Yarning Along: Decision deferred

Last week I shared a ball of yarn that was destined to become a pair of socks, and this week that's rather more obvious. As is the fact that I have knitted almost two socks, but finished neither.

Cables everywhere!

I did the swatching for this design earlier in the summer, possibly as far back as July, and was happy with the foot and leg patterns, but hadn't swatched as far as the leg-to-cuff transition, and when I got to that stage on sock one I decided that I would think about that section for a day or two before committing it to yarn. Rather than waste time, I decided it would be prudent to make a start on the second sock. And somehow I've found myself at the end of the sock without having gone back to make a the design decision, oops. I do have a good idea of what I'll be doing to finish the socks, but need to work out exactly how that will work when knitted. Fingers crossed I should have a finished pair of socks before too long.*

My husband was away last week, so I made the most of the opportunity to re-watch some films I haven't seen in ages. We have a huge collection of DVDs, but since the arrival of Netflix, we don't venture to the DVD shelves too often. I had been wanting to re-watch Closer for a long time, so hunted out the DVD, and while I was there stumbled across Atonement, which I watched when it came out at the cinema and bought the DVD as soon as it came out, but when I found it on the shelf it was still in the packaging. I'm really glad I made the (admittedly, quite minimal) effort of finding the DVDs as I really enjoyed them both.

And yes, I am still reading The Miniaturist...

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

*The socks are a collaboration with indie dyer Bea and Rose.

Yarning Along: Low sun and long shadows

I did consider not sharing a book this week. I am still reading The Miniaturist, but very, very slowly. A more accurate 'what I'm doing' post would feature a photo of my diary as this week is a bit of a whirlwind: yesterday was the final day of the summer holidays so leisurely mornings are a thing of the past; all the after school activities have started up again, as well as a couple of new ones. On the plus side today I have time to do some pattern writing (for the first time in what feels like ages), and this morning I got to visit my friend's newborn daughter and deliver the corner to corner blanket I shared a couple of weeks ago.

I have several projects on the go at the minute, not least my Pavement Sweater, which needs about 4 inches more stocking stitch on the body before I start the short rows and the hem. I'm certain that if I worked solidly on it I could have it done in time for Yarndale in a couple of weeks, but I know that I have a lot of other things that need to take priority. I spent yesterday evening working on it while I watched Bake Off, and felt like I made fairly significant progress on it, so there is some hope, but maybe not quite enough...

The project that is currently at the top of the list is a new design I am working on with Fay of Bea and Rose yarns. I'm casting the project on this evening, and can't tell you much more than that I will be making socks, but I can share the yarn. Isn't it pretty? I sat outside earlier to wind the skein into a ball, and was struck by how long the shadows were - autumn really is just around the corner.

I hope that you're having a good week whatever you're up to.

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along.

Yarning Along: Penguins in August

This week sees me looking as relaxed and sunkissed as I ever am, having just come back from a long weekend in North Wales with friends. We spent a day on the beach, one at the zoo, and one at the Grosvenor Museum, which was a surprise hit with the kids. But the nights are starting to draw in, the weather is starting to turn autumnal, the kids are back at school next week, and I am starting to look forward to a little bit of time on my own to get on with things.

On the needles this week is a Christmas jumper; you may remember that last year I published my Waddle jumper in Knit Now? The pattern has had a re-write, and this will become the new sample. I have done the sleeves and back and am now onto the front, which I always save until last when knitting intarsia jumpers as it's my favourite bit. I'm using Milla Mia Naturally Soft Merino Aran,* which is glorious, so this knit is a bit of a treat.

Last night was the first in the new series of The Great British Bake Off, which I got very excited about when the trailers came out last week. I had contemplated stopping watching it when it moved to Channel 4, but I did watch, and enjoyed it - while the presenters have changed, little else has. Except for the adverts, which I could do without... Watching hasn't inspired me to bake in the same way as previous series, but I will be dusting down a few recipe books in the next few weeks as part of a grand clear out we're having; if I haven't used a recipe book in five years, I probably don't need to keep it! But just to be on the safe side, I'll be baking a recipe or two from each book, just to check that I'm not missing something I'll love.

It turns out my summer holiday reading time is up: I am still reading The Miniaturist, and fully expect to be doing so for the next few weeks. I'm enjoying it, but haven't felt a need to pick it up and read it over doing other things.

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along. What have you been reading this week?

*Affiliate link.

Yarning Along: Counted rows never grow

Hello! I feel like it's been a while... We've spent the past couple of weeks split between Cornwall and Somerset, and are now back to reality (and a lot of laundry), which means I have access to a proper keyboard again (rather than an iPad screen), woo hoo (if anyone has worked out the secret of using Blogger from an iPad, let me know; the situation is very much 'computer says no')!

Cornish holidays: Mousehole Harbour

I packed *a lot* of knitting to take away with me for the two weeks we were on holiday (1.5 kilos), but only actually managed to complete one baby blanket (400 g of Caron Cakes* to make a corner to corner baby blanket) and half a sock. One day I will learn to be less ambitious in my holiday packing. So this week I am working on two children's jumpers that have deadlines associated with them, and seem to be spending a lot of time counting the rows, only to find that I still have rather a lot to go. Maybe I'll aim to get the second half of that sock done this week (it's the second sock of the Felici pair); finishing things can be so satisfying.

On the book front, we have The Miniaturist, which has been out for ages, and on my Kindle for pretty much the whole of that time. I did start reading it a while ago, but having picked it up again I think I must have read only the first page or two before abandoning it as none of it sounds familiar. The book is set in 17th Century Amsterdam, and tells the story of Nella, who has just moved to Amsterdam having recently married a merchant, Johannes Brandt, and moved into his household. Johannes pays little attention to his new wife, until one day he brings her an enormous dolls house to decorate. I'm a little on the fence about this book so far; there are a lot of mysteries in the book: what does Johannes job actually entail; what is the back story for his mysterious sister; why won't their servant Otto travel on the sea? But I'm struggling a bit with the writing style: this book seems to make good speed-reading, but I find that if I put the book down I am thoroughly lost when I pick it up again. I will finish it as I want to know what happens, but I'm not certain I'm going to enjoy it.

I did get quite a lot of reading done while I was away, so have updated my Books Read in 2017 page - head there to find out what else I've read recently. What are you currently reading?

Linking up with Rachel for Yarning Along. Head over to her blog to find out what other people are reading and crafting on.

*Affiliate link.