Snap

I have finished my first ever pair of socks. They are not perfect but I am pleased with them.

Knit with Regia yarn using the free basic sock pattern that came with the ball ofyarn.

Baby Photos

It is very hard to take photos of baby guinea pigs since they hardly ever stay still but yesterday I took the babies back to my mother and she helped by making them stay still so here are some photos of my tiny ex-house mates.

It was sad to let them go but at least they are only at my Mum's so I can go visit. I think she is going to keep one of them and give the other two to my sister.

Half A Happy Dance

I have a sock. Now in I just have to create a matching pair and avoid getting a pile of single socks. In just a week I have somehow managed to aquire a small mountain of sock wool, all of which I am itching to knit with.

I also have to report that my dinning room has now been turned into a maternity ward. I am currently looking after my mother's guinea pig who this afternoon produced an unknown number of babies. I have counted at least two babies but there may well be more. She is doing very well so far so I am leaving them alone as much as possible. I shall try and get photos later in the week once she has adjusted to motherhood, this is her first litter and she is currently looking a little bemused.

End of the 50 Project Challenge

I have made the decision to drop out of the 50 Project Challenge. I have come to realise, with the help of my doctor and several very good friends, that I put far too much pressure on myself by setting so many goals and targets that it would be impossible to achieve all of them. When I fail to meet goals, however unrealistic they are, I then get down in the dumps, annoyed and stressed out. None of which is good for the mind and soul. Especialy since my hobbies are often what keeps me sane. So I have decided, for the time being at least, to stop setting myself goals and targets. So the excel spreadsheet detailing what knitting, stitching and beading I need to do over the next 2 and a bit years (yes I am truly that anal and it was going to take at least that long to complete the challenge) has been deleted. I am still going to try and keep my stash purchase to a minimum as I would love to reduce my stash but I am not going to worry too much over it. Last night I put away all my ongoing projects (apart from my socks as I can not be parted from them) as having them lying around the living room was only serving to remind me how much work I have to do. I intend to then concentrate on making progress on the pre-stitching for the classes that I am doing in the autumn and to use my smaller stitching projects and my socks as light relief. But other than wanting to get the pre-stitching complete I have set no targets for myself relating to my hobbies.

My first sock is growing I have successfully completed the heel and am now onto the foot, hopefully I will complete it this weekend. The only problem I can see is that I run the risk of having dozens of single socks. I have been spending my lunch hours this week surfing the net for patterns and have amassed a rather sizable collection all of which I would love to knit.

Weekend Report

This past weekend I went away for a long weekend in Derbyshire with a collection (not sure what the collective noun for a group of stitchers should be) of UK stitchers. Four days of sunshine (for the most part) stitching, knitting, eating, drinking and laughing was the best medicine and I now know that I can once again cope with being in a large group of people without freaking out & having a panic attack. The place we stayed (Dove Farm) was ideal and even had its own herd of alpacas that included an adorable baby called Cocoa, before leaving we had to count the alpacas to check that none had been kidnapped. The cottages were also in easy reach of a lovely patchwork shop where I just had to visit and I gave in to the need to have some fabric.

While away I managed to make good progress on the pre-stitching for one of this years classes and also on the UFO round robin that I am currently participating in. I also gained a new obsession – sock knitting. I managed with a tonne of help from Maria, Karoline and Paula, to make a great start on my first ever sock.

Awhile back I had purchased several balls of sock yarn convinced that I would be able to teach myself how to knit socks but after several failed attempts put the yarn in the back of the wardrobe. Now all I want to do is knit socks. To ease the pain of having to return to work after a four-day weekend I spent my lunchtime searching the web for free sock patterns and sources of inspirations & supplies for sock knitting. I have to confess that, despite being on the stash wagon (for knitting, stitching and beading), I also acquired 3 balls of sock yarn over the weekend and gave into clicky finger syndrome at lunchtime today and purchased enough wool to make another 3 pairs of socks. I had always planned to allow myself a reward for reaching the halfway point on my 50 Projects Challenge so I shall just count the purchase of sock wool as my reward even though I am a few finishes away from the 25 mark. I can see that I am going to have to start a new stash list just for sock yarn as I can see that as soon as the challenge is over I shall be making several purchases.

A Happy Dance

I stayed up until a few minutes past midnight last night because I just had to put the last few stitches into Vicki by Bizzi Creations before going to sleep. This has been a really fun, and for me quick stitch. Yesterday afternoon I spent a very happy couple of hours going through my stash trying to decide what to stitch on next. Part of me (the good part) says to work on one of my WIPs but there is also a naughty little voice in my head urging me to start something new. In the end I have decided on a compromise and have pulled out one WIP (Above the Clouds by Teresa Wentzler) .

and four new projects:

Cherry Heart & Mother's Heart by Shepherd's Bush, Celtic Heart By Dinky-Dyes and Random Hearts by Erica Michaels. My plan is to work on whichever of the new starts shouts the loudest until it stops shouting and then to put in a few hours on Above the Clouds before working on another of the new starts. I shall proceed in this manner for as long as I am enjoying it or until I have finished all the projects whichever occurs first. While working on these projects I also have the last two rounds of the UFO Round Robin to complete and some pre-stitching for a class to get done so I am going to be a little busy but since all I want to do at the moment is stitch I might a well take advantage of being well and truly bitten by the stitching bug.