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Knitting and Reading

A Country Kiddie in Oxford Kitchen Yarn BFL/Bamboo Sock

I’m a day late for Small Things Yarn Along but I have knitting, I have books so I’m going to play anyway.

First off – I’m knitting a (very) belated ‘Hurrah, you’ve been born!’ present that hopefully we be given at the weekend. It’s in OxfordKitchenYarns BFL/Bamboo Sock yarn, which I love knitting with.  I’m knitting another Country Kiddie by Brandy Fortune.

I haven’t knit one of these since FB was still a bump, and I’d forgotten how much I love this pattern. It’s simple and fun to knit and I’ve knit it differently every time I’ve knit one.

This one is different again, and I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll have another one on the needles by the weekend for LR (even though I’ve got a number of projects on the go right now.)

A Country Kiddie in Oxford Kitchen Yarn BFL/Bamboo Sock

Book-wise I’ve just got Campcraft for Girl Guides by the Girl Guides Association. This is the 1960 revised edition. Everything I ever learnt about camping was taught to me by the Girl Guides.  (Apart from the trick of dumping out all your stuff from your bag onto the floor of your tent at festivals so that it’s harder for people just to take everything.)

I took my guide promise at my first camp when I was about 11, and got my camp permit at 13. We made our own kitchen sinks from a plastic bowl and string and canes. I would love to own a proper canvas and solid wooden ridge pole tent like the ones we camped in, even though you need about 4 people who know what they’re doing to a) physically move it anywhere and b) get it up.

But it was beautiful and I loved it.

campcraft for girl guides

Anyway we are hoping and planning to take the children camping at least over night this summer, with the plan of more camping holidays to come. And so I wanted to remind myself of what I was taught, and went back to the source.

I’ve only just started it, but it’s packed full of information, and ideas and things to do and given it’s only 4″x5″ it’ll be great to slip into the pocket of coat or backpack to read when we’re on our trip. 🙂

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Knitting and Reading

reading and knitting

A photo full of things I am currently enjoying!

The book is I Thought it Was Just Me (But it Isn’t): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy and Power by Brene Brown,  a great book about a difficult subject – shame. I am just reading a little at a time, trying to let it sink in a help change how I think about things, but that said I’m 40% of the way through already, and I feel like I’ve learnt a lot.

The knitting is a secret project in OxfordKitchenYarns Aran which I hope to share later in the year.

And the Peanut M&Ms? I stopped eating peanut when I was pregnant with FB, as was the advice at the time for people who already suffer from alergies of some sort. And, with one things and another I didn’t think I could start eatting them again. But the advice has changed, and so I’m happily back eatting peanut butter and the like (cashew nut butter is great but it’s hell on the food budget!)

In other news, there is a box full of yarn in my front room, thanks to our friends at the wool mill!

New Yarn in my Front Room!

YARN!

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Yarn Along

If I’m honest, I have been feeling rather miserable lately. We have had SO many illnesses recently – we are in week 4 and my sinuses still hurt. FB had ANOTHER fever this weekend, though luckily it only lasted a couple of days this time.

But because of that everything has ground to a halt. Or so it seems.

The shop is still not sorted and therefore is still closed. It really pains me to write that.

However – The shop WILL get sorted and WILL be open very soon. I promise.

In the meantime up until this week I had done very little knitting. And – as you can tell – very little blogging. Partially because there wasn’t time around all the illnesses, and also because I felt bad blogging about things that aren’t the shop being re-opened.

But I have things I could blog about. I might blog about them anyway, and hope that you understand that the shop is really important to me, but that some making for my family has happened regardless, because the two tiny people in our family couldn’t care less about the shop. 🙂 In fact there are things from back as far as back as October 2011 that I haven’t told you about. So I might blog about them soon, regardless of my fears. And somewhere in amoungst those posts hopefully there will be a positive post about the shop.

We can be hopeful.

Yarn Along - Damson on my needles and Mason-Dixon Knitting in my Head

Back to the very little knitting, and onwards to the Yarn Along… I have been revisiting some knitting comfort reading, and it has really bolstered my spirit. The two Mason-Dixon knitting books by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne – Mason-Dixon Knitting and Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines are still superb – they are funny, fearless and read like they are knitting in the room with you. It was just what I needed, and I’m really grateful for that.

Yarn Along - Damson on my needles and Mason-Dixon Knitting in my Head

On my needles is Damson by Ysolda Teague, which I’ve been wanting to knit since it was released. This one is for my sister, as her wedding shawl. It’ll hopefully be ready in plenty of time for her wedding in June. I started it on Saturday and have been steadily plugging away at it and I’m currently about 10 rows from the border. Not bad for someone who isn’t getting much in the way of evenings right now.

Yarn Along - Damson on my needles and Mason-Dixon Knitting in my Head

It’s knit in OxfordKitchenYarns 80%BFL 20% Bamboo Sock Yarn in Milk. It’s a little thicker than the OKY 100% BFL sock yarn and slightly sproingier, and has a slight sheen to it. I think it’s wonderful to knit with, and have another project waiting in the wings in a great orange called Ginger Tom.

And it will be in the new shop! SOON!