Stashdown!

You may have realised that I knit quite a lot.
A side effect of this is that I collect yarn. I have a large amount of yarn (and fibre) in my craft room. It's at the point where there isn't actually room for any more in there. It's full.

I have over 54500 yards of yarn in my stash, including more than 11 sweater-sized amounts.

So, I am participating in what is known as Stashdown 2013.

Rules are personal to this challenge, as everyone has a different stash and different crafting needs.
My rules are as follows:

I will knit from Stash
I will spin from Stash
non-knitting - I will bead and papercraft from stash too.

exceptions:
if there is a specific gift project I need to make and I don’t have the yarn
if I go to Woolfest this year, then I may only buy using the money I save up (and if that’s none, then I don’t go)

The first step to this goal for me, is to finish knitting the things I currently have on the needles, and spin what's currently on the wheel.

I don't have a target of how much stash I want to use up during 2013, and the reason for this is twofold.
If I met the target early I would probably just buy more yarn/fibre.
I don't want to make knitting, crocheting, weaving or spinning into a chore I must do, but rather keep it as a fun hobby.

Four Weeks to a Beach Body?

On Saturday I embarked upon my mad-scramble to get beach ready in earnest!
The previous Wednesday was weigh-in at Slimming World. Over the festive period I put on 4lbs. It’s more than I would have liked to put on, and perhaps I should have been a little more conscious of what I was eating. However, I can’t un-eat what I have eaten, so instead I have to get back on the plan.

Anyway, I’ve been sticking to the plan since Thursday, and with the help of those syns, I’m sticking to it well! However, I feel like I need an extra boost, something to give me some tone as well as aiding that weight loss. So I picked up my copy of New Rules of Lifting for Women, and set to.
We have a pretty nifty set-up in the garage, the only thing we don’t have is a cable column. I’ve been able to do all of the exercises called for in the program with the exception of lateral pull-downs, which are easily replaced with pullovers.
I’ve tried this regime before, though it was back before I started going to Slimming World, when I was a stone-and-a-half heavier than I am now. I was disheartened when I couldn’t see visible improvement. I was stronger than I have ever been, but all the muscle was hidden under a layer of fat. I am hopeful that this time, because I have already lost a lot of the weight I want to lose, I will see the results more clearly. This will hopefully boost my confidence, inspiring me to work out more, and thus begins a cycle. I hope.

As I said, I started on Saturday. It’s now Monday. I have therefore done two workouts, one each of workout A and workout B.
Both workouts are intended to be full body workouts, and I can certainly confirm that my full body feels like it’s been worked hard. I’ve pushed myself on all of the exercises. I was only able to manage 5 full push-ups, but I did my full second set by doing knee-push-ups (also known as “ladies” push-ups.)
I also opted to do regular crunches rather than ball-crunches, and after falling off the ball several times I also went for crunches rather than ball jack-knife.

My next workout will be on Wednesday morning, and then in the evening I will be weighing in at Slimming World for my first post-regime-change weigh in.
Fingers crossed, it’ll be good news.

2012 - A Look Back

In a year that saw the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics in London, there have been some highlights for me too.

January saw the beginning of my first year growing vegetables in the garden here. I started out with tomatoes and potatoes, and also tried chard, beans, chilli, squash and onions. Some were more successful than others, the tomatoes did very well in the end!

April saw my sister's wedding, my first wedding anniversary (which I didn't blog about, shame on me)

October was a packed month too, we redecorated the kitchen and I met Patrick Stewart at Star Trek London!

In crafting, I've crocheted...



...knitted...




...including socks...



...and shawls...




...I've woven...



...and spun...



...and knitted a scarf for hubby...



I blame Nerd Wars for the large number of projects I've completed this year, and while I'm considering taking a break from it for a while, it's certainly been useful in getting some crafting done!

Happy 2013 everyone, let's hope it's as productive!

