February

February’s a funny month, isn’t it?  Unless you’ve got a birthday or you’re waiting for a Valentine’s card, nothing much seems to happen; the most exciting thing for us at the moment is that small daughter is on her school half-term holiday but she’s poorly so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that anything we had planned is still going to be able to go ahead.

Outside, there has finally been a sprinkling of snow but not enough on the grass to make a snowball, never mind build a snowman – and anyway, small daughter is wrapped up in bed and hasn’t even noticed.  She’s snuggled up in my bed with me and one of the cats (the magic purr is always essential when you’re under the weather); I’m catching up on blog-reading and drinking tea, being grateful for school holidays which mean that you don’t have to get up and rush about (even though it’s miserable to be poorly in the holidays).

I feel that I don’t have much to show you at the moment; until this morning we’ve had rain, rain and more rain so no interesting outdoor photos.  Even the snowdrops in the garden have been bowing their heads to get away from the weather …

They’re actually a little more upright today but the poor things have been flattened by the constant downpours.  We’ve been hunkering down by the fire, listening to the wind whistling around the house and trying to make the best of our time indoors.  Big daughter has been reading a new magazine and I’ve sneaked a peek …

I don’t often have time to read magazines these days (hence the pile that is slowly building up in my study again after all that time I spent clearing them out last year) but I’ve been trying to make more time to sit and read, even if it is just a magazine article rather than a novel.  I gave my husband what he said was the best laugh of the week (how rude!) when he asked what I was reading and I showed him this article about bullet journaling.  “You’ll probably find that you’ll get on better if you actually do what’s on your to-do list rather than just keep re-arranging it into pretty patterns,” he said, and he is right, but I do like to know about these things and although bullet journaling didn’t particularly work for me when I tried it a couple of years ago, there’s no rule that says I can’t read about it now, is there?  I’m never going to be someone who spends hours with washi tape and coloured pencils making a journal into a work of art (the last time I had any time and inclination for that sort of thing I was about 15!) but I don’t see why I can’t investigate whether any improvements to my current planning system can be made.  “You’ve been looking for the perfect system for the last 20 years!” my husband laughed.  Yes, this is true; yes, he knows me very well and yes, this is just another excuse for procrastination.  But a nice one.

It’s not been all procrastination, you know.  I have been knitting.  What have I been knitting?  Well, actually, quite a few things.  There are my husband’s black socks which are now past the heel on the second sock (thank goodness!) …

If you’re a crocheter you may well recognise the stitch markers which came from a crochet magazine (imagine that – in all the years I’ve been knitting the only magazine stitch markers that are sock shaped that I’ve ever seen are on a Simply Crochet magazine!) and have been very handy for marking rounds so that I don’t have to keep counting them.  If you look closely, you’ll see that they’ve got lobster clasps rather than jump rings so that it’s easy to take them out – essential for crocheters but pretty nifty for knitters too (especially those making black socks!).

I’ve also made a start on my second Christmas IOU pair which are for big daughter.  I’ve got another pair in the same yarn to make for her boyfriend – he of the size 14 feet – but I thought I’d work my way up to those 🙂

Now, you may be thinking that’s not much to show for the time that I’ve told you I’ve spent knitting and you would be right.  That’s because there are things going on behind the scenes that I haven’t shown you yet … would you like to share my secret?

Would you?

I’m writing another book!

Pheeee!  It’s quite scary for that to be out there!  I’ve been working on it for a while and the plan is that it’s going to be ready for later in the year so I do need to keep myself on track with this (ah, now you can see why I’m interested in tweaking my planning system!).  I’m doing OK so far and it’s been great fun choosing yarns and working on new patterns.  Yes, I did say new patterns – a lot of people asked whether there were any patterns in Super Socks other than the basic Sockalong sock, but there was never any intention of Super Socks being anything other than a hand-holding tutorial to help beginners to knit a basic sock.  However, I did listen to what people said and this new book is going to include some new not-available-anywhere-else patterns.

I’m not ready to share anything else just yet so I do hope you will bear with me, but I’ll keep you posted as I’m going along – if nothing else to make sure that I’m keeping up with my deadlines!  There’s nothing like a public announcement to keep you focussed, is there?!

The sun has come out now (it took me a while to realise what it was, I thought someone had left the lights on!) and the snow is starting to melt so it looks like small daughter might miss it all.  She’s still fast asleep and the cats have changed sentry duty so now we have the other one with us.  My mug is empty and I need to fill it up – and knit, whilst I have a day with nothing to do but look after my sleeping girl – I’ve got a deadline to keep!

PS  If you are a Feedspot user, you may spot Winwick Mum on a couple of their lists this week … 🙂

     

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25 Responses

  1. faith76 says:

    Looking forward to seeing your new book! Xx

  2. Pam says:

    I will be keeping my eyes peeled for the new book, I am certain that it will be a need as well as a want.

  3. Anonymous says:

    If I could, I'd certainly give you some of our snow! 3 feet of it and -30C today!(northern Canada) I'd give a lot for your lovely snowdrops. I'm wondering if you have tried the new AddiCrasyTrio needles for sock making? I was on holiday in Germany,found some and tried them out, now I'm making my first pair of top down cable socks using your pattern. Had to think it out a bit but they worked wonderfully and I'm hooked. One needle holds the entire cable pattern, the other holds all the heel stitches and they're big enough that no stitches ever fall off. For me, easier than circulars in socks. My question. Hardly anyone seems to stock them, and I'd like to have more of those in different sizes. Do you have any influence with places like Wool Warehouse, Deramores? These places have great shipping prices and service for us Canadians. PS: I'll be watching for your new book as well!

