Shop will need a name!

So I've got the dye, the fibre has been ordered, I have just about everything I need.

But I don't have a business name!

I asked on the UK RAK board of Ravelry for some suggestions and so far these have been suggested:

• Puddytat’s Purls
• Purrfect Fluff?
• FluffyTatPurr?
• Purrfect Fibre?
• The Cat’s Miaow?
• I Thought I Saw Purrfect Fibre?
• Fluffosity?
• Fibrelicious?
• Puddytatpurr’s House of Fabulous Fluff?
• Puddytat’s fluff n stuff
  
• Puddytats purrfect fibre
• Puddytats creations
• Puddytats purrfect delights
• Sheep Fluff World
• Purr Your Delight
  

This list will be added to as more people suggest names to me and I plan to pick a name at some point.

Leave me a comment with your own suggestions or telling me which name you like best - please leave your comment here, not twitter or facebook; makes it easier to see who likes what!.

Don't forget to check back for updates to the list!

I must admit, I quite like Fluffosity myself but Patricia (who's suggested most of the names loves Puddytatpurr’s House of Fabulous Fluff!

So, whaddya think?

A painful few days & A New Beginning

On Thursday I came down with a migraine. It was quite a bad one and I, stupidly, ate dinner after taking a pain killer.

Dinner added nausea and a general feeling of bleurgh to the whole migraine experience.

On Friday I felt absolutely awful and I actually spent the entire day lying on the sofa under a blanket (much to the delight of Isis) snoozing. I then went to bed and slept for 8 hours that night!

I felt slightly better on Saturday and actually managed to get some knitting done - not a great deal, but a little bit.

Sunday, I woke up with a chronic pain in my shoulder. There was a central pain in my right shoulder which travelled across the top of my shoulders, down the right side of my back and down my right arm. This lasted all day and I just couldn't get comfortable!

I spent most of the day zoned out on painkillers with a hot water bottle pressed to my shoulder and slept fitfully Sunday night.

On Monday, Alex had an appointment and afterwards I took him for lunch in KFC. We have a ritual we do everytime we go; tear the end off the straw wrapping, put the straw in your mouth and blow hard so that the other end of the wrapping flies off and hits the person sitting opposite you. Of course, I completely forgot about this and jumped about a foot when this piece of plastic hit me square on the nose.

Christ that hurt!!!

But afterwards on the drive home, I had barely any pain at all!

I went off to our fibre craft meet as usual on Monday evening, but by the time that had finished I was in agony with pain all over the place!

I rested yesterday and shopped today and I'm still in agony, there's a band of pain going right across the middle of my back and I just can't get comfortable!

Naturally, I have a billion and one things to do. I want to tidy up as Helen is coming to visit this weekend. I've got cakes to bake as Jess turns 15 on Saturday and Alex 14 on Sunday.

This is even affecting my knitting as I need to keep moving, fidgeting, shifting position, refilling my hot water bottle, etc and I don't think I'm going to get my Olympic knitting finished in time :(

I can't wait until I finish this shawl as I really want to spin! I have the gorgeous Thunderstorm batts that I carded and several other glitzy batts that I've purchased recently and I want to spin now!!!

In good news; I have purchased 20 kilos of BFL, dyes in blue, yellow and red, squeezy bottles, vinegar and clingfilm! I'm all ready to get dyeing! I'm going to start looking at sites to sell through soon and I should hopefully have a full shop to open by the end of March!

Home from hospital

We were late getting there as we missed the ferry, but they were ok with that.

As soon as we got there, Matt had to go and do the exercise test - he did very well on that.

We then went back to the ward and Matt spent the afternoon having various tests: Cardiac ultrasound, ECG, x-ray, blood test and had a cannula put in.

Here's a pic of his arm with the 'magic cream' (it numbs the area) on and the cannula in.

Amazingly we rushed through everything and from about 4pm; we were sat twiddling our fingers. Thankfully, they had some reasonably decent DVDs, an X-Box, a pool table, TV's everywhere and some stuff to keep Matt occupied. I had my knitting!

He was scheduled to go to theatre second on Tuesday morning, that should've been around 10am. Unfortunately, they had an emergency case come down from Neonatal ICU so we all got bumped down a space which meant Matt didn't go down until 1pm.

The procedure itself went well, but his blood thinned quite a lot during it and refused to clot so they couldn't take the sheaths (which they run the camera wire through) out of his groin while he was still under. They gave him a clotting agent and then removed the sheaths. He said the pain was awful and he coped brilliantly!