Planning for 2012

Well, hello there 2012, and what do you have in store for me?
I’m hoping for another action packed year!

Here’s some highlights of what I have planned

• A Birthday Party! – since we were at a wedding on my birthday, I’m planning a second birthday on my husband’s birthday. We’re even considering booking a hall for the occasion!
• My sister’s wedding. I’m going to be a bridesmaid, and it’s lining up to be even better than my wedding! I’m really looking forward to it!
• Going to France – we’re off back to visit Hubby’s family in central France in the summer, and we face the challenge of travelling with just a cabin bag each!

I’m also hoping to start getting to grips with the garden. We’re thinking about getting someone in to sort out the front garden. It’s basically decorative and I don’t care enough about it to weed regularly. In the back I need to make space for lots of veggies this year, I got some fun garden based gifts this year, including seeds to be sown – the first of which go in this weekend! Squee! Growing my own veg is fun, I was so pleased with last year’s courgettes and carrots; I hope I can do even better this year. (Note to self: decide whether there are any other veggies to try growing…)

On the crafting front, I’m going to be part of Nerd Wars again, so I need to plan for some projects I can complete within a month. I also want to get some of the existing current projects finished, preferably before the end of January. (Tournament four starts on February 1st.) I’m still knitting from stash where possible. One of the things I want to make is the $5 in Paris sweater. I have some lovely pink and brown yarn that would work for this. There’s also a lace weight top that I want to knit. I’m not sure I can fit that into a month, but perhaps it could be a dissertation for the three months. I really need to knit some more socks too, not least because I accidentally felted a pair not that long ago (sadness!) and also I have a lot of sock yarn! And I want to do more spinning, that’s a lot of fun. I just need to get the fibre currently on the wheel spun up and off the wheel so that I can spin some more. (That’s another January task, all being well!)

Well, I’ve prompted myself to make some lists now (don’t you love lists?) – For veggie growing, for knitting and spinning, lots of planning to be done! Woot!

End of the Year

Well, while I am attempting to finish some more crafting before the end of the year, I don't think it will all be done. If I take my wheel to Scotland with me then perhaps it will.

So, here's my year in crafting. I've made over 32 things including 12 yarns! Most of the spinning was towards the beginning of the year when my wheel was new and I wasn't really feeling the knitting vibe. Since I joined Nerd Wars the crafting has picked up pace, with 16 of the 32 items being created since September 1st.



and missing from there?
My honeymoon shawl...



A great year for crafting, can 2012 be better? I hope so!

No WIP left behind

Yes, it's December.
In fact, it has been December for almost a week.

Cue working out what I've made in the past year and whether I feel like it's "enough", and also reviewing my "goals" from last year.
I didn't really set any proper goals, but on the 4th of January I included a list of things I planned and hoped for in 2011 (I've re-worded some of them!)

Get Married!
Have an amazing honeymoon!
Get chickens!
Yarn and Knitting!		Where to begin? There'll be a knitting in 2011 post later...
Spinning Wheel!
Gym in the garage!
Join Zumba		Not my thing!
Lose weight at slimming world
Move roles at work		Woo!
Have an Excellent year!		Well, I think so :)

Good to be back?

Yes, it's another New Year!
One I have high hopes for, I must say.

The blog, well - I'm trying to keep it up, but given how busy a year it's shaping up to be, I promise nothing.

So, goodbye to 2010, it's been a corker...

I got engaged to my boyfriend of 9 years


I started scrapbooking


Our two hamsters, Rowan and Aran both died :(


We redecorated the old house


I designed some knitted garments


I bought quite a lot of yarn


I also did a fair amount of knitting


And finally we moved into our lovely new home


What does 2011 have in store for me?

