Haaaappy Birthday to Moog!

It seems that today is quite a momentous day.

Not only is it my Aunty Margaret's birthday....

......it also happens to be Her Majesty's official birthday - hence the Trooping of the Colour happening today.

What you may not have realised though, is that today is also THE MOOG's OFFICIAL BIRTHDAY!!!!

This old curly girl of ours was a rescue dog, and as such we had no idea when her 'actual' birth-day was.

Therefore, Moogsdad and I took it upon ourselves to approximate - using the information given by the rescue centre.

So this brings us to today - THE MOOG's 14th BIRTHDAY!!!

She's barky.

She's scared of:

Thunder

Fireworks

Cats

Noise

Spiders

She doesn't cope well around children but has tolerated our two beasties incredibly well.

Her Number 1 fan is the Minx.

She doesn't really 'do' cuddles but she will trot upstairs at 6am - even at weekends!! - for an early morning snuggle on the bed, with behind the ear tickles permitted - she only started doing this in the past year.

She victimises visitors by forcing them to play ball for at least half and hour - we are impervious to her wiley ways and she knows better than to try it on with us, apart from Minx who is always up for a game of ball.

We've discovered, in the past year, that her most very favourite food in the whole wide world ever ever, is chicken poo.

She has a particularly persistent woof.

She does the full on throwing the head back and howling thing when Monster plays his oboe.

She doesn't actually think she's a dog. She thinks she's a short human with a very hot coat on.

She's been accused of being a poodle - because of the incredible curliness of her coat - by a very tiny girl who walked past us just recently.

What she doesn't realise is that she's a totally and utterly typical Border Collie. She runs after the ball, brings it back and then runs round in a big circle before lying flat in the grass, waiting for the next throw. She's obedient, whether she wants to be or not - she just can't help herself. She doesn't rest until all her flock are present and correct :-)

She doesn't realise she's an old lady and prances around like a puppy - between sleeps, of course.

She's our old Moog and we love her.

xxxxx

Things that make me go mmmmm...

.....finishing the latest socks in my favourite yarn...

......topping up the sockyarn stash (from here)

....and discovering a new (to me) yarn shop on my way home from work....

.....fun baking with the littlies...complete with lurid lemon flavoured icing.....

....spending time brightening up the garden....

....noticing promising signs among my veg plants....

....a much improved view outside my kitchen door....

....and finally - and best of all - sewing has happened....

....fulfilling a longstanding promise to the lady who runs our Stampin' Up parties.....

....to make her a tool-pouch using one of her (or rather my - 'cos I couldn't resist buying it!) gorgeous stamps for a stitchery......

....it's almost like getting back to normal....

....mmmm.....

xxxx

Hello!

I'm shocked to see it's nearly a month since my last confession I last blogged. That month has disappeared in a fog.

Moogsdad is very nearly back to his version of normal.

My poor Dad has frightened us all witless several times. He's been in hospital since 23rd March and was all set to go home three weeks ago, when he developed a serious infection and went into heart failure.

He's amazed everyone by fighting off the infection and the heart failure. The man has the most amazing inner strength! Where he goes from here is still unclear as he's still not a well man, his mobility has decreased dramatically and we may need to broach the dreaded subject of nursing homes.

I've spent some of the past few weeks up and down the motorway visiting him and my lovely brother and family. I guess that's why there was no 'me' left for blogging.



We managed to combine a little family camping trip with a bit of hospital visiting last week. The first part of the week was spent in sunny Dorset, where we squeezed in a trip to Monkey World.

My favourite bit was walking through the woodland where beautiful lemurs were 'free range'.

My least favourite bit was the anxious gibbon who pee'd over the glass front of his cage and then proceeded to sit on a branch and eat his own poo!!

The latter part of the week was spent at a campsite on the outskirts of Birmingham, where we admired the sunset, and spent the loveliest evening having a barbeque with my brother and his family.



So, although it's been a very crappy few months, things have levelled out a little. We're feeling relaxed after our week away and ready to face the next load of lemons that life throws our way.



Image blatantly stolen from here

Crafty activity has all but ground to a halt.

However, as of today a load has lifted.

I've finally (hopefully...depending on my manager's verdict) completed the stinky 5000 word report for the work course I did way back in January. After being given an extended deadline twice due to all the crubbish going on in Moogshouse, I have finally...once and for all....at last...written the darned thing!!

I can give the left side of my brain a rest for a while.

It's (fingers oh so very crossed) time to get creative!!

xxxxx

Time to reveal all.....

I've been keeping a great big secret.

A couple of years ago I scored 11 balls of gorgeous lilac Elle cotton yarn for 50p each, at the emporium of all things acrylic that is my local yarn store.

I've almost cast on about twenty projects for Minxie with this yarn but just couldn't bring myself to take the plunge.

After much deliberation and yarn stroking, I did cast on, and knit the back and half the front of a very big and complicated cable cardi.

