Tag: yarn along

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I’ve made it….

A gentle cuddle from The Golfer
a little ear nuzzle along with the whispered words….
‘I see you’re knitting again – you must be feeling better’
made me stop….think….realise….
Yes, I do feel much better.

I slowed down completely trying to clear my mind, doing recommended exercises, willing my back and legs to cooperate, I actually cooked again, read (a little), finally…. I hope….sorted the blog commenting situation, got my hands dirty out in the fresh air, and yes I began to knit again.

Using/ Adding a design on one pattern to another plain one used to be so simple. I wanted to ‘add’ the design (knit/purl stitches and pocket) from the little girl picture onto the stitch count of the pink one….now I’ve added pockets so often over the years I could do it in my sleep….not this time though.

It took a couple of hours with pen and paper working on stitch numbers, row numbers, buttonhole placements, reminding myself the pocket goes on the back and isn’t stitched onto the front…..all the time chiding myself , muttering away to myself under my breath.

Feeling much more comfortable (and confident) once the stitches were on the the needles and more rows were being knit……especially when the little pocket piece dropped into place quite easily. Honestly I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I felt so challenged earlier on.
The next step now is to get cracking and make the effort to finish it before it gets too warm to knit.

I realise some things need to give/go/alter/change before I’m 100%.

Blog reading has fallen by the wayside, I realise we’re all allowed our own opinions but I deleted a few overseas (USA & UK) based ones who had become ‘hard reading’; their problems and feelings of self entitlement irregardless of what others felt and was legally allowed in their virus affected communities were getting on my nerves and…daft as it sounds…..I was beginning to make nasty comments out loud as I was reading their posts. Certainly don’t need to be doing that!

More healing took place a week ago when I placed a note on my visual diary above the stove top…..a reminder that after many months of restrictions, life was slowly beginning again in the suburbs of Melbourne.


We had a little outside gathering last Thursday……6 people ready to share reading (and life) experiences since we last saw each other in March – 8 months ago. I’m so glad I made it back in time 😊

And even though the ‘blogger’ commenting problem seems to be fixed I’ve been loathe to use it, have just ‘watched’ a few from the sidelines, not wanting to be involved at the moment. Mind you, seeing all the comments on my last very short post has made me realise there are many out there who care so possibly I’ll make it back here sooner rather than later.

I was surprised when I realised how much time has passed since I was last here
I felt a bit distressed that day – I hope I don’t feel that way again for a very long time. My first cup of tea has been enjoyed so now it’s on to my second along with breakfast. Summer supposedly has arrived….the problem is she keeps nicking off without so much of a bye or leave….it would be nice if she stayed around a bit longer!

Oh, I forgot to ask how you all are – what have you been up to while I’ve been away?
Not getting down in the dumps I hope 😊

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along – her monthly get together for knitters and readers.
Joining Corinne for this weeks Monday Musings – sharing thoughts with others.
Joining Denyse for the latest edition of Life this Week

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Little boys and baby girls…..

October seemed to come and go quite quickly. Not a huge amount of anything was done except wonder if and when things would take a turn for the better and life would become more free and easy (in other words we’d be free from restrictions). The garden started to come alive so there was a bit of pottering done and rainy days meant there was a fair bit of reading done

As far as knitting went I actually had something else in mind but decided it easier to fish out a WIP (work in progress) and finish something‘simple and straightforward’ rather than get crotchety trying to work out increases & decreases at the same time as keeping different colours under control so plain and simple with easy stripes it was. A simple boat neck ….no designated back or front …..which means an ‘independent 2 yr old’ is able to ‘dress themselves’. Who else remembers the “me do it” stage??

After a conversation with a very excited younger (going to be a grandma) friend last week I’ve begun something much smaller and a lot more subdued in colour. Her daughter (mother to be) wants her newborn baby girl’s clothing to be soft (and girly??) so at her insistence soft pale colours it will be and as she’s not a knitter herself I was asked to make several cardigans as well as something like an old fashioned matinee coat, not lacy like feather and fan but plainer…I met up with ‘Grandma’ in an allowed meeting in the park where she looked over a selection of patterns and this (bottom left corner) is what we’ve agreed on. ‘Grandma’ will look at cardigan patterns another day and (all being well) Babe’s not due till May so there’s no hurry 😊

Feather and Fan stitch is often referred to as Old Shale – poking around on the net I found this article that disputes that and shows the reason why. I’m sure many knitters will find it interesting. The comments on the post are interesting reading also. Feather and Fan versus Old Shale

I’m between books at the moment. Actually it’s more like I’m‘book’d out’. The last one I read was The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, a coming of age for the main character, a look at life in rural 1870’s Florida. Maybe it was the patter of speech used…..written and spelt as spoken, set in 1870’s Florida it wore me out trying to concentrate. I’ve read lots of books written in dialect but none so taxing as this one.

