Just a quick post - life is mayhem and stressful at the moment while I pack boxes, sort stuff for recycling and throw out rubbish. My hands are raw, my nerves ragged, my whole being sleep-deprived, weary, fed up and I JUST WANT IT TO BE ALL OVER.
As of tomorrow afternoon, I shall be on holiday (was ever a word so misused), and by Sunday evening, I will have (gulp!) moved all belongings into storage and myself into temporary accommodation. Friends and family are helping, I just hope we're all still speaking to each other at the end of it all.
The first week or so, I'll be in a hotel/B&B, just enjoying not having anything to do or worry about, just lots of telly, knitting, sleeping - LOTS OF SLEEPING - and just slowly returning to sanity. I might make a start on the paperwork that's been building up, hell, I might even resume my studies. Then, depending how much recovery time I need, I'll move to stay with friends till I can return home. I'm not making any definite plans on that front yet; I won't be taking any holiday from work during this time, and to be quite honest, coming "home" and shutting the door on the world for evenings of peaceful solitude is what appeals right now. [Is that terribly ungrateful of me?]
Not surprisingly, there hasn't been much knitting going on, but there has been some (essential stress-relief!), and hopefully I'll be able to show you a couple of small FOs next week. Till then, I just keep telling myself that the end is in sight/there is light at the end of the tunnel/[insert your own platitude here]. No, really, it's what keeps me going: in a few days, I can say goodbye to this phase of my life, and I will be happy.See you on the other side.
Wednesday, early hours of the morning - edited to add: My brain is mush, I rambled on about the move, but the ACTUAL point of this not-so-quick post was to say hello to everyone who has stopped by the blog recently, and to apologise for not being very chatty these past couple of weeks, in particular to my secret pal. Congratulations again SP, on your wonderful news (heh, this may mean you aren't so secret any more?)
Runagogo is a fantastic site found via Knit Two Purl Two. It's a group of knitters and other crafters all rising to the challenge set by Rachael to move 100 miles in the first three months of 2007, and exactly the motivation I need to get my fat ass into shape.
I used to run regularly, but in recent years, became increadingly sporadic to the point where I just. Stopped. Running. During last year's trip to New York I picked up a hugely useful and inspirational running book and did actually start some gentle jogging again, but then Stuff got in the way, and that was the end of that.
So, Runagogo is just what the doctor ordered, great concept, cool blog with links to useful sites and tools to help keep you on track.
I've been meaning to take pictures of my yarn purchase from before Christmas, but the weather has been so lousy here in London, that there simply hasn't been enough light. On this new year's morn, there was some actual sunlight, so I scrambled for my camera and quickly snapped these.
First up, a Magic Ball from Be Sweet (I think, since there is no label). I have absolutely no idea what I am going to knit with this, I suspect a scarf, but I don't even know what needle size to use or how far the yarn will go. No matter, it is very pretty, much more so than I've portrayed here.
In the I Knit London shop, there is a beautiful throw made out of some Safricana mohair, which convinced me to buy a couple of balls of the boucle to swatch. I'm afraid this picture isn't very true; the orange isn't as bright as appears in the photo, and the darker skein is a purpley grey. Both are beautiful. I'm going to use the grey for swatching for the throw, and the orange for a scarf. Actually, it occurs to me that I could use it for the curlicue ruffle scarf that I seem to have abandoned, instead of the KSH, although the yardage is a little short. [BTW, apparently, the Be Sweet and the Safricana yarns are the same, but traded by different suppliers].
Next up, another yarn new to me, Manos del Uruguay. The bottle green skein is a present and the multi-coloured is for me. The multi is just the prettiest yarn I have ever seen, and I bought it with no project in mind, just to keep in stash and periodically look at and sigh. I love it so much, I'e added another close-up below.
In addition, I bought a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Martha's Vineyard colourway [below], also as a gift, and two balls of Louisa Harding Grace in plum. I'd used the ball I had in stash for a present I am knitting, and needed just another ball to complete, but bought two in case the dyelots didn't match, and I had to start all over again!
Finally, I bought a Rowan booklet for a simple lace scarf pattern (using KSH, um, I DON'T THINK SO) and a needle measurement tool, just because I love gadgets. As you can see, I had a wonderful time shopping and it didn't stop there. This week, I've been flexing the plastic on the internet quite a fair bit. I'm very excited about these purchases but I'll post about them when they arrive.
With so many new projects planned, I'm going to make a concerted effort to regain control of my stash and WIPs, by identifying those that I want to finish (for example, the lovely Cozy, which only needs to be blocked!), and ripping all other UFOs. I also have to plan the projects to work on during my temporary move and additional commute.
