Of how to end an unexpected blogging hiatus...

Hi there? Anybody here?

You can have no idea how often I've thought about blogging these past months and seriously, there must be at least 4 draft posts written that I then never got round to posting and which are now completely out-of-date and obsolete.

I can't even really say why I haven't posted. Sure, things have been BUSY, but the mad busy period led to an extended period of unpaid leave from work, so it should have been possible to get into a normal posting habit again. All I can think of is that it's a matter of routine. Once you are out of the habit of posting regularly it suddenly becomes a BIG THING and you feel you need to dedicate time that you think you don't have, etc. 

All the while I've been missing this little space in which to talk about all the things that make up my life that aren't work. It's healthy, a space like that, and it's good for the soul, because in the end, what it means is that you are taking some time to reflect and to consciously enjoy all the different little things that make up you and your life. 

So new good habits need to be established. Life continues to present us with challenges, but I also need to take time to step back, get back to the things I enjoy and that help me feel calm. 

I am still knitting, and crocheting, and pottering, albeit in spurts - sometimes not much for a few weeks, sometimes frantically, all of the time. Things have been erratic, but I'm also taking steps to pace myself more and to avoid the boom and bust pattern that has snuck in in recent months.

I do have things to show, FOs to present, developments to discuss, but it'll have to wait. Boy #1 and I also have a little photography project going which is part of his CFS treatment - the Happy Moment Photography Challenge. Every day he is supposed to take one picture of something that made him happy, even if just for that moment. In order to support him I've joined in, so I might try to post a few of our pictures here as well.

Just to kick us off and to show that I've not been entirely idle, here are some very very overdue FOs, knitting and otherwise, which I actually finished, not for last Christmas, but the one before!

First up is an oversized super-girly Cowl that I made for my stepmom. 

It was supposed to be a normal cowl, actually, but as I was crocheting this thing grew and grew until it was a monster! It's made with some very fluffy, pink and sparkly novelty yarn that my boys bought for me a few years ago, and which had been sitting in my stash ever since, waiting for the right project to come along. 

My step-mom is very girly (and lovely) - much more girly than I am - and she also likes long walks in the woods. She is also frequently feeling cold, so I thought this would be ideal to keep her warm and snug. :)

I've also managed to snap a quick picture of the finished Ripple Plate that I made for my dad. This thing is huge, so the picture doesn't really do it justice. For scale, imagine that the second ripple from the centre is already larger than an average apple. 

Although not 100% pleased with the glaze, despite re-glazing it 3 (!) times, I am quite happy with the result and it was certainly well received.

As for newer FOs - I'm so pleased with this plate:

To show the size of the plate - this time with some Regia...

This is also a gift and was given to a dear old friend who loves cats.


There are so many other projects to follow, but at least I've made a start and hopefully I can get myself into a better posting habit again. 

Enforced radio silence...

apologies for the prolonged silence these past couple of weeks. First work was, as usual, taking over, but things should be a lot calmer on that front now because teaching is done for this academic year. There will be plenty to do, but it will be possible to structure work more around the family without an imposed teaching timetable. That said, I've very much enjoyed teaching this term - the time pressures have been uncomfortable at times, but at no point have I felt that the actual teaching wasn't rewarding and enjoyable. You can't really ask for more, can you?

But back to my lack of blogging. When teaching finally slowed down after last Friday and then finally came to an end this Tuesday I was looking forward to uploading a long blog post about all the crafty things I've been up to. Unfortunately this was the exact moment my internet connection seemed to decide that it needed a break.

I'm not entirely sure what is happening, but D, who uses an ethernet connection, has no troubles, so it's bound to be the Wi-Fi. A techie person once explained to me that there are different channels through which a Wi-Fi signal can be sent, and if somebody next door has a device that uses the same channel it can lead to interference, so perhaps one of the neighbors has a new gadget... In any case I've not been able to use the internet for long enough to even check my email. Today I finally had enough and stole the ethernet cable from our Roku set top box so I could at least check in at work, but that meant that I was uncomfortably crouching on the floor next to the TV - not a position I was keen to remain in for long enough to also update the blog.

Tonight the internet seems more stable again, so hopefully I will be able to update in the next few day.

In the meantime, hope you are all well and enjoying the slightly warmer weather! :)

The quiet after (and before) the storm...

I've been quiet this past week because... well, it's been busy around here last week. Boy #3 was christened, and in honor of the occasion the German and English parts of the family all turned out in (nearly) full force. The only person who couldn't be there was my dad's partner, something that was regretted by all. We had my dad, my step-sister and her partner staying with us, and D's mum was also putting up various people. Everything went well, the christening was fine, the party after was great fun (the family cherishes the few occasions we get to get together), including even a spontaneous jam session with D on his banjo, his brother on the guitar, and other family members joining in with spoons and drums. A few days after that it was boy #1's birthday so we had yet another party! We've had quite an exciting week!

