Raspberry Red

This is my jumper amendment that's going on at the minute. The jumper on the bottom is acting as a template against which to measure how long I need to knit the sleeve. The jumper on top is, of course, the short-sleeved jumper the sleeve will be knitted onto. When I told my husband what I was doing he was sure I must be pulling his leg!

I'm loving knitting in this raspberry red colour. It's so jolly and cheerful. I never knit in this colour scheme. The closest I get is a warm yellow/honey colour. Mostly I go for blues, which I know suit my hair and skin colouring, and greens, which I also love. I might have to knit a whole jumper in this wool.

I've been feeling particularly off-kilter since Boxing Day, when I came down with a cold. We had some pre-Christmas animal loss, which I always find difficult. A goose escaped, and then one of our chicks was killed by a visiting dog. As soon as I take on responsibility for an animal I feel an absolute attachment to it. Of course, I'm fonder of some than of others, but I still find it difficult to watch an animal in distress. The goose and the chick winded me, and then there was all the Christmas shenanigans to contend with, and so my immunity was low when my great-niece Lucy coughed all over me on Christmas Day. And I haven't felt quite at full robust-ness since. 

My first 'Experimental Fiction' class was really great mid-week. The tutor had an understated, laid back, but still knew what he was talking about style, which I liked.  

The jumper I wish I'd never knitted

Sure, it looks good in the photo, maybe something to do with the beautiful model, but knitting this jumper in real life has taken me, I believe, seven years.

Today I decided to sew in all the loose ends, and insert the V in the neckline. I thought I might even get as far as sewing it together and be able to consign it to the 'finished' pile. But when I came to sew in the loose ends, of which there were a few (explanation later) I found A HOLE!. Just near the top left hand shoulder front. Both the purple wool and the green wool had broken at exactly the same point.

To mend it I pulled, distorting the gauge because there was no give, and tied the ends as best I could and then I put clear nail varnish over the knots, because at this stage there was nothing else I could think to do.

I carried on, only to find ANOTHER hole in the ribbing on the back, so I darned that as best I could, not even bothering about the aesthetic of how it would look. I'm now on the final sleeve, sewing in the loose ends and I've found yet another hole. This time the green wool has snapped.

This jumper has been plagued with problems. The moral of the story is not to buy wool so far in advance of knitting the garment that the wool is discontinued and so there is no hope of returning it to the shop for a refund or another ball. The final ball of purple wool I used had so many frays in it I had to continually break it and re-introduce it into the sleeve (so, lots of ends - another annoyance). Then I ran out of green wool at the top of the last sleeve and had to use different wool/different colour to finish it off. 

I'll finish patching it together as best I can and then use it as a run around jumper. Maybe it'll be good for when I'm cleaning out the chickens. And if I get any more holes I'll put a whopping great patch on it.

Grrrrr.

Jumper # 1

I finished a jumper! The first out of five (jumper # 4 has been knitted; jumper # 5 is halfway through).

It's from Vintage Knits, Sarah Dallas. I've knitted it before, years ago, in a muted purple Jaeger 4 ply.

This is alpaca, and it is so soft and utterly lovely.

Jumper # 2 is lined up to be worked on tomorrow. It feels good!

One for me, one for you

I like thinking of new things to make, so making aprons out of oilcloth I bought in John Lewis was a really fun project. I made one for myself...

...and one for my neighbours. I got the ties from Edinburgh Fabrics (I think that's what it's called - a great fabric/haberdashers I pass on my way into town).

I also put this adjustable part on my neighbours' apron (my ties are fixed). I think it does what I intended it to do! Will have to buy more as I love things like this.

I have a wee bit of oilcloth left so I might make another bag. I'm also thinking of buying different oilcloth to make more aprons/bags. John Lewis has a great range, but the Cath Kidston shop also sells oilcloth occasionally. I thought about making a rain mac out of it too.

And a gratuitous shot of my great niece Lucy on Christmas Day. She's a great wee character. The first girl to be born into our family since me! She has unruly ginger hair, which she won't let anyone brush. She looked especially cute in her dress, jumper and boots, riding her new horse.

