Food Again!

Life, lately, has been hectic, stressful, and verging on the unpleasant. Not that anything so very terrible has happened, more that the smaller stressful things in our lives have all ramped up at the same time. Which has not been overly helpful.

As a result, many things have fallen by the wayside, including the quality of the food we have been eating. In all honesty, in the last few weeks it has been a win if we so much as made beans on toast for dinner. Rather more takeaway than is advisable has been consumed.

That's life, and what's done is done. There is no point is stressing about that too. However, it is time to reset. New stress levels are starting to be accommodated (although sadly not particularly reduced, but what can you do?), and I think we are all starting to feel the negative effects of the way we have been eating.

However, I also do not want to get over-zealous and set something up that we are destined to fail at.

A huge part of our problem is that when someone inevitably asks the question "So, what are we doing for dinner?" no-one else has an answer. So first we have to think of ideas, and then decide between them. And then actually do it. There are too many potential exit points there. The initial question, brainstorming, deciding, and then action.

I have tried meal planning multiple times, and always with limited success, and I really am not sure why. It should solve this problem. What it has shown is that although there are too many potential exit points in the discussion that can easily lead to a trip to McDonalds or somewhere, the biggest hurdle for us is action. I have mentioned not being an enthusiastic cook, and frankly, I loathe it. We really do need to start cooking more, though, so I am trying to come up with a plan which will encourage further cooking, but not make it feel like a gigantic failure if we end up getting takeaway or eating fish finger sandwiches (never a failure, actually, I love them!).

This is my plan. To come up with some meals. As easy and quick as possible. Right now, I don't want to over concern myself with nutrition on the basis that almost anything we cook at home will be healthier than the deep fried offerings of our local takeaway emporia. This is more about habit building, right now. Here are the meals.

Burgers - we have some in the fridge, waiting to be eaten. We will eat them with steamed vegetables.
Pan-fried salmon - also with steamed vegetables.
Puff pastry vegetable and cheese tarts
Shepherd's pie

So, two staples, one new idea and one that takes a little longer, but is not particularly complicated. 4 meals, in 7 days. Let's start there, and see how we go!

It's All About Crochet

A few weeks ago, I learned to crochet. This has become something rather like an obsession.

I took some big bulky yarn (Katia Peru) that I had left over from another project and basically crocheted them into a bunch of squares, joined them up with double crochet, and voilà, I had a blanket! I'm so ridiculously proud of it!

I have attempted a couple of other crochet projects, without as much success, but in fairness, getting out the Rowan Kidsilk Haze was probably not my brightest idea ever. However, I am using my new skills on an excellent stash busting adventure: a sock yarn blanket!

I have never had much success with making blankets. I get bored. However, I think this is going to work. One square is such a small investment, and it is comparatively so speedy. The main thing is that it can deal with those little tiny bits of yarn that I have knocking about. As well as some of the not so tiny bits of yarn. I hate having yarn leftovers - they stress me out by making my stash look bigger than it is - and it does not need a lot of help with that, honestly!

Already I have been able to mark about four yarns on Ravelry as "all used up", so I think it is already qualifying as a success!

Things That I Like

A thing that I like is line dried clothes.

It is only relatively recently that this has been an option for me. For over ten years I lived either in a flat or in a university residence and so there was a distinct lack of options for drying outside. Most of that time I did not have a tumble dryer either (only the halls of residence times), and my clothes mostly smelled damp.

I am not a particular fan of tumble dryers. They are enormously resource heavy and my electricity bill is really quite high enough. I'll admit, though, that when it is cold and gloomy and it takes so long for your clothes to dry inside that they get a bit musty, I have often wished I had one.

However, as I say: line drying! I love that they smell nice: not musty, not of cooking smells, just clean and fresh. No one has invented a product that can do this yet. Somehow they feel softer too.

That, my friends, is my positive for this gloomy Sunday morning.

Quiet

Today is a quiet day. Even the dog is quiet. Generally she is not!

My partner in crime is off for the day, and I am having a day of quiet. I need a day of quiet.

Today has involved finishing a cardigan (pictures in due course!); two loads of washing; some spinning; and a desperate attempt to catch up with podcasts.

I had a phone problem earlier in the summer which resulted in me still listening to podcasts from July. I suspect my Virgo-esque determination to work my way through logically is resulting in my missing any number of excellent competitions! I never win competitions, though, so it is probably no great loss.