    • Winwick Mum says:

      That sounds like a fair enough swap to me – our snowdrops wouldn't mind a bit of snow! I have tried the CrasyTrio needles and although I wasn't tempted to swap my short circular for them, I can see why they are becoming popular; in particular they seem to be useful for people with arthritis in their hands as they're not as solid as DPNs or as tiny as a short circular can be. At the moment, they're still very new and it's been quite difficult to get hold of them although a quick Google search has brought up quite a few options. They're also on Amazon.ca so it's worth checking if that's a cheaper option for you than buying from the UK. I have no influence over any suppliers, I'm afraid, I can just point people in their general direction! 🙂 xx

  4. Shelagh says:

    I started using a bullet journal a couple of months ago and am getting on with it better than I expected. I don't do anything fancy with mine either 🙂 I'm at that funny age where I can barely remember my own name, so although I don't have a huge amount to organise, I can't remember the little I do have. I find I really enjoy sitting down at the weekend and preparing the following week's pages. It doesn't take long now that I've decided on a layout that works for me. This is usually the point at which I plan the following week's meals. What we have on what day can be subject to change, but I'm finding that I'm wasting much less food having planned out what we're eating. The other thing I love is a habit tracker. I'm always so full of good intentions, that usually come to nothing! It's not even that I can't be bothered, I simply forget. The habit tracker is a good way of reminding myself to do things. For example, I've been on HRT for over 10 years, but this is the first time I've managed to take every pill in the packet on the day it was meant to be taken o.O

    • Winwick Mum says:

      A habit tracker is a really good idea, I'll definitely have to set one of those up – I'm always forgetting to take my vitamins! xx

  5. Hi Christine, really looking forward to the new book. Your first one is my 'bible' and I refer to it time and again.
    It's very wet down here in NZ. Wet and humid!! And we're on watch for the cyclone that has just hit Tonga and could be heading our way.
    Hope Small Daughter is feeling better soon.

  6. My Creative Life says:

    Ooh a new sock patterns book,sounds exciting! All the best with it and look forward to seeing it in print. Cathy x

  7. Julie says:

    Get well soon wishes to small daughter, I hope she is soon fighting fit enjoying the half term hols.
    Looking forward to the new book.

  8. Jan Maier says:

    Bullet Journaling doesn't have to be fancy handwriting, washi tape and pretty pictures. It was originally designed to be lists. A year ago I took a class offered at my town library. I'e never been able to eep up with calendars, schedules, planners. I loved them but let them fall by the wayside. I've kept up with my bullet journal now for a year. I use it for appointments, grocery lists, to do lists etc. One page a day.

    • Winwick Mum says:

      It's the listing that appeals to me – I'm always writing lists and if I can find an easier way to keep everything in one place then it's definitely worth me investigating! 🙂 xx

  9. Susan Rayner says:

    Can't wait to see the new book! Hope it comes as along well!
    The very best thing about February – especially for dog walkers – is that according to my Granny (back in the Dark Ages) after the 1st of February it is light enough after tea to walk the dog!! And she meant tea not supper! And it is – it is even getting lighter in the mornings now so Spring is well and truly on its way even though we are in one of the coldest months!
    I hope small daughter will soon be better and enjoying her half term!
    By the way does anyone know how I can stop getting two copies of this blog emailed to me – I don't want to risk cancelling it but I don't need two copies which come in different formats!?

    • Winwick Mum says:

      I think your Granny is right – it was definitely light after 5pm the other day! There are actually two mailing lists so that's probably why you're getting two emails – there is the original Feedburner list (subscribe to posts/comments) and now the new Mailchimp list which I use because it's more flexible. Just unsubscribe from whichever one you don't want any more – you won't lose your email altogether as the lists are held separately 🙂 xx

    • Heidijo says:

      My mum was a PE teacher and always said you could do after school matches once half term was over.

  10. Jo says:

    I hope your daughter is fighting fit again very soon, it's no fun at all missing the half term holidays because of illness. I've never tried bullet journaling but I'm a big fan of Filofax, my whole life if stored in there. Good luck with your new book, you must be so proud of what you've achieved with your first one so I hope this next one is just as successful and that it encourages lots more people to give sock knitting a go.

  11. mrssheepie says:

    Can't wait for the new book. It was because of SuperSocks that I had the courage to have a go. And as they say ….the rest is history!

  12. Lee says:

    hi,i am newish to your blog.I am going to have a good scroll through it if you don't mind as it looks sooooo interesting.Hope your little one is getting better.I am going to have a go at socks when I get time as I admire handmade socks and the yarn is sooooo pretty.I have a few pairs of handmade socks and you can't beat them,so snuggly.

  13. josiekitten says:

    Very excited to hear about your book! And also jealous of your Caramel wafer! xx

  14. luluknitts says:

    Bullet journal??? I had to smile at that as my to do lists are usually scribbled in an illegible hand on a scrap piece of paper deftly removed from our recycling box, which normally turns out to be way too small for the list I had in mind! I've craved to be organised all of my life and I know that one day it will happen…just as I know that one day it will be recognised that all women need a lifetime's supply of free chocolate! Hey ho, and so the dreams continue. Can't wait for the new book! Much love Laura

  15. Mandy says:

    Hello Christine, looking forward to your new book, enjoyed Super Socks despite it being on my Kindle, I much prefer the real thing.
    I met you in Lancaster when Northern Yarns opened her new shop. You encouraged me to continue with the tiny circular needles. I really tried, I promise! but I bought some of the Addi Crasytrio and I find them great, a cross between 4 needles and a circular. They do not make my hands ache and I do not keep dropping the spare. I struggled to find them in the U.K. but bought them on a trip to Austria. Regards Mandy

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