Well, there's my own wedding, plus at least two other weddings to attend.
The holiday of a lifetime for our honeymoon. (Excited!)
Chickens, and maybe rabbits.
More yarn, and more knitting, and all being well a spinning wheel.
A gym in the Garage!
Joining Zumba (the first class of the New Year is a week today!)
And a lot of hopes:
I hope that I'll stick to my Slimming World classes, and get a bit more weight shifted.
I hope that I'll be able to move roles at work.
I hope that we will have an excellent year, me and my soon-to-be-husband.

Happy New Year

As the new year starts on the first day of my next year I am often tempted to make several rash resolutions, which I know I will not (and can not) keep.

I set some goals for myself last year. Here’s what they were:

1. Double my squat weight COMPLETE! Yes, I managed to go from squatting 25kg to a magnificent 70kg at my best. Brilliant. More on weights later.
2. Lose Girth Sadly, not complete. If anything my girth is as big now as it was when I wrote that. Still, all is not lost.
3. Spin enough yarn to make a pair of socks Also not complete. I haven’t done much spinning, really. I did spin enough yarn to make a pair of mittens though.
4. knit myself a jumper Technically complete. You see, I completed Corsica but I was unhappy with it, so I frogged it. The yarn is now becoming a new cardigan, slowly!
5. Find a new job Not complete. Given the state of the economy, I’m pretty happy just to have a job, but that’s not really good enough. This time last year I was under way too much pressure and that hasn’t changed. I need to do something about that at least. Getting a new job though? That’s a step too far at the moment. I earn enough, at the moment, and have other things I want to sort out. Perhaps I am approaching it in the wrong order, but we will see.

So, what’s different this year? How am I changing my approach? Well, I think I need a plan. (and we need a plan, the boyf and me)

I’m heading out to buy myself a diary, not for future events but to keep a note of how I feel, whether I slept well, what I’ve eaten and drunk and what workout I have done. I think that self image is very important, if you feel like a failure then you will fail.
I was given a book for Christmas called “The Female Body Breakthrough” by Rachel Cosgrove. (I asked for it, this wasn’t someone being cheeky!), I’ve read it once already. I need to read it again, and fill in some sections. Anyway, one of the things she suggests is to write down the things I mentioned above. This is partly to make myself accountable (to myself, sounds odd, but I get it) and to help keep track of the things which “trigger” my bad eating behaviours.
The other thing that I (we) want to do is move house.
I’d like to have space for my crafting that isn’t the guest bedroom; I’d like to have room to keep some chickens. I’d like there to be some cover for Boyf when he’s sawing or whatever for DIY stuff. (A garage, large garden and at least 3 bedrooms) But it’s also important that we don’t overstretch ourselves. So we need to get a good price for our current house, we need to save up for all those fees (such as stamp duty, yey).
Planning. We need to make plans for these things, and we need to stick to them. The body stuff, I have a pre-made plan in the book. All I need to do is make it happen. I’ve got to decide which days I’ll go to the gym on, but otherwise it is possible. (I can use my diary for that too! Or perhaps not, maybe I also need a planner of some sort.)
Planning for the house, that’s a different kettle of fish. But we do need to do it. Somewhere I read If you fail to plan, then you should plan to fail.

Happy New Decade! If I see half the amount of change in my life this decade as last, who knows where I will be in 2020!

Briefly

I'm not going to continue my "tradition" of blogging about my 28 achievements of my 28th year, because it's getting silly.
I think it's been a pretty good year, I've learned lots of new things. More importantly, I've got a plan for the next year. You'll get more on that soon (possibly tomorrow) but there's a life/health plan in the making.

I hope you all had a good year this year, 2009 has been interesting, here's to 2010 being a great year! I hope you are successful in all that you plan for.

Beginning to look back...

It's getting close to the end of not just a year, but the end of a whole decade.
Where on Earth have the last 10 years gone?
What was I doing 10 years ago?

The above photo is me and my flatmates in halls at the University of Westminster. I know this is probably November/December 2000 because I'm not wearing my own school tie (I picked it up over Christmas for later School Nights)

Something else I know - I didn't have a digital camera until just a couple of years ago, so unless I scanned the photos in (as I did with that one) they don't exist online. Which may be for the best.

