I’m an early riser, especially when I don’t have to be. It’s Sunday, so it’s OK to have a lie in, but oh no, that never works does it? My eyes were forced open by 6 and no amount lying still with my eyes closed brought about some much needed extra zzz’s.
You know when you have one of those days that seem really productive, you’ve been really busy, got loads done and your extremely satisfied with the world, despite knowing you’re probably going to literally fall into bed? Well it’s been a bit like that here today.
To be fair I live in a truly beautiful spot, especially when the sun is in the sky, but the amount of work it takes to keep the house and yard in order can be truly overwhelming and there’s always so much to do.
Today and for the next couple of days the boys (my hubby and our sons Durahn and Kye) are on operation prepare for winter. It’s a necessary evil of living in a damp old farm house 😦
A major part of Operation Winter involves chopping trees up into logs for the stove
Then there’s the kindling. I knew it was worth all the shelving from the shop stock rooms.
There wasn’t any need for me to get involved, despite my love of power tools 😁 So I walked the dogs, cleaned, washed up (several times), cooked and got loads of other general ‘needs doing’ stuff done.
I also found the time to make some lemonade, to use up the glut of cheap lemons and limes I’d bought last week, fully intending to make lemon curd, but forgot to buy some wax coated discs for.
I’ve also made another Wiksten Tank for myself. Although, I still have to finish binding the sleeves, but that won’t take too long.
The boys managed to get 10 crates of kindling cut up, but there are still more shelves to get through 🙈
My 💪 hubby 💪 has cut all the trees up into rings and is now, even as I type (it’s nearly 9.45pm), splitting them into logs. I managed to get this photo before the sun went down.
If that wasn’t enough, my socks are drying on the line. They even look pretty when they’re inside out 💗
Time to put clean sheets on the beds and get a spot of knitting in now before bed, me thinks.
Happy Knitting!
Why 2014 & one day? Several reasons really.
1) It was a bloody awful start to 2015 here. It was blowing up a gale and raining and the sun was obviously nursing a post New Years Eve hangover and didn’t seem to show her face all day. Unlike today which is a much prettier and heart warming (so far). Don’t get me wrong, the sun’s not out there splitting the stones, this is winter in Ireland after all, but the day is full of expectation and anticipation for 2015 🌻
2) I’m sure I’m not the only person guilty of this…. I went into a bit of a cleaning frenzy. It’s come to my notice that I actually spend very little time in my house and thus far have been able to remain blissfully unaware of how much clutter we have accumulated. 🆗 Cards on the table time, it’s not going to change, but I do think I need to address the situation. So yesterday I tackled the fridges and the kitchen, there’s still the oven to do, but I forgot to slather it in bicarb again last night 😖 and next it’s the living room 🆘
3) I wanted to start as I mean to go on and cook more, so I did, at least for the men folk as I wasn’t hungry and ended up wolfing down something later.
4) My internet connection was horrendous, probably because of item 1 on this list or maybe there were other 👽 cosmic forces at work?
5) I went to see The Hobbit 🎥 which I thoroughly enjoyed, regardless of how true to the book it was. Pure entertainment, although I did shed a tear or two 😢
2014 was a pretty good one, yes there were a few moments of yuck there however, I woke up every morning so it can’t have been that bad and I laughed a lot, there is always room for improvement on that front though.
2014 was a busy year though as you can see from the photos. We had our year long charity campaign Knit Happens (more info soon), knitted Shamrocks for Age Action, the first Yarn Shop Day and made crochet critters for The Craft Club’s Guinness World Record Yarnbomb attempt in aid of The Little Haven’s Hospice add to this our refurbishment, it’s no wonder I’ve felt a little overwhelmed at times.
Happily 😄 I’ve managed to knit loads and have been trying to perfect my crochet skills too. I think my favourites this year have been my shawls of which there have been five, one of which was for a good friend.
I won’t bore you with the list, actually lets be honest, that would mean I’d have to have stuck to my original plan at the start of the year. Ever the positive, I did manage to upload more items on Ravelry and I kept a knitting journal until the end of April and I also posted here 60 times (pausing to bow).
Looking forward, all of the same things apply as before
🌻 More organised
🌻 More exercise
🌻 Eat better
🌻 Feed my brain more
🌻 Relax more
🌻 Enjoy life
🌻 Laugh as much as possible.
Could possibly be a mini New Years Resolution…. not a pair a month though, more like a pair every 2 months maybe?
By the madness I mean the build up to Christmas Day, which I convince myself every year that I’m not going to buy into, only to find on Christmas Day that I have 😞 Maybe though, that’s part of the fun?
Unlike previous years I really didn’t manage to get as many presents knitted or even generally handmade as I would have liked to. The year seemed to rush by faster than a speeding car and before I realised it it was the end of November and I’d only knitted the one gift, a Hitchhiker for a friend of mine. Of course I’d forgotten to take a proper picture of it before I’d mailed it, so this is one I’d posted on Instagram whilst I was knitting it.
I used a ball of Rico Poem Superba in green and a ball of King Cole Merino 4ply. The Poems Superba is variegated, so the greens change as the scarf grows. I found it a really lovely pattern to follow, with only 8 rows and by using 2 colours, the stripe effect meant I really didn’t have to concentrate on which of the rows I was on. A lovely happy accident.
Nearly everyone that would wear one received a knitted hat of some kind, mostly these ones though. The pattern is very basic and I should be able to get it up on here over the next couple of days.
I liked them so much that I’ve even made one for me.
Tate looks rather fetching in Leann’s one too, bless him.
Some friends including my Secret Santa recipient received my crochet baubles, which I loved making once I’d figured out what to do. I used several resources to help me, but the circles kept getting bigger because of the trebles. After trying a few different things I decided double crochet was the way to go. A couple of you have asked for a pattern already, but I’m not sure if I can write it up as a ‘proper’ crochet pattern, so it might end up being more of an instruction sheet?
Last but not least was the jumper I’d been making for my hubby Con in secret. Many of you will have seen me trying to get a few rows done in the shop; especially if you popped in the few days before Christmas when I was frantically trying to get the sleeves finished. I’ll write up a separate post to tell you all about it and I might even be able to get a photo of the man himself wearing it 👨
Since finishing the jumper I’ve cast on and started knitting Cobblestone by Jared Flood for Durahn my son. I’ve also been sticking to my morning walk everyday, regardless of how cold it is and both Kye and myself have been going a bit photography mad with our phones. This morning’s walk produced some beautiful snaps, all with no filter too 📷
I’ve also been watching far too many cheesy movies including the must see Guardians of the Galaxy which inspired me to make my own mix tape on Spotify. If you fancy having a look at what tracks I’ve included my profile is lmillar72. More mix tapes to come me thinks 🖭
Happy Knitting!
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 