Achoo
It appears my cold has moved onto the sneezing phase this morning. I definitely prefer it to coughing, although I have a horrible feeling that they're going to want to share me. Maybe I can persuade them to fight each other to the death.
~
8.33am and it's dark outside thanks to the rain. It's a very mild December - we had deep snow at this time last year - and it's messing with my head. I rely on a cold winter to reset my brain, and I know in the years when we don't get it, I cope poorly in spring. It'll be okay, just something to be aware of for next year if the temperature doesn't drop.
~
I left work at lunchtime yesterday, which was a good choice. At home, I then spent hours feeling guilty about not doing things there, even though I was there specifically not to do things. Even though it's ridiculous, it's a feeling I can never shift unless I'm literally too ill to get up, and it drives me mad. I've dragged myself in this morning, because The Thing that has been looming all week must happen today. But then I'm going home, and to bed properly this time!
~
This week, the chickens on the M&S meal deal were HUGE. Normally they're big enough for 2-3 people, but this week, they're big enough for 4-5. The 2-3 person chicken does us 2-3 meals, by the time we curry it, so I'm fully expecting to still be eating the 4-5 person chicken next week. During weeks like this, when I cannot brain enough to cook, they're brilliant. Also, the apple frangipane cake that came as the dessert option looks yummy. I never take for granted being able to afford to buy these deals (they're usually £10/£12 for main-side-dessert-drink). When I'm out of spoons, they're lifesavers.
~
NERD ALERT. I know there are some crocheters around, and as I can't talk about this on my Instagram because they're a present, I thought I'd put it here. I'm making my Mum some fingerless mitts for Christmas (at her request) and am using a pattern I've made twice before. It's fiddly, but great once you get going, and I find the thumb construction immensely satisfying.
The thing is, on a lot of crochet gloves/mittens, you add the thumb and fingers later. That's fine in principle but in practice, it can mean you get some awkward joins between the hand and the digits. These mittens are totally different.
They're worked in slip-stitch crochet, so are side-to-side rather than wrist-up. They're tricky until you get into the rhythm of it, which took me three or four tries this time. Yarn choice is also way more crucial than with other patterns. You need something smooth and springy, so the wool-silk that I started with soon got discarded. This is a wool-cotton instead. Mum can't wear pure wool, but she can manage if there's something else in the blend.
Because I know people will ask, they're the Dappled Mitts that were in an Inside Crochet a few years ago. The pattern isn't available separately, but you can buy the issue online.
They start at the little finger and work towards the thumb, which is worked flat and then joined. The magic of this is that when you're done, the thumb is integral, rather than added-on, in a way that I just don't see in many crochet mitts. Like this:
I started at the right-hand edge, and have worked my way across to the thumb. Despite having made it twice before, it took me three goes to work out how to construct the thumb, as the instructions are a little unclear. I had to get my finished pair out to check how it worked! But they're done now, and ready for folding. This gives you a sense of how it will work:
You fold it back, then use the unworked stitches at the end of each row to close it up. There's just something....right...about it that I can't quite put into words, but it makes my brain ridiculously happy. This is how it will look when it's finished:
This happens to me sometimes with crochet patterns. You know how mathematicians talk about a formula being 'elegant'? That's how this feels. It can come from the finished object, or it can come in the writing. The folks at The Crochet Project are amazing at this. Having tried to write some crochet patterns myself, it's really hard to write something that's both easy to follow and produces a beautiful object at the end. They manage it, and it means I automatically buy anything they design.
Okay, now I've geeked out suitably, I can get this thing folded up and press onwards. The downside to slip stitch crochet is that it's slow compared to other types, and I still have a hand and a half to finish!
This entry was originally posted at https://jadesfire.dreamwidth.org/592246.html where there are
comments
~
8.33am and it's dark outside thanks to the rain. It's a very mild December - we had deep snow at this time last year - and it's messing with my head. I rely on a cold winter to reset my brain, and I know in the years when we don't get it, I cope poorly in spring. It'll be okay, just something to be aware of for next year if the temperature doesn't drop.
~
I left work at lunchtime yesterday, which was a good choice. At home, I then spent hours feeling guilty about not doing things there, even though I was there specifically not to do things. Even though it's ridiculous, it's a feeling I can never shift unless I'm literally too ill to get up, and it drives me mad. I've dragged myself in this morning, because The Thing that has been looming all week must happen today. But then I'm going home, and to bed properly this time!
~
This week, the chickens on the M&S meal deal were HUGE. Normally they're big enough for 2-3 people, but this week, they're big enough for 4-5. The 2-3 person chicken does us 2-3 meals, by the time we curry it, so I'm fully expecting to still be eating the 4-5 person chicken next week. During weeks like this, when I cannot brain enough to cook, they're brilliant. Also, the apple frangipane cake that came as the dessert option looks yummy. I never take for granted being able to afford to buy these deals (they're usually £10/£12 for main-side-dessert-drink). When I'm out of spoons, they're lifesavers.
~
NERD ALERT. I know there are some crocheters around, and as I can't talk about this on my Instagram because they're a present, I thought I'd put it here. I'm making my Mum some fingerless mitts for Christmas (at her request) and am using a pattern I've made twice before. It's fiddly, but great once you get going, and I find the thumb construction immensely satisfying.
The thing is, on a lot of crochet gloves/mittens, you add the thumb and fingers later. That's fine in principle but in practice, it can mean you get some awkward joins between the hand and the digits. These mittens are totally different.
They're worked in slip-stitch crochet, so are side-to-side rather than wrist-up. They're tricky until you get into the rhythm of it, which took me three or four tries this time. Yarn choice is also way more crucial than with other patterns. You need something smooth and springy, so the wool-silk that I started with soon got discarded. This is a wool-cotton instead. Mum can't wear pure wool, but she can manage if there's something else in the blend.
Because I know people will ask, they're the Dappled Mitts that were in an Inside Crochet a few years ago. The pattern isn't available separately, but you can buy the issue online.
They start at the little finger and work towards the thumb, which is worked flat and then joined. The magic of this is that when you're done, the thumb is integral, rather than added-on, in a way that I just don't see in many crochet mitts. Like this:
I started at the right-hand edge, and have worked my way across to the thumb. Despite having made it twice before, it took me three goes to work out how to construct the thumb, as the instructions are a little unclear. I had to get my finished pair out to check how it worked! But they're done now, and ready for folding. This gives you a sense of how it will work:
You fold it back, then use the unworked stitches at the end of each row to close it up. There's just something....right...about it that I can't quite put into words, but it makes my brain ridiculously happy. This is how it will look when it's finished:
This happens to me sometimes with crochet patterns. You know how mathematicians talk about a formula being 'elegant'? That's how this feels. It can come from the finished object, or it can come in the writing. The folks at The Crochet Project are amazing at this. Having tried to write some crochet patterns myself, it's really hard to write something that's both easy to follow and produces a beautiful object at the end. They manage it, and it means I automatically buy anything they design.
Okay, now I've geeked out suitably, I can get this thing folded up and press onwards. The downside to slip stitch crochet is that it's slow compared to other types, and I still have a hand and a half to finish!
This entry was originally posted at https://jadesfire.dreamwidth.org/592246.html where there are
comments