ScarletTigerChilli

My alter ego

2008-11-02T14:06:00.005Z

So here are a few pics of me as Magenta, a character from the rocky horror picture show. I had a fantastic night out dressed up as her.

Mandas birthday

2008-11-02T14:00:00.004Z

A very happy 40th for Manda this year. Here's her and I on a night out.

And some fairy cakes i baked for her.

Halloween

2008-11-02T13:22:00.010Z

Seeing as i have moved to near a very pretty Victorian grave yard i thought it only appropriate to have a Halloween house warming. Here are some pics

My carved Scream pumpkin

Witch doctor on the war path!

Abi biting me, being helped along by the devil!

Abi and Zareh in the graveyard after midnight

Ian in the graveyard, the weird misty stuff appeared when i took the picture, it didn't really exist, spooky eh!!

Abi vamping it up

Me as the corpse bride

Zareh

Me(Tim Burton's, corpse bride), Ian(devil) , Claire(Goth Witch) and Zareh(Witch doctor)

Halloween fairy cakes i made(perhaps these should be demon cakes instead!)

Margaret(pretty witch)

Martyn(Lucien) and Alison(Marie Antoinette, the one with the severed neck!)

It seems that a good time was had by all. And as always, i did too much food.
Ah well, no cooking for me for the next few days, left overs, yum!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-11-02T13:15:00.008Z

Hello All

So its been quite a while since i blogged. Reasons: moving house!

I have finally got the home i have always wanted. I now have a lovely Ground Floor flat( no stairs, yippee!) very close to the city centre(10 Min's on my new electric bike called Winifred, as she makes this whinnying sound as she powers along) and I have a wet room bathroom which is just fab. And best of all, its a council flat, so i am finally on a decent level of rent, and secure in the fact that they wont kick me out , unlike private landlords who are always selling property etc.

So as i mentioned i now have an electric bike. I got rid of my beloved Volvo, Bertie, as she was just getting too expensive to repair and run. And so i am now the Eco lass on my electric bike, see me whizzing round Cambridge, alot of people have. And i love it. Its not so much now its winter, but knitting soon helps take care of that. Wish she had some gears and suspension though, as my hands are still taking a real battering.

R.A.O.K.

2008-07-11T11:42:00.004Z

Every so often i like to practice Random Acts Of Kindness. Now as most of you already know, i am not a religious person. I am however, i guess, quite spiritual, if that's the right description. And i believe that what you do in this life will come back to you, what the Buddhists call Kama. Do bad things and they will come back and bite you on the arse. Be good to yourself and to other people and the universe will reward you.

So i received a lovely compliment from a woman in Finland yesterday, via Ravelry (a worldwide knitting and crochet forum of which i am an active member). And as i navigated my way around her page, i found a group i had not yet joined which sounded very me. So i went and signed up and had a nosey about, and found an interesting woman called Mysticfarah from New york in the US. And so i read some of her blog, as i tend to do, to get to know people a little better. And she very much sounded like she and i had a similar view on life. So i emailed her yesterday. And sent her this

I just found you through the curvy girls group. Being one i thought i really should join up. I have just been reading your myspace blog and I love your attitude to life. You’ve got you re head screwed on pretty good.

Anyway i just wanted to say hi, and that you look really beautiful in your photos. And i know you say Kama isn't working for you very well, and believe me, i am not getting my fair share of it at the moment. But i am here to say, i am your bit of good Kama today. Because i found you through some very random events and i am letting you know you are beautiful(humans should really tell other humans nice things sometimes, especially ones they don't know)

Someone randomly did this for me, i looked at her groups, found she was i the curvy girls group, then found you, and hey presto! random act of kindness was achieved! So i hope that you have enjoyed this experience? And no, I'm not a crazy! Just someone who has to keep believing in Kama, because my life is pretty damn shit these days, and hope is all i have.

So take care gorgeous, and spread the word, tell people nice things, just because, you can!

Clare

And this it seems was very well received, always a good outcome.

And so in my inbox today was this

Thank you, there are very few people that have the ability to compliment and encourage strangers, there are even less who are willing to receive compliments. Everything happens for a reason, I learned the hard way. Sometimes we need to distance ourselves from those closest to us that cause us grief for those are truly not friends.Once in a while you find someone who is truly genuine, honest and inspiring, I think you just might be that.

Indhira

So if you feel life is a little hard at the moment, and you have the generosity and ability in you, and i am sure you do. Find someone you don't know, and tell them something truly beautiful about themselves, this will make them feel amazing. As it will you. And in return, believe that something beautiful is heading your way. Tell someone you think they look great in what their wearing, smile at someone, take the time to chat to an elderly person sat alone, wave at a child in a car who is waving at you, Just try it. You would be amazed at how something so small can have such an impact! Have fun!

who am i?

2008-07-10T18:38:00.002Z

Your result for Which of the "Big Five" personality traits best represents you?...

Openness

Your strongest "Big Five" is Openness!

Openness is a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. This trait distinguishes imaginative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. People who are open to experience are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be, compared to closed people, more creative and more aware of their feelings. They are more likely to hold unconventional beliefs.

People with low scores on openness tend to have more conventional, traditional interests. They prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. They may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no practical use. Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty. They are conservative and resistant to change.

Take Which of the "Big Five" personality traits best represents you? at HelloQuizzy

Chickens

2008-07-09T16:46:00.008Z

Hello all

Me again. I have been hoping that when i finally find myself a, decent, social housing home to move to, that i will have a garden. The reality of food and fuel prices going up, somethings gotta give. And if i can't keep costs down by riding a bicycle(see previous posts) i want to try and grow more food. I already have rhubarb and strawberries, tomatoes, chilli, bell pepper and salad leaves in my current city garden. All of which pretty much take care of themselves, apart from the harvesting, low maintenance is the key! The hope would be to create raised beds out of scavenged or freecycled materials, to make this as pain free as possible, and to add to this, i would dearly love some chickens.
Now being me i do my research. I never like to go into projects uninformed, and besides research is fun(yes you heard me correctly, i like it). So i have been surfing for some of today to look up the costs and care involved. Along with how to house them, what to feed them and set up costs etc.

It seems the chooks(as it seem most people call them) are very inexpensive, Between £10 and £20 per chook. Although i love the idea or rescuing a couple of battery hens, which they cull after 3 years when laying production drops, even though they will continue to lay for another couple of years. These tend to be free. literally! What a nice way to give some good Kama out.

This does however contrast with the set up cost. About £350 for the coop, run, food etc. So i think i either need to pop this pipe dream bubble now, or hope that a charity(that may be able to help me with resettlement costs, cooker, flooring etc.) will see it as a good thing to allow me to 'grow' my own food. The eglu is particularly good, as it is fox proof, easy to clean(a very good thing when pain is involved) and looks pretty funky too. And it seems is not much difference in price from an old style wood and metal mesh coop.

This site is great Omlet

The only hard decision for me would be, what colour!

Oh and don't even get me started on my dream of a goat!
Just think of the lovely goats cheese i could be making!

more on cycling

2008-07-09T16:42:00.002Z

Ok, so now its a week later, or near enough, i have been on the bike a couple of times. And loved it every time. Despite the fact that my hands go numb within minutes of riding, and the wobbly legs and pain at the end of it. HOWEVER! i am now crippled with pain and not even able to move around my home properly. So its clear, that for the foreseeable future, cycling is not going to be my way out of my transport issues. Any ideas about the way out of this little conundrum are welcomed.

cycling

2008-06-27T15:37:00.004Z

Hello all

Due to the fuel prices going up, i am forced to start using my bike again. And enfact this could be the reality of my future, without a car, due to increasing cost. Which is not a prospect i relish much. For reasons like,

How to get a cat to regular vet visits on a bike, lots of scratching involved i fear
How to get shopping home, seeing as i am eating alot of canned goods at the mo, they weigh alot.
How to get to destinations where buses don't go, and i cant carry goods far.
How do i mange when i am in so much pain i simply cannot ride a bike. ( note- i really shouldn't have today as i was in alot of pain yesterday, but i have to keep trying to improve my health)

I am sure there are many things that i can add to the list in the future, this what springs to mind immediately.

