Quick Note...

Just a quick note to celebrate the fact that I have finally finished my Reading Mitts fingerless gloves. I've been working on these since about September, and they've been almost finished since October, but other projects kept getting in the way. Now they are finished, which is good as it's very cold outside!

In other news, I am learning how to crochet! So far, I can do the basic chain stitch, a double crochet stitch and a triple crochet stich, but now I'm a bit stuck as the resource I bought only has these sitches in and I need more before I can even think of trying the most basic patterns. Plus I haven't yet found a pattern I want to make.

Title-y

So I haven't updated for a while. But in fairness, I've had good reason. Half term was not the excitement I was hoping for and something bad happened and I haven't felt like updating.

But I have been knitting. I finished my Colour Swap 5 project with a little time to spare and it appears to have been loved by it's new owner which I'm grateful for. She has certainly been kind in her praise anyway.

Since then, I have made:
- a stole using Zauberball in reds, golden browns and ambers which is very pretty and was worn to my work's Christmas do.
- three dishcloths for Lisa's Christmas present - including a Dalek one.
- a hat using the Cascade Rustic I received in Colour Swap 4.
- a scarf using Arucania Ranco in peacock colours which is stunning and sort of goes with the hat.
- started on a triangular shawl using another skein of the Ranco yarn.

But I have still not finished the fingerless mitts.

Lack of news

I've been quiet lately because I haven't really done too much lately. I'm still working on my CS5 project, which is coming up nicely, but taking it's time. This is the problem with making a big-ish project with sock weight yarn. And the pattern itself is kinda boring, but effective. Overall it's gonna take a bit more time, which isn't good as I wanted to get the parcel out before the last day this time, and that is rapidly coming up.

My mittens still need one more thumb on and the finishing to do, and my cowl is almost done, just two more ends to weave in and blocking, but I still haven't actually done it. Which is no good as it's getting really quite cold now.

Work is continuing more and more along a Jeremy Kyle theme and I'm desperately looking forward to half term which is in two weeks time. I'm so tired, and I've had a rotten cold for about three weeks now which really sucks. Hopefully a week off will help me get better and give me more time for knitting.

CS5

So I've signed up for the next Colour Swap. I'm looking forward to it - my partner this time seems to be more of a challenge. I've had a fantastic (even if I do say so myself) idea for the handmade item, have very excitedly found, ordered and received the yarn and cast on. Unfortuneately at the moment the way it's turning out is quite different to the way I had it pictured in my head. I'm going to keep plugging along and hope it's just the beginning phase, during which I often feel disappointed with a pattern - sometimes with reason and sometimes without.

In other knitting news, my mittens are almost finished - I have one more thumb to make and then the finishing. My cowl has been knit, but not yet finished and my Branching Out scarf is continuing slowly but surely.

Work

There are days when we win and everything gets sorted and you can walk away happy, and the kids make your whole week simply by being fantastic and you can know that you did your best and people responded in kind.

And then there are days like this. Days when you feel like you're fighting against the whole world because no one else seems to care as much as you. Days when you wonder what you can physically do help change the lives that these kids are leading. Days when you realise that our kids are no longer children, but are adults way before their time. Days when you don't know what more you can do, but keep on trying.

Spinning!

So this week at work has been kinda rubbish. We've been extraordinarily busy and at one point at the beginning of the week it looked likely that we had had our break and lunchtimes taken away from us as we have been put on duty (i.e. watching the kids in the canteen, making sure they don't fight etc) every day. We know have this sorted and so only have to do breaktime duty one day a week (mine if friday) and although we do all lunchtimes, we will get paid for it (yeay, more money = more yarn!)

However, by the time I got home on monday (yes, only one day into a very long term), I decided I needed to buy something exciting and new to cheer myself up. Something I'd been thinking about getting for a while, but hadn't quite treated mself to yet.

Yes, I bought a Turkish Drop Spindle.

So I have been doing a little bit of spinning. At the moment it is still driving me mad as I can't quite seem to get it, but I think I'm improving. I think my first yarn will be single ply and mostly worsted weight (mostly because I so far fail at keeping it even and so is kinda thick and thin). Hopefully I will have enough to make myself a scarf with it. Plus, with an added binus that Norfolk Yarns sell corridale tops for just £1.50, I should be able to get lots and lots. Yeay!

Peektures

Well, as I have now had a message that the blankets have arrived safely, I think it's only fair to post a picture or two showing them off.







And here's a quick WiP picture - this is my Branching Out - though it has grown a little more since I took this.