Cables and Cake

Hello... it's been a while, but we're on holiday in Norfolk and the weather is rather damp today so we're having a lazy morning sitting around reading, knitting, drinking tea etc in the hope the rain might ease a little so we can walk this afternoon. So I thought it would be an ideal time to drop by this sadly neglected blog in the hope there might be someone out there!

It has been so long since I was last here I'm not sure where to start, but the one consistent feature in my life over the past six weeks has been knitting! My hand has virtually mended now and except for heavy lifting or bare knuckle fighting I feel I can tackle pretty much anything I did previously. (For new readers... I'm not in the habit of fighting, honestly!)  I'm sure knitting has helped to keep my fingers flexible. Mostly I've been making hats and have fallen in love with cables. I don't think any of this woolly headgear will be destined for me as I look about 103 in woolly hats... it's not a pretty sight.

Once I was able to wield a pair of scissors safely, I also cut out the fabric to make a new dress... It's the Factory Dress by Merchant and Mills since you ask. It's a lovely dusty pink linen that I bought over a year ago. I don't like to rush things! And it just so happens that it is a perfect match for the beautiful yarn that I bought from Whistlebare last week. I'm progressing from hats and intend to make myself an Aran cardigan in the pink, although the blue is already another cabled hat.

Talking of Aran cardigans, I have also been doing some surgery on an Aran jacket that I knitted over 40 years ago from yarn that my parents brought back from Scotland in 1978, bought directly from the mill.

As you can see it has been sadly neglected in recent years, often just worn around the garden or to keep me warm in the studio (hence the paint on the very worn cuff) It has been given a good wash, seams have been repaired and both cuffs have been ripped back and re-knitted, with a ball of yarn that was spun from my friend's Ryland sheep. And I have to say it is as good as new!

This is me wearing it about 37 years ago... I know because the small child I am dragging along is my eldest son and he recently celebrated his 38th birthday. Which makes me feel very old... maybe I really am 103 so it's no surprise that I look like an old lady in woolly hats! I do wonder if the jacket will still be going strong in another 40 years (when I actually will be 103 in the unlikely event I am still around). I have a feeling the jacket will outlive me and hope there will still be someone who wants to wear it.

In other news... there has been baking. As the weather cooled, the Aga was switched back on which means once again I have an oven and can bake. My lovely sourdough starter Vincent Van Dough has gently bubbled away in the fridge, occasionally being fed or being added to pancakes and is now incredibly vigorous.

So now it is supplying us with bread as well as pancakes.

Of course I have been making cakes too whilst still basking in the novelty of having an oven, after a summer without one.

So that's what I have been up to... as well as seeing family while we still can, getting out to walk, reading lots of books and generally avoiding the news. I think this might be the pattern of our lives for some time yet. I'm also continuing with my online teaching which fortunately is going really well as this morning I have had conformation of yet another face to face class being cancelled. Details of my latest class are in the link below but the best way to keep up to date with what I'm teaching is via my newsletter which you can sign up for via the link in the sidebar. I think online teaching is the future for me now and it certainly has its appeal without all the bags to pack and load in the car, not to mention the long car journeys around the country too.

Free Machine Fun - Thread Painting

So that's my news... how have you been?