Can you believe it’s six months since I launched this blog? So the website is six months and one week old! Reading back over my first post I was concerned then about the changes Ravelry had made (though I left it un-named), was excited about Craftucation (from which I received my first payment yesterday!) and showed a picture of the view from the Little Orme, one of my favourite places, and the place after which the collection I am currently working on is named. The hat pattern will be released soon by the way! Today’s picture is unashamedly the same one as from that first post.
I didn’t know then that I would be getting a spinning wheel, or bringing a sourdough starter into existence and doing lots more baking. I also didn’t know that I wouldn’t see my mum once in this whole six months. Sometimes it’s good not to be able to see into the future. Hopefully the restrictions on travel between Wales and England will be lifted soon and I’ll be able to visit her again.
Today, there are butterflies in the garden, it’s 20 degrees outside and the sun is shining. The blackcurrant bush is coming into leaf and the redcurrant is just starting to think about joining it. Last year I allowed all the redcurrants to be eaten by the birds, partly because I hadn’t pruned it and the stems were so overlapping that it I couldn’t face the tangle. Now, of course, that means we have run out of redcurrant jelly, which is a real shame and meant that on Sunday I did something I’ve never done before; I *bought* a jar of redcurrant jelly! Inspired by the weather today and Sunday’s purchase, this morning I pruned the redcurrant bush and promised to take better care of it in future.
Sunday itself was an adventure; we went to a garden centre. They were allowed to re-open in Wales just over a week ago I think. Our nearest one is exactly five miles away, though it felt further! We bought some red cowslips which I have never seen before, some cell trays for the veg seeds and a few other bits and pieces, including the redcurrant jelly. It was so strange to be out in a place where there were quite a few other people and, although our trip was quite a brief one (less than 30 mins), by the time we were through the tills I was glad to be going home again.
It feels late to be planting seeds in a way, but with the extreme winds of yesterday and the snow and sleet forecast for Easter weekend here I didn’t want to kill off delicate seedlings, so I still haven’t done it. Next week!
Following my post about Ravelry last week I had a lovely message from someone offering me an extension/theme that might help. If you’ve seen my social media posts you’ll know what happened; I stupidly compared the version of Rav showing with the theme to the actual NuRav page and got hit with a horrible headache and nausea. It slowed me down somewhat on Friday to say the least. But, at least I know the theme works! I won’t be going onto Ravelry more than I have to after tomorrow though.
Speaking of which, there is a plan to stage a three day boycott of Ravelry from 31st March to 2nd April. Why bother? Well, their main income is from the advertising that users are shown and if you’re not on there, you won’t be shown adverts and so their revenue will drop. It may not have any impact at all or change anything, but I’m happy to wait to pay my March invoice for a couple of days!
Some exciting developments happened during the week with my magazine commission. Having received the email listing the chosen yarn and colours, I expressed some concerns about the way that yarn would behave given the nature of the design. Those concerns were listened to, considered and a different (much more appropriate) yarn was proposed. There is a whole new colour scheme and a new name. Also, a new gauge as the yarn is a slightly different weight, but that just means I get to play with numbers a bit more. It’s making me want to stalk the postman for yarn deliveries, but fortunately I have plenty of other things to keep me busy in the meantime.
I hope the year is being kind to you so far and that you are benefitting from the longer daylight hours. I know I am.
Stay safe and keep knitting, gardening, baking, spinning and doing what makes you happy. K x