Jumpers on the brain

I have three short-sleeved jumpers, knitted years ago (my first attempts at the Sarah Dallas Vintage Knits jumpers), that I like very much but NEVER wear. When is there a call to wear a short-sleeved jumper? The next three jumpers I knitted to this pattern (because I like the pattern very much) were all long-sleeved, two of which (the third I've just finished knitting) get worn all the time. So I've decided to turn my short-sleeved jumpers into long-sleeved jumpers, by knitting a contrasting 'sleeve' to join under the rib. I didn't really mean to begin knitting this, but I had a leftover ball of 'avocado Rowan 4-ply pure wool' and nothing to knit, so I cast on and have almost finished the first add-on sleeve. I'll have to go to John Lewis tomorrow and get another ball. Hopefully the dye lot won't be too far away from this one!

The other two jumpers both have a raspberry pinky/red as the contrasting colour, so I'll also buy four balls of that. I don't mind if they look a bit odd.

I have a COMPLETE fetish over jumpers at the moment. I can't stop knitting them (jumper 4 out of 5 just finished) or buying them. I got two lovely tweedy jumpers from the Boden sale: one a gorgeous purple, the other an off-white/oatmeal. 

Anyway. I'll upload progress as I go. More jumper goodness coming soon!

December

I made these socks for my friend, Fiona. She liked the socks I knitted her last year so much, and has said so, many times, I just had to knit her another pair.

Of course, no shot is complete without the obligatory cat getting in on the act.

The above toiletries bag is Version 1 that I made for my work Make-it-Yourself Secret Santa. It's a gorgeous wool tweed, lined with waterproof material. The finished version - Version 2 - has a toggle. I sewed the hem of the first one too close to the edge, which meant the material bunched up too much to close properly at the top. So I left a larger hem in Version 2, and it closes beautifully. It was our works night out on Friday so we exchanged gifts then.

My Santa made me these - or, I suspect - painted and glazed them. Very cute.

I'm counting down the days to Friday, or Thursday even. Friday is the last work day for two weeks, but I suspect Thursday will be the last public day. Looking forward to a break at home with my husband and animal friends.

Into December

So, the beginning of December finds me grumpily finishing off the accounts. Christmas and accounts don't mix. I'm trying to get shot of them at the very beginning of the month, rather than a week before Christmas, which is when I finished them last year. I have a couple of things still to do and I'll post them off on Friday.

In more exciting news: we think Squeaky Cheese laid an egg!

Squeaky Cheese is the very beautiful chick on the right hand side of the photo. There's only one thing to do when such a tiny and precious egg is laid, and that's make Lemon Curd, or Lemon Cheese as some people call it, or Squeaky Lemon Cheese if it's made with an egg from Squeaky Cheese :)

The first sock for my friend is finished and I'm a third of the way through the second. (It isn't sewn up yet.)

I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed by December. Next weekend I have three days off and I'm hoping they're going to be filled with FUN stuff. Chill out stuff. I'm already scaling down what I feel I have to do - knit a present for my colleague who's just had a baby? I could but I'm not going to. That kind of thing. 

November

I like November. I like the crisp, clear sunlight during the day, and then cosying up beside the wood burner at night with my various projects close by (knitting, reading, notebook planning, watching TV).

And I like winter outdoor pursuits. We had a bonfire again this year. And a firework display. I was a wee bit concerned about the animals, but Pete had chosen fireworks that didn't scream or bang too loudly. I spent the morning baking banana and walnut cake, and apple pies and it was lovely to have everyone round to ours first before heading out. I realised, though, part-way through, that I was worrying about Meg. I had expected everyone to stay out once we went out to the bonfire, but there was quite a bit of in and out for various reasons (cold; children) and I started feeling stressed. So I did what I should have done from the outset and locked Meg in upstairs. That meant people could come and go as they liked and Meg would be safely inside. 

Last Wednesday I met my friend Janie in York. It is halfway between where we each live. We headed straight to Betty's Tea Rooms when we arrived and had Elevenses. It was so lovely and very civilised and so busy. When we went back later (I wanted to buy their chocolate pigs) there was a queue right out the door! Amazing.

We had five hours in York and I knew it would pass too quickly. We talked non-stop from when we met to when we parted. I really miss living near to Janie and Ba. They are such good fun and great people. 

