Crafty Little Rat

  Hello! I’ve been busy knitting and watching Netflix and not a lot else these past few weeks. Work has been busy and real life busy too that home time means switch off time. Since I last posted I’ve finished 4 things! I have to be so much better about blogging This month’s mystery Socks – Reverso. I didn’t particularly like knitting these – I loved the way the hand dyed yarn striped, although a lot of that is lost when they’re right side out (Left sock) and the patterning was lost around the heel and toe. There was a LOT of purling after the heel turn. At this point I had to turn the sock inside out again and purl across the bottom of the foot – there was no way I could keep my patterning right on the instep looking at the purl side. Never the less it was in my queue and free, and sometimes you just can’t tell until you’ve knit them. They fit well, look nice but boy am I glad they are DONE!   Next up is Across The beach The above Pre-Blocking gives a far better idea ...

  Today I managed to make the most of the little light we had to take some update pictures! It’s been a bit of a spring clean-y day around here. I’ve got rid of a huge pile of too big for me clothes today and had a general spruce up around the living room. I’ve also changed the URL of the blog to http://craftylittlerat.blogspot.com – previously it was craftylilrat, the little part wasn’t available in full when I registered. Maybe now I won’t keep typing in my blog address wrong! I’m knitting away on my March Socks pretty much exclusively Pattern is Reverso from Knitty and the yarn is a hand dyed one called Night Jewels from my LYS Miju. From this side with the purls facing out it’s not that obvious but it striped up pretty accurately!   I’ve also fallen off the cold sheep wagon a little. 18 months ago I made my nephew a blanket for his first birthday out of Natura cotton, well he now has a little sister and I wanted to do the same for her. Spotting this in my LYS I j...

  Happy St David’s Day from sunny (for once!) Wales. It’s still a bit chilly here, but apparently the first of March heralds the start of spring. I did manage to complete some things in February, though not as much as I would have liked and frankly I’m glad to see the back of the flipping month. February’s pair of Socks – Dalekanium in some sock will with a long lost label. For this pattern I had to modify the stitch count dramatically – I ended up just using the slip stitch pattern really over 60 stitches and a toe up heel flap and gusset. First successful eye of partridge heel as well. I also did a short row toe as well. I also finished another section of the Christmas Tree skirt. Still really loving the pattern and the yarn (Stylecraft Chunky held double). It’s a nice amount of knitting to do in a month. I think it’s too much to sit down and do all at once, but this way it never feels like a slog to complete just the one section. I’m a bit worried I may have to do cable s...

  I didn’t want to write this post. I’d hoped we’d have longer. I hoped she’d live forever. I hoped that it would be peaceful. At least I got my final hope. All day Sunday all Esme wanted to do was cuddle. You’d put her down to go to the loo, and she’d be at the front of the cage waiting for you to come back. I feared it was the start of the end so indulged her constant demand for cuddles. I don’t think she left my lap much from 8.30am to 11pm when I went to bed. When I went to bed Rhys because the defacto cushion and stayed up with her for longer.   Coming down on Monday morning I was honestly shocked to find her still alive, and stroking her head thought she could do with some warming up and cuddles in bed. So we went up. I placed a pillow under my arm, and her on a towel on top of that. Pulled the duvet over us and we stayed like that for a while. Telling her I loved her, telling her that it was okay and we’d miss her and that we loved loved loved her. I called Rhy...

  On Sunday we returned home from a wonderful weekend away in Chester. When we got home and the girls saw us Gytha slinked out of their bed and came to the bars – which was incredibly strange for her. Never one for cuddles, she was always a bright spark and on the move. Petting her she felt cold, so I scooped her up and cuddled her in to my jumper to try and warm her up. We sat like that for a while, me stroking her head until she just slipped away. By the time we realised what was happening she was gone. Incredibly peacefully, almost like she waited for me to come back.   Shortly after returning from the vets (we have our animals cremated, with ashes back) Maggie started to wheese horribly. Gasping for air, crackling lungs. Fine before we left on the weekend, fine when we returned – an easy assumption is stress and grief for her sister. A return trip to the vets, where she was placed in an oxygen kennel but struggled every time she was brought out in the normal air. ...

  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 s...

  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 T...