Happy New Year

    Still feeling ill and I need to go the shop for some basics like bread, really not looking forward to it but needs must. Think I'll pick up some cold and flu meds as well, what I've been using isn't doing the trick. I shouldn't really complain, its very rare I get sick. I can usually go a few years and never be ill, the last two years I've been sick once each year so still not bad.

    I really fancy doing some weaving, if not today then very soon. I've not touched the loom in ages and need to start practising again now I have a couple more books on the subject. Been looking at balsa wood to make a heddle out of for the bigger frame loom I have, not sure how well balsa sands though and whether it will catch on the threads.

    Very little knitting has been done, it even looks like the scarf is going backwards and getting shorter each time I pick it up. I'll keep nibbling at it then hit it heavy once I'm back on my feet, just not sure how long that will be.

    Not got any more spinning done, been thinking about getting some oatmeal bfl or another colour(undyed) of soft fleece and blending it with the Falkland roving I have. Just itching to have a play with the drum carder.

  Thats all for today, take care folks and have a Happy New Year.

water, water everywhere,

 nor any drop to drink.

   Watching the chaos over in Ireland with the water situation, and at least one town near me, I thought I'd write a little on water and the need not to que for a necessary. I remember a couple of years back when there were some bad floods in England and they didn't have clean drinking water and had those bowsers/tanks out. You had kids emptying them and taking a leak in them overnight. This is no  way to live and with a few simple precautions its easily avoided.

   Each person needs approx. 2l a day drinking water or 1 gallon of water for drinking, eating and washing per day. Water can be stretched by using paper plates and plastic cutlery, using baby wipes and the spray or gel hand sanitizers. At the very minimum you want at least the 2l a day and I'd suggest 14 days worth, more the better. Pets need to drink to so don't forget to store a similar amount of water for your pets, especially if your feeding dried food.

  Storage can be as simple as 2l pop/soda bottles, takes a fair amount of room and never forget that water is very heavy. Containers for collecting water seem to be a problem over in Ireland so its wise to get some foldable water carriers that campers use. Because I do home brewing I always have several gallons of filtered water on hand plus water in the freezer, a full freezer cuts down electricity use, 2l pop bottles and a couple of water barrels outside. I have at least 2 weeks of clean safe drinking water for myself and the dog and well over a month of unsafe water that could be used for flushing the toilets with.

  The water in the barrels can be made safe for drinking by filtering, boiling or adding cheap thin bleach(Sodium Hypochlorite), not the scented stuff you use in the toilet bowl. 9 drops per gallon then let stand for 30 mins, if the water is dirty filter it through coffee filters or cloth before adding the bleach. At this stage you should be able to smell the chlorine slightly, if not then repeat. You can run it through a Brita filter at this stage to help get rid of the chlorine taste, Brita filters will NOT make unsafe water safe for drinking on there own.
  Boiling is another method for making water safe, again filter dirty water first through coffee filters or clean cloths like tee shirts. A hard rolling boil of only 1 min is really needed(longer at higher elevations) and not the 15 mins you often hear about.
  You can also make water safe by using UV lights or even the sun, I'll not go into that here as I've never tried it and don't think the climate here is good for that.

  My personal choice is a British Berkefeld gravity filter system that uses ceramic filters. Its an expensive method but well worth it to me, I have the stainless steel one. You can make your own gravity filter system with a couple of buckets if you buy just the filters for a cheaper option. Water is the stuff of life and important to me so I don't scrimp on it and I'm not peppered to que for it like some third world hell hole.

  A good article on water, I'd write more but am still feeling ill, its important stuff though so go read more now before you really need the information. I've not written about water collection, its best to have what you need on hand now but you do need the knowledge of how/where to collect water, just in case. Email me if you want any more information or help.

You need water to live, its your life, take care of it, nobody else will.

Bit better

  Feeling much better in my body but my mind still seems a bit cloudy and my throat is more sore. I'm also very cold even though the temperatures outside have been above 0c for a couple of days. I should be 100% by tomorrow or the day after.

  I had a little spin of the Falkland roving earlier today, it feels a little course when spun but that could be just me. It is very soft before its spun. I got 200g of the Falkland before Christmas and today was the first time I've unwrapped it, its all in one piece which was fun trying to strip it into thinner pieces.

  I got the ashford book of carding a couple of months back and hadn't read the sections on drum carders and blending so read that today. I think I might blend the Falkland with another type of fleece. Itching to use the carder.

