“I am no bird…”

“…and no net ensnares me”

I have finally done it. I have completed my socks.

The toe is even (technically) correct on this one, though it still looks a bit unnatural.
So euphoric I was at completing this sock, I actually cast on another project:

This is Egwene, my Easter Chick. I used Janice Anderson's "Esther, Ernie & Enid Easter Chickens" pattern (Ravelry link here) and some Snuggly Sirdar DK in shade Eeyore that I had lying around. I think she looks spiffy.

I was planning on making three, like the pattern example, but I think instead I shall make one chick each year and let my fowl family flourish gradually (couldn't think of another alliterative word).

Now I eagerly await my needle set to start bashing out the sleeves for my Peloponnese cardigan…


*Quote from Charlotte Bronte

" ’Do you ever read any of the books you burn?’ "

“He laughed. ‘That's against the law!’

‘Oh. Of course.’ "

I am ashamed to say that once again I have prioritised reading over knitting. I am so close to finishing my second sock, but the lure of The Wheel of Time is too strong!

Why is it so difficult to balance things?

I have now ordered the needle set I need to finish the Peloponnese cardigan, so as long as I finish these darn socks by the time it arrives I am happy. Although I also would like to knit some things for Easter. And I’d like to knit a jumper for my friend’s baby which is due in June. And I like the thought of knitting a cardi for my friend’s birthday, also in June.

That is too much knitting. Probably too much when I was a knitting machine, but definitely too much now I have returned to my bookish ways.

It all started when I challenged myself to read at least a chapter a day. Making myself make time for reading made me realise how much I enjoy it, and now I need to make sure I spend time doing things other than reading!

Maybe I should try a similar thing with knitting – at least 10 lines a day. At the time I thought I wouldn’t need any encouragement to keep knitting regularly, but I underestimated the fickleness of my brain.

But then I worry I’m trying to check off too many things a day – no snacks, no alcohol, going to the gym, reading, knitting, cleaning, taking over the world, etc., etc. – it has to end somewhere!


*Quote from Ray Bradbury

“It is not real work…”

“…unless you would rather be doing something else.”

I know, like everyone knows, that exercise is good for you. “Eat less, move more” is the general advice. I also know that it works. I used to be a semi-regular gym-goer and I was considerably fitter and slimmer than I currently am.

But after more time than bears thinking about, my fitness levels have decreased so much that I don’t think I could complete a whole class like I used to. So I tell myself: “you need to get in shape before you can go to the gym so you don’t embarrass yourself!” but I struggle to motivate myself to work out at home. I like my fitness dvds, I like my workout clothes, but I find it so difficult to resist the lure of the sofa after I get home from work.

So...I want to be fit enough to start going to the gym, but I only consistently exercise when I am already going to the gym. That makes perfect sense (!) It's no wonder I have turned into a potato (a lovely potato, mind, but a potato nonetheless).

Don’t get me wrong – gyms are intimidating. I am well aware of that. Whether it’s your first day after a (very) long break, or your first day ever, it takes a certain amount of guts to cross the gleaming threshold into the land of the beautiful people.

And once you master yourself and get in there, it can be overwhelming deciding what to actually do! I guess this is why I favour exercise classes so much, it takes all the decision-making pressure away. You just do what you’re told to for as long as they tell you to do it!

I had my first day back at the gym this week. I gave myself some advice and I’ll give you the same:

1. Just go to the gym and get into your gear. Whatever happens afterwards, count this as a win. It’s further than you’ve got in a long time
   
2. Spend as much or as little time as you want on each machine, but go on more than one.
   
3. Try to push yourself one step further. 

This is how it worked out for me:

1. I went, I changed, I stepped out onto the floor and felt like a rabbit in headlights. But as I was already there and dressed, it was easier to climb onto the first machine and start moving than it was to immediately turn around and go back home.
   
2. I overestimated my fitness levels to begin with - I aimed for 20 minutes on the cross trainer but had to stop after 10. This was disappointing, but rather than punish myself, I chose to be proud that I had done that (better than nothing, right?). but the flip side of this rule is that I had to go on something else. I opted for the rower.
   
3. After 10 minutes on the cross trainer and 10 on the rower I was a bit achy and feeling proud of myself (yes I’m that unfit). I could have walked out with my head held high. But I wanted to capitalise on those endorphins, I wanted to tackle something that intimidates me, I wanted to push myself. So I climbed on the treadmill, right between the beautiful people, and did another 10 minutes on there. 

I cannot tell you how ridiculously, pathetically proud I was (and still am) of myself. I went, I did some things, and I did more things than I needed to.

Now I just need to make sure I go back again!
(and again, and again, and again….)

*Quote from J.M. Barrie

"The city mouse lives in a house..."

"...The garden mouse lives in a bower"

This mouse doesn't live in either, but he is rather cute!

He was supposed to be a pirate mouse, but I didn't have any spare black wool so he's a bit tame. He's been doing his best to take on any cats he comes across!

Photo credit H.Burke

This is my friend's kitten, Bob, and I think he and his sister Bella might be the cutest kittens I have ever seen!