Hagos and I went to Whitmuir for coffee and cake on Thursday. Hagos likes to pull funny faces. The chocolate cake was amazing, but I have been over-indulging recently and my body has reached its limit!

I hadn't intended knitting a pair of socks anytime soon (what with five jumpers at various stages of knitting and completion on the go) but my friend hinted so often that she loved the socks I knitted her last year that I started thinking I should knit her another pair. I would need to get her something for Christmas, after all. So I chose the three colours and made it up as I went along. I like to think of it as a crazy-Tweed type pattern. I'm planning to make the toe entirely yellow.

It's been so nice having time off. When I'm working full-time my head is in work mode and is busybusybusy. Too busy. I miss having time to look after my house and family. All the little jobs there isn't time to do. I miss seeing Meg and Hagos and my chickens (particularly in winter as they are in bed by the time I get home from work). And just having the time to make home more homely. My back hallway needs a good clean and clear out. 

And now I'm on the countdown to Christmas, and I still have Hagos's accounts to itemise and finish preparing for the accountant. I'll just have to try to pace myself.

A Catch Up

It's been a busy month. My husband returned home from tour and it's so nice to have him home. The first weekend back we had planned the GREAT APPLE-PICKING day. Collecting apples to turn them into cider! All apple-related pics courtesy of Pete. 

The lower apples were easy to reach. But it was so tantalising to see the higher apples and not be able to reach them. In the end we had a ladder, a mop and a football to try to knock the apples out of the tree. I think the football is still in the tree.

Shaking the tree was a great method to make the apples drop. The kids helped enthusiastically at the first tree. By the second tree they were already getting distracted and sitting on the quad bike instead while the adults gathered, and not long after that they headed off to watch Star Wars and left the adults to it entirely.

The apple press caused much excitement, along with the macerator (not pictured). Boys' toys. It is beautiful though. I love the green.

We collected so many apples. We started at 1.30pm and Hagos and I were still next door at our neighbours' house at midnight! We were so exhausted.

The apple press in action. 

I love this photo of the boys together. Some people ate the apples as we went from tree to tree :)

And a completely unrelated photo from Lynsey's birthday dinner last night at Viva Mexico on Coburn Street. Last year there was a sombrero that she put on and looked very fetching. This year the sombrero was nowhere to be seen (cutbacks, perhaps?) so Lynsey used her placemat instead.

I still have five jumpers at various stages of being knitted/finished off. I wanted to finish them all at the same time and then do a post entitled 'Jumper Tetris'. That's seeming less likely! 

Also in the past month my sister moved house. I went down to Dumfries to help clean the new place one day. It brought back memories of moving from Norfolk to Scotland. Such a major operation!

Today is Whitmuir for coffee and cake. Then tomorrow we're celebrating bonfire night early. I like fireworks but hope there aren't too many that go 'bang'. I don't want the animals (wild or domesticated) to be scared. I like fireworks that fizz gently and turn different colours. And sparklers. I like this time of year.

Sunday

Today I thought about making my new handbag, but I ended up just spending time with my animal friends, and RELAXING.

Unscheduled time. Lovely.

The chicks are getting big, and they're the sweetest things. They cheep all the time, and they now run towards me when I approach, along with the big hens, as they know I bring them porridge, which they love. 

When they go to bed, they're all flopped on top of each other, in a bundle. I adore them.

Wool - my favourite material

I'm planning to make a new handbag out of this wool. I love the colours. I'm basing the design on my previous Mulberry bag, which I loved. I considered buying ready-made leather handles to attach - and I might still - but in the meantime I bought some plastic tubing, to cover in material and make my own handles. I also bought bag feet. I like that kind of stuff. 

Might make a bag out of this too. I could've bought half metres of all the wool/tweed in the shop - lovely combinations of colours, checks, herringbone, dogs tooth, etc.

This book has proved very useful.

Relish, Knitting, Chicks and a Cat

I made my annual Beetroot Relish on Thursday night. Home-grown beetroot. I couldn't find my previous recipe so just looked for one online. It's perhaps a little sweet, but still, it tastes so fresh and amazing. It's delicious.