Better luck next time eh ??

Yarn Along can be found at Ginny’s. Do pop over to small things to see what others have worked on this past month.
Unravelled Wednesday hosted by Kat is here at As Kat Knits. Lots of knitting and reading to see there.

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Yarn Along (October)

So what have I made this month past……..a bit like the month before, not a lot!

I seem to have spent an awful lot of time trying to solve this ‘problem’ of not being able to read let alone comment on some Blogspot/Blogger blogs.
Safari….which is default for iPads lets me in but those blogs didn’t seem to ’recognise’ me….any comments just went off into outer space.
So …following the recommendation of another blogger….I downloaded Opera and all seemed well.
Well blow me down if Blogger has now come out and told me it doesn’t support Opera!
So… I’ve downloaded Firefox in the hope that will do the job……but if you haven’t seen or heard from me in a little while and it continues that way…there’s your answer.
Fngers crossed that’s the end of it….though I’m wondering if the New Blogger people are talking about is possibly part of the problem

Anyway, after having brought it out of hiding I actually tackled some more of The Golfer’s sampler but did very little knitting- well little compared to what I’ve done in previous months.
These newborn hats and bootees were finished and I was all prepared to pack up….

Then after checking Marianna’s babbbity pattern decided I had enough of both colours to do some mix and match.
Decision made, I set to and came up with a couple of very easy to knit newborn jackets in different colour ways to put together with the hat and bootees. On reflection they do look a bit dark so I’ll leave it up to the charity to decide what will go with what….they may have some things in paler colours to team with them and soften the look.


I’m getting towards the end of my reading challenge, polishing off 5 during September, (obviously that’s the reason for less knitting last month) and now have these two waiting in line. A very old 1946 copy of Kipps (H.G.Wells) found on the book table at Probus in February…….lol someone was obviously having a clear out 😊

The other one is Quicksilver (Neal Stephenson, an unknown to me author) chosen by title only…..letter Q titles are few and far between so it was ‘ ooh that’ll do’ when I saw it on a Goodreads list. Very historical, historical fiction. My face sort of dropped when it arrived In the box from the library….it’s huge – over 900 pages (with tiny print). Then I realised it was all three volumes of the trilogy! Phew!

I’m not sure which I’ll tackle read first.
Maybe read them in tandem- one century here….one century there.😊

It’s the first Wednesday of the month which means it’s ‘Show and Tell’ time better known as Yarn Along over at Ginny’s. Do pop over to small things to see what others have worked on this past month.

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It’s Wednesday

Yes it’s Wednesday again, the first Wednesday in a new month,
The first Wednesday in September 2020.
Which means it is the first Wednesday in Spring

A wonderful Wednesday 😊

It also means it’s been a whole month since I last spoke of any knitting I’d done. Truth be told there’s not a lot actually been done. I finished off the teddies and the fingerless mittens and that was it for a couple of weeks. These little crossover cardigans are always welcome for the mothers’ and babies packs so I set to and finished the pink one in a couple of days…..and it shows. I know it was acrylic yarn I’d had for a while but I’m definitely not happy with how it looks. It might look neater after a very light blocking…..that remains to be seen. Hopefully the blue has knit up more evenly.

An ‘old style’ crossover cardigan for newborns very similar to the one my ‘firstborn son’ wore many (many) years ago.


This is the book it came from….just another from my stack of favourite tried and true pattern books. Look at the way the mother has been portrayed….I wonder how many of us sat around in a floating nylon negligee cooing over a baby in a cradle. Some might of…..I was too ‘busy’ trying to catch up on precious sleep or taking advantage of a sleeping baby by pegging washing on the line 😊

And for some reason my reading slowed down.
I’m waiting for a new ‘delivery’ of library books so rummaged through a pile out in the garage discovering an old 1993 Anita Shreve….Where or When....like Rebecca last month its ‘time in the sun’ has arrived lol.
It’s been a very long time since I read her….hopefully I won’t be disappointed.

