Hello again my dears, I hope you're all well. I'm back to get everything in order before the end of the month, when it's time to start on my Advent Updates. I seem to have accidentally left everything for over 3 months again, oops!
Covid is still a thing, although much less of a thing than it has been. Infection rates are up, which is to be expected as winter approaches, however, due to high uptake of the various covid vaccines in the UK, hospital admissions are just about manageable, and death rates have stabilised. This means that our government has decided Christmas can go ahead without interruption this year. There are some, myself included if I'm honest, who think it would be prudent to reintroduce some basic measures, such as social distancing, and mandatory wearing of face coverings when in indoor public spaces, in order to keep more people safe during the busy pre-festive period. Mostly though, people are acting as though everything is back to normal.
It's not of course. This was emphasised to me just recently, when a friend of mine died from covid. He was the first person in my age group who I knew to be taken by this disease. I didn't know him well, but I know others who did. The few times I met him, I liked him. He was a unique character, and he'll be missed by many. I won't wish that he rests in peace, because that's the last thing he'd want, so I'll say instead that whatever world he's moved on to couldn't possibly be ready for the punk rock party he'll be bringing!
My apologies if my mood is on occasion a little maudlin during this update, but it's that time of year. I had thought that I was getting better with autumn, feeling able to fully enjoy all of the things I love about this season. Then this week it's suddenly become a problem again. 3 days ago was the 9th anniversary of losing mam, and next week would have been her 72nd birthday. It's a little over 7 years since we lost Myra, almost 5 years since we lost Trish, and over 2 years since we lost dad. I have suddenly become hyper aware of my fear of losing Davie, even though dad broke the pattern by dying in the middle of summer, my subconscious is telling me that our family is "due" another loss. Grief is complicated.
On that cheery note, let's get into the knitting stuff, shall we?
FO's
These are the socks I was knitting last time, and I made them for Boo, who I've come to think of as Finn's Godmother. Boo made a lovely rainbow collar for Finn, and in exchange, I made her these socks. My phone camera does something weird to colours, so they're actually a bit less pink, and a bit more purple than they appear here.
My default sock pattern, and the yarns are King Cole ZigZag, in the colourway "Crush", and Zwerger Garn Opal Uni Solid 4-ply, in the colourway "Berry".
These are the 5th pair of socks that I have made for Stephen, yet somehow they are the only pair that he can currently find both of. I can only assume that he will lose at least one of these within the next 3 months too. Somewhere in this house, Finn must have a secret stash of stolen socks, but I have thus far failed to locate it.
Default sock pattern, and the yarns are King Cole ZigZag, in the colourways "Wicked", and Zwerger Garn Opal 4-ply, in the colourway "Anthrazit".
Knot Bad shared some Halloween amigurumi he'd made on his Instagram, which inspired me to make these Zombie Octopodes/Octopi/Octopuses! Except that only one of them actually has 8 legs, because apparently I can't count and crochet at the same time. They have an average of 8 legs...
Knot Bad also has a pattern for a large fluffy crocheted penguin, but as I'm still struggling somewhat with crochet patterns, and the penguin requires ludicrous fluffy yarn (that I'm not even sure I can get in the UK), I am resisting the urge to buy the penguin pattern.
The last 2 pairs of this year's Marie Curie Sock Quest socks, the top pair are size 9, and the bottom pair are size 4, because I didn't dare risk making a larger size for the last pair, just in case I ran out of the yellow yarn! In total I made 4 pairs this year, and got them washed, labelled, and posted off last week.
The pattern is a combination of my own standard sock pattern, and the official Sock Quest pattern by Sherlock Knits. The yarn is West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-ply, in the colourways "Turmeric", and "Kingfisher".
See what I meant by the title of this post? I've been making a lot of socks recently! This particular pair are for Stephen's mum, or my "mum-out-law" as I call her (Stephen and I aren't married, so she's not an in-law you see!) We video call Stephen's parents every week, and one time we were talking about how we all have varying degrees of lymphoedema in our ankles, so store bought socks tend to dig in and leave marks. I explained that I don't have that problem, even though I also have Lipoedema, because nearly all of my socks are hand knit to fit me exactly, and I offered to make some for Stephen's mum.
The week after she sent her measurements to me, and chose the colours of yarn she'd like, I showed her the beginnings of the first sock, and she was dubious about it fitting. I knew that it would, because her ankles are actually slimmer than mine, and I'd cast on the same number of stitches that I would for my own socks, AND I'd used an extra stretchy cast on (German Twisted cast on).
The socks arrived, via a neighbour, which is more complicated than it sounds on the Shetland Isles, where they live, earlier this week. Of course, they fit perfectly. I'd be quite disappointed in myself if I couldn't make socks that fit by now! I've made dozens of pairs!
Excepting the cast on method (I usually use a simple long-tail cast on), these were made according to my standard sock pattern. The yarns are West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Sparkle 4-ply, in the colourway "Silent Night", and West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4-ply, in the colourway "Blueberry Bonbon".
