Unravelling Wednesday - Week 18 (of at least 24)

We got half way through our last lot of Stage 3 restrictions and they moved us up to Stage 4. Which means the usual, stay at home, wear a mask. They have shut all shops except food shops. Finally the hair dressers are shut. It's not that I have anything against hair dressers, I just don't think they are an essential service. Weirdest of all (emotionally, practically for me it makes no difference) is that we have an 8pm curfew. The shops and all that start tomorrow. Hopefully this will work.

Anyway, I'm staying at home and knitting and reading, so that's an opportunity. Also a bit of a lie, we're going out and running and doing Crossfit (by ourselves) in the park, It means I get to have some fresh air and be outside without a mask, which is all legal and endorsed.

This week in knitting - I started a pair of socks. These are the Bleep socks, from the Stranded in Oz club. I used the club yarn on my Teroldego shawl, so I used some HalfBaked Handyed self striping for these. So much fun. Despite the fact that they are an 88 stitch leg I got the first one done on the weekend. The second one is taking a bit longer - having to work for a living is cutting in to my knitting time!

In reading there has been a bit on the go. Leon and I are being steadily entertained by Quicksilver, the first in Neil Stephensons' Baroque Cycle. It's a long series, so that should keep us busy until the end of this plague.

I'm listening to Fail State, the second in John Birmingham's Zero Day Code. Watching his describe a world falling apart seems fitting for these times.

In eye-reading, Nicola Moriarty's The Fifth Letter is entertaining chick lit. I found it on my Kindle - I had it as part of Kindle Unlimited, which I finished months ago. Apparently they usually disappear if you cancel, but it was still there, so I read it. It's made me very greateful that even though I'm still friends with my school friends (who all had kids) I've also made newer friends.

As usual on a Wednesday, I'm joining with Kat and the rest of the Unravelled gang over at As Kat Knits.

And since it's the first Wednesday of the month, it's also time for the Yarnalong at Small Things.

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Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises.

Linky Wednesday - the one with the drama

The drama about the Stephen West MKAL continues, and I can't be bothered with it. It's meant to be a fun, interesting, communal knit and and that's not what this year has turned in to. Stephen has done his best in a difficult situation, but I'm just not feeling it. Meanwhile, Israel is at war, and we (as a country) are going to vote "no" on a referendum that asks for basic consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. So yeah, lots of turmoil here. It's very tiring. I'm knitting a sock and considering what happens next. Luckily the reading was dramatic in a good way. I'm reading a NetGalley review copy of Last Summer at the Lake House and it's great. Super dramatic family drama about three sisters who loose their father unexpectedly and then find out that the family has secrets. I 've nearly finished it and I don't know what I'm going to read next. I've got a bit of a break between review books, so maybe Sta

Mussleburgh musings

I made a Mussleburgh hat earlier in the year, and even though I thought I was following the directions exactly it did not come out quite right. It was a little bit loose. My head is 51 cm, my gauge was 7 stitches, so according to the pattern I knit the right size. It's also a little bit shorter than I would like it. Too long for a beanie, too short for a good turn-up. I couldn't work out why. I still wore it, but it was not quite right. When I decided to knit one for Elise I knew I wanted to make it longer, and tighter. After I finished Elise's (with 24 fewer stitches) I realised something about mine: Now, this is a knit tube. I know how to knit tubes. When I make sleeves or socks, they don't balloon out in the middle. So I decided to reblock it. The instructions actually specifically say to fold it inside each other after blocking, but I probably folded it and dried it on my head, because that's how I block my hats. Not this time: Now it's longer and thinner

What I made, by Sharon

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