Crafty Little Rat

  Hello! Hope you all had a lovely lovely Christmas. I did – at the in-laws on the day and from boxing day we’ve been up at my parents in cold and frosty Lincolnshire doing mostly, a lot of nothing. Trips to 3 yarn shops though minimal stuff bought – a clover amour hook in one, a skein of Araucaria Botany Lace in another. Third one to go to today, although I’m still not sure what I would like to buy. Round up time! In 2014 I knitted 11,464 meters in 33 projects (Slightly less meters but more projects than 2013 where I knitted 11,927 meters in 22 projects) Socks In 2014 I knitted 14 pairs of socks. 13 of these were in 4ply yarn, and 1 pair in Double Knit. This was part of the LSG Secret Sock club where each month you randomly select a bag of yarn and a pattern. This mostly worked for me, although I ended up making one pattern (Broadripple!) 3 times as I loved it so much, and it was an easy diversion. 5 of the years socks were given as gifts, including the final pair the Star Trek

  Life feels a little at the moment like wading through treacle. I know that it’s grief for Corwin and that eventually I will come out the other side of the storm but it’s a long, slow burning loss that’s just taking it’s time and robbing a lot of joy from my life. Esk’s death hit me hard, but fast – non moving from my bed for a few days, having to stay off work but with Corwin’s passing I was able to go back the next day. I’ve not cried since the night we lost him and maybe that’s why it’s still hurting? I maybe need to put on a good cry movie tomorrow and let it all out. I’m also feeling decidedly un-christmasy as well. Boo! Hopefully it’ll pick up before the actual holidays again.   Gosh so depressing! Anyway lets have some Finished Objects   November’s Socks eventually got done. I went for BroadRipple – which seems to be my default quick pattern. Yarn is Superba Mexico which is bright and cheerful. Short socks, but I like em.   Next up and and modeled by my beautiful assi

  I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write this post for a while. I’d hoped at least not this side of Christmas; but he had other plans. Last Thursday Rhys came home from work to find him laid up in the cage, dehydrated and not interested in moving. Rhys tried tempting him with Peanut butter and he turned his nose up a it. Corwin… not accepting food meant it was a bad sign. A few weeks ago he’d started to loose movement in his hind quarters – as can happen in old rats. He was still moving around reasonably well; eating, drinking and snuggling and we agreed to take each day as it came. We took him to the vets that evening, and all agreed that the best thing to do for him was to let him go easily, peacefully and quietly in his sleep. Corwin came to us from SPA Vets in Gloucester. This was our vets before we moved to Newport and one I would heartily recommend to anyone in the area. He’d wandered in through someone’s cat flap and realising (thank goodness!) that he was  domesti