And the fact that due to recent changes in my meds i have gained some unwanted weight, and the need to build up my muscles is ever present in my mind. Even though it makes my hands numb whilst riding, and very painful when i stop. And the site of me trying to walk after getting off is quite funny i must imagine, i wobble about as if drunk, as my legs go all wobbly. All not the best of side effects from exercise, but still they beat the side effects from the meds. So i will try to keep at it as much as my pain ridden bod will allow.

However, i went to get my new homelink magazine today( still new home hunting, but without many prospects) and thought 'its really not that far, i should cycle'. Anyway i have just looked it up on mulitmap and it seems i have managed 3 miles today! EEK! no wonder i am knackered now! I know to alot of people this is not that far, But for those of you that know me, this i quite an achievement.

Jane Austen

2008-06-27T15:07:00.003Z

You are Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are impulsive, romantic, impatient, and perhaps a bit too brutally honest. You enjoy romantic poetry and novels, and play the pianoforte beautifully. To boot, your singing voice is captivating. You feel deeply, and love passionately.

Take the Quiz here!

WWKIPD

2008-06-21T11:14:00.005Z

WWKIPD-World Wide Knitting In Public Day
14th June

So I am a member of the Cambridge Knitting Group, Ktog( in knitting language this means' knit together') I joined this lovely group of people just at the end of November last year, and now attend every meeting that i am able to do so. They are a very generous and diverse bunch of people from all walks of life, and i felt very at home from the start. Many of them are now firm friends and we get together outside of the knitting meetings.

Anyway... Last Saturday was WWKIPD and so we set about to show to the world, well Cambridge actually, what we do. We started off at Sew Creative in Kings Street for a couple of hours, as you can see, quite a good turn out, and free tea and cake kept us even more happy, than just our knitting. Many thanks to Janine and the team at Sew Creative for all their efforts (and fantatsic bunting!) for making this such an enjoyable event.

After a couple of hours we headed off to Parkers Piece for the Cambridge Town and Country show.

We set up camp and the picnics came out, and after lunch more knitting. The weather was just about kind to us, and a great day was had by all. Lots of new faces as well as old. And we did out bit to spread the word that knitting is not just for grannies!

Come join us if you like, this is how to find us Ktog

Bunting

2008-06-21T10:49:00.006Z

I was rather fed up the other day. So i rooted through all my fabric stash for little scraps in lovely bright colours. And a short while later i came up with this!
My first thought with my colour choices was ' I don't have any green'. But silly me, the garden is full of green! And it looked so lovely flapping about in the breeze.

Now all i need is some good weather, its now 2 days after the photo was taken and its not stopped raining, so i can fire up the BBQ and have some people over to enjoy my newly refurbished garden.

The overhaul is all thanks to Martin, who was very kindly volunteered by his wife Frances(he did agree to do this himself thought i hasten to add) to help get my garden back into a manageable state. A homemade lamb tagine lunch by way of a thank you was provided by moi, along with direction as to what i wanted to keep and loose. I have to say i have never seen someone garden with such vigor and determination. It now looks wonderful and is now easy to look after. Now only the front garden to be done.

Return of the eye candy

2008-06-11T21:31:00.005Z

Hello All

Its been an odd week one way or another, lots of small positive things happening, and some very odd occurrences, things i couldn't explain even if i tried.

In the mean time its return of the eye candy, This time, late on a Wednesday night, hump day, rather than on a Friday. I hope you enjoy it.

I was out in the garden earlier and noticed that some of my grasses were flowering, And so here you have it, pretty and feathery.

I may have got a better shot, had the camera not run out of charge, damn it! That is being remedied as i type.

Audrey Hepburn Inspires

2008-06-03T10:40:00.004Z

What follows is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her "beauty tips."

It was read at her funeral years later.

As many of already know she is a massive inspiration to me and one of my heroines. And for a woman with quite a troubled life she was and inspiration to many, not just me.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;
one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

The last line i find very beautiful, as she did spend the later part of her life working all over the world for UNICEF.

My thoughts

2008-06-02T11:46:00.004Z

Here are two poems from one of my favourite poets, Wendy Cope, a very great woman indeed.

They pretty much sum up my feelings at the moment.

Seeing you

Seeing you will make me sad.
I want to do it anyway.
We can't relive the times we had-
Seeing you will make me sad.
Perhaps, its wrong, perhaps its mad.
But we will both be dead one day.
Seeing you will make me sad.
I have to do it anyway.

Defining the problem

I cant't forgive you, Even if I could,
You wouldn't pardon me for seeing through you.
And yet i cannot cure myself of love
For what i thought you were before i knew you.

ill and bored- Return of the Scarlet one.

2008-05-30T16:48:00.003Z

Hiya Alll
Long time no blogg.

Well i had been busy spending some time with a nice fella for part of my absence. Only to find it wasnt enough time to feel special enough to him so i said goodbye and went on my merry way.
Rest of time spent seeing friends, movies, knitting,knit group, working on family photos archiving, any generally tying to get some rest and feel better.

That plan was kinda working till last week. Got a sore throat on the wed night, woke up on thursday feeling like death warmed up. Now have a chest infection, and a bitter mouth from the side effects from the drugs trying to make me feel better, oh and bacterial conjuntivitis(oh boy do i hate bloody hayfever!) . And so i am litteraly dosed up to the eyeballs!! And coughing like a 90 year old thats smoked 50 a day for the last 60 years! but hey with this gravelly voice of mine i could make some seriously naughty phonecalls! See, i still have a sense of humour. I think that the illness could be down to going on a a disasterous first date with a fella on the wed night perhaps ;-) And my body reacted in the most severe way.

I will never know, but hey , thought of it kinda makes me laugh. And when things get this bad you gotta laugh really, otherwise youre just gonna cry

So i got bored this avo. And i am just about able to look at the computer screen again, after much light sensetivity with sick eyeballs, and so have been aimlessly surfing for a bit. And found this

clare,

your name's Secret Meaning is...

"Desire Incarnate"

What's your Name's Secret Meaning?
at QuizGalaxy.com

What fun. I think it suits me? What do you think?!

new pics on flickr- my birthday

2008-04-15T16:17:00.002Z

Hiya All

Lots of stuff been happening here, too much to do, so some things have fallen by the way side.
So here is the link to my flickr account for some photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarlettigerchilli/

from my birthday last month.

Enjoy.

These are good ones too!

2008-03-14T18:06:00.004Z

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Excellency Chilli the Ovine of Deep Throcking
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Lady Scarlet Tiger Chilli the Ingenious of Under Yockenthwaite
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I shall now be known as....

2008-03-14T17:59:00.004Z

Those of you who know me as Scarlet, may now address me as...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Most Serene Highness Lady Scarlet the Edible of Melbury Bubblewick
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Happy St.Davids Day

2008-03-01T15:08:00.003Z

Yes, i know i am English. And im dating a Welshman. So Thats why
'Happy St Davids Day'

I'm Katherine Hepburn

2008-03-01T15:04:00.002Z

This was fun!

