I’ve been knitting socks, for me!

As I carefully placed pair no.3 that I had just finished on the ‘to be photographed pile’, my cold tootsies told me to get on with the job of photography so that I could wear a pair.

So without further ado, I did.

The trio together, don’t they look grand. I love that sock yarns come in oh so many materials, colours, densities and thicknesses.. There is so much choice, I don’t think you could Ever become bored of knitting socks. (although the Christmas knitting of nine pairs to a deadline tested that theory to the limit!)

Firstly because of the sock yarns themselves but also, just when you become a little bit bored of going around and around and around, there is a little twist in the pattern that keeps you amused before you carry on to the next stage of the round and around and around. Its marvelous, I find it endlessly entertaining.

The first pair I completed were Lornas laces in Fandango, bought by my lovely friend Diane, who had carefully noted that I needed something extremely soft to soothe me whilst in hospital, she chose most carefully and I can still feel that giddy feeling I felt when the yarn arrived quite out of the blue in the post.

So along with packing my case that day, I spent a very soothing hour winding the yarn into cakes and dreaming dreams of how they might turn out. Whilst knitting them I was quite stunned by the way that the blue travelled all the way through the socks in a spiral leaving little clouds of pink, just hanging in mid air.. It was like looking at the sea at sunset with the night clouds just forming, hanging there, slowly coming together as the sun goes to bed. (and that is quite poetic for a land locked land lubber such as I) But that is what it reminded me off as I knit, memories of us and our at the time very young boys sat on a beach at sunset watching the sun go down, hubby and I pretending we could hear the hiss of the sun as it gently slid into the sea and put itself out, “can you hear the hiss” with the boys whispering back, “oh I can hear it, I can hear it”

This next pair were knit as the yarn already wound some months before caught my eye. I knew I wanted to knit it, but I had become entrenched in other knitting. This is Cherry Tree Hill super sock merino in Fall Foliage. Strangely I’d loved the skein, but once wound into a cake, I lost the love, and I never quite worked out why. I think its because in the skein I had such high hopes for it, but once wound, it lost its glamour. I started to knit , I still wasn’t sure, it took me until I was almost at the heel before I fell back in love with it. But fall in love I did, as might be evident that there are two socks here, not just one!

So, having had such a wonderful suprise and thinking I could make it three pairs of stripey socks, along with the fact that I had already wound this into a cake, I started this next pair. Which was Cherry Tree super sock merino in Country Garden. And if anyone is interested all of these socks are 60 stitches in the round with 2.5 mm needles..

I’d wound this cake before any of the others, it had been sat for quite a while in my stash just looking at me reproachfully, and after I’d had so much fun with its brother bought at the same time, I wondered quite what it would reveal to me. Even before I started to knit, I couldn’t quite fit into my mind how Country Garden was going to fit into such a dark coloured skein.. I think thats why I had hesitated for such a long time.. And some rows on, I still didn’t get it.. But the colours were interesting and I persevered..

And then it hit me, it was dianthus and lavender and the beautiful colour of lupins mixed in with dark greens of the leaves of these plants. It was lovely row after row reminded me of these lovely plants.

And so photography completed, and my poor little tootsies still feeling the cold I had to make a choice out of these three, which to wear..

There was only one thing to do, one potato, two potato, three potato… (well I do love my veg)

and the winner for tonight anyway is..

and they do feel warm.

Happy Easter everyone.

Its a terrible shock for me that April is upon us already. I have an awful lot of seeds that I must get into pots/the ground this month. I am Very grateful that this year I will have the space to grow even more vegetables and one of those vegetables that I am really looking forward to growing and then eating straight off the plot is sweetcorn.

This is plot 1, there is quite a lot in here already, asparagus, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, various onions both Japanese and main crop, shallots, garlic, globe artichokes, potatoes, celery, raspberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, blue berries, rhubarb, purple sprouting, various herbs and a cherry tree.

This is plot 2, hubby and son no.1 are over half way on clearing it. There is nothing in here, but there will be I just need a little time and a willing husband to plant my seeds/plants for me.

There are peas, sweet peas, various cabbages, purple sprouting, cauliflower, brocolli, tomatoes, leeks, lettuces and brussel sprouts all happily sprouting in my greenhouse. The mice have found the peas and we have the found the mouse traps. The mice are now currently getting fat on chocolate, which they like and have found out how to remove from the mouse traps without setting them off, still at least they are not eating my peas.

The met office predicts rain for the next week, I hope in between showers and we do so need this rain I can walk up to the plot to play with seeds, compost and pots for an hour a day. You know I’m happiest when I’m playing with mud.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me kind wishes, it makes me smile and that makes me better. Seriously I really appreciate it.

I feel very much better today. I take this as a good sign, I still have leakage but it has slowed down and I don’t feel shaky/shivery, yesterday was pretty grim. Today, is sunshiney yellow mixed in with blue. Its a happy day and happy days must be followed by more happy days.

So, I’ve just booked hubby and I to see The Gang show tomorrow night and I defy Anyone to be a miserable old crone after an evening of fun, laughter and song.

It could be worse I took him to see The Vagina Monologues a few weeks ago, sum total of men in the audience….. 3 !!

Just when you think you have cracked the hysterectomy operation, the results are clear and you are able to walk Twice around the block..

I started to feel unwell on Sunday and was really grumpy with a capital G. But I was achey and not feeling well for no good reason, the reason became clear at 5.30 this morning. I woke up with soggy undergarments, my wound has reopened on the left and had leaked rather Alot, Nurse B dressed the wound with a huge dressing and within a couple of hours that was soggy too.

Operation Nuffield was put into place and hubby transported the pawly patient to the hospital where swaps were taken, antibiotics (of huge proportions) administered and new dressings applied.

