Last of the socks

This is the last of the socks - the last I shall be knitting for some time.   The ten pairs I have is enough for one person's feet!!

Aren't the small pair cute?   I have put them with the DBEM's finished knitting and they can go to the Hospice Shop next time. 
Today the DBEM had her check at the doctor and stocked up on her prescription medicines again.   I had a pacemaker check and then crossed off a few chores from the list which included taking the remainder of the sock wool to the charity store so someone else can have the pleasure of knitting some small pairs :-)   All in all a good day

Sock Wool

Lenore asked what yarn I had used for the berry pink socks.
I always use Opal Sock yarn and this is no exception.   Here's a photo of the ball labels.   I have no idea if it is still available or not.

This evening I have completed a pair of children's socks in the same yarn - photo to follow when they have been blocked and pressed.   I am in awe that my Grandmother managed to decipher the complicated knitting instructions but the DBEM assures me that Grandma knitted her school socks.

Diversion into sock territory

After finishing the 2019 Christmas Ornaments and being unable to decide on which one I want to stitch for my tree, I meandered into the knitted sock territory.   Two balls of Opal Sock Yarn were calling to me so I found my double pointed needles and got started.   One pair are now finished and I am happy to say that they turned out identical twins!  

The other pair are almost done and it looks like there will be enough yarn left to try a child's pair from an ancient book which once belonged to the DBEM's mother.

And this diversion has been worthwhile.  Not only producing two pairs of warm socks but also the inspiration for my next project.   I have the book.   I purchased a piece of beautiful twill fabric and today ran that through the overlocker.  

Now I can make a start.   This is to fulfill a promise I made to the DBEM to stitch a notebook cover for her favourite niece's 60th birthday.   Watch this space.

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And now I can get back to needles with eyes

For the past week or two I have been busy knitting on behalf of the DBEM.   One of the great-randaughters needed a replacement jacket.   Apparently she loved the purple one knitted a few years ago and refused to take it off even for washing.   So Great Grandma to the rescue with a different colourway of the same jacket.   Well to be brutally honest, I did the knitting.   But it all turned out well in the end.   Here's proof....

Knitted in a five five rib variation this will be cosy to wear in the winter.   It has kept my lap warm over these past days as I've knitted!   And I have learned that even though I can knit fast and well I don't enjoy it much and have been itching to get back to my "needles with eyes".   I have no warm relationship with knitting needles.

Tonight I will start a small Christmas Ornament project after which I will go through the stash cupboard to find something bigger as a challenge.   I have the next two weeks off work ('boss-inflicted use of annual leave' again) and plan on crossing everything off the list which currently covers one side of an A5 sheet of paper.  Perhaps this is a little ambitious?

Helping out the DBEM

This week I am taking compulsory annual leave.   My boss told me I had too much leave accrued and I needed to take it so this is week one of planned leave.
And what to do?    Well I am practicing "good use of time" for the day when I will be retired and will need to ensure I don't grow lazy.   A list of tasks, a pile of books, planned outings and a happy DBEM.   What more could I wish for? 

Today we went to the yarn store and got yarn to knit a winter jacket cardigan for one of my great-nieces.   She already has a much loved one knitted from the same pattern but needs a second one so the first can go in the wash.   Great Grandma cannot see to do this sort of knitting so I am helping out.
Tomorrow I have cleaning of the oven on the list as well as cleaning of the car.   Car first I think:-)  I want to sort out my books and take some boxes to the second hand store too.   Could be a busy day.
The needlebook and pin cushion are ready for construction and I should then be able to finish the Land and Sea Octagonal box.   I want to start another small project so tell myself that needs to be done first.
I am enjoying my week so far and feel quite refreshed and relaxed.

A finish and a start

The blue knitting is finished, the last stitch is recorded and the much used pattern has been ceremoniously despatched to the place all good patterns go to.   Having knitted this one three times I am not about to do another:-)

My cardigan needs a good steam with the iron and it can go in the drawer until the cool weather comes again in 2018. The photo above is a better indication of colour -  the garment is certainly not two toned!

As a reward I have made a start on this...

The Christmas Cat Tree.   Check back in a  few days to see how this turns into a tree.
Today was an easy day at the office as I took part in day one of a Transitions to Retirement workshop. Apart from the one hour of Tai Chi in which I unskillfully and unwillingly participated I have not learnt anything new.  Maybe day two tomorrow will be more productive (and inspiring)

Look at this.

I think this is probably a competition from 3M for the most ingenious use of Post It Notes - they have been known to run such things before.   The local office of the Ministry of Education decorated their window in the latest craze and I stopped to take photo on my way home tonight.