The classic dames test

Your Score: Katharine Hepburn

You scored 19% grit, 33% wit, 38% flair, and 26% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Bygone days

2008-02-07T15:39:00.000Z

A little rant on my part to go with Rosies blogg about

Esmeralda's Flopsies

What can i say, except i agree. Does anyone remember our independent cinema, The Victoria(which had a table space invaders machine! Totally fab! When did you last see one of those?), which faced proudly onto the market square in Cambridge? aad was bought out by M&S when the large mulitplex at the Grafton Centre forced it into closing. And Barneys, the little qirky mens clothing store that was next door to it.

Post party pics

2008-02-06T16:34:00.000Z

Hiya All

Alison and I went to Manda's house fancy dress party at the weekend. We had a lovely time. And the costumes were just amazing.

So here are a couple of pics of us before we went out. Alison looks just gorgeous as Marta Hari.

And me, well being as i am on my budget drive, i revived Jack Sparrow (as no one at this party has met him). And its amazing what a year and a couple of stone lighter will do to a costume feeling alot better!

Kinky Knitting

2008-02-01T19:28:00.000Z

Yes is possible. Here's the proof. My latest project, lace up corset gloves.

So kinky or not?

I think so.

May contain nuts

2008-02-01T19:12:00.000Z

Twas Friday lunch time and the Stitch and Bitch gang(Hilary, Alison, My mum, Alex and Me ) are all back together again for the first time in ages. And some how the conversation comes around to the subject of men’s underwear, like it does, mainly Hilary saying that her hubby needed new ones and that it was hard to find what you want these days.

Now I must point out at this point that Hilary is lethally allergic to nuts. And so Tesco is a no go area as far as food is concerned for her, as they annoyingly will not guarantee any of their products to be nut free ‘ May contain nuts’ or ‘ produced in a factory which may have previously used nuts in production’ are likely things to be found on their packaging. Get with the programme Tesco, Waitrose and Sainsburys manage this.

So my suggestions were Next or Tesco for the undies hunt, as I had been told, by male friends, that these places were pretty good for the sort of underwear Hilary had mentioned.

Alison then says something like ‘I’m pretty sure they wont have nuts in the factory were they make the underwear’

And my very snappy droll retort was

Pants, may contain nuts!!

And roars of laughter all round!!

Wouldn’t you just love to see that written on packaging on men’s undies?! I would.

I know, I didn’t say it was good, but hey you have to admit, its funny, don’t you?

Sweeney Todd- a Graphic review - No spoilers

2008-01-30T14:39:00.000Z

Last night Manda and i went off to the cinema to see the latest Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration. And it was GREAT!! Dark and menacing, touching and sad, And oh boy was there blood.
This film is not for the faint hearted(nor for those that don't enjoy musicals) These days there are less and less 18 certificate films i have noticed, but this one certainly required it. The opening titles certainly let you know what you are in for in the film. It wasn't so much the blood that Manda, or me for that matter, found disturbing, but the sound of people downing in it as there throats are cut.
In the interview with Johnathan Ross on Film 2008 Tim Burton did kinda say,'if you're gonna do blood, you may as well do blood!'. And that they did in buckets full. And for me, i didn't even flinch at this, but a nasty scene with some fire sure had me with my hands on my face(no guesses why there really).
I have to say that Johnny Depp was marvellous as ever, mean, moody, disturbingly scary too, which was a nice sup rise, i thought that maybe this wouldn't come across after having played such a lovable rogue alot recently, ah the man has talent. And I'm quite impressed at his singing ability now too. A stellar performance from Helena Bonham Carter as always too, she does tragically, romantically unhinged so well. And as for Alan Rickman, well what can you say, that voice, just oozes villain, in such an appealing way. And the young lad who plays Mrs Lovetts companion was pretty good too. All round great acting, and as for the costumes, Divine!!

Charity shop bargains and the Fabric Junky

2008-01-29T16:14:00.000Z

Hello all

I have been a very lucky Scarlet, just look what i picked up yesterday Now i know that this sort of thing is not to everyone's taste. But me, i love it! I got one the purple and red fabric just before Christmas, and just remembered i had it after purchasing the purple black and white one yesterday. They were both total bargains, at £1.99 and £1.50 respectively. The red and purple fabric is enough to make a fab floor length dress, and the other piece an A line or full skirt. I just cant wait to get started, but i have other more important projects to finish first. Ooo the frustration , but yeah, the love of crimpoline!

My mum just doesn't get why i love the stuff, i guess she spent alot of the 70's wearing it. But for me its the ultimate in practical artificial fabrics. Now don't get me Wong, given the choice i would always plump for cotton, silk, linen etc. Crimoline has its place though. It doesn't need ironing(major plus, i don't do ironing, save a few special occasions like weddings, or when actually making clothes and pressing seams is essential, this is why Lycra was invented in my opinion, DuPont, you hero you), it dries in a winter afternoon without the aid of a radiator, it doesn't crumple, its a got a bit of stretch in it which is always nice for a bit of comfort and movement in a garment oh and its so lovely to stitch with. And like some vintage pieces like this, it comes in fantastical patterns. Converted yet?

My other love from this era is lurex, yummy, i also have a wardrobe with quite a bit of this in too. And i recently managed to pick up a contemporary piece with vintage styling that no one else loved enough in the sale in H&M for a fiver and it was turquoise! ?Oh i do love having a unique and unusual taste in clothes, bargains for me everywhere i go!

Oh dear ... Hello my name is Scarlet i am a fabric junky, oh and a yarn hoarder, and a magpie and a womble( guesses on this one welcomed, or ask me and i shall tell you, perhaps) oh and .....

Oh and i got a few more buttons, the big ones are a lovely chocolaty brown, which just isn't showing up in the photo. And Pepper, as always, got in on the act. And decided that i had laid down this lovely warm fabric as a luxury washing platform on which he could sit, typical.

Eye candy on a Saturday

2008-01-26T13:48:00.000Z

Hiya All
A couple of pictures of purple tulips, a bunch given to my mum. A lovely gesture from my landlords after she fell over on my driveway. Mum fell over a post on my driveway last week in the dark and cut her lip open and hurt her shoulder and wrist, she is still waiting to find out if she has broken it or not. I was unable to get the tulips to her in time, so they lived at my house.
So here is a picture so that she, and you, get to share them. Hope you like them mum?

my new knitted hat

2008-01-14T19:05:00.000Z

I have just finished knitting Urchin by Ysolda Teague. On me its more of a beanie hat though, rather than the pattern intended beret. So i added some buttons for a bit of extra detail. I do plan to make another one, on larger needles with different yarn, to hopefully achieve the beret look. Watch this space. The knitting of quick chunky hats is something i am doing in between a large and all stocking stitch knitted garment, as an antidote to the monotony that is plain knitting. I will adore the garment when its finished, and its great when chatting at knitting groups as you can knit 4 inches and not even relise it. But at home in the evening i want more of a challenge.

The Milliner in me is Back! & Who wants to be 'normal'!

2008-01-13T18:07:00.000Z

In an attempt to find some sort of work that i can do without to much stress or pain being caused i am reviving my millinery skills. It's very hard and quite painful on my hands and so what woudl normally take a day to make a small hat like this, will take me perhaps a few hour here and there over a week, still its progress. I studied for two years in Epsom and came out with an HND in millinery, so it shouldn't be too hard to remember how to do it.

This is my first design and prototype, that i have made, in at least 10 years. I have made the odd fascinator here and there, but not a hat.
I am rather proud of it, and certainly got some looks in town on Friday when i wore it out, which knowing me, most of you will know, i secretly loved. I think everyone should celebrate their unusualness and diversity and stop trying to be 'normal' , normal's just a cycle on the washing machine, who wants to be that.

