My anxiety has reared its ugly head this week so I’m really exhausted from lack of sleep and having a brain in full on internal chatter mode. You’ll see I have been trying to distract myself by keeping busy! Technically I don’t think anything I have done is on my YOP list (yet), but it’s Sunday so I’m hijacking my YOP post.
Crochet
I was playing with some weaving waste of some Sugar’n Cream cotton and made a weird cotton pad. It’s too thick I think.
Dyeing
Yesterday’s Guild Day (via Zoom) was about solar dyeing and using a (for dyeing only not food use) microwave to dye acid dyes in the morning and then the social natter in the afternoon. I’ve only used acid dyes so far, but…
I am joining 4 friends from the Guild on a Shibori Indigo dyeing day in early June, it will be outside and socially distanced. That will be my first socialising with that many people in real life (not Zoom) since February 2020!!
Felting
The lampshade fibres I had laid out last week needed felting so I got busy doing those 5 x 25cm ones from Wednesday onwards. I am a little out of practice at all the hand rubbing and rolling so it has been a little more tiring. I’m sure once I am back in the swing of regularly making them I won’t be so achy and they won’t take so many hours to make each one.
A friend in Ireland gets first pick and the rest will be in the Alchemist gallery next week. Note to self: I need a box suitable for posting it too! I’ve only built 4 so far, the 5th is a landscape and needs some sheep needle felting on it 😀
Knitting
I finished Allistar’s gloves and he has worn them everyday while he works from home. He mentioned socks to me but I reminded him he hardly wears the ones I already made him, so the next day he wore them 😂🤣
I steam blocked my Fine Sand cardigan and finally posted about it yesterday.
I had a bit of castonitis this week. I had a couple of days with nothing on the needles (well except a brioche scarf I will probably frog).
So, after a lot of Ravelry perusing and looking at patterns already in my library and completely ignoring my YOP list, I cast on:
- Habitation Throw (I’m using any 4 ply scraps <35g). I got the pattern when it was offered free!
- Rose City Roller socks (using scraps 35g – 45g) I am testing less stitches on a larger needle. I tried 52 stitches on 2.5mm but the fabric is a bit loose, so I have ordered a couple of 2.25mm to try doing 56 stitches. (I have tiny feet.)
- Deb’s super simple DK socks using some Ryeland wool and some DK advent scraps for a change/test. These are knit on 3mm needles. I haven’t gauge swatched yet but have gathered bits for it.
- Twig beanie using homespun baby camel and silk, I did some swatching, but homespun is tricky to gauge swatch, hopefully I’m close enough with a smaller needle than the pattern recommends. I have two shawls I made with the same fibre I had spun…I absolutely love the softness of the yarn it produces. I love spinning it too.
Oh and I knit a dish cloth again with some loom waste so it has about 20 knots in.
Sewing
I am loving The Great British Sewing Bee and my sewing mojo is high…I just couldn’t squeeze any time in for it this week. My lining fabric for my bag still hasn’t arrived and isn’t due for another week, I wish I’d used a fabric shop and not Amazon!
Spinning
I spun 25g of Dorset Horn for my breed project. Its 2 ply and I am definitely getting a bit better at using my Andean plying tool to do 2 ply.
I realise it is time to start planning for Tour de Fleece which starts at the end of June but if I am captaining another team for the Guild this year I will need to start preparing.
Weaving
My 2nd 12.5 dent heddle arrived so I can make some larger diamond stripe towels, when I get a chance to warp the loom. The pieces always come untreated so I did give it a wipe with some teak oil. Smelly but quicker than waxing.
Wood
I asked my husband to see if the woodturning guy, I had a lesson with in June 2019, is doing 1-2-1 lessons this June. Fingers crossed as I’d love to have another go for my birthday.
Other News
I moved things around in my craft room wardrobes and shelves again! A bunch of junk my husband is keeping ‘just in case’ I moved downstairs to the guest room wardrobe. I moved some filing cabinets and shelving around. I also gave away my A3 photo printer to a member of the camera club I’ve just left. It needs 9 different colour cartridges and won’t print black if there is any colour that is missing. It was huge and expensive to keep using just to print knitting patterns! So I have made some space, but not as much as I had hoped but still it is a little easier to access everything. This took a few days! (Basically I have too much yarn and fibre! 🙀)
Highland Libraries have moved their online book lending from one supplier to another, which is super annoying as a book I was half way through reading disappeared and isn’t available on the new app and isn’t free on Amazon Prime Reading! So no idea how that book ends! Not good when you’ve been waking at 3am and need something to read!
Our physical library is still not open and my book due back 26th March 2020 is still waiting to be returned!
The library do seem to have kept the magazine rental with Libby though which is quite good as it has lots of Knitting Magazines, Spin Off and Interweave magazine, amongst the thousands of other titles available.