This is my small offering to the 2021 Commit to Knit campaign. Although this is the first year since I've discovered this campaign, they have been going for a while, and they have supported several different charities. Last year, and this year, they have been working with several homelessness charities to supply plenty of warm hats, not just for the physical warmth and protection afforded by woolly head gear, but also for the love and care that goes into hand knitting something for another person. That tangible proof that someone cares can be a significant boost to the mental health of someone who has been forced into a terrible situation.
This hat is knit to the Basic Ribbed Beanie pattern by Kessa Tay Anlin. I used this pattern for hats for Stephen and I last year, and I genuinely love it. They are so simple, but so snuggly! The yarn is King Cole Riot DK, in the colourway "413".
Finally, one of the most ridiculous, and tiny projects I've ever knit.
Stephen has lost the little foam thingy that acts as a sort of pop-shield and sibilance reduction device on his gaming headset. We suspect that it's fallen off, and either been eaten by Finn, who will mistake almost anything for food, or more likely, I've vacuumed it up. So I spent 20 minutes last night knitting him a new microphone cover.
There is no such thing as a pattern for anything this daft. The yarn is Zwerger Garn Opal Uni Solid 4-ply, in the colourway "Smoke".
WIP's
There are a couple of projects I'm working on that I'm not going to include here just yet, as technically they're Christmas presents. I promise I'll show them after they've been delivered to their new owners though. I'm also not going to really talk about my Free-form cardigan, as although I've put a few rows on it, it hasn't progressed that far since last time I showed it to you.
I have made a few more squares for my crocheted Memory Blanket though. They're all just basic granny squares, using DK yarn. The 2 on the left are mini-skeins from Made by Penguins, the one on the right is Stylecraft Cabaret DK, in the colourway "Ocean", and I *think* the dark grey/green one is Third Vault Yarns Caroline DK, in the colourway "Death", left over from making a jumper.
Today I finished spinning the last of the singles for my Fluff to Stuff, although I think it's unlikely that I'll finish before the official end date, as that is the end of this month! To be honest though, I'm doing this more as a personal challenge, and I'm not so bothered about entering my finished objects into prize draws, so I'll be happy if I have this lot turned into something wearable (the plan is a simple shrug/cardigan) by the end of the year.
I started with just under 140g of solid burgundy merino tops, and just over 140g of Wildcraft Fibres BFL and sparkle, in the colourway "Dorset Heath".
Stash Acquisition
Made by Penguins August Little Penguin subscription box. The colourway is called "Autumn Sunset", and it's so much more beautiful than my phone camera can show! It is quite clear that Lisa is all about the pink this year though!
Made by Penguins September Little Penguin subscription box. This colourway is called "Butternut Squash", and it's giving definite autumn vibes. I'm loving these little autumn leaf stitch markers too!
The October subscriptions haven't gone out yet, as Lisa has been really struggling with her health, and has been concentrating what energy she has had into making sure that the Advent calendars would be ready on time. She assures us all that she's starting to feel better now, and that the October boxes will go out at the same time as the November ones, which is usually in the middle of the month.
When September's issue of The Knitter arrived through my letterbox, it contained an ad for what I thought was a new West Yorkshire Spinners yarn - Signature Sparkle 4-ply. I'd just been thinking that I was quite low on purple colourways in my commercial sock yarn stash, so I went looking for some to buy, and ended up buying mostly blues. You might recognise a couple of them from earlier. Technically speaking, these are outside of my "Cold Sheep" allowances, as I didn't have a specific project in mind when I ordered them, but I did know that they'd be used for socks sooner or later, and I had just won £25 on My Trees, so it wasn't breaking my monthly budget!
The 2 solid colour yarns are both ordinary Signature 4-ply, bought partly because I've developed a liking for contrasting heels and toes of late, and I thought these colourways would go well with the 2 variegated colourways, but also because buying the extra couple of balls took me past the free postage spend. They also came with free sock patterns.
From left to right, the colourways are: "Blueberry Bonbon", "Vintage Tinsel", "Silent Night", and "Juniper".
This is my Bakewell Wool Gathering Haul. I used my primary Yarn Festivals budget to the last penny, but I did have some money left over from my Spare Change Collection budget, which I'd tipped out of my money box (yes, I literally have a money box for saving loose coins in!) So the few coins I had left over have gone back in the box for next year.
I'll share a better photo of the non-yarn items later on, but here's a bit more information about the yarn:
Truly Hooked - 3 full skeins of Peruvian Highland 4-ply, in the colourway "Charcoal". Believe it or not, these all came from the sale bin! I managed to get a sweater quantity, and still have a decent amount of my budget left over! - 3 10g mystery mini-skeins. I love me a little surprise, so I always try to buy a few mystery mini's when I'm at a festival! These ones actually go together really well!