In the last couple of days I have finished my two main knitting projects, which is excellent. I now have a scarf, as well as the cardigan. I do in fact have photos of the scarf:

The downside of completing these things is that I now don't have a big project. I have two pairs of socks, neither of which I am particularly in love with. And my spinning. I think something new might be needed in the not too distant future!

Food, Glorious Food!

Lately we have been having warm weather. Really, unusually warm weather. Where we live 29c is not something you expect to experience. It is not something I like experiencing either. We are not a household that loves the sun.

Nevertheless. It raises some definite questions around food. I'm never a very enthusiastic cook, but in this weather I am an even less enthusiastic cook.

There are obvious places to go, such as salad and chilled soup. Well, chilled soup is weird to me, I do not like. I definitely like salad, but it is not something that fits in easily with my lifestyle. How so? Well, the way my average week pans out I do not have time to go to the shops a couple of times to get new salad ingredients, and salad ingredients are not something you can buy heaps of on Saturday and still expect to be in a good enough condition to make a salad on Friday. Perhaps salad belongs at the beginning of the week, but what about later in the week? What do we eat then?

I do not get on particularly well with bread and pasta so it is not something I would want to rely on too much for warm weather meals - or any meals! So, this is what I am thinking about at the moment. I would like to find a good solution, if I can!

The Gentle Art of Plying

I am a very haphazard spinner. I have never had any real tuition and have basically thrown a barrel full of guess work with a large bundle of instinct and hoped for the best. On the whole, this has worked in that I have created a number of things that are identifiably "yarn". However, the amount of it which has been "good yarn" has been dramatically smaller. Certainly there has been a decided lack of "balanced yarn".

For some time I have been meaning to buy "The Gentle Art of Plying" a DVD presented by Judith MacKenzie. You can buy it as either a DVD or a download from Interweave. And probably from some shops, but in the UK at least, probably not many! I have always felt that plying was my poorest area, skill-wise, and I wanted to improve.

So, a few days ago I bought the download direct from Interweave. I bought the HD version, which I came to regret as the zip file is humungous, 4GB in fact, so several hours of downloading. Frustrated by the fact that the first download failed. However, we got there in the end, and this morning I have watched the first 26 minutes, and I am incredibly excited.

I have learned which type of yarn is good for weaving versus knitting. Which is exciting, as I spin for both. And, perhaps more importantly, I have learned of the extent to which I underspin my singles. Which would go a long way to explaining why I am generally unhappy with my plied yarns.

I am now applying this knowledge to my current spinning project: the blue merino silk I bought at Woolfest 2013. I have one bobbin of singles which, I suspect, I will need to go back and add some twist to. I am part way through the second bobbin, on which I am now trying to increase the twist, which means that the beginning will probably be undertwisted, but for now I will wing it. Adding twist to half a bobbin of singles just sounds irritating. Hopefully the third bobbin will be right first time. You never know, right? This is necessarily going to be a "follow your own adventure" yarn, but that is ok!

A Sock Yarny Solution

To my great joy, I have found a solution to the leftover sock yarn conundrum.

The problem I had when considering weaving for a solution was that I was thinking of weaving like knitting. You make an item. A garment, a toy, a household good. The thing is, with weaving, really, you are just making fabric. Of course, you are making fabric with knitting too, but generally it is fabric shaped in such a way as to make an item. In weaving, really, you are just making fabric. Even if you make an item such as a scarf or a tea towel you are just making fabric. It is just that those items are flat pieces of fabric.

So, the problem was that I was thinking about weaving, for example, a scarf. This scarf, though would be a slightly mad looking colour-fest that I really would not wear. So not all that helpful.

When I realised this whole weaving = fabric thing, inspiration struck. I will make some fabric, and from that fabric I will sew something. Currently I am thinking a bag. Either way, I have realised that creating a piece of fabric will allow me to then create an item.

How Much Sock Yarn!?

Ravelry is a many splendoured thing. I love it. Sometimes, however, it provides you with information that is...well, horrifying.

This evening, in my ongoing quest to deal with my knitting funk, I was browsing my stash. My sock weight yarns, specifically, and on the filtering drop down menu that I have 90 items in the "fingering" category and five items in the "light fingering" category. See? Horrifying.

