Normal service has been resumed

I came back from France with a dreadful cold. While we were there it was, thankfully, no more than slightly annoying, but since we got back it’s absolutely floored me. For the last couple of weeks it’s taken all the energy I could muster just to make it to work (taking two weeks holiday then immediately being off sick just wasn’t an option!). As a result, life has been work, sleep, with the odd meal thrown in. This is the longest spell I can remember for some years when I haven’t wanted to knit. At all. I haven’t even wanted to think about knitting.

Then yesterday dawned bright and sunny, the cold is at its tail end and the urge to knit returned. Hurrah! I spent yesterday afternoon trawling patterns and thumping the calculator. Last night I cast on.














It’s going to be a top down raglan, collar and cuffs in 2x2 rib, the rest in plain stockinette, but with a cable braid down the front. The “pattern” is a mixture of the Sweater pattern generator, plus bastardising various top down patterns I have knit before, so there’s a slightly hairy “wing and a prayer” element to the knitting ;). I’m using the last of my wonderful Malabrigo merino worsted. I don’t think I have quite enough of this colour to knit the whole thing so plan to add a contrast stripe in the body and arms, along the same lines as I did for the Anniversary sweater. Time will tell how it turns out, but I’m hoping for a snuggly, slouchy, curl up in an armchair on a winter’s day sweater.

As the end of September rolls around it’s time for the bucks’ favourite part of the year – they get to spend some time with the ladies. They’re all revved up and raring to go! I just hope this weather holds for a few more weeks yet. This time last year the goats were pretty much housed full time, and didn’t go out again until the end of April. Just a few extra weeks outside makes such a difference to our workload / feed bills, and I’m sure it’s better for the goats to be out in the fresh air (they don’t actually agree with me on this point. They prefer to be in and waited on hand and foot!).

In spite of the lovely weather I find my mind is turning to all the lovely snuggly winter knits. I seem to have made very little inroad into my stash this year (it seems that every time I use something up I add something!), so I have stacks of yarn for sweaters, gloves, scarves etc. There is also the Sock Yarn Mountain, but for me, knitting socks is a summer activity so that's not going to get any smaller until next year. Maybe I'll manage to whittle away at the rest of the stash over the coming months. The only major obstacle is the Knitting & Stitching show at Alexandra Palace next month. I'd like to think I'll be able to resist the temptation to go completely mental, but as I'll be meeting up with the Knitty girls, I have my doubts!