It’s really September, isn’t it? (True story: I originally titled this post “Once Upon A Sock, August 2018).
Anyway, hello again! It’s that time, the time of the month where we talk about socks.
Coming up for air: a walk up the Old Man of Coniston
Why hi! Hello there! It’s been awhile!
It’s hard to believe but just over a week ago, I sent off my Ph.D. dissertation! It felt so odd and exhilarating to press the send button and be faced with ten glorious days of limbo before I fly to the US for a conference and then my formal Ph.D. defense, which will be the official conclusion of my seven years (!) in graduate school.
As a little surprise, Mr. N took me away for a few days last week to the South Lakes where we could enjoy a bit of a break and the last days of summer in the Northwest. We fit a lot into three days, but one of my favorite bits was hiking up the Old Man of Coniston, which is a large fell on the west side of Coniston Water. It dominates the landscape, and we had beautiful views from the spot we were married, which is on the east side of Coniston Water. We’ve both wanted to go up it ever since.
Continue reading “Coming up for air: a walk up the Old Man of Coniston”
Nature’s Shades-along (and a bit of news)
Hi friends, and happy Thursday!
First, I wanted a say a big thank you to everyone whose read and commented on posts so far this summer. I’ve been rubbish at replying to comments (I think I’m just about caught up now), but I do read and appreciate each one. With the pressure of finishing, together with lots of good busy-ness, my time in this space has suffered. I’m looking forward to a quiet fall, when I’ll have time to catch up on all the lovely blog posts I’ve missed, and we can chat lots about woolly sweaters and autumnal things.
Continue reading “Nature’s Shades-along (and a bit of news)”
Once Upon a Sock, August 2018
It’s that time friends … the first Thursday of the month where we talk about socks!
Not much to show this month! Just slight progress on my Waiting for Henry socks. I had such momentum on these while I traveled … I thought I just might manage to have a whole pair finished by this month’s post (imagine that!) But then I got distracted as soon as I got home by many other projects. Nevermind! I’m still in love with these. I had been concerned about the fit last month, and went ahead and blocked the first sock when it was nearly done, which sorted everything out (phew!). I then dragged my feet finishing the first sock, but was spurred on by #saturdaysockathon over on Instagram! I only recently started the second sock, and as with the first, the little colorwork section is completely addictive! Once I finish that, I am going to have to keep the pressure on myself to knit the rest of the vanilla sock (though the beautiful Once Upon A Corgi yarn should help with that!)
I used a bit of Leizu Fingering (which is in the colorwork) for the toe, and that’s the only think I’m not positive about at the moment. It’s a bit heavier than the sock body and feels a little stiff in comparison. But again, I’m relying on the magic of blocking to sort that out!
Hopefully next month I’ll have this pair finished, but until then, go check out what my fellow Once Upon a Sock-ers are up to this month. Check out Paula’s post and our link up — and feel free to join in as and when you’d like. And if you want even more sock knitting, head over to my lovely friend Kate’s blog … she’s got ambitious plans for an August Sockathon, where she sees how many pairs she can knit in a month. I love all the patterns and yarns she’s got queued up (and would totally join her if I, um, didn’t need to finish my dissertation this month!)
May the [sock knitting] force be with you!
xo K
Yarnalong: Lotta, Traigh, and The Sheep Stell
Knitting: What am I not knitting might be the more operative question! My knitting time has been very scattered among many projects recently, but here are two: my Lotta, which I have only been working on at knit night or in other social situations (chatting’s a great distraction from endless stockinette!) but is nevertheless growing, and Traigh, a lovely new shawl from Kate Davies. I haven’t worked on it in nearly a week (sniff) and can’t wait to get back to it as I am really enjoying the yarn and pattern.
Reading: The Sheep Stell by Janet White (Not Jenny Deski as previously stated — she who wrote a blurb on the cover — sorry about that!) I think I might have already posted about this book … I started it right before I left for the States, but then put it down to read Kate Atkinson’s Behind the Scenes at the Museum which I absolutely adored (on many of your recommendations, I’ve now also procured Case Studies) I’m not far enough in to say much other than I love Diski’s straightforward prose — I think I’m really going to enjoy this memoir. The cover art also makes me unreasonably happy.
Check out what everyone is up to at the original Yarnalong post!
I’ll be back tomorrow with a teeny bit of sock talk and then later this week with some plans for August … but for now, my dissertation is calling and I better answer! Only a few weeks to go til submission!
xo K
A Finished Curlew!
Hello hello and happy Wednesday!
Summer Knitting
I’m sat at my desk, with the sun streaming in (well it was this morning when I started this post), and all I want to do is … knit.