31 of these are partially used, meaning I have 64 unused sock weight yarns in my stash. Ok. That is alarming, but I can just about live with it. Although, having realised this, you will not catch me buying sock yarn any time soon.

Talking the horror through with my Partner In Crime, we concluded that I do not want to sell or otherwise dispose of my yarn. There may be a ball or two I could part with, but on the whole I bought it because I love it, and I want to keep it. However, it is the part balls which are causing me the most stress.

I have, in the past, knitted stripy socks out of leftover sock yarn, but this situation is really far beyond that which can be dealt with by stripy socks. Maybe by some stripy or other types of multi-yarn socks, but that will not get rid of 31 part balls of yarn. At least, not quickly. I wondered about what I could weave with left over sock yarn, but have so far not come up with anything. I contemplated some form of sock yarn blanket, but I have started these before and always lose interest. I do not know. Answers on a postcard (or in the comments...)!

However, I do have a short term plan.

First, I am going to have a handknitted sock cull. Some are very old and becoming rather disreputable. Others I never really liked, or fit poorly. These can be dispatched in some way or another.

Second, I am going to keep the luxury socks separately to the every day socks. A pair of socks in a cashmere blend will never go in shoes, but that means I need to keep them where I will find them on a cold winter's day when I want to curl up on the sofa, watch movies and drink hot chocolate. So they will go into the same drawer as my pyjamas.

Between these two actions I will create a situation where I will a) have fewer handknitted socks b) only have handknitted socks that fit nicely and I like, c) be clear on what sort of socks are available for different situations and as a result d) be able to clearly see what I have and where any socky gaps are and e) be able to fit any new socks into my drawer.

On the whole, I am unsure that this is a brilliant plan, it will not solve the problem of the part balls, but it will at least help provide a route for the other 64 items to move from yarn to garment. I also hope it will provide some inspiration to help with this whole knitting funk side of things.

As for the part balls... watch this space. I need to come up with something!

Stash Dash

Stash Dash is a thing being run by the Knit Girllls podcast people. From what I gather the aim has been to use up 5000m of stash over the summer. I am coming rather late to the party, but in light of my recent alarming discoveries around the sheer quantity of my stash, I have decided to have my own personal stash dash.

My plan is to use up - either knitting, weaving or spinning, 5000m of yarn between now and the 16th of October that is my goal. I am not going to make any yarn-purchasing restrictions, except to say that I will embark on a period of mindful yarn purchases. That is to say, I will not buy something just because it is shiny. I have a tendency to buy yarns in bright gorgeous colours without any consideration of how I might wear items knitted from it.

So this is my plan, and I will update here as I go along! I am hoping this will also help me make decisions about some long-term works in progress and either finish them or accept that I am going to abandon them.

Knitting Funk and a Failed Cure

I have mentioned a few times now the absence of my knitting mojo and the existence of a knitting funk. I have tried to solve this with multiple attempts at casting on. Something exciting; something easy; something small. Nothing has worked.

This is the story of my attempt to cure my knitting funk by casting on something easy. I chose this multidirectional scarf pattern. It was cute, I could use a ball of Zauberball. I like Zauberball. It is nice yarn and, most importantly for the mood I was in at the time, it was already in a ball. No winding involved! Easy pattern, effective and cute, let's go!

Of course, however, it did not work. It did not work because I messed up the pattern. I got this very nice ridge all along the decrease line. Which was problematic because going back in the other direction the very nice ridge was appearing on the other side of the knitting, and so was not very nice anymore. I was slipping the stitch, I think, when I should not have been.

I made an attempt at using different decreases to get the same ridge effect on the same side, but was not remotely happy with how it looked, and so I have decided to rip it out. I may or may not knit this again (correctly, hopefully!) but it will not be with this yarn. I think something with shorter colour repeats would be more effective, and in the meantime my knitting funk remains uncured.

If anyone reading this has thoughts on a cure, I would be very grateful to hear it!

Spinning

With my knitting mojo en vacances, my spinning has been getting a bit more of a look-in. I am a slow spinner. For one thing my "automatic" yarn is worsted spun and very fine. So it takes forever to spin. I am also apt to get distracted from spinning by other things: knitting, running and cooking in recent weeks. And watching Castle.

However, I am currently trying to spin more regularly because I really do enjoy it, and I really love working with handspun yarns.

