I need to be loved, just like anybody else does."
"last night I dreamt somebody loved me."

Would it be totally silly of me to rip the red scarf I made and re-do it with 10, or 15 stitches instead of 20?
It's okay as it is, but it would be better a bit longer, and my coat is fluffy enough for a thinner scarf to be good. It only took me about 4 hours (still learning to knit remember,) and the practise would do me any harm.

Oh what should I do?

The weather has turned colder, the nights are drawing in. Tonight we will put the clocks back an hour and it will be dark by about 5:00. Which means it's time for me to start hibernating. As this room has no central heating I will be moving into the other living room which has the choice of either radiator, or coal fire.... decisions decisions.


*big pictures if clicked on

So this is where I've been for the past week, cross-legged on my lovely leather chesterfield settee (unbelievably generous donation for an ex-lodger.) The fire's lit, the cats are around me, and my bead box is at my side.
I've been content. I've been productive. (I've also been ill, but ignore that.)




I've made some beaded chokers using my bead loom, they fasten with ribbon, which they're securely, and painstakingly sewn onto. I'm really enjoying making them (except for the sewing onto ribbon bit, that's annoying.)
I'm selling these for £15. A bargain for a piece of hand-crafted unique jewellery. If the one you like is sold I can make you something similar, but I will never repeat a design.
E-mail me if you're interested. I have paypal, or cheques etc.'
Excuse the red thread in the lilac one, it's not totally finished yet. It is lilac, honest. Heart are lilac with diamantes in them, and the seed beads are mostly lilac, with the odd blue one thrown in for good measure.




Badges badges everywhere. All 1" badges thanks to my lovely machine (wish I could find a UK supplier of the parts for it though.) Christmas toy catalogues are great for badge making. The paw badges are Shirokuma ones. I see this image when I sleep at the moment thanks to all the time I've spent working on his website, and perfecting the badge design.
Badges are also up for sale 70p. The range is limited to the ones above at the moment. Or you can send me an image that you want, and I'll see what I can do.
Again, e-mail me.


Lastly, things that are certainly not for sale.
A crocheted snowflake. From these pages here It's about 4" across. I'm going to make loads, coat then in a watered down pva glue that has glitter in it, leave them to dry, and then either give a batch of them as Christmas Presents, they could make tree decorations, or be coasters. Alternatively I could put them on the front of the more special Christmas Cards, then they can keep the snowflake to decorate the tree the following year. (I've only just thought of that. See how the creative juices are flowing.)
Cross-stitch Indian. I've picked it up and set myself a mission to finish it by Christmas. I've done most of the top left this week.
The task may be acheivable.
Finally, the practise piece of lino block. I drew the image on the lino years ago, but never had the cutters to do it. Now I have, and I'm quite pleased with the result. Now to find some Christmas images.

Sorry the last two posts are pretty much duplicates, but my brain is tired and I repeat myself when I'm tired.

I've been such a busy girlie. Working hard, playing hard, and trying to avoid the computer. I've been ever so crafty in the past few days.

Craftyness #1
I've made 2 lovely beaded necklaces using the loom I got for my birthday from my brother and his wife (I still can't get used to the fact my brother has a wife!) They're thin choker type necklaces with dangley bits. I'll take pictures tomorrow when I've got good light. I might even try selling them, either to people at work, or on here. I'm definatly going to make some more, I'm really enjoying them.

Craftyness #2
I've crocheted a snowflake. A charity shop trawl yesterday turned up some crochets in white, cream and red. So I'm thinking crocheted snowflakes as Christmas Decorations/Presents. I picked up some wool for another Christmas Present I'm planning too, but you'll not hear anything about that until Christmas. (Little Jugs, Big Handles, etc).

Craftyness #3
I've picked up my cross-stitch Indian again. I'm on a mission to try to get it finished by Christmas for my Dad. I figure if I set myself a date I might actually finish it, and stop throwing it across the room in boredom.

Craftyness #4
I've been limo cutting in preperation and practise for printing Christmas Cards. I've not done any lino printing for years, so I'm trying to get to grips with it. I've made a nice flower stamp so far, still waiting for the Christmassy inspiration. Also browsing lots of magazines looking for Christmas Card ideas.

Craftyness #5
Made a candle. Consisted of chopping and grating old candles up. Sticking a wick in a glass jar. Alternately layer old candle scrapings and contrasting coloured candle sand in jar until happy.

Craftyness #6
Been making lots of badges with my lovely lovely machine. Toy catalogues make great source material. However, not having much luck finding a UK supplier of parts which fit in a DrDon's model 100, but I really don't want to pay £30 for shipping everytime I need new parts. I'm even thinking about buying a machine from a UK supplier and reselling this machine to someone in the US. the nly problem is, the UK machine are twice the price of what I paid for this, so I have to make the money first.

So that's what I've been up to. (Plus 2 days of illness I had during which I slept constantly.)

I've done more crafts in the last couple of days than I have in months. The joys of avoiding the computer. Why am I avoiding the computer? I have very important work stuff to do at the moment, and it's not going too well, so I'm having a short break. Also, and probably more importantly it turned really cold here this past week. This room has no central heating, the crafty room has either central heating or a coal fire, whichever I prefer.

Now I'm off again, fingers itching for more crafting tomorrow, I'm hoping to have a Girlie Crafting day with a friend Cat where silliness, talking and yummy food may be involved.

I promise pictures tomorrow.

My brain is finally starting to get itself together. I'm feeling a little bit more with it than I have one for the past fortnight. Which is good because tonight it's party night. Wooo!

We're heading up to Manchester later on to go to to amy with love. So before then I need go to town to get something to wear, what I was going to wear seems to have ending up at Marky boys house after our little adventures in drag. I also need to sort my hair out. My mum cut it for me last week and since then I've been doing a great impression of the Wicked Witch of the West. Once the boys are back from work we got to eat, I've got to make a load of Shirokuma badges, then we can get going. Oh I've got to make a cake too. But that's a secret, so shhhhh!

Eeeee fun... Party night out.

I look really happy in yesterdays photos.

I really wish I felt that way.

I finished knitting my scarf! Most people may think "pah! it's only a scarf" But I knitted it! Me! I may be a dab hand at all the other crafts, I can still crochet when I'm too drunk to walk, but I've never been any good at knitting. I made a jumper when I was about 8, but I think my mum must have helped a lot. So this scarf is a huge acheivment. It's made with 1 strand of red double knit (found on a charity shop trawl) and 1 strand of red eyelash yarn (Stylecraft Eskimo Double Knit). It took about 75g of each yarn, and I used 6mm needles. It's so lovely and soft and fluffy. As I've got loads of the plain double knit left, and about 3/4 of a ball of the eyelash yarn I'm going to make a hat next, but I'll crochet it this time and just use the eyelash yarn as trimmings.

Whilst I had the camera out I took some pictures of the other things I've done. The pink bag is what I made for my brothers wedding. It's made with 1 stand of pink mohair and 1 strand of cream arran. Again both found in charity shops. It's just a plain rectangle folded in half. The edges were single crocheted together using the cream arran. For the strap I did a long chain and then went all along in single crochets for about 3 or 4 rows. The mohair makes the bag lovely and soft, but the arran makes it firm. I lined the bag with some cream cotton.

The orange bag is my "In the City" bag. I started it at rehearsals for Marks in the City performance, continued it during the day of the gig whilst I was sat around when everything was being set up, and I finished it the morning after when fighting off a hangover. It's just an easy string shopping bag made using some of the many many hanks of rug wool that I've got.