I still love my iPhone, even though when I said "play Britney" it decided I meant "Call Rich". I was talking through my scarf at the time, so I forgive it!
I am trying not to be an iPhone bore though. There isn't an App for that.

Otherwise, Team Christmas Event tomorrow. The morning will be general info/messaging - there may be a quiz, but then again perhaps not.
Speaking of quizzes, I'm due to create one for my team meeting (last one before Christmas) so I should go do that.

I'm hopeful I'll blog again before Christmas!

Goal Completed

Yes, that's right, I've completed one of my 5 New Year Goals!
Double My Squat Weight: Done!
Today at they gym I did four sets of squats. One set of 8 and one of 10 at 37.5kg, one set of 10 at 45kg, then I was feeling strong! So, I did a fourth set, 10 reps at 50kg! Woo! That's over two thirds of my body weight! Brilliant!
I also did one full push up. Though that seems poor, I haven't been able to do even one before, I currently do "ladies" push ups, on the fronts of my knees.
So, I'm setting myself some more fitness goals, outside of this initial double squat lift. Basically I want to up my Squat again, I'm aiming for about 70 in the end I think (which is what OH currently squats) and also to be able to do one set of 5 full push ups.

In knitting news, the first waterfall sock is finished. I'm calling the project falling down, a bit like the film (I often feel like that) and also because the stitches look like they're falling down.

Last day at work before my holiday tomorrow. It will probably be hectic, it usually is just before a holiday. Then I have a week and a half off! Woo! Into that time we are packing: OH birthday (same day as Darwin's, only OH is not that old), visiting OH's family, visiting a relative we didn't know about before, a wedding, sightseeing in London (hopefully including some ethical fashion, ethical eating, yarn and Darwin), visiting my parents, a trip to the Yorvik centre, at least one other day-trip somewhere, and finally a trip to Edinburgh to see friends. We had intended to shoehorn a trip to Amsterdam in there too, but I don't think we can manage it, so we might have to re-plan that one. Phew!

589

Other than the baby jacket, which I have photographed but not uploaded, there is not much knitting news.
In fact, there’s not much news at all. I am very close to meeting my target of doubling my squat weight, as I said in this post my previous best was 25kg. I am currently on 45kg. I think that’s pretty good!
I’m doing less well on the “lose girth” objective, as I’ve not lost any girth, and in fact may have increased of late. This makes me sad. I guess I need to change something else; eat less or go to the gym more, for example. Ho hum.

I’ve not knit much on the sweater (goal 4) since I last mentioned it because last night I knit on a travelling scarf! I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, it looks funky. So, that one will be going in the post around the 23rd I think. (I’m a bit ahead of schedule!)
And, I took Mum’s cardi to knit-night, which was a good idea! I got quite a bit done, and it was simple enough to knit and talk at the same time. That’s good news for the cardi!

Also, I did collect my specs, I didn’t organise a photo of me in them yet. I’ll talk nicely to OH sometime.

PS. This is my 589th post, so in 11 posts time I will have made 600 posts on this blog. Since I have no idea how far my readership spans (there may only be one of you out there – hello Sis – or several, or many) I probably will not have a contest, as much fun as that might be. If you have an idea how I could commemorate the milestone (or if you think I should wait for 1000, or a blogoversary) then stick in a comment.

2008 in pictures

I know you’ve probably had enough of 2009 summaries… …But I can’t think of a proper post today, so I thought I’d create a pictoral representation of 2008 from the photos I have posted to Flickr. The things that this shows me is that I need to take more, better photos… 1. Ickle Bag 2. Holiday in Bruges 3. Fluffy Not Bunny Slippers 4. Star Trek PTH 5. Noro Gloves
6. Friend’s wedding 7. Nintendo Cozy 8. The Great Yorkshire Show 9. Earl Gray 10. NDS
11. Manly 12. Holiday in France 13. Monkey 14. Cusworth Hall 15. Urban Vest
16. Edinburgh 17. Ladybird 18. Handspun 19. Clapotis 20. Hand-dyed Yarn
21. Beret 22. Collecting Noro 23. Secret Pals 24. Christmas Parties 25. Christmas Day!