However, I made a fatal error.

I blogged about it.....

......and then got stopitis.

It has sat there, in my knitting bag, taunting me for 19 months and 19 days!!!

Today - this very day - Saturday 9th May 2009 - I have finished Minx's cardigan!

I'm calling this Version II.

After ditching the cable and making it up as I go along....

.....here it is.


Shown off in Minx's best robot pose ;-)

Initally based on this pattern - a fantastic top down knit, done on a circular needle that requires no making up!


I soon realised that although I'd cast on the adult small size, the fact that I'd used DK instead of bulky yarn and used a 4.5mm instead of 6.5mm needle, meant I needed to keep on knitting more and more rows on the garter stitch bodice until it fitted Minx.



The great thing was, she could try it on as I knitted and I could adjust the number of rows accordingly.

Once the garter stitch bit was cracked I started on the lace.

This is where I started swearing. Lots.

Try as I might I could not get the lace repeats right - always ending up with too many or too few stitches. I ripped this back four times before throwing in the towel.

Quite remarkable behaviour from someone who avoids ripping back her knitting at all costs!

I didn't give up totally though. I trawled through every knitting book or pattern that I own, spent hours on Ravelry and eventually found a lace pattern, with the right multiple of stitches, in my Mum's old Good Housekeeping Encyclopeadia of Needlecraft.

It took me until I was more than half way down the lace to realise that the reason the lace was the 'wrong' way up to that in the picture was that I was knitting top down instead of bottom up!

Luckily, I'd already decided I like it that way!

There's one mistake on the lace. It's barely noticeable but now I know it's there it screams at me!

Can you spot it?



I'm now totally sold on top down knitting.

What a fantastic idea!

This cardi used 5 balls of that bargain yarn - and cost the grand sum of £2.50!

I'm feeling very self satisified :-)

Having finished 'the big project' I feel that I can move onto other things.

The first of which is a crochet cushion cover - using granny squares that I made two years ago and cotton yarn that has been collected for no specific project over about three years!


Just lookee at me.......Mrs Stashbuster!

That'll be more room for new yarn then ;-)


Oh my goodness! I was just about to publish this post when we realised Minx's little gerbil Nibbles had died. We've just had a very special and very tearful gerbil funeral. Prayers have been said and flowers have been laid.

Rest In Peace Nibs

Minxy aged 5 'holding' Nibs for the first time

xxx

Fancy swapping?

Rachel is hosting a lovely summery swap - fancy joining in?

Go and visit her to see what it's all about :-)

xxx

...and that reminds me...I still have a number of PIF gifts to make....haven't forgotten....honest!

Cobblers

This week I 'are mostly bin makin' shoes.......

Teeny weeny fairy shoes.

Apparently I should have decided which fairy they were for before I started making them but I always seem to do things back to front! I think this pair is for the spring sunrise fairy - using some of Julie's lovely snow-dyed fabric.

These red leather ones are for the really naughty fairy who makes you stick needles in yourself a thousand times while you're sewing her shoes.....lets call her the BandAid fairy!

I bought the pattern for the fairy shoes from Annette Emms, after my aunt went to one of her workshops and showed me the ten pairs of fairy shoes she'd made since!

I must add, in no way does Annette recommend you use leather to make her fairy shoes - I was just being Miss Independent and had the silly idea to use some scraps of 'soft' leather that I found at the Scrapstore. Take it from me, even soft leather isn't as soft as it seems!!

To carry on the shoemaking theme, I spent a very happy couple of hours making these too.

Teeny tiny crocheted booties, patterns from here.

Have a great weekend :-)

xxx

Hendini

Hello, Bumblebee here.....the famous escaping chicken.......


......I like nothing more than a good old rootle around in that Moogwoman's flower beds......





....scattering her pansies hither and thither.....



......I've got my eye on the veg patch next.......



....those stupid humans think that regular wing clipping......


.........and making this fence progressively higher or potentially more scary.....


...will stop me escaping to wreak havoc in the shrubberies.....


......mwah ha ha ha ha.....


.....nothing will defeat me.....I am a genius escaping hen with attitude......wanna mess with me?..........you wouldn't dare......cacklecluckcackle....


Note from Moogsmum: this pesky bird, Jazz's replacement if you remember, has never quite fitted in with the other three and takes to escaping every time they're let out into the run.


So far she has:


- uprooted most of my spring bedding plants

- covered the lawn in uprooted stones

- made her way into the kitchen - and pecked the poor Moog hard on the nose

- come into the living room once

- come into the living room again - and c**ped on the carpet



She's trouble, that bird. Whatever measures we take to keep her in the pen, she overcomes them. We are at a loss. Just how do you keep a determined chicken in her rightful place?


Answers on a postcard please!


At least I have these to play with while I ponder the chicken situation :-)



xxxxx