mumblings

As soon as I got home from Broadstairs I picked up my needles, the lovely Rowan Cashsoft Aran I was given as a anniversary gift by pao and started knitting this February Lady. It was quick going and addictive and I enjoyed knitting it. It was only when I’d finished the body and was halfway down one of the sleeves that I realised that I had been knitting with two different needle sizes. I told myself at that point it was a design feature rather than a failure as there was no way I was going to rip it all out.

I’d been knitting quite a bit at my desk at home on which some vintage buttons by Lionel Nichols were sitting on and I thought they would make a nice contrast so I took the plunge and sewed them on.

I’ve really enjoyed the roses in my garden this year and here are two of the last ones in an old teapot I picked up at an antiques fair last year.

The kittens are keeping themselves busy although the lure of the knitting does call to them from time to time.

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We walked up some steps near the harbour in Broadstairs to take a look in at a tiny gallery. This made me smile as I was reminded of the Bocca della Verità in Rome.

I was graciously allowed to take some photos of my own which was nice.

I really like this one.

I am really pleased as I have now finished my Stormwater Shawl – yay – but I wasn’t organised enough to take it to the seaside with me. Maybe next time

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pao took me to Broadstairs where we went on our first date for our wedding anniversary and we just chilled out on the beach with a picnic then went on one of our favourite activities

exploring the Albion secondhand bookshop. You never know what you’ll find as there always seems to be new stuff.

It was also really good to get to see the new yarn store that my GP and I had been chatting about C Wool.

It seemed like a very happy friendly place

complete with parking spot

for patient spouses. It turned out that they were having a sale so I was given some yarn as an anniversary gift. The owner was really friendly and used to be a Rowan consultant so it was nice that there was someone knowledge on hand too.

9 years of marriage – that’s almost a life-time, isn’t it?

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Sooooo, I kind of went a bit AWOL there. Sorry for that – it’s been a difficult time but I won’t go into that. Instead it is time for a Saturday morning bullet post.

• Slipped discs. Part of my AWOL-ness is because pao has slipped a disc and it is dreadful pain. Another couple of friends who have had this have told me it is VERY VERY painful. Mostly pao has been going to work as much as he can as per doctor’s instructions but it is not good.
• Knitting. We went to C Wool in Broadstairs (more on that in another post with photos as it is a very very nice shop) on our wedding anniversary and I scored some half price Rowan Cashsoft Aran gifted me by pao and his nan. I’ve been knitting a February Lady – I love this pattern and have been glued to my needles.
• Knitting again. I knitted like mad and finished my Stormwater Shawl (pics to follow once I’ve blocked it)
• Baking/cooking. I’ve committed myself to make a friend’s daughter’s wedding cake. (Yes, I am a crazy lady) In order to do this, I’ve got to empty the freezers out to make room for the cupcake containers which are going to contain the wedding cakelets. My friend and I have been scouring ebay for a suitable stand and finally scored one this week for a reasonable price. Yay!
• Gardening (definitely needs a post of its own). There has been a lot of heat-sapping HOT sun (yes, HOT sun has been felt in the UK – now we all need a collective lie down due to accompanying humidity) which makes things grow like crazy so have been busy pinching out etc.
• Reading. pao and I are part of a book club and we are really Yes, Man by Danny Wallace this month. I haven’t actually started it yet because I’ve been distracted by The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – that is one great book so far. pao has already read all three books in his Millennium trilogy. I’ve been reading it slowly, enjoying it but I’d better get on and read the book group book as pao will want it soon so he can read it in time.
• Kittens. It is very hard to take yourself seriously when you have kittens. Tamyra is extremely loving and will sit on your lap and purr at you for hours at a time. Sirius has been pouncing kung-fu style so it is hard to be too sad when that pair are around.

Any how, even though it is Saturday. I’m up early ready to get busy again.

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I am so happy with these socks. They are almost a complete match and my first pair knitted in continental style. They are a little weird as they are on a slant but I like them.

And apparently Merlin does too! Have a lovely weekend!

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“In the door
Pick up a jacket
Out the door and off you go”
is how a Norwegian friend described knitting with two hands to me so I’ve been giving it a try this weekend. I didn’t like it very much when I tried it by myself but with my friend’s patient tuition, I started to get the hang of it. I think this is called Continental knitting as the yarn stays on the left hand and is lifted up. I have been shown how to knit English with two hands but never got the hang of it so I’m rather pleased to have learnt a method that once mastered will really speed up by knitting!

When purling, you have to go through the back door but I’m not quite ready for that yet!