Anyway, i would love some comments/critics on this as i am hoping to produce a few in this sort of design with a view to selling them.

more christmas money bargains

2008-01-13T17:19:00.000Z

I have now spent all my Christmas gift money. And i can prove how it is possible to make your money go further these days.

Another haul of vintage buttons, £4.90 for the lot. I plan to put these on some more hand knitted, or otherwise, hats.

And some more bargain clothes. A friend( i can't quite remember who) at the Knit Cambridge group told me that Laura Ashly in Cambridge was closing down, and having a drastic sale. Now i am not what you would call a typical Laura Ashely shopper, but i thought i would be worth a look., and look what i got!

The skirt was £55 down to £16, great bargain. Only for me to get to the till and find it was £4.60!!! i nearly fainted there and then. But managed to pay for it quickly needless to say. And so without hesitation i went back to look at the meagre rails again to see if there was anything else worth looking at. And found this

Not my colour i hear you say,(there were about 8 of these dresses in various sizes, so i am guessing not a very popular colour with anyone) well no, its not at all, but... being made of silk and cotton, it will dye, so i purchased said dress, which was originally £80 and i picked up for ...£7.50!! And this afternoon gave it a dye bath.

I frequently buy what are considered to be ugly garments in sales or charity shops, with a mind to transforming them with the simple fact of changing their colour. having been practicing this since i was about 16 i am now very adept at knowing what will dye and what wont, and what sort of results i can expect. I seem to have about a 95% success rate. dying patterned garment is always exciting as you never can tell what you re going to get till the garment is fully dry.

I will post a picture at a later date of the dyed mint dress( now called mint ashley but soon to be.......? ashley). as i am set to embellished it with very small subtle sequins after dying it. And so transform it into a beautiful garment for me to hopefully wear to a friends wedding next year. Along with of course, a beautiful hand knitted garment, a vintage or handmade handbag, and a head piece( hat, fascinator or other type of garment for my hair/head) designed and made by moi.

Eye Candy Friday is back

2008-01-11T11:27:00.000Z

So it's back. that pretty thing for you to look at, at the end of the week, something to make you smile, i hope(that is my intention after all). And i hope that somewhere over the rainbow works for you. Mind you, for most, Friday is mearly enough reason to smile, sadly so for those of you who do not enjoy your job. And for me it is this Friday, i have more reason to smile than usual. Not telling you why yet though.

post nasties bargain

2008-01-11T09:00:00.000Z

I have had some nasty wrangles the other day with incompetent/useless people! So my antidote to this was to go mooch round some charity shops and the market. And i picked up this lovely kilt sock pattern for 30p and two pairs of buttons for 80p! Needless to say i am very happy with my bargains, and it helped take the bitter taste out of my mouth.

Then i picked up these two postcards in the bargain bin at Paperchase, oh how i love this shop.

my bargain dress

2008-01-10T17:28:00.000Z

Now those of you that know me well you know that i have a unique sense of style and taste in clothes. Needless to say this always serves me well, as i can get the most amazing sale bargains, things that no one else likes and i love.

I saw this dress

(I'm sorry its not modelled by moi, its a little chilly for that right now, come summer im sure i can rectify this though. It does look much better on than it does on the hanger, bit of a nothing dress on the hanger?)

back at the end of the summer and immediately fell in love. And then realised that i would probably be one of the few who would, as the pattern is quite unusual. So i hedged my bets and waited till the sales. And hey presto! My dress was in the sale. As was the skirt, shirt and camisoles all in the same fabric, guess i really do have unique taste!

So a £45 dress at the end of the summer,

was £29 in the sale, but i was brave and hung on, a few days later .....

it was £22, and there were still lots left in my size.

I finally got my self what i consider to be a true deal when i paid £13 for it! Yippee!

The Christmas Awards

2008-01-05T16:41:00.001Z

Hiya All
I'm back! Ive been very ill since before Christmas, still recovering. I am now able to at least sit at the computer again, and let you know what i have been up too.

So here are my Christmas awards, like the Oscars only a lot less glamorous, and no actual prizes. But whilst these are being handed out i shall be wearing a beautiful gown.

So best Christmas card goes to.....

Gill P. I think this must be hand made by her, very cheery i think you ll all agree.

Best Christmas envelope goes to .....

Alice, Zareh's mum. Very good impressionism of a bunch of holly and a very nice surprise to receive a card from them.

And for the best imagination for thought in to gift the award goes to....

Zareh , for his hand chosen hamper that he put together for me. Full of yummy stuff , real treats. In this hamper i had, organic salmon fillets, Aberdeen Angus beef sausages, double Gloucester cheese, Stilton with apricot cheese, 2 real vanilla pods(raspberry pannacotta here i come) , mushroom and truffle sauce, truffle oil(both of these are fab with scrambled eggs i can tell you!), pickled garlic, taleggio cheese(which i have been dying to try and as you can see from the photo, i couldn't wait, it was divine!), stuffed vine leaves, mushroom pasta sauce, red wine and organic pasta.

For the present that made me laugh the prize goes to....

Smurf and rich, for my cat bottom tea towel holder.

Christmas pictures 2007

2008-01-05T15:50:00.000Z

Here's the link to my flickr account so that you can look at my family Christmas photos

Elephant tales

2008-01-02T18:12:00.000Z

Okay, so with little time to blog at the mo i am dipping into other peoples to give you some entertainment in the mean time.

check this out, V. cute indeed.

The Adventures of Elijah

More Unencylopedia Fun

2008-01-02T15:16:00.000Z

Looking up 'cat' on the unencylopedia found me this, it made me laugh. And believe me with the day i have had i needed it. To all of you that wished me a good 2008, Thank you very much, and perhaps i should hope it starts on the first of February not January, as it's only the SECOND today and a whole world of crap has just happened. I won't go in to details on here, those of you in phone contact will already know what. Needless to say its gonna take alot of sorting out.

My present!

Purring

A purr is a nice comforting low rumble, which means that a storm will come in the next decade. These cats are really damn annoying just so you should know. They walk up to you and purr. The only thing you should be doing is running to a shelter and wait there for about a decade. It's worth it. You do NOT want to see a downpour of hairballs everywhere. Take my advice and you will not die. We hope.

Theory of Fuzzitivity

2008-01-01T21:37:00.000Z

This idea came from Vespertine on Ravelry. Thought i would share it with the wider world, as its really quite ticklesome.

Theory of Fuzzitivity

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T20:50:00.000Z

Happy New Year one and all!!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

I look forward to catching up, with those that i am able to, in person very soon.

In the mean time, take care, and i hope you find some enjoyment in the long winter month that is January.

And here's something sunny to keep you going, yup, another one of my flower photos(of which i am very proud)

Eye Candy friday goes supper frosty

2007-12-21T09:00:00.000Z

Some more of my frosty photography for you. It was the frostiest morning so far this year yesterday and it lasted well on till 11am it was that cold !
Enjoy

Blocked starfish shawl and Photo shoot volunteer required

2007-12-20T17:52:00.001Z

It still amazes me how much lace knitting grows when you block it, magic!

before blocking

after blocking

I just about found a piece of carpet large enough to block this out.

Now all i need is a photo shoot with my shawl being worn as a garment(I have requests for this already) Anyone have any spare time to themselves between Christmas and new year?(i know, not many gonna be able to say yes to this one) Fancy a mutual knitting photo shoot in some nice location somewhere in Cambridge?

2007-12-19T14:57:00.001Z

Seasons Greetings All.

And I wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year too!

With love from Me,
Pepper the Cat
and Rudolph here, too!

