A Quick catch-up

Well there hasn't been much action here has there? That's probably because I've been pre-occupied with sorting my life out and dealing with the various complications that are part and parcel of a major life-changing decision.

Stress and depression are brutal companions and hang around like unwanted friends. No matter how hard you try to be nice to them to keep them in check, they just keep niggling you, teasing you, mistreating you like only a real enemy can, albeit using psychological weapons.

I've been struggling with a situation at work for almost a year now. It's a situation that has crept up on me and that, although I've been aware of, could not put into words until recently, when it was almost too late for my sanity. When I did speak up, I began another struggle that is almost as stressful as the situation itself. As a result, I have taken control of my life and am now calling the shots, or at least trying to! I have sold my house (the sold sign is there for all to see) and I have a flight booked on the 31 May to Perth. My previous plan of visiting my brother and his wife in Tasmania on the way may have to be shelved for now.

In between the cleaning, de-junking and dealing with the work situation, I've still found time to create. I've made several more hats, and have returned to knitting, which even I find hard to ignore in the cooler months. I have a chunky jacket on the go, which I'll put details up for later. I've also made a gorgeous turtle neck jumper for my eldest granddaughter, Zoe. I found the pattern here

http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/kidsturtleneck.htm

I haven't tried it on Zoe yet, but will post another pic once I've done that.

I used Sean Sheep Elmswood in Multi Grey colour. The actual colour has some mauve tones as well, which softens the blackness. Needles were 8mm and tension was pretty much the same as the original, although the height tension was a little different. This would explain why my version is a different ratio of sleeve length to body length to the original.

I think I used 6 balls! If you are using this yarn I would suggest buying an extra ball just in case. I forgot to write down exactly how many I used and I've lost the docket from when I bought the yarn from BigW. It worked out to 3 balls for the body, 2 for the arms and 1 for the neck.

One thing I tried and loved was using 2 circular needles to make the neck in the round. Why? I sewed up both shoulders before realising the pattern called for the neck to be knitted using straight needles. I used 4dpns and my circular for a while to make up the needle numbers, then thought “Sod it!” I'll just try the 2 circular method. One Youtube tutorial later

and there was my neckline! Brilliant! I'm now itching to have another go at socks using the circulars. But that's another blog!

Next time I will show you the sleeveless hoodie I made my 2yo Grandson, Connor, and the crocheted satched that is in progress. I'll also fill in some of the gaps around the stress and depression situation if I have time, although I believe that is a blog in itself.

Cheers!