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!

2.03KM (36 min) & a clever Baby

Just a Thursday afternoon waddle around the local park really.

My little baby really has turned up the wiggle factor by about 10, and a stroll out in the sun we've got seems to send the little blighter to sleep!

I also found the following article, through Twitter I think, from Natural News.
Granted it's a bit old, September 2009, but I like what it says...

"Children whose mother exercised 30 minutes a day score around eight points higher on standard IQ tests than children whose mothers were more sedentary," says psychologist Richard E. Nisbett, author of Intelligence and How to Get It.

But best of all I like the closing statement

"The mother is the most important IQ agent here," he said. "In families dominated by a father, there are higher mathematical skills but that's all we contribute, I'm afraid."

So there we go. It's all down to the mummy, like we didn't know it already!I'm glad I'm getting up off my bottom and doing a bit of waddling about.
 I'm certain that moving about more this pregnancy, compared with my last has made it better for me.
I certainly haven't had quite so many aches and pains as I did last time, and while I've had *ahem* slower digestion (if you get my jist) I'm sure it'd be slower & more painful.
And while I can't yet tell how clever my little wiggler is I'm certain the exercise is as much benefit for the both of us.



Meanwhile I must thank John, Maggs & Thomas who donated to Heart Research UK last night. The current total is £120 (including Gift Aid).

THANK YOU!

 

Sponsor me the Traditional way. (sort of)

Ok, so not everyone wants to use the clicky links & put card details into the internet & while I'm certain no one REALLY thinks I'll fail, some people prefer to be traditional & pledge the money & then donate after the event is actually completed.

It's no secret that I'm rubbish with bit of paper & I'm quite nervous about loosing an actual sponsor form, so of you'd prefer to sponsor me the traditional way, then please do so.

Either, add a comment either below or through the Facebook thingy on the left, you don't need your full name I'll work out who's who. Or drop me a txt, and email, a message on Facebook & I'll add your name to the virtual sponsor form! If you pledge a specific amount the Virgin site lets me add the pledge to the running total & will even work out how much Gift Aid you'll be adding too!

THANK YOU!

Lazy Days & a Big Thank you!

So I haven't actually done any running for about 2 weeks, I've been uber lazy recently. In fact the last running I did was the 5K around the park.

A combination of overnight shifts at work (yes there really are people who buy Footlong Subs at 3am!) and a cold have kept me out of my running kit. Sorry.
 

So I have one more night shift tonight, and I PROMIS I'll run on Monday afternoon.

On a nicer note I want to say a GIANT Thank You to Lelia, George, Michael & Helen! My latest sponsors, bringing my Running total to £44.85 (in Gift Aid) 

If you'd like to sponsor me please click the Links below, and don't forget to click the Gift Aid buttons, every extra penny to Heart Research UK counts!

Sponsor Me!!

With my running vest came some sponsor forms, so expect them to be waved at anyone who walks past me at every opportunity.

 I've also added a Just Giving button to the blog.They let you pay with Pay Pal & include Gift Aid too.

So that's all major credit cards, cash & Pay Pal taken, please ask about cheques!

Thanks in advance.

Millie

Look what I've gone & done now...

At 8:30 am this morning The BUPA Great Manchester Run on line registration opened...
At 8:36 am I was 2248 in the queue!

So, longish story shortened, after about 20 min in the virtual queue I was paid up & registered! omg omg OH MY GOD!!

Please please donate a few pennies & sponsor me!


 Well as I've not ran since before the snow, I better get my trainers on & get moving!