Snowball recipe

2007-12-19T14:55:00.000Z

In reference to an earlier post. A snowball is a lovely ( in my opinion and my family's, i cant speak for anyone else) drink hailing back to the good old 70's( why good, because i was born in the 70's) Here's how to make one you will need Advocaat Cold Lemonade Roses lime cordial (fresh lime will do, but trust me on this, the Roses lime cordial is really unique)
Take a tall glass, put one inch of advoaact in the bottom( i prefer two inches!) top up with lemonade and add a good slug of lime cordial, stir, drink and enjoy. It has a nice sort of foam on the top and is all thick and creamy underneath. The best way to describe the tastes is sort of like and alcoholic lime milkshake, yummy!

Gift from Bruge

2007-12-19T14:06:00.000Z

As many of you know i don't get to travel as much or as often as i would like. And so when one of my friends goes on their travels i always ask if they would please send me a postcard, so i can sort of travel vicariously. Well Zareh went to Belgium recently and instead of a postcard returned with a small paper bag for me. Its contents was lace, and so very me, this friend of mine does know me very well. Cats playing with yarn!

Notice the crazed look in their eyes. So i have mounted them on red card and laminated Them, to protect the lace, and now i have a lovely book mark. Thank you Zareh.

New Photos

2007-12-14T16:04:00.000Z

I now have a Flickr account so you can look at more pictures here too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scarlettigerchilli/

Scarlet's chicken soup

2007-12-14T15:03:00.000Z

I went off to Asda yesterday to buy some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, much nicer than breast meat in my opinion, far more flavour and less prone to drying out(and very reasonably priced at £2.49 for six compared with Waitrose charging £4.99 for exactly the same thing!) only to find they had sold out( because they were on special offer) So i ended up purchasing the boned and skinned ones. So after De-boning and skinning myself and batching up for the freezer i realised i had rather allot of bones etc left over. SOUP! I thought.
So out came my pressure cooker. Now i cannot tell you how good these gadgets are, they are so worth their weight in gold. Only 7 Min's for soup and 20 Min's for chick peas for starters, need i say more.

So here is the recipe, this is all i had in the bottom of the fridge that was going to work with this soup. had there been a carrot i would have added that too. As it was the soup was delish.

Left over chicken bones, skin, meat left on bone etc
1 large potato cubed
half and onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of celery, leaves inc if they have them
one stock cube, chicken or veg
salt and pepper
enough water to cover the above.
little bit of oil

Fry off chopped onions and roughly chopped garlic and celery

Add chicken till sealed

Add water, stock potato and bring to boil, simmer for 7 Min's in your pressure cooker or 20-30 Min's with standard saucepan

Remove bones and skin. Pick the bones for any meat( i find rubber gloves handy for this task) and leave this in the soup.

Blend the soup until smooth

Season to taste.

Eat and enjoy!

Suitable for freezing

More Moggy hunting

2007-12-14T14:06:00.000Z

More gifts arrived last night and this morning from my furry little weirdo.

In the words of the great Rolf Harris 'Can you guess what it is yet?' No? It's a used round tea bag!

Pepper came in at about 11pm last night mewing as if he had caught a mouse or bird, with me on the sofa thinking ' oh no, not at this time of night'. And then i am very proudly presented, a tea bag. He is so funny.

Then this morning i get out of bed on to step on something that was squishy, and my mind think eeewww! I looked down to find this

A very well chewed piece of blu tac!
Awwh bless him, i am not very well, so he keeps bringing me presents.
What next though? A winning lottery ticket would be good, a caring and funny man would be fantastic( though i suspect not easy to drag though the cat flap) I can but hope he brings something a little more useful home. In the mean time i shall continue to be amused by his antics and hope that this also makes you laugh.

eye candy friday recipe

2007-12-13T18:52:00.000Z

It was a very had frost yesterday so as i went out top up the bird and squirrel food stations i thought it would be lovely to take some frosty pictures. And seeing as i am running a nice fever at the moment, 5 Min's outside without a coat was quite refreshing. So here we have a nice photo of frosty mint. Sparkly!

Which set me thinking, ooh, you could make mojitos out of this without the need for much ice! So here's a link to a recipe I found on the net, oh don't you just love Google. so it may be winter but nature has sent us the ingredients for a summery drink. Ain't life funny.

I wondering if its possible to grow a lime tree outside in this country in the summer? To provide the lovely addition for this drink and the good old 1970's British favourite Christamssy drink 'snowball'

P.S. For Starfish shawl

2007-12-13T18:48:00.001Z

I have just realised that i photographed the shawl upside down and so you get reverse stocking stitch instead of stocking stitch, sorry. Will get it right when i do blocking photos, i promise.

starfish shawl complete

2007-12-13T18:31:00.000Z

Hiya All

I have for the last month or two been slowly chipping away at the Starfish Shawl in Nora Gaughan's 'Knitting Nature'. and its now finished! This was very pleasing to knit, once you got past the cast on of 750 sts! EEK i here you cry.I know i though that too, but each deacreases and so it can only get quicker to knit. The pattern was very easy to memorise, once set up. And i lucked out in shoping from my stash with a cone of yarn that i purchased at a chaity shop for a £1. Couldnt it be any better than that! After done the burn test on it, it turned out to be a pure wool too. Doulbe whammy! And to hit the hat trick, i still have a half to a third left of the cone to do another lovely lace project with! I am feeling not only proud, but smug too. And quite entiteled too i think so too.

All it needs now, as you can see, is a damn good blocking. Ah but do i have carpet space big enought to spare?

More pics to come soon i hope.

Pepper's been a hunting

2007-12-13T18:18:00.000Z

Now i have to tell you i do have an odd moggy. As a kitten he retrieved things( i think that perhaps a past life as a dog?) Any thing from tennis balls, from a neighbours dog, electrical tape, from a neighbours shed, nail files, who knows where from and now to top it off this

Left over burger in paper! on my door step as a gift for me.

He did start his hunting career in an odd way too. He started with lumps of moss as a kitten, aww bless him that was cute beyond belief, and he was so proud of himself too. then came worms, not my favourite i have to say, as you could use the bathroom in the middle of the night only to have squishing sensations underfoot,Yeuch!! And at the end of the week when i came to clean the kitchen floor and lift up the door mat i would find......... dried squished worms! That he had saved for later on. This was not cute.

So we shall see what else he get ups to in his old age( 10 years old now bless him) apart from going more and more salt and pepper( yes that's where his name came from) and growing more ear hair( yes! male cats do it too!! can you believe it)

He also seems to have odd food tastes too. Going absolutely crazy if you bring a melon in the house, he loves the stuff( a fruit bat in a past, past life?) along with raisins, chick peas, and soya beans. he does like all the usual like cheese, butter, cream , fish , meat etc too, He's not that weird!

Eye Candy Friday Goes Pink!

2007-12-05T19:54:00.000Z

I know, me and pink are mortal enemies. But the wonder of nature can still have me lovin the pink stuff. This is one of my mums orchids,(Isn't the macro setting on digital cameras fantastic!) boy can she grow these things, i have never seen such amazing blooms. I will endeavor to remember to take a non close up shot to show you just how amazing next time i am over there. In the mean time, Enjoy.

Is this KITTY porn?!!

2007-12-05T19:48:00.000Z

Yes you did read it correctly!

I took this about two years ago, in my old house, as he did look so cute.
And thought it would tickle some of you out there to post this with a dubious title.

Something fun!

2007-12-05T19:41:00.000Z

'At last i hear' you gasp with a sigh of relief

Now you see me

Now you don't

My cat's reaction to all the boring car posts

2007-12-05T19:36:00.000Z

Pepper it seems, has an opinion for every subject!

