Raspberry, pistachio and chocolate gateau.

As I was commenting to doushkasmum - my knitting is now looser, faster and I can knit for longer. So over the last 4 days of being brainless, sick and sitting on the couch I have made this:



The design has been sitting in my head for a while. I like the way it has come out. The red and yellow wools are leftovers, the chocolate brown was bought for the purpose and though it was my third choice of colour, I like the way it works. I believe I have enough for a second sock- want to work on something else for a bit though.

I am thoroughly tired of coughing and thoroughly tired. I slept a little better last night but only for about 5hrs, then my body demanded that I move about to shift and get rid of the accumulated goo. Pity I am so bad at napping or I could catch up some sleep. I shall stay home again today, working a little as needed but basically being sick. I do hope this lurgy shifts soon.

I finished knitting these last weekend. Just sewed the ends in and thought I'd share them with you. I love the colours and I'll be doing more contrast toe and heel, I've always liked that look. Next pair is already started even.



I shouldn't be up. Just getting down another hot honey and lemon drink and then I will retire, honest.

Are my legs really that white? Perhaps there is more blue in the picture than there should be?

My feet are freezing and I am typing slowly and carefully. All because the warm weather has inspired me to the first nail painting of the 'summer'. I have 20 shiny nails painted in 'sunset bronze'


Go:
pink/green sock #2 has toe, foot, heel+. leg and cuff to go.

Flem girl chemise has all but 1.2 seams felled. Then only hems to go.

I look forward to my body not needing 9hrs sleep a night. Chalk that up to convalescence. I feel well now but perhaps there is a little way to go.

I was going to try digging out the shape of the front path tonight- no go

Here is the first pair of socks I ever made. Even prior to making cloth hose. This is 8ply wool, done on 4dpns in a more tradtional top down pattern around 10 years ago. There was much cursing around learning to handle the dpns.  I remember how excited I was when I turned the heel, felt like I had been initiated into a mystery.  Also remember sitting with friend H up in the blue mountains trying to figure out how to pick up stitches down the side of the heel. That mystery too got figured. Now I tend to wear these as house socks or bed socks in extreme weather. The only shoes they fit in are my slippers and hiking boots. You can perhaps tell that I rarely/never go hiking.

I have consumed most of the pre-dinner part of today.

-pink/green sock #2 has a toe
-after a couple of false starts, I have decided how to quilt the heart blanky. I feel that when finished, a more appropriate title for it will be "The Queen of Hearts Hairnet" I'm sewing a diagonal grid of running stitches of bright gold silk in the non-heart squares. Simple but very pretty.
-I have watched season one of "The River Cottage" and thoroughly enjoyed it. doushkasmum would like the section on pressing windfall apples for cider. They use a wood mulcher to puree the apples before pressing!
-I went out to buy sewing needles. The only one I had of the right size for the 'hairnet' was bent and that was not helping the straightness of my stitching lines.
-The foray above has convinced me I shouldn't be anywhere but at home, sigh. I have even less voice and my chest hurts if I exert. Thankfully, while sitting on the sofa I feel pretty good. So that's where I shall be for the rest of today that doesn't involve prepping food and drinks.

So sorry to all those I said I'd see today. Also, note to my parents. If you read this, I'd call but talking is not a good idea just now.

I'm thinking tonight might involve a rewatch of Stardust. I'm in a fairytale kind of mood and I still have the lovely HD player here on loan.

and then there were two. Same length even.



and Nephing quilt has only the end borders left to quilt. Then binding, Then done.

I am. Red sock #2 is ripped back to plain knit. I'll fix this properly. Too many hours gone in to be forever annoyed with the result. And I have successfully rejected the lure of the stripey sock. Yes Ms Kilian, if I move on I would be less likely to go back.

Not so good is too many days driving this week. If I take the train tomorrow I should at least knit the extra plain section and get back to the rib. Also, too many days driving = too many hours at work.

So not earth shattering.

By deciding that one of the chests that MrBassman gave me is a better printer stand than the pricey chest of drawers I spent several hours choosing in IKEA on Sunday.. Now the printer is where I won't kick it unless I try really hard. It is also subtley hiding behind the desk rather than perched up like the ornament that it isn't. I still have some computery stuff to sort through and a couple more bundles of paper to conquer in the study corner. The house is moving towards neat and pretty, nice. Also useable and spacious, even nicer.

In other news
-Nephing quilt now has 6/9 block quilted. Getting there
-Red sock#2 I thought was finished. Well it sort of is ... but it's about 1.5cm shorter than #1. Pooh. Sadly the shortness is in the plain knit leg prior to the ribbing. Not sure yet what I am going to do about this.

