A New Lunch Bag

I've been taking my lunch to work with me for years now.  Most recently in this tatty plastic bag.  Mostly it gets shoved into my big bag, but its useful in case there isn't room as it has handles. 
However the blue colour comes off on everything (including my work laptop - don't tell) and a couple of weeks ago I put my finger through it as I tried to force it into an already over stuffed bag.

So I decided to make myself a replacement.  I found some rip-stop nylon on the web in a lovely shade of purple - this is really light weight but durable.  Then I just needed some time to put it together - a cool May Bank holiday was perfect.

I didn't have to do much except copy the bag I was already using.  So I cut out a paper template then cut out my material and sewed it all together. 

With the body put together I added the handles and now have myself a lovely light weight bag which takes my lunch boxes perfectly.  It only took me a morning and hopefully it will last much longer than the tatty plastic bag.

Snowflake Coaster

When we first moved in together I found some lovely placemats for the dinning table.  But that was a while ago now and they are starting to look pretty tatty.  I've been looking to replace them, but I haven't found any I like, so I decided maybe I should make some.

So when I came across Martin Storey's Snowflake design which includes coasters, placemats and a table runner, I knew these were the ones.  Its a pretty design and very straight forward to knit.  I've made one coaster so far, but now I know what I'm doing it shouldn't take long to make the whole set, it's the sort of thing I'll do between bigger projects.  And now I know that while continental knit stitch is amazing, continental purl is pure evil.  I look forward to completing the set. 

The Loch Ness Marathon - part 6

 

So this is the last update around the Loch Ness Marathon which I ran last September (promise).  To encourage people to sponsor me I offered everyone who did sponsor me the chance to be entered into a prize drawer.  The winner could chose to have something knitted for them, be it a jumper, cardigan or teddy.

 

 

So having run the marathon I had to find someone to drawer the name for me.  We found a lovely lady in the Baxters soup tent to do this.  I think she was a bit bemused but was happy to help.  She pulled out my friend Katie's name.

 

Once back home I let Katie know she had won then waited while she found a pattern she liked the look of.  She chose Kate Davies Carbeth jumper.  We then had a lovely visit to the local wool shop to select some wool. She went with King Cole Magnum Chunky in parsley.  The photos here don't do it justice - it is flecked with lots of different colours and is quite beautiful.

Then it was just a case of sitting down and knitting it.  It was actually a really lovely knit.  Fast to do because of the chunky wool, and quite straight forward - it only took me just over a month to knit.

And it came out really well and actually fits her which is amazing.  Of course its the wrong time of year for a thick roll neck jumper now, but she'll be all set for winter.  The sleeves might be a tiny bit too long, but the rib cuff means she can roll them up to the right length so I'm not too worried, much better than being too short!

And I learnt a new technique - grafting.  This allowed me to join the stitches under the arms in a way that looks like the knitting just continues.  My first attempt wasn't perfect but I'm really pleased with my second attempt. 

 All in all it was great to knit my friend a jumper.  As I knitted it I thought of all the cool stuff we've done together over the past 20 years, from the bouncy castle in her garden for her 21st Birthday to all the chats and walks and eating cake together.  I hope she can feel all those positive thoughts and happy memory when she is wearing it.

Basingstoke Festival 5k Race 2019

Today I ran the 7th Basingstoke Festival 5k race.  Not only is it the 7th time this race has been held but its the 7th time I have run it.  We had a lovely morning for it, sunny but not too hot but I was glad I decided to wear shorts and a t-shirt.
Following my success at the Winchester 10k I was determined to get my time under 26 minutes where it has stuck now for the last couple of years. 
This is a really nice race - you start off running through the shopping center, then out round Waitrose and some office buildings before running round a boating lake.  And it's so well organised, my time was printed out and stuck on a board by the time I'd caught my breath and no queuing for toilets either.  I just wish the medal was a little more exciting.
Anyway, I was dead chuffed to come in at 24:59.  Only 6 seconds slower than my 5k PB.   
I look forward to coming back next year and seeing if I can get it under 24:50!