  Very little knitting done the last few days, a row or two here and there. I'll keep at it, think in about a week the moss/seed stitch scarf will finally be done.

  Have a good day and take care folks.

Run down

   Think I might be coming down with something, feeling very run down, sore ish throat and a little achy in my upper joints. So if I don't post for a day or two don't worry I'll be back asap. I don't really feel to bad but want to take it easy just in case it catches up with me.

  Just ordered some tobacco seeds so I can grow my own next year, will order another blend before February. Going to do a biggish crop of potatoes this year as well, spuds will be one of those crops that will be going up in price during 2011 along with a lot of food stuffs. Cotton aswell is already very high. I'll have a go at spinning nettles next year, from what I've read nettles are nearly as good as cotton.

  This is all, my heads not in the game today, have a good one and take care folks.

Taking it easy

   Hope you all had a great Christmas.

  I managed to finish the bakers boy hat in time, even had time to wrap it. I'm still working on the moss/seed stitch scarf,at a much slower pace. I think it will be ready before the new year, unless I have to redo the pockets.

  My other sister who got the double basket weave pocket scarf absolutely loved it, she wore it all day with her hands in the pockets. Its always extra nice when someone genuinely loves your work. The bakers boy hat and winter flame scarf went over very well but think the double basket weave scarf was the most enjoyed.

  Time to take things a little easier for awhile, still have the moss/seed stitch scarf to do and I want to make a start on spinning the Falkland roving I got before Christmas. I also want to buy some washed fleece so I can have a go on the drum carder. I'll wait until spring before I buy a full raw fleece. Don't fancy washing and drying a fleece in this weather.

  Talking of weather, its thawing and raining/sleeting a little. If it freezes tonight getting around tomorrow is going to be very tricky. No fun at all, well the dog will enjoy it.

  Hope you all have a good day.

Merry Christmas

   Got the winter flame scarf weaved in and blocked now. It was a bit of a pain to block, normally I just flatten the knitting out and put a towel over the top while it dries. This time I had to pin all the waves first then put the towel on top to weight it down. That and its long which also makes it a little more tricky.

  Gave up on trying to get the moss/seed stitch cable pocket scarf finished in time. So I'm attempting to get a bakers boy hat completed in time for Christmas instead. Yes it is Christmas eve, yes I am a little nuts. Its possible for a quick knitter to do the hat in 6 hours, I'm not a quick knitter and even if I was I don't think I have 6 hours of spare time. I'm still going through with it though, never say die and all that. Its the English in me, we will not be defeated.

  Hope you all have a Merry Christmas, take care.

Finished one.

   The winter flame scarf is finished. Well, its knitted it just needs weaving in and blocking and then I can wrap it for Christmas. If it dries in time. I'll take some pictures if I have time and the batts. charge.

  The moss/seed stitch cable pocket scarf isn't going to be done in time I'm afraid. Even if I could get it knitted and sewn up, it still needs a good wash. I can't give the scarf as a present and say "you'd best wash that before wearing it". 
  I'm going to keep at it and see what happens but I very much doubt it will be fully finished. I'd like to say I learned a lesson and will start earlier next year but I haven't, its the same every year. I'm happy this year that any presents that needed to be bought where bought pretty early for me, most years I do the shopping on Christmas eve.

   I still need to wrap stuff up, I hate wrapping presents. I can turn squares in to scruffy circles with my wrapping. I still need to weave in the other two scarfs aswell.

  I best jump to it, have a good day folks.

Dog tired

   Spent an extra hour walking the dog so we could enjoy the snow while its around. I don't think its going anywhere soon but think it will melt a little today and become slippery as heck, never any fun for walking on. We didn't get any of the expected snow last that that was due for my area and its warmed up a little, still below 0c.

   I'm aiming to get the winter flame scarf finished today, or tomorrow at the latest so that I can get it blocked and dried in time for Christmas day. I don't think the moss/seed stitch scarf will be done in time and looking at the pockets I might need to re knit them a little larger.

  Back to the grind stone, stay warm and take care folks.

An extra day.

   Its strange how -3c can feel warm but it does. The official temperature for Sunday night/Monday morning was -17c just up the road from me, which is cold.