So that’s been my week, a bit all over the place trying to keep busy and keep the internal chatter down a bit. 🎶 Life is a rollercoaster 🎢 just gotta ride it 🎶 😀
This is a Year of Projects post. Officially the Group is in its 10th year, but this is my 3rd year participating. If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry.
HighlandHeffalump 
I hope your anxiety gets better soon. Your lampshades are wonderful as always. I love that you cast on several things. It’s inspiring me to do the same. Glad to hear Alistair likes his gloves and socks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m actually using my project bags at last lol!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As always your lampshades are looking fab! It also sounds as though you have lots of things to occupy you, although the book situation is annoying. I have been finding writing in my journal and doing some blind contours have been helping me, but I definitely wouldn’t presume what might help others 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to hear that you will get to have an in-person social in June. In the US the libraries have a book drop-off box for returns. Your roller coaster ride has been a bit rough lately. It’s a funny metaphor, if not a fun condition. My life, by contrast is more of a carousel (in the US, merry-go-round.) Too much of the same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Truly sorry about the anxiety, though I do hope crafting does help. That Dorset horn looks utterly delicious, I wish I could touch it!
Woodturning sounds incredibly exciting, that is one of those things I’d also like to go into at some point. Hope you have a wonderful week!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do LOVE your lampshades, especially the landscape ones. Thanks for the link to your cardigan post. it looks really great on you! Such a pretty lady. I just got my sewing machine repaired so I no longer have an excuse not to make some more project bags out of the cute fabric I got for my birthday – other than I don’t need any more project bags – details, details. You do so much!! I’m exhausted reading about your week. Have to admit, it has really been great getting together with my knitting friends in person the past 2 Saturdays. We all agreed we couldn’t remember how much time to allow for driving to the coffee shop!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you
LikeLike
I’m so sorry your anxiety has been bad this week, I know the feeling. Hopefully the crafting continues to help.
For the socks, I find a tight gauge to be essential in the enjoyment of socks. Rose City Rollers has 3 sizes that are just repeats of 8 right, so if the smallest is still too big at a tight gauge it shouldn’t be too hard to go down an additional 8 stitches, or even 4. I’ve done a version of Rose City Rollers a few times with 68 stitches which is between two sizes. I’m happy to help with the math if you like (I’m nerdy like that) – feel free to send me a message on Skype!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Kath. I may take you up on that once the needles arrive and I see what my gauge is. Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to read that you’re enjoying sewing. I’m thinking you must have gotten some earlier issues sorted out. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I’m enjoying the idea…perhaps once I am back doing it I will remember it isn’t for me haha
LikeLike
Wow – you have been busy and gotten a lot of crafting done this week – and all of it wonderful! I’m so sorry about your anxiety. I do know the feeling. Hopefully crafting will help and you will be able to get more sleep which will also be positive 🙂 I love that Allistar is wearing his gloves and started wearing his socks in hope that you will make him some more 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Had to laugh about the socks, my husband did the same AFTER he shrunk the first pair I made him 🐯
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have certainly had a busy week as far as crafting goes. And doing all this with anxiety? Very impressive indeed. I have had the habitation throw in my book of patterns to be knit for some time now. Maybe next YOP I will finally do it. Your beanie looks like it will be nice and warm. Your lampshades are so pretty. Each one is unique. I only use 2.5omm needles for socks as I find the 2.25mm makes the material too dense and with very little “give” to them. But then, I might be a tighter knitter than you are. Sounds like you did some great rearranging at your home. Hopefully your anxiety will abait this coming week.
LikeLiked by 1 person
All my other socks were knit with 2mm needles so it will be interesting to see how I like the 2.25mm feel. Hopefully the needles will arrive in the next couple of days.
LikeLike
Sorry to hear about your anxiety, but my goodness it keeps your productive. I hope this week your sleep comes easier. That is annoying about not being able to finish a book due to platform changes. Our library is no longer giving us Acorn for free as of May 15 so I am madly trying to finish Keeping Faith before then (I think I am losing that battle as it is so intense I can only manage one episode a day!). Keep walking. Keep the faith. Summer is coming and with it and the vaccines hope for better social days to come.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you x. We just finished the last episode of series 3 of Keeping Faith this evening.
LikeLike
I hate anxiety, I hate anxiety, I hate anxiety. I am so sorry you are doing the brain on fire thing in the wee hours of the morning. I think that mine correlates with one of my autoimmune diseases going active (pretty sure it is a side effect of inflammation) and am doing better taking supplements like tart cherry and turmeric along with drinking Sleepytime tea… but it doesn’t always do the job. Hope yours settles down soon. I love all of the castonitis projects. I love the Rose City Roller sock pattern; now that it is warmer weather I may have to make some to use up some of the yarn leftovers that I have been hoarding. Hope that anxiety moves along soon!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very busy week for you. I need a solid chunk of time for purging stuff out of the dark recesses of closets and rooms. I just discovered Libby and I am totally enjoying some knitting publications too.
LikeLiked by 1 person