Easter update

It's been a weird fortnight. Mainly for work-related reasons which I won't go into...

Last weekend I was around in central Cambridge; although I came here to go to college nearly 20 years ago, it's pretty rare I'm around in the University bits these days. So here's a picture of Old Court, Clare College - I never lived in this bit but ate, drank and worshipped in this court for three years...


Knitting: I had a couple of Finished Objects over the last couple of weeks too - but both are destined for presents, so can't be shown yet. However, I've fallen majorly in love with the Pomatomus sock pattern, and here is the leg on my first one (modelled on a wine-bottle for ease of photo-taking; note Rosie's fabulous tea-cosy in background).

I'm using Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino in Blue Vesuvius from Woolly Workshop and 2.5mm needles. The Celestial Merino has a similar texture to Koigu and Cherry Tree Hill, so the pattern, which has lots of knitting through the back of the loop, is enhanced by the extra twistiness of the yarn... I've finished the first sock apart from the Dreaded Grafting which I'll do tonight.

Here's a detail of the stitch pattern, which is a lot easier than it looks:

The main job of the weekend is painting the bathroom though - I'm changing it from the blue you can see on this photo

to the purple in the can. The emulsion's on, and the stripy blind is all but made - just need to sew on the rings tonight and get it onto the wall tomorrow; and fling large amounts of gloss paint around... It's looking pretty good though...

Spring

Well; sort of. But yesterday I managed to get a couple of loads of washing dry on the line in the back garden, which always counts as Serious Spring Progress; and while I was doing that, I found a primula plant I'd given up for dead had suddenly produced flowers, so I replanted my Serene Face.

This was made by Helen Humphreys, who's not only a fabulous potter but a very nice person, and lives round the corner. Her site has all sorts of other stuff, and she's a regular participant in the Cambridgeshire Open Studios... This face is on the wall in the side-passage immediately opposite the kitchen sink, and makes me happy every time I look at it while I'm washing up; it's had a completely dead fuscia in it since last Autumn though, so the primula is a good step towards making me feel that Spring, and then Summer, may arrive at some stage!

The other harbinger of spring is the lineup for the Cambridge Folk Festival which went onto the site last weekend...

It's not that no knitting has gone on. It has; some of it drunkenly, in other people's houses... They know who they are... But some of it is proofknitting of a Relatively Secret Project; and some is presents for people who may read this. I did finish a scarf for Caroline from the Fibrefusion group though: here's the best pic I have of it...