At the moment I am spinning some dark blue merino silk from Wingham Woolwork. I bought this at Woolfest in 2013, and it is spinning up beautifully. Slowly (I started spinning it in April!), but beautifully. I am about a third of the way through spinning this fibre, and am still enjoying it but can see impatience to start something new starting to rear its little head. So I am trying to take advantage of some quiet time to get more spinning done.

A New Yarn Shop!

Recently I heard of a new yarn shop opening in my local-ish area. It is The Wool Shop in Spondon, Derby. They do not yet have a website, but they have a Facebook page which can be found here. Naturally I decided to visit it. My knitting mojo may be on holiday, but that does not mean I cannot explore yarn shops!

I went on Saturday, which, I think, was the third day the shop was open. As I am a non-driver, getting there alone looked far too faffy so I engaged the services of my trusty Partner In Crime and he drove me. Which had its downsides, it turned out, because finding somewhere to park was challenging. We don't know the area at all, and the shop is right on the road, so we had to go on a bit of an adventure. We found a car park a few minutes walk away, though, and I abandoned said Partner In Crime reading a book, and I set off to explore.

The shop is oh so small, but is cute, light and airy, has a friendly owner and walls covered with yarn - what more can you want? Yarn shops are an area where size really does not matter. The stock was mostly acrylic and wool blends, which is not for everyone, but there was a pretty good variety of affordable yarn options: Wendy, James C. Brett, etc. There was also some sock yarn, which made me happy: Wendy Roam Fusion and some Regia.

Now, I have yarn snob tendencies. I am upfront about this. I like my wool content and I like my independent dyers (and will be a very happy bunny when a local-ish shop arises that stocks products from smaller producers). But, acrylic and wool blends have their place: knitting for little people; presents for people not mad enough to handwash; charity knitting etc. On the basis of which, this is a yarn shop I would definitely be interested in going back to and trying to support.

In Which My Knitting and I Part Ways

Not forever, I hope. However, lately my knitting has mostly been making me cranky. Patterns lack clarity (usually discovered after paying for them); yarn misbehaves; I don't have the right needles (or they are on another project); it just goes wrong. Again. And Again. And Again.

So, I am giving myself permission to not knit for a while. Until I am ready to knit again. It is a hobby, it is meant to be fun, and there is absolutely no gain for either me or the knitting if I am forcing myself to do it. Doing things I do not enjoy but feel I must is something I get quite enough of elsewhere in my life.

So, the upside is what terribly good news this is for the Fimo; mosaic supplies; spinning fibre, books and loom. They all get a bit more of a chance to shine. Lucky them! I can continue working on the housewarming present (very late now) for a friend; I can spin while watching television; I can finally sew the t-shirt I bought fabric for. I can start my summer reading.

Perhaps, after all, a knitting break is very well timed!

Books on the Nightstand Bingo

One of my favourite podcasts is Books on the Nightstand. I really enjoy the style of the podcast, and find the two presenters both intelligent and entertaining. Then there's the part where I have had any number of excellent book recommendations from them. I think the biggest success has been The Martian by Andy Weir  (episode 267, back in February) recommendations for which have cascaded from me to friends and family, and their friends and family. Seriously, go and read it. Even if you normally would not read science fiction.

A couple of episodes ago (I am horribly behind, and only heard it last week), they announced Beach Blanket Book Bingo as a way of doing some interesting summer reading. Well, I have no beach holidays planned (sadly no holiday of any kind, actually!), but I do have some time off work coming my way, and some reading would be an excellent thing.

As a child I read. Always. Except when I was writing. Somewhere in the midst of educating myself and working to pay the bills, the time and inclination I have for reading has diminished. I still love it though, and am always keen to read when a good opportunity arises. So I was rather enthusiastic about this book bingo idea, and I have decided to follow it on my blog. Apparently the plan is that this bingo game should end on Labor Day. When is that, you may ask? I had no idea, but the all-knowing Google tells me it is the first of September this year. Which is a reasonable time, but not adequate for being too ambitious.