Resolution 5 has me thinking

It’s hard for me to put into words exactly what I am thinking and feeling at the moment. Perhaps I should try to look at things more objectively than I sometimes do. It’s hard to quantify the feeling of dissatisfaction that I have with work. I enjoy it when I’m troubleshooting, when things go wrong and I have to weigh up the different options and then pick the best course of action for the circumstances.
My current manager (not the one mentioned yesterday) has suggested that one way of thinking about what it is that I enjoy about my job could be to imagine what I would do if I won the lottery.
Obviously I would spend a few days doing as little as possible, and take a holiday somewhere warm. But then what would I do? I am fairly sure that I would be very bored just hanging around at home.

I could write about how I’d set up a knitter’s holiday retreat, or something like that. How I’d have a dying studio and a small fibre farm. How there’d be a small rescue centre for unwanted animals. How we would keep chickens (and possibly livestock) and have vegetable beds and fruit trees. I would have a really energy efficient house, insulated with British fleece insulation and with a wood burning stove.

But you see, that isn’t the point of the question. The point of the question is to see what you enjoy doing enough to do it even if you weren’t paid for it. This is because if you change career, there’s a good chance that you’ll change salary, and probably for a lower salary.

So, in order to achieve the new job resolution, I need to clarify in my mind what it is that I want to do. Leaving a job because you don’t want to be there any more is one thing, but leaving a job because you’ve found another one that you really want to do is quite something else. I know that I want to do something interesting to me, something where I can be creative and where I can make an impact.

I’m finding Eliza’s blog interesting, she is very good at expressing herself. She posts pictures which really emphasise what she means. Sometimes she devolves into long and convoluted posts, and I know how she feels! (I simply don’t post those ones, often… today is different)

I want different. I need something new, a challenge. I want to get home from work and think “yeah, I achieved something today” instead of “thank goodness that’s over. Oh no! Only 15 hours and I have to go back!” (and that’s on a day when I leave on time!). I want to wake up in the morning and get up, not snooze for an hour because I can’t face going to work. I want to have something to do every day that isn’t a wishy-washy “think of how to improve the team” type thing. I want to *want* to cut my lunch-break short, not wonder if anyone will notice if I knit just one more round before I go back.

I have to push myself to do this. The path of least resistance is to simply stay put. Don’t find a new job; just keep plodding away in the current one. But I’ve been plodding – no, that’s not true. I worked my ass off for a while, when I had a goal, when I cared about what I was doing. But now I feel like I’m plodding, or even trudging. And it is simply taking me closer to being back in the same old structure as before with a manager that I know I can’t stand.

I’ve just deleted a big whinge about that manager. The only person I’ve really talked to about this is OH, and I don’t know that it’s appropriate for the blog. Using my usual benchmark, I wouldn’t go and stand in the middle of Tesco and shout out some of what I wrote, so it’s gone. Suffice to say that I obviously either haven’t made it clear enough to those in charge, they don’t believe me, or perhaps they don’t believe I’ll go. I suspect that I wouldn’t really be missed though. It could all be worked around.

So all I have to do is: decide what I want to do (is it the same as now, is it different), roughly where I’d like to be (which could be York, but probably isn’t any more, even though it is a lovely city), and then go and get it, the new job, new house (if the job isn’t in York), everything.
Scary? Maybe a little.

Goals for 2009

I thought about this post yesterday, but ended up not having time to post it.
It’s just as well, really, it had gotten rather rambling and nonsensical.

