Woolly Wednesday

Knitting has been a welcome distraction from the pain and it feels good to have my knitting mojo well and truly in gear ;-)

 February socks in the making.

I decided to let the yarn speak for itself and so these are knit in a simple stocking stitch.  The wool is from West Yorkshire Spinners and is their "signature" 4 ply consisting of 75% wool (of which 35% is Bluefaced Leicester) and 25% Nylon.  Ideally you always need a bit of nylon in a sock yarn as it helps with wearability and durability.

An "Aestlight Shawl" by Gudrun Johnston.  This was knit using a Falkland Island Wool and hand dyed using koolaid!  The shawl is currently awaiting blocking and stretching :-)

Another Aestlight Shawl on my kneedles, this yarn is a brown with a hint of purple colourway.  By the time I have finished this I will have knit five of these shawls!!  The pattern is well written with lots of different stitches and techniques to sustain interest.  I would definitely recommend this shawl pattern to a newbie shawl knitter :-)

I have had another foray into yarn dyeing and so my latest attempt is currently drying in the bathroom.  Once it is dry I will try and remember to take a photograph :-)

 

Saturday Snippets

We actually managed to make church today! This is a big deal at our end since we have not attended in months due to continued ill health. It was just lovely to be in the presence of The Lord and I had a bonus by also attending confession, the best form of therapy and totally free :-)

It has been a mixed week in the school room with bursts of activity followed by periods of independent learning when I had been up all night due to sickness and needing to rest the next day.  I have rallied in between so two outings were accomplished much to Pip's relief!!  That girl just hates being home bound and can climb the walls both literally and metaphorically if she is cooped up two days in a row ;-)

Knitting has been my go to therapy and I am currently tackling one of my goals which is to make handmade gifts throughout the year for birthdays and Christmas where possible.  I also have an additional challenge of 12 pairs of handmade socks in a year, so it will be interesting to see how I fair.

Here are our pictures of the week:

 I made my own home made deoderant and it not only turned out surprisingly well it works well too!  It is a combination of coconut oil, bicarbonate of soda, cornstarch and organic essential lemon oil.  My mix is not an anti-perspirant but I don't have any real issues in that department.  However I have since learned that Zinc Oxide is a natural antiperspirant and so I might consider adding it to the next batch.

 Pip enjoyed using the felted Rosary that I made and we prayed one of the joyful mysteries together.

Pyjama home school before breakfast and yes that is the correct time!  That was the morning of my being up all night quite unwell.  I sat in the rocking chair with a hot water bottle and my knitting.  Pip was quite surprised to see me up and about at such a time!

 My January socks, one pair down eleven more to go :-)

 Sour cherry, cacao and almond bites.  The cherries contain anti inflammatory properties and the combination of the three ingredients are also supposed to help with insomnia aswell as pain, I can report that they and the Potters' Herbal sleep remedy did the job.

 Pip totally bemused by an old fashioned type writer, " You actually put paper in the top and it doesn't send emails?!!"

 Lovely gifts from friends!  Pip grabbed the camera and took this fuzzy picture to show Chanda that she loves her cat!  We love the napkins Dorina and the books what a lovely gift to cheer on a dreary January day :-)

 #womensmarch #pinkhat

Women and men marched on Washington today sporting pink hats in the shape of a cat's head;  there were also similar marches in London. Even Cate Blanchett was spied wearing such a tifter in a similar march in NYC on Thursday.  They were marching against Donald Trump and his so called "values."

Here in the Madness Abode there have been no pink hats but pink slippers instead!  Standing in solidarity with those marching against hatred and division today.  These slippers are quite poignant; they were bought by a dear family friend whose wife died at the start of last year.  Aunty Maureen loved butterflies :-)  She had a generous heart and would always reach out to others in need and I know that she would be appalled at the state of our world.  How can one man who has displayed such appalling behavious be in charge of and represent a nation?

Renegade knitters unite! 

Happy New Year!

Better late than never!  Christmas always throws me for a loop and so it takes a while for life to settle into an "almost" normal routine :-)  I also reacted badly to an acupuncture session last week and as a result lost the better part of a week in recovery mode.

Whilst both kids were out and about today I worked on a series of mind maps for my work situation and the home school.  It is interesting to see how I can move forward with an idea and know that it is the right thing to do and yet within a heart beat I have convinced myself otherwise!!  It is the good old fear factor and stepping out from my comfort zone that floors me every time :-)  When faced with this situation I usually find it useful to undertake a series of practical tasks and let the worries dissipate through hard work and distraction.  My job this afternoon was to reorganise the home school cupboard and plan our lessons for tomorrow.  I succeeded on both counts and as a result I am very happy with my efforts :-)

In between the sickness and post Christmas haze we managed a fun trip with friends last week and an impromptu surprise visit for Grandad H birthday.  Those activities were just what the doctor would have ordered and our spirits were greatly lifted as a result.

Out With Friends

 A first for sure, my knitting almost matches my jumper! Look at my glasses perched on the top of my head, that is because I am awaiting some varifocals, gah, that can only mean one thing ... I am getting old ;-)

A Birthday Treat for Grandad

 A plate of goodness

 Coffee and walnut on the left and lemon drizzle on the right, both gluten free.

Now remember ...

 ... to make a wish!

I hope that wherever you are that you have a blessed 2017 x