August Monday

It’s the start of another week and now we’re into August.  It’s caught me by surprise a little bit – I only just wrote my July Monthly Musing on time last week!  I think it’s because we no longer have school age children at home so we’re not governed by end of term … it struck me when I was out in the fields with the dog the other evening, watching the swallows skimming over the ripening barley, that for the first in time in countless years, this summer has felt as wonderfully endless as it used to when I was a child.

Big daughter is still around, of course, and I’ve actually seen quite a lot of her recently, but not so small daughter has stayed in her university city as she has a job and is working over the summer so our conversations are mostly by text – and mostly just as I’m about to go to bed as that’s when she’s at her most sociable.  My husband went over to see her at the weekend to help move some things around and bring back some stuff that won’t fit into her new place (we did keep tell her to stop buying things and we knew the words had fallen on deaf ears 🤣), laden down with a bag full of freshly baked bread, scones, flapjack and most excitingly (or maybe not), trial tablets of altitude sickness medication that she needs to take before she goes to climb Kilimanjaro in just a few short weeks.

They went out for breakfast together (breakfast out is always a treat in our house) and spent the afternoon at the gym (I think this was so that my husband can reassure himself that she has been doing sufficient training for her trek).  Left at home, big daughter and I treated ourselves to an afternoon tea box from The Cornish Company so that we didn’t feel left out (ha!).  I could have made more scones for us and whipped up some cream and got out the jam myself, but it’s very nice to have it all done for you with a can of Pimms and some extra treats in the box as well, and I had the pleasure of sharing it with my girl.

I’ve used The Cornish Company for years now to send gifts as they’re always delivered on time, always taste good, and they also offer gluten-free options which is wonderful for my GF friends, and we felt very spoilt with a box for ourselves!

Astrid has decided that she needs her own nest so I cut the lid off the box so that she could sit in the packaging and pretend she was some kind of furry bird.  We have certainly got our money’s worth out of this delivery! 🙂

It’s a bit of a grumpy, blurred photo because she really wanted to sit in the box on the kitchen worktop and won’t have it that it’s not hygienic and cats should keep their paws off the worktops.  I think she was also a bit concerned that the dog was heading in her direction thinking there might be something in the box for him, but I’ve moved it to somewhere a bit more appropriate and everyone is happy again.

I’ve spent quite a lot of time in the garden over last week and the weekend but there’s nothing to show you apart from a pile of weeds that I’ve pulled up.  I’ve wrenched some ENORMOUS dock plants from the borders, battled with seriously vicious brambles and been nettled more times that I can count, but I think I am slowly starting to see some progress.

I’ve mentioned before that I came home from the Chelsea Flower Show with lots of ideas and I do still need to show you my photos from that day – I’m planning something of a redesign in the borders and I have to temper my excitement with how much I am able to do whilst still doing everything else I have to do in the week!  I will keep you updated though, don’t worry – there will be no shortage of garden spam to come! 🙂

What I have done that I can show you is finished two trekking socks for not so small daughter.

Ordinarily, two socks would make a pair and for my girl who is not bothered about matching socks, she would be completely fine with two socks in different shades of green and even different yarns.  However, her mother is bothered about matching socks and that’s why there’s another sock cuff on the needles.

I’m actually trying out two versions of the pattern – one with 4ply yarn held double, as you can see above, and the other in West Yorkshire Spinners Revival DK yarn which is a new WYS yarn that came out at the beginning of the year (you can find out more about it here, and you can see the socks I knitted in it at the time here).  Wool Revival is a double knit yarn which is great for socks as it has nylon in it, but if you’re anything like me then you have a LOT of 4ply in your stash and I wanted to see how if the sizing would change if I used that as an alternative.

The good news is that it’s not made any difference.  I’ve knitted on the same size needles and I’m getting the same tension (gauge) for both so this will mean that this pattern will be good for lots of pairs of socks without necessarily having to buy more yarn if you’ve got 4ply stash.  Having said that, the Wool Revival yarn is lovely so I wouldn’t want to dissuade you from trying it out!

Hattie was keen to help me with the photography …

Seriously, this is what I’m up against as soon as I try to set up any photos at the moment …

There’s rolling about, cat fur everywhere, feet stuck in the yarn, a crafty chew on the needles when she thinks I’m not looking … she’s not exactly setting a high standard as a Sock Design Supervisor and we have Had Words about what is expected from this highly sought-after role (well, not that highly, Astrid would rather sit in her nest).  Hattie has promised me that she’ll do better in future, but I don’t expect there to be much change!

The new pattern is coming along really nicely now so I’m going to carry on knitting and aim to have it ready to release in September, because that’s when not so small daughter will be in the middle of her trek and September is always a good time to have something new to get your teeth into.

Oh, which reminds me.  I’ve got an idea brewing for Christmas and holiday sock knitting … I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments about whether you knit socks for gifts and when you make a start.  It always seems a bit too soon when the sun is still high in the sky but the days rush along and before you know it … jingle bells, it’s sudden that time of year!

For this August Monday afternoon, though, working hard on a new pattern means I am officially allowed to spend the rest of the day knitting socks so that’s what I’m going to do!

Have a lovely week, I’ll catch up with you again soon! xx