Rosie's Moments - 1 full skein of sparkly 4-ply in bright red, with splashes of other bright colours, with the colourway name "Christmas". This was my first purchase of the day, and it was one of those that called to me from a distance, just because it's such an incredibly bright red, and really good reds are hard to find. - 5 20g mini-skeins in bold, jewel tones. Another gem from a sale bin! The Rosie's Moments sale bin is always our first port of call at Bakewell!
Knitting Adjacent
When you're visiting your local English Heritage site, and you spot a zip-close pouch, the ideal size for 2 balls of yarn, and it's in a little pile of "reduced to clear", so it costs you less than a quarter of it's original price, you pretty much have to buy it. Who wouldn't want a project bag with pictures of the work of Capability Brown on it?
You all know how I love the work of SkeinHead. Sadly, I can't afford to own every t-shirt design that Mikie and India produce. However, they also put many of their designs onto stickers, and they've also made a brilliant Halloween pin badge with a pumpkin on it! So my laptop is now sporting a large holographic sticker of their "Knit and Purl can change the world" design, and the pin badge has pride of place in my pin collection.
Here's that closer look at my non-yarn purchases from Bakewell Wool Gathering.
A little yarn protector pouch thing that acts as a sort of portable yarn bowl, in a gorgeous black, with brightly coloured balls of yarn print fabric, by Pickle Lily. A face covering made from black fabric with a print of balls of yarn in muted, autumnal colours, also from Pickle Lily.
A penguin progress keeper (more about that in the last section).
Finn
Unashamed squeeing about my beautiful baby boy!
Well, I say it's all *squee!* but actually, there's a fair bit of "OMG! What have you been in!?!?" In this case, the fetid mud surrounding a stagnant pond.
He is not especially fond of being bathed. I am not especially fond of bathing him. Or of cleaning the bath after I've bathed him! But this photo is a direct result of the behaviour exhibited in the earlier photo.
He can also make a nuisance of himself in the house. This blurry photo is him stealing the wrappers for my Marie Curie Quest Socks as they come out of the printer. He then runs about with them until they're suitably crumpled, then he drops them on the floor and tramples on them! This is in Stephen's office, which isn't the tidiest room in the house at the best of times, but with Finn in there it becomes utter chaos!
OK, so this is mostly an excuse to demonstrate that nobody in this house is a proper adult. We're both 44 years old. Stephen will be 45 at the end of this month. Yet we have glow in the dark dinosaurs, wearing Christmas jumpers, on our king-size duvet cover. The single duvet that covers the bottom of the bed, in order to protect our feet from a spaniel who likes to dig a nest at the bottom of our bed every night, also has dinosaurs in Christmas jumpers, but they don't glow in the dark. Finn doesn't care what's on the duvet, as long as he can sleep on the Big Bed with us.
I had to crop this one, because Stephen had fallen asleep on the sofa in the background, which is why Finn was all up in my face asking for attention. How dare daddy fall asleep, when he knows it's his job to give Finn AllTheFussels in the evening, in order to compensate for being gone for all the HoursDaysWeeks at work!
Penguins!
It is essential that I make a detailed shopping list every week, based on meal plans for that week (with some flexibility, to allow for my body and it's general unreliability as regards capability to cook anything more complex than a cup-a-soup, and even that might involve a certain amount of kitchen destruction, and/or scalding myself). We have discovered that this method saves us money, and prevents excessive snack purchases, when compared with our previous shopping and meal planning method, which was to go to Tesco every other day, and wander around with no goal or purpose, until £30 of snacks and a pack of fresh pasta had fallen into our basket. On the days we didn't go to Tesco, we ordered takeout. The pre-planned meals and weekly shop has also successfully condensed a daily half hour of indecisiveness regarding what we want for dinner, into a single weekly hour of indecision.
It is not essential that the shopping list be written on a notepad with pictures of penguins on it, and colour-coded according to type of produce, but it is much preferred. Therefore when my old shopping list pad ran out, I bought myself this one.
I know not if this idea was copied from Made by Penguins, or if having a giant crocheted penguin on your yarn stall is just such an excellent idea that it was thought of by multiple indie yarn dyers. All I know is that if there is a giant crocheted penguin on your yarn stall, then I need to take a photo of it.
This penguin lives on The Crafty Bird's stall, and this photo was taken at Bakewell Wool Gathering.
Finally, a close up of the penguin progress keeper that I bought from the Knitting Companion stall at Bakewell. He's one of several progress keepers that I've attached to a bracelet that I got at Bakewell Wool Gathering several years ago, and now use as a combination charm bracelet/knitting tool.
That my dears, is all I have for you right now. As we're allowed to go places, and do things this year, Stephen and I will be celebrating his birthday with our traditional short holiday in North Yorkshire. This means that I am unlikely to be able to update my blog on the last day of November, or the first of December. Therefore I'll be doing my pre-advent post hopefully on the 27th, and my first advent post will be as soon as I'm feeling up to it after we get back.
Take care my dears, and keep on keeping safe.