So, I acquired myself a bingo card from here. They change each time you hit refresh, so I hit refresh, and then print. In line with not being too ambitious, I have decided to go for one of two rows. Either a vertical row featuring

1. By an author of a different gender
2. Translation
3. A novella
4. Published before 1970
5. A play

or a diagonal linewith a free square featuring:

1. Currently on the bestseller list
2. Translation
3. Historical Fiction
4. With only words on the cover

As you can see, the common theme is translation. I have two books on the shelf I have been meaning to read for ages which are both translations: Penguin Lost by Andrey Kurkov and The Dinner by Herman Koch. The latter was something I heard about on a podcast somewhere and Penguin Lost is a sequel to Death and the Penguin, which is a book I absolutely loved.

Given that, I think Penguin Lost will be my translation book, and then I will take the rest of the bingo card from there.

Knitting Photos

A couple of posts ago, I promised photos. Well, due to the extreme busy-ness of life, I do not have all the photos, but I can show you some.

First, here is my lovely Ebbtide-ish shawl. As I mentioned, the edging and I had some issues, and I am afraid to say that I abandoned the edging in a fit of pique. However, the resulting shawl is beautiful, and I am very happy with it! The yarn in this case, was received from a very kind swap partner. It is Yarn Hollow Elemental in "Winter Lake", and I really love it! It appears to be discontinued, but if it was not, I would suggest giving it a look wherever you came across it.

I also have finished the most beautiful bright pink shawl. It is the third time I have knitted Ysolda Teague's Ishbel shawl, and I love it. I have to say that I found myself doing some stitch-count fudging along the way, and I assume that is me rather than the pattern as the pattern has been out so long I'm sure any initial kinks have been resolved. The fudging was frustrating, but on the whole the knit was really enjoyable, and the resulting shawl is a feat of deliciousness, and I have no idea where I can possibly wear it! Once the "new car syndrome" has worn off, perhaps I can just wear it on an ordinary day.

 The yarn, as I think I mentioned in a previous post is Yarn Yard Comiston. I would definitely use this yarn again. It is a lovely wool/silk blend and stands up well to frogging. Ask me how I know... Sadly there is none in the online shop right now, but I hope that there will be in due course, so that I can buy some more!

On Being Human

Despite the increasing warmth of the weather, I have been knitting a hat. A woolly hat. I have good reasons for this, I promise! Mainly that I needed a small and quick project that was not socks. My sock to foot ratio has reached the realms of the ridiculous and so I am trying to knit other things. Granted I will have no immediate need for a woolly hat, but it is unlikely to go off, and should still be usable by winter.

This particular hat is one that I knitted a while ago in its infant version, and I loved it so much that I have wanted to knit one for myself ever since. The hat is called "Gather" and it is a Tin Can Knits pattern. It has a kind of faux-cable honeycomb thing going on, and is incredibly cute.

So far, so good. I hunted down some yarn - some 100% merino yarn from Katia in lilac that I had left over from a jumper I knitted a few years ago. I cast on, and promptly fell at the first hurdle. There was a needle size change that I completely missed. Never mind, I thought, it is a stretchy yarn, it will be fine.

Remember those words. "It will be fine".

On I knitted.

Last evening, I reached the crown decreases and was feeling very pleased with my speedy knitting skills. Then, that moment. The one with the sinking heart; rising frustration; and sense of desperation. That moment where you realise that it will not be fine. That moment where you have to choose. You can fling the project across the room to find six months later in a dusty heap under the sofa; you can be a mature grown up about it; or you can laugh. This time I chose to laugh. Then I decided to be a mature grown up and frogged it then and there.

You see, I did not have a cute honeycomb hat at all. I had a weird columned hat. I had completely ignored the directions for one of the rows and simply replicated one of the previous rows. It was spectacularly done, in its way.

However! Onwards and upwards I knit, hoping eventually to have a hat that is cute, honeycomb-y, and ready before winter comes...

Let's Talk About Knitting

I have not talked about knitting in a while, but I assure you, it is still happening. There is rather less intensity around it, so projects are moving much more slowly, but they are there.

I have a number of projects finished, I just need to sort blocking and photography:

1. My handbag knitting, a pair if bright blue and pink socks. The yarn is from the Regia Fluormania range, which I am basically collecting. The socks are in a six by two rib and feature my first attempts at the fish lips kiss heel. Which I like and will try to talk about more another time.

2. A brightly pink Ishbel shawl. The yarn is Yarn Yard Comiston and it is, well, pink. Very pink. It is currently soaking prior to blocking.

3. A lovely watery green Ebbtide shawl that is not an Ebbtide shawl because I quarrelled with the edging pattern and abandoned it.