Fame at last!

2007-12-05T19:00:00.000Z

Not really the good sort. I am however very pleased as now the local area knows whats going on. And this may help prevent this happening again. The reporter has it almost all accurate, a few small details that aren't quite right, but they don't really matter.

I also arrived home today to find CCTV cameras on the drive way, yeah the landlord! Now how many of you can say you have ever said that?

Newspaper

2007-12-04T15:13:00.000Z

Hiya

For those of you that are local. You may, or may not, be interested to know that the Cambridge Evening News will be running an article about me and my vandalised car tomorrow. Thats Wednesday 5th December

more smashed car pics

2007-12-03T13:03:00.000Z

P.S. the editing has gone haywire and i seem to be unable to alter the large font in the previoius post.

Not such a nice blogg

2007-12-03T12:00:00.000Z

Hiya All

For those of you that don’t know, My car has been vandalised twice in the last month, and apart from all the damage to the windows they smashed, 3 the first time, 1 the second time, they also stole £700 of my favourite CD’s,

IT’S HAPPENED AGAIN!!!!!

Friday night at 23.10 and I am just about to turn the TV off and go to bed when I get a knock on the door. And it’s my neighbours. And I know whey they are here. My car has been vandalised again.

So I go and change from my pyjamas and dressing gown back into jeans and head to the end of the driveway to meet my neighbours. And the scene that meets me is quite astounding in the worst possible way.

First thing I notice is that the rear windscreen and the front screen are smashed in along with two more windows.

There is a massive (so heavy the landlord could only just lift is off) concrete block on the bonnet (hood for those of you across the pond) of my car.

They used this to smash the front windscreen in. Then I see the fence post on the back seat.

They also took a bike secured at the bus stop and dismantled it to used; there are dents all over my car. There were also about 10 vodka bottles smashed all over the drive way.

My neighbours had chased the kids (they were no more than 4’5” tall) with hoodies (what a stereotype!) that they caught at it but they were to fast to catch. They had called the police too and had had the rapid response unit out to help.

I stayed up till 2 am waiting for the police, to make a statement and have the scenes of crime officer (soco) out). After having made my car watertight for the night I was so exhausted and just went to bed. Next morning I have the police on my door step waking me up at 7am to take the statement. They have been very helpful doing everything they can.

So I have spent my entire weekend sorting this out, I have had to had all the glass replaced again, buy new wipers as they had damaged these, and a new petrol cap as they stole this.

And then a couple of hours on my hands and knees on Saturday afternnonn with the landlord and lady picking the vodka bottle glass out of the gravel driveway. On Sunday I had to wash and re-hoover (autoglass did the worst of it) the car as when I turned the heating on powdered glass blew in my face, this took me another couple of hours, in the frezzing cold. I could hardly walk by the end of the day and I am today in so much pain.

And the cost od the damgae so far is £260; this doesn’t include the £700 of stolen CD’s. These little b@$+@/s are enjoying themselves on a firday night smashing my car up little realising they are making me ill, risking me losing my only mode of transport (as it wont be long before the insurance company refuses to pay for repairs and writes my car off) the risk of the car being written off is higher and higher each time this happens, and I cannot afford to replace it. And the cost of repairing it will soon be something I cannot afford. What little savings I have are dwindling fast( this is money I have been saving for a holiday that I have been trying to take for 10 years) and soon I wont have any left to use to repair the car. What happens then I don’t know.

The other neighbours are all planning to move out. For me this is of course not an option. I can’t park the car else where as it wont be covered by the insurance.

I am now emotionally and physically drained, I don’t know how much more of this I can cope with.

The police asked me if I have any enemies or anyone that would want to harm me in any way. As those of you who know me, I try to live my life well and be respectful of others, as I believe that what you do in life will come back to you.

Why me?

More knitted things

2007-11-30T15:27:00.000Z

Friends of mine Colin and Paula have just had a gorgeous baby girl. Congratulations! Who I was able to meet for the first time this morning. And oh what a little cutie she is. And a very chilled out little girl she seemed too.

And I thought you might like to see what I knitted for her. Seeing as the sex of the baby was undetermined prior to birth and with Christmas coming up, I thought red would be a great all round colour. I know i am biased towards this colour too. I did think that aqua, my other choice, was a bit more of a summer colour though. And once I knew a little girl had arrived I was able to do a little bit of embroidery to customize her garments. Darling, you’re never too young for fashion lessons!

So here is her little ensemble. Which I am hoping in the future I will be able to show you a photo of her in.

This is the first time I have knit in pure acrylic (v practical for a newborn, no worries about wool allergies and its nice and warm) and I have to say its lovely stuff to use, and practical for kids. But I am a natural’s kinda girl at heart. Give me pure cottons, silks, alpaca, etc any day. But hey, a lesson has been learnt. Gifting knitting items can be affordable and rewarding when you buy acrylic yarns. And Colin and Paula did seem very pleased with them. Which is the idea.

Eye candy Friday

2007-11-29T11:49:00.000Z

I hope that Mary DB
won't mind me borrowing(well blatantly pinching i think is more accurate) her idea. Thank you Mary.

Here is one of my photos. It was taken last summer in the Barbara Hepworth garden in Cornwall. Which if you are ever in the area i can highly recommend. It was probably the highlight of my Cornwall holiday. That and The Eden Project of course, which was also heaven on earth. And i also heartily recommend too.

I have to say I am very proud of this image. As Iwas with most of the photos that I took in this garden, I may show you more at a later date.

This daisy was floating in some water in the bottom of one of Barbara's large sculptures. What i am still curious about, as i never was able to find out, is, was this intentionally placed there, or was it a wonderful quirk of natures fate? Hmm ponderings........

Pics of me from halloween

2007-11-29T11:27:00.000Z

Hiya all

A few pic of me from halloween this year. I went as Little 'Dead' Riding hood (pay close attention to the be-headed wolf in my basket!)

Just hot off the scarlet runway

2007-11-28T09:00:00.000Z

I have been busy making stuff on the sofa. I can’t spend long sitting at a computer or sewing machine at the mo as I have hurt my back and it’s too painful. So i am quite limited as to what i can do laid back on the sofa. So boredom had set in, and while knitting still being my passion I felt I needed something extra to help me kill the hours that have been dragging by. Brian rot telly - does exactly what it says on the tin!

So I have been felting jumpers and just look what I have created.

Dinky little footwarmy slippers/Shoes for newborns

More dinky little footwarmy slippers/Shoes for newborns

Felted keyring/bag charm

Lovely 100% cashemere slippers(mum was given these and she seemed very happy with them, which is good to know, must test a less bias maket me thinks)

I am feeling very proud of these. Not only have I stuck upon a fab idea( i hope), but it’s green too. As I am recycling old jumpers which would normally not even be fit too wear (too many holes, a stain, or already shrunk) More colours and designs to follow in the not too distant future. Etsy here i come!

opinions welcomed please.

knitted baubles

2007-11-27T18:01:00.000Z

Just found this on Vouge knitting
www.vogueknitting.com/vkm/?q=node/86

Great for using up left overs, always something every knitter needs in my opinion.
So may i suggest that those of you who have kids of knitting age can now set them a new christmas decoration making challenge and see what you get. If i had i certainly would. whats wrong with this sort of child labour/fun.
Surely it has more interest than then licking(paper cuts on tongue)sticking(to the furniture as well as the paper) and looping of paper chain making that i was set to do by my parents in the 70's/early 80's 'to keep me out of mischeif'. And really was child labour rather than fun. Which of course never lasted for long, beacause

A. I was a quick little crafter even back then and so my parents barely had time to cook the mince pies before i was finished.

and

B. I was born for mischeif!

I'M BACK!!!