It was nice having people stay over. Our guests made themselves at home, helped out, played with the boys, who were delighted that we had people staying over who were such fun (aren't kids always all about 'the more the merrier'?!). We had good food and good conversation, and I even got some knitting done (yes, I did! I just didn't get round to blogging about it!).

All that said, the night after we'd waved the last of our guests good bye, and after we'd brought the kids up to bed, D and I sat down on the sofa and stretched out legs. It was quiet in the house. I picked up the knitting and D picked up his banjo and we just sat, not talking, just reclaiming our home. It was lovely having guests, but it was also exhausting, and it's often only once they've left that you realise quite how exhausting it can be, even if those guests are the nicest of people, even if they help out and carry out the dishes, even if they play with the children, and even if they don't insist on partying well into the early hours every night. 

Well, after all that was done we had a few quiet days and then, yesterday, it was the start of the university term, so that's it with peace and quiet for the next 12 weeks!! I'm still knitting, and I will still blog, but it might not be quite as frequent as it often was over the summer. 

Anyway, I might as well show you what I have been up to:

Yes, this is indeed the Garter Yoke Cardi! We've reconnected, that cardi and I, and with all that sitting and chatting in the evening I'm managed to do a good deal of work on it. I'm past the decrease and the increase sections, so it's just plain old stockinette until I get to the right length now. I've quite enjoyed knitting it, although I had a couple of near-misses with those button holes. So many button holes! So two of them were 18 rather than 16 rows apart. I don't think it'll show in the end. 

I've also done a bit of work on the Lombard Street sock - not much, but whenever just a bit, here and there. I'm about 2 or 3 repeats of the pattern away from doing the heel. 

There is no rush with these socks. I'm enjoying them, but it's OK if they take a month longer, in particular as G, the lovely auntie who came all the way from Germany for boy#3s Christening and brought two pairs of socks for all three boys (she knitted 6 pairs of socks in about 4 weeks!!!) is determined to now knit for D and I. I gave her some of my huge stash of sock yarn to take back with her but she clearly thought my huge sock yarn mountain wasn't sufficient because I heard her muttering to herself that she might buy some more once she is back home to make sure that we definitely won't go without sufficient knitted socks this winter. I can't tell you how delighted I am about this development. The boys love their knitted socks and have been wearing them lots at the weekend (school days mean black socks I'm afraid...). 

In other news - do you see this:

Interesting, isn't it? In the throws of yet another bout of knitting insanity I decided to wind some cream coloured yarn I had from frogging a jumper up into a ball so I could use it to knit a pillow. i was envisioning a thick cable pattern...  Not possessing a nostepinne I decided to wind the whole thing around a pen so I could make it into a centre-pulling ball. It worked really well - until I decided to take the pen out. It won't come out. Believe me, I have tried. AND TRIED. It's stuck for good. Brilliant. Don't you just love a job well done? 

But anyway, that pillow. I had it all planned out. I know, I know, I really should focus on the 358 projects that I have already started and I haven't actually started it, but it would look so nice on the sofa... 

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A Year of Projects

Yarn Along

Keep Calm Craft On

You can take the girl away from the crafting but you can't take the crafting away from the girl...

... or something like that.

I've been quiet these past few years. A busy family life with three little boys, a husband, two cats and two chickens, and an equally busy working life will do that to you.

That said, I've not been completely idle on the crafts front. Granted, it's taken me a while to finish even small projects, but the littlest monkey of the clan is 2 now (Already! How did that happen?!) and is showing signs of becoming ever so slightly more sensible and less prone to totally random and erratic behaviour, and boy #2 has joined boy #1 at school now, and it feels like there is a little more room to ... breathe, craft-wise. I've been going to a lovely spinning group, the Beretun Spinners in Barton. The group meets once a month on a Saturday for a whole day of spinning and crafting goodness and although I'm not able to go every month it's been so inspiring to see such wonderful crafters and spinners. Plus of course the sheer luxury of having a few hours off and just to myself once in a while.

Plus, I've been knitting. For far too long now I've had this project on my needles:

It's the Tea Leaves Cardigan (there is a link from Ravelry but I can't be bothered to look it up!!) and I'm knitting it in Rowan's Rowanspun DK in burnt orange. This is a discontinued yarn (sadly, as it's fabulous), but I have a good stash of it. It knits up beautifully, but with this and that, the project has still been languishing in the knitting basket for absolutely ages. I've recently picked it up again and apart from the finishing rows and button holes along the front edge and the adding of a couple of nice buttons it's complete! I can't wait to wear it!

All encouraged by the prospect of finally finishing a WIP I've also picked up an ancient sock project again. I can't even remember what this was supposed to be, because i never got beyond the cuff of sock #1, but I've decided that the pattern is so cheerful that I'll just turn this into a really simple pair of stockinette socks.

Well, here's to more crafting once again. I can't wait! :)