06 June 2012

flaking out

For what feels like the hundredth time in three months, a gang of tradesmen have descended and boxes full of god-knows-what have been shifted from one room to another. While there's no longer a toilet in the old kitchen (progress!) there is now a bed in the living room (hard to ignore). The process of replacing a rotten old kitchen seems to have taken over every corner, every object and every day of our lives - not to mention every penny. But because we're doing this out of sheer necessity rather than any Elle Deco sense of aesthetic supremacy (the old kitchen is run into the ground and starting to digest itself from the inside out) the process is somehow easier to tolerate. It simply has. to. get. done.

Except that the noise and the fine film of dust is torturous. So much so that I'm willing to leave the keys with whichever bunch of grunts I hired two hours earlier and just escape. And so earlier this week (on the pretext of discussing flooring) I went to our local department store... and ended up in the wool department.


This makes me a total flake. I have two unfinished baby jumpers on the go and a box full of yarn remnants, but an offer on wool cotton in the softest unisex shades was more than my ditzy temperament could resist. I immediately cast on 250 stitches and started striping, and suddenly there's a massive project on my hands - a garter stitch baby blanket of one-row stripes and unimaginable tedium. It will (if it ever gets finished) be seriously beautiful. But any 'design' (if I can be bumptious enough to call stripes that) I've come up with myself has always ended up unfinished in the bottom of a bag. So I'm not holding my breath.

And here's the thing, we're not even getting new flooring.

Another thing I'm being a drip about it books. These is my words; the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine by Nancy Turner is our bookgroup choice for this month, and I'm finding it hard going. I can tell that it's an important historical book and, being a real young woman's diary, it's very easy to read. But it's a pretty grim diary of American pioneer travelling life in the 1880s, with all the death, disease and violence that entails. It's hard to keep going, and it's a looooong book. So when the meeting this friday night got postponed due to the hostess' unwelcome kidney stone, I have to admit, there was just a tiny grain of relief at the back of my conscious brain; phew, I don't have to struggle on with that book by the weekend.

I KNOW, my buddy has a kidney stone, it's unforgivable! I promise to rectify my karma and offer to go round and do her ironing or something.



23 comments:

  1. The baby blanket sounds so lovely! Blankets are so much fun when they are little as opposed to a large afghan! Have fun :)

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    1. yes, I've only ever made baby blankets, but this one will probably take me up until at least September because it'll be so b-o-r-i-n-g!

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  2. He he, you're funny! I have it on great authority that any yarn purchase, no matter how unnecessary, is absolutely NOT flakey. Totally normal in my book. Good luck finishing it! xx

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  3. You my dear are not a flake! Living with a remodel takes a lot out of you and if yarn is what you need to help, then I say buy yarn and cast on as many projects as you need.
    Have a great yarn along day.

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  4. I love the pale colour in the bottom right hand corner, it's very baby-chic!

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    1. Yay - baby chic! now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

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  5. I laughed out loud when you admitted to not even replacing the flooring. I hope the stripy blanket can take your mind off the reno. What a pain, but the outcome will hopefully be worth it. I read that book a few years ago. Good luck.

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    1. oh heck, do I need luck for the remainder of it? this doesn't bode well given the story so far...

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  6. There's something very familiar about your yarn buying description!
    We had some work done last August and I ended up camping out on my bed with activities and films for my son and knitting for me. It helped me to feel like I was doing something constructive even though my usual routine was interrupted.

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    1. trouble is, I bought 6 balls on a whim, and now reckon I'll need another 6 or 8 to finish what I've started. talk about a treat that keeps on taking...

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  7. Replies
    1. It's Rowan wool cotton - I find they do their most beautiful colours in cotton, but I hate knitting in cotton, it's so unforgiving on the fingers. So I thought I'd give this wool cotton a go (50%/50%) and it's really nice, and super squishy soft.

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  8. I started a baby blanket.. a long time ago.. it will get finished, one day I'm sure - maybe even in time for baby. They can take a long time, but it'll be worth it in the end!

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  9. Ahh, we've all been there. A garter stitch baby blanket is a great project to justify more yarn stashing!!

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  10. I wouldn't have been able to resist that beautiful yarn either, especially in the face of a major kitchen remodel. Those colors will be perfect for a garter stripe baby blanket. They sell Rowan yarn in a department store?!! Cool!

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  11. Yeah, I would have been buying that yarn too! Gorgeous. I am thinking about casting on a baby blanket for a friend, might be the next project on the needles.

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  12. giggling here. perfect choice for stress relief!

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  13. I know ths oh so well. If you came to my home, you'd see one knit arm there, half a scarf here etc. Enjoy the moment it is all about creating and being in the moment...who cares if you finish?
    *smiling*

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  14. What a lovely blog you have yourself:) Your colors look beautiful together. I've gotten to the point in life where if I don't like a book, I just put it down and start a new one. (Of course, a book club can tie one in...)

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  15. I am seriously tempted to get into knitting (although I won't - I try to do too much as it is!) when I see all your lovely knits ad all the exciting yarns.
    I finished the book today. I quite got into it after a while. I think you get a bit anaesthetised to the horror after the first few pages!
    I might need to be bribed with food/cake to not blab about this post by the way. ;)

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    1. haha! I did promise to go and be her slave, to be used and abused in whatever way she pleased (naturally she said no!) I STILL haven't finished the book though, even with an extra week's grace. I'm getting into it slowly, but it's not something I lose myself in.

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