I have been knitting on sock number two and should hopefully finish it tonight, all the while dreaming of another stitching project.   To my immense satisfaction they are proving to be identical twins which was exactly what I wanted.

Stitching is finished and the hardanger angel needs construction.   I plan to get the fabric for the skirt this weekend.   Photos will follow.  The holes are for the neck and the ties around the waist although they do look like planned mistakes at this point :-)

A productive afternoon

Spring is here -  outside it is blowing a gale with squally showers so I rescued the first daffodils and brought them inside.

They are beautiful, although I now see that I must have bought one packet of bulbs of some new mutant variety as it has no trumpet but a double layer of frills.

This afternoon I made a double quantity of the HD3QBEM's favourite lemon honey.   She is happy!

And I completed the first sock so I am happy!

And on that note, Au Revoir.  I am off to make dinner and sort out my weeks stitching.

And Spring is here....well maybe

Today I dressed in several layers of merino wool, long trousers, hand knitted wool socks, knee high boots and sat at my desk with a wool rug over my knees and a hot water bottle on top of that.   Yes, it was cold!  
This is the sky as I walked into the office at 7:15

And this is at the top of my steps when I walked home at 4:45 tonight

And Spring is here....?   I don't really think so, not yet anyway.
And for that reason I continue knitting this pair of pretty pink woolly socks.

I rather like the stripey pattern that is pre-dyed into the Opal yarn.  The heel is turned and I am racing along toward the toe now.   Just as well, I'm itching to get back to my hardanger :-)

A Trio of Adventures

Tonight is the tale of three adventures.
First up a new pair of hand knitted socks.   It is always an adventure to see how the pattern develops. I'm not very far along with these ones but I'm liking the colour scheme.   A big ball of wool but it will make a pair of socks to keep my cold feet warm.

Another adventure has been trying to reduce my food budget and for this year I decided to only go to the grocery store every five to six weeks.   Which means that on the other weeks it is a quick trip to the green grocer for fresh fruit and veges so saving me time.   But my car boot gets very full.

I invested in three plastic baskets from the $2+ store to carry the groceries in,  as my supermarket Pak 'N Save, is so named because they don't pack your shopping into plastic bags.   However even the baskets are not enough to contain the items necessary so there are two carry bags also -  these were free from a Civil Defence display at the local library a year or two ago.
And the bonus?   I have shaved $10 a week off my food bill!
And the third adventure is that for the past twelve months I have been experimenting with living on what the NZ Superannuation will pay me when I am 65.   It has been a fun adventure and I have proved I can do it.   At the end of this month I will do the final 'sum total' on my Excel spreadsheet but it looks like I will be less than what the NZ government will give me.  Not too bad eh?   I intend to continue this experiment for the next 39 months 8 days until Retirement Day.
And don't forget to sign up for the giveaway here.   The HD3QBEM will be drawing a name on Friday.

Finito

Congratulations to self.  The green cardigan is finished and fits perfectly. A lousy photo but I need a record. The HD3QBEM laughed at all the buttons but I like them and that's what matters.   Besides which there is no gaping!

And some Connected Wrapped Bars have been added to the Hardanger Angels Wing Tip.

Not bad when I am oh so very tired.   But no work tomorrow = a day to myself with a To Do List as long as ever.   First up though is the Embroiderers' Conference Exhibition.   The weatherman promises showers so I hope he is wrong as I predict a long walk from car park to venue.

In which the HD3QBEM acquires stash

Saturday we went West to a pop-up knitting yarn store and the HD3QBEM was tempted beyond self control.   We came home with this...

Didn't she do well?   Her comment was, "well if I don't last long enough to knit it all up you can give it to Little Sister".    Little Sister, if you are reading this, don't hold your breath in anticipation.   The HD3QBEM will have this all knitted up in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

A break from knitting

The knitting on the green cardigan is finished and the garment is all pinned ready to be sewn up.   That job will be left for tomorrow night.

I need a break!   So it is back to my beloved hardanger and tonight I finished drawing the threads for one wing tip for the small angel.  

The lacy pattern is to be connected wrapped bars which is not my favourite filling but will look great when done.   White on white is hard on the eyesight:-(
With my new job I finish at "normal" time and get home earlier so have an extra hour or so to myself which is very welcome.   Several chores around the house are getting attention.   I made some Ginger Crunch Slice as Brother-In-Law is coming for dinner tomorrow night  (menu to be oven baked fish and chips with healthy vegetables).   Little Sister is coming on Saturday for lunch and then the afternoon (menu yet to be decided).
I have Friday off work to go to the Embroiderers' Exhibition and am counting down the hours.   What fun to see the work of so many other like-minded people.   I feel sure that photographs won't be allowed  but I will certainly be taking my camera with me just in case.

