Month: June 2018

Once upon a Sock – June 2018

Posts, much like buses again! It is Once Upon a Sock time again and you can find everyone else (and submit yourself!) at the Once Upon a Sock linkup, which is hosted once again by Paula at Spin a Yarn.

So here we are – still knitting away on my helical beeeees (Incidentally, fellow OUaSer, Kat has a brand new helical sock pattern available, if you want to take a spiralling trip!) although they are not as far as I had hoped to be, partially due to my needles being yanked out of them at Faro airport on my way home from my holiday (I was not best pleased, especially as Gatwick had been fine with me flying out with them) and thrown away. I managed to fix them on stitch holders when I got home and then had to replace my needles as I can only assume all my 2.25mm needles have gone into hiding as a result.

But, I have started the heel, as you can see there because I wanted to make sure I knit the foot long enough on the first one. Very exciting! Because I am using the active yarn, I am knitting the heel from the other end of the ball, so they are a little tricky to take out and about at the moment but I plan to concentrate on them as my at-home project until the heel is done and then I’ll know what measurements I need for no. 2 and they can come back out as my out and about project.

Now to go visit my fellow OUaSers!

Yarnalong – June 2018

It’s June. I am in the middle of testing for a server migration but I have run out of brain before I have run out of work day, which is not ideal when you are trying to troubleshoot script errors and file permissions.

But it is also Yarnalong time so that’s a nice break.

Knitting:

IMG_3162

I am almost finished the repeats of Chart B in my Byatt shawl, which is exciting. I still have some of the MC left over so I am debating doing another chart repeat before going into the final chart which is all CC. I have another two repeats within the chart to go before I make that decision so we shall see. It is already pretty big and I am looking forward to the lace chart.

It’s been a very soothing knit, actually as it’s mainly garter stitch with increases and the occasional slip stitches and then two rows where you have to engage brain for a bit.

Reading:

While I was on holiday in sunny Spain and could do nowt but reading, knit and migrate between swimming pool/buffet/balcony (it’s a hard life but someone has to live it…), I managed to read three new books:

  1. The Husband Hunters: Social Climbing in London and New York which was a very interesting look at the influx of American Heiresses into the Upper Classes in the UK and Europe in the late 19th/early 20th century. Includes Winston Churchill’s mother, Jennie Jerome.
  2. Take Six Girls: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters – a biography of the Mitford sisters, who are, as the author says, a social experiment that can never be repeated.
  3. Meet The FrugalWoods – A blog spin off book from the FrugalWoods.  I enjoy the blog so I did enjoy the book.

I have also, in what seems to be becoming a additional section to these posts,  made another cleaning product recipe from Fresh Clean Home, which was the liquid toilet cleaner. I am pleased with it as well – it uses xantham gum (which I own because I should avoid wheat for ibs reasons but like baking) to help make it cling to the sides but does mean that you start off with a very unprepossessing lumpy horror that then miraculously resolves with the application of a handblender!

So far I am very happy with all the recipes I have tried from that book, so would definitely recommend it if you are interested in making your own cleaning products.