4. A multicoloured Shinkan-zen shawl that is currently blocking on the spare bed.

I will do a photo post later once everything is blocked and photographed, and in the meantime I am plotting future knitting! I will talk about that later too...

Further Adventures in Sewing

Today I have put on an early morning load of washing. Why? The fabric for my t-shirt has arrived, and before I can start cutting and sewing, I need to pre-wash the fabric.

I do this in the vain hope that today will be sunny, as promised, and then tomorrow, when we expect rain, I can get on with the project.

I am very hopeful about the effect of pre-washing. So many times I buy clothes that then shrink, usually in length and so no longer have the fit I chose in the shop. I assume those fabrics are pre-washed, but sometimes I cannot help but wonder! In this case, however, I know the fabric has been pre-washed, and hopefully, therefore, my t-shirt will fit!

I really am excited!

Gardeny Goodness

In autumn last year, we moved house, and now we have a garden. A nice one. In the past we had either no garden or 75 acres of lawn (possibly a slight exaggeration...) that was a nightmare to mow and led to extreme garden avoidance. Our current home came with a small and manageable mature garden.

As this is our first summer with this garden there is a lot that is mysterious. Plants and flowers keep popping up that we did not know we had. Many of which we have no idea what they are. We decided just to let the garden be this summer, to find out what we have and then think about changes. One thing the garden includes is a lavender bush. This bush is terribly overgrown and has no scent, but it is lovely and purple and attracts all the neighbourhood bees. I love this!

Actually, one of my favourite things to do on a weekend morning is to take to dog outside (who is a sun-dog and likes to lie on warm flagstones enjoying the sunshine), sit on the patio with a cup of tea or my breakfast and watch the bees do their nectar gathering thing; ants run about; spiders on the hunt; birds and butterflies flapping about... It is just so peaceful and lovely, and not something I ever really had the opportunity to do before. It is terribly grown up, but I think enjoying your own garden is one of he nicer sides of being a grow up.

Weaving

Last autumn I bought myself a rigid heddle loom. It is a 15" Schacht Flip loom. I am still very much a weaving beginner, and my progress is slow and wobbly edged. So far I have made a scarf with very different fabric densities at each end and a set of facecloths.

The facecloths are my most recent project, and what I am here to talk about today. They are made from some of the cotton yarns I bought at various points, thinking I would knit such-and-such or crochet this thingamajig (after I learn how to crochet, of course!), but never did.

They are quite small, but large enough, and I have left them fringed because I have not yet learned how to finish them any other way. Give me time!

The yarns are some Debbie Bliss Cathay I bought because it was on sale, which I used for the warp. The weft yarns are some natural coloured mystery cotton, and some orange Rico Creative Cotton Aran. One of the cloths is plain weave and the other two both use a pick-up stick pattern.

I am so proud of them, and I really love them!

Menu Planning

Let me talk about food.

I love food, but I am lazy about preparing it and about organising it. This is a common theme in our household. We want to eat healthily and we want to live within our means. We really do!

So, how do you think we do? On a Wednesday evening, after a frustrating day of work or whatever, we are all grumpy, tired, and generally at least one of us has low blood sugar into the bargain. There is no plan, motivation is low, and someone will say "Should we just get takeaway?" and, man, does it take a lot for the response to be "No. We'll cook."

Alternative scenario: there is a plan, but it is far more effort than we are able to cope with or we lack some key ingredient.

You see where this is going. Yes, once more we are taking a foray into menu planning! Earlier this week we sat down and made a plan, and politely requested that the nice people from Sainsbury's bring us the means to execute said plan.

The big goal was realism. There is absolutely no point in planning a spinach and ricotta quiche with roasted peppers and a salad (yum!) because there is no way it will happen. None. Not least because I only have a theoretical knowledge of quiche making. Mainly, though, because it is not basic enough to meet the requirements of our laziness and limited motivation. Basically, it needs to be as little work (or only slightly more) than driving to McDonald's. Let's take this one step at a time! First we get into the habit of cooking each night, then we can talk about the quiche.

Here, as an exercise in accountability is our dinner plans for this week:

Friday: pasta with bacon and courgette sauce

Saturday: roast chicken and veg

Sunday: chicken curry

Monday: fish cakes with veggies

Tuesday: pizza and salad

Wednesday: soup and salad

Thursday: leftovers

So, actually, during the week we are barely cooking at all. The fish cakes and pizza are in the freezer waiting to be ovened, vegetables can be quickly steamed, soup is ready made in the fridge... 

