26th May 2020

Apparently, blogger will automatically revert everyone on blogger to their new updated version which means that I will be having problems trying to understand how to put photos on here/videos.  I will do my best to try this but if it gets to a point that I cannot do it, I may have to consider stopping this blog.

I am keeping an old fashioned photo album but I do like to write on a blog, especially for my Ravelry profile so we will see what happens in the future with this.

My anxieties of life are getting the better of me lately, especially working from home still and no normal life happening yet.  So I will be back soon to try and post something of interest to those few who take the time to read.

May 16th, 2020

Good evening and are we enjoying the lockdown....I flipping am not.  I have managed to persuade my boss to let me go into work twice a week now and the public transport are requesting that everyone wears a face mask in case the trains/buses are busy with people slowly returning to work.  So I can do that easily, what I can't do is knit on the bus because wearing a mask and having to wear my spectacles means the spectacles steam up and I can't see what I am knitting.

Never mind, I still get to knit in my lunch break whether working from home or in the office.

Now there is a story behind the fingerless mittens in the picture above.  They are my own design because originally I wanted go practice colour work socks so I casted on 72 stitches using Novita Nalle yarn which is durable yarn, warm and lovely to knit with.  

I knitted the leg in the design, I  knitted the heel flap, heel turn, gussets and about 15 rounds for the foot and then when Frank tried them on for size, it would not go over his heel.  Bugger!  So I had to unpick back to the start of the heel flap and decided to just knit a pair of mitts and wondering how am I ever going to knit a pair of colour work socks that are going to fit properly.

The gauge is 10 Sts to the inch using 2.5mm and I thought that casting on 72 stitches and knitting looser, it would surely fit.  Nope!  So if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.  I could go up to the recommended needle size on the ball band which is a 3.5/4 mm needle but then would that not come out too big.  

I don't know, I am so unsure and there are a pair of socks on Ravelry that I want to knit called The Bassalisk which is a snake curling itself around the foot.

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Oh well, I am off now to watch some podcasts because as usual, a Saturday Tv viewing is absolutely crap.  No decent films on or documentaries.

I am going to knit a sock tube now with the rest of the yarn left with bigger needles and at least I will get an idea of what size needle I may need to use.

Bye for now!

May 10th, 2020

What have I been doing since my last blog post!

 This had was made a few weeks ago using my handspun and the pattern is called Jason's Cashmere Hat.  It is on my Ravelry page if you need more details but suffice to say, it is another winter hat for Frank. I might wear it at some point if we get 3 feet of snow and below zero temperatures this winter.  It is not as itchy as I thought and is very warm to wear and what with me being a hot flushed 52 year old, I think it may be a bit too warm for me.  We will see what winter weather brings us.

It was a joy to knit and knowing that the yarn is my home spun, I am rather proud of it.

There are a few more hats that I would love to make, I really enjoy not planning patterns for yarn etc, I just like that freedom of choosing what I want to create.

The next project only took me a month to crochet and it was something I have been wanting to do for a while now.

This is what I call a crochet heirloom granny blanket and I wanted to make one for my eldest son and his partner.  They have a double bed and I asked him if he wanted one because I want him to have a blanket that reminds him of me when I leave this mortal soil.  He had a go at me for saying that but I wanted him to know how I felt.  I said you can wrap yourself up in it when you need some 'mummy cuddles' during hard times.

Scott & his partner Courtnie loved seeing the progress of it and finally, I finished it about 2 weeks ago.  It is 5 x 5 feet wide and is plenty big enough for their bed.  I crocheted 5 rounds of granny stripe around the edge and then tagged it.

He said he can't wait to get it but because of the lockdown still, we cannot see each other.

Tonight, the government namely good old Boris Johnson, is going to address the nation at 7 pm with the next phase of Covid  lockdown.  We are all hoping he will lighten the restrictions and let families interact so that I can see my Grandchildren next weekend.  It has been quite stressful not being able to see them, especially when they have moved now to a new home.

I am still working from home and only going to work one day a week, let's hope things get back to normal soon!

My next project I am working on is a cross stitch kit of a William Morris design called ' The Strawberry Thief' and it is going well.

I also need to start on 2 more blankets, one for my niece who has requested one and I also need to find out if my youngest son wants a blanket too.

Hopefully, be back soon!