Hooks and Needles

I've had a busy week since adopting a 'bites of the elephant' approach to housework and home organisation in general, but I am pleased with how manageable it all feels and with the results! I have a brief window between the girls' lessons and helping T with his workbooks, so my peppermint tea is here and I have taken some photos of my recent projects that have been finished:

This bowl/jug cover is from Nicky Trench's book, Cute and Easy Crochet, and it is a big version of the jam pot cover. I carried on with the rounds rather manically during a particularly harrowing episode of Call the Midwife, and increased when it sort of looked like it should (difficult to recreate I know!). I then threaded beads on to a length of cotton and double-crocheted round, letting a bead drop every 8th stitch. The beads are glass ones made by fellow CCG member Nicky's sister, and are beautiful colours - and suitably weighty.  Over tea and welshcakes yesterday afternoon, Nicky and I discussed various projects and we are veering more towards herbal salves and foraged foods as spring approaches. I have been using the shampoo bars we made a few weeks ago that have olive oil, beeswax, avocado oil and egg yolks in them. I used the rosemary hair rinse that Nicky had made and it has worked brilliantly! I spritzed it on after rinsing and towel-drying my hair and it was an instant detangler, plus my hair feels wonderfully soft.

On the sock front, I finished the February fair isle socks, and also the ones in the sweet pea yarn:

I am really enjoying knitting socks! I've a new pair on the go at the moment which are from quite a complicated pattern but they are looking good and are for a worthy recipient so I don't mind at all, and being only 50 stitches with DK yarn, are knitting up relatively quickly. I've also brought a pair of Nicky's socks back to finish off for her as I do seem to need about 4 things on the go so I can ring the changes. The kidsilk wrap is growing, but I want it really wide and luxurious so I am not rushing that at all.

Due to the rat infestation I have moved all the poultry down to the other end of the garden and decanted the contents of the compost bins/rat hotels in to old plastic sacks. I will leave the bags to stew for the summer in discrete groups as I don't want to encourage the rodent population to take up residence in amongst them. The ducks have taken to waddling out of the garden and dabbling around in the drainage ditch outside my house which is disgusting, and hardly safe (especially with the chap and his Staffies that regularly ride up the road), so they have been shut in their run. It is now on grass though and they have been making little trenches with their beaks around their bucket. Jean is laying eggs too :-)

Anyway, Tristan and his chemistry workbook need some attention before Rosie goes to tea with some friends from the local school. Back soon with more projects to show you!

Stitches

I pruned the apple trees yesterday, as I finally found a no-nonsense article about how to go about it, so, having armed myself with secateurs and pruning saw, I trimmed off everything that pinged out from a fruit spur and took all the top growth back to an outward-facing bud:

As I've been in all day, the poultry have all had a good wing-stretch outside their respective runs. The white ducks enjoyed a snooze in the sun:

The mallards enjoyed their tub of cold water:

I have cast on 54 stitches in the Shetland aran wool as I want to make a cafetiere cosy. I always seem to end up finding the perfect pattern in all but one aspect so I have to adapt it, does everyone find this to be the case?? Anyway, this will hopefully be a simple stocking stitch-and-cabling one with 2x2 rib at top and bottom...watch this space and don't hold me to that design!

This is another little project, more on that when I've finished it:

I can knit other things now as I have finished the pair of gumboot socks!!

I love them! They are really warm and comfortable and I am amazed that I actually managed to knit them. I might keep them as bed socks as they are far too gorgeous to be trudged around in wellies. The Sweet Pea sock is complete too, except it obviously needs a friend, which I will cast on before I lose the momentum...

Unfortunately the nicest bit (as far as I'm concerned) is the stripy bit which happens to be on the sole, but I can see me wearing these as summer bed socks!!

I must must must get on with some crochet squares for the Sissinghurst hot garden blanket but I'm thinking of teaching Amber how to do them, as they are not very taxing. I might do some when I've cracked on a bit with the other things. Luckily I vacuumed the landing and cleaned the bathroom in a moment of inspiration so can get back to the important stuff...

Purchases

I'm going well with the gumboot sock:

I must remember I will need to knit another one...

Having dropped the children at home-ed group this morning I popped to Furniture Now, who take donated furniture and mend/fix/store it and sell it on to the public, with discounts for unwaged people such as myself. I really needed something bookcase-y for my room, as well as a desk for Tristan and maybe a small table for the study so I can help the children with their studies rather than use the big table in the lounge for everything. I drew a blank on the desk and forgot my cheque book so couldn't get a table but I did find something for my room:

It fits well and has enough room for what I need it for. I've brought a chair up from the lounge so I can sit in my room [and escape] so I'll see if that helps.

When I got back from Shinies I had a parcel; my new iPad case from Melin Tregwynt! :-)

It's quite big so possibly more designed for a netbook but I love it and it's got a neoprene backing so it's both classy and protective. I'm trying not to look at the rest of the catalogue.

The weather's been great today, and I cleaned out all the hens while they had a run in the garden. The chicks are getting on ok with the older hens now and Henry can't pick on all 3 of them at once, so apart from the odd squawk, they all hang out fairly happily. Hopefully they'll be able to go in with them permanently soon as it will reduce the amount of bedding and cleaning out, plus it will keep the babies warm as they all tend to huddle in the nestbox at the moment.

It's the weekend! Yey! No plans - double yey!

Weather

It has been extremely wet and blowy recently, with local flooding and generally miserable conditions. I've never seen the hens looking so bedraggled, although the ducks of course loved my submerged lawn:

Oh dear, my garden does get a hammering. The crocuses are poking up through a puddle and I'm pleased I actually remembered to pop grit in with the bulbs when I planted them. Roll on spring.

The January sock challenge is going well and Nicky and I both seem to be at a similar point and even appear to have bodged a stitch in a similar place too! We met for a brief chat and catch up this morning while Tristan and Rose were at sports, but here is the welly warmer:

It looks like a proper sock, I'm really pleased! I'm carrying on with the other sock in the Sweet Pea yarn which is lovely, but I am pootling along with them as they are really easy to do in front of the tv so I'm keeping them for low-input knitting occasions. I am about to put the final flourish on to my second beehive egg cosy, as I made one for my dad for his birthday and they are really cute! I have made felt bees to go on the top so I will post a picture of that next time as I have only been able to appropriate my laptop for a short period between fights and on the promise that I will get tea for the children as soon as I have blogged....

Yuk, I have to go and shut the ducks in now, and slop around washing up their bowls and emptying their buckets in a gale. Oh and feed the poor rabbits and guineas who are rather bored to say the least, so I might get the girls to bring them in to the lounge for a bit!