What I really feel like doing is ranting about my ex-boss, who is soon to be my boss again. I’m not going to though. Even though I’m really irritated.

Instead, I’m going to talk about my goals for 2009. Doesn’t it feel weird to be in 2009?

1. Double my Squat Weight. Indeed, all the weights I do, but squatting in particular. This requires going to the gym regularly (more than I do now) and getting on the weights. My best squat weight to date is 25kg. So, by 2010 I’ll be able to squat 50kg (or more!)
2. Lose Girth. Specifically, have a 32 inch waist. On a good un-bloated day when I haven’t eaten yet, I can probably tug the tape measure enough to get there. I’d like to consistently manage it. I will measure myself no more frequently than once a week; preferably no more than once a fortnight. (otherwise it’s obsessive, and we don’t want that)
3. Spin enough yarn to make a pair of average socks That’s probably about 300-350m of sock-weight yarn. If it’s a bit thicker it’s a bit less. I’ll be doing this on the drop spindle, I don’t spin enough right now to justify a wheel.
4. Knit myself a jumper. I have no excuse, I have the yarn, the patterns, the needles (I think) and the desire. Now all I need are the time and not to be knitting lots of other things!
5. Find a new job. Last year I resolved to improve my job. While I am a bit happier in what I’m doing (like I know what I’m doing a bit more and feel like I have a clue) I’m still not really enjoying it. And, as I mentioned, the boss I didn’t like will be my boss again, and though I try not to dislike him or be annoyed by him, it’s really so much effort and isn’t rewarding because he repays my effort with being a [insert mildly derogatory word of your choice here]

1 Person.
5 Goals.
12 Months.

I believe that if I want any of these things, if I really want to achieve them, then there is no reason why I can not do it.

That’s one thing which I’ve rediscovered during 2008. I can do anything, if I put my mind to it.
Do you know how I discovered that? By doing things, not being put off by anything I didn’t manage to do and being encouraged by my own successes, however small. By not listening to the people – you know the uninspiring or the nay-sayer.
It’s taken me longer to regain my self belief than it should have, so I’m not giving it up.
Now, I just need to stop talking about it and start doing things!

Better Late than Never...

So, as promised, 27 things I've achieved/done in my 27th year...

1. Donated to a charity each month by DD
2. Donated to Tricoteuses Sans Frontières
3. Made some curtains
4. Visited Bruges
5. Bought an Apple Macbook
6. Knit my first sweater
7. Got the Polo through its MOT
8. Still a size 12!
9. Met up with some knitters from Ravelry
10. Started a knit night!
11. Published my first knitting design
12. Learnt to spin on a drop spindle
13. Created a group on Ravelry
14. Got two new hamsters, Rowan and Aran
15. Brushed up on my French
16. Met OH's French Family
17. Switched to Organic Free Range eggs, mayo, chickens…etc
18. hand-baked bread, and finally bought a bread maker
19. Participated in 5 different swaps (CSI, Discworld Luggage, Secret Pal 12, Music with Sox in, Secret Santa)
20. Created 26 knitted (or crocheted) items, including 13 gifts
21. Made three dresses for various occasions
22. Organised a Knit Along
23. Learnt to make beaded jewellery
24. Started to pay off the mortgage!
25. Planted mint in the garden (my first herbs) and cooked with it!
26. Painted the new gate green (I can't claim to have put the gate up though)
27. Got organised at work so that I could have a holiday on my Birthday :-)

It's Sunday, December 21st. I have no Christmas knitting to complain about, because I am not knitting anything for anyone this Christmas. After last year's still knitting on Christmas Eve, (don't even go there) I thought it was best. In the spirit of trying to feel more festive, I've tried a few things. I have a festive-smelling body scrub. I bought mince pies for my team at work (and had two left for Leon and me) We went into town on Saturday for the Christmas Market, which wasn't. Nope, still not feeling festive. I'm thinking about my 27 achievements of being in my 27th year... And whether I've achieved my 2008 goals... No, if you saw the post at the beginning of 2008, you'll know I've not managed to achieve those. Still, I'm not worried. I will have my 27. I'm good at spin.

