Needles and Pins and some plain talking.

It has been wet wet wet here, since Sunday evening I haven't been able to see "my mountain" at all, it has been veiled like Mata Hari before she did That Dance.

However this morning the mists cleared and I could gaze to my hearts content, not for long though. A band (more like an orchestra) of rain is forecast to sweep over. Not to worry I have knitting and sewing to hand.

I have put my toe into the Me Made May waters, most days in the house and garden I will be wearing a hand knitted item, sweater, socks, scarf something. On the days that I venture out I have been a bit more "in the groove", I forgot to show last weeks but yesterday I wore these to knit and natter.

The cardigan I knitted last year, or maybe the year before that, it is so soft and warm due to the Alpaca content. I have a sweater amount in a pale blue in the stash, but not for long.

The skirt is adapted from The Hollyburn pattern, I changed the waistband for a bias binding finish and fully lined it. The wonderful pocket construction is unchanged though, I could not improve on it.

I did the same hack on this version, a bit brighter and louder for the grey days. I couldn't possibly wear this and feel down at heart. It needs pressing and then a top selected to wear with it. I do have some more fabric in the same print and colour so may make a top to wear with a plain skirt.

These are 2 of the PJ bottoms that I made for Fran. They need hemming when she is here at the end of the month.

The third pair I cut out first and forgot to shorten the legs, they are in a solid pale teal textured cotton and the SO has nabbed them. needless to say, just like any child with new clothes, he wore them that night and they are now in the wash. 

I have now used five fabric lengths from the stash and have 4 more out ready to wash and iron before matching them to patterns. There are at least 2 further lengths of the textured cotton so more bottoms for the SO. I have a couple of dress patterns that I like the look of but would have to add pockets. Every woman that I know likes pockets in clothes so why don't the pattern people wake up to that.

If anyone has a pattern to recommend I would be grateful, I do have Tilly and the Buttons book  Love at first stitch and even she only shows pockets as a pattern hack. So Annoying.

That is the needles part of this and the pins part is same old same old. 

The Regia socks, second one has had the heel turned and I am on the home straight.

The shortie sock is waiting for it's twin to be cast on and the cardigan is waiting to be sewn together and have the ribbed border made.

I have not cast on any more knitting as the Flax is lurking as is the sweater with the dreaded charts.

BUT I have made a start on the first Angel Baby blanket. I plumped for C2C crochet using gender neutral pastels and some sparkly white that I found buried in a stash bag. Knitting photos in the next post as the camera batteries are now on charge. I picked up some of the free yarn at knit and natter yesterday and hope to have a couple, maybe three for next week.

O know that it will eat into my knitting time but I feel that it should take a front row seat, for a while at least.

I am going to ask if quilted blankets are acceptable, I can run half a dozen of those up in an afternoon.

Think of the dent that would make in the scrap stash.

I listened to some of the political peeps on the news this morning, they were stating all the things they would pour money into if they were in power. The main strain of talk was tax the top 15% of earners and use that to fund the spending.

Now I know that we can only eat so much, wear so much and be in one room at a time in any home. I also know that given the chance I could spend many times more than I do.

BUT if I had built up a business, worked like stink to make money just to have the privilege to pay more and more tax I would be looking at the best place in the world to move to. 

My way of accruing this amount of money would mean bringing back the death penalty for convicted murders, serious sex offenders and those who make and sell drugs. The cost of keeping these people breathing is astronomical.

I do not wish to kick start a debate. This is just MY way of thinking.

I also think that anyone who has not lived in this country and contributed for at least 10 years to the system via tax and national insurance contributions should not be able to claim any benefits.

Again this is just MY point of view.

There are lots of drains that money slips through in any country, just like water from a burst mains pipe. If these were addressed correctly what would the savings be? A tidy sum to put into the N.H.S. and Schools I have no doubt.

Most, if not all,of the Frugal blogs start off by advising readers to pay off debts as fast as possible and eliminate waste from their lives. Both of those are the best,and quickest way to cut outgoings.

Perhaps Frugal Queen and Ilona from Life after Money should be on an advisory group to point politicians in the right direction. Then there is Mortgage Free in Three, and a plethora of writers who not only all sing from the same song sheet but they are on the same line of the same song.

I hope that I have not got up anyone's nose today, if I have offended anybody's  sensibilities then I apologise but grant you the right to publish your feelings and thoughts on your own blogs.

Now it is back to knitting as all the jobs are done and my time is my own.

                  TTFN                                               Pam