  I don't know why but I had it in my head that Christmas day was on Friday, so that gives me a little more time to knit the scarfs. I need to weave in two other scarfs but they don't need blocking. The flame scarf is in serious need of blocking, when its finished. The moss/seed stitch scarf probably doesn't need blocking but am not sure because of the pockets. One thing it does really really need is a wash. Its a lovely white colour but I don't think I'll ever knit in white again, it looks like I tied it to the dogs tail and let him run around the yard on a rainy day.

  Sorry for the short posts but I really need to get the knitting finished, normal posts will resume after Christmas. Stay warm and take care folks.

Warmists are killing us.

    -11.9c is very cold, thats the temperature I got just after 7am on Sunday. Didn't take a reading this morning but when I got back from walking the dog around 11am it was -9.1c . That's with the sun shinning pretty bright for a couple of hours too so God knows what it was over night. I'm waking up in the morning and the house is getting down to 5c, starting to worry about the pipes freezing if it goes any lower.
   Wish I had the money to get the chimney sorted so I could start having wood/coal fires. Swapped my gas/electricity supplier over this weekend but still think my next bills are going to be through the roof.
    Stupid .gov spending billions on globull warning while folks die of the cold because of hidden taxes and levies in the gas and electric bills to pay for windmills that don't work. The death rates in London are up by over 15% due to the cold, Lord knows what they are around the rest of the country. The warmists should be ashamed of themselves, its tantamount to murder.

  Didn't get as much knitting done of the flame scarf as I had hoped over the weekend, it is approaching 4 feet now though and I think I should be able to get it done in time. I can't say the same for the moss/seed stitch scarf though. Its around 1.5 feet but I don't seem to have the time to put some serious work into it.

  Have a good day folks, stay warm and take care.

Its snowing.

   It started snowing last night just after dark, came down pretty heavy for a couple of hours and dumped half a foot. Snowed on and off all night and at the moment is still snowing, though its very fine snow. Not sure when it will stop, it could carry on like this for a couple of days. Seems the weather folks don't know either, ya those folks who are paid with our taxes to come up with dodgy computer gigo that tells us that white stuff out there is really very warm sunshine.

  Nearly at the 3 foot mark on the flame scarf and am planning to get to 3.5 feet today, planning is easy doing is hard. The moss/seed stitch scarf still seems to be hovering around the 6" mark for some reason. I really need to play catch up with that one.

  I best get to it. Have fun playing in the snow if you have some, me and the dog had a good hours walk/play this morning. Stay warm and take care folks, have a great weekend.

Pan handled.

   Just gave some guy enough for taxi fare. I'm usually a grade A cynic and its not that I believed his story, even though it wasn't as far fetched and heart wrenching as some of the bovine scat I've heard before. Maybe its the time of year and I haven't donated as much as I should to charity this year, all in all its only cost me a few beers and I hope he enjoys it how ever he spends it. Who knows maybe he was telling the truth. I did make sure I wasn't followed home, its hard to shake the cynical nature.

  The knitting is coming along, I've knit 2 feet of the flame scarf so far and am starting to think maybe it is possible to get it finished in time. Problem now is I look at the moss/seed stitch scarf and worry about getting that finished in time. The moss/seed stitch scarf is an easy knit but still takes time and I've only got around 6" done so far.

  Oh well back to the grinder, hope you all have a good Friday, keep warm and stay safe.

Christmas came early this year.

For me. 

   The asford drum carder arrived today, wish I had more time to play with it but I really need to get on with the flame scarf. I'm starting to think it will not be possible to get the scarf finished in time. I'll not give up, keep pushing myself hard with it and hope life doesn't intrude too much. Or that my neck doesn't crick permanently. I say it every year and never do it but next year I will start the Christmas presents earlier.

  That's all for today, I need to knit, knit, knit. Stay warm and take care folks.

Sleep knitting

   Quick post today, I've really got to get stuck into this flame scarf. I've got 9" done so far but at this rate I'll need 15 days to finish it and I don't have 15 days. The moss/seed stitch scarf I've got about 5" there done, not really worried about that one. I can do moss stitch in my sleep. Wish I could knit in my sleep right now, would be very handy to get 8 hrs of sleep knitting done.

   I think I've got everything else for Christmas sorted, its best to double check though. I'll start wrapping presents when I take a break from knitting, I'll have a better idea then if I've forgotten someone.

  That's all for today, weathers going to take a turn for the worse soon so I hope your all prepped. Have a good day folks, stay warm, stay safe.