I was chatting with a friend briefly yesterday, who happened to mention a real lack of time of late and it really struck a cord with me.  I know I’m not alone in feeling like I’m constantly playing catch up and these intrusive thoughts can end up causing a problem.

I wonder if it’s a pressure we put on ourselves because of social media?  I confess to having to fight with myself on occasion, not to get drawn into the latest pattern to grip the knitting world, or take up a new hobby – macramé anyone?  It’s hard though and it’s in our nature to want to belong, so we join in, even if we know we don’t have the time, so something has to give – right?

Who cares if you haven’t run the hoover round for a couple of days, or mopped the floors, it doesn’t matter does it?  If you’re like me, that will only last so long and before you know it, a light hoover has turned into something else.  The curtains are all taken down, the windows are cleaned and you’re in a heap on the sofa, unable to move, even to make a cup of tea, let alone knit a few rows.

‘Everything in Moderation’, is something I believe, but like a lot of believers, I’m not really practicing at the moment.

So what have I been up to when I haven’t been destroying my home in the pursuit of cleanliness?

Olann and knitting, sewing and crafting have been the projects receiving most of my time.  All will be revealed when we publish the next issue at the end of this month and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed making them.

If you saw the last episode of the podcast, you’ll know I’d finished spinning up the lovely braid of Blue-faced Leicester I’d bought form Irish Fairytale Yarns in their sale.  I’d forgotten to take a photo before I started spinning, but I’m absolutely thrilled with the results.

I split the braid in half vertically and then split each half again.  I didn’t pay any attention to which end I started from, instead I just grabbed the one that presented itself first.  BFL is without doubt, my favourite fibre to spin with so far and I’m tempted never to spin with anything again.  It’s as if it spins itself and I’m thrilled with the results.

I filled two bobbins, full to bursting and decided to 2ply the yarn.  With only 4 bobbins for my Ashford Traditional and Corriedale on one, it meant a little bit of juggling, but I got there in the end.  After a wash and a thwack, the fibres have really bloomed and the resulting yarn has bundles of squish factor. There is approximately 180 yards, but that was before I washed it, so there’s bound to be an element of shrinkage.

It hasn’t spoken to me yet, to tell me what it intends to be, so for now I’ll have to content myself with just looking at it.

The podcast has also been the place where I’ve shown of some of my latest finished objects.  I’ve a right pile of them all ready to blog about, but I need to take photos.  Whilst I know I can do this using the timer on my camera, it’s so much easier to have someone else take them for me.  Asking the teenager to squeeze it in between Forza on the Xbox and meet ups in town, is the problem.

As you can see in the photo, there’s my Mary Rebecca Cardigan, Corner Office Vest, Marshmallow Hot Chocolate and a basic granny triangle shawl waiting and at this rate it could be Christmas before he’s about long enough to help, possibly once the Junior Certificate is over.  All of his coursework had to be in this week for Woodwork Art and Home Economics, so now it’s just the exams themselves.  Before you know it the Summer holidays will be upon us and I’ll be desperate for him to get out of bed and go and meet his friends.

Come to think of it, I still have to pop up a few images of my Vitamin D too, which we have photographed, but red is such a difficult colour to shoot properly, that they need doing again.

I have been managing to knit an odd poppy or two, in between Olann and projects.  They’re for an installation to commemorate WW1 at Wonderwool next year.  We wrote about the campaign in more detail on the Olann and blog.  The pattern is lovely and easy and you can have the petals knitted and sewn up in less than fifteen minutes.

I was aiming to knit eleven, as it seemed the most appropriate number, but have somehow managed to knit twelve?  One extra for luck I guess then.  Now I must work on the pistils, before I pop them in the post, but that will have to wait until I’m back from Brighton.

I’m off tomorrow for a few days to see my oldest baby and her beau (boyfriend just sounds weird) and spend some mother/daughter time.  It’s been too long and I’ve missed her terribly.  Of course it would be sacrilege not to take a project or two with me though and I’d prefer to take socks as they’re the easiest to transport.  Problem is my sock needles are all fixed circulars and they could end up being forcibly removed from me at the airport.  It would be by force to, what to do?

Nothing else for it, I had to cast on a new cardi last night (photo at the top).  I’m in need of a few basic round neck cardigans, plain ones that aren’t too heavy, ideal for throwing on when you get chilly.  I’m being good though and using yarn from my stash, which means it’s ok to buy yarn for the next one 😉

Happy Knitting

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