Woolgathering

Blink is blocking. I didn’t plan to block it because I liked its texture but after I soaked it I found that it really wanted to contract, so I pinned it out roughly. I only did the basic 12 and a half repeats in the end - then fretted as I knitted the decreases because I didn’t think that it would be long enough… but it has blocked to 67″ by 8″ or thereabouts. I do believe that I could have got more length out of it quite easily, but it is on the kitchen table and just fits that nicely as it is.

Time to move on. A few rows on the Morning Surf today, I think, so that I see some progress there, then I’ll cast on my slippers  if needles are available.

1) Thanks to Jenny,I now have a UK source of slipper soles - just what I was seeking. I knew I had seen them previously but couldn’t track them down when I looked the other day. Thank you very much.

2) and for your next trick, dear readers, I want some polystyrene feet. Again, I know I have seen them somewhere but am having trouble finding them. They are for photographing sock FOs and maybe for felting overlarge socks into slippers - so they need to be sized, at least roughly. I want UK Ladies size 7 (ish) - I never got the hang of Euro sizes (41?) and don’t have a clue how UK sizes map to US ones. Nor do I really know how Men’s and Women’s sizes map to each other…

3) Blink stalled a bit over the weekend as I have been very busy. I have no idea where the weekend went to but I appear to have wasted it doing proper work. In short, I barely picked up the scarf all weekend but managed last night to edge it to the end of 12 repeats. Theoretically I can go for the end now, but there is yarn to spare and I like a longer scarf. I’d like to make 15 repeats - though I’m not sure about my yardage there and I am running out of September.

4) Spinning is here this week - I’d like to make a gingerbread cake today and give it time to relax before Wednesday

5) but I have to go out and spend my afternoon delivering some training (and most of this morning will be spent in preparation)

Maybe I’ll get Blink off the needles tonight - I’d certainly like to. The Manos is gorgeous and I want to have a go at those slippers soon. Do they count for Socktoberfest? They are kind of like socks, really… can I complete Blink and a pair of Slippers before 1st October maybe?

Perhaps tomorrow I’ll force my way through the pile that is blocking the doorway in my workroom and take proper stock of my sock yarn stash and make a plan for October.

Yeah.

Right.

In Other News - Sandaysoft is becoming rather too busy for comfort. It’s time to decide whether or not to develop the business into a proper money spinner rather than a hobby, and aim for a shift away from employment to self-employment - because the way things are, the one is not earning enough money but is taking too much time away from the other. So, do we build the business? It will take time away from the knitting, that’s for sure.

Right, I need to crack on. Lots to do today.

My life has become incredibly busy of late. I cannot imagine what has happened!

This coming week will see me rushed off my feet: I have three separate clients to see for Sandaysoft, an appointment for training an individual for another client, a Development Trust Board meeting, a mountain of documentation to write, three web sites to bring up to date, spinning group to host and cake to make, my quilting homework to do - and my Blink to complete!

Well, something is going to have to suffer. I could claim that it will be the blog(s) but it is more likely to be the housework and dog-walking. On the other hand, I could just go for it hell for leather and try to get Blink finished tonight. I’ve been too busy today to pick up the needles until now. Mr L made me a wonderful Sichuan Chicken with cashew nuts for my dinner and I am too stuffed to move. I reckon that sitting on the sofa and knitting* is about all I am good for.

*Can I have wine with that?

There are lights beginning to show at the end of the Blink tunnel. Eight repeats completed and the first skein is close to its end.

I shall need to crack on, as the yarn for my slippers arrived this morning and is beckoning to me. I need to go look for some suede or leather soles that I can stitch onto the knitted slipper, for longevity (and safety - we have a lot of hard flooring in this house.) Information on where such may be found would be gratefully received. Go on, talk to me, I know you are out there!

50% done.

Hurrah!

(nominally, at least - because I shall be knitting until the yarn runs out)

Pretty though, isn’t it?

Onward!

