A bright chilly Easter

Easter has come early this year, and the winter is still with us. Today has been bright and sunny after a couple of grey, drizzly days.  Tomorrow and Tuesday the forecast is for snow! I know it is traditional to plant one's spuds on Good Friday, but that was never going to happen this year.

Not surprisingly, given the weather, much of the productivity has been focused inside the house, with knitting and crochet to the fore. The Women's institute's group meeting competition  was for a premature baby outfit, so for the first time in years my baby patterns came out to produce something for it.  It was completed rather fast and not with the greatest attention to detail, but done is better than perfect!

I've also been busy making lots of socks of course, including some more using the CLDF yarn from For the Love of Yarn, as well as several pairs using some beautiful hand dyed yarn just for me. In addition I've been finishing the throw from LoveCrochet CALs, making some Easter decorations and working on 'six geese a-laying. However I hope the weather will start to warm up in April so I can get those spuds in!

Winter returns with a vengeance

February ended with 'the beast from the east': a front of very cold, snow-filled weather that has left north and eastern parts of the U.K. with bitter weather and significant snow-falls. The high winds are causing drifting which has led to the 12inches of snow that fell on Stirling to close most of the motorways, all of the schools and made all of the village roads impassable. I shall need to venture out today in search of milk and cat food but then it will be back to crochet and more work on a shawl and the start of the Arizona CAL.

February was fairly productive. Four calling birds and five gold rings completed, two and a half pairs of socks for me: a fine pair in a tweedy speckle, and one and a half  pairs in a wonderful 100% merino silk.

The second pair only half finished as I've had to interrupt the knitting if them to make some urgent children's socks for the lovely Lisa Harland who needed them for publicity material for her charity.

January into February...

Already we are well into February, which I have designated 'felt' month - after the fun I had making the 'partridge in the pear tree' ornaments. My plan is to complete as many of the remaining days as I can this month, and also to try some felting in 2 and 3 dimensions.

But January was learn to crochet month and I was delighted by the 'Learn to Crochet' CAL from the crochet project. A cowl, hat, mitts and shawl later I feel I have mastered the left hand yarn management technique and am now looking with enthusiasm at various blanket clubs and CALs. Sock making goes on a-pace too - an order for four pairs this month from a colleague I worked with nearly 30 years ago.

A cowl, bobble hat, fingerless mitts and a shawl. Fun to do.

The first three days: a partridge, pear, two turtle doves and three French hens!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The weather has turned decidedly wintry and while it is to turn milder and less snowy later in the week, the sub-zero temperature and regular snowfalls this weekend has encouraged curling up with hooks, DPNs and sewing needles.

I have finished and blocked the 'learn to crochet' cowl, made a scarf using the same stitches from some Noro double knitting that I bought in the sale. Not really my colours, and the slubby wool was a challenge but I quite like the result. I've also finished a pair of men's boot socks in some inexpensive acrylic as I wanted something to judge a men's sock size-gauge (now just need a man to lend me his feet).

I've also started on the Christmas decorations for this year! I found some lovely felt '12 days of Christmas' ornaments and bought the patterns from Mmmcrafts, the partridge and a pear now completed, and two turtle doves underway. They are a bit fiddly and I can only work on them when the light is good, but I rather like the result.  Finally I've started a new sock commission - four pairs for an old Prudetial colleague, fortunately with small feet (for a man) and fond of bright colours.

 

It won't be long before the days lengthen and hopefully brighten and I can get back in the sewing room and some quilting. But for now (as the snow starts again, back to socks and a good audio,book.

New Year, new skills

Nearly two weeks into the new year and I've just finished the last year's sock orders. Before I start building up the stock for next year's supply to No8 Johnston, I've decided to lean to crochet using the traditional method - using the hook in the right hand and managing the wool with the left. Yesterday involved lots of less than satisfactory practice. Today I started the 'Learn to Crochet' CAL in earnest  and after nearly a full day think I am now getting the hang of the chain, double crochet, half -treble and treble. It still fills cack-handed to be holding the wool with the left hand rather than the right (as when I knit) but it's getting a little easier. Apparently the rectangle I'm making is due to become a cowl. Assuming,  that is, I don't get bored with it and rip it all out and make some more socks with the yarn.

Six months in.........

It's been rather a matter of pride that I have been so busy since I retired in July last year that I've barely had time to post on Facebook let alone up-date my blog, but I must do better this year. I've never been one for a hard-copy diary, but it is nice to keep a record of activities and of course craft finishes, to look back on. Audible the audio-book company sent me a note to say that I'd listened for over 41,000 minutes to audio books in 2017 - and added 39 books to my audio library. What this doesn't tell you is that while listening I've made three quilts, about 70 pairs of socks, a couple of advent calendars, pin cushions, notebook covers, tee-shirt yarn rugs, cooked dinners, ironed my way through the wardrobe and written emails, letters and Christmas cards. The joy of not having a television!

Since before Christmas I've been listening to the Stephen Fry narration of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series and very enjoyable it has been too. Since the start of the New Year I've been doing a little crochet - a cowl (mystic waves by "Stitchin' Mommy" ) and a hat, for a friend who kindly produced some lovely ceramic advent numbers for me. The yarn is Lion Brand's Unique in 'Jewel' colourway. Unfortunately one of the four balls was faulty and had no 'tweed' effect - which is why it became a hat and not part of the infinity scarf/cowl. Back to socks now though and book five - The Order of the Phoenix. 29 listening hours!

Winter woollies on....

July and much of August so far has turned out wet and cool - with monsoonal showers and short periods of warm sunshine. As a result of the less bright days I've been drawn to knitting more than sewing and have  found any excuse to buy more sock wool, despite the size of the existing stash. So parcels of For the Love of Yarn hand-dyed sock yarn, Mothy and the Squid hand-dyed sock yarn, and a whole range of commercial sock yarn picked up from my first visit to Karelia House a wonderful wool yarn and fabric shop near Aberfeldy.

 

I've also been turning 25 old seamless mostly white tee-shirts into yarn to knit into bedside mats. Who knew old tee-shirts could be up cycled in such a creative way? Not convinced yet that I have found the right gauge of needle -- I think I need something slightly smaller, or possibly to use the yarn double. I dyed them all 'Bermuda Blue last month and pressed them before cutting into bias strips about an inch wide. Should be a fun project!