Of course being the first Wednesday of the month means it’s ‘Show and Tell’ time better known as Yarn Along over at Ginny’s. Do pop over to small things to see what others have worked on this past month.

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Now for something different……

Wouldn’t it be great to say I’d done something different – unfortunately here in Victoria it’s still the same ol’ same ol’…….well that’s not quite true but it’s too involved to try and explain 😒

We have to look on the bright side though and I’m sure that in a few months time we’ll be able to do something different……again.

Mind you, over the last couple of weeks I did find something to do that I hadn’t done for a while – I put the ‘big boys’ knitting to one side and had a go at these…..again

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trawling through some older parts of the blog turned up this post from 2018 which along with this one from 2012 reminded me that giving should be fun……not just knitting from one end of the row to the other.

A couple of little Teds, and what look like squares which (if you follow the instructions in the 2012 post) will turn into basic fingerless mittens, are keeping me occupied at the moment.

I’m still feeling the disappointment of my last read so decided that it was time for one of those ‘I really should read this sometime’ books ……one that after being rescued from an op shop has been lying neglected on a shelf here at home for years.

So far so good, after a ‘strange’ courtship Maxim and his new wife have just arrived at Manderley. Small (tiny) print means it’s daytime reading, I have to concentrate so it’ll be read (and savoured) in small doses. Decisions Decisions – oh what to do….. read or knit. I suppose finishing Ted’s faces would definitely be a start 🙂

Ginny from Small Things hosts a monthly meme called Yarn Along  Sort of a ‘show and tell’ featuring the knitting and reading you’ve been doing recently. Do pop over and see what others have been up to.

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Time for the Big Boys….Yarn Along

Meet one of my ‘go to’ pattern books for 2 yr + knits.  The teddy on the front page (pattern 6) and I are old friends although it’s been a while since I last finished one – also this dark blue ‘Guernsey’ (pattern 4) is another easy one I’ve knit several times.  You can see my versions HERE and HERE

I’ve been giving my fingers a little break since my charity box of baby goods finally went on it’s way…..a long enough break to think about what to do next……..which really wasn’t a hard choice……….wanting/needing something fairly straightforward……….something I was comfortable with…………in the end I decided to move on to bigger stuff – 2 yr old boys!    You might think the yoke of the blue Guernsey looks complicated – if you can count and cable (move one set of stitches over another) it definitely isn’t.  Most of the pieces are plain stocking stitch so it hasn’t taken long to finish the back and work my way up to the yoke on the front.

My reading came to a standstill for a little while as well – however our library (which I’m sure like every other library in the country….possibly the world) has been  closed, now has begun a delivery service.  Weeks ago when I was going through books like they were going out of fashion J0 Nesbø’s first book  (The Bat) took my fancy so I ordered his second one (Cockroaches) which arrived on the doorstep the other day.  So far it hasn’t grabbed me in the same way but I’m sure there’s time for that to happen before the end.

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Ginny from Small Things hosts a monthly meme called Yarn Along which I used to take part in. Sort of a ‘show and tell’ featuring the knitting and reading you’ve been doing recently. Do pop over and see what others have been up to.

This month….June…. I’m Back – and I’m showing and I’m telling 🙂

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Next in line – Yarn Along…

What happens when a friend is clearing out her knitting patterns, offers a stack to look through and this happy looking lad jumps out at you.  And knowing you have just the right thing tucked away in your very slowly decreasing but thankfully not increasing (at the moment) stash of 8ply – well the only thing that could happen is that you spring into action 🙂

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With luck Winter has been and gone – I sent my final box of knitted goodies off last week – that means the charity will have things on their shelves ready to distribute when they begin their work in earnest next April – so that also means I’m looking at new ideas/styles to keep me occupied over the next few months.  This is a fairly easy four row pattern to knit, similar to a Fishermans Rib. The sleeves knit up very quickly so I’m on to the back now. More stitches means more time consuming but I’m thinking  if the neckline is easy to fit I may end up doing some more of these cozy shawl neck sweaters.

