COVID Catch-up

Hi folks,

Sorry it’s been a while since I last blogged. It’s been a crazy, stressful time here. I hit a huge snag with my research that took many painstaking hours to sort and put me way behind with writing my thesis. My partner and I were supposed to go on holiday down south for a wedding, a long hike and to visit with his mum, but the work fiasco meant it was going to be much more of a working holiday. Then we caught COVID on the flight down and felt completely wretched and had to stay in bed most of the trip and miss the wedding. I wasn’t feeling well enough to work, so I got even farther behind.

I’m back now and feeling much better (I still feel quite tired and foggy and get out of breath very easily, which sucks because I’d FINALLY finished my physiotherapy and started running again-I can’t catch a break). I’ve been trying to get back on track with work but the friend who watched my dog while we were away is now on her holiday and I’ve had her gigantic puppy staying with me and he needs to be watched constantly or he destroys everything, so not as much work is happening as I would like. I have finally managed to schedule an event with the Loom Room and the Stromness Museum that had been in the works for a while. I’ll be guiding weavers through the Cairns exhibit and taking about my research on Iron Age weaving in Orkney and then they’ll have a chance to weave with replica combs. Their experiences of the artefacts in the two activities will be a part of my thesis. So that’s really great.

And that’s what’s been going on with me. I have some FOs and WIPs to share. First, I finished the vanilla socks I had on the needles when I last posted (yarn Is Nomadic Yarns Twisty Sock in Gumdrop Buttons). These are pair number four in my Advent Sock Box.

I made some good progress on my Stria cardigan by Andrea Mowry.

I cast on and finished two other pairs of socks. The first are the Jelly Rolls Socks by Mara Catherine Bryner out of various scraps. The second pair are the Saxe Point Socks by Andrea Rangel knit in Gauge Dyeworks Classic Merino Twist in Twinkle. These are pair number five for the Advent Sock Box.

I also finished another cast-on since I last wrote, the Inclinations Cowl by Andrea Mowry. This was so fun to knit! I just adore Spincycle yarn (I used Dyed in the Wool in Lightyears and Valley Girl). So much so that I cast on Andrea’s Metamorphic sweater as well (I used Spincycle Metamorphic in Warm Black Marl and Dyed in the Wool in Deep Bump). And I may have ordered yarn for her 2022 Rhinebeck sweater (Hey my birthday is coming up so I deserve some new yarn, right? And since I’m actually going to Rhinebeck both days this year, and to Indie untangled for the first time, I need three new sweaters right?)

Well, that’s all the news I have. I’d like to say I’ll be better about writing regularly, but the truth is with writing my thesis, I don’t feel much like writing in my free time. I’ve been thing of starting a video podcast (really rough, minimal editing) instead. Might be easier, just stream of consciousness talking to the camera. What do you guys think?

Until next time happy knitting!