2007-11-27T16:00:00.000Z

Hiya All

And after along time away I am back! And after much annoyance with blogger and their new google mail stuff( i really was ready to throw my computer accross the room in a fit of rage) why cant things be simple sometimes? I have finally made it.

I can’t say I will be any better at keeping up with this any more regularly than before. I will try though.

I seem to spend rather more time making stuff or doing things (Oh and unfortunately more often than not, being unwell or recovering from things) rather than on here (the computer) telling everyone about it. However I realize I miss keeping up with people who live far away, you know who you are, and that I can end up telling the ones that live near the same story many times. And it’s just not as fun without pictures either.

So I, Clare, herby pledge, to try to do more blogging, more frequently

Honest!

Yuletide!

2006-12-21T18:11:00.000Z

"Yuletide Greetings"
to All
Love from
Scarlet

What's the weirdest thing you have received in the post?!!

2006-12-10T12:23:00.000Z

Well Hello again.

I'm still ill. And getting fed up with it now. My head seems to have recovered, from what ever nastiness invades me, but my body has not yet caught up. So now I am joyfully aware that I am sick, and physically can't do anything about it. So boredom ensues. Plus everyone is busy this time of year so I am sadly lacking in visitors.

Anyway, now that you are feeling truly sorry for me, tee hee, or are thinking, get on with it....... I shall.

So as the title says 'What's the weirdest thing you have received in the post?!!'. Well for me it's this

Which arrived yesterday morning. Very carefully packaged up so as not to damage the very strong smelling dried chilli and with the message ' I saw this and thought of you' written on the outside of the package. It was addressed 'to Scarlet'.
It made me smile immensely. And has also left me completely bemused. Who sent it? Why did they send it? And What was its meaning, if any?

So you know who you are out there, you mysterious chilli posting wotsit you. Will you reveal yourself? Thank you, because you gave me something else to ponder this week, other than how damn horrid I feel.

So as we say over here, 'Answers on a postcard please' (childhood reference to Saturday morning British TV programs from the 70's and 80's, for those of you who don't know).
Please do tell me, What's the weirdest thing you have received in the post? And keep it clean please!

very sick so heres a snowflake

2006-12-07T15:24:00.000Z

Hiya all

A very quick one. I have a mild flu like virus and im severly fed up!

looked at Mary's Blogg and saw this.

A bit of entertainment i think even my addled brain can handle.

So heres my snowflake.

Child hood memorys coming flooding back, mind you in my day it was a real bit of paper and scissors!

fancy that

2006-12-03T14:29:00.000Z

Hiya All

A wee blogg with some, hopefully, entertaining photos for you.

Simon and i went to a fancy dress party last night. And i thought you might like to see us in costume.

Can you guess who we are?

Simon

Socks

2006-11-26T13:58:00.000Z

Hiya all I'm feeling quite smug with myself at the moment. I have recently finished knitting my first ever pair of socks. And they have come out rather well. See photo.

They were knitted from a 1940's pattern i borrowed from my mum, that she picked up in a charity shop. As you can see they are quite long and have quite a deep rib to the ankle, with calf shaping. And i have to say they were quite a challenge to start with. I just couldn't visulaize how the heal turn worked. So on to the internet and a quick google to ask, 'how to knit socks?' and up came the most fantastic site full of colour photographs. So much thanks to Socks 101 without whom i would never have figured it out. These are to be a gift for someone. Having tried them on, just to make sure they fit, they are so toasty warm and soft and lovely i just had to have some of my own.

So having finished these i am now hooked on sock knitting. They're so fab! You can have a project finished quickly, they dont cost to much to knit, sock yarn comes in such fab self patterning varieties and colours, they're a small-take-anywhere-project. So i have already started on the next pair. Well I've nearly finished them actually. And i just love how the yarn turns into the pattern as you knit, it gives you a reall sense of a satifaction as you watch each different coloured stripe appear.

And i have purchased the yarn for the third pair too.

Soup Er.

2006-11-26T13:45:00.000Z

Hello there

I hope that i have caught you in time.

A friend had pointed out an error in my soup recipe,(and my bad spelling too!)it seems i forgot to tell you when to add the olives to the soup. Which would be kinda handy in a soup called 'courgette and green olive' wouldn't it.

So if you add them in at step 3. when you add the herbs and stock then you can't go far wrong.

I have now edited the recipe so that its correct.

Enjoy.

Soupa Doupa

2006-11-21T11:57:00.000Z

Hiya all

I'm Back!!

I know.... some of you have been telling me off for my lack of regular blogging. Bad Scarlet.

I will do my best to make this a more regular occurance, honest.

Anyway for those of you that are experiencing wintery type weather. Here is a a lovely warming soup recepie. Given to me years ago by a neighbour. And for those of you that don't like olives much, trust me, i have given this to olive haters, and they cant taste them. It just makes for a very rich tasty flavour.

Courgette & Green Olive Soup – Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic crushed

1.5 lb of courgettes chopped

2tsp olive oil

0.5 tsp thyme

0.5 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

2 oz pitted green olives

1.25 pts of veg stock

2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat oil and fry onion and garlic until soft.
add courgettes and sweat for 10 mins
add herbs, olives and stock, bring to the boil
simmer for 25-30 mins ( 7 mins in a pressure cooker, once up to pressure)
Blend and season, then add lemon juice.

Devour with hearty abandon! And wonder why something so simple tastes so good. I hope you enjoy? Let me know how you got on. Clare

P.S. It will freeze very well too, so worth making in bulk and having as a quick microwave stand by.

Really crap at blogging

2006-06-12T17:15:00.000Z

Hiya All

Apologies to all of you who have no idea what I have been up to lately. I have been completely remiss with this blogging malarkey.

Well here’s a quick run down of what I can recall that some of you may have missed since my last blogg.

Work is busy, which is good, and also tiring. Designing another kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom with ensuite currently. And lots of sewing too.
Compensation from birthday do yet.

Simon bought me a pressie of a web site, only been remiss on this also, as I haven’t sent the guy anything yet. Will perhaps have time in the autumn when work tails off a little.

Still knitting and getting there with projects. I have slowed up a lot since having a lot of work on. Still the money’s good, so shouldn’t grumble.

Sadly I lost darling Mishka a couple of weeks ago. A car killed her.
Pepper and I are missing here a lot.

Been to lots of lovely social events. Parties and dinners etc.

Met some of Simons oldest friends now, and they’re lovely.

Simon and I are still seeing each other and things are lovely. I am a very happy woman.

Lots of possible holidays planned. Cornwall and Dubai are current possibilities as we have possible offers of free accommodation in both! And I would still love to find a way to go see Jack, Heather and Rebecca in New Zealand

Missing friends Jack, Heather and Rebecca, and cant believe how much they have all changed. Jack and Heather looking as slim and as content as I have ever known them and the little one, oh my how she is growing fast!

Went to Alex’s birthday bbq last week and it was lovely to catch up with her and Martyn and others.

Went to Grand Designs live in London with Simon last weekend. Great day out, with lots of ideas to be had.

Had a lovely wee bbq on Friday night last. First one at this house.