1. rip it back and fix it properly, which means reknitting all the rib
2. undo the cast off and knit the extra length in rib
3. Ignore the length difference
I should do 1. Think I probably will given the time that has gone into the rest. It's not like there is a deadline. I am quite keen to move onto pink/green stripey sock#2 though.

Dr Q was musing about how long it takes her to knit a sock as compared to Elizabethan stocking knitters who apparently were able to knit a pair of stockings in a day?

Red sock #2 is a few rows off being finished. I started this on Sept 3. I estimate that it will have taken 9hrs round thereabouts to make. (3weeks of 3train trips or equivalent working sessions of 1hr each)

The green socks I made and gave to sjkasabi, on the other hand, took more like 20-30 hrs per sock  to make. (3mths for the pair of 5 train trips per week of 40-60min each) which felt like for-frigging-ever. 9hrs per sock is a positive pleasant breeze by comparison.

So yay, I seem to have at least halved my time for making a sock in the process of making pairs #3, 4, 4.5. (I won't have made 5 pairs until I make pink and green stripey sock#2). Pair #1 was some years ago in burgundy 8ply. Green sjkasabi socks were pair #2.

I suppose the socks I am making are shorter than Elizabethan stockings. So I would have to halve the time again and then again to come close to their skill, speed and efficiency. Also, I can only knit for about an hour before my back seizes up. So the 'day' to knit a pair of socks would still have to be spread out over several. Though my tension has eased a bit which does help matters some.

I feel I need to point out that all this estimating of time was done prior to today's headache onset.  I have reasonable belief that the financial data we spent several hours trying to make sense out of and argue composition of for the last few working hours of today, were the cause of said headache.

Ouch. Headache still present. stop typing now.

Why do I always feel so broken on Monday evenings? Like all the potential, happiness and confidence have been sucked out of me. Blah. Can't focus, literally sometimes. Want to cry. Other nights are usually not so bad, except sometimes Friday. I didn't even retire late last night.

But I did get some pinwheels made last night, hah! The centre block of the new quilt top for Master T is assembled and looks good. The corner blocks are part assembled and look promising. I think this will work. Lord knows how the recipients will feel about it but hey, I can't control that.

I have done too much knitting. My back is all seized up. Now there is edge of sharp pain if I even think about knitting. Bother. I plan to get a back massage tomorrow in the hope that will help. Actually I planned to get it today but didn't make it out of the office.

see


I rather like. I'm pleased at how quickly and easily it has knit up (barring the cursing while picking up wrapped stitches during toe and heel turns). It didn't end up as long as I had meant, silly me. Never mind, just have to make the next one the same. It's in Regia self striped sock yarn.

Note to self- row before cast off has increase in second stitch of each knit rib. I'm such a tight knitter that otherwise I find it very hard to cast off loosely enough to wear them comfortably.

I'll start the second sock tomorrow(?) but may put it aside for the blah-blah secret plan I was introduced to yesterday. I have ideas mulling for that. Have a sort of idea, will let it percolate for a couple of days and try to get it going on the weekend.

I was going to do the dishes but it is COLD in the kitchen. Hmm, just looked- 10.7deg in the kitchen. This morning was 8.5deg in the house, 2.5 out. That's pretty cold for my town.

am feeling more myself thank you. Verily, PMT+grief+stress made a powerful and unpleasant mixture.

I am still feeling rather sad so will putter about this weekend achieving what I can and trying to feel good about it. I shan't write a list here, that will just stress me more, wrote it the other day anyway. I really must organise for next weekend's wedding by Sunday night as I have no free nights next week in which to pack.

Aside from all that, I am again following in doushkasmum's sock knitting footsteps. We were both intending to try knitting some toe-up socks. Again we are using the same pattern though found sort of independently. At least this time our wool is from different sources and we are using different needle styles, dpns for me and circulars for her. Anyway, I have wended my way to producing the first toe. Seems to have worked and was rather fun. Now I get to do the the plain foot while watching the stripes develop from the multicoloured wool. I bought the wool in Stirling so I am working with a souvenir of sorts from last year. Two more lots of sock wool were bought in Scotland so there is much knitting fun potential. Sock knitting is fabulous train work and seeing as I have managed to get back on the train a few days per week I do need a train project. Increases my tolerance for delay manyfold.

I just finished making another thing. This is knitted from doushkasmum 's spinning of fleece from an alpaca named Anzac. The fleece was gifted to us by my workmate G who runs three alpaca's to guard his sheep. This was made as a thank for G. It is VERY warm, roughly 12ply yarn with a turn up brim. Hopefully he can wear it without cooking his brain.

It has taken almost three month of train journey to make these. I made the larget size on the pattern and they are still a bit small. Wonder if I can manage to unknit the toe of the first one and graft it instead, much more comfy.