After a Cardiac Catheter you're supposed to lie flat for an hour, bed rest for the next four hours and very gentle exercise for the next two hours.

At first the consultant said we may be able to go home that night, but due to the delay in going down to theatre and the delay in coming back from theatre, it meant that the above didn't get finished until 10.15pm and hospitals get a bit funny about discharging people at that time of night. Especially when there's a risk their artery may spring a leak on the way home!

So we stayed in another night and were discharged early this morning.

Matt just has to take things easy for the next few days, gentle exercise and to keep an eye on the wound site to make sure his artery doesn't bleed again.

The surgeon and consultant were very pleased with the results; the hole has now completely closed, the aorta itself is leaking slightly along with the regurgitation but they're in no hurry to operate to fix it and his left ventricle is slightly enlarged, but they don't know why. We go back and see the consultant in six months.

I didn't sleep well there, the bed was ok - but it was boiling in there and I feel exhausted now.

I managed to work on the shawl, but didn't get as much done as I would've liked. I'd like to work on it now, but I'm finding it really hard to keep my eyes open (and it's not even 2pm) so I think I'll have to have a nap LOL

Knitting Olympics/Ravelympics

The Winter Olympic games started on Friday 12th February.

In the knitting/crochet/spinning community; this means 12 days of frantic crafting. The idea is to challenge yourself.

During last years Ravelympics, I made Cinnamon Latte for my mum. It was my first lace project and I finished it just in time.

This time; I shall be making Mandala available here from goddessknits!

Hospital

My second son, Matt, has a heart defect.

He has a VSD (Ventrical Septal Defect - a hole in other words) and aortic regurgitation.

The VSD acted like a vacuum and sucked, the aorta valve was pulled toward it.

He had surgery 6 years ago to plug the VSD and give the aorta a 'lift'. The surgery was mostly successful, he still has a small VSD but the aorta has been overstretched (kinda like when you overstretch an elastic band) and will eventually need replacing.

Matt is going into Southampton General Hospital tomorrow for a few days. He will be hooked up to a machine and will run on a treadmill so they can view his heart under exercise. He will also be anaethetised while they put a camera down his throat and one in an artery in his groin so that they can get a good all round view of the heart.

This means that Matt will be admitted tomorrow morning and discharged on Wednesday morning.

As Southampton is so far away; I, naturally, will be going with him.

Hopefully I'll have signal on my BlackBerry, so I will try to update my blog and twitter as often as I can.

I'm hoping that I will have the opportunity to get loads done on my Ravelympics project!

Go for it!

I mentioned my blog post to Mum this morning. She asked a few questions, such as cost to get started (the most expensive things are going to be the dyes, I think), what's involved and whether I'd be able to do it physically.

Then she shrugged and said:

"Go for it!"

I can't believe it, Mum is a pessimist like me and isn't usually enthusiastic about any of my ideas, but she seems quite accepting about this!

Any help or advice, gratefully accepted ;)

Mittens for Me

I rarely make an item more than once; I tend to get bored easily.

But I loved the mittens I made for Mum so much, I decided to make myself a pair.

Recognise the yarn? Yeah, this was what I made Baroque with. I decided I didn't like Baroque once they were on the foot so I frogged them to make the mittens with.

Pattern: Ailbe
Yarn: The Yarn Yard, November Club Edition
Time: 31-01-10 - 10-02-10

A Big Decision

There are so many people who sell their fibre or handspun on Etsy, Folksy, Misi, eBay and their own blogs or websites.

So, do we need yet another seller of handpainted roving, batts, handspun yarn?

The reason I ask is because I'm seriously considering it myself.

I enjoyed making the Thunderstorm batts recently and I've had quite a few people ask if I would be willing to sell/trade them.

I think it's something I would enjoy doing and I have quite a few colour ideas, both dyeing and blending.

I don't normally edit a post once I've posted it - it bugs the hell out of me when other people do it as I read through an RSS reader LOL.

If I choose to do this, it'll mean a big change for me. I don't work due to my back problem, but this would give me a something. A goal, a purpose, something to do! I had thought before that my own business wasn't something that I would keep up with, that I'd get bored with it, or forget about it, or pissed off with it if things didn't sell.

But this will be yarny fibrey goodness - if it doesn't sell; I can always keep it LOL.

I don't think it would cost too much to get started. I could buy a few sample packs to make batts. Some undyed roving (I've found some at a good price) and some dye. To be honest, I think the dye is going to be the most expensive thing to stock up on!