Okay, okay,

Okay, I get it, too much knitting content. (Is it possible? For the non-knitters, perhaps)

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that OH and I are looking to “change one thing” this year. Mine is regarding the way we eat, organic free range chickens and such. OH is also looking for a more natural and organic life, through goods. By goods I mean everything from toothpaste to mattresses.
Obviously switching to organic toiletries by throwing away everything you have is not very ethical – such a waste! (I talked about this with MIL at the weekend) I think that switching is a good idea, but it has to be done in a sensible way. Also, I’m pretty fussy about my toiletries!
Well, anyway, OH asked for lots of organic toiletries for his birthday, and now has organic soap, shampoo, toothpaste; the works! Even an organic roll-on deodorant (which smells fabulous, actually!)
As part of this move to organic, and also because our current mattress is a horrible nasty uncomfortable beast, we have ordered an organic latex-and-wool mattress topper from We Love Sleep - I’ll let you know what it’s like once we have slept on it. It is due to arrive on Tuesday. I’m quite excited!

No, I can’t resist one little bit of knitting content.
February is for Finishing ends today. I briefly considered March is for More finishing but there are new things I want to start.
I’ve promised OH some not-bunny slippers and have some really lush greeny-black yarn for them. Very exciting! I want to get on with the cross-your-heart square for the block a month crochet-a-long too, since the new block will be available tomorrow!
I’ve been working away on the Earl Grey socks for OH (as you saw a couple of posts ago) and they’re looking good. they’re such big socks though, compared to the stripe socks I made before which only took about half-a-ball of opal, these are looking like they’ll make it on to the second ball of the beige. At least Finishing February has put a stop to my Startitis! Even despite there being some lovely patterns in my calendar!

What's the matter - are you Chicken?

I have picked up the Manly sweater again this morning, only time for a row and a half before work, but it is back as my current WIP. Well, it’s the one on the sofa anyway. I had a bit of a sort out of my knitting hold-all thingy last night. I took all of the random yarn I bought over the past month or so and stashed it properly in my yarn chest. I have too much yarn for it to properly fit in the chest, so I need to get knitting (or think up a new way to organise the yarn – I’m sure there’s a better way!)

I have only one set of sock-needles, they’re fabulous surina wood. They bend rather than snapping, which is good. I have been considering getting a second set, but I am not sure about it. (If I do, I may go back to knitterbabes on e-bay because they do kits with yarn, needles and markers at a really good price)


I don’t usually talk about *issues* on my blog, but I wanted to talk about my New Year’s Resolution, my Change One Thing.
I have been discussing with the OH about why resolutions fail, and as advertised for the Boots campaign, Change Just One Thing is the answer. If you try to lose weight, eat better, exercise more, quit smoking, keep the house tidy, wear nicer clothes, spend less. . . it becomes too much.
So, my one thing? well, I watched Jamie Oliver’s special about chickens. I watched Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Chicken Run. I realised that I had two choices, stop eating chicken all together, or be a lot more picky about my chicken (and eggs).
I can’t describe, to anyone who hasn’t seen the conditions that a standard chicken is kept in, how horrible it seems. These fast growing chickens who never see daylight and are killed (wasted) because they’re a bit small, or because their poor little legs can’t support their grotesquely huge bodies. They live in a barn which is never cleaned out, eating and eating for 23 hours a day. It’s barbaric.
I would like to say that if it were any other animal we’d be more caring, but sadly I don’t think that is true.
Now, there is a new standard, called Freedom Foods which is a little better. It’s still not perfect, the birds still never see the outside world. It’s a more affordable option for those on a budget though, and it is probably the future of mass-produced chicken.
So, what about other options? Well, my preferred choice is Organic, as certified by the British Soil Association. There’s more to this than just the birds eating organic meal, they have to be free to roam in mottled shade (bushes or trees) and have a safe shed for the night time. they use slower growing birds which don’t have the risks of their legs developing too slowly for their weight.
If you want to read more, there are articles like this one at WhyOrganic. I’m sure that there are some opposing views, but I have no links to them. (Sorry, not very balanced I know).
So, where was I? Oh yes, my resolution. I will not buy any chicken, duck or other poultry, or eggs that have been intensively produced.
Now, there’s a bit more to it than that, of course. I’m also trying to only buy outdoor reared pork, lamb and beef, and all with the British Farm Standards mark (that little red tractor which means “farmed in the UK”). In the case of poultry it should be organic – that’s the only way to ensure the standards. (If I can get organic pork, beef and lamb I will!). I’m only buying British vegetables (which means that I’m eating a lot of root vegetables at the moment!) and in some cases organic (usually leeks at the moment!).

