Do not adjust your eyes...

....This is in fact a blurry photo ;0) In the UK I would be lagging way behind, but in Switzerland I think I am waaaaay ahead in the Hula Hoop Craze. So much so that when I had been listening to a few online friends talking about how great hooping was for the figure, how much fun it was, all I could find was the gold hoop below. But it was far too slippy...and in fact too small (who knew???)but I still managed , sort of, kind of....but it wasn't much fun and was a bit demoralising when the damn thing keeps slipping to the ground.

Enter Hoops Whirled....might purveyor of glorious hoops.

If you go to the Hoops Whirled website (and I recommend that you do) then you will see that they tell you very clearly how to measure yourself so that you get the right hoop. And it is nothing to do with waist size...before you say it ;0)

They were very easy to deal with, a few emails flew back and forth in order to find the best way to get my hoop to me. It would have cost rather a lot to get it to Zürich, needless to say. In the end the hoop got sent to someone in London and we picked it up when we were in the big smoke for a visit last week. Simples.

PS....I bought a travel hoop, which collapses to half the size and fits in a suitcase. Sweet.
PPS....this is also a custom hoop...they have lots of options and will make one up as you like it.
PPPS...that pink hoop goes like a bat out of Hell!

You have to laugh!

I was just on the phone to Swiss about a flight we have booked with them. You should have heard the carry on- the man I was talking to was German and we both were getting really mixed up with German/English pronunciation of letters. it was really funny :0)

Making Mondays- yoghurt

I'm going to be crazy busy on Monday, so I am posting now.

Do you see that luscious goodness? Do you see how it stays in its spooned perfection? That is my homemade vanilla sheep yoghurt. If anyone is having trouble with yoghurt that is just too runny, try the sheep milk. Absolute perfection. Particularly with roast damsons.

Hugh Fearlessly Makes it all.

There is a new River Cottage book out: Veg. These are the Swede and Potato Pasties. I didn't have swede so used sweet potato. They are simply delicious.

Making the Most of Monday

Knitting. Home made blueberry muffins. Coffee. Balcony. Flowers.

Making Monday, September 5th

... except that I am posting this on the 4th!

Well, I am all tuckered out. Number Guy has been away in the US for 10 days and will be home on a few hours :0) I have missed him, but I have been busy. I had lots of social things to do, which is great. I have also been doing a huge amount of tidying. So that is really what making Monday this week is about....Making Things Tidy.

It all started with my laundry room. It isn't finished yet, but much of Mount Laundry has been put away and some of the floor has been Dysoned (remember what that would have been 'Hoovered'?). Then I started on My Stash. I am not sure if I should have taken a 'before' picture, it was..ahem...bad. Here is most of the yarn that lived in the living room:




That is plain scary. There is still some other yarn in the living room and I haven't touched what is upstairs. I 'had' to throw out some Rowan Calmer because I found a dead wasp in the bag. Yep, I know it was dead but the way I feel about wasps meant I would not have been able to use the yarn. Silly, but there we have it. As i photographed the yarn and added it to my Ravelry Stash page, I also noted which box it is in, that way when I want a yarn, I don't have to rummage.

I also sorted out the cupboard near the front door. I am sure everyone has one like this- you know, the one where you open, shove something in, then close the door as quickly as possible before all the crap falls out. Well, I haven't got oone of those any more :0)

I also made a bag yesterday. I was in the middle of a migraine- the pain had abated but my mind was not functioning properly. I am unhappy with the result, so 'don't sew with migraine' has been added to my list of 'must-nots'. It was frustrating at one point because I could not understand the instructions. I am fairly certain they were not written in Swahili, but my mind just refused to co-operate. I am posting a picture here and when I make the next bag (which WILL be up to scratch) I will post where I got the pattern from. I don't think this attempt does it justice:




It looks good like that, but believe me when I say I took it from the best side. This bag involved two firsts: The first time I used the walking foot in my sewing machine. It was a bit tricky to begin with, as the fabric really gets yanked in, but for sewing through several layers of fabric it is great. The second first: I used my new crafting/reading specs. What a difference. I could actually do the hand sewing required without looking under the lenses. Even when I finally give in and get varifocals I am going to keep a pair of specs specially for crafting.

Right-o. Enough blethering on, I have a just a little more tidying to do before Number Guy gets home.

Making Monday

Today it is more about making time.


Making time for a new project Stripes to Keep Me Warm , the yarn shown in the picture below


Making time for a new book The Invisible Ones . I do believe I actually squealed out loud when I saw this book in the shop today. I loved The Tenderness of Wolves

I have also made Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup, but I don't have a picture of that.