Pack a Poncho

Poncho finished after almost two years. After the neck shaping it was quite boring knitting! But it has removed another unfinished object from my pile. What shall I pick up next? The natural dyed top-down jumper, the crochet curtain, the smock? Oh, and there is still a log cabin mitt. I don't count the fourth diamonds blanket, or the CSM handwarmrs. And I did just spot this morning a bagful of an intended wool/silk hand spun jumper, of which there are various lumps in different stages of unspun,spun, undyed, dyed....

Don't mock my smocking!

About five years ago I bought some fine silver greylinen in Brixton of all places, intending to make a full smock. Three years ago I actually cut it out. All instructions say to do the embroidery of the side panels first. I don't enjoy embroidery, especially when I have to draw the pattern first. It's got circles to represent my spinning wheel and circular sock machine. I chose linen thread which is a pest to work with, not a bit flexible. The smock is back/front reversible, but I gave up after only doing part of the front - the back can stay plain, unless I do some machine embroidery on it, which is probably sacrilege, although I full intend to sew the seams by machine anyway I got the smoking dots - worked okay on the back piece BUT didn't like a second pressing on the front on an old dippy ironing board and half the dots aren't there. Also, I seem to have done them on the front side of the work. Put it aside with yet another sigh. Today got a board, covered it with cloth, used a brand new piece of dot paper and pressed onto the wrong side. Sewing lines in one dot, out the next and only every other line as they all seem so close together. Have done five lines. Only another 31 to go... Also to day my have bought a 60 slot 3D printed circular sock machine from Scotland. Delivery in three months. Watch this space.

Lockdown hat

This hat did not work out as varied in the sections as I was hoping, as you can;t see them all at once - neither could it be called Peruvian in shape! Back to the drawing board. As we are now in the fourth week of virus Lockdown, I thought I would record for posterity a short diary of a typical day, same as yesterday, and no doubt the same as tomorrow, although if it rains won't be going in the garden. Try to stay in bed until 8amUp, wash,breakfast, bit of housework, check emails, Facebook, Ravely and News 10am to Knitting Room work on either or both machines 11am out in garden 12noon check Keith is up, prepare lunch plus a glass of wine 1pm nod off for a bit 2pm come round, try out a hand knit pattern, watching Father Brown on tv 4pm tea and a biscuit4:30 water plants in pots and garden where seeds planted 5pm, read, Suduko, more knitting 6pm prepare dinner 7pm Check computer again, more reading, tv, knitting10pm bed

Lockdown socks

Nicely time-consuming! Vertically striped legs which have to be grafted. Then stitches picked up for the top rib, and same number of stitches picked up for the foot area to be worked on circular machine. No heel shaping, and a handknit spiral toe.

Two-yarn gloves

Just two yarns used in these as had larger quantities of both, Drops Fabel Blue Sea and Yellow/pink. One glove uses the yarn as A,B,A,B, the other as B,A,B,A. I think they go together quite well! For more blue, just look at this clematis that has taken over my eucalyptus tree! As the weather has turned very warm, I will probably be spending more time outside now, and less knitting.

How time flies

Eighteen years ago my first grandson was born. Due to the virus lockdown, he won't be having a fun day of celebrating today. Why is it that the years go so fast, but the days so slowly? I am completing handwarmers/gloves/socks for the museum shop at the rate of one pair a day, such a huge stockpile there will be in three months time! Plus of course, using the leftovers - these have four yarns in them- can you tell?

After the Event

Knitting Twenty Twenty welcomed 58 people to a weekend of slightly chaotic but blissful sock machine knitting. Thanks to a contact, we ended up with no fewer than 19 machines to sell on commission - and sell them I certainly did. One buyer tickled me by saying I should work for United Nations because of my persuasive powers. I really didn't want to have to take any heavy machinery back home with me! "Hard work" wasn't in it, four months of preparations, awkward requests, the occasional silly person, PayPal glitches, stupid person in a parcel depot who mis-typed my address.... but I raised £1708 for the Framework Knitters Museum. I have since received some very nice thank you notes. Life is going to fall rather flat now. I think I was lucky with the date of the event - no snow, no floods, and before the government restrictions on movements with regard to Coronavirus - so many of the devotees must be over 70, as indeed I am myself, of course). There is only so much knitting I can do in a day before my arms start aching, I am not going to find being cooped up easy, and losing yet another holiday to outside circumstances is not going down well. I had put a couple of projects by to start on holiday, as per usual, will be breaking them out now. One is a pair of mittens with a big fat sheep whose tummy contains little sheep. Another is getting on with the sunflower filet kitchen curtain now I have found the correct replacement cotton yarn. I am nearly halfway up that now - but again, two complete rows and my arm and wrist start hurting.