Liebster Award

I’m very honoured to have been nominated for a Liebster award by Slipped Stitches & Cottage on the Green. I’m a bit late in posting this (it was a couple of weeks ago) but I’m very very grateful they like my blog. I absolutely LOVE theirs so it’s a bit annoying I can’t nominate them back!

So, I have to answer 11 questions, tell 11 random facts about me and set 11 new questions for 5 nominees. So here goes!

The 11 questions from Slipped Stitches:

1) What got you started on knitting / crochet?
My grandmothers. But I only picked it up again obsessively when a yarn store opened in my home town at exactly the point I’d finished my degree (done in the evenings) and needed a hobby.

2) What item do you most like to knit / crochet?
It entirely depends on my mood. At the moment it’s crochet cushions covers. I’m fickle when it comes to projects.

3) What are your preferred colors or color scheme?
My favourite colour is turquoise. I like to knit with lime green too. Anything in that blue – green register. And pink. Basically colour. I am not keen on knitting neutral colours and I don’t knit in black because I can’t see the stitches…

4) What knitting / crochet skill would you like to improve?
I’d like to hone my overall crochet skill – just be better at it.

5) What would be the ultimate project you would like to tackle?
I want to make my sister a flower blanket like the Daisy Granny one on Bunny Mummy. This is all Sam’s fault. He knows who he is….

6) What kind of designs tend to catch your eye?
Tends to be the colour that catches my eye first.

7) What is your favorite yarn?
Noro. Then more Noro. Maybe a bit of Debbie Bliss Babycashmerino thrown in for good luck.

8) What are your favorite resource books?
Ravelry for knitting! I have a fabulous book of crochet stitches that is my bible for all things crochet.

9) If you were asked to give a beginner one piece of advice about knitting / crochet what would it be?
Stick with it!

10) What must a pattern contain for you to consider it well-written?
I really don’t know! I think I have to understand it…

11) What is your favorite stitch?
In crochet the bobble stitch. In knitting moss stitch.

And the questions from Cottage on the Green:

1) What are you creating right now:
My WIP getting the most attention is the crochet cushion cover I’m making for my sister to give her colleague.

2) Who is your greatest inspiration:
Shirley Williams.

3) Where were you born:
Aylesbury. My parents lived there for a year!

4) What can you see from your sitting room window, show a photo if possible:
The only one I can find is from when it snowed last year.

5) What time did you go to bed last night:
11pm

6) why do you blog:
Partly to challenge myself to be creative; I did a module on creative writing for my degree and I loved it. I wanted to write frequently, even if it wasn’t seriously. Partly to engage with other people who liked the same stuff as me.

7) Do your family read every post:
No. My husband knows about it but doesn’t read it; I’ve mentioned it to my Mum & sister but not in depth. I talk to my family & friends… Only my yarny friend Sam reads it.

8) What are you going to buy next time you treat yourself:
Probably some clothes for my Australian trip.

9) What is your favourite cake:
My Mum’s coffee cake!

10) What would be your ideal job:
Truly, I’ve got it!

11) What is your first childhood memory:
Playing hunt Daddy’s sock up the back stairs of the crazy old house we lived in with my maternal grandmother. I was 3. My Mum reckons it was about the time she had my sister. I imagine we were doing the washing!

11 random facts about me:
1) I’m quite badly asthmatic and it drives me crazy

2) I am plus size and it makes me very cross that patterns and knitting magazines don’t provide plus sizes often enough. I fell in love with a cardy in Let’s Knit this week. It goes up to size 20 😫. While I’m on that subject, just cos I’m large does mean I don’t want fashionable.

3) I get extremely cross with people who are body dismorphic or those who are judgemental about others’ shape (try taking my medication and being skinny)

4) I never wear black all over because it makes me feel down…

5) I have an extremely large collection of jewellery but I only wear a small amount at a time. I love the sparkle!

6) My favourite jewelry is rings and my favourite is the one my husband gave me for my 40th birthday. It’s a blue topaz set in silver designed by Annette Gabbeday, who also designed my wedding ring.

7) I love Time Team and watch repeats all the time

8) My favourite TV presenter is Professor Iain Stewart who does geology programmes. I watch everything he does 😉

9) But I actually prefer audio books and am currently downloading & listening to Terry Pratchett’s back catalogue. I’m about 3/4 through.

10) I love mystery novels written by women authors written between the two wars: Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L Sayers. I just love the follow on books written by Jill Paton Walsh using Dorothy L Sayers’ characters.

11) And I have just discovered the radio section on BBC iPlayer and it’s a revelation…

My 11 questions:
1) what’s your favourite yarn and why?

2) if you could go on holiday anywhere (money no object), where would you go?

3) where are you actually going on your next holiday or trip away from home?!

4) what is your favourite meal?

5) are you a gardener?

6) do you always buy your yarn in the same place or do you shop around?

7) what thrills you the most?

8) TV or radio?

9) coffee or tea?

10) do you trust yourself with beverages near your knitting or crochet?

11) what makes you laugh?

The five blogs I’d like to nominate are:

B*A*M* Crafts – fabby funky stuff! Loving the crochet pots and Easter eggs!

Guy Who Crochets – just amazing shawls…

Rachel Mankowitz – Mollie loves hearing about Cricket & Butterfly.

BMARYGLASER – who just makes me laugh with her irrepressible take on life and crafting and amazing plans for her wedding. Though I admit I did skip past the worm pictures…

Dance Like A Robot – I admire her crochet and her strength.

Special extra edit for BMary…. Here’s my wedding ring – as you can see its wavy all the way round…

And with my engagement ring. I tend just to wear it on its own:

Yeah, now 7 years on….

And an absolutely gratuitous picture from my wedding. It’s out of focus but it’s my favourite!