No don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere!

After my recent finishing things spree I’ve realized that I’m down to only 5 UFOs….a pair of half-made socks, a quilt to baste and quilt, two quilt tops to finish and a cover for my sewing machine where I’ve done a little bit, but not much. I can’t actually remember the last time things were this much under control.

Of course that means that I’m very, very tempted to begin something fresh and new…

I’ve pulled out this….

and this….

and this….

And now I’m pondering. They’re very different.

I won the Happy Mochi Yum Yum and it’s a fabric line I probably wouldn’t have bought of my own accord, but it’s fun and summery and I know which pattern I want to make with it (zigzags made with 15 zillion half-square triangles).

Circa 1934 Cosmo Cricket is way out of my comfort zone colourwise, but I absolutely fell in love with it in Texas last year and I have a fair amount of yardage too. Something rather cool and a little retro is called for there.

The other three bundles came home with me from France last autumn. Soft and mellow, they are totally me (you knew I was soft and mellow, didn’t you?).

What would you choose if you were me?

Helen

Ta daaaa…..

Knitting Pure and Simple: Neck Down Hooded Tunic for Women.

Manos del Uruguay: Wool Clasica (Handspun pure wool, kettle dyed)

This one has been a while coming, but I had a lovely little knit this morning and got it finished off. What you can’t see from the photo is how snuggly and cosy this is, without being hugely bulky. I think it will be something that I’ll wear a lot…it feels like the wool equivalent of chicken soup!

It also brings my net yarn situation to the year to a 4km minus!!! Can you believe I’ve knitted 4km of yarn and haven’t bought anything new at all. Probably the only area of my life where I’ve stuck to my New Year’s Resolution (even if it is more by accident than design!).

Anyway, now I’m off for a rummage through the yarn baskets to see what’s next!

Helen

Every so often I need a day where nothing much is going on, just to get things under control and ticking along again…..

Today is the day.

So far I’ve….

• 1. Gone to church, thereby killing two birds with one stone by simultaneously delivering a big bag of books for the book sale next month. Unfortunately this also involved having a heated discussion with a rather rude lady from Securitas who was playing at being a traffic light very badly on the road into town, therefore confusing everyone and almost causing accidents. After she stopped me in the middle of a junction (where she had been indicating that I could drive) and made me reverse up, and proceeded to very rudely act out signalling to someone who was unable to understand signalling, I was forced to stop and give her a rather polite church lady wearing pearls piece of my mind. I rather hope her co-worker didn’t write my number down…I’m not sure you’re allowed to talk to people misdirecting traffic.
• 2. Cleared up the patio and transported to the back of the garden everything in pots that was killed by our very late cold snap…..all the roses in pots, some unknown flowery odds and ends and an ancient fuschia. The patio is now bare but at least it’s tidy…and the Swiss like minimalism, so that’s OK.
• 3. Parceled up the giveaway prize from this week and my Stitch Tease block for Di ready to trek to the post office tomorrow. Phew!
• 4. Ordered some Moo cards to take to FQ retreat…unfortunately 5 minutes before Susan put a 10% discount link on her blog. If anyone else wants some Moo cards, you might want to check here – it would be to your advantage!
• 5. Done the ironing and cleaned the kitchen. Finishing both of these always makes me feel like a proper little housewife. A dirty kitchen and a mountain of ironing are so depressing, aren’t they?
• 6. Took husband to the station as he’s off to Frankfurt on a business trip, which lowers the culinary bar for dinner tonight….yay…pizza takeaway here we come!
• 7. Started work on a long-neglected seriously warm hoodie that I’ve been knitting since I don’t know when and which only needs the hood done and then it ‘ll stop being a UFO and I’ll get my favourite basket back! The timing is a bit off, mind you, I won’t be able to wear it till next November, but a finish is a finish, wouldn’t you say?
• 8. Shuffled my outstanding paperwork tray around and chucked out everything that’s out of date. The pile hasn’t shrunk much, but at least there are no fires that need putting out anymore.
• 9. Finished reading a book on British education that has made my hair stand on end and me feel very glad that my kids are being educated here: ‘It’s your time you’re wasting‘ by Frank Chalk. Excellent and very funny, but not for the faint-hearted if your kids are in the English system. I hope he’s exaggerating, but suspect he may not be.

Is that enough?….can I stop now….I need a cup of tea, but at least I feel as though a lot of stuff that needed doing has been done….and next week is a new week and hopefully I can move on to pastures new!

Enjoy your Sunday,

Helen

One of the great things about having children who are no longer little and helpless is that they are actually happiest when their parents are neglecting them. Husband and I ran away at lunchtime today and took ourselves off to a restaurant by the lake of Zürich to eat Fischknusperli (battered fish pieces) and bask in the sunshine (sorry you Brits out there, it’s 27 degrees here today), watching the boats come and go.

It looks like winter is finally gone and I can go on the annual flipflop and swimming cossie hunt….bliss 🙂

After a whiz round Migros together I came home and got to work and finished my Stitch Tease block without any dramas at all. I’m pretty happy with the result and I hope Di will be too! Sorry I can’t show you the finished pictures – it’s a mystery bee, so recipients have to be kept in the dark….well, OK then…I’ll just give you a couple of tiny peeks…..

In a year or so I should be able to show you the finished product!

The other good news is that I managed to run about 5km yesterday without any ill effects – I hope this means I’m all healed up!!! Now I have to be really careful not to overdo things. With weather like this it’s so tempting….

Anyway on that happy note I’m off to get the hoover and get my sewing/office/cupboard cleaned up. It looks like there’s been a nuclear attack.

Have a nice Saturday,

Helen

Do you ever have the sort of day when you really shouldn’t even look at the sewing machine, never mind sit down and start faffing about.

It’s the pinwheels – but I guess you’d probably guessed that.

Today has been a beautiful day. I had my first proper run since Christmas – it was just heaven in the woods this morning; I finished my long translation more quickly than I would have thought; I spent a happy hour pottering in the garden….and then my prize at the end of the afternoon was a little bit of lovely, wonderful sewing time.

I have a bit of a perfectionist streak, but I guess you know that by now. I took a long hard look at one of the blocks and decided that the points weren’t quite perfect enough for Di. Quick as a flash I had it all unpicked, ready to have another go.

And that’s where I made my big mistake.

I thought I’d just iron the fabric flat to make a perfect job of it.

I don’t have to tell you what happened.

You’ve guessed haven’t you?

Yup.

My iron did that horrible spitting brown dirty water thing…ALL OVER THE BLOCK…

Aaaaarghhhhh

So I’ve washed out the ruined half and tried to iron it back into shape.

It has failed completely. It looks like I washed it in a boil wash. Now it’s all puckered and higgledy piggledy…..

Back to the drawing board.

Where’s the gin?

Helen