Happy Birthday Your Majesty

Queen's Birthday holiday today and I celebrated by cleaning the house thoroughly, making a new ironing board cover, putting a new lining in an old skirt, taking the HD3QBEM for a drive to a local park where she enjoyed the last of the Autumn leaves while I went for a walk, and then making a start on the second sleeve of my knitted cardigan.   What a busy day!   No wonder I have spent the evening with an unstoppable nose bleed :-)

However,  the HD3QBEM has gone safely to sleep clutching her new hot water bottle and nestled under her new mohair blankets so I am going to attempt to finish Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama which is due back at the library.   This translation into English from Japanese has been labour intensive in its reading and only now at page 502 do I sense the multitudinous strands of plot coming together.   Only another 133 pages to go.

Bed socks

The HD3QBEM always has terribly cold feet.   This year she decided to replace her electric blanket. So in a recent inorganic rubbish collection she disposed of her old one.   Now the nights are cold and a replacement blanket has not yet been bought, I told her she needed bed socks.  Two nights knitting and voila....

Toastie toes :-)   I will add a satin ribbon when I get to the shops in the weekend but tonight we are promised 6 degrees celsius so the socks will be in use!

When in doubt ...

When in doubt follow the instructions Margaret!  
The HD3QBEM wants some bed socks and from the knitting pattern stash we dug out an ancient pattern.   The instructions said to be knitted on four double pointed needles.  
What a humbug, I don't think that's necessary, I said to myself and proceeded on an ordinary pair.
But!!   The instructions are written that way for a reason and I have come to a full stop.

Now I need to change to a flexible circular needle or do as I am told and all should be well.
I think this is why I prefer embroidery over knitting.

Halfway

This tumbled mass is two fronts and a sleeve so I am officially half way on the re-knit of the green cardigan.

However I am putting this aside in an effort to make time for some stitching again.
Withdrawal symptoms have hit me badly.   As strange as it may seem, I find stitching a far more effective stress relief than knitting and have therefore decided that I need that relief more than I need a new cardigan.
So onward and upwards to a less-stressed-Margaret!

Tomorrow I shall be reversing

Tonight I have been distracted.   A rather unsatisfactory work meeting held at the end of the day has dominated my thoughts this evening and resulting lack of concentration produced this!

Oh dear oh dear!   Tomorrow evening I shall be reversing and re-knitting to make sure the left looks like the right:-)

Back to the future

Back in the pre-blog days (2006) I knitted a cardigan in a complicated lace and cable pattern.   It was such a complicated pattern and caused so many grey hairs that once completed I had a ceremonial burning of the original pattern.

Over the years I wore the cardigan but then I lost a lot of weight and the cardigan did not shrink with me so it languished in my camphorwood chest.

Late last year I decided to unravel the cardigan and recycle the wool, a beautiful 4 ply crepe.  And then, guess what, I found a photocopy of the original pattern.  And yes!   I have decided to reknit this garment in my current size.   Don't be fooled by the description easy -  this is not a knit for the fainthearted.   But I liked the style and the colour and so....

With the cooler temperatures on their way, knitting will be a great way to keep my fingers agile and my lap warm!

United at last!

Last night I stitched diligently all through Midsomer Murders but the programme was not long enough to get my stitching finished.  So today a quick sprint and the final stitches were in.   The four countries are united at last.   I am really pleased with this piece and now must research how to make an accordion book and construct the item.   Well, I need to source some suitable paper first of all.   Wish me luck!

A blog reader asked what Little Sister had given me for my birthday (she gave it to the HD3QBEM to hide until the actual day!) so here's shots of the beautiful wooden jewelry box.

There are cute little button feet on the bottom.   I need help with suggestions for charts/designs that can fit in the 4" by 6" aperture -  bearing in mind that it is under glass.   Any suggestions?   Hardanger or specialty stitches rather than cross stitch only I think.

 Another reader asked to see the finished name tag.   It is really nothing special -  just small with clear  font so it serves the appropriate purpose.   Here's a selfie showing the tag in use and photos of front and back(I used a Japanese fabric from Pamela for the back 'lining')

Other spare moments have been spent sewing up seams and sewing on buttons for the HD3QBEM's knitting.   Great Grandchildren are due to make an appearance in two separate families next March and April so The Great Knitting Splurge has begun.   With gender being as yet unknown and likely to remain so, colours are gender neutral lemon, aqua etc etc.   I'd like to show you a photo of the HD3QBEM's smiling face as she knits, but whenever I point the camera her direction the smile fades into a grimace of intense concentration.   Considering the hurdles of knitting with impaired vision, these garments are truly a labour of love.   And yesterday we went shopping for yet more yarn!!