HATS SOCKS & COUGHS

The awful cough that I was suffering with at the beginning of the month which I thought I'd recovered from, hurtled back at the beginning of this last week and tried really hard to knock me off my feet.

I was really looking forward to half term, a week to myself. My grandchildren were off doing different things and I had lots of things I wanted to catch up on. However that wasn't to be the case as my cough left me feeling quite lethargic and I spent quite a lot of time with my feet up and re- watching tv programmes that I'd seen part of and slept through the rest.

I really did appreciate all of your comments on my last post, I was feeling really down then and am pleased that I do actually feel so much better in myself now, even with a cough!

I have finished my socks!

I usually knit socks on double pointed needles but these I made using the "magic loop" method on a long circular needle. 

The lady in my local wool shop said I would find it so much easier. I didn't at first, I found it very awkward but eventually I got the hang of it and I think I would use the same method again when making socks.

With them finished, I wanted to seize the moment and start something new. I decided to order some yarn to knit a pouffe for our lounge. ( They'll be pictures to show in  my next post.)

What could I make while I was waiting for that to be delivered?

Well, spurred on by this "magic loop" method I decided to make Alfred a new hat, I had some oddments of Drops Fabel in my stash. It really didn't take long to make and I had it all ready for him when his mum brought him round yesterday. I thought brilliant, he can model it for me.

Having placed the hat on Alfred's head, he quickly crawled off to the kitchen while I grabbed my phone for the photo shoot. As you can see my little man model was having a mini stretching crisis with the hat.

He was more interested in granddad's shoe!

Eventually with a lot of persuasion we did manage to keep the hat on long enough to get a photo but he definitely wasn't that keen. Perhaps he didn't like the colour combo!

Have a good week everyone!

A RESOUNDING FAREWELL TO JANUARY!

I haven't posted for ages mainly because I really didn't know how to begin and I still don't really but I have to start somewhere so here goes.

January saw my son & his wife separate, breaking up my gorgeous, perfect, little family. It's been so tough on everybody, trying to understand and doing everything we can to be supportive. We love them all so much, it is very hard!

January also was the month that my elderly parents became much older and more fragile.

My dad had a nasty infection in his leg which resulted in us getting the emergency doctor to call on a Sunday night and then, just the other day a possible DVT which thankfully proved to be not the case.

My Mum had a fall after creeping about on the landing at night, in the dark. The little glow night lights we'd put in place had been stowed away in a drawer because my mum said they weren't necessary as she could walk around every room in their house in the dark with no problem!

 "Not on that day Mother!!"

Although she bumped her head on the bannister, no bones thankfully were broken.

Throughout January I can honestly say I wallowed in my own misery. In fact I was happier, in a strange sense of the word to wallow, rather than trying to make a greater effort to pull my socks up and get on with life. 

My concentration levels have taken a battering as well in January, sewing has gone right out of the window and the apron I'm supposed to be making myself has been put away for another time.

I have knitted a sock (not a pair) and even that hasn't been the easiest of tasks. As a skier can run off piste, the knitter in me, ran off pattern. 

I started following the pattern quite well, turned the heel, then carried on looking at the pattern and knitted a completely different pattern that I'd made up in my head. As I was reaching the toe I noticed my huge error and at that point, "to bin, or not to bin!" came to the forefront of my mind. I could have cheerfully dumped the whole lot, yarn, needles and pattern in the dust bin but something in me relented and two evenings later I'd taken it back to the heel and continued, only just finishing it last night.

So February dawned and along with it my birthday and an accompanying rotten cough and fluey thing that nearly everyone else has suffered with this winter.

Terrific!

My husband had booked a day off work so we could go out for the day and I was determined to go.

First stop, to see my grandchildren and daughter in law where they'd laid on a lovely breakfast of croissants and the girls had made me a birthday cake. My son was there too making pancakes for us all.  (As I said before, trying to understand!)

While the children headed off to school, we left them and headed off to Blakeney in Norfolk. I wanted to spend the day somewhere, peaceful and quiet. 

It was lovely and bright as we walked down into Blakeney

We've visited there several times before but have never walked along the coastal path to Cley.

To say it was windy, is a little bit of an understatement. It was very, very, very, windy!

My husband took the photos while we walked and I thought.

I made some February resolutions.

I cleared my head and reignited my energy levels.

I began to actually enjoy myself, fighting against the wind to stay upright.

We walked into the village of Cley, going past the windmill.

A delightful shop there sold very tempting homemade cakes and we shared a norfolk pasty and munched on flapjacks as we left the village behind and walked along the road to get some respite from the wind making our way back to Blakeney and the car.

The walk, the fresh air and in fact the whole day did me the world of good and I'm now looking forward to February being a good month in my calendar. I'm also hoping to get back on track with my knitting. At one point I had told my husband that I felt like giving knitting up completely to which his face became horrified and he enquired. "What about all that wool you've got stored upstairs!!"

Ha ha dearest, do not worry, I'm sure I'll knit it all up eventually and probably buy some more too.