Blink seems to be steadfastly resisting the halfway point and I seem to be spending more time going backwards than I am spending going towards my goal. This scarf is turning out to be anything but the quick knit that I intended it to be. I don’t know what it is - because it is a simple enough pattern. Perhaps it is because I am stressed and upset at the moment and that is causing lapses of attention. And it does not help when one corrects an error from the wrong pattern row, either.

Well, all I can say is that I must spin a good yarn, as it is holding up well to all this punishment.

I had hoped to take my knitting and sit quietly in the back row with it tonight but as I have been conned into doing asked to do chairs and teas, that will not be possible.

In Other News - I just bought a kilo of gorgeous natural BFL. It’s not all for me, I hasten to add.

Frankly, the thought of spinning an even yarn for a whole jumper is even more scary than tonight’s elections or my job application!

Ah, well - back to Blink. Let’s hope for some forwards progression!

Well, I survived my patchwork class. I even came out of it without tears (there were just the two swear words uttered) and I brought home two squares stitched from a pair of triangles each.

We got homework!!!!!

I was wiped out after class. I haven’t felt like that since I was learning Calligraphy many years ago. The level of concentration (for me) was intense and the pace relentless. We didn’t even get a cup of tea!

EDIT: the scariest part was the use of the P word and the I word. Precision was never my strong point, I’m your naturally gung-ho slapdash kind of a girl. As for *r*n*ng. Yeah. Right. I think I have an *r*n somewhere but I can’t recall the last time that I plugged it in. Sheesh. Nobody said that there would be *r*n*ng!

I plan to persevere: to learn these basic techniques and to make the class project (a cushion cover) and I will carry on to a project of my own just to prove to myself that I can beat this thing and to explore my own creativity within it. But, honestly? No, I don’t see me taking it up long term. Give me two long and not-sharp needles any day of the week

It’s not that I don’t see or appreciate the work that others put into their patchwork. Truly, I stand in awe. I recognise that is something I could never do - to put that amount of concentrated work and dedication into a project, it simply isn’t within me to do that.

The thing is - to me patchwork is somewhat like crochet. The final appeal is insufficient to drive me towards learning to do it. For example - I like the fabric produced in knitting. I dislike the fabric produced in crochet - I’d never wear a crocheted item, ever. So, I don’t do crochet, because it offers me no joy. Similarly, I can admire the craftsmanship, but I’d never want to own a quilt. I think, to me, patchwork quilts are museum and exhibition pieces.

My challenge now is to change that mindset. I need to find something that excites me and makes me want to progress, if only for a short while. The making of my own patterned fabrics and construction of something possibly freeform and organic from those does whisper to me. It’s not a loud call yet, but there’s something beckoning. I know it is going to be a fascinating journey, even if it terminates in a cul-de-sac. I will at least have learned something new, also have learned something about myself and my internal processes, practised some self-discipline (I need that), and possibly have acquired a small work of original art…. or a duster… in the process.

In Knitting News - Blink is giving me some grief and I have decided to rip it back to row 44 and go with the pattern as written. There’s something just not clicking in my brain and I find myself completely unable to adapt the pattern to suit the width that I want. So we’ll have a long Blink instead of a wide Blink. It’s going to take  a blinking long time to tink back from row 60, that’s all I have to say at this juncture.

Depressed? Slightly. I’ll compensate by unwrapping this Amazon parcel that has just arrived.

Could there be any better PS3 Water project than this? I don’t think so. Look at those ripples!

It’s going to be blinking gorgeous. Even if the flash does do the colour no favours…

I should learn to read. Blink does not take 4mm needles, it takes US Size 4 needles - which is 3.5mm. I had the right needles available all the time. *groan*

My Hypotenuse scarf/wrap thing (Pythagoras) is now suffering a light blocking. It was fun/easy/quick to block due to its geometric pattern - there are lots of straight lines to measure and straighten. Of course, with my lack of blocking skills, and the lack of a set of wires, it’s anything but straight in fact. But it’s no dog’s hind leg either, so I am quite pleased.

Blocked to 81.5″ by 15.5″ - no doubt when I take the pins out it will be closer to 80″ by 15″

It’s in the utility room, so Lulu has to stay outside until it dries.

My washed skeins are dry.

Time to wind them into balls and look for some knitting needles!