Skip to main content

January Catch Up

 

Many apologies for long absences. I’m having a Hard Time. I’m not sure what in particular is causing it, although some work related stress and driving lessons (which I hate.. but am persevering with) probably don’t help. I’m in a general funk and I can’t describe it well, about the best I can come up with is you know how you feel when you’re really stressed and sad and about to cry? I’m feeling that all day every day at the moment. It will pass, I always get affected by seasonal moods and I’m going to amp up my vitamin D tablets to try and counteract it.

Of course nothing becomes interesting when I feel like this. I’ve been going to work, driving lessons and to the gym (straight after work or I wouldn’t go) and then home and bed. Even watching TV doesn’t interest me – I’ve still not seen last weeks broadchurch!

Before this struck, and since we last spoke I’ve managed to do some things though

 

This is Milfoil by the wonderfully talented Rachel Coopey. My first pair of socks for the year! The yarn is Drops Fable and it was my first time using it. It’s nice, not the softest, but for the price certainly worth it. Rhys is my willing as always sock model – I pay him in chocolate!

Milfoil

I made two modifications – I used a 2.5mm needle rather than a 2.25 and I made both socks identical. The pattern has one lace pattern on the top and a different one on the foot – sock 1 is supposed to have A on the leg and B on the foot. I’d not paid attention and turned the heel before I realised I was on the wrong set of stitches – so rather than B on the leg and A on the foot I ended up with identical socks – I loved them too much to be bothered with ripping them back to work them as pattern so I just continued.

 

Acrossthebeach

I’ve also managed to slog through the edging of Across The Beach – I’ve never done a bottom up shawl before and boy does it feel like this is taking forever already! The mental funk has also meant I’ve not been up for concentrating on lace knitting so this has been taking a temporary break for a while.

 

ChristmasTreeSkirt

Finally a long term project. This is part of a Christmas-along. It’s a skirt to go under the Christmas tree next year. It’s split into 11 repeats of this chart – so the plan is one a month and it’s ready by the end of November for the tree in December. It’s a big depart from my usual work – it’s 9.0mm needles and 2 strands of chunky yarn but it’s a nice treat. I initially bout the E-Book from Amazon but had to return it and buy the hard back as the chart was too small!

In non photographed things I’m working on a African Flower Dragon for Rhys…. all in black! I’ve got part of both legs done so far.

For easy mental knitting I also started a 10 stitch blanket last night from sock yarn scraps. I have plenty to get on with so hopefully that can always be something to do if I feel like not knitting.

It’s Saturday, so I’m going to try and decompress, knit and relax. Tomorrow I get to pick out some new socks for year of socks!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Corwin

  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...

Thinking about 2017 goals!

I'm currently laid up with what we think is Slapped Cheek. Slapped cheek is a thing that kids get, and my bosses daughter had a case. When it affects adults it shows up as joint pain and swelling and flu like symptoms. Ouch. As a result I can't do much knitting or spinning or crochet. What else can I do but have a think about what my goals for 2017 should be? My goals for 2016 were fairly simple 80/20 Yarn used to yarn bought ratio (We’ll see how this goes!) Finish using 2015’s Wonderwool yarn before 2016’s WW (Faberge, Sunny Days Shawlette, Pink Topaz)  12 pairs of Socks in 2016  So I managed 2 and 3, and the less said about goal 1 the better I suppose. I must have added at least 100 skeins or balls of yarn to the stash this year. To be fair, I did go to Canada (where I bought lots of yarn) and have a fortuitous year with Wonderwool this year. By comparison, I've used up around 60; which really is no mean feat. Proposed Goals!* 1) Yarn Management! I'm st...

Staycation

Hello all! I’ve had a very busy weekend with my parents being down. While waiting for them to come down I got another 4 squares done on my sock yarn blanket. The left two are from a special mini skein I was given several years ago. I’m not entirely sure when I got given it, but it was a very small skein, probably under 20 yards. Just right to add into my blanket and serve as a reminder though! Saturday we went to Dyffryn gardens – A national trust property that they’re working on restoring. None of us are gardeners, but there was such a lovely selection – In the summer I’ll borrow more photos off my mum’s camera as I thought I’d forgotten mine for the start. Rhys was very enamoured by the cactus room. Sunday we were up and off an on. We went on some Segway’s at Chepstow diving centre, as we booked so late 9am was the only time slot, which was nice as we got to have the rest of the day to ourselves. Poor Mum fell off at the last bit (she’d misjud...