I wish it was better, but I also know that if I aim for better we will waste food, spend money we cannot afford, and eat mostly deep-fried food.

Wish us luck!

Sewing Again

In the glow of my peg bag successes, I have been looking for a new sewing project.

I chose the Plantain t-shirt from Deer and Doe. It looks like a simple garment, and I've heard excellent things about the patterns from knitting podcasts, particularly Fluffy Fibers. I've even ordered some fabric. Printing the pattern needs to wait until our printer is no longer hungry.

I wonder a little if there is something easier I could have chosen, but I have decided to just go with it, do my best, and see what happens. Worst case scenario, I'll wear the shirt at home and under woolly jumpers in winter.

Also on my sewing-one-day list is pyjama bottoms (which may have been a more sensible place to start, but to that notion I give a metaphorical shrug of the shoulders and make an "eh!" sound). In my experience, one wash is all you need to take a lovely and well fitting pair of pyjama bottoms to a place where they are flapping about at half mast, leaving me feeling silly and cold of ankle. This always makes me sad and ruins my pleasure in my new tartan/penguin print/dotty pyjamas, and so this seems an excellent place to build up my handmade wardrobe!

However, in order to avoid building a fabric stash to rival my yarn stash, the pyjama bottoms will need to wait until I have had a stab at this whole t-shirt scenario!

My First Peg Bag

This weekend it has been the late May bank holiday in the UK. May is an excellent month as there are two bank holidays. Typically, it has been raining. In my household we are fairly unbothered by rain. The family member least in favour of it is the dog who does not like to go out in the rain; walk on wet grass; or sit on wet concrete. The rest of us, having less need to interact with the wet ground, capitalise on the opportunity to stay in the house and do nice things. Punctuated by rounds of tea, crisp eating, and the occasional load of laundry which, due to the rain, will have to dry slowly indoors.

When the weather is dry our washing gets to hang on a washing line. This is a recent acquisition, and one that I, at least, am disproportionately pleased with. With the acquisition of said washing line came the acquisition of pegs, followed by the realisation that we needed a peg bag. We could have continued to store them in a plastic carrier bag, but where is the fun in that!?

Some time ago, before pay day, I did research and we chose some fabric, and then we waited. I should point out at this stage that my sewing skills are at a fledgling stage. I had Textiles lessons at school many years ago, but they stopped when I was about fourteen. Since then my sewing has been limited to sewing up knitting projects and hand stitching trousers when the hem inevitably drops.

Last Christmas I made some basic Christmas stockings, which were very pretty, but varying in the quality of their construction. So, deciding to make a peg bag was a bit of an adventure!

I found a tutorial I liked the look of, this one from Tales from a Happy House. I sourced some fabric, which came from Oh Sew Crafty (although I used their eBay store). I decided the peg bag should be at least semi-waterproof, so we chose this lovely ripstop fabric decorated with birds. I also bought ribbon for the trim, but decided not to use it in the end. This is the result:

I love it! I had some challenging moments with it, primarily around the fact that ripstop is quite stiff and there were things it didn't want to do or that seemed inadvisable. Like pressing. There was also the fact that I casually forgot to try to make the bag symmetrical. I don't care though! The bottom line is that it is finished, beautiful, and ready to go whenever the sun chooses to shine again!

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time I was a knitter. I knit in every spare moment: trains; waiting rooms; park benches. In fact, I still am and I still do. Over the last year or so, something changed. I could tell you neither when nor how, but it did.

I started to develop other interests! I started to explore new and uncharted (to me) waters, and to do new things. Often poorly. I was asking for a much broader range of items come Christmas and my birthday. I was liking it.

So here I am, still a knitter, of course but also: a runner; a weaver; a sewist (I don't know if this is a real word, but it seems preferable to being a sewer!); a bike riding learner; a player with poly clay; a spinner; and an amateur doer if whatever makes me feel all "ooh shiny!" this week. Therefore I am seeking a way to document my new adventures in a way that does not make my Facebook friends roll their eyes with irritation each time I get over excited about some new activity or spam their timelines with six photos of the same pair of socks. This blog is my solution.

All I can say for now is: watch this space, adventures are pending!