So that’s it for the mo. I promise I will try to do some more soon. Now that I have a nice new flat screen monitor too, its lovely to be on the comp again
Take care all

Talk soon
Scarlet

Op

2006-04-07T14:58:00.000Z

Hiya All
Just to let you all know that I am back out of hospital after my op. All is well, It was a success and they seem happy with the results, as am I from what they have told me that they have achieved. I too am happy to be back home, boy can a day and a half in hospital feel like a week. Some weird space time anomaly going on there! I'm looking about 4 months pregnant at the mo, till the swelling goes down. I'm very perky though which is a bit frustrating as my brain is wanting my body to do the things I normally do, like go down the pub on a Friday night, and my body is saying, 'Nooooo'
So there you go. Any visitors welcomed, as I will be going stir crazy, despite knitting and things on video, very quickly without company. Please call me first though to check that A. Not already overwhelmed with visitors, and B. Awake!
Talk soon
Scarlet

New Kit on the blog

2006-03-23T19:00:00.000Z

Hello all. More Moggy stuff here. I thought you all might like to see what little Mishka looks like. She's the new addition to the family. Poor old Pepper(as he is now getting older, nine enfact!) was pining terribly after his bossy little sister Madison and was getting in a terrible state everything I left the house. Which as you lot know is alot when my social life is as hectic as it is. And I have to say I was missing having two cats, as they interact with each other and keep each other, and me, company.

So off to Wood green I went, with a bit of apprehension, as I was not sure quite how I felt about getting a new companion so soon, 2 months, after loosing Madison so tragically to car. After 3 visits, this cute little frightened little mite had been bought in only the night before as her elderly owner had died. She was just so soft and sweet, and such a pretty little thing. So home with me she came.

After much hiding behind the tell I placed her in the bathroom with all her necessities so she could feel safer in a smaller environment and paid her regular visits to acclimatize her to me.

Well its now been 5 months and she has installed herself very well in to her new surroundings, she and pepper no longer run away from each other, they sleep next to one another. She is even more vocal and chatty than Pepper, and for those of you that know what Pepper is like you will know that, that is quite some feat!

So here are a few piccy's, some are a little blurred as she is still quite camera shy.

Somewhat peeved!!

2006-03-18T14:06:00.000Z

Here's me trying to put up stuff for you all to look at and blogger isn't playing properly. So you'll have to wait!

Ode to Madison

2006-03-18T13:47:00.000Z

A much missed moggy who had a big heart, a big tummy, and a tiny little squeak of a voice. Who loved lying on her back with her paws in the air, stalking and pouncing on Pepper, cat nip on her fish, catching moths, playing tiddlywinks with live frogs, the little girl next door, and most of all, loved having her tail pulled.

Who you looking at?

I love my fish!

Mmmmmmm.

Me and my big brother Pepper (black and white) He always get the log!

Cat yoga whilst in bed, cats can multitask too you know!
See, its not just me who likes to sleep in silly positions!

Bye Bye Madi.

Pottery

2006-03-18T12:58:00.000Z

Hello all

So its about time i put some more stuff on here for you all to look at.

As i have mentioned before i have been a very busy woman recently. Work, hobbies (new and old) new boyfriend and my ever hectic social life are conspiring to make life somewhat busy and full. And all in the best possible way. I am a very happy bunny at the moment!

One of these hobbies is my pottery evening classes.

So here are some photos to show you what i have been up too.

All these items are from the autumn term at the end of last year.

I have to say i am rather smuggly proud of this one. It was a total experiment and came out absolutely beautifully. And i wired it all up my self, bit of a dab hand with the re-wire malarky.

This next one is designed to be a garden sculpture. And when the weather gets better i will show you all a photo of it in situ. Far to chilly to be setting up garden scultures at the moment. And i have more to add to this garden sculture now too, as i have been busy working on some new items this term.

This was a extra deep lasagne dish made for Zareh's 40th Birthday pressie. the stencil that i used to create the morrocan star tessalation on the bottom was an experiment, one that worked very well. And i have been relialbly informed that it does exactly what it says on the tin.

This one is another lamp, in the photo unwired. This was another gift, this time for Martyns birthday.

This terms creations will be added shortly.

They all come out of the kiln next week!

The Scarlet Knitter

2006-03-17T16:01:00.000Z

Hello again

I have just realised that one, of my two, current projects is also red, I think i might gain myself a new name, as The Scarlet knitter! See previous blogg pictures as a indication as to why.

Hot off the Knitting Needles! And other miscellaneous goings on too.

2006-03-17T14:40:00.000Z

Hello again. I'm not doing very well at actually blogging very often. That is however because I seem to have rather a full life at the mo. Details coming up in another blogg.

Anyway back to the subject at hand.

KNITTING!

My current new pastime/obsession, call it what you will.

I have just completed two garments, that aren't just scarves in stocking stitch.

Number one, a gift of yarn for Christmas and a garment that was to be knitted by my mum, but she soon gave up. Reasons why giving up, a really crappy written pattern, plain English society for knitting needs to be set up I think. And this is not just the opninon of my mum, but me, and all those that spent some hours trying to decipher the damn thing. Shame on you 'Wendy' knitting manufacturers. This was enfact a very easy pattern for a beginner like myself to try. But with your horrendous wording it was a hell of a challenge for even seasoned knitters.
Anyway rant over!
Second reason for mum giving up was, eyelash yarn, and not being able to see dropped stitches. Mum is a speed knitter and doesn't look at her knitting when working. Where as me, I look at it and I'm a bit slower, so I guess easier for me to not drop stitches. Well mum gave it a go and I am thankfull for her doing so. And in a way glad she gave up, because knitting this garment is what got me hooked on knitting more! The pleasure at being able to knit what ever I like in what ever colour or type of yarn, rather than buying nasty acrylic knits from New Look, or having to save hard to be able to purchase lovely natural knits from, Monsoon, is just fantastic.

The yarn by the way is a lovely metallic yarn called 'Wendy chic' in Raphael colour way. And i loved knitting with it, it knits fast and slides over the needles with great ease. There are quite a few other colours available too. It apprently is very popular for knitting little wedding jackets and shawls etc for brides and bridesmaids.

I am now living in this garment and loving it! It's as warm as a fur coat and squishes down to pack in a bag if needed, without it looking all crumpled too. I have had a few complitments on it too and it sure is getting me noticed. Well more than before, people tend to see bright red hair and turn, now they see bright red hair and bright red fluffy jacket too.
It was quite intersting going to a recent rock gig at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge where generally there was a sea of black. And there was lil ole me in red! I did have some slightly merry 6ft 4, 20 something, very long blond haired goth (i know blond hair and a goth, quite unusual, i have to say though he did have really beautiful hair, the most beautiful i think i have seem on a man, it flowed all the way down his back to his bum) cone up to me and tell me how beautiful i looked. Which was cute.

And so the second project ensued. A knitting winter Olympics project. To be a challenging and interesting piece to be completed whilst the winter olympics was on.
Said pattern came form Mary, a fellow knitter, who recommended a web site with free knitting patterns called Mag knits.

And so I started knitting my little hat called Odessa. And as you can see it came out rather well. I decided I would rather stitch sequins on, you all know my love of the little shiny things with holes, than knit with beads. Leaning the new stitches and knitting in the round was quit challenge enough without adding to the complications.
And it went so well that I knitted another one in nice grey marl for new boyfriend Simon. Which also got lined with fleece so that he can wear it when he goes snowboarding. He seems to be quite taken with it, as he keeps wearing it and has told me that he has taken to wearing it to sleep in too. His place gets a bit chilly at night it seems. So not sure if I have broken the knitting curse yet or not. Technically does it have to be a sweater for that to happen, or does any knitted garment count? Opinions on this would be great! As knitting a men's jumper would be quite nice, simple and quick, to do I think. And i am trying to build up projects in advance so that i don't run out of stuff to knit as i did last week. I nearly went crazy not knowing what to do with my hands!