So...what do you think?

Have a go

Saw this on Susan's blog and I thought 'what the hell?'

So here ya go!

You just have to have one word answers to the questions, and it’s harder than it looks, I mean, “I don’t know” is three words!

Your Cell Phone? Always

Your Hair? Morticia

Your Mother? BFF

Your Father? missed

Your Favorite Food? cheesy

Your Dream Last Night? painful

Your Favorite Drink? tea

Your Dream/Goal? peace

What Room Are You In? craftroom

Your Hobby? knitting

Your Fear? wheelchairs

Where Do You See Yourself In 6 Years? here

Where Were You Last Night? bed

Something That You Aren’t? slim

Muffins? blueberry

Wish List Item? Majacraft

Where Did You Grow Up? Germany

Last Thing You Did? spin

What Are You Wearing? clothes

Your TV? SG-1

Your Pets? Isis

Friends? some

Your Life? OK

Your Mood? annoyed

Missing Someone? sometimes

Vehicle? two

Something You Aren’t Wearing? hat

Your Favourite Store? fibre

Your Favourite Colour? purple

When Was The Last Time You Laughed? earlier

Last Time You Cried? 4am

Your Best Friend? Mel

One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? B&Q

Facebook? yes

Favourite Place To Eat? home

Sometimes it pays to rant

I really don't get why I was told it would be a few more weeks for my printer to be repaired by the insurance company.

Somebody somewhere was obviously lying as I received a phone call from Staples 3 days later telling me it had been repaired and was at the shop waiting for me to collect it!

They probably stuffed a second hand part in there with a timer set to blow up the printer the day after the extended warranty runs out!

Thunderstorm

Today I decided to play with my new drumcarder.

I got all of this:

Ari sent me this along with the drumcarder and some trilobal nylon, this bag is one that Sara sells here (it's the black, white & grey pack) and carded each colour twice. When I got to the white, I threw in some of the trilobal too.

Then I set to blending using a quarter of each colour (I started with black and worked my way through the shades to the trilobal/white), until I had a layered batt.

I hummed and hawed debating whether to leave it like that, or run it through again to blend it even more.

Eventually I took the plunge. I split each layered batt into four and fed each quarter - black side facing up - into the carder once

and got these gorgeous batts!

I got four batts in total and they are lush! I'm calling them 'Thunderstorm'.

Unfortunately, this took me most of the day, my back hurts, I'm absolutely shattered and I shall never moan at the price of batts ever again!

Drum Carder

I decided a few weeks ago that I had to have a drum carder. You know, to make pretty batts like these!

So I asked about on Ravelry and Ari told me she had one in excellent condition that I could have, I sent her some dosh and she's sent me this!

She also sent me some of this to play with!

I got gifted some sparkly from someone else too so I can make shiny batts!

I will never buy HP again!

Beware, mega rant ahead!

I have had numerous Hewlett Packard printer - usually superduper-do-everything-for-you-except-make-a-cuppa ones!

The first one I had needed to go in for repairs when the shuttle holding the ink cartridges broke during the first cartridge change. The second one didn't print properly and was a complete piece of rubbish. Then I bought another one.

Well, this one ran out of black ink at the beginning of December. I got new cartridges and replaced them. Went through all the realignment processes and received an error message that the heads could not align.

I checked the help (HA!) section on the HP site and followed all the instructions.

Nothing doing!

So I took it back to Staples. I walked in and Mark (the salesman) took one look at me and said "Not again!"

He spent half an hour fiddling with it and eventually phoned to book it in.

I knew it would take a while as it was booked in on the 16th December. Two weeks before Christmas; I knew it was going to be hectic.

Then of course there was the 'Big Freeze' and the whole country ground to a halt.

I received a call from the insurance company in January apologising profoundly for the delay. I understood that due to the snow, not much was happening. They said they would call me back in 10 working days.

I received another call a couple of weeks later telling me that they had to send away for parts from 'abroad' as they couldn't get the part here and that they wouldn't be received until February 5th! I grumbled a bit, but - ya know - not much I could do.

I've just received another call. It's going to be a few more weeks!

I have just flipped down the phone at the poor CSR. This is totally unacceptable tha an item that cost me that much money breaks in the first year and is extremely difficult to repair!

They haven't offered me a printer to use in the interim!

I will never buy a HP product again. They're completely crap, don't last and just aren't worth the money!