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I was ‘between books’ for a while, then several turned up.  I have Johanna Nicholls – ‘The Lace Balcony’ – available but because it is rather lengthy think I’ll leave it for the long hot days of summer (when they actually arrive).  These two arrived from the library on the same day.  Kate Morton’s ‘The Lake House‘ and Kate Grenville’s ‘The Lieutenant“‘ so it looks like I’m spoilt for choice now 🙂

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Ginny’s Yarn Along takes place each Wednesday  You’ll find other knitters and readers over there  Why don’t you pop over and have a look – and maybe join in one week

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Yes! I did it…. Yarn Along…..

What happens when a pattern catches your eye but needs to be reworked to take a change in ply and a slight change of various components into consideration?

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Take some pretty pink 8ply I found in my stash – try to reproduce a pretty 4ply pattern along with some minor alterations – and what do you get?  Why you have the (almost) great disaster of last week?

Which you can read about HERE

 

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Patience returned and along with encouragement persuaded me to persevere and sort it out 🙂  Of course they were aided and abetted by desire – the desire to start a new book when I finished. lol

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Ginny from Small Things has a weekly meme called Yarn Along which I used to take part in.  Sort of a ‘show and tell’ featuring the knitting and reading you’ve been doing recently.  Do pop over and see what others have been up to.

This week – I’m Back – and I’m showing and I’m telling 🙂

As you can see I did ‘sort out’ the pretty pink baby cardigan/jacket – and my reading for the rest of this week is In Cold Daylight by a ‘new to me’ author Pauline Trowson.  Which is very apt considering how cold it still is first thing in the morning.

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Big things in disguise…….

It’s been a very small effort on my part in the knitting department this week – small in size and small in number.  Certainly not small in intention tho’.  These little (minature sized) cardigans and other like sized items are destined for special gift packs given by grief counsellors assisting mothers (and their families) in the aftermath of losing a babe pre-term.  These tiny ones are part of a program designed to help those who have a loss in the first trimester. Knit in baby 3ply on size 14/2.25mm needles they measure approx. 3ins from neck to waist and 3ins across the chest and are small enough to be held in the palm of your hand. A gentle reminder of the life that was lost.

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After finishing Soldier of Fortune I’m thinking about starting another ‘old’ book.  This one is really old, written in 1815 by Sir Walter Scott, the little blue book is an old copy of Guy Mannering (aka The Astrologer) complete with thin tissue like pages covered in tiny print and looking really interesting – but then on the other hand after I took the photo this morning I had a call from the library to say my ordered copied of this little beauty had arrived at the library so it looks like the 100 year old man will be my reading matter for the next week.

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And as there was no way I’d let Kiera (who is still moulting her fine brown fur in preparation for a glossy winter coat) anywhere near my white knitting the little figurene of two Burmese cats got into the in the picture instead.

See what others are knitting and reading by joining in the fun of Yarn Along
hosted by Ginny at Small Things

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A Granny knits a Granny Knit…..d

Granny knits – a disparaging  term I’ve heard some younger modern knitters call the plain and simple garments often fashioned in older styles, knit in plain and simple maybe cheaper acrylic yarns.

This week I’ve been trying to do just that – finish a waistcoat for a friend’s 2 year old grandson.  Not ‘made of money’ she provided me with a couple of balls of Spotlight’s Marvel, yes an acrylic yarn.  Ooh, when I saw the colour, my first thought was, ‘not very boyish’ but then she showed me the clothes she was sending and it seemed the obvious choice.  A cable design made it a little bit more boyish.  Just have to knit the armbands and attach the buttons and it’s ready to go.

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imageSo what’s the little red book on the couch that this little Granny is reading.  An old 1956 copy of Soldier of Fortune by Ernest Gann.  I’m partial to books set in the Far East and this one is a mystery/ thriller that takes place in Hong Kong during the colonial times of the 1950s.  I’ve only managed one chapter so far so am still getting to know the characters.

Soldier of Fortune

Soldier of Fortune by Ernest K Gann

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/990078.Soldier_of_Fortune

See what others are knitting and reading this week by visiting Yarn Along
Hosted by Ginny of Small Things

And yes I’m late for this important date
I should have posted this yesterday on Wednesday
But then it’s still Wednesday at Ginny’s so maybe I’m forgiven 🙂

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