Needless to say I don’t think I will be coming to Tuesday knit night. 😦

I feel quite tearful at the moment. Which is completely selfish as I have the best medical attention in the world and things could be oh so much worse.

When I pulled the bedroom curtains apart at just gone 7.00 a.m. on Thursday I met a beautiful sight. And the best thing was I had a child to hand who quickly scurried to the study to rescue my camera so that I could photograph my rainbow. I love that this tree is just about to burst into leaf any day now. A true promise indeed.

I am so glad to have found my knitting pals. They have been a god send during my troubled times. Not in a in your face way, more of a gentle nudge ‘are you okay?’ way and ‘we are not going away even though you say your fine way’. Which has been very nice because even though I haven’t needed to blub into there shoulders until their jumpers (most probably hand knit) were soggy, I’ve known that if I’d needed to, I could. Which sometimes is all you need in life.

Today they both came to see me, I’m not sure who was more pleased, Me, Charlie for all the attention he received, or hubby because he got to have free reign of the purchasing in the cake shop. When hubby came home with Two carrier bags stuffed full of Cake! I knew that it was a bad idea to send a hubby with a sweet tooth out to a cake shop with only the vaguest of notions that he should try and buy something dainty for the girls, or in other words, this was not the time to purchase lardy cake. For some hours after the girls left every time I came upon my husband and he did seem to be lurking in dark corners, there were fresh remains of yet another cake, an anxious look in his eyes along with rapid chewing. I think for all the hard work he has done for me over the last few weeks he deserves a little splurge.

Charlie gave Diane such a warm welcome that I fear she will never be able to wear her black trousers again, well not in polite company anyway. She had this haze of blonde fur about her person as she departed..

Fun was had by all and we had a lovely girly gossip along with our deep and dirty sock yarn (how many skeins!) secrets.

Just when I had run out of chocolate.. Diane bought me this… Which I love as I’d struggled to try and retain more than 50 per cent ownership of the last two bars she had bought me. (in the end I resorted to hiding them, and they wonder why women get eating disorders, its because they live with Men!) So this bar is perfect. (although currently it is hidden, because you can’t trust men where chocolate is concerned)

And then Carie arrived carrying some gorgeous spring tulips with there vibrant jewel like colours, they really make the room come alive. Just perfect for this time of year.

And… More chocolate.. Yippeee….. (also hidden *wink*)

And now its time for me to go to bed because I’m absolutely shattered after my busy day.

Thanks girls I really enjoyed today.

My gynecologist has just rang with my histology results and they are clear and show no signs of anything nasty.

‘phew’

After recovering from a bad night by having breakfast followed by another three hour nap I was ready to face the world. I was greeted with flowers, cards, chocolates and a rather pretty teddy bear from here on known as Theodora, along with the promise of another gift which is to come when I’m feeling better from son no.1

Hubby was chivvying me on in a rather gentle manner as I had said I wished to get up the plot to put some seeds in pots. March is such a busy time of year and those that have read my blog will realise just how much its playing on my mind at the moment.

So having secured son no.1 at plot no.2 (its all getting rather complicated with this numbering system isn’t it?) with the mower and some gardening tools hubby came back to collect me. And drove me all the way up the hill to plot no.1.

And the first thing I saw was this.

Its a Morello Cherry Tree grafted onto Giselle 5 root stock shaped into a fan. Its self fertile, Morello’s are mainly a cooking cherry although apparently when they are very ripe they can be eaten fresh from the fruit bowl. The beauty of them is that they can be grown on a north wall and as this is a wall that faces East we should have no problems.

As with all Cherry Tree’s unless your very agile and like to climb to great heights to pick your fruit, you must buy a dwarf root stock.

I’d been ooohing and aaahing over Cherry tree’s for most of the winter, I love it and it is the most perfect of presents.

And then I settled into my normal springtime position in the shed which consists of everything I need to hand whilst wearing five layers of clothes, filling pots and placing seeds in them. Happy as Larry I was. But soon I became creaky and miserable so was ordered and taken home.

I took a quick shot of my greenhouse, you can see that it is slowly filling up.

and just before I left hubby picked me some purple sprouting to go with the roast beef and home grown parsnips and leeks he is cooking for supper tonight.

I’ve Never had Interflora flowers before.

This arrived just a few minutes ago.. It completely took my breath away.

and inside were some beautiful roses

and it gets even better as its a rose bush in a beautiful ceramic planter. Which is perfect, I’ll be able to plant the rose bush in the garden and use the beautiful planter again.

Thank you Roger, you are a big softy.

Hooray!

Yesterday afternoon I picked up my knitting thinking I would just do a few rows before the feeling of exhaustion enveloped me. But no, I knit and I knit and I knit, until I needed to turn a heel, and then, I slept and this morning I picked up my knitting and knit some more.

I’m loving the stripey socks this yarn is creating, Fandango by Lornas Laces. You may have noticed it in an earlier post, given to me by the lovely Diane.

May I introduce Lancelot.

He has three fine qualities.

Firstly, because my attention span is just too short at the moment to knit for long, so I am missing out on the comforting feeling of something soft in my hands, Lancelot keeps his coat in such good condition (he is a very proud Lion) that he is wonderfully soft to stroke.

Secondly, being a Knight of the Round Table and I really should call him Sir Lancelot I know anything I tell him will be kept secret and he will share my woes and troubles without letting the cat out of the bag.

Thirdly, ‘close your ears Lancelot’ Lancelot has enjoyed perhaps one or two feasts at the Kings invitation and is just a little rotund. Which makes him wonderful to cuddle and soothes my poorly tummy.