I know it's not original but, whether I have something planned or not, I Love Weekends. Sadly, they never seem to be long enough. This weekend isn't yet half over but there have been a number of projects on the go ...
On the rack (that sounds like some medieval torture!): This morning The Most Adorable Granddaughters in the World#4 and #5 helped me do baking. After mixing up a batch of spelt and rye sourdough, we made spelt ANZAC biscuits. (In case you're wondering DIL#2, they each had a biscuit -Daddy's fault - and spelt toast with marmalade - blame Grandpa for that! - and a quarter of a cup of blueberries and four mandarins each for 'morning tea' - and The Most Adorable Granddaughter#5 also ate mandarin skin since she peeled it with her teeth and was totally perplexed when Nana told her to spit it out!) I've been enjoying baking with spelt. I like the taste and that it's so much easier to adapt to use in traditional recipes than most gluten-free flours. (I know spelt's not gluten-free but it doesn't make me feel sick like ordinary flour so I'm thinking it's the wheat that my body doesn't like, not gluten.) I especially like it as sourdough and, miraculously, haven't had any problems baking sourdough bread with it to date.
On the needles: I've started another Holden shawl because I was so pleased with how the first one turned out. I am tossing up whether to add a border edging to make it a little more interesting second time around, but have yet to make up my mind.
I also have Vanilla Latte socks on the go for DH. These are so not fun - mainly because of (1) the teeny weeny size of the needles, and (2) the colour of the yarn (especially the inky blue, dark grey and black). These are really a knit-in-good-sunlight project. I was doing two at a time on one circular needle, but that just seemed to slow down my knitting even further. So, because it seems pointless to keep track of rows for such a simple pattern, and because I struggled to count the rows from toe to heel because the purl bumps were so incy wincy, I'm knitting two rounds on one sock and then two rounds on the other sock in the hope that they turn out the same size. (I have a sneaking suspicion that the number of rows from tow to heel is not the same for both socks but please don't tell DH.)
My order of size 2.5 mm needles arrived this week and I immediately decided to test them straight away on a pair of socks for yours truly. The pattern is one I've adapted from Trailing Leaves (for some reason I'm into leaves as motifs on knitted articles at the moment) and I've been delighted to discover how much of a difference just going up one size in needles has made to my knitting enjoyment. I've also discovered that if you [I] want to knit a pair of socks quickly, to choose a pattern. For some reason - perhaps because I want to keep going until I get to the next pattern repeat - patterns that I have to keep track of go much faster than patterns that I don't need to concentrate on at all.
On the shelf: I have books galore just waiting for time for me to get around to reading. On top at the moment would have to be several articles on natural environments in early childhood education (including the wonderful and incredible forest kindergartens), a book by Derek Prince titled "The Promised Land", and a book on the history of Wellington (research for next manuscript).
On my to-do list: This is incredibly and unrealistically long but if today I can finish the washing and fold it all up and get it away (or get someone else to put it away would be even better), clean my kitchen and stove, finish baking my bread and cook dinner, pull a few weeds out of the garden, and still find time to sit down and knit, then I'll be a happy girl.
On my gratitude list (since a habit that lasted one hundred days is hard to break!): I am grateful that Son#3's car decided to wait until they were in their driveway before catching on fire and not on the long drive home from here last Sunday. I am grateful, too, that if DIL#2's grandfather had to get ill and end up in hospital that it happened while he was still staying at her place and not when on the road home. I'm grateful that DH's mother is doing better - presumably since she is now taking her medication correctly. I am grateful for The Most Adorable Granddaughter in the World#5 turning two this week. And I am ever so grateful that it is definitely getting warmer (did we really have the highest temperature in all of New Zealand the other day???) and Spring will soon be here (which means that the men in my family are probably grateful that they will not be called upon to light the fire for too much longer - or so they can hope).
On the rack (that sounds like some medieval torture!): This morning The Most Adorable Granddaughters in the World#4 and #5 helped me do baking. After mixing up a batch of spelt and rye sourdough, we made spelt ANZAC biscuits. (In case you're wondering DIL#2, they each had a biscuit -Daddy's fault - and spelt toast with marmalade - blame Grandpa for that! - and a quarter of a cup of blueberries and four mandarins each for 'morning tea' - and The Most Adorable Granddaughter#5 also ate mandarin skin since she peeled it with her teeth and was totally perplexed when Nana told her to spit it out!) I've been enjoying baking with spelt. I like the taste and that it's so much easier to adapt to use in traditional recipes than most gluten-free flours. (I know spelt's not gluten-free but it doesn't make me feel sick like ordinary flour so I'm thinking it's the wheat that my body doesn't like, not gluten.) I especially like it as sourdough and, miraculously, haven't had any problems baking sourdough bread with it to date.
(Recipe here for ANZAC biscuits. I simply substituted spelt flour for plain wheat flour and had two special girls energetically flattening the balls of dough to create such large sized biscuits.)
On the needles: I've started another Holden shawl because I was so pleased with how the first one turned out. I am tossing up whether to add a border edging to make it a little more interesting second time around, but have yet to make up my mind.
(Alas, the second shawl is not 50% merino and 50% silk like the first - but it's still pretty all the same.)
I also have Vanilla Latte socks on the go for DH. These are so not fun - mainly because of (1) the teeny weeny size of the needles, and (2) the colour of the yarn (especially the inky blue, dark grey and black). These are really a knit-in-good-sunlight project. I was doing two at a time on one circular needle, but that just seemed to slow down my knitting even further. So, because it seems pointless to keep track of rows for such a simple pattern, and because I struggled to count the rows from toe to heel because the purl bumps were so incy wincy, I'm knitting two rounds on one sock and then two rounds on the other sock in the hope that they turn out the same size. (I have a sneaking suspicion that the number of rows from tow to heel is not the same for both socks but please don't tell DH.)
My order of size 2.5 mm needles arrived this week and I immediately decided to test them straight away on a pair of socks for yours truly. The pattern is one I've adapted from Trailing Leaves (for some reason I'm into leaves as motifs on knitted articles at the moment) and I've been delighted to discover how much of a difference just going up one size in needles has made to my knitting enjoyment. I've also discovered that if you [I] want to knit a pair of socks quickly, to choose a pattern. For some reason - perhaps because I want to keep going until I get to the next pattern repeat - patterns that I have to keep track of go much faster than patterns that I don't need to concentrate on at all.
(The colour doesn't photograph well. These are more of a deep teal than blue - and in merino, alpaca, silk and possum.)
On my to-do list: This is incredibly and unrealistically long but if today I can finish the washing and fold it all up and get it away (or get someone else to put it away would be even better), clean my kitchen and stove, finish baking my bread and cook dinner, pull a few weeds out of the garden, and still find time to sit down and knit, then I'll be a happy girl.
On my gratitude list (since a habit that lasted one hundred days is hard to break!): I am grateful that Son#3's car decided to wait until they were in their driveway before catching on fire and not on the long drive home from here last Sunday. I am grateful, too, that if DIL#2's grandfather had to get ill and end up in hospital that it happened while he was still staying at her place and not when on the road home. I'm grateful that DH's mother is doing better - presumably since she is now taking her medication correctly. I am grateful for The Most Adorable Granddaughter in the World#5 turning two this week. And I am ever so grateful that it is definitely getting warmer (did we really have the highest temperature in all of New Zealand the other day???) and Spring will soon be here (which means that the men in my family are probably grateful that they will not be called upon to light the fire for too much longer - or so they can hope).
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