Fancy Some Pink Handmade Socks!

Yes, honestly, I will hand knit, one person, socks using some fabulous pink (& brown) yarn from my GIANT stash!


Why? 
Well why not? Plus & want to take the chance to wave the fact I'm raising money for Refuge in front of lots of people's faces & I'm not one to run in costume or daft things like that.


Enough jabbering on... SHOW ME YARN PORN!
I have to say that my photography skills aren't doing the yarn many favours, but  it is Fabulous.
It's a blend of 75% Superwash Merino & 25% Nylon, hand dyed by The Knitting Goddess. The colour is called Rasperry Ruffle & is actually two different balls of yarn. The main colour is the pink, mixed with darker black / brown streaks & there is also a smaller ball of accent colour in a lovely chocolate brown. This colour is no longer available, as I snapped it up from the shop a while ago & have been keeping the precious in my stash box for a good long while.

What could I make you with this yarn? 
Well there's a good 100g of yarn, so if socks aren't your thing then I'm certain we can come up with something you'd love. Shawls, gloves, hats, pink sheep, you name it, I'll have a go. (although I'll let you know if I think it's all going to look a little wobbly & if I've never tried it before)


Won't I have to wash it weirdly, handknit things are a PITA aren't they?
Nope, the yarn is a super wash & it's brilliant for socks, I was mine on 40 degrees in the washing machine with Ecover and all mine are fine, they may eventually not look as bright as original, as I think the colours do fade, but they don't dissolve or need hand-washing. However hand washing would possible make them last a bit longer. (I don't know I haven't tried)

 What do I have to do to to get my feet into some new socks?
Leave a comment on this post with your predicted time for how fast / slow I will run this years Great Manchester Run, and wish me (& yourself) luck! 
I'd like to shamelessly remind people that I'm also trying to raise pennies for Refuge, so if you have a few odd pennies in your PayPal account I'd be most great full if you could head over to my Just Giving Page & add a few too. There's more of the story about why I'm running for Refuge in this post

This isn't really very running related is it?
No, but if you want I'll send you some sweaty running socks & keep the precious myself.  

Ok, official type stuff.

1. The competition closes at 11am (GMT+1) Sunday 15th May 2011. Posts after that don't count.
2. The person with the closest time to my official "chip" time wins.
3. In the event of a tie, the earliest post wins.
4. I will post to all Europe, and America. If you live some place else, let me know & I'll  get back to you asap.
5. You don't HAVE to donate anything to Refuge, but it'd be nice if you did. (thank you)
6. One guess per person, play nice!

GOOD LUCK!
(If you've got any more questions please ask)

Great Manchester Run Round 2

So at 8:30am the web page for the 2011 Great Manchester 10k opened!
and by 8:46am I had a place! Yippee!

This year I have decided to run for Refuge, the women & children's charity against Domestic Violence.
Yes, it does deserve the capital letters, it's a serious issue & it's one that strikes quite close to home for me...
But 1st some facts;
· One in four women is abused during her lifetime.
· One in nine is severely physically abused each year.
· Two are killed each week
·On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police. 

 I'll give you a moment to lift your chin off the keyboard while the numbers sink in.


Refuge are committed to a world where domestic violence is not tolerated or ignored and where women and children can live in safety. Money raised and donated to Refuge goes towards many things;

• £10 could allow a woman to buy her child essential materials for school – many women arrive at Refuge with nothing but the clothes they are wearing and do not have the means to buy the things they need.
• £50 could fund a session of play therapy for a group of four children, helping them to overcome the trauma of witnessing or experiencing violence.
  
• £72 could pay for two days of fun activities for a group of children in our refuges.
  
• £75 could fund a local support group session for women who have experienced domestic violence.
• £96 could pay for a training workshop for 5 women, helping them to enter the employment market and regain their independence.

Why Refuge?
This year (2011) I turn 30. Yikes, and it's also 15 years since my mother was killed, by her abusive partner. Half my life has been without my Mum, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The Great Manchester Run isn't until May, 180 days away! I did the last one in 1hr 40min, I was pregnant, but I aim to get this one under an hour!

Wish me luck ( and Sponsor me) Cheers!