A new pattern and a change of perspective.

First let me apologise, a little bit of grovelling does no harm, to all my recent followers. I have not welcomed you and am very sorry, there are some on GFC and some on Bloglovin.  I see the little GFC pictures but have not been able to fathom out the Bloglovin thing.
So welcome one and all to the party, I hope that you fond something to entertain you in my ramblings.

Socks, socks and more socks, the love affair infatuation goes forward.

 This pair is knitted to the pattern in my lovely book, Knit your socks on straight, and apart from increasing the leg length are exactly to pattern. The seam is finished with a crochet hook from the right side and gives a slightly raised seam.

I have knitted a few colour variations of this pattern and then the long socks, also from the book, with a central front crochet seam.

I decided that the Eye of Partridge heel pattern on those was so pleasing that I had a little play and came up with this pair. The cast on was a bit too loose but they are fine on.

They have a central front seam and 10 stitches either side of that are in the pattern, as is the heel. I used the invisible join method on the seam, it gives a slight ridge inside but is not noticeable when wearing them.

This pair are from the made up pattern but in SS and also have an invisible joining seam. Because they are in Aran weight the seam is bulkier but still not noticeable when wearing. I did struggle with the dark yarn but moved my spotlight to the table and worked directly under it, I also blocked them first which was an enormous help.

I have not finished the sockathon, I aim to try more patterns from the book and attempt a pair on 4 needles ( oh my 8 points to contend with.)

That word "contend" leads me neatly to my next topic. My home and the decoration or lack of it.

I grew up in a house where my Granny loved her shadow boxes, several on each wall, crammed with bits and bobs of china and glass. I spend many hours taking all those bits off and washing them, then drying and replacing on the dusted boxes. Each piece had to go back to the exact spot from whence it came. Not a labour of love I can assure you.

My Mother was not keen on those BUT could not bare to see a flat surface empty, there were vases, pots, jugs etc etc every where. In retaliation I have never been an ornament lover. Yes I have some things collected over the years but put them out in rotation and usually behind glass.

One of the main reasons was that I worked full time had a large garden and had a son with renal failure to care for. Yes I know the medication was there and also long periods when he had the benefit of a transplant. But the cloud was always there and diet restrictions meant some seriously inventive meals had to be developed.

To that end all that I wanted from home was a clean and tidy environment, not a place that required hours of dusting and polishing.

Since moving to Wales I have kept things much the same, indeed possibly sparser, from habit.

Then I started following a more diverse selection of blogs. I oohed over Amy's mantel displays and Sadie's little vignettes from her home to name but 2.

I have a much smaller garden to look after and  my crafting  paraphernalia has it's own room. I have more space to put my treasures out to enjoy them and the time to keep them cobweb free.

But there are still the hangups from childhood to consider, not to mention the fireplace that is so awful I have it hidden behind a sofa.

To be a touch more precise, I have committed to a Change of Heart. I told you that I had bought a display cabinet, and I have dug out a few things for it. Well it is a work in action and I am not rushing to decide what stays and what is on it's way out. I have one shelf nearly there, one started and one empty. The bottom shelf is not really visible, unless you walk right to the spot where the sofas meet and peer down. That will hold some delicate things that I perhaps do not want on full display but equally want to keep. I will chop and change things around until I am happy with them. I already have a selection of things for the CS and am on the lookout for a little bit of Chinese inspired porcelain to sit in front of a set of 3 plates. Apart from that I intend to be relaxed about it and just go with the flow.

And to finish up I have a photo of Ben sleeping off his walk and his breakfast.

 

I had a very relaxing weekend, despite the rain I got some washing line dried, did a little cooking and quite a bit of knitting. Now I am off to see if the kitchen floor has dried so that I can have a brew.

Oh yes, that is another change. I normally make it my last task of the day to sweep and wash the kitchen floor. Then in the morning I take Ben out and he comes back and wanders around leaving a trail of muddy paw prints. Hmmm. From now on I will be sweeping and washing it after we come back, his afternoon and evening walks are on the pavements so no mud to drag in.

                         TTFN                                             Pam

I also have some comments to reply to and some bloggy catch up reading on the agenda.