But life kept laughing at my plans.
So today, no matter what, this is getting published.
I recorded an episode last Friday. It's been languishing on my phone all week, waiting for me to find time to write. I've deleted it now because a lot has happened since then.
Week(s) In Review-
Last week was uneventful until Thursday. On Thursday I decided to make fish cakes for tea. I had cobbler in the freezer and left over savoury rice. I defrosted and minced the fish and mixed it into the rice with an egg to bind and some seasoning. After making patties and chilling them in the fridge, I shallow fried them for a couple of minutes on each side. I soon realised that they would fall apart if I turned them too much so I put them in the oven to finish up. After 15 minutes at 200'C they were cooked to perfection. I took the pan out of the oven and set it on the hob.
I quickly realised that I'd left the handle sticking out and thought "someone will grab that handle and burn themselves". So I moved the pan so that the handle was over the hob top. Snag was I forgot to use a tea towl and burnt myself! Properly! Holy Moley! At this point I should state that I have a high pain threshold, but Strewth, that was something else. I took pain killers that didn't make a dint in the pain levels and had a very long, sleepless night.
I had a horrible day at work on Friday. It was ridiculously busy and I was a dispenser down (ptchar to holidays I say...... unless they're mine! ;-) ) Trying to work with one hand was difficult. Everything took so much more effort and planning! Mel - you are more awesome than I ever thought.
Worse than the pain, I didn't knit for 2 whole days!!!!! I know!!!! I think that's what distressed me the most! Never mind the pain and the blistering. No yarn therapy for 2 days was the killer.
Sunday was an odd kind of a day. I took Ben to his first ever karate competition. We were told to register at 9am and fighting would start at 10am. We arrived at the leisure centre just gone 9 to find a queue out of the door. It seemed that the little inter-club competition I was expecting was actually a huge national competition! There where clubs from Edinburgh,Cardiff, Blackpool, Hull, Stockport, and Workington. It was huge.
We quickly realised that Ben wouldn't be fighting until 12pm, so I settled down, cast on a toe and watched the other kids. They where great! 12 o'clock came and went. 1 o'clock came and went. Then 2pm. Ben got on the mats at 3:15 and fought one match. It was his first ever real fight, and he did ok. He landed a couple of punches and lost. That's fine, I thought. We can go home now. But no! He was in the team event too! So we waited. And waited. And at 5pm I text my other half and told him to hightail it to the leisure centre to take over. I had to be on poolside at 5:30 to coach!
So I left the house at 8:30am and got home at 8pm. Tired and hungry. The saving grace for the whole day was that I cast off that sock I started at 9am that morning. Bargain.
Ben's socks are finished.
This week has been similarly busy. On Monday Ben said he had a sore throat. I said "Yes dear" and gave him a paracetamol tablet. On Tuesday he had a work experience day at the secondary school he'll be going to in September. He said his throat was still sore so I gave him another tablet and sent him off to school. I picked him up from school that afternoon and he'd had a great day, he'd been in the science labs and had burnt magnesium and used a scalpel to cut stuff! He also said his thoat was really sore so I bought him some anti-inflammatory throat lozenges and left it at that. Wednesday morning he came into my room as white as a sheet and feeling wobbly. I made him a doctor's appointment and my other half took the day off university (thankfully Wednesday is a quiet day for him). Turns out Ben has exuding tonsils and a rampant dose of tonsillitis. Oooopppsssss!!!!!! So now he's on PenV and is getting better each day. I managed to get locum cover, so yesterday I got loads of housework done while Ben wallowed on the sofa and I spun loads. Today my plan is to bake. And knit hopefully.
Feeling the love -
Since I last checked in I've finished the first of my red onion socks. I didn't cast on the second because I wanted to get Ben's socks finished first. Now they're done my stitch surfers have taken my attention.
This is my second attempt. The first didn't get further than the toe as I didn't get the tension right and it seemed like the two halves where drifting apart. Diane of the Knitabulls podcast has done 3 tutorials on the stitch surfers. She's an expert. I think she's on her 12 pair now! After watching the first 2 I've mastered the wrap and turn section and I'm happier with how it's going.
That white stitch marker is a dropped stitch. I realised I'd done it as I packed up at the end of knit night. The girls where delighted. Me, less so. They say it makes me human, I say it makes them mean! ;-) I'll go back and catch it when I've cast the sock off. If I'd dropped it on the sole stitches I might have ripped back, but on the instep, there won't be much friction so I'll just catch it and weave it in.
I've also been working on my peacock shawl. I've made reasonable progress and I'm becoming happier with how it's working up. I can see the pattern emerging and I think a vigorous blocking will bring it to life. I will have to read the pattern for each stitch though. It's not going to sink into my brain. I've come to terms with that and I'm ok with it. Ish.
Yesterday I spun my heart out. I'm well over half way through the 100g now and the bobbin is filling nicely. I can't wait to get it done and work on something with a little more colour.
My needles have also felt the love. For a long time they've been crammed into the case one of my Knit Pro interchangeable sets came in. The bag won't zip shut and it frequently falls over spilling my needles everywhere. The last time the dog knocked it over I could have cried! I'd just sorted the bag and spent ages with a micrometer working out how big each needle was and sorting them into size order.
At this point I should let you know that the Harmony tips from Knit Pro are often not the size they should be! My micrometer frequently told me that the smaller diameter needles weren't the size on the shaft. 0.2mm difference might not sound much, but on a project the size of a sock that will make a difference. The moral to this story is to check your tension and use the same needles throughout your project. More than once I've used 2 sets of needles to work 2 socks at a time. I think now, that's not a good plan. At least with wooden needles.
Any how, back to the plot. I'd been thinking about getting something better for my needles. I was in my local stationers and they had a display of photo albums. There was a cute one with pockets which opened at the top. I decided that this could be what I was looking for.
I've had a bit of a wobble on the stash enhancement front. I bought 2 balls of self striping from Twisted Limone. She updates her Etsy shop on a Saturday afternoon. The yarn is gorgeous snd I'm desperate to cast on. But I must be good and finish another pair before I start another toe!
On the Horizon -
I'd love to get the merino/silk off the wheel this week. I'd also like to get a stitch surfer finished. Then I'll cast on one of the second socks. Either the red onion socks or the second stitch surfer.
I'll work on the peacock shawl when I can.
The burning question is - will I be able to resist that self striping? Or will I cave and go back to having 3 pairs of socks on the go.
I should really work on Hana Hou too. It hasn't had any love at all this week.
Have a great week guys
Ellen x
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