Home, Work and Knitting

Well I had a lovely time in Devon only marred by a bout of back ache and the nagging feeling from the start that I would have to come home again. Then when I got home that back ache got slightly better so I had to return to work on the due date leading to an increased feeling of depression - I will have to do something about a) getting a new job and b) moving to Devon.

Of course I haven't mentioned that my daughter was home from Belfast as well as we had a lovely time together catching up, inventing a new version of the Arthur story (having both been so annoyed by the last one 'Camelot' on Channel 4), donating her beloved Meg (from Meg and Mog) to the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle and generally having a good time. All of which I failed to get a picture of.

While in Devon I decided that it would be a good time to put right my Madelinetosh Peacock Shawl which actually meant when I looked at it properly I had to frogged it completely and start again but now I have got to Chart G so further than before and without any mistakes (left in the work anyway!).

Then I discovered the Beehive Quilt and have become addicted although as an patchworker I will of course have to put it together in an organised design!

Along way to go but hopefully one day a finished quilt.

In the meantime I have to sort out washing, washing up, archery and tonights dinner not necessarily in that order.

Inertia

I am going to Devon today but before I leave I need to wake the children, pack, find the pattern for the peacock shawl, find the key to the suitcase pockets, make a batch of cakes then ice them and get my act together.

It seems the last one is actually the hardest - witness writing this rather than doing anything......

Oh and I woke up convinced it was Sunday which is weird as I knew I was travelling on Friday.

Riots

Hmm time to get serious?

The situation in London and other parts of the UK is horrifying and as yet I have seen no sign of real leadership from those in charge. Of course we can all say that and then either suggest draconian measures or that it is the fault everything from the cuts to the welfare state but none of that really helps. The most positive thing I've seen is the willingness of ordinary people to join in Riot Clean Up and Riot Womble groups; although this will be hijacked very soon I suspect by the 'Big Society' camp as proof they have started something that was innate in society anyway. Go Wombles!

Cynicism aside what comes to my mind though is the British tendency to feel completely superior every time another country suffers from civil disorder (think France or Greece recently) and state so categorically that 'it could never happen here' has been rocked to the core. There is such a fine line between civilisation and 'the law of the jungle' that everyone would do better to remember it including those in power and make sure it tempers all our actions.

Pontificating over now to do washing for holiday, tidy house before daughter arrives this evening (from nice safe Belfast!) and find the key to the second padlock on my suitcase mislaid after Knit Nation (not the one where my goods where stashed of course) .............

Making Monday II

Thanks to The Yarn Yard I am still working at being part of Making Mondays and having chosen a shawl pattern for the lovely Posy yarn I have actually finished it in a week amazing myself. The pattern I chosen was Gail (aka Nightsongs) by Jane Araújo anad pictures of  it unblocked are below:

Outside of knitting I am now on leave from work for a couple of weeks and my daughter comes home tomorrow evening so we can go to Devon on Friday. I am a bit stuck though as I can't wheel my wheelchair due to tenosinovitis in my wrist (luckily it doesn't curtail knitting) so no archery or badmninton. Hopefully the rest from work will make it recover quicker as I can still hobble round the house although I can't walk the distances.
This sounds depressing and it isn't meant to be so I'll stop and go off and decide what knitting I want to take away with me and then decimate the choices as there is only so much knitting 1) you can get done in a week and 2) fit into the car!

Armand returns

I give lots of different things names I always have but they have to fit; for example we used to have an Austin 1800 that was blue, British and frequently smoked like a chimney so we called it Winston, the mini that was small and for its size caused inordinate amounts of trouble was named Montmerency (after the dog in Three Men in a Boat). Leading on from that the laptop I am currently writing this on is named for a character in the book I have been writing for years as it like the character looks fairly anonymous and my other laptop a wonderful white Toshiba is called Armand.
Well Armand has been away for nearly a year being repaired and returned yesterday with a new hard drive and an uncracked screen. This is wonderful as I can now have a laptop upstairs and not have to keep carrying one up and down - a risky business if you are far from steady on your pins due to osteoarthritis. However, re-establishing all the programs, shortcuts, web links not to mention the pictures and documents has taken the best part of 2 days, is far from being a finished task but I am seriously bored of it.
So I shall turn my attention to textile matters...............

More Monday

Phone has now provided the pictures both of the yarn (isn't it gorgeous) and of the archery field - just to prove I went.

Actually I was really glad I did and the fresh air blew some of the work related gremlins away. Didn't manage to score more than my son in our friendly rivalry though.

Now I am looking at possible shawls to knit the posy up into .....

Monday

In the words of a popular song 'I don't like Mondays' (unless its a day off work of course) until I get home when I can listen to 'I'm sorry I haven't a clue' while getting ready to go to archery. The problem is then that getting up to actually go to archery becomes a less inviting prospect despite the glorious weather. If you then add in the lovely yarn I got in the post today that is just screaming for me to research a pattern for it the desire to go out decreases further. I have taken a picture of it but the phone (of which more another time) is refusing to send it anywhere so I can't post it here. Suddenly the annoyance with the phone makes the effort of moving less difficult and the prospect of shooting a few arrows at the imagined image of the recalcitrant phone very appealing.
Back later.......