She also showed me how to do some colour work and generously gave me some of her alpaca yarn so I could make the Edith mittens I have a pattern for. They are a bit big so I’m going to practice with these and start on some afresh for real with smaller needles. I am really pleased with how they are going.

But I really don’t have to worry about knitting mittens in a hurry because Mama Tulip really kindly sent me some gold dust mittens Thank you so much! I love them!!!

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I had to wait until after the Knitting Olympics were over until I could spare the time to finish off this cardigan which I started last July. The yarn and pattern was a lovely anniversary gift from pao when we visited Bletchley Park. Interestingly enough, pao bought an extra ball of yarn at the time but I ended up hunting for another and got two just in case. Lucky that as I had to use one and a third to finish the collar off and I had shortened the sleeves somewhat to accommodate my short arms. Even so, I’m very pleased with it

Do you think it looks like the model from the shop? I will model it myself when I’ve washed it and blocked it as the borders are curling up at the moment.

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My Olympic Dreams were only partially fulfilled. It was quite a challenge I had set myself and I had trained hard by getting myself back into the pattern and got all set again so it was something I’m proud of again. I’m now back in the rhythm of how the stole knits up and where the sk2p’s are and how many stitches I have between markers. Yes, I did knit another set into my shawl as soon as I started knitting it again but I like to think of them like those cow bells you here during the events in the Olympics cheering me on. I am heartily pleased with how far I got – I almost doubled the amount I’d knit since I started it in November 2007 according to Ravelry. If I continue at this rate, it might be done for 2016

I do have the pattern and the repeats all written out in a special notebook now along with a record of what row I’ve put a lifeline in so when I get unstuck again I can be sure of where I am. I am really feeling the love for the little shawl now

pao even got me some Olympic Medals yarn from Scout’s Swag to celebrate my progress. After all, taking part is a great achievement even if I didn’t come anywhere near finishing. Isn’t pao the best husband ever? I’m just so lucky!

Of course, I do have a curious kitten every time I try and take a photo. I have a bit of a problem with taking photos at the moment as I broke the screen on my lovely camera so photo-taking for this blog post has been mostly guess-work. pao has ordered a replacement screen for it but I have been looking at the Panasonic TZ-7 which I can get with some reward vouchers I’d been saving up for years. The photos that I’ve seen on Flickr taken by it do look rather good.

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I love love love the Winter Olympics. If only I didn’t have to go to work and I could stay up all night and watch the events live and knit. Unfortunately, I do have to go and have to get knitting in when I can.
Day 1 : I completed 2.5 inches which I am rather pleased with as I did spend a long time trying to figure out where I was with the pattern (it has a 32 row repeat and I couldn’t remember where I’d started recording from which is why I left it in the first place. Now I have a notebook with numbers and colours and am organised which was my Olympic training exercise.

Day 2: wasn’t easy but I knit a dozen or so repeats. I had a bit of trouble as I’d been tired when knitting the last rows of the evening so I forgot to click the kacha kacha so started off on the wrong row and had to rip a couple of rows which slowed things down. Luckily, I’d started the day by putting in a lifeline so it wasn’t a complete disaster. I did manage to lock the stitchmarkers in again though. Luckily, I have received some lovely stitchmarkers from friends so I can probably afford to forget again They look rather pretty and it is nice to think of the givers when I look at them – like a cheer squad in my knitting.

Bearing in mind the mistakes I’d made when tired, I took two rest days for Days 3 and 4. I’m not long back from doing some filming and recording in London and I didn’t sleep too well for worrying about equipment not working properly. It did all work ok (I think I still need to play it back to check) so I’m off to bed to watch more Winter Olympics. I kind of figure that it isn’t about finishing but taking part as it certainly has made me get the stole out for some WIPs Dancing

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We had a mad amount of snow yesterday which was rather surprising as we aren’t often blessed with any snow at all. Twice in one year?! Wow. I think it was snowing because I’m starting my Knitting Olympics Challenge this weekend. I don’t have the stamina to stay awake until 1.45am to start my challenge project so I’ll leave you with some snow photos I took this morning on my way to work.

I like passing this pond – in the spring there are bluebells. It is so pretty with the snow around it.

I found this interesting pattern in the snow. I wasn’t sure what it was at first but I’ve concluded that it was a bird who had extended its wings.

Closer inspection of the surrounding area revealed some foot prints. The bird looked like it was slightly dragging its feet as it stepped.

I do love seeing leaves and snow.

Evidence of bunnies. Normally they are out and about and quite busy but they were staying in. I did see one bunny but he didn’t stick around the be photographed. I don’t blame him. It was quite cold.

Just the weather to curl up with a good book. pao’s reading the Wallander book. We’ve been watching the BBC series of Henning Mankel Wallander novels which are really good.

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