Photo credit H.Burke

I used a free pattern I found online here - Captain Cat-Battler was designed specially for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

"The notorious Captain Cat-Battler is a veteran of cat vs mouse conflict. Since the dawn of time, rodents and their feline foe have pitted their wits against one another. Captain Cat-Battler is a handmade hero of mousekind, keeping the cats of the world on their furry toes with his cunning and his defiant squeak."

Sounds about right!


*Quote from Christina Rossetti

“There is an unspeakable dawn…”

“…in happy old age.”

Does the world seem a little different to you? 

Perhaps a little bit sunnier, or the colours brighter?

Yes?

Would you like to know why?

It’s because I turned thirty this week, dear friends.

I am now undeniably a fully-fledged adult. 

I made a few cakes over the past week or so to celebrate. These are some Hummingbird Bakery Donut Cupcakes:

I made them myself, even the donuts, like an adult. 

These are some of my cards:

See how grow up they are. 

These are some of my presents:

Only a truly responsible human would receive such treasures. 

This is my favourite cup of tea of the day:

Only a mature woman could drink such nectar from the gods. Also this nectar:

Life is good.


*Quote from Victor Hugo

“It does not do to dwell on dreams…”

“…and forget to live.”

I am a very lucky woman. I love going on long, interesting holidays, starting in one city and travelling across the country to others, really getting a taste of wherever it is that I am. On the other hand, however, I hate researching, organising and booking such holidays.

So why am I lucky? Because I have an amazing husband who does it for me!

This weekend, after a few hypothetical conversations, CB bought a couple of guidebooks and started researching a holiday in California/Southwest America for us. Very exciting.

It did mean, however, that he was busy reading and researching all weekend instead of paying attention to me. Having just finished an unsatisfactory sock, I’m in no hurry to start another, but I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I’ve also done far too much reading recently so didn’t want to lose my weekend to yet another book-eating marathon.

So instead of going stir crazy and distracting him, I took myself off and was productive. I cleaned the house, I baked a carrot cake, I changed the bedsheets, I put the laundry on. After exhausting the normal weekend tasks, I was still at a bit of a loose end.

Now I do have a bit of leave coming up. I’m not doing anything, I just had leave I had to take before I lost it, but I have been writing myself a To Do list for it. I have already dipped into this list, darning my socks before schedule (such an exciting life I lead) so I thought I would dip in again and get a longstanding project ticked off.

So I made this little beauty of a cushion:

It’s an old t-shirt of CB’s which we liked too much to throw away, but was worn through in a couple of places so really had to be retired from his wardrobe. I’ve been planning to make a cushion with it for absolute yonks, maybe a year or more? But I thought as I was ankle-deep in free time I might as well get a wriggle on with it.

It was trickier than I was anticipating, trying to line up the design on both sides (though I probably made things more difficult than they needed to be), and it turned out slightly bigger than I was planning (though CB fixed that by just stuffing in a second cushion insert – hence the bulbous look!), but I’m really pleased with it. And really pleased to finally be able to tick it off my to do list. And really pleased with the productive use of my free time. And really pleased that CB could focus on planning us a fantastic holiday.

And really pleased I actually have something to write about this week.


*Quote from J. K. Rowling

“Seeing an Earl as an owl on a mantelpiece, and having part of one's face removed by a cat, both on the same morning…”

“…can temporarily undermine the self-control of any man.” 

Do you know what I wish? What super power would be really useful in life?
Well actually quite a lot of superpowers would be really useful, but I’m talking about one.

Multitasking. 

And not just any multitasking, in particular I would like the ability to knit and read at the same time.

I can hear you cry: “Why Philly, there are audiobooks! You can listen to books as you knit!” but it’s not the same. I’ve tried it, I do it occasionally, but it’s not the same. I find the balance of concentrating on both too difficult. I’ll come to a tricky part of my knitting and find I’ve not been listening for 10 mins. Or I’ll concentrate on a juicy bit of the plot and then realise I have no idea how many pattern repeats I’ve done. It's frustrating.

I do listen to TV programmes while I knit and I don’t find I have the same problems. I guess it’s easier as voices change, I can glance at the screen and, to be honest, the plot just isn’t as detailed or intricate. Plus when reading a Real Book (as opposed to those hypothetical audio books) you just get through it faster. You can jog along with plot, get caught up and stuck in.

As you might be able to tell, I love reading. But I feel sad knowing my knitting in languishing. I also worry about how sporadic knitting on a project will affect the tension - I certainly do not want uneven stitches.

I hoped last week I would be able to show you some knitting progress and technically this week I can show you progress, but I am unable to show you a finished object. I can show you this:

One sock. One crappy sock.

Everything was going so well until the end, where I realised I had a ridiculously long toe. So I ripped back, but I couldn’t work out what I had done wrong so I didn’t know how to do it right. So I got a bit cross and just, sort of, ended it. So the toe is awful.

I’m hopeful that when I come to make it’s pair I will magically be able to understand what I’m supposed to do (after a night’s sleep I think I have an inkling). I’m just grateful that I began with a pair for myself rather than for someone else – I would cringe to give someone such a shoddy sock (a shock, if you will, or a sod?).

I guess these will be house socks. That’s a thing, right?


*Quote from Mervyn Peake