As if I don't have enough jumpers on the go at the moment (another four - three of which just need to be sewn together, one in the process of being knitted still) I decided to cast on this 4-ply Rowan Tweed, which I bought about ten years ago at the Alexandra Palace Stitch and Knit Show. Wow. I got ten balls of wool for about a tenner. I don't know why I haven't used it before now, because it's knitting up beautifully.

I decided just to make my very familiar TV jumper (Vintage Knits, Sarah Dallas) that I've made several times already. It's so good for watching TV as I don't need to pay much attention when knitting. And as I watch 1-2 hours of TV each day that adds up to a lot of knitting. I've almost finished the back already! I love all the flecks of red, yellow, orange and greens.

I bought the above pattern off Ebay. I saw someone who had made it up on their blog and liked it so much I tracked it down. It's a 60s pattern. Looking forward to making it up!

The chicks are getting big. They're so beautiful and sweet. They run away when I first approach them but soon they get brave and act normally. They grow incredibly fast. Wasn't so long ago they were flexing their legs in their eggs!

Meg is interested in the chicks, but thankfully, so far she hasn't tried to grab one. I think she knows they're special, and not run-of-the-mill blue tits or robins. Meg is so beautiful.

My favourite programme, Strictly Come Dancing, started last night. Looking forward to it beginning properly in 3 weeks' time. The last couple of days have been markedly cooler. Autumn is definitely here.

Silly Sunday

I've signed up to do an Experimental Writing module at the University of Edinburgh in January. It lasts for 10 weeks, one evening a week. Above is my reading list (I do love a reading list).

So, of course, to carry those books around I'm going to need a purpose-made bag. It's a silly bag, but I like it. It took about half an hour to knock up. It wouldn't stand up to any sewing scrutiny but it is functionally fulfilling.

I've started collecting the books to read. It says any five of the core reading, then has recommended reading. I thought I'd start with Max Sebald's The Emigrants. I should really have read more of Max's writing anyway, having had him as my writing tutor at UEA.

Then I might move on to William Burroughs, then Italo Calvino and finally James Joyce. I was also meant to have already read Ulysses during my Masters degree, but somehow I managed to bluff my way through that part of the course. I wish I hadn't.

The bag in action.

Even Ulysses fits, and I didn't think any bag in the world would be big enough for that.

Summer has surprisingly lasted a long time in Scotland this year. The forecast for tomorrow is 18 degrees again. Today is what I think of as a typically Scottish Sunday: dull, overcast, windy with the possibility of rain. I like days like this because walks are refreshing and it's always nice to get back inside the warmth (central heating on) and do an indoor pursuit - reading, knitting, sewing, drinking tea and eating chocolate.

I rarely watch any TV during the summer period. There's nothing on I like. But come autumn, into winter, all my favourite shows return: The Great British Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing, The Bridge Series 2, Borgen Series 3, The Great British Sewing Bee. I'm sure there are more.

The jumper update I expected to do has been delayed due to it taking much longer to finish them off than I'd anticipated. In the meantime I've cast on another jumper. I can hardly believe it myself, as well as continuing with the chunky white jumper. So, I have THREE jumpers that are all knitted and are now in the process of being sewn together and having their neckbands knitted, and TWO jumpers that are on the needles. I also need to upload the photo of my finished fleece dress. Next weekend.

Some things

I spent some time on Sunday trying to take a beautifully-composed photograph of Turkey (not shown). Sometimes the hens and Turkey pose perfectly and the lines are right and there's something in the look that I really love. And at one point Turkey was in front of the house and she looked MAGNIFICENT and I quickly put my camera in place, pressed the focus - and then she moved! Before I could take the shot.

But this post isn't really about Turkey, it's about how I try to line everything up in my life so it all works well and I'm prepared in advance. I like being prepared. And I need to delegate even more. I had just started practising delegating but I can see I need to do even more of it. I tend to think I can do everything myself and then I wonder why I'm TOTALLY exhausted and not enjoying life.

And then tonight I read one of my favourite blogs, Soulemama, and read that my favourite web cat, Banjo, had died. I've followed stories about Banjo for years. And about the relationship between Banjo and Adelaide, Soulemama's daughter. The photographs of them together are so sweet. They loved each other as a girl and a cat should. Such a beautiful friendship. So now I'm sad.