Now, I am sure that some of you are thinking, if you’re so concerned about the animal welfare, why aren’t you a vegetarian? which is a fair question.
By being vegetarian I would be making less of an impact in the marketplace and also making a massive impact (lifestyle and health) upon myself. I like eating meat! I believe that if I switch to organic this is making more of a statement that stopping eating meat. Think of it like this:

If I normally buy a chicken grown in hideous conditions in a small shed for £2.50 (the shame) then I’m putting £2.50 into the industry I dislike.
If I don’t buy any chicken at all, I am simply not spending the £2.50.
If instead of buying the nasty chicken I buy a free range organic chicken for £6.00 then I have put an additional £3.50 into the market. This then affects the amount of profit that the shop I bought the chicken from makes, which in turn affects what they buy in to stock.
If it is seen to be profitable to rear chickens (and other animals) in a better environment then more shops will buy in these types of stock and then more farmers will be able to afford to switch to organic (or at least free range) and therefore we’ll all have much tastier chicken! (Trust me, it’s got lots more flavour to it!)

I should admit at this point that I do have a soft spot for chickens. I think that they are such lovely creatures. They can be friendly too, you know! I hope one day to have a couple of laying hens (I don’t know about owning my own meat-chickens, I would probably get too attached) and if I do they’ll be of a crazy breed!

Here’s an example of the kind of chickens I like
I saw this one at Chatsworth house. It’s cute isn’t it? I especially like the feathered feet!
I also like some of the other breeds, but the fluffier the better! Haha.

So, anyway, that’s my change one thing. I’m going to extend the one thing every so often (when I think I’m ready!), so for January it was just only buy free range chickens and eggs For February it’s Only buy Organic Free Range Poultry and Poultry produce, only buy UK farmed meat and vegetables
I hope one day to be able to source all of my yarn locally too. If I ever get round to learning to spin there’s a vague chance that I could spin my own yarn from UK fleece! How nice would that be? I gather that you need 5 acres to grow your own sheep though, which is probably a bit out of my reach. Angora bunnies are a different story…


Other links that might be of interest if you want to find out more about farming and animal welfare in the UK. I’m not saying I agree with everything said through these links, just that they make good reading for a perhaps more rounded view…
Welfare standards for Chickens certified “free range”, “freedom food” and “organic”
The Guardian – The Green Way to Eat (the comments are hilarious!)
Biodynamic Farming

First FO of January, and progress...

Yes, I've finished the Ickle Bag (aka Teeny Tiny Felted Tote) gifted me by Crafty Drama Queen

Also, I've made progress on the curtains (pics on Flickr) and on my quilted picture (from my MIL)

So today's been pretty successful!

Also, I got a lovely birthday card from Lint which is funny because of something silly he did. It's also sweet because it's a fantastic card about a penguin who paints itself pink but then wears lots of knitting. You have to read it. If you know me, and are at my house just ask because it'll be up on the shelf until February (when I'll take em down for L's)